I, The New Hokage of Konoha - Chapter 222

“Correctly speaking, Konoha is my enemy,” said Uchiha Madara. After Madara’s statement, the expressions of those present varied.

“The Uchiha defector, and he’s activated the Mangekyo Sharingan? Quite interesting,” said Kaguya, sitting in her place, assessing the half-destroyed face of Uchiha Madara.

“I haven’t heard of any Uchiha defectors from Konoha in these years,” Gaara still had doubts on his face.

A raised eyebrow from Mei, she didn’t speak but coldly observed both Jigen and Madara, contemplating how to take them down later and extract any information during the interrogation.

As for Onoki’s attitude remained unchanged: “Whether you’re a defector from Konoha or not, since you’ve joined the Akatsuki and intruded here uninvited, you must bear the wrath of the Four Kage.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

As Onoki’s words fell, the guards from the Four Kage and numerous Iron Country warriors quickly surrounded Madara and Jigen.

Regardless of their intentions, the news of today’s Four Kage meeting must not leak out.

Madara, still composed, responded, “Lord Tsuchikage seems to misunderstand Akatsuki. Indeed, the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki fell into Akatsuki’s hands, but that was the work of the former leader of Akatsuki. We have killed that person, and now Akatsuki has a new leader. By the way, we’ve already avenged you, Lord Tsuchikage.”

“A new leader in Akatsuki?” Onoki was slightly surprised, unable to discern the truth in Madara’s words. He then asked, “What about Deidara and Sasori?”

“Naturally, they were killed by the former leader long ago,” Madara lied without changing his expression.

“So, you captured the Jinchuriki just to kill them?” Onoki asked coldly.

“Who knows what the former leader’s intentions were? Anyway, we’ve killed him, and the dead can’t answer any questions anymore,” Madara shrugged. “Furthermore, Lord Tsuchikage, you should blame the past Akatsuki. Today’s Akatsuki has been reborn with the sole purpose of opposing Konoha. We’ve come here to ally with all of you to fight against Konoha.”

“An alliance? Against Konoha?” Mei, standing next to Onoki, smiled coldly. Instead of warmth, her face bore a chilling edge. “A group of rogue shinobi and village traitors? Do you have the qualifications for that?”

“I believe the fact that Akatsuki easily learned about the Four Kage meeting and came here already says it all,” Madara calmly stated.

“Not enough!” Gaara said shortly.

“We’re not interested in exposing our backs to a group of village traitors,” Ei expressed disdain. She then suggested, “Let’s capture these two first, extract information from their minds, and then eliminate this organization. I don’t want to face Konoha while harbouring ambitious individuals on the sidelines.”

“Agreed,” Mei immediately concurred without hesitation.

Gaara pondered for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. “Agreed.”

As for Onoki, there was no need to ask.

Just as he was about to give the order to attack, Madara suddenly said, “What about the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze? How do you plan to deal with him?”

Minato Namikaze…

These four words seemed to possess a powerful magic. Even though the person in question was absent, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

“The Four Kage will deal with Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze,” Onoki finally broke the silence, emphasizing, “He’s a man, not a god.”

“No! He is a god!” Madara shook his head.

When the man named Uchiha Madara said this, he had no intention of arguing.

Having witnessed the battle between Minato and Hashirama, and even more so after personally experiencing his terrifying power, he had sincerely regarded Minato Namikaze as a non-human.

Before Onoki could rebut, Madara turned to the Raikage and said, “I believe the Cloud Shinobi present here must have a deep understanding of the strength of Minato Namikaze.”

With the deepest scars in her heart, Ai had her expression darken.

Although she hadn’t experienced everything on the frontlines back then, hearing the accounts from the returning Cloud Shinobi made her fully aware of their despair when confronting Minato’s overwhelming power.

And Darui, who had personally experienced it all, had an extremely unpleasant expression.

Even to this day, he had not forgotten the scenes of countless Cloud Shinobi being ruthlessly slaughtered like ants under the cover of the Wood Style, Hashirama’s Jutsu.

At this moment, seeing the expressions of the Raikage and his comrades filled with unease, Deidara, who had hidden himself, couldn’t help but comment with a smirk, “Tch~~ No matter how strong he is, he’s just one person. A blast from my clay bombs, and he won’t survive.”

Deidara’s voice, though soft, could still be heard by everyone present.

Upon hearing this, Gaara, who was once sceptical, couldn’t sit still anymore. “Indeed! Minato Namikaze is just one person. Even in the past, when the First Hokage, Second Hokage, Third Hokage, and Fourth Hokage teamed up, they couldn’t deal with Hashirama Senju, right?”

Shifting his gaze away from the somewhat familiar but still ridiculous Deidara, Madara turned to Gaara without reservation and said, “In this regard, I believe Lord Tsuchikage, who has experienced those times, should be well aware.”

Onoki fell silent for a moment before nodding, “That was then. Even the likes of Hashirama Senju had moments of fatigue, injuries, and even death. Minato Namikaze is no different!”

Madara shook his head, “But Minato Namikaze is not alone. Besides him, there are Tsunade, Jiraiya, Tobirama Senju, Shisui Uchiha, and others by his side. So, you need more assistance.”

“Assistance from the Akatsuki?” Mei suddenly interjected.

“Indeed!” Madara replied without hesitation.

“So much talk! Let me see the Akatsuki’s strength for myself! Chojuro!” Mei immediately gave the order.

“Yes!”

Chojuro, who appeared shy and reserved on the surface but possessed formidable strength as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly appear behind Madara and lifted the massive twin swords, Hiramekarei, with great force towards Madara.

Boom!

In an instant, the ground beneath Madara’s feet cracked open.

As for Madara himself, to the astonishment of Chojuro, who didn’t dare believe his eyes, he remained standing in place, completely unaffected.

“Why didn’t it hit when the person was right here?” Chojuro was puzzled.

Though he was perplexed, Chojuro, not giving up, continued to swing Hiramekarei at Madara.

But the result was the same.

“It’s useless. Under my eyes, apart from a very few anomalies, no one can match me,” Madara said calmly, gazing at Chojuro.

Not willing to waste any more time on a mere Mist shinobi, Madara, with his powerful insight from the Mangekyo Sharingan, grabbed Chojuro’s wrist and threw him back.

“I’m sorry! I’m just not good enough,” Chojuro quickly got up from the ground, his face filled with embarrassment, and apologized to Mei.

Mei waved her hand and said, “It’s not your fault, Chojuro. The person you faced is exceptionally powerful.”

At the same time, realizing this fact, Gaara, Ei, and the others’ expressions grew more serious.

“The Mangekyo Sharingan’s Kamui? A space-time manipulation jutsu?” Ei, who had experienced the Flying Raijin and sensed spatial fluctuations, spoke up.

“So, is this what you believe is Akatsuki and the Four Nations’ confidence?” Ei continued, “Although this ability is tricky, it may not be enough to be a bargaining chip.”

“Of course not!” Madara shook his head. “Akatsuki’s true confidence is not me, but the current leader of Akatsuki.”

“You’re not the new leader of Akatsuki?” Onoki asked in surprise.

In his view, it was entirely possible for Madara, with the Mangekyo Sharingan and the evident spatial-time abilities, to replace the previous Akatsuki leader. However, Madara stated that he wasn’t the leader.

So, who was the true leader?

Someone who could have such individuals under their command.

For some reason, Onoki suddenly had a very bad feeling.

At that moment, Madara smiled and answered, “Of course not. Speaking of Akatsuki’s new leader, you should be quite familiar with him, Lord Onoki.”

“My familiar acquaintance?” Onoki’s mind subconsciously tried to recall who among his acquaintances was most likely.

Suddenly, a very distant but still deeply imprinted voice sounded behind him, causing him to shudder involuntarily.

“Long time no see, young Onoki.”

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