Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Hearing Sarutobi Takashi's mocking words, which were filled with hatred, the Third Hokage's anger vanished, replaced by deep disappointment, and he sighed.

He was well aware of Sarutobi Takashi's hatred, which was directed at both him and the Senju clan, but he never expected it to be so deep. His son, on whom he had placed great hopes, was so affected by this hatred that he lost his mind and couldn't distinguish between public and private matters.

Sure enough, his son wasn't cut out to become Hokage.

Sarutobi Takashi had no personal objection to the Senju clan, since they were now his political enemies, and it was only natural for him to sabotage and undermine them from behind.

However, using the protest letter to spread rumors about Kirito, a hero of Konoha, is going too far, far too far.

Because Kirito represents more than just the Senju clan. Aside from being Mito Uzumaki's direct disciple, he is also a commoner ninja. Now that he has made a great name for himself on the battlefield and demonstrated amazing strength, he naturally represents the vast number of commoner ninjas.

Moreover, his contributions on the battlefield are undeniable. Because of him, countless Konoha ninjas were spared the suffering of the battlefield, and the fates of many Konoha ninjas who might have died on the battlefield were greatly changed as a result. These are undeniable facts.

Kirito may not care about this, but there will always be people who remember his kindness.

Finally, Kirito has unlimited potential. He is already a Kage-level ninja, so what about the future? He might become an invincible ninja like Hashirama, but becoming the strongest ninja in Konoha is definitely not a problem.

Even right now, he alone might not be able to defeat Kirito.

Therefore, in the Third Hokage's view, offending the Senju clan was no big deal, but offending Kirito was truly a loss of mind.

His son is now so blatantly offending Kirito, a Kage-level powerhouse with prestige, strength, and backing in Konoha. He's practically courting death, and a really big one.

"I know nothing?"

Sarutobi Takashi still refused to admit it, and the sarcasm on his face deepened.

He knew what the Third Hokage was thinking; he simply thought that the Third Hokage had lost his mind and recklessly offended Kirito, a Kage-level powerhouse with immense potential.

So what if he offended them?

The father only saw that Kirito was not to be trifled with, but did he foresee what this little bastard Kirito would do in Konoha in the future?

He definitely saw it, but he chose to turn a blind eye for the sake of Konoha's so-called stability.

A paperhanger who became confused because of Konoha.

This is someone's assessment of his father, which he thinks is quite accurate.

If his father were to once again refrain from harming Kirito Tohsaka for the sake of Konoha's stability, the result would be a new Konoha born at the cost of the decline of the old forces, led by the Sarutobi clan.

He admitted that he was a selfish person and could not do what his father did to truly give up everything for Konoha. In his eyes, his clan was more important than Konoha. If the Sarutobi clan could not continue to lead Konoha in the future, what would be the point of a new Konoha?

Kirito Tohsaka, a genius ninja who reached the Kage level at the age of 11, how strong is his potential, and how terrifying is this person?

Doesn't Sarutobi Takashi know this?

He knew it was a joke, but for the future of the Sarutobi clan, he had to offend them once.

If such a person isn't tripped up early on, it will be impossible to control him in the future.

Spreading rumors and ruining his reputation are just the surface issues; the deeper issue is that it alienates him from Konoha and makes him disappointed in the foolish villagers at the bottom of Konoha.

He didn't agree with the concept of the Will of Fire, but he understood its meaning.

His father was a person who inherited the Will of Fire. Although he was old and sometimes confused, he was truly willing to sacrifice everything for Konoha. His real purpose was simply to protect those fools at the bottom of Konoha.

Therefore, in his mind, the Hokage is something that exists to protect the majority of Konoha.

If Kirito Tohsaka becomes disillusioned with the selfish and blindly obedient villagers at the bottom of society, then he will most likely never become some kind of worthless Hokage.

Anyone who tries to protect a group of people who don't trust him is a fool.

He didn't think Kirito Tohsaka would do that.

In this way, he successfully drove away Kirito Tohsaka, the Senju clan's lackey who was the most likely to become Hokage in the future.

The price for driving away this lackey was the destruction of a small ninja clan and the Senju clan's increased hatred towards the Sarutobi clan.

Compared to the gains, this cost is negligible.

"Looks like you've really gone mad. Men, seize him."

Seeing that Sarutobi Takashi remained unrepentant, the Third Hokage finally suppressed the last vestige of fatherly affection in his heart and said coldly.

But after a few seconds, the ANBU ninjas outside did not appear in time as usual and then carry out their orders.

This unusual event caused the Third Generation's heart to sink to the bottom. He finally realized that he had really lost control of the Dark Division, and he couldn't help but regret his excessive nepotism.

The positions of head and deputy head of the Anbu should not both be held by members of the Sarutobi clan.

While this would allow him to easily control the Anbu force, the consequence would only be that the Anbu would become a one-man show for the Sarutobi clan.

All ninjas who disobeyed the Sarutobi clan have been expelled from the Anbu; now, only the Sarutobi clan's lackeys remain.

However, judging from the current situation, the true allegiance of these lackeys is not to him, the Hokage, but to Sarutobi Takashi and the Sarutobi clan behind him.

Once Sarutobi Takashi, the head of the Anbu, chooses to betray them, it will be impossible for him, the Hokage, to regain control of the Anbu in the short term.

He was certain that the ANBU ninjas hidden in the Hokage Building had all been replaced with people who only obeyed Sarutobi Takashi. This was something that the head of the ANBU, who had completely gained the Hokage's trust, could easily do.

It's ridiculous. He's the head of the Sarutobi clan, their biggest backer, yet he can't fully control their power.

When did he begin to lose control of the Sarutobi clan?

In an instant, images flashed through the mind of the Sarutobi clan, their ever-growing territory, the numerous luxurious buildings within it, the clan members holding positions in several important departments, and himself working day and night on documents.

Ambition and greed are indeed bad things; they can easily swell uncontrollably if you're not careful.

The Sarutobi clan is no longer the Sarutobi clan he once knew.

If he continues to protect its interests, he can naturally continue to receive its help, and it will obediently follow his orders. But once he stops protecting its interests, he will immediately suffer a backlash.

Just like it is now.

Come to think of it, his son is ambitious but incompetent. How could he possibly have successfully concealed such a brilliant fabrication from him by himself? There must have been someone supporting him behind the scenes.

Upon realizing this, the third generation's face darkened, revealing deep frustration.

"Third Hokage, what did I do wrong? If I did nothing wrong, even if you are the Hokage, you have no right to arrest me. Third Hokage, you still have many documents to deal with on your desk. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. I am in a hurry to arrest those who are spreading rumors in the village."

Seeing the Third Hokage's dejected appearance, Sarutobi Takashi felt inexplicably pleased and said in a pretentious tone, his eyes no longer concealing his mockery.

After becoming the leader of the Anbu, Sarutobi Takashi didn't just sit idly by. With his strength and various methods, he had long since gathered all the Anbu ninjas around him, and those who were tactless and disobedient had long been transferred out of Konoha by him in various ways.

"Do you think I won't take action against you?"

Seeing Sarutobi Takashi's smug expression, the Third Hokage's anger flared instantly, and he uttered a chillingly cold voice.

He's a heartless ingrate; for the sake of Konoha's stability, he won't show any mercy even to his own flesh and blood.

He admitted that he had neglected to control the Sarutobi clan, allowing this behemoth to become wild, but ultimately, the Sarutobi clan still needed him to continue to live well in Konoha as they do now.

He is the master.

If the dog next to him misbehaves and dares to bare its teeth at him, he'll just beat it up.

Because he has the ability.

As soon as he finished speaking, a layer of red light covered the Third Hokage, and a powerful chakra fluctuation erupted, causing the floor beneath him to crack instantly.

"Pfft~"

Under the impact of this powerful chakra surge, Sarutobi Takashi was forced back several steps, his face flushed red, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Your strength..."

Sarutobi Takashi pointed at the Third Hokage with a look of surprise, his heart filled with a huge wave of emotion.

His son was well aware of the strength of the third generation; they were indeed very strong, but they were already on the decline and could never be as powerful as they were now.

He was at least an elite Jonin, and if it were the Third Hokage in the past, he would never have been able to inflict internal injuries on him with just the impact of chakra fluctuations.

The third generation became stronger.

This is the deepest feeling that Sarutobi Takashi has at this moment.

"Hmph, you ignorant fool, do you really think I'm old?"

The third generation was very satisfied with his son's shocked expression and sneered.

Shame inspires courage; this is what every strong person does after suffering a setback.

The Third Hokage was brutally beaten by Kirito's White Zetsu clone in Sage Mode, losing face in front of the entire village. As the Hokage, he could no longer be complacent about his strength, so he racked his brains to improve it afterward.

Therefore, he delegated some of the less important daily tasks to his subordinates and dedicated more time each day to training.

Unfortunately, he is over fifty years old, his physical functions are beginning to decline, and he has almost exhausted his potential. It would be extremely difficult for him to go any further. It would be good enough if he could continue to maintain his peak condition.

Therefore, he was initially willing but unable to improve his strength.

One night, he accidentally fused his Fire Release chakra and Earth Release chakra, which allowed his declining strength to begin improving again.

Blood inheritance limits.

This was something the Third Hokage had been working on since his youth, something he used to increase his own power ceiling. However, he hadn't succeeded in working on it for over a decade. Later, after using other methods to raise his power to the Kage level and becoming Hokage, he was too busy to continue working on it.

Unexpectedly, after not working on it for many years and being defeated by a powerful enemy, I picked it up again and tinkered with it, and surprisingly succeeded.

The Lava Release Kekkei Genkai—this is the new power the Third Hokage has now acquired. This new power infuses the Third Hokage with new vitality and immense potential.

Ever since the Third Hokage accidentally fused Fire Release and Earth Release chakra, creating the Lava Release bloodline limit within his body, his strength began to rise again, and at a rapid pace, giving him the feeling of returning to his youth when his strength grew rapidly.

Even bodily functions that had been declining have been revitalized and are now improving instead of declining.

The Third Hokage knew that these bloodline limits were the result of modifying and strengthening his body from the inside out, which was a normal phenomenon that occurred after every bloodline limit ninja awakened his bloodline limit.

His strength will be greatly improved in a short period of time, but if he wants to continue to improve in the future, he will need to develop a new Lava Release ninjutsu.

As a professor of ninjutsu, the Third Hokage was naturally not challenged in developing new ninjutsu. He already had several ideas for developing Lava Release ninjutsu, and all that was left was to put them into practice.

"Father, it is truly a cause for celebration that your strength can continue to improve. You must have awakened some kind of bloodline limit. This is a blessing for our Sarutobi clan. Unfortunately, it is too late. You can no longer stop me and the Sarutobi clan."

Sarutobi Takashi quickly regained his composure, refusing to engage with the Third Hokage, and sighed.

He had thought that the third generation, now over fifty, was old and his strength was declining rapidly and uncontrollably, rendering him useless. But the situation took an unexpected turn, and now he seems to be able to do it again.

Unfortunately, he discovered it too late.

If he had known that the Third Hokage could awaken his bloodline limit and further increase his strength, he would have continued to be a good son. But now it's too late.

Both he and the Sarutobi clan have gained new support and no longer need a third generation.

"Whether it's too late or not is up to me."

The third generation of cold voices.

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed towards Sarutobi Takashi, ready to take down this rebellious son, teach him a lesson, and then get rid of all the disobedient old fogies in the family.