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Kakashi led the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, directing the residents near the meeting hall to find shelter and hide themselves. The Leaf shinobi had once envisioned scenarios in which the village came under attack and had even formulated corresponding countermeasures. But they had always believed that the greatest crisis the village might face would be on the scale of the Nine-Tails incident years ago—the most severe catastrophe to befall the Hidden Leaf in over a decade, perhaps even in decades.
However, from the moment a faction of the Uchiha clan turned traitor, it was all but fated that tonight would be filled with one unexpected disaster after another. No one could have imagined that the long-simmering conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village leadership would erupt so violently, becoming the fuse that ignited every calamity this evening. And then came the figure in the sky, raining down clay bombs from above.
Kakashi had just finished settling the villagers and hadn't even had a moment to catch his breath when he spotted a gargantuan crab rampaging through the streets of the Hidden Leaf, demolishing houses as it advanced relentlessly toward the village center.
"Hurry! Stop that Giant Crusher Crab!" The words were barely out of his mouth before Kakashi leaped onto the rooftops and sped toward the crab at full tilt. Other shinobi followed close behind him.
After Fugaku's death, the shinobi temporarily placed in charge of the Uchiha Police Force was a young man named Uchiha Yu. His current position was unbearably awkward. Part of his clan had risen in rebellion, yet he was also responsible for the security of the Five Kage Summit, which meant he had to take orders from the Hokage. He was caught squarely in the middle, torn between both sides.
When he saw Kakashi leading a squad to charge at the giant crab, Uchiha Yu could no longer suppress the restless turmoil in his heart. He turned back to the renegade clansmen, who still regarded them with open hostility, and spoke. "Uncle Jihi, what do you intend to do? Will you keep working with the Akatsuki to throw the Hidden Leaf into chaos, or will you stand with us and stop the Akatsuki?"
The middle-aged shinobi called Jihi glanced outside and let out a cold laugh. "Are you joking? Why on earth would we ever help Hiruzen?"
After the string of utterly incomprehensible events, Uchiha Jihi had come to understand that they had very likely been exploited by the Akatsuki. However, they had already completely and irrevocably severed ties with the Hidden Leaf Village and the Third Hokage. Turning back at this point was nearly impossible.
"Are you really content to just become accomplices to the Akatsuki like this? If you keep this stalemate going, the Uchiha clan will truly be finished... We'll have no chance to remain in the Hidden Leaf Village, and it will be nearly impossible to survive anywhere in the shinobi world. No ninja village will ever accept a group of people who can turn traitor at any moment." Uchiha Yu kept his eyes fixed on Uchiha Jihi. "Although both sides have lost a considerable number of people, if Lord Hokage had chosen to act himself, you would already be dead. He still hopes that the two sides won't reach a point of total and absolute hostility... Think it over carefully."
After speaking, Uchiha Yu led his subordinates and charged into the battlefield.
"Jihi, what should we do?" A younger shinobi sidled up beside Jihi and asked in a hushed voice.
Uchiha Jihi sank into deep contemplation. After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at the clansmen gathered around him. About a dozen or so were shinobi close to his own age; the rest were mostly youngsters. Was he supposed to lead them all to die alongside him?
Jihi's lips parted slightly. In the end, he uttered only two words: "Repel the invaders!"
In that instant, a gleam of light ignited in the eyes of those around him. They barely needed Jihi to say another word before they burst from their hiding place and rushed into the fray. Jihi gritted his teeth, finally steeled his resolve, and charged out as well.
...
After enduring multiple assaults from Hiruzen, the hellhound had not only refused to fall—it had sprouted yet another pair of heads. Before long, the beast had seven heads in total. Aside from the two that had been battered into a daze, the remaining heads all gaped wide, jaws slavering as each one snarled and barked furiously in every direction.
After several exchanges, Hiruzen realized that conventional methods were completely ineffective against this creature. As long as he failed to kill it outright, it would continue to multiply its own power. If this went on, the hellhound would eventually become an utterly unmanageable monstrosity.
He had to find a way to restrict its movements.
The hellhound shook its many heads, and finally, every single pair of eyes locked squarely onto Hiruzen. It suddenly leaped high into the air and lunged at him, intent on swallowing him whole in a single gulp. Hiruzen planted the Adamantine Staff into the ground, wove hand signs, and slammed his palms onto the earth. A colossal fist formed from earth-natured chakra erupted from the ground and smashed directly into the hellhound's jaw.
Hiruzen continued his sequence of techniques. Once again, he pressed his hands to the ground, and the earth beneath suddenly softened, transforming into a vast quagmire. The hellhound, having spun a full three hundred sixty degrees in midair, landed squarely in the swamp. As it thrashed and struggled, it only sank faster.
Hiruzen watched the floundering beast with cold eyes and allowed himself a brief moment to catch his breath. True, defeating the hellhound in a direct, head-on confrontation was no easy task. Its amplification ability had elevated its power by more than just a single tier. But while a frontal takedown was difficult, there were alternative ways to neutralize its threat. The Swamp of the Underworld was the perfect technique for this.
Next, his opponent would be the Akatsuki itself.
Hiruzen was just about to turn his attention to Pain when the hellhound, still trapped in the swamp, abruptly vanished. In its place, a giant bird circled briefly in the air before diving straight toward Hiruzen.
What was happening?! Hiruzen dodged hastily. The giant bird plowed into a row of houses on one side, barely touching the ground before it pulled up sharply, wheeling back into the sky. It let out a series of piercing, ear-splitting shrieks.
"A Yatagarasu?!" Hiruzen's eyes widened. The Akatsuki's summoned beasts seemed endless. If this one turned out to be as troublesome as the hellhound, things were going to get difficult. After all, the hellhound could be dealt with using the Swamp of the Underworld, but the Yatagarasu operated in the sky, making it far harder to handle.
As Hiruzen was still formulating a strategy, the Yatagarasu dove at him once again, its target unmistakable. Hiruzen evaded to the side while swinging the Adamantine Staff with immense force, landing a solid blow on the bird's neck. The Yatagarasu crashed to the ground and skidded forward over ten meters, smashing through two rows of houses in the process.
Just when Hiruzen thought he had dealt with yet another summon, the Yatagarasu rose into the air once more. After circling three or four times overhead, it began dropping eggs that exploded violently upon impact. Hiruzen felt his scalp prickle with dread. He had just finished dealing with Deidara, and now yet another bombing adversary had appeared. But unlike Deidara's clay bird, which could fly but lacked agility, the Yatagarasu before him was in a completely different league in terms of maneuverability.
Hiruzen unleashed a swirling tornado, but the Yatagarasu merely flapped its wings and veered as if to fly far into the distance. Sensing the bird's movement, Hiruzen immediately released the technique. But the Yatagarasu suddenly reversed direction and dove straight at him once more.