Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

By this time, the ninjas in Sunagakure had already noticed the chakra Rasenshuriken that was emitting terrifying chakra fluctuations and vibrations. As they watched this obviously dangerous object hurtling toward Sunagakure at high speed, their faces showed expressions of horror.

"Block it, we absolutely cannot let it get through."

"The village is just behind us. We have to stop it, even if it means death."

"Go! We must protect the village!"

……

When the crisis befell Sunagakure, some of the Sunagakure ninja who had been prepared stepped forward, stopped on the rock wall, and bravely faced the incoming giant Rasenshuriken and the catastrophic Sand Tornado.

The appearance of a hero is always inspiring, and more and more ninjas are inspired to step forward.

We swear to protect Sunagakure to the death!

In an instant, a large number of Sand Ninjas unleashed various powerful ninjutsu to attack the incoming Giant Rasenshuriken and Sand Tornado.

Flames, gales, earth, rocks, lightning, water, and a multitude of explosive tags shot towards the giant Jade Spiral Shuriken and Sand Tornado, causing a massive collision.

However, the ninjutsu they were facing was a powerful ninjutsu with the power of a natural disaster, and the Rasengan was originally a ninjutsu created by imitating the Tailed Beast Ball.

Kirito's current super-sized Rasenshuriken is already comparable to the Tailed Beast Ball created by the Tailed Beasts.

Thus, even when faced with the combined attack of thousands of ninjas, the Giant Rasenshuriken remained unshaken, let alone stopped from advancing.

"Stop right there!!!"

Just when a large number of Sand Ninja were about to despair, an exasperated voice suddenly appeared, followed by countless sand irons emerging from the sand, forming an incredibly thick wall of sand iron that blocked the path of the Giant Rasenshuriken and stood in front of the large number of Sand Ninja.

At the same time, a figure that thrilled all the Sand Ninja appeared before their eyes.

At the crucial moment, the Third Kazekage, who had been very steady in his battle against Kirito, finally stepped forward, appearing like a savior before the countless Sand Ninja who had been waiting for him to stand up for them.

"Being a hero isn't easy."

Kirito flew through the air, looking down at the figure who had stood up in the face of the natural disaster, and said with a cold expression.

The next moment, a golden laser beam, poised to strike, shot out from the index finger of his right hand.

Storm Release: Laser Technique!

The golden laser instantly pierced through layers of sand, penetrating dozens of meters underground, and finally pierced through a ninja who was unleashing his full chakra.

At the same time, the incredibly thick wall of iron sand collided with the giant Rasengan and Sand Tornado, resulting in a massive explosion.

A semi-circular sphere radiating amazing light and heat appeared in the desert.

A massive wall of iron sand blocked the light and heat it emitted from outside Sunagakure.

"It's blocked! Long live Lord Kazekage!"

"Lord Kazekage, thank you so much."

"Lord Kazekage is here! We will surely win..."

……

The Sand Ninja cheered and shouted "Long live the Kazekage!" as they watched the Third Kazekage successfully block the natural disaster that had filled them with despair.

Hearing the cheers of the many Sand Village ninja behind him, the Third Kazekage couldn't help but show a bitter expression. He then slowly turned around, looked at the Sand Village so close at hand, revealed a pure smile, and finally let out a soft sigh.

Then, with a gust of wind, he turned into countless pieces of iron sand and disappeared before the Sand Ninja.

Chapter 220: Sasori: I Want to Be Friends with the Third Kazekage

[You changed the fate of the Third Kazekage, gaining 1 enhancement point]

Upon hearing the familiar mechanical voice from the system, Kirito finally confirmed the death of the Third Kazekage, then turned and left.

Since the Third Kazekage has volunteered to die, he should keep his word.

The fact that this attack ended with the lives of over two thousand Sand Village ninja and the Third Kazekage is far beyond what is acceptable. Even if the Third Kazekage was dissatisfied, he could only grit his teeth and accept it, acknowledging his contribution and knowing that there was no possibility of negotiating peace with Sand Village on the condition of not having to pay compensation.

The peace talks between Sunagakure and Konoha can continue, but it's impossible to propose such an outrageous condition as not requiring reparations, because they no longer deserve such a condition.

"Next, it will be a slow and gradual process. The Third Kazekage was right. It will be very difficult for me to destroy Sunagakure. Once ninjas are freed from their shackles, they will become terrifying monsters, harming both themselves and others."

Kirito sighed.

With his current strength, he could easily unleash another Wind Release: Super Giant Rasenshuriken, but the problem is that if he uses it, the people of Sunagakure might abandon their stronghold and flee.

The Sand Village has been operating its stronghold for so long, they must have some means of escape, so it's impossible for them to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

If he fails to eliminate all the people in Sunagakure, they will become mortal enemies of Konoha.

He personally wasn't afraid of these wretched guys retaliating, but the other people in Konoha were. If these people kept targeting Konoha's people and even turned into civilian killers, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble for Konoha.

In short, it's not a good idea to condemn these people outright.

It's easier to deal with enemies that are out in the open.

"Without the Third Kazekage, Sunagakure is now only held up by Chiyo. And with the Third Kazekage's death, the power structure of Sunagakure will undergo a huge change. I'm really looking forward to it."

The next moment, Kirito had a firework tube in his hand.

The firework was lit, and a brilliant burst of light bloomed in the night sky.

The fireworks were beautiful and bright. Many Konoha ninjas who were heading towards Sunagakure stopped to look at the beautiful fireworks in the sky.

Then, many Konoha ninjas who were on Kirito's side turned and left.

Orochimaru watched the fireworks suddenly appear in the night sky, remaining silent and not choosing to leave immediately.

Since Orochimaru didn't leave, many Konoha ninjas who were on the Sarutobi clan's side had no choice but to stop and look at Orochimaru.

However, almost all of these people had an anxious look in their eyes at this moment.

In the ninja world, the strong are revered.

Having witnessed firsthand Kirito's feat of easily annihilating over two thousand Sand Ninja using Shukaku's power, their hearts were already shaken.

This was not only due to Kirito's amazing strength, but also because more than two thousand ninjas sacrificed their precious lives to sound the alarm for them.

They now fully understand that their new battlefield commander is not an easy-going, coaxed genius, but a ruthless leader. He may be young, but like his genius, his methods are far beyond what ordinary people can match.

If they still dare to outwardly comply with him while inwardly defying him, who can say for sure that he won't retaliate in the future?

Given Kirito's strength and age, unless the Konoha leadership is a fool, they certainly wouldn't give up on this pillar that can protect Konoha for a hundred years. And Kirito himself is now a high-ranking official, perhaps the strongest among them.

If you offend Kirito, you can still run away, unless you stop living in Konoha altogether.

"Orochimaru-sensei, should we leave too?"

Minato Namikaze, who was standing next to Orochimaru, keenly sensed the changes in the mentality of these "one of his own" and quickly asked in a low voice.

As Orochimaru's disciple, he was already labeled as part of the Third Hokage's group, so changing sides was unrealistic; he could only go down this path to the bitter end.

However, after witnessing Kirito easily kill more than two thousand ninjas in the Sunagakure front-line headquarters using the power of the tailed beasts, he was somewhat shaken. However, what he was shaken about was not his own stance, but his own ninjutsu system.

In his vision, his ninjutsu system is biased towards assassination, belonging to the extreme single-target burst type.

Furthermore, he has constructed this ninjutsu system using the Flying Thunder God Technique, making him an even more terrifying assassin-type ninja than Konoha's White Fang in the future. However, the downside of this fighting style is that he is too individualistic.

Because of the Flying Thunder God Technique, his teammates are basically of no help, and sometimes they even make things worse.

When Hua Lian was around, he thought his teammates were useful, but since Hua Lian went to Kirito's side, the new teammates were really not up to par. Recently, he has basically completed several missions on his own, while his two teammates have been mostly just there for show, and once they even seriously dragged him down.

Although he didn't say it, he was already somewhat dissatisfied and had wanted to ask Orochimaru to let him go on a mission alone several times.

But he no longer has that thought.

Since the person in front of him didn't show any disdain for their teammate, how could he, who was lagging behind, do the same?

With his current perspective, he could naturally see how monstrous Kirito's strength was. He felt that if Kirito wanted to, he could completely wipe out the ninjas in the Sunagakure front-line headquarters by himself, and there was no need to go through the trouble of urging the best soldiers in the army to join in the encirclement and kill him.

He had previously thought Kirito's actions were a waste of manpower, but now it seems that they were clearly a clever tactic.

Kirito deliberately didn't kill all the Sunagakure members alone, leaving some tough nuts for them. This way, he could make them feel involved and proud of the victory, while also using his strength to give them a good talking-to and enhance his prestige in the army.

Looking at the anxiety in the eyes of the people around him, Minato understood that after this battle, Kirito's position as the commander-in-chief in the army was completely secured. Anyone who dared to make small moves or act insincerely would have to carefully consider whether they were easier to bully than these two thousand-plus Sand Ninja.

"Let's go. The main characters have all left. If we supporting characters insist on staying, we'll only be wasting our time and effort."

Orochimaru smiled slightly upon hearing this, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He saw problems far more profound than Watergate.

In this battle, Kirito gained not only popular support and military achievements, but also fame.

After this battle, Kirito's reputation, which had been severely damaged in the village, will be restored. The more severely he was suppressed before, the greater the reward he will receive.

In addition, he further climbed to power by stepping on the shoulders of the three generations of his family.

His thwarting of the Third Hokage's peace talks with Sunagakure will undoubtedly earn him the admiration of many of the village's martial arts ninjas, further altering the village's landscape.

"Indeed, strength is the most important thing. Without strength, no amount of trickery will work. People can easily take back what they lost by defeating the enemy fair and square, and may even get more."

Orochimaru saw through the essence of the problem and was filled with emotion.

At the same time, his desire to become stronger grew stronger. How could he accept being surpassed in strength by a junior? But he was powerless to do anything about it. This junior's rate of improvement was frightening. If he tried to cultivate step by step, he would probably never be able to surpass him again in his entire life.

To overtake him, he must focus more on cultivating and researching to strengthen the spell seal, and he also needs to acquire enough funds and resources.

In addition, he may have to continue to give up some people's things.

"The Hokage position, that's a tough choice."

As Orochimaru watched the Third Hokage's faction of ninjas leave one by one in a hurry, he began to make a plan.

Then, he glanced at Minato beside him, and his cold expression softened slightly.

"Is Orochimaru-sensei relegated to a supporting role now? It seems that if I continue to train step by step, my chances of becoming Hokage are slim. I need to make some changes."

Shuimen's brilliant mind was working at high speed, striving for change.

He was no longer prepared to go it alone when carrying out missions; he had to take into account the role of his companions and find ways to expand his network.

Therefore, he had to make changes to his own ninjutsu system.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique is the core of my ninjutsu system, and that will never change. However, it is a bit too much of a burden for me to use now. If my teammates have the capacity, why not let them help me share the pressure of using this technique? Perhaps I can break this ninjutsu down into several parts and have others help me maintain it, thus reducing the difficulty and burden of using it."

Minato was thinking about how to get his teammates, who were just there for show, to participate effectively in the mission when he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

……

On the other side, when Kirito signaled the retreat with a signal firework, the people of Sunagakure were still celebrating their narrow escape when they soon noticed something was wrong: the hero who had turned the tide was nowhere to be seen.