Chapter 66: Countdown to Konoha's Destruction!
Shimura Danzo's attack only blasted through the wall of the room.
The instant Danzo moved, Makoto had already closed the ventilation hole and retreated into his storage space.
Makoto continued examining the abilities he'd borrowed and manifested from Danzo. He was delighted with the gains, but couldn't help feeling somewhat dissatisfied with the man himself.
Danzo's Fate Value simply wasn't very high. Worse, his extreme caution made it difficult for him to place much trust in anyone, which meant the contribution he could provide Makoto was correspondingly limited.
His one advantage was his identity as the Darkness of the Shinobi. Danzo had seen and experienced far more than most people and knew more secrets than almost anyone else in the shinobi world.
'So I'll just have to squeeze a little more out of him.'
After missing with his attack, Danzo showed no desire to continue fighting. He immediately turned and fled.
During the Uchiha Clan massacre, Danzo had barely interacted with Uchiha Obito. The person who actually coordinated everything between them had been Uchiha Itachi.
That hadn't stopped Danzo from learning through Itachi that the man who helped massacre the Uchiha called himself Uchiha Madara and possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Danzo had never completely believed that man's identity, but the sheer mastery of his Space-Time Ninjutsu was enough to convince Danzo that he stood no chance against him.
Right now, Danzo wanted only to escape Root and reach the surface. His first instinct was to seek out the Third Hokage, but then another thought struck him.
'Sarutobi Hiruzen may already be dead.'
He needed Jiraiya.
At this point, Jiraiya was probably the only person nearby who could even hope to contend with Uchiha Madara.
Makoto reopened a spatial passage and silently followed behind Danzo, already considering his next move.
'What else should I squeeze out of him?'
Makoto knew Danzo had mistaken him for Uchiha Madara. But he couldn't actually claim to be Madara outright. If Making Fake Become Real altered Makoto's own identity or cognition, the consequences could be disastrous.
He needed to keep frightening Danzo and strengthening himself without ever actually revealing his name.
An idea quickly came to him.
"Shimura Danzo, I know you've been researching Hashirama Cells. But only someone like me, whose strength can rival Hashirama's, could truly understand how those cells should be used."
[Ding! Making Fake Become Real has activated...]
[Shimura Danzo: Fate Value 30. Trust: 10%.]
[Manifestation Points: 3.]
[You have gained 3% of Uchiha Madara's peak strength while he was alive.]
[Your Sharingan has evolved into a Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Your overall combat power has reached the elite jonin level.]
[You have acquired numerous low and mid-level Fire Release and genjutsu abilities. You can transplant 3% Hashirama Cells without suffering backlash.]
An enormous surge of chakra flooded Makoto's body. His eyes stabbed with pain as three black tomoe began rotating within them, and a cold sensation washed through his mind strongly enough to leave him briefly dazed.
At the same time, vast amounts of unfamiliar knowledge poured into his brain. Combat experience, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and countless lessons about fighting different enemies crashed together until his head felt ready to burst.
Realizing his condition was deteriorating, Makoto immediately pulled Yukinoshita back into his storage space after she'd finished her battle. He sealed every opening, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began sorting through the changes.
Yukinoshita was initially confused, but once she noticed Makoto's condition, she immediately drew Yukimi. The Zanpakuto released a gentle chill that cooled Makoto as sweat poured down his forehead.
Meanwhile, Danzo had already escaped beyond Root's barrier. His face was pale, and resentment burned in his single visible eye, but beneath it lay a fear he would never willingly admit.
"Danzo-sama, we're late!"
More Root shinobi gathered around him, including several who had been away carrying out missions.
The man at their head immediately asked, "Danzo-sama, what are our orders? Do we counterattack?"
Danzo gave a cold snort.
'Counterattack? With what?'
The enemy possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu. Even if that man wasn't Uchiha Madara himself, he was likely one of Madara's descendants. Either way, Danzo was convinced he couldn't defeat him.
Since the enemy had already tried to kill him, Danzo could no longer remain hidden in the shadows. He needed to move into the open where more people could protect him.
Besides, the Third Hokage was probably already dead. It was about time Danzo stepped forward and took command of the battlefield.
"Follow my orders. Activate the self-destruct system and completely destroy Root's underground base. Erase everything inside."
His subordinates stared at him in shock. One opened his mouth to object, but Danzo repeated the command in an icy voice.
"Execute the order."
Several Root shinobi immediately rushed back through the barrier. Moments later, a series of violent explosions erupted underground, loud enough to drown out even Jiraiya's battle against the giant three-headed snake.
Jiraiya looked toward Root with a deep frown. He had no desire to involve himself in Danzo's affairs, but there were still many capable Konoha shinobi under Danzo's command.
He rushed over and glared at Danzo. "What happened at Root? Why did your entire base just explode?"
Danzo wiped dust from his face. "Sunagakure attacked me with some kind of extremely powerful explosive device. The shinobi responsible have already been killed. What's the situation on your side?"
"Nothing worth worrying about. The elders of the major clans have already joined the fighting, so victory is only a matter of time."
Jiraiya continued, "Now we just need the old man to defeat the Kazekage, while those brats bring Gaara back."
Danzo's face immediately darkened.
He didn't particularly care if the Third Hokage died. What bothered him was Jiraiya allowing the Nine-Tails jinchuriki to chase after the One-Tail's jinchuriki.
'If Uzumaki Naruto dies, how is Konoha supposed to deter the other villages?'
"You lot, continue following Uzumaki Naruto. Make sure he isn't killed."
Danzo issued the order to his surviving subordinates without even consulting Jiraiya.
That command softened Jiraiya's expression slightly.
'Could Danzo actually care about Naruto after all?'
Jiraiya had no idea Danzo was deliberately using the gesture to improve his standing with him, all so he could remain safely within Jiraiya's protection.
"All right, Jiraiya. Since the battlefield has stabilized, take me to the Third Hokage. Whether we can help or not, we can't leave him fighting alone."
"Fine. At least you finally said something reasonable."
Jiraiya was just about to summon one of his toads when the distant Four Violet Flames Formation suddenly vanished.
Orochimaru appeared before the surrounding shinobi.
But he wasn't alone.
Standing before him were the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and a masked man dressed entirely in black.
The Third Hokage stood nearby with a kunai driven through his back. Its tip had pierced straight through his chest and accurately penetrated his heart.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had died before he could even use the Reaper Death Seal.
The battlefield Jiraiya had just declared stable changed completely in an instant. The allied forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure had suddenly gained three more Kage-level fighters.
And that was assuming the one-eyed masked man wasn't also Kage-level.
If he was, then Konoha was facing nothing short of annihilation.
Danzo nearly stopped breathing at the sight.
He could accept the Third Hokage's death. What he couldn't accept was Orochimaru actually destroying all of Konoha.
For the first time, regret began spreading through his chest.
'But what can I even do now?'
The entire situation had spiraled out of control.
Unless...
Danzo turned toward Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, this is no longer the time for you to hold back. Use everything you have and defeat Orochimaru, or Konoha will be destroyed today."
Jiraiya's expression had already become grim.
He had almost never defeated Orochimaru in their past battles. Now Orochimaru had also brought back the First and Second Hokage with Edo Tensei.
'How am I supposed to fight that?'
Jiraiya's one possible trump card was Sage Mode. Unfortunately, his Sage Mode was incomplete and required him to summon Shima and Fukasaku while keeping his hands clasped together for fifteen minutes.
'Would Orochimaru actually give me that much time?'
Jiraiya was about to order Danzo to gather enough shinobi to buy him time when the black-robed man beside Orochimaru raised a hand and pointed directly at him.
"Orochimaru, if you want to destroy Konoha, then Jiraiya needs to die too. His trump card is Sage Mode, and he needs to keep his hands clasped for five minutes to enter it."
"If you can't even stop that, you might as well feed your title as one of the Legendary Sannin to a dog."
Orochimaru gave a low laugh. His eyes showed clear wariness toward the masked man, mixed with an unreadable gleam.
Even so, his attitude toward him was noticeably cooperative.
"Of course. I'll keep Jiraiya occupied."
Orochimaru smiled. "That means Shimura Danzo is yours, Uchiha Madara."
"Naturally."
The black-robed man gave a calm confirmation.
The next instant, Orochimaru sent the First and Second Hokage charging toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya had only just summoned Shima and Fukasaku. Before he could even clasp his hands together, Orochimaru dragged him into a battle he had virtually no chance of winning.
Orochimaru had forcibly erased the consciousness of both Hokage. Their current strength was less than a tenth of what they'd possessed in life, but each still had combat power above the standard Kage level.
Before Senju Hashirama had even landed, he activated Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence and began transforming the battlefield.
Senju Tobirama formed hand seals at the same time. Water Release: Water Severing Wave, powerful enough to carve through rock, was already prepared to fire the moment Jiraiya showed an opening.
Jiraiya had no choice but to retreat with Shima and Fukasaku. He couldn't spare any attention for Danzo anymore.
Strangely, Orochimaru seemed interested only in Jiraiya. He passed straight by Danzo and continued the pursuit without ordering either reincarnated Hokage to attack ordinary villagers.
Danzo sensed that something about the situation felt wrong.
Before he could think further, however, a terrifying burst of chakra swept across the battlefield.
"Sixth Gate, Gate of View, open!"
Might Guy had been holding back until now, but the sight of the Third Hokage's corpse changed everything.
He wasn't stupid. He had already realized there was something deeply wrong with today's war.
Far too many powerful shinobi had allowed the Third Hokage to face Orochimaru alone. Jiraiya's earlier attitude had seemed almost casual.
Guy no longer cared why.
The Third Hokage was dead.
At this point, Konoha and its enemies were fighting until one side died.
Green energy erupted around Guy as he opened the Sixth Gate. His body vanished from everyone's sight, then reappeared with his foot already flying toward the one-eyed man in black.
Hatake Kakashi's face was equally grim. He lifted his forehead protector and exposed his Sharingan, but the instant he saw the masked man clearly, his expression changed from anger to outright panic.
"Guy, stop!"
Kakashi shouted, but it was already too late.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Guy's spinning kick smashed toward the masked man's head.
His leg passed straight through the man's body as though striking empty space.
Guy cried out in surprise and tried to change direction in midair, but the masked man's hand had already closed around his ankle.
"Absorb!"
A spatial vortex erupted from the man's right eye.
In the blink of an eye, Might Guy, arguably the second strongest fighter currently in Konoha, was dragged completely inside.
The sight made Kakashi tremble just as he'd finally gathered the will to fight.
The Third Hokage was dead. Jiraiya had been pinned down. Even Guy had been taken out by an ambush.
'Is Konoha really facing a disaster we can't escape?'
The masked man relaxed after successfully absorbing Might Guy.
Everything was proceeding exactly as he'd planned.
All that remained was to release the Nine-Tails and One-Tail inside Konoha and let the two natural enemies tear through the village.
If that happened, Konoha would be erased from the shinobi world today.
As members of Sunagakure's faction, his team would earn an enormous reward.
He could advance directly to Professional and lay a strong foundation for eventually becoming an Elite-rank Player.
Still, he hadn't forgotten the two opposing Players.
He had sent every subordinate to capture them.
'So why hasn't anyone reported back yet?'
"Captain, we can't find them. Maybe they already escaped?"
"Or maybe they died somewhere in the fighting. Their strength probably wasn't anything impressive anyway."
Hearing the voices through his earpiece, the masked man looked helpless.
His subordinates were reasonably strong, but none of them were particularly bright.
If those two Players had already fled, then why was Shimura Danzo standing here?
And why had the entire Root base been blown apart?
The evidence was obvious.
Those two Players were still active, and the threat they posed had grown dramatically.
The masked man's body flickered.
A moment later, he appeared beside Shimura Danzo and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Long time no see, Danzo. We haven't met since the Uchiha massacre."
…