Beside Yuto, Ranmaru kept his red eyes active, peering off into the distance as he reported on the clashes breaking out everywhere.
"Starting early because of me made the strike a bit rushed, but Suna's performance is downright awful," Yuto said with a light shake of the head and a chuckle.
Across the board Suna's detachments were being suppressed by Konoha—to call them "awful" was generous.
In a hidden village, top-tier shinobi aren't just raw combat power. Their greater value is the influence and cohesion they give everyone else. As long as such a figure isn't cut down on the open field, even when the battle turns grim the others will still fight to the last.
Not like now—panic the moment they're pressed, not even the nerve to go down swinging.
And Konoha hadn't even shown full strength yet.
The units on the field were mostly Anbu and civilian-line shinobi under the Hokage's banner; almost no one else had appeared.
Root under Danzō, smaller clans, and even the major lines—Hyūga, Akimichi, Nara, Aburame—hadn't moved at all.
In other words, this so-called "Konoha Crush" hadn't even pushed out a fraction of Konoha's foundation.
"Pinning everything on a single tailed beast… and maybe a little on Orochimaru," Yuto said, a curl of mockery in his voice.
Too bad the Ichibi (One-Tail) jinchūriki couldn't even control the beast, and as for Orochimaru—he'd never intended to truly help Suna in the first place.
If anything, Suna ought to thank Yuto. He'd thrown them in the fire, sure—but now Orochimaru couldn't get away with phoning it in like before.
"Where are the others?" Yuto asked, eyes sweeping over Konoha below.
"Yuto-sama, Ameyuri-onee-san and the rest just arrived!" Ranmaru paused, then smiled.
As his words fell—
Lightning flared at Konoha's main gate, then a sudden blast.
The village gate blew apart.
—Chunin Exams venue—
Ringed in by Anbu, Orochimaru's face tightened.
Retreating now would be far harder than in the original plan.
"Orochimaru, you have nowhere left to run," the Third said, voice even, eyes complicated.
"Run? Why would I run? You think you can stop me?" Orochimaru's tongue wet his lips, voice cold as the kunai at Hiruzen's throat drew a thin line of blood.
"Third-sama!" Anbu cried out.
"So you chose this path. Joining Suna to attack Konoha—you've disappointed me," Hiruzen answered, ignoring the cut, voice like ice.
Tension snapped taut.
Then—an explosion at the gate drew every eye.
Hiruzen's face darkened as his peripheral vision caught the blast blooming at the village entrance.
Another Suna detachment in hiding?
If the barrier hadn't been destroyed early, a force that size at the gate should've been spotted at once.
A low, taunting chuckle brushed Hiruzen's ear. "Sensei, a little carelessness and Konoha's gone."
Hiruzen's face blackened. "Move!"
Shu-shu-shu!
A storm of kunai swallowed the two figures—
—Hiruzen burst into a log with a pop—Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique).
Orochimaru crumbled into earth—Tsuchi Bunshin (Earth Clone).
When—? The Anbu blinked; none of them had seen Orochimaru slip away.
"You won't escape," Hiruzen said, unsurprised. His hands flashed through three seals and slapped the ground.
A rumble, then Orochimaru surged up from below.
"As expected of you, sensei. You noticed," Orochimaru said, glancing at blood on his arm, smiling thinly.
"I taught you those arts. Today, I'm taking it all back," Hiruzen's voice carried killing intent.
"Tsk. Rather than worry about me, sensei… look behind you."
"Hahaha! I'm finally out!"
A huge roar boomed from one of the arena platforms.
Chakra exploded—then a body swelled at visible speed.
In a blink, Shukaku stood in full view.
Because Yuto had triggered the plan early, Gaara had been on the stands; now he'd transformed there.
Baki yanked Kankurō and Temari back, glaring at Kabuto retreating alongside them. "What are you playing at?"
Feeling their anger settle on him, Kabuto pushed his glasses, his smile mild as ever. "As it stands, Konoha was clearly prepared. Both Orochimaru-sama's side and Suna's were targeted."
"With that, the original plan won't fly. Better to trigger the bijū now—maybe the field flips."
He paused, then went on:
"Besides, a third party has joined the fun. If Suna doesn't bring out everything, this 'Konoha Crush' won't have anything to do with you."
"A third party?" Baki blinked, frowning at him.
"You didn't think those blasts that took down Konoha's kekkai (barrier), and the explosion at the gate, were ours… did you? None of that was in the plan."
"Then who?" Baki's face hardened.
"Which village has been at Konoha's throat lately?" Kabuto smiled.
"Kirigakure."
Baki's spirit jolted as he let the three syllables out.
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