Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Onoki looked at Hanzo the Salamander speechlessly and stared at the sky. How the hell did this guy get to where he is now? That bastard Shiki tricked him even more than he tricked him, right? How could anyone believe a bastard's words?

.....

Meanwhile, at the Konoha camp on the border of the Land of Fire, Sakumo Hatake's main force and the reinforcements from Konoha had arrived. The senior figures in the camp looked at each other quietly, not saying a word. At this moment, who should be the commander-in-chief was very important. Most people supported Sakumo Hatake as the commander-in-chief, after all, he was going to face off against Shiki of the Sand Village. This team battle was different from individual ninja fights. Team battles were all about momentum. All sorts of messy ninjutsu and throwing kunai were useless. Whoever had the stronger momentum and was more reckless would go head-to-head. If the opponent's top fighters came out and the leader didn't step up, how could morale be boosted?

The only one present who dared to say he could match Shiki was Sakumo... well, maybe Tsunade could be added too...

The most suitable person to lead and command is Sakumo, and even the usually arrogant Uchiha had no objections.

219. "Half-baked in Konoha" Collection

But there was also a famous figure present at the scene, known as "Half of Konoha's Sky"... wait, no! Now he's just "Half-Baked in Konoha." Ever since Hanzo of the Salamander covered his face with shoe prints, people have discovered that this extraordinary man who once shouted that he would lead Konoha to the moon seems to be a bit weak after all, only good at shouting slogans. Many people want to know how he managed to have shoe prints on his face by a powerful taijutsu master. Even a mere genin facing Hanzo of the Salamander, even if unable to defeat him, would at least play dead after getting two shoe prints on his face! This chief advisor of Konoha isn't just weak, he's also incredibly stubborn!

After this incident, Danzo's reputation plummeted in Konoha and the ninja world. Even his die-hard fans who had supported him for nearly twenty years began to doubt themselves. Why did they choose to support such a nobody when there were so many other big names in Konoha...?

When they arrived, this "half-baked" guy was already sitting in the center, waiting for them. Anyone with a brain could tell what this "half-baked" guy was up to by sitting in the center like a king—he just wanted to take command and be number one.

If he were the former chief advisor of Konoha and a close friend of the Hokage, this "half-baked" guy with the big mole on his chest wouldn't have any problem being the top dog; let him be the one.

But now that we know this "half-baked" guy is completely incompetent, making him the top dog would be utterly brain-dead. They're here to win, not to watch this guy get beaten up. If they lose this time, and the Hokage blew out two more blood vessels, Konoha might really have to choose a new Hokage.

However, because their Hokage was hospitalized, the other two temporary advisors couldn't control this "half-baked" guy at all. After all, he was Konoha's chief advisor. Even if they were unwilling, no one dared to object. Konoha is a place that values ​​seniority. His status as a second-generation disciple and a third-generation friend meant that they had no say in the matter. Otherwise, they would be in trouble if they were targeted.

"Minister, reliable sources say that Hanzo of the Salamander killed Iwagakure's commander, Kuraichi, for reasons unknown. Hanzo himself is also seriously injured, and now the Iwagakure ninja are fighting the Amegakure ninja."

Just as everyone was playing the matching game, a member of the Anbu appeared next to Hatake Sakumo and said something.

"What?! They're fighting amongst themselves? Great! Hatake Sakumo, what are we waiting for? While they're fighting amongst themselves, let's storm the Land of Rain! I want that bastard Hanzo of the Salamander torn to pieces... Hiss!"

Before Hatake Sakumo and Nara could react, Danzo, sitting in the center, heard his Anbu subordinate's words and, without giving them any chance to react, slapped his thigh and jumped up, his eyes shining. He turned to Hatake Sakumo and gave him the order to attack. He was so excited that he pulled at the wound on his face and gasped for breath. At the same time, the hatred on his face increased rather than decreased. He had once dreamed of leading his men into the Land of Rain and sweeping through the country to end the war as soon as possible, preferably bringing the Land of Rain directly into their territory. With this achievement and his reputation over the years, even if Lord Mito was still alive, he could still get the Hokage of Konoha re-elected.

But all of this vanished after the last war in the Land of Rain. His reputation was ruined, and he went from being the mighty and domineering "half the sky of Konoha" to "half a bucket of water in Konoha." Although it's unknown who gave him this title or whether there's any official proof, none of that matters anymore. The culprit behind all this was Hanzo the Salamander, who left shoe prints all over his handsome face. There's a saying among ninjas: "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated." But that day, that bastard Hanzo the Salamander did exactly that, and in a very extreme way. Because of being defeated by Hanzo the Salamander, his support base in Konoha certainly won't be as strong as before.

So when he learned that his best friend was admitted to the ICU, he didn't take the orders of his other two friends seriously at all. He wanted to stay here and wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then personally lead the Sands to storm into the Land of Rain and personally tear Hanzo of the Salamander to pieces. He did this not to prove how great he was, but to tell others that he would take back what he had lost with his own hands!

Moreover, now that Kuraichi has been killed by Hanzo of the Salamander, and Hanzo is seriously injured, and the Iwa and Amegakure are fighting, with Kuraichi dead, the Iwa ninja are leaderless, and Hanzo of the Salamander is seriously injured and will definitely not have a chance to participate, there is only Tsuchikage and Shiki of the Cloud Village, and the genius puppeteer couple, four high-level combatants. With so many high-level combatants here, and Sakumo Hatake also here, each of them could drown the opponent with a single spittle. Naturally, they will not let go of such a good opportunity for a team battle.

If he can lead his team to victory in this battle and redeem himself, his fans will return to support him, and he'll still have a chance to bring his best friend down...

Thinking of this, Danzo's mood brightened considerably.

"Advisor Danzo shouldn't act impulsively. It's better to investigate further. Everyone has traveled a long way and is exhausted. I think we should rest for a few days and recharge before making any decisions..."

Sakumo Hatake looked at Danzo, whose eyes were shining, and said helplessly. Of course, he knew that if what his subordinate said was true, then now was a good opportunity to storm into Amegakure. However, after traveling day and night for more than a month, he could withstand it, but his subordinates outside couldn't. They couldn't even get proper rest, so how could they fight?

Military strategy dictates that fighting while exhausted is a cardinal sin, especially since they know absolutely nothing about the situation in the Land of Rain, the extent of the conflict between the Iwa and Amegakure ninja, or the severity of Hanzo's injuries. To rashly invade someone else's territory like this...

He finally understood how this chief consultant had tricked more than 10,000 people. Even without the presence of three villages, he had rashly led his men into someone else's territory without conducting any investigation. He was destined to be tricked. It was a miracle that this guy was still alive.

"Advisor Danzo, Sakumo is right. Rushing in rashly is too dangerous. With our strength, as long as we fight steadily, we can end this war without taking any risks. And... to be honest, the current situation is very favorable to us. The three clans of Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure have all gathered in the Land of Rain. Their intention is obvious: they want to turn the Land of Rain into a battlefield. At the same time, for Konoha, apart from Kirigakure, which is currently holding back, the pressure from other directions is gone. Now we only need to focus on dealing with this war in the Land of Rain. Hanzo of the Salamander may not have discovered the purpose of the three villages yet. Once he does, their alliance will naturally collapse, and that will probably be the real beginning of the war!"

Seeing that Hatake Sakumo hadn't convinced the "half-baked" guy, Nara the Big-Headed had no choice but to step forward and analyze the situation for Danzo. He was also secretly curious: the Second Hokage was a renowned genius, and every disciple had inherited something under his tutelage. What exactly had this "half-baked" guy inherited from the Second Hokage...?

220. Onoki: I'll tear his mouth apart one day.

“Yes, Advisor Danzo, our clan is also exhausted. It would be bad if we went to the battlefield with our legs too weak. Let’s rest for a couple of days and find out the situation in the Land of Rain first. If the Iwa ninja and the Amegakure ninja really start fighting, it won’t end anytime soon.”

After Nara Shika finished speaking, the other clan leaders nodded in agreement. At this moment, for the sake of their clan members and for their own sake, they absolutely could not let a "half-baked" person lead the team. They had already seen the miserable state of the Shimura clan; it was truly tragic. Although the Uchiha clan still had the strength to fight again, they had also been tricked out of more than a thousand people. Although they usually disliked the Uchiha clan, they had to admit that the Uchiha clan was very strong in combat. Even after being tricked by Danzo, they only lost more than a thousand people.

"You... Hmph! I'm sleepy, do whatever you want!"

Seeing that everyone disagreed with sending troops, Danzo could easily see that these bastards didn't support him at all. Ever since the battle of the Land of Rain, his sky had lost its blue. With a dark face, he snorted coldly and turned to leave. Now, the Uchiha clan certainly wouldn't listen to him, and his Shimura clan... just thinking about it made his heart bleed. That was all his power, and it was all gone.

"Phew... Let's go back and rest first. We'll wait until the Anbu have found out the situation in the Land of Rain in the next couple of days."

Watching Danzo leave with a dark expression, Nara Shika breathed a sigh of relief. In two more years, his son would be grown up and he would have to retire. He really didn't want to offend someone like Danzo to the point of death. It wouldn't matter if Danzo himself didn't care, but it would be bad to leave his son with an enemy. It's true that the Nara clan is intelligent, but they are not gods. People like Danzo are capable of anything. He would even do his best friend for the Hokage position.

.....

Just as the Konoha army was gathering at the border of the Land of Fire, news broke of what was happening in the Land of Rain. Iwagakure commander Kurakichi had cheated on Hanzo of the Salamander, enraging Hanzo, who, along with two henchmen, stormed the Salamander's headquarters and killed the woman in bed. Ultimately, Hanzo was outnumbered and severely wounded.

When this news came out, the ninja world was ecstatic; this gossip was truly delicious!

This Iwagakure bigwig, Kuraichi, also drew everyone's attention. Everyone was very curious about how this legendary girl's appearance could make this Iwagakure bigwig do such a thing. That was the territory of Hanzo the Salamander! It was one thing to pursue personal hobbies during the war, but to actually plant a grassland on someone else's territory was another.

The actions of Iwagakure's leader, Kurakichi, have severely damaged the village's international image. Anyone who wants to cooperate with Iwagakure now will have to keep their girlfriends locked up. Immediately, villages and nations throughout the ninja world condemned Iwagakure. If the village's leadership is like this, it's a classic case of "like father, like son." Who knows if all the ninjas in Iwagakure are like this?

"That bastard Golden Lion! I'll tear his mouth apart one day!! (▼皿▼#)"

In the Iwagakure headquarters of the Land of Rain, Onoki was smashing things haphazardly in the largest tent, muttering curses at his dying comrade, Shiki, as he smashed. His boundless hatred and murderous intent made the guards outside the tent weak in the knees.

How did this news get out?

Even a fool like Onoki knew that this was definitely related to Shiki. He had already given his people a gag order, forbidding them from spreading the word. After all, what Kuraichi did wasn't exactly honorable, and if it got out, it would damage their good international image.

It's impossible for the Rain Ninja to spread this news, since it wouldn't sound good if word got out that Hanzo of the Salamander was being cuckolded.

After a brief day of contact with the Hidden Cloud Village, he was certain that Tsuchikage, the Lava Release user, was not that kind of person. Among them, Tsuchikage was probably the only one who genuinely wanted to fight against Konoha, so he would never do something to disrupt the team's atmosphere.

So, regarding the remaining Golden Lion, whether it's his personality traits or his infamous big mouth, Onoki has reason to believe that it was definitely that bastard Golden Lion who spread the rumor. Moreover, the story is so vividly and completely recreated, even down to every single detail. This ability is not something that ordinary people can possess. Who else but that bastard Golden Lion could it be?

From his personal perspective, Kuraichi was quite happy that Hanzo had cheated on him. When he returned, he would definitely make Kuraichi build the village's burial ground. He would be a hero of the village. Back in the Land of Whirlpools, that bastard Hanzo had given him a lot of flak.

However, considering the village's image, Kuraki's actions were indeed ill-considered. Although he enjoyed himself for a moment, he did damage the good image that the Land of Earth had painstakingly built up internationally over the years. Now, the entire ninja world looks at the Iwa ninja with prejudice!

Onoki was filled with hatred, hating Kuraichi for doing such a foolish thing at this time. If he really liked her, he could have just quietly taken the songstress away when he left the Land of Rain. Why was he in such a hurry?

I hate that bastard Golden Lion's big mouth even more!

"Tsuchikage! Hatake Sakumo has led the Konoha ninja into the Land of Rain! They're currently fighting the Sand, Cloud, and Rain ninjas. And Shiki also said... Shiki also said..."

Just as Onoki had almost finished dismantling the camp, Kuraichi's son, one of the young men Onoki was going to promote, ran in to report. Kuraichi's son looked hesitant and reluctant to speak.

"What did that bastard say again? (▼へ▼メ)"

Seeing Kuraichi's son's hesitant look, Onoki knew with a grain of salt that the bastard Shiki was definitely not saying anything nice. But that's just how people are—curiosity works. Even though he knew that the bastard couldn't say anything nice, he still wanted to know what the bastard had said.

"Golden Lion said that having Iwa ninja is no different than not having Iwa ninja at all; let that short, red-nosed guy and his gang be our cheerleaders and blow our little trumpets..."

Kuraichi's son, mimicking Shiki's tone, relayed the original words verbatim. His arrogant tone and the way he looked at everyone as if they were his son were three-tenths of the essence of the imitation. If Onoki hadn't quickly realized that the person in front of him was his older brother's son and not Shiki, he would have wanted to launch a general attack on him.

"Snapped!"

"Damn you, Golden Lion, assemble! Let's go!"

"And... next time, just translate directly. No need to imitate that jerk; he's nothing like him at all..."

After slapping the only intact table in the tent to pieces, Onoki took Kuraichi's son out to call for reinforcements. Before leaving the tent, he reminded his elder brother's son to avoid being killed by someone for imitating too closely.

221. If your basic skills aren't solid enough, you can't showcase them.

shhhhhh!

Boom boom boom!!!

Ding ding ding...!

The battle on the other side was extremely fierce... The battlefield was filled with crisscrossing sword energy, with countless sword energies hundreds of meters long, and the occasional melodious clanging of metal striking metal letting the tens of thousands of people on the battlefield know that this was not a battle fought by one person alone.

And damn it, two people are fighting.

On one side, several army groups from Konoha and on the other side, three army groups from Sunagakure, Amegakure, and Kumogakure, totaling tens of thousands of men, were divided into two groups, seemingly facing off across the river, neither showing any intention of charging into battle.

Because of the fact that the Iwagakure leader was killed for cheating on Hanzo the Salamander, a day ago, two advisors from the village had a strong discussion with their Hokage in the ICU. As men themselves, the Hokage and advisor Momokazuki agreed that the relationship between Amegakure and Iwagakure could no longer be harmonious. This was a matter of a man's dignity, and even if Onoki knelt down and kowtowed to Hanzo the Salamander to admit his mistake, it wouldn't be over. Therefore, both of them believed that this was a good opportunity to fight.

So he immediately sent a message to the front lines to Hatake Sakumo and Nara Shikai. As for Danzo... Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose health was gradually improving, figured his good friend was probably leading troops for the first time and lacked experience. The fact that he insisted on staying on the first line of defense to await reinforcements showed that he still loved Konoha, so he decided to let him continue working... as long as it didn't affect Nara Shikai and Sakumo, he'd let him get some credit...

Meanwhile, Nara Shika and Hatake Sakumo, who had just received the news from the village, were also holding a discussion with all the male leaders about how they would react if they were cheated on. The discussion's conclusion coincided with the village's order: strike while the iron is hot. Although Iwagakure and Amegakure are still in a cooperative relationship on the surface, they are secretly on the verge of breaking up because of Iwagakure leader Kuraichi's hobby. This is truly their opportunity.

and so!

Before Hatake Sakumo could even speak, their Konoha chief advisor had already taken the center position with great confidence and ordered his men to attack!

At this point, everyone was too lazy to argue with him and rushed to send troops to attack the Land of Rain. When they arrived, they found only Rain Ninja, Cloud Ninja, and Sand Ninja; none of the Rock Ninja were there. Then, the two commanders appeared. The two commanders were quite in sync and immediately drew their swords to fight. However, only a small number of the people from Konoha had witnessed the spectacular scene of White Fang and Golden Lion fighting one-on-one. The rest of them were seeing it for the first time. Inspired by the momentum of the two commanders, the underlings who wanted to follow their commanders were cut in half by a sudden sword aura before they could even take two steps. Then, the sword aura became more and more numerous and dense, making it impossible for anyone to get close to the place where the two were fighting. And, unfortunately, the place where the two were fighting happened to separate the two groups of people. The great battle turned into a personal show of sword fighting between the two.

"Clan leader, the sword energy is too dense, we can't break through at all, what should we do?"

On the Konoha side, the head of the Hyuga clan's branch family rubbed his sore Byakuya eyes and approached Hyuga Sora, the head of the Hyuga clan's main family, with a somewhat helpless expression. The two sides had been locked in a standoff for most of the day. When they first arrived, they were incredibly arrogant. If they had maintained that momentum, they would have definitely won this battle.

But now, looking at the dense sword energy that Shiki is unleashing, each sword energy revealing a bottomless sword mark, it's just too damn exaggerated. They can't even get close, and the enemy can't get close either. It's just a one-man show by White Fang and Shiki.

"Who knows what to do, Uchiha clan leader? Your Sharingan can see the trajectory of movements, so even you can't do anything about it?"

After making a sarcastic remark, Hyuga looked at the second male lead's grandfather, who was also rubbing his sore eyes. Although the Uchiha clan was arrogant at this time, they had been severely defeated by the Iwa ninja in the first war, and the entire clan had developed rapidly over the past twenty years. In addition, the second male lead's grandfather valued the psychological growth and education of his children, so the Uchiha clan at this time were relatively polite in their arrogance, and had not yet reached the level of looking down on others that they would later become. The Hyuga clan was, after all, one of the only two major clans in Konoha, so at least they could exchange a few words with the second male lead's grandfather.

"...There's no way around it. Although we can track the movement of these sword energies, their sheer number, power, and speed are overwhelming. Even if we could clearly see their trajectory and charge forward, our reflexes wouldn't be able to dodge every single one. Unless we all have White Fang's agility, otherwise..."

The second male lead's grandfather remained silent for a while, calming his shocked emotions and organizing his thoughts. As a top student, he tried his best to explain to the illiterate people around him, whose eyes had turned into beady dots, in simple and easy-to-understand language.

He was utterly shocked by the sight of White Fang and Golden Lion fighting one-on-one for the first time. Because of his conjunctivitis, his eyesight was relatively good, and he could clearly see the scene of the two fighting within the dense sword energy. Whether it was Golden Lion's incomparably powerful sword energy or White Fang's amazing moves that completely overturned his core values.

The term "sword aura" didn't exist in the ninja world before. Now it's the ninja era; who the hell would bother practicing swordsmanship like a samurai? Furthermore, according to clan historical records, samurai in the samurai era didn't have this concept of sword aura either. The term "sword aura" only appeared after Golden Lion Shiki debuted and became famous. After research and authentication by people from the Land of Iron, it was determined to be Golden Lion Shiki's unique sword aura, completely different from the swordsmanship of the Land of Iron samurai. Moreover, the current shogun of the Land of Iron, after observing the sword marks left by Golden Lion Shiki in Uzushiogakure, had a sudden realization and even after mastering their most powerful sword technique, Swallow Return, he still couldn't understand this so-called sword aura...

Previously, I had been urging the clansmen to develop and expand the population, so I had never seen this kind of sword energy. I only heard people outside talking about it and thought they were just bragging. One sword can cut down a village. Isn't this even more awesome than their Uncle Ban changing the terrain by fighting the first generation?

Even the Valley of the End, which changed the terrain and landscape during Madara's duel with the First Hokage, wasn't as large as Uzushiogakure, was it?

If Sunagakure had someone like that, they'd be fighting on the moon like Danzo by now...

"..."

After hearing your words, everyone around looked on with envy at the blurry figure fighting the Golden Lion in the center. They wanted to show off their fancy footwork too!

But for the past few decades, optical ninjutsu neglected footwork training; without a solid foundation, you can't really show off your skills!

222. Having an outstanding son puts a lot of pressure on Jie.

"Sigh... then we can only wait until the Golden Lion gets tired of hacking away before we go in again."

Seeing the envious looks from everyone around him, Nara Shika knew exactly what they were fantasizing about. He could only helplessly shrug. What the hell were they doing when they were kids? He had witnessed Sakumo's growth firsthand. From the age of three, he had been subjected to his father's harsh training. He was a child who had no childhood at all. While other children were playing in the mud at three, this kid stayed at home every day, practicing this boring and tedious basic skill over and over again. After Lord Ito passed away, the kid became even more obsessed. If it weren't for the Hatake clan's strong foundation and the wealth accumulated over countless generations protecting him, he probably would have been trained to death before he was even eighteen.

However, this price, coupled with his unparalleled talent, has earned him a unique movement ability in the ninja world. He can move with ease amidst a massive amount of sword energy like that of the Golden Lion. Even the Second Hokage, who created the Flying Thunder God Technique, might not be able to do that. With so many densely packed sword energies, you can't even throw a kunai in, let alone teleport!

"Damn...(▼へ▼メ)"

While others were feeling helpless, Danzo, the "half-baked Konoha" who insisted on occupying the center position regardless of whether he was the leader or not, gritted his teeth in frustration. Things had turned out completely differently than he had anticipated.

In his mind, it didn't matter whether the people of Konoha considered him the leader or not. As long as the war started, he would always stand in the center of the crowd. The more attention he received, the more people would naturally regard him as the leader of Konoha in this war. When the Land of Rain was flattened and the ninja world of the major villages was driven back to its homeland, his war achievements would still be the greatest. At that time, the plan he had spent countless days and nights to "bring Hiruzen Sarutobi down to the position of Hokage" could still be implemented.

But when the two sides met and Golden Lion and White Fang clashed, his joy vanished. Both sides were held back by Golden Lion's exaggerated sword aura, unable to break through. He had witnessed the power of Golden Lion's sword aura firsthand. Initially, he gritted his teeth and ordered his remaining nephews from the Shimura clan to charge in. However, after two of his nephews were swept away by the sword aura and their bodies were never seen again, he completely abandoned the idea of ​​directly confronting Golden Lion's sword aura. He figured it was better to leave a few descendants for the Shimura clan, to go back and find them some women to continue contributing to the family, than to rush in and become Golden Lion's casualties…