In the tournament arena, Sasuke's figure flickered continuously. He was relentlessly trying to break through Gaara's sand defenses, but every attack was intercepted by the sand, which moved as if it were alive.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Just then, from the direction of Konoha Village in the distance, several violent, booming explosions echoed.
"What's going on?" Hearing the commotion coming from the direction of the village, Tsunade, seated in the VIP box, shot to her feet, her expression instantly turning grave. In the distance, several plumes of smoke were rising into the sky above Konoha.
Seeing this, Tsunade didn't even have time to issue any instructions; her figure flashed and vanished from the spot.
"Lady Tsunade!" Several of her Hokage guards, seeing her abrupt departure, quickly rushed after her.
Watching Tsunade suddenly leave, and seeing the rising columns of smoke in the direction of Konoha Village, the various important figures from other lands who had been invited to observe the exams exchanged bewildered glances. They had no idea what was happening.
"They're here!" Among the assembled dignitaries, only Orochimaru, disguised as the Kusakage, had a sharp, cold glint in his eyes as he murmured softly under his breath.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Just as everyone was feeling bewildered and uncertain, another series of continuous, deafening booms sounded from the direction of Konoha Village. This time, many people heard it clearly. It sounded like… someone was fighting!
In the spectator stands, Might Guy quickly gave a few instructions to Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee, then prepared to rush back to the village.
Swoosh~
Beside him, a figure flashed, and an ANBU operative appeared at his side. "Guy, keep an eye on things here. I'll head back to the village first to see what's going on," the ANBU member said quickly upon arriving beside Guy. Without waiting for Guy's reply, he immediately flickered away, heading towards Konoha.
Guy paused upon hearing the voice. From the sound of it, Guy recognized that the ANBU member just now was actually Kakashi. It seemed the village had secretly recalled him beforehand. Glancing at the important figures in the VIP box, Guy understood the unspoken intention behind Kakashi's words.
In the tournament arena, Sasuke had also stopped his offensive. He leaped up, landing on the high wall of the arena, and looked towards the village. By now, thick smoke was gradually beginning to billow into the sky from that direction. In the spectator stands, Konoha ninja in their standard uniforms were rapidly heading towards the village.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~
Just as Sasuke was observing the situation, a series of air-cutting sounds echoed beside him. Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, and the rest of the Konoha 12, led by their respective teachers, had all gathered. Like Sasuke, they all looked towards the village with worried expressions.
"Sasuke, we have to get back there, quickly!" Naruto said, eager for action.
"Naruto, don't be reckless! For the enemy to dare to invade the village directly, their strength must not be underestimated!" Hearing Naruto's impulsive words, Yuhi Kurenai immediately interjected, her expression grave as she cautioned him.
Naruto retorted, unconvinced, "Are we just supposed to stand here and watch?"
"For the enemy to cause such a large disturbance at this specific time, I'm afraid it's not as simple as just attacking the village. We mustn't act rashly right now. Moreover, I suspect they are targeting you," Kurenai said, looking at Naruto, her tone serious and certain. As she spoke, Kurenai glanced towards the spectator stands. There, amidst the panicking crowd, Shiboku, the son of the now-deceased leader of Takigakure, and Fu, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, were being protected by two ANBU ninja.
"Kurenai, are you saying the attackers are Akatsuki?" Hearing Kurenai's words, Mitarashi Anko, who was usually so carefree, also adopted a grave expression.
Kurenai nodded.
Upon seeing this, all the members of the Konoha 12 present felt a chill run down their spines. The formidable strength of Akatsuki and the Divine Court was a universally acknowledged fact in the ninja world. Even these young ninja, who had only recently stepped onto the world stage, had heard numerous stories of their terrifying power.
From within the village, continuous booming sounds and screams of terror echoed. In the densely populated streets, three colossal summoning animals were rampaging back and forth, causing widespread destruction. These were the fighting bull, the giant crab, and the multi-headed dog summoned by the Animal Path of the Six Paths of Pain. They were relentlessly trampling the village's buildings with their massive bodies, driving the terrified citizens of Konoha before them in a panic.
In the sky, a giant, monstrous bird circled at a low altitude. Each time its sharp beak struck, it pierced through a tall building. And even higher in the sky, Deidara, riding his white clay bird, was continuously dropping clay bombs onto the village below. The booming sounds that had been heard from the Forest of Death examination area were primarily from the explosions of these clay bombs.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~
On the rooftops, Konoha ninja were continuously rushing to the scene. They desperately tried to stop the Animal Path's four rampaging summons, but all their efforts were in vain. A large number of kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags rained down on the three ground-based summons, but they had no effect whatsoever.
"Damn it! Hold on! We have to hold out until Lord Hokage and the others get back!" Seeing this devastating scene, someone shouted, trying to rally their spirits. This was their home; they had nowhere to retreat.
Further away from the area where the Animal Path's summons were wreaking havoc, some of Konoha's stronger ninja were all engaged and pinned down by the other five Paths of Pain. Among them was Kyoko.
In front of Kyoko, the Asura Path, having transformed into its three-faced, six-armed combat form, was relentlessly attacking her with ferocious power.
Thwack! Bang! Boom!
Each clash between the two of them produced a heavy, muffled impact sound. This scene was witnessed by several other Konoha Jonin who were also engaged in desperate battles with the other Paths of Pain nearby. Most of them were fighting in teams of several people against a single Path, while Kyoko was facing one all on her own. As they fought, they also had to constantly be wary of the clay bombs falling from the sky.
Just as the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Konoha, a group of ninja wearing the uniforms of the Military Police Force, led by Uchiha Misuke and Shisui, swiftly arrived on the scene. Behind Uchiha Misuke and Shisui was Itachi, also dressed in ANBU attire. At this moment, all three of them wore extremely grave expressions. That guy hadn't even returned to the village yet, and Akatsuki had already launched a direct assault!
Glancing in Kyoko's direction, Uchiha Misuke said to Itachi beside her, "Itachi, can you find a way to contact Tatsuya?" Over these past two-plus years, because Uchiha Misuke and Shisui had been heavily bogged down by the mundane administrative duties of the Military Police Force, Itachi had actually ended up spending more time with Tatsuya.
"I can't. However, Brother Tatsuya should find out about what's happening here very soon," Itachi replied, shaking his head.
Uchiha Misuke gritted her teeth. "You go and protect Kyoko first. Shisui and I will deal with things here."
Itachi nodded upon hearing this. "Alright." With that, he flickered away, heading towards Kyoko's location. All three of them knew Kyoko's importance in Tatsuya's heart. If anything happened to Kyoko at a time like this, things would become even more troublesome.
After Itachi left, Uchiha Misuke said to Shisui, "Shisui, let's go all out!" As she spoke, the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan in her eyes began to spin rapidly.
Soon, two colossal figures, one green and one blue, rose into the sky above Konoha Village.
SLASH!
The moment the green giant materialized, the longsword in its hand slashed through the air with incredible force. Caught completely off guard, Deidara's giant clay bird was directly cleaved in two.
Two Mangekyo Sharingan! Seeing this, Deidara, who was now tumbling awkwardly from the sky, wore an extremely ugly expression.