The battle raging in Grass Village continued unabated.
As the village second only to the five great shinobi villages, even under a sudden assault and with its ruling elite entirely betraying it, many Grass shinobi still fought valiantly to resist.
The "Flower of Grass" faction played a critical role at this pivotal moment.
Ichiro Hirayama, the elder ousted from Grass Village's power structure, rallied the disorganized Grass shinobi with his presence, barely stabilizing the chaos.
Ryuran, Ryuzetsu, and other "Flower of Grass" shinobi busied themselves establishing defensive lines while evacuating ordinary civilians.
On the ridge of a burning high-rise building…
Kokushibo, the "Upper Rank Two," clad in a haori with a long sword at his waist, coldly observed the scene, his eyes occasionally flashing with disdain.
The demons nurtured on blood fodder in the cellar, though possessing power rivaling Upper Moons, were far inferior in experience, technique, and even intelligence compared to true Upper Moons, who had accumulated decades or centuries of bloody battles and reshufflings.
"Trash…"
Watching the Grass shinobi, leaderless yet gradually organizing and counterattacking the demons, Kokushibo couldn't help but shake his head.
Though seven demons had been sent to deal with Hidden Leaf's reconnaissance team, the remaining dozen or so demons, combined with the seven or eight "Fruit of Grass" elders who had turned into demons, should have had no trouble overwhelming an unprepared Grass Village. Yet, it had come to this.
Whoosh.
At that moment, a Grass elder-turned-demon landed before Kokushibo. "My lord, please permit us to activate the 'Box of Ultimate Bliss'!"
"Box of Ultimate Bliss…"
A flicker of interest finally crossed Kokushibo's icy face.
Outside Grass Village…
Gazing at the blazing Grass Village under the night sky, Sasuke, clad in Akatsuki garb with a hawk-faced mask and red-cloud cloak, slammed his fist into a tree trunk. "Are we just going to stand here and watch? What's our mission, exactly?"
Haku, wearing a dog-faced mask and similarly dressed in Akatsuki attire, calmly stared into the distance. "Our mission right now is to await orders."
Hearing the faint wails drifting from Grass Village, Sasuke sighed.
Despite his outwardly rebellious demeanor, deep down, he was a gentle soul. Though he had no ties to Grass Village, witnessing the horrific slaughter and hearing the heart-wrenching cries tore at his heart.
Haku glanced at Sasuke, thinking to himself, It seems, like Shinji, Sasuke is also a kind person. Is this the Uchiha trait—cold on the outside, soft within?
Sensing Haku's gaze, Sasuke quickly asked, "C, what are those monsters attacking Grass Village?"
Haku murmured, "Demons."
"Demons!?" Sasuke froze, then grew irritated, thinking 'C' was mocking him.
Ignoring Sasuke's annoyance, Haku continued calmly, "They have almost no weaknesses, possess terrifying regenerative abilities, and can replenish their chakra by devouring shinobi bodies."
Sasuke's face twisted in shock. "What!?"
Haku went on, "Among them, the 'Upper Moons,' when brimming with chakra, wield power comparable to the Five Kage. They often possess one or two bizarre abilities. A moment's carelessness, and a shinobi becomes their meal."
Sasuke, defiant yet shaken, roared, "C, are you trying to scare me? How could such monsters exist in the shinobi world? Aren't those guys with 'Upper' and 'Lower' etched in their eyes members of Itachi's 'Dark Akatsuki'?"
Haku shook his head. "That's just a trick the demons use to pit the five great villages against us. They're not Dark Akatsuki. They're merely monsters invading the shinobi world. Our mission is to fight them and drive every last one out of this world!"
"Our… our mission is to fight these monsters?" Sasuke could hardly believe it.
But recalling the time when 'A' kidnapped Naruto, their pursuit through the Land of Wind's deserts, the monsters they encountered, and the battles that followed, he began to understand.
Eagerly, he asked, "How do we deal with these demons?"
Haku pointed to the sky. "Most of them fear sunlight, so the sun is the most effective weapon against them."
Sasuke frowned. "What about besides sunlight? Can ninjutsu kill them?"
"Ordinary ninjutsu has limited effect. You have to repeatedly kill them to destroy them," Haku paused, then added, "But there are a few specialized techniques that can target them effectively, like the Mangekyo Sharingan's dojutsu, Amaterasu."
"Amaterasu…" Sasuke felt a surge of confidence.
Karin, dressed in Akatsuki garb, stood on a high cliff overlooking Grass Village, silently watching her homeland, now a battlefield.
This was her birthplace.
Though it held few fond memories, it was where all her memories with her mother resided.
Ido, floating in the air, teased, "B, we rushed all this way just to watch the show? Those man-eating things—are they the 'demons' you told me about on the way?"
Karin nodded lightly. "Yes."
Ido pressed, "Isn't our mission to eliminate those demons? Why are we just standing here?"
Karin replied coolly, "We're waiting for the leader's orders."
Shinji's authority alone couldn't rein in a heart demon like Ido, which was why he paired her with Karin. With her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Wood Release, and being a step away from the Rinnegan, Karin could suppress Ido comprehensively.
"Tch, using the boss to shut me up again!"
As expected, though Ido grumbled, she descended from the air to stand beside Karin.
She genuinely feared her colleague, 'B.'
In a forest…
At nearly the same moment, Neji and Kimimaro, both in red-cloud cloaks, stood atop high treetops, gazing at the war-torn Grass Village.
"Demons again?"
The same thought crossed their minds.
Having experienced the anchor point destruction incident, both were no strangers to demons.
Neji had even successfully destroyed an anchor point, earning great merit for saving the shinobi world. Though Kimimaro hadn't destroyed an anchor point, he had helped Shinji pin down Upper Moon One.
Thus, seeing demons rampantly slaughtering Grass Village's civilians, neither was overly shocked.
Boom!
Suddenly, amidst roars and howls, a massive black shadow leapt from Grass Village. Spreading its wings, it loomed like a reaper, casting Grass Village into its ominous shadow.