Chapter 479

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had instantly poured out a full set of damage, stared panting at the center of the explosion where thick smoke was rising. This Five-Combo Technique was the strongest trump card he had mastered so far.

If Shi didn't fall, he could only prepare to retire in gloom.

"With such terrifying destructive power, Shi is probably in trouble."

Jin Jiao frowned. Also proficient in five attributes, he could see at a glance that the Five-Combo Technique had considerable lethality.

Even if it were himself after transforming, facing this move, he might not be able to come out unscathed.

"Won."

Uchiha Madara, who had been watching the battle in silence for a long time, suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it landed steadily in the ears of everyone in the arena. Everyone looked at him with suspicion.

When they saw those eyes flickering with obscure red light, the doubts in their hearts vanished instantly.

"Yay!"

Utatane Koharu was the first to raise her hand, shouting excitedly. Kagami, on the side, breathed a secret sigh of relief.

"Good, good."

If Hiruzen had also lost, he would have become the village's last hope. If he couldn't hold back his strength and hurt the opponent, he didn't know how much medical compensation he would have to pay.

"I won?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was tense in the arena, also heard Uchiha Madara's definitive words, and his eyes instantly shone with brilliance.

He had actually defeated the Hidden Cloud Village's number one genius. If this were recorded on his resume, wouldn't it help him climb the ladder of promotion?

The position of Hokage was just around the corner!

Whoosh—

At this moment, the dense smoke in the arena finally dissipated, and everyone could clearly see the miserable state of the training ground. The solid ground had been blasted into a deep pit over ten meters deep.

In the center of the charred pit lay the unconscious Shi. What was surprising was that even though he had lost consciousness, his body was still wrapped in thick plasma, showing his deep-seated obsession with battle.

"What are you standing there for? Medical team, hurry up!"

Knowing the outcome, Jin Jiao's face was gloomy. His fierce gaze swept over the Hidden Cloud ninjas standing behind him, and the terrifying aura made them break out in cold sweat. They hurriedly flew into the arena to treat the unconscious Shi.

"Crackle~"

"Ah!"

But soon, these Cloud ninjas responsible for treatment encountered difficulties. Facing Shi, who was clad in lightning armor, they really didn't know how to start; as long as they got a little closer, they would be injured by the ruthless lightning.

Jin Jiao pouted in disdain, and his sturdy figure vanished from his spot instantly. When he reappeared, he was already standing in front of Shi, who was wrapped in lightning. The Cloud medical team immediately and sensibly gave up their position.

"Lord Raikage..."

"What a bunch of trash."

Raising his only remaining hand, Jin Jiao slapped Shi's unrecognizable face hard.

"Slap!"

Even the violent lightning could not stop Jin Jiao's slap from landing.

"Ugh, ah?"

Shi, who had taken a slap from his senior brother, slowly woke up under the familiar sharp pain. After his vision focused, he covered his swollen cheek with delayed realization.

"Senior Brother, why are you here?"

"Hmph! After we go back, your training will be doubled."

Jin Jiao put his slightly numb palm behind his back, scolded him with an unhappy face, and then signaled the medical team on the side to take over, while he flashed back to his original position.

"As expected of the Cloud's number one genius, being able to practice Lightning Style to this extent, I'm afraid no one in the entire Ninja World can compare. Unlike my few disciples, who are stupid; they only practiced a little bit of fur and came up to make a fool of themselves."

After the victory, Senju Tobirama finally had the chance to show off. He appeared to be praising Shi's strength, but in reality, he was showing off his own disciples.

"What kind of skill is a wheel battle?"

However, how could Jin Jiao not hear the subtext in Senju Tobirama's words? A look of indignation immediately appeared on his face.

His junior brother had fought several rounds in a row; winning a war of attrition and then having the face to show off in front of him—the Senju clan was indeed damned.

On the other side, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been squeezed dry by the Five-Combo Technique, also jumped off the stage. Utatane Koharu immediately stepped forward, placing her hands, which were radiating life energy, on his back.

"Thank you, Koharu."

Feeling his dried-up meridians being slowly nourished by life force, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded gratefully.

"You've worked hard, Hiruzen."

"I just did what I could do."

Facing Kagami, who had a look of relief, Sarutobi Hiruzen replied solemnly, but in his heart, he had a different face.

I got the MVP!

You guys are all dogs who won by lying down!

"No, it was you who defeated the enemy; we didn't help much."

Akimichi Torifu, with a face full of shame, stood up and dragged his injured leg over. He had only exchanged a few moves with Shi before being cut down by the opponent. Reasonably and emotionally, the victory of this match had nothing to do with him.

"Sorry, I..."

Mitokado Homura, who had healed almost completely, also crawled up, wanting to join the conversation of his teammates, but the few ignored his voice, as if they hadn't seen his figure.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"Eh? Koharu, did you hear any sound?"

Just at this time, Danzo, who was the most seriously injured, slowly woke up. Everyone's attention was instantly attracted, leaving Mitokado Homura, who was trying to find a sense of presence, aside.

"Did... did I win?"

The first thing Danzo did after waking up was to ask about his battle record. He urgently wanted to know if he was qualified to get the MVP of the whole match.

"You've done your best."

Everyone looked at each other, and finally, the good-natured Kagami announced the news that made Danzo's heart turn to ash.

"Is that so... I lost after all."

Danzo, with a gray face, hung his head, his eyes full of humiliation and unwillingness.

"You've already done great. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the enemy."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, like a general returning in victory, patted Danzo on the shoulder, showing off his victory in a very emotional tone.

"Monkey... you won?"

Danzo raised his head in disbelief, looking at his close friend who had a faint look of pride on his face. His heart felt like a vinegar jar had been overturned, so sour it was about to smoke.

"That's right, it was Hiruzen who defeated that scary Blackie; he is our MVP!"

The look of worship in Utatane Koharu's eyes was particularly piercing to Danzo. Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was surrounded by stars, he felt a mix of five flavors for a moment.

Clearly, he had tried his best, but in the end, the one who took the MVP was the monkey who came from behind.

"Why do you care so much about who defeated the enemy last? It will only alienate the contribution of each person in the collective."

Just as Danzo was about to develop a rift, Senju Tobirama, with a smile, walked over. Discovering that a disunity crisis was about to appear among his disciples, he immediately spoke to guide them, eliminating the internal contradictions of the few in the bud.

"Master! Homura, he..."

Seeing Senju Tobirama, the F6 members all revealed deep sadness on their faces. Utatane Koharu held the broken glasses in her hands, bean-sized tears swirling in her eyes, and the remaining few also hung their heads; the overall atmosphere was very depressed.

Today, they lost a close friend.

"I'm still here! Master, look at me, I can still jog, I can jump high!"

Homura, who had lost his main body, jumped excitedly in front of the sad-faced Senju Tobirama, trying to increase his sense of presence, but the result was very minimal.

"Homura was my most valued disciple; I didn't expect him to..."

"No, I... right! I still have emergency glasses."

Seeing that his memorial service was about to be held, and Utatane Koharu had even started collecting gift money, Mitokado Homura slapped his head and rummaged through his ninja tool bag.

"Found it!"

Holding his spare glasses, Mitokado Homura seemed to have found his lost soul. Excited, he immediately put the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Guys, I'm here!"

They saw the sad atmosphere pause abruptly. The remaining F6 members retreated several meters rapidly, each with eyes wide as bulls and mouths open, looking in horror at the Mitokado Homura who appeared out of thin air.

"You... who are you? What a subtle Transformation Technique."

Uchiha Kagami gathered his courage and asked, his scarlet eyes looking up and down at his friend who had returned from the dead, his face full of vigilance.

"Homura is already dead; his body is already cold."

"I am Homura, you guys are blind!"

Mitokado Homura was instantly furious. This bunch of guys were the blind people who most needed glasses.

"Wait, if you really are Homura, then perform that for us."

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Utatane Koharu suddenly spoke, her beautiful eyes looking intently at the furious Mitokado Homura.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's it; the fake will definitely not know Homura's secret technique!"

"Show your true form! Fake~"

The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

(^～^)ゞ

"I really can't do anything with you guys. Watch closely, I'll only perform it once."

They saw Mitokado Homura raise his right hand with a solemn face, pinch the temple of his glasses lightly, and while everyone held their breath, slowly take off his glasses.

"Ah! It really disappeared!"

"This... this is indeed Homura's secret technique."

"A concealment technique comparable to the Moonlight clan's Kekkei Genkai; could he really be Homura?"

The surprised few had different opinions, but the suspicion in their hearts slowly dissipated. With such a bizarre secret technique, I'm afraid no second person could be found in the entire Ninja World.

"Believe me now?"

Homura, who put his glasses back on, appeared in everyone's field of vision again. The expression on his face looked indignant, but it carried a trace of hard-to-detect secret pleasure.

"Homura! You actually didn't die; did you use some secret technique to substitute yourself?"

After confirming there was no mistake, the few surrounded him excitedly.

What could be happier than a close friend faking his death at his own funeral?

"Cough... it's still under development. This time was just an experiment; I'll share it with you guys when there are results."

Not knowing how to explain the situation he encountered, Mitokado Homura had to bite the bullet and make up a groundless reason, successfully deceiving everyone, including Senju Tobirama.

"Lord Hokage, are these the strongest new talents of your Konoha?"

Just as the F6 were celebrating happily, Onoki narrowed his eyes and asked Uchiha Madara, who had a cold expression.

If Konoha's next generation only had this level, he could put down the concerns in his heart and prepare for some shady things early.

"So what if they are."

Although the F6 relied on wheel battles to defeat the Cloud's number one genius, ninjas were never a profession of fighting alone.

Close teamwork was also one of the necessary tactical qualities, and using it in battle was not something shameful.

There was no need to talk about chivalry with the enemy; everyone, attack together!

"Since that's the case, our Hidden Stone won't participate in this sparring."

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Onoki shook his head, using his eyes to suppress the red-haired boy behind him who was eager to try. Let the stubborn Blackie do the probing work; the geniuses of their village couldn't afford any mistakes.

"Our Hidden Mist is the same."

The squinting Gui also added at the right time, his gaze glancing unobtrusively at the strange-looking Mist ninjas behind him, among whom were several half-man, half-fish monsters.

These were the foundation of the Hidden Mist Village and must not be lost in such a place.

Uchiha Madara's expression turned cold; he had the illusion of being played like a monkey.

"What do you mean? You were the ones who wanted to fight, and now you're the ones who don't want to fight. Do you think our Konoha is easy to bully?"

"No, no, we are just sighing that Konoha has many talents; besides the Uchiha and Senju, there are actually so many capable people."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

Hearing Onoki's explanation, Uchiha Madara turned his head, a dangerous look in his eyes. He always felt that this little potato was deliberately looking for trouble.

His hands were a bit itchy.

"Lord Hokage is overthinking it; let's go back and continue the meeting."

Under Uchiha Madara's cold gaze, Onoki had the illusion of being stared at by a poisonous snake. He immediately stood up and announced the end of this farce.

The four parties returned to the conference table, but this time, the aggressive momentum of Onoki and the other two had converged a lot, and the previously sharp tone had also eased a lot.

As the mastermind in the temporary alliance, Onoki, after thinking for a few seconds, spoke first.

"Although Konoha claims that the attack incident has nothing to do with the First Hokage, the encounters of us few are absolutely not false. At the very least, it can be determined that the attacker used Wood Style ninjutsu."

He prepared to confirm the attack incident first; as for the culprit, even if it wasn't Konoha, it definitely had a thousand threads of connection with Konoha.

"That may be so..."

Senju Tobirama heard the meaning in Onoki's words and frowned.

If it were confirmed that the attacker was a Wood Style user, their Konoha would never be able to clear its relationship with the attack incident.

Thinking deeper, the attack incident might be used as a handle by these people to stir up trouble.

"I... lost a kidney. If I didn't already have children, I might have ended my line right there."

Without waiting for Senju Tobirama to explain, Onoki first revealed an expression of extreme grief, his words full of bitterness that could resonate with men.

"Uh..."

Unfortunately, if he had said it earlier, Senju Tobirama might have understood, but now...

Sorry, Senju Hizhen really couldn't empathize.

"Do you know what a handy arm means to a lonely single man?"

Jin Jiao supported his body with one hand, showing his severed arm to everyone, his flesh-filled face actually carrying a pain of losing a loved one.

"I can understand!"

"Huh?"

Everyone turned their heads in confusion, looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had his hand raised high. Except for the bewildered Utatane Koharu, they all revealed a smile that only men understood.

"Monkey, share the study materials after we go back."

"Exactly, exactly~"

"Lord Mizukage, it's your turn!"

After the two finished their emotional performance, they found that the squinting Gui remained unmoved and immediately whispered a reminder.

"Ah, this..."

Gui was in a difficult position. He hadn't lost anything in the battle with the attacker; the price of unleashing Absolute Zero was just consuming a few years of his life, which wasn't a big loss for a ninja walking on the tip of a knife.

"What did you lose?"

Under Uchiha Madara's aggressive gaze, Gui decided to put down his face just to fulfill the alliance agreement.

A look of tangible pain instantly appeared on his fair face. Now, the cold persona he had maintained in the Hidden Mist for many years might collapse.

"I originally wanted to keep this secret buried forever..."

They saw him slowly lower his head, placing his right hand on the black, smooth hair that Uchiha Madara envied, and in the surprised eyes of everyone, slowly lift it up.

"What is that? So shiny!"

"Ah!! My eyes!"

"Is it the sun!?"

(Д`)(Д`)(Д`)

Gui, who revealed his privacy to the public, had a face like a saint, as if there were no people or things in the world he cared about.

"I spent many years and a lot of money, and the hair I finally nourished is now only..."

"This one strand."

Under the bright lights of the conference room, on Gui's shiny bald head under his wig, a stubborn hair fluttered in the wind, looking like duckweed in the rain, on the verge of falling. (End of chapter)