The Name of a Demigod and a Secret Mission

But it would not be entirely accurate to say that Hanzo was uninjured. Although he had narrowly escaped the range of the ninjutsu, it was still a combined ninjutsu attack with S-rank power. Even being grazed by the edge of the explosion had shaken and injured him.

Though there was not the slightest sign of injury on his exterior, and even the Sensor Ninja could detect nothing unusual, Hanzo could clearly feel that some of his internal organs had been displaced and slightly ruptured.

Suppressing the urge to spit out a mouthful of blood, Hanzo said calmly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "As expected of the Ninjutsu Professor renowned throughout the Ninja World. You can so easily combine all five elemental natures for an attack. Lord Hokage, your strength truly is formidable! Let us stop here today. We'll call it a draw."

The scheming Hanzo put on an unruffled appearance as if he had not been injured, but only he knew his own condition. Having suffered fairly serious internal injuries, Hanzo was already eager to end this battle.

Hanzo had indeed underestimated his opponent this time. Relying on his own immense strength and carrying the momentum of his great victory over the Third Kazekage Iron Sand, the overconfident Hanzo had come alone. He truly feared that the Konoha group would cast aside all pretenses and, upon discovering his injuries, leave him here forever.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not know about Hanzo's little calculations. He was still astonished that Hanzo had emerged unscathed from his Great Comet.

Thus, equally unwilling to continue fighting Hanzo to the death, he began exchanging flattering compliments with him. "Hanzo, you flatter me! In the end, you were still the superior one! I once had the honor of witnessing Lord Hashirama in action. Although your current strength is not yet enough to rival the God of Shinobi, in this era, you should be the strongest! In my opinion, you are fully worthy of being called a demigod!"

At last, Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed his true intentions. Being at a disadvantage in his clash with Hanzo would be extremely detrimental to his reputation.

The Third Hokage of Konoha, the strongest shinobi village in the Ninja World, could not defeat the leader of a mere Amegakure? That would be the greatest joke in the Ninja World.

Therefore, his plan was to elevate Hanzo's standing in the Ninja World as much as possible. After all, the leader of Amegakure and the strongest person in the current Ninja World were not the same concept.

And regardless of whether Hanzo truly was the strongest in the Ninja World, Hiruzen Sarutobi was determined to place him on that throne today. No matter who praised Hanzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely lend them a hand!

Hanzo did not pick up on Hiruzen Sarutobi's ulterior motive, but he was nearly unable to suppress his injuries any longer. Without responding further, he decided to withdraw first, turning and slowly walking away.

Having consecutively defeated both the Kazekage and the Hokage, Hanzo had become confident that he was now the strongest shinobi in the entire Ninja World. Although he had yet to fight the Tsuchikage, Raikage, or Mizukage, Hanzo believed that the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages could not differ too greatly in strength. Thus, he gladly accepted the title of demigod and went further and further down the path of self-inflation afterward.

However, Hanzo, who came from a small nation like the Land of Rain, ultimately possessed a somewhat narrower perspective. At the very least, Seiji clearly knew that there was still a considerable gap in strength between the Five Kage.

The Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage, could be said to be the weakest among the five current Kage. He merely benefited from his Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai.

As for why he could be called the strongest Kazekage?

Although Retto, the First Kazekage, had pacified the chaotic era of the Land of Wind and founded Sunagakure, he possessed no Kekkei Genkai. Even Shukaku the One-Tail had only been captured with the assistance of a large number of Sunagakure shinobi.

Then there was Shamon, the Second Kazekage. There was no need to mention anything else—one point was enough. His main profession was that of a Puppet Master, and Puppet Masters were widely acknowledged in the Ninja World to have difficulty producing the most elite experts. Although Shamon had developed the Sand Manipulation Technique through his research on Shukaku the One-Tail, his strength was ultimately limited. He was merely a somewhat powerful Kage-level shinobi.

Third Kazekage Iron Sand possessed the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai and had inherited and combined the Sand Manipulation Technique developed by Shamon, the Second Kazekage, turning it into his own unique Magnet Release: Iron Sand. At the same time, he possessed the ability to suppress a rampaging Shukaku the One-Tail alone in the vast desert. It was no wonder Sunagakure's shinobi called him the strongest Kazekage.

However, in Seiji's view, while the Third Kazekage was indeed stronger than the First and Second Kazekage in terms of raw power, he was still somewhat inferior when compared with the Third Kage of the other villages from the same era.

Ōnoki of the Two Scales, the Third Tsuchikage, was the grandson of Ishikawa, the First Tsuchikage, and the disciple of Mu, the Second Tsuchikage. On top of being proficient in Earth Release, he had inherited the Kekkei Tōta known as Dust Release, developed by Mu, which surpassed Kekkei Genkai and could break enemies down into molecules. Furthermore, he was one of the few shinobi in the Ninja World capable of flight.

Third Raikage A could use Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite, known as the Strongest Spear, and the Lightning Release Armor, known as the Strongest Shield. He could even fight Gyūki, the Eight-Tails, one-on-one without being at a disadvantage, and had a record of suppressing a rampaging Eight-Tails by himself.

As for their own Third Mizukage Hyou, Seiji, as an Anbu member, had seen him more than once.

In Seiji's perception, although Hyou had grown older and his combat ability had begun to decline, his Chakra presence remained terrifyingly powerful, on par with the Hiruzen Sarutobi he had just met. Moreover, as a guard of Byakuren, the First Mizukage, one of Kirigakure's founders, and a master of Water Release and Hyoton, Hyou was, at the absolute very least, on the same level as the Third Kazekage.

Therefore, in Seiji's view, the ranking of the Five Kage should be: Third Raikage ≥ Third Tsuchikage > Third Hokage ≥ Third Mizukage > Third Kazekage.

(The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Dust Release was invincible. Anyone hit was practically guaranteed to die, but he could not hit the extremely fast Third Raikage A. Therefore, I believe the Third Raikage was the strongest of the Third Kage, and in this era before any overpowered freaks appeared, he could even be called the strongest in the Ninja World. As for the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi being called the strongest Hokage, that was purely the result of Kishimoto's messy late-stage settings. Still, I think he really did have the skills and could be called a powerhouse, but without any especially outstanding feats, this is the only way to rank them.)

(Also, in Ōnoki of the Two Scales, the Two Scales was only a title. It was a term of praise used by Iwagakure's people for Ōnoki, commending him for being exceptionally shrewd in handling village affairs and for securing the greatest benefits for Iwagakure in diplomacy. It was not his surname.)

Seeing that the battle had ended and Hanzo had departed, the shinobi from the various nations who had come to watch also gradually dispersed, spreading the newly minted title of "strongest in the Ninja World," the demigod Hanzō of the Salamander, to every corner of the Ninja World.

Seiji then used the Anbu's unique method of releasing seals to unseal the mission scroll Ken had handed him before leaving. After quickly skimming the special mission assigned by the Third Mizukage, Seiji ordered the group, "Hua, you lead the team and take them back along the original route first. The Mizukage has another mission for me. I'll catch up with you as soon as I complete it."

"Yes!" everyone answered, then departed under Hua's lead.

After everyone had left, Seiji pressed two fingers to the ground, and his Chakra perception began spreading wildly in every direction. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Toward the Land of Grass in the north, several exceptionally conspicuous Chakra signatures were rapidly moving away. One of them possessed an immense amount of Chakra, more than dozens of times his own—the greatest amount of Chakra Seiji had ever sensed.

Reasoning that Kumogakure's people would not be bold enough to cross through the Land of Fire, Seiji knew he had likely found the right target. He continued monitoring their movements, then erupted with Chakra and repeatedly used the Body Flicker Technique to pursue them.

Meanwhile, among the Kumogakure group traveling back, an Anbu member suddenly spoke. "Lord Fusheng Yi, someone just sensed us, but I can't sense them in return."

"No matter! Slow down and see what they intend. With our lineup, we need not fear anyone." Fusheng Yi replied calmly, then directed the Kumogakure group to gradually reduce their speed and await Seiji's arrival.

Who exactly was this Fusheng Yi? He had another name: Blue B. He was the B of Kumogakure's Third A-B Combination, the brother of Third Raikage A, and Kumogakure's first Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

(There had been four Eight-Tails Jinchuriki in total. The last was the Killer B everyone knew. The one before him was Fukai, the one with half-white, half-green hair. Before him was his uncle, and the first was his father, Fusheng Yi. Fukai later inherited the name Blue B as well.)

Seiji sensed that the opposing group was gradually slowing down and knew that they had discovered him as well. Thinking that Kumogakure also had capable people, he accelerated further, intending to finish his mission as quickly as possible so he could reunite with his subordinates and return to the village.

He had been away for so long that he was beginning to miss home.

"He's here!" the Kumogakure Anbu member with sensory abilities shouted.

The moment he spoke, Seiji appeared within their sight.

Seiji recognized Fusheng Yi as well, and immediately understood why the other man possessed such an enormous amount of Chakra. He had already become a Jinchuriki. With memories of the Chakra signatures of the Nine Tailed Beasts, Seiji easily identified the Eight-Tails' aura when he came face-to-face with Fusheng Yi, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Lord B, greetings. By order of the Mizukage, I have come to deliver a letter to the Raikage." Seiji spoke as he handed the mission scroll to Fusheng Yi.

This mission scroll had been specially crafted by the Third Mizukage using his Hyoton Chakra. After Seiji had read it, the section containing the assigned mission automatically dissipated, leaving only the portion written for the Third Raikage.