darknovel Chapter 230 The Despair of the Water Shadow
Chapter 230 The Despair of the Water Shadow
On the reef, all was deathly silent.
Only the sea breeze, carrying salty, fishy waves, repeatedly pounded against the rough rocks, emitting a muffled wail.
The Third Raikage, A, the man who once withstood the Eight-Tails with his bare body and was hailed as the strongest spear and the strongest shield, was now lying on the ground in an extremely contorted posture.
His arms were completely shattered from the root by some overwhelming force, the shattered flesh and bone fragments mixed together, indistinguishable from one another.
His burly, bronze-colored body was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, from which blood gushed, staining the rocks beneath him a shocking dark red.
He was no longer alive.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood there quietly, his jet-black Vajra staff, inlaid with gold at both ends, still in the posture of his final strike.
On the staff, a drop of viscous blood slowly slid down, eventually dripping into the pool of blood formed by the lightning shadows below, spreading out a small ripple.
"For the sake of your teacher, I'll leave you with a complete corpse."
He muttered to himself, his voice not loud, and was instantly dispersed by the howling sea breeze.
This is both a tribute to Tobirama Senju and a final respect for this venerable adversary.
Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage of Konoha Village.
They died at the hands of the Cloud Hidden Gold Horn and Silver Horn troops while trying to cover for their younger generation.
Finally, the body was returned to the village by the Third Raikage.
In a sense, this can be considered an exchange that transcends time and space.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly retracted his Vajra Staff and dispelled the summoning jutsu.
His mind was not very turbulent, only feeling tired and empty after completing a certain task.
This is war.
Either you die or I die.
He turned around and looked to his right.
There, another disheveled figure was struggling.
The Third Mizukage, once a composed and elegant man, was now utterly miserable.
His once handsome deep blue hair was now half stained dark red with blood and half covered in grime and dust, disheveled and obscuring all his expressions.
One leg was bent at an abnormal angle, clearly on the verge of breaking.
"Tap...tap...tap..."
He limped and stumbled his way toward the back of the reef.
Each step left a long, bloody trail on the hard rock.
The dignity of a Kage-level powerhouse? It has long since vanished.
Now he's just a pathetic wretch desperately trying to escape.
Hiruzen Sarutobi started walking slowly towards the disheveled figure.
His footsteps were light, but on the empty reef, they were as clear as the drumbeats of death, each one striking heavily against Jian Yue's heart.
"Lord Mizukage, you are in quite a sorry state."
A calm, almost cold voice slowly reached the ears of the Third Mizukage.
"Do you regret the decision you made in Kirigakure back then?"
The Third Mizukage's staggering body suddenly stiffened.
Regret?
This word was like a red-hot branding iron, searing the depths of his soul.
The flames of regret instantly engulfed him.
The fateful meeting kept replaying in his mind.
Kaguya Sora's arrogant boasting, Yukinojo's sinister scheming, Genji's seemingly foolproof open plot... and his own final decision after weighing the pros and cons.
"Let's unite with the Hidden Cloud Village to attack the Land of Whirlpools and share our sealing techniques!"
What a perfect plan.
By binding the Hidden Cloud Village's desire for revenge with practical interests, they willingly became the sharpest spear in the Hidden Mist Village's hands.
But despite all his careful planning, he made one mistake.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He misjudged this man's determination, and even more so, he misjudged his strength.
They initially thought this was just a regional war against the Land of Whirlpools, and that even if Konoha realized what was happening, they would at most send reinforcements, thus becoming embroiled in a protracted tug-of-war.
Who could have imagined that Hiruzen Sarutobi would lead Konoha's main force out in such a thunderous and overwhelming manner?
Who could have imagined that he would single-handedly crush them on the battlefield?
if...
No, there are no "ifs".
As the shadow of the village, every decision made must bear all the consequences.
However, he could never have imagined that the consequences would be so tragic, so...desperate.
"..."
The Third Mizukage did not choose to answer; he didn't even dare to turn around.
He gritted his teeth and used all his strength on his good leg, desperately trying to continue limping forward.
escape!
We must escape!
If he can escape into the sea and use his water escape technique, he might still have a chance to survive!
This thought sustained him and allowed him to unleash his final potential.
However, the footsteps behind him continued unhurriedly, like a persistent leech, relentlessly following him and mercilessly crushing his last glimmer of hope.
The Third Mizukage slipped and fell to the ground once again.
"Cough cough cough...cough cough..."
He lay on the cold rocks, breathing heavily, saliva mixed with blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Meanwhile, on the main battlefield.
On the central command ship of the Konoha fleet.
A Hyuga clansman from the reconnaissance squad suddenly froze for a second, his face filled with extreme joy. He rushed to Tsunade, who had just returned to the ship, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Hahaha!"
"Lady Tsunade!!"
Tsunade frowned slightly; she was in a good mood after kicking several Cloud Village warships that were trying to approach her.
"What are you yelling about? What did you see? Enemy reinforcements?"
The ninja shook his head frantically, pointing to a huge, barely visible reef in the distance, and said:
"No! They're not reinforcements!"
"It was the Third Raikage! He was killed by the Hokage!!"
"The Mizukage has reached his limit, uh, and is being... hunted down?"
boom!
This news instantly caused a sensation throughout the entire command ship.
All the Konoha ninjas who heard these words, whether they were steering the ship or bandaging their wounds, stopped what they were doing, turned their heads in unison, and stared intently at the sensory ninja.
silence.
The next second, someone shouted it out.
"Wuhu!!"
"As expected of the Hokage!!!"
"Ooo ...
A thunderous roar of cheers erupted from the central command ship.
"The Raikage is dead! The Hokage has slain the Raikage!"
The morale of the Konoha ninjas was ignited to its peak at this moment. They roared with all their might, venting their joy and pride.
Uchiha Tetsuka, who was leading the Uchiha clan in battle, nearly dropped his ninja sword the moment he heard the news. He turned sharply, gazing at the distant reef, his face filled with shock and fervent reverence.
He single-handedly defeated numerous powerful opponents.
What a magnificent power this is.
As he fought alongside him, Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan with its three tomoe eyes spun and contracted violently, the hooks and sickles gradually transforming into three yin-yang shapes.
The image of the man sitting in the Hokage's office, gently bestowing trust and honor upon the Uchiha clan, came to mind.
"Haha, hahahaha—"
The changes within the clan over the years and the words of the clan head's teachings struck his heart again and again, causing the blood in Uchiha Fugaku's veins to boil.
At this moment, all Konoha ninjas, whether from commoner backgrounds or from powerful clans, felt an unprecedented surge of awe for the title of Third Hokage.
In contrast to the jubilation of the Konoha side, the combined fleet of the Cloud Village and the Mist Village instantly plunged into an icy abyss.
On the Cloud Hidden Command Ship.
Tsuchishiro, the Third Raikage's adjutant, grabbed the ninja delivering the message by the collar, his eyes bloodshot.
"Say that again?! What's wrong with Lord Raikage?!"
The sensory ninja trembled with fear and repeated in a tearful voice:
"Gone... Lord Tsuchishiro... Lord Raikage's chakra... completely, utterly gone..."
Tsuchishiro stood frozen in place.
He let go, staggered back two steps, and bumped into the cabin wall.
It’s over.
It's all over.
The Raikage is the god of the Hidden Cloud Village, the invincible war god in the hearts of all Hidden Cloud ninjas.
God, collapsed.
————◆
On the reef.
Jianyue struggled to lift her head.
His gaunt face was stained with blood, but his deep, pool-like eyes were now filled with a deathly desolation.
Looking at the man with a weathered face not far away, and at his calm and expressionless demeanor, an unprecedented sense of absurdity welled up in my heart.
He suddenly laughed.
His laughter was hoarse and unpleasant, like that of a broken bellows.
"Hehe...hehehehe..."
Seeing Yue laughing while coughing up blood, she spoke intermittently.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi...you...don't understand..."
"You think... I did this... just for the purpose of sealing techniques?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't speak, he just looked at him quietly.
The Third Mizukage laughed even more bitterly.
"The Hidden Mist Village... the arrogance of its bloodline clans... the resentment of commoner ninjas... are like a giant boil... ready to burst at any moment!"
"Therefore, I need a war against external forces! A victory to divert attention from internal conflicts and to unite the village!"