Watching Sasuke, Yakumo, and even Neji's teams rush off without hesitation to rescue Shinji's squad, Choji, Kiba, and the others felt their blood boil, itching to follow.
Shikamaru flashed in front of them, blocking their path.
Kiba immediately snapped, "Shikamaru, why are you stopping us?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "We'd just get in the way!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Choji looked puzzled.
Shikamaru gazed north, his voice low. "You know who Shinji is, don't you? Anyone with the guts and resolve to go after him isn't some ordinary force. Yakumo, Sasuke, and Neji can at least be of some help. Us going would just cause chaos!"
Kurenai stepped in, backing him up. "Shikamaru's right. You'd only make things worse!"
Though reluctant, Kiba and Choji knew Shikamaru was right. They stopped in their tracks, watching Yakumo and the others disappear into the distance with longing eyes.
At that moment, Tsunade stepped forward, issuing orders. "Asuma, Kurenai, your teams stay behind to clean up. Everyone else, with me!"
True to her decisive nature, Tsunade didn't wait for responses. She flashed away, chasing after Yakumo. Kakashi's and Kai's teams followed closely, hurrying to catch up.
In moments, the once-crowded battlefield was half-empty.
Mizuen, trembling in fear, cursed inwardly.
Now he understood why the rogue shinobi who'd been lurking in the Land of Hot Springs for years had fled. Behind the student squads, Hidden Leaf had hidden entire teams of Jonin.
Shikamaru pointed at Mizuen, who looked like he wanted to burrow into the ground. "Asuma sensei, Kurenai sensei, what do we do with this guy?"
As all eyes turned to him, Mizuen forced himself to speak. "Honored shinobi of Hidden Leaf, there was a misunderstanding earlier. I deeply regret—"
Before he could finish, Asuma used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance and drove a fist into Mizuen's stomach.
Thud.
With a low, muffled sound, Mizuen was sent flying, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"He's a rogue shinobi, after all. Take him back to the Command Center," Asuma said, brushing off his hands and handing the crumpled Mizuen to his teammates.
On Sasuke's side.
Kakashi quickly caught up to the sprinting Sasuke, calling out, "Sasuke, don't be reckless!"
Sasuke replied coldly, "I'm perfectly calm!"
Seeing he couldn't dissuade Sasuke, Kakashi relented. "This situation is complicated. Whatever happens, don't act. Let me handle it!"
Sasuke turned to Kakashi, demanding, "Why?"
Kakashi shook his head, avoiding details.
Sasuke froze, then realized something. "The ones attacking Shinji… they're from the village?"
Seeing Sasuke had pieced it together, Kakashi stopped hiding. "It's not impossible."
"Who?"
Sasuke's tone was icy.
Kakashi lowered his voice. "Likely Root."
Sasuke fired off two questions, his eyes blazing Hogan red. "How many? What's their strength?"
Kakashi analyzed, "Root's been weakened over the years, but they're still under that man's direct command. They've got plenty of Jonin and Special Jonin. Some of them, even I might not be able to take down easily."
Sasuke's brow furrowed.
He knew Kakashi's strength well. Without using his Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke was no match for him. If Root had Jonin capable of rivaling Kakashi, Shinji's chances looked grim!
With that thought, Sasuke sped up, silently praying, Shinji, don't die!
Sakura, struggling to keep up, shouted, "Sasuke, be careful with your injuries!"
Seeing Sakura falling behind, Naruto called out, "Sakura, don't worry! With me here, Sasuke'll be fine! I'll catch up—you follow at your own pace!"
With that, Naruto picked up speed.
On the other side.
Tsunade caught up to Yakumo and said, "This involves the Advisory Council. You shouldn't be stepping into this mess!"
Yakumo didn't argue.
She knew how much effort Tsunade had put into making this Shinobi Academy exam happen and how high Tsunade's expectations were for her.
But standing by while a friend was in danger? She couldn't do it.
Seeing the stubborn resolve on Yakumo's face, Tsunade's stern expression softened into a gratified smile.
If Yakumo had hesitated or backed down for the sake of her own future, Tsunade would've had to seriously reconsider whether she was fit to become the next female Hokage.
Yakumo looked at the smiling Tsunade in surprise. "Sensei, you…"
Tsunade chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. When I was young, my temper was way worse than yours!"
Yakumo smiled faintly, then asked, "Sensei, are the ones attacking Shinji from our village?"
Tsunade's smile faded. "It's Danzo! That old fool hasn't changed. He's taking this chance to strike at Shinji, an Uchiha, in secret!"
Yakumo's face filled with worry. "How many did he send?"
"According to the intel, it's a small shinobi army of over twenty. At least four or five Jonin, with the rest being Special Jonin and Chunin—core fighters. Among them are some of the genius talents Danzo recruited in the village years ago!"
Tsunade's voice grew furious as she spoke.
Unlike Kakashi, who only had vague suspicions, she had seen Jiraiya's confidential report. She not only knew Danzo was behind it but also had a rough grasp of the scale of his forces.
The thought that, at such a critical moment, Danzo would deploy so many just to eliminate a Shinobi Academy student filled her with rage!
Yakumo could hardly believe it. "To kill Shinji, he sent that many people?"
Tsunade was equally exasperated. "I didn't think he'd be this deranged!"
"Then Shinji…"
Yakumo couldn't bear to think further and silently quickened her pace.
Trailing slightly behind Yakumo's team was Neji's squad.
By now, Kai had caught up with them and said, "No need to worry. The Command Center has surely already sent reinforcements!"
Neji asked, "Kai sensei, what kind of attack would force the village to suspend the exam?"
"Well…"
Kai was momentarily at a loss for words.
Neji continued, "When Sasuke was nearly killed by a mysterious attacker before, the exam didn't stop. This time, it was halted decisively. That means Shinji's situation must be dire!"
Kai couldn't offer any comforting words.
From his perspective, the Command Center's abrupt suspension of the exam carried an implicit acknowledgment that Shinji's team might already be lost—and to prevent further losses, they had no choice but to call it off.