Chapter 11

That dazzling series of moves left Tsunade and the other two completely dumbfounded.

Where was I? What was I doing? What had just happened?

To be honest, it was not only Tsunade's group who were bewildered. Even Pakura and the nearby Sand Shinobi watching the battle were utterly confused.

The only ones who were not confused were the Kage-level experts observing from afar.

They were the ones who truly understood what had happened.

"You three are quite good. I acknowledge you. I, the Third Kazekage of the Land of Wind's Sunagakure, am willing to bestow upon you the title of 'Sannin.'"

Looking at Tsunade and the other two hanging in midair, Yunqing said with wicked amusement.

"Bastard! Are you humiliating us?"

Tsunade pushed her Monster Strength Technique to its limit, struggling as she roared in fury.

"I suppose so. After all, no one likes being schemed against."

Yunqing shrugged, casually tossed the Ninja Swords to Pakura, and spoke indifferently.

"Kill me! Kill me now! I'm Konoha's princess—I'll never let you off!"

Yunqing's admission stunned Tsunade for a moment, followed by an indescribable rage.

With a slap, Yunqing struck Tsunade across the face, then took out a handkerchief and wiped his hand.

"Don't be stupid. If I killed you, Konoha would truly fight me to the death. As long as you're alive, Konoha won't go to war with me.

If you want revenge, go back and level up first."

Yunqing looked at Tsunade as though she were an idiot. As for Orochimaru and Jiraiya beside her, they were glaring at him furiously as well.

But who cared about them? How could two grown men possibly be as pleasing to look at as a beautiful woman?

No longer paying any attention to the enraged trio, Yunqing casually glanced in Hiruzen Sarutobi's direction before leaving with Pakura and the others.

"Looks like Sarutobi's plans have fallen through?"

High in the sky, Ōnoki looked at Tsunade's group and the approaching Hiruzen Sarutobi with a mocking smile.

"Half and half, I suppose. If the Sannin make it through this, their futures will be limitless—though the odds of them failing are low."

Beside him, the armored Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, spoke unconcernedly.

To Kage-level beings like them, Quasi-Kage were no different from children.

"That depends on Sarutobi's own ability. Teaching three Kage-level shinobi in one go—defying the heavens isn't so easy."

Mu, standing at the front, sneered.

More importantly, Mu watched Hatake Sakumo, who was following behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, with cold eyes.

It made him deeply uncomfortable. In his eyes, Konoha's next generation would be better off ruined. Producing one Hatake Sakumo was already defying the heavens, and now they wanted to produce three more all at once.

In Iwagakure, their middle generation had only Ōnoki and Rōshi. Among the younger generation, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki barely counted as a pillar of support.

Several tearing sounds rang out as a short sword crackling with lightning cut through the Entangling Ribbon and rescued Tsunade's group.

The three fell directly to the ground. Yunqing's final few strikes had already robbed them of their fighting strength.

For a short time, any major movement would injure them further.

"How did it feel, truly fighting a life-or-death battle against a Kage-level opponent?"

Ignoring Tsunade's vicious glare, Hiruzen Sarutobi held a pipe between his teeth and asked with a smile.

"Terrifying. At any moment, we could have died. Overwhelming raw strength, bizarre methods."

Thinking of that heat attack which had shattered the Triple Rashomon, the taijutsu strike that had knocked Gamabunta down with a single claw, the various strange attacks, and how easily Yunqing had severed their connection to their Ninja Beast—

If their opponent had not deliberately spared their lives, the three of them would have died long ago.

"That's right. Reaching Kage-level in one aspect allows you to be called a Quasi-Kage. But to be called a Kage, you need the strength and trump cards to handle any situation."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in agreement.

What was a Kage? It was someone no situation could defeat.

No matter how devious your schemes were or how many ninjutsu you unleashed, I would have a way to deal with them all.

Remaining composed in danger, fearing no crisis, daring to shoulder responsibility, and facing threats head-on—only then could one be called a Kage.

A Kage was a village's true pillar. Once they fell, the entire village would suffer immeasurable losses.

"Old man, what should we do?"

Jiraiya, who had remained silent until now, had lost all of his usual frivolity. He raised his head and asked solemnly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke, looked at Jiraiya in surprise, then shook his head. "Do nothing. Go back and recover. Each of you has your own path. Just keep walking it, and sooner or later, you'll reach the peak.

This time was merely meant to teach you a lesson."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not as stern with his disciples as one might have imagined.

"Tsk, if you wanted to teach them a lesson, you could've done it yourself. Did you really have to make outsiders do it?"

Tsunade turned her head away, refusing to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi as she spoke huffily.

By now, she had already calmed down.

"Haha, my disciples are so outstanding—I couldn't bear to lay a hand on them."

Seeing that all three had recovered, Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed heartily.

Yet the flicker of worry in the corner of his eyes did not escape the three of them.

In the Land of Wind, Yunqing stepped onto the yellow-sand-covered land with a smile on his face.

"Ah, finally back. No more scheming against that bunch of old foxes."

Spreading his arms and closing his eyes, Yunqing laughed loudly.

"Lord Kazekage, this time, we gained nothing at all and even lost a whole pile of things."

Thinking of Yunqing's promise, Pakura said resentfully.

"Haha, little Pakura, I'll say it again: don't look at things from only one side—look at them from every angle. Our cooperation with the Land of Rain was the greatest victory."

Ignoring Pakura's resentment, Yunqing declared proudly.

"What about the Land of Water and Kirigakure? They won't be easy to deal with. Kirigakure has a grudge against Iwagakure, so we're effectively helping Iwagakure tie down a powerful enemy."

Pakura was saying, Don't think I'm stupid—I'm smart too. At the very least, I know my history and understand the relationship between Mu and Hozuki Gengetsu.

"Hmph, little Pakura, you don't like it when I call you stupid. Sooner or later, we'll clash with Kirigakure. You wouldn't understand my brilliant maneuvering."

Light flashed through Yunqing's eyes.

Sunagakure's strength was what it was. It simply could not improve in a short time, and even ten years of recuperation would not produce a batch of usable fighting forces for Sunagakure.

Therefore, if they wanted to increase their strength, they had to seek power from outside.

Yunqing had set his sights on the Land of Whirlpools, which was about to be destroyed.

It was true that the Land of Whirlpools excelled at Sealing Techniques, but living on an island nation, they were also quite skilled with Water Release.

Moreover, if he wanted to build a project that would last a century and achieve explosive growth in materials, Sealing Techniques were a promising direction.

Turning sand into soil—Yunqing felt that Sealing Techniques might produce remarkable results.

Only a few years after the Second Ninja World War began, Sunagakure was the first to be eliminated after fighting two Ninja Villages at once.

After Sunagakure was eliminated, Kumogakure sent troops against Konoha and Iwagakure.

Following the agreed terms, Sunagakure blockaded the sea and stopped Kirigakure, allowing Iwagakure to free up a large number of troops to pressure Kumogakure and Konoha.

Konoha resented Iwagakure's betrayal during the negotiations, so it sent troops to attack Iwagakure and also clashed with Kumogakure.

For a time, the entire ninja world was thrown into chaos.