I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 543 Even knowing you're in the wrong, you'll still be furious when faced with someone who pretends to be ignorant.

"Rock Fist Technique!"

Tatsuma appeared instantly in the Iwa ninja formation, only to be met with two Iwa punches. He spread his arms and braced himself, using the White Crane Spreads Wings Turning Knee Twist Step to catch one of the Iwa punches. Then, he twisted his body and exerted force, directly smashing the Iwa ninja into the other Iwa ninja.

Meanwhile, the Iwa ninjas around them realized that their enemy had suddenly changed from Minato Namikaze to Tatsuma Sakamoto. These were two completely different ninjas, and they couldn't fight them in the same way.

In the air, Onoki's eyes were bloodshot as he bent down to rush towards the ground, but Minato, who was also in the air, although he could not fly, also had the means to intercept Onoki.

As he fell, Minato reached into his ninja tool pouch with his right hand and retrieved several concentrated flashbangs, while his left hand hurled the kunai he had caught toward Onoki's path.

"Spiral Flash Super Wheel Dance Roar Three Styles!"

The flashbang exploded, and all that was left in Onoki's vision was a golden light; the rest of his field of vision was completely obscured by the dazzling light.

Although he couldn't see it, Onoki guessed that Minato's next move would definitely be close-range. Compared to dealing with both Tatsuma and Minato in close combat, it wouldn't matter if Minato was alone and lost sight of him.

"Earth Release! Iwatama!"

Chakra transformed into soil and rock, enveloping Onoki layer by layer.

"Earth Release: Weighted Rock Technique!"

While being enveloped, Onoki once again formed hand seals and cast a spell, changing the density of the rock ball and greatly increasing its strength. Minato, who had appeared in a flash, only had time to press his chakra onto the rock ball before running out of energy and falling downwards.

Moreover, to avoid falling directly to the ground from a great height, Minato had no choice but to use the Flying Thunder God Technique again, transferring himself to the ground before his falling speed became unacceptable.

Once his vision returned, Onoki instantly broke through the rock sphere, but when he saw the situation below, his body trembled involuntarily, as if a long-forgotten fear had begun to resurface.

"Sage Art! Wood Release! Descend upon the World of Flower Trees!"

The grassland transformed into a rolling wave of water, and Tatsuma in the middle was the cannonball that stirred up the waves. As the ground surged, the walls and earth dragons created by the Iwa ninja using Earth Release, or the altered terrain, were all crushed.

Then, the thick roots became visible as the ground churned, followed by towering trees emerging from the ground, and unusually large flower buds swaying in the air.

Within the tree realm, countless vines and branches lashed out, and with just a slip, the Iwa ninjas would be whipped by the vines and branches, then rolled up and bound.

This was what Onoki saw. He didn't know how many Iwa ninja were trapped in this lush tree world, perhaps thousands?

He swooped down, his hands gathering translucent chakra boxes, but he didn't know where to release them. He wanted to destroy the trees binding the Iwa ninja, but... the Iwa ninja were among them.

As for attacking Sakamoto Tatsuma, he had already hidden himself in the lush tree world, and could not be found at all.

The wind rustled through the leaves, the aftershocks roared, and even the lashing branches seemed to make a sound; all of this blended together like the chanting of ancient temples.

bloom.

The golden pollen drifted down, and those rock ninjas who were about to escape the tree world, or who had already found a foothold in the tree world, were stunned and staggered after just a light inhalation of the pollen, and were then bound by vines and branches.

"And ours too."

Seeing this, Tsunade panicked, because many Konoha ninjas were actually caught up in it. But before she could finish speaking, she noticed that the Nine-Tails chakra surrounding the Konoha ninjas had completely burned away the pollen.

It wasn't just pollen; the Nine-Tails' chakra seemed to be consciously attacking Tatsuma's Wood Release, and as a result, several Iwa ninja were "rescued."

However, the Iwa ninja who inhaled the pollen, even after breaking free from the vines' restraints, simply collapsed to the ground, only to be whipped and dragged away by the other vines.

"How much does Kurama hate Tatsuma? Even its chakra is hostile to Tatsuma's techniques."

Jiraiya joked, and Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle. Even though such behavior was inappropriate on the battlefield, it was just... kind of funny.

Tsunade glared at her two teammates who had strange senses of humor, and then ordered the Konoha ninja to withdraw from the Tree World.

After suppressing his laughter, Orochimaru knew this was an opportunity. His command was more sophisticated than Tsunade's, and he ordered the other Konoha ninja to advance, surround and suppress them, and try to push more Iwa ninja into the World of Trees.

With the order given, Orochimaru finally had some free time. Looking towards the Tree World, he said, "Flower Tree World Descent, this must be the most powerful Wood Release technique, right?"

Tsunade nodded and said, "I guess so? But Tatsuma's training doesn't seem to be quite up to par yet. He hasn't broken free from the foundation of the Advent of the World of Trees, and he's wasting too much chakra. But... he can afford to waste it."

Tsunade didn't know exactly how much chakra Hashirama Senju had, because when Hashirama was still alive, she barely remembered anything, let alone could sense other people's chakra.

The person she knows with the most chakra is her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, and now Tatsuma's chakra level is gradually approaching that of his grandmother.

If we're talking about ninjas still alive, aside from herself who broke the Yin Seal more than half a year ago, Tsunade has never seen a ninja with more chakra than Tatsuma is now.

According to Orochimaru, this is not Tatsuma's limit. In fact, Tatsuma's current chakra level is only about a quarter of the theoretical limit because the Divine Tree cells have not completely replaced other cells, and these cells are still in their growth stage.

Tsunade couldn't even imagine how terrifying the amount of chakra would be if Tatsuma's chakra could reach the theoretical limit, even if there was only a slight difference. He could probably use ninjutsu without interruption.

Perhaps his great-grandfather possessed such chakra, which is why he was able to completely alter the terrain of the Valley of the End.

So, does that mean Madara Uchiha, who was his great-grandfather's enemy, also possessed the same chakra and power? Surely his great-grandfather couldn't have been the only one attacking the ground, could he?

Thinking of this, Tsunade looked up at Onoki, who was diving down, with some suspicion. She had heard some rumors that Onoki had faced Madara Uchiha and managed to save his own life.

But if Madara Uchiha was really as powerful as his great-grandfather, given the Uchiha's personality, how did Onoki manage to survive?

Onoki crash-landed above the Tree World and suddenly stopped, holding the chakra box in both hands, glaring angrily at those below, and roaring, "Sakamoto Tatsuma! You come out here!"

"Shhh~"

Amidst the rustling of leaves, Tatsuma's body slowly rose into the air. In terms of flight, he was even more stable than Onoki, without Onoki's slight undulations and swaying.

After all, Onoki altered gravity, so he could actually float in the air. But it's like a butcher chopping meat; he likes to chop the chopping board occasionally. If he stays still for too long, the feel for it will disappear.

The same applies to Onoki. If he doesn't constantly adjust his own gravity, he might not have enough time to change his gravity and move when needed.

But Tatsuma is different. He seems to float on the water. When he wants to move, all he needs to do is give a command from his brain, and his body will instinctively move. For him, flying is a posture of action, not a skill.

The unstable flight attitude, coupled with Onoki's trembling and ferocious face at this moment, made him seem like a helpless rage compared to the calm and composed Tatsuma.

"Sakamoto Tatsuma! What exactly do you want?!"

Onoki said angrily, but he dared not use the technique on Tatsuma. It was too close, and if he was not careful, many Iwa ninja would die. As the Tsuchikage, he could not do that.

Tatsuma looked puzzled and asked, "What do I want? What's the point of this discussion, Tsuchikage? Wasn't this battle, and indeed this entire war, initiated by Iwagakure?"

Even knowing you're in the wrong, you'll still be furious when faced with someone who pretends to be ignorant. That's exactly how Onoki was.

Was Tatsuma wrong? No, he wasn't wrong. Whether it was a battle or a war, it was indeed the Iwa ninja who started it first. As a Konoha ninja, it was perfectly normal for Tatsuma to fight back against the Iwa ninja on the battlefield.

However, Tatsuma's single technique put the lives of over a thousand Iwa ninja in his hands, with their fates entirely in his control. Such a thing had never happened in any battle before.

Even during the most chaotic late Warring States period, when the five countries were fighting each other, and when Hashirama Senju led his clan to establish a village with the Uchiha clan and "monopolized" the ninja market in the Land of Fire, he never did this.

Because the ninjas at that time were not so "united," and they fought individually, even though Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had enough ability, and were even stronger than Tatsuma, they never did anything that could take the lives of thousands of ninjas.

Tatsuma's current actions are undoubtedly challenging the bottom line of Iwagakure, but Iwagakure dares not stop him unless Tatsuma chooses to release or kill the person. Otherwise, in this stalemate, Onoki does not dare to make a move, nor do the Iwagakure ninja present.

No matter who comes, it's no use. Tatsuma is like a madman with a detonator in his hand. Before he makes a decision, he can even defecate and urinate on anyone's head.

But Tatsuma wasn't crazy. At this moment, Onoki was anxious, but he was not calm inside either. It seemed that he now had the power of life and death, but no matter what he did, the price would be unimaginably high.

The Konoha ninjas who participated in the battle felt relieved to kill these Iwa ninjas, but Tatsuma would inevitably be labeled as anti-ninja and anti-human.

Releasing these people would eliminate the hatred from the entire ninja world, but Tatsuma's reputation, built up little by little over the past ten years, would collapse in an instant. Therefore, no matter what choice he makes, Tatsuma cannot be considered a winner.

Unless the "contradiction" is shifted elsewhere, just like what the thief who plants the bomb in a police movie likes to do most is to leave the authority to defuse the bomb to the police.

If the police officer cuts the red and blue lines correctly, it's his duty, and he'll only receive a brief cheer. If he cuts them incorrectly, then he's a sinner, an undeniable and unforgivable sinner.

This is the transfer of contradictions. This technique is most effective in any era, society, and occasion.

Tatsuma looked at Onoki and said with a smile, "Lord Tsuchikage, how about we make a bet using these thousand-odd Iwa ninja as stakes?"

(End of this chapter)