Chapter 673: Crushing, Legendary Power!
Hiruzen originally thought Sōsuke was a stronger version of Hanzō.
Now, it seemed this was no Hanzō.
This was practically another Uchiha Madara.
Moreover, unlike Mugetsu, who was still a growing potential stock, Sōsuke's strength was already approaching that of the 2 legendary ninja.
At this moment, Hiruzen's heart was filled with bitterness.
With such power, why not launch a fierce war to seek benefits for the Land of Rain and make a name for yourself, instead of hiding in Six Paths City as the leader of a small ninja organization?
If he had known that Sōsuke possessed this level of strength, then before Mugetsu grew up, Hiruzen absolutely would not have wanted to stand on the opposite side of Sōsuke.
"He just made it vanish like that!" Homura's eyes widened, his face full of shock.
Sōsuke's abilities gave him the feeling that they were not ninja from the same era.
No matter how strong the Third Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode was in attack power, Homura could still understand that it came from Lightning Release chakra activating the body.
But Sōsuke's Ninjutsu? He truly could not comprehend it.
Either it was an unknown defense with no blind spots, or it was an incomprehensible erasure out of thin air.
From start to finish, he had not seen Sōsuke form a single hand seal.
Was this even a ninja?
"This is dangerous." Orochimaru's expression also turned unpleasant.
Forget about establishing an advantage. That wave of attacks from Hiruzen had achieved absolutely nothing.
Actually, it had achieved something. They had learned another piece of information about Sōsuke.
But the problem was that the strength Sōsuke was displaying now was too great. Knowing the information could not change the outcome of the battle.
"What is going on? If things develop like this, how did Ninshū disappear, and how did the evil Akatsuki Organization appear?" Shisui frowned.
He originally thought the result of the battle would be Hiruzen killing Sōsuke. After that, Ninshū would decline, and some members would form the evil Akatsuki Organization and continue being active in the Ninja World.
But with the strength Sōsuke was currently displaying, even if Shisui used his Eye Technique on Hiruzen, it might not be enough to turn defeat into victory.
At this moment, the Ninshū ninja finally understood the weight behind their leader's words that he would return soon.
What Third Hokage?
What Professor of Ninjutsu?
He was completely no match for their Teacher Sōsuke.
"Confidence really does come from hard power." Kakuzu marveled inwardly.
Before this, he had always been curious about why Sōsuke was not afraid of Konoha, and curious about what trump card Sōsuke had.
Now, he completely understood.
If he had this kind of strength, he would not be afraid either.
With strength like Sōsuke's, whether it was pursuit by elite squads or encirclement by ninja troops, it would likely be like throwing meat buns at a dog. Gone without return.
Once Konoha realized Sōsuke's true strength, Danzo's death became insignificant.
Because the little face they had lost compared to the losses of going to war with Sōsuke was like sesame seeds compared to a watermelon.
"I can only find an opportunity to use the Reaper Death Seal. That intangible shield probably cannot defend against the Shinigami." Hiruzen grabbed the retracted Adamantine Staff, his mind made up.
The Reaper Death Seal was not like ordinary Ninjutsu. It was an attack on the soul level, theoretically impossible to block with defensive Ninjutsu.
Of course, while it could not be blocked, it could still be dodged. Therefore, Hiruzen had to choose the right moment to use it.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hiruzen rapidly formed hand seals and split into 2 Shadow Clones.
Whoosh!
As soon as the 2 Shadow Clones appeared, they immediately rushed at full speed toward the approaching Sōsuke, while Hiruzen's main body followed behind at a slightly slower pace.
Swish, swish!
Hiruzen took shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and threw them toward Sōsuke.
But before Hiruzen's Shadow Clones could multiply the shuriken further, Mugetsu's gaze swept over the incoming shuriken and directly shrank them until they became invisible to the naked eye.
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
One of Hiruzen's Shadow Clones rapidly formed hand seals while running and spat out a huge storm.
The other Hiruzen Shadow Clone secretly gathered chakra, preparing to use Earth Release to trap Sōsuke.
Whoosh!
Mugetsu switched from Flame Breathing to Stone Breathing, then concentrated his breathing to the extreme and entered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode. His physical abilities increased greatly across the board, and his speed skyrocketed.
Boom!
Relying on the defense of Limitless, Mugetsu directly crashed through the storm filled with sharp wind blades and punched the Hiruzen Shadow Clone using Wind Release, causing it to explode.
"Earth Release: Yellow Spring Marsh!"
The other prepared Shadow Clone immediately released the chakra it had gathered in advance, turning the ground beneath Mugetsu's feet into a marshland that was difficult to escape from.
"Reaper Death Seal…"
Hiruzen also seized this opportunity, forming hand seals and gathering chakra, wanting to take the chance to use the Reaper Death Seal and trade his life for Sōsuke's.
"Exploding Fist!"
Mugetsu erupted with terrifying power, flashing swiftly to Hiruzen's side and fiercely punching toward him.
Previously, being trapped by Yellow Spring Marsh had only been because Mugetsu, following his plan, wanted to display his strength.
Did they really think this Ninjutsu was useful against him?
Whoosh, whoosh!
Mugetsu, in Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, already possessed incredibly powerful strength. With the large amount of chakra he had gathered, his strength rose another level.
Under this terrifying enhancement, just the wind pressure created by Mugetsu's swinging fist made Hiruzen's face feel sharp pain.
Whoosh!
At this critical moment, the Adamantine Staff standing beside Hiruzen rapidly grew longer and thicker, blocking Hiruzen behind it.
Bang!
But that immensely powerful force still sent the Adamantine Staff flying backward and smashed into Hiruzen, sending him flying as well.
"Hiss, this guy's strength is even greater than yours." Enma, smashed to the ground, gasped in shock.
The Adamantine Staff's weight increased as it grew larger, and Hiruzen could wield such an Adamantine Staff as if it were an extension of his own arm. Naturally, he possessed extraordinary strength.
And that punch from Sōsuke just now had such immense power that Enma felt as if he had been struck by a meteor.
"Cough, cough."
Hiruzen quickly got up, then uncontrollably coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Although Enma's transformed Adamantine Staff had helped block Sōsuke's attack, Hiruzen had also been hit by the heavy Adamantine Staff, and his body did not feel good.
"Huff."
Hiruzen panted heavily.
Before he could figure out how to fight next, he discovered that the Shadow Clone hindering Sōsuke's pursuit was quickly destroyed by Sōsuke.
Hiruzen's heart sank to the bottom.
He realized that he had still underestimated Sōsuke.
The Reaper Death Seal was powerful, yes, but once the strength gap was too large, even trying to perish together became incredibly difficult.
"Go!"
Hiruzen swung the Adamantine Staff, aimed it at Sōsuke, and threw it.
No matter how difficult it was, as the Third Hokage, he could not give up.
Forcing a conflict with Ninshū had been a major mistake on his part, but what was done was done and could not be changed. All he could do was perish together with Sōsuke.
If Sōsuke lived and he died, then Konoha's path to the peak would once again be shrouded in mist.
Hiruzen believed that given time, Mugetsu would not be inferior to Sōsuke, and might even become stronger.
But the problem was that Sōsuke might not give Mugetsu the time to develop.
The Adamantine Staff grew thicker and longer during its flight, turning into an immensely thick giant rod in the blink of an eye as it smashed toward Sōsuke.
"Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillar Binding Technique!"
Hiruzen gathered chakra while running and rapidly formed hand seals to use the Ninjutsu.
He had already given up on using offensive Ninjutsu. Facts had proven that even his strongest Five Great Consecutive Shots could not do anything to Sōsuke.
Instead, with Fuinjutsu and barrier techniques like these, if they could be effective, Hiruzen would have a chance to use the Reaper Death Seal and fight Sōsuke to mutual destruction.
As the Adamantine Staff approached Mugetsu, it quickly performed a clone technique. Dozens of huge Adamantine Staffs smashed toward Mugetsu.
At the same time, the ground rumbled continuously, and numerous thick stone pillars carrying lightning rose from the earth.
"Daikokuten!"
Mugetsu ignored the large number of giant shuriken attacking him, glanced lightly at the smashing Adamantine Staff, and instantly summoned 7 or 8 huge black cubes around himself. They slammed down at the same time, pressing the Adamantine Staff's main body and all its clones to the ground.
Boom!
A huge roar sounded.
Enma, who had been struck, suffered heavy damage and was forced to exit his transformation state. Hiruzen directly cut off the Summoning Technique, and Enma turned into white smoke, disappearing from everyone's sight.
"Even Enma can't withstand it." Orochimaru speculated that the cubes Sōsuke summoned were probably not simple.
In Orochimaru's knowledge, Enma was a top tier summoning creature, even stronger than his own Manda.
Boom!
Under the bombardment of numerous black cubes, many of the lightning pillars created by Hiruzen shattered.
Hiruzen immediately flashed backward and gathered chakra.
"He can actually use so many of those at once." The more Hiruzen fought, the more he felt that Sōsuke was unfathomable.
"No choice. I can only gamble!"
Hiruzen knew in his heart that at this moment, he no longer had the right to choose. His hand movements became swift.
Even if forcibly using the Reaper Death Seal might not seal Sōsuke, he now had no choice but to use it.
Because if he did not use it now, his condition would only worsen later, making it even harder to perish together with Sōsuke.
And if he used it now, allowing Orochimaru and the others to join the battle, there was still a possibility of killing Sōsuke.
Hiruzen was glad that Homura had come along. Otherwise, with only Orochimaru, Shisui, and a group of jonin, they might not be able to make a difference.
Because Ninshū also had Kakuzu and Nagato.
Although Hiruzen had been the one to propose the one on one fight, he could not care about that now. Him bearing some infamy was better than Konoha suffering damage.
"Reaper Death Seal…"
Just as Hiruzen was about to finish the last hand seal, Sōsuke's speed suddenly increased by several levels. This sudden change disrupted Hiruzen's plan.
Originally, according to his estimation, the distance between them would have allowed him to form 3 more hand seals without issue.
Bang!
An immensely heavy force swept over. Hiruzen was sent flying violently, vomiting a large mouthful of blood in midair before falling to the ground.
"Lord Sandaime!" The Konoha jonin showed expressions of disbelief.
Their incredibly powerful Third Hokage had actually been defeated like this, losing a one on one battle to a ninja from the Land of Rain.
Swish, swish!
The Konoha jonin could no longer stay calm. They all drew their weapons and gathered chakra.
Their own Kage was about to die. Who cared about rules now?
Swish, swish, swish!
Homura directly took out a scroll he had already prepared, summoned a pile of shuriken attached with explosive tags, and threw them toward Sōsuke to hinder his pursuit.
"Summoning Technique!"
Orochimaru gathered chakra and summoned Manda.
Shisui silently activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, quietly walking toward Hiruzen so that he could use Divine Imperial Throne on him in time to preserve his life.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato had been paying close attention to the battlefield. He flashed forward at his fastest speed and erupted with power, sending all the explosive tag shuriken flying away.
"Haha, so when you Konoha people say one on one, you mean a group of ninja ganging up on our leader alone."
Kakuzu formed hand seals, and a large number of thin black tentacles burst from his back, with 2 Earth Grudge Fear masks moving to his shoulders.
Rōshi silently stepped forward, gathering chakra and preparing to strike at any moment.
His identity was rather special. Acting rashly might bring trouble to Ninshū, so he had to wait until the real battle erupted.
The other Ninshū ninja also showed no fear. They drew their weapons and prepared to fight the Konoha ninja.
The atmosphere became tense in an instant, with both the Konoha ninja and Ninshū ninja ready to fight to the death.
Mugetsu ignored the moving Konoha ninja and quickly walked toward the fallen Hiruzen.
A barrage of attacks rained down on Mugetsu, but they were all blocked by the Ninshū ninja.
Manda broke through the defensive line with its massive body, lunging forward to bite Mugetsu, but it was forced back by a huge cube that fell from the sky without warning.
Seeing the battle officially begin, Rōshi also took action, spitting out a large number of Lava Release fireballs toward the Konoha ninja.
"Ninshū actually has another powerful Lava Release ninja?" Homura frowned deeply.
This was beyond his expectations. He had only accounted for Nagato and Kakuzu as strong fighters, never imagining that Ninshū had quietly added another Lava Release powerhouse.
Homura was puzzled.
Why were the ninja of this faction so good at hiding?
As Sōsuke and Hiruzen grew closer, Homura felt extremely anxious.
Considering both identity and personal relationship, he did not want Hiruzen to die.
"Wait, he doesn't seem to have killing intent."
Shisui, who had gathered a large amount of chakra in his Mangekyo Sharingan, restrained the urge to use his Eye Technique.
He felt that Sōsuke might not necessarily kill Hiruzen.
Because if Sōsuke wanted to kill Hiruzen, he would not need to walk over. He could simply use Ninjutsu.
As for why the others had not thought of this, Shisui figured they might be too rushed.
Of course, it was also possible that the others believed Sōsuke wanted to get closer in order to kill.
Shisui silently watched the 2 of them.
With the insight of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he should be able to activate Divine Imperial Throne before Sōsuke struck.
Noticing Sōsuke approaching, Hiruzen, who was struggling to get up, instinctively pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and stabbed toward Sōsuke.
Under Mugetsu's gaze, the kunai in Hiruzen's hand rapidly shrank. Almost instantly, Hiruzen felt his hand become empty.
At that moment, an indescribable sense of powerlessness surged in Hiruzen's heart.
This feeling of powerlessness was even stronger than when he saw Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama fight in his youth.
It was not that Sōsuke's strength surpassed theirs, but back then, Hiruzen had only needed to watch. Now, he was personally fighting Sōsuke.
Suddenly, Hiruzen smiled.
It was not a flattering smile, nor one of relief, but a self mocking grin.
How ridiculous.
He realized that he had been utterly foolish this time.
He had confidently sought battle with Sōsuke, only to fail to even touch him once.
He claimed it was for Konoha's honor, but most of it was due to personal grudges.
Hiruzen was not afraid of death. During the Warring States Period decades ago, the average ninja lifespan was only 30 years, and he was already 54, the sum of 2 shorter lived Warring States ninja.
What made him uneasy was that in the final stretch of his life, he had committed such a grave mistake.
His own death was minor. If Konoha suffered setbacks because of it, he would have no face to meet the First and Second Hokage in death.
"Sorry, Mugetsu," Hiruzen apologized to Mugetsu in his heart.
Mugetsu could have steadily trained as Hokage Assistant for years, then ascended to Hokage and led Konoha to new heights.
But due to Hiruzen's willfulness and misjudgment, Mugetsu was now forced to succeed as Hokage, possibly facing Sōsuke's retaliation and a chain reaction from his mistakes.
Even Mugetsu's proud disciple Shisui might die because of him.
How could Hiruzen not feel guilty?
At that moment, Mugetsu reached out and grabbed Hiruzen's hand.
Hiruzen made one final resistance and struggle.
He was the Hokage. As long as he had even a shred of strength left, he would resist to the end and not disgrace the title of Hokage.
Shisui, who was fighting the Ninshū ninja, broke out in a fine sweat across his forehead, his tension reaching its peak.
There was no choice. Once Divine Imperial Throne was used, it might take years, or even longer, before it could be used again.
He had to use it cautiously.
Otherwise, what if Mugetsu faced danger again?
"Hiruzen!"
Homura was extremely anxious, but he could not break free from Kakuzu's entanglement to get close to Sōsuke.
"Hmm?"
Orochimaru, who was fighting Nagato, glanced at Hiruzen from the corner of his eye, noticed something, and held back some of his power.
"Hokage, you can't just lie on the ground to rest after intense exercise."
Mugetsu directly pulled Hiruzen up and pressed a Mystical Palm Jutsu onto his shoulder.
Despite various factors, no matter what, Hiruzen had helped Mugetsu a great deal. Mugetsu had never had any intention of killing him.
Of course, since Hiruzen had initiated the trouble this time, Mugetsu did not hesitate to take advantage of him.
In truth, if Mugetsu wanted to defeat Hiruzen quickly, Hiruzen would not have been able to use so many Ninjutsu.
He had allowed Hiruzen to continuously unleash powerful Ninjutsu to showcase his abilities, wanting everyone to realize one thing.
Sōsuke was strong.
Not just ordinarily strong.
This would make it easier for Mugetsu's subsequent plans to unfold.
"Sōsuke, you…"
Feeling his body being healed, Hiruzen froze and looked at Sōsuke in confusion.
What the hell?
An enemy he had just been fighting to the death was suddenly healing him.
Seeing this, the huge stone in Shisui's heart finally dropped. His Eye Technique had been preserved.
"What is going on? This guy actually…?"
The Konoha jonin noticed this scene and wore utterly bewildered expressions.
Although everyone was fighting, they all paid some attention to Hiruzen's situation, since the battle had started because of him.
"Everyone, stop. It was just a spar," Mugetsu called out to the fighting ninja.
The battle had only just begun. Only a few ninja had suffered minor injuries, and no one had died.
At the direct order of their most respected leader, the Ninshū ninja steadily withdrew.
The Konoha ninja also stopped attacking and looked toward Hiruzen.
Hiruzen glanced at Sōsuke, then finally sighed, nodded, and said, "Stop. There is no need to fight anymore."
He did not know what Sōsuke was planning, but stopping now was indeed beneficial for them.
Continuing the battle would surely cause heavy losses for Konoha. Without him, Orochimaru and the others would be lucky to escape.
Homura quickly walked to Hiruzen's side, gave Sōsuke a wary look, then whispered to Hiruzen, "Hiruzen, are you okay?"
"Thanks to Sōsuke's timely treatment, I'm mostly fine for now," Hiruzen replied.
Seeing that Hiruzen was free from serious injury, Mugetsu released him, lest Hiruzen think that he wanted to leave something in his body.
Homura quickly shielded Hiruzen and retreated, while the other Konoha ninja also protected him.
But soon, Hiruzen stopped, forcing the other Konoha ninja to stop as well.
"Sōsuke, I am no match for you. You won this battle," Hiruzen said with a complex expression.
As Hokage, Hiruzen had his own pride.
In his life, he had only felt inferior to 3 people.
Senju Hashirama.
Uchiha Madara.
And Mugetsu.
Now, there was a fourth.
Sōsuke.
For some reason, peerless geniuses rarely appeared alone. Either none emerged, or 2 appeared at once.
Decades ago, there were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. Now, there were Mugetsu and Sōsuke.
"Truly, there is always someone better. The Ninja World has too many strong individuals," Shisui thought to himself.
He had thought that Mugetsu was already strong enough, but Sōsuke was even more unfathomable.
He could nearly crush even a powerful ninja like Hiruzen.
"That Danzo, causing such a huge disaster for the Village." Homura thought resentfully.
He did not believe it was Hiruzen's fault. If Danzo had not acted privately to assassinate Sōsuke, how could things have escalated like this?
This was a terrifying existence nearly on par with the God of Shinobi.
"I wonder if his cells have special abilities?"
Orochimaru glanced at Sōsuke and felt regret.
Sōsuke had not been injured at all, so no materials had dropped.
"Hokage, your Combination Ninjutsu was excellent. I probably won't forget it for a long time," Mugetsu responded with a faint smile.
Mugetsu's reply made Hiruzen's feelings even more complex.
He had come with the intent to kill Sōsuke, but Sōsuke did not kill him and even praised his Ninjutsu.
It seemed he had lost thoroughly in every aspect.
Kakuzu walked to Mugetsu's side, watched Hiruzen and the others leave, then asked quietly, "Just let them go like that? If Ninshū continues to grow, it will inevitably clash with the Five Great Ninja Villages. Remember, the Land of Fire is still our neighbor."
Currently, the structure of the Ninja World was the Five Great Ninja Villages dividing most of the resources, while smaller Villages and other ninja forces picked up the scraps.
If Ninshū continued developing, Kakuzu believed the Five Great Ninja Villages would not sit idly by. The emergence of a sixth major ninja force would greatly impact the existing structure.
Having already antagonized Konoha, Kakuzu thought killing Hiruzen and the others was a good option.
After all, there were 2 Konoha elders here, with 1 of them being the Hokage, as well as 1 of the Sannin, Orochimaru.
If they all died, Konoha would not only lose 3 strong fighters, but also suffer a major blow to its prestige.
"It's fine. Conflict is good. It would be best if they came together. That would save trouble," Mugetsu replied with a smile.
"Came together? What do you mean?" Kakuzu looked at Sōsuke in confusion.
It could not be that Sōsuke wanted to take down all the large Ninja Villages at once.
"Maybe it's exactly what you're thinking," Mugetsu replied.
Then he quickly scanned all the black cubes and retrieved them back into Daikokuten.
He had tested it.
Throwing one out meant one less inside. If he did not retrieve them after use, they might someday run out.
....
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