"Red Sensei, the intel's been confirmed. Takumi Village somehow got their hands on tailed beast chakra. Even more troubling, I detected traces of Kumogakure shinobi—looks like they've allied with Takumi and are plotting something against us."
Anko Mitarashi spoke with a flicker of excitement in her eyes, her tone betraying an eagerness for chaos.
From another direction in the makeshift courtyard, another figure entered swiftly.
"Red Sensei, we found traces of hidden enemies nearby. It seems we've been discovered," said Uchiha Shisui, his expression tense and alert.
Trailing behind Shisui, Kabuto Yakushi arrived and adjusted his glasses before reporting calmly, "I was tailed. From their chakra signatures and coordination, I'm confident they're Cloud shinobi. They're strong—too many for me to handle alone, so I led them here."
He glanced at his companions and added, "Looks like I'm not the only one being targeted."
As Kabuto finished his report, figures began emerging from the shadows. The courtyard was quickly surrounded. The attackers no longer bothered to hide their presence.
"I didn't expect Konoha's intel network to be this sharp. But it ends here. With just a handful of you, don't expect to leave," declared a shinobi wearing a Kirigakure forehead protector as he stepped into view.
More enemies leapt onto rooftops and surrounding walls. Team Kurenai was fully surrounded, their escape routes cut off.
Shisui's eyes narrowed as he activated his fully matured Sharingan. Anko tensed beside him, her stance ready. Kabuto instinctively glanced at Kurenai, surprised by her composed demeanor. She wasn't panicked—not even slightly.
That meant only one thing: everything was going according to her plan.
Taking a step forward, Kurenai Yūhi addressed the enemy leader calmly, "Kumogakure shinobi... are you seriously trying to provoke another war?"
"Provoke a war?" the man scoffed. "You Leaf shinobi murdered our Raikage, and now you dare act innocent? How laughable."
His gaze turned sharp. "And you—you're the one they call the God of Shinobi's fiancée, right? Your man killed our leader. You'll die here today, as a message."
"Attack!"
With that, the enemy forces charged, unleashing their lethal techniques without hesitation.
Their mission was clear: eliminate everyone except Kurenai. She was to be kept alive, at least until they could lure out Kawaki Aoba.
Despite the numbers and precision, the attackers had underestimated one thing: Kurenai's current level.
If she wished, she could cast a wide-range genjutsu that would ensnare most of them in an instant. Her kekkei genkai—Illusionary Demonic Tree Binding Death—could decimate seventy to eighty percent of the force here.
But she couldn't go all out.
They wanted her to act desperate, to summon Aoba. She needed that too.
Time to act.
With subtle chakra control, she released a wide-scale genjutsu at only a fraction of its true power. Instantly, many of the enemy froze, trapped in illusions.
Even so, Kurenai was surprised by how effective it still was. She immediately dialed it back further, allowing a few elite Jonin to break free.
But by then, Anko and Shisui had already moved. In seconds, seven or eight enemy shinobi were down—most felled by Shisui's swift strikes, his short sword a blur.
Kabuto had laid out intricate traps using chakra threads, creating a kill zone.
The real battle began.
The Jonin who had broken free came at them in a frenzy, a mix of fear and fury driving them forward.
Shisui moved like a phantom, his Sharingan predicting every move. His Body Flicker Technique made him untouchable. So long as he avoided the Jonin, the rest were fodder.
Kabuto played a support role, using chakra scalpels and medical ninjutsu to stay safe and disrupt enemy formations. His Teigu—"Thousand Transformations: Cross Tail"—was not part of Naruto canon, so in this revision, I assume it's a fanon weapon similar to chakra scalpels or thread-based traps.
Anko, backed up by Kurenai's genjutsu, easily handled her side of the battle.
As for Kurenai herself—though vastly more powerful than her enemies realized—she held back, feigning fatigue after unleashing her initial genjutsu. She deliberately narrowed the battlefield, retreating with her team as though cornered.
This fueled the enemy's belief that their efforts were working.
Their attacks grew fiercer, believing Kurenai's defenses were finally crumbling.
And then, with a sudden burst of chakra, Kurenai led her team in punching a hole through the encirclement.
They escaped.
But not far.
Before they could regroup, another ambush awaited them—this time, not Kumogakure shinobi, but a swarm of rogue ninjas, mercenaries with no village affiliation.
Their purpose? Unknown.
But one thing was clear—this was far from over.
Among them was a notorious figure—Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, a legend in the underground black market. He was infamous for boasting that he had once fought the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
"I knew this money wouldn't be easy to earn," Kakuzu muttered coldly. "But even the wife of the God of Shinobi as a target? That's going to cost extra."
"Hey, you up front!" Anko Mitarashi shouted, glaring at Kakuzu while keeping an eye on the pursuing enemy. "If you know Red Sensei, then back off! If it's just for money, it's not worth dying for."
But Kakuzu remained unfazed. A sneer played on his face.
"Trying to scare me with the name of the God of Shinobi?" he scoffed. "Little girl, this old man fought your village's First Hokage, the one you call the God of Shinobi. If this man is said to rival him, then I'd love to weigh the difference myself."
"Wait, he fought the First Hokage?" Anko gasped. "Wouldn't that make him like... ninety?"
Kakuzu's terrifying reputation silenced everyone. Even Kabuto and Shisui looked grim. They didn't doubt Kakuzu's identity—he was well-known among the intelligence circles as a monster who extended his life by stitching new hearts into his own body. His connection to the Akatsuki was proof enough of his strength and ruthlessness.
Kurenai Yuhi, however, wore an odd expression. She'd heard about Kakuzu before—from Aoba, who once joked that Kakuzu could throw a shuriken eight hundred li. Obviously an exaggeration, but his confirmed history included a failed assassination attempt on Hashirama Senju, where he was defeated by Wood Release and later imprisoned by his own village.
Because Kakuzu delayed them, their pursuers caught up.
Kakuzu was the first to act, unsurprisingly—for money.
"The deal didn't mention the God of Shinobi's woman," he said dryly. "This complicates things. I'll need a higher fee."
It was Kakuzu's typical move—he always sought profit, regardless of morals. Despite already amassing wealth from years of assassinations and even robbing nobles, his greed knew no bounds.
The leader of the Kumogakure (Cloud Village) ninjas didn't object to the price hike. In war, what was money compared to time and strength?
If this mercenary can stall them even a little, it's worth every ryo, the leader thought. He wasn't worried about paying—chances were, Kakuzu wouldn't live to collect.
"Did they just settle on a new price?" Kurenai muttered aloud. "We're in real danger now."
"That's right," the Cloud leader sneered. "You'd best surrender. It'll make dying easier."
But none of the Leaf shinobi—Kurenai, Anko, Shisui, or Kabuto—showed fear. This unsettled the enemy commander. Something felt... off.
And then it happened.
"These guys are tough. If we can't escape, then we'll summon him," Anko said calmly.
"Kawaki Aoba – Great Summoning Technique!"
Back in Konoha, Kawaki Aoba was casually strolling through the newly constructed commercial district when he felt the chakra signal from Kurenai. His face hardened instantly. He raised two fingers to his forehead.
Space-Time Ninjutsu: Instant Teleportation!
A flash—and he vanished from the street.
In the next moment, he reappeared beside Kurenai, now surrounded by enemy shinobi.
"Kurenai, you look cornered," Aoba said casually. "Seems like quite the party. And those faces… the major villages really sent in the big guns."
Jōnin and elite Jōnin from multiple nations were present. Clearly, the stakes were high.
Shisui, Kabuto, and Anko all felt relief the moment Aoba appeared. He radiated calm strength. Just standing behind him brought them a sense of unshakable security.
But the enemy?
"Kawaki Aoba… he really came!" the Mist ninja commander gasped. "So fast—was it Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
He clenched his fists. The mission couldn't fail. He had to confirm if this man was truly the Kawaki Aoba. Sacrificing himself was a price he was willing to pay.
With a hand signal, several Jōnin moved into formation.
"Everyone attack! Don't fall for genjutsu tricks—the God of the Ninja World can't possibly move this fast!"
"Keep that woman here! If the God of the Ninja World finds out, we're all dead!"
The morale-boosting cry meant nothing to the mercenaries. But the threat did.
And when the Mist ninja shouted out sky-high rewards to incentivize the bounty hunters, the battlefield tensed.
"One scar on that woman earns 100 million ryo! Kill her, and I'll personally hand over 5 billion ryo!"
It was a staggering sum.
Even Kakuzu, who had stepped back after Aoba appeared, suddenly began breathing harder.
He'd fought the First Hokage once. He'd survived that fight, albeit barely. Now, another so-called "God of Shinobi" stood in front of him.
Is he really that strong? Kakuzu wondered. Doesn't matter. Even if I die, the price is worth it. I'll have another story to brag about.
Fifty years ago, I tried to assassinate the God of Shinobi. Today, I might do it again.
But what Kakuzu didn't know was...
This wasn't like fifty years ago.
The Hashirama Senju of the past spared him, busy chasing an ideal of peace.
But the Kawaki Aoba of the present…
...would not be so merciful.
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