Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

"This is intolerable. If anyone from Konoha dares to come, we'll kill them all."

"Yes, kill them all. Anyone who dares to steal our things must die."

"Kill all the people of Amegakure and Konoha, so that the others will understand who the strongest ninja village in the ninja world is."

……

Ignoring the Fourth Raikage who had been knocked away by the Third Raikage, the group of high-ranking members of the Cloud Village answered with equally explosive anger and murderous intent.

When their wealth was coveted, these well-fed robbers once again bared their fangs.

Their morale soared as they protected their food.

After boosting the morale of the Cloud Village's high-ranking members with just a few words, the Third Raikage ordered them to retreat and spread the word that Konoha wanted to seize their spoils, thus sowing discord among the Cloud Village members towards Konoha.

"Lord Raikage, are you really planning to go to war with Konoha?"

After the group of Cloud Village's high-ranking officials left, Ailu asked with a worried expression.

She was well aware of the Third Raikage's purpose in doing what he had just done here, and she had originally supported him. However, with such a major event happening tonight, she felt somewhat uncertain.

She had thought Yunyin was the oriole stalking the cicada, but now it seems that Yunyin is probably just a mantis.

Two ninjas who even the Third Raikage admitted were no match for suddenly appeared not far from the battlefields of Kumogakure and Amegakure. If you said that these two weren't targeting Kumogakure, Elui would be the first to disbelieve it.

If the Hidden Cloud Village were to be targeted by such a powerful figure and were to clash with the Hidden Leaf Village, the consequences would be unpredictable.

"What else can we do but slink back like this? If we don't fight, will my men be convinced?"

Upon hearing this, the Third Raikage smiled wryly.

The arrow is on the string and must be released.

He knew what Elui was worried about, but neither he nor Elui knew that his men probably didn't believe there was anyone in the world who could easily kill him. They would only think that he was afraid of Konoha and dared not start a war with Konoha.

In Kumogakure, a Raikage who is afraid to take a hard line against outsiders is unqualified.

He can still fight, and he doesn't want to retire yet. The Hidden Cloud Village can't withstand internal strife, so they have no choice but to grit their teeth and keep fighting.

"Dad is right. We have to fight Konoha in a real battle. It would be too shameful to go back without fighting a single fight."

The Fourth Raikage, with a large bump on his head, agreed.

"I also think we should fight, but if there really is a powerful ninja like the one the Raikage described, we must be careful."

Brubi also agreed.

Three against one.

What could Elui say? She could only agree.

Soon, a sharp look appeared in her eyes, and she said, "Then we must finish this quickly and decisively, without giving Konoha any time to send reinforcements. We must win this battle."

Upon hearing this, everyone else in the military tent revealed sharp eyes.

A dozen minutes later, the sky began to lighten.

A sharp alarm sounded in Amegakure. Led by the Third Raikage, the Fourth Raikage, and Brubi, three Kage-level shinobi, tens of thousands of Cloud Ninja were divided into three forces and launched a general attack on Amegakure from the east, west, and south.

In mid-air, Kirito, playing Hattori Masanari, looked down at the large number of Cloud Ninja charging forward and sighed, "These black barbarians are really decisive."

The next moment, he began to rapidly form hand seals, and a powerful burst of Earth Release chakra erupted from his body.

A 20-meter-tall rock giant suddenly rose from the ground, blocking more than 3,000 Cloud Ninja led by the Third Raikage.

"This guy is indeed very strong."

Tsunade, who was also flying in the air nearby, exclaimed in amazement when she saw the rock giant created by Kirito using Earth Release: Steel Style.

To create such a massive rock giant single-handedly requires no less than a Kage-level powerhouse.

As soon as the rock giant appeared, it spewed out a large number of rocks from its mouth, smashing them down on the ant-like Cloud Ninja below.

Meanwhile, a large swamp spread out from the feet of the rock giant, making it difficult for a large number of Cloud Ninja to move.

"Hattori Masanari, you bastard, you finally dare to face me. Today I will kill you to avenge my comrades in Kumogakure."

The Third Raikage was furious when he saw Hattori Masanari land on the rock giant.

Then, he instantly activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode, jumped up, and transformed into a bolt of lightning, rushing towards Hattori Masashige.

Chapter 244: Is art...?

"That raging old thunder bastard is here again."

Kirito watched as the Third Raikage charged towards him alone, and his head began to ache.

On this battlefield, the person he least wanted to encounter was this guy. The opponent had a tough body, superhuman physical abilities, a chakra reserves comparable to a tailed beast, and was proficient in the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, a ninjutsu that combined attack, defense, and speed.

You could say the opponent was a tank, but one with a rocket engine mounted on the back.

The opponent's only weakness might be that their soul hasn't been trained to be as strong as steel muscles, and their internal organs haven't been trained to be as strong as steel muscles either.

Unfortunately, his White Zetsu clone is now playing the role of Hattori Masashige, a Rain Ninja, and many of his original abilities are unusable.

Otherwise, he would still have a way to deal with the Third Raikage.

Under Kirito's control, the rock giant's arm, temporarily granted the Super Light-Heavy Rock Technique, suddenly blocked the Third Raikage's path with lightning speed. However, the Third Raikage simply used his physical body to clear a path, breaking through the rock giant's massive arm with unstoppable force.

In an instant, the rock giant's right arm turned into a large amount of rubble and fell down.

The Third Raikage was standing on the right shoulder of the rock giant, about ten meters away from Kirito, who was standing on the top of the rock giant's head.

The two looked at each other from a distance, both seeing the cold killing intent in each other's eyes.

Without needing to exchange another word, the two locked eyes and resumed their exchange.

The Third Raikage's fighting style was very clear, relying on his superior speed to rush to his opponent and then using his powerful physique and the lightning armor brought by his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to crush them to death.

High speed combined with strong defense can bring great power.

The Third Raikage's speed was indeed impressive; even with the help of his Byakugan, Kirito gradually began to see numerous blue afterimages.

If it were anyone else, they would probably only see a flash of blue light before being hit head-on by this big black guy, and would be smashed to pieces like being hit by a dump truck at full speed, dying instantly.

Therefore, for an average Kage-level ninja to face a speed-type ninja like the Third Raikage, visual observation alone is insufficient; only exceptional sensory abilities can pinpoint the opponent's location.

In addition, physical reaction speed is also important.

Sometimes, in combat, the mind can keep up, but the body can't, leading to missed opportunities and even loss of life.

Therefore, to defeat the three Raikage, one must master a certain level of Lightning Release ability to accelerate one's physical reaction speed.

If both of these elements are present, the threat level of the Third Raikage will be greatly reduced; even if he cannot defeat the Raikage, he will not be defeated immediately.

As for running, if you can't fly or teleport, you definitely can't escape from the Third Raikage by just running on the ground.

Kirito's White Zetsu clone, Hattori Masanari, perfectly fulfilled the above three requirements. A few strands of lightning appeared around him as he instantly activated the Lightning Strike Technique, then jumped up and hovered in the air, successfully avoiding the Third Raikage's straight attack.

Thus, the Third Raikage was involuntarily thrown out and then quickly fell from the sky.

At that moment, the Third Raikage's angry shouts followed: "Damn Hattori Masashige, if you have the guts, stop hiding and come face to face with me fair and square..."

Kirito heard the Third Raikage's angry and resentful curses, and could only roll his eyes silently before controlling the rock giant to continue sweeping across the Cloud Village trapped in the vast Swamp of the Dead.

These four thousand-plus ninjas, most of whom were genin and chunin, would be trapped in the massive swamp he secretly created using Earth Release: Yomi Swamp with Earth Release: Sage Mode chakra. They would be trapped there, with no chance of escape except for a few with special abilities.

Then, these Cloud Village genin were crushed into mincemeat by the rock giant, just like ants trapped on a piece of paper.

Upon seeing this, the Third Raikage was so enraged that he jumped up and down, launching another fierce attack on the Rock Giant to stop it from slaughtering its subordinates.

However, while his ninjutsu is indeed strong, it is only evident in his one-on-one combat abilities.

Compared to the Rock Giant's massive body, his attacks, though powerful, were not enough to instantly destroy an entire Rock Giant. As long as he failed to kill Kirito, Kirito could quickly use chakra to repair the Rock Giant's body and continue slaughtering his subordinates.

"asshole!"

The Third Raikage naturally saw through Hattori Masashige's intentions, but he was helpless and could only rage in frustration, launching repeated attacks on the rock giant to try and stop its advance, buying time for his men to escape the battlefield.

He knew very well that Hattori Masanari was even more anxious than he was. As long as he held this guy back here and didn't give him the chance to go to support other battlefields, Amegakure would surely be defeated.

High in the sky, Tsunade watched as the Cloud Village ninja below were harvested and taken away by Kirito without any ability to resist. She couldn't help but feel once again the fragility of life, the cruelty of war, and the terrifying power of the strong.

"Indeed, in this world, to achieve victory and end war, one still needs strong individuals like these."

Tsunade was filled with emotion, and the fighting spirit in her heart, which had previously lost much of its desire for power, was rekindled.

There was a time when she wanted to become a powerful ninja like her grandfather, but as she grew older, saw more and more things, and trained for longer and longer periods, she realized more and more that a powerful ninja like her grandfather was difficult to replicate.

Without extraordinary talent or extraordinary opportunity, it would be difficult for another ninja like Hashirama Senju to emerge in this world.

Because she was acutely aware of the gap between herself and her grandfather, Tsunade gradually grew tired of pursuing becoming a powerful ninja like him. She became complacent and chose to take a different path, wanting to become someone different from her grandfather and shut up the people around her from comparing her to him.

Ultimately, she succeeded and became a remarkable medical ninja, and people around her stopped comparing her to her grandfather.

But judging from the current situation, the reason why those close to her constantly compare her to her grandfather must be because they have witnessed his invincible prowess on the battlefield and want to hope that she can do something similar.

A group of people who are blinded by power or worship the strong.

This is Tsunade's current assessment of these people, but she finds that it's not necessarily a bad thing. There are many people in this world who are blinded by power and worship the strong, and even she used to be one of them.

She is not now, or rather, she understands why she needs to become stronger.

"The name Hokage means protection, and protection requires great power."

Tsunade gradually realized what was happening.

As intelligent as she was, she knew that when she agreed to Hattori Masashige's request to persuade the Third Hokage to let Konoha help Amegakure, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and become Hokage, even if she didn't want to. After all, she owed many Konoha ninja who followed her gambling debts.

When she involved Konoha in the war between Amegakure and Kumogakure, she had already incurred the debt of many Konoha ninja lives, and she had to repay it.

Becoming Hokage is the dream of these Konoha ninja who are willing to follow her.

She now realizes that if she wants to become Hokage, she needs sufficient power. Relying solely on status and prestige is merely building castles in the air. If she encounters a ninja like Hattori Masanari on the battlefield, it will undoubtedly be very difficult for Konoha to win.

In her view, the only person in Konoha who can keep Hattori Masashige in check right now is her good younger brother.

But as the older sister, she naturally felt it was her duty to stand in front of her younger brother.

Therefore, she is no longer satisfied with pursuing the power of medical ninjutsu; it is time for her to face the potential within her to become a new ninja god.

"Wood Release..."

At that moment, Tsunade subconsciously recalled the Wood Release experiment that Hattori Masanari had told her about the previous night.

"Oh!"