No one in Konoha realized that both Root's headquarters and the Hokage Building had been infiltrated by a formidable new enemy.
In fact, hardly anyone noticed there was a fourth faction quietly cleaning up the battlefield, gathering the corpses of both allies and enemies alike.
At present, all the Konoha shinobi were working together, each handling their part. Some were leading villagers to the underground shelters; others were "fending off" the attackers.
In truth, they were mainly trying to stall for time and stay alive until the shinobi escorting the civilians could return and launch a proper counterattack.
Meanwhile, the battle at Konoha's main plaza continued to rage. Edo Tensei had summoned the First Hokage, who conjured a forest with his Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence, so only those with top-tier sensory or clairvoyant dojutsu could follow Hiruzen Sarutobi's desperate fight with Orochimaru.
What they sensed was not reassuring—things didn't look good for the Third Hokage.
Up in the stands, Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy, both elite jōnin, worked to protect the crowd.
They joined forces against Kabuto Yakushi's Sound-nin and the Sand-nin reinforcements that arrived.
Meanwhile, Gaara and his siblings had already been captured by Izayoi and the other rookie "powerhouses."
Indeed, the Konoha Crush was just beginning when Hinata and Shino—both immune to the widespread genjutsu—teamed with Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, and Neji Hyūga to attack Temari and Kankurō.
Because Gaara was stuck in his "Feigning Sleep" technique, neither Temari nor Kankurō dared break away to rescue him. Under relentless teamwork from the "rookies," they soon found themselves overwhelmed.
If Yūhi Kurenai hadn't arrived to remind them that Sand siblings were far more valuable alive, they might have been killed on the spot. No one cared to consider if there was some future benefit to letting them live.
Meanwhile, Gaara, caught in "Feigning Sleep," had surrendered his body to Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast.
Tides of bijuu-level chakra surged out, forming endless waves of sand and rapidly materializing Shukaku's body—which also shielded Gaara from Izayoi's "Maser Light Cannon," a fusion of three elemental natures.
Yet Shukaku had barely formed when its consciousness was immediately shoved aside, reverting to Gaara's control.
Its newly formed body still featured Gaara's upper torso sticking out at the top, creating a large target—though few noticed, aside from Izayoi's shadow clone, whose poor durability was offset by swift opportunism.
Before Shukaku could fully awaken, the clone darted to its head and slammed a single punch square into Gaara's unarmored face. The sleeping Gaara snapped awake, and Shukaku's colossal form crumbled back into mere sand, piling up in the arena.
By the time Gaara regained his senses, he was already in custody—Izayoi's clone unceremoniously hauling him up to the spectator area.
"If you so much as move, I'll kill you,"
Izayoi's voice quietly warned in Gaara's ear.
"Don't kill Gaara, he's my little brother! He has to stay alive—please spare him!"
The pleading female voice was Temari's, who, despite her fear and her own capture, found the courage to ask for mercy on Gaara's behalf. Gaara felt waves of emotion flood him at that moment.
But no one paid much heed to his feelings. Kurenai called out:
"Hinata, seal his chakra. If he tries to break free, cut off his limbs—this guy is worth more alive than dead."
"Understood."
Immediately, Hinata pressed her Gentle Fist technique onto Gaara's tenketsu, locking down his chakra flow. Her Byakugan flared, watching every movement in case he tried anything suspicious.
Shortly after, Izayoi's voice whispered to Hinata, half playacting:
"How's Hanabi doing?"
"Don't worry. Father has already taken her to safety," she answered softly.
"Good."
Izayoi nodded. For him, it was time to fade into the background. The real stars of the Konoha Crush were the Third Hokage and Orochimaru. Izayoi intended to remain just a mysterious "fourth faction" fish in troubled waters.
Kurenai also had no intention of letting the rookies endanger themselves further. She turned to Izayoi and the rest:
"Take our prisoners and come with me."
With that, she led them away from the main plaza toward the Konoha Intelligence Division. The three captive Sand siblings had considerable intel, after all.
Along the way, they faced multiple attacks from Sand-nin and Sound-nin. But Konoha forces popped up time and again to provide support.
And with Izayoi no longer hiding his true strength, he simply soared into the sky and let loose his "Judgment" technique. For the enemies, it was a harsh lesson in facing a ninja who wields an "ultimate" nature-fusion as a casual attack. Even the Konoha reinforcements stared in disbelief.
That beam of lightning-light could be reshaped at will—first as a condensed mini–"Maser Light Cannon," or else expanded into a giant beam for widespread devastation.
Sasuke Uchiha, seeing Izayoi wield his "ultimate ninjutsu" so freely, practically drooled in admiration. His newly acquired Lightning Release: Chidori suddenly seemed tame.
In that moment, Sasuke resolved: once this war ended, he'd master Water Release, then humbly yet persistently beg Izayoi for teaching.
If Izayoi refused, he'd pester him nonstop, mooch off him, hang around as a third wheel until the older boy caved and shared his "ultimate moves."
Meanwhile, Izayoi—hovering midair with unstoppable grandeur—suddenly cursed.
"Dammit, that's my house!"
A thunderous oath dragged Sasuke back to reality. The "elegant and polite" Izayoi, who normally showed courtesy and maturity beyond his years, was now seething.
Throwing Kurenai's group aside, he dashed in the direction of that outraged shout. Hinata's eyes also sharpened; without a word, she vanished in a flicker right behind him. Kurenai and the rest looked on in bemusement.
In that part of town, an enormous three-headed snake was rampaging, flattening every structure around.
Paper bombs and Five-Element ninjutsu had failed to kill it, only enraging it further. All three heads lashed out at anyone who attacked, while the thrashing tail inadvertently crushed a two-story house—Izayoi's own home.
No wonder Izayoi lost his composure. Kurenai sighed:
"Leave them be. We'll keep moving,"
she told the "rookies." Then:
"Storm Release: Judgment!"
A gleaming white beam tore out of the sky, striking the center head of the three-headed serpent.
At once, the beam condensed from pure electrical heat into a razorlike "laser," scything through the entire beast. Its corpse dissolved in a white puff of smoke, returning to Ryūchi Cave.
"That's…some insane Lightning Release!"
"No, that's a Storm Release ultimate. I've heard rumors of a genius using it."
"He can even fly—what a terrifying kid!"
"Thanks, we can move on now—there are more places to be defended!"
The Konoha ninja traded a few awed comments before hurrying off to support others. Izayoi dropped to the ground and found only rubble where his home had stood. His mouth tightened in fury.
"My real body and all those clones, absolutely useless," he muttered. Furious enough to insult himself.
Truth be told, neither the real Izayoi nor any of his busy shadow clones had noticed the giant snake's approach, as they were all preoccupied with tasks—plundering Root's HQ, collecting corpses, infiltrating the Hokage Building, etc.
Jiraiya was supposed to summon a giant toad to squash the serpent, but he'd rushed to the Hokage Building's underground base upon learning "Tendo Pain" was there.
By sheer misfortune, the snake followed a path leading directly to Izayoi's street—where it tore down his house.
Hinata appeared at his side and gently comforted him:
"It's okay, Izayoi-kun. We can rebuild the house later. We're safe—that's what matters."
"…Yeah."
He nodded wryly. "Let's find those scrolls. They contain all my savings…and our photos."
Wandering amid the wreckage with his Tenseigan's x-ray vision, he soon located what he needed. "Hinata, cover me."
"Understood."
A handful of Sound-nin showed up, and Hinata's Byakugan turned cold with focus. She gave no quarter, forging her chakra into two purple lion heads—the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists—before accelerating with her Lightning Release–fueled speed.
She appeared in front of one Sound-nin and unleashed a single palm strike, instantly nullifying his chakra flow while injecting hers, fatally rattling his organs.
With one blow, she incapacitated him, moving swiftly on to his allies. They were no match for her improved Gentle Fist, each toppling in seconds.
By the time Hinata finished, Izayoi had retrieved several scrolls and some photographs—protected by their frames—from the rubble. Seeing the pictures unscathed, he breathed a sigh of relief, then eyed the ruins.
"Well, guess we'll have to build a bigger place,"
he muttered to himself.
Both he and Hinata then turned their attention to the Hokage Rock cliffs in the distance. They could sense a flood of returning chakra.
According to Konoha's emergency plans, that meant the villagers had reached the shelters, freeing up more ninja for the counteroffensive.
Formerly regarded as the strongest Hidden Village, Konoha retained an astonishing solidarity; unless facing an entire rival great village or a super-being with overwhelming power, nobody could stand against that unity.
Sure enough, once the returning squads rejoined the fight, Konoha's side—previously pinned and passive against Sound and Sand's combined forces—revealed its true might.
The invaders' lines broke in short order. Even worse for them, the Sand-nin discovered that their "Fourth Kazekage" was really Orochimaru in disguise; the real Kazekage was missing.
Realizing this, Baki and his Sand-nin promptly retreated, wanting to deliver the intel back home. Those who couldn't flee simply surrendered, banking on the hope that the village would later ransom them.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi's showdown with Orochimaru ended much as in the original story.
The aged Third Hokage, outmatched, had to face Edo Tensei resurrecting the First and Second Hokage. Even only a fraction of their original powers posed him grave trouble.
At the final moment, true to the "Will of Fire" he always preached, Sarutobi sacrificed his own soul to the Reaper—first sealing the First and Second Hokage, then ripping away Orochimaru's arms, preventing him from using ninjutsu.
Orochimaru howled in fury as Hiruzen, with a faint smile, finally closed his eyes forever.
The two old friends who grew up together, served the village, fought side by side—and contrived to push Konoha into its current decline—had earned the dubious achievement of "dying on the same day."
Except, one was bound for the Pure Land while the other was stuck in the Death God's stomach.
In the end, nobody truly "won" the Konoha Crush plan—neither Sound nor Konoha nor Sand. The only real winner, and by far the biggest, was Izayoi, who came out of this chaotic night significantly stronger and wealthier than ever.
~~~
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