A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Aoba knew better than anyone how strong the Raikage was. He still had one eye covered, a result of his encounter with the Raikage.

Moreover, the Raikage was the kind of opponent he disliked the most.

Most ninjas are high offense but low defense, but not the Raikage. This guy had high offense and high defense. He was like a human tank.

Even with a divine weapon like the Kusanagi Sword, He couldn't guarantee delivering a fatal blow.

The key was that the Raikage's speed was superior to his own.

For a highly agile assassin like Aoba, speed was an unparalleled advantage.

The Raikage also had a lethal ability that conventional taijutsu ninjas didn't possess. A single mistake against him could mean death.

If Aoba entered Sage Mode, he should be able to match the Raikage's strength. However, in a prolonged battle, he was at a disadvantage. His chakra reserves were nowhere near the Raikage's.

A Lightning Release: Body Flicker would certainly be able to evade the Raikage, but this technique wasn't instant; it required time to charge. Against an opponent like the Raikage, that was a deadly disadvantage.

The only reason he managed to break one of the Raikage's fingers back then was because the Raikage underestimated him, not believing that Aoba's Lightning Release could harm him. This gave Aoba the opportunity to charge up.

But the Raikage would definitely be prepared this time. It would be impossible to get a charging opportunity easily.

Thus, intelligence was crucial in ninja battles. If he hadn't fought the Raikage a year ago and if the information about Lightning Release: Body Flicker hadn't been leaked, he would have at least had a 70% chance of defeating the Raikage today.

But reality had no ifs. Even with all his trump cards, he only had about a 30-40% chance of winning.

Aoba felt some regret. If he had completed the transplant of Hashirama's cells, addressing his weaknesses, he wouldn't be facing such a situation today.

The Raikage's appearance had undoubtedly put immense pressure on Konoha. The problem was, Konoha had no one of equivalent status or strength to face him.

At that moment, an unexpected person appeared: Danzo Shimura.

Hei hadn't expected that the reinforcement troops would be led personally by Danzo. But considering Danzo's tendency to stay in the shadows, it was indeed his style.

"Raikage, this is the heartland of the Land of Fire. Do you dare to come here alone, seeking a full-scale war with Konoha?"

"Tch, a rat in the gutter. You're not qualified to talk to me. Where's Hiruzen? Is he too old and frail to come out and fight me?"

At this point, Hiruzen probably wouldn't stand a chance against the Fourth Raikage. After all, age was a factor.

The Third Hokage was a ninja of techniques, but with age, his chakra reserves were likely much lower than in his youth.

The Raikage, in his prime, was full of energy. His speed and damage were high. One misstep and the Third Hokage might fall instantly.

Even with the Third Hokage's numerous techniques, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal might not be able to capture the Raikage.

Regardless, the current situation was very awkward. Konoha had more than three times the number of the enemy, but their morale was being suppressed by the Raikage.

As stated before, there was no shadow-level ninja who could confront the Raikage directly, so their morale naturally couldn't rise.

Ninjas are powerful individuals, and ninja villages are purely military organizations. The ninjas of Konoha would have preferred to see their own Hokage standing in front of them at this moment.

"Raikage-sama, does your hand still hurt?"

At this moment, Aoba stepped forward. He understood Danzo's intention—buying time. He could do that as well.

In this situation, whoever stepped up could gain prestige. Danzo's attempt to gain prestige was thwarted by the Raikage's insult.

This was Danzo's greatest weakness. The Raikage was right—Danzo was indeed a rat in the gutter. The Root's activities were kept secret, and although Danzo had some recognition among the elite, few knew of him in the entire ninja world.

Aoba couldn't understand why someone like Danzo would aim for the position of Hokage.

If you want to control the village, at least you should make yourself known to the people in it. Not to mention the idea that "those who win the people's hearts will win the world," which isn't entirely accurate in the world of ninjas, where power is everything.

Of course, whether it was accurate or not didn't matter, as Danzo didn't have it.

Aoba's appearance stirred a bit of a ripple among both the Cloud ninjas and Konoha's ninjas.

The Cloud ninjas were excited. This was normal; he had killed dozens of their ninjas.

This wasn't a time of war. In the past, countless deaths occurred, and most of the dead didn't know who killed them.

But Aoba was different. In the past three years, he had personally killed many Cloud ninjas. Those ninjas surely had relatives and friends in their village.

Thus, many of the Cloud ninjas attacking now had personal grudges against him. Moreover, his grievances with the Raikage were deep.

In fact, Aoba's feat of breaking one of the Raikage's fingers during his escape was remarkable in the ninja world.

Although it didn't match the Yellow Flash's direct victory over the Raikage, it was still a notable achievement.

In today's ninja world, being able to face the Raikage head-on and even injure him was a major accomplishment.

Interestingly, Aoba was known as the "Wind Chasing Sword" outside Konoha. But this title was scarcely known within Konoha.

In fact, after three years, few in Konoha even recognized him.

Not to mention the title "Wind Chasing Sword," within Konoha, he was virtually invisible.

Such actions came from who was of little importance to mention.

He was quite similar to the former Konoha White Fang in that both used swords and were high-speed, one-hit kill ninjas.

Danzo was so afraid of another White Fang emerging in Konoha that he suppressed Aoba's accomplishments.

Apart from the Hokage's files and a few friends like Kakashi and Might Guy, few knew about his grudges with the Cloud ninjas.

Aoba hadn't intended to step forward, but seeing Danzo's embarrassment, he suddenly changed his plan.

Since no one was going to claim this prestige, he might as well take it himself. Although prestige wasn't highly valued in Konoha, especially for a civilian ninja, it was still worth seizing.

But Aoba wasn't the White Fang of the past. The damage Danzo's tactics inflicted on him wasn't the same as it had on the White Fang.

Moreover, he had plans to build his own influence in Konoha. He might as well use this opportunity to make a start.

If things didn't go well, he had already decided to enter Sage Mode and face the Raikage head-on.

If he was going to play, he would play it big.