Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

.......

"Kazekage, the casualties will be too great if we continue fighting. We should retreat!"

The clan leaders, accompanied by bodyguards and the pig-deer-butterfly yo-yo, saw the large sphere crashing towards them again and, trembling with fear, shouted to Luo Sha inside the golden sphere.

They agreed that it was right to have a final showdown with Konoha, but they felt that they had already fought enough and had shown their prowess. There was no need to continue fighting Konoha to the death, as it did not align with their strategic goals. It would be more practical to return to their village and divide the spoils as soon as possible. More than half of their men had already been lost. Although Konoha was in a similar situation, they were large and powerful and were not affected. But if they continued fighting, their village would be in dire straits.

"Damn it... Lord Shinto, let's retreat!"

Hearing the words of the clan leaders and looking at his fallen underlings, Luo Sha was furious, but he still agreed with Mao Chuan and the other clan leaders. Konoha's population far exceeded theirs, and they had developed an antidote. The puppeteers were not very effective, and continuing would indeed lead to a difficult outcome.

However, what frustrated him the most was that he was extremely frustrated in this battle. He was on the defensive from beginning to end. It was so painful for a mage like him to encounter a full-agility assassin like Minato Namikaze. His Kazekage was completely useless. Especially since he knew that Minato Namikaze was out of mana while he still had more than half a mana bar, he just couldn't do anything about Minato Namikaze.

It's incredibly frustrating.

"You go first, I'll cover your retreat."

Upon hearing Rasa's words, Masato secretly breathed a sigh of relief; the child had finally grown up...

He was genuinely worried that Rasa, being too young, might get too frustrated by Minato Namikaze and continue fighting against Konoha. After all, Rasa was the grandson of the old leader and the head of Sunagakure. He really didn't want to take away his authority or embarrass him, lest Rasa's situation become even more difficult when he returned to the village.

Their family supported Luo Sha's rise to power. If he were to actually seize Luo Sha's authority now, back in the village, no one would likely give Luo Sha any face. The old leader is getting old, and his health hasn't been good these past few years. Who knows how many more years he can hold on? Once the old leader passes away, many families won't give Luo Sha any face anymore.

But even if we have to retreat, we should still show the splendor of the Golden Lion, shouldn't we?

Seeing his Sand Ninja underlings slowly retreating from the battlefield while fighting, he unleashed his full Conqueror's Haki!

"boom!!!"

Holy crap!

"Golden...Golden Lion..."

"This guy has such a strong presence...!"

Faced with the sudden and overwhelming force, Konoha ninjas below the Jonin level happily collapsed halfway through their pursuit, while even the more mentally strong Jonin almost fell to the ground.

Little White Hair was already so overwhelmed by this aura that his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground, sweating profusely and gritting his teeth as he stared at the domineering figure in front of his father. The fact that he hadn't fainted yet was because his mental fortitude was quite good.

It's hard to imagine that this crazy, slovenly guy could have such a sharp and intimidating presence...

731. That bastard's showing off.

"What an impressive aura..."

Under the overwhelming force, all the Jonin and below in Konoha with poor mental fortitude were knocked down, while even those with strong mental fortitude were thrown into a panic. People like Hatake Sakumo and Yuhi Kurenai, who had experienced this more than ten years ago, were not too bothered. Although they felt a little tightness in their chests, they quickly recovered. When they experienced such domineering power again, they were impressed by the strength of the aura but not too shocked. After all, they still vividly remembered when the Golden Lion went berserk.

While Minato Namikaze wasn't significantly affected by this overwhelming and domineering aura—only experiencing a slight tightness in his chest and some discomfort—he was utterly shocked to see most of his men collapse or their legs give way after the initial onslaught. No wonder Sakumo-sama and Shinku-sama valued him, their rumored father, so much...

This momentum is absolutely explosive!

"Hahaha! White Fang, tell your Hokage to prepare for peace talks. Fellow Konoha, may our friendship endure forever, and may we meet again in the future! See you! See you...!"

Having finished his act, and seeing the shocked looks on their faces, Shinto nodded in satisfaction. After speaking to Sakumo Hatake, he waved his hand and soared into the sky, flying towards Rasa and the others.

(⊙_⊙)?

"...Father, what does he mean by this? Is he admitting defeat?"

The recovered little white-haired boy stared blankly at the tiny black dot in the sky. He'd wiped out most of their forces with a single burst of power, mumbled a few words, and then vanished. Was this how a loser exited the game?

"...Phew, inform the Hokage that Sunagakure has withdrawn from the battlefield and is preparing for peace talks."

Looking at his bewildered son, Hatake Sakumo didn't know how to answer. Should he tell his son that the bastard was showing off?

This will affect the son's values ​​and have a negative impact on his development.

......

Three days later, a great battle broke out between Sunagakure and Konoha, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The Kazekage, moved by the plight of all living beings and unwilling to cause too much bloodshed, announced peace talks from Sunagakure in order to promote peace and common development in the ninja world. This also signaled that the Third World War, which had lasted for nearly two years, was nearing its end. As for the official statements about being moved by the plight of all living beings and unwilling to cause bloodshed, those were just for people with no brains to understand; take them with a grain of salt.

With the departure of Sunagakure, only Kirigakure, which was still fighting, and Kumogakure, which had been stationed on the border, remained. In Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage had already been elected, and the son of the Third Raikage, who had the highest opinion of the village, officially took office. Kumogakure's method of electing the Raikage was different from other villages. Although voting was required, in Kumogakure, the so-called voting method was just a formality. The real decision on who would be the leader still depended on strength. Kumogakure revered martial prowess, and with the Third Raikage's amazing record of taking on 10,000 people and racking up 4,000 kills, it was clear that the leader would not be able to sit still if the one with less strength took office. So, while the candidates for leader were fighting back and forth, the Fourth Raikage evolved into the Uchiha clan, taking on five opponents at once and making them look like pigs before successfully taking office.

Although the Fourth Raikage has taken over, he hasn't made any moves or continued fighting against Konoha. Instead, he spends all his time holed up in the Raikage Building, doing who-knows-what. Everyone is guessing that the Fourth Raikage is probably plotting revenge for his father.

However, the chances are slim now. If Iwagakure hadn't withdrawn from the battlefield, there might have been a chance, since Iwagakure also suffered heavy losses in order to kill the Third Raikage, especially since Onoki's anus was brutally ripped open by Shiki... But now that Iwagakure has left the battlefield, even if Kumogakure were to fight Iwagakure for revenge, the chances are slim. At this point in the war, Iwagakure has suffered heavy losses, but Kumogakure has also suffered considerable losses. The strength of the two sides is probably only about even.

So the Fourth Raikage has remained silent, which is puzzling.

However, in their view, the fact that Kumogakure had not yet left the stage was merely because the Fourth Raikage was concerned about his reputation and wanted to be the last to leave so as to gain a good name.

Look! The Cloud Village fought until the very last second...

The battlefield in Kirigakure is now far more brutal. The battle has raged for over half a month, breaking the record of a pause held by the Uchiha and Iwagakure during World War I. The casualties on both sides are incalculable, with the Kaguya and Uchiha clans suffering particularly heavy losses. The Kaguya clan is known for its reckless fighting and its deep-seated hatred for the Uchiha, giving them the attitude that if their clan can be wiped out, the Uchiha must be destroyed.

The Uchiha clan, known as the most prestigious clan in the ninja world, is now facing a challenge and fighting desperately for the honor of their clan. According to incomplete statistics, the Uchiha clan alone has already committed as many as two thousand people to the battlefield in Kirigakure. Don't underestimate this number; the current Uchiha clan is no longer comparable to the Uchiha clan that single-handedly took on the entire Iwagakure during World War I. In addition, the Uchiha clan was also a main force of Konoha during World War II. It can be said that in every major war and world war, Konoha suffered the greatest losses from the Uchiha clan. Although they are usually arrogant and proud, they have the right to be arrogant.

After eleven or twelve years of recuperation from World War II to the Third Hokage, the Uchiha clan had recovered somewhat. Fugaku Uchiha, the father of the second male lead and a leader, was still quite capable, but they were only slightly stronger than before World War II. Their strength was nowhere near that before World War I. Apart from the elderly, women, and children, the entire Uchiha clan had only a little over three thousand members capable of wielding swords and going into battle. This time, it represented the vast majority of the Uchiha's strength.

The Kaguya clan alone couldn't possibly have pushed the Uchiha clan to this point. In a normal war, the Uchiha wouldn't have been forced to this extent. However, although the mastermind behind Kirigakure is Madara, and although Madara has already attained enlightenment and doesn't need to massacre the Uchiha clan to do so, he's not exactly a magnanimous person. He's held a grudge against the Uchiha's betrayal for many years, and his plan includes weakening Konoha's strength. As the current core of Konoha's fighting force, the Uchiha are naturally the first to be targeted.

In every major battle, it wasn't just Kaguya's clan fighting the Uchiha; the Kirigakure ninja also focused their attacks on the Uchiha. Although the Uchiha were so famous in the ninja world, known for their ability to take on five opponents at once, even Hashirama Senju, when he was alive, wouldn't have dared to wear that title.

Meanwhile, the Kaguya clan, the main force in the fight against the Uchiha, had mobilized almost their entire army. Aside from the elderly and frail members who couldn't fight anymore, and even a three-year-old child, everyone capable of fighting was on the battlefield. This mobilization of the Kaguya clan sent chills down the spines of the Hozuki and Minazuki clans, especially the Hozuki clan leader, who was under immense pressure. If he failed, the Kaguya clan would be wiped out. Recently, the Hozuki clan leader had even started consulting military strategy books when calling for a pause...

732. Your son is a dragon; the village cannot contain him.

"Beautiful lady, you've gotten even younger in just two years."

Returning to the village with the group, the villagers were already at the village entrance welcoming the valiant warriors home or collecting the bodies of their family members hanging on the battlefield. The scene was somewhat somber, but Masato seemed unaffected. He approached Chiyo, who appeared to have aged ten years, and joked. It wasn't that he was heartless; he had experienced far too many scenes like this to feel anything anymore. In the ninja world, people died every day. Even in peacetime, it was normal for a dozen or twenty to die every day while on a mission.

Being a ninja is a profession that involves living on the edge of a knife. Since you've chosen to live this way, life and death are in the hands of fate, and wealth and status are determined by heaven. There's nothing you can do about it.

"Hehe, you've got a way with words to make people laugh. The war is finally over, but it's a pity Scorpion is nowhere to be found... sigh!"

Chiyo glanced at her beloved nephew with a smile, then looked at the villagers in the distance, their faces filled with sorrow as they received the bodies of their loved ones. As she got older, she inevitably became sentimental, especially when she thought about how her precious grandson was still missing. Her mood began to sink.

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. With your current strength, you don't need to worry. A man's ambition lies in all directions. It's good for him to go out and make his own way. Anyway, I can still fight, and the village doesn't need your protection."

Seeing Chiyo thinking about her beloved grandson again, Masato comforted her.

Speaking of which, he hadn't been in touch with Kakuzu for a long time and wondered how his nephew was doing. But with an old fox like Kakuzu, he should be fine, at least his basic needs were met. Miss Slug was getting along so well with Kakuzu, getting good wine every day; his good brother Kakuzu shouldn't be mistreating his nephew...

"Sigh, I'm worried that he won't be able to take care of himself."

Chiyo sighed softly and said helplessly.

She had gone out to look for him six months before the war started, but there was no news of her precious grandson at all. How could she not be worried?

"..."

Watching Chiyo's unsteady figure, Masato shook his head helplessly, not knowing how to comfort her or tell her the truth. After all, he knew how much hope Chiyo had placed in handsome Sasori. If she knew that her precious grandson had killed Sunagawa and run away, who knew if she could handle it?

......

The group arrived at the Wind Shadow Tower. Ebizo and Rasa, who had just earned two MVPs, had a long and tedious conversation about how their village was their home and how everyone was responsible for protecting it. They also announced that the hero's funeral would be held in three days and then everyone would go back to their own homes. Shinto had only taken two steps when he was pulled into the office of the puppeteer department by Sasori's father. The door was closed and a barrier was set up like a thief.

"Ahem... Brother, I received news that Sasori and Kakuzu appeared in the Land of Snow, but I didn't tell Mother and the others. I suspect that Brother Sunakawa's matter is related to Sasori..."

While his intelligence stat wasn't as high as Azabu's or Nara's, it was still above 90. When his son and Sunagawa disappeared at the same time, he hadn't considered this possibility. Although his son was incredibly talented, firstly, he was too young, and Sunagawa was a veteran Kage-level fighter—not so easy to kill. Secondly, he couldn't think of any reason why his son would want to kill Sunagawa.

But upon receiving news from his younger brother that his son had already joined forces with Kakuzu, and that Sunagawa was still nowhere to be found, he couldn't help but begin to suspect his son. This was precisely why he was so worried. The war had broken out because of Sunagawa's disappearance. If his son had really killed Sunagawa, even if his son was a powerful third-generation heir, his parents' reputations might not be enough to protect him. His mother was getting old, and he didn't dare tell her. Yusa had become overly sensitive lately due to missing her son; even when he came home late from work, he would sniff him for ten minutes to check for perfume... If he told Yusa, he was even more afraid that she would overthink things and disrupt family harmony...

"...I'm the one who got handsome Sasori to hang out with him. Your manly sixth sense is right. Sunagawa was indeed killed by your precious son. As for how he killed Sunagawa, I don't know. When I found him, that kid had caused several human tragedies in order to get a lunchbox. He seemed to want to go out and make a living, so I asked Kakuzu to help him out."

It's not surprising that Sasori's father had some suspicions about Shinto. These things can't be hidden for long. Making White Fang take the blame is only temporary. The truth will eventually come out. Chiyo, Ebizo, and Rasa are all smart people. They will definitely suspect Sasori one day. He didn't have any good ideas. So he might as well tell Sasori's father the truth and let him think of a solution. Cultured people read more books and have a wider range of knowledge. They might come up with some tricks.

"What?! Cough cough... It really was that brat? What on earth is that brat doing, even killing the Kazekage..."

Hearing his brother say that, Handsome Scorpion's father turned green with anger. Although he had some doubts about his son, he was still shocked and angry. That brat really killed Sunagawa. If word got out, even if his son was a super third generation, he would still be accused of being a traitorous ninja.

Their family had risked their lives for the village for generations, and this son actually stole their own family's crystal! That's inhuman! He's not even human!

"Alright, what's done is done, what's the use of getting angry now? What we need to think about now is how to help your precious son cover this up. Although I made White Fang take the blame back then, this can't be kept secret for long. Eventually, people will suspect Handsome Scorpion. Your aunt is getting old, and it will be troublesome if she can't handle the shock. The most important thing is that your precious son's talent is too amazing. The village can't contain this dragon, and traditional puppetry can no longer satisfy him. He probably killed Sunagawa to make human puppets. It will be even more troublesome if people find out."

Seeing his father looking like he was about to have a burst blood vessel, just like Hiruzen Sarutobi, Masato quickly calmed him down. This kid had suffered two serious injuries before, one of which involved being stabbed in the lung. Now, before speaking, he would cough twice as if he were showing off. Masato was really afraid that he would die young.

If I were to die of anger from my son, I wouldn't even be able to fly the village flag...

"Cough cough... This brat is actually researching forbidden techniques like human puppetry. No wonder he kept going to the prison to ask for corpses!"

It would have been better if Shinto hadn't said anything, but when he heard that his son had killed Sunakawa in order to create human puppets, Sasori's father became even more agitated. He knew his son's talent was extraordinary, but human puppetry was an extremely immoral and forbidden art, which could potentially lead to the extinction of one's lineage. He wouldn't even dare to touch that stuff, yet his son had not only come into contact with it but also seemed to have mastered it, otherwise he wouldn't have killed the Third Hokage.

733. The old man, hanging on by a thread, waiting for him.

"Alright, alright, what's all the fuss about? It's just a puppet. In this world, whoever has the bigger fist calls the shots. Your thinking is too outdated, that's why your potential isn't as high as your son's, and you still can't surpass your mother. So what if it's a puppet? People die every day in the ninja world. If I hadn't awakened my Magnet Release talent back then, I would have been playing with puppets myself. Only the strong talk the talk. Weakness is the original sin. Look at Takigakure. When we took their Seven-Tails away, they didn't dare utter a word. Now they're obediently becoming Konoha's lackeys."

Masato scoffed. He was quite clever when he was young, but since becoming a father, he has become more composed, though his thinking has also become more traditional. He no longer has those kinds of ideas that can make people's eyes light up, so he has reached the level of his mother's peak but has never been able to surpass her.

"...Brother, things aren't that easy. If that brat really turns the Third Generation into a puppet, he'll be exposed eventually. What we're doing is just a waste of time."

Handsome Scorpion's dad, seeing his older brother's disdainful look, sighed and looked up at the sky. "I want to surpass my mother too, but I also want to see my son grow up healthy. Being a puppet will bring retribution..." -_-||

It wasn't that he didn't want to help his son keep it a secret, but he really couldn't think of a good way. After all, his son was making puppets to fight, not to collect. If they kept it a secret now, but it was exposed when his son brought out the Third Hokage's puppet to fight, the village would only lose more face. Their Sunagakure's super genius had killed their own village's Third Hokage and turned him into a puppet... His mother would be furious.

"I'm telling you the truth precisely because it's not easy, so we can figure out a solution together. If it were easy, I would have handled it all myself. If you can't even protect your son, then all those years of studying have been for nothing."

"I can't believe it," Masato said, pouting.

"...That brat turned the Third Generation into a puppet, definitely to use for fighting, so trying to cover it up by focusing on the murderer won't work. We need to start with the Third Generation's manner of death or the time of his disappearance. However, many villagers saw the Third Generation rehearsing on stage the day before he disappeared, so many people know that the time of his disappearance can't be changed. But we can start with the Third Generation's manner of death, fake his death, and then fabricate some evidence to explain why the Third Generation's body is in that brat's hands. Even if the Third Generation puppet in that brat's hands is exposed, everyone will think that the brat left the village to study the village's forbidden techniques, and that crime will be much less serious... And the most crucial point is that we need a virtuous and capable witness who can be recognized by everyone to prove that the Third Generation's death has nothing to do with Sasori. Neither we nor Mother can do that."

Although Scorpion's father was reluctant to do this, after all, three generations had watched him grow up and spent decades together, so there was bound to be some affection between them. But Scorpion was, after all, his son, and he didn't want to see his son sadly bear the guilt of killing his own family's leader. So he could only nod and stroke his chin, trying to think of a way for his son. If he couldn't even protect his own son, he would have been a father for nothing, and all those years of studying would have been for nothing.

I just hope that when his dead father sees his grandson in the afterlife, he'll send him a few more girls to improve his family's quality of life, as an apology to his grandson...

After thinking for more than half an hour, he finally came up with a relatively reliable method, which was at least more reliable than his older brother's simple and crude way of blaming White Fang. White Fang's character and the straightforwardness of the Hatake clan were well-known. Their war with Konoha was just to use the disappearance of the Third Hokage as an excuse, which was completely untenable.

"Fabricating Sunakawa's manner of death is no problem, fabricating evidence is easy too, but finding a crucial witness with both integrity and ability is difficult..."

Masato fully agreed with this method. People who have been to school are different. Although he took a little longer to think about it, his method was indeed more comprehensive than his own. The only problem was that it was difficult to find this important witness.

First of all, their family members are definitely not acceptable; they are suspected of covering up the crime, and it would be impossible to explain this to the higher-ups in the village.

But when Masato thought back on the people in his village who could be considered virtuous, talented, and trustworthy, they all seemed to be family members or relatives of his. They were either Sasori's grandmother, Sasori's great-uncle, or his uncle. His old boss, Ryou, was also a cousin of Chiyo and Ebizo...

Chiyo, the beautiful woman, was the wife of the First Kazekage. She dedicated decades to the long-term peace and stability of the village. Just the fact that she raised him, the village's top man, from infancy to adulthood and nurtured Jie, a double-flowered scoundrel, already made her historical status surpass that of the First Kazekage, who died young, making her the number one in the history of Sunagakure. Whether in terms of seniority or status, she was the highest in the village. She should have been the most suitable person to be a witness, but unfortunately, she was Sasori's grandmother, which inevitably makes people feel that there was an element of favoritism involved.

Ebizo's seniority is as deep as Chiyo's. As the village's Grand Councilor for many years, his status and position are undeniable, making him equally suitable. However, the key issue is that although they are not direct relatives, he is Chiyo's younger brother, Jie's uncle, and Sasori's great-uncle. The reason is the same as Chiyo's: it would give people the impression of favoritism and cover-up, making it unconvincing.

Needless to say, he has been fighting for the village for decades since his debut in the war, serving as the village's top leader for decades. His contributions to the village's peaceful development are unmatched by the two Kazekage, Sunagawa and Shamon. Although his historical status is not as high as Chiyo's, there is absolutely no problem in ranking him second alongside his dead uncle, the First Kazekage. Even if the village voted, it would be unanimously agreed.

He wasn't bragging, but if he hadn't been so young back then and hadn't wanted to be Kazekage, Sunakawa would have been out of the running as the Third Kazekage long ago.