The Grown Hero: Senju Hashirama (2)

Mingye continued to goad Tamaza Ryojin with his words, driving the man into a frenzy. Yet, Tamaza Ryojin made no move to attack; he had fallen into a state of madness, his entire body beginning to erupt with pale blue chakra. It was a sign that he had completely shattered the acupoints that regulated his internal chakra flow.

When that light-like chakra appeared within his perception, Mingye knew the time had come. He slammed both hands onto the sea of snakes, and Ara simultaneously darted out from Mingye's sleeve, entering the writhing mass.

"Poison Dragon!"

"Wind Style: Great Storm!"

The moment Mingye's palms pressed against the surface, the black venomous snakes seemed to gain a collective consciousness. They converged from beneath Tamaza Ryojin's feet, taking the shape of a dragon that lunged to bite him. Tamaza Ryojin spat out a torrent of chakra, forming a vortex in front of him that spun and expanded like a meat grinder, shredding the surrounding snakes and spraying countless wind blades toward Mingye.

Mingye formed a wall of wind to deflect the incoming blades, but the sheer sharpness and immense energy of the attacks were beyond what he could withstand. The blades pierced through the wind wall. Instinctively, Mingye crossed his arms in front of his chest, preventing the blades from scarring his face or inflicting a fatal wound.

Even so, his arms were shredded to a pulp, exposing white bone. He performed a backflip to retreat rapidly. Across the way, Tamaza Ryojin was being bitten repeatedly by the snakes. He stopped attacking Mingye, and with a thought, he pressed his blood-soaked hands against his chest. A ripple of energy pulsed outward from his body, forcibly tearing through the snake sea's formation and causing it to vanish from Mingye's perception.

"How are you feeling?"

Ara, having emerged from the snake sea, looked at Mingye, who was sitting on a nearby stone platform and gasping for breath. Ara asked with concern. Mingye shook his head slightly, saying nothing. If he were to truly fight Tamaza Ryojin head-on, he would surely die; his current combat strength was not particularly high, and poison was his only real offensive edge. With his internal chakra reserves depleted, Mingye could only rely on absorbing the natural energy of the surroundings to fight. However, that energy required refinement and condensation; otherwise, it was impossible to utilize. After all, he was nowhere near the level of being able to harness the energy of heaven and earth for his own use.

Lying silently on the stone platform, Mingye closed his eyes and focused his mental energy on repairing his body. Before long, a white python, three meters long and half a meter thick, appeared beside him, lifted him up, and slithered toward the Dragon Transformation Pool.

Between the steep mountain peaks lay a narrow path—a treacherous mountain pass leading to the endless forest behind the range. If one held this position, no matter how powerful the ninja, they could not force their way through. Unless the entire mountain was razed to the ground, even a god would have to sigh and turn back.

But today was different. Miserable wailing, the cries of children, and incessant pleas for mercy turned the mountain pass into a living hell. Hundreds of white wolves surrounded several hundred people on a flat clearing. Three white-haired men sat on separate rocks, watching the weeping children, the elderly, and the women with cold, indifferent expressions, as if the sounds of suffering were entirely unheard. Just then, a ripple in space appeared before the three men. Tamaza Ryojin tore through the void and stumbled out, covered in blood. Upon hearing the cries and pleas of his clansmen, he let out a sigh of relief.

To be able to cry meant his clansmen were still alive, which meant there was still a chance. As for why he hadn't chosen a suicide attack against Mingye but instead forcibly tore through the barrier to escape the Earth Dragon Cave, Tamaza Ryojin had his own considerations: he needed to leave a spark of hope for his clan. It wasn't for revenge, but to ensure the will of his clan lived on, so that the Wind-Thunder Clan would not become mere history or memory in his hands.

But as he looked up again, he saw blood staining the mountain pass, the stone path dyed a deep crimson. Under the silver moonlight, it looked like the entrance to the underworld. A sharp sword flew from the shadows in the distance and embedded itself in front of Tamaza Ryojin. The three Hatake Clan ninjas remained motionless. From the shadows emerged the giant white wolf that had appeared in the forest before, and beside it stood the cold man from that same forest.

"Hatake Yūya!"

Seeing the Hatake ninja identify himself, Tamaza Ryojin suddenly recalled the legend of the Hatake Clan. The wolf clan feared no creature. When night fell, the mountain forests belonged to them. "Wild" (Kuang) did not refer to madness or arrogance, but to their wild and ruthless attacks. "Wolf" (Lang) referred to their methodical nature, always hunting in waves like a pack of wolves. This was the legend of the Hatake, the legend of the Wild Wolf Clan.

"Kill me, and release all three hundred and seventy-two of them!"

As he approached again, Hatake Yūya's voice remained cold and devoid of emotion, yet it gave Tamaza Ryojin a glimmer of hope. Quickly pulling the longsword from the ground, Tamaza Ryojin took a deep breath, his expression stern and resolute as he spoke to Hatake Yūya.

"Tamaza Ryojin, reporting for duty!"

"Kill!"

As the words left Tamaza Ryojin's lips, a silver light appeared in his vision. He pressed one hand against the blade, and lightning instantly enveloped the sword. He swung the blade, and the powerful current formed a tangible arc of electricity that swept out, shattering the silver light.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

"Skanda!"

In the next second, sharp eyes met Tamaza Ryojin's through the gaps in the silver light. In an instant, Hatake Yūya had closed the distance. A gale rose, and five or six wind vortexes appeared around Tamaza Ryojin, grinding against him like a meat grinder.

"Fusha!"

Hatake Yūya responded calmly. He rested his longsword on his shoulder, then spun his body, his sword qi forming a ring that expanded outward and dispersed the wind vortexes. He leaped back three or four meters, crouching like a wolf, his longsword sheathed at his waist with the scabbard tilted slightly upward. He pressed one hand to the hilt and drew the blade in a straight, lightning-fast motion.

"Floating Boat!" The silver light shot toward Tamaza Ryojin like the prow of a light boat. Tamaza Ryojin did not dodge; he met the attack head-on, his lightning-wreathed blade clashing directly against the sword qi.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted between them. Tamaza Ryojin soon charged out of the dust, covered in blood, like a demon from hell lunging at Hatake Yūya, seemingly intent on tearing him apart.

"Tiger Tremor!"

With no time to sheath his sword, Hatake Yūya slammed it into the ground. A powerful aura radiated from his entire body, followed by a tiger's roar. A fierce tiger surged toward Tamaza Ryojin along with Hatake Yūya's follow-up slash. Tamaza Ryojin shuddered, his body freezing for a split second. By the time he reacted, his throat had already been slit by the longsword.

The pale blue chakra cloak gradually faded. Tamaza Ryojin struggled to lift his head to look at the clansmen who were still waiting for his return. Hearing their sorrowful cries for help, he shed tears once more. He tried to speak, but could not open his mouth to utter a single word. He simply stared blankly at Hatake Yūya, who had walked up to him. Hatake Yūya showed no sign of the "hero cherishing hero" sentiment found in stories; as if he knew exactly what the man wanted to say, he replied coldly:

"Impossible!"

Miserable pleas for mercy, angry and desperate curses, even weak and futile resistance—and the children, who knew nothing of life or death, feeling only pain as the blades swung toward them. The entire Wind-Thunder Clan, all three hundred-plus members, were slaughtered by the three Hatake ninjas. Mingye had spent only twenty minutes at the Dragon Transformation Pool before returning to the Wind-Thunder Clan's encampment.

Blood dripped from the mountain pass like a river, and the entire gorge was shrouded in a thick, cloying scent of iron. Mingye could hear no one, but he could feel the viscous blood flowing beneath his feet and imagine the scene that had unfolded before him.

"Hatake Yūya!"

"Uchiha Mingye!"

Just as Mingye stood stunned, feeling a chill in his heart, a voice as cold as a blade reached his ears. Mingye immediately replied with his own name, then heard footsteps approaching from the side of the gorge.

"The three hundred-plus members of the Wind-Thunder Clan are all dead here. My Hatake Clan is not only skilled at killing but also at tracking. We have obtained their family genealogy. I guarantee that any remaining ninjas who were away will all be dead within a month!"

Mingye nodded slightly upon hearing this. Although he loathed such environments, he knew that such things would only happen more often in the future. He kept reminding himself that killing these people now was only to ensure a better tomorrow for others. He then spoke to Hatake Yūya.

"Good! I hope you can do it without leaving a trace!"

Hatake Yūya was slightly puzzled. The people were already dead; in Yūya's mind, he should be showing off his victory to the world. Yet, Mingye's intent was that he did not want anyone to know that a mid-tier clan like the Wind-Thunder Clan had been wiped out by the Hatake.

"What do you mean?"

Mingye chuckled, took two scrolls hidden in his sleeves, and handed them to Hatake Yūya before explaining carefully.

"The Wind-Thunder Clan was, after all, under the protection of my Uchiha Clan. For them to be wiped out right under our noses would make others look down on us. Therefore, our clan must use the momentum of wind and thunder to wipe out all potential suspects! These are scrolls detailing the ninjutsu and weapons commonly used by the Kurohabaki, Haguro, and Togakushi clans. You must make it look convincing!"

Hatake Yūya was no fool. Mingye was clearly using the Wind-Thunder Clan as a pretext to attack other ninja clans. He then recalled that the three clans Mingye mentioned were all on good terms with the Senju Clan, and he couldn't help but be moved. The thousand-year war between the Senju and Uchiha clans had never been about sentiment; their battles were the most talked-about topic in the ninja world, for no other reason than that both clans claimed to be the most authentic descendants of the Sage, a legacy that had been passed down since the Sage's passing.