Chapter 252: The Tragedy of Konoha, the Slaughter Begins
"Immediately send men to find Tsunade and Jiraiya and bring them back to the village."
This was the last order the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, gave to the ANBU before the war meeting began. Hatake Kakashi, wearing the Konoha ANBU cloak and mask, his identity completely hidden, calmly watched as the heads of Konoha's clans and the village's Jounin arrived one by one.
A Jounin meeting of this scale was already comparable to wartime.
He turned his head to the window. The wind outside Konoha was still mild, sweeping a green leaf from somewhere into the room.
But this peaceful daily life... was probably about to end again.
Kakashi suddenly sensed someone approaching. He turned his head, his cold eyes meeting a pair of emerald-green ones.
[Providence] was tall, nearly Kakashi's height. She looked levelly at Kakashi, who only had one eye visible. A small, exquisite, palm-sized scroll suddenly appeared in her hand.
Providence was one of the few Konoha shinobi who didn't wear an ANBU cloak. Her blonde hair made her instantly recognizable, and she seemed to have no intention of hiding her identity. It wasn't just her own; in her eyes, the identities of other ANBU were no secret either.
"Kakashi-kun, now is not the time to be depressed. Soon, this village will be ignited by the flames of war. When that time comes, I think you'll want to open this intelligence report."
Providence leaned in, whispering ambiguously by Kakashi's ear. Kakashi hesitated, but accepted the scroll.
There were rumors in the ANBU that this mysterious [Providence] had a strange intelligence channel. Everyone who received one of her scrolls ended up deeply grateful.
Kakashi's mind was sharp. His breathing hitched for a moment. He put the scroll away and watched her blonde hair sway in the sunlight as she walked into the meeting room.
ANBU normally didn't participate in this kind of Jounin meeting, but she was clearly an exception. The Third Hokage, and even the Hyuga and Uchiha, all held her in high regard.
Kakashi thought of her words, and his heart grew heavy again.
In other words, in her eyes, Konoha can't escape being attacked?
A terrifying killing intent appeared in Kakashi's eye. Konoha was on high alert, and the enemy villages were watching eagerly. This situation... it felt just like that most difficult time for Konoha.
Providence saw her reputation with Kakashi had also risen to 'Friendly,' but she felt no pride. This small feat was something any Reincarnator with enough time and observation skills could do.
She didn't think what she did was amazing. In her view, she had merely done what a Reincarnatorshould do.
In this Infinite Dimensional Space, talented Reincarnators were countless, and "astonishingly brilliant" ones were not rare. Above them all, there were those [Anomalies] and [Monsters] who couldn't be measured by common sense.
"Someone like me... at best, I'm just 'astonishingly brilliant'."
She gave herself this evaluation, not with pride, but with complete calm.
Compared to her, Mercenary Tao, who had just appeared in this world, was even more astonishing. How did that guy achieve such unsettling growth? Just two mission worlds ago, he was just a guy who was a bit stronger than the "borderline" Reincarnators... Now, he was a monster practically steamrolling this world.
The Infinite Dimensional Space doesn't allow "grinding." The mission world you enter is tied to your rating. This meant, in the Nexus's rating, Mercenary Tao was still [Mortal-tier] or just promoted to [Strong-tier].
But the combat power he displayed... was completely beyond the description of [Irregular].
Defeating Uchiha Shisui head-on. Surviving a one-on-one fight with the Six Paths of Pain and gaining their recognition.
Mercenary Tao's current frontline combat power was undoubtedly at the Kage-level, and a strong one with no weaknesses, surpassing even Jiraiya's Sage Mode.
She almost laughed at the intel she'd gathered. She had thought that, with her step-by-step approach, she could achieve a peaceful takeover, seize control of Konoha, restart the bloodline research, and hopefully obtain multiple bloodline items... with a chance at the Otsutsuki bloodline in the future.
But now, realizing Mercenary Tao had joined the Akatsuki, that special large-scale [Fall of the Five Great Nations] event was almost certainly his handiwork.
She knew Mercenary Tao's goal, so she knew her original plan wouldn't work.
She sat behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, closing her eyes, simulating all the possible developments in this world.
Mercenary Tao's actions would definitely cause a massive change in this world. This behavior would get him high-grade Singularities, but at the same time, it would erase the advantage Reincarnators had of knowing the plot.
Her mind raced, simulating not just a few events, but the entire timeline. If Mercenary Tao led the Akatsuki to destroy Konoha, what were the possible outcomes? And in those timelines, what did she need to do to get the maximum benefit?
This ability of Providence's was the key to how she, after being "farmed" by a farming-team when she first entered the Nexus, had still been able to gain their trust and, step by step, destroy [Team 9527].
Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that everyone had arrived, coughed, and began to speak.
"We all know Konoha's situation is extremely dangerous."
"Because of the rumors related to the Uchiha, the other shinobi villages are watching. If we show any weakness, the war... will begin again."
Hyuga Hiashi glanced at Uchiha Fugaku. The latter, wearing a Konoha combat uniform, didn't argue, as if the friction between the Konoha leadership and the Uchiha was just a rumor.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to appease the clans, demanding they increase patrols, raise the alert level across all of Konoha, and forbid any shinobi from engaging with enemy ninjas during this time.
This statement made Hyuga Hiashi frown. He remembered that humiliating incident for the Hyuga clan.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to continue, when suddenly, the alarm sounded.
Wooo~
The shrill alarm blared from the village gates. The next moment, an ANBU ninja landed in the room. He flickered to Sarutobi's side and whispered:
"A large number of giant beasts are attacking the Konoha perimeter!"
Swoosh!
A new ANBU appeared, bringing new intel.
"The Barrier Team reports! Someone has breached the village's protective barrier! The individual's signature is strong!"
Everyone present was a Konoha Jounin or a clan head; almost all of them were war veterans. They knew instantly: Konoha was being invaded.
This... their expressions all changed.
As the strongest shinobi village... the Battle of Kikyo Pass had been seen as a dangerous signal and a humiliating event precisely because the battlefield was so deep in the Land of Fire, so close to Konoha.
They never thought... that someone would directly invade Konoha's interior.
Sarutobi Hiruzen shot to his feet.
"ANBU Squads 1 through 3, immediately find the identity of the invading shinobi!"
"Hyuga Clan, assist the search! And send men to the perimeter, expand the warning zone to 20 kilometers outside Konoha!"
"Inuzuka Clan, Aburame Clan, cover the 20-kilometer zone! Do not let a single enemy ninja's trace slip through!"
Orders were issued rapidly. In this moment, Konoha truly felt the flames of war approaching. The political friction of the past seemed insignificant. As the orders were given, shinobi quickly left to execute them.
Konoha, the strongest war machine in the shinobi world, finally roared to life once again.
Suddenly, Hyuga Hiashi's footsteps stopped. He spun, his body flashing to the wall.
Intense Chakra erupted from his body, blue-white Chakra spinning rapidly around him.
[Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation (Kaiten)]!
BANG!
The next moment, the wall exploded. A tall figure had punched right through it. A white-hot vapor cloud, like a giant serpent, blasted into the meeting room, slamming into the Rotation and exploding.
The force of the blast sent a gale through the room.
A chilling aura radiated inward from the breach.
All the shinobi were stunned. The enemy was here already?!
And they were attacking the Hokage Tower directly?!
Only Providence remained seated, her expression neutral beneath her mask.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was also shocked by how fast the enemy had arrived. But the next moment, he realized something. He spun, his hand grabbing for the woman sitting behind him.
[Providence's] intelligence-gathering ability was so strong, she knew about battles on the border of the Land of Fire. How could she not know about a full-scale assault on Konoha?!
The only explanation: [Providence] had betrayed Konoha and intentionally hidden the intel!
Providence looked up, meeting Sarutobi's eyes. Her emerald-green eyes were as calm as water. She was already on her feet, raising her left hand as if to block Sarutobi's.
BANG!
Sarutobi's chest was suddenly struck. He reacted instantly. The moment he was hit, his body burst into smoke, replaced by a broken chair. The Third Hokage himself reappeared at the back of the room.
He had already shed his formal robes, revealing the combat suit he wore underneath.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't so old as to have completely lost his [Shinobi Professor] instincts. He would not place all his hope in others; he was prepared for war.
There was a fist print on his chest; his ribs were cracked from the blow. Sarutobi clapped his hands, and Shadow Clones appeared.
He ignored his injury and roared, his voice deep:
"Konoha ANBU! Arrest the traitor [Providence]! If she resists, kill her on sight!"
Hatake Kakashi had just entered the meeting room when he heard the order. Before he could process what was happening, a terrifying aura exploded from the breach in the wall.
He turned his head and saw a tall man in a red-cloud-on-black-cloak, with short hair, standing in the broken wall, a cruel smile on his face.
An aura like a raging sea slammed into everyone.
Even Kakashi felt his breath catch. Several of the clan elders had already lost consciousness from the terrifying pressure.
And following this aura, Tendo Pain and Orochimaru entered, one by one. They looked at the assembled Konoha Jounin and clan heads. Orochimaru smiled his sinister smile.
"What a... perfect opportunity to wipe them all out."
He glanced at his old teacher, then sneered and looked away.
Uchiha Fugaku's crimson three-tomoe stared at Kaito Shirogane. He guessed this was the Mercenary Tao who had captured Itachi. He was about to speak, but his face changed.
Behind them, a familiar figure appeared.
Uchiha Itachi, his expression calm, met his father's gaze. His crimson three-tomoe stared at his father.
"Father, forgive me. Today's slaughter... is a destined outcome."
The next moment, Uchiha Itachi's figure vanished. A blur of wind appeared behind Koharu Utatane. She had been off the front lines for too long; her reaction was slow. By the time she realized what was happening, she had only half-turned before a blade sliced into her neck from behind.
Pfft!
Blood splashed onto Uchiha Itachi's young face, dyeing his tear-troughs red. He vanished again. Hatake Kakashi's kunai stabbed empty air.
He turned his head, his eye meeting Uchiha Itachi's. As the three-tomoe spun... Kakashi felt as if he was seeing Obito and Rin's faces again...
(End of Chapter)