Chapter 130: The Fusion of the Dog-Man
"But... will Ayase agree to return to Konoha?"
Thinking about Ayase's insistence on giving birth to that cursed child, Biwako chuckled inwardly. She didn't believe Ayase would obediently accept her husband's proposal to return to Konoha and give birth to the child.
As long as Ayase refused, she could finally join forces with that brat Dan Kato to act.
"Let's go. Back to Konoha."
Sarutobi Ayase put away the secret letter in her hand, summoned her ink bird, jumped onto its back, and called down to the two below.
Sarutobi Biwako froze with a confused expression: "???"
"Yes, Senior!" Dan Kato, thinking Ayase had come around, jumped up onto the ink bird joyfully and said, "Don't worry, Senior. I'll do everything I can to protect you and the child on our way back to Konoha."
Ayase glanced sideways at Dan Kato and then turned her face away expressionlessly. The radiance he gave off was a bit too blinding.
"Hurry up, Lady Biwako!" Dan Kato waved to Biwako, who was still stunned below.
"Shut it, brat," Biwako glared at him, leapt onto the ink bird, and looked at her daughter-in-law with a conflicted expression. "What... what did Hiruzen say to you?"
She didn't believe her daughter-in-law didn't understand that once she returned to Konoha, she'd no longer have any autonomy.
And someone who had been desperate to find Li Yao and take revenge suddenly agreeing to return to Konoha and stop searching for him?
What exactly did her husband say in that letter? Biwako was truly curious now.
Faced with Biwako's questioning, Ayase remained silent. Her goal had never changed — to get revenge on Li Yao.
The only reason she agreed to return to Konoha was because her father-in-law, the Third Hokage, had proposed a plan of revenge that would make Li Yao suffer a hundred times more than if she were to devour the cursed child in her womb.
That was the only reason.
And naturally, this plan of revenge could not be shared with outsiders.
It took them seven days to return to Konoha.
Upon arrival, the Third Hokage had a secret meeting with his daughter-in-law for an hour. After that day, Sarutobi Ayase vanished from public view.
"What exactly are you planning?" Biwako confronted her husband.
"Heh..." The Third Hokage chuckled coldly and laid out his plan. After listening, Biwako felt a chill run through her body. Looking at the man before her, who now seemed like a stranger, she suddenly feared he was walking the same path as their daughter-in-law — becoming an embodiment of hatred.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. That plan is based on the assumption that Li Yao survives — but I won't let him live that long." The Third Hokage reassured her. Keeping Li Yao's child alive was merely for future use. For now, their priority remained finding and killing Li Yao.
"Do as you please." Seeing that her husband's state of mind wasn't consumed by hatred, Biwako shook her head and said, "Then I'll continue searching for Li Yao with that brat Dan Kato."
"Good." The Third Hokage nodded. "This time, I'll have Akira go with you."
Biwako frowned slightly, then after thinking for a moment said, "That lone wolf from the Inuzuka clan?"
"Yes." The Third Hokage smiled. "His sense of smell is a hundred times more sensitive than the dog gods bred over generations by the Inuzuka clan. With his help, along with Dan's soul-sensing ability, once Li Yao is found, he won't escape your pursuit."
"Alright." Biwako nodded in satisfaction.
Inuzuka Akira — the eccentric genius of his generation in the Inuzuka clan, also considered a freak.
He had developed a forbidden jutsu — Dog-Man Fusion.
It allowed him to completely fuse with his tamed ninja dog, becoming a half-beast humanoid.
Not only did this massively enhance his physical strength, agility, and stamina, but it also drastically increased his chakra reserves. More impressively, his sense of smell became hundreds of times more sensitive than that of his ninja dog.
It could be said that Akira's forbidden technique elevated the strength of the entire Inuzuka clan by an entire tier.
Unfortunately, a forbidden technique is forbidden for a reason — the terrifying side effects.
Dog-Man Fusion required him to sacrifice his lifelong companion, fusing the ninja dog into his body. And as a half-beast, he retained many primal animal instincts.
For example — bizarre sexual interests.
And a love for eating feces.
Neither sacrificing one's ninja dog nor developing such habits were acceptable within the Inuzuka clan.
So Dog-Man Fusion was banned, and Inuzuka Akira was ostracized by his clan — until the Third Hokage extended a hand and recruited him into the ANBU.
Biwako had heard of this freak from the Inuzuka clan. His strength and sensory abilities were more than enough. She was confident they'd find Li Yao soon.
Since the Sea of War had already been thoroughly searched and it was confirmed that Li Yao wasn't there, Biwako's team began scouring the coastlines of nearby smaller countries.
During wartime, the Five Great Nations had heavy surveillance and their own detection methods. If Li Yao had fled into one of them, he would've been discovered sooner or later.
In contrast, those smaller countries that lacked the power to monitor their borders were the most likely hiding places for Li Yao.
What they didn't know was that Li Yao had passed straight through the Sea of War and crossed the Arctic to a large island on the opposite side of the planet near the polar circle — where he had gone into seclusion.
Their search was destined to fail.
Soon.
A full year passed.
Over the past year, the shinobi world war had become even more brutal.
But it was precisely such cruel battlefields that rapidly forged new powerhouses.
Land of Rain.
Dark clouds loomed, thunder rumbled, and rain poured relentlessly. On a battlefield full of craters and bodies, Konoha and Amegakure ninja lay in heaps.
Only four people and one beast remained standing.
Salamander Hanzō stood atop his massive summoned creature, looking down at three young Konoha ninja with a trace of sorrow in his eyes.
"This war may very well end in Konoha's victory. I'll spare your lives."
His low voice boomed.
Jiraiya frowned and replied, "We don't need your pity. We can still fight!"
Supported by Tsunade, Jiraiya refused to accept mercy from his enemy.
"Enough, Jiraiya," Tsunade tightened her grip on him. She knew their condition — they were at their limit. If they kept fighting, they'd only end up dead.
Hanzō didn't respond to Jiraiya's defiance. In truth, they had earned the right to it.
Though he hated to admit it, he had indeed been stopped by these three young ninja from Konoha.
If he was held up, if he was neutralized, the rest of Amegakure would be unable to resist Konoha's assault.
The moment his overwhelming dominance was lost, this war had already been lost.
If he could, he would've killed the three prodigies right here.
But he couldn't. He had already knocked their summoned creatures back, and he knew the situation.
If things really went to the brink, all three could activate the summoning seals in their bodies, and their respective summons would use Reverse Summoning to pull them away.
That Reverse Summoning was a unique technique of the Three Great Sage Lands — he couldn't kill them.
"You three are strong."
Hanzō didn't want to be remembered as the so-called Demigod of the Shinobi World who had gone all out yet failed to defeat three nameless Konoha brats. That would tarnish his reputation.
Even if Amegakure had lost, as long as his name still carried weight, the village could survive.
So, for both Amegakure and his own legacy, Hanzō personally granted Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru the title of the "Legendary Sannin of Konoha" during this battle.
From then on, the Konoha Sannin, backed by the fame bestowed by the Shinobi World's Demigod, became renowned throughout the shinobi world. And they lived up to Hanzō's expectations, growing stronger through subsequent battles and repeatedly holding their ground against him.
This way, those who could withstand Hanzō weren't just some nobodies — they were the legendary Konoha Sannin.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers—
One man. One blade. White hair and white light.
The name "Sakumo of Konoha" rose upon the corpses of countless elite Sand shinobi, making him a powerful ninja whose fame rivaled even the Sannin during this era.
In the other villages too, many young talents emerged from the warzones, rising rapidly to fame across the shinobi world.
(END CHAPTER)
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