Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

This time, Konoha's lineup is led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the second-in-command Sakumo Hatake, the starting lineup is the newly promoted Minato Namikaze, and the veteran 3D starter Kurenai Yuhi, along with Aburame, the leader of the Inuzuka clan, and the rest of the underlings are also ninjas from various Konoha clans. Although the number is not large, only a few hundred at most, they are all elites. Moreover, this time they are here to ambush people, valuing quality over quantity. However, a strange thing is that among these underlings, all the Konoha clans have sent people, but the Uchiha who can take on five opponents at once is nowhere to be seen.

Hmm... getting the Uchiha to send someone to save the Senju is indeed quite difficult...

The lineup of Iwagakure is equally impressive, with Onoki as the core leader, the second-in-command being the young Shiki, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and the starting lineup being Tsuchiki, a veteran giant of Iwagakure who once held his own against Mitokado Homura, a famous intellectual in Konoha, for three days and three nights. Tsuchiki is the other extreme in terms of physique from Onoki, a big and burly man, and it's unclear whether he is Onoki's son. There are also several young people who were promoted by Onoki.

The starting lineup isn't too weak either. Onoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi are evenly matched in terms of combat strength. One can fly and fire cannons, while the other can jump and stab. The outcome will depend on how well the two perform.

As for the two sides' second-in-command, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, their high defense and health give them an inherent advantage over agile heroes like Hatake Sakumo. However, Hatake Sakumo's combat experience and god-like movement, despite being inherently disadvantaged, mean he is not entirely fearless. Only the battle will tell who wins.

As for the other starting lineup members, Konoha has a slight advantage. Both Minato Namikaze and Kyoto are newcomers. Although Minato, who has already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, has a better chance of winning, the Flying Thunder God Technique consumes a lot of chakra. If he can't deliver a fatal blow or Kyoto finds the pattern of the Flying Thunder God Technique, then the outcome is really hard to say. After all, Minato hasn't developed his Rasengan technique yet. Ever since he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, he's become stingy, usually using kunai to attack people, and he's reluctant to use ninjutsu. Kyoto, as Onoki's son, although he didn't learn Onoki's signature area-of-effect attack, he still inherited his family's Earth Release technique. Don't be fooled by his big and burly appearance; how could the son of an old schemer like Onoki be honest and straightforward?

As for the remaining veteran 3D starter, Kurenai Yuhi, he might not necessarily be able to defeat Tsuchiki, a veteran giant from Iwagakure. Don't be fooled by Tsuchiki's hand speed when he imitated Sakumo Hatake's... oops! His sword speed almost ruined his right hand, and even if he recovered, he could never return to his peak. However, Kurenai Yuhi's most praised skill in Konoha isn't taijutsu or ninjutsu, but genjutsu. But genjutsu is only useful in one-on-one duels; in team battles, without the Uchiha's eyes that can create genjutsu with a single glare, it's basically useless. He might manage to create a mosaic dream for his opponent, only to be cut down by other enemies around him. Besides his genjutsu skills, Kurenai Yuhi's other taijutsu and ninjutsu are just barely passable. He might not be able to defeat the versatile and eloquent Tsuchiki. In terms of overall strength, Tsuchiki has a significant advantage.

The remaining leaders, whether from the Aburame or Inuzuka clans, are all veteran starters with extremely high tactical skills and rich combat experience. Although they are getting older and their performance has declined somewhat, they still deserve a top salary. On the other hand, the few energetic young men promoted by Onoki have only recently taken office and have no outstanding achievements, so they are still a bit lacking.

As for the underlings, it was the opposite. Konoha, with its superior numbers, only sent a few hundred people this time, while Iwagakure's side had a massive, dark mass behind Onoki. People are saying that seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi really regretted not bringing out his one-versus-five clans later...

To ensure the safe capture of the Senju clan's brat, Onoki was truly going all out, bringing so many people with him. This showed Hiruzen Sarutobi that Onoki, that short, red-nosed bastard, had definitely planned this all along; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought so many people.

Thinking about this made Hiruzen Sarutobi furious!

Even the pipe in his hand spontaneously combusted without a flame.

506. Hiruzen Sarutobi was born with it, while Onoki was beaten up.

He had traveled a long way from Konoha, and on the way there, he felt a slight regret for his impulsiveness! Making such a big fuss could easily escalate into a full-scale war. That short, red-nosed Onoki was a hot-tempered man who was obsessed with saving face and willing to suffer for it. If Konoha were dragged into the quagmire of war, he would go from being the greatest Hokage in Konoha's history to a sinner in history!

If the first and second Hokage were still alive, and knew their grandson had been raped, they would never have wanted him to do this...

But regret is useless now. He's already on his way. If he turns back now, how will he survive in the ninja world? What will his underlings in Konoha say about him?

So there's no use in regretting it. Since they've already started, they have to grit their teeth and see it through. However, he also has his own ideas: to keep the intensity and scope of this fight as small as possible, just focusing on Nawaki. They absolutely cannot let it escalate into a full-blown war, otherwise the Sand Village might just join in. Once the Sand Village enters the fray, besides the uncertain factor of the Mist Village, the Cloud Village's entry won't be far off. Everyone likes to join in the fun, after all...

But now, seeing Onoki's face and the Iwa ninja's demeanor, Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious! It was obvious that they had planned this all along, otherwise, why would they need to bring so many people to pick up just two people?

"You damn monkey, you've only brought this few people? Go back to where you came from! Why haven't those two guys arrived yet...?"

After a long standoff, their eyes were dry and they were still evenly matched. Onoki spoke first, rubbing his dry eyes as he spoke, and pointed triumphantly at the hundreds of underlings behind Hiruzen Sarutobi. He said that in the past, in the wars between Iwagakure and Konoha, Iwagakure was always at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. Now was the time to take advantage of their superior numbers and show off, because it would be hard to have such an opportunity again.

The talkative Hiruzen Sarutobi's colleague whispered to Tsuchiki beside him. They'd been waiting for ages, and instead of the two spy underlings, they'd been met with Konoha's people. And not only that, but even Hiruzen Sarutobi had shown up. He knew this wouldn't be as simple as just bringing them back to the village. Luckily, just in case they might run into Shiki and his group, he'd told Tsuchiki to bring extra men. And thankfully, he'd brought more; otherwise, seeing the Konoha ninjas brimming with fighting spirit—clearly Konoha's elite—if they hadn't brought enough, they really wouldn't have been able to hold their own...

"...It's June now, and sandstorms are common in the Land of Wind during this season. We've probably encountered a sandstorm, Tsuchikage-sama. What should we do now?"

Tsuchiki gripped his katana tightly, glancing at the sky and then at the Konoha soldiers opposite him. His colleague, who was speaking, was also calculating who he would face if a fight broke out. Politically, he was the Tsuchikage's right-hand man, practically the second-in-command. However, in terms of combat prowess, although his severely injured right hand had healed, he could no longer return to his peak. And even if he did, he wasn't confident facing White Fang.

That's a formidable figure who stands shoulder to shoulder with Shiki, but he's also renowned, known as the second most powerful man in Iwagakure after the Tsuchikage. What if White Fang comes after him? He was promoted by the Tsuchikage, and his clan has benefited greatly from his position over the years, naturally offending many established powerful clans. They've relied entirely on him all these years; if White Fang kills him, his clan won't be able to withstand the backlash from those powerful clans!

So while speaking, he kept winking at the young man Zi, who was two steps away: When the fight starts and White Fang rushes over, you go!

(ー`′ー)

Upon receiving Tsuchikage's signal, the young man with the constipated expression looked reluctant. If it were a few years ago when he was still a naive teenager, he would have definitely agreed. After all, Tsuchikage was the village's chief white paper fan, the only genius in the village with an intelligence of 95, which was more than ten points higher than the Tsuchikage. His importance to the village was self-evident. If it weren't for his verbal battle with the intellectuals of Konoha at the negotiating table back then, they would all be lining up to sell their butts to the Tsuchikage now.

But... once people grow up, they start to have more thoughts, especially young guys like him who have just made a name for themselves. We're both on max contracts, so why should I risk getting stabbed and face off against White Fang while you just farm minions?

Although he had already proven his worth and secured a top salary, his seniority was still too low. The other party was a veteran who had served the Tsuchikage for decades, while he was merely a newly appointed rookie. So, even if he was unwilling, he had no choice but to consider fate and mutter to the Four-Tails inside his belly, "The White Fang on the other side is someone who stands shoulder to shoulder with Golden Lion Shiki; remember to keep an eye on him later..."

Seniority is something you can't see or touch, and it's usually useless, but it's everywhere.

Hearing this from inside the young Purple's belly, the Four-Tails felt a chill run down its spine, almost causing its legs to buckle. It then gave the earthen platform outside a gesture of international agreement...

...

"Who? Who's speaking? (⊙_⊙)?"

"Hey! You country bumpkin, was that your father speaking just now? Tell him to stand on higher ground, I can't even see him..."

Seeing Onoki's smug face, Hiruzen Sarutobi forced himself to calm down, pretending that he could only hear the voice but could not find the person. He stood on tiptoe and looked around, shouting at the yellow earth next to Onoki.

In terms of strength, Konoha is unparalleled in the ninja world; and in terms of verbal sparring, Konoha is certainly not inferior to anyone!

"...You don't seem very tall either...-_-||"

Hiroto, who was singled out by Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt a bit embarrassed. Being criticized about his father's height in front of others was a bitter experience, but he naturally didn't dare to back down verbally.

"You damned monkey, you're asking for it!!!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words didn't bother Huang Tu much; it was just one short guy talking nonsense about another. He was 1.82 meters tall and had no idea what kind of suffering they were going through.

But to Onoki, it sounded incredibly grating, like a needle piercing his heart. He quickly darted in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, hovering in the air at a height exactly one head taller than Hiruzen, and glared down at him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's short stature was due to genetics, but Onoki's short stature was definitively determined by Madara back then. How can you compare them? This was a lifelong pain for him. If it weren't for that incident, although his height wouldn't have been as tall as his son, Koto, he would have at least reached the international standard of 1.75 meters.

507. Both of them are cunning old foxes.

"Oh! It's Onoki! If you had just floated here, I would have spotted you. If you hadn't floated higher, I wouldn't have been able to find you! I didn't expect our Nawaki to have such a big reputation, sending so many people to greet him. Alright, now that our Konoha people have arrived, you don't need to help us greet them anymore. Take advantage of the early hour and go back to where you came from. Walking at night too much might lead to encountering ghosts and monsters!"

Despite being looked down at by Onoki, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unperturbed and continued his calm, verbal sparring.

Meanwhile, his mind was racing. If the fighting started, what tactics could minimize his own casualties? After all, he didn't want to rescue Rope Tree but suffer too many casualties. Although his men weren't afraid to die, he was tired of holding hero-style funerals; they were always such a waste of money and resources...

"Bastards! Kill these bastards! Map... Pfft! Dust Release: Particle Style!! ?╬?д?╬?"

Once again, Onoki, whose physique had been bombarded, finally snapped. After shouting to his underlings, he opened a shimmering, transparent cube-shaped barrier between his palms. He was ready to fight even before the battle began, displaying his cunning and shrewd side.

"Hmph! Let's go! Five Elements: Great Combo Bullet Technique!! (▼he▼メ)"

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no less impressive. Despite his outwardly respectable demeanor, while he was verbally attacking Onoki, he had already secretly formed hand seals. Seeing Onoki preparing to unleash his attacks, he shouted, and four clones simultaneously appeared around Onoki, unleashing a barrage of ninjutsu of five different elemental attributes: fire, lightning, water, earth, and wind—a true display of Tobirama Senju's ninjutsu skills...

Anyway, they're both cunning old foxes.

"Boom boom...!"

"Kill them... Holy crap!! (?Д?)ノ"

"What?! Retreat!...! (||?Д?)"

Dust Release versus a super ninjutsu combining five chakra natures. Before either side's minions could even charge in, the massive explosion and powerful aftershocks forced them to retreat. Onoki's Dust Release is a Kekkei Tota, a fusion of wind, fire, and earth chakra natures, its power is top-tier. Even Shinto, with his fully mastered Armament Haki, wouldn't dare directly confront Onoki's Dust Release, fearing he'd be disintegrated into ions...

Hiruzen Sarutobi was born with five chakra natures, which meant that he could maximize the power of any ninjutsu he learned, and learn it more easily than others. Although he never created a bloodline limit or bloodline elimination technique to benefit his son and descendants, he found another way to create the Five Elements Great Release. Although it was quite troublesome to use and not as elegant as bloodline limits or bloodline elimination techniques, its power was not weak at all. It was at least much stronger than ordinary bloodline limits such as Scorch Release or Ice Release. In particular, its power was so great that it suppressed Onoki's map attack. It's not that Onoki's map attack was weak, but in terms of power, Hiruzen Sarutobi's combination of lightning, fire, water, wind, and earth was too overwhelming!

"Wow...that's amazing!! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Forced to retreat, both sides regained their footing and stared in disbelief at the clash of their two leaders' ninjutsu. They completely forgot that the fight was still going on and became spectators, showing their leaders their astonishment without reservation, as if their leaders would make them the lead in their next project after seeing their hard work.

"...-_-||"

Sakumo Hatake looked speechlessly at his old buddies who were showing off their surprise alongside the underlings or rookies. It was one thing for others to show off, but these guys were all seasoned veterans, stop with the drama, they were still fighting... ヽ(ー_ー)ノ

"Sukuni-sama! Is this the Hokage-sama's combination ninjutsu? It's amazing!!! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Some people are just putting on an act, but others are truly acting. Take, for example, the very new and perfect ninja, Minato Namikaze, who was stunned speechless for a long time as he watched the two masters clash with their ninjutsu. Especially his teacher's teacher, the Hokage, whose gaze sent chills down his spine. Although he knew the Hokage was very powerful and had heard of the First Hokage's Wood Release, the Second Hokage's Water Release, and the Third Hokage's combination ninjutsu, those were all top-notch.

However, the most common combination ninjutsu is to combine two types of ninjutsu to achieve a synergistic effect and multiply their power. It sounds easy, but it is not easy at all. Even the simplest combination of two types of ninjutsu requires two people to work together, and the control of chakra must be very strong to do so. Otherwise, it is easy to hurt your partner. So even if two people want to perform a combination ninjutsu, it is not easy.

It's even more difficult for one person; it's not something you can do by multitasking, and the Hokage is a master of the Five Elements!

That would destroy the world!

Seeing that small figure unleash such enormous energy, and recalling the way the Hokage usually looked at him, Minato Namikaze was incredibly irritated.

He absolutely couldn't betray Kushina. If the Hokage ever harbored any ill intentions towards him, he'd immediately use the Flying Thunder God Technique...

"Earth Release·Fist Rock....(｀Д′)"

"careful!"

"call out!"

"Bang...!"

"Wow, that was fast!!"

Just as both sides were showing their surprise to their leaders, Huang Tu in the Iwa ninja crowd proved that he was indeed Onoki's son. Despite his burly appearance and seemingly honest demeanor, he was actually cunning and treacherous.

Seeing that the Konoha members were also foolishly showing off their surprise, forgetting that the battle had only just begun, he rolled his eyes, quietly circled around, and slipped over from the side. Seeing the Konoha Aburame clan leader, one of their starting fighters, standing there dumbfounded with everyone else, he saw him eliminate one of their key players right at the start. How could he miss such a good opportunity? He quietly formed hand seals, transforming his right hand into a hard rock fist, increasing its hardness and weight, and charged towards the Aburame clan leader. He could already see the first kill waving at him! ヾ(^?^)?

However, just as the rock-like fist of the loess was 0.03 centimeters away from the Aburame clan leader, a white light flashed. Before the loess could see what it was, a body suddenly appeared beside him and delivered a left whip kick to his waist.

The next second, the yellow earth flew back to where it was originally and slammed hard onto the ground.

Huang Tu got up, dusted himself off, and looked at the figure that had suddenly appeared. He looked rather mature, and this guy was about the same age as him. Recalling the kick just now, the damage wasn't high, but the speed was extremely fast, as if it was done in an instant.

Huang Tu's expression gradually turned serious.

508. White Fang: Four-tailed foxes are really bad...

Huang Tu rubbed his throbbing kidneys. He didn't recognize the blond-haired boy in front of him. He searched through all the information he had on Konoha in his mind. Perhaps one of their spies couldn't resist the temptations of Konoha and wasn't working hard enough. In any case, he couldn't find any information about the blond-haired boy in his mind.

The speed he just experienced was simply too fast. He was even certain that it was no slower than Konoha's White Fang. Konoha's White Fang was already considered to be at the pinnacle of speed in the ninja world, but this guy, who was about the same age as him, actually possessed a speed no less than Konoha's White Fang. The most crucial point was that the Iwa ninja had absolutely no information about this guy. His speed was no slower than White Fang's, but they knew nothing else about him. Yellow Earth's forehead gradually began to be covered in fine sweat. It seemed that the intelligence department needed to be properly reorganized.

...

"Lady Aburame, are you alright?"

The blond-haired boy who was overlooked by the Iwa ninja spies was none other than Minato Namikaze, whose reflexes were exceptionally sharp. In fact, not only did he notice the yellow earth's movements, but Sakumo Hatake also did. However, although Sakumo Hatake was also very fast, he wasn't a full-speed agility build, so his speed wasn't at its peak. In addition, he was quite far from the Aburame clan leader, so it was almost impossible for him to save anyone under those circumstances. The only thing he could do was stab Onoki's son twice to avenge the Aburame clan leader.

However, Hatake Sakumo couldn't do it, but Namikaze Minato, who had all his points in Agility, could. The moment he noticed Huang Tu's movement, his outstanding left brain immediately mobilized his body, took out a Flying Thunder God Kunai, and shot it at Huang Tu. Before Huang Tu's sandbag-sized fist could hit the Aburame clan leader, he teleported over and kicked Huang Tu away.

"Ah, it's nothing, thank you, Minato-kun."

He was dressed like a tough guy and was just trying his best to impress the Hokage, hoping that the Hokage would see his efforts and protect his son in the future. As for himself, Shika and the other two have already retired, and he is not young anymore. He has no desire to be the protagonist. But doesn't he still have his son?

The leader of the Aburame clan broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing the rock-like giant hand of Onoki's son. He was filled with mixed emotions, thinking to himself, "As expected of the cunning Onoki's son. This kid is no pushover either. He's got a real knack for disregarding martial ethics." At the same time, he also lamented that he was indeed getting old. If he were ten years younger, with his rich experience in team battles, how could he have been almost tricked by a rookie without even realizing it? At this moment, he thought of many things and realized it was time to leave the opportunity to the younger generation.

His son was the same age as Minato, but he always felt his son wasn't mature enough. He wanted to wait a few more years until his son was fully grown before promoting him. But Minato saved him on his very first appearance. Now that he thinks about it, Shikamaru really is a big-headed guy; he understood things much better than he did...

"Let's go!!!"

"Let's go too!!!"

"Earth Escape..."

"Fire Release..."

"Konoha Style..."

Ding ding ding...!

Boom! Boom!

Although Huang Tu didn't succeed, his action stirred up the atmosphere among the Iwa ninja. Seeing their leader's son kicked in the groin, the Iwa ninja felt their old grudges were avenged and new hatred was added to their hatred. Their eyes turned red instantly, and they bypassed the scene of the two leaders' battle and rushed towards the Konoha ninja.