The Hidden Sand Village was filled with sorrow and devastation.
An ancient dragon circled the Hidden Sand Village in the sky before slowly hovering above it, causing everyone in the village to feel a tightness in their hearts.
Could it be that the Akatsuki intended to completely annihilate the Hidden Sand Village?
However, the members of the Akatsuki seemed not to have such plans.
Uehara Naraku stood atop the ancient dragon's head, adjusting his hood as he looked down at the miserable state of the Sand Ninja below, and spoke in a deep voice: "Hey, people of the Hidden Sand Village, if you can still breathe, make a sound..."
"What more do you want?"
Granny Chiyo gritted her teeth as she stared at the perpetrator who destroyed the Hidden Sand Village, wishing she could rush up and kill him if she had the chance!
However, given the current situation, provoking the enemy was obviously irrational. If the enemy launched another attack as before, the Hidden Sand Village would likely face total destruction.
"Be a bit more gentle in your approach!"
Uehara Naraku continued leisurely, "I just want to make sure you won't be sending anyone to hunt us down, will you? Apparently, you can't."
After maneuvering the ancient dragon around the Hidden Sand Village in a circle, Uehara Naraku let out a loud whistle and then left on his own!
This time, in capturing the One-tailed Jinchuriki, Uehara reaped substantial rewards.
Besides the Dark Harvest, he also received another powerful reward.
Side Mission: Successfully breach the Hidden Sand Village (1/1), mission completed, reward: Passive Talent Skill - Power of the Wind.
Power of the Wind: Able to freely manipulate Wind Attribute Chakra to create Wind Release Jutsu at will, being one of the components of the Truth-Seeking Ball.
As Uehara Naraku left the Hidden Sand Village, he was in a good mood.
But the people inside the Hidden Sand Village were certainly in a terrible mood.
"Bastard!"
Granny Chiyo clenched her fists as she watched the dragon disappear into the distance.
The village was filled with injured or fallen ninjas, completely losing the ability to resist, and it was impossible to pursue the ancient dragon.
After the monster left, Granny Chiyo and Ebizo hurriedly coordinated with the remaining mobile Anbu, organizing ninja rescue operations.
She even got involved personally, acting as a medical ninja.
Even though Chiyo always advocated for the Hidden Sand Village's self-reliance, under such circumstances, it was evident that they couldn't reclaim Gaara anymore, and they couldn't even hold their ground.
This stubborn old lady had no choice but to bow to reality; while treating the injured in the village, she said, "Ebizo, request aid from Konoha!"
"…Yes."
Ebizo slowly nodded.
Fortunately, his sister had acknowledged the harsh reality.
Given the Hidden Sand Village's current condition, rescuing the Kazekage from the Akatsuki's clutches, or even defending against neighboring invasions, was extremely challenging.
If they didn't have Konoha's support and the Third Tsuchikage Onoki from the Hidden Rock Village invaded, it would be almost certain that the Hidden Sand Village would be annihilated.
They might not even be able to repel an attack from the neighboring Hidden Rain Village.
Fortunately, since the alliance between Konoha and the Hidden Sand Village, the two ninja villages had not engaged in any conflicts, and they had conducted numerous cooperative efforts, including military alliances.
For instance, Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage who was just abducted, had his sister Temari discussing joint exams for the Chunin Examination with Konoha within the Hidden Sand Village.
Moreover, Konoha had been actively pursuing information on the Akatsuki.
So when the Hidden Sand Village was attacked by the Akatsuki, and Fifth Kazekage Gaara was captured, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade dispatched Team Three and Team Seven to support the Hidden Sand Village without any hesitation.
To be honest, Tsunade was a bit bold.
However, these two teams were probably the strongest squads in Konoha.
Team Seven, led by Hatake Kakashi, had seen a rise in strength. After returning from training, Uzumaki Naruto's power significantly increased, barely able to control the power of the Four-tail; Haruno Sakura also mastered the Strength of a Hundred Seal, and they added an all-round ninja, Sai.
In Team Three, Might Guy's strength was a given; within his body, he housed an astounding power; over a few years, Hyuga Neji had successfully risen to Jonin rank and even earned many Hiden Taijutsu from the main family, supported by Clan Leader Hyuga Hinata.
As for Rock Lee, perhaps due to lack of injury and extreme diligence, he had nearly formed into Konoha's second "hard worker master."
Rock Lee could now easily open the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, and under extreme conditions, could even open the Seventh Gate: Wonder Gate. This ability put him on par with most Jonin in Konoha.
In a life-and-death battle among the Konoha Twelve, without accounting for Naruto releasing the Nine-tail, Rock Lee remained the strongest among the Konoha Twelve.
Reality is always so intriguing.
The two strongest from the same graduating class back then, one turned into a cheat player, and the other into a hard-working master.
As for Team Three's Tenten, she just had a bit of luck and didn't seem particularly special.
Besides Team Three and Team Seven, Tsunade also dispatched an Anbu team to accompany them, a squad formed by Yamato and Uzuki Yuugao.
In Tsunade's view, this lineup was strong enough.
However, when these Konoha reinforcements arrived at the Hidden Sand Village, they were still stunned by the scene before them. They couldn't even imagine this was the Hidden Sand Village post-Akatsuki invasion.
The Hidden Sand Village was in ruins.
The once peaceful village no longer existed, the outer defenses were in shambles, and the village was filled with broken walls and debris, with hardly any intact buildings.
The warehouses hastily repaired served as temporary hospitals, as there were too many injured, and the medical ninjas were insufficient.
The streets of the Hidden Sand Village were filled with bandaged wounded.
No, strictly speaking, everyone was wrapped in bandages.
Granny Chiyo hadn't closed her eyes for days and nights, using medical ninjutsu when she had chakra, and resorting to performing surgeries and applying bandages and splints when she didn't.
Haruno Sakura's arrival was indeed a huge help, as Tsunade's disciple, her medical ninjutsu far surpassed that of most medical ninja in the Hidden Sand Village.
"Was all this caused by Akatsuki?"
Uzumaki Naruto touched the crumbling earth wall outside the hospital, surveying this village full of ruins and injured people, clenching his fist tightly.
Kankuro, with his arm bandaged, walked to Uzumaki Naruto's side, nodding with a pained expression: "Yes, after capturing Gaara, Akatsuki's members used a monster they raised to destroy the Hidden Sand Village."
Hatake Kakashi tugged at his forehead protector, asking softly: "Was their attack on the Hidden Sand Village to capture Lord Kazekage, the One-tailed Jinchuriki?"
"It seems that way for now."
Kankuro nodded at Kakashi.
Might Guy punched the earth wall, cursing coldly: "Those bastards! Did they actually want to destroy an entire village?"
"No..."
Kankuro shook his head, his expression becoming increasingly grim: "According to our speculation, besides capturing Gaara, they attacked the Hidden Sand Village merely as a whim, maybe they treated it as just a game..."
Kankuro slowly raised his head, looking at the ruined homeland, wiping away the tears that involuntarily flowed from the corners of his eyes, and continued, "Because on that day, Akatsuki had four members controlling a monster, and two of them did not make a move throughout."
This is the most terrifying part.
The enemy acted on a whim, even hiding at least half of their strength, and the Hidden Sand Village was already completely unable to resist.
"Four people..."
Hatake Kakashi rubbed his forehead, asking softly: "Besides Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand that you mentioned in your intel, is there no information on the other two?"
"Not only is there no intel, but their true appearance is also unknown to anyone."
Kankuro shook his head and continued, "Perhaps because they didn't need to make a move, because even just that monster was beyond what we could contend with."
After speaking, Kankuro detailed the battle that night.
The more the Konoha ninjas listened, the more horrified they became, especially when they heard that before the Akatsuki members left, they casually ordered the monster to drop a massive fireball that destroyed the Hidden Sand Village, causing sweat to involuntarily drip down everyone's cheeks.
Sai felt like he couldn't catch his breath: "A major ninja village couldn't even withstand the attack of just four members... Is this the strength of Akatsuki?"
"Yes."
Hatake Kakashi nodded, stroking his forehead protector, and said softly: "I still remember the feeling of facing off against those Akatsuki guys in the Land of Grass. We had almost no power to resist, and they seemed to be enjoying a game..."
"..."
Tenten couldn't help but shudder, stammering: "If the enemy is that strong, do we really have any chance of winning?"
"Not necessarily."
Hatake Kakashi lowered his head, speaking softly: "At least we know one thing, Akatsuki's members left towards the north, maybe we can track them northward, and we can request support from the Hidden Rain Village, inviting them to jointly strike against the Akatsuki."
Sai nodded next to him and said: "Captain Kakashi is right, Konoha and the Hidden Rain Village have always had a pact to target the Akatsuki..."
"Yes."
Hatake Kakashi nodded in agreement: "A group of renegade ninja from the Akatsuki once took refuge with Salamander Hanzo the Half-God, but later betrayed him again. The Hidden Rain Village has always hated those renegades deeply, and surely holds a lot of intel on Akatsuki."
"The Hidden Rain Village huh..."
Uzumaki Naruto brushed the ruined earth wall, recalling someone who smiled kindly, making him also break into a faint smile: "There's no time to delay, let's go find Uehara Naraku now! His power must have grown stronger by now!"
Perhaps Uzumaki Naruto remembered only Uehara Naraku.
After all, Uehara Naraku was very amiable when he was in Konoha, but unfortunately, he ultimately assassinated the Third Hokage under pressure from the Hidden Rain Village, causing some rift with Konoha.
Of course, Uzumaki Naruto didn't mind this.
He had long forgiven Uehara Naraku for assassinating the Third Hokage.
Frankly speaking, if Uehara Naraku hadn't assassinated the Third Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto himself wouldn't know how to continue staying in Konoha.
After all, the common consensus in the Ninja World now was that the Third Hokage was using his power behind the scenes for personal gain, secretly harmed the Fourth Hokage couple, and even attempted to control the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki as Konoha's war weapon.
Uzumaki Naruto really didn't want to face Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Maybe he would betray Konoha like Sasuke?
He might even join Akatsuki?
Thanks to Uehara Naraku assassinating the Third Hokage, Tsunade was able to succeed as the Fifth Hokage, allowing Uzumaki Naruto to continue feeling comfortable staying in Konoha, and also reconnect past bonds, continuing to interact with his teachers and friends.
I wonder if Uehara Naraku regrets it...
Actually, back then, if Sarutobi Hiruzen was still alive, he would've had a great chance to lure Uzumaki Naruto to defect from Konoha.
Of course, he might've also exposed some flaw.
Uzumaki Naruto proposed immediately sending someone to the Hidden Rain Village to find Uehara Naraku, asking for his help to participate in the Kazekage retrieval mission, which was quickly agreed upon by most people.
After all, the Konoha ninjas present could completely understand Uehara Naraku's dilemma back then for the sake of the Hidden Rain Village's interests, as they had enjoyed a life with Uehara Naraku.
Only Hatake Kakashi, who had met Uehara Naraku later, sighed softly, recalling Uehara Naraku during the alliance talks, being uncompromising for the Hidden Rain Village's interests.
At that time, Uehara Naraku was almost unrecognizable.
As a ninja of a small village, perhaps the pressure was indeed too great, forcing an originally pure-hearted and well-liked person like Uehara Naraku to slowly put on the mask he despised the most.
Hatake Kakashi still remembered Uehara Naraku's innocent demeanor, and he sighed deeply, saying: "I hope that guy Uehara... hasn't changed too quickly!"