Chapter 528
The Reincarnation Eye, Activated!
Chapter 528 The Reincarnation Eye, Activated!
Naruto was so excited he almost jumped up:
"I will definitely work hard!"
Seeing Naruto's happy expression, Yahiko finally nodded:
"Alright, since the Hokage has said so, Naruto, you must remember that the Akatsuki organization has very strict discipline. If you violate the rules, I will immediately disqualify you."
"Yes, I promise to obey the rules!"
After finishing their business, Yahiko stood up:
"Let's arrange accommodations first, and continue discussing trade details this afternoon."
"You guys go first, Xiao Nan stays behind."
Kiyoshi said.
Yahiko and Konan were both stunned.
Naruto also looked at Kiyoshi with curiosity.
"There are some things I'd like to discuss with Xiaonan alone."
This reason is perfectly reasonable.
Yahiko nodded:
"Alright, then I'll take Naruto to familiarize himself with the Akatsuki's basic rules and regulations first."
Naruto happily followed Yahiko out of the office.
The door closed gently, leaving only Kiyoshi and Konan in the office.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting square patches of light on the wooden floor.
Xiao Nan sat in a chair with her hands on her knees, her posture upright.
The wide cut of the black robe with red cloud patterns concealed her figure, but Qing Si could see the undulating curves beneath the robe, her slender waist, full breasts, and the rounded outline of her legs.
"how are things?"
Kiyoshi spoke first.
"Fortunately."
Xiao Nan's answer was brief.
She looked at Kiyoshi with a hint of wariness in her eyes.
"Governing the Land of Rain must be very difficult."
"Yahiko took on most of the work, while I was mainly responsible for intelligence and security."
silence.
Xiao Nan's fingers unconsciously caressed the fabric of her robe.
She was very nervous; she had a feeling that Kiyoshi might do something else.
To Konan's surprise, Kiyoshi did not do anything.
Unbeknownst to her, Kaguya Otsutsuki's gaze had just swept over this area.
…………
At 2 p.m. sharp, Yahiko arrived at the office.
He saw that Konan and Kiyoshi were discussing something, and the atmosphere between the two was very harmonious. He was slightly taken aback, but did not ask any further questions.
"Lord Hokage, may we begin the negotiations this afternoon?"
"can."
Kiyoshi nodded.
Where is Naruto?
"That kid has so much energy. He's been asking all sorts of questions all morning, and he even insisted on showing off his newly learned Ice Release technique. He's still practicing it over there now."
"Yeah."
Qing Si nodded slightly.
The subsequent negotiations lasted for two hours, mainly focusing on finalizing the details.
The trade agreement between Konoha and the Land of Rain has been basically reached, with only a few final clauses remaining to be considered.
"Regarding the dispatch time of technical guidance personnel."
Yahiko said.
"We hope to arrive before spring planting so that we can catch up with this year's planting season."
"Yes, Konoha will send out the first training team in the middle of next month."
Qing Si signed the document.
"In addition, Konoha is willing to provide a batch of high-quality seeds as a friendly aid."
Yahiko's eyes lit up:
"This is wonderful. The seeds from the Land of Rain have always been of low quality and the yield has been limited."
The negotiations concluded with both sides satisfied.
Yahiko put away the documents and stood up to take his leave.
“Then we will return to the Land of Rain tomorrow. I will send someone to liaise with Konoha regarding the specific details of the agreement’s implementation.”
"Be careful on the road."
Kiyoshi said.
As he reached the door, Yahiko suddenly remembered something, turned back, and said:
"By the way, I will report Naruto's situation to you regularly. As an unofficial member, he will not participate in dangerous missions, so please rest assured."
"I trust your judgment."
Kiyoshi nodded.
It was already evening when Yahiko and Konan left the Hokage Building.
"Xiao Nan".
Yahiko suddenly said.
Do you really think Naruto joining is a good thing?
Xiao Nan was packing her luggage when she heard this and looked up:
What are you worried about?
"I'm worried..."
Yahiko walked to the window and looked at the night view of Konoha outside.
"War is coming soon. The Hidden Clouds, Hidden Stones, Hidden Mist, and other major powers are all secretly preparing for war. How long can the Akatsuki's ideal of pursuing peace last in this chaotic world?"
His voice carried an unusual weariness.
As the leader of the Akatsuki organization, Yahiko was under immense pressure.
Domestic economic problems, border conflicts, and the covetous eyes of major powers—he has to worry about every single one of them.
"Let's take one step at a time."
Even an optimist like Yahiko could only say that.
…………
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.
Kiyoshi stood by the window, also gazing at the night view of Konoha.
"Lord Seiji."
Honglian's voice came from behind.
Kiyoshi turned around:
"what happened?"
"The matter you asked me to investigate has yielded results."
Honglian handed over a report.
"Kumakunobi is indeed secretly preparing for war, with frequent troop movements. The target is likely Konoha or Iwagakure."
Kiyoshi took the report and quickly glanced at it.
"Has that brute Raikage finally lost his temper?"
Should we prepare in advance?
"Yes, notify the heads of all the major families to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow."
Kiyoshi said.
"In addition, strengthen border reconnaissance efforts. I need to know every move the Hidden Cloud Village makes."
"Yes!"
Honglian accepted the order and left.
Kiyoshi looked out the window again.
He is now an even bigger Otsutsuki than the Otsutsuki himself.
If he doesn't let other inferior beings see his noble demeanor, wouldn't he be a useless Otsutsuki?
…………
The Land of Rain, the Akatsuki organization's secret base.
The underground space was filled with a damp atmosphere and a faint smell of blood.
In the dim light, Kisame Hoshigaki stood shirtless in front of a huge floor-length mirror.
In the center of his chest, a pale face belonging to Hashirama Senju was quietly growing there.
The face had its eyes closed, as if it were asleep, but the skin had completely fused with Kisame's own muscle tissue, and the vein-like patterns spread out from the edges of the face, penetrating into his chest like tree roots.
"This thing..."
Kisame poked Hashirama's face with his finger; the touch was icy cold.
"Can it really make me stronger?"
His voice echoed in the empty room.
Obito, wearing a vortex mask, slowly emerged from the shadows.
The right eye, the only one visible, gleamed crimson in the dim light.
"of course."
Obito's voice was deep.
"The cells of Hashirama Senju contain the power that made him known as the God of Shinobi. His vitality, chakra reserves, regenerative abilities... everything will undergo a qualitative leap."
Kisame turned his head, his shark-like teeth gleaming coldly under the light:
"But I've heard that people who fail to transplant their own trees will turn into trees."
"That's what happens to mediocre people."
Obito walked up to Kisame and looked at the strange face in the mirror as well.
"And you, Kisame Hoshigaki, the man who holds the title of the Tailed Beast without a tail, how could you possibly be defeated by such a small difficulty?"
Kisame was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned:
"That's right, I'm not the kind of small fry who will die easily."
He moved his shoulders and could feel the unfamiliar chakra surging within him.
It was a completely different feeling from the chakra transmitted through Samehada.
"What about the rest?"
Kisame asked.
"They all received transplants."
Obito said.
"Sasori improved the puppet core, and that old monster Kakuzu was even more at home. His Earth Grudge Fear had an unusually good compatibility with Hashirama's cells."
"So, what's the next step?"
Kisame picked up Samehada, which was leaning against the wall. The large sword, covered with barbs, seemed to sense the new power within its master and trembled with excitement.
This is a replica of Samehada; the real one is in Kiyoshi's hands.
However, the results are almost identical.
"war."
Obito uttered that word.
"A war that could change the landscape of the ninja world."
"This is also the final and last holy war."
He went ahead and saw a huge psychic inscription carved on the ground.
"The Fourth Hokage Kiyoshi."
Obito's voice turned cold.
"That man is too dangerous. His ideology, his power, everything about him is undermining the progress of the Eye of the Moon Project."
Kisame carries Samehada:
"So we're going to kill him?"
"Do not."
Obito shook his head.
“We have no chance of winning in a direct confrontation. Kiyoshi’s strength has already surpassed the level of a regular ninja.”
"What should I do?"
"joint."
A dirt road.
"Kumakushi Village, the Fourth Raikage A, and..."
"The Land of Lightning is developing a weapon, an ultimate weapon capable of destroying the moon in one strike. With it, even Kiyoshi would have to take it seriously."
Kisame's eyes lit up:
"Interesting. When do we depart?"
"Now."
Obito's figure was sucked into the Kamui dimension, leaving only his last words.
"Prepare to embrace a new era, Kisame. A world without false peace, without pointless entanglements, only the real."
Kisame looked at the spot where Obito had disappeared and reached out to touch the Hashirama face on his chest.
The eyelids on that face seemed to twitch.
"The new era..."
Kisame muttered to himself.
"Hopefully it won't be too boring."
He donned the Akatsuki's black robe with red clouds, shouldered Samehada, and headed deeper into the base.
The doors to the rooms on both sides of the corridor were open.
Kisame saw Sasori, the red-haired boy who was inserting a syringe into his arm, the pale green liquid slowly being pushed in, his puppet-like face expressionless.
And Kakuzu, who is stuffing a still-beating heart into the suture in his back, has "Hashira cells" making the heart beat exceptionally strongly.
Everyone has changed.
They became more powerful, but also more...inhuman.
Kisame grinned.
That's correct.
Ninjas are tools, weapons. Emotions, bonds, and peace are all fantasies of the weak.
Only power is real.
Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village, Raikage's office.
The Fourth Raikage, Ai, sat behind a huge desk; his imposing figure made even the specially made chair seem small.
His bronze skin was covered with battle scars, and his long white hair cascaded over his shoulders like a lion's mane.
"so."
The Raikage's voice boomed like thunder, "The Akatsuki wants to cooperate?"
In the center of the room, space distorted, and Obito's figure slowly emerged.
"Yes."
Obito got straight to the point.
"We have a common enemy—Konoha, and the Fourth Hokage Kiyoshi who is too powerful."
Raikage snorted coldly:
"Konoha is indeed a threat. Kiyoshi has been overreaching these past few years. He controls Sunagakure, intimidates Kirigakure, and even the old man of Iwagakure is starting to waver."
He stood up, his height of over two meters creating a strong sense of oppression:
"But the Akatsuki organization isn't any better. Do you really think I don't know what you did in the Land of Rain?"
A smirk appeared on Obito's lips beneath the mask:
"Lord Raikage, there is no good or bad in politics, only interests. What Akatsuki wants is a world where no large countries bully small countries, while what Kumogakure wants is the hegemony of the Land of Lightning. On the point of opposing Konoha, our interests are aligned."
The Raikage walked to the window and looked down at the view of Kumogakure.
The ninjas were training hard on the training ground, and the sounds of lightning release explosions echoed one after another.
In the distance, a massive tower-like building is under construction; it is the launch pad for the Cloud Village's latest secret weapon, the Chakra Cannon.
Orochimaru has been here before.
"Raikage suddenly said."
He said that Kiyoshi's power source might not be simply ninjutsu.
Raikage turned around, his blue eyes sharp as an eagle's.
"One theory is that... he possesses power that originates from the same source as the Sage of Six Paths."
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Obito's Sharingan beneath his mask slowly rotated:
“That’s normal. To us, he should be considered a… higher being.”
Obito knew a little about the past, such as that Kaguya Otsutsuki was a member of the Otsutsuki clan from beyond the heavens, something Madara had told him.
And Kiyoshi may very well have become such a being.
"Therefore, ordinary ninja army confrontations are meaningless."
The Yondaime Raikage said.
"I can provide the chakra that the Chakra Cannon is lacking."
A dirt road.
"Then there's no problem."
The Fourth Raikage smiled slightly.
"Of course, that's assuming you can hit it. You should know Kiyoshi's speed."
Obito closed the document.
“We have a way to force him to take this hit.”
The Fourth Raikage continued.
"any solution?"
Obito was puzzled.
"Konoha".
The Fourth Raikage paused, then continued:
"What if the cannon wasn't aimed at Kiyoshi himself, but at Konoha Village? Given that man's personality, he would face the chakra cannon head-on to protect the village."
“Interesting…using what he values most to force him to make the most foolish choice.”
Obito thought this suggestion was good.
Obito's figure began to distort:
"The Chakra Cannon should be fully tested and adjusted in about a month, right?"
"Twenty-five days."
Ray Shadow corrected.
"Twenty-five days from now, I will conduct a test launch in Thunder Canyon on the border of the Land of Lightning. I hope that members of the Akatsuki organization will be there to observe."
"must."
The spatial vortex swallowed Obito's figure.
Only Raikage remained in the office.
He stood up and walked to the wall, where a map of the ninja world hung.
His fingers pressed on the leaf.
“Kiyoshi…” Raikage murmured to himself.
"This time, I will make you understand that strength is not everything. Sometimes, valuing certain things too much can become your greatest weakness."
Outside the window, the sky above Kumogakure was covered with dark clouds.
Thunder rumbled in the distance; a downpour was imminent.
…………
The next day, in a certain sea area of the ninja world.
The azure sea stretched to the horizon, shimmering in the sunlight.
Occasionally, seabirds would fly by, emitting clear calls.
Kiyoshi floated in mid-air, his white divine robes swaying gently in the sea breeze.
He closed his eyes, sensing the flow of chakra in the sea below.
It's been a thousand years.
The place where he is now is the place where the divine tree barrier was set up a thousand years ago.
More than a thousand years have passed since he and Kaguya Otsutsuki returned to this era through the Dragon Vein.
The world has changed dramatically. The site of the once sacred tree has now sunk to the bottom of the sea and become a coral reef.
"This is it."
Kiyoshi opened his eyes, and his body slowly descended into the sea.
The icy seawater enveloped him, but a chakra protective membrane naturally formed around him, keeping the seawater out.
As the depth increased, the light gradually dimmed. The pressure of the deep sea was enough to crush an ordinary ninja, but for Kiyoshi, it was just a gentle breeze.
After diving 300 meters, the underwater scenery came into view.
The massive coral reefs stretch out like underwater mountains, with schools of colorful fish swimming among them.
In the center of the coral reef, an unnaturally flat area caught Kiyoshi's attention.
That's the outer wall of the barrier.
Over the course of a thousand years, the surface of the barrier has been covered with a thick layer of coral and seaweed.
Qing Siyou approached and reached out to brush away the residue adhering to the surface.
The corals and seaweed fell away, revealing the smooth, shimmering barrier wall beneath.
What surprised Kiyoshi even more was that there were murals near the barrier wall.
He stepped back a little so he could see the whole picture.
The murals were painted with a special chakra pigment and remain clear despite thousands of years of seawater erosion.
The screen is divided into several parts.
The first image shows him standing side by side with Kaguya Otsutsuki under the Divine Tree.
In the painting, he is dressed in simple ancient clothing, while Kaguya is dressed in a white kimono. The two are holding hands, with faint smiles on their faces.
The second image shows him instructing the disciples of the Ninja Clan.
Dozens of people sat cross-legged in front of him, listening attentively. Among them, the faces of several people were vaguely recognizable, including Enjiro, Yuuko, and others.
The third image depicts the scene of him creating the nine tailed beasts.
Nine giant beasts of different shapes flew out of his hands and rushed in all directions.
The fourth picture...
Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow slightly.
The fourth painting depicts him standing in front of the Dragon Vein Pool.
There, another figure was watching Kiyoshi; it was none other than Hagoromo.
Below all the murals is a text.
It was written in ancient script, but Qing Si could understand it.
To our ancestor a thousand years from now:
If you see these paintings, it means a very, very long time has passed.
I am Yuzhi, and I have lived for 323 years. In the last ten years of my life, I came here every year to paint a picture outside the barrier.
I think if you come back someday, you might want to see what happened next.
Lord Yu Yi would occasionally come to visit, but he never entered the barrier.
He said this was your and Kaguya-sama's place, and he shouldn't disturb you.
The Ninjutsu sect has developed very well. Although it has experienced division, civil war, and reorganization, the seeds of chakra have been sown throughout the ninja world.
At least some of the principles you taught have been passed down.
Sometimes I wonder, if you and Kaguya were still here, would the ninja world be different?
But there are no "ifs".
I can only do my best to record everything I can remember.
Finally, please allow me to say something selfishly:
I miss you so much.
Your disciple,
"Haori"
That concludes the text.
Kiyoshi stood on the seabed, silent for a long time.
He could picture the scene: an elderly woman with white hair who travels long distances every year to come here and paint outside the barrier with trembling hands.
Three hundred and twenty-three years old is an astonishingly long lifespan for humans.
She persisted for ten years.
Just to leave these records for him.
"Haori..."
Kiyoshi murmured the name.
He gave her a drop of blood, intending for her to better spread chakra, but unexpectedly it allowed her to live for more than three centuries.
Should we resurrect her?
Kiyoshi pondered this question.
The Pure Land is under his control; he can summon back Yuzhi's soul at any time and reshape her body using Yin-Yang Release, as long as he wishes.
These are all within Qing Si's grasp.
Then Kiyoshi shook his head and looked into the depths of the barrier.
There are more important things to do now.
He reached out and placed his hand on the barrier wall.
The barrier recognized his chakra, rippled, and an entrance slowly opened.
Kiyoshi swam in.
The interior of the barrier was a completely different scene.
The seawater was completely isolated, the air was dry, the temperature was suitable, and the ground was covered with smooth stone slabs.
These were all created by him using Yin-Yang Escape.
In the center of the barrier, the divine tree still stands.
But it has become much larger than it was a thousand years ago.
The trunk is over 100 meters in diameter, and the canopy almost touches the top of the barrier, with a soft fluorescence emanating from its branches and leaves.
Most strikingly, a fruit hangs in the tree canopy, radiating a powerful surge of chakra.
"The second one..."
Qing Si flew to the sacred tree and reached out to touch the trunk.
He could sense that the chakra contained in this fruit was purer and more abundant than the one he had consumed a thousand years ago.
Over a thousand years, the sacred tree absorbed unimaginable natural energy, all of which was concentrated in this fruit.
Kiyoshi picked the fruit.
The fruit felt warm and smooth to the touch, and its weight far exceeded its appearance.
He picked up the fruit and swallowed it.
The fruit pulp melts in your mouth, transforming into a torrent of chakra that surges into your body.
If the last time it was like a surging river, then this time it's like a towering tsunami.
Golden chakra surged from Kiyoshi's body, forming a pillar of light that shot into the sky. If it weren't for the barrier, this pillar of light would have been visible to people within a hundred miles.
His body began to change.
Golden patterns appeared on his skin, the chakra of the Divine Tree Fruit transforming his body.
The bones became denser, the muscle fibers reorganized, and every cell rejoiced, greedily absorbing the power accumulated over a thousand years.
The most dramatic changes occur in the eyes.
Kiyoshi's originally jet-black pupils began to glow with a deep blue light.
The blue light grew brighter and deeper, as if it had condensed the entire galaxy into the pupil.
The shape of the pupil began to change, gradually elongating from a circle, eventually forming a strange pattern.
At the center is a deep blue dot, like a star-like particle of light, slowly rotating.
Tenseigan!
What Kiyoshi could "see" had changed.
It's not about using your eyes, but about using your senses.
The flowing seawater outside the barrier, the changing clouds above the sea, the villages on the coastline hundreds of miles away, and even the chakra fluctuations of Konoha further away... everything was clearly presented in his perception.
time flies.
After an unknown amount of time, the golden beam of light finally began to slowly recede.
Kiyoshi opened his eyes.
That was an even more azure Tenseigan than that of Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
(End of this chapter)