Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 153 Ruthless Killing

The once peaceful and tranquil ninja world has been plunged into a turbulent and unpredictable situation once again due to the sudden emergence of Wood Release.

Today, the vast majority of ninja villages have reached a consensus: Konoha must never be allowed to regain control of Wood Release! After all, the memory of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha using this technique to dominate the ninja world is still fresh in their minds. If history were to repeat itself, the consequences would be unimaginable. Having endured countless hardships to survive the relatively gentle and friendly era of the "God of Shinobi," they naturally do not want to see Konoha once again stand out and dominate the ninja world.

At this moment, Konoha Village was also bewildered and in a state of chaos. Hiruzen Sarutobi had spent over a decade painstakingly diminishing the Senju clan's influence within the village, even tacitly approving and condoning his subordinates' covert attacks on them. Realizing this, the remaining Senju members fled Konoha. By then, it was almost impossible to find any Senju clan members in the village. However, at this very moment, a ninja with Wood Release abilities suddenly appeared, filling Hiruzen Sarutobi with apprehension.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, a veteran ninja who lived through Hashirama Senju's reign, had a profound understanding of Hashirama's unparalleled Wood Release prowess. In his mind, Wood Release transcended the realm of ordinary bloodline limits, even surpassing the Bloodline Elimination Technique passed down in Iwagakure. If this ninja with Wood Release abilities were to return to Konoha, the village's power would undoubtedly fall back into the hands of the Senju clan.

At this moment, preventing this Wood Release ninja from returning to Konoha became Hiruzen Sarutobi's top priority, a matter that he pondered deeply. Although Konoha had entered the era of the Fourth Hokage, in reality, Hiruzen Sarutobi still held the vast majority of power in the village, even the Anbu ninjas who should have been under the Hokage's jurisdiction obeyed him. Minato Namikaze, the nominal Hokage, was in fact a figurehead, wielding no real power. His only subordinates were his student Kakashi Hatake and a few newly promoted young ninjas.

In the high-level conference room of Konoha Village, a tense and serious discussion was underway. The topic was the recent reappearance of Wood Release ninjas in the ninja world.

After a heated debate and careful consideration, the elders of Konoha, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, made an important decision: to send Root ninjas to the border to welcome this mysterious Wood Release ninja back to Konoha.

However, Danzo Shimura, who had worked with Hiruzen Sarutobi for decades, knew his old partner's thoughts well. From the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi suggested sending a Root ninja to carry out the mission, Danzo Shimura understood the hidden meaning—Hirūriki Sarutobi did not actually want this Wood Release ninja to return to Konoha alive.

Danzo Shimura deeply agreed with this view. After all, the existence of a powerful Wood Release ninja who could not be controlled would undoubtedly bring many variables and even threats to Konoha. In comparison, letting such a person die outside the village might be the safest and wisest choice.

Thus, shortly after the seemingly calm but actually turbulent meeting concluded, an elite Root team quietly embarked on their journey to the border… They carried a special mission: to lead the legendary Wood Release ninja to an unknown destiny. Behind this lay a complex web of interests and power struggles among the Leaf Village's leadership.

At this moment, at the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire, the situation is extremely tense and volatile. Several ninja teams from various countries have emerged, all with one goal—to bring down the Wood Release ninja who has reappeared in the world.

However, Hyuga Kanan was completely unaware of this. At that moment, he was thinking about how to shake off the relentless ninjas who were trying to spy on him. Because once his training location was exposed, it would attract attention from all sides, making it impossible to train in peace.

However, to Hyuga Kanan's utter surprise, just as he was racking his brains for a way to shake off the ninjas who were following him, he was shocked to find more and more ninjas appearing like ghosts on his only route back to his training grounds, forming an impenetrable defensive line that almost completely blocked all possible escape routes. At this moment, he only had two paths before him: either give up on returning and find another way out, or confront these ninjas head-on and meet them in a narrow encounter.

Initially, Hyuga Kanan didn't take these ninjas too seriously. In his view, these people were nothing more than insignificant characters sent to spy on him. Even if they discovered his whereabouts, so what? At most, they would leak some trivial information. After all, with his strength and status, he wasn't afraid of these few lowly ninjas.

In the dense, thriving forest, Hyuga Kanan landed on solid ground early in the morning and sprinted forward. He had been doing his best to avoid any conflict with any ninja, but the number of ninja in this area was simply too great and too dense. Now he had no choice but to find the weakest point in the enemy's defenses and try to break through it.

Just as Ri Xiangjianan was speeding towards him, he suddenly stopped and nimbly dodged a kunai that was rushing towards him. Then, he looked up at the sky. Suddenly, a dazzling signal flare exploded in the air, the explosion producing a blinding flash of light and billowing smoke.

Within those few short minutes, over fifty ninjas dressed in black night clothes and wearing ANBU masks appeared, silently surrounding Hyuga Kanan. Meanwhile, many more ninjas were rushing towards them from further away.

Faced with this situation, Hyuga Kanan frowned slightly. He noticed that the ANBU masks worn by these ninjas were engraved with the unique symbol of Konoha Village, clearly indicating that they all came from Konoha. However, what puzzled him was that when these ninjas discovered him, they did not ask any questions but immediately launched an attack, each move ruthless and aimed directly at vital points.

"Are you Konoha ninjas? Why are you attacking me without provocation?" Hyuga Kanan, who was surrounded in the center, shouted.

At that moment, a burly ANBU ninja emerged from the encirclement, his voice low and chilling: "By order of Lord Danzo, kill the Konoha traitor! Move out!"

With that chilling command, a group of figures clad in black bodysuits instantly emerged from the surrounding darkness, rushing towards Hyuga Kanan with ghostly speed. Initially, Hyuga Kanan was filled with doubt and wariness, assuming these were imposters from other ninja villages attempting to use Konoha's name for nefarious purposes. However, as he observed the ninjutsu and swordsmanship his opponents displayed, his suspicions gradually dissipated.

These techniques clearly bear the distinctive characteristics of Konoha. If it were only one or two people, it might be explained as a disguise, but the fact that so many ninjas can use such pure Konoha techniques undoubtedly proves that they are indeed from Konoha, and are very likely the Root ninjas under Shimura Danzo who are feared by all!

Hyuga Kanan, who had been carefully choosing his route to avoid entering Konoha's search area, never expected to be killed by his own people. Initially, he felt pity and did not immediately retaliate when faced with the sudden attack, but seeing the Root ninjas' attacks becoming increasingly fierce and merciless towards him, Hyuga Kanan knew that he could no longer be soft-hearted.

Hyuga Kanan now truly understands the survival rules of the ninja world. He rarely killed anyone before, only resorting to violence when his own life was threatened. Even when the Raikage of Kumogakure led his ninjas to surround him in the Land of Iron, he didn't actually kill any of them. But in the ninja world, one cannot be kind to one's enemies; it only makes them think you are weak and easily bullied, leading to constant harassment.

Konoha seemed to have learned nothing from the previous incident, showing utter disregard for the Hyuga clan's feelings and resolutely issuing the order to annihilate Hyuga Kanan. Therefore, any ninja who stood in his way, regardless of their origin or village, even fellow Konoha ninja, was now considered Hyuga Kanan's enemy. Furthermore, Hyuga Kanan no longer needed to show any pity for these ninjas.

Only by making them experience utter despair firsthand will these ninja villages truly realize that he is not someone they can easily provoke. He will even risk exposing his own existence to teach these villages a lesson they will never forget. And all of this will begin with those so-called Root ninjas of Konoha!

At that very moment, Hyuga Kanan's gaze underwent a dramatic transformation. His previously gentle and harmonious gaze vanished, replaced by a chilling, murderous intent. This time, his deepest beliefs had been completely overturned, utterly unlike anything he had before.

Even having personally experienced the bloodshed of the Ninja World War, he still viewed the world with the mindset nurtured by the peaceful and stable environment of his previous life. However, the Ninja World today is unrecognizable; the various ninja villages have lost their rationality, blinded by endless greed and fanaticism.

Hyuga Kanan's body emanated an astonishing aura, like a star about to explode, its energy surging ever higher. The surrounding space seemed unable to withstand such immense pressure, being suppressed and plunged into a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. The branches that had been swaying in the wind were now frozen in place, the entire atmosphere suddenly tense.

At the same time, his powerful spiritual sense surged forth like a tidal wave, rapidly spreading to a radius of five kilometers. No ninja's aura or figure could escape his perception; they were all firmly locked onto. Clearly, Hyuga Kanan was determined to unleash a massacre, to teach these ninja villages a lesson etched into their very souls, and to make them deeply feel the pain.