Konoha: Sage Body

After Tom left the Uchiha clan territory, he went straight to the Senju Clan territory.

Soon, he met Senju Momo.

Unlike when he met Uchiha Homura, Tom flattered her with a hand-held scroll and said respectfully, "Momo-sama, this is what the boss told me to give you."

This was not the first time Momo had seen Tom. She knew that Tom was Kirito's summoning beast, so she immediately took the scroll and opened it to read it.

A few seconds later, she frowned and said, "Is this boy messing around?"

Tom heard what Momo said and, without saying a word, stayed quietly to the side. In his mind, he began to recall all the delicious food he had just eaten at Chizuru's house, and then subconsciously touched his slightly distended stomach.

Momo saw Tom's actions and said with a stern face, "Go back and tell your boss not to act rashly and not to get into danger just because he is angry."

"Yes, Lord Momo, I will go back and tell the boss right away,"

Tom replied loudly at once, and then walked away happily.

"Alas, has this boy recently become arrogant? He actually already wants to lead Konoha to victory over Sunagakure,"

Momo sighed with deep concern after Tom left.

The content of the scroll was simple, meaning to use ending the war between Konoha and Sunagakure to dispel the rumors.

Facts speak louder than words.

If Kirito could really lead Konoha to victory over Sunagakure, then it would indeed be easy to dispel the rumors that are not in his favor.

However, Momo does not want Kirito to act so rashly.

It has not been just one day or two years since Konoha managed to defeat Sunagakure. Is it really that easy to defeat Sunagakure? These ninjas living in the desert are extraordinarily resilient, and they definitely are not that easy to defeat.

Kirito is strong now, but if he is careless and belittles his enemies, he will pay the price.

Momo personally hopes that Kirito can hold back for the time being, and it's not too late to retaliate in the future when his strength has further improved.

With the strength Kirito has now shown, in a few years, his strength will definitely be able to improve greatly again. By then, no conspiracy or trick will be able to influence him, just like Lord Hashirama did in the past, suppressing all voices of disobedience with his powerful strength.

"I really hope that day comes soon."

Momo, recalling the figure that had suppressed the ninja world with just one person, couldn't help but say excitedly.

Then her face once again turned gloomy.

She had to find a way to stop the rumors that were growing more and more intense in the village.

...

The two forces of ANBU and the Police Force have already begun to operate in Konoha, and a large number of rumormongers have been arrested and imprisoned, filling the cells of the Police Force and ANBU.

Unfortunately, once a rumor spreads, it is difficult to stop it. Even if the original rumor-monger is caught, new ones will be born, and it is hard to put an end to them.

As the rumor spreads through Konoha, the version of the rumor gradually escalates.

As the protagonist, Kirito has already gone from being unwilling to give up a tail for Konoha to becoming a selfish rogue ninja.

Hokage Building, in the Hokage's office.

"Bang~"

Tsunade slammed her hand down on the desk in front of Sandaime's face, her face full of anger. "Old man, are you really going to let the rumors in the village continue like this? As Hokage, you must stand up for Kirito now, or else he will be disappointed in Konoha."

She had only just sobered up when she learned about the rumors growing more and more intense in the village, and then, after learning some of the circumstances, she immediately came to Sandaime.

In Konoha, the Hokage is the person with the most prestige. If Sandaime is willing to stand up for Kirito at this time, then the rumors, even if they cannot be stopped, will definitely not be as serious as they are now.

"Calm down, Tsunade. Of course I will not sit idly by regarding these rumors, and I will definitely personally stand up for Kirito and dispel the rumors. However, the current situation in Konoha is really very bad. You should be aware of the protest letter, right? That actually exists."

Sandaime looked at Tsunade, who was full of anger, and said with a headache.

"So what? Right now, Kirito's situation is the top priority. If Kirito continues to be slandered by those disgusting people in the village, it will not only make Kirito disappointed in Konoha, but also make those compatriots who are fighting bloodily with the enemy on the battlefield disappointed in Konoha.

If those comrades on the battlefield are disappointed in Konoha, do you think Konoha is likely to withstand the pressure from other ninja villages? Can't you tell the difference between what's important and what's not?"

Tsunade didn't listen to Sandaime's complaints and continued to let Sandaime take the lead in dealing with the difficulties encountered by Kirito.

She knew her teacher's character too well. Ever since he became Hokage, he had become more and more adept at smoothing things over. If she didn't take advantage of the situation and let Sandaime deal with the rumors now, Sandaime would definitely put it off for a few days, or even a few weeks, before taking action.

Because Kirito's reputation meant nothing to Sandaime, it was actually in Sandaime's best interest to let the rumors continue to spread.

For Sandaime, catching the spies who spread the rumors was more urgent than clearing Kirito's name.

There was no doubt that the reason the rumor had spread so quickly was that, in addition to the cooperation and fueling of certain internal scumbags, the spies of other ninja villages hidden in the village also contributed greatly.

Therefore, this rumor was a good opportunity to catch spies from other ninja villages.

However, in Tsunade's opinion, if Sandaime chose to do so, it would be a total loss for the greater good.

Kirito is now a hero of Konoha. If Konoha did such an unjust thing to Kirito, it would not only break Kirito's heart, but also the hearts of the soldiers on the battlefield.

It is intolerable for any ninja from Konoha who has risked their lives for Konoha to have their reputation destroyed because of a rumor.

Sandaime heard what Tsunade said and fell silent, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Of course he understood what Tsunade was saying.

But if he really did what Tsunade said and came forward to endorse Kirito now, what would the Sarutobi clan behind him think of him?

Regardless of whether or not the Sarutobi clan had lost control, their support was very important for him to become Hokage.

"Sensei, don't hesitate anymore. Could it be that the Sarutobi clan is really behind these rumors?"

Tsunade saw that Sandaime was still hesitating, and coldly questioned him, staring him dead in the eyes.

"Shut up, do you know what you're saying?"

Upon hearing this, Sandaime suddenly became angry and shouted.

"Then what are you hesitating about, teacher? As the head of the Sarutobi clan, endorsing Kirito will not only clear the suspicion that the Sarutobi clan is behind the rumors, but will also show the world that you are not afraid of the rumors, and that you have the confidence in Kirito."

Tsunade was ready to go all out, arguing back on the spot, not giving in.

Sandaime saw this and stared at Tsunade, pointing a trembling finger at her before his face revealed deep fatigue.

His son was disobedient, and now his beloved little cotton-padded jacket was also disobedient.

Nothing was going his way.

For a moment, Sandaime felt so miserable that he wanted to destroy everything.

He was really tired right now.

It's really hard for him to be the Hokage.

"Sensei, a mistake is a mistake. If you blindly condone mistakes, they will only cause more and more evil consequences. Danzo has already paid the price for his mistake. I don't want you to do the same. Let this be the end of it. I beg you,"

Tsunade sighed as she saw Sandaime's exhaustion and couldn't bear to see him like this.

"I know. You can go now,"

Sandaime looked at Tsunade and nodded as he looked into her eyes, which contained disappointment and pain.

Tsunade did not leave, and looked at Sandaime without saying a word.

She would not leave until she got an accurate answer from Sandaime.

Sandaime felt a pang of pain in his heart when he saw this. Of course he understood what Tsunade meant, but he did not expect Tsunade's distrust of him to have reached such a level.

The next moment, he formed a seal and created a shadow clone.

Fine, let him put an end to this rumor himself.

Little Cotton-Padded Jacket is right, mistakes should not be tolerated again and again. The Sarutobi clan really needs to be cleaned up and a major overhaul is needed.

"Sandaime-sama, an urgent secret letter,"

suddenly, an ANBU ninja wearing a dog-headed mask appeared and said to Sandaime in a hurry.

Sandaime immediately took the secret letter handed over by the ANBU ninja. He did not avoid Tsunade, opened the scroll in front of her, and then his face changed dramatically, shouting, "Pass my order: immediately deploy an additional 2,000 ninja to the border of the Land of Rain to standby."

"Huh?"

The ANBU ninja obeyed the order and then used the technique of instant transformation to disappear.

"Teacher, what's going on?"

Tsunade saw the worried and heavy expression on Sandaime's face, and that he had even dispatched additional troops to the border with the Land of Rain for support. She too realized that something major had happened, and her expression could not help but become grave as she inquired,

"Kumogakure has invaded the Land of Rain."

Sandaime took a deep breath before answering.

"What!"

Tsunade was suddenly shocked, and then her face revealed a thoughtful expression as she began to consider the reasons why Kumogakure had invaded the Land of Rain.

However, she lacked sufficient information to speculate why Kumogakure had suddenly invaded the Land of Rain.

Regardless, the invasion of the Land of Rain was definitely not good news for Konoha, as the Land of Rain was connected to Konoha, and the route for Kumogakure's invasion of the Land of Rain was close to the Land of Fire.

Furthermore, from a superficial strength perspective, Amegakure was simply no match for Kumogakure, and defeat was only a matter of time.

Once Kumogakure defeats Amegakure, who will be its next target?

As soon as she thought this, Tsunade immediately thought of the protest letter. She reasoned in her heart, "Kumogakure's ultimate goal will be Konoha. Invading the Land of Rain is to prepare for invading the Land of Fire."

"Tsunade, Kumogakure is coming in a hurry. Their invasion of the Land of Rain at this time is definitely no simple matter. I guess they want to boost morale by defeating Amegakure, and then attack our Konoha. Even the invasion of the Land of Rain is just a pretext, just to use it as a way to invade the Land of Fire. Our defenses along the border with the Land of Rain are relatively weak at the moment. I hope you can leave immediately to provide support, and tell Jiraiya to come back immediately."

Before Tsunade could voice her own deductions, Sandaime gave her a serious order.

Tsunade knew the gravity of the situation. Without hesitation, she resolutely agreed, but instead of leaving immediately, she looked at Sandaime's shadow clone.

"Do it right away. I'll take care of the rumors,"

Sandaime said with a cold face.

As soon as he finished speaking, he told the shadow clone to leave.

Tsunade saw Sandaime's shadow clone leave, and she had no reason to stay, so she quickly left the Hokage Building and headed in the direction of the hospital.

Before leaving Konoha, she still needed to take care of some matters.

At the same time, news of Kumogakure's invasion of the Land of Rain spread rapidly through Konoha, temporarily silencing the rumors that had been the strongest topic of conversation in Konoha.

Many people gloated over this, but some were deeply worried.

Konoha, underground, the new Root headquarters, the leader's office.

Homura Mitokado, Utatane Koharu, and Sarutobi Takashi gathered here.

At this time, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu both had anxious expressions on their faces, worried about Kumogakure's invasion of the Land of Rain.

As advisers to the Hokage, their sense of war was naturally extraordinary. Upon hearing the news, they quickly realized that Kumogakure's invasion of the Land of Rain was likely to be a feint, and that it was most likely an attempt to attack Konoha with a major victory.

"The rumors must be stopped as soon as possible."

Homura Mitokado broke the silence, looking at Sarutobi Takashi with piercing eyes.

"Yes, Sunagakure is now in pain after being beaten by Konoha and will not dare to take any rash actions for the time being. To resist the invasion of Kumogakure, they must deploy their troops back."

Utatane Koharu seconded the motion, stating her reasons.

Neither of them is blind or deaf. This time, when the rumor appeared, they would never believe that it had nothing to do with the Sarutobi clan. And the only person who could hide these little tricks from Sandaime behind his back was Sarutobi Takashi, the ANBU Chief.

In order to obtain the inheritance left by Danzo, they secretly contacted Sarutobi Takashi at the beginning, and as a result, they very successfully gained the support of Sarutobi Takashi, whose interests were very much aligned with theirs. Then they began to secretly try to make contact with the old Root.

It was precisely because Sarutobi Takashi was covering for them that the New Root was able to secretly contact the Old Root without Sandaime knowing anything about it.

Sarutobi Takashi didn't answer, just staring coldly at the two of them.

"Kirito Tosaka is now the main force in the battlefield. If he doesn't work hard, it will cause huge losses to Konoha. It's unwise to offend him now."

Homura Mitokado saw that Sarutobi Takashi wasn't answering and explained.

War is war, and infighting is infighting. Once war breaks out, infighting should be put to an end for the time being. That is the wisest choice.

"Our war with the Sunagakure has not yet ended. I think it would be a good idea to let Kirito Tosaka continue to stay on the battlefield on the Land of Wind side. With him there, I'm sure the Sunagakure won't dare to make any rash moves. At this time, we can completely bring Orochimaru and the other elites back."

Sarutobi Takashi disagreed with Mitokado Homura's words and expressed his own thoughts.

"You cannot go against the will of the people. Kirito Tosaka now has a high reputation among the ninja troops on the front line. You cannot focus on him alone."

Utatane Koharu reminded him.

"Takashi, if you want to accomplish great things, it is foolish to go against the will of the people. Also, don't forget the lesson of Danzo,"

Homura Mitokado then reminded.

The two of them are now considered to be in the same boat as Sarutobi Takashi, and they will both benefit and lose together, so they don't want to see Sarutobi Takashi be a bad teammate.

Where there are footsteps, there are bound to be traces.

Sooner or later, the people of the Senju clan will find out the ins and outs of this rumor. If Sarutobi Takashi doesn't stop soon, he will only leave more traces, allowing the Senju clan to discover the truth even faster.

Sarutobi Takashi may not be afraid of the Senju clan's beheading tactics, but the two old guys are afraid.

Their joint research with the old Roots on the Sharingan and Wood Release has just begun, and they have not yet gained enough power to contend with the Senju clan. For now, it is enough to slightly use rumors to smear the reputation of Kirito Tosaka.

You should quit when it's time to quit.

Sarutobi Takashi is not a fool, he is just a little unwilling to give up on his revenge against the Senju clan.

But in the end, he took the words of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to heart, and his cold expression loosened. He nodded and said, "I know what to do. By the way, if our Konoha does really break out in a war with Kumogakure this time, I want the Uchiha clan to be the main force. What do you think?"

"Of course not."

"You're playing with fire."

The next moment, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu objected one after the other.

Are you kidding? Putting the Uchiha clan on the battlefield?

The last time the Sandaime allowed the Uchiha clan to go to war, the result was that the Uchiha clan lost a group of lower and middle ninjas, and then gained more than 20 ninjas with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, further strengthening the power of the Uchiha clan.

"Hmph, aren't we researching Sharingan and Wood Release right now? If we don't send those arrogant Uchiha ninjas to the battlefield, where will we get so many test subjects and Sharingan? If you keep second-guessing yourself like this, I'm afraid it will be a long time before you can achieve success in your research."

Sarutobi Takashi sarcastically remarked, seeing that the two men had so many objections.

These two old guys are really ridiculous, both eager to obtain the power of the Uchiha clan and afraid of it at the same time. No wonder Danzo looks down on these two old guys.

"That's because you don't understand the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. You're still young, and it's good to have drive, but you must never underestimate the Uchiha clan. We're currently at odds with the Senju clan, and we can't let the Uchiha clan take advantage of that."

Homura Mitokado ignored Sarutobi Takashi's provocation and calmly explained.

"Not necessarily."

Sarutobi Takashi sneered, then clapped his hands.

The next moment, a ninja wearing a tengu mask walked out of the darkness.

At the same time, a pair of peculiar Sharingan lit up in the darkness.

When Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu saw this ninja and his eyes, their faces suddenly changed. They immediately looked away and stood up, then drew their weapons and entered combat mode.

But as soon as they stood up, they realized they had been tricked by illusions.

Sarutobi Takashi watched the two of them fall into the daze of the illusions, and a deep mocking look appeared on his face.

A moment later, he used the Earthen Illusory Sharingan to remove the illusion from the two.

At this point, both Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu sat back down, sweating profusely, and looked in horror at the Earthen Illusory Sharingan behind Sarutobi Takashi.

"What do you two think of my proposal?"

Sarutobi Takashi asked the two impassively.