Shimura Danzō, former advisor to the Hokage of Konohagakure and leader of the Root Organization, died in the ruins of his own headquarters!
This was indeed an absurd and dramatic end!
Shihouin Naraku stood with Kurikara in hand, his Observation Haki fully activated as he carefully scanned the bottom of the deep crater.
After a while, Shimura Danzō's dismembered body remained motionless on the ground, surrounded by a large pool of blood.
"It seems Danzō has truly exhausted all his Sharingan!"
Sheathing his sword, Shihouin Naraku took out some documents he had retrieved from Training Ground Zero and tossed them beside Danzō's corpse.
In truth, Naraku didn't care whether the other shinobi of Konoha knew he had killed Danzō. His current actions were simply to implicate Danzō and let the fallen elder bear the final blame.
It wasn't really implication—after all, Danzō had actually committed these heinous acts.
"After the battle ends, I can drop one or two bodies from Sunagakure and Otogakure here to make it more convincing," Shihouin Naraku thought, nearly laughing out loud.
But laughing next to Danzō's corpse seemed a bit too much.
All accomplishments could be undone by such callousness.
Shihouin Naraku looked up at the sky. The Root headquarters had been completely transformed into a deep pit, and he stood at its bottom.
Roughly speaking, this crater was about twenty stories deep.
It was primarily the energy explosion from his earlier attack that had caused the base to collapse so thoroughly.
"WHOOSH!"
Chakra exploded beneath his feet, sending dirt and gravel flying in all directions as Shihouin Naraku shot upward from the bottom of the pit like a cannonball. He flipped through the air and landed firmly on solid ground.
"BOOM!!!"
"Stop that giant snake!"
"Move forward! We cannot let the enemy enter the village before reinforcements arrive!"
"Damn it, why isn't this snake taking any damage?!"
"Take out the Otogakure shinobi first! They're causing chaos, and we can't focus on dealing with the giant snake!"
Shihouin Naraku had barely emerged from the crater when he was bombarded by these frantic shouts.
After adjusting to the sudden bright light, Shihouin Naraku surveyed his surroundings.
At the Chūnin Exam arena in Konohagakure, sounds of fierce fighting echoed and smoke rose into the air. Atop the tallest building, a conspicuous purple barrier stood out.
"BOOM!"
The ground trembled as Shihouin Naraku turned to see a three-headed brown snake charging toward the village in the distance. Although numerous ANBU members were attempting to block it, the enhanced Summoning snake was clearly not easy to handle.
Looking more carefully, he noticed three gigantic brown snakes attacking the East, West, and North gates of Konoha respectively.
The North gate was defended by Nara Shikaku and his forces, and it appeared the giant snake there was on the verge of defeat.
The East gate was manned by many ANBU members with support from other shinobi. Although they couldn't eliminate the giant snake quickly, they were at least preventing it from breaching Konoha's defenses.
Only at the West gate was the summoned snake about to break through the defensive line of Konoha shinobi and enter the village.
As for the South gate, which wasn't being attacked by a summoned snake, it was actually the most dangerous location.
Over a hundred elite Sunagakure shinobi were launching a ferocious assault there!
In short, apart from the battle raging inside the Chūnin Exam arena, Konohagakure hadn't yet been breached by the enemy, but the situation was precarious.
Now that he understood the specific situation, Shihouin Naraku shifted his stance, preparing to reinforce the West gate first—kill the snake there and then head to the South gate.
But in the next second, his Observation Haki detected something, causing Shihouin Naraku to change direction and rush toward the East gate instead!
At the West gate, the Konoha shinobi stared in panic at the rampaging giant brown snake before them.
"Damn it, we can't stop it!"
"There's nothing we can do without reinforcements!"
"Summoning Jutsu: Bring Down the House Technique!"
A loud voice echoed through the air, leaving the Konoha shinobi stunned.
"CRASH!"
A massive toad with two swords strapped to its back descended from the sky and landed hard on the three-headed brown snake. The snake bared its ferocious fangs and roared, spewing blood.
Under this terrifying impact, the giant brown snake was crushed and died instantly.
"Sorry I'm late!"
Jiraiya the Toad Sage stood proudly on the toad's back, his red coat fluttering in the wind.
"J-Jiraiya-sama?"
"Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin?!"
Jiraiya stood on the great toad's back, but his eyes were focused toward the East gate.
"CRASH!"
"Hold the line! This snake must not reach Konoha!"
"Damn! What's wrong with this snake's skin?"
"The snake has been enhanced by some special jutsu. Intensify your attacks to break through its defenses!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the East gate, dozens of shinobi from Sunagakure and Otogakure lay dead on the ground. Several ANBU members and Konoha shinobi had also lost their lives. Many wounded ninja were receiving treatment from medical-nin.
This was unavoidable. The Konoha shinobi needed to contend with both the summoned snake and enemy ninja simultaneously, so casualties were inevitable.
Had the medical-nin not been present, the number of Konoha shinobi killed or injured would have been far greater.
"Clear the area!"
A calm yet familiar voice rang out amid the fierce battle. All the ANBU members froze momentarily before quickly retreating alongside the other Konoha shinobi.
"WHOOSH!"
A scorching heat descended from the sky as orange-red flames erupted. An overwhelming destructive force rushed forward. In the next second, a massive flaming fist that seemed to pierce heaven and earth slammed into the body of the summoned snake.
"Fire Fist!"
The attack struck with perfect precision!
The brown summoned snake hissed frantically within the raging flames before being reduced to ashes in an instant.
"SWISH!"
Shihouin Naraku appeared on the battlefield, his clothes billowing as flames danced around him.
"Naraku-san is here!"
"Lord Naraku has arrived!"
"Thank goodness, Lord Naraku is here!"
Shihouin Naraku quickly assessed the situation and issued orders: "Continue treating the wounded! Leave one squad to guard the East gate! No one is to abandon their post without my direct order!"
"Yes, sir!"
"The rest of you, come with me to reinforce the South gate! Move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
Having dispatched the summoned snake at the East gate, Shihouin Naraku rapidly departed with the ANBU forces to support the South gate, where the enemy presence was strongest.
The reason he hadn't immediately gone to the South gate, despite it being the most critical area, was firstly because the damage caused by the summoned snake would have been catastrophic if left unchecked, and secondly because civilians had already been evacuated from the village.
Even if the South gate were breached, the enemy would face the even more challenging prospect of urban warfare.
Therefore, Shihouin Naraku had chosen to eliminate the summoned snake first before reinforcing the South gate.
Led by Shihouin Naraku, numerous shinobi formed a swift-moving formation as they rushed toward the South gate.
Along the way, they were joined by Jōnin who had been responsible for overseeing civilian evacuation to the shelters. The combined forces continued toward the South gate.
"We're too late!"
His Observation Haki scanned the South gate and immediately detected that Sunagakure shinobi had already broken through the defenses and entered Konoha.
"SHING!"
Kurikara was unsheathed instantly as Shihouin Naraku activated his super-limit state. He drew a deep breath, feeling his heart pounding wildly and blood surging through his veins.
Shihouin Naraku transformed into a blur as he ran, his feet stepping on flames, covering vast distances in an instant and leaving only gusting wind in his wake.
"BOOM!"
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