Chapter 381: 325. Chapter 320: Uchiha Madara: You Still Have to Wait in Line to Act Cool These Days

325. Chapter 320: Uchiha Madara: You Still Have to Wait in Line to Act Cool These Days

The night was deep. The man crouching before Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two stuffed the last biscuit into his mouth. He looked at the scattered packaging on the ground with a lingering sense of dissatisfaction, his somewhat unfocused eyes sweeping over the three children who were bowing their heads in thought with an unreadable glint.

"Crunch~ crunch~"

Zhenzi, with black mist spilling from her mouth, did not directly gnaw on the corpses of the Grass ninja on the ground, but she still unconsciously made crunching chewing sounds, which were exceptionally harsh in the silent night.

"Hey~ curly-haired brat, do you have any more food?"

Seeing Shenhuo rubbed his still somewhat shriveled stomach and asked Uchiha Kagami. He hadn't eaten normal food for several days; these snacks were barely enough to get stuck between his teeth.

"Huh? No, all the snacks I brought are right here."

Uchiha Kagami opened the backpack containing their supplies and showed it to the famished Seeing Shenhuo.

"Tsk, do you have any raw eggs?"

Curling his lips in disappointment, Seeing Shenhuo licked his parched lips, smacked them as if savoring an aftertaste, and continued to ask.

"Huh?"

The young man's inexplicable request pulled the three little ones back from the story they were immersed in. They looked at each other, their small faces filled with confusion.

What kind of decent ninja brings raw eggs when they go out?

"Forget it, the story is finished anyway. You can be clear-headed ghosts in Zhenzi's stomach."

Brushing the snack crumbs off his hands, Seeing Shenhuo stood up and lazily stretched his waist, his gaze turning cold.

"Wait, I still have something to say!"

Once again enveloped by the aura of death, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with cold sweat seeping from his forehead, immediately raised his hand. Seeing Shenhuo frowned, signaling with his eyes for him to speak quickly.

"This uncle, our master is Tobirama Senju, known as the inventor of the ninja world. He is well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge and will definitely be able to find a way to save your wife!"

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to bring up his master, attempting to move this mentally unstable man and thereby stall for time.

Dad, you better be quick; your precious son is about to be eaten clean!

With such a huge commotion happening here, Sasuke Sarutobi still hadn't appeared. The frustrated Hiruzen Sarutobi kept bad-mouthing his father in his heart.

"Tobirama Senju? You brats, your identities aren't simple, are they~"

Seeing Shenhuo looked at the three little ones with some surprise. He had thought he had only caught a few small fry, not expecting their background to be so deep. But it was merely a sigh; he had no intention of handing Zhenzi over to anyone else.

"Master is very powerful; he will definitely be able to help you."

Uchiha Kagami also spoke up to help, his dark, large eyes full of admiration for Tobirama Senju. This look caused a slight sting in Seeing Shenhuo's heart; once upon a time, he had also admired the elder who caused them to be displaced just like this.

"You respect your master very much?"

Seeing Shenhuo suddenly blurted out a sentence, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others confused, but they still nodded very seriously.

"Heh."

Coldly twitching the corner of his mouth, Seeing Shenhuo lowered his head and asked expressionlessly,

"If one day your master encountered a difficult problem and asked you to go to your deaths, what choice would you make?"

"Huh?"

The three little ones felt a tightness in their hearts; they had never thought about such a situation occurring.

"Master is one of the top powerhouses in the village; he would absolutely never do such a thing!"

Little Danzo spoke up first. In his heart, Tobirama Senju's character and strength were among the best in Konoha, and he would never act in a way that sacrificed his students.

"That's hard to say. Ninjas are cold-blooded animals; for the sake of their goals, they can sacrifice everything."

Shaking his head at the naive Danzo, Seeing Shenhuo was not satisfied with this answer.

"I would go! If my sacrifice could bring help to Master and the village, I would willingly give my life!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly raised his head, his small eyes filled with determination. He knew deeply that unless it was a last resort, Master would never let them make such a choice. If his sacrifice could trade for the best result, he would be willing to be that sacrifice.

"Oh?"

Seeing Shenhuo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose determined expression did not seem fake, and nodded imperceptibly.

This kid is not only a quiet pervert, but he might also be a gold-medal lecturer skilled at bluffing.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer sounded like the correct one, Seeing Shenhuo still cast his gaze on the last one, Uchiha Kagami. Looking at this curly-haired kid with a gentle temperament, he wanted to hear what he thought.

But in all likelihood, he would be just like this righteous little brat, saying some words about being willing to dedicate himself.

"Go to my death? Why would I go to my death?"

However, what Seeing Shenhuo didn't expect was that Uchiha Kagami, who looked the most amiable, actually said something he didn't anticipate.

Uchiha Kagami frowned. Although he usually appeared very kind, his bones still carried the unique arrogance and stubbornness of the Uchiha.

"My uncle once taught me that when encountering problems, one cannot just sit and wait for death. Even when facing unknown enemies, one must fight to the end!"

Looking at Uchiha Kagami, who was clenching his small fists, strange colors couldn't help but emerge in Seeing Shenhuo's unfocused eyes.

"This uncle of yours must be a very outstanding person, right?"

In Seeing Shenhuo's view, an uncle who could teach such a child must be a very profound ninja.

"Uh, how should I put it... in a certain sense, he is indeed very outstanding."

The three little ones looked at Seeing Shenhuo, whose eyes were shining, and their thin skin twitched subconsciously before they replied in a very hesitant tone.

Being able to make the head of a village bow to him, the outstanding nature of Uchiha Gin was displayed to the fullest.

"Phew~ for the sake of your uncle, if Zhenzi is full in a moment, I will let you go for now. Leave quickly after dawn~"

Seeing Shenhuo felt heartfelt respect for the uncle who could teach such a child with his own opinions, and subsequently decided to let them go, though he didn't say it explicitly. He knew Zhenzi's appetite very well; she would probably be full after finishing those Grass ninja on the ground.

"Huh? Really?"

Sudden happiness hit the three little ones. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Kagami subconsciously reached out and pinched Shimura Danzo, who was between them.

"Ouch, what are you doing~"

The suddenly attacked little Danzo couldn't help but let out a cry, rubbing his reddened arm with a glaring look.

"Phew, so it wasn't a dream!"

The two who committed the violence breathed a sigh of relief in unison, without the slightest intention of apologizing to anyone.

"Monkey, you will regret this!"

Little Danzo, with tears in the corners of his eyes, aggrievedly shouted the formula.

"Danzo, I am the captain!"

That's right, as the captain of the three-man squad, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally had the qualification to say such things.

Seeing Shenhuo, on the side, looked at the three little ones with their excellent relationship, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Looking at the one "corpse" left on the ground, he reached behind his back and pulled out a rope.

"That said, to prevent the three of you from snitching, you'll have to suffer a little."

Saying this, Seeing Shenhuo tied up the three little ones, preparing to stuff them into a small alley so that when the town residents hit the streets during the day, they would be able to find them.

"Eat."

On the other side, Zhenzi, who had devoured the Grass ninja's corpse, licked her full lips and cast her scarlet gaze on the last "corpse." She was already very full, but adhering to the principle of not wasting, she prepared to carry out a clean-plate operation.

Just as she was manipulating the black mist to prepare for the meal, that long-silent "corpse" actually moved.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"

A burst of white smoke rose, and that Grass ninja with a face full of flesh turned into a lean, middle-aged man who looked like a monkey. At this moment, he was puffing out his cheeks, frantically spraying Vacuum Spheres at the bewildered Zhenzi.

"There's actually a fish that slipped through the net?"

Hearing the commotion from not far away, Seeing Shenhuo, who had just finished tying up the three little ones, frowned. He stared fixedly at the strange man in mid-air. After seeing the forehead protector the other party was wearing, he suddenly realized, then looked with unkind eyes at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was showing a look of joy.

"So they came to save you~"

Hearing the coldness in Seeing Shenhuo's tone, the three little ones felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar; their lives were held in the hands of this man before them.

"Hmph~ don't worry, I, Seeing Shenhuo, always keep my word. If I say I'll let you go, I'll let you go. That man won't be a match for Zhenzi."

Although Seeing Shenhuo could completely take advantage of the situation now and use the lives of the three little ones as leverage to make Sasuke Sarutobi submit, there was no need. For one, he couldn't control Zhenzi while she was eating; he could only ensure he wouldn't be harmed himself.

Secondly, Seeing Shenhuo knew Zhenzi's terrifying strength very well. Even someone as strong as the elder had his arm removed by the girl in a single encounter. Dealing with such a plain-looking middle-aged man was surely a piece of cake.

The Vacuum Spheres released by Sasuke Sarutobi were much stronger than those of that hack Kenichi Shimura. The tiny wind bullets were as fast as lightning, shooting toward the dazed Zhenzi with the speed of a thunderbolt.

"Puff, puff, puff~"

Seeing the attacks all sink into the target's body, Sasuke Sarutobi felt a surge of joy in his heart. But soon he discovered that after being hit by the Vacuum Spheres, the other party not only stood firm but didn't even bleed a drop. At this eerie scene, a layer of gloom slowly shrouded his heart.

"This guy, what kind of monster is it?"

"Eat."

Zhenzi tilted her head; she hadn't encountered food that resisted so fiercely in a long time. She then flashed and disappeared from where she was.

"Such fast speed!"

Sasuke Sarutobi's heart tightened. He hurriedly turned his eyes, searching for the figure of the eerie woman all around, while one hand was already forming seals, ready to counter at any moment.

"Eat."

The next moment, that hoarse murmur sounded in his ear again. He didn't expect the other party to have no fluctuation of aura at all. But fortunately, Sasuke Sarutobi was prepared. He saw water suddenly overflow from one of his arms, turning into a flowing water blade in the blink of an eye, and he swung it behind him without looking back.

【Water Style: Water Fang Blade】

"Hiss~"

Hearing the sound of clothes tearing behind him, Sasuke Sarutobi couldn't help but be overjoyed. This meant his attack had hit the other party. The sharpness of the Water Fang Blade was no less than that of swords made of refined steel; taking a hit would likely result in missing limbs.

"Eat."

But soon, Sasuke Sarutobi's smile froze on his monkey face. That eerie murmur didn't disappear because of his attack; instead, it carried a bit more mockery.

"Boom!"

Sasuke Sarutobi had just wanted to turn around to face the enemy when he felt a huge force coming from behind. The power of this blow almost made him die on the spot. He couldn't help but spray a mouthful of blood, and his whole body fell to the other end of the street like a kite with a broken string.

"Father!"

Seeing his father fly backward after being lightly slapped by that eerie woman, the captured Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but cry out. No wonder Seeing Shenhuo looked so calm and collected; it turned out that the woman's strength was so terrifying.

"Cough, cough, cough."

The brute force of Mako sent Sarutobi Sasuke, who had been struck, crashing into the street to create a large crater; he struggled to crawl out from within, his eyes filled with horror.

This strength was almost on par with the fists of the Hokage.

Feeling as though his internal organs had been displaced, Sarutobi Sasuke could not help but recall the scene from years ago when he sparred with Hashirama Senju; the man had sent him to the hospital with just a light punch.

The doctor counted them, and good heavens, eight ribs were broken.

Hashirama Senju: I only used thirty percent of my strength.

"Is he your father?"

Hearing the exclamation, Seeing Shenhuo looked at the anxious Sarutobi Hiruzen with great interest.

"Let me go!"

With hatred in his eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Seeing Shenhuo without yielding an inch.

"Weakness is the original sin; even if I let you go, what could you possibly do?"

Seeing Shenhuo shook his head indifferently; since he had said he would spare these few brats, he would not go back on his word.

He had promised Mako that he would be a man who keeps his word.

"Damn it."

Sarutobi Sasuke, whose limbs felt like they were falling apart, struggled to stand up, his gaze fixed firmly on the eerie woman not far away; even in this desperate situation, he was still searching for a chance to turn the tables.

Glancing at his son, who was filled with worry, Sarutobi Sasuke felt strength seemingly injected into his body once more, so he gritted his teeth, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth onto his palm, and slammed it onto the ground.

"Thump~"

Following a burst of white smoke, a monkey with bulging muscles appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Monkey God, please lend me your strength!"

The summoned monkey had a pointed head and a very fierce expression; upon hearing Sarutobi Sasuke's request, it slowly nodded.

"Adamantine Staff!"

Sensing his intent, Sarutobi Sasuke clapped his hands, and the fierce Monkey God transformed into a giant staff with rounded ends.

Sarutobi Sasuke took it into his hands and spun it, his fighting spirit instantly soaring.

"Come on, round two."

"Eat."

Mako remained unmoved by this provocation; in her eyes, Sarutobi Sasuke was merely food that was not very easy to swallow.

"Vertical Staff Style!"

Planting the Adamantine Staff into the ground, Sarutobi Sasuke grabbed the other end and leaped high, using his body's momentum to bend the tough staff, then utilized its rebound force to smash fiercely toward Mako, who stood still.

"Clang~"

Accompanied by the swirling shockwave, everyone heard a piercing metallic ring and immediately shifted their gaze over.

"How is that possible?"

Sarutobi Sasuke's surprised voice was the first to ring out, and everyone then saw that the giant staff he had swung down with immense force had actually been pinched by Mako's slender hand, looking as effortless as lifting a feather.

Seeing this scene, Seeing Shenhuo's eyes were filled with unconcealable pain; what good was having such terrifying power? He only wanted back that sweet, clumsy, gluttonous girl.

"Eat."

"Ah!!! Sasuke, I can't do it anymore, you're on your own!"

As the girl's grip tightened, the Monkey God, nearly squeezed to death, could no longer endure the torture and immediately transformed into a puff of white smoke, returning to the Fruit and Flower Mountain, leaving behind the helpless Sarutobi Sasuke.

Mako was getting bored with this cat-and-mouse game; instead of standing still waiting for the opponent to attack, she flashed and appeared in front of Sarutobi Sasuke, delivering a palm strike to his chest.

"Bang!"

Sarutobi Sasuke's reaction was not slow, but Mako's speed was truly too bizarre; he barely managed to cross his arms to defend, but he still could not withstand the palm strike.

The same scenario played out again; Sarutobi Sasuke was once more dominated by immense force, spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, and crashed heavily into a stone pillar by the street, falling unconscious.

"Let me go, I want to face this with my father!"

Seeing that even the Monkey God could not save his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen roared while struggling.

"Shut up, brat. I want you to know that in this world, there is no such thing as a hero who saves people from fire and water."

Once upon a time, Seeing Shenhuo had also struggled just like Sarutobi Hiruzen; he too had fantasized about a hero descending from the sky to save him and Mako from a desperate situation.

"No!!!"

Seeing Mako slowly pacing toward his severely injured and unconscious father, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a shrill scream, and his two little companions also felt their hearts tighten, unable to bear watching their friend's father perish here.

"Hmph~ I said the monkey-face was a fraud, Hashirama just wouldn't believe it. When I go back this time, I'm definitely going to give him a piece of my mind."

On a roof not far from the scene, Uchiha Madara, with his arms crossed, had witnessed the entire event; he had been ready to intervene when the three brats were cornered by the Fire God.

Uchiha Kagami was a precious gem who could not be allowed to come to harm, or else his cousin would skin him alive.

But what Uchiha Madara did not expect was that these brats had a few tricks up their sleeves and their coordination was quite commendable, so he suppressed his impatience and began to observe.

"Ah~ they actually awakened their eyes!"

Upon seeing Uchiha Kagami awaken the Sharingan, Uchiha Madara nodded with some pleasant surprise; this was an unexpected bonus.

Seeing the three of them completely wiped out, Uchiha Madara began to warm up while thinking about what stylish pose to use for his entrance, but the sudden intrusion of the Grass ninja interrupted his thoughts.

Before he could even complain, he sensed a familiar aura among the Grass ninja and once again delayed his entrance.

Didn't Hashirama say the monkey-face was strong? Then he would let him see exactly where that strength lay~

"However... that woman who eats people, her aura is truly complex enough."

Uchiha Madara, having delayed his appearance, fixed his gaze on the woman slaughtering the Grass ninja; through the perception of his eyes, he saw the mottled aura on Mako, like a chaotic dye vat mixed with tens of thousands of complex emotions.

Sorrow, anger, sadness, excitement, loneliness, hunger...

On the contrary, Uchiha Madara did not think much of the scrawny man; his strength was not particularly impressive.

Following Sarutobi Sasuke's defeat, Uchiha Madara, who had been warming up for a long time, finally waited for his chance to enter.

"Watch me push through with Susanoo directly, give these brats a taste of Uchiha shock, and help Kagami save some face while I'm at it~"

Having designed his entrance pose, Uchiha Madara immediately widened his eyes, the bewitching pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan began to rotate slowly, and with a clap of his hands, a blue phantom began to condense behind him.

But it seemed the heavens could not stand to see Uchiha Madara show off; before he could condense the Susanoo giant, a figure that had been lurking for a long time suddenly stood up on a distant roof ahead of him, and by the moonlight, one could see a pair of eyes glowing faintly green.

At the scene, ignoring Sarutobi Hiruzen's murderous glare, Seeing Shenhuo beckoned to Mako not far away.

"Mako, let's go home after eating this~"

"Eat."

"Father!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's little face turned pale.

Could it be that he would become an orphan at such a young age?

Could no one come to help him?

Did the heroes in the picture books really not exist?

"Henshin!"

"Turn Up!"

Suddenly, a strange electronic sound reached the ears of everyone present.

"What the hell?"

Seeing Shenhuo grabbed his messy hair in annoyance; just how many people had to come before they realized Mako's terror?

"Chomei! Seven-Tails Chomei! The invincible rhinoceros beetle!"

"That is..."

The three brats widened their eyes, staring straight at the figure standing on the roof, even forgetting to breathe.

As the pale moonlight spilled down, the silver knight descended quietly.

"Who are you?"

Looking at this guy playing god, a trace of irritation rose in Seeing Shenhuo's heart; he wanted such cool armor too!

"Are you Seeing Shenhuo?"

The silver knight did not answer, but instead asked Seeing Shenhuo a question.

"Are you a new toy made by the Grass ninja?"

Seeing that the strange armored man before him ignored the man-eating Mako and kept looking at him instead, Seeing Shenhuo was very confused.

"It seems you are. Grass Country rogue ninja Seeing Shenhuo, bounty 35 million ryo. I advise you to surrender, otherwise, it will be very painful."

The silver knight nodded, his deep voice coming from beneath the faceplate.

Bounty?

The three brats blinked in confusion; they had not yet come into contact with knowledge about the black market, so they did not understand this unfamiliar term.

"I thought it was someone important, turns out it's just a stray dog. My bounty isn't so easy to collect~"

Hearing the silver knight's words, Seeing Shenhuo finally caught on, then put on a look of disdain; in the eyes of people like them, bounty hunters were nothing more than a pack of hyenas that smelled blood, and he didn't take them seriously at all.

Strong ninjas either joined ninja villages or set up their own factions; those who could only work as bounty hunters were basically just bottom-feeders who couldn't make a name for themselves.

"It seems you are unwilling to cooperate."

Beneath the faceplate, Kakuzu shook his head in disappointment; he had been lurking nearby the whole time. When the Grass ninja were being slaughtered, he did not intervene because their goals were aligned. If he had stepped in to capture Seeing Shenhuo then, the Grass ninja, as his employers, would certainly have used it as an excuse to haggle over the price.

Then, a Konoha ninja suddenly popped up, which really gave Kakuzu quite a scare; the shadow of Hashirama Senju's Wood Dragon still lingered in his heart, so during this period, he would avoid any Konoha ninja he encountered.

After Sarutobi Sasuke was knocked down, he felt his chance to enter had arrived, so he drew the Seven-Tails card under the moonlight and skillfully transformed into the Seven-Tails Knight.

"So what if I'm not cooperating? You silver caterpillar, you're no match for my Mako."

Seeing Shenhuo looked at Kakuzu's cool armor, feeling as if ten pounds of lemon juice had been poured into his heart, and could not help but mock him sourly.

"You've caused big trouble, kid. That is a forbidden word to the Divine Beast."

Kakuzu regretfully drew the short blade at his waist; he had already sentenced this Seeing Shenhuo to death in his heart.

"Also, I have a name. My codename is Sword, and people in the business call me by the nickname, Hunter Knight Sword." (End of chapter)