Chapter 419: Avenger

Chapter 419: Chapter 419: Avenger

Fugaku found it difficult to explain to his seven-year-old son that not every ninjutsu was meant to kill the enemy outright.

A large-scale Fire Release ninjutsu like the Great Fireball Technique was usually used with a different purpose in mind. The caster could use its flames to obscure the enemy’s vision and its intense heat to interfere with their perception, thereby concealing their next move.

And for the Uchiha clan, who possessed the Sharingan, using the Great Fireball Technique was more often than not simply a means of probing the opponent.

It could be used to test the enemy’s strength, force them to change position, or create an opportunity to retreat. In short, very few Uchiha actually expected a single Great Fireball Technique to finish off their opponent.

Thinking about it, Fugaku suddenly realized that even when he used the Great Fireball Technique, it rarely ever hit anyone.

Feeling somewhat awkward, he said to Sasuke, "You’ll understand when you’re older."

"Oh!"

Sasuke answered obediently.

In the end, the match between the two children was nothing more than a small interlude before today’s alliance ceremony. The plaza quickly returned to its previous lively atmosphere, with everyone chatting and laughing once again.

However, anyone observant enough would have noticed that whether it was the shinobi of Konoha, the hosts of the ceremony, or those from Sunagakure, Kusagakure, and Takigakure who had come to participate in the alliance ceremony, their gazes would occasionally drift toward Kimimaro among the Otogakure delegation.

Before this, everyone—including Konoha—had assumed that the newly established Otogakure couldn’t possibly have any particularly powerful shinobi. They had thought Otogakure’s participation in the alliance ceremony was little more than making up the numbers.

But Kimimaro’s performance had taken everyone by surprise.

As a result, the recently established Otogakure suddenly seemed far more mysterious. The casual glances previously directed at its delegation were now filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

On the edge of a distant rooftop, Hyuga Kagami’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

After watching the match just now, he realized that he seemed to have underestimated Kimimaro’s talent in the past. And so, he had already made up his mind—even if it was only for testing purposes, he was going to collect some samples of Kimimaro’s flesh and cells.

It would be far too much of a waste to let such a promising specimen slip through his fingers.

Before long, the alliance ceremony officially began.

On a long table in front of the Hokage Building lay an exquisitely prepared alliance treaty. The Third Hokage stood before it, waiting for the representatives of the various ninja villages.

At that moment, the representatives of each village approached the Hokage Building one after another.

Representing Sunagakure was Chiyo, one of the village’s elder advisors. Because she had previously been afflicted by Sasori’s deadly poison, Chiyo had remained in Konoha to receive treatment from Tsunade, so Sunagakure had simply appointed her as its representative for the alliance ceremony.

Representing Kusagakure was Ryuran, an elite jōnin of the village. He followed closely behind Chiyo of Sunagakure.

Representing Takigakure was a burly shinobi whose entire body was wrapped in bandages, making his appearance impossible to discern. His name was Seiboku, and he was said to hold a fairly high position within Takigakure, serving as one of the shinobi responsible for guarding the village’s Sacred Tree.

And representing Otogakure was none other than Orochimaru, currently using the alias ’Oto.’

He walked straight up to the Third Hokage, seemingly not the least bit worried that his own Sensei might see through his disguise.

After reading the contents of the treaty aloud to everyone in the plaza through the amplification equipment, the Third Hokage was the first to press his handprint onto the document.

Immediately afterward, Chiyo, Ryuran, Seiboku, and Orochimaru each pressed their handprints onto the treaty on behalf of their respective villages.

At that moment, fireworks burst into the sky!

With the representatives of each side placing their handprints on the alliance treaty, the alliance spearheaded by Konoha was officially established.

All kinds of celebrations soon began throughout the plaza. For a time, the entire place became a sea of joy, filled everywhere with the laughter and conversation of adults and the playful shouts of children.

Sasuke, who had just suffered a crushing defeat, couldn’t stand the cheerful atmosphere and left the plaza alone.

Suddenly, a blond-haired Naruto squeezed his way out of the crowd and hurried over to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, why didn’t you fight back just now? That was so lame!"

Having his sore spot poked, Sasuke immediately flew into a rage.

"Idiot! What do you know!? That guy is the real deal!"

Naruto looked curious. "Is that white-haired guy really that strong?"

Ever since that night when Orochimaru and Obito had separately abducted the two of them from the village, only for the pair to coincidentally run into each other outside Konoha, the two little brats had become friends.

Of course, most of the time, it was Naruto who actively pestered Sasuke.

After all, Sasuke had an entire clan looking after him and wasn’t lacking for friends, while Naruto, who was all alone, was a different story.

The moment he thought of Kimimaro, Sasuke’s face was still filled with resentment even now.

"You’ve heard of Uchiha Shisui, the strongest shinobi of our Uchiha clan, right?"

Naruto shook his head blankly.

Not even seven years old yet, his head was filled entirely with ramen and games. He couldn’t care less about famous names like that. Even if he occasionally heard other people mention them, he would forget them almost immediately afterward.

"You ignorant idiot!" Sasuke cursed before his expression darkened. "Even if I were fighting Brother Shisui, who’s famous as the ’Body Flicker,’ I wouldn’t be completely helpless. But that guy was so fast that he could actually evade the insight of my Sharingan. I’ve never even heard of something like that before! So tell me, isn’t he insanely strong!?"

Naruto asked, "You awakened the Sharingan? What does the Sharingan actually look like? Hurry up and let me see!"

Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan and declared proudly, "This is the Sharingan of our Uchiha clan!"

Staring at the scarlet eyes in Sasuke’s sockets, Naruto said, "Whoa, they really do look different!"

"I awakened the Sharingan today, so I’m even stronger than usual. But even like this, I still couldn’t keep track of that guy’s movements. Now do you get how strong he is?"

Naruto nodded repeatedly. "Mm-hmm. When you put it like that, he really does sound pretty strong."

Sasuke said with utmost seriousness, "He’s a great enemy of the Uchiha clan!"

Naruto threw an arm around Sasuke’s shoulders. "Alright, alright. Let’s go eat some ramen. You got beaten up pretty badly, so you must be hungry too, right?"

Sasuke immediately shook Naruto’s arm off and said coldly, "Don’t act so chummy with me. From this moment on, I’m an avenger who has abandoned all emotion. Hmph!"

Naruto asked, "So you’re not going to eat ramen?"

"Don’t talk to me about ramen!" Glaring at Naruto, Sasuke declared, "The responsibility of defeating that guy must fall to me. This is my clan’s mission!"

"Well, if you’re not going, I am!"

With both hands clasped behind his head, Naruto swaggered toward Ichiraku Ramen while saying, "Maybe your Brother Shisui was just going easy on you. I refuse to believe the strongest guy in the Uchiha clan would lose to that white-haired guy..."

Sasuke shouted after him, "How could that be!? We’re always super, super serious when we train!"