Chapter 99 The Souji is no good!
"Now that Sarutobi is more inclined towards you, this is the perfect opportunity for you to shine, Minato!"
Koharu, who was turning over a new leaf, also chimed in.
However, Minato looked somewhat hesitant and whispered:
"Actually, I don't think I'm capable of taking on the responsibility of Hokage... It would be better to choose someone more capable..."
"Besides you, who else is more suitable to be the Hokage?" Akimichi Torifu said with a smile.
"For example, Souji-nii is clearly more capable than I am..."
"Souji?"
Mito was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Minato to say something like that suddenly.
Without even a second of hesitation, Mito immediately shook his head and said:
"Souji may be very capable, but to become Hokage, in addition to ability, many other conditions are required, such as status, which Souji does not possess."
Is identity really that important?
Minato pressed for an answer, somewhat puzzled. Seeing this, Koharu Utatane replied seriously:
"It's not that we have to care about one's background."
"You're too young, and it's not surprising that you feel ashamed to use your status as an advantage because you benefit from it."
"But have you ever considered how much influence status and titles have on people's hearts?"
"As Hokage, Sarutobi ruled Konoha for many years, and Konoha has always maintained its position as the strongest ninja village, and it has become more and more prosperous.
Both Jiraiya and you have produced many talented people, and the villagers of Konoha have a very high level of support for Sarutobi."
"Even for Jiraiya and the others, the name of the Legendary Sannin is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Konoha.
Besides their own strength, another major reason is that they were all students of Sarutobi.
They benefited from Sarutobi's fame. As long as they revealed their relationship with Sarutobi, everyone would look up to them."
"..."
Jiraiya looked somewhat displeased, but he didn't say anything in rebuttal.
After all, that's the truth.
Among their generation was Sakumo Hatake, nicknamed "Konoha's White Fang," who had achieved remarkable victories against Sunagakure in past wars, and whose combat strength was no weaker than the Sannin.
Although they made quite a name for themselves at the time, their reputation was always a step below that of the three legendary ninjas.
The reason is just as Koharu Utatane said: because the three legendary Sannin were all students of the Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and with this halo around them, everyone unconditionally looked up to them.
"It's not that we insist on having the Sarutobi lineage continue to serve as Hokage, but rather that all the villagers of Konoha have this expectation.
Everyone hopes that the descendants of the Sarutobi lineage will continue to govern as well as Sarutobi, ensuring that Konoha continues to prosper and remain stable!"
Koharu Utatane said this, and Homura Mitokado adjusted his glasses and said in a deep voice:
"The dorm change is right, because that's everyone's expectation.
If someone else becomes Hokage... then everyone will feel uneasy about the future."
"So Souji... he can't!"
...
Two days later.
Minato Namikaze, serving as the first admiral and with his mentor Jiraiya as his vice-admiral, led 8,000 Konoha ninja to the northeast, where they confronted 15,000 Kumogakure ninja at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost.
on the other hand.
The Souji arrived at Azuchi Port in the eastern part of the Land of Fire.
Accompanying them were 5,000 Konoha ninja soldiers, and the vice-general Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who always wore a poker face and exuded a cold aura.
After all, he is the eldest son of the Hokage and the vice-captain of the Anbu.
It's not a big deal for him to be the vice-captain of the Sannin, who have been famous for a long time and are his seniors.
But to be the vice-captain of someone who was just a Chunin two months ago and had only recently risen to prominence is obviously something that makes Shinnosuke quite unhappy.
Of course, Souji didn't care whether he was happy or not.
Anyway, it would be a bit far-fetched to say that he could handle this battle all by himself.
However, he has Sasori under his command and can summon the Heavenly Dragon.
As long as the 5,000 Konoha ninja can cooperate, then it's not a big deal if he's just one Kage-level Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Looking out at the vast ocean, the Souji couldn't help but ponder.
The first problem to solve now is how to play this game well.
The Hidden Mist Village of this era was far stronger than that of later generations.
It had money and manpower, and although its total number of ninja troops was not as exaggerated as that of the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village, it still numbered around 15,000.
Moreover, unlike other ninja villages, Kirigakure is located in the Land of Water, with the ocean as a natural barrier, making it difficult for other ninja villages to attack.
To guard against the enemy, Iwagakure and Kumogakure usually leave nearly half of their fighting force behind, but Kirigakure can leave far fewer.
Out of a total force of 15,000, the Mizukage is probably being cautious by leaving 2,000 men behind.
So in terms of troop strength alone, it's more than twice as many.
This is much stricter than the 8,000 versus 15,000 ratio at Watergate.
In this situation, the only solution is a decapitation strike.
Once the highest-ranking general is eliminated, the number of miscellaneous soldiers becomes irrelevant.
If we think about it that way, the key is how to find the Mizukage and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Sitting on the back of the Heavenly Dragon and charging straight at it with unparalleled power... that won't work.
Even if they are all genin, using low-level ninjutsu, if thousands of them attack, even a top-tier summoning beast can't withstand it.
Given that he had previously dealt a severe blow to Kirigakure, and considering various intelligence and rumors, he believed that Kirigakure would be very wary of him and would attack him from a distance with powerful ninjutsu.
Therefore, we still need the Konoha ninja army to cooperate in the attack.
However, this is not a good solution.
Kirigakure is probably planning to let Kumogakure take the lead first.
Although they have sent troops, they have not launched a large-scale attack. They are just patrolling the coast of the Land of Fire and putting pressure on them.
Because the Land of Fire has a vast area facing the ocean from east to south, it cannot be fortified in one place.
The Hidden Mist Village is extremely mobile at sea, and the Leaf Village can only watch where they appear and then rush over to defend them.
Moreover, they are outnumbered and unable to defend against the enemy's superior numbers, which puts them at a significant disadvantage.
"Hmm... Anyway, I'm just cheating, I don't know any strategy or tactics.
In short, I'll just focus on leveling up first, then get 200,000 reputation points, upgrade the ultimate skill to level 6, and then launch a sweeping attack?"
"If I honestly think of strategies and countermeasures when faced with such a thorny problem, wouldn't all my cheat codes be wasted?"
Souji faced the sea, arms crossed, and murmured these words.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke, standing behind, hadn't quite heard what he was saying, and said somewhat displeased:
"Lord Mochizuki, as the Souji, five thousand ninja soldiers are awaiting your instructions. Please make a decision as soon as possible!"
The Souji glanced at him and smiled slightly:
"Then pass down the order: maintain the status quo and focus on defense."
"Focus on defense?"
"I don't have any good solutions for the time being, so it's not advisable to act rashly."
"I see..."
Shinnosuke replied in a cold voice.
Although this situation is indeed quite difficult to deal with, it seems that Mochizuki Souji is not so great after all, since he can't come up with any countermeasures.
The recent rumors about him... are probably all exaggerated!
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end of this chapter...