Shiraishi and the others jumped down from the Water Dragon God's body and kept looking at Nagato's back.
"You are Akatsuki's Nagato, right? Madara is dead. Maybe we can have an honest talk now."
Shiraishi was the first to break the silence and spoke to Nagato.
Facing Shiraishi's invitation, Nagato did not respond with words.
He stood there and pondered for a moment, then suddenly started running forward, seemingly not wanting to negotiate with Shiraishi at all.
Seeing Nagato leaving without saying a word, Shiraishi and the others didn't think much and immediately took steps to catch up.
If peaceful negotiation is not possible, coercion by force is also a method, and it is the most direct and effective method, which can save some unnecessary trouble.
"Shinra Tenzheng!"
Nagato's extremely calm voice spread through the air.
The surrounding air was highly distorted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Shiraishi and the others immediately felt that they were blocked by an invisible wall and were unable to move forward. Immediately afterwards, their bodies were pushed backwards due to the sudden repulsive force. He retreated sharply, and the surroundings were filled with sand and dust.
When the three of them turned to look again, Nagato's figure had gone away and turned into a black dot in their field of vision.
"Chase!"
Shiraishi didn't say anything more and chased in the direction of Nagato's movement.
Although the biggest threat in the plan has been eliminated, the problem of the Samsara Eye cannot be left alone.
The true potential of those eyes was still unknown to Shiraishi.
Nagato ran forward with all his heart, but he also noticed that Shiraishi and the other three were chasing him closely behind.
Rather than him as a person, these three people were probably more concerned about the reincarnation eyes he possessed.
Once this legendary power is noticed by others, it will attract the covetousness of ambitious people from all walks of life.
"Nagato-sama, I don't recommend that you fight with them now. Even if you have inspired new power within your body, it may be possible to deal with two people, but three people are really too much for you now."
Hei Jue's voice rang in his ears, and he didn't know when he had arrived beside him.
Black Zetsu, who is integrated with the earth and trees and can move freely in any environment, moves much faster than White Zetsu.
He was worried that Nagato would gain new strength and expand, and fight against the three Shiraishi people behind him.
From Hei Jue's point of view, that was a very dangerous thing.
"Don't worry, I have no such plan." Nagato's tone remained unchanged, and he had his own plan: "I urgently need to find a quiet place now to let my body adapt to the new power. Whether it is the ability of the Samsara Eye, The abilities of the Wood Escape and the Uzumaki clan will all take a long time to sort out."
And this adaptation process may take one to two years to fully adapt and grasp the sudden extra power in the body.
Leaving aside the Samsara Eye, he needs to learn the secret techniques of Wood Release and the Uzumaki clan from scratch.
Fighting against a powerful enemy in such an unskilled state is extremely dangerous.
"That's right, there's no need to argue over time. As long as you completely channel the power of the Samsara Eye, within a few years, even these three people will be able to compete and even suppress the three of them."
Black Zetsu agreed with Nagato's statement and was loyal and thinking about Nagato.
With Nagato's current level of development of the Rinnegan, including the development of the abilities of the Wood Release and the Uzumaki clan, it is impossible for him to be an opponent of the Shiraishi trio.
Just suppressing one of them is very difficult.
The three of them will definitely lose if they join forces.
"How is Xiaonan?"
"Please rest assured, Nagato-sama, Xiaonan has been transferred to another stronghold in advance and is safe now."
"Take me there."
"Yes, before that, I'll send these three guys away first. It's not an option to keep them chasing after us."
Black Zetsu planned to take matters into his own hands, dragging Shiraishi and the others down by himself to buy time for Nagato to escape from here.
"No need, I'm in a hurry now, and there happens to be a move that is very suitable for this situation. I want to try the power of this sealing technique."
Under Black Zetsu's surprised gaze, Nagato suddenly closed his hands, and a large amount of chakra began to gather towards his palms. Then the two palms opened a distance, and a black finger-sized finger appeared between the two palms. Eye-catching little ball.
"this is!?"
The surprise and shock in Black Zetsu's eyes were even worse, as if he was marveling at Nagato's power at this moment.
"Go ahead."
Nagato muttered softly, and the small black ball as big as a finger quickly flew away from Nagato's front and flew towards the sky.
"Earth Explosion Sky Star!"
The Shiraishi trio, who were chasing after Nagato, suddenly felt a strong suction force acting around their bodies. Their bodies were stagnant and they could not move forward one step further.
The body flew unnaturally towards the small black ball floating in the sky. The surrounding ground cracked inch by inch, and countless rubbles also flew with Shiraishi and the others.
The attractive force on the black ball is getting more and more terrifying, and the stones it attracts are getting bigger and bigger.
In just ten seconds, a huge stone ball was made, suspended in the sky, and slowly flew higher into the sky.
Boom!
Something sounded coming from inside the stone ball.
A large piece of incomplete stone suddenly protruded from the surface of the huge, neatly shaped stone ball and fell toward the ground.
Accompanied by a more violent explosion, the fire rushed into the sky and dust rose. In the gap of the huge stone ball, the blood-red chakra giant loomed in the smoke, shrouding the three people in Shiraishi, standing upside down. At the bottom of the stone ball.
Then, the blood-red giant sword swung around, slashing at the stone balls crazily. Stones fell one after another. The attraction on the bodies of the three people became smaller and smaller, and the stone balls trembled violently upon impact.
Boom!
The stone ball completely shattered, and the blood-red giant fell to the ground. During the fall, it turned over and landed firmly on the ground, causing terrifying air waves to spread out in all directions, overwhelming a forest.
"The chakra reaction disappeared, probably because of the trick of the guy with the dark body."
Ayane looked around with her white eyes, but did not notice Nagato's figure.
"There is no such thing as that guy in the intelligence. This is the first time I have met him. It seems that he has excellent hiding ability."
Shiraishi frowned, feeling that things were getting tricky.
Unexpectedly, there are scouts under Madara's command who are more capable of lurking than Bai Zetsu.
"The shape looks very similar to Bai Jue's. What should we do next? Do we want to continue to catch up?"
Ayane carried Madara's body. She knew that if she continued to search now, the possibility of finding Nagato was unlikely.
Shiraishi pressed his numb neck and said, "Since the opponent has such a powerful latent ability, there is little point in continuing to look for him. Go back. Anyway, the most important goal has been completed."
Moreover, the way Nagato looked, he knew there was no room for negotiation.
At least for now, it is impossible to negotiate with him.
"Should the Samsara Eye be left alone?"
Liuli frowned. She believed that the young reincarnation eye was more threatening than the aging Madara.
"If you can't find it, you can't help it. And..." Bai Shi raised his head, looked at Bai Yuankong, who turned over the fish belly, and said: "As long as the relationship between him and the Kingdom of Rain is not interrupted, his footprints can always be found in that country. "
"Yeah, I didn't expect that the demigods would end up like that. Now the Country of Rain and the Hidden Rain Village have become riddled with holes."
Liuli sighed.
Indeed, as Shiraishi said, as long as the relationship between Akatsuki and the Land of Rain is not severed, waiting there is still a solution.
In many towns in that country, including Amegakure Village, there are military spies from the Kingdom of Demons.
"There is nothing we can do about the poor geographical location. The three neighboring big countries need these small countries to stabilize the domestic situation. This has nothing to do with justice or evil, it is just a need for survival. There is no peace in this world, only the survival of the strong and the weak. From this point In fact, I am not completely sure that I can convince the guy with the Samsara Eye, because I am a firm non-pacifist. And Akatsuki's concept of peace is already deeply ingrained."
This is true no matter what era it is in. Countries are either in the stage of war or in the stage of preparation for war.
In a sense, he, Madara, and Nagato are opposites who cannot convince each other.
Even the negotiation just mentioned was, to some extent, based on the idea of using violence to make the other party submit when it cannot be persuaded.
Therefore, even heart-to-heart communication may not be able to change the other party's idea of peace.
This ninja world has always been like this. Only those with strength can achieve peace, while those who are weak can only be ravaged by others.
As a small country that lives in the cracks between big powers, there is no more symbolic example of a weak country than the Country of Rain.
Suffering from the devastation of three ninja wars, the only guardian god of the Land of Rain, the leader of the demigods of Rain Hidden, died in the battlefield. The system of the Rain Hidden Village was almost collapsed, and the new leader, Kanzo, surrendered to Konoha.
The Rain Country will become a satellite of the Fire Country, and the Rain Hidden Village will become the target of Konoha's exploitation.
You can imagine the direction in which the secret techniques and research data of Yuyin Village will eventually flow.
"Let's go, only the Water Country side needs to be taken care of. Looking at the progress there, that guy Yagura will launch a coup within the next two years. We must be prepared to welcome allies."
Kirigakure Village is the nail that breaks into the internal systems of the five major countries, and this move is particularly important.
"Is there no need to control Konoha? Do you want me to go over and add two more fires to make them fight more intensely?"
Ayane played with a kunai in her hand and licked her pink tongue.
"Don't worry about that. The demigod is dead, and the Country of Rain has completely become a vassal of the Country of Fire. The Rinnegan Eye will definitely not be indifferent, and will definitely use some means to take back the power of the Rain Hidden Village, and Konoha Either overtly or covertly."
After the Great Ninja War, it would not be a bad thing for Konoha to be mired in the Rain Country. A light flashed in Shiraishi's eyes.
◎
The War in the Land of Rain ended with Konoha's victory.
When Sunagakure besieged Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure Village, the Konoha troops belonging to Konoha's Orochimaru gave up supporting the Amegakure troops and instead advanced in a roundabout way to attack Sunagakure's base camp in the Land of Rain, resulting in the loss of thousands of Sunagakure soldiers guarding the camp. The entire Yin Ninja army was wiped out, and all supplies were either moved away or burned to the ground, with no one left.
In order to wipe out Hanzo's Amegakure forces, Sunagakure also paid the price of nearly two thousand ninjas, who died on the battlefield against Hanzo.
The 7,000 Sunagakure ninjas gathered on the battlefield in the Land of Rain suddenly dropped by 3,000. On the other hand, Konoha achieved nearly ten times the results at the cost of hundreds of ninja sacrifices.
These hundreds of people died while attacking the Sunagakure camp.
Moreover, Kanzo, the new leader of Amegakure Village, officially submitted documents of surrender to Konoha, expressing his willingness to lead all the remaining ninjas of Amegakure Village and become Konoha's affiliated ninja village.
Yuyin Village under the rain, the center of the village.
Corpses, old and young, were all hung on the ropes connecting the towers. As long as the ninjas and villagers of Yuyin Village passing by here could clearly see the existence of these corpses.
These ninjas and villagers dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. Then they lowered their heads and walked away unable to bear the gaze.
Next to those corpses, stood four ninjas with Konoha Anbu roots. They stared with cold eyes at the ninjas and villagers of Amegakure Village walking around, trying to use these corpses to hang out the opponents among them.
On a high tower, Danzo, wearing a black coat and a bandage wrapped around the right half of his head, stood on the edge of the open-air overlooking platform, looking down at the village, and saw the corpses hanging in the center of Yuyin Village.
"In this way, everything about Hanzo will disappear from this village. After many years, there will no longer be any rumors about 'Hanzo' in this village."
"This is all the result of the good leadership of Danzo-sama and Orochimaru-sama."
Kanzo, the new leader of Yuyin Village, walked up to Danzo and spoke in a humble tone.
He was instructed by Konoha to betray his boss Hanzo and let Hanzo die at the hands of the Sunagakure ninja. After that, with the help of Konoha, he naturally became the new leader of Amegakure Village.
"Although we helped you become the leader of Yuyin Village, there are still many voices against you in this village, so be careful."
"Yes, as long as you give me five years, I can..."
"I'll give you three years at most. I don't want there to be anyone hostile to Konoha in this village after three years. If you can't do it, this village will cease to exist."
Any threat to Konoha's existence must be killed.
This is the will shared by Danzo and Anbu Gen.
"this……"
Kanzang hesitated.
"Hiruzhen has decided to expand the activities of the Roots. You know what this means, Kanzo."
Danzo's face was expressionless, and his cold eyes looked directly at Kanzo next to him.
"The Third Hokage..."
Kanzang's face darkened slightly.
He originally thought that the third generation Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen would take direct action in the affairs of Amegakure Village.
Although he had obtained the position of leader of Amegakure Village with the help of Danzo and Orochimaru, he had no desire to cooperate with these two careerists.
Kanzou felt awe-inspiring. Although the third-generation Hokage was rumored to be gentle and charitable, when it came to Konoha's interests, he didn't care about the difficult situation of Amegakure Village at all.
The Third Hokage handed over the subsequent management of Amegakure Village to Gen, and gradually increased Gen's power, which Kanzo did not expect.
"Put your little thoughts away and do your job well. Konoha will not treat you badly. If you do well, I can invite you to join Konoha on behalf of Konoha and become a jounin of Konoha."
Danzo promised.
Kanzang forced a smile and did not answer.
There is nothing wrong with his mind. He should not be the leader of Aegakure, but instead chose to be a jounin in Konoha without real power.
Although he is controlled by Konoha, as long as Danzo is not present, Amegakure Village is his one voice. It is more nourishing and freer than becoming a Jounin of Konoha.
He has already experienced the beauty of power.
How can you give up something you have acquired so easily?
"By the way, Danzo-sama, what did Sunagakure say?"
Exploration changed the topic.
"Submit the peace document. In the near future, they will no longer be able to attack Konoha."
Moreover, after this battle, Orochimaru's achievements and reputation have reached a higher level. Coupled with the achievements accumulated during the Second Ninja War, becoming the fourth Hokage is already a certainty, and it is impossible for anyone else to get involved.
Next, Orochimaru should take up an important position in the Anbu to prepare for the Fourth Hokage. Danzo was thinking about his next plan.
As the direct unit of the Hokage, the Anbu, seventy elite people were selected from the tens of thousands of ninjas in the village, and there were two ministers and deputy ministers, as well as seventeen teams, each with four people. This is the total number of ANBU.
Today, the ministers and deputy ministers of the ANBU are all ninjas from the Sarutobi clan, and they are also the sons and daughters-in-law of Hiruzen, the third Hokage. Although he is also an outstanding jounin in the village, he is completely incomparable to Orochimaru, the fourth generation Hokage candidate.
Therefore, among the positions of minister and deputy minister, the next position must be Orochimaru's. Let Orochimaru get access to the management of ANBU, establish prestige among ANBU, and then become the fourth generation Hokage, everything will fall into place.
After all, ANBU is the most powerful elite force in the hands of the Hokage. It is also the most important force in the Hokage system and must be controlled by the Hokage himself.
It is a matter of course that Orochimaru will master the ANBU next, and there will be no surprises.
And the era of growing roots will also come.
Danzo saw an incredibly bright future.
He and Orochimaru teamed up to eliminate conservative ideas and use absolute force to intimidate other countries so that they would not dare to covet Konoha.
Any minions that threaten Konoha must be cut off!
Just when Danzo was thinking about these wonderful futures, a root member suddenly appeared and knelt on one knee in front of Danzo.
"Lord Danzo, there is an urgent message from the village."
The root ninja held the letter in his hands.
Danzo didn't mind the presence of Kanzo next to him, he opened the letter and read it, his brows furrowed.
"Is Kumogakure finally unable to hold himself back? Forget it, let Orochimaru deal with it. It would be good to add another achievement."
The content of the letter is very simple. The Kumogakure ninjas are acting strangely in the Country of Yu, and there are signs of an attack on the Country of Fire.
Probably because of Konoha's performance in the Rain Kingdom battlefield, they are also worried that if they continue to wait and see, they will not be able to suppress Konoha's development.
The reputation of the Ninja Village means being recognized by the trustees of various countries in peacetime and having a more stable financial income.
Cloud Hidden Village has always wanted to compete with Konoha for the title of the strongest ninja village. Seeing the changes in the battlefield situation in the Kingdom of Rain, there is a high possibility that it will attack the Kingdom of Fire.
"Kanzo, I have to go back to Konoha now. I'll leave this place to you. Sunagakure doesn't have anything to worry about. Don't act rashly."
"Please walk slowly, Danzo-sama, and come often when you have time."
Better not to come again. Kanzang said in his heart.
The figures of Danzo and the root ninja disappeared from the overlooking platform under the cold rain.
◎
Danzo returned to Konoha and immediately went to the conference room of the Hokage Building without resting.
Kumogakure's attack let him know the seriousness of the matter and that he could not delay it any longer.
A peace document must be signed with Sunagakure as soon as possible, and then Orochimaru can take over to deal with Kumogakure's troops in Yuno Country.
In the conference room, Hokage Hiruzen, advisor Mito Kaden and Koharu Koharu are all here, and it looks like the meeting has just ended.
"You're back just in time, Danzo. We've already made a decision here."
Hiruzen put down the cigarette rod in his mouth and smiled at Danzo who hurried over.
"When will Orochimaru leave?"
Danzo nodded and asked directly when Orochimaru would send troops to Yu no Kuni.
"Well, actually we made other arrangements for Orochimaru."
There was hesitation on Hiruzen's face.
"Other arrangements?"
Hearing Hiruzen's words, Danzo raised his eyebrows and glanced at Mito Kaden and Koharu. They coughed and turned their attention elsewhere, not daring to look at Danzo.
Danzo suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. ,
"Yes, Orochimaru is a talented ninja, especially his understanding of techniques and research abilities. He is an outstanding talent in the ninja world. Therefore, we have decided that Orochimaru's next destination is to penetrate further into your roots. Develop new technologies to fundamentally enhance Konoha’s strength.”
Into the roots?
Because things turned around so drastically, Danzo didn't react for a while.
Not only were they not sent to the Kumogakure battlefield, they did not even enter the ANBU. Instead, they entered a more secretive department - the root.
Is that where a Hokage candidate comes in?
Gen's affairs are kept secret from most people in the village.
Going there means giving up your name, giving up all fame, giving up all personality, and becoming an unknown contributor in the darkness.
Orochimaru has also joined the Roots before, but as a supervisor, which is fundamentally different from joining this time.
Hidden in the snow! Danzo suddenly thought of this possibility.
Is it because his prestige is too high and he is worried that he will not be able to control Orochimaru? Danzo looked deeply at Hiruzen.
Danzo tried his best to restrain himself from being angry, and asked in a deep voice to the two advisors of Mito Kadoyan: "Do you also agree?"
"Yes, yes, although Orochimaru performed well on the battlefield of Rain Country and successfully made Sunagakure make concessions, the methods he adopted were not very fair and his allies were betrayed. This has a bad impact on the international community. .”
"Nonsense! War is not just a game. Victory is the most important thing. Orochimaru was able to make Sunagakure lose more than 3,000 ninjas at the smallest cost, which has proven his military capabilities!"
Danzo stared coldly at these two centrist friends, feeling so disappointed with them for the first time in his history.
"This... betraying an ally will always have a bad impact. We still think it's better to let Orochimaru calm down."
Koharu went to bed and expressed his opinion despite the pressure exerted by Danzo.
"You are worried that your advisor's power will be ruled out by Orochimaru."
Danzo looked directly at the two of them, his words were extremely explicit and his eyes were cold.
"Danzo, how can you say that? We have also worked conscientiously for Konoha these years."
Mito Menyan's face was gloomy, it was true that what they did was a bit unethical.
Originally, they agreed that Orochimaru would directly enter the ANBU, but when they thought about the hard-line approach of Orochimaru and Danzo, once they mastered the power of the ANBU and became Hokage, they probably would not take these two advisors seriously. .
Therefore, together with Hiruzen, Orochimaru can become the fourth generation Hokage, but the ANBU power cannot be given to Orochimaru too early.
"Yes, Orochimaru is too sharp. We are worried that ninjas from other villages will come and assassinate him."
After going to bed, Xiaochun was still quibbling over his unbearable behavior.
"If Orochimaru is assassinated so easily, it is because of his own lack of strength. But your actions may make him disappointed in the village."
There was already a hint of threat in Danzo's voice.
Seeing Danzo's tough attitude, Mito Kaden and Koharu sighed even more.
It was because these two tough martial arts factions got together that they had to let Orochimaru go to the roots to hide for a period of time.
"We are doing this for his own good. It has just passed Yi Zhi and he needs some time to calm down."
Danzo was extremely disappointed and let out a sigh of relief.
He turned to look at Hiruzen, who was smoking silently with a cigarette rod, without saying a word, and with an extremely complicated expression on his face.
While he was proud of his disciple's brilliant achievements, he was also wary of his disciple Orochimaru's prestige in the village at the moment. It was precisely because of these two intertwined emotions that he felt complicated.
"Hiruzen, are you really going to do this?"
"There is no way. Orochimaru betrayed Amegakure, and he must give Amegakure an explanation. The first generation's will is to value peace. This is the correct way to manage the village. Orochimaru lacks this talent. I hope he can I understand the essence of the first generation’s will. Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving the future of the village to him.”
Danzo calmed down the extremely turbulent mood in his heart.
"I understand, just do as you say... I hope you won't regret your decision today."
Danzo dropped this sentence with a calm expression and walked out of the conference room step by step.
The conference room fell into a deathly silence.
The three people in the conference room all knew that Danzo was really angry this time.
If Danzo had anger written on his face, it would make them feel at ease. Hiding his emotions like this would be truly terrifying.
Hiruzen sighed, feeling physically and mentally exhausted as never before, sitting on a chair and muttering to himself:
"I also have my own difficulties. The village can no longer withstand the torture of the martial arts faction. I hope you can understand my approach, Danzo. I am also considering the future of the village."
