Naruto: I am the Hokage

"The Third Raikage? How could he be here!" Aburame Shibi was bewildered. The Third Raikage was powerful and deeply feared by the surrounding countries. For him to secretly infiltrate the Land of Rice Paddies…

No, wait!

Aburame Shibi's eyes suddenly narrowed as he realized something was wrong. There was no way the Third Raikage's target was the Land of Rice Paddies. Although the Land of Rice Paddies had a lot of fertile land, its territory was very small, with very few other industries like commerce. And it was very close to the Land of Fire, but far from the Land of Lightning. Coming here was not in the Land of Lightning's interest. If he were the Third Raikage, he wouldn't be looking at the Land of Rice Paddies, but surely…

He was aiming for the Land of Fire! He immediately bowed his head. "Yes! I will immediately go and find the Raikage's whereabouts."

"He should be around the border. Just determine the general area, don't engage them. I need some time on my end," Kyohiko said. He needed a few minutes to recover and re-enter Sage Mode.

After he finished speaking, Namikaze Minato handed him a kunai. "Shibi, take this. If you run into trouble, I'll be there immediately."

"Alright." Aburame Shibi disappeared in a body flicker.

---

On the border of the Land of Rice Paddies, the Third Raikage stepped into the territory and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were some scattered wandering ninjas here, no hidden village had been established, so his presence wouldn't cause too much trouble. More importantly, their own ninjas were in a bay not too far away. Once they crossed the Land of Rice Paddies, they would be very close to their own people.

However, he still couldn't be careless. The Third Raikage looked south, then sighed softly. "I wonder who killed Danzo…"

"It definitely wasn't the Sannin," A said.

The Third Raikage nodded lightly. Although the Sannin were powerful, they couldn't have quickly finished off Danzo. The person with such ability must have a style that countered Danzo's abilities. And such existences were few in Konoha at present.

"Ryoho Kyohiko, Namikaze Minato." The Third Raikage's tone was grave. "It must have been the two of them working together. Otherwise, there's no way they could have taken down Danzo so quickly and directly."

A nodded in deep agreement. Danzo was no pushover. With Danzo's abilities and his knowledge of his own Konoha people, if he was determined to run, one person definitely couldn't stop him. So, it must have been one person blocking while the other pursued.

A followed his father north for a few steps, but suddenly stopped, his brow slightly furrowed. He then sped up to catch up with his father. "That's not right!"

"What's not right?"

"Namikaze Minato came, so what about the Flying Thunder God?" A said in a low voice. The Flying Thunder God Technique was a jutsu that had appeared most frequently on their research list in recent years. Their village had even restarted research on the "Heavenly Transfer Technique" because of it. That technique had flaws. It couldn't compare to the Flying Thunder God at all. However, Kumogakure only had that, so they could only continue researching along the lines of the Heavenly Transfer Technique. This was the value of knowledge. Their contact with Danzo wasn't because of how powerful he was, but for the endless knowledge and secret techniques in his head. A pity Konoha had acted too quickly.

The Third Raikage ran for a few seconds, already crossing the border of the Land of Rice Paddies, and rushed towards the northern bay. After a few seconds, he came back to his senses. "You said Flying Thunder God?"

"Yes, they have the Flying Thunder God. Could they already be in the Land of Rice Paddies?"

"..." The Third Raikage fell into a long silence. A's words had hit the core of the problem. If they kept heading north, and the two from Konoha had already arrived in the north ahead of time using space-time ninjutsu, then weren't they just walking into a trap? Of course, encountering them in the Land of Rice Paddies could still be explained away as just passing through.

The Third Raikage considered for a few seconds, then said stubbornly, "They might not have people stationed in the Land of Rice Paddies…"

"No, they should have. Konoha's people seem to be looking for someone in the Land of Rice Paddies. I'm not sure who exactly," A replied.

The Third Raikage glared. "Don't cause a panic! So what if we run into Konoha? It's not like we don't have a reason! At worst, we just deny it to the death." This wasn't the first time they had done something like this. Although his words were tough, the Third Raikage had clearly already thought of what to say if they encountered people from Konoha.

Besides… he thought of another matter. The Land of Earth! If anyone was on pins and needles, it would definitely include Onoki. And from the perspective of the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure, there was no longer any need to continue fighting with the Land of Earth at this time. Konoha was too strong. If Konoha was allowed to continue to grow stronger, it would not be a good thing for either Kumogakure or Iwagakure. They should unite and deal with the powerful Konoha together! Of course, this matter… had to be kept from Konoha. After all, they were still allies with Konoha, and their trade relations were of no small benefit to the Land of Lightning. The Third Raikage didn't want to tear off the facade just yet.

The Third Raikage looked at his son, warning him again with a threatening gaze. A nodded in understanding.

After more than ten minutes, the Third Raikage suddenly stopped. He had sensed something was wrong. Upon careful inspection, he faintly saw traces of insects. "Parasitic insects? The Aburame clan from Konoha?"

Aburame Shibi was stunned for a second. What's the Third Raikage up to? He pondered for a second, about to send his insects back to report, when a figure appeared beside him with the Flying Thunder God. Namikaze Minato had arrived!

"What's the situation?"

"The Third Raikage discovered my insects. He was calling for me just now, I didn't dare go out," Aburame Shibi answered simply. Kyohiko had warned him not to engage the Third Raikage and his son directly, so he had been about to recall all his insects and leave to avoid being discovered by the Raikage. He hadn't expected Minato to arrive.

Minato understood. The Third Raikage had realized they might use the Flying Thunder God to go directly to a certain location in the north, so he was paying special attention to his surroundings. After a moment of thought, he said, "I'll go and meet them. You leave first."

"This…"

"Don't worry, I have the Flying Thunder God. I can leave at any time," Minato said. If it were before, he would have had some reservations. Even space-time ninjutsu wasn't omnipotent; under the interference of certain ninjutsu and powers, space could be disrupted and teleportation could fail. But now, as long as a barrier was set up in advance, he didn't have to fear being interfered with. This was also where Kyohiko's space-time barrier jutsu was so valuable.

Aburame Shibi nodded. "Alright then, be careful. Both father and son are there, and I sense there are Cloud ninjas over there too." He pointed north. North of the Land of Rice Paddies was the bay, not far from the Land of Lightning.

"I know." Namikaze Minato nodded. He then flickered forward, heading towards the front. Before long, he saw the Third Raikage and A standing there.

"Raikage-sama, I didn't expect to meet you here. And I remember, you seem to have come from the Land of Fire, right?" Minato didn't mince words upon meeting them, directly exposing their previous movements.

The Third Raikage said seriously, "We were tracking the enemy who captured our ninja. Our investigation led us into your territory."

Minato was an honest person; he knew the other party was determined not to admit it. As for the captured ninja… whether they existed or not was one thing, but if they did, it probably wasn't their doing, more likely a debt owed by Hiruko or Danzo. However, this matter was conveniently used by the Third Raikage to make an issue. Quite clever! He was just a little flustered when he first ran away, otherwise he might have been even more righteous. Minato thought to himself.

"Minato, we are allies with you. It would be great if you could help us search…"

"The other party stole our valuable data and also captured our ninja, a Kekkei Genkai ninja who masters Magnet Release," the Third Raikage stated clearly.

Minato couldn't help but admire him inwardly. The Third Raikage was still experienced. Faced with such a scene, he wasn't flustered at all, and had even fabricated a whole story. However, a Kekkei Genkai user being captured might be true. Judging by Danzo's performance, he had already tasted the sweetness of the "Chimera Technique" and was definitely experimenting and researching in secret. This Cloud ninja was probably captured at that time. Combining truth and falsehood made it difficult to find any flaws. None of these Kage were easy to deal with.

Namikaze Minato gripped the handle of his kunai. His shadow clone quietly drew a space-time barrier behind him, convenient for an instant Flying Thunder God escape. He then said, "The one who captured your people should be Hiruko. He has captured many Kekkei Genkai ninjas, and our people are among them."

"Hiruko?" The Third Raikage's face showed surprise. Of course, he had heard of Hiruko. This person was from the same era as the Sannin, his ability was not bad, but he had been a rogue ninja for many years, and even Konoha couldn't do anything about him. He hadn't expected… to actually find a clue about his subordinate.

The Third Raikage said urgently, "Does Minato know his location?"

"He has many bases at sea. We don't know the exact locations. If your village finds their base and rescues some people, please inform us," Minato said seriously.

The Third Raikage frowned. "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If there are no clues at all, where do we even start looking?"

"Indeed!" Minato sighed. Then, he collected himself. "Regarding Hiruko, our two villages can join forces to track and search for him. But for you to trespass into the Land of Fire, you still have to give us an explanation." He hadn't forgotten that his main business was to negotiate with the other party and hold them back, not to be led astray by them. Although… he had now given them a non-existent target. The real Hiruko was already buried at sea, no longer existing. The Cloud Village would never find him. As for Hiruko's bases, the one in the Land of Waves was definitely not his only one. There might be a few others, but given Hiruko's personality, those bases were probably long abandoned. Minato said this purely to give the Land of Lightning something to do, so they wouldn't cause trouble all the time.

However, when it came to the matter of the Land of Fire's border, the Third Raikage and A were evasive, and even—their positions were gradually approaching Minato. At this moment, the Cloud ninja troops had already landed on the northern shore and were rapidly heading south. The Third Raikage was full of confidence.

Faced with Namikaze Minato's question, he laughed heartily. "Our two villages are allies, why do we need to be so clear-cut? When Konoha comes to our Land of Lightning in the future, we will also treat you well."

"That's not how it works. Even blood brothers have to divide their property, let alone our two villages which are just allies. We also did some things when we formed the alliance before," Minato said indifferently.

The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes and said unkindly, "So, Konoha wants to bring up old scores? Heh, you came to us for an alliance when you were facing pressure from the other three great nations, and now that it's over, you treat the treaty as waste paper?"

"Of course not. But this time, please give us a plan. How should the apology and compensation be decided? It's better to make it clear first, so as not to affect the harmony between our two villages," Minato was very firm.

"It's been a long time since anyone dared to speak to me like this. I'd also like to see just how marvelous your Konoha's Flying Thunder God is, that you dare to speak like this at such a distance." The Third Raikage smiled. Suddenly, lightning erupted from his body, his aura surging. Lightning Release Armor!

The next moment, in an instant, his figure had already disappeared. At the same time—A also disappeared. The two of them, from left and right, came towards Minato. Before they even arrived, their Lightning Release chakra had already formed a field. The terrifying chakra constantly vibrated and collided, disturbing the surrounding space.

However, behind them, a shadow clone slapped the ground, and the pre-set barrier continued to expand. Then—kunai scattered in all directions. Flying Thunder God!

Minato's figure was like lightning, shuttling through space. In an instant, he was beside A. A reacted extremely quickly, immediately chopping down with a lightning blade like a sword. Crack! The ground split open. But there was no trace of him in front. Minato had disappeared again.

But when he reappeared, the Third Raikage was already in front of him. The Third Raikage's technique was even more terrifying than A's! Hell Stab: Four-Fingered Thrust. A large amount of chakra gathered, forming a terrifying spear between his fingers at this moment. If he was hit… he would surely die!

But just as he was about to touch Minato, Tch! The figure before him turned into foam. A shadow clone. Flying Thunder God: Inter-Instantaneous Revolving Technique! This was a usage Minato had researched. And the next moment—he was already behind the Third Raikage. Wind Style: Rasengan!

Although he hadn't researched it to Naruto's level, Minato had been free from miscellaneous matters for the past year, and had a lot more free time. So he had time to focus on researching the Rasengan and had indeed made progress. The Wind Style Rasengan in his hand was stronger in terms of penetration and destructive power than the original version. Especially… against a Lightning Release opponent!

However, Bang! One hit, although it broke through the Lightning Release Armor, it failed to cause substantial damage to the Third Raikage. Minato's eyes narrowed. Kyohiko's guess was indeed correct. The reason why the Cloud Village's Lightning Release Armor was so strong was not just the technique itself, but also their special physique. And the Third Raikage's physique was even stronger than A's! The name of the Strongest Armor was well-deserved.

"As expected of Konoha's genius." The Third Raikage's expression was grave. A flickered to his side and noticed the slight wound on him, a look of disbelief in his eyes. But the Third Raikage just lightly brushed it off and praised, "My Lightning Release Armor, even the Eight-Tails can't break through it. I didn't expect you to break it."

"Failing to cause substantial damage cannot be considered breaking it," Minato replied faintly.

"Hahahaha! Very arrogant, kid. I'm starting to see you in a new light!" The Third Raikage laughed loudly, then, the corner of his mouth curved up. "But, a technique like this, an attack like this, how many times can you use it? As for me, I only need to hit you once!"