Chương 151: The Magnanimity of the Third Hokage

The capital of the Land of Fire lay within reasonable proximity of Konoha, a geographic arrangement explicitly designed to facilitate rapid shinobi deployment and military protection. Yet, this definition of proximity was strictly calibrated to the fleetness of a ninja. To the ordinary denizens of this realm, for whom the mechanical conveniences of future eras—such as electric rail networks—remained unimagined or unadopted, traveling between the two hubs demanded a grueling investment of time.

Such was the bizarre architecture of this world: a realm where primitive barbarism and sophisticated technology coexisted in an anachronistic juxtaposition, riddled with contradictions yet pulsing with an undeniable allure. At the first break of dawn, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, mobilized two Anbu detachments for the journey to the capital.

The escort comprised Zhen's squad and Kakashi's unit—a collection of remarkably youthful shinobi, chosen deliberately as part of Hiruzen's long-term strategy to cultivate the village's rising elite. His own sovereign guard had been utterly decimated during Obito's savage rampage, leaving the remaining veterans stretched to their absolute limits. New recruits were desperately needed, and after meticulous deliberation, Hiruzen had entrusted the selection and rigorous training of the new Anbu vanguard to Unme Gekko.

Though a village Kage commanded a political status equal to that of the Daimyo, they remained shinobi at their core. Thus, their travels eschewed the ostentatious pomp and bloated caravans of the aristocracy; they traveled light, prioritizing speed and lethal efficiency above all. Leaving Konoha behind, the seven-man cell instantly accelerated, blurring through the canopy in a coordinated formation, with the Third Hokage securely anchored at the center of the defensive matrix.

This was the flesh-and-blood sovereign, not an engineered decoy. The altered trajectory of the Nine-Tails incident had triggered a massive domino effect across the timeline. With Minato and Kushina surviving the crucible, Kakashi had been spared a deeper descent into psychological ruin, rendering him entirely immune to Danzo's venomous machinations.

Without Kakashi breaking rank to deliver a clandestine warning, Hiruzen remained blissfully unaware that his lifelong brother-in-arms was actively plotting his liquidation. Roughly halfway through their transit, Zhen, leading the vanguard, abruptly halted. Aware of the youth's extraordinary sensory capabilities, the Third Hokage inquired calmly, "Zhen, has your perception registered a variable?"

"Affirmative, Lord Hokage," Zhen reported neutrally.

"An ambush has been established six kilometers ahead. Sixteen hostile signatures, all registering at the Chunin threshold or higher."

"Oh? An unexpected development," Hiruzen murmured, his countenance remaining an unreadable mask.

"Maintain the advance. Let us discern who harbors such designs upon this old man's life." While his outward expression remained untroubled, a grim hypothesis crystallized within his mind. A Kage's itinerary was classified under the highest protocols of state secrecy; the circle of individuals privy to this departure was exceptionally small. It seemed a certain old contemporary had indulged a monumentally foolish impulse.

The only remaining variable was whether the man was deploying his personal instruments or had bartered Konoha's intelligence to foreign elements. If it were the latter, the transgression crossed into absolute treason. As the distance closed, Kakashi's cell, along with Hayate and Yugao, coiled into a state of hair-trigger vigilance. Without warning, Zhen anchored his footing, unsheathed his short blade, and unleashed a succession of blistering slashes.

A tempest of nearly a hundred razor-sharp wind blades erupted from his steel, tearing through the forward canopy like a localized artillery barrage. Ancient timbers shattered, a pre-arranged rain of concealed kunai was prematurely triggered, and arrays of hidden explosive tags were instantly shredded into harmless confetti. To a shinobi wielding a sensory network so unnatural it rivaled the absolute clarity of the Byakugan, pre-engineered traps were completely irrelevant.

Seeing their meticulously prepared perimeter pulverized, the hidden assassins abandoned their concealment and initiated a desperate assault. They had already identified the vanguard's identity from the signature wind-style methodology, yet retreat was never an option. This was distinct from the localized standoff at the Uchiha enclave; for a Root operative deployed in the field, abandoning an assignment due to tactical resistance meant Danzo would personally strip the flesh from their bones upon their return.

A dense hail of kunai and shuriken converged on the seven shinobi. Kakashi and his comrades surged to the front, their blades ringing in a frantic rhythm as they deflected the iron before plunging directly into melee combat with the charging killers. Zhen maintained a rigid defensive perimeter around the Third Hokage, his blade occasionally flicking outward to neutralize stray projectiles charting a course toward the elder statesman.

Though the attackers had undergone a thorough cosmetic reinvention, adopting the tattered cloaks of rogue mercenaries, their flawless tactical coordination and disciplined formations betrayed their pedigree. True wandering outlaws rarely possessed such clinical sophistication. Within the psychological architecture of a Root operative, there existed only Danzo and the mission; the concept of comradeship had been systematically excised.

Consequently, they unleashed their lethal repertoires upon their fellow Konoha shinobi with unbridled malice, every strike calibrated to terminate a life. Watching Kakashi channel a crackling Chidori to cleanly dispatch two assailants in the blink of an eye, completely surrendering to his executioner instincts, Hiruzen let out a weary sigh. The familiar discipline and lethal methodology left no room for doubt; he knew precisely from whose shadows these killers had crawled.

Yet, regardless of their transgression, they were still the blades of Konoha. Perhaps age had softened his resolve, but he found himself increasingly revolted by this fratricidal bloodletting. Once, they had all shared the same home.

"Zhen, intercede," Hiruzen commanded softly.

"Conclude this engagement swiftly, but minimize the fatalities where possible."

"Understood." Zhen harbored no surprise regarding the elder's characteristic leniency. Casting a swift, pointed glance toward the thicket on their left—a subtle warning to a hidden presence—he vanished in a burst of Body Flicker. Sustained by his profound mastery of wind-natured chakra, his velocity utterly eclipsed every combatant on the field. He became a phantasmal presence, a specter weaving seamlessly through the chaotic matrix of the Root operatives.

The operatives registered only a sudden shadow materializing in their line of sight. They swung their blades in a panicked reflex, only for Zhen to casually parry the cold iron and deliver a feather-light touch to their sternums. Instantly, their bodies betrayed them, plummeting uncontrollably from the branches.

As they scrambled to regain their footing, a wave of profound horror washed over them; intricate cursed script had blossomed across their flesh, utterly paralyzing their chakra pathways and reducing them to nothing more than slightly athletic civilians. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Sage Art: Sealing Technique—Self-Binding Cursed Seal. It was a secondary innovation Zhen had stumbled upon while engineering his comprehensive Two-Polarities Sealing matrix.

Its functionality was digital and devastating: the total suppression of an adversary's physical and spiritual energies. Anyone ensnared by the mark was stripped of the capacity to knead chakra, while their latent spiritual and physical vitality was continuously siphoned by the seal itself to perpetually fuel its own duration.

表达 despite its straightforward application, the technique was anchored to the sophisticated architecture of the Two-Polarities framework, utilizing the fundamental properties of Yin and Yang affinities bound together by senjutsu. It was a manifestation of Yin and Yang elements rather than true Yin-Yang Release—Zhen had yet to descend into that ultimate, transcendent tier of reality-warping manipulation.

Nonetheless, the number of masters across the continent capable of unraveling this curse could be counted on a single hand. Danzo was absolutely impotent against it. Without Zhen's explicit intervention, these operatives were permanently neutralized, rendered ordinary mortals for the remainder of their days. The moment Zhen detached from the Hokage to engage the main force, several jagged, razor-sharp timbers erupted violently from the adjacent thicket. Wood Style: Smothering Binding Technique.

It was a versatile execution, capable of either constricting an adversary or impaling them outright with its splintered, lance-like tips. Even absent Zhen's earlier cue, a titan of Hiruzen's caliber was never going to fall victim to such a strike. Yet, as he executed a fluid leap to clear the trajectory, his composure fractured in sheer disbelief.

"Wood Style? Intolerable... how can this be?" 看见 Zhen managing the primary vanguard, Kakashi had instinctively cycled back to anchor the Hokage's defense, his heart seizing at the sight. If the Hokage were to be assassinated under his watch, the political fallout would be catastrophic. His fingers blurred through hand seals, channeling a brilliant Chidori that sheared through the encroaching timber like a hot blade through wax.

In a flash of lightning, he closed the distance, violently upending the hidden assailant onto the forest floor, his crackling hand pinned directly against the youth's vitals. Ultimately, while the phrase 'Wood Style' carried immense psychological weight, the current Kinoe—the youth who would one day bear the name Yamato—was far too unseasoned. He lacked the tactical maturity to survive even a single exchange with a prodigy like Kakashi.

Yet, fully aware of what this bloodline represented to the heritage of the Leaf, Kakashi suppressed his lethal intent. Hiruzen moved to Kakashi's side, retrieving a fractured fragment of the conjured wood from the loam. A tempest of complex emotions swirled within his chest. He had never imagined that before his thread ran out, he would bear witness to Konoha's legendary signature bloodline once more.

It was an explicit confirmation: Danzo and Orochimaru had utterly disregarded his sovereign decrees, persisting with their forbidden biological alchemy in the shadows, and had somehow yielded a viable success. By then, Zhen had systematically concluded the primary engagement. Working alongside Hayate and the others, he collected the neutralized Root operatives and dropped them into a pile beside the pinned Wood Style user, alongside the few corpses harvested in the opening salvo.

Kakashi stepped forward, forcing open the jaws of several captives to inspect their palates.

"Lord Third," he confirmed grimly, "they bear the markers. Foundation operatives." Hiruzen's expression remained devoid of surprise. He looked down upon the bound captives, his voice echoing with cold authority.

"Return to your master. Instruct Danzo to remain confined within the dark of his Foundation until I cross the threshold of the village once more." The operatives offered no verbal acknowledgement. Silently, they hoisted the corpses of their fallen brethren upon their shoulders and began a slow, agonizing trek back toward the village. Stripped of their chakra matrices by Zhen's curse, they were forced to navigate the wilderness on foot like ordinary men, save for Kinoe.

Kakashi tracked the retreating silhouette of the youngest operative.

"Lord Third... that child wields the Wood Style."

"Indeed. I grasp the weight of your words," Hiruzen murmured.

"We shall adjudicate his status upon our return. The oppressive shadows of the Foundation are no place to nurture the growth of such a child." Kakashi let out a quiet breath of relief at the sovereign's stance. Yugao and her peers converged on the site, driven by profound curiosity. They had never expected to encounter the legendary bloodline of the First Hokage. They retrieved scattered splinters, turning them over in their hands, only to find they possessed the tactile reality of standard timber.

More remarkably, these conjured constructs defied the standard laws governing the Five Nature Transformations; they did not dissolve into raw chakra upon the disruption of the caster's focus, but remained permanently anchored to physical reality. Zhen retrieved a fragment of his own, rolling it thoughtfully between his fingers. With the skirmish resolved, the convoy resumed its steady advance.

As he maintained his position at the head of the vanguard, Zhen continuously funneled his own chakra into the wood, reverse-engineering its energetic signature. Noticing his preoccupation, the Third Hokage inquired, "Fascinated by the Wood Style, Zhen?"

"Affirmative, Lord Hokage," Zhen replied without looking back.

"It is the legendary art of the First Lord, after all. I have long harbored a profound curiosity regarding its nature."

"Do not obsess over it, child," Hiruzen advised gently.

"The synthesis of a Kekkei Genkai is an anomaly born of pure genetic serendipity. Investing your intellect into deciphering it often yields nothing but frustration. You have already achieved a terrifying summit of strength without the benefit of a bloodline limit."

"But Lord Hokage, I already wield a Kekkei Genkai," Zhen remarked casually.

"During my prior deployment on the Eastern Front against the Yuki clan of Kirigakure, I witnessed their execution of the Ice Style. I simply reverse-engineered the elemental matrix on the spot. It didn't present an extraordinary challenge." At his current tier of supremacy, revealing his command of the Ice Style posed no strategic risk. The affinity offered minimal utility to his foundational combat matrix and did nothing to elevate his offensive ceiling.

In truth, its primary function had been serving as a mobile refrigeration unit for Yugao Uzuki during their sweltering summer deployments. Kakashi stared at his back, his mind experiencing a violent derailment. Are you out of your mind? You just synthesized a bloodline limit by looking at it?

"Zhen... you are not indulging a piece of levity at my expense, are you?" Hiruzen managed, his voice tightening. Rather than offering a verbal defense, Zhen casually condensed two perfectly formed kunai crafted from pure glacial ice, tossing them backward into the hands of Kakashi and the Hokage. The frigid bite of the iron-hard ice against Kakashi's palm, accompanied by a subtle wisp of freezing mist, delivered an undeniable confirmation. It was flawless. Hiruzen stood transfixed.

"The genuine Ice Style..." Yet, the icy sensation resting in his palm ignited a roaring fire within the sovereign's chest. For decades, Konoha had desperately sought to resurrect the Wood Style through the crude alchemy of Hashirama's cellular transplantation, an endeavor that had harvested a mountain of corpses with virtually nothing to show for it—save for the tragic child they had encountered moments ago.

But if Zhen Dongye could synthesize a foreign Kekkei Genkai purely through the sheer dominance of his intellectual talent... what was to stop him from reverse-engineering the Wood Style itself? If he succeeded, Konoha would not merely possess a single, unstable user; they would unlock a systematic, transmissible discipline of the First Hokage's ultimate legacy. He looked at the silhouette of the young vanguard moving ahead. The boy was an absolute treasure trove of miracles.