Konoha: Sage Body

Sandaime is now very distressed and conflicted. He had thought that he had arranged the most important matters for the night and could get a good night's sleep, but it turned out that just as he had put the trouble caused by Kirito down, Tsunade had brought him new trouble.

Sandaime's first impression of Tsunade's disciple was one of relief. This was a good child, with no ambition and little interest in power. That was good, as Tsunade's interests would never conflict with his. She was also very filial, and even when they had minor conflicts, she was always on his side.

Such a caring child was really hard to come by among his close ones, and he couldn't help but dote on her.

However, he has recently noticed that Tsunade is becoming increasingly disobedient. He has no complaints about this, but instead feels a little ashamed.

The reason for all this is related to him, and he is at fault.

Therefore, even though Tsunade's attitude towards him is getting worse and worse, he endures it silently and tries to satisfy her requests as much as possible, hoping that the master-apprentice relationship between him and Tsunade will not break.

However, Tsunade's actions tonight are a bit unusual.

She asked him to agree to send troops to help Amegakure, and if he refused, she would personally intervene in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure as a volunteer.

Tsunade's request in the letter seemed very tactful and did not imply any coercion, but what was Tsunade's identity? Even if she announced publicly that she was intervening in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure as a volunteer, it was actually no different from Konoha intervening in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure.

Once that happens, a large number of Konoha ninja will choose to follow Tsunade to support Amegakure, and where will that leave him, the Hokage?

This kind of thing is very likely to happen.

Because she is Tsunade.

"Are you really going to become Hokage by doing this? Tsunade,"

Sandaime sighed.

In his opinion, Tsunade leading the Konoha ninja who had volunteered to follow her to intervene in the conflict between Amegakure and Kumogakure was definitely a sign that the battle for the position of Hokage had begun. As long as Tsunade successfully led her followers to help Amegakure defeat Kumogakure, she would gain enormous prestige.

Her leadership abilities would also be affirmed by her followers and other onlookers, and by then, the battle for the position of Hokage could basically be declared over.

Can Tsunade lead Konoha to defeat Kumogakure?

Sandaime already had an answer to this question in his heart. Tsunade will definitely be able to lead Konoha to victory, because she now has a good younger brother behind her who can back her up. If she is pushed to the brink, she will simply release Kirito and already be halfway to victory.

After much thought, Sandaime finally decided that it was better to agree to Tsunade's request. It was better for him to intervene in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure in the name of Konoha than to force Tsunade to lead a large number of resources to follow her into the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure in the name of personal willingness.

This was a battle that could almost be confirmed as a victory, and it was better for him to reap the fruits of victory.

The battle for the position of Hokage would begin now, and it was still a bit too early.

However, once he agreed to Tsunade's request, the villagers, whose hopes for peace had been dashed, would definitely be resentful towards him.

He had to choose the lesser of two evils.

For the sake of the longer-term interests, he had no choice but to choose this option.

As for the chakra metal that Tsunade had mentioned in her heart and the future alliance between Amegakure and Konoha, he didn't really care.

Now that the Chakra metal is in Tsunade's hands, it is basically in the hands of the Senju clan. Can he still ask Tsunade for it back? Tsunade might be willing, but the old woman Momo would definitely not be happy.

As for Amegakure's alliance with Konoha, in his opinion, there are benefits, but it is inevitable that they will inadvertently raise a tiger that will become a problem.

Outsiders are ultimately untrustworthy, and so-called alliances are just pieces of paper that can be torn up at any time.

His disciple was, after all, too young and too soft-hearted, and had been taken advantage of.

"Sakumo, are you here?"

Sandaime tapped the table with his finger and spoke.

The next moment, Hatake Sakumo, wearing a dog mask, appeared in front of Sandaime and respectfully said, "Please command, Sandaime."

"Give this letter to Elder Momo."

Sandaime pondered for three seconds, then resealed the letter in his hand and handed it to Hatake Sakumo.

Hatake Sakumo immediately obeyed and left.

"The war with Kumogakure is just the thing to get rid of some disobedient people."

After Hatake Sakumo left, Sandaime lowered his head, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

Now that he had decided to go to war with Kumogakure, he would have to make the most of the war to gain more benefits for Konoha and get in touch with some of his hidden dangers.

"What a long night."

Sandaime stood up, stretching his stiff body before turning to look out the window at the night sky and letting out a long sigh.

After tonight, the situation in the ninja world was about to change drastically once again.

...

Time passed slowly, and eventually the night passed and the sun rose in the east as usual.

As the sun rose, a piece of breaking news from the previous night spread like wildfire throughout the ninja world.

Kirito Tosaka of Konoha had defeated Sandaime Kazekage of Sunagakure.

Once the news broke, everyone who heard it was shocked, without exception.

The common people of Konoha were almost all overjoyed, sweeping away the resentment they had felt towards Kirito not long ago due to the rumors. They all praised his bravery and were proud of Konoha's strength.

The ninja of Konoha were also overjoyed, with the hawk faction ninja especially excited. Many of them were already discussing following up on their victory and eliminating Sunagakure. The moderate faction of ninja mostly chose to remain silent and not openly oppose the decision at this time.

The common people of other countries generally felt that Konoha was indeed the strongest ninja village in the world, and secretly hoped that their own countries would not oppose Konoha.

Ninjas from other countries could not help but feel an even stronger sense of awe towards Kirito Tosaka, and likewise did not want to go against Konoha in the future.

For a time, Kirito Tosaka's popularity in the ninja world continued to rise, becoming a household name.

Just as the villagers of Konoha were happily discussing Kirito's killing of Sandaime Kazekage and Konoha's imminent defeat of the Sunagakure, Chiyo and the rest of the Sunagakure peace delegation were leaving quietly through the gates of Konoha.

Just as Sandaime and the three advisor elders had discussed.

Konoha did not make things difficult for the Sunagakure peace delegation, but simply informed them that the peace talks had been cancelled and asked them to leave Konoha quickly.

In the forest, Chiyo and the other Suna-Nin stepped quickly on the branches, each with a deep and solemn expression on their faces. They all knew that the road home would not be an easy one, and that many of them would die on the way back, or even be wiped out completely.

"Stop!"

Chiyo and the others had left Konoha more than ten kilometers behind when Chiyo suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing her words, the other Suna-Nin behind her stopped in their tracks.

"Chiyo-sama, are we going to change course?"

Kurokasa asked, seeing this.

Chiyo did not answer his question, but simply gave him a faint look before saying, "Anyone who knows the Shadow Clone Technique, use it now. The more shadow clones you create, the better."

These ninjas who were able to be sent by the Sunagakure to Konoha for peace talks were naturally all elites, at least with the strength of an elite jōnin. The Shadow Clone Technique was not a rare jutsu in the ninja world, and more than half of the delegation had mastered this jutsu.

A few seconds later, the number of people in the delegation suddenly increased several times. Among them, Chiyo split more than 30 shadow clones in one go, and told them to go in different directions. Then, he arranged for the people in the delegation to split into four groups and leave in four different directions.

"This old woman really did sell me out."

On the way to the Land of Rain, Kurokasa Shinzo angrily cursed in his heart as he watched Chiyo, who was leading the way, ahead of him.

He of course knew the Shadow Clone Technique, but as a result, Chiyo had managed to catch his real body first and then arranged for him to take the most dangerous route back to Sunagakure on the eastern route.

He could only secretly take this grudge.

Of course, he knew why Chiyo had done this, it was simply a matter of distrust, worrying that he would make a fake out of the real and really surrender to Konoha in the future, which was why he was in this situation now, wanting to use Konoha's hands to get rid of him.

"Unfortunately, your wishful thinking is going to come to nothing. I've long since thought of an escape route,"

Kurokasa sneered in his heart.

Back in the day, he had already betrayed the interests of the Sunagakure in order to survive, and now there is no reason for him to stop betraying the interests of the Sunagakure.

When he was with the secret agents of the Sandaime Hokage last night, he secretly made a deal with Sandaime. He obtained a type of parasite from a ninja of the Aburame clan that was so small that it was difficult to detect even with a microscope, and then secretly scattered these parasites on Chiyo during his conversation with her when he returned.

The tracking ability of the Aburame clan is also well-known in the ninja world.

Therefore, even if Chiyo used her multiple shadow clones to confuse the people of Konoha, she would definitely not be able to escape Konoha's tracking once she was infected with this special kind of bug.

In the end, she was still dead.

However, since he had achieved this meritorious service, he would definitely not have to die, and could safely return to the Hidden Sand Village, and could also use this as an opportunity to completely cling to the Konoha tree, making his future career in Sunagakure even more smooth sailing.

"Maybe I still have a chance to become the Kazekage,"

Kurokasa fantasized with a happy heart.

On the other hand, Chiyo's real body was alone and quickly heading towards the direction of the Land of Waves.

She knew very well that Konoha had definitely set a trap to kill her this time, and every route back to Sunagakure would face an ambush by Konoha.

Among all the routes, the one with the greatest chance of escape is undoubtedly the direction of the Land of Rain. As long as she enters the Land of Rain successfully, she can get help from Kumogakure and maybe even Iwagakure. At that time, it will definitely be very easy to get away from Konoha's pursuit.

However, this route is also the most dangerous.

She considered it all night, and the best escape route she came up with in the end was the Land of Waves. Once she reached the Land of Waves, she would use it as a springboard to escape to the sea, and then find a way to circle the mainland and return to Sunagakure.

Once she reached the sea, even a strong country like Konoha would be unable to find her in the vast ocean.

After half a day, Chiyo finally managed to successfully pass through a hidden defense line set up by Konoha in the Land of Fire and Land of Waves, and officially left the Land of Fire. Next, she just needed to take a ferry across the dozen or so nautical miles to enter the Land of Waves.

However, when she arrived at a ferry port disguised as an ordinary old woman, she immediately noticed something was wrong.

At some point, she had been affected by a jutsu, and there was no ferry port in front of her, only a white mist.

She immediately formed a hand seal to undo the jutsu herself, but it didn't work, so she quickly ordered the jutsu to be undone again.

In an instant, the chakra needle in her brain was instantly released, causing chaos in the flow of chakra in her body.

Sealing Technique: Brain Wash!

This is another ingenious use of this sealing technique. By piercing the chakra needle into her own brain, part of the irrelevant memories are sealed, and after she is under the illusion, she can then release it herself, temporarily disrupting the flow of chakra in her body.

Chiyo's chakra flow was disrupted, and she immediately managed to break the illusion. The white mist disappeared, and the distant ferry appeared in front of her again. What also appeared was an old man wearing a kimono.

"Uchiha Homura, I never thought that Konoha would call even an unloved figure like you to kill me. Are there any others? Come out, all of you."

Chiyo immediately recognized the old man as Uchiha Homura, the current head of the Uchiha clan. She was surprised.

She really didn't expect Konoha to send this Uchiha clan leader to deal with her.

Among the many well-known Konoha strongmen, this Uchiha clan leader is arguably the most mysterious. Since the establishment of Konoha, he has never fought again.

Therefore, they, Sunagakure, have very little information about this Uchiha clan leader.

But one thing is certain, this Uchiha clan leader must be a Kage-level powerhouse, and he is also the very powerful one.

The fact that the other party had just made her fall prey to a jutsu without her noticing, and had even forced her to reveal her trump card to break the jutsu, was enough to prove just how terrifyingly strong the other party was.

A jutsu that could make a Kage-Level powerhouse fall prey without warning, and it wasn't even the way Uchiha ninja usually used their Sharingan to make eye contact with their enemies and release their jutsus.

Her memory couldn't be wrong; she had never seen Uchiha Homura before, and there had been no eye contact with the other party.

The thought that the opponent's illusion can trick her in some mysterious way is causing Chiyo's heart to sink rapidly.

A puppet master against an illusionist, this battle does not bode well.

"Chiyo of the Sunagakure, as the saying goes, you really live up to your reputation. You can actually break through my illusion. Rest assured, I will be the only Konoha ninja here to attack you. I alone will be enough to defeat you."

Uchiha Homura couldn't help but praise Chiyo after seeing that she had successfully broken free from his Sharingan illusion.

His original plan was to capture Chiyo alive, after all, an alive Chiyo was more valuable than a dead one, and he might be able to obtain more information from her.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

The next moment, he activated his Sharingan.

This time, he activated not the simple Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but a more complex pattern that looked like an inverted triangle with a circle in the middle.

The Mangekyo Sharingan activated!