Chapter 115: 111: Escape From Konoha (2)
"I never anticipated that something like this would occur at a time like this..."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, donned his armor and led elite Anbu unit as they headed towards the site of the incident. Flames were rising high ahead, a result of the explosion at the power supply base. As a result, all the street lamps along their path had gone out, leaving only the towering flames to illuminate the darkness.
Flying under the cover of darkness, Ameyu, continuously evaded attacks from Konoha ninja. She did this to deplete their ninja tools and chakra.
Konoha's ninjas had gathered in large numbers, surrounding the area, packed closely together and full of fighting spirit. They were entirely different from the Kusagakure they had faced earlier. The strength and determination of Konoha's ninja were formidable.
The strength and willpower of Konoha's ninjas were formidable. They efficiently managed missions like extinguishing fires, engaging in combat, providing cover, and evacuating civilians to shelters. Their actions were disciplined, and they showed no signs of panic.
"Hokage-sama!"
Seeing Hiruzen's arrival, the Konoha ninjas found their backbone.
Hiruzen looked up at the sky, where Ameyu and Raimei's figures easily caught his eye.
"Is it the mysterious priestess and summoned creature that attacked Kusagakure earlier?" Hiruzen immediately recognized Ameyu and Raimei Maru, the two unknown individuals who had attacked Kusagakure a few months ago.
"How is the civilian evacuation going?" Hiruzen asked about the most crucial matter at hand.
Ninjas dying in battle was inevitable, but ever since they became ninja, they had to be prepared and conscious of this fact. However, regardless of the circumstances, the battles between ninja should not involve innocent civilians.
"Hokage-sama, the civilians in the vicinity have safely moved towards the shelters."
A Konoha ninja jumped to Hiruzen's side and respectfully reported.
"Very well, now focus on confronting the enemy."
"Yes!"
Raimei Maru, on the other hand, gave a glance to Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, and whispered to Ameyu, "Sister, that guy down there is the Third Hokage. We must maintain a safe distance from him; there's no way we can win if we face him head-on. Let's wait for an opportunity."
Suddenly, Raimei Maru felt his body plummeting downward. No, that wasn't quite right; to be more precise, both he and Ameyu were falling. It felt as if their bodies were being restrained, rendering them immobile.
Struggling to turn his head, Raimei looked down at a Konoha ninjas below. The ninja had formed hand seals, and his shadow stretched out, merging with the shadows of Raimei and Ameyu on the ground.
"The Nara's Shadow Jutsu... I underestimated them," Raimei muttered as he realized what had happened.
The Konoha ninja saw this scene and charged forth with great momentum. Preparing his jutsu below, he waited for Ameyu and Raimei to fall and delivered a fatal blow.
The Nara ninja wore a smug smile. Because their opponents were flying, it wasn't easy to notice their shadows on the ground, although it had been somewhat challenging to find them.
Hiruzen saw this and revealed a satisfied smile. It seemed he didn't need to intervene; the village had many outstanding ninja.
On Ameyu's shoulder, Raimei Maru's pitch-black body began to be enveloped by a dark aura, like a swirling black cloud, with faint lightning currents coursing through it.
It seems they were planning to use some jutsu.
At that moment, a beastly roar echoed through Konoha, causing the very earth to tremble violently. Unexplainably, a bone-chilling cold ran down the spines of all the Konoha ninja, giving them an involuntary shiver.
"This is bad!" exclaimed a Nara clan ninja. His momentary lapse in concentration caused a disruption in the chakra supply for his jutsu.
When he attempted to restore it and regain control over Ameyu, he found that she had taken advantage of that momentary lapse to escape his grasp and fly in a different direction.
"Damn It!!!!!, we were so close!" He realized that their window of opportunity was now gone. Any future attempts to use his shadow techniques against her would be met with increased vigilance, making it far more challenging.
However, everyone, including this Nara clan ninja, was puzzled by the recent roar. They all turned their attention toward the source of the sound, located in the northeastern part of Konoha, near the Forest of Death area.
The Third Hokage's expression changed drastically as he recognized the evil chakra and the overwhelming chakra pressure emanating from the location. There was no doubt about it; it was the Nine Tails.
He suddenly realized that Ameyu and Ameyu had only served as bait to draw the Konoha ninja here. Their true target was the Nine Tails!
Furthermore, the Nine Tails' chakra had been released, and it was displaying such terrifying power. It was evident that something had gone wrong with the seal on the Jinchuriki.
If the seal on Kushina was malfunctioning and even Nine Tails' chakra was leaking, the consequences would be catastrophic. The Kyuubi must not escape.
The Third Hokage made a quick decision. He left behind some Konoha ninja to engage Ameyu and Raimei Maru while he, accompanied by Anbu and other elite ninjas, headed toward the location where the Nine Tails had erupted. Despite the material damage that could be repaired, the Nine Tails' escape would bring unimaginable disaster.
"Similar to what father said, Konoha ninjas can indeed be quite troublesome. Even when occupying the skies, I cannot let my guard down. But now, I can hide my Sage Mode successfully. I don't want to engage in combat with that annoying sage mode state..." muttered Raimei Maru as he stared down at the Konoha ninjas below.
Raimei Maru noticed that if the Nine Tails hadn't suddenly unleashed its chakra, he and Ameyu would have been forced to fight in their Sage Mode states.
As clones of Shiraishi, each of them possessed unique abilities. Ameyu had control over wind, while Raimei Maru specialized in lightning. However, among all the manifestations, Raimei Maru was quite unique.
In their complete Sage Mode states, their powers and forms were vastly different. Raimei Maru's complete Sage Mode state was incredibly powerful, making it challenging for him to revert to his regular form. He currently struggled to control such overwhelming power and preferred not to reveal his full abilities prematurely.
Ninja battles were also battles of information. In this context, Raimei Maru didn't want to disclose his full capabilities too soon.
Raimei Maru understood that the Third Hokage's departure was part of their plan. Given the strength of both him and Ameyu, facing these Konoha ninja would have been a challenge. Their main mission was to divert the Konoha forces and create an opportunity to separate the Nine Tails from its Jinchuriki.
With their immediate mission accomplished, the Third Hokage's departure was of little concern.
...
Thick, dark clouds rolled across the sky, and intense thunderbolts fell from above. It resembled a scene from the apocalypse.
The flames devoured the darkness, and war raged in both the southeast and northeast corners of Konoha.
Ninjas unleashed a barrage of ninjutsu, hurling kunai, shuriken, and exploding symbols attached to arrows into the sky, creating massive detonations that lit up the village like daylight.
The ground trembled faintly, adding to the chaos.
However, Ayane paid no attention to the tumult around her. Without hesitation, she poured out flammable oil, and several other ninjas joined her. The serene expressions on their faces had transformed into expressions of revenge.
They wrapped detonating talismans around kunai and hurled them into the areas soaked in flammable oil.
Ayane and her companions jumped away just in time. In an instant, everything before them turned into a sea of flames, swallowing the Hyuga clan's buildings mercilessly.
Without looking back, they fled, leaving everything behind. To them, these places held no nostalgic or commemorative value.
They rolled exploding tavs on kunai and launched them in various directions, igniting any flammable buildings they passed.
At the exit of the Hyuga Clan, dozens of people waited, looking like they had just arrived. Among them were women holding newborns. The Hyuga Clan now engulfed in flames, reflected in their eyes.
The women gazed at the babies in their arms with pity. No matter what, these newborns should not bear the mark of lost freedom.
Most of Konoha's ninjas had been mobilized and were heading southeast and northeast.
"You all go ahead; I will catch up shortly," said Ayane. With a team of elite members from the branch family leading the way, they didn't hesitate. They moved along the streets directly towards the high walls of the village.
Not long after they left, several Hyuga ninjas emerged from the Hyuga clan's territory, pursuing them. Ayane recognized the elderly man leading them, who held a high position within the Hyuga clan.
Without waiting for the elderly man to speak, Ayane had no intention of explaining anything. She gathered solidified chakra on her palms, spun her body, and created an instantaneous whirlwind-like storm right where she stood.
At the core of the storm was an enormous chakra sphere spinning at high speed.
"Ahhh!"
Caught in the storm created by the chakra sphere, the pursuers were thrown back and hit the ground hard. They spat out fresh blood as they collided with the earth.
"Is this... the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation?" They asked the question because the chakra sphere generated by Ayane's jutsu had far exceeded their understanding of its limits. Anyone caught in that jutsu would be pulverized if they weren't careful.
"Damn it! If that's how it is, then I'll take your Byakugan and your life..." The elderly Hyuga clan member lay on the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He struggled to form hand seals, preparing to use the Caged Bird Seal technique.
Splat!
As the elderly man was about to complete the hand seals, a kunai embedded itself in his throat.
Ayane crouched beside him, her expression unchanged, and gripped the kunai. She twisted it in his throat, causing blood to spurt out. After ensuring he was no longer a threat, Ayane looked around at the other Hyuga clan members who were similarly incapacitated and disappeared from the scene.
Arriving at the location near the village's high walls, it was surrounded by a small forest. Normally, there were many patrolling ninja here, but they were currently occupied with the village's unrest.
In addition to the Hyuga clan members, there were also members of the Uchiha clan waiting here. They needed to evacuate nearly forty ninja along with their family members, totaling one hundred and twenty individuals.
Although these family members had some basic skills, they were no match for high-level combatants. Their combat abilities could be disregarded in a battle of this magnitude.
"Do we leave through the secret passage?" A high-ranking Branch Hyuga clan member asked Ayane.
The high walls surrounding Konoha were not only tall but also exceptionally sturdy. Therefore, he believed that Ayane had already left a secret passage here.
Ayane didn't say anything; instead, she approached the high wall, placed her palms on the thick and towering structure, and concentrated her Senjutsu chakra. Her eyes transformed into the Byakugan.
"Air God Strike!" she exclaimed.
Boom!
Before the astounded eyes of the Hyuga and Uchiha clan members, a massive opening appeared in the high wall, capable of accommodating a dozen people walking side by side. On the other side was the forest shrouded in darkness.
"This is the hidden passage to the outside. I will hold them off here. Hurry and leave; there are people waiting for you outside," Ayane ordered.
With their shocked hearts slowly steadying, the Hyuga and Uchiha clan members didn't question further. They quickly made their way through the opening and ran towards the forest.
Ayane, using her Byakugan, noticed that several Konoha ninjas had arrived from behind, including Hyuga clan members from the main family. They must have realized that the Caged Bird Seal had failed.
As much as she wanted to see their pitiful expressions, it wasn't the right time for such indulgences.
The moment they appeared, Ayane focused her Senjutsu chakra, and her eyes started to shift.
Busz!
The air trembled.
The Konoha ninjas and Hyuga clan members who had just arrived felt a sudden oppressive force in their heads, making their bodies and limbs incredibly heavy, as if an invisible force had bound them.
However, this invisible pressure came and went quickly, lasting only for a moment, and they quickly broke free from it.
However, Ayane had already accumulated Senjutsu chakra in her palms and pressed them down towards the ground.
The earth ruptured.
The sound of panicked Konoha ninjas echoed as their bodies sank into the crumbling ground, crushed by falling rocks.
Ayane took a deep breath and released several powerful wide-range offensive jutsus in quick succession, her own body feeling the strain.
Ignoring whether these Konoha ninjas were alive or dead, Ayane began to chase after the Hyuga and Uchiha members who had left ahead of her.
In the view of her Byakugan, the reinforcements from the Land of Ghosts had already joined them, assisting in evacuating their family members, and speeding away from Konoha.
"The first task is complete, now comes the crucial part..."
— Intercepting the pursuit of Konoha ninjas.
If this task failed, all their previous efforts would be in vain, and there would be no turning back. The real challenge was just beginning.
While running, Ayane reached into her pouch and retrieved a specially made soldier pill, which she consumed to replenish her stamina and chakra.
...
The aura of the Nine Tails was shaking the earth and unsettling the hearts of the ninja.
Above its head, dark clouds gathered, crackling with lightning, forming a vortex.
The Nine Tails' four tails behind it swirled and lashed out, knocking away the Konoha ninjas attempting to ambush it from behind.
However, the Konoha ninjas rallied themselves, shouting in unison, and continued to risk their lives to subdue the Nine Tails' rampage.
Their continuous ninjutsu, even against the formidable Nine Tails, was relentless.
Huge fireballs slammed into the Nine Tails' back, water balls as hard as steel struck its face, sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground, piercing its belly and chin.
Shuriken, kunai, explosive tags—anything that could be used for attack was deployed to stop the Nine Tails' rampage and beat it into submission.
The enraged Nine Tails, with its speed, which the trained eyes of the Konoha ninja couldn't keep up with, plunged into the crowd. It spun its body, its tails whipping around, creating a wild wind that disrupted the formation of the Konoha ninjas.
Just as the Nine Tails was preparing its next move, two ninja descended from the sky. One of them was portly, and as he pressed his hand downward, under the effect of his ninjutsu, his hand suddenly enlarged.
Boom!
With a single press, the Nine Tails in its Four-Tails state was smashed into the ground, creating a massive crater.
This display of power caught the attention of both Shiraishi and Ruri.
"Are those ninja from the Akimichi clan?" Shiraishi murmured.
"It's Akimichi Takukaze, a disciple of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju" Ruri identified the Akimichi clan ninja.
Shiraishi nodded; it made sense for someone with such great strength to be part of the same generation as the Third Hokage.
"Hiruzen, now's the time!" Akimichi Takukaze shouted to the ninja who had landed with him.
His face turned red, and his body trembled slightly. Just briefly suppressing the Four-Tails state of the Nine Tails had pushed him to his limit.
Indeed, it was the Nine Tails! He couldn't help but marvel.
He pushed his Multi-Size Jutsu to its limit, only managing to suppress the Nine Tails momentarily.
"Leave it to me, Takukaze!"
The other ninja who had descended from the sky was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.
A seal mark appeared in the center of his palm as he landed beside the partially suppressed Four-Tails transformed Nine Tails. He was about to place the sealing jutsu directly on its forehead.
A roar erupted from the Nine Tails' mouth, and a massive surge of red chakra, like a raging river, burst forth. Akimichi Takukaze's face contorted in pain as his enlarged hand quickly shrank.
The Nine Tails broke free from its bindings, instantly avoiding Hiruzen's sealing jutsu.
Its crimson Sharingan eyes glared at Hiruzen.
The pillar of red chakra surged towards the stormy clouds crackling with lightning, and another tail extended from its back.
"Damn it! Don't think you can continue to wreak havoc in the village!"
Akimichi Takukaze rolled to his feet on the ground, wearing an ancient stacked battle armor. His eyes glared at the Nine Tails, and his burly body began to slim down at a visible rate. A pair of rainbow-colored chakra wings blossomed beautifully from his back.
With the cover provided by his comrades, the exaggerated speed made it difficult for the Nine Tails to resist. He reached the Nine Tails' back, grabbed it from behind with his powerful arms, and the Nine Tails roared in pain.
Hiruzen wouldn't let Takukaze create another opportunity to attack. This time, he accurately placed his sealing jutsu on the Nine Tails' forehead.
The Three Tomoe Sharingan in the Nine Tails' eyes vanished, and the red cloak on its body gradually disintegrated, as the chakra began to flow back towards its core.
Finally, Hiruzen could breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he arrived in time.
He then turned his gaze towards Shiraishi and Ruri, who were surrounded by Konoha ninjas. His expression was incredibly complex.
"Surrender, you two. You no longer have the power to resist. There's no escape."
Minato advised Shiraishi and Ruri to surrender, not to continue making mistakes.
In this situation, heavily surrounded, and with the Hokage himself present, Shiraishi and Ruri had no way to escape.
"What are you talking about, Minato? The real battle has only just begun, hasn't it?"
Shiraishi ignored Minato's advice.
As soon as Shiraishi finished speaking, Hiruzen had an unsettling feeling.
He turned around and saw the Nine Tails, which had just shrunk and stopped moving, suddenly emanating a moist sensation from its body.
Water?
The thought had just occurred to Hiruzen, but the humid water-like aura became increasingly intense, spreading like a mist.
"Get back!"
At Hiruzen's loud shout, Minato and the surrounding Konoha ninjas quickly dispersed.
Gushing from the Nine Tails' body was an enormous volume of water, like a vast sea. The rushing water splashed in all directions, crashing into buildings and forming white foam.
The flood that seemed to engulf heaven and earth left the Konoha ninjas in shock.
Hiruzen remained calm in the face of danger. He formed hand seals with both hands, and a powerful surge of chakra erupted from his body.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A massive wall, as tall as a fortress, shot up from the ground, resisting the incoming flood. The earth rumbled deeply.
Boom!
Boom!
The sound of the monster's rampage continued.
The earth itself began to shake uncontrollably.
Circling above the rushing water was a massive, deep-blue aquatic creature—a giant water serpent.
Its mere presence wiped away any trace of composure from the ninja's faces.
With a ferocious body stretching tens of meters, it cast a large shadow, its tongue flicking from its mouth, and its vertical pupils emitting a crimson bloodlust.
Under the cover of the dark night, its form appeared even more ugly and terrifying.
At this moment, two figures stood on the head of the water serpent, overlooking the Konoha ninja on the ground from above.
The water python raised its head higher, and its massive body began to wriggle as it surveyed the Konoha ninja below. It quickly turned around and headed towards the Forest of Death behind.
However, just moving caused extensive destruction to the buildings and streets along the way.
"Chase after them! Don't let them escape!"
Kushina was still inside the water serpent, and Hiruzen led a group of Konoha ninja to pursue them, advancing towards the Forest of Death.
Shiraishi and Ruri rode on the head of the water serpent as it moved through the forest, crushing the ground beneath it. Trees on both sides were toppled, the earth trembled, and sand flew in all directions.
A large number of Konoha ninja pursued from behind, roughly counting to several hundred, including many high-ranking ninja. Even the Hokage himself and his Anbu Black Ops team were chasing after them.
"Stop absorbing chakra here. If you continue to absorb tailed beast chakra, your body won't be able to handle it. You can stop now."
The water python halted its movements, but due to its enormous size, even when stopping, it still caused significant damage to the area.
"The power of this child is quite impressive" Ruri could feel that the power within the water serpent was exceptionally formidable.
Although it appeared bulky, its movements were incredibly agile. With just a single sweep, it could cause extensive destruction.
"Its Sage Mode is similar to that of Raimei Maru's both are quite unique types. I planned to use it from the beginning to absorb tailed beast chakra and restrain these people from Konoha," Shiraishi explained.
Suddenly, a kunai flew from behind.
Shiraishi turned to see it was none other than Minato, whose attack had been blocked with his Shadow Blades.
Minato frowned; it was another one of these shadowy creatures.
Is it Yin Release Ninjutsu? What's the triggering form?
On this point, Minato couldn't figure it out at all. There were no visible hand signs.
"It seems like your reaction time is a bit slower than your Space-Time Ninjutsu, Minato. Just a bit more, and you could have hit me" Shiraishi smiled as he looked at Minato, who had appeared here.
He wasn't surprised at all that Minato had arrived here before him.
At this moment, Ruri sprang into action. She leaped towards Minato, her fist coming from the front for an attack.
Minato dodged to the side, using a tri-pronged kunai to slash at Ruri's body.
Ding! The Shadow Blades blocked the kunai, creating sparks.
Then the Shadow Blades extended and changed direction, stabbing towards Minato's chest.
Minato barely managed to dodge, and Ruri's fist reached him. Minato transformed into golden light and disappeared from the spot.
"Huff... huff..."
Minato was drenched in cold sweat and had taken cover behind a tree.
"No, it's impossible for me to fight them alone under these circumstances."
Faced with the relentless barrage of continuous attacks, continuing to fight was a dead end, with no hope of victory.
In such a situation, he had no choice but to use Space-Time Ninjutsu to escape.
"Kushina, I will definitely rescue you. Wait for me."
At this moment, Konoha ninja who had set out from the village arrived.
One after another, figures dashed through the forest, sealing off all avenues of escape for Shiraishi and Ruri.
"Earth Release: Quicksand Marsh!"
A high-ranking Konoha ninja pressed both hands to the ground, turning the earth into a marsh.
However, seeing the water serpent swiftly swimming through the marsh, they realized that this restraining ninjutsu was completely ineffective against it.
"Both of you... stop right there! Tell me, why are you doing this?"
Hiruzen's angry voice resounded as he stared at Shiraishi and Ruri with a pained expression.
He had enormous hopes for these two. Was this the result he got? They were causing destruction to the village, harming their comrades, and controlling the Nine Tails. Any of these actions was an unforgivable crime.
"Hokage-sama, we are not the kind of people you imagined. We are deeply sorry for disappointing and saddening you."
Shiraishi looked down on him with an indifferent gaze from above.
It was a kind of indifference that Hiruzen had never seen in Shiraishi before.
Hiruzen felt bewildered and suddenly recalled something.
Was it because of Danzo and Sakumo? Was this revenge? He felt anger and shame intertwined within him.
Observing Hiruzen's expression, Shiraishi sensed the emotional turmoil within him and decided to intervene, saying, "There's no need to blame yourself. From the very beginning, my actions weren't driven by that. I hold no resentment towards you. It's just that I've come to see this village as no longer serving any purpose to me. That's all."
Hiruzen, shocked and disoriented, gazed at Shiraishi. It seemed he was struggling to reconcile this new, cold image of Shiraishi with the person he had known—a person who seemed ruthless and indifferent towards the village.
Had Shiraishi truly abandoned the Will of Fire, which had been passed down by the village's first Hokage? Hiruzen was left with a bewildering mix of anger and sorrow, feeling as though he had been deceived and that something he held dear had been trampled upon.
The injured village ninja, the Ruined village, and most importantly, the tainted Will of Fire...
Recalling these, Hiruzen's sense of shame was entirely replaced by anger. He began forming hand seals, biting his finger, and pressed it to the ground.
Seeing this scene, Shiraishi began forming the same seals, biting his finger, and pressing it to the water serpent's head.
"Summoning Jutsu!!!"
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