The Demigod's Name and a Secret Mission

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

Although there was not the slightest sign of injury on the surface, and sensory ninja could not detect anything unusual either, Hanzo could clearly feel that his internal organs had been slightly displaced and damaged.

Forcing down the urge to spit out a mouthful of blood, Hanzo said calmly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "As expected of the Ninjutsu Professor renowned throughout the Shinobi World. To think you can so easily combine ninjutsu of all five elements for an attack. Lord Hokage's strength is indeed formidable! Let us stop here today and call it a draw."

The scheming Hanzo put on an indifferent facade as though he had not been injured, but only he knew the truth. Having suffered considerable internal injuries, Hanzo was already eager to end this battle.

Hanzo had indeed underestimated his opponent this time. Relying on his formidable strength and riding the momentum of his decisive victory over the Third Kazekage, he had swaggered in alone. He truly feared that Konoha's people would tear off all pretenses and leave him here forever once they noticed signs of his injuries.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not know Hanzo's little calculations. He was still shocked that Hanzo had emerged unscathed from his Great Chain Barrage.

Thus, equally unwilling to continue fighting Hanzo to the death, he began exchanging commercial flattery with Hanzo. "Lord Hanzo, you flatter me! In the end, you still had the upper hand! I was fortunate enough to witness Lord Hashirama in action before. Though your current strength is still not enough to rival the God of Shinobi, in this era, you should be the strongest! In my opinion, you can absolutely be called a demigod!"

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

The Third Hokage of Konoha, the strongest ninja village in the Shinobi World, could not defeat the leader of a tiny Amegakure village. That would be the greatest joke in the Shinobi World.

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

Moreover, regardless of whether Hanzo truly was the strongest in the Shinobi World, Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to place him upon that throne today. No matter who praised Hanzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely lend them a hand!

Hanzo did not catch Hiruzen Sarutobi's ulterior motives, but he was nearly unable to suppress his injuries by then. Without responding further to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hanzo decided to withdraw first and slowly turned to leave.

Having defeated both the Kazekage and the Hokage in succession, Hanzo had become confident that he was the strongest ninja in the entire Shinobi World. Although he had yet to fight the Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage, Hanzo believed that the Five Great Ninja Villages' Kage should not differ too greatly in strength. Thus, he gladly accepted the title of demigod and went ever further down the road of inflated self-confidence.

However, having come from a small country like the Land of Rain, Hanzo's horizons were ultimately somewhat limited. At the very least, Qing Si clearly knew that there was still a considerable gap in strength among 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.

Why, then, was he called the strongest Kazekage?

Although the First Kazekage Reto had pacified the chaotic era of the Land of Wind and founded Sunagakure, he possessed no Kekkei Genkai. He had only captured One-Tail Shukaku with the assistance of a great number of Sunagakure ninja.

Then there was the Second Kazekage Shamon. There was no need to mention anything else—one point alone was enough. His main profession had been that of a puppeteer, and puppeteers were universally acknowledged in the Shinobi World as being unlikely to produce the absolute strongest experts. Although Shamon had researched Sand Manipulation from One-Tail Shukaku, his strength was ultimately limited. He had merely been a somewhat stronger Kage Level fighter.

The Third Kazekage Iron Sand possessed the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai and had inherited and integrated the Sand Manipulation developed by the Second Kazekage Shamon, transforming it into his own unique Magnet Release: Iron Sand. He also possessed the ability to suppress rampaging One-Tail Shukaku alone in the vast desert. It was no wonder that Hidden Sand's ninja called him the strongest Kazekage.

However, in Qing Si's view, while the Third Kazekage was indeed stronger than the First and Second Kazekage in terms of individual strength, he was still slightly inferior when compared with the Third Kage of the other villages from the same era.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of the Two Scales, was the grandson of the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa and the disciple of the Second Tsuchikage Mū. Having mastered Earth Release, he had also inherited the Kekkei Tōta known as Dust Release, developed by Mū, which surpassed Kekkei Genkai and could break enemies down into molecules. Furthermore, he was one of the few ninja in the Shinobi World capable of flight.

The Third Raikage A could use Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite, known as the strongest spear, and Lightning Release Armor, known as the strongest shield. He could even fight Eight-Tails Gyūki one-on-one without falling behind and had a record of suppressing a rampaging Eight-Tails alone.

As for their own Third Mizukage, Bing, Qing Si had seen him more than once as a member of the ANBU.

In Qing Si's perception, although Bing was getting on in years and his combat power had begun to decline, his chakra presence remained terrifyingly powerful, on par with the Hiruzen Sarutobi Qing Si had just encountered. Moreover, as the guard of the First Mizukage Byakuren, one of Kirigakure's founders, and a man who wielded Water Release and Ice Release with masterful skill, Bing was at the very least on the same level as the Third Kazekage.

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

(The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Dust Release was invincible. Basically, anyone struck by it would die, but it could not hit the incredibly fast Third Raikage A. Therefore, I think the Third Raikage was the strongest Third Kage, and in this era before any overpowered cheats appeared, he could even be called the strongest in the Shinobi World. As for the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's so-called title of strongest Hokage, that was purely the result of Kishimoto's inconsistent later settings. Still, I think he really did have some skill and could be called a strong fighter, but without any particularly outstanding feats, this is the only way to rank him.)

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

Seeing the battle end and Hanzo depart, ninja from the various countries who had come to watch gradually scattered as well, spreading the newly minted title of "strongest in the Shinobi World," the demigod Hanzō of the Salamander, to every corner of the Shinobi World.

At that moment, Qing Si used the ANBU's unique seal-release method to unseal the mission scroll Jian had handed him before leaving. After quickly reading the special mission assigned by the Third Mizukage, Qing Si ordered everyone, "Flower, you lead the team and take them back along the original route first. Lord Mizukage has another mission for me. Once I complete it, I'll catch up with you as soon as possible."

"Yes!" everyone answered. Then, under Flower's leadership, they departed.

After everyone had left, Qing Si pressed two fingers to the ground, and his chakra perception spread wildly in all directions. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Toward the Land of Grass in the north, he sensed several unusually conspicuous chakra presences moving away at tremendous speed. One of them possessed an exceptionally massive amount of chakra, far exceeding even his own. It was the person with the greatest chakra reserves Qing Si had sensed thus far.

Qing Si guessed that Hidden Cloud's people would not be bold enough to cross the Land of Fire, so he knew he had found the right target. Continuing to track their movements, he erupted with chakra and repeatedly used the Body Flicker Technique to pursue them.

Meanwhile, among the Hidden Cloud group traveling home, an ANBU suddenly spoke. "Lord Fusui, someone just sensed us, but I cannot sense them in return."

"No matter! Slow down and see what they intend. With our lineup, we need not fear anyone." Fusui answered calmly, then directed the Hidden Cloud group to gradually slow down and wait for Qing Si's arrival.

Who exactly was this Fusui? He had another name: Blue B. He was the B of Kumogakure's third-generation A-B Combo, the brother of the Third Raikage A, and Kumogakure's first Eight-Tails jinchūriki.

(There had been four Eight-Tails jinchūriki in total. The last was the familiar Killer B. The one before him was Fukai, the man with hair that was half white and half green. Before him was Fukai's uncle, while the first was Fukai's father, Fusui. Fukai later inherited Blue B's title as well.)

Qing Si sensed that the group's speed was gradually slowing, and he knew they had discovered him as well. Hidden Cloud has capable people too. With that thought, he accelerated further, hoping to complete the mission quickly, reunite with his subordinates, and return to the village as soon as possible.

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

"He's here!" the sensory Hidden Cloud ANBU shouted.

Before his words had even faded, Qing Si's figure had already appeared within their sight.

Qing Si recognized Fusui as well. At the same time, he understood why the other man's chakra reserves were so enormous—he had already become a jinchūriki. Qing Si carried memories of the chakra presences of all nine tailed beasts, so when he came face-to-face with Fusui, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, he easily identified the Eight-Tails' aura.

"Lord B, greetings. By Lord Mizukage's order, I have come to deliver a letter to Lord Raikage." Qing Si spoke as he handed the mission scroll to Fusui.

This mission scroll had been specially made by the Third Mizukage using his Ice Release chakra. After Qing Si read it, the portion containing the mission order had automatically dissipated, leaving only the section written for the Third Raikage.