As Nagato turned around, he waved his hand, sending a soft, white substance flying toward Konan.
Catching the pliable, clay-like material, Konan examined it closely and asked, "What is this?"
"This is a spore clone created from White Zetsu," Nagato explained. "It can mimic the chakra of others. If you keep it with you, the Spirit Transformation Technique won't be able to detect our chakra signatures."
"A clone from White Zetsu with such an ability? Incredible!" Konan exclaimed, carefully storing the spore away with a serious expression.
"The true extent of White Zetsu's abilities is beyond what we ever imagined," Nagato said with a faint smile. After inheriting Madara Uchiha's legacy, he had only begun to understand the immense potential of White Zetsu.
"No wonder it was created by the Divine Tree," Konan remarked in awe.
Nagato had shared much ancient knowledge with Konan after receiving Madara's inheritance, including the origins and true nature of the Gedo Statue.
Just then, a White Zetsu emerged slowly from the ground nearby.
After surfacing, the White Zetsu addressed Nagato, "Nagato, we've identified a suitable candidate to recruit into the Akatsuki."
"Oh? Who is it? What's their name?" Nagato asked immediately.
At present, the Akatsuki could only count on him as a true high-level combatant. He often found himself stretched too thin when attempting to carry out his plans.
"The person is named Kakuzu, a bounty hunter who practices a secret technique called Earth Grudge Fear. It allows him to steal others' hearts to extend his life and wield the elemental chakra affinities of his victims," White Zetsu explained.
"He sounds formidable," Nagato said with a nod.
White Zetsu shrugged. "He is. He was once an elite shinobi from Takigakure. In the past, he was tasked with assassinating the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Although he failed, escaping alive from a confrontation with the First Hokage speaks volumes about his abilities."
"That's certainly impressive," Nagato acknowledged. "Where is he now?"
"He's been operating near the underground bounty exchange in the Land of Hot Water," White Zetsu replied.
"Understood." Nagato turned to Konan. "Konan, I'll leave the matters in Amegakure to you for now. I'll return as soon as I can."
Konan didn't respond verbally, merely nodding in silent agreement.
In the Hokage's office in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe, his face clouded with worry.
The borders of the Land of Fire were becoming increasingly unstable. Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure had all intensified their infiltration efforts almost simultaneously.
Numerous shinobi squads had been stealthily invading the Land of Fire, pillaging and wreaking havoc in towns and villages along the borders.
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire was furious, demanding that Hiruzen devise a solution promptly. Failure to do so would lead to a significant reduction in Konoha's military budget.
Desperate to resolve the crisis, Hiruzen had even dispatched Danzo to handle matters.
This wasn't a mere skirmish anymore, it had escalated into a small-scale war.
Hiruzen had already deployed all available forces. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Danzo were each overseeing different fronts. Despite their efforts, some regions remained inadequately defended, forcing the Uchiha and Hyuga clans to step in and fill the gaps.
Yet Hiruzen refrained from sending Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Akira out of the village.
With Konoha's top combatants dispersed, the village was vulnerable. Someone had to stay behind to guard the Jinchuriki.
Moreover, Hiruzen harbored concerns about the Uchiha clan gaining too much glory. Excessive achievements could pose a threat to his position as Hokage.
The Uchiha clan had always harbored ambitions toward the Hokage title—a prospect Hiruzen couldn't ignore. The position of Hokage could not fall into the hands of the Uchiha.
Standing by the window, Hiruzen looked out over the village, silently praying, Let the conflict not escalate further…
But the course of events would not align with Hiruzen's prayers. While tensions with Iwagakure remained contained, the situation with Kumogakure spiraled out of control.
By the end of December in the 51st year of the Konoha calendar, war broke out.
A thousand shinobi from Kumogakure invaded the Land of Fire through the Land of Hot Water, clashing with the Konoha forces led by Jiraiya at the border.
The invasion was led by Dodai, a trusted person of the Third Raikage. Wielding the Kekkei Genkai Lava Release, Dodai was a formidable opponent, though not on Jiraiya's level.
Caught off guard, Jiraiya's forces suffered heavy losses.
Thankfully, Jiraiya summoned the toads of Mount Myoboku and entered Sage Mode, turning the tide and preventing total annihilation.
Despite the war, both sides restrained themselves, keeping the conflict at a relatively low intensity.
Time passed, and by March of the 52nd year, the war between Konoha and Kumogakure continued. The two forces clashed repeatedly along the borders of the Land of Fire.
Though the conflict wasn't as intense as it could have been, the war had still caused Konoha's military budget to soar.
The daimyo, who had planned to cut funding, had no choice but to increase it again.
Meanwhile, Akira wasn't faring well. Moments earlier, Houshi, who was overseeing the experiment to transplant Hashirama's cells, had informed him of the experiment's failure.
The reason for the failure was unclear. The clone body couldn't perfectly replicate the original's traits.
Not only did it fail to produce the Mangekyo Sharingan, but it couldn't even manifest the basic Sharingan.
A clone without the Sharingan was obviously useless for experimenting with Hashirama's cells.
The clone body of Uchiha Obito was no different from an ordinary Uchiha's body. It lacked the Yin Release prowess unique to Mangekyo Sharingan users.
"Looks like cloning technology isn't advanced enough yet…" Akira thought to himself.
He was certain that Mangekyo Sharingan could be cloned—it had been demonstrated in the Boruto era, where Orochimaru had successfully mass-produced clones with Mangekyo Sharingan.
The current failure could only mean that the technology wasn't mature enough yet.
"But why is Hashirama's clone so perfect?" Akira wondered, staring at the clone that bore an uncanny resemblance to Hashirama.
The clone exhibited the same overwhelming life force as the original, a trait so potent that even an ordinary shinobi could sense it.
Akira was sure that if the suppression on the clone's consciousness were lifted, it would develop rapidly, perhaps even surpassing expectations.
"What's the difference here?" Akira mused, baffled.
After pondering for a long time, he couldn't come up with an answer. This wasn't his area of expertise, after all. As the saying goes, a different trade is like a different mountain.
Expecting himself to solve it was a fool's errand.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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