Chapter 137: Elegy — Sarutobi Hiruzen
Yuto casually glanced at the small white snake he had just crushed to death with a single stomp, then withdrew his gaze.
"Orochimaru has more revival methods than even I do. Although he won't be able to revive for a while, news of my own resurrection will probably be exposed before long."
There was a trace of helplessness in Yuto's voice, yet there was not the slightest hint of worry on his face.
At the moment he killed the giant snake, Yuto had already more or less understood Orochimaru's true objective.
Naturally, Orochimaru did not know that Yuto fully understood his revival methods.
Thus, Orochimaru chose to use death to escape Yuto's sight, making it easier for him to plot in the shadows.
Regarding these little schemes of Orochimaru's, Yuto had guessed some of them, but did not particularly care.
If Orochimaru wanted to revive, it would likely still take a period of time.
Moreover, reviving through cursed seals was itself an extremely demanding method.
And during this time, there was more than enough for Yuto to accomplish many things.
Hoo!
At this moment, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the air.
Hiruzen controlled one of the arms of the True Thousand Hands, smashing a punch straight toward Yuto.
The battle between Orochimaru and Yuto had naturally fallen fully within Hiruzen's sight.
The scene of Yuto cleanly and decisively killing Orochimaru shocked and enraged Hiruzen.
Especially the Akatsuki cloak Yuto wore, with its somewhat special weaving pattern, caused an organization to surface in Hiruzen's mind.
This was information he had only learned through special means passed to him by Itachi.
A grave expression appeared on Hiruzen's somewhat pale face. Regardless of whether the other party was involved in that matter, he decided to capture him first.
A terrifying sonic boom exploded above Yuto's head, making Yuto reflexively rub his ears.
Under everyone's gaze, that incomparably exaggerated fist slammed down.
Seeing this scene from afar, Rin clenched her fists slightly. Although she knew nothing would happen, she still could not help feeling nervous deep down.
After all, the arm of that enormous Thousand-Armed Buddha statue could even pin down a tailed beast.
Silence!
Facing this massive punch, the entire battlefield seemed to fall silent.
No, it truly was silent.
When the punch landed, there was no imagined roar, nor any explosion, as if that fist had originally been fixed in that position, unmoving.
At this moment, on the battlefield.
Some sharp-eyed ninja nearby clearly saw that the fist, as large as a small mountain, was actually held up by a single plain and unremarkable palm.
Such an absurd contrast left the ninja momentarily at a loss.
Hiruzen, who was controlling the True Thousand Hands, changed expression slightly. He discovered that no matter how much force he exerted, that arm seemed frozen in midair, unable to descend even an inch.
"You don't need to rush to remind me. Let me finish dealing with you."
Yuto shrugged and spoke softly.
He naturally knew that Hiruzen could not hear what he was saying, but Yuto did not mind.
The palm supporting the giant hand exerted a bit of force and curled into a claw, easily tearing open a palm-sized hole in the wooden hand.
Reaching his hand into the hole, and drawing on the force he had absorbed from the earlier arm attack, Yuto let out a low shout and then violently pulled backward.
Hiruzen, who was controlling the True Thousand Hands, suddenly felt the entire construct shudder slightly.
Immediately afterward, Hiruzen widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the scene before him.
The arm of the True Thousand Hands had been forcibly torn off.
Tearing off an arm by brute force was completely different in nature from breaking it through an attack, as one would do against a tailed beast.
After ripping the arm off, Yuto slammed it hard into the ground, and the earth itself seemed to let out a tremendous wail.
In the next instant, Yuto grabbed the arm and swung it in a half-circle centered on himself.
Within that half-circle, the Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure ninja were instantly wiped out by Yuto.
With just this single move, the ninja of the three villages were nearly annihilated, aside from a handful who escaped by sheer luck.
"All right, it's settled."
Yuto glanced around and spoke softly. After speaking, he grabbed the arm with both hands and hurled it forcefully toward the True Thousand Hands.
Hiruzen immediately manipulated the True Thousand Hands to knock the arm aside. At the same time, he looked at the almost completely leveled ground below, a chill rising involuntarily in his heart.
Since when did the shinobi world have such a powerful ninja?
And someone like this had actually remained hidden in the shadows all this time.
"The power of ninjutsu, aside from the rank of the technique itself, depends most of all on the person using it."
Yuto raised his head, examining the True Thousand Hands. There was a hint of disdain in his voice, yet a trace of envy flashed in his eyes.
Whether it was Hashirama or Madara, each of them had no fewer than four or five large-scale techniques, if not more than ten, yet Yuto himself had no truly presentable large-area attack.
However, if the one controlling the True Thousand Hands before him were Hashirama, Yuto might be full of solemnity. As it was now, this so-called True Thousand Hands was at most a slightly threatening toy.
Adamantine Sealing Chains — Giant Form!
A massive number of chakra chains surged continuously from Yuto's body.
Supported by the chakra chains, Yuto was lifted directly into midair. Immediately after, the surging chains rapidly condensed in the air.
In the blink of an eye, a giant the size of a tailed beast, composed entirely of chakra chains, appeared in Hiruzen's field of vision.
"This is… the Uzumaki clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains?"
Disbelief appeared on Hiruzen's face as he widened his eyes and spoke.
Boom!
A violent roar shook the entire True Thousand Hands. Hiruzen quickly snapped back to his senses.
He discovered that the chakra-chain giant had already appeared beneath the True Thousand Hands at astonishing speed and was launching an attack.
Hiruzen sent dozens of arms attacking Yuto simultaneously.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several chakra chains shot out from the giant formed of chains, binding all those arms together and fixing them in midair.
Using those arms as leverage, and rapidly retracting the chakra chains, Yuto's body shot into the air. At the same moment, he lifted the giant-form state of the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
With a few leaps, Yuto appeared above the head of the True Thousand Hands.
Looking at Hiruzen, who was staring at him in a daze, Yuto revealed a gentle smile and greeted him.
"Yo, the Third Hokage of Konohagakure."
Boom!
The Monkey King Enma beside Hiruzen moved first, stomping heavily and reaching Yuto in the blink of an eye.
He then swung a fierce punch straight at Yuto.
Yuto raised his palm and casually caught Enma's fist, then violently flung him to the side.
Enma's body was directly embedded into the Buddha statue of the True Thousand Hands.
Hiruzen's expression changed drastically. He grabbed the summoning scroll beneath him that maintained the True Thousand Hands and tore it cleanly in half.
At this moment, Yuto had already appeared before Hiruzen.
"You are — the First Mizukage, Yuto!"
Hiruzen stared at the extremely young man before him and spoke with absolute certainty.
"Correct guess, but unfortunately there's no reward."
Yuto nodded, smiling as he spoke.
With Yuto's admission, Hiruzen instantly understood many things that had previously puzzled him.
At the same time, he finally realized what exactly was happening before his eyes.
"The First Hokage was right to leave behind a contingency!"
"Back then, you were sealed by the First Hokage-sama. Even if you escaped that seal, your fate would not change — you would still be sealed by the contingency left behind by Hashirama-sama!"
Hiruzen glared at Yuto with fury. When he spoke the name "Hashirama," his voice clearly rose several degrees.
After speaking, a smile suddenly appeared on Hiruzen's face. He even laughed loudly at Yuto, his voice filled with heroic resolve.
"Your ambition will never be realized! Konoha will never be destroyed by you."
"As long as there are leaves dancing in the air, the fire will burn. The shadow of fire will illuminate the village, and as long as the Will of Fire does not fade, Konoha will never perish!"
Yuto's expression was somewhat indifferent as he calmly looked at Hiruzen, who was suddenly brimming with heroic spirit and unwavering determination.
A heroic shinobi, huh?
Perhaps this was the true reason Tobirama had chosen Hiruzen to become Hokage back then.
"Is that so? Unfortunately, you won't be able to see it."
Yuto spoke softly. In a flash, he appeared in front of Hiruzen.
He extended a finger and lightly flicked Hiruzen's head before Hiruzen could even make a defensive move.
Buzz!
Hiruzen only felt his brain shake violently. In the next instant, his consciousness blurred, and his entire body completely lost all signs of life.
In Yuto's eyes, Hiruzen did not count as a powerful opponent, yet the scene just now made Yuto suddenly feel that Hiruzen could indeed be considered a figure of note.
Perhaps it was because of the heroic resolve Hiruzen displayed at the moment of death.
As a result, Yuto did not handle Hiruzen the same way he dealt with Orochimaru, instead preserving the integrity of Hiruzen's body.
Dear Readers,
I have an important favor to ask of you today. If you've been enjoying the story, please consider switching to Patreon to support me directly.
By joining, you will instantly unlock 20 chapters and gain access to a total of 50 to 55 chapters every month.
To be honest with you, I am currently in deep financial trouble, and your support would mean the world to me during this difficult time. Furthermore, if I can get more members, I plan to add even more new fanfics by the end of this week!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon so I can continue creating content for you.
Thank you for your help
patreon.com/anish_44