"Damn it! The enemy is heading toward the Hokage Tower!"
"That area needs backup!"
"Damn it! We're stuck here..."
"Where are so many summoning beasts coming from?"
"What kind of monster is this?"
"Why does its head keep splitting?!"
"Not good—we can't hold out much longer..."
Amidst the rampage of countless giant summoning beasts, much of Konoha was quickly engulfed in flames.
Battles raged everywhere, chaos spreading across the village.
Fortunately, most of the ordinary villagers had already been evacuated beforehand.
Otherwise, even this opening onslaught alone would have led to devastating losses for Konoha.
Yet despite their preparations,
ordinary ninja found it extremely difficult to handle these massive summoning beasts with various special abilities.
Especially ones like the ninjutsu-enhanced Hell Hounds—
completely unafraid of attacks, growing fiercer instead. It was about to split into its fourth head already.
It left the Konoha shinobi completely powerless.
...
At this moment, Kakashi, leading a small Anbu squad,
was locked in fierce battle with this Hell Hound—and even he felt overwhelmed.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With one slap of his palm and through the "Blood Pact," Kakashi summoned one of his personal Ninja Hounds Ninken—Pakkun.
"What's going on, Kakashi?"
"I was eating dinner, you know! Can you please stop interrupting my private time randomly?"
Pakkun scratched his dog nose, clearly annoyed as he protested.
But right now, Kakashi had no time for bickering with Pakkun.
He grabbed Pakkun immediately, leapt onto a rooftop,
and pointed toward the four-headed Hell Hound in the distant chaos, asking urgently:
"Pakkun, quick—do you recognize this summoning beast?"
"That's..."
"Crap! That's a Hell Hound!"
"How did that thing end up here?"
"Weren't they supposed to have cut all ties with humans long ago?"
After getting a clear look at the Hell Hound, Pakkun couldn't help but be shocked too.
"Hell Hound? What kind of ninja beast is that? What traits does it have?"
Kakashi asked quickly.
Pakkun nodded.
As part of the Ninja Hounds Ninken clan, he naturally possessed extensive knowledge and had heard rumors about the Hell Hounds before.
"They're said to be from the Demon Dogs Clan—a legendary ancient race. Long ago, they migrated far north to hellish lands. Supposedly, only the immortal old toads from Mount Myoboku had ever seen their ancestors..."
"Get to the point!"
Kakashi cut him off sharply—now was not the time for stories!
"According to legends, these Hell Demon Dogs are immortal and indestructible!"
"Ordinary attacks won't hurt them at all;"
"worse, they provoke it, causing continuous splitting and making it more savage!"
"The simplest way to deal with it is to sever its connection with the summoner—that sends it back!"
"How do we sever that connection?"
"Barrier Jutsu… Sealing Techniques… anything like that works."
"Sealing Technique, huh? Sealing something this big won't be easy!"
"It'll require quite some preparation time..."
"Are there any other ways?"
Kakashi frowned. Sealing a summoning beast this big wouldn't be easy. Even if they had the sealing technique ready, it wouldn't just sit there like a stone either—waiting for them to seal it!
Sealing itself was never the hard part—it was actually pretty straightforward. The real challenge was keeping the opponent suppressed!
"How should I know... This thing? In terms of seniority, I should even call it my ancestor!"
"You figure it out yourself. I'm outta here!"
"For such a lousy paycheck? No way am I risking my life here!"
Pakkun shivered slightly, then glanced toward the ferocious 'Hell Hound' in the distance. Without another word, he let out a puff and vanished into a cloud of white smoke.
He'd never been built for combat in the first place, and now he was supposed to fight something he should've called his own ancestor? Running for his life was definitely the right choice!
...
After receiving the information, Kakashi—who excelled at analysis—quickly pinpointed its weakness. He immediately shouted instructions to the Anbu ninja nearby.
"Use [Earth Release: Clay Rain] to immobilize its movements!"
A few Anbu exchanged glances and quickly moved to cooperate.
[Lightning Release: Four Pillars Bind!]
[Earth Release: Clay Rain!]
Massive stone pillars erupted from the earth, instantly trapping the Hell Hound. Electricity crackled continuously through its body, paralyzing the beast. At the same time, thick layers of clay rained down from the sky, completely wrapping around the Hell Hound.
[Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillars Bind!]
[Fire Release: Pottery-Firing Technique!]
Even more stone pillars surged up, fully enclosing the Hell Hound, while powerful fire techniques began burning the inner layer of clay.
Through this coordinated series of jutsu, they soon dried out the clay inside the stone prison, encasing the Hell Hound in a hardened clay shell and effectively sealing its movement.
"We did it! Finally sealed this thing!"
Witnessing the success, the Konoha ninjas cheered excitedly. At the same time, Kakashi also exhaled in relief. He immediately looked toward the Hokage Tower.
"Contact the Sealing Team and have them come seal this monster immediately!"
"Everyone else, go assist the Hokage! The enemy's main force has moved that way…"
"Understood!"
But before anyone could leave, the Hell Hound—whose hardened clay casing had just been sealed moments ago—broke free again. It shattered a wide area of the clay shell and rampaged wildly once more.
"How?! How could it break free so fast?"
"What incredible strength!"
"This Hell Hound is actually this fierce?"
"Who exactly is behind this? Who could possibly control such a powerful summoning beast…"
Kakashi frowned, deeply astonished.
One must understand—this complex 'movement-restricting technique' was a secret skill honed by Anbu over years, highly effective against large tailed beasts. Once executed successfully, even the giant toads from Mount Myoboku would find it difficult to break free quickly.
And yet, this Hell Hound had done exactly that.
"That's it! Don't let it escape!"
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
Kakashi hurriedly performed the technique. A massive wall with several dog-shaped faces rose from the ground, blocking one of the Hell Hound's attacks and saving the Anbu ninja standing just behind the earthen wall.
Unfortunately, even the sturdy earthen wall crumbled under the Hell Hound's second charge.
Luckily, Kakashi had already rescued the Anbu ninja.
Seeing this,
The furious Hell Hound immediately turned around and lunged toward Kakashi with a snarl.
"Leave it to me!"
"Burn with youth!"
At the crucial moment,
A green-clad figure shot down from above,
Delivering a powerful downward kick directly to the Hell Hound's skull, smashing it into the ground and sending up a massive cloud of dust.
The next moment,
Might Guy landed gracefully in front of Kakashi, flashing his youthful white teeth in a proud grin,
Looking like he was just waiting for applause with that smug grin of his.
"Fool! You can't just attack that Hell Hound recklessly!"
Kakashi shouted furiously,
Leaving Might Guy momentarily stunned by the scolding.
Sure enough,
The fallen Hell Hound quickly stood back up, suddenly splitting into two separate beasts,
Each now possessing two heads.
"What in the world is that?!"
Turning around, Might Guy was visibly startled,
It was his first time encountering such a bizarre phenomenon too—
An enemy summoning beast that could self-replicate after being attacked?
How freaky!
Moreover, right before their eyes,
These newly split Hell Hounds were already beginning to change again—seemingly preparing to split once more into four!
...
[Summoning Technique: Abyssal Darkness Electroshock!]
Morino Ibiki, the leader of the Torture and Interrogation Force, acted swiftly,
Instantly summoning forth a massive cat-shaped containment vessel that wrapped around one of the Hell Hounds, locking it tightly within layers of iron chains.
But instead of sending it underground for detonation,
Meanwhile,
[Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King Enma!]
[Adamantine Prison Wall!]
A massive Adamantine Staff suddenly flew in,
Quickly dividing into hundreds of smaller staves,
Which assembled into a huge cubic prison, trapping the remaining Hell Hound inside...
"This... this must be the Hokage's ninjutsu!"
"The Hokage himself has arrived!"
Indeed,
The next moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped forward from afar, landing atop the Adamantine Prison Wall.
[Five Elements Seal!]
With a single-handed hand seal, Hiruzen performed the jutsu,
Swiftly sealing the Hell Hound trapped within the Adamantine Prison Wall.
Then, repeating the same technique, Hiruzen sealed the other Hell Hound as well.
Clearly, even in his old age,
He had earned every bit of his title as the Professor of Ninjutsu.
When it came to raw combat experience, even Jiraiya himself couldn't quite match him.
At the same time, seeing the Third Hokage appear on the battlefield and swiftly defeat the powerful foe,
The surrounding Anbu ninjas couldn't help but gasp in awe, their heads bowing in shame…
"Hokage-sama, weren't you supposed to be at the Tower?"
Kakashi immediately approached, puzzled,
Not understanding why Hiruzen would appear here.
Hiruzen put away the sealing scroll and quickly explained:
"There's no need to worry; the one at the Hokage Tower was merely my shadow clone."
"That spot's already rigged as a trap, just waiting for our enemy to fall headfirst into!"
Hiruzen wasn't foolish,
Knowing full well the enemy's strength made direct confrontation unwise,
Of course he wouldn't choose to fight head-on.
Therefore, after evacuating all the villagers ahead of time,
he immediately formulated a battle strategy.
He fortified the village's central hub, the [Hokage Tower], as a trap, leaving behind a Shadow Clone to draw attention.
At that time, those enemies who intended to "capture the leader first"
would certainly rush straight toward the [Hokage Tower], walking directly into the trap.
Then, the three teams stationed outside the [Hokage Tower] would immediately activate their [Barrier Ninjutsu],
trapping the main enemy forces within the barrier!
Not aiming to kill the enemy, only to delay them.
This way, Sarutobi could free his hands to lead the village's elite fighters
to eliminate the remaining enemies rampaging inside the village one by one!
Finally, they could gather all their strength to confront the enemy's main force!
"I see! Exploiting our strengths to exploit their weaknesses..."
"This strategy is truly feasible!"
Kakashi nodded approvingly.
Without question, this was also the only viable battle plan.
If we were to choose to confront head-on more than ten Kage-level enemies directly, Konoha might get swept off the map entirely!
Only dragging the enemy into Konoha's quagmire and defeating them piecemeal would be the right path!
However, by doing so,
the entire battlefield would center on Konoha, which would likely be destroyed...
"That's not important. As long as our people remain, the village can always be rebuilt."
"Where the leaves dance, the fire shall never die!"
Sarutobi seemed to sense Kakashi's concerns and spoke to ease his worries.
Certainly, the ferocity of this enemy attack
far exceeded even his expectations.
They even had over a dozen summoning beasts. Just how many ninjas skilled in the Summoning Jutsu were deployed?
Could the Akatsuki's foundation really be this strong?!
Kakashi: "Hokage-sama, what are your orders next?"
"You two will each lead a team of ninja to search for the enemy's summoning users and swiftly eliminate them."
"If you encounter isolated enemies along the way, eliminate them swiftly!"
"If you meet with large enemy groups, then try to stall them while requesting backup."
"Additionally, Jiraiya has gone to seek aid from Tsunade."
"Once they return, the situation will definitely improve greatly. That will be when we launch our counterattack!"
Sarutobi commanded gravely.
Although he had lost one hand, he hadn't lost his composure, continuing to direct the battle calmly.
"Tsunade-sama, huh?"
"Having her here would make things much better!"
Kakashi felt delighted inwardly.
During the Third War, he had firsthand experience with Tsunade-sama's powerful healing skills—truly miraculous!
A supreme Medical Ninjutsu so potent that even with only Katsuyu, it could heal an entire village—it would drastically reduce Konoha's losses!
After receiving orders,
Kakashi and Might Guy didn't hesitate at all. They immediately led their teams away to prepare for the elimination of the enemy's summoning ninja.
...
Meanwhile,
behind Sarutobi and the others,
from the direction of Konoha's heartland—the [Hokage Tower]—
a sudden glow rose into the sky.
A quadrilateral blue barrier and a hexagram-shaped yellow barrier simultaneously emerged,
covering and sealing the [Hokage Tower] tightly within.
"They've succeeded over there!"
"Looks like the enemy's main forces have been temporarily trapped!"
Sarutobi exhaled heavily.
Seeing their initial strategy succeed, he allowed himself a brief moment of relaxation.
If the enemy had not fallen for the trap and remained outside the barrier...
Today would likely have marked Konoha's destruction!
Of course, given the enemy's strength,
Even a double-layered barrier would probably only buy some time...
They must seize this opportunity to eliminate any scattered enemies still at large
To reduce the power gap between both sides...
"Shibi Aburame, do you have anything to report? Have you found any sign of other enemies?"
Sarutobi immediately turned to ask.
Beside him stood a silent ninja wearing sunglasses—Shibi Aburame.
An elite jonin of the Aburame Clan and father to Shino Aburame.
Moreover, he was the pinnacle practitioner of the clan's insect jutsu—a master unmatched in the Ninja World.
Shibi extended his fingers, briefly communicating with his insect swarm before receiving feedback:
"Detected five identical enemy figures; they may be using the Clone Technique. However, the original appears to be quite young..."
"Clones? Five figures? One of them must be the original!"
"No matter the opponent's age, anyone invading our village is an enemy! Show no mercy!"
"Where are they? Lead the way!"
Sarutobi ordered coldly.
Soon enough, under Shibi's guidance,
Sarutobi's Vanguard Squad swiftly moved toward the designated area.
...
In no time, they found those five enemy ninjas.
However, nobody expected—
Those five enemies were currently surrounding a street food cart, frying golden-battered squid skewers in a wok!
Showing absolutely zero awareness of being invaders...
At the same time, Sarutobi instantly recognized Shimoku.
"Shimoku Uchiha! So it really is you!..."
Enraged, Sarutobi glared and shouted loudly.
Although he already suspected that this little brat might participate in the attack,
He never imagined Shimoku would actually show up.
And have the nerve to just sit there munching snacks right from a Konoha food cart!
Such audacity was beyond the bounds of tolerance!
"Hey, isn't that the Third?"
"Hmm, looks like your real body."
"You're not over at the Hokage Tower dealing with Pain; why come chasing after me instead?"
"What? Giving up on fighting Pain to deal with someone just trying to slack off?"
Shimoku hesitated briefly upon seeing Sarutobi's arrival.
Yet, observing the barrier light rising above the Hokage Tower, he quickly grasped the truth.
Still, dreaming about trapping Pain and others using merely two barriers?
That might only happen in one's sleep!
...
"Tsk! I should've cracked down on your entire clan harder from the start!"
"I should've listened to Danzo and eliminated threats like you earlier!"
Seeing the village under invasion, Sarutobi was more furious than ever today.
As for Shimoku—the ringleader behind the Uchiha defection—he now showed zero hesitation,
Directly issuing orders:
"Attack!"
"Identify his true form! Don't let this kid activate [Susanoo]!"
"Those clones are no threat at all."
At the command, five Anbu ninja surged forward.
Meanwhile, swarms of insects under Shibi Aburame's control also rushed toward Shimoku's five clones,
trying to expose Shimoku's true form, then swiftly eliminate the boy.
Yet in the next instant,
the Anbu ninja all froze in place.
It was because the crimson glow of [Susanoo] had suddenly flared up from all five clones,
leaving them completely unable to tell which one was the true form!
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