AI Model: gemini-3.0-flashChapter 266: Turtle Island
"Karen."
Konan couldn't help but call out.
"What is it?"
Karen, who was in front, turned around and began walking backward.
"You should know that what the Akatsuki Organization is doing isn't right. Why do you..."
Konan hesitated, her words trailing off.
These words signaled a change in her mindset.
Karen shook her head and said, "It's no use. The only reason you and I could listen to the teachings of the White Lotus Sect was because of the leader's orders and two months of study."
Konan fell silent.
She understood this naturally.
That was the reason she hadn't said a word during the meeting.
No matter how much sense it made, Nagato had already been blinded by his dream and would not accept new theories.
Even if they didn't sound wrong.
But was she really going to just watch as Nagatostrayed further and further away?
Moreover, there was Obito, whose intentions were unclear, fanning the flames.
Konan worried that Nagato wouldn't last until the moment his dream was realized.
"I know what you're thinking, Sister Konan."
Having spent two or three months with her, Karenhad already figured out her personality.
She tilted her head and asked, "Don't you think the method I mentioned is the most likely to let the leader complete his plan?"
Konan was slightly startled.
Recalling what Karen had said earlier, there was indeed a very high chance of success.
Even if it was the wrong way, it was the most lethal way.
If it weren't for the unpredictable Uzumaki Naruto, she would have been certain of the Akatsuki Organization's victory.
Because the Land of Fire and Konoha Village could not possibly withstand the combined forces of the four great nations and the Akatsuki Organization.
The premise was that Karen could actually convince the Daimyos of the major nations and gain their support.
"I misjudged you."
An apologetic look appeared on Konan's face; she had previously thought Karen was as stubbornly obsessed as Nagato.
"It's fine."
Karen took her hand and said seriously, "To change the leader, we must make him understand his own mistakes. We will face the Tianming Organizationwith a massive advantage; if we lose, the leader will naturally be willing to learn."
Looking into her eyes, Konan suddenly felt a sense of finding a kindred spirit.
In the entire Akatsuki Organization, only Karenwas a like-minded person to her.
In short, a female com...rade.
The Akatsuki Organization rested for half a day.
Early the next morning, Uzumaki Menma left with Troy, who had a Summoning Jutsu sealed within him.
In the forest outside the Hidden Cloud Village.
A Chunin squad had just finished a mission and was preparing to return.
At that moment, the middle-aged man leading them raised his right hand and said, "There's a scent of blood."
The other two, a young man and a young woman, immediately drew their Kunai and went on alert.
"There's no aura of Chakra; the battle should be over."
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "This is already within the range of the Hidden Cloud Village. Let's go take a look. If anything is wrong, release a signal flare immediately."
The other two nodded, having no objections.
The Ninja of their Hidden Cloud Village were naturally quite reckless.
The three followed the scent of blood for a few seconds and finally saw a Ninja leaning against a tree trunk not far away.
Because his head was hanging low and his headband was obscured, they couldn't be sure if he was a Hidden Cloud Ninja for the moment.
But what was most eye-catching were the huge ninja tools on either side of him.
Square shuriken.
A flash of inspiration crossed the middle-aged man's mind.
He felt like he had heard of this somewhere.
Such ninja tools were truly rare.
Ordinary Ninja only used shuriken or Kunai smaller than a palm.
Square shuriken nearly half the height of a person were almost non-existent.
"Purple hair... could it be Senior Troy?"
The young man suddenly said in surprise.
The middle-aged man's body jolted.
If it was Senior Troy, then things were quite troublesome.
Because about a month ago, he had gone missing, and his whereabouts were unknown.
The Raikage had even lost his temper over this.
Troy was a rare Bloodline Limit Jonin in the Hidden Cloud Village, considered an absolute backbone of their forces.
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man hurried forward.
As he approached, the details became clearer.
"There's a scroll in his mouth; it really is Senior Troy!"
The middle-aged man couldn't help but exclaim as he thought of the rumors in the village.
Most Ninja were quite normal, but there were some who were rather eccentric.
Troy was one of them.
In addition to the giant shuriken, he always had a Ninjutsu scroll clamped in his mouth.
"Senior Troy?"
The middle-aged man nudged his shoulder.
But in the next second, Troy's body slumped over.
His expression changed as he reached out to check; both breathing and heartbeat had stopped.
There was no doubt that Troy was dead.
The middle-aged man stood up, formed hand seals, and expanded his perception.
But aside from the chirping of birds and insects, there was no one else.
The young woman crouched down, observed for a few seconds, and said, "There are no obvious fatal wounds on the surface."
A green light emanated from her hands.
She was the Medical Ninja of the three-person squad.
The young woman couldn't help but frown and said, "A very strange cause of death, as if someone drained all his Chakra and life force."
The middle-aged man also felt puzzled upon hearing this.
A rare way to die meant the Ninja who did it might be very powerful.
He made a snap decision and said, "Take Senior Troy's body back and hand it over to Lord Raikage."
The young man hoisted Troy onto his back.
The three of them turned and entered the Hidden Cloud Village.
The Raikage Building.
"Who did this?!"
The Fourth Raikage A's violent voice carried far from his office.
The Ninja who heard it couldn't help but tremble.
They wondered which blind fool had provoked Lord Raikage again.
The middle-aged man recounted the situation.
"Mabui, what do you think?"
The Raikage clenched his fists, his mood very foul.
No one would be happy to see one of their own Jonin dead.
Mabui, the dark-skinned beauty who served as his secretary, instinctively fell into deep thought.
"There are no signs of a struggle, nor any traces of being followed. This means someone specifically placed him at our doorstep."
After a few seconds, she spoke in a heavy voice.
"A provocation?"
Darui scratched the back of his head and asked.
"We can't rule out that possibility."
A light of wisdom flashed in Mabui's eyes. "There is also the possibility that there's some kind of trap on Troy's body."
"Preposterous!"
The Raikage slammed down a fist.
The table's HP rapidly depleted.
A few seconds later, its life finally ran out, and it crumbled into pieces.
Mabui didn't care; she was already used to it.
"Have the Ninja from the Analysis Team take Troyaway."
The institutions of the Five Great Villages were the same.
For example, they all had Anbu, Analysis Teams, Medical Teams, Ninja Academies, and so on.
In a sense, they were learning from Konoha.
During the eras of the First and Second Hokage, Konoha was the most powerful.
The other four great villages had all spontaneously drawn lessons from it.
"Don't worry, the end for any Ninja who dares to provoke the Hidden Cloud Village will not be very pleasant."
Mabui smiled and said.
"Find out the cause as quickly as possible."
The Raikage huffed and ordered.
A moment later, the Ninja from the Analysis Teamarrived, and after saluting, they took Troy away.
The Analysis Team belonged to the Intelligence Division and specialized in using secret techniques to dive into a Ninja's memories to read information.
This included the dead.
Konoha's Analysis Team was handled by the Yamanaka clan.
Troy's body was placed on an experimental table.
The middle-aged man leading them took the Chakra scroll out of his mouth, opened it, and took a casual look; it was an A-rank Lightning ReleaseNinjutsu.
"Get ready, I'm going into his memories."
He tossed the scroll aside, raised his right hand, and pressed it against Troy's head.
The secret technique was activated.
He suddenly appeared in a pitch-black space.
Light kept pouring in from the distance.
It was the fleeting memories of Troy's life.
But due to his death, the memories were intermittent.
The middle-aged man didn't mind.
This was normal.
It indicated that a significant amount of time had passed since Troy's death.
The body's functions were fading.
If too much time passed, the organs and cells would all die, making it impossible to read the memories.
While everyone in the Analysis Team was focused on Troy's body, the scroll to the side began to glow.
With a 'bang' and a puff of smoke...
The Six Paths of Pain appeared.
The Deva Path pushed both hands outward.
The surrounding people, along with the walls, were all overturned by an incomparable and powerful force.
"Enemy attack!"
The sentry Ninja noticed this and immediately roared toward the sky.
The Asura Path chuckled, his skull opened, and lasers shot out wildly.
Buildings cracked one after another.
Dust billowed up.
"Spread out and cover me."
Deva Path Pain took flight directly, reached out toward the gates of the Hidden Cloud Village, and gave a sudden shout, "Shinra Tensei!"
An invisible force swept through.
Everything blocking his path was crushed.
In an instant, a path was carved out.
Immediately after, the members of the Akatsuki Organization charged in like wolves among sheep.
"Bastard!"
A voice like a thunderclap rang out.
Before Deva Path Pain's eyes could even adjust, he was met with a furious strike from the Raikage.
Brilliant electrical arcs filled his vision.
He instinctively pushed.
The Raikage's body was pushed back, but an endless amount of Chakra suddenly erupted.
His right elbow slammed hard into Deva Path Pain's chest.
The speed was at the absolute limit.
Deva Path Pain was hit, his body stalled, and he spun several times, flying ten meters away.
Before he could react, the Raikage, flickering with lightning all over, shifted and appeared above his head, his right leg raised high.
Liger Bomb!
Deva Path Pain's Rinnegan shifted.
The enraged Raikage's spirit suddenly jolted, as if he had been hit with a slow-down debuff.
But it returned to normal in just an instant.
Though the time was short, it was enough for Deva Path Pain.
He pushed with both hands.
The Raikage's body was sent flying backward.
But due to his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he wasn't injured.
Nagato raised an eyebrow slightly; the man actually had some skill.
Thinking of this, the Asura Path appeared beside him.
Compared to Uzumaki Naruto, the pressure the Raikage gave wasn't that great.
The Raikage had the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, but that thing consumed a lot; its sustainability was questionable.
Whereas his junior brother had something wrong with his body.
Without relying on Chakra, he was absurdly tough.
He also lasted absurdly long.
In short, he was an absurd fellow.
While the Akatsuki Organization was fighting in full swing, Naruto and Sasuke also arrived at the Hidden Cloud Village.
But they weren't here to join the war; they were here to take advantage of the chaos.
In the coastal area of the Land of Lightning, there was a massive island.
Turtle Island.
Because its appearance resembled a turtle.
But Naruto knew it wasn't an island, but an actual turtle.
It could be called the largest turtle in the Ninja World.
How big was it?
It could swallow the Nine-Tailed in one bite.
It was startlingly large.
Other than that, it wasn't of much use.
Probably a single pot couldn't stew it.
Speaking of which, Naruto actually had a pot that could change size.
Theoretically, it could hold Turtle Island.
However, this thing would be enough for the entire Konoha Village to eat turtle meat for a month or two.
But Naruto hadn't come for that.
On Turtle Island, there was a Falls of Truth that could allow one to see their own dark side.
This was the first step to becoming a perfect Jinchuriki: recognizing oneself.
Of course, the current Naruto didn't need it.
After all, he was very familiar with Kurama.
But he was a bit curious.
Besides, fighting oneself was a rare experience.
Maybe winning would even trigger an achievement or something.
Moreover, Sasuke beside him might need it.
He had quite a few dark sides.
He wanted to see if a bit of purification could lead to some sublimation, or more accurately, resolve his inner turmoil.
Plus, Sasuke had always wanted to find a strong person to spar with; now was a rare chance to meet another him.
A clash of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Before Uchiha Madara was resurrected, it was impossible to experience this.
But the Falls of Truth could make it happen.
"Big... it's really big..."
Seeing Turtle Island for the first time, Sasukecouldn't help but be a bit dazed.
In front of it, Tailed Beasts and Susanoo could only be considered children playing house.
"Are we going to stew it?"
"Huh? When did you start having such thoughts?"
Naruto looked at him in surprise upon hearing this.
"I'm just guessing what you're thinking."
Sasuke said indifferently.
"..."
Naruto always felt that everyone had a deep misunderstanding of him.
He didn't say anything more and went straight onto the island.
The Falls of Truth was a secret the Hidden Cloud Village had guarded for a thousand years.
After all, a perfect Jinchuriki was far too powerful.
As long as the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails existed, the Hidden Cloud Village could use this place to let the Tailed Beasts exert their maximum utility, ensuring their own strength.
Naruto activated Kagura Minds Eye and soon discovered the guards of the Falls of Truth.
They were almost all Jonin.
There were six in total.
Sasuke couldn't help but be a little surprised.
He had thought it was just an ordinary island.
He hadn't expected it to hide secrets.
"Hasn't your strength reached a bottleneck?"
Naruto looked at the waterfall in the distance and smiled. "You can go one step further if you jump in."
"Really?"
Sasuke didn't quite dare to believe it.
How could such a magical place exist in this world?
Naruto took out Enma and didn't explain further; anyway, this guy would definitely jump in.
He said, "Three for you, three for me."
His figure blurred.
Sage Mode activated.
Enma was unsheathed.
Flames suddenly covered the sky.
When one possessed extraordinary strength, the power of Ninjutsu also became exceptionally startling.
Sasuke had his sword halfway out when he sheathed it again and asked, "Where are my three?"
"Uh, I didn't even use much force, and they already fell."
Naruto said righteously, "It's not my fault; I didn't intend to steal your kills."
"..."
Defeated by his shamelessness, Sasuke jumped straight into the pool.
Hmph, if you dare to lie to me, I will definitely... will... what if I can't beat him?
A mysterious and profound chill came over him.
The surrounding environment changed.
Naruto had vanished.
And in front of him appeared another Uchiha Sasuke.
He looked almost exactly like him.
"Why do you trust Naruto so much? If he tells you to go east, you go east; if he tells you to do something, you do it. You're not his dog!"
The blackened Sasuke said with an arrogant face, "As an Uchiha, why should I ever have to explain my actions to others?"
Outside, Naruto couldn't help but shake his head.
This guy was still so impatient.
He looked at the Falls of Truth, hesitated for a few seconds, and also jumped in.
He wondered who would appear.
Would it be his past life, or his current life?
And just what would his dark side be?