I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

"Back then, could the first generation of Water, Earth, Wind, and Raikage have done anything to Hashirama Senju if they joined forces?"

Obito Uchiha withdrew his gaze from Deidara, whom he somewhat found agreeable but still considered an idiot, and turned to Rasa, saying without any politeness,

"I think Lord Tsuchikage, who lived through that era, should be very clear about this."

Ōnoki was silent for a moment before speaking, "Those were those days. Even Hashirama Senju had times of exhaustion, serious injury, and even death. So too did Senju Kumotei!"

Obito shook his head and said, "But Senju Kumo-tei is not alone. He has Tsunade, Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, Shisui Uchiha, and so on by his side. Therefore, you need more help."

"Help from Akatsuki?" Mei Terumi suddenly interjected.

“Indeed!” Obito replied readily.

"Enough with the nonsense! Let me see Akatsuki's strength, Chojuro!" Mei Terumi immediately gave the order.

"Yes!"

Despite his seemingly shy appearance, Chojuro, as the new generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, is a force to be reckoned with. With a single movement, he instantly appeared behind Obito and raised his massive twin swords, Hiramekarei, to slash forward.

Boom!

Instantly, a large crater appeared beneath Obito's feet.

As for him, he stood still without moving an inch, to Chojuro's incredulous gaze.

"The person is right here, so why didn't they hit the target?"

Although puzzled, Chojuro did not give up and continued to swing his twin swords, Hiramekarei, at Obito without stopping.

But the final result is the same.

"It's useless. Under Obito's eyes, no one in the entire ninja world, except for a very few freaks, can stand against him." White Zetsu, who had somehow crawled onto the ceiling and was now half-upside down, looked at the scene below and chuckled.

However, at that moment, a slight sound suddenly rang in its ears.

"What's going on?" Bai Jue asked curiously, about to turn around.

Black Zetsu immediately shouted, "Idiot! Back in!"

But it was too late.

Just then, a shout of "Drink!" came from below.

Quietly crawling up to Jue's side, a dozen or so C1 Clay Spiders immediately exploded.

The next second, a scream from White Zetsu rang out.

"Art is an explosion!"

Deidara, who had caused all this, smiled brightly, then turned his gaze from Zetsu to Obito, and said...

"Taken down in an instant, so this is all the Akatsuki are capable of? Or is it that only you, their leader, are somewhat competent? Hey, you blue-haired Mist Ninja brat, if you're not up to the task, get out of the way. Let me handle this, hmm!"

Upon hearing this, Chojuro, who still hadn't achieved anything, frowned slightly.

Obito then looked at Deidara and said calmly, "If I were you, I would look up now."

"Up there? What's so interesting about a corpse that's dead beyond dead... Huh?" Deidara's expression changed slightly, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

Just then, the pitcher plant monster, which he thought should have died in the explosion, rang out again: "Ouch~ That hurts so much! You blond kid, you have no sportsmanship! You actually used a sneak attack!"

"Tch~~~"

Deidara curled his lip as he watched Zetsu emerge from the smoke and dust, his body rapidly recovering from numerous injuries thanks to the repairing power of Hashirama's cells.

"Looks like you've got some skills after all. How about we try this one?" With that, Deidara spat out some clay birds from his palm and mouth, ready to make his move again.

"No way! I'm just a support staff member! If you really want to fight, blondie, you should go find Obito." Zetsu finished speaking and disappeared with a "whoosh".

Seeing this, Deidara could only stop in displeasure.

When Onoki heard Zetsu shout "Obito," he looked at the Akatsuki members with a puzzled expression. No, to be precise, it was only Chojuro who was fighting, while Onoki hadn't even made a move.

"Obito...Uchiha Obito? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before?"

While Onoki was pondering, Obito also made a new move.

"enough!"

Having no interest in getting entangled with a mere Mist Ninja, he used the powerful perception of his Mangekyou Sharingan to reach out and grab Chojuro's wrist.

Without even intending to absorb it into the Kamui dimension, Obito simply flung it back.

"I'm sorry! I'm useless."

Soon, Chojuro, who had gotten up from the ground, apologized to Terumi Mei with a face full of shame.

Mei Terumi waved her hand and said, "This is not your fault, Chojuro. The person you fought was very strong!"

After saying that, she looked at Obito with a serious expression.

At the same time, Luo Sha and Ai, who also realized this, also became serious.

"A kaleidoscope-like child technique with spacetime capabilities?"

Having witnessed the Flying Thunder God Technique and personally experienced the spatial fluctuations, Ai spoke up at this moment.

"So, is this what you think is the source of Akatsuki's confidence in the Four Nations Alliance? Although this ability is troublesome, it's still not enough to be used as leverage."

“Of course not!” Obito shook his head and said, “Akatsuki’s real strength is not me, but the current leader of Akatsuki.”

"Aren't you the new leader of Akatsuki?" Onoki asked in surprise.

In his view, Obito, with his Mangekyou Sharingan and his clearly extraordinary space-time abilities, would have no problem replacing the original Akatsuki leader.

But to his surprise, the man said he was not the leader.

So who is the real leader?

It's incredible that they were able to bring such a person under their command.

For some reason, Onoki suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Just then, Obito replied with a smile, "Of course not. Speaking of which, the new leader of Akatsuki is an old acquaintance of Lord Onoki."

"An old acquaintance of mine?"

Onoki subconsciously tried to recall who among the people he knew was most likely to be the one in question.

Suddenly, a voice that was very old but still deeply etched in his memory rang out behind him, causing him to tremble involuntarily.

"Long time no see, Onoki-kun."

Chapter 223 The Ridiculous Stone

Onoki is now seventy-four years old.

In today's era of constant warfare, they are definitely among the oldest.

There are almost no other ninjas older than him in the entire ninja world.

However, at this moment, someone called him "kid" in a condescending tone, as if looking down on a junior.

If someone were unaware of the situation, upon seeing that the so-called "young man" was actually an old man with gray hair, looking frail and half-buried, they might not be able to help but sneer, thinking that this was a deliberate insult to the latter.

Given Onoki's past behavior, he would definitely have used a Dust Release technique to blast away such a disrespectful person.

But at this moment, to everyone's surprise, Onoki, who was usually as stubborn as a rock, trembled for a moment when he heard this.

That familiar voice, that arrogant tone—even after all these years, he still remembers it vividly.

That year, he and his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, sincerely requested an alliance with Konoha, but were instead met with severe humiliation.

That person not only humiliated his teacher and him with disdainful words, but also showed him through his actions that his unwavering will to stand firm was worthless in the face of power.

Even today, Onoki has never forgotten the resentment and despair he felt when he struggled to his feet, clutching a random stone to strengthen his resolve, only to be met with a single glance from his opponent, and the Sharingan's genjutsu caused him to collapse.

This experience was an unforgettable humiliation for Onoki, but it also spurred him to continuously improve himself after returning home, eventually learning the Dust Release technique of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, and becoming the Third Tsuchikage.

But when he looked back, he found that the person who had humiliated him was no longer there.

But today! Right now!

But he heard that familiar voice again!

How can it be?

Onoki's face was full of disbelief.

But in the end, he slowly turned his head, and when he saw the person sitting on the beam who perfectly matched his memory, Tong Kong suddenly shrank back, and said in a heavy voice, word by word:

"U...Chi...Ha...Madara!"

"Uchiha Madara? How is that possible???"

Ai, Mei Terumi, Rasa, Mifune, and the guards immediately thought they had misheard.

Madara Uchiha and the others naturally knew who it was, but wasn't the person already dead in the battle at the Valley of the End?

And even if he were alive, he would be much older than Onoki.

The newly appeared human's life characteristics are completely those of a young adult, which doesn't seem like Uchiha Madara at all!

Onoki had no time to answer the crowd's questions. His eyes were fixed on Uchiha Madara, who showed no signs of aging, and his heart was filled with even more intense turmoil.

Meanwhile, sitting on the roof beam, with one hand supporting his chin, casually surveying the crowd below, Madara Uchiha finally fixed his gaze on Onoki.

As far as a group of younger people are concerned, they are not worth his attention.

However, it was the kid who used to follow Wu that piqued his interest.

"I never expected that the good-for-nothing who followed Mu back then and could be manipulated with a single glance would not only become the Third Tsuchikage, but is still alive now," Madara said calmly.

"Hey! You jerk, who are you calling trash?!" Before Onoki could react, Deirada couldn't help but speak up, and even tried to make a move.

Although he was annoyed by his own teacher's discipline, he was still very unhappy if someone criticized the former.

Onoki stopped Deirada from doing so.

At this moment, barely suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he ignored Madara Uchiha's words and asked, word by word, with utmost seriousness:

"Are you really Madara Uchiha?"

Like Ai and the others, he had the same doubts.

After all, Madara Uchiha in front of us is too young!