novelhk Chapter 275 When it rains, it pours
Chapter 275 When it rains, it pours
Chapter 275 When it rains, it pours
Konoha, Hokage's office.
Red Tiger and Vulture stood with their heads bowed below, while in front of them, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado all wore solemn expressions.
The death of their old comrade was a huge blow to them. No one expected that Danzo would die so mysteriously after just one defeat.
"Who knew when Danzo left? Did he tell anyone about his route?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a deep voice, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
Red Tiger immediately understood that the Hokage suspected there was a traitor among them who had leaked Danzo's whereabouts.
"No, Lord Danzo left with Terai during the evacuation. Even the orders were given to us through Terai. None of us knew their route, and Terai is already dead." Akatora's answer was icy cold, as if he had reverted to his usual demeanor in Root.
"How is the investigation of Terai's body going, according to the intelligence unit?"
"The technique was performed by a ninja from the Yamanaka clan. We didn't get much information from his mind. We only knew that the other party was an Iwagakure ninja who hid and launched a sneak attack on Lord Danzo. Terai was killed with a single slash while trying to save Lord Danzo. The fight was too short, and we didn't get any other useful information."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, "Do you have any other questions?"
Both of them shook their heads. There was too little information, and they didn't know where to start. Based on the information they had, it seemed that the murderer was an Iwagakure ninja, but their intuition told them that things were not that simple.
"Red Tiger, you will lead two squads of Root members, and select one squad each from the intelligence and interrogation teams, to go to the scene of Danzo's death and investigate again. Make sure you find out all the details."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
"By the way, inform all Root members that upon their return, they should remain at the base and not go anywhere without orders."
Red Tiger and Vulture exchanged a glance, both understanding that the Hokage was taking back power, but there was nothing they could do. With Danzo dead, they were simply not up to the task of maintaining the Root organization's structure, and they could only wait for the Hokage to assign someone else to take over.
"We understand, Hokage-sama."
"Alright, you two go do your work." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, indicating that the two could leave.
Once only the Hokage and two advisors remained in the office, Homura Mitokado finally couldn't help but lament, "Danzo, he's dead just like that."
Perhaps it was a case of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death," but Mitokado Homura seemed particularly concerned about Danzo's death. "Hiruzen, you must avenge Danzo. He died for Konoha."
Even before the cause of Danzo's death was determined, Mitokado Homura was already making arrangements for Danzo's posthumous name. People who didn't know the situation might have thought that the two had some special relationship.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also looked at Homura Mitokado with suspicion. "Danzo cannot have died in vain. Whoever kills a Konoha ninja will pay a bloody price."
Hiruzen Sarutobi truly lives up to his title of Hokage; his words are imbued with the "Will of Fire." It's just unknown whether ordinary Konoha ninjas can truly enjoy such treatment.
"However, the most urgent task is to solve the problem of the root. Right now, we are short of manpower. Without a leader, the root cannot play its proper role. What are your thoughts on this?"
This is the problem that is giving Hiruzen Sarutobi the biggest headache right now. You have to know that a large part of Konoha's intelligence comes from Root, and Root is also responsible for assassinations, surveillance, and some shady research.
Now that Danzo is dead, these tasks that were previously completed by Root will soon become a mess if there is no overall planning, which will inevitably affect the operational efficiency of the entire Konoha.
In normal times, adjustments can be made gradually, but now it's wartime, and everything is done against the clock. Even the slightest delay could affect the outcome of a battle, let alone the paralysis of the entire root system.
Koharu Utatane clearly didn't want to take on this hot potato, and since she had no experience in this field, she spoke first: "The Root was originally established to train the Anbu, so why not reinstate it into the Anbu and place it under the Hokage's jurisdiction?"
That makes a lot of sense. If Hiruzen Sarutobi were ten years younger, no, even five years younger, he would still make that choice without hesitation.
But now Hiruzen Sarutobi is old, and for him who is considering successors, what he wants is not just actual power, but more about his reputation after death.
It's often said that Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi are two sides of the same coin in the Naruto series, one basking in the sunlight and the other buried deep underground. This statement is actually quite accurate.
That is why Danzo carries such a heavy burden of sin, something that Hiruzen Sarutobi would never want to be tainted by.
Having been in the sunlight for so long, he now only wants to step down under that sunlight.
As for the power exercised by the Root, after the death of Danzo, the founder, his successor could never have achieved the same level of control.
This is exactly what Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted—
One who continues to walk in darkness, yet whose power remains unhindered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Homura Mitokado, wanting to hear his opinion.
Compared to Koharu Utatane, who came from a medical ninja background, Homura Mitokado undoubtedly had a stronger desire for power. After thinking for a long time, he said somewhat uncertainly, "How about I observe for now and wait until a suitable candidate comes along to replace me?"
This is truly a case of wanting to have your cake and eat it too; there's no reason to give back the power you've already acquired.
However, this suited Hiruzen Sarutobi's wishes perfectly. He pretended to ponder for a while, and under the tense and expectant gaze of Homura Mitokado, he finally nodded in agreement.
"That's possible, but you'll have to wait two days until Akatsuki and the others return and definitively determine the nature of Danzo's death before you can take up your post."
"Okay, no problem."
Mitokado Yan himself didn't even realize that the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up high as he spoke.
While the Konoha leadership was still discussing Danzo's death, the western front was also met with a fierce attack from Iwagakure.
With the continuous reinforcements from Iwagakure, the Hidden Dead finally managed to offset the impact of Taiichi's attack with their overwhelming numerical superiority.
The entire western front was filled with fierce battles every day, and Taiichi was either fighting desperately against the Jonin of Iwagakure on the front lines or returning to the medical camp to treat the wounded.
This is also the only place where Konoha can defeat Iwagakure. With Taichi joining the medical camp, apart from the ninjas who died in battle, Konoha has not had a single ninja return and die in their hospital beds.
This greatly enhanced the resilience of Konoha ninjas in battle, allowing Konoha to withstand the Iwagakure's frenzied attacks when their numbers were less than half of the enemy's.
Of course, this came at a price, because there was no more chakra stored in the Yin Seal. In the first two days, Taiyi used up 4 attribute points just to barely maintain that high chakra consumption.
All of this was alleviated when the second batch of reinforcements arrived in the village, and Taiichi finally had time to start accumulating the chakra in the Yin Seal again.
While Iwagakure was overwhelming Konoha, news of Iwagakure's surprise attack on Konoha's camp and their decisive defeat of Konoha's western forces had already spread throughout the ninja world.
It is said that when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down, and this saying is indeed true. After learning of this news, all the major ninja villages made the same reaction without prior agreement—that is, to take advantage of the situation.
A and Killer Bee, who had been absent from battle for a long time, reappeared on the battlefield, and the AB combination's attack power was still as sharp as ever.
Orochimaru could only hold out for one day before he had to shrink his defensive line, trading space for time to minimize his own casualties.
His approach was entirely correct. A day later, the western front stabilized, and Taiyi immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to come and assist in the battle.
A and Killer Bee were also surprised that Taichi, who was supposed to be stationed at the Iwagakure battlefield according to the intelligence, would actually appear on the battlefield against their Kumogakure.
Just as they launched another major attack, Orochimaru was quite tough this time, and did not hide from A and Killer Bee as he had before.
Faced with the two attacking him, Orochimaru, contrary to his usual behavior, fought back fiercely, and did not back down even when his nose was bleeding profusely from being beaten.
Just when A and Killer Bee thought they could kill Orochimaru this time, Taichi suddenly appeared next to Orochimaru.
As soon as he appeared, four chains behind Taichi extended wildly. At close range, Killer Bee, in his tailed beast form, had no way to dodge and was immediately entangled by the four chains.
Instantly, the sealing power emanating from the chains terrified the bull demon.
"Bi, hurry, break free of these chains, or we're doomed!" In the mental space, the bull demon shouted loudly at Kirabi.
"I know, but these chains are too strong, and I feel my strength is getting weaker." Killer Bee was also struggling, but as the chains wrapped around him more and more, his struggles became weaker.
"Let me do it!" The demon immediately took control of the body, and his surging chakra began to surge violently. The tightly bound chains even showed signs of breaking free.
Outside, Taiyi sighed inwardly. There were still too few chains. If there were five, the bull demon would not have been able to break free so easily. If there were six, he would have no problem suppressing the bull demon.
Unfortunately, there were only four chains; his chakra was not enough to materialize more chains.
Feeling hopeless about capturing it, Taichi simply stopped dwelling on it, channeling chakra into his short sword. The bright golden sword aura surged to two meters, and he slashed down at the tailed beast's eye.
Even if you don't die, this will definitely give you a hard time.
Sure enough, blood splattered everywhere, and a heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the battlefield. All eyes were drawn to it, and one of the Eight-Tails' eyes was covered in blood, with golden flames still burning on it.
A tremendous force emanated from the Eight-Tails, no less powerful than a beast's final, desperate attack; its strength far exceeded Taiyi's imagination.
The four Vajra chains broke in succession after only a few seconds, and after four crisp sounds, they turned into golden light and dissipated into the air.
Faced with the Eight-Tails in its berserk state, not to mention Taiichi, even A would instantly distance himself from this behemoth. Tailed beasts can go berserk, and berserk tailed beasts are ruthless and indiscriminate.
The surging chakra extinguished the flames in the Eight-Tails' right eye, but the tailed beast's powerful self-healing ability did not heal the eye that had been shattered.
That makes sense. Ordinary wounds can heal, and even fractures can be repaired, but it's rare to hear of an eyeball growing back after it's been removed.
It seems that the Eight-Tails will be missing an eye from now on, unless it dies completely.
With its single, scarlet eye scanning back and forth, the Eight-Tailed Gyūki quickly locked onto Taiichi, and the Tailed Beast Ball in its mouth began to condense.
At that moment, Taichi knew that his chance had come. The one controlling his body was definitely not Killer Bee, but the rampaging Gyuki.
Taiyi flapped his wings and flew towards the densely populated area of the Cloud Village, while the Eight-Tails turned its head to keep its sights on Taiyi.
Amidst Ai's exclamation and the horrified gazes of the Cloud Ninja, a Tailed Beast Ball flashed by, and Taiyi's figure abruptly disappeared at that moment.
With a loud "boom," a mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Hundreds of Cloud Ninja died on the spot under this Tailed Beast Ball.
Ai roared angrily, "Retreat! Scatter! Retreat immediately!"
He understood that Taiyi was trying to use someone else to do his dirty work, using the rampaging Eight-Tails to slaughter them, the Cloud Ninja. It was utterly vicious.
And that's exactly what happened. After the Tailed Beast Ball, the Eight-Tails locked onto Taiichi again, its massive body carving a deep trench in the ground as it chased after him.
Taiyi was also cunning. Taking advantage of his ability to fly, he would hang the Eight-Tailed Fox around in the air at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
Those places they wandered around were where the Cloud Ninja gathered, which made things difficult for their short legs.
Faced with the charging Eight-Tails, the Jonin were alright, as they still had the ability to dodge in a flash. But the Chunin and Genin were in a terrible situation. They couldn't dodge or fight back, and could only helplessly be trampled by the Eight-Tails.
Those who were lucky enough to escape with their lives, and those who were unlucky enough to be buried alive, were simply turned into one with the soil.
Just as Taiichi was about to continue, having already circled the Eight-Tails twice, a bolt of lightning flashed above the Eight-Tails' head, followed by a heavy slap across its bull-like face.
A tiny figure fanning out a huge creature is far more impressive than a cat knocking over a dog.
Ushioni was also stunned by Ai's slap, but you know what, the slap really worked. Killer Bee was already a perfect Jinchūriki, and this slap really woke him up.
"Big brother, I—" Knowing that Ushioni had done something stupid, Killer Bee was powerless to defend himself.
"Alright, that's enough. That bastard Matsushita Taichi has gotten stronger again. Let's get out of here."
A stood atop the Eight-Tails' head and stomped hard on the bull's head beneath his feet, urging Killer Bee to hurry up and leave.
Damn it, this battle was such a loss. Matsushita Taichi is so strong, yet he always likes to resort to sneak attacks. He has no sense of self-awareness as a strong person.
Recalling the last time Matsushita Taichi personally came to provoke them and even captured their Jonin, it seems he used this chain-sealing ninjutsu. It was truly insidious.
After hearing A's words, Killer Bee looked around and found that most of the Cloud Village ninjas had already left. He realized that if he didn't leave soon, he would really be unable to leave. So he flicked his eight tentacles and shot into the sky like a cannonball, bouncing away with a "boom boom".
Taiichi landed from the sky next to Orochimaru. This was the first time he had seen Orochimaru in his true form since that night.
Orochimaru was also in bad shape. He had endured a lot of mixed doubles beatings from A and Killer Bee in order to hold out until Taichi arrived, and now he was covered in bruises.
"Lord Orochimaru, would you like me to heal you?" Taiichi meant well, but was met with a resentful expression from Orochimaru.