The Uchiha Clan's Sun

You should know that Wood Release was the exclusive bloodline secret technique used by Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, to quell the chaos of the world. It has been extinct for decades since Hashirama Senju died. Who exactly is this young man wearing a mask?

At this moment, Tenzo was also somewhat bewildered. According to Shimura Danzo's plan, his unexpected use of Wood Release had indeed disrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind and allowed him to control Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But despite having such a good opportunity, not a single person present made a move against Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He managed to control both his own and the enemy's forces with a single Wood Release technique?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to react. He twisted his body and broke free from the control of the Wood Release. After giving Tenzo a deep look, he swung his staff at the masked ninja again!

At this moment, the masked ninja also came to his senses. With a quick movement, he dodged Hiruzen Sarutobi's attack while simultaneously clutching his severed arm and creating distance.

But the next moment, to everyone's surprise, the masked ninja suddenly pointed at Tenzo, who was preparing to continue attacking Hiruzen Sarutobi, and shouted, "Second, sixth, and seventh squads, mission changed! Capture him! We absolutely cannot let him get away!"

Tianzang was stunned, his hands, which were forming a hand seal, froze, and his youthful face under the mask was full of astonishment!

He couldn't understand how they had just been teammates and suddenly become opponents!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, understood the situation clearly and knew the reason why the masked ninja had given this order.

You have to understand, that's Wood Release!

Who wouldn't covet the blood-stained secret technique of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?

In the eyes of these masked ninjas, Tenzo's value was no less than that of Hiruzen Sarutobi!

And the truth was just as Hiruzen Sarutobi had imagined!

Upon seeing the Wood Release technique, the masked ninja immediately set his sights on Tenzo and was determined to bring him back to Kumogakure by any means necessary!

In the masked ninja's view, although killing Hiruzen Sarutobi could bring some benefits to the Hidden Cloud Village in the short term, capturing Tenzo, who possessed the Wood Release bloodline limit, and bringing him back to the Hidden Cloud Village would be equivalent to giving the Hidden Cloud Village another powerful bloodline limit, allowing the Hidden Cloud Village to gain even more benefits!

As for whether Tianzang would be willing to submit to Kumogakure after being captured... that's not important, as long as Tianzang's descendants submit to Kumogakure!

The Hidden Cloud Village has a wealth of experience in this kind of thing!

Moreover, judging from the current situation, the Hidden Cloud Village has a large number of people and a strong advantage!

You can kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and capture Tenzo at the same time!

Of course, the prerequisite is to win over the other person first!

Thinking this, the masked ninja looked at Kakuzu, who hadn't made any rash moves due to the changing situation, and said, "Your mission remains the same, and we'll give you an extra reward as agreed afterward!"

Before the operation began, the masked ninja also found out Kakuzu's identity, knowing that Kakuzu was not one of Shimura Danzo's men, but a skilled fighter that Shimura Danzo had hired from the black market.

For this kind of person, just spend some money and you'll be done with it!

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu's eyes lit up, and he said, "Hiruzen Sarutobi's head is not cheap; they promised me thirty million ryo!"

Although the masked ninja was also surprised by 'Shimura Danzo's' generosity, he still spoke without hesitation: "We'll give you thirty million taels after it's done!"

"Hahaha, I will definitely do my best!"

Kakuzu never expected that a sudden turn of events would allow him to earn two salaries for one job; this was truly an unexpected delight!

Kakuzu did not hesitate any longer and once again slashed at Sarutobi Hiruzen!

At this moment, Tianzang was surrounded by more than a dozen masked ninjas. If they hadn't wanted to capture him alive and were showing mercy, he would have been defeated long ago!

Even so, Tianzang is under tremendous pressure right now!

After a moment's thought, Tenzo stopped thinking about the task Shimura Danzo had given him, and with a flash of his eyes, he prepared to break through and retreat!

To safely evacuate from the encirclement, the situation on the battlefield must be completely disrupted first!

Thinking of this, Tenzang clapped his hands and shouted, "Wood Release: Descent of the Sea of ​​Trees!"

Chapter 178 More money is needed!

Compared to the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees, which could easily create a forest, Tenzo's Wood Release: Advent of the Sea of ​​Trees undoubtedly had a much smaller range of effect!

Even so, many trees still grew within a radius of more than 100 meters, indiscriminately entangled and bound everyone in the area!

Those who find themselves in this forest feel as if the entire world is against them, with nowhere to hide and nowhere to escape!

Many masked ninjas, even when fighting with all their might, were bound tightly by the twisted trees after only a few breaths!

"Be careful, these trees will absorb the target's chakra to grow and strengthen!"

The masked ninja with the missing arm was slowed down by excessive blood loss and was almost immediately bound by trees. He shouted a warning with a drastically changed expression.

But it was precisely because of this that his determination to obtain the Heavenly Treasury became even stronger!

The Wood Release technique is incredibly powerful!

Tianzang, who had just finished casting the Tree Sea Descent Technique, was also pale-faced and panting heavily!

This technique almost completely depleted all of his chakra, leaving him weak in the limbs and barely able to stand.

But Tianzang knew that the Tree Sea could not hold these people for long, and he had to leave as soon as possible!

After stuffing a few ration pills into his mouth, Tianzang turned around without looking back and sped away into the distance!

"Kaiyu, stop him! At all costs!"

Upon seeing this, the masked ninja with the missing arm shouted urgently, no longer caring about hiding anything!

"Lightning Release: Scattered Strike!"

As soon as the one-armed masked ninja finished speaking, another masked ninja, who was dodging trees, lit up two balls of lightning in his hands and shot out electric snakes in all directions, snapping the trees that were coiling around him one by one and clearing a large area in an instant!

In the next instant, the masked ninja named Kayuu was crackling with electricity, and his figure turned into a blur as he rushed towards Tenzo!

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode? Hidden Cloud Village?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi effortlessly snapped off two attacking tree branches, and a thought struck him when he saw this!

It's important to know that Lightning Release Chakra Mode is a closely guarded secret of Kumogakure, the signature ninjutsu of the Raikage, and can only be practiced by the Raikage and a few of his close associates!

Having mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode means having the qualifications to run for Raikage!

In other words, these must be ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village!

Although Kayuu's Lightning Release Chakra Mode was far from reaching the level of the Third Raikage A and the Fourth Raikage A, it still gave him speed far exceeding that of ordinary ninjas!

In just a few breaths, Kayui caught up with Tianzang, who hadn't gone far, and chopped at the back of Tianzang's neck with a hand chop!

The hairs on Tianzang's neck stood on end as he sensed the impending danger. He lunged forward and narrowly avoided Kayui's hand chop!

Just as Kayuu was about to continue his attack, he suddenly sensed a strong gust of wind coming towards him. Before he could react, he was struck by the Vajra Ruyi Cudgel that extended towards him and sent flying!

"Fire Escape: The Art of Fierce Flames!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared beside Tenzo, his hands quickly forming hand seals, and he opened his mouth to spew a sea of ​​fire towards the forest created by the birth of the Tree Sea!

When a raging fire meets a forest, all the trees become fuel and burn fiercely, making the environment even worse!

"Sandaime..."

Tenzo stared blankly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, never expecting him to step in and save him from this predicament!

"Don't let your guard down, the danger isn't over yet!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had calmed down by now. He grabbed Tenzo by the collar, turned around, and fled into the distance!

"Don't try to escape!"

Blood trickled from the corner of Kayuu's mouth as he endured the pain and chased after Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoping to buy some time for the others to break free of control.

But to Kayuu's surprise, Hiruzen Sarutobi simply threw the Vajra Staff in his hand toward where he was!

"Ape Demon, I'm begging you!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even turn his head back, but solemnly entrusted the task to him.

"I will try my best!"

The Vajra Staff transformed into a white-haired ape in mid-air, and with a powerful kick, sent Kayuu flying!

Instead of pursuing, the Monkey King flashed and stopped the two Cloud Village ninjas who had just broken free of his control.

Relying on his indestructible body, the Monkey King ignored the attacks and managed to stop more than a dozen ninjas, including Kakuzu, in place!

"It's really troublesome!"

Because of the Earthly Wraith clone, Kakuzu suffered more attacks in the forest. In addition, he was restrained by Hiruzen Sarutobi, so he was able to break free a little later than Hiruzen Sarutobi.

One step behind leads to another, and Kakuzu never expected that he would be held back here by a monkey, watching helplessly as Hiruzen Sarutobi disappeared from sight.

If it were ten minutes ago, Kakuzu wouldn't have cared much about Hiruzen Sarutobi's life or death. After all, he had told his employer that it didn't matter whether Hiruzen Sarutobi lived or died, and the money would still be paid, as long as he did his best!

In addition, another long-term employment deal awaits him in the Land of Rain.

But just now, the leader of the Cloud Village ninja also agreed to pay him 30 million ryo for Hiruzen Sarutobi's head!

That's a whopping thirty million taels!

"Damn white-haired monkey!"

Kakuzu looked at the Monkey King in front of him, who was panting heavily but had no injuries, and was filled with admiration!

This Monkey King is quite powerful, at least a Jonin level, and with his indestructible body, even a Kage-level expert would find it difficult to defeat him in a short time if he fought desperately!

Most importantly, this Ape Demon King is just a summoned beast. After suffering a fatal injury, it will return to where it came from and receive immediate treatment.

In this situation, who would trade injuries or lives with it?

"Thunder Escape·Pseudo Darkness!"

Kakuzu opened his mouth, and a huge bolt of lightning shot out, striking the Monkey King!

At this moment, the Ape Demon King had reached his limit. After exhaling a wisp of black smoke, he helplessly exploded into a cloud of white mist and disappeared from the spot.

"Chase them! We absolutely cannot let them escape!"

The leader of the Cloud Village ninjas, with a severed arm, was being supported by a Cloud Village ninja. He spoke with a ferocious expression and gave his orders.

The surviving dozens of Cloud Ninja didn't waste any words and immediately chased after Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tenzo in the direction they had gone.

After a pause, the leader of the Cloud Village ninjas looked at Kakuzu, who was standing still, and questioned, "Why aren't you going? Don't you want the money anymore?"

Kakuzu glanced at the leader of the Cloud Village ninja and said calmly, "My mission was to ambush Hiruzen Sarutobi here. Now that the mission has failed, the pursuit is another matter!"

The leader of the Cloud Village ninja said angrily, "From beginning to end, it was just about killing Hiruzen Sarutobi. How is that a different matter?"

Kakuzu wasn't angry. He explained, "We ambushed Hiruzen Sarutobi. After the attack, regardless of the outcome, we immediately fled a thousand miles away. Konoha Village wouldn't be able to react in time, so the danger level wasn't too high."

"Now that such a commotion has been caused here, Konoha Village must have noticed it. If we continue to pursue them, our lives will be in danger!"

"Although both involve killing Hiruzen Sarutobi, the levels of danger are different, so the prices are naturally different too!"

The leader of the Cloud Village ninja was taken aback and asked, "So?"

“So if you want me to continue this pursuit,” Kakuzu said very seriously, “you’ll have to pay more!”

Chapter 179 Recruiting the Heavenly Treasury!

Nighttime, in a dimly lit cave within the Land of Fire.

"Wow~~~"

Hiruzen Sarutobi bent over, opened his mouth, and vomited a large mouthful of blood. His breathing suddenly became much easier.

"Third Hokage, are you alright?"

Wearing a mask, Tianzang stood to the side watching this scene with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"It's alright, you'll be fine once you spit out the blood clots!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand weakly and leaned against the cave wall, panting slightly.

During the day, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared to have escaped unscathed, but that was not actually the case!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took at least eight or nine heavy punches from Kakuzu, all enhanced by ninjutsu. He broke three ribs, suffered fractures in multiple bones throughout his body, including his forearm and skull, and also suffered damage to several internal organs!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had suffered severe internal injuries. During the day, he was barely holding on, but now that he had relaxed, all the bones in his body felt like they were falling apart, and he couldn't muster any strength at all.

After resting for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly said, "We're very close to Konoha. Those Cloud Ninja who were chasing us haven't made a move for quite some time now, so they shouldn't be catching up anymore."

Tianzang remained silent, unsure of what to say.

He was supposed to be with the Cloud Ninja, but now he's become their target! And Hiruzen Sarutobi was originally his target, but this time it was Hiruzen Sarutobi who saved him!

Tianzang didn't know what to do either!