The War of Endurance: The Full Attendance King

"Hanzo... I had heard his strength was formidable, but I never expected him to be this powerful."

"Danzo is not here, but I have already sent word to the village and just received a reply..."

Strictly speaking, the supreme commander of the Land of Rain front was Shimura Danzo, but with recent movements from Kumogakure, Danzo had been forced to reinforce the eastern battlefield.

At the head of the table, Torifu Akimichi struggled to make his baby-faced features look stern.

"The Third Hokage, Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen, will be arriving on the battlefield in person!"

The atmosphere of gloom that had hung over the Konoha shinobi vanished in an instant.

The title of Hokage was not merely the designation for the strongest in the village; it was a position recognized by everyone.

Sarutobi Hiruzen...

Kaminazuki recalled the excited look on that man's face as he rushed to the battlefield during the Fourth Shinobi World War and couldn't help but smile.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was arguably the only Hokage with perfect attendance, having participated in all four Shinobi World Wars.

Everyone had their flaws—his soft-heartedness toward his students in his old age, his indecisiveness when making decisions within the village...

But to say this man feared battle and only dared to operate from behind the scenes in Konoha would be pure nonsense.

"Hmph! He only relies on poison. Give me time, and I will be able to concoct an antidote soon enough."

Tsunade was not entirely speaking out of turn.

Her student, Sakura Haruno, had been able to quickly synthesize an antidote for Sasori's poison—which was far more complex than the Salamander's toxin—during their battle against Sasori of the Red Sands.

Given her own abilities, as long as she had enough samples, cracking it was only a matter of time.

Kaminazuki turned to look at her, exhaling sharply through his nose.

He didn't say a word, but that expression alone made Tsunade flare up.

"What is that look for, you brat! Are you questioning me?"

Orochimaru, who was sitting specifically next to Kaminazuki to prevent any conflict between the Senju and the Uchiha, intervened: "Kaminazuki, Tsunade has the capability."

"I didn't say she couldn't do it."

Kaminazuki stopped teasing Tsunade and said slowly, "If Hanzo were just a ninja who relied on poison, do you think the Hokage would need to come here himself?"

Tsunade turned her head away and snorted, "Who knows? The old man just wants to show off!"

"That is incorrect."

It was Orochimaru who refuted her again.

"The Salamander's toxin is only a part of Hanzo's strength. More importantly, there is his mastery of Water Release and his taijutsu, which is enough to defeat the General of the Land of Iron."

"Water Release, Fire Release, taijutsu, toxins..."

"He is a remarkably well-rounded battlefield ninja. His strength far exceeds that of a leader of a small hidden village; he is perhaps comparable to the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, and his lethality against ordinary ninja is even greater."

Orochimaru analyzed the situation calmly, and everyone's eyes focused on him.

"And Lord Hokage..."

"He is proficient in all five chakra natures and thousands of ninjutsu. His Wind Release can blow away poisonous mist, his Earth Release can defend against explosive tag arrays, and his Lightning Release enhances his speed..."

Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint smile, showing absolute confidence in his teacher: "Lord Hokage is also in the top tier of the shinobi world when it comes to taijutsu, not to mention he possesses the strongest Summoning Beast, Enma, which excels in both offense and defense."

"The teacher... will absolutely win!"

"Enma, huh..."

Jiraiya rested his chin on his hand, recalling the scene from his youth when Sarutobi Hiruzen taught him the Summoning Jutsu.

Thinking back now, it seems the old man wanted me to form a contract with the Monkey clan?

It was a pity that he had used the summoning technique without a contract and was transported to Mount Myoboku instead...

It wasn't so bad, though; aside from the fact that eating bugs was a bit disgusting, Mount Myoboku was a pretty good place.

Kaminazuki agreed with Orochimaru's assessment.

Although Hanzo was called the pinnacle of ninjas due to his performance in the Second Shinobi World War, the gap between him and Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was in his prime, was still quite obvious.

The Adamantine Staff transformed from Enma could even push the Nine-Tails out of Konoha; Sarutobi Hiruzen did not lack the means to deal with large Summoning Beasts.

Among the successive Hokage... Sarutobi Hiruzen was like an apple among fruits; his strength didn't have any particularly flashy highlights, but he was simply well-rounded in every aspect.

Excluding those with Kekkei Genkai, he was the man who had truly reached the pinnacle of the ninja world.

Oh, and excluding those like Might Guy who burned their lives away, of course.

Regarding the situation of the Second Shinobi World War, Kaminazuki only knew the general outline, but since the plot of the Sannin fighting Hanzo hadn't occurred yet, Sarutobi Hiruzen shouldn't have had a role to play...

Then... who could have blocked Sarutobi Hiruzen?

And Danzo...

As far as Kaminazuki knew, it was the Second Shinobi World War that left Danzo wounded multiple times, leading him to gradually shift into the shadows by the Third War.

Based on current developments...

Could it have been the Third Raikage?

To survive against that brute, Danzo certainly had some tricks up his sleeve...

One of the reasons Kaminazuki had remained in the Land of Rain was to see if there was an opportunity to secretly eliminate Danzo.

He had said it before: he would not wait for an enemy to strike first before launching a passive counterattack.

Things hadn't reached that point yet, but could he try to change Danzo's perspective on the Uchiha?

What a joke; he could have killed him ten times over in the time it would take to try that!

The meeting concluded amidst cheerful discussions about how long it would take the Hokage to defeat Hanzo; just as Orochimaru had said, no matter how one looked at it, Hanzo could not possibly be the Hokage's match.

Orochimaru and Kaminazuki walked out side by side, the former whispering:

"Don't you think Teacher Hiruzen will win?"

He understood his disciple too well; he could discern his general thoughts just from his expression.

Kaminazuki shook his head: "I just don't think he'll be able to make it to the Land of Rain."

Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly.

Kaminazuki often claimed he could foresee the future, which Orochimaru never took seriously, attributing his few accurate predictions to the same analytical ability possessed by Shikaku.

"You mean someone will block Teacher Hiruzen? Who could possibly block him?!"

Regarding the strength of Sarutobi Hiruzen, whether now or in the future, Orochimaru was his number one admirer.

Even his dream of learning every jutsu was influenced by this man.

Likewise, until the day he died, Sarutobi Hiruzen still saw Orochimaru as the boy he once was.

"I don't know, my foresight isn't that precise."

The two walked quickly, while Nawaki behind them waved and shouted: "Kaminazuki! Teacher Orochimaru! Wait for me!"

"Why did you bring that idiot along?"

Kaminazuki glanced back, making no effort to hide his disdain.

Orochimaru smiled gently: "Although Nawaki lacks your talent, he will become an outstanding ninja."

"One cannot walk this path alone; try to build bonds with your companions, especially since Nawaki is your junior."

Kaminazuki did not reject useful tools, like Shikaku, but someone like Nawaki...

Without a protagonist's halo, someone with that personality was just asking for death on the battlefield.

Even with his warnings, Orochimaru might save him once, but there would always be another death trap waiting for him.

"The Uchiha and the Senju, perhaps in your generation, they can truly..."

Just as he was speaking, Kaminazuki sensed something and looked toward a certain spot.

A familiar figure came into view, and his expression changed.

Swish—

With a sharp whistle of a body tearing through the air, Kaminazuki vanished in an instant.

So fast!

Orochimaru's pupils constricted; he hadn't seen him in half a year, and Kaminazuki's speed had increased even further!

"Who told you to come here?"

A cold voice rang out, and the few young ninjas sitting in a circle looked up.

Kaminazuki's face was icy, his eyes locked onto that face which bore a slight resemblance to his own, though it was far more delicate.

Uchiha Mikoto.