Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 211 The End of the Emperor's Life: Skipping the Daimyo's Choice

Kakuzu quickly cleaned up the scene, left his contact information, and left.

"Are you really going to let him go?"

Misa walked over to Sosuke's side.

Sousuke looked in the direction Kakuzu had fled.

"Konoha's front lines lack high-end combat power. Keeping him around is useful."

The green lines on Mesa's face faded.

Her body went limp, and she almost fell. Sosuke caught her.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Sousuke took out an inhibitor and injected it into her. She had overused Wood Release, and the suppressive effect of Gentle Fist had reached its limit.

"Take a break."

He looked at Shikaku and Reina, who were lying unconscious on the ground.

"Next, it's time to figure out how to make up the story."

Deep in the dense forest, a few kilometers away.

The booming explosions gradually subsided, and two figures faced off.

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned on his Vajra staff, panting heavily. His clothes were tattered, and he was covered in bruises.

He is old.

Even with the title of "Professor of Ninjutsu" and mastery of the five chakra nature transformations, the decline in physical strength and chakra reserves is an irreversible natural law.

And opposite him.

Orochimaru stood on the head of a giant snake.

He appeared to be unharmed.

Or rather, the wound has healed.

Just now, Hiruzen clearly used his shuriken shadow clones in conjunction with the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet to blast Orochimaru into pieces.

But the next second, Orochimaru emerged from that broken shell, without a speck of dust on his body.

This is the Orochimaru-style Substitution Technique.

A near-rogue-like life-saving technique.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

Hiruzen stared at his once most prized disciple, his eyes filled with solemnity.

"Orochimaru—your chakra reserves—"

Hiruzen sensed something was wrong.

This substitution technique consumes an extreme amount of chakra. Normally, even an elite Jonin would be completely drained after using it three or four times in a row.

But Orochimaru used it at least five times.

Moreover, at this very moment, Orochimaru's chakra fluctuations were still terrifyingly abundant.

The texture of that chakra—it was extremely vast and extremely active.

That's Yang Escape.

"Hehehe————"

Orochimaru licked his lips, his golden vertical pupils filled with mockery.

"Teacher, are you tired?"

'

"This is just the beginning."

Orochimaru opened his arms.

"Are you wondering why I don't look tired at all? And why my wounds are healing so quickly?"

Hiruzen gripped his magic staff tightly.

What did you do to yourself?

"I just—completed myself."

Orochimaru jumped down from the giant snake's head and landed lightly.

"Teacher, you must know a lot about the Uzumaki clan, right?"

Hiruzen's pupils suddenly contracted.

The Uzumaki clan, Kushina's clan, is a long-lived clan with immense chakra and vitality.

"You transplanted cells from the Uzumaki clan?!" Hiruzen demanded sharply.

"It's not just about transplantation."

Orochimaru tore open his shirt.

On his chest, where his heart should be, there was a red swirling tattoo. It wasn't a tattoo. It was the natural texture of the blood vessels beneath his skin.

"Thanks to the technology provided by Sousuke-kun, and—Kushina's blood sample."

Orochimaru stroked his chest, his eyes filled with ecstasy.

"I have perfectly integrated the life essence of the Uzumaki clan into my software modification."

"I now possess chakra reserves comparable to those of a tailed beast, as well as—the Uzumaki clan's extraordinary self-healing ability."

"teacher."

Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen again, his eyes turning cold.

"Your Five Elements Ninjutsu is exquisite, but that is the limit of mortals."

"And I have already embarked on the ladder of evolution."

"In this new era, there are no tickets for the old. You—it's time to leave the stage."

boom!

Orochimaru's aura erupted. That violent chakra, like a materialized storm, swept across the entire forest.

Hiruzen's body swayed slightly.

He felt the overwhelming gap.

It's not about technique, but about the level of life itself.

"Vortex Power—"

Hiruzen gave a bitter laugh.

"Sousuke—you even got this?"

He had initially thought that Sousuke only had financial dealings with Orochimaru. Little did he know that they had strayed so far into the forbidden realm of life sciences.

This is no longer just a matter of rogue ninja.

This is a group of monsters who have mastered forbidden powers.

"Ape Demon".

Hiruzen called out in a low voice.

The eye of an old ape appeared on the Vajra Ruyi Cudgel in his hand.

"Hiruzen, this guy is too strong." Enma's voice was heavy. "We have to fight to the death."

"yes."

Hiruzen straightened his back.

Although his body was old and his chakra was insufficient, he was still the Hokage.

Orochimaru.

Hiruzen's eyes sharpened again.

"Now that you have obtained this power, why are you using it for nefarious purposes?"

"Then I must stay here and, with my old life, seal away your ambition!"

"The Corpse Demon Sealing Technique—perhaps this is the only technique we can use."

Hiruzen's hand slowly formed that forbidden hand seal.

That was his last trump card.

"Oh?"

Orochimaru saw the handprint and his eyes lit up.

"That technique? A forbidden technique related to the Grim Reaper—"

"Come on, teacher."

"Let's see if you seal me away first, or if I kill you!"

The battle broke out again.

This time, it's a battle between life and death.

The rain began to fall in a light drizzle.

Nara Shikaku struggled to open his eyes, his vision still somewhat blurry.

"woke up?"

A voice rang in my ears.

Shikaku suddenly sat up and saw Sousuke.

Sosuke stood under a large tree.

Beside him, Misa Hayama leaned against a tree trunk, her face pale, clearly exhausted from chakra depletion.

Not far away, Yamashiro Rena had just woken up and was adjusting her glasses, her eyes looking dazed.

"What happened?!"

Shikaku rubbed his temples, his memory fragmented.

He remembered Kakuzu, the overwhelming sea of ​​fire, and the murder of the two advisors—and then, all that followed was darkness.

"We were attacked."

Sosuke's voice was low.

"Kakuzu is too strong. We were scattered. We barely survived thanks to Jonin Misa's cover."

"Where's Kakuzu?" Shikaku pressed.

"I'm gone."

Sosuke pointed to the depths of the dense forest in the distance.

He said the mission was accomplished and there was no need to argue with me.

"Mission completed?"

Shikaku's heart skipped a beat. He instantly grasped the terrifying meaning behind the word.

Kakuzu's mission is to intercept the guards and hold him back. So, who is targeting the Hokage?

"Quick! Go find the Hokage!"

Ignoring his dizziness, Lu Jiu stumbled and ran towards the distant forest.

Sosuke followed silently behind. Rena and Misa followed as well.

The deeper you go, the more astonishing the traces of battle become.

The terrain has been completely changed.

The dense forest had been transformed into a vast official territory.

The ground had a vitrified, crystalline appearance, a result of being scorched by extremely high temperatures. The chakra fluctuations in the air had not yet dissipated, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"A battle of this caliber—"

Rena looked around at her surroundings, her face turning deathly pale.

It's hard to imagine this is a battle between ninjas; this is simply a natural disaster.

-

at last.

He arrived at the heart of the battlefield.

Rainwater gathered here, forming a shallow pond.

In the middle of the pond, there is a rock that is still relatively intact.

As the monkey flew up, he sat down beside a rock.

He leaned against the rock, his head slightly lowered, his hands resting on his knees.

He was very quiet.

"Hokage-sama!"

Lu Jiu rushed over and knelt before Riju.

"Lord Third Generation! How are you?"

no respond.

Lu Jiu trembled as he reached out his hand to probe Riju's carotid artery.

There was no movement.

My skin is starting to feel cold.

""

Shikaku's hand froze.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

died.

The ninja who had ruled Konoha for decades died silently.

"His chakra was depleted, his life force exhausted. He—died from exhaustion."

Sosuke walked over.

His left eye scanned the body beneath the blindfold. There was indeed no fatal external injury. There was even very little blood.

"The traces at the scene have been cleaned up."

Sosuke looked around.

Aside from the mess, there were no human corpses.

He stepped forward, took off his coat, and gently covered Riju's body.

"Captain Shikaku, save the sad moments for later."

"Now, a problem is facing me."

Shikaku raised his head, quickly regaining his composure. He was a member of the Nara clan, and reason was his instinct.

He immediately realized the problem. A fatal problem.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with Konoha advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were all killed in a single day.

This is a disaster more terrible than war. Once the news gets out, the front lines will collapse immediately. This is a crisis of village destruction.

"I absolutely must—block the news."

Shikaku stood up, his brain already racing.

"Until a new leader is elected, the outside world must not be informed that the entire leadership has been wiped out."

"but----"

Reina's voice trembled.

"If the Hokage is to be elected, he must be approved by the Daimyo. In this way, the matter cannot be kept from the Daimyo Shikaku."

As the mind of Konoha, he deduced countless possibilities in an instant.

The Hokage died in battle, and all the advisors were wiped out. If the news is still reported to the Daimyo's office according to normal procedures, it will definitely not spread beyond the Land of Fire.

And so, Konoha truly perished.

"Captain Shikaku."

Sosuke spoke up.

"You're a smart man. You should know that if I were to ask a daimyo like the Fourth Hokage now, all I'd get is endless wrangling."

"The soldiers on the front lines are still bleeding, and we can't afford to wait. Therefore, in these extraordinary times, we must use extraordinary methods."

"What method?" Shikaku asked warily.

"Skip the names."

Sosuke made a startling statement.

"According to the rules established by the First Hokage at the beginning of Konoha, in the event of an emergency wartime situation, if the Hokage dies and no successor is designated, the next Hokage can be elected by the Jonin Team Trust Vote."

Hitomi Lu photographed miniatures.

"This rule does exist—but it's from decades ago. Over the past few decades, the power to appoint the Hokage has been effectively transferred to the Daimyo's office. Because—"

"Without the Daimyo's financial support, Konoha wouldn't even last a month."

This is the village's Achilles' heel.

Military independence, but not economic independence.

"I'll take care of the money."

Sosuke said calmly.

Shikaku was stunned.

"What—what did you say?"

"The Daimyo will be furious because Konoha bypassed him and unilaterally elected Hokage, and will cut all funding. The Konoha Chamber of Commerce will fill all the financial gaps."

Shikaku found it hard to believe.

This man—a madman. A complete madman.

He wants to achieve fiscal independence.

Once Konoha stopped relying on the daimyo's funding, the "one country, one village" principle became a mere formality. Konoha became a completely independent armed group.

Shikaku instinctively wanted to refuse. Because if the Koudou Trading Company really took over Konoha's finances, it would be obvious that Konoha would become Sousuke's puppet army.

but----

Shikaku glanced at Hikyu's corpse.

Besides this method, does Konoha have any other way to survive?

Shikaku closed his eyes.

Even he didn't know what the future held.

However, no matter what, Konoha cannot be destroyed.

A few seconds later.

Shikaku opened his eyes, his gaze hardening.

"Let's do it this way. Skip the daimyo and let Konoha elect a new Hokage from within the village."

Sousuke smiled.

"This is a wise choice."

"