Chapter 146: Sarutobi Hiruzen's Defeat

When the Hyuga and Uchiha joined forces, Konohagakure was already in chaos.

Whether it was the Hyuga or the Uchiha, both were ninja clans with vast estates and heavy responsibilities; they had many concerns and had to weigh their options and unify their people's hearts before they could organize their clansmen to step out their gates.

But those ordinary Konoha ninja had no such concerns.

As soon as the battle began, they walked out of their homes, filled the high vantage points all over the village, and gazed toward the East Gate.

At first, they were merely filled with doubt and curiosity, discussing and speculating about what was happening.

Although curious about what was happening at the East Gate, they were still able to restrain their impulses and not violate the prohibition by approaching the East Gate.

But the battle in the direction of the East Gate dragged on, and instead, the commotion grew louder, the chakra fluctuations became increasingly violent, and screams and explosions were heard incessantly.

The Konoha ninja began to feel fear and unease, and the volume of their discussions grew louder as well.

When Wood Release appeared out of thin air, forcibly creating a primeval forest outside the East Gate, the prohibition previously issued by Sarutobi Hiruzen was cast to the back of their minds by many Konoha ninja.

From the big picture, the civilian ninja of Konoha were supporters of the Third Hokage.

But for twenty years, the four great clans—Sarutobi, Utatane, Mitokado, and Shimura—had developed rapidly; these benefits did not grow out of thin air, but were obtained by squeezing the interests of the civilian ninja.

The four great clans joined forces, locking their targets onto families that had lost their ninja, and by "wiping out the household," they perfectly suppressed the resentment of the civilian ninja.

But over several decades, there would always be times when things were not done perfectly.

What was even more fatal was that the new generation of ninja from the four great clans had grown accustomed to their special privileges, and their conduct was no longer as cautious and meticulous as that of their elders.

In recent years, quite a few civilian ninja, under the oppression of the four great clans, had seen their families destroyed before they themselves even died, yet they did not know who had oppressed them.

Shimura Danzo had dealt with many Konoha civilian ninja over these years, and he did not kill Konoha ninja without reason.

Although many of them were indeed without reason, in Danzo's own heart, they were not.

He believed that he was either protecting Konohagakure or cleaning up the messes of his own descendants.

Only in this way would there be more and more ninja orphans, a larger and larger Northeast Shanty Town, and it would be seen by Yamanaka Chujiu as the Execution Line of Konohagakure, thereby igniting his resentment and determination.

A closed loop of fate!

In short, the hearts of many civilian ninja were already filled with dissatisfaction, and upon seeing the Wood Release soaring into the sky, they rushed directly toward the East Gate.

The number of these ninja was still not large enough, and their strength was not strong enough, so they were easily intercepted and captured by Anbu ninja.

But when Hyuga Hiashi and Itachi Uchiha took the lead in charging over, the Anbu ninja could no longer stop them.

The combined number of Hyuga ninja and Uchiha ninja exceeded five hundred, among whom the proportion of Special Jonin, Jonin, and Elite Jonin was extremely high, and their strength far exceeded that of the entire Anbu.

Seeing the two great noble clans charging at the front, more civilian ninja had their fighting spirit ignited and followed along to charge forward.

These ninja included ordinary Genin and Chunin, as well as some elite ninja from small clans.

They might not have been strong, but their longing for equality and peace was extremely intense.

They deeply loathed the corrupt rule of Sarutobi Hiruzen and longed for Konohagakure to return to greatness and for their lives to return to the track of prosperity.

"Hurry! Let's go to the East Gate and see!"

"Both the Hyuga Clan Head and the Uchiha Clan Head have gone; we should follow too, we cannot remain silent any longer!"

"Sarutobi Hokage favors the three clans and has squeezed us for so many years; today, we must also seek justice for ourselves!"

More and more ninja joined the ranks heading toward the East Gate.

The group grew larger and larger, gradually transforming from the initial ninja of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans into a great army composed of hundreds of ninja.

The mighty torrent of ninja directly scattered the Anbu arranged by the Third Hokage and advanced toward the East Gate with unstoppable momentum.

Their footsteps and shouts intertwined, resounding throughout the entire Konohagakure.

And the explosions and screams from the direction of the East Gate also erupted at this moment, spreading across half of Konohagakure.

The two sharply contrasting waves of sound rose and fell, completely disrupting the order and hearts of Konohagakure.

The battle at the East Gate entered a white-hot stage.

After Senju Hashirama began a massacre, the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado ninja suffered heavy casualties.

In just over ten minutes, over a thousand ninja were strangled by Wood Release, their corpses dragged into the ground to be buried.

Witnessing the massive deaths, the ninja of the four great clans completely learned the terror of the First Hokage; their fighting spirit was completely shattered, and they fled frantically with fear on their faces.

Sarutobi Asuma struggled to crawl up, looking at the clansmen who had fallen beside him and at his father, who was entangled by tree branches and unable to break free, his eyes filled with despair.

But he still picked up the Chakra Blade from the ground and charged toward Senju Hashirama once again.

Senju Tobirama flashed, teleporting in front of Sarutobi Asuma, and the ninja sword he had snatched in his hand slashed toward his neck.

Ninja Art: Flying Thunder God Slash!

With death imminent, Sarutobi Asuma's eyes were still fixed on Senju Hashirama, completely unaware that he was about to die.

At this critical moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen used all his strength to snap some of the branches and smashed a Shadow Monkey Adamantine Staff toward Senju Tobirama.

The heavy Adamantine Staff missed, and the vanished Second Hokage teleported behind Sarutobi Hiruzen; the force of the ninja sword in his hand did not diminish in the slightest as it slashed toward the Third Hokage's neck.

Sarutobi Asuma, who had reacted, saw this scene and shouted in despair: "Father!"

But the decapitated Sarutobi Hiruzen did not bleed; instead, he turned into white smoke.

It was a Shadow Clone!

Senju Tobirama praised: "To actually be able to deceive me, Hiruzen, your taijutsu and ninjutsu are far stronger than when I died."

"Unfortunately, you are not facing me alone; there is also my elder brother..."

In the Wood Release forest, every large tree was Senju Hashirama's eyes, ears, hands, and feet.

The forest did not just contain trees; there were vines, and inconspicuous moss, grass, flowers, and pollen, which were likewise Senju Hashirama's eyes and ears.

Countless tree branches were seen twitching one after another, attacking what appeared to be empty spaces in turns, forming a rapidly moving trajectory.

Suddenly, a protruding branch touched a solid object, and it immediately curled into a ball of wood, followed by an all-out strangulation.

Boom—!

A massive fireball shattered the wooden ball, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, covered in black smoke, flew out from the center of the explosion.

While still in mid-air, a mouthful of blood sprayed out.

Senju Hashirama shook his head and said, "To throw the true form of the Enma Adamantine Staff out right in front of me, attempt to deceive me with a Shadow Clone Jutsu, and coordinate it with an Invisibility Technique to escape strangulation..."

"Monkey, how little do you think of me?"

"Is this First Hokage, in your heart, truly so feeble?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen crashed to the ground, but he did not look at Senju Hashirama; instead, he turned his head to look at Senju Tobirama:

"Teacher Tobirama, spare my son. If you want to kill, then kill me. All the faults are my responsibility, and those innocent ninja..."

Senju Tobirama's eyes were cold as he barked decisively, "Silence!"