Chapter 73: The Strongest Hokage, Is That All?

"Uchiha Reiji..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice was as shrill as a vengeful ghost.

The regret in his heart had spread to an unbearable degree.

If he had known this would happen, he should have killed this damned bastard several years ago!

Then Danzō would not have died, and Shinnosuke would not have suffered such a tragic death right in front of him!

However!

It was too late for all of that now!

His old friend was gone, his eldest son was dead, and the murderer was now standing calmly before him, mocking him!

"I’ll kill you!!!"

With a furious roar, Hiruzen’s body suddenly shot forward.

His entire figure disappeared from where he stood in an instant, and in the next moment, he appeared directly in front of Reiji, punching toward his head!

Reiji didn’t retreat either.

His expression became solemn as he suddenly threw a punch of his own!

Boom!

The two fists collided, unleashing a violent shockwave!

"....How is this possible?"

Hiruzen’s eyes widened.

His aggressive punch had actually accomplished nothing and had simply been blocked by the other party?

Even worse!

The other’s strength was faintly superior to his own?

How was that possible?!

Although he was already over sixty and his strength had declined considerably, it was impossible for him to be inferior to a teenage Uchiha brat, right?

While he was still stunned, Reiji’s other fist slammed directly into his face!

Smack!

A sharp pain exploded across his face.

His entire face was severely distorted by the blow, and Hiruzen was sent flying backward!

"Hokage-sama!"

The ANBU rushed forward one after another.

Previously, because Sarutobi Shinnosuke, their ANBU Captain, had been in the enemy’s hands, they had not dared to act recklessly.

Now that the hostage was dead, they finally dared to make their move.

"Cough, cough... I’m fine!"

Hiruzen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up with an extremely ugly expression.

However, when he looked at Reiji, the shock in his eyes still hadn’t faded.

Why did the other party possess such tremendous strength?

Judging from his current condition, he clearly hadn’t activated the Eight Gates.

After carefully sensing the other’s condition, Hiruzen finally discovered something even more astonishing.

The amount of chakra in Uchiha Reiji’s body was actually greater than his own!

It was even greater than the amount of chakra Hiruzen had possessed at the peak of his youth!

Was this really a member of the Uchiha clan?

If he hadn’t known the other’s identity, Hiruzen would almost have suspected that the person standing before him was a descendant of the Senju or Uzumaki clan.

"Our Hokage-sama looks rather pathetic."

Reiji clicked his tongue and shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Didn’t the textbooks at the Ninja Academy say that the Third Hokage is the strongest Hokage in Konoha’s history?"

"Why is his current strength only at this level?"

"The strongest Hokage, huh?"

The strongest Hokage!

Hiruzen Sarutobi really had the nerve to boast about that!

It was only because the First and Second Hokage had died, and the younger generations in the village didn’t understand the might of the First Hokage.

Even Kakuzu of the Akatsuki had only dared to brag that he had fought the First Hokage.

Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage of Konoha, actually dared to boast that he was the strongest Hokage?!

Among all the Hokage throughout history, Hiruzen Sarutobi was simply incomparable to the First Hokage.

And among the Third Kage of the various major ninja villages, could Hiruzen Sarutobi really surpass Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, or the Third Raikage of Kumogakure?

When it came to the four words "strongest Hokage," the only one Hiruzen Sarutobi could genuinely claim was "Fire."

Among Hokage who used Fire Release, he was the strongest.

"Shut up, ignorant brat!"

An ANBU wearing a dog mask angrily rebuked him.

"How could the Third-sama’s power possibly be understood by someone like you?!"

"Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you managed to catch the Third-sama off guard!"

Hearing this, Reiji couldn’t help but laugh.

"I understand now. Our Third Hokage’s title of ’strongest Hokage’ must actually mean that he’s the strongest Hokage at brainwashing people, capable of turning even a perfectly good person into an idiot!"

Hiruzen’s face darkened like stagnant water.

He barely managed to spit out:

"Sharp-tongued and spouting nonsense!"

As he spoke, however, he abandoned the idea of engaging Reiji in close-quarters combat again.

For some reason, the amount of chakra the other party possessed was actually greater than his own.

Moreover, the Eight Gates that Reiji had mastered had yet to be used.

With the amount of chakra Reiji currently possessed, if he opened the Seventh Gate, Hiruzen would definitely not be his opponent!

Having made up his mind, Hiruzen rapidly formed hand seals and chose to engage in a long-range ninjutsu battle instead.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Combined Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Flow!"

A massive earth dragon erupted from the ground, intertwining with the fire dragon spewed from Hiruzen’s mouth. Its momentum was terrifying!

The ANBU nearby were also filled with admiration as they simultaneously formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Large numbers of ninjutsu were unleashed simultaneously, all attacking Reiji.

"Is this all you’ve got?"

Reiji sneered disdainfully.

His enormous amount of chakra instantly surged into action.

"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

A sea of flames that blotted out the sky directly engulfed and swept away all the ninjutsu released by Hiruzen’s side!

Immediately afterward, another Lightning Release: False Darkness was unleashed.

Several spear-like bolts of lightning shot toward the enemy!

"How is this possible?!"

The ANBU shinobi were all horrified.

Their Fire Release had been directly swallowed by Reiji’s sea of flames.

Their Water Release techniques were instantly evaporated, while their Wind Release had instead strengthened the power of his flames!

The ninjutsu released by so many people had actually been blocked so easily by their opponent and even pushed back against them?

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Walls!"

Hiruzen’s brows furrowed tightly as he slammed both hands onto the ground!

Rumble!

Several earthen walls rose from the ground, blocking the raging flames.

However, under the impact of the surging sea of fire and rampaging lightning, these earthen walls couldn’t hold for long before cracking apart!

Hiruzen hurriedly leaped backward to evade the attack, his heart filled with shock.

Behind the earthen walls, the faster ANBU barely managed to escape.

Those who were slower were directly buried in the sea of flames, unable to even let out a scream!

"Third-sama, don’t keep running away."

"Weren’t you called the Professor of Ninjutsu? How come you can’t even block one little Fire Release of mine?"

The light from Majestic Destroyer Flame illuminated Reiji’s face.

His smile was unrestrained and filled with mockery.

After obtaining the Perfect Sage Body brought about by the Asura bloodline, Reiji felt unbelievably refreshed!

The massive increase in chakra had brought him an all-around enhancement!

With his enormous reserves of chakra, his physical strength had been massively amplified. His strength and speed had increased tremendously.

His strength could even surpass Hiruzen’s!

Moreover, after no longer having to worry about running out of chakra, he could use a massive, chakra-consuming wide-range ninjutsu like Majestic Destroyer Flame without restraint.

On Hiruzen’s side, his mood had become extremely cautious.

The rage he had felt after witnessing his eldest son’s tragic death had been forcibly suppressed.

Right now, the most important thing was to deal with the opponent standing before him!

This was an opponent who was evenly matched with him, and might even be superior to him.

Reiji hadn’t even used the Eight Gates, yet he had already suppressed Hiruzen to this extent!

If he couldn’t defeat his opponent, he would probably soon be joining Shinnosuke.

After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen instructed the ANBU beside him:

"Go to Uchiha Reiji’s other sides and release ninjutsu together with me!"

The ANBU’s eyes also lit up.

After all, Reiji was only one person.

Even if he could release ninjutsu without hand seals and therefore attack quickly, there was no way he could defend against attacks coming from every direction.

Immediately, the ANBU scattered and surrounded Reiji from all directions at a distance.

Meanwhile, Reiji in the center didn’t move at all for some reason.

He simply watched their movements with complete composure!

Although Hiruzen was suspicious, he continued waiting until the ANBU had completely surrounded Reiji.

His gaze hardened.

His hands rapidly formed seals, and ninjutsu of various natures were unleashed one after another.

Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, and Wind—the five elemental natures were all unleashed simultaneously!

"Ninjutsu: Five Release Great Combo!"

The ANBU surrounding Reiji from every direction also unleashed various ninjutsu toward the center.

Rumble!

Earth dragons collided, flames burned, lightning raged, fierce winds howled, and water dragons crashed down!

A large number of ninjutsu collided together, producing deafening explosions!

Amidst the cloud of dust and smoke.

A golden skeletal figure slowly emerged.

"It has been far too many years."

"The name of the Uchiha clan’s might has become so distant that it is almost forgotten."

"So much so that a clown like you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, actually dares to order the extermination of the Uchiha clan."

Reiji’s figure stood within the golden skeletal shadow, completely unharmed.

The initial form of Susanoo!

"Tonight, it is time to make Konoha remember the divine power that belongs to the Uchiha clan!"

As his voice fell, the chakra in Reiji’s eyes surged violently, and an enormous amount of chakra burst forth!

The initial-form Susanoo, which stood as tall as a person, began growing arms and a head!

The Susanoo giant rose from the ground.

Starting from the skeletal Susanoo of its first form, flesh spread across its body, and it grew directly into its second form!

Buzz!

The eyes of the Susanoo giant lit up like searchlights.

It slightly lowered its head and looked down upon the ants beneath it!

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