Ninja Ice House

Chapter 572 Killing Efficiency

To some extent, bloodline limits are crucial for an individual or a family, serving as an important guarantee for the continuation of a group.

However, for a ninja village-level power, an individual or a small or medium-sized clan that possesses a bloodline limit is merely icing on the cake, not indispensable.

Even the Uchiha clan, the number one ninja clan with the legendary strongest bloodline limit, when faced with a dilemma, could still issue a kill order without hesitation, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura decided to give up.

In the Hidden Mist Village, where ninja clans engaged in chaotic battles and bloodline limits were numerous but rarely valued, this situation wasn't unique to one or two villages. While outsiders might see it as a waste of resources, they didn't find it particularly unacceptable.

The experience of the ninja clans during the Warring States period was not applicable to the era of ninja villages, which were based in a single country and village.

This is also why Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and others found it relatively easy to accept that Haku possessed the Ice Release bloodline limit, and might also be of the Minazuki bloodline.

The old idea that the ninja clan was above all else is outdated, and the importance of the village is now being recognized more.

After Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha established Konoha, many small and medium-sized ninja clans followed suit and joined, but not many actually joined as founding ninja clans.

The growth and expansion of Konoha Village is inseparable from its inclusive approach and its policy of supporting the rise of commoner ninjas.

While ninja clans may be strong in certain areas, they are still no match for well-organized, large-scale civilian ninjas.

Today, in Konoha Village, ninja clan members are a minority among the ninjas. Most of the new generation of ninjas are from declining small and medium-sized ninja clans, commoners, orphans, and young people from the Land of Fire outside the village who come to Konoha to develop their careers.

This is also why Minato Namikaze is so popular.

Even a decade or more from now, without much thought, someone like Minato Namikaze, bearing the mark of a commoner ninja, who rose through his own talent and hard work, and with the support and endorsement of the previous Hokage, will undoubtedly become the successor to the Hokage.

At this point in time, right after the Third Shinobi World War ended, the influence of the ninja clans had not yet completely dissipated. The Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, and Ino-Shika-Cho clans still wielded considerable influence, and the voices of ordinary ninjas had not yet become mainstream. Orochimaru still had a chance to compete for the position of Fourth Hokage with the support of these forces.

The trends of a certain era naturally reflect the developmental characteristics of that period and that generation.

The decline of the Senju clan, or rather, their self-disintegration, began to accelerate with the death of Senju Nawaki. If Tsunade herself did not step forward, apart from the elders who still maintained close contact, it would be very difficult for them to operate as a united force and strive for interests.

It can only be said that when Haku chose his perspective, or when determining the mission process, the advisors from Konoha Village and the Kosugi family made many contingency plans in many details.

"The Gusugi family, they're practically half our own people. There's a temple fair at the market south of the village in the evening, it's hard to say if it's a celebration or something, but it's been quite lively lately, there are always people doing activities there. Oh right, the Gusugi family seems to have some kind of exhibition or sale, I don't know what they're selling, there are a lot of new and interesting things lately."

"I didn't notice that; no one notified me."

"Haha, I didn't know that much at first, but there were brochures everywhere about free drinks at the beer festival..."

"I don't know if I'll ever have a chance to go and see it, but... I don't drink."

"Not old enough yet?"

Slightly tipsy, Jiraiya glanced at Haku and, realizing that Haku was indeed too young to drink, shook his head regretfully.

"Minato, what about you?"

"I?"

Under Kushina Uzumaki's sharp gaze, Minato Namikaze awkwardly scratched the back of his head and chuckled helplessly.

"I need to go home and cook later."

As for Kushina Uzumaki's cooking skills, all I can say is that she has a good attitude and is willing to do and learn, but her skill level has never really improved. On the contrary, Minato Namikaze, who came later, has become increasingly better at cooking and housework.

Even culinary skills that come with practice still require a certain amount of talent.

When master and disciple speak, there are fewer reservations. Bai smiled calmly and listened for a while before making an excuse to leave. Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya, and Kushina Uzumaki didn't say much either. After all, they were just strangers who had met by chance. Although they could chat for a while, they weren't familiar with each other and didn't have many topics to talk about.

The two sides had the most overlap in a "joke" about Kosugi Bokusui, who was once at the Konoha Ninja Academy. The year that the Fourth Hokage was being selected was precisely the time when the ridicule was at its peak.

These topics are certainly not something that should be discussed in vain. I know about them, but it's not good to talk about them in depth, after all, they are the "future father-in-law's" dark history, or rather, the awkward past that cannot be avoided.

Although he himself doesn't care and has never shied away from it, it's best for others not to make unfounded claims.

After walking a little further away, Shiro breathed a slight sigh of relief and was about to report the situation to Nara Shikamaru or the command center when a seed of spiritual power in her mind was activated, and Karin's voice came through.

"How did you feel just now? If a fight broke out, how confident would you be?"

"You saw everything?"

Bai, without any particular surprise, answered quite frankly.

"If I am ambushed Kushina Uzumaki, who was caught off guard, I am confident that I can subdue her within half a minute. Of course, I will need the sealing team to help reinforce the Nine-Tails' 'cage' to prevent it from causing trouble. As for Jiraiya, in a head-on confrontation, I can probably last for more than ten minutes before I have to retreat. As for Minato Namikaze, if I cannot successfully ambush and severely injure him within ten seconds, he can kill me within a minute."

"The degree of difference is slight, but the general direction is accurate. Jiraiya is stronger, and Minato Namikaze is more efficient at killing people. It is estimated that only the already dead 'Konoha White Fang' Sakumo Hatake can compare with him in terms of efficiency in killing people."

The younger and less powerful Minato Namikaze is famous not only because of the promotion by his teachers, but also because of his outstanding achievements. His Flying Thunder God Technique, combined with his hard work and innate superhuman reflexes, makes his elusive tactics extremely terrifying.

For ninjas, a combat profession characterized by "strong offense and weak defense," Minato Namikaze was their nemesis. As long as they were still mortals, they could not withstand a sneak attack from behind that would pierce their heart.

You have to understand that there are no health bars or invincibility cheats in the real world. If you are hit in a vital spot, you will die unless you have a very few special constitutions, bloodline limits, or secret techniques. That's terrifying.

"Golden Flash" is just a nickname for Minato Namikaze; "Primate Killer" is the most accurate description.