Chapter 118: Want to be Hokage?

After the water receded, only a few of the thickest trees remained standing. Hashirama couldn't help but nod, "He's a talented ninja, but unfortunately, he's an enemy." Then he clapped his hands again!

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Two gigantic wood dragons split from the tree trunks! They opened their gaping mouths and lunged at Kakuzu. Kakuzu was no match for these two dragons; he couldn't even stand still and perform ninjutsu. He could only dodge and weave to avoid Hashirama's attacks, but the wood dragons' movements were controlled by Hashirama's chakra. Trying to exhaust Hashirama's chakra was simply a pipe dream.

Kakuzu now somewhat regretted accepting the elders' mission. He considered himself a genius of Takigakure, yet he found himself nothing more than an ant, unable to even make Hashirama use half of his strength.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

A sharp Lightning Spear was unleashed from Kakuzu's hand, carving a deep gash in the ground. It seemed incredibly powerful, but the wood dragon merely flicked its tail and shattered the False Darkness.

Kakuzu laughed self-deprecatingly. He had always heard that the Shodaime Hokage was the strongest in the ninja world, but he had never truly believed it. Now, it seemed he had truly been a frog in a well.

But what Kakuzu didn't know was that Hashirama hadn't even used one-tenth of his strength; he had merely lifted a finger. Kakuzu stopped dodging, standing in place with open arms to welcome his death. It was his first mission outside his country, and he hadn't expected it to end with his own life.

"I'm truly unwilling, those old geezers!" At this moment, Kakuzu understood everything. The village elders sent him to assassinate the Hokage, not for some supposed village interest, nor to show the great nations Takigakure's strength. They were simply afraid that he would threaten their positions.

When the wood dragon was only a punch away from Kakuzu, Hashirama controlled it to stop. Kakuzu, who had not yet met his death, couldn't help but open his eyes. There was no wood dragon in front of him, only his assassination target and two children.

"I said I would spare you. Leave Konoha quickly."

Kakuzu, having escaped the jaws of death, gasped for breath. No one truly wanted to die, and since he could live now, he would certainly seize the opportunity.

"Don't you want to know who sent me?"

Hashirama shook his head. "I'm not interested in that. I spared you not to interrogate you about your mastermind. Perhaps you were just lucky that you didn't lay a hand on anyone in the village; otherwise, you would already be turned into fertilizer for the plants."

Hashirama's tone was calm, but Kakuzu found it deafening. As long as Hashirama was alive, he probably wouldn't dare step foot within Konoha Village again.

Kakuzu, having been granted his life, bowed to Hashirama and then quickly fled. Perhaps he was afraid Hashirama would change his mind; he disappeared in just a few blinks of an eye. It must be said that while Kakuzu's strength was not impressive, he was quite skilled at escaping and concealing his presence.

Torifū seemed to be deep in thought as he watched Kakuzu leave, but then he was interrupted by Hashirama. "Children, with what happened today, I doubt you're in the mood to train anymore. You're dismissed." The main reason was that Hashirama needed to calm the villagers' emotions. Being woken up by a battle early in the morning would undoubtedly cause some panic.

Torifū and Naori nodded, then exchanged smiles. They had gotten a free day off, and they had Kakuzu to thank for it. They wished more assassins like him would come.

"Torifū, which village do you think he was from? And his ninjutsu was so strange; I've never seen anything like it."

Torifū put on a serious face and analyzed the situation for Naori. "The Five Great Nations just signed a peace treaty a few years ago; they couldn't possibly be so restless so soon. Besides, they also know sensei's strength; if they failed, the entire village would suffer."

Naori also nodded; she knew these things, so the assassin must have been sent by a smaller nation. "Among the smaller nations, Takigakure's strength is currently the greatest. The Five Kage Summit caused trade to develop among the various villages, and the gap in strength with the smaller nations is rapidly widening. If Takigakure were to develop like this, it might have a chance to join the ranks of the great nations, but with this stunt, they probably won't have a chance in a million years."

Naori suddenly understood. "Oh! So they knew sensei was key to maintaining the peace treaty, and that's why they wanted to assassinate him."

"That should be it."

If they had truly succeeded and Hashirama died, the entire ninja world would instantly erupt into war. At that time, the great nations would expend vast resources and military power in the conflict. Takigakure's location was almost isolated, behind a huge waterfall, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Essentially, they would just sit back and watch the great nations fight among themselves, developing steadily. With their secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, Takigakure's development certainly wouldn't be bad; it definitely wouldn't be weak.

However, Torifū didn't know whether to say that Takigakure's leadership was intelligent or brainless. To say they were brainless, their plan to assassinate Hashirama was indeed useful. But to say they were intelligent, they actually dared to assassinate Hashirama. Perhaps they had been leaders for too long and started comparing themselves to Hashirama on the same level.

"This Takigakure truly has too much time on their hands to even dare to entertain such a thought."

"Just clowns."

Hashirama was no longer in sight; only Naori and Torifū remained above the Hokage Rock. They walked to the cliff edge and overlooked Konoha Village. It was developing better and better; many empty plots had been filled with buildings, and the number of villagers was steadily increasing.

"What do you think Konoha will become in the future?" Naori asked curiously.

Torifū shook his head. "I don't know. How it develops is up to the Hokage to decide. Ordinary people like us just need to live each day steadily."

"Don't you want to be Hokage, Torifū?"

"Not really. Even sensei, such a passionate person, couldn't stand the hard work and wanted to resign. How could someone as lazy as me endure it?" Naori looked helpless. So Torifū didn't want to be Hokage simply because the daily work was too tiring! If his teacher heard this, he would surely have a word with Torifū.

"Enough about me, what about you?"

"Don't you want to be Hokage, Naori?"

"Huh?" Naori was a bit taken aback by the question. She hadn't really thought about becoming Hokage in all these years. Especially after the hawk faction leaders in the clan were eliminated two years ago, the new generation of young people in the clan were not as arrogant. They could get along with their classmates in the academy, which slowly helped Naori's wish come true. People were gradually changing their perception of the Uchiha clan; although it was just a little, it was a good start.