"Sage Mode? What's that?"
Doubts swirled in Uchiha Obito's mind. However, he knew. Although he could listen in from the side, he had no right to ask questions, because Uchiha Madara was not a patient person.
After a moment of silence, Uchiha Madara stopped laughing.
"So, Sasori of the Red Sand is dead?"
Black Zetsu replied.
"Yes, there's no possibility of his survival. I had originally wanted to use this opportunity to solve a small problem, but I didn't expect…"
Then, he couldn't help but feel regret.
"Although this person deserved to die, his research was indeed very useful. He even turned himself into a puppet and, within his human-shaped self, created a smaller puppet…"
Sasori's puppet philosophy was indeed brilliant, making even Black Zetsu change his view on the Puppet Technique. It was a pity. Just as his view had changed slightly, the creator, Sasori of the Red Sand, was already dead, and by self-destruction at that. Even the possibility of resurrection was not very high. Even if the body was still there, it was most likely collected and sealed by Ryoho Kyohiko. That guy is too prudent!
Uchiha Madara said faintly.
"It is indeed a good line of thought. Unfortunately, the Puppet Technique has an insurmountable upper limit, which is—he himself is not strong enough!"
"The power of a person is limitless. To exchange a living body for a dead puppet is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse."
Black Zetsu said.
"Not everyone has your wisdom and mine."
A faint smile appeared on Uchiha Madara's face, and then he looked at Uchiha Obito.
"You should learn from Ryoho Kyohiko. Although he is just an ordinary person, his wisdom is greater than Senju Tobirama's."
"If you don't use your brain in training, even if your strength reaches a very high level, you can still be defeated by someone weaker than you!"
"Unless you can be like me!"
Uchiha Madara's gaze was indifferent.
A look of curiosity appeared on Obito's face.
"Like you?"
Uchiha Madara answered faintly.
"Obtain stronger eyes. The Mangekyo can allow you to defeat the vast majority of ninjas. And above it, there is the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and… even more powerful eyes!"
"The pursuit of eternal peace requires more sacrifice than you can imagine!"
"Yes, I will work tirelessly!"
Upon hearing "eternal peace," Uchiha Obito was instantly energized as if injected with chicken blood. Although, being as wise as Kyohiko, he really couldn't do it!
Uchiha Madara glanced at him. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he still had a considerable understanding of Obito. Brains are innate. Obito was not the type for studying or using his head. These words were only meant to encourage him to strive a little harder. Even being just a little bit smarter would be good—Obito had a lot of room for development. Just a little bit of intelligence would be a huge improvement.
"What about the other one…"
Black Zetsu looked at Uchiha Madara.
Although the current Madara was not what he used to be, he still had some strength, and he could also control others. For example—Karatachi Yagura.
Uchiha Madara pondered for a moment.
"Alright. Anyway, we are already in a semi-open conflict with them. There's no point in hiding anymore."
"Recruit whoever you can. While Kirigakure is still under control, let's cultivate our own forces more."
"We should also prepare for the future!"
As he spoke, he closed his eyes to rest.
Black Zetsu hesitated for a moment, then asked again.
"I think Hanzo might be a target we can win over."
"Hanzo?"
Upon hearing this, Madara was uninterested. "You can handle it."
Hanzo of the Salamander's "demigod" title was not worth mentioning in his eyes. He didn't even have the qualification to be specially noticed.
***
On the border of the Land of Birds.
Yahiko looked at Ryoho Kyohiko with a hopeful expression.
"How about coming over to my place for a bit? I have many questions I'd like to ask you!"
Although Kyohiko was much younger than him, Yahiko didn't feel ashamed at all. The other party was indeed smart! And the current Kyohiko, compared to him, had much more experience in managing a village. Even his teacher had to ask for Kyohiko's opinion on many issues. It was not shameful to ask him for advice.
Ryoho Kyohiko shook his head.
"There will be opportunities in the future."
However, Yahiko's presence this time was already a subtle statement. At this moment, Hatake Kakashi, Hyuga Hizashi, and the others were all far away and hadn't caught up. It was just him and Yahiko here, so they could speak freely.
He thought for a moment and looked towards the Land of Birds in the distance.
"Yahiko, I can probably guess what you're thinking. I want to ask you a question."
"What?"
Yahiko was a little puzzled.
Ryoho Kyohiko asked back.
"What exactly is the peace you want? To make the people of the Land of Rain live better, to make the Land of Rain better, or do you want to make the Land of Rain a country like the Five Great Nations?"
Yahiko was stunned. Then, he turned his head and looked at the Land of Rain. This country full of wind and rain… his homeland. What do I want it to become? Yahiko was at a loss. He was silent for a long time, unable to answer Kyohiko's question.
Ryoho Kyohiko was very frank.
"Different directions, different strategies. And we need to maintain different relationships with our Konoha. In fact, to be honest, it's possible that we might become enemies in the future."
His goal was to unify the shinobi world. If Yahiko wanted to lead the Land of Rain to become a great nation, or still thought about Jiraiya's ridiculous kind of peace from before, then they could only be enemies!
Yahiko let out a long sigh.
"Before, my idea was to achieve peace between the great and small nations through dialogue and mutual understanding. But later, after your reminder, I found that it couldn't be done."
The great nations crushing the small ones was like a beast hunting the weak, much like the law of nature. As a weak country, there was too little they could do. And…
Yahiko smiled bitterly.
"Actually, in the Land of Birds, we find it very difficult to even survive and continue, let alone become stronger, or make our village, Amegakure, the sixth great village."
So, he could understand Hanzo's words very well. It was too difficult for a small ninja village to become strong!
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
"Yes, both peace and becoming stronger against the odds are very difficult. In this era, it's definitely not something that can be solved in one generation. And the current Konoha, and I, are just lucky."
Yahiko didn't answer. He also didn't try to make him stay, or ask Kyohiko to go to their village for everyone to exchange ideas or discuss other follow-up cooperation. Just as Kyohiko said, if he didn't understand what he wanted, talking more would be empty talk. Myself… what kind of Land of Rain do I want?
For a moment, Yahiko was a little lost. Watching Kyohiko leave, his heart was heavy and complicated. Kyohiko could always be so smart and calm, seeing the most crucial problems. In comparison, he really didn't have the talent to be a leader. How great would it be if I had such talent? Yahiko thought with envy.
Only after Kyohiko and the others had completely disappeared did he use the Body Flicker Technique to rush back to the village.
***
In Konoha, at the Hokage's Tower.
Tsunade paced back and forth, her face full of annoyance.
Shizune said speechlessly.
"Tsunade-sama, please stop walking back and forth. You're making me dizzy."
Tsunade sighed in frustration.
"Kyohiko still hasn't sent a letter back. How can you expect me not to worry? That guy, really, so many days, not a single word. It wouldn't take long to send a letter back with the Flying Thunder God, would it?"
Shizune was even more speechless.
"Tsunade-sama, Kyohiko-kun has only been gone for four days. This is a normal mission time. If not for the Flying Thunder God Formation, they might have only just arrived at their destination now!"
Tsunade didn't care much when others went out, including Jiraiya and Orochimaru, but when Kyohiko left the village, especially on some special missions, Tsunade-sama's worry was written all over her face. Does it have to be so obvious?
She sighed softly.
"Kyohiko-kun is so strong, nothing can happen to him!"
"But the opponent might be Madara…"
Tsunade's brows were tightly knitted, and she sighed.
Uchiha Madara. Even if the other party might not be the real Madara, since he had the ability to control Karatachi Yagura, even if it wasn't the real body, he couldn't be weak. Even Kyohiko… she still couldn't help but worry.
Shizune had nothing to say. Tsunade's attitude was exactly like a mother whose child had gone out. She silently lowered her head and approved the documents.
Just then.
"It's here! It's here! That brat, he finally remembered to send me a letter."
Tsunade immediately took the letter from the side table. To be precise, it was a bamboo slip. This was a material Kyohiko was more accustomed to using for carving letters. He could generate it directly with Wood Style, and carving letters was also very convenient.
On it was written:
"Safe."
"Sasori of the Red Sand has been killed. Most of the puppets have been brought back. There are also extra gains. Details to be discussed in person."
Not many words, but very important. Tsunade was overjoyed after reading it. For Konoha, the most important thing was to kill Sasori, to eliminate a great threat. Secondly, to obtain his puppets to provide reference for Konoha's puppet prosthetic limbs. According to Kyohiko's description, it was clear that the main objectives had been completed. As for the extra gains, those were just bonuses.
However, two days later, Ryoho Kyohiko returned to Konoha with the items.
In the training ground.
Orochimaru had a slight smile on his lips.
"What kind of gains required such a big fanfare, calling all of us over?"
He had, of course, heard from the Anbu about Kyohiko's return. After all, during this period, apart from Gekko Shusaku, he had helped handle many matters. The news from the Anbu naturally reached his ears. He didn't have high expectations for what Kyohiko brought back, but… he couldn't stand Kyohiko keeping him in suspense.
Ryoho Kyohiko chuckled.
"It's definitely something you're interested in."
"Everyone, stand back a little. Don't crowd around me."
Without him needing to remind them, Hatake Kakashi had already stood far away—he was the one who knew best how much they had gained at that time.
Tsunade still felt Kyohiko was making a fuss over nothing. How many things could there be to make such a scene? She was just about to speak. The next moment, Kyohiko took out the sealing scroll and formed hand seals with both hands. In an instant, the jutsu formula on the sealing scroll spread out.
And then… Boom!
A sound like the earth cracking and mountains collapsing. The ground rumbled. Then, one by one, giant amber stones rolled out from the seal, piling up into a mountain on the training ground.
Tsunade blinked, her face unable to hide her astonishment.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his tongue unconsciously licking his lips. Did this guy Kyohiko bring back all of Sasori's collection? This is really… incredible!
At the moment of release, Ryoho Kyohiko had already used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Kakashi.
"These are all puppets, but there are also some rather special things. We have to find where they are…"
Tsunade only just reacted.
"Should we call someone over to clean this up?"
This was too much! There must be over a hundred, right? One could imagine how many people Sasori had killed to create these puppets. Crazy! No wonder even Rasa couldn't stand it and had to contact them to deal with Sasori. If he kept killing like this… Sunagakure's reputation would probably be completely ruined.
Orochimaru's eyes were fervent.
"Kyohiko, what are the special items you mentioned? In this situation, I can help a little."
If it were ordinary goods, he certainly wouldn't care, let alone deign to help find them. But… human puppets, and the thing Kyohiko was tempting him with was definitely not human puppets. There was something more important!
"An amber that has sealed half a body, and a piece that has sealed one of Sasori's bodies."
"Hmm?"
Tsunade didn't quite understand, or rather… she didn't react for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
Ryoho Kyohiko briefly explained the situation at that time.
"Sasori made himself into a human puppet. Outside is a large puppet, and inside is a small puppet containing real flesh and blood. The real body is the one inside…"
Orochimaru's eyes were fiery. After listening, he couldn't help but sigh.
"This Sasori of the Red Sand is indeed a genius. It's a pity…"
Ryoho Kyohiko added.
"A genius and a madman are often separated by a thin line. If you go slower, so that everyone can understand, you are a genius. If you go too fast, completely isolating yourself from ordinary people, then you are a madman."
Orochimaru was silent for a long while. In a sense, he was also a "madman" as Kyohiko described. It was only because he was forcibly restrained by Tsunade and Kyohiko that he did not completely become someone like Sasori.
Then, without saying a word, he bit his finger and summoned a pile of snakes. Each one was not large. These snakes drilled into the pile of amber, searching for the special amber Kyohiko mentioned. After a dozen seconds, Orochimaru separated the pile of stones and took out a piece from below. This was Sasori's body puppet.
And the half-body… Orochimaru had a premonition. That thing was the "main event" Kyohiko mentioned. He waited for a minute. Finally.
"Found it!"
Orochimaru continued to search.
After a few seconds, his movements stopped, a look of surprise on his face.
Tsunade saw his expression and immediately leaned over.
"What is it?"
"This is…"
Orochimaru's face was filled with unconcealable shock, unable to calm down for a long time. A special kind of flesh and blood! As the person in Konoha who knew the most about Hashirama's cells, he instantly sensed that the cells of this half-body had an extremely similar aura to Hashirama's cells!
"Where did you get this?"
Ryoho Kyohiko answered.
"I tore it off a yin-yang person with a Venus flytrap on his head."
Tsunade's face was blank. She looked at Kakashi.
Hatake Kakashi nodded.
"There was indeed such a person. He could instantly hide in the soil, and the black and white on his body seemed to be able to split. If not for Kyohiko using the Amber Jutsu, we might not have been able to leave this half-body behind."
"Split, black and white…"
Orochimaru took a deep breath and frowned. "That's not right!"
"What's wrong?"
Tsunade found it strange. Orochimaru seemed particularly excited…
"Is there a problem with it?"
Orochimaru's brows were tightly furrowed.
"If I'm not mistaken, there is a certain aura of the First Hokage's cells inside. That is to say, the other party may have been implanted with the First's cells, and they have been perfectly integrated without further mutation. But the black part…"
In the world, was there a substance that could suppress Hashirama's cells? What kind of mutation was that?
"The First Hokage's cells?"
Tsunade leaned closer in astonishment, then pressed her palm against this special piece of amber, sensing the state of the flesh and blood inside through her chakra. Then, she discovered that this piece of flesh still retained a relatively strong activity, and its aura was indeed very close to the First's cells. This?
Her gaze "swished" to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru stood up.
"It has nothing to do with me. Even if it was leaked, it must have been Danzo… or, it wasn't leaked in our era at all."
"Madara's era."