Naruto: The Immortal Sage

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After years spent rebuilding, the nations of the shinobi world finally recovered from the destruction of the First Shinobi World War. Both the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage had died.

Ōnoki secured his role as Tsuchikage and started looking for new territory. The Third Kazekage, recently appointed, also needed a war to prove his authority.

Economic growth was uneven across the nations, and war hawks in the hidden villages used these differences to gain power. More people began calling for land to be taken by force.

In Amegakure, Hanzō of the Salamander took full control of the country's military. He then carried out a harsh purge of his rivals.

Now he sat cross-legged in a dim room, eyes closed, waiting for someone to arrive.

Soon, Tobi appeared, dressed in black robes and wearing an orange spiral mask. He skipped any greetings.

"HANZŌ! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? TURNING ON YOUR OWN MASTER?"

Tobi never thought Hanzō would send an army to destroy the Akatsuki, the group he had started. Many members died in the attack, and the intelligence network he built over years was lost.

Hanzō chuckled and opened his eyes. He no longer showed any respect and let his arrogance show.

"Mr. Tobi. I used to think you were a real mystery. But it turns out there's not much to you." He shot Tobi a dismissive look, showing none of his old respect.

Once you looked past the act, what was left? Just a man no one could touch, using one trick to seem like a mastermind. Hanzō was sure he was better than Tobi in both skill and cunning.

He even wondered if a child was hiding under that mask, just an immature kid who liked to pretend he knew it all.

"What are you talking about? I'm the one who trained you!" Tobi growled, feeling both angry and confused.

He was still inexperienced. He didn't understand why Hanzō would betray him. He thought that copying the Grand Sage of Mount Myōboku would let him control everyone the same way.

While living on the mountain, he saw the Grand Sage control world events from the shadows. Reward those who obeyed, threaten those who didn't, and people would stay loyal. That was how things worked, right?

But reality had just shattered his confidence.

After a brief silence, Tobi went back to pretending everything was under control. He chuckled and clapped his hands.

"Well, Hanzō. Fine. I'll deal with you first, then. Training you took years. Killing you will take seconds."

For a moment, the act fooled Hanzō. He frowned, nearly believing it again, then swung his sickle at Tobi.

The blade hissed through the air, steel flashing in the dim room as it swept toward Tobi's face. Tobi kept smiling, his outline shimmering like a reflection on water.

The blade passed through his neck without leaving a mark and struck the stone wall behind him.

Bits of stone fell to the floor.

"Cheap trick." Hanzō snapped his wrist, sending the chain from his sickle's handle toward Tobi's waist while his left hand quickly formed seals.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Water burst out of nowhere and filled the small room. The torrent turned into countless needles that shot across the space, but both the chain and every needle passed right through Tobi. They hit the far wall in a spray.

"I told you. Killing you will take seconds." Tobi's voice was mocking as he moved quickly from side to side through the rushing water.

He raised his hand and flicked his palm forward. "Wood Release: Cutting Technique."

Black wooden spikes shot up from the floor under Hanzō, aiming for his body. His eyes went wide. He used Body Flicker to jump back just in time, spinning his sickle to cut down the spikes as they closed in.

One spike slipped past his blade, tore his sleeve, and left a shallow cut on his arm.

"Wood Release?" Hanzō stared at him, shocked. "You can use the Second Hokage's kekkei genkai!"

So he had underestimated the masked man after all.

Wood Release was the last thing Hanzō had expected. He just hoped Tobi's Wood Release wasn't anywhere near as strong as the Second Hokage's.

Hanzō narrowed his eyes and reassessed his opponent.

Tobi still carried himself like he had everything under control, but his Wood Release was actually quite limited. Beyond the Cutting Technique and a handful of basic Wood Release jutsu, there wasn't much else he could do.

..............

While Hanzō and Tobi faced off, Madara and his allies started sending White Zetsu on missions across the shinobi world.

They thought they controlled the White Zetsu. In reality, the creatures were Manji's spies, pretending to obey while they watched Madara's group and sent back reports.

"A stone tablet? Where did Madara get a stone tablet…?" Manji frowned as he read the newest report.

The White Zetsu reported that Madara awakened the Rinnegan and summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path after reading that tablet.

But Manji had lived during the time the tablet was supposed to be from. He never left one behind, and neither did Hagoromo or Kaguya.

He never meant for Madara to awaken the Rinnegan. That's why, when he was the First Hokage, he pretended not to know that Hashirama's cells could make using the Mangekyō Sharingan easier.

"All right, Madara. Let's see what you're planning…"

Manji chose to wait and watch. He wanted to see what would happen before getting involved.

He closed his eyes and used his Yatagarasu Sage Art. When he opened them, he was standing on a training ground in Konoha.

..............

"Manji? Hey, Manji! Are you spacing out on me? I thought we were supposed to train together." Sakumo Hatake looked at him, confused.

"Sorry. Got distracted." Manji nodded, keeping his face calm.

He had used the technique to give himself a new identity, something he had done before. This time, he was a young Konoha prodigy, regarded alongside Sakumo as one of the village's brightest talents.

"Anyway, I heard another war is coming. I wonder if we'll be sent to the front…" Sakumo said, throwing a kunai.

"Every problem has a solution. With our skills, Sakumo, I'm sure they'll have plenty of work for us."

Manji slowly formed a set of hand seals and aimed at a tree in front of him.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!" He blew a blast of wind at it.

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