"Sensei."
Just as Natsuki was about to leave, he suddenly thought of sothing and asked, "How does Konoha plan to deal with Agakure?"
"There are currently two options."
Orochimaru did not hide anything and said directly, "The first is to control it from the shadows. The second is to leave it alone."
Ever since the Five Great Lands and Five Great Shinobi Villages were established, the roles of the Land of Rain and Agakure had already been determined.
They were to serve as a buffer zone between the Five Great Lands and Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Under normal circumstances, they would simply be left alone.
But Agakure had unexpectedly produced a Kage-level powerhouse like Hanzō, catching all five great villages off guard.
Because of that, Orochimaru and the others had added another option, controlling it from the shadows.
The purpose was to prevent another Hanzō from appearing.
"Then which option do you plan to choose, Sensei?"
Natsuki asked again.
"I don't mind either way."
Orochimaru said casually, "Sensei will decide which option to choose and make the necessary arrangents."
"Sensei, can I join ANBU and beco captain of the Fourth Division?"
Natsuki changed the subject and asked.
"Why do you want to join ANBU?"
Orochimaru asked in confusion.
Although joining ANBU was a great honor for most shinobi, it was unnecessary for soone with Natsuki's strength and status.
In the original work, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato, and the others had never joined ANBU.
Kakashi joining ANBU was a special case.
At the ti, his father had taken his own life, and his close friend had died.
To help him out of that state, Minato had deliberately arranged for him to join ANBU and protect Kushina Uzumaki.
"After experiencing this war, I understood that battle helps people improve."
Natsuki explained, "By joining ANBU, I can carry out more difficult missions."
"Even so, I don't want you to beco a shinobi who only knows how to kill."
Orochimaru paused slightly and spoke earnestly.
So shinobi lost themselves through killing.
"I understand."
Natsuki nodded.
"Once we return to the village, just speak to Sensei about it."
Orochimaru paused and said, "With your strength and achievents, becoming captain of the Fourth Division is only a minor matter."
"Sensei, I have one more request."
After thinking briefly, Natsuki said directly, "If Hokage-sama chooses to control Agakure from the shadows, I hope I can be placed in charge."
He already planned to support Akatsuki. If Konoha also controlled Agakure from the shadows, conflict would arise sooner or later, so there was no need for that.
There was also another reason.
After becoming captain of ANBU's Fourth Division, he would possess a certain amount of authority and could help Akatsuki develop more smoothly.
If he could eventually take control of ANBU, he would effectively hold two organizations in his hands.
That would be very helpful when searching for suitable Jonin to unlock his corresponding abilities.
After all, there were many Jonin-level missing-nin in the shinobi world.
Outside periods of shinobi world war, they would be the best targets.
Orochimaru subconsciously studied Natsuki.
His first reaction was that his genius student had developed ambitions to compete for power.
But that was normal.
Natsuki possessed strength comparable to a Kage at such a young age.
It would be stranger if he had no interest in the position of Hokage.
Moreover, Orochimaru had read Natsuki's shinobi file. During his self-introduction upon entering the Academy, he had ntioned that his dream was to beco Hokage.
It was understandable that he had developed ambition now.
"Very well."
Orochimaru smiled faintly and said, "When the ti cos, I'll help you fight for it."
Since Natsuki was his student, he would naturally help him.
Besides, Natsuki truly had the qualifications and strength to compete for the position of Hokage.
The only unfortunate part was that Nawaki's dream of becoming Hokage would have to be delayed.
After all, aside from his background, he could not compare to Natsuki in any other aspect.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Natsuki found it sowhat strange.
Orochimaru had agreed imdiately without asking for a reason. His decisiveness exceeded Natsuki's expectations.
After saying goodbye to him, Natsuki left Konoha's headquarters.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly realized sothing.
Did Orochimaru think he was preparing to compete for the position of Hokage?
Although Natsuki had given his reasons, joining ANBU first and then taking control of Agakure clearly did not seem to be only for the sake of experiencing more battles.
But Orochimaru was obviously very supportive of him.
After all, before his fall into darkness, he treated his students extrely well.
Natsuki could not help but laugh.
Had he sohow set foot on the path toward becoming Hokage?
The shinobi world respected strength above all. What belonged to him would not escape him.
Natsuki stopped thinking about it and followed the map toward Ibuse's location.
By the afternoon, he finally reached his destination.
An endless swamp stretched before his eyes.
The swamp looked bottomless and contained deadly poison.
His Poison-to-dicine ability had already activated.
That ant he had inhaled poison gas.
Natsuki scanned the surroundings but did not find Ibuse.
He was not surprised.
Ibuse possessed the ability to burrow underground.
Now that it was heavily injured, it was definitely hiding within the swamp.
"Ibuse."
Natsuki spoke directly, "You have two choices. Either beco my summoning beast, or I kill you."
His words spread outward along with his chakra.
But even after waiting for a while, Ibuse still made no movent.
Natsuki imdiately activated Electromagnetic Wave Sensing.
He quickly found Ibuse's location.
Just as he expected, it was hiding deep beneath the swamp.
Natsuki took out a Sword of the Thunder God.
Reinforcent Magecraft!
Mana Burst!
Armant Haki!
After being strengthened three tis, the Sword of the Thunder God was covered in a thick layer of invisible armor.
Railgun!
Natsuki extended his hand.
Chakra surged out, and dazzling electric currents imdiately spread outward.
The mont Natsuki released his grip, countless arcs of lightning erupted, and the Sword of the Thunder God instantly accelerated.
It tore through the swamp like a bolt of lightning and continued downward.
Ibuse imdiately sensed danger.
It moved in an instant.
Just as it left its original position, lightning poured down.
Before Ibuse could breathe a sigh of relief, the Sword of the Thunder God suddenly exploded.
Countless fragnts mixed with lightning struck its enormous body.
The intense pain made it scream.
At the sa ti, fear flashed through its eyes.
Natsuki truly had the ability to kill it.
With that thought, it ignored the pain in its body and quickly burrowed out of the swamp.
Muddy water splashed everywhere.
Ibuse appeared.
Natsuki subconsciously took a step back.
Many new wounds had appeared across its body.
Fortunately, its body was enormous. Wounds that would have been fatal to a shinobi were not fatal to it, though the pain was unavoidable.
Just as Natsuki was about to speak, Ibuse opened its mouth and spat out a scroll.
Natsuki raised his brows and directly caught the flying scroll.
"If you had cooperated earlier, you wouldn't have needed to endure that attack."
Natsuki opened the scroll and found that it was indeed a summoning contract scroll.
It appeared that Ibuse had no intention of dying alongside Hanzō.
That was actually normal.
Summoning beasts and shinobi had a mutually beneficial relationship.
Natsuki took out a pen and wrote his na on the contract scroll.
After completing the contract, he took out the Kusanagi sword.
"Don't move. This won't hurt you."
Natsuki did not know sealing techniques, but the sealing ntioned by the system was clearly not the sa thing as a sealing technique.
It seed more like Ibuse would be forcibly transford.
He placed the Kusanagi sword on Ibuse's head.
In the next second, the Kusanagi sword suddenly trembled. Green light spread out and enveloped Ibuse.
Very soon, it disappeared.
A faint image of Ibuse appeared on the hilt of the Kusanagi sword.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Retsu Unohana Template Ability Two: Minazuki.]
It had gone smoothly.
Natsuki nodded.
He gripped the Kusanagi sword and sensed how it differed from before.
It had already beco a living being.
Of course, it should now be called Minazuki rather than the Kusanagi sword.
Natsuki casually put Minazuki away.
With the matter settled, he turned and left.
But he did not return to Konoha's headquarters. Instead, he headed toward Yahiko's secret base.
As Natsuki walked, he considered his next plans.
He had originally intended to tell Jiraiya and the others about Nagato's existence, but now it seed unnecessary.
As long as he beca an ANBU division captain, he could look after them even while he was away from the Land of Rain.
The first thing he needed to do in the future was teach Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan until they beca Jonin.
That would take a considerable amount of ti.
Fortunately, he had plenty of ti now.
After all, the next Shinobi World War was still a long way off.
The second matter was establishing Akatsuki.
Natsuki planned to combine Akatsuki's early and later forms from the original work and develop along two paths simultaneously.
It would both expand its scale and recruit elite mbers.
He now hoped that White Zetsu would join Akatsuki.
If that happened, he could possess the most terrifying intelligence organization.
The third matter was naturally unlocking his various abilities.
He currently had four S-rank character templates. If he unlocked them all, he estimated that he could reach a level beyond Kage.
But that still would not be enough.
After all, he would eventually face powerful enemies such as Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Still, as he had said before, he had plenty of ti and could proceed slowly.
"Natsuki-sensei!"
Yahiko, who was outside the cave, saw Natsuki and imdiately shouted happily.
He was training in Water Release.
The reason he trained outside the cave was that he could use the rain to increase the power of Water Release and reduce his chakra consumption.
He was not Nagato and did not have that much chakra to waste.
Hearing his shout, Nagato and Konan also walked out.
"I have so news for you."
Natsuki said, "The war is over. Konoha won, and Hanzō is dead."
"Hanzō is dead? How is that possible?"
Yahiko's first reaction was disbelief.
"Was it you and the others who killed him, Natsuki-sensei?"
Konan thought for a mont and asked.
The war between Agakure and Konoha was not a secret. All three of them knew about it.
The only people capable of killing Hanzō now were Konoha shinobi.
"Yes."
Natsuki nodded slightly, then said, "But for you, the most urgent task is still training."
"Yes, Natsuki-sensei!"
The three answered in unison.
"However, the focus of your training needs to change. You'll train in taijutsu first."
Natsuki said without changing his expression, "Taijutsu training is simpler. Once you gain so ability to protect yourselves, you can continue learning ninjutsu."
Naturally, the three had no objections.
They did not understand much about shinobi. Whatever Natsuki told them to do, they would do.
In the end, Yahiko and Nagato temporarily stopped learning ninjutsu and began studying taijutsu alongside Konan.
Natsuki planned to teach them the Konoha Whirlwind series first, followed by the Konoha Six Powers, and finally swordsmanship.
The reason he did this was naturally to unlock the Retsu Unohana Template's Minazuki Shikai and Bankai.
Of course, he could also unlock the Jiraiya Template's Sage Mode along the way.
But it was also ant to improve the physical condition of all three.
After all, they had often gone hungry in the past.
"Natsuki-sensei."
Yahiko thought of sothing and said, "While we were talking before, we ca up with a na for the organization. Akatsuki."
"That's a very good na."
Natsuki paused slightly and praised him, "Then we'll call it the Akatsuki Organization."
"Great!"
Yahiko imdiately nodded vigorously.
Nagato and Konan also smiled.
Natsuki felt sowhat emotional. He had not expected that he would be able to participate in Akatsuki's establishnt.
After the brief interruption, he began leading the three through physical training.
The sun set in the west.
He said goodbye to Yahiko and the others, then returned to Konoha's headquarters.
At the sa ti, news of Hanzō's death and Agakure's defeat rapidly spread throughout the shinobi world.
Konoha, Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was the first to receive the news.
But his first reaction was that it might be false information.
Hiruzen had been very confident that they could defeat Sunagakure, but he had never considered killing Hanzō.
Hanzō's strength was no weaker than that of the Five Kage. Killing him was simply too difficult.
After all, if he could not win, he could flee.
In the original work, the vast majority of Kage died from assassination, surprise attacks, or while staying behind to cover a retreat.
Hiruzen steadied himself and finished reading the report, then could not help but laugh loudly.
The account was very detailed. Hanzō's death was entirely justified.
More importantly, Hanzō's death had removed a major threat to Konoha.
In Hiruzen's view, Hanzō's appearance had disrupted the balance of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
After all, aside from the Five Great Villages, the other shinobi villages had never been taken seriously and rely served as buffer zones.
Now that Hanzō was dead, the original balance could be restored.
Hiruzen imdiately sent ANBU to notify Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.
"Hiruzen, what happened? Has the battlefield in the Land of Rain finally been settled?"
Danzō asked impatiently.
"You'll understand once you read it."
Hiruzen handed them a scroll with a broad smile.
Danzō read it first.
When he saw that Hanzō had died, his heart trembled.
Especially when he saw that Hanzō had been killed by Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Natsuki, he felt an even greater sense of unease.
With such a great achievent, there was no longer any question about who would beco the Fourth Hokage.
Even the Fifth Hokage had nearly been decided.
Danzō felt the position of Hokage growing farther and farther away from him.
Although it had always been far away, he had once co close to that position and had never let go of the thought.
"Hanzō actually died?"
Homura did not have as many thoughts as Danzō. He smiled and said, "Orochimaru and the others perford very well this ti. They exceeded expectations."
"Now that Hanzō is dead, there is no longer any need to care about Agakure."
Koharu was also very pleased. "From now on, we only need to pay attention to Iwagakure and Sunagakure."
"If Agakure could produce one Hanzō, then there is also a chance it could produce a second."
Danzō recovered and imdiately seized the opportunity. "I suggest placing Agakure under Root's control."
Hiruzen fell into thought.
As long as Agakure and the Land of Rain remained in chaos, a second Hanzō would never be born.
More precisely, if any such signs appeared, Konoha could eliminate them in advance.
Root was indeed the most suitable group to carry out this task.
Although Root was part of ANBU, it obeyed Danzō's commands and acted even more ruthlessly than ANBU.
That style was well suited to the chaotic Land of Rain and Agakure.
"We'll decide after Orochimaru and the others return."
Hiruzen thought for a mont and said.
Danzō was delighted when he heard this.
He understood Hiruzen. Since he had not refused directly, it ant he had already agreed and rely needed to follow the proper procedure.
Koharu and Homura did not say anything either.
In their view, the Land of Rain had no value and was desperately poor.
Sunagakure, Kazekage's office.
While the atmosphere in the Hokage's office was joyful, the atmosphere in the Kazekage's office was silent.
The Third Kazekage, Chiyo, Ebizō, Rasa, Pakura, and Reki were all present.
The present and future of Sunagakure wore complicated expressions after receiving news of Hanzō's death.
Their thoughts were similar to Hiruzen's. They had expected Agakure to lose, but they had not expected Hanzō to die.
"Hanzō was renowned for most of his life, yet he died at the hands of four juniors. It truly is unbelievable."
Chiyo sighed.
Her battles of poison against Hanzō had ended in both victory and defeat, so they could be considered worthy rivals.
"According to the intelligence, Tsunade neutralized Hanzō's poison."
Ebizō analyzed, "Otherwise, they would not have killed him so easily."
"Hanzō's death can also be considered a good thing for us."
The Third Kazekage slowly spoke.
The Land of Rain bordered both the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.
That was why Hanzō had declared war on Sunagakure.
Without Hanzō, they had one less threat.
"Should we interfere in Agakure next?"
Rasa volunteered, "I can take responsibility for the matter."
"There's no need to co into conflict with Konoha."
The Third Kazekage thought for a mont and rejected the idea.
"We only need to sit back and watch them fight."
Chiyo explained, "Iwagakure did not suffer many losses, so it will most likely interfere in Agakure."
Sunagakure had suffered too many losses and did not want Konoha to take another piece from them.
The Third Kazekage nodded in agreent. "Sunagakure's most urgent task is recovery."
"Konoha is Sunagakure's greatest enemy."
Ebizō agreed, "Now that it has produced four more powerful shinobi, Sunagakure must beco even more cautious."
"Rasa, Pakura, and Reki."
The Third Kazekage said in a deep voice, "Starting today, the three of you will undergo special training."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!"
The three answered in unison.
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.
"Konoha truly produces talented shinobi one after another."
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, sighed.
With his strength, he could also kill Hanzō.
The prerequisite was that he was not poisoned and could land a hit.
That was because he possessed a power beyond Kekkei Genkai, the Kekkei Tōta known as Dust Release.
A Kekkei Genkai was the fusion of two chakra natures.
A Kekkei Tōta was the fusion of three chakra natures.
"Agakure lies where three lands et, so its location is rather important. We can take advantage of the coming chaos to insert our own forces."
Ōnoki thought for a mont and said, "Kitsuchi, send people to handle it."
"Yes, Father."
Kitsuchi bowed slightly, then turned and left.
(To be continued.)
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