In Konoha: Three Choices at the Start

After all, none of them were fools. They had the organization to shield them.

They could squabble and still get by, but if that organization vanished, they would be finished.

"Why panic? We'll find out if we try!" Chiyo said confidently.

At Chiyo's command, Sunagakure's vast war machine began to turn.

Within a day, the Sand Ninja forces had assembled.

Chiyo and the future Fourth Kazekage Rasa led them toward the Land of Fire's border.

Their reason was simple: they suspected someone from the Land of Fire had abducted Chiyo's grandson.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already prepared. He appointed Orochimaru commander at the front, with Jiraiya and Tsunade supporting him.

They led Konoha's ninja to the Land of Fire's border to repel the Sand Ninja.

Tsunade had long since stopped obeying Hiruzen Sarutobi, but her deep friendship with Orochimaru and Jiraiya compelled her to go.

She did not want her two friends to die there.

Thanks to Chiyo's reckless move, the Third Shinobi World War had officially begun.

Mount Myōboku!

Orange markings surrounded Liuyun's eyes as he strolled through a forest of toad statues.

He stopped before an enormous toad statue.

A thought crossed his mind.

Buzz! Boom!

The air seemed to ripple. As though struck by something unseen, the intact statue exploded into countless fragments of stone.

Liuyun kept walking. He glanced around, and invisible ripples spread again.

Boom! Boom!

Like a chain of explosions, the surrounding statues burst apart one after another, leaving no trace behind.

Liuyun slowly breathed out. The markings around his eyes faded, and a smile appeared on his face.

After two years of effort, he had mastered the Sage Modes of the Three Great Sage Lands and their various techniques to perfection.

He could now enter each of the three Sage Modes in an