Konoha: Sage Body

"It's you!"

Tsunade stared in surprise as she got a good look at the person.

Jiraiya also got a good look at the person at this time, and his face showed an expression of grave concern as he coldly said, "Hattori Masanari, this is Konoha army camp. If you dare to cause trouble, the enemy you Amegakure will face will not just be Kumogakure."

The person was none other than Kirito's White Zetsu clone playing the role of Amegakure's horse soldier, Hattori Masanari.

"Don't be nervous, I have no intention of fighting you, and I have no intention of becoming enemies with you, Konoha."

Kirito raised his hands in the air to show that he meant no harm, and he smiled.

Tsunade and Jiraiya heard what Kirito said, but they didn't really believe the other party's words, because the person in front of them was already an undeniable Kage-Level powerhouse. Although their strength was already close to the Kage-Level, they were only just approaching it.

If they really fought, even if they teamed up, they would probably lose more than they would win. After all, this Ame-Nin was the person who could lead a small number of ninja to cause havoc in Kumogakure and get away with it unscathed. That battle was shocking.

Their Konoha spies in Kumogakure have already reported the details of that battle to Konoha, and the conclusion is that Hattori Masanari is an extraordinary Kage level, who is personally proficient in both earth and water techniques, and has also mastered Iwagakure's S-rank ninjutsu, Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique. He can fly and walk on the ground, and ninjas who can't fly will just get beaten up if they face him.

Neither she nor Jiraiya can fly, so they will be at a disadvantage against this man.

Fortunately, in this small space, the two of them still have a chance of victory. Once they are outside, their chances of victory will tend towards zero.

What's even more terrifying is that this man can use the Earth Release: Golem technique to create a rock giant with super-strong defenses. Combined with the Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique, the rock giant's weakness of being bulky will be greatly reduced, which is absolutely a super powerful weapon on the battlefield.

During the recent war between Amegakure and Kumogakure, this Amegakure used these two Earth Release jutsu to wreak havoc on the battlefield many times. If it weren't for Kumogakure's Sandaime Raikage, who had been specifically dispatched to keep an eye on him and who mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he could have stopped thousands of Kumogakure ninjas single-handedly.

The new guardian deity of the Land of Rain, this is Hattori Masanari's new name in the Land of Rain and even the ninja world.

At one point, she had fought this person before, and they had traded blows fairly evenly. It had only been a year or two since they last met, but she didn't expect this person's strength to have improved so rapidly to the point where they were now on equal footing. She thought that this person had been hiding their strength when they fought her back then.

However, the pressure this person was giving her now was indeed much stronger than back then, giving her a feeling of being faced with Hanzo of the Salamander back then.

Kirito saw that the two were still maintaining a high level of vigilance towards him, so he simply sat down on the ground and took out a jug of good wine.

The bottle cap was opened, and a strong, refreshing aroma of wine spread from the exquisite white porcelain bottle, causing the two old wine drinkers, Tsunade and Jiraiya, to drool uncontrollably. They swallowed, and their eyes subconsciously looked at the bottle of wine in Kirito's hand.

"The Yukihira wine from the Land of Thunder is a recent trophy I obtained from Kumogakure. You two might as well give it a try,"

Kirito shook the bottle in his hand and introduced it.

Afterwards, he took out three white porcelain wine glasses from his body again, poured himself a glass first, then gulped it down, poured a glass for Tsunade and Jiraiya respectively, and finally threw the two wine glasses at Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Tsunade and Jiraiya caught the wine glasses firmly with quick eyes and nimble hands, and did not let the wine inside spill, fully demonstrating the depth of their hands-on skills.

After catching the wine glasses, Tsunade did not hesitate. She drank the wine in the glass directly, and then her eyes lit up, and she praised, "It really is good wine."

"Good, the princess of Konoha is truly a heroine among women, and this bottle is yours."

Kirito praised, seeing that Tsunade had so bravely drunk the wine he had sent her, and then presented the Yukihira wine in his hand.

His current identity was not Kirito Tosaka, but Hattori Masanari of Amegakure. Logically speaking, he was now considered an enemy of Konoha, because he had barged into the Konoha military camp at night and arrived in an inappropriate manner.

Therefore, if he were a normal person, even if he had already drunk the wine in front of the two of them, he would probably not drink it.

It was not that he was worried that the wine was poisoned, but that he did not want to give the face of an uninvited guest.

However, Tsunade had now given it to him, which made him very happy.

When Kirito saw that Tsunade had given her the wine, she didn't need to be polite and accepted it with grace. Then she sent him off without any courtesy: "The wine has been drunk, so I've given you enough face. Now please leave, we don't welcome people who sneak up on us here."

"You're right, Hattori Masanari, this is the Konoha army barracks, not just anyone can come in casually. I know you're extremely powerful and not afraid of us, but if you came in this way, we in Konoha don't welcome you,"

Jiraiya agreed, and then drank the wine in his cup.

"I'm really sorry. I know that it was inappropriate for me to come here uninvited this time, but our Amegakure is currently surrounded by people from Kumogakure, and the situation is very critical. My whereabouts absolutely cannot be exposed, otherwise, once Kumogakure knows that I have left Amegakure, they will definitely immediately launch another attack on Amegakure.

So please forgive my impudence, Princess of Konoha, I can only sneak over to see you like this."

Kirito did not look at Jiraiya, but instead gave a apologetic expression to Tsunade, and smiled bitterly.

The two of them heard Kirito say this and fell silent, their moods beginning to grow heavy.

They were both well aware of the current situation in Amegakure, and it was indeed very dire. Even after hearing that Amegakure had received a group of unidentified reinforcements and had crushed Kumogakure's intention to take the village in one fell swoop, the situation was still very critical.

According to their Konoha Byakugan ninja statistics, the number of ninja left in Amegakure was less than 4,000, and more than 80% of them were shinobi.

It can be said that if Amegakure does not receive reinforcements in time on this occasion, even if Hanzo of the Salamander and Hattori Masanari defend Amegakure to the death, the result will only be Amegakure's defeat.

There is no way around it. Amegakure is no match for Kumogakure in terms of either the number of ninja or the number of strong individuals. Under normal circumstances, there is simply no chance of victory.

Hattori Masanari's surprise attack on Kumogakure was a risky move. Although the attack was successful, Kumogakure did not play by the rules and still launched a major attack on Amegakure, without sending reinforcements.

Hattori Masanari's strength was indeed formidable, but he was obviously not yet powerful enough to single-handedly attack the heart of Kumogakure. Once Kumogakure had taken precautions, it was no longer possible to launch surprise attacks on them and cause them heavy losses, as they had before.

"Even so, please forgive me for not being able to meet with you like this. We in Konoha have rules. As the frontline commander here, I must set an example and cannot take the lead in breaking the military regulations. Please leave immediately."

Tsunade sympathized with the situation of Amegakure, but she was, after all, a Konoha ninja, and she could not let Hattori Masanari off the hook just because of sympathy. At most, she would help him cover up his whereabouts, and that was it. She decisively sent her guest away again.

Jiraiya praised Tsunade's decision in his heart.

At the same time, he quietly absorbed natural energy, ready to use his summoning techniques at any time to call upon the help of the two Mt. Myōboku ninjas, Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, and then activate Sage Mode in case Hattori Masanari became enraged and suddenly attacked them.

Once Sage Mode is successfully activated, he will be a Kage level combatant. Coupled with the help of Tsunade and the large number of Konoha ninja in the army, he is not afraid of defeating and running away from the Ame-Nin in front of him.

"If possible, I don't want to be your enemy, so please leave now,"

Jiraiya said.

To be honest, he both admires and is extremely vigilant towards Hattori Masanari.

The reason for his admiration is that this person has brought good times to the Land of Rain. Since he came to power, the post-war reconstruction of the Land of Rain has been repairing the scars brought by the war at a rocket-like speed.

He has witnessed the changes in the Land of Rain during the days he took care of the three people, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

In just over a year, the people of the Land of Rain had gone from being displaced to being able to eat one or two full meals a day. They had also built many roads and bridges, as well as public facilities such as schools, hospitals, and orphanages.

Not only that, but he had also led Ame-Nin in specifically eliminating the local bandits and various forces of evil in the Land of Rain, greatly improving the security environment and laying a solid foundation for the Land of Rain to successfully attract merchants from various countries to invest in the country.

In short, thanks to his series of reform policies, the people of the Land of Rain began to live a good life.

If it weren't for Kumogakure suddenly coming over to cause havoc, the people of the Land of Rain would have been able to enjoy an even better life.

Therefore, he admired Hattori Masanari, admired his ability to greatly improve the lives of the people of the Land of Rain after the war in such a short period of time, and change the fate of many people who could have starved to death or died of disease.

The reason he was wary of this person was because this person had written a book called The Will of Rain.

He has read the book in detail and personally believes that it is a good book that can change the mental outlook of the people of the Land of Rain. This is indeed the case. The book clearly explains the various problems in the Land of Rain and the reasons for their occurrence, as well as providing solutions.

Thanks to the emergence of this book, the people of the Land of Rain, who were already guaranteed food and clothing, began to have a unified mindset. Many young people who had suffered from the pain of war even had a goal to work towards because of it, and they all embarked on the path to a powerful Land of Rain.

This is evident from the three students he taught.

Since the three students read this book by accident, they have all expressed their desire to contribute to the powerful Land of Rain when they grow up. In particular, Yahiko, who is the most radical in his thinking, regards Hattori Masanari, who will bring good times to the Land of Rain, as an idol and wants to join the Abyss Organization founded by Hattori Masanari in the future.

Jiraiya, as an outsider, naturally has no opinion on Hattori Masanari publishing this book to arm the minds of the citizens of the Land of Rain. However, as an insightful Konoha ninja, he sees Hattori Masanari's ambition in this book.

The book "Will of Rain" clearly states that the reason the Land of Rain has suffered so much is due to oppression from the surrounding major powers. The only way to solve this problem is to strengthen oneself.

Although the book does not say that the Land of Rain will do this after it becomes strong, he does not think that the Land of Rain will behave itself after it becomes strong, because he can see from Hattori Masanari's series of reforms of people's livelihood, the economy and ideology that this is a man with great ambitions.

And because Hattori Masanari has brought tangible benefits to the Land of Rain, he has high prestige and support among the people, and has obviously surpassed Hanzo of the Salamander, who has brought disaster and war to the Land of Rain.

If it weren't for Kumogakure's unexpected interference, in a few years, the Land of Rain would be Hattori Masanari's world.

At that time, what would this ambitious Ame-Nin do?

All he can see is war.

He is certain that this Ame-Nin will definitely start a war in the future in order to break the predicament of the Land of Rain and make it stronger, and he will likely challenge the great ninja villages like Konoha just like Hanzo of the Salamander.

Therefore, he was extremely wary of Hattori Masanari.

He wanted peace in the Land of Rain, but also hoped that the Land of Rain would not actively break the peace and bring war to the ninja world.

"Can you let me finish my sentence before I leave?"

Kirito said with a slight headache as he saw that Tsunade and Jiraiya were still insisting that he leave.

Of course, he knew that the reason they were saying this was just a polite excuse, and the real reason was that they didn't want Konoha to get involved in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure.

Amegakure was in a precarious situation under the attack of Kumogakure, and he knew exactly why he had come at this late hour, but they both tacitly didn't want him to say anything.

Of course, if they weren't intimidated by his strength, they would have beaten him out of there a long time ago.

"Sorry, I received orders to protect the border,"

Tsunade shook her head.

"Then I'll be going,"

Kirito sighed, disappointed, and turned to leave, quickly disappearing into the ground.

Tsunade had made her words very clear; it was inappropriate for him to continue to hang around, not to mention the fact that there was an eyesore here.

As soon as Kirito left, Jiraiya immediately called one of the Hyuga branch jōnin outside and asked him to use Byakugan to see if Kirito had really left.

The other ninjas in the Konoha military camp were naturally not vegetarians. There were many outstanding perception-type ninjas here. He had just revealed his whereabouts and was immediately discovered by some perception-type ninjas.

In the short time it took Kirito to speak with Tsunade and Jiraiya, more than ten elite jōnin from various Konoha clans had gathered outside. They were waiting for Jiraiya and Tsunade to give the signal to attack, and they would immediately launch a pincer attack on Kirito.

"He has indeed left,"

the Hyūga jōnin replied, carefully using Byakugan to scan the area within a four-kilometre radius. His nerves had finally eased.

As the saying goes, "A person's fame casts a long shadow."

Hattori Masanari's sudden appearance in their camp terrified them, because they knew that there was no Konoha Kage-Level powerhouse here to protect them. If Hattori Masanari caused trouble here, they would have to make a huge sacrifice to get rid of this great god.

"You've worked hard, you can go now,"

Jiraiya ordered, relieved.

The Hyuga ninja took his leave.

"It seems that Amegakure really can't hold on anymore, otherwise he wouldn't be so eager to come here so late to ask for our Konoha support,"

Once the Hyuga ninja left, Jiraiya said with a heavy heart.

Once Amegakure is completely defeated by Kumogakure, the people of the Land of Rain will lose the power to protect them, and their lives will definitely become even more difficult. This is the last thing he wants to see.

But there is nothing he can do to stop it. He is only a deputy commander in this military camp, and has no right to mobilize the army to go and support Amegakure without authorization.

What's more, Sandaime sent an order not long ago, telling them not to make any rash moves.

Because Konoha is now finally seeing hope for peace, Sandaime doesn't want to fight Kumogakure again, even though Kumogakure obviously has ill intentions towards Konoha. But before Kumogakure actually takes action against Konoha, he doesn't want to take the initiative to destroy this hope.

"Everyone has their own difficulties. Our Konoha is currently preoccupied with its own affairs, and has no spare capacity to support Amegakure. I'm tired, so you should go home and get some rest early,"

Tsunade said casually, then decisively sent her guest away.

Jiraiya had been thinking of staying behind to share the fine wine that Kirito had given to Tsunade with her, and then hoping for something good to happen, but under Tsunade's murderous, icy gaze, he still left with a smirk on his face.

However, as soon as Jiraiya had walked out of Tsunade's room, the smirk on his face instantly disappeared, and then he went to a nearby shadow, summoned a toad using his summoning technique, and then hid his entire body inside the toad.

Hattori Masanari had just avoided the intrusion of such an outstanding perception-type ninja in the barracks into Tsunade's room. It can be seen that his ability to hide is terrifying, and he might appear again.

Therefore, he is not at ease with Tsunade's safety right now and plans to stay here all night.

"That idiot Jiraiya."

In the room, Tsunade saw a toad appear outside through the window, and it immediately became clear that Jiraiya had not left either.

She then closed the window and opened the bottle of wine that Kirito had given her. She poured herself a glass from the white porcelain cup that Kirito had left behind, her face showing a pained expression.

In fact, her heart was inclined to let Konoha come to the aid of Amegakure.

Because she could see that Kumogakure's real target was Konoha, she didn't want to wait until Kumogakure had digested the fruit of victory from defeating Amegakure before fighting them again. Instead, she wanted to take the opportunity to strike first and join forces with Amegakure to drive Kumogakure back to its homeland.

She believes that as long as Konoha and Amegakure join forces, they will definitely succeed.

Unfortunately, she is not the Hokage, and the village does not want to provoke Kumogakure, their arch enemy, again.

When she was in charge of Konoha Hospital, she knew that most people in Konoha were tired of war and longed for peace. Even the extreme militant ninja wanted to catch a break and live a few peaceful days.

Therefore, in her opinion, Kirito's initiative to start a war when Konoha was negotiating peace with Sunagakure was a very dangerous thing to do. Fortunately, they won, and it was a resounding victory. Otherwise, Kirito would never be able to set foot in Konoha again.

The public opinion would make it impossible for Kirito to do anything in Konoha in the future.

However, is it right to fear war just because you long for peace?

"If I were the Hokage..."

Tsunade muttered as she looked at the clear liquid in her cup.

The next moment, a voice suddenly appeared in her mind: "It would be great if you really were the Hokage."