Naruto: I am the Hokage

Countless Vacuum Spheres shot forward like a barrage of bullets.

Namikaze Minato spread his hands. Under the guidance of the Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, just as the vacuum waves were about to hit, they were swiftly teleported away. Then, in another space—they reappeared, cutting through the air.

The Baku sensed the fluctuation and immediately tried to dodge, but it was too late. Swish! One by one, the wind spheres entered its body, creating bloody holes. It let out a long howl. However, Danzo felt no pity at this moment. He himself was in danger; how could he have the time to care about the Baku's life or death? As long as he could survive, even the Baku's death was worth it.

While Minato was using the Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder—the ground beneath his feet broke open. Then, a massive, terrifying glacier suddenly appeared around Minato. Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique! Using the principles of the Water Prison Technique, Danzo directly froze Minato inside, then placed his palm on the ice. Crack! Wind blades churned the inside into countless pieces.

Using the Baku to counter the Flying Thunder God's kunai coordinates, and a surprise attack with Ice Release to assault Namikaze Minato. Danzo's design was indeed clever. In the past, his classic tactic was to use shadow clones and the Baku for frontal combat, while his real body used Earth Style and Wind Style for sneak attacks. The difference was that now, his arsenal included "Ice Release." If he hadn't been discovered, it could have been a one-hit kill.

However, the next moment, the Namikaze Minato before him instantly disappeared. This is… fake.

Bang! Above, the real Namikaze Minato descended swiftly, holding a giant Rasengan. Great Ball Rasengan!

Bang! A loud explosion. The earth cracked, and the submerged Danzo was instantly blasted out. But he had a layer of ice shield on him, and with the ground as a buffer, he suffered no substantial damage. The next moment, he drew his sword, spewing Wind Release chakra from his mouth. Wind Release: Vacuum Blade! In an instant, the blade was before Minato.

Danzo's speed was already very fast. But—Minato was faster. Flying Thunder God!

Danzo's blade slashed through, only to find he had hit empty air. He knew something was wrong and immediately slashed back. Clang! The blade and kunai collided. Danzo used the force to instantly retreat. He had not forgotten—his goal was not to kill Minato or Kyohiko. That was certainly impossible. His goal was to escape!

Danzo fled for his life, but at this moment, he finally understood what Kyohiko had been doing while not making a move. He hadn't run far before trees appeared before him. The trees themselves were not scary. What was scary was—the next moment, Kyohiko instantly appeared on a tree, drawing his sword and punching towards him.

Danzo raised his blade to block. But—Bang! With one punch, from a considerable distance, he was sent flying. Danzo's mind went blank. How is that possible? Kyohiko's fist was still a long way from him. Sage Art? That was the only possibility…

Anxious, he quickly retreated, but the next second, Danzo saw the sword being thrown at him. Behind him, the Baku immediately increased its power. Under the howling wind, the flying sword accelerated, reaching him in the blink of an eye. Flying Thunder God Slash… An image flashed through Danzo's mind. This was a ninjutsu his teacher often used. Now, facing it as an enemy, he still felt a bit unaccustomed. But he had to dodge!

Under the Wood Style barrier, his Earth Style was restricted. He stomped his foot, and frost bloomed. Then—Crack! The ground split open, creating a gap in the Wood Style barrier, and Danzo immediately dived down. But the next moment, a tree grew under his feet.

Hmm?

Danzo was scared and immediately retreated, his figure about to disappear into the earth. However, at this moment, the sword from above slashed down at high speed. Sword of the Sky! Even from a distance, he could still control its direction with chakra. The earlier Wood Style was just to attract Danzo's attention, making it difficult for him to notice the change above.

The next moment—Flying Thunder God Slash! Swish! In an instant, the blade cut through the air. By the time Danzo reacted, he knew he couldn't avoid it. He could only grit his teeth and dodge the vital points. One of his hands was cleanly severed!

However, the next moment, space rippled. Minato had arrived! With only one hand, Danzo had no time to counterattack and could only raise his sword to block. However, what was in Minato's hand was not a Rasengan, but—Clang! The kunai and blade collided. The difference was that this time, flames bloomed on the kunai, and with the help of Wind Release chakra, it instantly spewed out a giant tongue of fire.

"Ah!" Danzo let out a piercing scream. His eyes were burned by the flames, and for a moment he couldn't see clearly. It was swordsmanship from Kakashi. Minato wasn't incapable of it, just that he rarely used it. This one strike was perfectly timed.

On the other side, the Baku sensed its master's crisis and frantically sucked in everything with a gust of wind. But what could it do? Kyohiko's sword extended, instantly piercing Danzo's chest. And under Danzo's feet, trees grew, piercing through his legs. He could no longer escape.

Danzo vomited blood. He knew he was going to die. His strength was slowly fading, and his eyes were filled with the fear of death. But the next moment, he regained some of his senses. "I… contacted the Third Raikage, you guys…" Before he could finish, Danzo's spirit gradually withered. He was dead.

Namikaze Minato looked at Kyohiko. "The Third Raikage? No wonder he ran north!" He had been wondering. If Shimura Danzo had stayed in the capital, although he would have died in the end, he would at least have had the ability to resist and drag everyone down with him. As it turned out, Danzo didn't choose to do that, but ran north, seemingly wanting to escape the Land of Fire. So it was because of the Third Raikage. "What should we do?"

"I sensed him earlier. The previous Wood Style barrier was to persuade him to retreat. Now…" Kyohiko's perception ability was already extremely strong. Now, under the enhancement of Sage Mode, his perception range was even greater, reaching a radius of more than ten kilometers. And at this moment—the Third Raikage had already left in the opposite direction. He had given up.

"Chase!" Kyohiko's eyes narrowed. "Minato…"

"Understood." With Danzo's death, the Baku instantly disappeared. Minato immediately took out a scroll, preparing to seal Danzo's body inside. At the same time, Kyohiko had already disappeared from the spot, using Flying Thunder God to teleport to the outermost tree created by his chakra. Then, he ran forward at high speed. This place was a full five kilometers away from where he had been before, and about ten li ahead, the Third Raikage was running towards the border.

With a thought, Kyohiko formed a hand seal with one hand, creating a small wooden board. Then, he used his finger as a knife—this was the Finger-Carving Seal Technique, which could carve words on it. Immediately after, he sent it out with the Flying Thunder God, the target being Jiraiya.

---

"Father, this is…"

"Danzo is dead," the Third Raikage said calmly as he ran.

A was slightly stunned. "Why should we be afraid of them?"

"It's not about being afraid." The Third Raikage was extremely calm. "This matter is Konoha's internal family affair. If we had received Danzo, then it wouldn't matter. It would even be worth turning against them." He didn't finish, but he believed his son should understand such a basic principle.

A pondered for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. Since Danzo was dead, he had no value. Going there now, whether they clashed with the people from Konoha or not, would bring them no benefit. Rather than that, it was better to leave. The Third Raikage seemed rough, but he was actually rough with a fine touch, understanding gains and losses, and would not act rashly.

But as he ran, he suddenly remembered something. "Jiraiya is in the Land of Hot Water, right?"

"According to previous intelligence, yes," A nodded.

The Third Raikage immediately changed direction. "Let's head north, to the Land of Rice Paddies. No matter what, let's leave the Land of Fire first."

"Alright." They quickened their pace. Heading north, with their speed, their journey was very fast.

Kyohiko immediately knew their destination. The Land of Rice Paddies. The Third Raikage had reacted quickly… much better than A. If it had been the Third Raikage fighting Sasuke at the Five Kage Summit back then, Sasuke would probably have been beaten to the point of crying for help.

He chased from behind, but unfortunately, Sage Mode had a time limit, and he couldn't yet recover just by clapping his hands together like Senju Hashirama. After a few minutes, Namikaze Minato appeared beside him using the Flying Thunder God.

"How is it?"

"How's the scene cleaned up?"

"Basically no problem. I'm more worried about the capital. Without Danzo, if those so-called Guardian Shinobi cause trouble, Daimyo-sama and those nobles won't be able to handle it." Minato was quite worried.

Kyohiko said, "Didn't I come a little later just to consider this matter? I have a wood clone over there, so don't worry."

"That's good." Minato breathed a sigh of relief. Although there was a conflict of interest between Konoha and the Land of Fire's noble faction, if the nobles were all to die, Konoha would also suffer. The village and the country were in a cooperative relationship of shared prosperity and loss. He was really worried that Kyohiko, being young and resentful of the nobles' previous actions, would deliberately push the boat with the current and get rid of those idiots.

Kyohiko leaped a few steps forward, about to respond to Minato's words, when he suddenly realized. "Do I look like that kind of person?" Good heavens! I'm not Danzo! But upon careful consideration, he couldn't help but nod. "I really would do that!" Those nobles, while different from parasites, weren't that different. If they all died, it would certainly affect the country's operation. But if a part of them died, not only would it not have an impact, it would actually be beneficial to the country. A very magical group.

Namikaze Minato couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, you're still a child, right?"

"You really know me." Kyohiko smiled, then shook his head. "It's different. If I wasn't the Anbu captain and had no intention of becoming Hokage, I could mess around like that." He quickly moved forward. By now, the Raikage father and son had left his perception range. Although both he and Minato were very fast, the Raikage and the others were not slow either. They were maintaining a certain distance.

After a while, Kyohiko created a shadow clone. "Minato, send me to the Land of Rice Paddies. We have people there." To search for Guren, the Anbu had many people stationed around the Land of Rice Paddies. The Land of Rice Paddies was not large. Since they could confirm that the Raikage and the others were heading there, they could go there first to intercept them.

"You alone?"

"Shadow clone Flying Thunder God Formation, send both of us over at the same time!" Fight the Raikage father and son alone? Even if he was strong, that's not how it's played. The Raikage and A were not cabbages; both had extremely strong speed, attack, and defense. If his weakness was caught, it would be him who would die. The other ninja villages had long wanted to kill him; they just lacked the opportunity.

Namikaze Minato was a little hesitant. It wasn't that he didn't have confidence in Kyohiko, but rather that he didn't have much confidence in his own chakra. His chakra amount… compared to Kakashi, he had some advantage, but compared to chakra powerhouses like Kushina and Kyohiko, he was severely lacking. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed. "Alright."

Minato… naturally had his own backup plan. Ever since Kyohiko's reminder, he had been pondering how to utilize the Nine-Tails. Kyohiko's Double Four Symbols Seal, which allowed the Tailed Beast's chakra to slowly leak out, was indeed a way. But this method required one to be a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, or to have a large amount of Tailed Beast chakra sealed within them. The latter would cause some damage to Kushina and was not conducive to a friendly relationship with the Nine-Tails. So, his method was—

Namikaze Minato took out a scroll and opened it. In the middle, a prominent sealing formula was printed on it. The Four Symbols Seal. Tailed Beast chakra was sealed inside! The next moment, Minato formed hand seals, first setting up a simple seal on the outside, and then… chakra penetrated the simple seal, seeping out from within, and was absorbed and controlled by Minato. The next moment, a shadow clone carrying a portion of the Tailed Beast's chakra appeared. Minato breathed a sigh of relief and quickly resealed it.

Kyohiko was thoughtful. "This method of yours… have you considered the Yin Seal?" The Yin Seal had been passed down to Kushina by Tsunade before, which was equivalent to returning it to the Uzumaki clan in a different form.

Namikaze Minato said, "I've considered it, but the chakra amount is not much, it accumulates slowly, and it affects daily work." As for the Tailed Beast's chakra, it was too violent and couldn't be suppressed. After a simple explanation, he quickly got into a state. "Let's go."

"Mm." The next moment—Yin Seal, Release! Kyohiko used the chakra released from a small pool, combined with a portion of his own, to create two shadow clones. Three shadow clones working together. They were all proficient in the Flying Thunder God, naturally different from Kakashi and the others. In an instant, the barrier was completed.

Flying Thunder God Formation… activate!

Swoosh! The next second, Kyohiko and Namikaze Minato arrived in the Land of Rice Paddies together. This was a field outside a village. On the field, the disguised Yamashiro Aoba was stunned for a long time, then quickly bowed his head. "Rin-sama, Minato-sama, what are your orders?!"

"Nothing, just passing through. By the way, have you sent out your crows?" The ones carrying out the search mission in the Land of Rice Paddies were Yamashiro Aoba and Aburame Shibi. Crows and parasitic insects were both good at reconnaissance.

"In the village." Yamashiro Aoba adjusted his glasses. "The crows said they found traces of a suspected target over there, but the other party is very cautious and seems to usually hide in tunnels…"

"Inform Shibi, I have something more important for him to help with."

"Yes!" Yamashiro Aoba's face became serious. He immediately released his chakra and whistled a few times. Soon—a dozen crows flew back. After some commands, they flew off in another direction.

Two minutes later, Aburame Shibi arrived. "What needs to be done?"

"Find the Raikage!"

Huh? Aburame Shibi was bewildered. The Raikage? In the Land of Rice Paddies?