Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi

Jiraiya's eyes held a trace of emotion. "The first time I saw you, brat, I knew you were different from the others. I just didn't expect that in such a short time, you would have left us all far behind. The new waves of the Yangtze River push the old. The future of Konoha really depends on you young people."

Hatake Kusuo was undoubtedly the champion of Konoha's younger generation. His fame even overshadowed that of the older generation of powerhouses. Jiraiya's wistful tone made many in the tent feel a sense of a trance. That's right. A boy in his early teens. In just one short year, he had suddenly burst forth with power, like a bird breaking free from its cage, flying into the vast, boundless sky.

"Your Hatake clan really has good luck," the ANBU captain said, clapping Kakashi heavily on the shoulder. The two of them were the most familiar with each other, having both served as ANBU captains in their teens.

Kusuo hadn't expected that just a few words could evoke such emotion from everyone present. In the depths of his heart, he felt basically nothing about it. But what the ANBU captain said did have some truth to it. In a way, among all the noble clans of Konoha today, not counting the total population, the Hatake clan truly produced an abundance of talent. From Hatake Sakumo to Hatake Kakashi, and now to Hatake Kusuo. Every generation was a peerless prodigy of their time. Especially Kusuo; to say he was the champion among his peers was far from enough to describe his talent.

A monster. An out-and-out monster. His strength had even far surpassed that of the Konoha Sannin, who had been famous for many years. This was also the reason for Jiraiya's wistfulness.

One by one, whether it was the former hegemonic clans like the Uchiha and the Senju, or the later Sarutobi, Ino-Shika-Cho, and Hyuga... for two or three consecutive generations to produce such heroic prodigies was almost an impossible thing.

...

Soon, the news of the Sand Village's annihilation spread like wildfire throughout the entire ninja world.

In the Land of Earth, the Tsuchikage, Onoki, was still teaching his granddaughter, the future "Leg Kage," Kurotsuchi.

"I didn't expect that in just a few short months, Konoha would act with such lightning speed, forcefully suppressing the Sand Village and throwing the Land of Wind into chaos. Back then, I wanted to contact that brute, the Raikage, to deal with that little monster together, but I was actually refused," he said. "Heh, so quickly, he has given us such a big surprise."

Kurotsuchi, who was already beginning to show her "Leg Kage" potential, asked her grandfather curiously, "Grandpa, who were you just talking about? Is he very strong?"

"Yes. A very strong brat." The Third Tsuchikage then handed the intelligence report in his hand to his granddaughter. After Browse through it, a deep shock and disbelief flashed in Kurotsuchi's large eyes. This... how can there be such a strong person?

What it said was that a Konoha ninja named Hatake Kusuo had single-handedly broken into the Sand Village and annihilated it. Then, he had even assassinated the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. Now the entire Land of Wind had fallen into chaos and had completely surrendered to the Land of Fire.

Two simple sentences, yet they brought an immense shock. "This news... it can't be fake, right?" Swallowing hard, Kurotsuchi was truly scared. She was about the same age as Kusuo. No matter what, she couldn't believe that a peer could achieve this. To single-handedly annihilate one of the five great hidden villages... even her own grandfather couldn't do that, right?

The Third Tsuchikage flew in the air, his gaze fixed on the distant direction of Konoha, not speaking. But this silence seemed to be telling Kurotsuchi that everything... was true.

In the Hidden Mist Village, with the Mizukage being controlled, the various Kekkei Genkai families underneath were secretly fighting amongst themselves. Although they were surprised by the outside news, they didn't have much of a reaction.

Hidden Cloud Village.

The Fourth Raikage's face was not looking good. "Yo, yo, yo, I said, that old fool the Third Tsuchikage sent us a request for an alliance a long time ago. And brother, you, you didn't agree. Now you regret it, right? Yeeeah~" Killer B rapped awkwardly, dancing in front of the Raikage, A, making the latter's eyelid twitch.

"I thought it was just the Sand Village embellishing their own defeat. Who would have thought that brat would have grown to this extent without anyone noticing?"

When Kusuo had thrashed the One-Tail, the Kage of all the great ninja villages had received the news. The Third Tsuchikage, in particular, had seen at a glance that this person would definitely be a top-tier powerhouse in the future ninja world, a pillar of Konoha. He had invited the Raikage to cooperate, to launch a surprise attack on the now-vulnerable Konoha. But the proud Fourth Raikage had scoffed at it.

Thrashing the One-Tail? Scaring a Tailed Beast into actively retreating into its Jinchuriki's body? Absolutely impossible. It should be known that even his own father, the Third Raikage, hailed as the strongest Raikage, could only suppress the Tailed Beasts and fight them to a draw. To scare a Tailed Beast? How was that possible? Tailed Beasts were immortal and indestructible, and they didn't even feel pain. Therefore, A had treated this news as an excuse the Sand Village had made up for their failure and had ignored the Third Tsuchikage's invitation.

Who would have thought that in just a few short months, this brat had already grown to this extent.

BAM! He suddenly slammed his fist on the table and ordered the person outside the door, "Go send an envoy! I want to invite the people from the Earth Village and the Mist Village to negotiate together!"

...

Within the Land of Rain.

In the Akatsuki's base, the giant head of the Gedo Mazo was grim and solemn. At this moment, there were two fewer members standing below. Pain's expression was ugly. For a body made from a corpse to have such an expression, one could imagine the anger in Nagato's heart right now.

Hidan, Kakuzu, Itachi, and the others looked on, various thoughts flashing through their minds.

"We have lost two more members," Pain said, his emotionless voice ringing out as he looked around, as if he were announcing a death sentence. The atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive. A low pressure enveloped all the members, and no one spoke.

"The culprit is still that ninja from Konoha, Hatake Kusuo."

"As of now, we have already had three people die at his hands. Itachi and Tobi are seriously injured, and the organization's strength has been greatly reduced. This is very unfavorable for our future plans. If any of you have any good ideas, you can bring them up."

Pain summarized the recent gains and losses. When he said the name "Hatake Kusuo," everyone's eyes twitched.

Ruthless. Too ruthless.

If Tobi's report of that one slash had only given them a perceptual shock, letting them know just how sharp that boy's sword was, then now, the deaths of their comrades one after another had thoroughly sounded the alarm for them. This boy... possessed the strength to fight one against two, and even to kill them.

"Itachi, you were once a ninja of Konoha. I hear you even know this person. Tell us your thoughts," Pain said, directly calling on Itachi when no one else spoke.

Itachi's body still looked weak. It was unclear if it was due to overusing his dojutsu, causing him to fall into a serious illness prematurely, or for some other reason. In any case, his spirit didn't look too good.

Hearing Pain's words, he just said with an expressionless face, "We don't really know each other. We've had a few brief encounters." After saying this, Itachi fell silent. In his mind, the words Kusuo had once told him echoed again: 'Life is a one-way journey; what's past is past, and what's missed can't be reclaimed...'

Without realizing it, a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of Itachi's mouth. That boy back then... has already grown to this extent.

Everyone could clearly feel Itachi's evasiveness, but no one said anything. Itachi's strength was one of the best here, and Pain, as the leader, never cared about his subordinates' attitudes. As long as they completed their missions, there were no other constraints.

The scene once again fell into silence. The face of Black Zetsu, hiding in the shadows, was even uglier.

Hatake Kusuo... He repeated this name over and over. It made him, who had lived for a thousand years, suddenly feel a little agitated. A scheme he had laid out for a thousand years, he had finally gathered all the chess pieces. Everything was proceeding according to plan. And then halfway through, such a brat who had risen at light speed suddenly appeared. He was only thirteen or fourteen, yet he already possessed such strength. Give him a few more years, and wouldn't he be another figure like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju?

A deep sense of apprehension was written all over this black face that had lost its mother's love since childhood.

"I do have a suggestion," suddenly, the one who was attached to White Zetsu's body, the half-black, half-white figure, spoke up.

Seeing that someone had finally spoken, everyone's gazes immediately turned to him.

"The strong rise of that little brat from Konoha is indeed worthy of note. But we must remember, he didn't just annihilate the Sand Village. Most importantly, he also assassinated the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. This point, no matter how much reason Konoha has on its side in the future, the Daimyo of the other great nations will become wary. Including the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. He has broken the rules of the ninja world that have been in place for centuries. We only need to fan the flames a little from behind, and we can facilitate a super-strong allied ninja force to jointly deal with Konoha."

After saying these sinister words, a mocking smile hung on Black Zetsu's lips. A trap. An unsolvable trap. It was so easily broken.

Hidan and the others had a sudden realization. Kakuzu's perennially paralyzed face also nodded. At this time, everyone looked at their leader, Pain, at the forefront.

After a long time... "It can be done," he said faintly.

The Akatsuki, for the first time, organized a large-scale, all-member mobilization. And it was very likely to affect the direction of the entire ninja world.

A trace of gravity flashed across the face hidden in Itachi's Akatsuki robe. The Fourth Great Ninja War... was about to start ahead of schedule. And its target was aimed directly at Konoha.

He couldn't think of any reason for the other villages to refuse. The three great hidden villages, plus the super combat power of the majority of the existing Akatsuki, would definitely be able to carve up the entire Land of Fire. Whether it was the Daimyo who were worried about their own safety or the Kage who were looking at the benefits, they would all gladly accept.

What will you do? Hatake Kusuo.

...

When the Konoha envoy team arrived at the Sand Village, the slow work of reconstruction had already begun there. Surprisingly, with the entire high-end combat power of the village wiped out, Temari was sent out as the representative to make contact with Konoha's people. Kankuro was also alive and well.

Kusuo couldn't help but sigh. These Konoha 12 who had survived to the end in the original story really had tenacious life force. He just glanced at them and didn't pay them any mind. The genin-level kunoichi, Yuna, whom he had met when he first entered the village, who was on par with Tsunade in scale, was also alive.

Without exception, they all looked at Kusuo with fear and avoidance. That day, the memory of this man who had created a tornado with one slash would be remembered for a lifetime.

-------

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