"How truly pitiful. Despite being the Hokage, he meets his end without a single Jonin at his side."
In the end, it was Doto Kazahana who shouldered the burden of carrying the Third Hokage's body. As for the Daimyo of the Land of Grass, Doto had casually tossed him onto the battlefield earlier. If the man was lucky enough to survive, he could keep his title. If not... well, that was that.
"Even the Anbu, supposedly the Hokage's right hand, are merely watching the show from the sidelines."
Mui glanced at him silently. He had to admit, Doto had a point. He had personally witnessed the Jonin Kakashi intervene, not to help, but to stop a bushy, browed Man from rescuing the Third Hokage, before leading several capable elites away from the scene entirely.
There was reason to suspect it was intentional.
Mui looked out at the village, where two tailed beasts were currently running rampant.
Shukaku and Chomei. Either one would have been enough to give the Konoha Jonin a nightmare. Together? They were a catastrophe.
The two berserk beasts unleashed one Drilling Air Bullet after another, the blasts of violent wind tearing through the streets. Under this Dual Attack, nearly a third of Konoha had been reduced to rubble in moments, despite Jiraiya's desperate efforts to stall them.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Jiraiya slammed his hand down again. A massive toad appeared beneath him, wielding a giant katana and clenching a giant Pipe between its teeth.
"Jiraiya, you haven't-"
Before the toad could finish, a Drilling Air Bullet slammed toward his face, forcing him to cut his complaint short. When Gamabunta finally got a clear look at the situation, a massive drop of sweat slid down the back of his head.
"Oi, Jiraiya," Gamabunta grumbled, pointing a webbed hand at Shukaku and Chomei. "You don't seriously expect me to take on 'both' of them, do you?"
A summon of Gamabunta's caliber could barely handle one tailed beast in close quarters-assuming the beast didn't start firing Tailed Beast Balls. But two at once? The smartest move was to run as far away as possible.
"Can't be helped. Gamaken is already down." Jiraiya stood atop Gamabunta's head, scratching his hair in embarrassment. They had just finished dealing with Orochimaru's Three-Headed Giant Serpent when the two beasts ambushed them.
Gamaken had taken a hit from the Dual Attack and was beaten all the way back to Mount Myoboku.
"What the hell is going on with this village? Last time it was the Nine-Tails, now it's the One-Tail and Seven-Tails." Despite the complaints, Gamabunta drew the giant katana at his hip, eyes narrowing as he dodged another blast. "Are you at war with the tailed beasts or something?"
"Just stop them before Konoha takes any more damage!"
--**--**
The tailed beasts weren't the only headache. Scattered throughout Konoha were strong combatants from across the Shinobi World.
The middle-aged generation of the 'Ino-Shika-Cho' trio was currently facing the most troublesome enemy of their adult lives.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu... complete! You need to cool your head a bit." Nara Shikaku sat on the ground, chest heaving. The shadow beneath his feet stretched across the debris, locking firmly onto Shinno's shadow.
The Shadow Possession Jutsu, the Nara clan's signature Yin Release art that bound an enemy's movements. Shinno froze in place, unable to twitch.
Just as he prepared to call upon the Zero-Tails for assistance-
"Super Expansion Jutsu!"
Akimichi Choza, wielding a massive Steel Staff, expanded into a giant and swatted the Zero-Tails away with a single, devastating swing.
As the 'Butterfly' of the formation, Choza possessed enough raw power in this state to momentarily wrestle with a tailed beast. It was a strength that ran deep in the bloodline, perhaps one day his son, Choji, would use this same technique to hold his own against monsters like Kinkaku, but for now, Choza was the wall standing between the enemy and the village.
"Heh... how could you possibly comprehend the ultimate power I hold?" Shinno, refusing to be pinned down by Shikaku, sneered. "Dark Release: Body Activation!"
It was a corrupted chakra bred from negative emotions, possessing the vile ability to forcibly strengthen the flesh.
"Such power!"
Under the Dark Chakra's influence, Shinno's physical strength skyrocketed. Shikaku felt the pressure multiply instantly, his shadow bind was about to snap.
"Mind Distraction Jutsu!"
A man in a red coat with long, blonde hair arrived just in time, Yamanaka Inoichi.
The technique struck home, disrupting Shinno's spirit and loosening his resistance.
"Who exactly did Konoha offend?" With Inoichi's support, the strain on Shikaku lifted. He rubbed his temples, exhaling sharply. "How are these freaks popping up one after another?"
"Hahahaha! Art is an explosion!"
As if to answer him, a White Monster Bird swooped down from the horizon. Deidara stood atop it, hands on his hips, laughing maniacally. Flames erupted into the sky, accompanied by a chain of deafening explosions.
"Tsk. What a drag. Is Konoha actually going to be destroyed this time?" Shikaku muttered.
"Shikaku, don't say such things!" Inoichi scolded.
"Just kidding."
For the trio, it was merely dark humor. Shikaku said it and immediately dismissed it. Danzo, who had gone into hiding after securing the Daimyo, felt the same.
To them, Konoha was simply too powerful to fall from a few attacks.
They were like the officials of the corrupt kingdom, men who squeezed the people and skimmed from the top, believing the imperial court was an unshakeable monolith right up until the moment it collapsed. They failed to realize that the fall of a great power usually begins from within.
However, even in its decay, Konoha had enough reserve strength to burn. It was, after all, the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Even leaderless, even facing the Sunagakure, Otogakure, Akatsuki, and two tailed beasts, the village hadn't broken. The remaining Ninja Clans were holding the line, clawing back control of the battlefield inch by inch.
And this was with thirty clans already gone.
Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Choza, Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi, Aburame Shibi, Inuzuka Tsume... none of the Clan Heads or Jonin remaining were pushovers.
Moreover, the Akatsuki and Suna-nin were merely mercenaries. They weren't fighting to the death. The ninety-year-old bounty hunter was busy 'picking up money,' and the golden-haired brat in the sky was just playing with fireworks.
If the pressure stopped here, Konoha might have survived.
"Forbidden Medical Jutsu: Body Revival!"
A massive surge of Dark Power Infusion flooded Shinno's system. His muscles expanded grotesquely, swelling until he resembled a titan of pure muscle. With a violent tear, he ripped himself free from the Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Shikaku gulped. "Old friends... we're fighting for our lives now."
"Shinno-san, so this is where you were."
A voice cut through the tension. Hattori, the disguised President of the Shipping Company, appeared in their field of vision, the other Daimyos trailing behind him.
He waved casually at the hulking monster. "You made us look for quite a while. Let's go. It's time for our First Stop."
"Hahaha! Hattori! You have guts appear before me now?" Shinno was drunk on his own power. "I am no longer the man who had to compromise with you! I have obtained the ultimate power! I am the ultimate lifeform!"
He was swollen with arrogance, both literally and metaphorically.
"It seems a tiny bit of power has made you lose yourself," Naruto said, his voice flat. "I suppose I must help you remember your place."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Shinno ignored the warning. He was so intoxicated by the Dark Chakra that he didn't even notice the source of his power, the Zero-Tails, trembling in abject terror as it looked at Naruto.
"I'll start with you!" Shinno roared, charging at Naruto.
Empowered by the Dark Chakra, this punch theoretically allowed Shinno to exert force comparable to the Eight Gates without the backlash. It was his killing blow-a strike with All Eight Gates Open. But it also drastically reduced their strength.
Surrounded by swirling Black Gas, Shinno looked like a demon god. The visual effects were maxed out.
In response, Naruto delivered a simple, unadorned slap. It was the casual motion of swatting a fly.
'Yang Release: Partial Chakra Mode!'
The moment Naruto's palm made contact, the confidence on Shinno's face shattered.
*Boom!*
There was no resistance. Shinno was launched like a cannonball, smashing through row after row of buildings. He didn't stop until he obliterated a two-story house and was buried deep beneath the rubble.
"Some 'ultimate creature' you are," Naruto mocked coldly.
That punch can compare itself to the Eight Gates? Even Guy's Seventh Gate had flashier effects than that.
'What terrifying power...' the Daimyos thought, awestruck.
Sasuke clenched his fist. 'I have to learn that. I'm making Naruto teach me the moment we get back.'
Nagato watched silently. 'As expected of him. The Uzumaki clan's true strength really does lie in the body and the Adamantine Sealing Chains.'
'Eh? This place looks familiar.' Naruto looked at the ruins where Shinno had landed. He realized the house Shinno had just demolished was the very one that had been allocated to him. The surrounding area was already flattened, so he hadn't recognized it immediately.
'I hate this place, but it's still my house. Since you broke it, you can stay and work to pay off the debt.'
"Bring him along. Together." The Daimyos turned their gaze unanimously toward Doto.
'You guys are bullying me,' Doto thought, resentment written all over his face. But he silently went to dig through the ruins. He had no choice, he was the bottom of the food chain here.
"What are you doing?" The sharp-eyed Inoichi noticed the body on Doto's shoulder. "Third Hokage-sama... where are you taking him?"
"Us? We aren't planning to do anything..." Naruto replied indifferently, his tone sounding as if he were discussing the weather. "We just intend to destroy the Sarutobi Clan today."
"What?!"
Inoichi gasped, his hands flying up to form a seal. Before he could cast, Sasuke glared at him. The Mangekyo spun, and Inoichi collapsed instantly, unconscious.
Ignoring a vigilant Choza, Naruto turned his gaze to Shikaku.
"Nara-san, you are a smart man."
"You should understand that a wise man submits to the circumstances."
Naruto stepped closer, his voice dropping low. "I'll give you a piece of advice: take your friends and go to the Ruins of the Uchiha Compound."
"If you're late..." Naruto made a small, explosive gesture with his hand. "Boom."
"Be careful, or Konoha might just disappear and you along with it."
===============
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