Naruto: Creating Immortal Techniques at Six, Shocking Uncle Snake

Chapter 182: A Mysterious Village?

"Be satisfied, Naruto. Your progress in Sage Mode has been remarkable over this period. Besides, I can't even learn Sage Mode, right?"

Uchiha Sasuke said this while gripping his Zanpakutō and swinging it toward the front.

Instantly, a slashing force was unleashed.

Boom!

A small crater appeared on the ground.

By now, almost everyone in the ninja world knew: ghosts could only be dealt with using Sage Jutsu, Sharingan, or the Zanpakutō.

These methods sent ghosts to the afterworld, which could be considered a good deed.

However, most ghosts were unwilling to leave; after all, they longed to live another life.

"Damn it, Sasuke! Why can't I use the Zanpakutō?"

Naruto, watching Sasuke in his cool stance, felt bitter.

Why was he limited to smashing people with his Sage Mode Rasengan while Sasuke could slash with a sword?

It made him look like a simple brute, a barbarian!

As Naruto was complaining, an Anbu ninja appeared.

"The Hokage requests your presence in the Hokage's office."

"Huh? Did she say why? Hey, wait up!"

Naruto instinctively asked, but the Anbu ninja left right after delivering the message, leaving him standing there awkwardly.

"Let's go. Let's see what's going on."

Sasuke patted Naruto on the shoulder and walked ahead.

Before long, the two arrived at the Hokage's office.

Inside were not only Tsunade but also Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're here too?"

At this moment, Kakashi was flipping through a document, his brows tightly furrowed as if facing a particularly troublesome matter.

"Oh, Naruto and Sasuke, you're here."

Kakashi looked up and greeted them before continuing with the file in his hands.

Meanwhile, Tsunade looked up from her pile of documents.

"You two, along with Kakashi, need to take care of this mission.

The mission is currently rated A-rank, but if there are unexpected developments, it could escalate to S-rank!"

Tsunade's serious tone stunned Naruto, who then turned to Kakashi.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't know the specifics either.

I only know that a village in the Land of Fire was wiped out, and someone there could wield a Zanpakutō."

"Huh? If someone could use a Zanpakutō, then there shouldn't be any ghosts, right?"

Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke interjected directly, "And yet the wielder of the Zanpakutō died?"

"Impossible! They're just ghosts! How could—"

Naruto stared at Sasuke in disbelief, feeling his thoughts were too dangerous.

But unexpectedly, Kakashi nodded!

"Sasuke is correct. The ninja who could wield a Zanpakutō also died.

The way they died was horrifying, as if all their life force had been drained.

Although they were a middle-aged person, their corpse appeared as if they had aged into an old man. Furthermore, their Zanpakutō has not been found."

Kakashi shared all known information gravely.

This mission was extraordinarily perilous, requiring the strength of all three of them—Konoha's best ghost hunters.

"Based on the current intel, it's highly likely that the enemy is a ghost—probably more than one!"

"Alright, enough chatter. Get going now. The incident occurred in the Land of Fire, and if we don't resolve it quickly, it could cause major trouble. It'll be a disaster if we can't handle it later."

Tsunade issued a dismissal order, and Kakashi led Naruto and Sasuke away.

As they left, Tsunade gazed out the window, thinking of Jiraiya.

Where had that scoundrel gone? When would he return to Konoha?

The village desperately needed him, especially since he could also use Sage Mode.

If he were here, he could significantly ease the village's burden.

---

In Amegakure...

"Let's stop using the Zanpakutō for now. Although infusing chakra into it makes us significantly stronger, it always absorbs more chakra in return.

Even without chakra infusion, it can still be used.

However, after every 180 ghosts slain, the Zanpakutō grows stronger.

It seems to be absorbing the power of the ghosts."

Uchiha Itachi announced this to everyone in the Akatsuki organization.

The message was clear: avoid using the Zanpakutō!

He had not fully studied this weapon, but he could sense that it wasn't as simple as it appeared.

Moreover, this was a tool originating from Kirigakure!

The Akatsuki members agreed with Itachi's caution.

Since they all had access to Sage Jutsu and Amegakure wasn't particularly large, they could easily deal with ghosts within their territory.

As for the ghosts outside, they had no interest in exhausting themselves on thankless tasks.

---

Elsewhere...

Obito furiously stomped his foot on the ground.

"Damn it! Black Zetsu has gone out of contact. That bastard betrayed me!

And now Uchiha Madara's body is missing too. Damn it!"

In a flash, Obito went from being the Akatsuki's shadow leader to a lone wolf...