Chapter 273:
Hokage's Office.
"That's the Rasengan! Damn it! How did things turn out like this?!"
Tsunade spoke anxiously as she stared at the massive Rasengan hovering above the Hidden Leaf Village. She had originally thought that sending Kakashi and Might Guy, with Asuma and Kurenai as support, would be more than enough to hold off that intruder.
Who would have expected that now, the top priority had shifted to whether the village would even survive?
"Deploy all available shinobi in the village to help evacuate the civilians from the Leaf," Tsunade said as she donned her Hokage robe and hat. "Unbelievable… I've only just become Hokage, and already I have to face an enemy this powerful on behalf of the village… And Jiraiya! That bastard—where the hell is he?!"
The more Tsunade thought about it, the more furious she became. Why was she the one stuck here dealing with such a terrifying threat, while Jiraiya got to roam around under the pretense of missions, drinking and carousing?
Reaching the door of the Hokage's office, Tsunade couldn't contain her rage and slammed her fist into it, smashing it to pieces.
In the skies above, Future Boruto leapt into the air, raising a giant Rasengan and hurling it downward.
"Guy! Intercept that Rasengan! If it hits the ground, half the village will be destroyed!"
Kakashi shouted to Might Guy.
"Right!"
Guy gave a firm nod.
"That's easy to say, but how exactly are we supposed to stop a Rasengan of that size...?"
Kakashi looked up at the massive Rasengan above the village, concern evident in his eyes.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A colossal slug suddenly appeared.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Kakashi turned to look at Tsunade, who had arrived as backup.
"Lady Katsuyu, can I ask you to stop this level of ninjutsu?"
Right now, their only hope was for Katsuyu to physically block Future Boruto's attack.
"I can sense natural energy within this jutsu... Yes, I believe I can handle it."
"Then we're counting on you, Lady Katsuyu."
Katsuyu lifted her body, ready to take on the massive Rasengan head-on. But just as it was about to make contact, it suddenly vanished into thin air.
"What just happened?"
The Leaf shinobi, who had all braced for impact, were left dumbfounded as the Rasengan disappeared before their eyes.
"Hey, Kakashi, did we just get played?"
Guy pointed to the empty, pitch-black sky.
"...This time, the Hidden Leaf really lost face."
Kakashi shook his head in frustration.
…
Hokage's Office.
Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai, all of whom had directly confronted the enemy, were now gathered.
"Explain everything in detail…"
The four exchanged glances before Asuma stepped forward to speak.
"A mysterious shinobi who excels in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, all at an elite level?" Tsunade furrowed her brow slightly. "Is there any chance this is the same person who appeared during the Nine-Tails' attack?"
Kakashi thought for a moment and said, "Unlikely. Although the battle appeared intense, it seemed like he was holding back. That Rasengan at the end—though it embarrassed the village, it didn't actually cause any real damage."
"I see…"
"Lady Hokage, there's something else," Kurenai added. "The person he was carrying on his back… it was Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyūga."
"Hanabi Hyūga?!" Tsunade looked at Kurenai. "Could this person be connected to the Hyūga clan somehow… I understand. Since the village didn't sustain any actual damage, let's consider the matter closed."
"Yes, Lady Hokage," the four replied in unison.
The next morning, just as dawn broke and the sun peeked over the eastern horizon—
Because of the previous night's events, many villagers hadn't slept at all.
Hokage's Office.
For once, Tsunade didn't sleep in. She was already wide awake.
"Lady Tsunade…" Shizune gently pushed open the door, holding the little pig, and peeked inside. "So you didn't sleep in today after all."
"After what happened last night, how could I possibly sleep?" Tsunade shot her a glance. "What is it?"
"Actually, Izumo and Kotetsu have something they'd like to report."
"Is that so? Send them in."
Tsunade seated herself behind her desk.
"Lady Tsunade."
…
After listening to their report, Tsunade smashed the Hokage desk in front of her with a single punch.
"What?! Is this true?!"
"Yes, according to what Haruno Sakura said, there should be no mistake," Kotetsu replied.
"Damn it!" Tsunade swung her fist again, but with the desk already destroyed, her punch hit nothing but air. "Of all times, why now?! You two, go find Nara Shikamaru, who was just promoted to chunin."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
…
Hokage's Office.
The newly promoted chunin Shikamaru now stood before Tsunade.
"This will be your first mission as a chunin: bring back Sasuke, who left the village without authorization."
"Sasuke? What happened?"
"He was lured away by Orochimaru. That Uchiha idiot!" Tsunade cursed, then continued, "In any case, this mission won't be easy. I'm giving you full permission to gather any genin you think are skilled enough."
"No jonin will be accompanying us? This is Orochimaru we're talking about—one of the Three Legendary Sannin."
"Don't worry. After being severely injured by the Third Hokage, Orochimaru fought both me and Jiraiya. Right now, he's in no condition to personally escort Sasuke. Besides, we just dealt with last night's crisis. We need to keep enough jonin here to protect the village, and we also have to send jonin to locate Jiraiya. So we don't have any to spare for your team."
"But last night's incident might have been orchestrated by Orochimaru's people—as a distraction to help Sasuke escape."
As the heir of the Nara clan, Shikamaru was well aware of the behind-the-scenes details of the previous night.
"Shikamaru, accept the Hokage's order!"
Tsunade now spoke with the full authority of the Hokage.
"Yes, Lady Hokage."
It was only now that Shikamaru remembered—the woman sitting before him was the village's highest authority, the Fifth Hokage. Her orders weren't something he could refuse.
"This is turning into a huge hassle…" Shikamaru muttered under his breath. "Still, we're talking about someone I know—I can't just ignore this…"
"By the way, if you're looking for strong genin, I recommend Uzumaki Naruto. Don't underestimate him—he's come a long way under Jiraiya's training."
"Uzumaki Naruto, huh… Understood, Lady Hokage."