Buzz—
Above Konoha, space suddenly rippled.
The sky suddenly cracked, and a tiny fissure appeared, from which a ray of golden light shone!
The sudden change filled the Konoha villagers with questions.
Dusk was exactly the time when people got off work.
The streets were packed with pedestrians.
Seeing the anomaly in the sky, they all curiously stopped to watch.
Although Konoha was in a period of war at this time, its villagers were happier than those in other Shinobi villages.
They were well protected by Konoha's Shinobi and had never seen what war looked like.
Therefore, even when an anomaly occurred in the sky, no one panicked; they even leisurely discussed it.
"Is some Shinobi-sama Cultivating Ninjutsu again?"
Meanwhile, Shinobi who had received early notification converged on the center of the anomaly!
Some Genin also began to act, evacuating the onlookers.
The villagers looked confused, some even unwilling to leave, wanting to see what was going to happen.
Swish, swish—
Countless Shinobi appeared beneath the anomalous sky.
Tsunade also arrived using the Body Flicker Technique, joining Orochimaru, who had arrived earlier.
Tsunade stared at the anomaly in the sky, frowning, "Are they coming?"
Orochimaru didn't answer, just looked up at the sky in a slight daze.
This Uzushigakure... is a bit too principled, isn't it?
When they say three days, they mean three days, not a minute more, not a minute less... With a whoosh.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, clad in the Third Hokage's ceremonial robe, also arrived. Behind him were the Konoha Elder Council members, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gazed solemnly at the ripples in the sky, then scanned the surroundings. Not finding Danzo Shimura, he couldn't help but ask, "Where's Danzo?"
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado were stunned for a moment, then searched around. After not finding Danzo Shimura, they hesitated, "Perhaps... he's still on his way?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment. As a teammate for many years, he knew this old friend too well.
He shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, don't worry about him."
Once Konoha faces a crisis, where can you, the darkness of konoha, hide?
Putting Danzo Shimura's matter aside, Sarutobi Hiruzen gravely looked at the growing crack in the sky and immediately gave the command: "Barrier Squad, activate the Flying Thunder God Barrier!"
"Yes, sir!"
Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's command, a group of Shinobi ran out, holding Kunai inscribed with special runes, and shot them toward the area surrounding the crack!
Clang, clang, clang
—
Kunai surrounded the location of the crack in a circular formation.
Affecting the spatial fluctuations.
Under everyone's gaze, golden lines, strung together by the Kunai like chains, wrapped around the crack, which was gradually trying to expand.
Finally, with a hum, the golden chains were quickly pulled straight and taut, locking the crack down completely!
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others stared intently at the change in the crack. Only after the tendency to expand was stopped by the golden chains did they finally breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said lightly, "It seems the Uzushigakure' so-called Space-Time Ninjutsu is nothing special."
Utatane Koharu laughed, "When it comes to Space-Time Ninjutsu, Lord Second Hokage is the originator for everyone in the Ninja World. We possess the legacy of Lord Second Hokage. The Uzushigakure dares to use Space-Time Ninjutsu right here in Konoha."
"Hmph, it's merely showing off one's slight skill before an expert!"
Homura Mitokado stroked his beard and said calmly, "Even if they want to retrieve the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Uzushigakure will have to walk here honestly!"
The few heavy hearts relaxed.
As long as the Uzushigakure walks over step by step on the ground.
Even if they use their Shinigami Army, Konoha now has significant room to maneuver!
After all, Shinobi warfare isn't just a game of stacking numbers.
Various traps, resources, provisions, and so on, on land are all decisive factors for winning a war!
War is fought on economics!
And they were confident that the mere Uzushigakure couldn't match even one-tenth of Konoha's economy!
Only Orochimaru slightly frowned, the gravity in his golden vertical pupils lingering.
As someone who had personally witnessed the Uzushigakure' strength and the miraculous inventions from his Technical Development Bureau...
Orochimaru absolutely did not believe that a simple spatial blockade could halt the Uzushigakure' progress!
Tsunade was slightly disappointed; she had been planning to ask about Nawaki's whereabouts once the people from the Uzushigakure arrived.
The other Shinobi also laughed easily, some even joking, "Hokage-sama was so serious, but this is all it amounts to?"
"We just showed a bit of Konoha's foundation, and the Uzushigakure has run out of tricks?"
"Haha, the Uzushigakure that defeated the Land of Water is nothing special after all."
"If Konoha weren't currently at war with Sunagakure, we'd see if the Uzushigakure dared to be so arrogant!"
The Shinobi of the Barrier Squad also breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from their brows.
And they were excited about completing their mission.
Just as they were preparing to celebrate, the unexpected suddenly occurred!
With several cracking sounds in the sky, the spatial crack sealed by the Flying Thunder God Barrier suddenly amplified with a loud hum!
A great burst of golden light erupted, and an ancient, massive gate suddenly appeared!
The sudden change stunned the relaxed crowd for a moment, but their hearts quickly tightened.
Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted loudly, "Barrier Squad! Increase Chakra output!"
The Barrier Squad snapped back to attention at Hokage-sama's voice, and blue Chakra instantly gathered on the Kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God runes!
Streaks of blue flames dyed the chains, binding them tightly to the closed, ancient golden gate!
Creak, creak
—
A series of grating sounds rang out, and the Barrier Squad clenched their teeth and persisted.
Suddenly, the golden gate was slowly pushed open. The Flying Thunder God chains strained like a child using all their might, yet they couldn't budge the golden gate even slightly!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened, and his breath hitched. He realized that stopping this gate was likely impossible!
How could this be!
Konoha had worked day and night, meticulously studying the Flying Thunder God Technique left by Lord Second Hokage.
They had concluded that as long as they used the Flying Thunder God Technique
—which could similarly cause spatial fluctuations
—
to form a combined force and disrupt the flow of space, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to use Space-Time Ninjutsu to break through Konoha's defenses!
As the ninja doctor, even he had nodded repeatedly when he first heard this imaginative idea.
He believed this was the optimal solution for dealing with Space-Time Ninjutsu!
Furthermore, in today's application, it had shown even better results than he had anticipated!
But this effect only lasted a few seconds before being broken by this ancient, massive golden gate!
What did all their years of research amount to?!
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado looked embarrassed, mentally curling their toes.
Just moments ago, one of them was praising Lord Second Hokage's Space-Time Ninjutsu, and the other was clamoring that the Uzushigakure would have to walk to Konoha step by step.
They were instantly slapped in the face.
Not just them, but the other Shinobi were also blushing.
They had all looked down on the Uzushigakure; well, now their faces were thoroughly red!
Only Orochimaru and Tsunade had expressions contrary to everyone else's.
Seeing the outcome he had imagined, Orochimaru slightly nodded, thinking, "Just as expected."
"This is the Uzushigakure I remember... wait, why do I feel like I'm being blindly confident about the Uzushigakure?"
Orochimaru secretly glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, saw that Teacher Hiruzen was focused intently on the massive golden gate, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He was glad his previous actions hadn't been seen by Teacher Hiruzen, or he would have been subjected to a harsh lecture.
But he couldn't be blamed... who told the Uzushigakure to become so important in his heart now?
Even though they were now about to become enemies with the Uzushigakure, he was still constantly thinking about the Uzushigakure' experiments.
Tsunade, meanwhile, was even more openly delighted.
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