In March of the 49th year of Konoha, the annual cherry blossom season arrived as scheduled.
Orochimaru, dressed in casual black clothes, watched the children running towards the school with a slight smile as he temporarily returned to the village to rest.
"It's rare to see you back to normal, Orochimaru. Several advisors are complaining about your reckless behavior."
Tsunade, dressed in her Jonin uniform, offered a reminder, but Orochimaru paid it no mind. His experiments were progressing smoothly, and he couldn't be bothered with those outdated old fogies. "I plan to take on a disciple. The lab needs management, and I'll also leave behind some legacy."
Tsunade's eyes widened, and Orochimaru, ignoring his companion's shock, continued, "Every time I see Xiu, I sincerely envy you. Although you've been surpassed by your disciple, he still maintains the utmost respect for you."
"Inheritance, in a sense, is eternal."
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief at the end, saying that these nonsensical words were the Orochimaru she knew, "Regarding the merger of Root and Anbu, the teacher neither approved nor opposed it."
"I noticed that Root has its own independent expenses, which are supported by the Ninja Clans."
"To some extent, the Root organization absorbs ninjas with psychological trauma, which helps the Ninja Clans solve some of their problems."
To have a voice in a village, you must possess power.
The Root is Danzo's power, the assistance of the two advisors, and the tacit existence that Sarutobi Hiruzen tacitly approves of in maintaining balance.
Orochimaru, of course, understood all the intricacies of the situation. He looked at Tsunade with amusement and asked, "Would you allow such power to exist?"
"I have no interest in what Teacher Sarutobi's companions think; I only want to receive the experimental materials accumulated by Danzo's Root."
"This is my job. You can pretend you know nothing, just like Teacher Sarutobi."
In the end, Orochimaru burst out laughing, as if he had found something amusing, and muttered to himself, "This is the Hokage. Whoever holds this position has to learn to compromise. No wonder this isn't what you're after."
Tsunade crossed her arms and sighed. Jiraiya unreliable, and Orochimaru was neurotic. She began to miss Shu Furukawa, who could listen to her ramblings.
"Your secret technique seems to have changed?"
Orochimaru suddenly looked at Tsunade, who exuded a strong life force, and before his old friend could answer, he muttered to himself, "There seems to be a familiar aura here, even her Chakra has changed?"
Thinking about the changes in her body, Tsunade awkwardly turned her head to change the subject. "I should go see Teacher Sarutobi now. I don't want to keep him waiting too long, otherwise those old guys will start nagging me again."
Might Guy's squad recently received a patrol mission in the eastern part of the Land of Fire, and the three of them went to meet up with Shu Furukawa in high spirits.
Before leaving the village, Might Guy didn't forget to promote the "Youth Showdown," saying that he had already opened the Gate of Limit and was preparing to use the even more powerful Li Lianhua to compete against him.
The patrol mission was taken over by Kai, Kakashi ended up bringing back a C-rank escort mission for the team.
Rin Nohara didn't care about the mission level. The girl happily checked the medical kit and would occasionally ask Kakashi for some mission details.
Namiashi Raidō Nami protects his longsword. He doesn't care about the mission level either; easier missions would actually give him a chance to spar with Kakashi.
Obito Uchiha reacted the most, perhaps because he knew Kakashi would be promoted to Jonin in a few months, and he didn't want to fall too far behind his sweetheart. " Kakashi, why didn't you get that patrol mission?"
"I heard there's a chance to fight the Kirigakure Ninja. You're not worried about your safety, are you?"
"I will protect you."
Obito tilted his head back, adjusting his goggles, occasionally glancing at Rin Nohara's reaction. After waiting for a long time, only Kakashi responded, "Let's go!"
"Damn it, all you do is show off!"
When the four left the village gate, they were unaware of the White Zetsu's observation. After Obito was chosen as the "Agent," the White Zetsu began to continuously gather intelligence.
I always thought he was an idiot, that he seemed to have no talent whatsoever.
White Zetsu nodded as he reunited with his companions. According to the intelligence gathered, Obito was practically an oddity among the Uchiha, practically invisible within the clan.
As the two White Zetsu prepared to relay the message back, on the Iron Country peninsula, Osamu Furukawa's spirit was manipulating a White Zetsu clone to carefully sense the flow of energy at the roots of the Divine Tree.
White Zetsu Clone instinctively sensed a piece of information. Shu Furukawa's spirit body hurriedly tried to sense it, but the scattered information was useless; this body was clearly not suitable for this task.
"Master Xiu, the root system's extent has been determined."
"It would take a very long time to absorb this energy."
The Katsuyu crawled onto his shoulder, quickly resonating the information. Shu Furukawa secretly calculated the energy he could Collection at once, finally muttering helplessly, "My spiritual strength isn't enough to absorb more energy at once."
"Fortunately, the existence of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path has been confirmed. This is our destination. We'll send the map back over the next few months."
Where there's the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, there's Madara Uchiha. The old guy can't live without a "ventilator," so Shu Furukawa has confirmed his hideout.
"Once Lord Xiu can use Magnet Release, moving the roots of these divine trees will be much easier."
The Katsuyu encouraged Shu Furukawa in a lighthearted tone, saying that these tree roots were good materials and should not be wasted.
" Chakra truly is the source of all power; in just two weeks, my body underwent a transformation."
Shu Furukawa sighed; this was the first time he had completed the evolution of his Kekkei Genkai by relying on [ Collection ] Chakra.
Shukaku's power gave rise to Magnet Release, Chakra theory came into effect once again.
"Continue drawing the map!"
Upon hearing Shu Furukawa's enthusiastic instructions, the Katsuyu immediately entered resonance mode to guide the way. Madara Uchiha's underground project was extensive, but as long as it remained undiscovered, the location would be identified sooner or later.
At the end of March, Shu Furukawa, who was on a routine patrol in the eastern part of the Land of Fire, received instructions from his superiors to return immediately.
Some of the Jonin captains were also summoned, and when they gathered at the Hokage Building in the afternoon, they were all discussing in hushed tones whether to launch a general offensive.
Shu Furukawa, already wearing Jonin vest, kept greeting people. When he saw Shikaku Nara waving, he immediately moved closer to the three of them.
"This is a major operation by Iwagakure! The intelligence is still uncertain, but they seem to have ambushed the Third Raikage."
Shikaku Nara looked melancholy. The news sounded a bit far-fetched, but if it were true, the battle situation could change drastically.
"If the Third Raikage dies at the hands of Iwagakure, we can use this opportunity to launch a pincer attack on Iwagakure in conjunction with Kumogakure."
Akimichi Choza optimistically predicted that since the Raikage died in the Land of Earth, the Kumogakure would definitely seek revenge.
Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head, pointed to the map on the wall, and whispered, " The Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth are very far apart."
When the meeting convened, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, co-chaired it with Tsunade. Danzo, expressionless, announced the intelligence brought back by the Root ninja, " The Third Raikage has fallen into a trap set by Iwagakure and is currently facing an attack by more than 2,000 Iwagakure Ninja, and reinforcements from Iwagakure are still arriving."
Upon hearing that the Raikage had indeed fallen into a trap, most of the Jonin wore expressions of disbelief.
The meeting's topic was not offense, but rather preventing a counterattack from Iwagakure Kumogakure.
The thought that killing the Third Raikage would greatly boost the enemy's morale has led some Hardline Faction to question the Third Hokage's conservative plan once again.
After the meeting ended in the evening, news of the meeting began to spread throughout the village, and ninjas with differing opinions began their routine debate.
Back in her Apartment, Tsunade looked exhausted; reaching a consensus was far more difficult than completing a high-level mission.
"Is the teacher still worried about the front lines in the Land of Grass?"
"Even if we encounter unexpected situations, with Minato- kun around, we can handle any difficulty."
Shu Furukawa offered a few words of comfort from the kitchen, Shizune sat down next to Tsunade, adding, "Sensei, you haven't had a proper rest lately, you must take good care of yourself."
Tsunade, inexplicably thinking about the changes in her body, suppressed the strange emotions in her heart and retorted irritably, "Do you two think I'm a child?"
"This isn't my first time experiencing war; whatever happens, I can accept it."
The three quickly returned to their usual noisy state. After dinner, Tsunade, dressed in her Jonin casual Tsunade, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately invited Shu Furukawa to train together.
Both remained seated. Tsunade watched Shu Furukawa Hand Seals, subconsciously adjusting her breathing. Soon, her spiritual body appeared within the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
Compared to the previous few months, the technique has changed considerably. Complex incantations have appeared on the " Gate of the Great God," and the Chakra above has been "pulled down."
"Xiu, why is my body undergoing these changes?"
Tsunade's spirit asked the question that had been bothering her, Shu Furukawa took her hands, then merged his entire spirit into her body.
"Teacher, Senjutsu Chakra will activate your body, allowing your cells to absorb Chakra and repair past damage through the technique."
"Don't worry about my Senjutsu Chakra; it's only a small portion, enough to replenish what Master's body is expending."
Tsunade subconsciously, sat cross-legged beneath the accumulated Chakra, and the feeling of having complete control over her body resurfaced in her mind.
After completing her daily training, Tsunade opened her eyes and found that Shu Furukawa was no longer there. She subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief.
"Teacher, your skin is getting better and better! It looks like it's glowing."
Shizune appeared beside Tsunade with an envious look on her face, and as she spoke, she even reached out and touched her.
"Looks like I'll have to be stricter with you. Ninjas don't need to worry about these things!"
Tsunade pushed her disciple aside, stood up, and power surged from her body, accompanied by a tingling sensation that dominated every cell in her body. "Is this what Senjutsu is like?"
In early April, the Tsuchikage Ōnoki suddenly and publicly announced that the Iwagakure Ninja had killed the Third Raikage: "To withstand an attack from 5,000 Iwagakure Ninja for three days and three nights, the Third Raikage is a worthy opponent!"
The mobilization speech from Iwagakure spread rapidly across various countries, while Konoha, on the other hand, lacked the momentum it had at the beginning of the year.
The Kumogakure finally confirmed the death of the Third Raikage and pointed out the mistake of the Iwagakure Ninja: "Lord Third Raikage covered the retreat of his comrades, fighting to the very end against 10,000 Iwagakure Ninja!"
At this time, Sunagakure also regained its presence, and the Sunagakure Ninja," launching a high-profile counterattack on the front lines of the Land of Rain.
When the Konoha High Command confirmed that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had joined forces, supply lines had to be readjusted, and a full-scale war suddenly broke out.
Inside the Hokage Building, Shu Furukawa was summoned from the hospital to the Third Hokage: "Osamu, you need to go to Kikyo Castle as soon as possible to provide support. The Land of Rivers has violated the neutrality treaty..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen solemnly gave him some instructions. Shu Furukawa felt the place name sounded familiar, but immediately bowed and replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage!"