Konoha: Start from untying the caged bird

Page 176

Everyone simultaneously looked up, gazing at the countless stones crashing down from the sky, and the golden beam of light that still shone brightly...

You really only care about this stuff...

Is it called Soft Fist?

Chapter 131 Are you...married?

PS: The description of Pain's Chibaku Tensei in the previous chapter has been corrected. I misremembered and forgot that it was used by Madara Uchiha.

...

The violently collapsing debris was like a torrential downpour.

The boulders crashed down on the massive tree canopy supported by Hashirama Senju, breaking many tree trunks and crashing heavily to the ground. The ninjas quickly dodged, but that was all they could do. Only now did they truly feel the power of Pain's Planetary Devastation.

Pain frowned slightly. He hadn't used Super Shinra Tensei earlier in order to conveniently take Gaara with him, which seemed to have given Hyuga Yuzuru a chance to rescue him. But then, his frown relaxed, and he stopped worrying about it. He led the still-intact Akatsuki members straight away.

Hyuga Yuzuru's eyes flashed with a faint blue light. Without hesitation, he chased after them in the direction they had retreated. The other ninjas followed instinctively, but he only left behind a message: "Don't follow," before charging forward alone.

He and Pain moved incredibly fast, and the other ninjas simply obeyed orders and stayed put, watching his figure quickly disappear from sight.

Pain was unwilling to stay here and fight, so he used Shinra Tensei to maintain the distance between himself and Hyuga Yuzuru. Hyuga Yuzuru was not in a hurry to get closer, as if he had no way to deal with his Shinra Tensei. However, when the distance was a little greater, he suddenly burst out with an even faster speed.

Pain's Rinnegan has a five-second temporary cooldown when using Shinra Tensei, and Hyuga Yuzuru's speed ensures that he can get close to them within those five seconds. Pain's expression darkened as he stared at Hyuga Yuzuru.

Do you really think I'm afraid of you?

At this moment, among the Six Paths of Pain, apart from the Animal Path and Human Path which have been destroyed, there are still the Hell Path, Asura Path, Hungry Ghost Path, and Deva Path.

The four puppets stopped and looked at Hyuga Yuzuru with cold eyes. They threw the Yagura Karatachi to Kakuzu to take back to the organization. Konan hesitated for a moment, wanting to stay, but Pain waved her away and refused.

"Rachel!"

A golden bolt of lightning tore through the sky, crashing down like the wrath of nature. It exploded on the ground, sending up plumes of smoke, and blocked Konan's path, who had been a step too slow. Hyuga Yuzuru, clad in white armor that seemed rather strange to Nagato, neither dodged nor evaded the barrage of missile-like attacks raining down on him from the Asura Path, but instead launched an attack on Konan.

Konan snorted coldly, her entire body turning into paper scraps that flew away. In the instant these paper scraps flew, they also transformed into countless explosive tags that stuck towards Hyuga Yuzuru. Hyuga Yuzuru seemed to be a step too slow and failed to hit them in time. Lightning Blade tore through the air, and Pain stretched out his hand, his tone filled with killing intent: "Universal Pull!"

The immense suction force caused Hyuga Yuzuru's feet to leave deep marks on the ground as he landed, the ground cracking under his weight. Pain's purpose was not to suck Hyuga Yuzuru to his face, but to use this opportunity to force him to take the brunt of Konan's explosive tags.

Hyuga Yuzuru, however, went with the flow, slamming his fist on the ground and accelerating towards Pain. Pain's expression turned cold as he flipped his hand open: "Shinra Tensei!"

Hyuga Yuzuru was pushed away by a tremendous repulsive force, and in mid-air, he was enveloped in the flames from the exploding tags.

But the next moment, the Xiao Nan, pieced together from the shattered paper scraps in the air, let out a muffled groan of pain.

He had anticipated this, adjusting his position before being pushed away by the repulsive force. He predicted the location of the figure formed by the paper pieces that Xiao Nan would appear. When he was knocked away, he seized the less than one second of time and threw a Flying Thunder God Kunai at Xiao Nan. He then instantly appeared next to her and delivered a heavy blow.

The explosive power of some of the detonators that he couldn't avoid was absorbed by his white armor, causing him to sway slightly. After landing, the slight dents quickly bounced back to normal.

Konan was swept away by his force and repulsive energy, thrown into the distance. Pain's expression changed slightly, and he used Universal Pull again to pull Konan close. Unexpectedly, Hyuga Yuzuru stopped.

His white armor faded, and he stood at a distance, looking at Payne, his tone calm.

"If you want to target the Jinchuriki of other ninja villages, I don't care, but if..."

If you still intend to harm Konoha when we meet next time... I will kill you.

His words were devoid of emotional fluctuation, calmly stating a fact.

A rare hint of anger flickered in Pain's usually cold Rinnegan eyes, while Konan beside him whispered an apology, "Sorry, he was too fast..."

Konan is already one of the strongest ninjas in the world, but even so, the lightning-fast exchange just now made her realize how powerful Hyuga Yuzuru is.

Feeling somewhat saddened by the fact that she had almost held Pain back, she looked at Hyuga Yuzuru with apprehension before silently rising into the air.

The opponent's flight speed is clearly much slower than its speed of free movement on the ground. In the air, there's still time to react; however, if one were to engage in a full-scale battle on the ground, it would likely be much slower.

Pain said calmly, "As expected of the Fifth Hokage."

"Next time we meet, I'll take a good look... to see if you really have the ability to kill me."

Payne gave him a deep look, then turned and left.

Hyuga Yuzuru did not pursue, as if he had some reservations, and simply let the other party leave.

Only after Pain had gone far away did Hyuga Yuzuru slightly curl the corners of his mouth, turn around, and head towards the place that had once been the Chunin Exams.

The feedback from the Flying Thunder God mark emanating from Konan caused a fleeting smile to appear on his face.

Are the Six Paths of Pain strong?

It's very strong. Pain, the Deva Path alone, is extremely troublesome. Whether it's taijutsu or the Rinnegan, it possesses formidable combat capabilities.

But is Nagato really that strong?

That's not necessarily true.

Once Konan returns to Akatsuki, Hyuga Yuzuru will be able to take control of Nagato's location.

After defeating Nagato, we need to find a way to destroy his Gedo Mazo and seal it away forever using sealing techniques or other methods. In that case, the 'Ten-Tails' without its outer shell will be impossible to summon again.

But Hyuga Yuzuru wasn't in a hurry to do it—just as Nagato had his own plans, so did Hyuga Yuzuru.

Nagato and the Akatsuki organization would also be useful to Hyuga Yuzuru.

When they returned to the testing grounds, which had transformed into a giant, strange forest, all the ninjas had already been settled in.

The injured ninjas were sent to the medical ninja unit led by Tsunade, which was not far from the test site, for treatment. The uninjured ninjas remained on standby. The people of Sunagakure and Kirigakure gathered in their respective areas in a state of despair, anxiously awaiting the return of Hyuga Yuzuru.

Hyuga Yuzuru didn't rush to deal with them, but instead found the First and Second Generations first.

Tobirama Senju's expression remained serious. He explained to Yuzuru Hyuga the information he had observed related to Pain, the Akatsuki, and others. Yuzuru Hyuga listened patiently, combining it with the information he already knew, thus enriching his understanding of their abilities.

Afterwards, Tobirama Senju recounted the abilities of the strongest ninjas from Sunagakure and Kirigakure that he had observed during this time. As an intelligent ninja, he accurately summarized the strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of his opponents.

Hinata Yuzuru spoke to him in a low voice as well, recounting what had happened to him.

Are there other strange places like that?

Tobirama Senju was very interested in Izumi Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan's ability to reach the 'Hell's Realm'.

He clasped his hands in front of him, lost in thought, and said, "So, if a soul is unwilling to leave the Pure Land and still has attachments to the human world before it reaches the Pure Land, it is possible for the soul not to enter the Pure Land."

"Brother, what's wrong?" As Tobirama Senju finished speaking, he turned his head and saw Hashirama Senju's slightly tired face.

Hashirama Senju waved his hand and sighed, "If I had known this would happen, perhaps I should have left all the Tailed Beasts to Konoha..."

While fighting, he was also reflecting on the changes in the ninja world so far. As he observed the battlefield, he couldn't help but feel a little silent—if Konoha still possessed all nine tailed beasts and nine Jinchuriki, perhaps the other ninja villages wouldn't dare to attack Konoha anymore.

Even those powerful individuals who claimed to be members of the Akatsuki organization could hardly cause any trouble when faced with the combined efforts of nine Jinchuriki.

Tobirama Senju chuckled twice: "Perhaps if that were the case, Konoha would already be in complete chaos... In any case, this is something the Fifth Hokage should be concerned about."

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Hyuga Yuzuru, and slightly raised his chin: "In my opinion, our junior is not someone without any ideas."

Upon hearing this, Hashirama Senju looked at Yuzuru Hyuga, but Yuzuru Hyuga simply smiled and shook his head: "The First Hokage need not blame himself. Everything in this world is preordained. The fact that Konoha is what it is today has nothing to do with the First Hokage."

The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there will be unity, and after a long period of unity, there will be division.

Even if all nine tailed beasts gather in Konoha, the village will still split up again for various reasons. As long as humans exist and desires continue to arise, war and invasion will never cease.

Whether the ninja world is at peace or not, whether Konoha can become as wonderful as the First Hokage envisioned, all depends on 'people,' not on so-called power.

If there truly were a power capable of pacifying the ninja world, it would surely be beyond the reach of humankind...

Hyuga Yuzuru paused, and Senju Tobirama raised an eyebrow, glancing at him thoughtfully. After a moment, he chuckled, "Is that so..."

Hashirama Senju didn't understand the meaning behind their exchanged glances, but listening to their words, he stopped dwelling on the fact that he had separated the Tailed Beasts back then, and just laughed heartily: "Anyway, it's good that Konoha is alright this time."

This time, the enemy came with great force, and Sunagakure and Kirigakure even joined forces. Although they tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, and ended up losing everything, it was still a major crisis.

To be able to successfully weather such a crisis, with Konoha surviving without suffering any damage to its ninja forces, is an unimaginable and glorious victory.

"Anyway, I'll leave the rest of the trivial matters to you... and..." Tobirama Senju rarely showed a hint of embarrassment: "It's best to use the Impure World Reincarnation sparingly."

After he finished speaking, he dismantled his soul and resealed it into Hyuga Yuzuru's body. As he and Senju Hashirama turned into dust and gradually dissipated, Senju Hashirama let out a loud laugh: "Tobirama, you..."

"Big brother!" Tobirama Senju rudely interrupted Hashirama Senju, his face full of displeasure as he vanished along with him.

Hyuga Yuzuru chuckled twice.

Tobirama Senju felt a little embarrassed—in the past, he had always commanded the reanimated bodies of the dead to fight for him, making it impossible for other ninja villages to defend against him. When others scolded him for 'manipulating the dead is immoral,' he would just snort dismissively. Why not use a useful forbidden technique?

But being summoned by his own junior, especially being recognized by Onoki at a glance as having been resurrected using the forbidden technique Impure World Reincarnation that he himself developed, was somewhat embarrassing.

He always felt that there was a sense of 'you finally got your comeuppance' in the way Onoki looked at him.

But before they completely disappeared, Hinata Yuzuru whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."

The two disappeared completely, and vaguely, Hashirama Senju's gaze towards him held a sense of gratified encouragement—use it, Tobirama developed this forbidden technique precisely for this purpose.

They really are brothers.

Hyuga Yuzuru turned his head. At that moment, not far behind him, Rasa was looking at him with a livid face, his face showing a forced smile. Mei Terumi stood beside him with a complicated expression, her eyes full of confusion and loneliness.

If we really had to determine a loser and a winner in this battle...

Konoha has undoubtedly won.

It demonstrated overwhelming power to other ninja villages without suffering any losses; the damaged area nearby was merely a temporary arena.

The Akatsuki suffered a minor loss. Although they took away Yagura, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, it was a failure compared to their expectations of gaining the Nine-Tails, the One-Tails, and the Three-Tails. They also exposed their strength and threat, attracting the attention of other ninja villages.

There was nothing they could do; they hadn't expected Konoha to be so powerful.

Leaving aside the two Susanoo forms, Jiraiya's Sage Mode alone was difficult to deal with. Add to that Kakashi's Kamui support, and the two resurrected Hokage were both incredibly powerful. And this was all under the premise that Naruto, the Nine-Tails, was well protected and didn't participate in the battle...

The Hidden Leaf Village alone is far more troublesome than the Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sand Village combined.

This resulted in the loss of two skilled fighters, Deidara and Hidan.

Deidara was dealt with by Onoki, who planned to take him back to Iwagakure for proper discipline. Hidan's upper body was sealed into a scroll by Kakashi, while his lower body was still hanging on a tree!

Kakuzu lost two hearts, and that was only because he was fast. This old man had excellent eyesight and would never fight a troublesome guy for long. He just followed Pain the whole time.

Kisame Senshiki was also seriously injured. He was almost killed by a single Kotoamatsukami, and later almost burned to death by Itachi's Amaterasu. Fortunately, Pain thought he was still useful and saved him, otherwise he would have likely died on the spot.

The villages that suffered the most crushing defeats were Kirigakure and Sunagakure.

Sunagakure was slightly better off, as Rasa was still alive. Although a number of elite ninjas had died, the Jinchuriki were still alive. As long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood. Rasa could only comfort himself that as long as people are alive, there is still hope.

Meanwhile, Kirigakure was completely destroyed.

The Mizukage was taken away and his fate is unknown. Even more tragically, during the battle, the Kirigakure ninjas discovered that their Mizukage was being controlled and had serious mental problems. After this battle, they will not only have to bear the painful defeat, but also face the pitiful predicament of losing their Jinchuriki.

The tailed beasts are gone, the Mizukage is gone, and the village has suffered from a decline in talent and a stagnant economy due to the oppressive policies of the Land of Blood Mist over the years...

Mei Terumi closed her eyes in anguish, utterly bewildered about the future of Kirigakure, and completely clueless about how to overcome this current hurdle.

Facing Yuzuru Hyuga's gaze, Rasa and Mei Terumi displayed roughly the same attitude. As he slowly approached, Rasa took the initiative to speak: "Fifth Hokage, Sunagakure is willing to pay the price for this matter... I was also misled by the Kirigakure and trusted these treacherous members of Akatsuki, which led me astray and to where I am today."

"I am willing to guarantee in the name of the Kazekage that this time, as the defeated party, we will sign a peace treaty with Konoha and acknowledge Sunagakure's mistake."

He adopted an extremely humble attitude, but subtly shifted the main blame to Yagura Karatachi.

Mei Terumi's expression changed slightly. Even though her mind was somewhat confused at the moment, filled with sadness, anger, and bewilderment, she knew that as the strongest remaining member of the Hidden Mist Village, she had to fulfill her responsibilities to the village.

Mei Terumi then feigned anger and rebuked, "This was clearly a case of Sunagakure cooperating! Many in Kirigakure tried to dissuade the Mizukage from being controlled, but he insisted on his own way. Who knows, you and Akatsuki might have done something together!"

Before Rasa could reply angrily, she continued to look at Hyuga Yuzuru, bowing her head and pleading, "Please, Fifth Hokage, see the truth. The Mizukage was clearly controlled by someone, which is why he did such a thing. We were just dragged into this situation, especially me personally. I have absolutely no ill intentions towards Konoha."

We are willing to bear the consequences of the Mizukage's mistakes, but we urge the Fifth Hokage to consider the current state of Kirigakure...

Rasa rudely interrupted her: "Who knows when the Mizukage was controlled? A dignified Mizukage, to be manipulated by genjutsu, is a joke among jokes. In my opinion, it might just be a farce caused by internal power struggles within Kirigakure. I hope the Fifth Hokage will think carefully about what Kirigakure is really thinking!"

Hyuga Yuzuru had no interest in wasting time arguing with them. The battlefield still needed cleaning up, and this mess needed to be cleaned up. He also had plans for the benefits he could gain from them.

Therefore, Hyuga Yuzuru simply said, "We'll discuss this later. Since Sunagakure and Kirigakure were able to stop in time and work together to fight Akatsuki, I am not willing to go so far as to wipe them out."

Upon hearing this, Rasa and Mei Terumi both breathed a sigh of relief.

Konoha Village has always maintained a mild and forgiving attitude towards outsiders, displaying a magnanimous spirit of forgiving others whenever possible. It seems that this time will likely be no different...

"But I once said... if you want to be my enemy, you must pay the price. It hasn't been long since I said that, have you two forgotten?"

He chuckled twice, then lowered his bamboo hat, his long white hair fluttering gently behind it. His deep blue eyes stared silently at Luo Sha, the coldness in them causing Luo Sha to instinctively clench his teeth.

Is he planning to take action?

Rasa's toes unconsciously parted slightly, a posture that facilitated the exertion of force. However, at the same time his body instinctively assumed a defensive stance, Konoha ninjas appeared around him, surrounding him completely. Their expressions were as firm and wooden as a rock, showing no respect or fear in the face of this famous Kazekage.

Hyuga Yuzuru remained silent. The Konoha ninja around him simply watched Rasa and Mei Terumi, and the two of them even became somewhat cautious in their breathing. In the distance, the Sand Village and Kirigakure ninja, who had gathered together, gripped their weapons tightly, eager to attack, their faces filled with despair.

There was no other way. If Konoha really wanted to wipe them out, they couldn't just surrender and let Konoha's ninjas cut off their heads.

"I would appreciate it if Miss Mei Terumi and the Fourth Kazekage could stay in Konoha for a few days until we have reached an agreement, and then we will arrange for someone to escort you back to the village."