Ziyun said with a teasing tone.
" Yeyue Ziyun, don't be so arrogant!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened; he could easily tell that Yeyue Ziyun was mocking him.
Most importantly, he himself was also very guilty. The title of "[ Strongest Hokage ]" had only become popular in Konoha in recent years, long after Tobirama Senju had died. That's why Hiruzen Sarutobi dared to call himself that.
Actually, the titles of Strongest Tsuchikage, Strongest Kazekage, and Strongest Raikage are basically all from this era.
After all, more than a decade had passed since the First Shinobi World War. The period of peace had been too long, and there hadn't been any real battles. So everyone boasted that they were the strongest, and over time, people started to believe it.
In reality, among these strongest Kage throughout history, apart from the Third Raikage who truly deserves the title of " Strongest Raikage," the rest of the "strongest" are not all that impressive in a real fight.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi is indeed shameless. The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth don't really have many powerful figures in their history, so it's not unacceptable for him to pretend to be the strongest.
Your ancestors were Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, and you dare to call yourself the "strongest"?
More like the Strongest Infighting Hokage, or the most shameless Hokage.
"Rumor has it that the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, was the God of Shinobi. Since you claim to be the [ Strongest Hokage ], you must be far more powerful than him. How dare I be arrogant in front of you?"
Ziyun sneered, instantly maximizing her sarcasm.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was so angry his face turned green, but he didn't make a move, knowing full well that he couldn't defeat Yeyue Ziyun.
Taking action would only bring shame upon oneself.
Jiraiya his mentor being insulted, Jiraiya couldn't help but attack Ziyun.
Click!
With a single move, Divine Judgment, Jiraiya immediately collapsed.
Right now, he's at best a Quasi-Kage ninja, a little stronger than Elite Jonin. If he's focused on escaping from Ziyun, he can barely protect himself.
They actually dare to make a move now; they're practically courting death.
Upon seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned completely dark.
Jiraiya in one move, so if they were to actually fight, he knew he was no match for Ziyun.
"If you won't make a move, I will!"
Ziyun sneered, seeing through Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts, and then took the initiative to attack.
Splash!
Endless lightning bolts rushed towards Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to dodge, but Ziyun's lightning range was too vast, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and was injured by the lightning.
He suffered burns of varying degrees on his body, but he was still able to stand.
"As expected of the [ Strongest Hokage ], you survived my lightning strike; you truly have skill. I, Yeyue Ziyun, acknowledge you as the strongest!"
Seeing the disheveled Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ziyun smiled. It seemed that he had controlled the power of his moves just right; he couldn't bear to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.
If the Kumogakure Village wants to take over the Konoha in the future, it can't do it by itself alone; it will have to rely on Hiruzen Sarutobi!
" Yeyue Ziyun, you just wait, I'll kill you sooner or later!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi furious; he knew perfectly well that Ziyun was insulting him.
With Ziyun's words, when I boast about being the " Strongest Hokage " in the future, won't people say that I was bestowed the title by a junior Yeyue Ziyun?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's situation is different from that of the Sannin.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a genuine Kage Level shikigami, while Ziyun, although at the Peak Kage Level, had not yet reached the level of Super Kage Level shikigami. Therefore, this conferment carried an insulting connotation.
If Ziyun possessed Super Kage Level strength, Hiruzen Sarutobi would probably be grinning from ear to ear right now.
"Kill me? Come on." Ziyun sneered, his body crackling with lightning.
"Damn it! Retreat!"
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer cared about saving face.
Yeyue Ziyun's moves have a wide range and great power; if he were to be hit a couple more times, he would surely be killed.
Reputation is important, but it's nothing compared to life.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then led the main force of Konoha in a retreat.
However, their retreat was not so easy. Ziyun and the Third Raikage were extremely fast, and some Konoha Ninja lagged behind were brutally killed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi originally intended to try to cover the rear, but upon seeing the terrifying bolts of lightning from Yeyue Ziyun and the Third Raikage behind the main force, Hiruzen Sarutobi abandoned the idea.
Orochimaru, however, took the initiative to cover the rear, and with his extremely disgusting Orochimaru -style Substitution Technique, he did indeed cause some interference with Ziyun and the Third Raikage's massacre.
0 ··Requesting flowers· ·
After retreating to a safe area, only a little over 2,000 of the 3,000 Konoha Ninja they had brought with them remained.
The battle resulted in the loss of nearly 1,000 Konoha Ninja, and their opponents were only Yeyue Ziyun and the Third Raikage.
If we wait for the main force of the Kumogakure Village to arrive, we'll probably be lucky to have 1,000 left.
Now Hiruzen Sarutobi understood why the Kumogakure was so difficult to deal with.
Yeyue Ziyun and the Third Raikage are practically invincible in a one-on-one fight.
Even in a 2-on-1 situation, it's difficult to fall behind.
The only way to fight them is through a protracted war to wear down their Chakra and stamina; a skirmish is absolutely out of the question.
But where in Konoha do we have so many ninjas to spare right now?
After this battle, Konoha Ninja dwindled to less than 10,000. If the fighting continued, Konoha would likely become a mere shell of its former self.
"Let's issue a ceasefire agreement to the people of Kumogakure."
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally made up his mind.
There was no hope of victory if the fighting continued, so a ceasefire was the only option.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi still had some sense of shame, so he only said "ceasefire" and did not say "surrender".
Soon the ceasefire agreement was returned, and the demands of the Kumogakure were quite simple.
If the Kumogakure cedes the land of the Land of Fire currently occupied by the Hidden Cloud Village to the Kumogakure, the Kumogakure will be willing to cease hostilities, and this matter is non-negotiable.
"This is outrageous! This is utterly outrageous! How could we possibly cede land to them!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious after receiving the demands of the Kumogakure.
He was actually prepared to pay compensation and contribute some supplies; after all, it's better to spend money to avoid trouble, and one shouldn't be stingy in this regard.
But who knew that Kumogakure would actually cede land? Isn't this putting me, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in a very difficult position?
Once he ceded the land, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he would be utterly disgraced.
From now on, I will have no face to boast about being the " Strongest Hokage." The worst-case scenario is that I won't even be able to continue being the Hokage.
After all, ceding territory had never happened before in Konoha's history. If that happened, he would definitely be nailed to Konoha's pillar of shame, never to rise again.
" Ziyun, do you think the Third Hokage will agree to our demands?"
Inside the Kumogakure Camp, the Third Raikage asked Ziyun question.
Fertile land is undoubtedly Konoha's most precious resource, and if it were them, they would never give it up.
Based on the limited interactions between the Third Raikage and Hiruzen Sarutobi, this " Strongest Hokage " is indeed quite incompetent, but even if he is incompetent, it's highly unlikely that he would agree to such a request.
If all else fails, we can make Konoha pay compensation.
"Uncle Raikage, I don't know about this either. After all, I'm not the Third Hokage. But I believe that even if Konoha disagrees and wants to continue the war, they won't be able to hold out for long. In the end, they'll have no choice but to agree."
In fact, Ziyun had considered whether to compromise and ask Konoha to pay some money and provide some supplies.
He believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely agree to this request soon.
But upon closer examination, Kumogakure wants to develop in the long term, it must occupy this land.
If a few commercial districts, food streets, amusement parks, and the like could be built on this site, then Kumogakure would have a long-term and stable source of income.
Over the long term, this profit will be dozens or even hundreds of times greater than the short-term losses suffered by Konoha!
Isn't that why Konoha is richer than other villages?
Therefore, no matter what, the Kumogakure must occupy this land, even if it means continuing the war.
After explaining this reason to the Third Raikage, the Third Raikage abandoned his idea of settling for second best.
" Lord Raikage, the Third Hokage rejected our demands, but he is willing to compensate us with 10 billion ryo in funds plus a batch of supplies, hoping that we can withdraw from the Land of Fire."
Just one day later, the envoy from Kumogakure returned to the Kumogakure camp to report the message from Konoha.
"As expected, he refused. It seems Hiruzen Sarutobi hasn't been hurt enough yet."
Ziyun had actually anticipated this; no matter how cowardly Hiruzen Sarutobi was, he would never cede territory as reparations.
Unless extreme circumstances occur— Konoha will perish if they don't sever territories, or Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never have ceded territory; he would rather pay reparations than cede land.
But I insist that Konoha cede territory! How can Kumogakure?
If I don't cede territory, where is my dignity as a transmigrator with cheat-like abilities?
"Then let's continue the war. Ziyun is right. This is a great strategic opportunity. We can't be blinded by short-term gains. Only by taking this land can we do justice to the Kumogakure warriors who died in this war."
The Third Raikage also understood after being encouraged by Ziyun.