"I never thought this would happen at such a time..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, donned his armor and joined the elite Anbu ninjas as they set out for the site of the incident.
Ahead, flames soared to the sky from the explosion at the power plant.
Streetlights along the way were all extinguished, with only the skyward flames illuminating the darkness.
The Tengu Woman flew through the dark veil, deftly avoiding attacks from the Konoha ninjas, wearing down their ninja tools and chakra.
The surrounding Konoha ninjas were increasing in number, densely packed and high in morale, completely different from when they faced the Hidden Grass ninja.
The strength and determination of the Konoha ninjas were formidable.
The tasks of firefighting, battling, covering, and evacuating the civilians to shelters—all were carried out in an orderly manner without any panic.
"Hokage-sama!"
With Hiruzen's arrival, the Konoha ninjas found their pillar of strength.
Hiruzen looked up to the sky, easily spotting the figures of Tengu Woman and Raidenmaru.
"Are they the mysterious witch and summoning beast from the attack on the Hidden Grass Village?"
Hiruzen immediately recognized Tengu Woman and Raidenmaru, recalling the mysterious duo that attacked the Hidden Grass Village months ago.
"How is the evacuation of the civilians going?"
Hiruzen inquired about the most crucial task at hand.
Death in battle is inevitable for ninjas; it's a realization and awareness one must have from the day they become a ninja.
However, no matter what, the battles between ninjas should never involve innocent civilians.
"Hokage-sama, the surrounding civilians are safely heading towards the shelters,"
a Konoha Jonin leaped to Hiruzen's side and respectfully answered.
"Well done. Now focus on fighting the enemy."
"Yes!"
Raidenmaru glanced at the Third Hokage Hiruzen below and whispered into Tengu Woman's ear,
"Sister, that guy down there is the Third Hokage. We must maintain a safe distance from him; we stand no chance in a direct confrontation. We'll just wait for the right moment—"
Suddenly, Raidenmaru noticed his body falling downward.
No, that's not right. To be precise, both his and Tengu Woman's bodies were plummeting.
The feeling was as if something had bound their bodies, making it impossible to move.
Raidenmaru struggled to turn his head, looking at a Konoha ninja below.
The ninja formed a seal, extending a shadow that merged with the shadows of Raidenmaru and Tengu Woman cast on the ground.
"A shadow technique of the Nara Clan, a blunder..."
The Konoha ninjas, seeing this, charged in with unstoppable momentum, preparing jutsus below to deliver a fatal blow as Tengu Woman and Raidenmaru fell.
The Nara Clan ninja also smiled.
Because their opponents flew in the sky, they didn't pay attention to their shadows cast on the ground. It was a bit tricky to find, though.
Hiruzen observed with a satisfied smile, realizing the battle could end without him needing to intervene.
The village indeed had many excellent ninjas.
Raidenmaru, perched on Tengu Woman's shoulder, had a black mist coiling around his jet-black body, akin to dark clouds, with faint flashes of lightning within.
It seemed like he was planning to cast a jutsu.
Just then, a beast's roar resonated throughout Konoha, causing the very ground to tremble fiercely.
Inexplicably, all the Konoha ninjas felt a chilling cold, shivering involuntarily.
"Damn!"
The Nara Clan ninja's face changed, and in that moment of distraction, his jutsu's chakra supply briefly interrupted.
As he prepared to resupply chakra to control Tengu Woman's body, he found that she had already seized that moment of chakra vacuum to escape his grasp, flying in another direction to the high skies.
"Damn, just a little more!"
The opportunity was a one-time chance. Trying the same tactic again wouldn't be easy, as the opponent would certainly be cautious of his shadow jutsu.
Yet, what was that beast's roar just now...
Not only the Nara clan ninja felt puzzled, but other Konoha ninjas also turned their eyes towards the direction of the roar.
Located in the northeast of Konoha, close to the Death Forest region.
Hiruzen's expression drastically changed; this sinister aura, along with the oppressive weight of the chakra, could only belong to the Nine-Tails.
Hiruzen finally realized that Tengu Woman and Raidenmaru were mere diversions to gather attention here.
Their real target was the Nine-Tails!
And even the Nine-Tails Chakra had leaked out. For such a terrifying chakra to erupt, Kushina's sealing technique must have encountered issues.
No, the Nine-Tails must not be lost!
Hiruzen decisively left a portion of Konoha ninjas here to keep Tengu Woman and Raidenmaru at bay while he led the Anbu and some Konoha ninjas towards the site of the Nine-Tails' eruption.
Compared to facilities that could be rebuilt with funds, losing the Nine-Tails would be catastrophic.
"Just like Father said, Konoha ninjas truly are troublesome. Even when dominating the skies, we can't afford to let our guard down. But this way, I can successfully hide my Immortal Technique. After all, I don't want to fight in that troublesome form..."
Raidenmaru mumbled on Tengu Woman's shoulder, the black mist and lightning receding, watching the Konoha ninjas below with wary eyes.