Chapter 301. The Race Continues!
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At the same time.
On the other side.
The ninjas who were also trapped began to realize that something was off.
A whole bunch of cars had jammed into lane four, and even Jiraiya, who had been bargaining with Gamabunta, had caught up with the main group and arrived there.
However—
"What's going on?" Jiraiya stuck his head out of the car window with a serious expression and shouted toward the old man and Tsunade in front of him, "Is this part of the race too?"
This time, Kumogakure…
It seems they really went all out~
They raised their heads to look at the massive earth walls surrounding them.
Such a colossal Earth Release Jutsu wasn't something that could be pulled off easily!
But—
At that moment, everyone looked around in confusion. Could it be that they needed to smash through the earth wall to move forward?
Suddenly—
Someone shouted: "Iwagakure and Konoha's Orochimaru have launched a war against Kumogakure. Everyone, be on alert—"
Before the sentence was even finished—
"Pfft!"
The Kumo ninja who had come to deliver the message was instantly taken out by a kunai from an Iwa ninja who had appeared behind him!
The air instantly froze.
Everyone stared in horror, followed by an uproar!
Iwagakure is launching a war at this moment?!
Are they trying to die?!
Especially Jiraiya and Sarutobi Hiruzen—when they heard Orochimaru was involved too, their expressions shifted slightly.
"Orochimaru… actually went this far?"
Only a billion…
It's been so long already. Is Orochimaru still hung up on it?
To think he even started a war with Iwagakure?!
Jiraiya's face darkened. "No! I have to ask Orochimaru personally!"
You know, Danzo's bounty had already been lifted. He had even made a fortune and returned to the village not long ago.
Why can't he let it go?!
But—
Hiruzen stopped Jiraiya. "The situation is unclear—don't act rashly! Remember, we're surrounded by ninja from all the villages. For Iwagakure and Orochimaru to dare start a war now, they must be fully prepared!"
He knew his student well.
Orochimaru was not someone who acted recklessly.
Just as the words left his mouth—
Suddenly—
"Boom! Boom!"
A series of loud explosions!
Everyone looked up into the distance, and their faces instantly turned pale with shock…
That was—
Wood Release?!
"The God of the Ninja World's Wood Release?!"
Everyone gasped.
Even Jiraiya and the previously calm Hiruzen's faces changed drastically.
What the hell is happening over there?!
Why has even the long-vanished Wood Release shown up?
The two of them exchanged glances and were just about to rush over when—
"The race continues!"
A loud roar came from the speakers all around.
That familiar voice made everyone instinctively turn to look.
On a distant peak—
The same peak where the Fourth Raikage had been standing since the beginning…
At this moment—
He was still standing there, shouting angrily in their direction.
…
Let's rewind time a little bit.
As the five Kage launched their attack on Minato's group, Minato and the others had no choice but to hold them off.
Even though… the First and Second Hokage's bodies were being controlled, their wills still seemed to remain. So as they attacked, they apologized helplessly and explained their ninjutsu as they fought.
"Flying Thunder God Jutsu~" Senju Tobirama saw the familiar yet slightly different technique and smiled with satisfaction. "I didn't expect someone else to master it!"
It seems—
The little monkey did choose a pretty decent Fourth Hokage for Konoha.
"Thank you for the praise, Second Hokage-sama." Minato smiled slightly. Even though his opponent was the Second Hokage, as the Fourth Hokage, he still had his pride!
Taking note of the Second Hokage's tip—
In the next exchange—
"Rasengan!"
However—
"Boom!"
A loud impact followed.
"A body revived by Impure World Reincarnation can recover quickly even if damaged." The Second Hokage looked at the stunned Minato and explained with a bit of helplessness in his tone, "Only the caster can release the jutsu, or it needs to be sealed. Sorry~ he modified the hand seals. I didn't expect that—I can't break it now."
Then, with some anger, "What the hell did the little monkey teach him? A genius of Konoha actually defected."
"A lot happened back then." Minato sighed deeply and said, "Not long after the Third Ninja World War ended, a scandal broke out in the village—Third Hokage-sama was accused of embezzling public funds, and over at the Daimyo's court…"
Before he could finish—
"???"
Tobirama froze. "Wait! Wait! What did you just say?"
Did he hear that right?
He sucked in a breath. "The little monkey embezzled public funds? Don't tell me… after I was gone, he fell too?"
"It was just a misunderstanding!" Minato gave an awkward laugh and explained, "Third Hokage-sama proved his innocence by stepping down. Afterward, he appointed me as the Fourth Hokage. Originally, Orochimaru-sama also wanted to become the Fourth Hokage, but he lost the selection."
He sighed again. "Maybe that's why Orochimaru-sama lost himself afterward and started chasing money. So, for the billion bounty, he targeted Danzo-sama."
"…"
What is this guy even talking about?
Tobirama's mouth twitched. After a moment of hesitation, "So… he defected for money?"
"Yes!" Minato nodded. "Back during the Third Ninja World War, Danzo-sama was given a 1 billion bounty. Because of that, Orochimaru-sama was tempted by the money and went after him. Of course, it's fine now."
He smiled warmly again. "Danzo's bounty has been lifted. A few years ago, Third Hokage-sama and Danzo-sama went bankrupt after starting a business, so the bounty was removed. Although Danzo ran off at first and left Third Hokage-sama with a massive debt, he came back and made a comeback. His new movie is set to premiere in a few months, and it actually seems kind of interesting."
"???"
At that moment—
After hearing Minato's words—
Senju Tobirama was completely dumbfounded.
He realized he couldn't understand a word the Fourth Hokage was saying at all.
Ever since hearing that the little monkey embezzled public funds, his mouth had been twitching nonstop. It was as if countless words were stuck in his throat, but in the end, they all condensed into a single sigh filled with melancholy: "Looks like a lot has happened since I was gone."
The little monkey got investigated for embezzlement, Danzo's startup failed and he ran off, and the little monkey's student attacked his own village's people for money.
Is this still the Konoha of back then?
However—
His expression suddenly changed. "That bastard is restraining me again, telling me to end the battle quickly. Sorry!"
As soon as he finished—
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave."
…
Not far away, the Third Raikage looked at his son… the Fourth Raikage, and also felt a wave of emotion in his heart. Especially after hearing his son talk about what had happened since he was gone, he sighed and said, "I didn't expect so much to have changed after I left."
Then, glancing at all the people who had come from various places to the village, "It looks like after the Third Ninja World War, the villages started communicating more."
"That's right." The Fourth Raikage grinned and nodded. "Now even in Kumogakure, we can communicate with Konoha!"
"How amazing!" The Third Raikage burst out in hearty laughter. "I really want to see the movie you and Bee made! Is this some kind of competition you're holding now? But from the looks of it… seems like we messed it up! Sorry about that!"
Once he said that—
The Fourth Raikage fell into silence.
Just then—
"Raikage-sama!" A Kumo ninja hurriedly flickered over. "Should we send people to stop the race now? All the participants are currently trapped!"
However—
The Fourth Raikage remained silent. Instead, he bumped elbows with his father, just like they used to when training together.
"Bang!"
Neither backed down. They pressed against each other, staring into one another's eyes.
"You've grown stronger, Ay!"
"Of course! I'm the Raikage now!"
The Fourth Raikage smiled slightly, then quickly leapt back and shouted to the nearby anxious Kumo ninja: "Hold him off for me a bit!"
As soon as he said that—
Ignoring the stunned onlookers and the confused Third Raikage, he leapt onto the high peak he had been standing on at the start!
While everyone was still wondering what he was doing—
They saw—
The Fourth Raikage pick up the microphone that had just fallen to the ground. "Testing, testing~"
His voice immediately echoed through the speakers around them.
But what was the Fourth Raikage trying to do?
At that moment—
While everyone was still puzzled—
The Fourth Raikage suddenly took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "All participants! Listen up! The race continues! I, the Fourth Raikage, swear on my name that I will repel all enemies!"
He paused. "I, the Fourth Raikage, along with all the spectators, will be waiting for you at the finish line! Dream big about this tournament! Win for glory!"
As soon as he finished—
"?!"
Everyone was shocked.
Moments later—
Many people began to smile.
Looking at the figure standing tall on the peak, it was as if they had forgotten the danger around them. Some even started cheering loudly: "Let's go!"
"Tss~" The microphone dropped again.
The Fourth Raikage turned his head and looked back at his stunned father, then burst into laughter again. "Round two! Begins now!"
With that—
He charged forward.
…
On the other side—
"The race continues!"
After hearing the Fourth Raikage's words—
All the racers smiled, even Jiraiya and the others let out a relieved breath with a grin.
Looks like things aren't as bad as they seemed.
Everyone looked at one another, then calmly glanced at the earth wall and said, "These Iwa ninja… really underestimated us!"
Once the words fell—
They all got back into their cars.
Then—
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The roar of powerful engines echoed once again, shaking the entire mountain.
That sound… it was even more intense than before!
As if it were filled with fury.
The race... has only just begun!
Bastards!
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