Naruto: Starting as Tsunade's Desk Mate

As An Yan watched this scene, he suddenly remembered the anime he had watched when he was young—Kekkaishi. The boys and girls in it seemed to use similar methods to fight their enemies, but they called it a barrier. He didn't remember the plot anymore, but he still remembered their attack methods. The starting move was to surround, fix, and then seal.

Coming to his senses, An Yan looked at Onoki, who seemed to be closing his eyes and waiting for death, and couldn't help but chuckle softly:

"Since I've promised you, how could I go back on my word? But let me make this clear beforehand: to prevent you from ambushing my Konoha ninjas, I will use drugs to limit your chakra, allowing you to have a maximum of Chunin-level chakra for a short period of time. But don't worry, the effects of the drugs will wear off in three days, around which time you will probably be able to leave the Land of Fire."

An Yan felt that Onoki's departure was too easy, so he specially arranged a long-distance escape scene for Onoki as a little surprise, without telling him yet.

Onoki was personally escorted to the gates of Konoha by An'an. He was indeed in perfect condition, but he saw several groups of ninjas, who seemed to be wandering ninjas who specialized in the black market.

Onoki glanced around and silently marked the word "weak" above the heads of the wandering ninjas. He then turned to look at An Yan, who was waving goodbye to him. Without a doubt, this was a little trouble that An Yan had deliberately arranged to force the wandering ninjas to leave the Land of Fire as soon as possible, so that he would not cause any more trouble.

"An Yan, let me go. Aren't you afraid you'll regret it later?"

An Yan smiled and spread his hands, saying nonchalantly, "You don't have the power to make me regret it yet. Besides, whoever wants me to regret it, I'll make them regret it first. Also, the timer starts now!"

Onoki gave An Yan a deep look, said nothing more, and turned to leave quickly.

An Yan couldn't help but laugh. Tu Ying, who used to fly wherever he went, seemed to have gotten used to walking on the ground lately. The little guy's walk was hilarious.

As soon as Onoki left, most of the wandering ninjas outside Konoha Village disappeared.

Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his cigarette, pondered for a while, and then said, "We should still send someone to keep an eye on things and make sure Onoki doesn't die within the Land of Fire's borders, lest the Iwa ninja take the opportunity to cause trouble. You two, Ka and I, will handle this matter."

Two ANBU ninjas, following the Hokage's orders, vanished from their hiding place in an instant, heading towards the Konoha gates in the blink of an eye.

While organizing the documents, Mitomon Homura said, "Although An Yan is a kid who does things on a whim, so far nothing has gone wrong."

Koharu Utatane looked worried: "An Yan killed the Kazekage and captured the Iwakage. In addition to defeating Hanzo before, he has a high reputation in Konoha now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even look up, continuing to smoke in silence.

Mitokado Homura said calmly, "Should we hold them back a bit? Let's give the young man some more experience."

Xiaochun, who was turning over a new room, frowned and said, "We're missing a good opportunity."

Mitokado Homura sneered, "Isn't this a perfect opportunity?"

After An Yan captured Onoki, he did not report it to Konoha immediately. In this way, interrogating Onoki about Dust Release was his personal matter, which was separated from Konoha. This was a way for Iwagakure to at least have a fig leaf to cover their tracks and not completely tear off the mask of civility.

It wasn't until the time came to release Onoki that An'yan revealed a little bit of the news to the village.

Only then did the Konoha leadership realize that An Yan had captured the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. As a Konoha ninja, he would usually let small things go, but his continued self-will in such a serious matter naturally displeased some people.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two immediately held an emergency meeting. After several discussions, they ultimately decided not to let An'an hand over Onoki to Konoha.

Although the information about Onoki is indeed very tempting, if Konoha intervenes, the nature of the situation changes, transforming it from An's personal desires into Konoha's intention to provoke a war.

Given Onoki's prestige in Iwagakure, Konoha's actions undoubtedly created a permanent enemy for itself.

Moreover, although Konoha and Iwagakure had minor skirmishes at the border, they had not formally declared war. Detaining Onoki without cause would easily provoke international outrage.

If Konoha is so powerful, you can take down Onoki and loot information for no reason today. Can you take down the Mizukage tomorrow, and the Raikage the day after?

The Wood Release technique was already exciting enough; there was no need to push it further. If Konoha were attacked by a group of enemies, whether they could withstand it would be another matter, but the casualties would be enormous.

After taking his last drag of his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi put it down, tapped it, took a deep breath, and finally made his decision:

"There's no need to do anything unnecessary. It's a good thing that An Yan has great prestige. In a few years, it will be a good time for him to become Hokage. At that time, I can also step down and take a good rest."

If the Second Hokage, Tobirama, could retire gracefully in his prime, why can't I, as his most prized disciple, do the same?

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered this, though a lingering sense of resentment remained; the feeling of having power in one's hands was truly exhilarating.

Will Danzo take any action upon hearing this news? Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously thought of Danzo, but quickly shifted his attention. With Tobirama-sensei watching over him, Danzo wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

The two Konoha elders were quite surprised by Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision. Hiruzen was actually going to give up so easily. This was the position of Hokage, and Hiruzen was not even fifty years old yet, still at the peak of his ninja strength.

The two elders exchanged a glance, each with their own plans.

Chapter 88 The Eight-Tailed Jinchuuriki goes berserk

"There's news about the third generation?"

The Fourth Tsuchikage, Kyoto, was overjoyed to hear that his father was still alive. During the time his father had been missing, a whole host of messy things had given him a huge headache.

Huang Tu didn't even know how he became the Kage. Anyway, the higher-ups in Iwagakure held a few meetings in a daze, and after weighing the pros and cons, they unanimously decided to make him the Fourth Tsuchikage.

Huang Tu was already fed up with the many trivial matters in the village. After hearing his subordinate's report, he couldn't wait to ask, "Where is the Third Generation now? When can they come back?"

"The Third Hokage was captured by An Yan of Konoha. He has finally escaped, but he seems to have been poisoned and can't use much of his strength. He is currently being hunted by bounty hunters. His last known location was the Land of Rain."

The intelligence squad ninja, kneeling on one knee, obediently answered the Fourth Tsuchikage's questions, but Huang Tu flew into a rage upon hearing the news.

"Damn An Yan, how dare he attack my father! I'll remember this. Those damned bounty hunters, they have some nerve to attack the Kage of Iwagakure! First, second, and third squads, you're all to come with me immediately to support my father and protect the Third Tsuchikage."

At Huang Tu's command, the entire Hidden Stone Village sprang into action, with a large number of elite ninjas gathering. Three squads, totaling fifty-one elite ninjas, followed Huang Tu on his grand journey to the Land of Rain.

At the same time, in Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village).

Raikage's office.

"Konoha is such a coward! They actually captured the Third Tsuchikage, and instead of killing him outright, they released him. It seems Onoki isn't in good shape. The Kage of a village is being hunted by bounty hunters, hahahaha..."

The Third Raikage laughed heartily after hearing his subordinate's report, and then made a decisive decision.

"Strike while the iron is hot. There aren't many decent ninjas in Iwagakure. If Onoki dies, they'll be crippled. This is a rare opportunity. Let's kill Onoki. Then, the Land of Earth will be at our mercy."

Tsuchikage, who had been standing beside the Raikage for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "Lord Raikage, could it be that the purpose of Konoha releasing Onoki was to make us kill him, ultimately causing a conflict between the two villages?"

The Third Raikage chuckled and patted Tsuchikage on the shoulder, saying nonchalantly, "Regardless of what Konoha thinks, killing Onoki is in the best interest of our Kumogakure, so we can give it a try."

Once Onoki is killed, the development of Iwagakure will inevitably slow down, with factions vying for power and the people's hearts being divided, which will be a great opportunity to seize resources.

Tsuchidai was about to persuade him again, but the Third Raikage waved his hand and said, "No need to say more, my mind is made up. First squad, come with me to the Land of Rain to intercept Onoki."

Halfway through his sentence, Raikage suddenly turned to look at his son.

"Ai, the village is in your hands for the time being. Select a suitable Bi as soon as possible. Brubi's condition hasn't been good lately, and I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on for much longer. You need to keep that in mind."

“I understand, Father. Leave the village to me.”

A looked at the Third Raikage with a serious expression. He knew Brubi's situation better than anyone else, after all, they were the originally chosen AB combination.

Previously, Brubi had been in good condition, but recently, for some reason, he seems to have become somewhat depressed and has been in a low mood. Ai tried to comfort him, but it had no effect.

The Third Raikage was quite confident in his son, after all, having the name Ai signified his excellence.

In Kumogakure, a ninja's excellence can be judged from their name. Ai, Bi, and Xi form the letters a, b, c, and so on. These letters represent their achievements at a certain point in time, indicating that they are among the best of their peers.

The Third Raikage was also named A. Not only that, the First and Second Raikage were both named A. In Kumogakure, A means "first," referring to the number one among one's peers. Bi means "second," and so on.

After giving his son a few instructions, the Third Raikage left Kumogakure without lingering, intending to eliminate Onoki before the Iwagakure reinforcements arrived.

Watching the Third Raikage depart, a pale-faced ordinary ninja in a corner of Kumogakure involuntarily stuck out his tongue and licked his cheek.

This person was none other than Orochimaru, who had disappeared long ago. He had already successfully transformed into an ordinary ninja of Kumogakure using his superb infiltration skills. The Kumogakure's sensory barrier was practically useless to him.

Orochimaru had already scouted the location, but An Yan had once told Orochimaru about the terror of the Third Raikage, and he had always been wary of the Third Raikage, so he had not taken any action. Now that the Third Raikage had left, it was the perfect time to make his move.

Orochimaru's target was Burubi, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of the Cloud Ninja.

Brubi is the cousin of the Fourth Raikage. As one of the top elite Jonin in Kumogakure, he was chosen as the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails. However, after becoming the Jinchūriki, he could clearly feel the fear and alienation of the villagers. As a result, the young man couldn't think straight and fell into a state of self-isolation, which gave Orochimaru an opportunity to take advantage of him.

The sealing techniques of the Hidden Cloud Village are not perfect. Brubi has to spend a lot of time every day meditating to suppress the tailed beasts, and even needs to take medication to control his emotions regularly every day.

Orochimaru then used the Disillusionment Technique to transform into Brubi's doctor, quietly replacing the emotion-controlling drug with a specially made illusion-controlling drug.

After Brubi fell into a state of delirium after taking the drug, Orochimaru intervened and released the iron armor seal on Brubi's body.

The enormous eight-tailed beast burst through the quiet room, immediately attracting the attention of the Cloud Ninja.

"The Tailed Beast has gone berserk! Quickly notify the sealing team!"

The eight-tailed creature had bloodshot eyes and appeared to be in a daze, constantly waving its tentacles and wreaking havoc on the surrounding buildings.

Several Jonin attempted to attack the Eight-Tails, but ordinary attacks were completely ineffective against tailed beasts. In the blink of an eye, some villagers were caught off guard and were whipped into a pulp by a tentacle.

At the crucial moment, Ai arrived.

In Lightning Release Chakra Mode, a Hell Thrust successfully stung the Eight-Tails. After drawing its aggro, A directly pulled the Eight-Tails away from the village. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and followed behind.

Orochimaru was considering whether to take the opportunity to kill A, who was clearly the next Raikage candidate, and he was the only candidate on the list.

Orochimaru wanted to give it a try.

Chapter 89 Melee

The weather remained overcast and rainy.

Panting heavily, Onoki looked at the bounty hunter in front of him and thought to himself that things were not good. The medicine An Yan had given him was supposed to last for three days, but only two days had passed. He had only recovered about 30% of his strength and had barely recovered to the level of a Jonin with his chakra. However, the enemy he was facing seemed to be quite strong.

The surrounding area was littered with signs of battle, with more than a dozen bounty hunters lying on the ground. Those bounty hunters marked as "weak" by Onoki were all dead.

Some of these people died at the hands of Onoki, while others died at the hands of this even more troublesome fellow in front of them.

"I remember you, bounty hunter Kakuzu. Are you going to take advantage of my vulnerability and attack me too? As a lone wolf, can you withstand the pursuit of the great ninja villages?"

Onoki stared intently at Kakuzu, who was harvesting the heads of bounty hunters, and posed a stern question.

Onoki remembered Kakuzu. Iwagakure had even hired Kakuzu to do some things that Iwagakure ninja couldn't do themselves, and the two sides had a fairly pleasant working relationship at that time.

However, it now seems that Kakuzu's arrival is not well-intentioned.

With his back to Onoki, Kakuzu calmly and deliberately placed the head and heart he needed into the body, then turned around and said:

"The Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Onoki of the Two Scales, has a bounty of 100 million. It looks very tempting."

Kakuzu looked down at the small Onoki with an air of superiority, speaking in the tone of a senior.

"It really is the world of young people now. Back then, I even fought against the First Hokage of Konoha. I never imagined that two or three decades later, every village's Kage would have already passed down to the third generation."

Onoki's eyelids twitched slightly. Good heavens, Kakuzu was bragging right in front of him. He had seen Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha fight, and he knew best what the First Hokage's strength was. Kakuzu said he had fought the First Hokage. Bah, you don't deserve it.

However, since Onoki's strength has not yet recovered, he naturally would not easily provoke the other party with words. He simply smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I have also fought against Uchiha Madara before."

Kakuzu's expression stiffened. His pride in having fought the First Hokage was his trump card, and it was also his trump card to intimidate others. But now, bringing it up had no effect; instead, he seemed to have been suppressed instead.

Kakuzu said he fought the First Hokage, and he knew the truth of the matter. However, Onoki said he fought Madara Uchiha, and it didn't seem like he was faking it, which made Kakuzu a little uneasy.

With his mind racing, Kakuzu decided to change his strategy.

"I heard that after the Tsuchikage escaped from Konoha, he was drugged and his strength is reduced to only one-tenth. I wonder how much chakra he can still draw upon and how many ninjutsu he can perform?"