Konoha's Hextech Ninja

But the Third Raikage won't be able to escape.

"We still have 100,000 chakra left. With Sakumo-san's help, that's enough..."

Yagami Yoruichi raised both hands and launched her attack without any further words.

"Wild growth!"

Countless vines and trees rose from the ground, swarming towards the Third Raikage.

"Hell Thrust - Four-Handed Strike!"

The Third Raikage instantly entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode, attempting to break through the Wood Release encirclement.

However, he cut down a large number of vines and tree trunks.

However, more and more plants kept surrounding him, crowding out the Third Raikage's living space.

Sakumo Hatake did not approach, but instead stayed on the perimeter, using the plants for cover.

Whenever the Third Raikage showed signs of breaking through, he would strike from a very insidious angle.

His slash, which gathered extremely refined lightning chakra, was so powerful that even the Third Raikage's lightning armor, known as the 'strongest defense,' could not perfectly defend against it. If it hit, a wound would appear.

Although the wound was not deep.

However, if the blood loss accumulates too much, the constant bleeding will have a significant impact on combat effectiveness.

"Am I... going to die?"

As he continued to lose blood, the Third Raikage's stamina began to decline.

Countless plants kept swarming around him, making it increasingly difficult for the Third Raikage to hold on.

He felt his body growing heavier and heavier, and each time he cut through the vines, it took more effort and more chakra.

Looking at the brat who should still be in ninja academy in the distance, the Third Raikage felt a pang of regret: "I shouldn't have attacked the Land of Wind, and I definitely shouldn't have provoked this kid..."

"Fortunately, with me holding off this terrifying brat, most of the others should be able to retreat smoothly..."

The moment the Third Raikage had this thought in his mind, he saw two corpses being thrown in front of him.

It was the Cloud Ninja he had previously dispatched to relay the order to retreat.

One of them was one of the few strategic talents among the Cloud Ninja who had mastered the 'Heavenly Delivery Technique'.

Seeing this, the Third Raikage realized that his order to retreat had not been sent out at all.

The other Cloud Ninja are probably still foolishly fighting with the Leaf Ninja, waiting for his orders.

Once he's dealt with, that brat can easily kill everyone else.

All the Cloud Ninja who accompanied him this time, except for the Eight-Tails who was sent back, will die in the Land of Fire.

The Third Raikage's vision went black, and only one thought remained in his mind: "It's over!"

The next moment, countless vines wrapped around him, and sharp thorns pierced through the Third Raikage's Lightning Release armor, plunging his consciousness into complete darkness.

Chapter 177 Are you from the Thousand Hands Clan?

"It's finally solved."

Sakumo Hatake, dragging his weary body, approached Yoruichi Yagami and asked, "Yoruichi-kun, how are you? Can you still hold on?"

"Fortunately, we can still hold on."

There was a hint of weakness in Yagami Yoruichi's voice.

Despite having fought the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Third Raikage in succession, Yoruichi Yagami's stamina and chakra were not significantly depleted.

But the nerves were constantly on edge, putting a heavy mental strain on him.

Although the battle lasted only a short time, the tension in her heart suddenly eased, and a strong sense of fatigue quickly took over most of Yagami Yoruichi's consciousness.

If it weren't for the fact that she had made up for her weakness in the 'Spirit' attribute during this period by using the [Soul Devouring] Hextech, Yoruichi Yagami would probably have collapsed to the ground.

"There are still quite a few Cloud Ninja left, I'll go support the others first."

Hatake Sakumo, carrying a short sword, prepared to continue the fight.

The amber bottle containing the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was transported away using the 'Heavenly Transfer Technique'.

The Third Raikage is dead.

Among the Cloud Ninja's main force, there were no longer any strong enough to fight against Hatake Sakumo.

With his combat prowess, even if he wasn't in particularly good condition, he could easily slaughter a large number of Cloud Ninja.

The worlds above and below the level of a movie star are completely different.

"Let me do it." Yagami Yoruichi rested for a few minutes and her energy recovered slightly.

After pinpointing the locations of each Cloud Ninja squad using his [Wind Perception], Yagami Yoruichi clasped his hands together, and the last of his chakra surged forth, spreading across the ground beneath his feet.

"Wild growth!"

Within a radius of several kilometers, on every battlefield where the Cloud Ninja squad and the Leaf Ninja squad clashed, vines sprang up from the ground and quickly entangled the Cloud Ninja.

The thorns on the vines pierced the human body, draining the life force of each Cloud Ninja within minutes.

The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Third Raikage were able to withstand Zyra's Wood Release technique for a long time because they were inherently powerful and had extremely strong life force.

Ordinary ninjas don't have such a strong physique.

Even a Jonin can't last more than five minutes.

Chunin and Genin, the time it takes to die is even calculated in 'seconds'.

The continuous flow of life force, filtered and purified by the vines, surged into Yagami Yoruichi's body, instantly invigorating him.

System notifications kept popping up, and in just a few minutes, all the Cloud Ninjas in the surrounding area were wiped out by Yagami Yoruichi.

Perhaps a few Cloud Ninja in more distant areas managed to escape, but they were no longer a significant threat to the Land of Fire.

"Let's go, Uncle Sakumo, it's all taken care of." Yagami Yoruichi called out, manipulating vines to drag the corpses of all the Cloud Ninja, including the Third Raikage, towards the camp.

Just as Hatake Sakumo was about to ask, he received a notification from Nara Shikaku behind him, informing him that all the Cloud Ninja had been wiped out by Yagami Yoruichi's 'Wood Release Ninjutsu'.

The appearance of Wood Release left all the Konoha ninjas who witnessed it stunned.

What followed was a frenzied emotion.

Many Konoha ninjas excitedly called out Yagami Yoruichi's name.

"Yoruichi-kun..." Sakumo Hatake was filled with questions.

He hadn't had time to ask during the battle, but now his curiosity had reached its peak, and he couldn't wait to ask, "How do you know how to use Wood Release?"

"I don't know either." Yagami Yoruichi spread his hands and said, "I just naturally learned how to use it when I was fighting the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Could it be..." Sakumo Hatake seemed to have imagined something, then his expression suddenly changed to one of realization: "Could it be that you are a descendant of the Senju clan?"

More than thirty years have passed since the Senju clan disbanded and assimilated into the common people of Konoha.

Given the tradition in the ninja world that people get married and have children at the age of ten or so, this is already the time it takes for two or three generations.

After generations of intermarriage, even the village leaders no longer knew which people carried the bloodline of the Thousand Hands clan.

It can only be said that any commoner, or even a descendant of a ninja clan who has intermarried with commoners, may have the bloodline of the Senju clan.

Whether Yagami Yoruichi possesses the bloodline of the Senju clan is now impossible to verify.

However, in terms of both chakra reserves and the most typical 'Wood Release Kekkei Genkai', no one would doubt that Yagami Yoruichi is a descendant of the Senju clan.

However, Yagami Yoruichi was well aware that she did not possess any 'Senju bloodline'.

The origin of Wood Release is not Hashirama Senju's Wood Release, but rather the Wood Release of 'Zyra, the Rise of Thorns', born from the spirit of nature in the League of Legends universe.

Based on what Yagami Yoichi knew about Hashirama Senju's characteristics, the two types of Wood Release have completely different features.

The core function of Hashirama Senju's Wood Release is 'chakra absorption' and the suppression of 'Tailed Beasts'.

It originates from the power of the sacred tree.

While Zyra's Wood Release does absorb chakra, it primarily drains life force and has no special effect against tailed beasts.

Yoruichi Yagami was able to suppress the Eight-Tails entirely because of her large chakra reserves, coupled with the fact that Burubi's life was nearing its end.

If it were Killer Bee at his peak, Yoruichi Yagami wouldn't be confident of defeating him given her current strength.

Of course, Killer Bee is not yet the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. It will take a long time for him to grow to his peak and become in sync with the Tailed Beast.

By then, with the system's support, Yagami Yoruichi might be able to punch and kick Kaguya.

"I don't know the specifics either. I don't know much about my parents." Yagami Yoruichi shook her head, not responding to Hatake Sakumo's words.

There are definitely advantages to portraying oneself as a 'descendant of the Thousand Hands', but Yagami Yoruichi doesn't think it's necessary.

Based on the strength that Yagami Yoruichi demonstrated in this battle, she no longer needs the identity of the 'Senju Clan' to add any halo to herself.

Most importantly, in this battle, Yagami Yoruichi gained more than two hundred kills and received a large amount of system rewards.

Once she has fully absorbed this benefit, Yagami Yoruichi is confident that she can easily defeat the five great ninja villages with her strength alone, and she will not need any additional aura to provide her with any boost.

"Uncle Shuo Mao".

Suddenly, Yagami Yoruichi spoke up: "After we return to the village, Uncle Sakumo, you should become the Hokage."

Although Yoruichi Yagami had previously stated that she wanted to remove the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, from power.

But when Yoruichi Yagami brought up the topic again, Sakumo Hatake was still startled.

The casual tone made it seem as if he wasn't talking about changing the village's Hokage, but rather discussing something as trivial as what to have for dinner.

"Yoruichi-kun, are you really going to do this?"

Sakumo Hatake hesitated, then said, "Perhaps you have your reasons, but doing this will bring great chaos to the village. If the enemy takes the opportunity to attack Konoha..."

Hatake Sakumo also disliked some of the current systems in Konoha, especially the monopoly of power by the higher-ups and the monopoly of ninjutsu by the ninja clans.

He has been dedicated to changing these things and creating a fairer environment so that ordinary ninjas without connections can also have room to rise through their own talent and hard work.

However, Sakumo Hatake hoped to fight for the rights of civilian ninjas through peaceful negotiations, rather than resorting to violence like Yoruichi Yagami.

As for becoming Hokage himself, Hatake Sakumo never even considered it.

He is an idealist, but he is also aware of his shortcomings. He is not good at politics and other related matters, and sometimes he is emotional and unable to think about problems from an absolutely rational perspective.

With such a personality, one would be more than capable of being a sharp blade against external forces, but as Hokage, one is prone to making impulsive and wrong decisions at times.

"Uncle Sakumo, the Third Hokage won't relinquish the position without resorting to violence. I've heard some rumors from my teacher that the Sarutobi clan's strength has increased dozens of times during Hiruzen Sarutobi's tenure as Hokage, and the number of ninjas has also increased dozens of times. They've gone from an insignificant small ninja clan during the Warring States period to the largest clan hidden in Konoha now. With such benefits, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi voluntarily give up the Hokage position? Even if he steps down, he'll install an easily controlled puppet and continue to use the village's interests to strengthen his Sarutobi clan."

Yagami Yoruichi shook his head and said, "Only by using violence to remove all the current Konoha leaders and carry out a thorough purge of Konoha can the village get back on track instead of becoming a tool for some people to line their own pockets."

"But this is too much..."

Sakumo Hatake was about to offer some advice when Yoruichi Yagami said, "Right now, the only ones in the village qualified to succeed the Hokage are the Sannin and you, Sakumo-san. However, the Sannin are all disciples of Hiruzen Sarutobi, and having them inherit the Hokage position wouldn't allow the village to completely escape the influence of the Third Hokage. Only you, Sakumo-san, can be completely unaffected by the Third Hokage and allow the village to truly achieve its best development."

Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo fell silent.

To say that the current generation of Konoha is experiencing a 'generation gap' is a bit of an exaggeration.

The older generation includes Sakumo Hatake and the Three Legendary Sannin, while the younger generation, including Minato Namikaze, has also demonstrated considerable strength.

Among the younger generation, Yoruichi Yagami is even more outstanding. Her performance in this war alone has surpassed that of Sakumo Hatake and the legendary Sannin.

The problem is that the qualifications to succeed as Hokage are not solely based on strength.

Age, experience, prestige, and so on are all very important factors.

In these aspects, let alone Yoruichi Yagami, even Minato Namikaze is not qualified.

If we don't consider the older generation like Hiruzen Sarutobi, then only Sakumo Hatake and the three legendary Sannin have that qualification.

Yagami Yoruichi then used the 'influence of Sarutobi Hiruzen' as a reason to exclude the Sannin, leaving only Hatake Sakumo.

"Let's discuss this further."

Sakumo Hatake sighed deeply and did not reply.

He could see that Yoruichi Yagami was extremely determined to overthrow the Konoha leadership.

Unless he stands against Yagami Yoruichi and joins Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others in using force to stop her, he will not be able to change Yagami Yoruichi's mind.

But is he really going to stand on the opposite side of Yagami Yoruichi for the sake of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others?

Sakumo Hatake couldn't make a judgment immediately, but subconsciously he felt that, as Yoruichi Yagami said, overthrowing the current Konoha leadership might not be a bad thing.