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Naruto Uzumaki had just awakened from the genjutsu. As he opened his eyes, the sight of chaos unfolded around him—shinobi locked in combat on all sides.
For a moment, he was stunned.
"Naruto! I'm assigning you a mission—more dangerous than the one in the Land of Waves," Kakashi said, his voice sharp and urgent as he repelled a pair of attackers.
"The Land of Waves…? Then what's going on right now?"
"Shikamaru and Sakura will brief you on the way. For now, I need you to immediately catch up with Sasuke and move to a secure location. Do not engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary!"
Kakashi didn't know Gaara's full identity before, but the moment he saw Sasuke's injured arm, a dark premonition filled his chest.
He suspected the worst: Gaara of the Sand, host of the One-Tail, Shukaku—a living weapon of Sunagakure.
Kakashi wasn't going to risk Naruto or the others trying to confront him. His only concern was ensuring Sasuke's safety and avoiding unnecessary casualties.
---
Elsewhere, in the Hyuga Clan's waiting lounge, Hyuga Hiashi had just killed two enemy shinobi attempting a sneak attack. Without delay, he turned to his daughters and nephew.
"Konoha is under attack. We're evacuating immediately."
"Where are you going, Father?!" Hanabi cried.
"I'm going to find Ye Dou. He's still in the exam lounge!"
"Return here now! Konoha is a battlefield. You can't just run around freely!"
"But—!"
"Enough. That boy is a disciple of both Kakashi and Might Guy. He'll be fine. If you go looking for him, you'll only cause trouble. Come with me."
Without wasting another moment, Hiashi lifted the unconscious Hinata over his shoulder and helped Neji walk, leading them toward the Hyuga compound for safety. He was a clan leader first—then a Konoha shinobi. His priorities were clear.
Hanabi stood frozen, torn by conflict.
Suddenly, Ye Dou, who had remained hidden nearby, vanished in a puff of smoke—only a shadow clone. Her eyes widened.
"Ye Dou!"
Disregarding her father's command, she turned and sprinted toward the battlefield.
"Hanabi!"
"Father, go ahead! I'll be back soon!"
---
Meanwhile, the real Ye Dou had already reached a storage point hidden within a building.
He silently unsheathed the long sword at his waist and drove it into a hidden compartment—striking a pressure node wired with explosive tags.
Zzz-zzz-zzz!
The tags ignited in a chain reaction. Flames quickly spread, triggering a massive explosion that cascaded through sections of the village.
"Feel it, Konoha," Ye Dou muttered coldly. "This is the price of your blood debt."
---
[Orochimaru's Treachery Unfolds]
The battle across the village raged on.
In particular, the conflict between Konoha and the Sand shinobi had become ruthless and bitter. The hatred between the two villages ran deep.
During all three Great Ninja Wars, Konoha and Sunagakure had clashed repeatedly. Their shared border made them the first to collide in nearly every conflict. Decades of bloodshed had left scars that could not easily be healed.
Suddenly, distant thunderous explosions shook the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There had been no warning. A series of detonations erupted across Konoha like falling dominoes—indiscriminate and relentless.
Commercial districts, residential blocks, training halls, and even medical facilities were all engulfed in flames and reduced to rubble. The death toll soared.
Near the Ninja Academy, Umino Iruka stood defensively in front of a group of terrified students.
A Sand shinobi confronted him, expression cold and merciless.
"You've gone too far!" Iruka shouted, his voice shaking with rage. Behind him, trembling children clung to each other. The corpses of students—young and innocent—lay nearby, torn apart by the blasts, unrecognizable.
"This is war," the Sand shinobi said flatly. "Either you die, or we do."
The words stung. In truth, even he hadn't anticipated this level of destruction—such indiscriminate killing wasn't part of their original plan. But war had no room for regrets.
Without hesitation, he raised his blade, targeting the children and Iruka.
These students were the future of Konoha—the next generation of shinobi. Eliminating them now would weaken Konoha's prospects for years.
Iruka drew a kunai and stepped forward.
He had no choice.
There was no one else to protect them.
---
Similar scenes unfolded all over the village. In some places, they were even more gruesome than what Iruka witnessed.
But by the time Konoha had fired its emergency signal flares, it was already too late. The civilians had begun evacuating, herded toward underground shelters. Chaos reigned above, and the village's future trembled in uncertainty.
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