Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Hiruzen Sarutobi now hates his best friend to death.

The situation in Iwagakure had stabilized. As long as the good buddy stayed on the front lines, enjoying his food and drink, and waited for his perfect grand-disciple to return from clearing maps, everyone would be living a life of luxury. On the Iwagakure side, they suffered heavy losses due to Onoki's serious injury and the wave of attacks by the Third Raikage. However, they had already achieved their goal and finally avenged themselves in the first and second battles. Onoki's sneaky son also received his father's orders to keep a low profile and wait for his recovery and triumphant return before seeing if he could have a big fight with Konoha.

So Onoki's son, the cunning one, perfectly executed his father's orders, always engaging in small-scale battles with Konoha to gain experience. Moreover, when Konoha changed commanders, replacing Minato Namikaze with the incompetent Danzo Shimura, even when the Inuzuka clan and Minato Namikaze left the Iwagakure battlefield, they didn't even consider launching a major war. They would occasionally have friendly matches with Konoha, keeping everyone happy.

As a result, after Danzo, the "half of Konoha's sky," arrived, the first month or two were fine. Although it was slightly more intense and the schedule was more intensive than when Minato Namikaze was there, with matches every few days, the impact wasn't too great. However, they never expected that as the disciple of the first generation of the Great Yin-Yang Master Tobirama Senju, Danzo, while incredibly weak in team fights, had a whole repertoire of strategies. The initial month-long series of friendly matches completely lowered the guard of Kyoto and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.

When they learned that Danzo had brought people to start another battle, Huangtu and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki didn't think much of it, or rather, none of them did. They assumed it was just another friendly match like before. After all, Danzo, the Konoha commander, had been doing this every few days for the past month: bringing people to fight, then leaving once he'd done enough. So Huangtu and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki just casually gathered some people and let whoever wanted the coaching position lead the team. They were all tired of this routine every few days.

However, no one expected Danzo to be serious this time, treating the friendly match as the final. Even Konoha's Grand Marshal Nara Shikaku couldn't stop him. After all, Nara Shikaku's seniority was far too low compared to Danzo, who was a disciple of the Second Hokage. It would be more like his father's extra-large rocket.

The underlings sent by Iwagakure were wiped out by Danzo's REWQ attack in one fell swoop. By the time Kyoto and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki reacted, Danzo had already led his men to their doorstep.

This was unbearable for Huang Tu and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki; they felt like they were the ones who had been plotting against others all day long, but in the end, they were the ones being plotted against.

Then, the enraged Huang Tu and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, along with the remaining Iwa ninja underlings, confronted Danzo's Konoha army head-on. The enraged Four-Tails Jinchuriki directly clashed with Danzo, the "Half of Konoha's Sky." Danzo, who was essentially a weakling, had a powerful aura, but he was no match for the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. He couldn't even last a single round against the Four-Tails Jinchuriki before being brutally beaten to the ground. If it weren't for the later plot requiring him, this infamous "Half of Konoha's Sky" would have already gone to sign in with his first master, the infamous "Shadow Master."

722. The Great Teacher, Golden Lion

Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious at his best friend's actions. If it weren't for the fact that when he was a kid, he secretly studied human anatomy and that bastard always took the blame for him, he would have stopped hanging out with him a long time ago.

That was a perfectly good hand, they were practically in a winning position, and that bastard ruined it like this.

But being angry isn't enough now. His perfect grand-disciple went to the Sand Village battlefield once, but failed to gain the fame he hoped for. Instead, he helped that bastard Shiki achieve his title of "Great Teacher." The most important thing now is to stabilize the Iwagakure battlefield. Orochimaru on the Kumogakure battlefield can't be messed with. Although the Third Raikage is dead, the general combat strength of the muscular men in Kumogakure is much stronger than that of Konoha. So, before the Fourth Raikage is chosen, Hiruzen Sarutobi won't make any moves on the Kumogakure battlefield. He can only let his perfect grand-disciple continue to go back to the Iwagakure battlefield to oversee things. Ideally, his perfect grand-disciple should return and end the Iwagakure battlefield as soon as possible. Now that Onoki is seriously injured, Iwagakure has already suffered heavy losses in order to kill the Third Raikage. Now is the best time to end the Iwagakure battlefield.

Although there were some changes from his previous plan, the result was still good. It's not too late to clear the Iwagakure battlefield map first before clearing the other three maps. As for Kumogakure, we'll see what their next steps are after the Raikage is chosen: whether to continue the war or avenge the Third Raikage.

.....

In a small, unnamed country in the ninja world, the sounds of hammering and banging drifted from a commoner's house. That bastard uncle had been making headlines again lately, from helping the Raikage collect his corpse and exploding Onoki's anus to the recent incident where that good-for-nothing Yusaku Kudo went toe-to-toe with Konoha's Minato Namikaze. Handsome Sasori had been paying some attention. After finishing his work on the Third Kazekage, Handsome Sasori had gotten a little cocky, thinking he could finally target that bastard uncle to get revenge. But when he heard that Onoki had been beaten badly by that bastard uncle, especially with massive bleeding in his anus, Handsome Sasori forcibly restrained himself, deciding it wasn't the best time yet. He should continue perfecting his artwork first…

After spending a year with Kakuzu, I realized that we were not on the same path. Our pursuits were different. Kakuzu was an artist who pursued eternal art, unlike Kakuzu who pursued worldly things like money. Running around with Kakuzu every day would only waste his time. Art requires a lifetime to pursue. So after realizing the basic principle that you have to pay for food and things, I said goodbye to Kakuzu and began to wander the ninja world in search of inspiration and materials.

.......

"No wonder he's a friend of villains! If Danzo had become Hokage, that would have been great. You guys don't know, back when the Second Hokage died and Konoha was electing the Third Hokage, I campaigned for Danzo. But that idiot was useless. He boosted everyone's popularity, and he even let Hiruzen Sarutobi win. What a damn bad teammate."

When news from the Iwagakure battlefield reached the Sunagakure camp, everyone was stunned by Danzo's outrageous maneuver. Shinto, however, was used to Danzo's actions and started complaining to everyone. Back then, although Hiruzen Sarutobi had the support of the Senju clan and Mito Uzumaki, after he helped Danzo garner votes, Danzo completely outshone Hiruzen in popularity. If he had just taken advantage of this momentum to win over some ambitious clans, even if the Senju clan supported Hiruzen Sarutobi, it wouldn't have mattered much; at most, it would have been a 50/50 split. Even if Danzo didn't ultimately rise to power, his status would still be much higher than it is now.

It's a pity that this idiot was too green back then, hadn't completely turned evil yet, and didn't have enough intelligence. Otherwise, with Danzo's crazy tactics, Konoha would be much easier to deal with now. Even a god-like opponent can't do as much damage as a useless teammate!

"The reinforcements from Kirigakure have arrived. Judging from their posture, the Mizukage is planning to fight Konoha to the death. What courage the Mizukage has!"

Rasa held the mysterious Mizukage in high esteem. He knew he lacked the courage and authority to mobilize the entire nation to fight against Konoha. Both were leaders, but he compared himself to the Mizukage. Fortunately, he had earned two MVPs in these two matches, which boosted his reputation among his subordinates. However, he was still far from wielding the same power as the Mizukage. First, not all the older generation in the village had died, and he was too young. Ebizo had not yet retired, so mobilizing the entire nation's power was simply impossible.

"Stop lamenting so much. You're still young. The future belongs to you young people. My son... Pah! Minato Namikaze has already gone to the Iwagakure battlefield, and Kirigakure is preparing to launch a full-scale attack. Based on my years of experience in raids, Hiruzen Sarutobi will definitely make Minato Namikaze finish the Iwagakure battlefield as soon as possible, and then come back to support this battlefield. Nephew, your time is running out. Do as many runs as you can."

Shinto patted Rasa on the shoulder. Although with him protecting Rasa, Rasa's fate wasn't as tragic as in the original story, and he even managed to get two MVPs, once the Iwagakure battlefield was over and Minato Namikaze came over, "Conan's dad" wouldn't be able to open the Eight Gates to confront Minato Namikaze head-on anymore. Opening the Eight Gates too frequently would be bad for his health.

Moreover, they couldn't really fight Konoha to the death. Their younger brother had gone to the Land of Water to make a killing, and they couldn't let Rasa squander it all. Even if Ebizo agreed, the clan heads in the village wouldn't, since they would also get a share of the benefits.

The most crucial point is that the war has progressed to this point. Minato Namikaze and Kakashi's team have already gone to the Iwagakure battlefield. If he remembers correctly, the Kannabi Bridge incident should have broken out around the same time, and Obito should have started evolving into the World Destroyer. Once the Iwagakure battlefield is over, they'll have already reaped the benefits, so they can just find an excuse to leave. The reason Kirigakure is fighting Konoha to the death is because Madara took some kind of power pill. The Land of Water isn't Madara's personal domain, so he can do whatever he wants. Just look at the loot Sasori's father stealing from the Land of Water. White Zetsu is known for its countless clones, so it's impossible that White Zetsu didn't know that Sasori's father was raiding the Land of Water. Madara doesn't even care about him; he's only focused on killing, injuring, and crippling Konoha.

This is completely different from the strategic goals of Sunagakure. Now they've reaped the benefits. Rasa has already won two more MVPs than in the original story, and he unexpectedly earned the title of Great Teacher of the Ninja Village. He's gained a lot. He's also lived up to his old leader's expectations and can't let Rasa continue to be so carefree.

"Yes, Lord Kaizo wrote that the village has already committed its maximum resources. If Iwagakure withdraws, we'll be done for."

Chief Maochuan and several other clan leaders nodded in agreement. It had been almost two years since the start of the war, and their clans had already reached their limit in terms of resources. If the war dragged on any longer, they really couldn't afford to suffer any more losses. Especially after Konoha developed the antidote, their puppeteers were no longer very useful. Although Luosha had earned MVP in the last two battles, it was all thanks to his underlings risking their lives to save him.

Even if they're supporting Luo Sha, they can't possibly drag their entire family down with them.

723. Hiruzen Sarutobi strongly supports the white-haired boy.

"Kakashi, this is a Jonin gift for you."

In the Iwagakure battlefield, at the Konoha camp, the young white-haired Hatake clan member officially became a Konoha Jonin today. Obito's friend, Rin, presented him with a medical kit she had prepared long ago. The reason for the long preparation was Kakashi's composure under heavy fire on the battlefield. Although his status as the son of White Fang made him a target for Iwagakure ninja, causing many to fight to the death against him, Kakashi, under Minato's protection, also racked up considerable achievements, even defeating over a dozen Jonin during the war. Such data is enough to promote him to Jonin, and his strength is already there. He's even developing new ninjutsu. Besides, he's the son of his own boss. Hiruzen Sarutobi has no reason not to promote Kakashi to Jonin. His perfect grand-disciple also became a Jonin at this age. It can also boost the morale of the frontline comrades. However, since he is the son of his own boss, Hiruzen Sarutobi still intends to ask his boss's opinion first. As for Sakumo Hatake, he is currently fighting against Shiki and doesn't have time to consider this issue, so he has only agreed to his boss Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision now.

After all, becoming a Jonin before the age of fourteen has always been a tradition among ninja geniuses. This has always been the case for Hiruzen Sarutobi and his generation. Not to mention Konoha's White Fang and Sunagakure's Golden Lion, who were already double Jonin at the age of twelve. This is all due to their fame in the ninja world. Look at Sasori, the handsome boy from Sunagakure. He debuted as a child star and became a Jonin at the age of twelve. Although he has kept a low profile in recent years and eventually disappeared, his fame in the ninja world has never diminished. In addition, that shameless Golden Lion has been promoting Sasori's good looks everywhere, making Sasori the No. 1 handsome boy in the ninja world. Although Sasori has kept a low profile and disappeared in recent years, his popularity has not decreased but increased.

On the contrary, the popularity of Konoha's next generation in the ninja world has declined considerably. There's no need to boast about the perfect grand-disciple anymore. Just based on his performance on the battlefield in Iwagakure, last year was called the Minato Year. However, although Minato is also handsome, he is still a little bit inferior to Sasori of the Sand Village, who perfectly inherited the looks of the second generation's Flower of the Ninja World, Chiyo. He also can't compare to the genderless beauties like Mizuki. He can only rank third. Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally needs to promote another popular idol. In the era when his teacher, Senju, was alive, the most popular ninja in the world was always Konoha. Although he didn't know if the judges' aesthetic sense was wrong, he was also handsome and elegant when he was young, but he was not on the list. However, it's too late to say anything now. The most important thing is to find another popular young idol to compete with Sasori of the Sand Village. And the son of the top horseman, Kakashi, who is born with two red sticks, is naturally the best choice.

"Thank you!"

The white-haired boy from the Hatake family took the medical kit and put it into his ninja tool bag, then rolled his dead fish eyes at his apparent best friend, Obito.

Why are you looking at me?

Obito, attacked by Dead Fish Eyes, glared at Dead Fish Eyes.

He was already upset to see his rival surpass him and become a Jonin, but now he saw his World Forest giving his rival a gift, and he was on the verge of a heart attack, plus he was attacked by dead fish eyes.

"Where's my gift?"

Perhaps because he had spent so much time with his father, who was both an enemy and a friend, Kakashi himself didn't realize when he had been infected with shamelessness and continued to attack with his dead fish eyes.

"What gift? There isn't one!"

After speaking, Obito turned his face away, indicating that he didn't want to see him.

“…”

Kakashi looked at his seemingly best friend speechlessly and stared at the sky, wondering what was wrong with him again, why his emotions were so volatile. If he didn't want to give a gift, he didn't have to. As the legitimate heir of the Hatake clan, did he really need such a small gift?

"...You're all here. We have an A-level mission this time. You can go back and prepare, and meet at the entrance later."

Minato Namikaze suddenly appeared, looked at the three students with a smile, and finished speaking. In his heart, he sighed, thinking that the relationship between the three students was a bit complicated.

Obito likes Rin, Rin likes Kakashi, but Kakashi inherited the straightforwardness of the Hatake clan and can't handle romantic scenes...

Sakumo-sama had helped him level up, and he was genuinely worried that if Kakashi continued like this, the Hatake clan might die out. Not everyone has Sakumo-sama's incredible luck with girls practically throwing themselves at them...

Wow! An A-rank mission!

Upon hearing this, Obito jumped up excitedly. Since his debut, he had mostly watched D-rank chores, occasionally C-rank, but never B-rank. Now that he heard it was A-rank, how could he not be excited, given his ambition to become Hokage and lead the village to the top?

"Obito, don't get too excited. The higher the mission level, the more dangerous it is, so you guys need to go back and prepare properly."

Minato Namikaze looked at the excited Obito, wondering if he had listened to anything, and his expression turned serious for once.

When he returned to the battlefield with the Inuzuka clan, he was shocked by the devastation. Although Danzo had left, he had left behind a mess. It was only because Minato Namikaze had a good temper that he was able to keep quiet; anyone else would have quit. It seemed that his friend Shikaku Nara was able to remain calm and composed, even after being beaten so badly by Iwagakure, he showed no signs of faltering or collapsing. However, due to the heavy casualties and numerous wounded, even if he had brought the Inuzuka clan, it would have been impossible for him to fight Iwagakure head-on. The only option now was to outsmart them rather than fight them head-on.

Upon receiving the news, Onoki, who was recuperating in his hospital bed, didn't want to delay any longer. He launched a team fight, and the outcome depended on this one battle. All of Konoha's current support was on the Kirigakure battlefield, and it was impossible for any more people to come to their aid. So, after thinking it over for a long time, he and his partner Nara Shikaku decided to take a gamble. Kannabi Bridge was an important supply line for Iwagakure. If Onoki wanted to launch a team fight, this was the only way to get supplies. As long as they destroyed this bridge, Iwagakure's supplies would be cut off, and they would naturally have to give up.

However, this time the risk is also very high. They may face the danger of thousands of Iwa ninja at any time. They don't have the Raikage or Shiki here. Although Minato Namikaze looks a lot like Shiki, he is not his son. The two have completely different styles. He is a technical player and not good at protracted battles. However, in order to end this war as soon as possible, Minato Namikaze is still willing to take a gamble. If it really succeeds, they will be completely liberated here, and the pressure on other battlefields will be much less.

"This time, our mission is divided into two groups. Kakashi, you and Obito, Rin are in one group. You are responsible for blowing up the Kannabi Bridge, the main supply line for the Iwa ninja. I will help you on the other side by drawing away the cleanup crew and the Iwa ninja who are about to arrive. This is Kakashi's first time leading a team since you were promoted to Jonin. Whether you can blow up the Kannabi Bridge or not will determine the course of our war, so your mission is very important."

Half an hour later, the three boys gathered, and Minato Namikaze, abandoning his usual smiling demeanor, became serious and earnest as he introduced them to each other.

724. Minato Namikaze: I must have a child with a whirlpool.

"understand!"

Kakashi's deadpan eyes disappear whenever he's on a mission.

"I'll take you to the vicinity of Kannabi Bridge first, and then we'll split up. I'll lure all the guards there before you make your move. But be careful, I won't lure all the Iwa ninja away."

Minato Namikaze said as he led the three boys on their way.

"Don't worry, Minato-sensei, those Iwa ninja are no match for us!"

Brother Obito is as inexplicably confident as ever.

"Haha! That's true, but you guys should still be careful!"

Minato Namikaze gave a perfunctory smile.

You're the one I worry about the most!

This guy clearly has nothing in his belly, but he's inexplicably confident all the time. To be honest, even Minato Namikaze was starting to suspect that Obito had been switched at birth.

Although the Uchiha clan is usually very arrogant, it has to be admitted that they are indeed capable. While it's impossible to say they can take on five opponents at once, almost every member can take on two or three.

But you really can't see any trace of the Uchiha clan in Obito. Since graduating, all he's ever done is the Uchiha's signature Fireball Jutsu. All his other ninjutsu is just spitting out black smoke. Besides girls, all he thinks about is this inexplicable self-confidence.

As one of Konoha's top ladies' charmers, he thought this foolish disciple's flirting skills were utterly pathetic. He couldn't understand where his confidence came from; he was simply a rare flower in the Uchiha world...

.....

When the four arrived near the Kannabi Bridge, Minato Namikaze parted ways with them. After Minato left, Kakashi led the other two into a hiding spot in the bushes near the Kannabi Bridge, where they stayed for several days.

"Kakashi, everyone's been drawn away by Minato-sensei, let's go!"

Obito, with his impulsive and rash nature, couldn't take it anymore. These past few days had indeed been tough on him. After sensing the complete silence around him, he finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"...Let's move!"

Kakashi nodded after seeing that there was no more movement around him. This was the first time he had carried out such an important mission, and he was quite flustered. He was very clear about the situation on the major battlefields. The one under the most pressure was Kirigakure, who was fighting against them with the full strength of the nation.

The most troublesome place is the Sand Village battlefield. He had been there before and witnessed his father's one-on-one duel with the disheveled middle-aged man, especially the unrestrained 360-degree immortal sword aura. To be honest, he had also studied Hatake's swordsmanship, but he had never seen his father's amazing movement before. Only his father could dodge the disheveled middle-aged man's attacks; no one else could get close. Therefore, the Sand Village battlefield was the most troublesome. Last time, the disheveled middle-aged man's disciple used a small force to hold off Minato-sensei and withstand a wave of attacks. However, he heard that the disciple was currently in bed. Guy's father's forbidden technique had caused significant damage. If they didn't hurry and wait for the disheveled middle-aged man's disciple to recover before holding off Minato-sensei, who knew how long this war would last? The disheveled middle-aged man's defense was said to be even tougher than the Third Raikage's. In any case, even his father's ultimate move couldn't break through his defense. If they couldn't quickly deal with the Fourth Kazekage and the Sand Village underlings, the war would really drag on forever, and even more people would die.

Therefore, his task was so important that he dared not slack off in the slightest.

"Hahaha! Uesugi, I told you so, there really are three brats squatting here."

Just as Kakashi and his two companions emerged from the bushes to make their move, a voice rang out, and at the same time, Obito, who was standing next to Rin, was kicked away.

The owner of the voice suddenly appeared beside Shi Jielin and pressed a kunai against her neck.

"Little girl, don't move around, it could kill you."

"I never imagined Konoha would be so cunning, using Minato Namikaze to distract us and sending those three brats to blow up the bridge."

Suddenly, the Iwa ninja named Uesugi appeared behind Kakashi and kicked him.

"Lin!"

Obito got up, covered in dust, and saw that the two Iwa ninja hadn't tied up his world. His eyes darted around aimlessly. If it weren't for the plot, he would have already opened his Sharingan.

"Little girl, it seems your companions are quite worried about you. Let's see if they'll come to your rescue, haha!"

Like father, like son. Onoki enjoyed the sense of superiority of being suppressed by pure intelligence. The other Iwa ninja was no different. The three kids who hadn't even grown their hair yet were no threat to them. They even wanted to stop them from blowing up the bridge and play with them. It would be nice to experience the superiority of being suppressed by pure intelligence like their boss. With that, he threw out a smoke bomb and disappeared into the world with Obito.

"hateful!"

The smoke dissipated, and the two Iwa ninjas and his world vanished. Obito roared and was about to give chase.

"Where are you going? Our mission is to blow up the Kannabi Bridge, otherwise a lot of people will die!"

Obito had only taken two steps when Kakashi stopped him.

"What did you say? Lin is our comrade, and now that she's been captured, instead of rescuing her, we're supposed to complete the mission!"