Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

In the Land of Earth, at Iwagakure village,

Surrounded by mountains and rocks, this village was quite secluded. It could indeed be described as an impenetrable fortress that had never been breached by outside enemies. However, the same geographical features also made communication with the outside world rather difficult.

Nevertheless, news of the battle in Uzugakure quickly reached the village and arrived on the desk of Tsuchikage's office.

Inside an elaborately decorated office, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat in his chair deeply focused on reading an intelligence scroll lying on his desk.

His eyebrows were tightly knotted; his expression alternated between shock and solemnity. After finishing the scroll, he remained silent for a long time. Finally leaning back in his chair, he sighed heavily while looking up at the ceiling.

At nearly fifty years old, Onoki had a comical appearance—he sported an unusually large red nose—and stood at just four-foot-three, making him extremely short. Even dressed in his ornate Tsuchikage robe, he looked quite unremarkable.

Yet this seemingly ordinary old man mastered a unique Kekkei Tota known only in the shinobi world as [Dust Release]. His strength was no less formidable when compared to peerless giants like the Third Raikage.

Over the past decade since ascending as Tsuchikage, Onoki worked diligently to elevate both the numbers and strength of Iwagakure shinobi to unprecedented heights.

In the past year alone, driven by ambition, he had allied with the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure to wage war against Konoha and divide the Land of Fire among themselves.

Everything appeared set—the moment he gave the order, thousands of Iwagakure troops would cross the border and ignite a full-scale war.

Yet suddenly, news of Uzugakure's battle struck Onoki like a thunderclap straight to the head.

"This Uzumaki Heiyan is no less formidable than a second Hashirama Senju."

Onoki picked up the file on Heiyan, gazing intently at the youthful face in the photo, murmuring absentmindedly.

Born during the Warring States era, he once had the privilege to witness the grandeur of the so-called God of Shinobi—an insurmountable peak that one could only admire from below.

Now, Onoki felt as if a second towering peak was rising before him.

Besides Heiyan, talents like Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga emerged too—prodigies unseen for decades, equally astonishing in power.

With these three alone, it equaled an army of ten thousand.

What relieved Onoki was that even though tensions were high along the border, Iwagakure and Konoha had only encountered minor frictions without yet breaking into full-scale war.

In other words, there was still room for reversal.

Reflecting on this, he immediately ordered his female secretary to pass instructions commanding all front-line units to withdraw completely and stand down.

Incidentally, Onoki's secretary was none other than his own wife—a tall, striking woman over six-foot-six, almost a foot taller than her Tsuchikage husband.

To improve his offspring's genetic traits, Onoki spared no effort.

Indeed, heaven rewarded efforts. Thanks to his perseverance, his wife gave birth to a son whom he named Kitsuchi. Now only twelve years old, he was already six-foot-eight—an impressive height for his age.

Moreover, Kitsuchi showed terrifyingly impressive talent in Earth Release ninjutsu, becoming not only a jonin at a young age but also excelling as one of Iwagakure's top elites.

To Onoki, his son might not match Uzumaki Heiyan's caliber, but at the very least, he wouldn't be inferior to Fugaku or Hiashi.

...

Land of Grass.

This tiny country lay sandwiched between Earth and Fire nations. Though it had imitated the Five Great Nations by establishing its own ninja village, due to its sparse population and weak strength, it completely lacked a voice under the pressure from powerful neighbors.

In the past few weeks, ninja forces from Iwagakure and Konoha had crossed borders in large numbers, forming confrontations within the Land of Grass, turning this place into a battlefield.

Minor conflicts occurred frequently—Konoha and Iwagakure both suffered casualties. Yet, undoubtedly, the biggest victims remained innocent civilians of the Land of Grass.

In a remote forest area, one Konoha ninja ran ahead while several Iwa ninjas pursued behind, engaging in an intense chase.

What surprised everyone was that the Konoha ninja being chased looked no older than seven or eight—a little blond-haired boy. However, facing enemy pursuit, he remained extremely calm. He repeatedly evaded encirclement and traps, sometimes even counterattacking.

He was Minato Namikaze.

Half an hour ago, when Minato's team was scouting nearby for enemy intelligence, they were ambushed. The entire squad was wiped out instantly, leaving him as the sole survivor.

This was Minato Namikaze's first real combat.

Using the complicated terrain among the trees, he continuously maneuvered around the enemies, causing their formation to become increasingly scattered. Then he seized opportunities to attack isolated opponents, defeating them one by one.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Within the woods, sounds of weapon clashes frequently rang out, mixed with screams of pain.

Minato held a sturdy steel kunai Heiyan had given him before. After felling several Iwa genin, its blade was smeared in blood.

"What a bunch of worthless bastards. Can't even handle a brat."

Suddenly, a cold voice came from the side. A highly skilled Iwa chunin rapidly formed hand seals and significantly hardened his body before charging toward Minato Namikaze.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Minato swung his kunai again to fight fiercely against the opponent, but soon realized in alarm that his attacks couldn't even scratch the enemy's skin.

"Hahaha! Kid, feel despair now! [Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu] gives me invincible defense!"

The elite laughed arrogantly. Not only did he engage Minato bare-handed, eventually delivering a sharp palm strike that snapped the sturdy steel kunai in Minato's hand.

This isn't good.

Minato's expression changed dramatically. He hurled a Smoke Bomb without hesitation and bolted.

"Want to escape?"

Of course, the elite wouldn't let up, continuing the chase relentlessly. When the distance between them closed again, he thrust his palms like blades, viciously stabbing toward Minato's back.

"Die!"

With a ferocious grin, the man seemed to already witness Minato pierced through by his palm strike.

Yet just at this moment, something sudden happened.

While fleeing, Minato suddenly squatted down, lowering his center of gravity. Already small, crouching lower made him nearly disappear from sight, instantly causing the enemy's attack to miss entirely overhead.

At the same time, Minato pushed off the ground with his feet, spun around sharply, and gripped a short sword tightly wrapped in bandages. He aimed straight for the elite chūnin's chest and thrust upward.

The sequence of movements—first evading, then counterattacking—flowed seamlessly, executed in the blink of an eye.

It looked almost as if the enemy had voluntarily rushed forward onto his blade.

But this was no ordinary strike.

Zzzzt!

As the sword approached the enemy's body, its wrappings shattered entirely, unleashing a dazzling golden lightning aura that pierced through the enemy's body with unmatched sharpness.

"How is this possible..."

The Iwagakure elite chūnin stared down at his own pierced chest before tilting his head sideways, lifeless.

Whoosh!

Minato Namikaze withdrew the Thunder God Sword, and the corpse collapsed heavily to the ground with a loud thud.

In the end, the entire enemy squad had been wiped out by this young Konoha genin—single-handedly.

However, before Minato could even catch his breath, his expression changed suddenly. He sensed a faint chakra fluctuation rising from beneath his feet.

This extraordinary sensory ability was an innate gift unique to Minato.

Swoosh!

Without thinking, he instinctively rolled sideways. In the next moment, several sharp stone spears erupted violently from the ground where he'd just stood.

Who is it?

After dodging the attack, Minato looked toward the front and immediately narrowed his eyes.

There stood Kitsuchi, an imposing man over two meters tall with a thick beard and ruddy complexion, wearing the signature red ninja hat and brown jonin armor of Iwagakure.

"Kitsuchi."

Minato glared at the figure, murmuring the name aloud.

He recognized the opponent instantly—it was Kitsuchi, Onoki's son, a towering figure well over two meters tall with a thick beard and a ruddy complexion. Though only four or five years older than Minato, he was one of Iwagakure's most gifted jonin.

Never had Minato expected to face an enemy of this level here.

This had just gotten complicated.

His expression grim, Minato tensed every muscle in his body, preparing to seize an opportunity to flee.

Yet, unexpectedly, Kitsuchi did not immediately attack him again.

"Kid," Kitsuchi furrowed his brow, looking down at Minato condescendingly. "Why do you have Heiyan's Sword of the Thunder God? Tell me."

"This sword..." Minato hesitated briefly before truthfully replying, "was gifted to me by Senior Heiyan."

He couldn't help but marvel internally—Senior Heiyan's legendary reputation truly knew no bounds, even earning fear and respect from Iwa shinobi.

"What is your relationship with him?"

Upon hearing this, Kitsuchi took slow steps forward, pressing further.

Minato remained alert, stepping back cautiously while quickly analyzing why the other asked such a question—and how best to reply.

Realizing this, Minato finally responded to Kitsuchi:

"He is... my master."

"Oh?"

Kitsuchi halted in his tracks. He could sense that this boy wasn't lying, and the fact that he possessed the Thunder God Sword proved his connection with Heiyan was extremely close.

His eyes flickered as he stared at Minato Namikaze for a moment. His expression flickered with emotion before he finally spoke to the latter:

"The war is already over. For Heiyan's sake, I won't kill you. You may leave."

What? The war ended?

Minato looked completely bewildered. The war between Konoha and Iwagakure hadn't even officially begun yet—how could it end so suddenly?

He had been out on reconnaissance with his squad for the past two days, so he didn't know what had happened in the ninja world or why Kitsuchi was letting him go.

However, since there was a chance to escape with his life, Minato definitely wouldn't miss it. While keeping a wary eye on Kitsuchi, he quickly stepped backward.

Finally, Minato turned and vanished into the trees, disappearing from sight.

Kitsuchi watched as Minato left and shook his head.

He could see that this blond-haired kid was a genius full of potential. Normally, he should have eliminated him to prevent future threats.

Yet, upon learning that the boy was Heiyan's disciple, Kitsuchi immediately abandoned that idea.

If he were to kill Minato here today, Heiyan would certainly become enraged. If Heiyan then marched straight into Iwagakure, things would get seriously problematic.

"Konoha's geniuses are like weeds—no matter how many you pull, new ones keep sprouting up. Ridiculous."

After muttering this final comment, Kitsuchi shook his head again and left the scene.

...

In the Land of Lightning.

Another coup d'état had occurred in Kumogakure.

Two days ago, the Third Raikage returned in defeat along with what remained of his forces. The entire village instantly fell into a heavy and desperate atmosphere.

Everyone in the Land of Lightning worshipped martial prowess and valued military strength above all else. A loss as humiliating as this was simply intolerable. As a result, the Third Raikage lost nearly all of his authority overnight and faced impeachment from the opposition factions.

They bowed meekly to outsiders, but cracked down hard on their own people.

The defeated Third Raikage vented all his rage onto the opposition faction. He joined hands with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Burubi and launched an intense crackdown, starting another round of massive purges within the village.

Suddenly, Kumogakure was plunged into bloodshed.

One could only say that everything happening today was entirely self-inflicted by Akagakure's high-ranking elders, led by the Third Raikage himself.

From the moment they decided to launch an invasion against Uzugakure, they should have already anticipated the consequences they would face if they lost the war.

Now they have learned—and they will remember.

...

Outside the Mizukage building in Kiri.

In this battle of Uzugakure, Mist had suffered the greatest losses—much worse than Cloud next door. Not only had the Third Mizukage fallen and the Three-Tails been lost, but the [Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist] were also wiped out entirely, and three of their signature ninja swords were lost. Additionally, many elite ninja were killed, alongside thousands of regular shinobi casualties.

Once a village brimming with talents, Kiri overnight had become nearly empty, with only two or three surviving members left.

To many Mist ninja, the one responsible for all this was that mysterious old man hiding in the Mizukage building.

He manipulated the Third Mizukage, turned the entire village into a war machine, and pushed countless Mist ninja toward death.

Under the cover of night,

no one noticed when, around the building, over a thousand ninja had quietly gathered.

These people had all fled back from the battlefield in Uzu Country. Now, under Yagura Karatachi's leadership, they were ready to storm the Mizukage building, drag out that old man, kill him, and quell the rage.

They believed that all of the old man's powerful followers had already been killed, leaving him alone and powerless—no longer able to lord over them or throw his weight around.

Was that really the case?

Right now, inside the hidden room of the Mizukage building.

Tap tap tap.

Footsteps echoed as One-Armed Black Zetsu and One-Eyed Danzo entered the hidden chamber, halting a short distance from Madara Uchiha's bed.

Madara lay on the bed, eyes closed, as if in meditation.

"Lord, the operation... has failed."

Black Zetsu said regretfully. As for the specific details of the battle, he believed Madara had already seen everything through the crystal ball—no need for him to waste words.

"So, you've just come back like this?"

Lying on the bed, Madara slowly spoke. Then, he slowly sat up, got off the bed, and stepped out of the darkness.

Then he opened his left eye.

It was a gray eye, with a black pupil at its center surrounded by several concentric circles, like ripples spreading outward layer by layer.

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>