Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

*Pfft...pfft...pfft...!*

Just as the Four-Tailed Golden was about to turn around, a flash of white light appeared, and Sakumo Hatake, wielding his ancestral short blade crackling with lightning, had already stabbed the Four-Tailed Golden in the chest with force!

The sharp pain in its chest instantly made the Four-Tails roar in anger. As a noble creature that had been hiding for countless years, it was thick-skinned and tough. The blow from Hatake Sakumo didn't hurt that much, certainly not as much as the punch from that bastard Golden Lion. However, being stabbed by a human in front of everyone, and thinking about the shock it had created when it appeared, it felt like it had been slapped in the face. The Four-Tails, furious, attacked Hatake Sakumo, whose size was like an insignificant ant compared to it, and started smashing him around.

However, the Four-Tails' random, unskilled punches would have turned anyone else into a meat sandwich from its powerful blows. But it was facing Hatake Sakumo, who had mastered basic movement to the highest level. Every punch was a critical hit, and the rain of blows was dodged by Hatake Sakumo with his small, quick steps. He also seized opportunities to launch counterattacks from time to time, breaking through the defenses of the Four-Tails. Taking advantage of the Four-Tails' open defenses, he stabbed it several more times in the chest where it had been stabbed before.

"Hiss... Damn bastard! (ヽ(#`Д′)?"

Bang bang bang...!

When the Four-Tails was stabbed for the first time, it only felt a slight stinging pain. Since it was formed from the chakra of heaven and earth, and because Sakumo Hatake's family heirloom short blade was not long enough, the first stab did not cause it much damage. However, after being stabbed several times in succession, the wounds became deeper and deeper, and finally the Four-Tails felt excruciating pain. The Four-Tails' eyes were already red, and its gaze was fixed on Sakumo Hatake, that little ant. It had completely forgotten about the landlord who was sleeping on its head. At this moment, it only wanted to beat this bastard to death and then devour him.

And so, another large-scale demolition operation began...

"Sukushiro-sama is amazing!! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

The two sides' underlings, who were still fighting each other, were interrupted again by the Four-Tails' roar. Rather than fighting themselves, they preferred to watch the Four-Tails fight Konoha's White Fang one-on-one. Such a grand scene was rare. Although the ninjutsu exchange between the Tsuchikage and Hokage was also impressive, they used the same two moves over and over: one used a map-wide attack, and the other used five different attacks on each other. Although the scene was spectacular, it would become aesthetically tiring after a while. The key point was that... neither the Tsuchikage's map-wide attack nor the Hokage's five ninjutsu were things that they could learn.

Compared to that, the fight between White Fang and the Four-Tails was much more exciting. Just look at the Four-Tails' tall and imposing body and its powerful, rain-like punches.

Looking at Sakumo Hatake, who was constantly circling around the Four-Tails and remained completely unscathed from its massive fist, everyone was amazed by his incredibly skillful movement. Every time the Four-Tails' fist was about to hit him, he would simply move two steps to perfectly dodge it, and even use the opening to deliver two blows to the Four-Tails. It was just too damn impressive. Even the Konoha veterans who knew how skillful Sakumo Hatake was were dumbfounded.

The reason why Sakumo was able to go toe-to-toe with Golden Lion was largely due to his extremely skillful movement. However, every time they fought one-on-one, the battlefield was completely ravaged by Golden Lion's sword energy, and they couldn't get close enough to see much or experience the feeling they were having now.

"Wow, that's amazing! (⊙_⊙)"

Minato Namikaze, the perfect ninja lying on the ground recovering his chakra, was a unique presence on the battlefield. Although the two sides clashed again, no Iwa ninja dared to approach him, now out of chakra. They all tacitly bypassed him, finding another spot to continue the fight. Even Onoki's sneaky son, who had previously faced him, showed some martial ethics this time, refusing to fight the weak. Moreover, the Iwa ninja always distinguished between right and wrong. This blond brat had saved Kurajiro once, and they wouldn't take advantage of his position this time. If they were to fight, they would wait until next time. This was the pride of the Iwa ninja...

So Minato Namikaze, who was sprawled on the ground recovering his chakra, took in the entire battle on the Four-Tails' side. He was even more shocked by Sakumo-sama's godlike movement. His Flying Thunder God Technique was already impressive enough, but unfortunately, the skill consumed too much chakra. His advantage was that he used ordinary small chakra potions. Even after he grew up, the word "small" would just be removed, and he would still be using ordinary chakra potions, at most he could use them a few more times.

However, while Sakumo-sama's movement speed was fast, it was definitely not as fast as his Flying Thunder God Technique. After all, they were two different movement trajectories. If he were facing the Four-Tails's frenzied punches, he could only rely on the Flying Thunder God Technique to dodge. But Sakumo-sama, facing the Four-Tails's dense barrage of punches, only moved half a step each time, seemingly dangerous but actually perfectly dodging the Four-Tails's punches, and even managing to defend and counterattack. It was just too damn impressive. He even felt that Sakumo-sama's movement was more like a divine technique than the Flying Thunder God Technique that he had painstakingly learned. It was just as stylish, and it didn't consume much chakra...

512. Ebizo and Sunagawa's appetites have grown.

"According to our Tsuchikage, White Fang's ability to move like that is due to the experience he gained from fighting Shiki since childhood, combined with the swordsmanship of the Hatake clan. Others simply cannot learn it and have no opportunity to do so. You are still young, and in fact, you were also very fast when you rescued people before."

Kurajiro, who was acting as a bodyguard for his savior and checking if any of the Iwa ninja were any bad apples who might spoil their pride, saw Minato's expression and, as someone who had been through it all, knew what Minato was thinking. There was a time when he had doubted himself because his father had been killed by Hanzo of the Salamander and he couldn't defeat Hanzo. After all, he had studied ninjutsu for so many years and still couldn't avenge his father. He was a coward.

Later, their Tsuchikage comforted him in the same way, which made him feel a little better. Hanzo the Salamander was a special product of a special era in the Land of Rain. Everyone who had their poison sacs transplanted with him died, but he survived and could even fuse with the poison sacs of pufferfish. That shows just how special he was...

"Sogga!"

Hearing Kurajiro say this, Minato Namikaze suddenly understood and nodded in agreement. These days, who in the ninja world doesn't have something to show for themselves? The Hokage's five-element combination ninjutsu, his teacher Jiraiya's... half-baked Sage Mode, Tsunade's monstrous strength, and even he himself learned the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique. Sakumo is still one of Konoha's top two Red Staffs. It's not surprising that his movements are so awesome.

........

"Lord Jie, it's getting late, shall we make our move?"

The battle between Konoha and Iwagakure has already begun, while on the Sunagakure side, a group of experienced junglers led by Sasori's father, along with elite members of their respective clans led by Saori's father and Umekawa's father, have also started their operations.

Although Sasori's father didn't have this kind of command experience, he had at least served as Shinto's deputy before. The Fire Country's defenses were very strong from the border. After all, their Hokage was currently out fighting, and to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to cause trouble, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who were temporarily in charge, naturally had to do a good job of defending their homeland. They increased the defense intensity from the border, and Konoha ninjas continuously set off from Konoha to various towns and villages in the Fire Country.

During this period, the bandits and robbers within the Land of Fire were in a miserable state. Most of these bandits and robbers were composed of ordinary people, at most some rogue ninja leaders or rogue ninjas from outside villages. Those rogue ninjas from villages were at most Chunin level; Jonin-level rogue ninjas had long since gone to join bounty hunters, which was much more comfortable than leading a bunch of small fry.

During this period, Konoha increased its defenses against the Land of Fire, so they could only stay put and dared not go down the mountain to cause trouble. After all, a single Konoha ninja squad could wipe them all out. For a time, the Land of Fire was quite peaceful and prosperous.

Even though Konoha had strengthened its defenses, it couldn't stop Sasori's father and his group of experienced underlings. Although their numbers were small, their speed and efficiency were remarkable. These seasoned veterans with high tactical awareness knew how to disguise their direction while traveling. They were far more professional than the three disciples of Shindou. Over a hundred of them roamed the Land of Fire for more than half a month without Konoha noticing. Moreover, Sasori's father and his group had a clear objective this time. They didn't target cities and villages, but instead focused on the copper and iron mines and armories in the Land of Fire.

This time, Ebizo and Sunagawa's appetite has grown. Although the living supplies are good and can improve the villagers' living conditions, the ninja world is a place where whoever has the biggest fist has the most say. Just thinking about living supplies is useless. Moreover, Konoha is rich in resources, so of course they should take advantage of such a good opportunity to get those strategic resources!

The daily necessities can be handed over to the Land of Earth. Anyway, the Land of Earth doesn't have anything good. Jade might be worth something in peacetime, but in wartime, its value is not even comparable to their gold dust. So Sunagawa and Ebizo had already clearly divided their tasks before setting off. The Land of Fire was focused on strategic materials, while the Land of Earth was focused on daily necessities. It was a win-win situation, and neither side was delayed.

Although the Land of Fire has many copper mines, iron mines, and arsenals, these are all heavily guarded places. The arsenals, in particular, are located in secluded areas. Although they haven't been detected during their two weeks in the Land of Fire, they still haven't been able to find the arsenals. They did find two copper and iron mines, though. After failing to find the arsenals, Scorpion's father finally decided to target these two copper and iron mines. However, these places are almost all guarded by Konoha ninja, making it difficult to make a move. Therefore, Scorpion's father had already devised a battle plan on the way here. It has to be said that this genius has a lot of tactics in his mind. After filtering and eliminating them one by one, Scorpion's father decided to use the old method: make a move in the middle of the night. At that time, people are already in a deep sleep, and even those who are not asleep will naturally relax their vigilance. That is the best time to make a move.

At 3:05 AM, a cool night breeze swept through the group. Sasori's father was studying tactics. After all, places guarded by Konoha ninja were prone to unexpected events. If nearby Konoha ninja came to their aid, their hundred-odd men wouldn't be enough to satisfy their hunger. As the leader of this operation, he needed to devise a perfect tactical plan…

However... while Handsome Scorpion's father could remain calm, his underlings couldn't. It was true that they were experienced junglers, and the most impressive jungle battles they had participated in were in the Land of Earth. But this was the Land of Fire. The Land of Earth was completely different from this place. In the Land of Earth, they were like strolling in their own backyard, but in the Land of Fire, they had to be extremely careful every day for the past two weeks, their minds constantly on edge. If this dragged on any longer, they were afraid they would develop psychological problems.

"...Make your move in five minutes. Remember to be decisive when you do it, don't make too much noise, and clean up the mess thoroughly so that Konoha can't find any clues..."

Looking at his eager underlings, Scorpion's father hadn't actually decided on a strategy yet. These guys had been holding back for too long, and he needed to let them vent to prevent them from going insane. He himself had been on edge for the past two weeks. However, as the first time leading a group, he emphasized the importance of cleaning up the mess. After all, they were deep in enemy territory, less than two days' journey from Konoha. If they left any trace that Konoha discovered, he wouldn't be leading them away...

513. In the end, you have to rely on yourself!

"Quick! Quick! Quick! Take everything else you can!"

"That's enough for now, don't linger too long. There are still a lot of places waiting for us to conquer..."

"Yes, you're right, let's go!"

"..."

Unlike the cautious ways of Sasori's father and his ilk in the Land of Fire, the two great families led by Saori's father and Umekawa's father were like dwarf mules entering a city in the Land of Earth. They weren't there to hunt; they were there to conquer this land...

The Iwa ninja are currently mostly engaged in fights with Onoki, neglecting to strengthen defenses. While Onoki is on the border, he's still within the Land of Earth and hasn't considered this area. So, the two of them, leading their respective clan's elite forces, are moving with lightning speed, the word "caution" practically nonexistent in their vocabulary. Every village and town they pass through is meticulously dealt with, and any Iwa ninja reinforcements they encounter are dealt with cleanly. At this point, the only thing separating them from becoming notorious gangsters is a large cigar...

Although the two families cooperated quite well, looking at the smug face of Yusaori's father, Umekawa Nei's father really wanted to slap that old man's face with a slipper. This was originally a good opportunity for their family to consolidate their position by going it alone, but no one knew what benefits this bastard had given to Lord Kazekage and Lord Ebizo, which allowed this bastard to interfere and take away the credit that should have belonged to their family.

Mei Chuan's father grew increasingly angry at this jerk's face. If it weren't for the importance of maintaining harmony when traveling, he would have already challenged this bastard to a duel. The scoundrel always had to argue with him over everything. (▼he▼メ)

Unlike their arch-rival next door, Yusa's father was quite the showman. He watched with amusement as his younger brother sifted through the spoils he'd brought back, then suddenly enlightened him: there were still so many places waiting to be conquered. As long as the battle between Iwagakure and Konoha continued, he was confident that with six months, they could sweep all the way to the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Earth, and like Shinto, kidnap the Daimyo and become a national hero. ヾ(^?^)?

So he started having his underlings throw away the worthless stuff they had been carrying. After all, it was their first time doing this and they weren't very skilled yet. But he was very glad that going to Fengying Tower in the middle of the night to volunteer for the mission was absolutely the right thing to do!

With so many supplies brought back this time, even if the Umekawa clan has several more offspring, they can't possibly surpass the Yusa clan to become the leading family in Sunagakure.

His daughter is the Crown Princess, his son-in-law is the Crown Prince, and his grandson is the designated fourth-generation Wind Shadow. Everything seems so perfect, and the future of their family seems to be a broad and promising road!

He used to think the same way: once his grandson officially took over, wouldn't their Yusa clan be able to surpass the Umekawa clan and become the top clan in Sunagakure?

Just like the Uchiha clan, after the Senju clan declined, the Uchiha clan became the leading clan in Konoha. Although the Hyuga clan has shown a tendency to catch up in the past two years, now when people mention Konoha, the first clan that comes to mind is the Uchiha clan.

He also thought that in the future, when people mentioned Sunagakure, the first thing they would think of was their Yusa clan. He used to think that after his beloved grandson became Kazekage, it wouldn't be a dream for his grandson to support their clan to reach the top.

However, ever since Shinto chose the crippled youngest son of the Umekawa clan instead of his youngest daughter when selecting disciples, he finally realized that a person still has to rely on themselves! No amount of external force is effective. Moreover, he could vaguely see some signs of this. Logically speaking, the Kazekage and Ebizo had received such a generous gift from him, but when Shinto didn't choose his youngest daughter, the Kazekage and Ebizo didn't say anything, only mentioning it briefly. This made him vaguely understand something. Even though his daughter was the Crown Princess and he and Lady Chiyo were in-laws, those were just both help and obstacles. The most important thing was still to rely on his own strength.

Because of this relationship, he had already reached his limit in terms of scheming and could not advance any further. Just like the Meichuan clan, although they were prolific and numerous, the village would not only send members of the Meichuan clan during wartime. In some aspects, the Meichuan clan, like them, had already reached their peak. If they wanted to advance further, they could only rely on their actual strength. So when he heard his son-in-law say that the village was going to give the opportunity to raid the Land of Earth to the Meichuan clan, he couldn't sit still. In terms of honor and contribution to the village, the Yusa clan and the Meichuan clan were about the same. If the Meichuan clan were to solo raid the Land of Earth this time, wouldn't that be terrible? Wouldn't the Yusa clan be completely overtaken?

Before setting off, he was worried about the potential dangers of this trip to the Land of Earth. After all, venturing deep into enemy territory was extremely risky, and the relationship between the Iwa ninja and their Sunagakure wasn't exactly good. Although not as good as the relationship between the Iwa ninja and the Kirigakure ninja, if they were discovered venturing so deep into enemy territory, it would be a miracle if, like the youngest son of the Umekawa family, he were confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life...

So when he set off, he brought most of the clan's elites with him. As a result, they encountered many Iwa ninja along the way, but none of them were any real fighters. He didn't even have to lift a finger. This made him a little arrogant. He was also glad that he had made such a wise choice. Although the things he used to bribe the Kazekage and Ebizo were valuable, they were nothing compared to the achievements he would talk about after returning. More importantly, he could also intercept the Umekawa clan.

At this moment, Saori's dad was absolutely thrilled! ヾ(^?^)?

.......

"boom!"

"Those two bastards..."

"boom!"

"Those two bastards..."

On the battlefield of the Land of Wind, the sandstorm had passed, and Tsunade struggled forward, each step leaving a large crater. At this point, Tsunade was somewhat insane, her mind filled with a desire to kill the two bastards who had taken her brother ten or eight times over before she could vent her anger.

"...Be patient. My man's intuition tells me those two guys and Rope Tree aren't far ahead of us. Then you'll be able to take down those two bastards yourself..."

Shinto, seeing that Tsunade was using her crippled legs... ptooey! Tenshu legs to walk, said comfortingly. He could sense with his Observation Haki that the two unlucky Iwa ninjas who had taken the blame were still half-dead.

However, these two unfortunate Iwa ninja who took the blame were quite responsible. Having lived in Sunagakure for so many years, even in the face of a sandstorm, they wouldn't be in this state. But to ensure the Nawaki tree was still fresh, they shared most of their food and water with it. Traveling through the sand was physically demanding, and without sufficient energy, the two unfortunate ninjas were practically exhausted. It's estimated that they've lost at least twenty pounds in a short time. Coupled with the mental torment, if it weren't for the slightly more resilient Iwa ninja encouraging his companions every day, the other Iwa ninja would have already died. But they've almost reached their limit. They originally planned to wait until they met up with Onoki before making their move, but plans change. He wasn't even sure if they could hold on until then, given their current state—they could barely carry a Nawaki tree.

514. Talking is the coolest tactic.

"Listen up, you guys! You're surrounded! I'm ordering you to pull over immediately. We will abide by international conventions and laws against mistreating prisoners. If you resist, my sword will be itching for a strike! (▼he▼メ)"

"Golden golden golden golden... Golden Lion! Σ(?д?lll)"

Just as the two unlucky Iwa ninja were about to leave the sandy land and depart from the Land of Wind, their Tsuchikage was already there to greet them. They could almost see the happy life they would have after returning to their village...

However, just as they began to have high hopes for their future careers, a voice that sounded like a demon came from above. When they looked up, their mouths agape, their legs went weak, and they collapsed onto the sand, staring in despair at the golden figure in the sky, filled with regret!

Of course, they didn't regret risking their lives to take away the Thousand-Handed Prince, because anyone would have done the same under those circumstances, hoping to make a difference in the future.

What they regretted was that if they had known that the Golden Lion was chasing them, they would not have run away. Instead, they had to suffer here. They were about to leave the Land of Wind, but they were still caught up. Why did they have to suffer so much?

It's better to stay in top form and fight the Golden Lion. Who knows, the Golden Lion might even let them go, considering how brave they were...

They're in such a state now that they can't even throw shurikens, what the hell are they supposed to fight for?

Looking at the golden lion, with its rosy complexion and strong voice, it's clear it's maintaining its peak condition. How can it possibly play ball like that!

"It's not Golden Golden Golden Golden Lion, it's Golden Lion! You two bastards, although you're not from Sunagakure, as the saying goes, the kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth. All these years you've eaten our food and used our resources, how have we ever wronged you? And yet you're betraying us, still thinking about Iwagakure! Do you know that the thing I hate most in this life is a traitor! Bastards, there's no good end for traitors! (▼he▼メ)"

Spotting Tsunade charging towards them at a speed of over a thousand miles per hour, Masato launched into a tirade against the two of them with the exasperation of a father looking at his sons. Anyone who didn't know better would think their Sunagakure sons had betrayed them...

"Lord Golden Lion..."

The two Iwa ninja, seeing Masato's face, were still reeling from the shock and caught up in the atmosphere. They lowered their heads in shame, having lived as Sunagakure villagers for so long. Masato's words had caught them off guard, and they'd completely forgotten they were Iwa ninja. Like children who'd done something wrong, they were too ashamed to face their fellow villagers...

"Alas! It is never too late to turn back before you commit a grave mistake. Release Rope Tree now. Considering how hard you've worked to raise it to be plump and healthy, I won't make things difficult for you. Just go back to the village and apologize to Feng Ying. Write a guarantee of over 100,000 words and promise not to repeat the mistake. I think Feng Ying will forgive you..."

Shinto looked at the two Iwa ninja brothers below with surprise. Originally, he was just casually fooling them out of habit. He didn't need these two brothers to do anything immoral in front of him. But he didn't know if it was because they had been hungry for too long and their brains had become sluggish. They were so easy to fool. Shinto put on a painstaking expression and said to the two of them, "What is the most awesome tactic?"

Verbal sparring is the coolest tactic!

To be able to retrieve the rope tree from those two without lifting a finger—that instantly elevates his status several notches. As for whether those two unlucky underlings live or die when Tsunade catches up, that's none of his concern. That's how the ninja world works: only the mighty have the right to talk about human rights; small fry are destined to be eaten by big fish. Even if Tsunade doesn't kill them, they've stirred up trouble, causing a conflict between Iwa and Konoha, and they're going back empty-handed. Onoki might be all smiles on the surface, but the next day those two will probably be unexpectedly dead...

"Yes, we'll go back now..."

The two were completely immersed in their roles, their faces full of shame. Just as they were about to put down the "things" from the large sack on their backs, they finally realized, "Wait a minute! Aren't we Iwa ninja? What kind of guarantee are we going to write to the Kazekage?!" (⊙_⊙)

Damn! I almost got scammed!

The two exchanged glances, their minds racing, conjuring up countless ways to escape the clutches of the demon. However, considering the power of their father, the Golden Lion, they dismissed all of them. No matter how many methods they devised, they couldn't withstand a single sword strike... ╥﹏╥

Then, as if making an appointment, they released Rope Tree, who had been drugged and kept unconscious but had become plump and healthy, from their back. If it were those Sunagakure ANBU chasing after them, they thought they could still put up a fight, but this was Golden Lion, what kind of fight was that!

"Hey! That's more like it. Courage is important in this world, but you can't survive without brains and discernment. It's a waste of your talents to only be spies here. Now, apply to renounce your Earth Country citizenship and join our Wind Country. You've lived in Sunagakure for so many years, you should know our village well. We're currently implementing a talent reform, promoting people based solely on merit, not just background. As long as you have ability, regardless of your birth or appearance, if you can demonstrate your talent, you can get a top-tier salary... Tsunade, you're here. Nawaki's doing well, look how plump and healthy he is, sleeping soundly. I've rescued him. You can do whatever you want with these two..."

Just as Masato was about to continue his charade, Tsunade, with her overwhelming aura, charged in. She immediately carried Nawaki, who was still asleep like a log due to the effects of the medicine, and floated into the air, suddenly changing the subject.

"Huh?! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

"Lord Golden Lion, no! We're willing to join Sunagakure...! (iДi)"

The two, who were enjoying their banter, suddenly sensed the terrifying killing intent emanating from the legendary female tyrant. Upon hearing what the Golden Lion said and seeing the female tyrant exuding such a chilling aura, they were terrified. However, having not drunk water for many days, they were unable to urinate. Completely bewildered, they shouted towards the sky with tears streaming down their faces, as if grasping at the last straw. They would rather write a 100,000-word guarantee than fall into the hands of this female tyrant.

That's not what you just said... T^T