Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Sakumo Hatake touched the short blade stuck in his back, quite helplessly. He was truly helpless to be blamed for killing the Kazekage. If he had actually stabbed the Kazekage a few times or genuinely intended to kill him, he could bear the blame. But damn it, he hadn't seen the Kazekage for ten years, went to the Land of Snow, and returned to find himself inexplicably burdened with this responsibility, and he couldn't explain it, nor would anyone believe him. This was incredibly frustrating. He could already foresee that Shiki would definitely start ranting later… -_-||

His mouth is just so sharp.

.......

"White Fang, you bastard! For so many years I thought you were an upright person, a close friend. And you actually dared to assassinate my brother Sunakawa! Bah! I'm ashamed to be associated with you! (▼へ▼メ)"

"You bastard, you dare to call yourself my equal? ​​How could you do such a despicable thing? Do you have any respect for Lord Ito's dying wish? You've completely disgraced the Hatake clan's ancestors!"

Sure enough, when Hatake Sakumo arrived on the battlefield with his underlings, separated by the chasm that this bastard had carved out back then, the person in the center of the opposing team, Shinto, had the "Uchiha Great Sword" on his shoulder. Upon seeing the newcomer, he pointed at Hatake Sakumo and launched into a tirade as if his father had died.

These kinds of opportunities are rare, so it would be a shame not to take advantage of this chance to say a few more words.

His heartbroken and resentful expression made the eyes of the group of Sand Ninja underlings behind him turn red. They stared murderously at Hatake Sakumo across the chasm. This bastard had no martial ethics and had killed their Third Hokage.

Especially Rasa, who was next to Masato, had just emerged from the grief of losing his teacher. When Masato brought up the old story again, the images of his teacher teaching him over the years resurfaced in his mind. A feeling of hatred for heaven, earth, and Shiroya spread through his heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, and he bit his teeth as if he wanted to swallow the murderer in front of him.

"..(⊙_⊙)"

Seeing the fierce and vengeful expressions of the Sand Ninja on the other side, the Konoha underlings all turned their gazes toward their White Fang, who had already drawn his sword in the center position.

Looking at the Golden Lion opposite them, although he was criticizing their team leader, seeing the disappointment, grief, and a hint of tears in the Golden Lion's eyes, as if he had been abandoned by their Lord White Fang, for some reason, they also felt that Lord White Fang was the real scumbag...

“.ヽ(ー_ー)ノ That bastard…”

Sakumo Hatake was speechless, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

This was the first time in all his years in the industry that he had been verbally abused for so long. Looking at the bastard across from him, who was spewing endless spittle, Hatake Sakumo gripped his short blade tightly, afraid that he might not be able to resist rushing over and stabbing him a few times.

You bastard, it's one thing to insult me, but to drag my ancestors into it is just too much... (▼へ▼メ)

However, considering that the opposing team's morale had been boosted by this bastard and their combat power was skyrocketing, he forcibly suppressed his inner impulse.

"I really didn't kill your Kazekage..."

Although his explanation was somewhat weak and he was brought back into the spotlight, he really didn't want to take the blame, nor could he. Didn't he see that his underlings were all affected by this bastard's performance? The fight hadn't even started yet, and he had already lost half the battle in terms of momentum.

"Still denying it was you! When you're in this business, you have to admit your mistakes and stand up straight when you get beaten. You tell me, besides you, who else in the ninja world could silently kill my brother Sunagawa? Tell me, name a few for me to know..."

Shindou, acting like a shrew, started another round of verbal sparring.

The more he ranted and rave, the happier he felt inside...

...

"Sukko-ichi! Golden Lion's ventriloquism is amazing! He blew White Fang's teeth out of him...Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

"Idiot, that's called eloquence..."

"..."

Some of the Konoha newcomers had never seen anything like this before. Staring dumbfounded at the Golden Lion, who was spewing endless spittle as if no one else was there, they were all speechless. They'd never seen anything like it before. Both the Golden Lion and their White Fang were legendary figures; it was difficult enough to even meet them, let alone have a confrontation like this. However, seeing their White Fang completely overwhelmed by the Golden Lion's barrage of words, they couldn't help but marvel at the Golden Lion's ventriloquism... ugh! His eloquence was simply too damn amazing.

I've almost lost all interest in killing anyone; I'd rather just buy two bags of sunflower seeds...

"...Sakumo, let's start fighting! If we don't fight now, our morale will plummet. -_-||"

Seeing the reaction of her underlings behind her, and then looking at Shiki, who was still spitting and stirring up the emotions of the Sand Ninja underlings in front of her, Yuhi Shinku realized that they already had no advantage against the Sand Ninja's puppeteers. Now, with Shiki stirring up their morale, the Sand Ninja underlings on the other side were suddenly energized, acting as if they had taken Ryūko-maru. Meanwhile, the emotions of their Konoha underlings also began to change inexplicably.

He knew the Hatake clan wasn't known for their trash talk, and if they didn't fight now and let the Golden Lion keep raving, they might really have to surrender at twenty...

667. Can a person really be this reckless and skillful?

"I can't take it anymore! Attack! Kill them all and avenge Lord Sandai!! (╬￣皿￣)"

"kill!!!"

"Damn Konoha, you gave me.....(#｀皿′)"

“Secret dark technique.....(╬◣д◢))”

"Earth Escape...".

"Magnetic Escape. Golden Sands and Tidal Waves..."

"........"

Before White Fang could speak, the Sand Ninja underlings opposite him had completely lost their temper. Suddenly, one of the underlings in the crowd roared, instantly igniting the emotions of all the Sand Ninja underlings, who grabbed their weapons and charged forward.

Even Rasa, who was right next to Shinto, was caught up in the atmosphere and rushed forward, crossing the chasm and unleashing a powerful attack into the Konoha crowd...

Although Luo Sha had already taken over as the leader, he was still a newcomer on the battlefield for the first time, and he couldn't resist the influence of his underlings.

"Holy crap... (⊙_⊙)?"

This move completely dumbfounded Shinto. Why was he in such a hurry? Didn't he see that he was releasing his aura? He originally planned to make the opponent feel ashamed and lower their morale before they started fighting. That would be much safer. This was more than half of the village's fighting force. The Konoha clan was large and powerful, with more than 10,000 people. They could withstand more than 10,000 people who had been tricked by Shimura Danzo over the years. But the Sand Village couldn't withstand that.

That was too impulsive!

"Lion's Might - Earth Strike!!!"

"Roar!!"

But his underlings had already charged in, and there was no time for him to say anything. He rose into the air and randomly made hand seals with his left hand. Dozens of huge lion heads emerged from the Konoha crowd, roaring wildly as they charged towards the Konoha people.

While the special effects weren't as dazzling as Luo Sha's golden sand, the dozens of giant lion heads were far more spectacular.

"Quickly! Secret Technique: Insect Tornado..."

"How terrifying, is this really the lion's head of the Golden Lion?? Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

"on!"

"Fire Release..."

"Wind Release..."

Seeing dozens of enormous lion heads, the Konoha underlings were startled. Those who couldn't react in time were instantly strangled by the lion heads formed from mud. The Float-Float Fruit had truly become a powerful tool for him. However, it was still quite useful for defensive counter-attacks and clearing out weaker enemies. It was imposing and spectacular. Dozens of lion heads at the start—let's get a godlike streak first...

The Konoha ninjas who had dodged the golden sand and the giant lion's head also drew their weapons and rushed forward. Seeing the Sand Ninjas charging forward with fury and murderous intent, they knew it was now a matter of life or death, so they stopped thinking too much and just went for it.

The leader of the Aburame clan reacted quickly, immediately confronting the charging Rasa. A terrifying storm of insects made those with trypophobia tingle up their scalps, and they didn't even dare to open their mouths, for fear of eating a few insects.

"White Lightning Flash!"

"Damn it, White Fang, if you've got the guts, go challenge the guy next door to a one-on-one fight... Zhanbo! (▼he▼メ)"

"Shh!"

"Ding!"

With the arrival of the chaotic battle, Shinto couldn't easily farm sword energy for data. His data was already godlike, so farming more wouldn't make a difference and could easily lead to accidentally killing his own subordinates. Now it was Rasa's time to farm data, so he couldn't steal the spotlight. He could only take down Konoha's subordinates one by one in the crowd. He had only killed two when a familiar white light flashed, and needless to say, White Fang's knife was already stabbing at him.

After forcing White Fang to retreat, they charged towards a place far from the battlefield.

"good!"

White Tooth nodded and rushed over as well.

Indeed, their fight was a huge spectacle, especially since that bastard's attacks were so extreme that they could easily wipe out innocent bystanders...

"......"

Shinto, who was charging ahead, almost stumbled. Damn it, this is a shonen anime, not some ancient fantasy world...

.......

"Lion - Thousand Cut Valley!!"

"Ding ding ding...!!"

"Thunder Fang Strangulation..."

"Ding ding ding..."

"Holy crap, that's way too much....Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

"Yes, we can't get involved in this kind of battle at all..."

Once they reached a distance, the two stopped exchanging pleasantries and resumed their familiar one-on-one duel. The clanging of metal, reminiscent of a noble clinking of gold, filled the air with the glint of blades and the crisscrossing of sword energy. The ground around them was slashed with countless sword marks, the space itself seemingly untouched by the cutting, emitting sharp, cutting sounds. Their henchmen, who had come close, were stunned and instinctively stopped fighting, staring at the scene of swords clashing in the distance. The chilling cutting sounds filled them with dread; if they got any closer and were struck by those sword energies…

Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. You can imagine how incredibly intense and dangerous the fight between those two powerful figures amidst the sword energy was.

"Is this really something a human could do? I feel like even an S-rank ninjutsu isn't that amazing..."

"Uh-huh....."

"That's absolutely outrageous..."

"Uh-huh..."

Time has passed, and the last time the two fought like this was more than ten years ago. Those who participated in the World War II and saw the two fight one-on-one are either old like the previous generation of Ino-Shika-Cho or middle-aged like Kurenai Yuhi. The younger ones are now fathers of children. Most of the people who went to the battlefield this time were newcomers who had just debuted or risen to the top. They had never seen such a spectacle before, and their eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

This battle between the two big shots completely refreshed their understanding of legendary ninjas. Some of them started their careers after the end of World War II, and after more than ten years of hard work, they finally became Jonin. They had seen all kinds of storms and even witnessed the giant snake defecating several times. But this one-on-one fight was the most exaggerated they had ever seen. Compared to this battle, they felt that all the difficult battles in their ninja careers over the past ten years were like children playing house.

Golden Lion's 360-degree sword aura was incredibly powerful, each strike feeling more exaggerated and destructive than an A-rank ninjutsu. His body, blackish-purple like steel, was struck by White Fang's swords with a crisp clanging sound, leaving not a single mark.

White Fang's agile, stylish, and textbook-perfect movement allowed him to handle Lion's rain of slashes with ease, occasionally launching defensive counterattacks—it was simply too impressive.

One was reckless to the extreme, and the other was skillful to the extreme. The scene of two strong people of different types clashing together was surprisingly harmonious.

This scene is too unreal. Can people really be this reckless and this skillful?

668. The most dazzling clash between archmages

Some of the underlings near the arena where Shinto and Hatake Sakumo were dueling stopped, while the two sides in the center of the team fight continued to fight. The two sides had gone from throwing ninjutsu at the beginning to fighting taijutsu. After all, although it is easy to rack up stats by throwing ninjutsu in this kind of large-scale team fight, it consumes too much chakra. Even Jonin do not have enough chakra to keep throwing ninjutsu from beginning to end. Those who threw ninjutsu at the beginning are now weak in the knees and have been hacked to death by a flurry of blows.

Therefore, the most practical approach is to conserve stamina, as mana can only be used with the most primitive human combat techniques.

Although the two big shots from the Sand Village's puppeteer unit, Sasori's parents, weren't present—after all, puppeteers of that level are incredibly powerful, and if they were here, Rasa could forget about getting MVP—there were still quite a few puppeteers on the field this time. In such a team battle, puppeteers aren't so easily targeted, and their advantages are maximized. After all, a genin-level puppeteer can control two puppets simultaneously, and talented ones can control three. Chunin and jonin are even more capable. Although they don't control more than seven, jonin can generally control four or five puppets. While they can't achieve the perfect human-dog unity like the Inuzuka clan, they are currently outmatched against these Konoha ninjas.

The only ones who can go toe-to-toe with these puppeteers are the Aburame clan, these socialites. Their insects can eat the chakra threads that the puppeteer is connecting to the puppet, causing the puppeteer to lose control of the puppet, or they can get the insects stuck in the joints of the puppets, making them unable to move. Although the puppets are coated with Chiyo's latest deadly poison, it might not be a tailed beast poison, but it's just a piece of cake for these insects.

For a time, the situation was fairly even on both sides, but too many people from Konoha were poisoned. This was even after the Aburame clan sacrificed their insects to exchange with the puppeteers' puppets. It has to be said that Konoha had unique insights into dealing with Sunagakure. The most suitable clans for Konoha to counter Sunagakure's puppeteers were not the Uchiha, who could take on five opponents at once, nor the Hyuga, who used Tai Chi. Instead, it was the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, who were considered mid-tier clans. Their combined human and insect techniques or insect sea secret techniques could indeed bring out their advantages against Sunagakure's puppeteers.

"Magnetic Release: Golden Sand Shuriken."

"Parasitic Insects - Hurricane".

"Magnetic escape. Alluvial gold burial."

“Parasitic insects erode it.”

"hateful....."