Chapter 246

……

"I never expected there were this many experts in the world."

"It seems I was just ignorant and ill-informed back in the Land of Wind…"

The moment the words fell,

two more men appeared beside the daimyo of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind.

One of them had a resolute expression and dark skin,

clearly someone who had spent years under the blazing sun.

The other, though pale-faced,

had deep furrows across his skin,

giving him a weathered look that didn't match his age.

Shihe of the Land of Earth and Liedou of the Land of Wind,

neither of them had expected

that the ninja from other countries

would look no weaker than themselves—

perhaps even stronger.

【Jiraiya: So these are the First Kage of each country? They don't quite look like what I imagined.】

【Orochimaru: Historical records always have many discrepancies. What actually happened is indeed quite different from what we imagined… these First Kage look considerably stronger than the later ones.】

【Minato Namikaze: As expected of those who ended the warring era of each country—each of their ninjutsu has a very distinct personal style!】

【Rasa: Though I hate to admit it, I have to say… the First Kazekage's strength is indeed above mine.】

【Ōnoki: No one would dare claim their strength surpasses the First Kage, right? We descendants merely modified the ninjutsu they passed down, and weakened it in the process. 28】

【Terumi Mei: The First Mizukage's Water Release was truly cultivated to its extreme. Later ninja like us can hardly reach his level—we can't even get close.】

【Tobirama Senju: Hah! So what if these fellows are powerful and have each pushed their specialty ninjutsu to the limit? Against Big Brother, they're nothing but a pushover!!】

【Madara Uchiha: It's good that they have this confidence now. When they face Hashirama, they'll understand what true despair means!!】

【Kakuzu: Hehe… anyone who has never seen the First Hokage in person will never know what that feels like. Once they meet the First Hokage themselves, they won't be thinking this way anymore.】

【Deidara: Hmm… Kakuzu… I want to ask you something—are you sure you really fought the First Hokage?】

The four exchanged a glance,

each realizing the others were no weaker than themselves,

which made them all put away any trace of contempt!!

In their own countries,

they had long been the strongest!!

No one could possibly be stronger than them,

so they all believed themselves invincible, with no rivals left at all!!!

So before coming to this meeting,

they had never imagined meeting several opponents on the same level as themselves!!

They had all come to this meeting with an attitude of complete disdain.

None of them had ever imagined encountering such a scene!!

"Interesting!! Truly interesting!!"

He glanced at Bai Lian,

then swept his gaze over Shihe and Liedou,

and excitement flashed in Yeyue's eyes!!

In the Land of Lightning, he had long been the strongest!!

These past few years,

ever since he became the strongest,

he had actually grown increasingly bored,

because not a single person in the entire Land of Lightning could serve as his opponent!

This left him feeling utterly lonely!

He longed desperately for someone who could defeat him to appear—

only then,

perhaps, could he break through under immense pressure!

He had thought he'd never find a suitable opponent in his lifetime,

but unexpectedly,

here three opponents no weaker than himself had appeared at once!

Though none of the three spoke,

sparks had already flown between them!

In the past,

they couldn't even find a single person close to their own level,

yet now three had appeared all at once,

which made them deeply curious about each other!!

And the daimyo of the four countries,

seeing the sparks flying between them,

A helpless look flashed across their faces!

The daimyo exchanged a glance,

and each let out a soft sigh.

Regarding this situation,

they had long anticipated it—

the people behind them were the strongest their nations had to offer.

Each of them carried their own pride within,

and now, seeing several ninja whose strength was on par with their own,

they could no longer hold themselves back.

Seeing the sparks flying in a few pairs of eyes,

it was still the daimyo of the Land of Lightning who first broke the deadlock.

He covered his mouth and coughed lightly as he spoke.

"Ahem… since you've all met now,"

"the specifics from here on, you can discuss among yourselves."

"As for who will lead this operation…"

"well, let's see whose strength is greater! …"

The daimyo of the Land of Lightning cast a deep look at the group.

Hearing this, Yuezuki

raised an eyebrow and said with a smile,

"We're all ninja, so naturally we should settle this in the ninja way!"

"Deciding who leads this operation… isn't that a simple matter?"

"Whoever is stronger gets to lead!"

"Each of us just needs to have one match…"

If the daimyo of the Land of Lightning weren't present,

Yuezuki might have already been unable to resist making a move!

He was always hot-tempered to begin with,

and after cultivating Lei Dun ninjutsu,

his impatient streak had only grown more pronounced!

"Hmph!! That suits me just fine!"

"All this talk is pointless! We should decide through combat who will lead this operation!"