Konoha: Sage Body

The ninja of Konoha watched as Kirito rode away on a bird-shaped monster formed by four Earth Grudge Masked Monsters, and their faces were all incredibly ugly.

Kirito's escape was no different from a heavy slap in the face to all the Konoha ninja present. Not only did the opponent severely teach their Hokage a lesson in front of them, but they also walked away unperturbed in front of so many Konoha ninja.

If this gets out, the Konoha ninja will lose face.

But despite their frustration, they couldn't help but feel a little relieved.

Because the enemy's demonstrated strength was truly astonishing, and even the Sandaime Hokage was no match for the opponent, who could Konoha defeat?

If the opponent really wanted to stay and fight to the death, even if they were able to exhaust the opponent by relying on their numerical advantage, they would definitely have to suffer heavy casualties.

For a moment, the scene fell into a deathly silence, and the atmosphere was unusually tense.

"The enemy has been repelled. Hurry and rescue the wounded under the rubble! What are you all doing just standing there? Listen, medical personnel, come with me immediately to treat the wounded."

Suddenly, Tsunade's voice appeared again.

She covered her chest and once again leapt out from the crowd, shouting, before quickly rushing towards Sandaime.

"Tsunade-sama is right, the enemy was driven back by them."

Tsunade broke the silence on her own initiative. Her appearance was like a ray of light in the darkness for many Konoha ninja. Hearing her words, they all shuddered, and their bodies followed hers without realizing it.

As more and more Konoha ninja followed Tsunade to rescue the wounded under the rubble, the scene gradually heated up.

Negative emotions such as anxiety, frustration, and hatred temporarily disappeared from the hearts of many Konoha ninja, and a spirit called the Will of Fire was rekindled in their hearts, as they worked together to rescue their comrades.

"Well done, Tsunade. You may not realize it yourself, but you have a lot of power. Everyone trusts you, and they feel at ease following you. Everyone's hearts are connected. This power of yours becomes more apparent in times of crisis. If you say you're not fit to be Hokage, then who else is fit?

Momo watched as the many Konoha ninja followed Tsunade's call to action and came to the rescue of their comrades. She was both gratified and moved.

Tsunade had always said that she was not suitable to be the Hokage, but the facts proved that the most suitable person to be the Hokage in Konoha right now was her.

Unfortunately, it seems that this child cannot escape the shadow that the first and second Hokage have cast over her. She believes that her strength is too different from that of the first and second Hokage, and that she is not capable of becoming Hokage and protecting everyone.

"Is this the power of the Senju clan? Alas, this kind of appeal is something the Uchiha clan has never had. If the Uchiha clan wants to produce a Hokage, they must change their arrogant personality. They cannot be a leader if they do not get along with others."

Uchiha Homura watched this scene and couldn't help but feel sour inside.

He personally actually sneered at the idea of becoming Hokage, and had never wanted to do it, but he couldn't bear to see more and more young people in his clan start dreaming of becoming Hokage after going to Ninja school, dreaming that they would one day become Hokage themselves. Even if they realized as adults that this dream could never come true, they still wanted to pass this dream on to the next generation.

Moreover, the Uchiha clan believes that they and the Senju clan are the two major ninja clans that founded Konoha, and that the position of Hokage should be taken by the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan in turn.

As a result, after the second generation, the position of Hokage fell into the hands of the Sarutobi clan.

A large number of people in the Uchiha clan were dissatisfied, and this dissatisfaction gradually accumulated over time to form a powerful force.

As a result, there have long been voices within the Uchiha clan calling for the Hokage to be from their clan, and these voices have grown louder and louder.

Unfortunately, the Uchiha clan have few friends in Konoha, and their reputation is not good. No clan of ninja is willing to support someone from the Uchiha clan becoming Hokage.

Even though the Uchiha clan are very powerful, it is only in comparison to the other clans of ninja. Compared to Konoha as a whole, there is a huge gap, and it is impossible to stage a coup d'état and seize power by force.

From the current situation, with Kirito as an outlier, it is even less likely that they will succeed.

Integrating into the village and following the village's lead is the normal and correct direction for the Uchiha clan's future development.

"It is imperative that we take action within the clan. While I still have some prestige within the clan, we must act quickly, otherwise when that brat Kirito joins forces with that ugly girl Chizuru to take action against the Uchiha clan, it will cause chaos within the clan."

Uchiha Homura thought about the position of Hokage and came to think of a certain thorny issue within the clan, and then quietly made up his mind.

The reason why he had previously put forward various excuses to Kirito in order to solve the problem was that, on the one hand, he was soft-hearted and did not want to take action against his own people, and on the other hand, if he did not take action, his side would lack the strength to deal with the hawkish forces within the Uchiha clan.

Now, this problem of lacking strength has obviously been resolved.

He wasn't sure about Kirito's relationship with the mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse, but since Kirito was able to convince the other party to go into Konoha and risk his life to kill Danzo once, he would definitely be able to convince him a second time.

If he had the help of this mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse, he would definitely be able to handle the internal problems of the Uchiha clan.

Problems were best solved as soon as possible.

"But in order to get this brat to convince this Kage-Level powerhouse to help, I'm afraid he'll have to offer some sort of benefit. What other good things does the clan have?"

Uchiha Homura suddenly got a headache.

The cost of enlisting the help of a Kage-Level powerhouse was not small, especially one who had mastered Sage Mode and had suppressed Sandaime.

He wondered how good the opponent's Yin Release ability was.

If the opponent was also quite powerful in Yin Release, he actually did not dare to ask Kirito to enlist the opponent's help, for fear of inviting the wolf into the house.

Because he is getting old and his physical fitness has seriously declined, most of his current strength lies in the illusion techniques of his Mangekyo Sharingan. If the other party has made good achievements in Yin Release Technique, it will be very difficult for him to threaten the other party.

"Sage Mode. It was precisely because Senju Hashirama mastered this super ninjutsu that the other person lost, and that person's illusionary abilities were above mine,"

Uchiha Homura muttered, then turned and left with the group of people around him.

Hyuga Kazuma saw Uchiha Homura leaving and opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

He was very panicked right now and was anxious to find some powerful allies to calm down.

At this time, he immediately thought of the isolated Uchiha clan in the village.

Although the Uchiha clan was annoying, their strength was undeniable. They produced talented individuals in every generation, and each generation was led by a Kage-Level powerhouse.

Since Konoha had already existed when he was born, he had never fought against a Kage-Level powerhouse from the Uchiha clan, but some family documents made it clear just how powerful this clan was. In particular, the strength of Uchiha clan ninja would undergo a qualitative change once they activated the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Uchiha Homura is an old guy, and he hasn't had much contact with him, but he knows very well that this old patriarch of the Uchiha clan is extremely powerful. The other party gives him a feeling of being almost as much of a threat as Sandaime, and the abnormal chakra contained in his eyes makes him feel even more creepy.

It is no surprise that this old man is the Uchiha ninja with the Mangekyo Sharingan.

If he can win Uchiha Homura over as an ally, the pressure on the Hyuga clan will definitely be greatly reduced in the future when they face the mysterious Shadow-Level powerhouse with the Byakugan.

He didn't naively believe that just because the mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse had a Byakugan, it meant that he was one of them or a friend. If that were the case, the other party would have contacted the Hyuga clan a long time ago, and it was unlikely that they would have appeared only now, and moreover, in a situation where they attacked Konoha.

He didn't want anyone else to know that the mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse had a Byakugan at all, as he was worried that it would cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

For this reason, he had already warned all the clan members who had arrived here not to tell anyone about it.

"A pair of stray Byakugan. Just who is this person? Why does he have such pure and powerful Byakugan? Could it be someone from there?"

Hyuga Kazuma thought with a worried frown, subconsciously looking up at the sky.

In fact, he no longer believed that the mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse could not be a Hyuga. Even if he wasn't, he must be someone with Hyuga bloodline, otherwise how could the Byakugan he possessed have evolved to such a powerful level.

He didn't think that someone who wasn't a Hyuga could continue to evolve the Byakugan after obtaining it.

That mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse must have some connection to the Hyuga clan. If the other party wasn't a Hyuga, then it was very likely that they were a distant relative of the Hyuga clan, or someone from another branch of the Hyuga clan as recorded in the clan's literature.

However, according to the literature, that branch of the Hyuga clan was in the heavens.

In the end, Hyuga Kazuma left with a heavy heart. He had to return to the clan as soon as possible to discuss with the elders and unify the attitude of the clan towards this mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse.

He had a hunch that the mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse would come looking for the Hyuga clan one day.

Because when the other party left, he felt the other party watching him, and even when he couldn't see the other party, he still had this feeling, which showed that the power of the other party's Byakugan was above his.

On the other side, Tsunade was actively treating Sandaime's injuries.

Sandaime had fought the White Zetsu clone and although he had not been defeated, he had sustained considerable injuries, especially to his left arm, which had a deep gash on it. Judging from the depth of the cut, it had penetrated deep into the bone.

"Hold on a little longer, teacher, I'm almost successful in clearing out the special kind of Chakra that the opponent left behind,"

Tsunade said, placing her hands, which had used the Mystical Palm Technique, on top of the cut on Sandaime's left hand, her head covered in sweat.

"Take your time, there's no rush. I can bear the pain. The special Chakra in my wound was actually the Sage Chakra left behind by that person, and it's also Wind-attribute Sage Chakra. It's not easy to get rid of them."

Hearing this, Sandaime, whose face had turned pale, replied with a relieved look in his eyes.

Tsunade really is good to him.

Tsunade's performance just now was naturally in his eyes. Many Konoha ninja watched him being suppressed and beaten by that abominable guy just now. Except for Tsunade, no one dared to stand up for him and relieve him of his predicament. Even the Sarutobi clan was the same. It really disappointed him very much.

Fortunately, Tsunade stood up and then led the others to attack together, forcing that person to retreat. Otherwise, he might have to continue to be humiliated for a while, and he might even be defeated by the other party.

"Sage Chakra! Was that man just using the power of the Sage Arts?"

Tsunade said in surprise when she heard Sandaime's words.

She had wondered why the special Chakra in Sandaime's wound was so familiar and why its quality was so much higher than normal Chakra.

She was actually not unfamiliar with Sage Chakra, because the Slug Shinobi, with whom she had made a contract with a summoning beast, was a powerful shinobi.

She had also once sought the power of senjutsu, but unfortunately she was unable to learn the senjutsu of the slug immortal.

However, she was not discouraged by this, because from ancient times to the present day, very few ninjas have learned senjutsu, so it was only natural that she would not be able to learn it.

According to the Slug Sage, her grandfather, Senju Hashirama, had never been able to master his own Sage Art, and no ninja had ever succeeded in learning her Sage Art. Her grandfather's Sage Art was something he had created independently and was exclusive to Wood Release.

"Yes, that person was a ninja who had successfully cultivated his Sage Art and mastered Sage Mode. Tsunade, do you know who that person could be?"

Sandaime nodded, then looked into Tsunade's eyes.

In the ninja world, the power of the Senjutsu was mastered in the three major sanctuaries of the summoning beasts: Mt. Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest. This secret was no secret among the powerful in the Shinobi world. If a ninja wanted to obtain the power of the Senjutsu, they generally had to go to these three major sanctuaries to practice.

Sandaime now believed that the person just now should have learned the power of the Senjutsu from one of these three major sanctuaries.

It so happened that Konoha currently had contracted ninjas from one of the three sacred grounds for summoning beasts, namely Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade, all of whom were his proud disciples.

However, it was not the case that no one from other ninja villages had successfully contracted with the three sacred grounds for summoning beasts. As far as he knew, Sandaime Kazekage of the Sunagakure was one of the contract holders of Ryūchi Cave.

If the person just now had learned the Senjutsu technique from one of the three sacred grounds, he might be able to learn more about that person through his three disciples.

Moreover, that person was obviously recruited by the Senju clan, and it is likely that the other party learned the ninja arts from the Slug Sage in Shikkotsu Forest.

"It's impossible that it's someone from Shikkotsu Forest, anyway. The Slug Sage told me very clearly that I am currently the only one who has signed a contract with her. I think it's someone from Ryūchi Cave. Among the three major sacred grounds, Ryūchi Cave has the most contracts with ninja, and its location is also the easiest to find among the three major sacred grounds."

Tsunade was quick-witted, and she instantly understood what Sandaime meant, and then expressed her own opinion.

Afterwards, she continued to work hard to heal Sandaime using the Mystical Palm Technique, and said no more.

"Ryūchi Cave, it is indeed very likely,"

said Sandaime thoughtfully after receiving Tsunade's reply.

Then, a sharp pain came from the wound, making him unable to continue thinking about other things for the time being. He had to close his eyes and grit his teeth to bear with it.

"Hiruzen, how is Danzo?"

A familiar voice entered Sandaime's ears after a while.

Sandaime opened his eyes and the two people in front of him were Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

He looked at the two of them and his expression quickly turned cold.

After fighting until now, these two guys, who were the Hokage's advisors, had only arrived belatedly. He really didn't know what they had been doing before.

He didn't believe that they two didn't know what was going on here, but only came now.

Suddenly, he felt that he had made a wrong choice in letting these two people become the Hokage's advisors. Judging from today's incident, neither of them had the ability to be the Hokage's advisors.

The position of Hokage advisor is not a get-out-of-jail-free card that allows you to hide behind and watch the show.

His original intention was that the Hokage advisor's job was to assist the Hokage, and this assistance was not only in handling official business, but also in combat.

He had no expectations of Momo Senju, after all, this incident was likely planned by her alone, and it was so secretive that even Tsunade was not informed.

But the two guys in front of him were not only fine with not helping when he was being beaten, they were actually not even there, which was outrageous.

Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu noticed that Sandaime was looking at them with a strange expression and gaze, and they immediately guessed the reason why. Utatane Koharu was the first to reply, "Hiruzen, we were just stabilizing the villagers' emotions and evacuating the villagers. The recent outbreak of a major battle was too loud, causing many villagers to feel uneasy."

"Yes, that's right,"

Homura Mitokado agreed.

"Really? Then you two have worked hard,"

Sandaime heard this and said coldly:

"Stabilizing the villagers' emotions and evacuating the villagers are good reasons.

But if he really believes that, then he's got a donkey kick in his head.

After all, it's not about being afraid of death, it's about being afraid of losing the position under your butt.

These two guys say they are neutral, but in fact they are just like the grass that bends with the wind. Until they can't see the situation clearly, they will just stand by and do nothing, and they will not choose a side.

"Hiruzen, is Danzo really dead?"

Homura Mitokado could hear the mockery in Sandaime's words, but he didn't take it to heart. He asked Sandaime again about the question he had just asked.

Sandaime didn't answer, but silence was the best answer.

"I never thought he would just leave like that,"

Utatane Koharu sighed, her face showing a look of grief.

Homura Mitokado felt the same way.

The two of them usually didn't get along with Danzo, and personally they hated the guy, but after all, they were from the same school and had been through many life-and-death situations when they were young. How could they not have a little sense of comradeship after spending so many decades together?

Moreover, after Danzo's death, their status in Konoha would inevitably become even more awkward.

Although Danzo was in deep trouble and on the surface was already a sinner in Konoha with little influence, in reality due to his connections, he still had a lot of influence.

Now that he has suddenly died, it is bound to set off a storm in Konoha.

The two of them are now very worried about the situation in the Root.

What is the Root?

The two of them know very well that it is a beast of evil bred by the darkness of Konoha, and it gathers a large number of ninjas whose thoughts are dangerously fierce. Once Danzo, the person who can control this beast of evil in the Root, is lost, the Root will inevitably go out of control.

By then, it is impossible to predict what kind of adverse impact this beast of evil will create.

But one thing is certain, and that is that this evil beast will definitely climb and bite the two of them.

The reason why they hate Danzo so much is that he once threatened them, and the means of the threat was evidence that they had used their powers for the family's personal gain.

For this reason, they had no choice but to help Danzo do some unscrupulous things.

Now that Danzo is dead, they are worried that these things will be exposed.

The ninjas in the Root are not to be trifled with. They are not as gullible as the other ninjas in Konoha. Most of them are selfish individuals who joined the Root for various reasons and were later tamed by Danzo using various means.

After Danzo's death, these people will definitely jump out and stir up trouble.

And the things these two have done for Danzo may be exposed by these people.

In order to keep their positions as advisers to the Hokage, they absolutely cannot let these dark secrets come to light.

So, after Utatane Koharu had mourned Danzo for a few seconds, she said again, "Hiruzen, now that Danzo is gone, the problem with the Root must be dealt with immediately. You should know how dangerous the Root problem is."

"Yes, without Danzo, those ninja in the Root will soon lose control. We must control them as soon as possible before they get out of hand, otherwise Konoha will sooner or later be in chaos."

Homura Mitokado agreed, looking at Sandaime anxiously.

Sandaime watched the two of them perform a duet in front of him, his heart filled with ice. He thought to himself, "It seems that these two guys also have something in their hands that Danzo has seized. Hmph, it seems that in the past, the two of them cooperated with Danzo to put on a show in front of me. The growth of the Root was also inseparable from the efforts of the two of them behind the scenes."

For a time, his impression of Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu once again dropped.

He already felt that these two people were unreliable and were not quite suitable to be Hokage advisors.

What's the point of having two Hokage advisors who won't help him in two critical moments? It's better to replace them with two more reliable ones.

However, the problem just mentioned by the two of them really needs to be dealt with quickly.

The Root ninjas must be controlled as soon as possible, otherwise it would be bad if these Root ninjas who disobey the Hokage's orders spread some rumors.

"I will send someone to deal with the Root matter later. You two can go back first. I need to rest for now,"

Sandaime said expressionlessly.

Afterwards, he closed his eyes again, endured the pain, and waited for Tsunade to finish treating him.

Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu looked at Sandaime, who had so quickly dismissed them, and their faces were not good.

When will it be?

Sandaime's answer was not what the two of them wanted. They hoped that Sandaime would deal with this matter right away.

Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth and wanted to say something.

But at this time, Tsunade, who had been silent all along, spoke up. She stared at Utatane Koharu and said unceremoniously, "Advisers to the Hokage, Sandaime-sama is hurt. If there is really something, please wait until I have healed his injuries. I think it is more important for Sandaime-sama to heal his injuries now than anything else. What do you think?"

Utatane Koharu was suddenly confronted by her junior, Tsunade, and an expression of gentle anger immediately appeared on her face. She was about to accuse Tsunade of disrespecting her elders, when Homura Mitokado, who was standing nearby, placed a hand on her shoulder and coughed.

Utatane Koharu was alerted by Homura Mitokado's reminder and immediately became vigilant. She immediately turned her head to look at Homura Mitokado to see what was going on, but as soon as she turned her head, she saw Senju Momo, who was looking at her with a smile.

Utatane Koharu saw this, and the anger that had just arisen in her heart instantly disappeared, replaced by fear.

She quickly lowered her head, afraid to make eye contact with Senju Momo.

The Senju clan was definitely involved in the death of Danzo.

She had once thought that the Senju clan had fallen, but judging from the death of Danzo, that perception was clearly wrong.

The Senju clan was now under the control of Senju Momo, which meant that the mysterious Kage-Level powerhouse that killed Danzo most likely planned the whole thing.

Utatane Koharu would do well not to offend someone as ruthless as her.

"Momo, you're here,"

Sandaime looked at Momo with a complex expression on his face.

His perception ability was much stronger than Utatane Koharu's, and he had noticed Momo coming his way early on.

Now that Momo had arrived, he should say something too.

But what should he say to Momo?