Chapter 351: Sarutobi Hiruzen's Ability

The Konoha high-level officials in the command center had expressions as gloomy as water.

Watching the wantonly destroyed towns and the Abyss Goblins, Pollution Monsters, and Evil God clones raging like a tide, they all remained silent.

The fighting ninja and players all wore expressions of despair.

Each Evil God clone, nourished by the black rain, was in a state of slaughtering everything in its path.

That black rain came from the main body of the Evil God; it was high-level pollution from the 【Abyss of Flesh and Blood】, releasing dense Pollution Energy used to devour the entire ninja world.

Only players like Tsunade and Uzumaki Naruto, who could rival or even surpass Lord-level monsters and possessed high-quality equipment and countless skill imprints, were able to defeat these Abyss Evil Gods.

However,

One could not count such players in all of Konoha on one hand.

Even if the remaining players worked together, they would have to risk casualties to barely kill one Abyss Evil God.

Just like the fourth largest town in the Land of Hot Water that had just fallen,

nearly thirty percent of the nearly one hundred Hyuga player long-range shooting unit were killed or injured before they could eliminate that 【Abyss Brute】 that had breached the city.

"Lord Hokage, my Hyuga Clan has suffered heavy losses. After the battle ends, the village must give us an explanation!"

Hyuga Hiashi in the command center had bloodshot eyes,

and his heart was bleeding as he watched his clansmen being continuously smashed to death by the Abyss Brute.

It was clearly known that the Hyuga Clan's long-range shooting unit had poor melee capabilities, yet the village had not equipped them with melee personnel.

They even separated the Hyuga Clan's melee and long-range units, sending them to different battlefields.

This kind of behavior

was no different from when the Uchiha, who excelled at Fire Release, were sent to fight against the Hidden Mist during the ninja wars of the past.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was calm as he said, "Hiashi, this is a critical moment of being attacked by the Evil God; all Konoha ninja have the obligation to protect the village."

"Even I, as Hokage, will burn my own body when the critical moment comes."

"We are protecting our comrades; casualties are unavoidable!"

These righteous words left Hyuga Hiashi feeling stifled.

He could not accept the death of even dozens of ordinary clansmen, let alone the fact that those who died were all Hyuga players.

They were all elites cultivated with the expenditure of countless family assets.

However,

Sarutobi Hiruzen's words were indeed correct; how could there be no deaths in war?

It was just that this casualty rate somewhat exceeded everyone's estimates.

Hyuga Hiashi kept a cold face and muttered, "Fine, the Hyuga Clan will wait to see Lord Hokage's stance."

The Hyuga Clan's tolerance had reached its limit.

Wasn't it just that when you were imprisoned by Orochimaru, the Hyuga Clan did not take the initiative to rescue you, but only chose to join Konoha after being forced by Orochimaru?

As a result, they ended up in the same predicament as the Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said righteously, "That is natural; as Hokage, I could never retreat!"

He also felt heartbroken; those who died were, after all, Konoha ninja, and precious Reincarnation Game Players at that.

Although he had the intention to weaken the Hyuga Clan's strength, he was not cold-blooded enough to sit by and watch the Hyuga Clan lose dozens of elites.

He only wanted to use the same method as he had against the Uchiha—using soft knives to cut flesh by targeting the sporadic ninja who did not follow orders and lacked the Will of Fire in their hearts, causing them to be unable to continue their duties due to injuries.

Who could have expected that the Evil God clones would directly evolve into Abyss Evil Gods?

This was a situation he did not want to see either.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a serious tone, "Dispatch Mage-type players immediately to reinforce the Hyuga, and head to the battlefield at the fastest speed!"

He was also a player,

and as a Level 9 Konoha Family with 5 Game Invitations per month, he naturally had the priority to become a player as Hokage.

Relying on decades of keen combat experience, he stared at the 【Abyss Brute】 that was constantly charging and crashing,

and soon discovered that although the opponent had formidable defense, its Magic Resistance was very weak; even Lightning Release released by an ordinary Jonin could leave shallow marks on its body.

It was comparable to a pure physical attack released at full power by an Elite player. "No, let me go. There should be no Mage-type player stronger than me."

Suddenly,

Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped the ninja who wanted to issue combat orders, took a deep breath, and stood up from his seat.

He turned his head, looked at Hyuga Hiashi, and said sincerely, "Hiashi, I am also heartbroken by the Hyuga Clan's losses, because they are not only the Hyuga Clan's ninja, but also the village's ninja."

"I hope everyone can unite as one."

Before he finished speaking,

Sarutobi Hiruzen had already arranged the situation at the command center, changed into his combat gear, and rushed toward the front line.

The high-level officials of the ninja clans in the command center all looked with strange expressions at the back that was leaping away rapidly like a monkey.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen became a player,

his personality became increasingly eccentric.

It was not that he was moody, but that he would often make diametrically opposite decisions.

He did indeed strive to maintain the harmony of the village, but he also truly did some bad things.

Sometimes he gave them the feeling of trust that was as refreshing as the initial Ninja Hero Third Hokage, but at other times, one could feel a damp, cold sensation similar to Danzou—sinister, vicious, and full of schemes.

This conflicted situation left them all confused.

Just like Hyuga Hiashi now, he had not expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to take the initiative to rush to the front line.

According to his line of thinking of wanting to weaken the Hyuga Clan's strength, continuing to maintain a righteous stance and sitting in the command center was the best choice.

Could it be that he wanted to ease the relationship?

Hyuga Hiashi thought about it, but in the end, he could only shake his head.

Most of the Ninja Clan high-ranking members privately speculated that the Sandaime likely developed a mental illness due to torture while being imprisoned by Orochimaru.

This is what led to the various strange situations now, and sometimes he even talks to himself.

Hyuga Hiashi also felt he agreed, as his inability to know the other party's thoughts was likely because the other party was a mental patient.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rushed all the way, looking at the devastated scene, the destroyed buildings and towns, his face filled with sorrow.

"It's the Hokage!"

After some injured ninja saw clearly who had arrived, they suddenly burst into excited cheers.

The rift between the Sandaime and the Ninja Clans, as well as the various policies weakening the Ninja Clans, and even the exploitation of Uzumaki Naruto, were actually, to a certain extent, preferential treatment for commoner ninja.

Therefore, although the black rumors about Hiruzen Sarutobi of the Konoha high-ranking officials were flying everywhere, in the eyes of ordinary ninja, the Hokage was still the most prestigious protector of the village.

The arrival of Hiruzen Sarutobi was like a backbone, steadying their shaken and desperate hearts.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said to the crowd: "Don't be afraid, a mere God of Evil cannot shake the foundation of Konoha!"

He was also telling himself that no matter how he monopolized the power of the Hokage and refused to let go, or how he was reviled for the cold-blooded slaughter of the Hot Water Village and for using various political means to maintain balance, it could not change the fact that he wanted to protect and see the rise of Konoha in his heart.

Konoha Village was his root!

Whoosh.

A magic array suddenly appeared under the feet of Hiruzen Sarutobi, with complex and obscure characters and symbols twisting and entwining together, rushing out from the array like chains.

Along with the chains, a bound black shadow also rushed out.

It was five meters tall, with dark green skin, a deformed and twisted body like a tree trunk, and dry, cracked patterns covered in black Tomoe-shaped symbols.

With baring fangs and brandishing claws, and orange-yellow eyes opening on the tree trunk,

it looked just like a treant creature from a world of Magic.

But, it was a Shikigami mutated from dead souls.

This was the core of Hiruzen Sarutobi's ability, 【Yin-Yang Master Lv. 31】, a magic-type profession capable of collecting fragments of dead souls, raising them, and manipulating Shikigami to fight.

And the Shikigami that appeared now,

possessed the Wood Release elemental energy of the Shodai, as well as a large amount of Yin-attribute Sharingan, and was a ghost-type Shikigami formed by fusing the dead soul fragments of Danzou.

【Yin-Death Treant】.

(End of this chapter)