Fleeing from Konoha-Chapter 643 - 98: The End of the Blood Mist (Part 1)

Chapter 643: Chapter 98: The End of the Blood Mist (Part 1)

"Namikaze Minato is dead."

The next day, in a hotel in a town in the Land of Water, Hakushi casually spoke about the news he had just received from Konoha.

The specific battle damages have not yet been tallied, so Hakushi wasn’t sure how many Konoha ninja were sacrificed to suppress the Nine-tailed.

Of course, the damage to other ninja isn’t within Hakushi’s concern.

The point is that Namikaze Minato is dead. In Hakushi’s view, even thousands of Konoha ninja didn’t bring him as much pressure as Namikaze Minato did.

Upon hearing this news from Hakushi, Ruri was also slightly stunned. She knew about Hakushi using Nagato to attack Konoha, but she didn’t expect the commotion to be this huge.

The death of the Hokage is not a trivial matter that can be glossed over.

Konoha is probably in chaos right now.

"It seems the power of the Rinnegan shouldn’t be underestimated either."

Hakushi knew Ruri must have misunderstood something and said, "It’s not what you think, Ruri. The cause of Namikaze Minato’s death is still unsure, but there’s a high chance he wasn’t killed in battle."

"Is that so?"

Ruri wasn’t very interested in this.

The cause of Minato’s death was a trivial matter to her.

First, although they were both Konoha ninja in the past, they never interacted much, and second, she now stood against Konoha. After the initial surprise at Minato’s death, there was no ripple in her heart.

It’s just the death of an enemy unrelated to her.

There was a bit of regret, though, which was that she never got to have a fair, one-on-one battle with such a powerful ninja like Minato.

There never was such an opportunity, and now that Minato is dead, it has become even more impossible.

"But in that case, this guy died at your hands twice, right?"

Thinking of this, Ruri smiled with interest.

Five years ago, when leaving Konoha, Minato was killed using Kushina as bait in a plan.

Including this death, Hakushi had acted against Namikaze Minato twice now.

"Hey, don’t just put labels on me like that; I wasn’t the one who killed Namikaze Minato this time."

Hakushi wanted to distance himself from the matter, proving it had nothing to do with him.

"But you’re the one who provided the intelligence, right? Can you say you were completely uninvolved?"

"I just provided the intelligence; how it was used wasn’t within my control."

At this point, Hakushi continued to deny that he was behind Minato’s death for the second time.

After all, once you provide intelligence to others, the outcome is unpredictable, even for Hakushi.

He had little confidence from the beginning that Nagato’s use of the Nine-tailed uprising could eliminate Namikaze Minato.

All he could say was that Nagato executed the plan beautifully, and Hakushi was satisfied with the result.

As far as results go, even if no other Konoha ninja died, the sacrifice of Minato, the Yellow Flash, meant that the plan was not a failure; it was a complete success.

"Even so, Konoha’s strength can’t be underestimated. The Third Hokage’s power may have declined, but he retains some of the brilliance of his peak. The two advisors of the same generation and the Root Leader, Shimura Danzo, are all elite ninja. Not to mention, Konoha also possesses powerhouses like the Sannin."

Ruri crossed her arms, cautioning Hakushi not to let down his guard against Konoha just because Namikaze Minato died.

In the Ninja Realm, there are many who suffered setbacks due to complacency.

"Of course I understand that. Compared to the older generation like the Third Hokage, the existence of the Sannin naturally deserves attention. However, I know my sensei, Tsunade’s, abilities well; aside from her medical ninjutsu, she’s not much of a threat to us. The other two of the Sannin are the key."

Hakushi’s tone grew more serious.

"Jiraiya and Orochimaru, huh?"

"That’s right. Jiraiya is one thing, but Orochimaru is an all-round genius ninja. He lacks any weaknesses in the three styles — ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. He has the giant summoning beast of Ryuchi Cave, possesses strong scientific research and leadership capabilities, and is cautious by nature... Even Kakashi, after contacting him, hasn’t gathered any useful information."

He could be described as a ninja without weaknesses.

No matter how strong a ninja is, there will always be some weaknesses to exploit.

However, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, has no such flaws. In any environment, against any type of ninja, he doesn’t fall at a significant disadvantage.

He’s like an immortal viper, delivering a fatal blow at the critical moment.

"Perhaps after Minato’s death, he will immediately be appointed as the Fifth Hokage."

Ruri nodded; indeed, Orochimaru is a tricky ninja.

"Yes, barring any surprises, Orochimaru will become the Fifth Hokage. In the race for the Fifth Hokage, there is no one in Konoha who matches him... But taking down one Fourth Hokage is already the limit. Targeting Orochimaru under Konoha’s protection is as hard as reaching the sky. The most important thing is, we still know too little about Orochimaru, with little past contact."

Hakushi sighed.

He lamented how well-endowed Konoha is in talent, having a suitable candidate for the Fifth Hokage right after the Third retires and the Fourth is sacrificed.

Going through such turmoil and still having such a deep foundation can only be described as terrifying.

"Of course, there’s another guy worth noting. That Konoha ninja called Might Duy, who mastered the Eight Inner Gates. Remember his son used to be your student in Konoha, right?"