On the battlefield filled with smoke, Shihouin Naraku sat atop a hill of corpses, leaning on his sword and looking down at the Konoha shinobi below.
A terrifying pressure, heavy as a mountain, made the Konoha shinobi stand in complete silence!
It took a long while for the pressure to finally lift.
The Konoha shinobi secretly breathed sighs of relief.
"Several Sunagakure ninjas escaped early," Naraku stated. "Yue, lead a squad to pursue them. All of these ninjas are injured and can't have gone far."
"Yes, sir!"
Yamanaka Yue acknowledged the order and immediately set out with a team of uninjured ninjas.
"All shinobi who participated in battle earlier, remain here to clean up this area and establish defenses. Those who haven't fought yet, return to the exam venue immediately to provide support!"
"Find Hokage-sama or Hatake Kakashi and report the situation here."
After giving these instructions, Shihouin Naraku waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes, sir!"
The ninja squad that hadn't participated in battle and remained in good condition immediately turned and headed toward the examination venue.
Shihouin Naraku ignored the ninjas who began quickly cleaning the battlefield. Instead, he looked up at the tallest building in the examination venue, where a barrier jutsu still stood strong.
He could vaguely see that a small forest had suddenly appeared inside the barrier. Thick tree trunks now filled the entire enclosed space.
It was difficult for people outside to clearly see the battle taking place within.
His pupils dilated slightly as an invisible sense of perception spread outward instantly.
Observation Haki!
Shihouin Naraku immediately 'saw' the battle at the examination venue. The Konoha shinobi, led by Hatake Kakashi, were still fighting against Sunagakure and Otogakure ninjas.
Because civilians had been safely evacuated to shelters, and because Konoha shinobi who had initially been assigned to civilian protection were now free to provide combat support, victory had already begun tilting toward Konoha.
Once the reinforcements Shihouin Naraku had just sent arrived, the battle would end quickly.
Then his Observation Haki probed inside the barrier, and Shihouin Naraku immediately assessed the situation.
Inside the barrier, four figures were engaged in combat. According to his Observation Haki's perception, two of them didn't appear to be alive.
"Those two must be the Impure World Reincarnation puppets—First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Second Hokage Senju Tobirama!"
"Wait, why is there another person standing inside the barrier?"
Shihouin Naraku was surprised to detect an extra presence inside the barrier. This person's life force seemed unstable, as if they might die at any moment.
"Who is this person? Why are they in the barrier?"
"I have a feeling that they're seriously ill and dying... Kaguya Kimimaro?"
This unexpected discovery surprised Shihouin Naraku. He had always assumed Orochimaru would face Sarutobi Hiruzen one-on-one, but this wasn't a simple master-disciple duel—it was multiple opponents against the Third Hokage alone.
"But looking at the current battle, was Kaguya Kimimaro eliminated early?"
Through his Observation Haki, Shihouin Naraku could see Kaguya Kimimaro lying half-dead to the side, not participating in the battle between Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen at all.
If that was the case, then perhaps the outcome wouldn't change much.
"No, with one more person, the ending will definitely change!"
Kaguya Kimimaro was extremely loyal to Orochimaru and would certainly help him as long as he remained alive.
"So this time, Orochimaru has a good chance of escaping without having his arms sealed?!"
Shihouin Naraku was stunned by this realization. He immediately stood up.
At that moment, Yamanaka Yue returned with the escaped Sunagakure ninjas.
The Sand ninjas had been seriously injured during their escape, making them easy to capture.
"Yue, take your men and defend this position!"
"Yes, sir!"
Yamanaka Yue nodded, only to look up and find that Shihouin Naraku had already vanished.
She surveyed the barren ground around her and felt a chill run down her spine. How was she supposed to defend this area?
The gate and wall had completely disappeared.
How could they defend anything?
However, after glancing at the captured Sand ninjas, Yamanaka Yue regained her confidence.
In truth, their capture operation had encountered no obstacles. The Sand ninjas were already injured and had been thoroughly frightened by Lord Naraku's overwhelming power. They had no will to resist.
Unless something unexpected happened, there would likely be no more attacks.
Besides, Otogakure was just a small ninja village with few elite shinobi, and they had already been depleted earlier in the conflict.
Sunagakure's main force had been at the south gate. After being annihilated by Lord Naraku in his one-against-thousands battle, they had no other ninjas to spare.
Furthermore, many Sand ninjas were already engaged at the examination venue. The outer defense was mostly a formality now. They simply needed to wait for the war to end.
Yamanaka Yue walked to the deep crater near where the south gate had once stood and shook her head in amazement. "Lord Naraku is so powerful. Is this really something a ninja can do?"
"How terrifying!"
"Lucky I surrendered to Lord Naraku in advance. Otherwise, it would have been disastrous."
...
Rewinding time slightly, the sounds of combat echoed throughout the examination hall.
Hatake Kakashi withdrew his lightning-charged palm from an enemy's chest and sighed with relief as he watched the opponent's life force fade away.
"How did so many enemies manage to sneak into the village?" he wondered.
Might Guy kicked his opponent down and stood back-to-back with Kakashi, equally confused.
"Don't forget, Orochimaru used to be a high-ranking official in Konohagakure," Kakashi said between breaths. "He knows the village too well. Who knows what other plans he has."
Glancing at the battle in the audience section, Kakashi felt a reluctant sense of relief.
The reinforcements had arrived just in time; otherwise, Konoha's losses would have been even more severe.
However, this battle wasn't the most critical concern. More important was the defense line outside the village. If enemies broke through that, real disaster would follow.
"BOOM!!!"
A thunderous roar that seemed to shake heaven and earth exploded through the air, followed by hurricane-force winds.
The ground heaved violently, and powerful shock waves struck the towering walls of the examination hall. The horrific vibrations nearly toppled the entire structure.
"What's happening? What was that?"
Both Konoha shinobi and enemy Sand and Sound ninjas stopped fighting and stared in horror at the mushroom cloud rising in the distance, spreading across the entire sky.
"Crack..."
Amid the violent shaking, the upper sections of the auditorium began to collapse. Large chunks of rock fell from above, plummeting toward the people trapped by the fighting.
"Protect the civilians!" Kakashi shouted. The powerful penetrating force of his Raikiri instantly shattered an enormous falling boulder!
Might Guy leaped into the air with a loud shout, kicking two massive chunks of debris to pieces.
Other Konoha shinobi reacted immediately. The people in the audience were either their own civilians or citizens from allied countries. They couldn't allow casualties at this critical moment.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru, fighting inside the barrier, paused in shock as they felt the roof shaking above them.
"Orochimaru!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted coldly, his aged eyes fixed on Orochimaru with killing intent. "What have you done?"
"What have I done?"
Orochimaru sneered. "Of course we're destroying Konohagakure. Did you expect anything else?"
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