Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the large courtyard of the Konoha mansion, Neji and the Third Raikage truly collided like lightning. With every clash, a trace of thunder fell. Whether it was an illusion or not, it seemed as if the entire sky had dimmed under their fierce competition.
"Not bad. In just a few days, Neji's speed has improved to this extent. Although there's still a gap compared to the Third Raikage, he's already incredibly powerful."
Senju Tobirama praised. He felt he should remind Tsunade that Neji should be the Sixth Hokage.
"What's going on with you Konoha people? Neji is so strong, yet he wasn't elected the Fifth Hokage." The Second Tsuchikage sat on a bench, lamenting, "If this were our Iwagakure, he'd be the Fourth Tsuchikage right now, no question."
"You brat, you're faster than me?!"
The speaker didn't mean anything by it, but the listener took it to heart. This was clearly an attempt to poach talent! How could this be tolerated?
Senju Tobirama's face immediately darkened. He snorted, "Sarutobi, come out and explain."
"Truly, trouble finds you even when you're sitting at home," Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth twitched. He took a puff of his cigarette and said sadly, "I originally intended to leave the Hokage position to Neji, but it all fell through because of Orochimaru."
"Hmm?" Senju Tobirama's expression turned unpleasant. His gaze towards Orochimaru was full of killing intent. "You brat are quite the destructive force."
Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat, and he almost cursed. "I'm getting shot even just standing here."
Then, he silently distanced himself from the crowd.
If I can't afford to offend them, can't I at least avoid them?
Whoosh!
Just then, a golden flash suddenly appeared. Minato scratched his head and smiled, "This is bad, everyone. The Land of Fire... seems to have run into trouble."
"What?"
...
Hokage's Office.
Tsunade massaged her head irritably as she looked at the monk in front of her, who was covered in wounds and had a look of terror in his eyes.
At this moment, a knock sounded, and Neji and the others immediately entered.
Many people had already gathered in the office: Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, Hyuga Hiashi, and Yūhi Kurenai were all present.
However, the atmosphere in the room was very heavy, especially for Asuma, whose eyes were red and teary.
"Tsunade, what happened?"
Tsunade pointed to the monk not far away and sighed, "The Fire Temple was attacked. He's the only one who escaped from the entire temple."
"The Fire Temple? The temple where Chiriku resides," the Third Hokage frowned. No wonder Asuma was so heartbroken.
He then asked, "Do you know who attacked it?"
The Fire Temple was the national temple of the Land of Fire, where the ashes of past Daimyos were buried. Therefore, it held significant meaning for the Land of Fire. But that was all there was to it. Who would attack it for no reason?
Tsunade sighed softly and said, "It was... Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki?" Konan shook her head. "In our plans, we never intended to attack the Fire Temple."
"If it were Kakuzu and Hidan, they might have gone for the bounty, but those two are already dead."
"Is that so?" Tsunade rubbed her forehead.
At this point, Neji asked the monk, "Do you remember the appearance of the people who attacked your Fire Temple?"
The monk nodded repeatedly, "One wore a mask, one was half black and half white. Both wore black robes with embroidered red clouds."
"No doubt about it, it's those two," Neji said. "Black Zetsu, and the true controller of Akatsuki."
But why would they go to the Fire Temple?
Neji pondered. These two wouldn't do anything unnecessary. The Fire Temple must have something they wanted, but what could it be?
Fire Temple, Ten-Tails, Madara, Rinnegan, Tailed Beasts, Jinchuriki... Jinchuriki!
"Wait!" A flash of lightning struck Neji's mind. He quickly asked, "Are you absolutely sure everyone is dead? Tell me the truth!"
"De-dead," the monk grit his teeth, but the cold sweat dripping down his face and his nervous expression clearly told everyone he was lying.
"Are you sure? Don't hide anything from me! Tell me the truth, did they take anyone else?" Neji said coldly.
"No, no..."
"Tell me the truth!!"
The monk's heart trembled, and his whole body shook. He stammered, "An-and... and Sora too!!"
The monk shouted, then collapsed to the ground, terrified.
"Sora, Sora." Neji was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected Obito to attack Sora.
He had lost this move in the game.
"Neji, Sora, could it be?" Tsunade was slightly taken aback, then punched a wooden table to pieces. "Damn it!"
"Neji, who is this Sora you're talking about?" Konan tugged at Neji's sleeve, asking in confusion.
Neji sighed helplessly. "Sora was the third Nine Tails Jinchuriki."
"What?! The third Nine Tails Jinchuriki?"
Everyone was bewildered and confused.
Besides Naruto and the Fourth Hokage, there was another one!
"What in the world is going on?" Senju Hashirama looked completely baffled.
When he was alive, there was only Mito as the Nine Tails Jinchuriki. How could it be that by his granddaughter's generation, there were three Nine Tails Jinchurikis?
Heavens, what has the Nine Tails been through?
Neji glanced at everyone and said, "Third Hokage, please explain."
"Ah." The Third Hokage extinguished his cigarette and said, "Sixteen years ago, during the Konoha Nine Tails outbreak, many ninjas died. Minato used the Reaper Death Seal to split the Nine Tails into two, sealing it within Naruto and himself. However, Kazuma harbored wicked intentions and sealed the excess chakra scattered in the air into a young boy, Sora."
"So, that Sora also had the Nine Tails' chakra and became a Nine Tails Jinchuriki?"
"To be precise, he was a pseudo Nine Tails Jinchuriki. The Third Raikage and the Second Hokage likely had similar experiences," Neji said, rubbing his forehead.
The two nodded. Ginkaku and Kinkaku had indeed left a deep impression on them.
"Wait! Let me add something." Senju Hashirama slowly raised his hand and asked, "That Nine Tails guy... can he actually hurt people?"
Everyone: "..."
The most terrifying thing is the sudden silence.
What was this deep sense of powerless defeat?
Was this the gap between an ordinary person and the God of Shinobi? Damn it!
Even Neji had to admit that he couldn't compare to Senju Hashirama.
*Slap!*
Senju Tobirama slapped Senju Hashirama on the back and gritted his teeth, "Big brother, unintentionally showing off is the deadliest!"
The next moment, the God of Shinobi, ostracized by everyone, squatted in a corner, engulfed in profound confusion.
I was just telling the truth, why was I kicked out?
"In short, we lost this time. That guy deliberately sent Konan and Nagato to attack Konoha to distract us, while his initial target was Sora. It's no wonder he and Black Zetsu didn't show themselves."
Neji took a deep breath, his expression not looking good. He had no choice but to swallow this loss.
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