Chapter 115: Top Ten Forces on the Power List, A Shocking Moment!
Time passed, and one faction after another appeared on the Power List.
Many people already had an idea whether their faction could make it to the leaderboard. For instance, those factions without even a single Jonin naturally had no chance of appearing on the list. On the other hand, those factions with Kage-level powerhouses had nothing to worry about—they were guaranteed a spot.
Before long, the 50th place on the Power List was announced.
[50th Place on the Power List: Hozuki Clan]
Second Mizukage: "Ah, there was a time when our Hozuki Clan was a top-tier clan. I never thought that after my death, the Hozuki Clan would decline to such a degree, only ranking 50th. It just shows how useless you descendants have become!"
Fourth Raikage: "The Hozuki Clan was indeed very powerful in the past, but under the rule of the Fourth Mizukage, many of the strong shinobi either defected or perished, which led to the downfall of the Hozuki Clan. Now, only a few members remain."
Second Mizukage: "Talking about this makes me furious. Yagura was truly incompetent!"
Fourth Mizukage: "I was controlled by Obito! I won't take the blame for this!"
Second Mizukage: "If I were still alive, I would definitely kill Obito!"
Uchiha Obito: "Second Mizukage, do you think you could beat me?"
The Power List continued to be revealed.
In no time, the 40th place was announced.
[40th Place on the Power List: Hagoromo Clan]
Hashirama Senju: "The Hagoromo Clan is also an ancient clan. I never thought they'd only rank 40th. They've declined as well."
Madara Uchiha: "There are probably only a few members left, not worth mentioning."
Naruto Uzumaki: "Is the Hagoromo Clan descended from the Sage of Six Paths?"
Hashirama Senju: "Many people in the ninja world are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. The Hagoromo Clan is just one branch of them. They only have the name in common with the Sage of Six Paths and don't hold any special status."
Naruto Uzumaki: "So that's how it is!"
Fourth Hokage: "I wonder if my son and wife can still be considered part of the Uzumaki Clan?"
Fourth Raikage: "I don't think so. As a faction, you at least need to have your own territory, right? Does the Uzumaki Clan have that?"
The Fourth Hokage naturally knew that the Uzumaki Clan didn't count as a faction anymore. Although a few people remained, even if they all gathered together to form a faction, it wouldn't truly be the Uzumaki Clan anymore. Clearly, such a scenario was impossible.
[36th Place on the Power List: Inuzuka Clan]
The Inuzuka Clan was also a fairly large clan in Konoha with a significant number of members. Although there weren't many famous strong individuals, they still ranked 36th on the Power List.
Of course, the members of the Inuzuka Clan were dissatisfied with this ranking. They felt that they should at least be in the top 20.
Kiba Inuzuka: "Only 36th place? That means the rewards won't be great. There might not even be anything useful for me!"
Hana Inuzuka: "Brother, calm down. The rewards might be designed for multiple people, so everyone could get something!"
Kiba Inuzuka: "I hope so!"
Naruto Uzumaki: "Kiba, relax. At least the Inuzuka Clan made it onto the leaderboard as a faction. Unfortunately, the Uzumaki Clan doesn't count. My family members don't qualify as a faction, so we won't be listed at all!"
Kiba Inuzuka: "Naruto, you've reached Six Paths level. If I could reach that level, I wouldn't need any rewards!"
Before long, the leaderboard reached the top 30.
[30th Place on the Power List: Aburame Clan]
Shino Aburame: "This ranking is pretty good!"
Shibi Aburame: "What's there to be happy about with this ranking? Only 30th place. Our clan should have at least made the top 20!"
Choza Akimichi: "Looks like our Akimichi Clan will rank higher than your Aburame Clan!"
Hiashi Hyuga: "Our Hyuga Clan will definitely be in the top 10, no doubt about it!"
Soon, the 26th place was revealed.
[26th Place on the Power List: Yamanaka Clan]
Inoichi Yamanaka: "26th place, not bad!"
Ino Yamanaka: "I hope we can get some good rewards this time!"
The rankings continued.
[25th Place on the Power List: Sarutobi Clan]
Third Hokage: "Ah, the Sarutobi Clan only ranked 25th. If I were still alive, we'd definitely be in the top 10!"
Hashirama Senju: "Monkey, 25th place isn't bad. When I was alive, the Sarutobi Clan was just a small clan. Now that you've passed away, and they're still ranked 25th, it shows that your clan has done well!"
Third Hokage: "Ahem, Lord Hashirama is right. This ranking is indeed acceptable!"
At that moment, the 24th place was announced.
[24th Place on the Power List: Senju Clan]
Hashirama Senju: "?????"
Tobirama Senju: "?????"
Madara Uchiha: "Heh, the Senju Clan was the leading clan in Konoha. Konoha was founded by the Senju Clan and my Uchiha Clan. Yet, your Senju Clan hasn't fared much better!"
Hashirama Senju: "What's going on? How did the Senju Clan, the foremost clan in Konoha, rank so low? Tsunade, you're a Super Kage-level powerhouse now, not much weaker than I was. With you around, how could the Senju Clan rank so low?"
Fourth Raikage: "First Hokage, the Power List assesses overall strength. One person's strength alone isn't enough. If the overall strength, influence, and various factors aren't up to par, the ranking will naturally be low. Nowadays, most members of the Senju Clan are ordinary people, right? There aren't many shinobi left, except for Tsunade, who is holding up the clan. How could your ranking be high?"
Hashirama Senju: "Tsunade, what happened to the Senju Clan? How did it decline like this?"
Tsunade: "Grandfather, ever since you and Uncle Tobirama passed away, the Senju Clan kept losing members. After enduring countless wars and missions, many of our clan members perished. Later, fewer shinobi were born into the clan, and our numbers dwindled. Nowadays, most of the remaining Senju Clan members are ordinary people, dispersed among other clans."
At this point, some members of the Senju Clan could no longer stay silent. They expressed dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage, accusing him of suppressing the Senju Clan while favoring the Sarutobi Clan. They claimed that many dangerous missions were assigned to the Senju Clan, while the Sarutobi Clan only took on easy tasks.
Hashirama Senju: "Monkey, is what they're saying true?"
[Third Hokage: Lord Hashirama, I've been wronged! I have never suppressed the Senju Clan to favor the Sarutobi Clan. My Sarutobi Clan has also lost many ninjas!]
In reality, the Third Hokage did have his own agenda. He simply favored his confidants and the Sarutobi Clan while suppressing the Senju Clan.
After all, the Senju Clan was the founding clan of Konoha, and both the First and Second Hokage came from the Senju. As the Third Hokage, he faced immense pressure. The Senju Clan believed that the Hokage position belonged to them and that future Hokages should come from their clan.
If the development of the Senju Clan wasn't suppressed, the question of who would hold power in Konoha in the future would be uncertain.
Moreover, as a member of the Sarutobi Clan, he naturally hoped for the growth of his own clan. Therefore, secretly favoring the Sarutobi Clan was a normal occurrence.
However, this thought could never be spoken aloud. Even in death, he would never admit it.
[Fourth Raikage: Sarutobi Hiruzen, you are quite interesting. During the Nine-Tails incident, the Fourth Hokage died, yet you survived unscathed. And the once-mighty Senju Clan has fallen to such a state. If not for Tsunade, the Senju Clan wouldn't even make it onto the power rankings.]
[Third Hokage: Fourth Raikage, stop trying to stir up trouble between me and Lord Hashirama.]
[Senju Tobirama: Monkey, during your time as Hokage, Konoha's strength declined significantly. That's an undeniable fact. Whether or not you had other intentions, you were an incompetent Hokage. That's also an undeniable fact!]
[Third Hokage: You're right, Lord Tobirama. I was indeed incompetent!]
They didn't dwell on this topic for long, and other factions started to appear on the rankings.
Soon, the 20th place on the power rankings was announced.
[Power List 20th place: Akimichi Clan]
Members of the Akimichi Clan are all quite large, but once they use the Super Expansion Jutsu, they become enormous, like small mountains. Their strength is terrifying, and their attacks are fearsome.
Thus, this clan is undoubtedly powerful, and being ranked 20th is well-deserved.
Next, the 19th place on the power rankings was announced.
[Power List 19th place: Taka Squad]
[Karin Uzumaki: Wow! Our Taka Squad made it onto the list!]
[Fourth Raikage: According to our intel, Taka Squad only has a few members, yet they made it onto the power rankings!]
[Kakashi: If the individuals are strong enough, even a small group can make it onto the list!]