After the Five Kage Summit, Chiba emerged as the undeniable victor.
Through the Anti-Konoha Alliance, the Dawn Alliance, and the formal alliance with Iwagakure, he had secured benefits far beyond what anyone could have imagined. At this moment, Kirigakure stood at the height of unprecedented transformation. Nearly every shinobi in the village had been strengthened by Hashirama Senju's body cells, their overall power rising across the board.
Chiba spared no expense, pouring the entire 1.3 billion ryō of Konoha's so-called "peace funds" directly into the construction and expansion of Kirigakure. A dedicated research department was established soon after, led by Pakura, with figures such as Kaguya Kimimaro working under her. As for Chiba himself, he had perfectly fused Hashirama's cells along with the power of five Mangekyō Sharingan, gaining an all-encompassing enhancement to his chakra reserves, vitality, physical strength, and ocular power.
Whether it was Chiba personally or Kirigakure as a whole, their strength had reached heights never seen before. More importantly, the Five Great Nations, bound by this new peace agreement, had entered a rare period of relative calm. Even the Akatsuki, pressured by the emergence of the Dawn Alliance, had been forced to restrain their movements for the time being.
Through the Dawn Alliance, Chiba also released intelligence suggesting that the Akatsuki might be targeting the tailed beasts. This caused every major nation to tighten their surveillance over their jinchūriki and tailed beasts, further disrupting the Akatsuki's plans.
…
Deep underground, within one of the Akatsuki's hidden bases, a mysterious masked man stood facing a broken figure.
Uchiha Itachi,now completely blind.
In the shadows behind them, Zetsu watched the exchange in silence, his presence barely perceptible.
"So, Uchiha Itachi," the masked man said coldly, "it seems you really have become useless."
"What? Did Pain finally cast you aside?"
Itachi's heart was as lifeless as the empty sockets where his eyes had once been. His voice carried no emotion.
"I was already a dead man," he replied calmly. "And now… I can do nothing at all. Why would the Akatsuki keep someone like me?"
The masked man let out a quiet, mocking laugh. "I knew it would turn out this way."
He suddenly produced a small vial filled with preservative fluid.
"Here," he said. "Two Sharingan. I'll let you use them."
Itachi's expression shifted slightly in surprise. "Sharingan?"
"Correct," the masked man replied. "I've collected them from clan members over a very long span of time."
Itachi nodded slowly. If this man truly was who he claimed to be,Uchiha Madara,then from the Warring States Period to the present day, it would have been easy for him to acquire Sharingan from fallen Uchiha.
"Of course," the masked man continued coolly, "they're only ordinary Sharingan. Even if I give them to you, they won't grant you any extraordinary power."
"But at the very least, they'll make you useful again, and ensure that Pain won't throw you out a second time."
After a moment of silence, Itachi spoke. "What do you want me to do?"
The masked man chuckled softly. "You're sharp, I'll give you that."
"You'll act as my spy within the Akatsuki."
"Although Pain is the leader on the surface, his relationship with me is nothing more than cooperation. I need someone to watch his movements and report back to me at all times."
Itachi frowned slightly. "Isn't that something the one behind you could do?"
He was referring to Zetsu, lurking in the darkness.
The masked man snorted. "Zetsu's abilities have limits. There are things he simply can't do."
There was another reason he did not voice aloud.
Zetsu had originally been created to monitor Uchiha Obito himself. Trusting him completely was never an option.
In the original course of events, the Akatsuki's true infiltrator had been Kisame Hoshigaki. But now, that role had shifted to Uchiha Itachi.
After a long sigh, Itachi finally said, "Very well."
At this point, he no longer had any other choice.
Zetsu let out a strange chuckle. "Excellent. Now the Akatsuki has been infiltrated by us as well."
"Madara-sama," he added playfully, "when will you personally join them?"
The masked man's voice turned cold. "Soon. But not yet. The time has not come."
"The Akatsuki aren't having an easy time either now," Zetsu said with a sigh, his tone carrying a rare hint of helplessness. "That Mizukage, Chiba… he somehow uncovered a shocking amount of information about the Akatsuki. He even learned of our true objective,capturing the tailed beasts. I have no idea how such intelligence was leaked."
He continued, voice low and grim, "On top of that, he joined forces with the Five Great Nations to establish the Dawn Alliance. Because of this, many of the Akatsuki's plans can no longer move forward smoothly. The last time I met with Pain, even he said that the organization must lie low for now, avoiding the spotlight and suppressing its ambitions."
"At present, the Akatsuki only take on commissioned missions or jobs from underground black markets like the exchange houses. That's all we can do."
Zetsu let out another breath. "This Chiba… it feels as though he understands everything happening across the entire shinobi world. Could he really be some kind of god?"
The mysterious masked man replied coldly, his voice sharp and resolute. "Whether he is or not doesn't matter. Sooner or later, he will stand against us. When that time comes, we cannot allow him to live."
At the mention of Chiba's name, Uchiha Itachi fell silent. Merely thinking of that man was enough to plunge him into overwhelming pain and despair. Chiba had not only defeated him utterly, but had also completely shattered his plans for the night of the clan's massacre. Worse still, he had forced Itachi to witness Konoha's internal conflict with his own eyes, watching as both sides suffered devastating losses. In the end, Chiba had even cruelly taken his Mangekyō Sharingan from him.
It could be said that everything he once had,his strength, his resolve, his very purpose,had been destroyed by that single man.
The masked man glanced at Itachi's expression and immediately understood what he was thinking. He snorted coldly. "Hmph. Uchiha Itachi, don't even think about revenge. With your current strength, being able to cling to life at all is already a blessing."
"If I hadn't seen at least some remaining use in you, why would I have bothered saving you and letting you live until now?"
Once again, Itachi said nothing. For a moment, the underground base fell into a heavy silence, the three figures each harboring their own schemes and calculations within their hearts.
…
Using the momentum he had built through earlier strategies, Chiba secured several years of peaceful development for himself and Kirigakure. After a period of rest and recovery, the village now brimmed with vitality and ambition. In terms of overall strength, Kirigakure had already surpassed the declining Konoha and Iwagakure, standing on nearly equal footing with the mighty Kumogakure.
Of course, this was a comparison of comprehensive power. If true war were to break out, far too many variables would come into play.
Once Kirigakure had fully stabilized and could continue developing independently, Chiba began preparing for his next objective,one he had mentioned long ago: mastering the natural energy of the shinobi world.
This was none other than Sage Mode, the power of senjutsu chakra.
In truth, senjutsu was the most fundamental power of this world. Long before Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and the God Tree descended, the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku already existed, having mastered the art of drawing upon natural energy to strengthen himself. Later on, he even passed this power to the Sage of Six Paths.
By comparison, Kaguya, the God Tree, and the chakra fruit were, in essence, foreign elements. The God Tree's true function was to devour the natural energy of an entire planet and condense it into a chakra fruit for use by the Ōtsutsuki clan. That was the core of their existence.
If Chiba wished to pursue senjutsu, he had several possible paths. The most famous were, of course, the Three Great Sage Regions: Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave.
Mount Myōboku appeared most frequently in history. From Jiraiya to Minato Namikaze, and later Naruto Uzumaki, generation after generation of key figures formed contracts with the toads. Even the inhabitants of Mount Myōboku themselves were unforgettable,from the Great Toad Sage, who had lived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths and possessed prophetic abilities, to Fukasaku and Shima, who wielded powerful senjutsu and fought alongside Jiraiya. There were also Gamabunta, Gamaken, Gamahiro, Gamachū, and many others, as well as the younger generation like Gamatatsu and Gamakichi. Beyond them existed countless unique toads,scroll toads, power toads, fortress toads, and more,each playing an important role alongside the protagonists.
Shikkotsu Forest appeared often as well, though its connection to senjutsu was far less pronounced. Tsunade herself never displayed the use of Sage Mode. Moreover, the true body of the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest had never been fully revealed. Even during the Fourth Great Ninja War, when Tsunade and Sakura Haruno combined their full strength, they managed to summon only a tenth of its true form,enough to hint at its terrifying power. There was speculation that Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode originated from Shikkotsu Forest, but this was never confirmed. Hashirama himself was already known as the "Little God Tree," possessing a Sage Body, Wood Release, immense chakra reserves, and unparalleled vitality. It was entirely possible that he had comprehended senjutsu on his own.
That left only Ryūchi Cave,the power Orochimaru had pursued his entire life, yet never fully mastered. Ironically, it was his successor, Kabuto Yakushi, who achieved the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave, claiming that he had transcended from a white snake into a dragon. Judging purely by combat power, Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode seemed even stronger than that of Mount Myōboku. Facing Uchiha Sasuke with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the reanimated Itachi, whose strength surpassed his living self, Sage Kabuto still maintained overwhelming dominance. If not for Itachi's sudden use of the forbidden technique Izanami, Kabuto would have been impossible to defeat.
Chiba's destination this time was Ryūchi Cave.
Mount Myōboku had deep ties with Konoha. From Jiraiya to Minato, its contracts had always been bound to Konoha's shinobi. Expecting Mount Myōboku to hand over senjutsu secrets to Kirigakure's Mizukage,an enemy of Konoha,was simply unrealistic. Shikkotsu Forest's senjutsu, meanwhile, lacked sufficient demonstrated combat potential.
Only Ryūchi Cave truly captured Chiba's interest.
Its location, however, was shrouded in mystery. Very few could find it, and those who did were said to die within its depths. For Chiba, though, this was no obstacle. He possessed Orochimaru's research notes, and Orochimaru,who had been fascinated by white snakes since childhood,valued Ryūchi Cave second only to immortality itself. His records contained extensive details about its secrets.
Chiba handed the affairs of Kirigakure back to Gen'yū once more. Each department continued to function smoothly, requiring no constant interference from him. However, when Chiba decided to depart in search of Ryūchi Cave to cultivate senjutsu, Terumī Mei sought him out and insisted on accompanying him.
"Doesn't Kirigakure still need your strength?" Chiba asked with a smile.
Mei replied softly, "I need your strength more."
Chiba paused, then laughed. "You've learned to say dangerous things, Mei."
She smiled brightly. "Isn't that because you led me astray?" She added lightly, "Don't worry. I can leave the Anbu affairs to Ao and Bi. Besides, under your wise leadership, Kirigakure is thriving more each day. Who would dare provoke us now?"
Chiba chuckled. "That's true. Fine,since you're being so bold, I'll take you with me."
Mei's eyes lit up with joy. She leapt into his arms and pressed a quick, fragrant kiss to his lips.
Before long, the two left Kirigakure together, following faint traces toward Ryūchi Cave. There was no urgency to their journey, so Chiba did not rush. Along the way, he and Mei traveled through mountains and rivers, savoring rare moments of leisure. Since becoming Mizukage, such days had been almost nonexistent.
They were inseparable, their journey filled with warmth and quiet intimacy, yet Chiba never stopped observing their surroundings. Eventually, he discovered a mysterious village where the natural energy was already incredibly dense. He also heard rumors of a child with a split personality,normally gentle, yet prone to violent rampages during which he would indiscriminately attack and kill. To protect others, the child had locked himself inside a mountain cave.
Chiba's heart stirred. There was no doubt,this was Jūgo. It confirmed that they were close to Ryūchi Cave, as Jūgo's curse mark transformation was essentially an unstable variant of Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu, a flawed Sage Mode. It seemed Orochimaru had not yet found him. If so, then Jūgo and Karin could both be recruited ahead of time. With Kimimaro Kaguya and Suigetsu Hōzuki already under Chiba's command, adding Jūgo and Karin would leave Orochimaru nearly blind of powerful subordinates.
After some thought, Chiba decided to visit Ryūchi Cave first and deal with Jūgo on the return journey. Following the flow of natural energy, he and Mei finally drew close to Ryūchi Cave.
And with each step forward, the number of snakes around them continued to grow.
Terumī Mei was a strong and capable woman, but even so, the sight of so many snakes still made her feel deeply uncomfortable. Their cold scales and constant slithering stirred an instinctive sense of revulsion she could not fully suppress.
Chiba glanced at her reaction and laughed softly. "I told you not to come, but you insisted. And now you're scared?"
"I'm not scared," Mei retorted, turning her head slightly as if to avoid looking too closely. "I just feel… a bit uncomfortable, that's all."
At that very moment, her expression suddenly changed. Her eyes lit up, and the unease from earlier vanished as excitement took over. "Ryūchi Cave! We found it!!!"
Chiba raised his head and followed her gaze into the distance. There, looming before them, was an enormous cavern carved into the mountainside, its scale both ancient and awe-inspiring. Above the entrance, three massive characters were carved deeply into the stone.
Ryūchi Cave.
Staring at those familiar words, Chiba smiled faintly. One of the Three Great Sage Regions,Ryūchi Cave. At last, he had arrived.
Just then, a furious voice thundered from within the cave, carrying overwhelming pressure. "Who dares trespass upon our sacred land?!"
Chiba turned his gaze toward the source of the voice,and what he saw made his eyes narrow slightly. It was, unexpectedly, a familiar face.
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