- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 395
“Be sure to stay safe!”
The next day, at the gates of Konoha, the Third Hokage, along with the entire village, stood at the entrance, giving a word of caution to Leo, who was dressed in the Fifth Hokage’s robes.
Since Leo, the Hokage, had decided to personally head to the eastern front to deal with the invading Mist ninjas, such a morale-boosting act couldn’t be done in secret.
It had to be grand and public, so that every Konoha ninja would know that their newly appointed Fifth Hokage was fighting for them, protecting the entire village.
This farewell ceremony was specifically suggested by the Third Hokage to solidify Leo’s position of authority.
Although Leo wasn’t the Third Hokage’s first choice for the position, Leo was still his nominal disciple and had saved the entire village, continuously working hard for Konoha.
In his heart, the Third Hokage fully acknowledged and respected Leo as the Fifth Hokage.
Moreover, since Leo took over as Hokage, he had continued to follow the same policies and hadn’t allied himself with Danzo, diligently handling all administrative duties. He also valued the advisors’ opinions.
“Don’t worry, Old Man Third! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will protect Brother Chuan!”
Before Leo could respond, Naruto had already boasted, patting his chest with confidence.
During the Akatsuki’s attack on Konoha, Naruto had been out looking for Tsunade with Jiraiya. Tsunade, after having her gambling debts cleared by Leo and with the Third Hokage still alive, had decisively declined the request to return and assume the role of Fifth Hokage.
By the time Naruto and Jiraiya returned to the village, Leo had already become the Fifth Hokage.
This time, Jiraiya had taken a large group of jonin to the northeastern front to intercept the powerful Cloud ninja invasion, so Naruto had rejoined Team 7 under Kakashi’s leadership.
Most of Konoha’s elite had been dispatched to the northeastern front, and many others had been sent to the northwest to guard against the Rain ninja, who had already defeated the Sand ninja. This left the village somewhat understaffed.
To prevent any attempts to attack Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, during Leo’s absence, the Third Hokage and other senior leaders used the excuse of protecting the Fifth Hokage to assign Team 7 to accompany Leo to the eastern front to deal with the invading Mist ninjas.
In reality, Leo was handling the Mist ninjas while also conveniently protecting Naruto.
“Naruto, address him as Lord Fifth Hokage!”
At that moment, Sakura smacked Naruto on the back of the head.
Leo was now the Fifth Hokage, and in such a public setting, formalities had to be observed.
“Teacher, I’ll leave the village in your hands for now!”
Leo smiled, unbothered by Naruto’s outburst, and after temporarily handing over control of Konoha to the Third Hokage, he turned to Team 7 and said:
“Grab onto my clothes. We’ll teleport directly.”
In a flash, the four of them vanished from the village gate.
At the temporary base of Konoha’s Third Unit, located in the forest near the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
Using the objects inscribed with the Flying Thunder God technique that had been sent ahead, Leo, along with Team 7, instantly appeared inside the camp.
Konoha currently had three units.
The First Unit, the largest and strongest, was commanded by Jiraiya, responsible for confronting the powerful Cloud ninjas.
The Second Unit, slightly smaller, was led by Hiashi Hyuga, the clan leader of the Hyuga clan, specializing in reconnaissance and tasked with preventing surprise attacks from the Rain ninjas.
The Third Unit, the smallest, was commanded by Might Guy, the jonin who was most adept at countering the Mist ninjas. Most members of this unit were taijutsu specialists, including Guy’s disciples Neji, Lee, and Tenten.
“Lord Fifth Hokage!”
Guy, who had been waiting in the camp, immediately flashed his trademark bright smile, revealing his shiny white teeth upon seeing Leo appear.
“And my eternal rival Kakashi! It looks like we’ll be fighting side by side again today. Let’s see who can take down the most enemies, Kakashi!”
“We might not even get a chance to fight this time,” Kakashi replied, his usual dead-fish eyes glancing over.
As one of the jonin who had witnessed Leo open all eight gates, Kakashi figured that this time, they were mainly here to watch and clean up afterward.
“Guy, no casualties on our side, right?” Leo asked.
Guy immediately stood at attention:
“Reporting to Lord Fifth Hokage, no casualties. We’ve been following Shikaku’s strategy of fighting while retreating, just stalling for time.”
Since most members of this unit were taijutsu specialists, their stamina was excellent, and they were fast runners. With some medical ninjas assigned, even though they were outnumbered by the Mist ninja forces, there had been no casualties.
When the enemy advanced, they harassed them; when the enemy tried to surround them, they retreated. It was all guerrilla warfare.
Leo nodded approvingly:
“Good. From now on, we’ll go on the offensive. This time, our goal isn’t just to repel them; we’re going to push all the way to the Mist Village.”
“Push all the way to the Mist Village?”
Both Guy and Kakashi were momentarily stunned.
The original strategy was to drive back the Mist forces and deter them from any further attempts to sneak attack Konoha. No one had mentioned attacking the Mist Village.
The Land of Water was an island nation, separated from the mainland by a sea. In past ninja wars, the Mist ninja had always launched coastal raids on the major ninja villages. It was rare for the great nations to send large forces to fight on the islands of the Land of Water.
To Leo, it was similar to the ancient relationship between China and Japan, where Japan would send troops to harass China’s coastal cities, but China never sent a large army to invade Japan.
“That’s right. To prevent the Mist ninja from causing trouble during our later battles with the Cloud and Rain ninja, we’re not just going to drive them back this time; we’re going to the Mist Village and bring back their Mizukage as a hostage!”
Leo smiled confidently.
Kakashi and Guy exchanged glances, unsure how to respond.
The way Leo said it made it sound like capturing the Mizukage was as easy as going to the market to buy a chicken.
“Sensei, the Mist forces are surrounding us again. We need to relocate,” Neji, using his Byakugan to scout the enemy’s movements, urgently reported as he rushed into the tent.
“These guys are fast!” Guy exclaimed before explaining:
“The leader of the Mist ninja forces is Ao, a wanted criminal in our village, known as the ‘Byakugan Killer.’ He fought in the Third Great Ninja War and transplanted a Byakugan from a Hyuga ninja’s corpse, so he can also use the Byakugan to track our position. It’s quite troublesome.”
“Perfect. Now we don’t have to go looking for them. And we’ll be sure to take back that Byakugan that doesn’t belong to him!”
Hearing this, Leo let out a cold laugh and strode out of the tent.
“Lord Fifth Hokage!”
The Konoha ninja of the Third Unit immediately saluted with admiration and respect as soon as they saw Leo.
Many of them had participated in the defense of Konoha and had been saved by Leo, witnessing his incredible strength firsthand.
(End of Chapter)