Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, making his injury even more severe.

The essence of a ninja is a glass cannon. In the ninja world at that time, probably only Jin, the Raikage, and Kakuzu could pass through this lightning net with their pure physical strength without using ninjutsu.

However, this lightning barrier was only the beginning.

Breaking through the net of lightning was only the first hurdle they had to overcome.

The real challenges are yet to come.

Tobirama glanced around, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart vanished.

A large number of Cloud Ninja Anbu and Hagoromo Ninja swarmed in front of him, surrounding him layer by layer and blocking his way.

Behind them were the Gold and Silver Brothers, who had entered a half-tailed beast form, surrounded by the raging Nine-Tails chakra, blocking their retreat.

As an ordinary ninja who can use the Flying Thunder God Technique, what should Tobirama do?

Faced with a desperate situation, Tobirama's heart became incredibly calm...

Perhaps it's time to make a decision.

His gaze swept over the four disciples beside him, whose injuries varied in severity, and his calm voice spoke rapidly: "Yan, Xiaochun, immediately summon your spirit beasts and send a distress signal to the village."

Being personally accepted as his disciples, both Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado naturally possessed exceptional abilities.

The two summoned beasts are of the flying type and the earth-遁 type, respectively, both of which have the ability to transmit information over long distances.

However, history still took a turn. This time, Uchiha Kagami was not in the guard team, and without the summoning beasts of the Cat Granny clan as a relay medium, zero-delay intelligence transmission was impossible.

Sending their plea for help back to Konoha will be both more time-consuming and difficult.

call out……

call out……

Two small Tailed Beast Balls attacked from behind, one after the other. The sharp sound of them tearing through the air made one's eyebrows twitch. Tobirama, without turning his head, threw out two Flying Thunder God Kunai to deflect the Tailed Beast Balls.

boom!!!

A tremendous explosion came from afar, and the light was even more dazzling than the setting sun.

This gave them a chance to catch their breath.

Yan and Xiaochun immediately summoned their summoning beasts. Tobirama touched the ground with one finger to sense the situation and then said, "We are now surrounded. There are about 50 elite ninjas, including at least 10 Jonin, plus the Gold and Silver Brothers in their tailed beast forms..."

“Listen! In this situation, someone from the Shadow Guard must act as bait to lure away the pursuing troops so that the others can survive.”

Who will go?

Tobirama glanced around, and the air fell silent.

Danzo Shimura knelt on one knee, his whole body tense, his mind screaming, "Say it! Say it! Why...why can't I say it?!"

He had his own assessment of the situation, and staying behind to hold off the pursuing Cloud Ninja forces would only lead to his death. He wanted to offer to take on the mission, but the words "I'll go" stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say them.

Can he die?

He... can't die!

Even before leaving the village, he had already envisioned himself becoming the Third Hokage. As the future Third Hokage, he harbored ambitions and unfulfilled aspirations, and he could not allow his life to end here.

Danzo quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Let Hiruzen stay? No, he's his best friend. Let Tobirama stay? Even more impossible, the master hasn't officially passed the torch yet, and his journey to Hokage hasn't even begun.

That leaves only Xiaochun and Yan.

Escape is shameful, but useful.

Danzo closed his eyes, praying frantically in his heart, "Please step forward! Whoever it is, please volunteer!"

"I'll do it!"

Huh? Who's talking?

Danzo's eyes widened immediately. He turned his head and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi say with a determined look, "Master, I'll go and lure the Cloud Ninja away!"

Tobirama looked at him calmly: "Think carefully, or you'll die."

"I'm not afraid!"

Tobirama stared at him for a long time, then suddenly grinned. His eyes were full of appreciation for his junior, and his tone was relaxed: "Of course I'll be the bait. Only my value can attract the pursuit force's attention."

"You are all young inheritors of the Will of Fire who will protect the village in the future. You must live well."

"I'll draw all the enemies away and cover your retreat. The four of you, don't stick together, run separately!"

After deciding to use himself as bait, Tobirama continued to devise the evacuation plan.

He could draw away most of the forces, but the Cloud Ninja still held an overwhelming numerical advantage, and Hiruzen and his three companions were all wounded, limiting their mobility. If they retreated together, their position would be too obvious and concentrated, leading to encirclement by the enemy and certain death.

Only by splitting up and retreating can we minimize the enemy's numerical advantage and create a chance for survival. Some may still die in the pursuit, but this is the best possible outcome.

Of the four, Hiruzen Sarutobi is in the best condition and has the highest probability of successfully escaping back to Konoha.

Although it was despicable and dark, Danzo and his two companions were originally "guards" that he had prepared for Hiruzen in his most critical moment! There was no reason for the person being protected to step forward and protect the guards.

"teacher!"

Hiruzen was anxious and about to speak when Tobirama interrupted him, "Enough, this is not the time for sentimentality. Do as I say and let me finish..."

"Monkey, Konoha is now in your hands."

"From this moment on, you are the Third Hokage. When you return to the village, take on the responsibilities of Hokage."

"Danzo, Koharu, En, when you escape back to the village, you must also testify for the monkey. This is my order."

Danzo suddenly looked up, his face full of astonishment.

Hiruzen also seemed at a loss: "The Third Hokage? But... but I'm not qualified enough, am I?"

“Go and talk to Shen, he will help you!”

Chapter 161 The Four Paths of the Zen Temple Attack!

A slight tremor came from the ground, as the pursuing troops brazenly announced their arrival.

Tobirama Senju took a deep breath, glanced one last time at the disciples surrounding him, then activated Body Flicker and moved in the opposite direction, disappearing from the four people's sight.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi watched his teacher's departing figure, tears welled up in his eyes: "I must not let my teacher down."

"Disperse!"

The four of them flashed away and retreated in different directions.

...

Having spent years in the Hokage's office and neglecting his ninja training, coupled with his advancing age and declining physical condition, Tobirama Senju was no longer as valiant as he once was.

After entering their semi-tailed beast form, Kinkaku and Ginkaku experienced a significant increase in both strength and speed. Their teamwork was extremely seamless, and combined, their power far surpassed that of an average Kage.

In close combat, Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique couldn't gain the upper hand, and he could only barely hold his own. He not only had to fight the Gold and Silver Brothers, but also had to be wary of the Cloud Ninja Anbu they brought with them.

He knew very well that the Gold and Silver Brothers possessed special bloodlines and had even consumed the flesh and blood of the Nine-Tails. In terms of total chakra reserves alone, he couldn't compare to them. If this continued, he would be the first to run out of chakra.

and……

He doesn't have a chakra cloak, and if he's outnumbered and careless, even a kunai could kill him.

After several rounds of fighting, Tobirama quickly assessed the situation in his mind. Once he used this next technique, his chakra would no longer be enough to support a long-distance Flying Thunder God Technique, and he would be teleported directly back to the village.

But in order to buy the monkeys enough time to evacuate, this was the only way.

Knowing they would die, they still went without hesitation.

Tobirama rapidly formed hand seals, gathering chakra in his mouth: "Water Release: Water Severing Wave"

He rapidly spat out a straight column of water under extremely high pressure.

Unlike ordinary water-based techniques, the Water Severing Wave relies on concentrating immense water pressure onto a small area, resulting in extremely powerful destructive force. Although it's called a water-based technique, it's almost indistinguishable from a laser.

This move was extremely sudden.

Many Cloud Ninja Anbu members only felt a flash of blue on their retinas before being cut in half at the waist. Their upper bodies slid to the ground from the waist down as if lubricated. Among them were Jonin who were known for their speed.

The scene was incredibly bloody.

Due to a moment of carelessness, three of Silverhorn's six tails in his half-tailed beast form were severed, and the tailed beast chakra cloak on his body also dimmed.

This is the strength a Hokage should have. Even when fighting against multiple Kage, the aftershocks of the battle are enough to clear out the grunts, including Jonin.

Silverhorn winced in pain, his expression growing increasingly ferocious: "Tobirama Senju, you're indeed troublesome!"

"Heh, this move was originally intended to deal with the Uchiha clan. You should be grateful to have survived."

Tobirama stretched his neck, and his long-dormant passion began to boil again.

Rediscover the feeling of fighting in the Warring States period and charge forward again.

...

Time passed from dusk to night.

The Gold and Silver Horn brothers tried their best to keep the news of the killing of the Raikage a secret, attempting to wait until everything settled down before returning to the village to announce it, but secrets can't stay hidden forever.

Despite circulating overnight, the information they had compiled was leaked and reached Kumogakure.

The Second Raikage was assassinated; the killer was the Konoha delegation led by Tobirama Senju. The Gold and Silver Brothers are leading the Anbu in pursuit of him.

The Cloud Hidden was plunged into a tremendous shock and uproar.

This news is inexplicably eerie; only someone with a screw loose would think of assassinating the Raikage.

It doesn't make sense logically...

This is more like a loyalty test, forcing the Cloud Shadow's higher-ups to choose sides.

The elders who remained at the Raikage Building were thus embroiled in a dispute. The elders, who were originally from the martial arts faction, proposed that the village should not fall into internal strife at this time, but rather follow the tradition of "might makes right" and enthrone Kinkaku as the Third Raikage, so that he could avenge the Second Raikage.

There were also elders who remained neutral or sided with the Second Hokage, who bluntly pointed out that this was a blatant rebellion and that if the Gold and Silver Brothers were not killed, Kumogakure would no longer be Kumogakure.

Moreover, if Kinkaku and Ginkaku were to actually kill the entire Konoha delegation and become the Third Raikage, then Kumogakure and Konoha would become mortal enemies.

The two sides were thus locked in a strange stalemate.

Seeing that the situation was not good, an elder immediately ordered his men: "Go to Yunlei Gorge immediately and call Iloy back to quell the rebellion!"