"Where did that explosion come from? What's going on? Are there intruders again?"
"Reporting to Elder Danzo, several summoning beasts have appeared in the village and are causing widespread destruction!"
"Summoning beasts? Who summoned them?"
"According to intelligence from Anbu, it's suspected that members of Akatsuki are attacking the village!"
The Root ninja quickly reported.
Since Danzo's authority had been restricted, the intelligence-gathering abilities of Root had also been greatly suppressed.
Except for spies dispatched to other villages who still maintained smooth communication,
their control over information within Konoha itself...
had fallen far behind Sarutobi's Anbu...
"Akatsuki? A rogue ninja organization dares attack Konoha?"
"It's all Sarutobi's fault—because of him, Konoha has lost its former prestige..."
Danzo angrily cursed, filled with indignation.
"It's also reported that Uchiha ninja might be involved!"
"What?! Those damned Uchihas too?"
"All Sarutobi's fault! Otherwise, I would've wiped out those evil Uchihas long ago..."
Danzo shouted furiously, so angry he almost stood up.
"Lord Danzo, then what shall we do..."
"The enemy's strength remains unknown. We must not act rashly. Notify all Root ninjas to remain hidden and stand by for now!"
Danzo quickly made his decision.
The last time Root suffered heavy casualties nearly exhausted all his resources.
Now naturally, he wouldn't recklessly commit forces.
If the enemy wasn't strong, he could simply watch and wait before swooping in to reap the rewards... Wouldn't that be great?
If the enemy proved formidable, he'd let Sarutobi fight them until both sides were weakened, then intervene as the decisive force... Even better!
Should the enemy prove overwhelmingly powerful and Sarutobi fall in battle, at least by preserving his forces, he could assume the Hokage position afterward and rebuild Konoha... Not bad either!
In any case, better lay low for now.
"At once!"
The Root ninja immediately accepted the order and quickly left to inform others.
Clearly, within Root...
Lord Danzo's command was absolute!
...
Meanwhile...
At this very moment, Akatsuki indeed had already invaded Konoha.
Without a large protective barrier surrounding Konoha,
they couldn't even determine exactly how many enemies had infiltrated.
Their situation appeared extremely passive.
"Have you located the Third Hokage?" Deva Path Pain asked.
"Hmm. He's inside the Hokage Tower. There are numerous Anbu ninjas guarding around it..."
White Zetsu popped half his head out from underground soil and swiftly responded.
"Shall we directly attack the Hokage Tower?"
Deva Path shook his head and calmly decided:
"Not yet. The Hokage Tower is certainly heavily guarded and full of traps."
"First, attack the rest of the village and force the Hokage to come out personally."
"There's no way he can just sit idle watching the entire village get destroyed."
Moments later,
Pain's Animal Path immediately used jutsu.
[Summoning Jutsu]
One after another, numerous summoning beasts appeared and began rampaging wildly through Konoha, wreaking havoc indiscriminately.
They prepared to slaughter civilians mercilessly, forcing the Third Hokage into open conflict.
This would help buy some time for Konan and Black Zetsu.
Allowing them to capture Nine-Tails sooner.
Otherwise that brat Shimoku might interfere unexpectedly.
However.
Over a dozen summoned beasts had already been rampaging for quite some time.
Only gradually did everyone begin to notice—
There were almost no civilians left in Konoha Village!
It seemed as if the majority of **Konoha's civilians** had vanished…
A small number of ninja were hiding in surrounding buildings, lying in ambush and waiting for the chance to strike back at the summoned beasts.
The sharp-minded Nagato and others quickly figured it out.
Certainly, Konoha must have evacuated its ordinary villagers beforehand, which made Konoha seem so empty.
Konoha must have known long ago that they would come to attack!
Someone among them had betrayed their plans!
In an instant,
Four Pain bodies, including Sasori who likely understood the truth,
Suddenly turned their heads to look at Shimoku.
After all, this newly joined brat was the most suspicious one.
He could have tipped off Konoha about their plan!
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Do you think our Uchiha Clan would really inform Konoha about anything?"
"Am I bored out of my mind to do something like that?"
"You guys want to pick a fight right now? Is that it?"
Shimoku shot back loudly, full of confidence.
Since he hadn't done anything wrong, he wasn't about to take the fall for something someone else did!
Hearing this, Pain hesitated for a moment, then immediately abandoned the idea of further investigation.
Just as Shimoku had said.
Their Uchiha Clan indeed had no reason to secretly collaborate with Konoha...
Moreover, if they really fought fiercely against this young brat and ended up both heavily wounded,
Then, in the end, Konoha would be getting a good laugh out of it!
"It doesn't matter. Our target was never these civilians."
"It's irrelevant whether or not they've already evacuated."
"Now then, everyone, launch a full-scale attack on the Hokage Tower!"
"Aim to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly!"
Deva Path Pain gave new orders.
And ordered Animal Path to swiftly take control of all the Summoning Beasts and send them barreling toward the Hokage Tower.
"Shimoku, I hope you won't disappoint me!"
Deva Path Pain warned as he looked back.
Then, along with the others, rushed toward the Hokage Tower.
At this moment, on Shimoku's side.
He also shot a sidelong glance at Orochimaru, who stood to his right.
That single glance expressed everything without words.
Others might not know.
But didn't he understand better than anyone?
Nine out of ten chances pointed to Orochimaru being the one who leaked information beforehand!
Indeed, Master Snake still harbored feelings for Konoha after all!
Well then...
None of that mattered to Shimoku anymore.
Now that the surprise attack had already begun.
Whether or not Konoha was prepared ahead of time, there was no way to stop this war or dissuade members of [Akatsuki].
This war to destroy Konoha was now unavoidable!
Investigating who leaked their position now would be useless anyway.
Noticing that Shimoku already seemed to get it,
Orochimaru licked his lips slightly, eyes narrowing.
Smiling, he retorted:
"Shimoku, is there anything you'd like to say?"
"Nothing much. I just hope that when you meet Sarutobi-sensei later, you won't hold back at all!"
"Of course I won't!"
"Lord Shimoku, are you really going to put everything into helping [Akatsuki] wipe out Konoha?"
"Of course I will. I will definitely do everything I can."
Shimoku also lifted the corner of his mouth, smiling faintly.
He quickly performed [Clone Jutsu], creating five clones.
Then he directed these clones to charge toward the frontline,
looking as if he was throwing everything he had into it.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes suspiciously…
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