Chapter 673: Crushing, Legendary Power! (6.4k seeking monthly votes)

Hiruzen Sarutobi originally thought Sōsuke was a stronger version of Hanzou.

Now it seemed, this was no Hanzou, but practically another Uchiha Madara.

Moreover, unlike Muzuki who was still a growing potential stock, Sōsuke’s strength was already approaching that of the two legendary Ninjas.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart was filled with bitterness. With such power, why not launch a fierce war to seek benefits for the Land of Rain and make a name for yourself, instead of hiding in Six Paths City as the leader of a small Ninja organization?

If he had known Sōsuke possessed this level of strength, before Muzuki grew up, Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely not have wanted to stand on the opposite side of Sōsuke.

“He just vanished like that!” Homura Mitokado’s eyes widened, his face full of shock.

Sōsuke’s abilities gave him a feeling that they weren’t Ninjas from the same era.

No matter how strong the Third Raikage’s Lightning Release Chakra Mode’s attack power was, Homura Mitokado could understand it was the effect of Lightning Release Chakra activating the body, but Sōsuke’s Ninjutsu, he truly couldn’t comprehend.

Either it was an unknown defense with no blind spots, or it was an incomprehensible erasure from thin air.

From start to finish, he hadn’t seen Sōsuke form a single hand seal. Was this even a Ninja?

“This is dangerous.” Orochimaru’s expression also turned unpleasant.

Forget about establishing an advantage; this wave of attacks by Hiruzen Sarutobi had absolutely no effect.

Actually, it did have an effect—they learned another piece of intelligence about Sōsuke. But the problem was that the strength Sōsuke was displaying now was too great; knowing the intelligence couldn’t change the outcome of the battle.

“What’s going on? If things develop like this, how did the Shinobi Sect disappear, and how did the evil Akatsuki Organization appear?” Shisui frowned.

He originally thought the result of the battle would be Hiruzen Sarutobi killing Sōsuke, then the Shinobi Sect would decline from there, with some members forming the evil Akatsuki Organization to continue being active in the Ninja World.

But given the strength Sōsuke was currently displaying, even if Shisui used his Ocular Jutsu on Hiruzen Sarutobi, it might not be enough to turn defeat into victory.

At this moment, the Shinobi Sect Ninjas finally understood the weight behind their leader’s words that he would return soon.

What Third Hokage, Professor of Ninjutsu—he was completely no match for their teacher Sōsuke.

“Confidence really does come from hard power.” Kakuzu marveled inwardly.

Before, he had always been curious why Sōsuke wasn’t afraid of Konoha, curious about what trump card Sōsuke had. Now he completely understood.

If he had this kind of strength, he wouldn’t be afraid either.

With strength like Sōsuke’s, whether it was pursuit by elite squads or encirclement by Ninja troops, it would likely be like throwing meat buns at a dog—gone without return.

Once Konoha realized Sōsuke’s true strength, Danzo Shimura’s death became insignificant.

Because the little face lost compared to the losses from going to war with Sōsuke was like sesame seeds versus a watermelon.

“I can only find an opportunity to perform the Corpse Reanimation Seal. That intangible shield probably can’t defend against the Shinigami.” Hiruzen Sarutobi grabbed the retracted Adamantine Staff, his mind made up.

The Corpse Reanimation Seal wasn’t like ordinary Ninjutsu; it was an attack on the soul level, theoretically impossible to be blocked by defensive Ninjutsu.

Of course, while it couldn’t be blocked, it could still be dodged, so Hiruzen Sarutobi had to choose the right moment to perform it.

“Shadow Clone Technique!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi rapidly formed hand seals, splitting into two Shadow Clones.

Whoosh!

As soon as the two Shadow Clones appeared, they immediately rushed at full speed toward the approaching Sōsuke, while Hiruzen Sarutobi’s main body followed behind at a slightly slower pace.

Swish swish!!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took Shuriken from his Ninja Tool Pouch and threw them at Sōsuke.

But before Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Shadow Clones could multiply the Shuriken further, Muzuki’s gaze swept over the incoming Shuriken, directly shrinking them until they were invisible to the naked eye.

“Wind Release: Cyclone!”

One of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Shadow Clones, while running, rapidly formed hand seals and spat out a huge storm.

The other Hiruzen Sarutobi Shadow Clone secretly gathered Chakra, preparing to use Earth Release to trap Sōsuke.

Whoosh!

Muzuki switched from Flame Breathing to Rock Breathing, then concentrated his breathing to the extreme, entering Rock Breathing Chakra Mode. His physical abilities greatly increased across the board, and his speed skyrocketed.

Boom!

Relying on the Limitless defense, Muzuki directly crashed through the storm mixed with sharp wind blades and punched the Hiruzen Sarutobi Shadow Clone using Wind Release, causing it to explode.

“Earth Release: Yellow Spring Marsh!”

The other prepared Shadow Clone immediately released the Chakra it had gathered in advance, turning the ground beneath Muzuki’s feet into a marshland that was difficult to escape from.

“Corpse Reanimation…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi also seized this opportunity, forming hand seals and gathering Chakra, wanting to take the chance to use the Corpse Reanimation Seal to trade his life for Sōsuke’s.

“Exploding Fist!”

Muzuki erupted with terrifying power, swiftly flashing to appear beside Hiruzen Sarutobi’s main body and fiercely punching toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Previously being trapped by the Yellow Spring Marsh was just because Muzuki, following his plan, wanted to display his strength. Did they really think this Ninjutsu was useful against him?

Whoosh whoosh!!

Muzuki, in Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, already possessed incredibly powerful strength. Plus, with the large amount of Chakra Muzuki had gathered, his strength rose another level.

With this terrifying power boost, just the wind pressure created by Muzuke’s swinging fist hitting Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face made him feel sharp pain.

Whoosh!

At this critical moment, the Adamantine Staff standing beside Hiruzen Sarutobi rapidly grew longer and thicker, blocking Hiruzen Sarutobi behind it.

Bang!!

But this immensely powerful force even sent the Adamantine Staff flying backward and smashed Hiruzen Sarutobi, sending him flying as well.

“Hiss, this guy’s strength is even greater than yours.” Enma, smashed to the ground, gasped in shock.

The Adamantine Staff’s weight increased as it grew larger, and Hiruzen Sarutobi could wield such an Adamantine Staff as if it were an extension of his arm, naturally possessing extraordinary strength.

And that punch from Sōsuke just now had such immense power that Enma felt like he’d been hit by a meteor.

“Cough cough.” Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly got up, then uncontrollably coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Although Enma’s transformed Adamantine Staff helped block Sōsuke’s attack, he was also hit by the heavy Adamantine Staff, and his body wasn’t feeling well.

“Huff.” Hiruzen Sarutobi panted heavily. Before he could figure out how to fight next, he discovered that the Shadow Clone hindering Sōsuke’s pursuit was quickly destroyed by Sōsuke.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart sank to the bottom.

He realized he had still underestimated Sōsuke. The Corpse Reanimation Seal was powerful, yes, but once the strength gap was too large, wanting to perish together was also incredibly difficult.

“Go!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi swung the Adamantine Staff, aiming it at Sōsuke and throwing it.

No matter how difficult it was, as the Third Hokage, he couldn’t give up.

Forcing a conflict with the Shinobi Sect was a major mistake on his part, but what’s done was done and couldn’t be changed. All he could do was perish together with Sōsuke.

If Sōsuke lived and he died, then Konoha’s path to the peak would once again be shrouded in mist.

Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that given time, Muzuki wouldn’t be inferior to Sōsuke, and might even be stronger. But the problem was, Sōsuke might not give Muzuki the time to develop.

The Adamantine Staff grew thicker and longer during its flight, in the blink of an eye turning into an immensely thick giant rod smashing toward Sōsuke.

“Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillar Binding Technique!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi, while running, gathered Chakra and rapidly formed hand seals to use the Ninjutsu.

He had already given up on using offensive Ninjutsu. Facts proved that even his strongest Five Great Consecutive Shots couldn’t do anything to Sōsuke.

Instead, with Sealing Techniques and barrier techniques like these, if they could be effective, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have a chance to use the Corpse Reanimation Seal to fight Sōsuke to a mutual demise.

And as the Adamantine Staff approached Muzuki, it quickly performed a clone technique. Dozens of huge Adamantine Staffs smashed toward Muzuki.

Simultaneously, the ground continuously rumbled, rising numerous thick stone pillars carrying lightning.

“Daikokuten!”

Muzuki ignored the large number of giant Shuriken attacking him, glanced lightly at the smashing Adamantine Staff, and instantly seven or eight huge black cubes simultaneously slammed down around Muzuki, pressing the Adamantine Staff’s main body and all its clones to the ground.

Boom!!

A huge roar sounded. Enma, who was hit, suffered heavy damage and was forced to exit his transformation state. Hiruzen Sarutobi directly cut off the Summoning Technique, and Enma turned into white smoke, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

“Even Enma can’t withstand it.” Orochimaru speculated that the cubes Sōsuke summoned probably weren’t simple.

In Orochimaru’s knowledge, Enma was a top-tier summoning creature, stronger than his own Manda.

Boom!!

Under the bombardment of numerous black cubes, many of the lightning pillars created by Hiruzen Sarutobi shattered.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately flashed back and gathered Chakra.

“He can actually use so many of these at once.” The more Hiruzen Sarutobi fought, the more he found Sōsuke unfathomable.

“No choice, I can only gamble!” Hiruzen Sarutobi knew in his heart that at this moment, he no longer had the right to choose. His hand movements were swift.

Even if forcibly using the Corpse Reanimation Seal might not seal Sōsuke, now he had no choice but to use it.

Because if he didn’t use it now, his condition would worsen later, making it even harder to perish together with Sōsuke.

And if he used it now, letting Orochimaru and the others join the battle, there was still a possibility of killing Sōsuke.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was glad Homura Mitokado had come along. Otherwise, with just Orochimaru plus Shisui and a group of Jonin, they might not be able to make a difference.

Because the Shinobi Sect also had Kakuzu and Nagato.

Although it was he who proposed the one-on-one fight, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t care about that now. Him bearing some infamy was better than Konoha suffering damage.

“Corpse Reanimation…”

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to finish the last hand seal, Sōsuke’s speed suddenly increased by several levels. This sudden change disrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plan.

Originally, according to his estimation, the distance between them would have allowed him to form three more hand seals without issue.

Bang!

An immensely heavy force swept over. Hiruzen Sarutobi was sent flying violently, vomiting a large mouthful of blood in mid-air before falling to the ground.

“Lord Sandaime!” The Konoha Jonin showed expressions of disbelief.

Their incredibly powerful Third Hokage had actually been defeated like this, losing a one-on-one battle to a Ninja from the Land of Rain.

Swish swish!

The Konoha Jonin couldn’t stay calm. They all drew their respective weapons and gathered Chakra.

Their own Kage was about to die; who cared about rules now?

Swish swish swish!!

Homura Mitokao directly took out a scroll he had already prepared, summoning a bunch of Shuriken attached with explosive tags and throwing them at Sōsuke to hinder his pursuit.

“Summoning Technique!”

Orochimaru gathered Chakra and summoned Manda.

Shisui silently activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, quietly walking toward Hiruzen Sarutobi so he could timely use Divine Imperial Throne on Hiruzen Sarutobi to preserve his life.

“Shinra Tensei!”

Nagato had been paying close attention to the battlefield. He flashed forward at the fastest speed, erupting to send all the explosive tag Shuriken flying away.

“Haha, so when you Konoha folks say one-on-one, you mean a group of Ninjas ganging up on our leader alone.”

Kakuzu formed hand seals, and a large number of thin black tentacles burst from his back, with two Earth Grudge Fear masks moving to his shoulders.

Roshi silently stepped forward, gathering Chakra and preparing to strike at any moment.

His identity was rather special; acting rashly might bring trouble to the Shinobi Sect, so he had to wait until the real battle erupted.

The other Shinobi Sect Ninjas also showed no fear, drawing their weapons and preparing to fight the Konoha Ninja.

The atmosphere became tense in an instant, with both Konoha Ninja and Shinobi Sect Ninjas ready to fight to the death.

Muzuki ignored the moving Konoha Ninja and quickly walked toward the fallen Hiruzen Sarutobi.

A barrage of attacks rained down on Muzuki, but they were all blocked by the Shinobi Sect Ninjas.

Manda broke through the defensive line with its massive body, lunging to bite Muzuki, but was forced back by a huge cube that fell from the sky without warning.

Seeing the battle officially begin, Roshi also took action, spitting out a large number of Lava Release fireballs toward the Konoha Ninja.

“The Shinobi Sect actually has another powerful Lava Release Ninja?” Homura Mitokado frowned deeply.

This was beyond his expectations; he had only accounted for Nagato and Kakuzu as strong fighters, never imagining the Shinobi Sect had quietly added another Lava Release powerhouse.

Homura Mitokado was puzzled—why were the Ninjas of this faction so good at hiding?

As Sōsuke and Hiruzen Sarutobi grew closer, Homura Mitokado felt extremely anxious.

Considering both identity and personal relationships, he did not want Hiruzen Sarutobi to die.

“Wait, he doesn’t seem to have killing intent.” Shisui, who had gathered a large amount of Chakra in his Mangekyo Sharingan, restrained the urge to use his Ocular Jutsu.

He felt that Sōsuke might not necessarily kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Because if Sōsuke wanted to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi, he wouldn’t need to walk over; he could just use Ninjutsu.

As for why others hadn’t thought of this, Shisui figured they might be too rushed?

Of course, it was also possible that others believed Sōsuke wanted to get closer to kill.

Shisui silently watched the two.

With the insight of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he should be able to activate Divine Imperial Throne before Sōsuke struck.

Noticing Sōsuke approaching, Hiruzen Sarutobi, struggling to get up, instinctively pulled a Kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch and stabbed toward Sōsuke.

Under Muzuki’s gaze, the Kunai in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s hand rapidly shrank. Almost instantly, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his hand become empty.

At that moment, an indescribable sense of powerlessness surged in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart.

This feeling of powerlessness was even stronger than when he saw Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama fight in his youth.

It wasn’t that Sōsuke’s strength surpassed theirs, but back then, Hiruzen Sarutobi only needed to watch, whereas now he was personally fighting Sōsuke.

Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled.

It wasn’t a flattering smile, nor one of relief, but a self-mocking grin.

How ridiculous—he realized he had been utterly foolish this time.

Confidently seeking battle with Sōsuke, only to fail to even touch him once.

Claiming it was for Konoha’s honor, but it was mostly due to personal grudges.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t afraid of death; during the Warring States Period decades ago, the average Ninja lifespan was only thirty years, and he was already fifty-four—the sum of two shorter-lived Warring States Ninjas.

What made him uneasy was that in the final stretch of his life, he had committed such a grave mistake.

His death was minor; if Konoha suffered setbacks because of it, he would have no face to meet the First and Second Hokage in death.

“Sorry, Muzuki.” Hiruzen Sarutobi apologized to Muzuki in his heart.

Muzuki could have steadily trained as Hokage Assistant for years, then ascended to Hokage, leading Konoha to new heights.

But due to his willfulness and misjudgment, Muzuki was now forced to succeed as Hokage, possibly facing Sōsuke’s retaliation and a chain reaction from his mistakes.

Even Muzuki’s proud disciple Shisui might die because of him—how could Hiruzen Sarutobi not feel guilty?

At that moment, Muzuki reached out and grabbed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s hand.

Hiruzen Sarutobi made a final resistance and struggle. He was the Hokage; as long as he had a shred of strength left, he would resist to the end, so as not to disgrace the title of Hokage.

Shisui, fighting the Shinobi Sect Ninjas, broke out in a fine sweat on his forehead, his tension peaking.

There was no choice; once Divine Imperial Throne was used, it might be years or later before it could be used again. He had to use it cautiously, or what if Muzuki faced danger again?

“Hiruzen!”

Homura Mitokado was extremely anxious but couldn’t break free from Kakuzu’s entanglement to get close to Sōsuke.

“Hmm?”

Orochimaru, fighting Nagato, glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi with the corner of his eye, noticed something, and held back some of his power.

“Hokage, you can’t just lie on the ground to rest after intense exercise.”

Muzuki directly pulled Hiruzen Sarutobi up and slapped a Mystical Palm Technique onto his shoulder.

Despite various factors, no matter what, Hiruzen Sarutobi had helped Muzuki a lot; he never had any intention of killing him.

Of course, since Hiruzen Sarutobi had initiated the trouble this time, Muzuki didn’t hesitate to take advantage of him.

In truth, if Muzuki wanted to defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn’t have been able to use many Ninjutsu.

He let Hiruzen Sarutobi continuously unleash powerful Ninjutsu to showcase his abilities, wanting them to realize one thing: Sōsuke was strong, not just ordinarily strong.

This would make Muzuki’s subsequent plans easier to unfold.

“Sōsuke, you…”

Feeling his body being healed, Hiruzen Sarutobi froze, looking at Sōsuke in confusion.

What the hell—an enemy he was just fighting to the death suddenly healing him.

Seeing this, the huge stone in Shisui’s heart finally dropped; his Ocular Jutsu was preserved.

“What’s going on? This guy actually…?”

The Konoha Jonin noticed this scene and wore utterly bewildered expressions.

Although everyone was fighting, they all paid some attention to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s situation, since the battle started because of them.

“Everyone, stop. It was just a spar.” Muzuki called out to the fighting Ninjas.

The battle had just begun; only a few Ninjas suffered minor injuries, with no Ninja sacrifices.

At the direct order of their most respected leader, the Shinobi Sect Ninjas steadily withdrew.

The Konoha Ninja also stopped attacking and looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Sōsuke, finally sighed, and nodded, saying, “Stop, no need to fight anymore.”

He didn’t know what Sōsuke was up to, but stopping now was indeed beneficial for them.

Continuing the battle would surely cause heavy losses for Konoha; without him, Orochimaru and the others would be lucky to escape.

Homura Mitokado quickly walked to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s side, gave Sōsuke a wary look, then whispered to Hiruzen Sarutobi:

“Hiruzen, are you okay?”

“Thanks to Sōsuke’s timely treatment, I’m mostly fine for now.” Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi free from serious injury, Muzuki released him, lest Hiruzen Sarutobi think he wanted to leave something in his body.

Homura Mitokado quickly shielded Hiruzen Sarutobi and retreated, with other Konoha Ninja also protecting him.

But soon, Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped, forcing the other Konoha Ninja to stop as well.

“Sōsuke, I am no match for you. You won this battle.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a complex expression.

As Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had his own pride. In his life, he had only felt inferior to three people: Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, and Muzuki.

Now there was a fourth: Sōsuke.

For some reason, peerless geniuses rarely appeared alone; either none emerged, or two appeared at once.

Decades ago, there were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama; now there were Muzuki and Sōsuke.

“Truly, there is always someone better; the Ninja World has too many strong individuals.” Shisui thought to himself.

He had thought Muzuki was strong enough, but Sōsuke was even more unfathomable.

He could nearly crush even a powerful Ninja like Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“That Danzo, causing such a huge disaster for the Village.” Homura Mitokado thought resentfully.

He didn’t believe it was Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fault; if Danzo Shimura hadn’t acted privately to assassinate Sōsuke, how could things have escalated like this?

This was a terrifying existence nearly on par with the God of Shinobi.

“I wonder if his cells have special abilities?”

Orochimaru glanced at Sōsuke and felt regret; Sōsuke hadn’t been injured at all, so no materials had dropped.

“Hokage, your Combination Ninjutsu was excellent. I probably won’t forget it for a long time.” Muzuki responded with a faint smile.

Muzuki’s reply made Hiruzen Sarutobi’s feelings even more complex.

He had come with the intent to kill Sōsuke, but Sōsuke didn’t kill him and even praised his Ninjutsu.

It seemed he had lost thoroughly in every aspect.

Kakuzu walked to Muzuki’s side, watched Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others leave, then asked quietly:

“Just let them go like that? If the Shinobi Sect continues to grow, it will inevitably clash with the Five Great Ninja Villages. Remember, the Land of Fire is still our neighbor.”

Currently, the Ninja World’s structure had the Five Great Ninja Villages dividing most resources, with smaller Villages and other Ninja forces picking up the scraps.

If the Shinobi Sect continued to develop, Kakuzu believed the Five Great Ninja Villages would not sit idly by; the emergence of a Sixth Major Ninja Force would greatly impact the existing structure.

Having already antagonized Konoha, Kakuzu thought killing Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others was a good option.

After all, here were two Konoha elders, one of them the Hokage, and one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, present.

If they all died, Konoha would not only lose three strong fighters but also suffer a blow to its prestige.

“It’s fine. Conflict is good; best if they come together—saves trouble.” Muzuki replied with a smile.

“Come together? What do you mean?” Kakuzu looked at Sōsuke in confusion.

It couldn’t be that Sōsuke wanted to take down all the large ninja villages at once.

“Maybe it’s exactly what you’re thinking.” Muzuki replied, then quickly scanned all the black cubes, retrieving them back into Daikokuten.

He had tested it; throwing one meant one less inside. If he didn’t retrieve them after use, they might run out someday.

PS:

No writer’s block today; just wrote 6.4k by almost three o’clock—congratulations! Asking for monthly tickets.