Chapter 352: The Source of Sarutobi Hiruzen's Corruption

This is a very dangerous ability; Yin-Yang Master sounds like one who can control Yin and Yang, but low-level Yin-Yang Masters cannot reach that level at all, merely managing to use it and draw Yin and Yang attribute energy into their bodies.

It is used to control shikigami, serving as energy consumption.

In this state,

once the Yin-Yang balance within the body is disrupted, the result is emotional instability at best, and mental interference at worst.

Therefore, Yin-Yang Masters are a very fractured group.

Some Yin-Yang Masters who control light-attribute shikigami have more Yang-attribute energy in their bodies; they gather in groups, drive away ghosts and ward off evil, protect ordinary civilians, and are held in high esteem.

Yet those guys who control ghost-attribute shikigami are loners, gloomy and terrifying; the most horrific among them will deliberately slaughter villages to refine shikigami, or use them as nourishment for shikigami growth.

"Danzou, release Death Spirit Spring!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen issued an order to the summoned shikigami.

Death Spirit Spring,

is a skill that consumes Yin-attribute energy to perform large-scale healing; it is a talent ability Awakened by the shikigami.

The skills Awakened by a shikigami are largely related to the shikigami's own attributes and the will of the controller.

"Hiruzen... you..."

The Yin-Death Treant shook its branches, shedding black energy that looked like smoke and dust,

and on that anthropomorphic tree face, an expression of extreme dissatisfaction appeared, saying: "Leaving the command post to risk your life to face the Abyss Evil God is already a foolish move; do you still want to consume energy before the battle?"

As a large-scale healing ability, the consumption of Death Spirit Spring is immense.

Releasing it will definitely interfere with the upcoming battle.

The shikigami, possessing the soul and consciousness of Danzou, sent a signal of resistance in its consciousness, unwilling to do so.

"These ninja, being able to die for the protection of Konoha is their glory."

"They are not dead yet; I can save them."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was expressionless, directly forcing the shikigami to release Death Spirit Spring.

Yin-Yang Masters and shikigami,

emphasize compatibility; the more perfect the compatibility, the more powerful the strength they can exert.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the shikigami and the Yin-Yang Master must be in tune; unless necessary, a Yin-Yang Master will not forcibly control a shikigami, but will instead issue commands.

"Hiruzen, abandoned and betrayed by the Ninja Clans, having suffered so much torture, are you still this naive?"

The shikigami housing the soul of Danzou was even more twisted and resentful than when he was alive; he hated that Orochimaru, whom he used to manipulate at will, actually dared to attack Konoha.

He hated even more those Ninja Clans that did the bare minimum, preserving their family strength while thinking of starting over elsewhere.

He also hated the foolish Sarutobi Hiruzen, who actually forgave Sasuke Uchiha for attempting to kill him, and even allowed his own son Asuma to openly divide Konoha.

If he were still alive, how could he be so indecisive?

"You will regret this, Hiruzen!"

"Enough, I am the Yin-Yang Master!"

The branches of the Yin-Death Treant shook rapidly, and waves of Yin energy spread out, enveloping the many injured ninja and civilians.

Like a sweet spring, although cold, it continuously restored their wounds.

A ninja with damaged internal organs, lying there waiting to die, had his flesh and blood visibly mended after being nourished by the Death Spirit Spring.

"If this ability had existed sooner, Kato Dan shouldn't have died..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was filled with lament.

If Dan had not died, Tsunade would not have fallen ill, nor would she have been disappointed in Konoha and left.

The Legendary Sannin would not have disbanded,

and if Orochimaru had had companions by his side every day, he would not have eventually fallen to the point of destroying Konoha.

"Are you being sentimental, Hiruzen?"

As a shikigami, it could vaguely perceive the emotional fluctuations of the Yin-Yang Master.

The soul of Danzou sneered: "Everything is because of you; your indecisiveness destroyed Konoha, turning us from the strongest Ninja Village into the joke currently stationed in the Land of Hot Water!"

"If you wanted to get rid of the Uchiha, you should have cut the weeds and dug up the roots!"

"If you wanted to support civilian ninja, you should have used strong-handed tactics to suppress those Ninja Clans, instead of trying to please both sides and ending up as something neither fish nor fowl."

"You wanted to cultivate the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, yet you were unwilling to hand it over to Root, but you were also wary of its identity and didn't dare to take care of it openly, making the Nine-Tails neither here nor there—it's not a qualified combat weapon at all!"

"Everything proves that the teacher's choice back then was wrong!"

"You are not qualified to serve as Hokage, Hiruzen; only I can lead Konoha to glory!" The dead Danzou still held a deep and gloomy obsession.

Especially after death, with the soul free from the shackles of the flesh, all emotions erupted directly and deeply; his obsession with not becoming Hokage was almost tangible.

When he was alive, although he coveted the position of Hokage, he hadn't reached the point of tearing off the mask.

But now, the soul of Danzou didn't pretend at all.

Listening to the accusations of Danzou's soul, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes were shrouded in death energy for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal, his face cold as he said: "Shut up; the teacher's decisions are not for you, a deserter, to point fingers at."

"If you had become Hokage, you would only have disregarded the lives of the village's ninja; Konoha would have become as bloody and cruel as the Hidden Mist."

He did not deny the accusations of Danzou's soul.

It was indeed because of him that Konoha was destroyed, so he was now doing everything in his power to make amends.

The soul of Danzou changed the subject and asked: "When will you resurrect me?"

He did not want to maintain this neither-human-nor-ghost state forever.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered: "You colluded with Orochimaru and sold out the village's defense maps, which was the fuse that directly led to Konoha's collapse; even if I were willing to resurrect you, would the other ninja and high-ranking officials agree?"

He was quite annoyed.

If it weren't for the sake of a lifelong friend, if it were anyone else, even their soul would have been ground to dust.

To the many ninja, the two's argument looked like the Sandaime talking to himself.

However, because of the distance, they could not hear clearly and simply assumed it was a game ability that required chanting a spell.

Without stopping,

after the healing ended, he rushed to the front-line battlefield.

Watching the tilted and collapsed towns, and the ninja who were struggling to maneuver in a sorry state, unwilling to let the Abyss Evil God continue to advance,

Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth and let out a silent roar.

He seemed to see the scene of Konoha's collapse once again; it was the same as this, only the Four-Nation Ninja had been replaced by the current Abyss Evil God.

"Perhaps you were right, Danzou, I am not a qualified Hokage."

His voice was desolate, carrying thick sorrow and indignation.

A large number of civilians fled in a panic,

and ninja died in battle one after another.

Ninjutsu fell upon the Abyss Evil God like rain, yet it barely managed to hinder the opponent's pace of advance.

Whenever there was a slight opening, a ninja would be killed by an Abyss Brute.

There were also 【Abyss Mage】s, 【Abyss Summoner】s, and 【Abyss Swordsman】s, all of which were avatars of the Evil God, rampaging separately across the entire Land of Hot Water.

Corpses lay everywhere.

"Dead Tree Ocean!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was heartbroken and directly unleashed his strongest Shikigami technique.

The Necrotic Treant seemed to melt as it burrowed into the ground.

In an instant,

a large-scale sea of trees extended from underground, its pitch-black trunks and branches shrouding half the town within.

Tree branches, resembling steel chains, coiled around the Abyss Evil God.

Just as the Abyss Evil God broke free, new branches would immediately wrap around it, never stopping, pinning it in place.

Those dead tree branches,

imbued with extremely potent death energy, corroded the Abyss Evil God's tough skin like sulfuric acid; maintaining the sea of trees for a mere five minutes exhausted the energy within Sarutobi Hiruzen, but it also broke through the hard-shelled skin of the four Abyss Brutes.

Dozens of players seized the opportunity and swarmed forward.

They killed all the Abyss Evil Gods that were pinned in place and had lost their armor.

"We killed the Abyss Evil God!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

Sarutobi Hiruzen knelt on the ground, panting, and mocked himself: "Old bones, can't you even hold on after just arriving at the battlefield?"

It was merely a jest,

but the reality was that being able to block four Abyss Evil Gods and break through their defenses, relying on the combat power of his five 【Onmyoji Imprint】 skills, was already an extraordinary performance.

Tuanzang Linghun did not make a sound, not knowing what he was thinking, only staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a gloomy gaze.

(End of this chapter)