Konoha: Sage Body

"Damn you, don't even think about escaping,"

Sandaime Kazekage yelled angrily as he saw the black large snake trying to burrow back into the ground to escape.

He swung his right hand forward, and a large amount of black iron sand quickly wrapped around the black large snake's body, preventing it from escaping.

The black large snake would not give up so easily, struggling furiously.

Sandaime Kazekage had to increase the binding of the black large snake with iron sand and pay more attention to it.

When he successfully subdued the black large snake with iron sand, a pale and gloomy man emerged from the ground behind him. He opened his mouth, and a white snake quickly crawled out of his throat and grew out of his mouth as well. A long sword with a cold gleam shot out of the white snake's mouth in an instant.

The long sword shot out so fast it was like lightning, and in the blink of an eye it pierced Sandaime Kazekage's head.

"Sandaime-sama!"

When the other Suna-Nin saw this, they all went blind with rage, thinking that Sandaime Kazekage had been killed by an enemy sneak attack. They shouted in anger or panic.

Fortunately, it was all just a false alarm.

After the long sword pierced Sandaime Kazekage's head, his entire body instantly turned to sand.

At the critical moment, Sandaime Kazekage used a Suna shadow clone to avoid the sneak attack and successfully escaped.

Seeing his sneak attack had failed, the gloomy man retreated decisively, but just as he was about to move, a spike formed from iron sand pierced his heart.

"Orochimaru, right? Your ability to conceal your breath is good, but you're still too young,"

Sandaime Kazekage sneered as he stood behind the gloomy man.

He had been keeping a portion of his attention on his surroundings ever since he saw the large black snake, and then pretended to focus on the black snake, successfully tricking his enemy in hiding.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a large amount of iron sand, like tree branches, pierced Orochimaru's body from all directions, and a large amount of blood immediately flowed from his body.

Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Technique!

Orochimaru died with his eyes open, unable to believe that he had been killed so easily by his enemy.

After Sandaime Kazekage finished off Orochimaru, his attention quickly returned to the large black snake he had bound with iron sand. He had to rescue Rasa as soon as possible, or else the snake that Orochimaru had summoned would eat Rasa to the last crumb.

However, Rasa was now inside the black snake, so he had to be careful, or else if he accidentally killed the black snake, it might take Rasa with it.

Just as he was considering cutting the black snake into several sections, Orochimaru's corpse suddenly started to act abnormally.

He turned his head and saw a new Orochimaru quickly emerge from the corpse's open mouth, with a lot of disgusting slime still stuck to its body.

His eyelids twitched when he saw this, and without hesitation, he once again manipulated the iron sand to attack Orochimaru.

"Die, disgusting guy,"

Sandaime Kazekage shouted angrily with a disgusted expression.

As he spoke, a large amount of iron sand turned into bullets and shot out.

Magnet Release: Sand Storm!

Orochimaru, who had just used the Orochimaru-style substitute technique to complete his resurrection, did not hesitate to use his corpse as a shield, kicking it towards Sandaime Kazekage, and then quickly wriggling like a snake across the sand, displaying amazing evasive skills as he avoided the barrage of iron sand bullets and the attacks of other Suna-Nin jutsus.

Sandaime Kazekage didn't want to get hit by Orochimaru's disgusting body at all, so he casually created an iron sand wall to block Orochimaru's corpse, which was about to be destroyed by the iron sand bullets, less than a meter in front of him.

Seeing that Orochimaru was about to escape and wasn't heading towards the black snake, Sandaime Kazekage just snorted and ignored him, telling his subordinates to go after him, while he decisively manipulated the iron sand to form several sharp blades of iron sand that cut the black snake into several pieces.

Saving Rasa was a much higher priority than chasing after Orochimaru.

But what he didn't expect was that as he removed the wall of iron sand in front of him, a young man with yellow hair and a girl with Byakugan suddenly appeared in front of him, on top of Orochimaru's corpse.

The two were Minato Namikaze and Hyuga Hanare.

Their attack had been planned for a long time. The moment they appeared, they thrust the sharp long swords they were holding into Sandaime Kazekage's body.

"Puchi~"

Two blood flowers bloomed from Sandaime Kazekage's body.

Orochimaru used himself and the dead body as cover, successfully creating a nearly perfect opportunity for the two to attack.

"Damn it!"

Sandaime Kazekage endured the pain and used Iron Sand to attack the two.

At the critical moment, he avoided the vital areas where the enemies wanted to attack.

But the next moment, the two suddenly disappeared.

Sandaime Kazekage's attack hit the air.

"Sandaime Kazekage!"

The other Suna-Nin around him saw that Sandaime Kazekage was injured and quickly returned their attention to him. They gathered around him, protecting him. One of the medical ninjas hurriedly treated Sandaime Kazekage's injuries before shouting, "Sandaime Kazekage has been poisoned."

"Don't worry about me, this poison won't kill me. Hurry and go get Rasa back,"

Sandaime Kazekage saw that everyone else had run back, none of them went to save Rasa, and he spat out a mouthful of poisoned blood, yelling angrily.

After this, the other Suna-Nin finally woke up from their dream. They left some people to guard Sandaime Kazekage, and the rest quickly went to save Rasa.

Hundreds of meters away, Orochimaru saw this, and a flash of regret flashed in his eyes, before he turned around without hesitation and no longer tried to attack Sandaime Kazekage or Rasa.

"It seems that my strength still needs to be improved,"

Orochimaru sighed in his heart, and a deep sense of fatigue appeared on his face.

It was completely coincidental that the Orochimaru squad he led would run into the Sandaime Kazekage and the others here tonight.

Not long ago, the Orochimaru squad he led had just returned from a mysterious time travel.

The reason for this was because they had mistakenly entered an abandoned ruin, and then Minato accidentally triggered a mysterious seal technique inside, and they were transported back in time, embarking on a bizarre and thrilling adventure.

When they finally managed to return to their original time, Hyuga Hanare happened to use Byakugan to discover Sandaime Kazekage and the others, and witnessed the entire process of Rasa's gold mining.

On the other side, in a sand dune two or three kilometers away, Minato Namikaze was lying pale on the sand. It seemed that both his body and mind had suffered greatly and he was enduring tremendous pain.

Minato Namikaze was accompanied by Akimichi Dōto and Hyuga Hanare.

When Akado Toudou saw Minato Namikaze in this state, he quickly took out a green pill from his body and gave it to Minato Namikaze, saying, "Minato, you eat this quickly."

This is the Akado secret medicine Spinach Pill, a nutrient-rich pill that can quickly replenish Chakra.

After Minato Namikaze took the Spinach Pill, the depleted Chakra in his body was quickly replenished, his body stopped trembling, and his face regained a hint of rosy color.

"It really was too much. You almost killed yourself this time by forcibly using the Flying Thunder God Technique twice."

Hyuga Hanare used her Byakugan to take a good look at the situation inside Minato Namikaze's body and sighed, a flash of concern in her eyes.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was the ninjutsu that Minato Namikaze had obtained after completing an S-rank mission and redeeming it from the Sealed Book. Orochimaru had suggested that he choose this ninjutsu after discovering that Minato Namikaze had excellent sealing techniques, talent in terms of time and space, and nerve reaction capabilities.

Orochimaru was right. Minato Namikaze is indeed a perfect match for the training of the Flying Thunder God Technique. After more than half a year of training, he has now successfully mastered this super difficult ninjutsu and can use it.

The drawback is that his current physical fitness and chakra are seriously lacking, and every use carries great risks.

If used continuously, it will be extremely dangerous to life.

For example, just now, with the help of the Flying Thunder God Technique on Hyuga Hanare's Byakugan and Orochimaru's corpse, Minato Namikaze performed two consecutive long-distance Flying Thunder God Techniques, almost exhausting the jōnin-level chakra within his body.

"It was a bit risky, but the reward was huge. The two of us almost succeeded in killing the Sandaime Kazekage outright. And our swords were coated with the special snake venom made by Master Orochimaru. Even if he doesn't die this time, it will definitely take some time for him to recover. This is a good opportunity for Konoha to defeat the Sunagakure."

Minato Namikaze, who had recovered a little, said nonchalantly.

Obviously, he was very satisfied with the assassination he had risked his life to carry out.

Although the assassination had failed, it was still a useful assassination. If Konoha could take this opportunity to defeat Sunagakure, everyone in Orochimaru's class would become heroes of Konoha and the greatest heroes in Konoha's defeat of Sunagakure.

"Indeed, I really hope that guy will die from the poison."

Hyuga Hanare said thoughtfully, with an excited smile on her face.

Like Minato Namikaze, she was eager to prove herself in the war between Konoha and Sunagakure. Only by doing so could she climb the ranks in Konoha and escape the fate of being manipulated by her family.

Suddenly, she seemed to have noticed something and immediately turned her head in a certain direction.

Minato Namikaze and Akimichi Doto followed Hyuga Hanare's gaze.

"Listen, all three of you, move immediately."

Soon, a cold and hoarse voice appeared.

The three of them heard this voice and a look of joy appeared on their faces. They turned around and saw Orochimaru emerge from the ground unscathed. They then respectfully said to Orochimaru together, "Orochimaru-sensei, you're back."

Orochimaru was instrumental in their successful assassination of the Sandaime Kazekage.

The plan to assassinate the Sandaime Kazekage was also devised by Orochimaru. If it wasn't for the Sandaime Kazekage avoiding the vital areas at the critical moment, they would have succeeded in beheading the Sandaime Kazekage here and there, which would have greatly helped Konoha in its war against Sunagakure.

But even if they failed to behead the Sandaime Kazekage this time, the fact that the Sandaime Kazekage was poisoned and injured could also deal a heavy blow to the morale of Sunagakure.

Orochimaru looked at the three of them. He didn't say anything, just gave them a somewhat cold smile, and then once again used his summoning technique to conjure a new large black snake.

He told the black snake to swallow him, Minato Namikaze, and the other two, burrow into the ground and quickly withdraw, thus avoiding Sunagakure's retaliation, and quickly heading towards Konoha's war camp in the Forest Country.

Soon after, in a hot spring inn in a small town on the border of the Land of Fire,

Kirito, who was sleeping in a hot spring hotel, suddenly opened his eyes and said doubtfully, "That's strange, the soul auras of those few people have appeared again."

The 'those few people' he was referring to were the four people in Orochimaru's team.

Some time ago, the soul auras of Orochimaru and the others had mysteriously disappeared, and now they had mysteriously appeared again, which really confused him. He had thought that Orochimaru had developed a ninjutsu that could hide one's soul aura, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Forget it, I'll ask them when I have time. Hanare is traveling with them anyway."

Kirito couldn't figure out the reason for this, so he decided not to think about it and closed his eyes again to rest.

Due to the Storm Release Bloodline Limit, his body was undergoing an evolutionary transformation, which had made him a bit drowsy recently. His body now needed to rest well before it could complete the glorious evolution.

...

The assassination and injury of the Sandaime Kazekage could not be kept a secret. Even if Sunagakure tried to suppress the news as much as possible, Konoha would do its best to publicize it in order to demoralize Sunagakure.

So, the next day, the news quickly spread throughout the ninja world. Although the people of Sunagakure were furious about what had happened, the assassination and injury of the Sandaime Kazekage still made many Suna-Nin on the battlefield feel uneasy and their morale was seriously affected.

The ninja from Konoha, on the other hand, were greatly heartened when they heard that Orochimaru's team had almost killed Sandaime Kazekage the night before.

Therefore, at sunset, Konoha launched a fierce attack on Sunagakure.

In a private room of a luxurious inn in Sunagakure Village,

Yondaime Raikage angrily slammed his hand down on the table and shouted, "Hmph, this Sandaime Kazekage is really useless, he actually failed at the most critical moment."

He had been in the Sunagakure for several days, and in order to successfully request an audience with the Sandaime Kazekage, he had been patient, even when the people of the Sunagakure pointed and cursed blindly behind his back. He had endured it all, and finally got the opportunity to meet with the Sandaime Kazekage today, only to be told that the meeting had been postponed.

And the Sunagakure side did not give a reasonable explanation at all, just perfunctorily saying that the Sandaime Kazekage was busy and had no time to receive him.

How could this explanation satisfy the Fourth Raikage? He had been stuck in this small room for several days already. If he continued to be stuck like this, he would either have to find a strong opponent to fight or practice his training, otherwise he would go crazy.

Their intelligence network in Kumogakure was not useless. Even in the village of Sunagakure, they had spies hidden in it, and their status was not low. They quickly figured out why the Sandaime Kazekage was unable to meet with them.

"Don't be angry. Even if you are angry now, it's useless. The Sandaime Kazekage is poisoned and injured, and has fallen into a coma. It is impossible for the people of Sunagakure to let us see the Sandaime Kazekage now. However, this might be an opportunity for us."

Dodai, who was standing nearby, saw signs that the Fourth Raikage was about to lose his temper, and decisively spoke to stop him.

They from Kumogakure are here on a mission to secretly cooperate with Sunagakure. If the 4th Raikage can't control his emotions and vents them in the village of Sunagakure, exposing his whereabouts, that would be bad.

"What opportunity? Hurry up and say it,"

The Fourth Raikage said irritably.

He really hated it when other people didn't get to the point and were so mysterious.

"I have studied the political structure of Sunagakure. Now that the Sandaime Kazekage is unable to preside over the affairs of Sunagakure, the people with the most power are the siblings Chiyo and Ebizo. And Ebizo follows Chiyo's lead, so we can now go to Chiyo to discuss this matter of our cooperation with Kumogakure."

Dodai patiently explained to the 4th Raikage:

"Chiyo? This woman is the leader of the Sunagakure hawk faction. Isn't the intelligence that she is very unfriendly towards our Kumogakure? Moreover, she has accepted many hawk ninja who are full of hostility towards our Kumogakure. Will she help us?"

The Fourth Raikage was just a little reckless in his usual way, but he was not brainless. After hearing Dodai's words, he calmed down slightly and said doubtfully.

The reason why the three of them, after secretly visiting Sunagakure, were unable to contact Sandaime Kazekage for a long time was precisely because the hawk faction of Sunagakure ninja were stirring up trouble in secret. They were extremely hostile towards Kumogakure and were not at all willing to see Sunagakure cooperate with Kumogakure.

Even though they knew that cooperation between Sunagakure and Kumogakure would be beneficial to Sunagakure, they were still bent on causing trouble.

These days, the son of the Sandaime Raikage, Fourth Raikage, has been provoked and challenged by the people of Sunagakure at every turn, and these people are the ones responsible.

Chiyo is the leader of this group of hawk ninja from Sunagakure, and the fact that this group of hawk ninja dares to do this is undoubtedly due in large part to Chiyo's deliberate indulgence.

Now that Dodai has asked him to go to Chiyo for help, the first thing he thinks is that this idea is very unreliable.

"It's a different situation now. Now that Sandaime Kazekage is unable to fight, Sunagakure has temporarily lost a powerful Kage-Level powerhouse. Konoha will definitely take this opportunity to attack Sunagakure. Sunagakure is now facing tremendous pressure and desperately needs a strong helper like us from Kumogakure to share the pressure from Konoha.

Chiyo is a smart person, she definitely knows this very well. If we go and see her now, there is a high chance that she will agree to meet with us and agree to our request from Kumogakure."

Dodai continued to explain, speaking with reason and evidence.

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Raikage felt more and more convinced, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

Dodai's analysis was correct; the pressure currently facing Sunagakure was indeed extremely high.

If the Sandaime Kazekage was unable to recover in a short period of time, Sunagakure, whose morale was now severely damaged, might be defeated by Konoha.

However, he soon frowned again and asked, "A high probability means there is still a possibility of being rejected. Is there no way to make her agree to our demands 100%? I don't want to be rejected by the people of Sunagakure again, and I've had enough of this godforsaken place."

"There is one, but I can't make the decision and I don't know if I should say it,"

Dodai said hesitantly after a moment of silence upon hearing what the Raikage said.

"Say it, as long as the method works. If anything really happens, I'll take the blame,"

Raikage said with authority.

Since Raikage Shidai had said that, Dodai no longer hesitated and spat out a name that made Raikage Shidai a little solemn: "Hattori Masanari."