"What!?"
Tsunade stood up abruptly.
It wasn't surprising she was nervous, as the Hidden Leaf had currently sent out all its elites, making it the moment when defense was at its weakest. If they were attacked at this time, the consequences would be disastrous.
The expressions of the other four Kage also changed.
Everyone had thought that as long as the two Jinchuriki targeted by the Akatsuki organization were kept by their side, the Akatsuki organization wouldn't go to the trouble of attacking the ninja villages thanklessly.
Unexpectedly, the Akatsuki organization's reaction this time was so fierce.
Not only did they launch offensives on the front lines, but they also infiltrated various medical and supply strongholds in the rear, and now they were directly targeting a ninja village.
Hearing that the enemy came from the sea, Mei Terumi was also very nervous: "Who are they exactly?"
Shikaku Nara said: "According to eyewitness descriptions, those ninjas riding flying devices seem to be the remnants of the Sky Ninjas from back then."
"Damn it!"
Tsunade's face sank.
Previously, she still held onto a glimmer of hope, after all, the opponents only crossed the Land of Hot Water and might not necessarily be heading for the Hidden Leaf Village. Hearing it was the remnants of the Sky Ninjas now, she no longer had any wishful thinking.
Because the Sky Ninja Village was destroyed by the Hidden Leaf during the Second Great Ninja War, the target of the Sky Ninja remnants this time must be the emptily guarded Hidden Leaf Village.
Onoki said: "Tsunade, this is a necessary sacrifice. We can only endure!"
Tsunade sat back helplessly.
To command the camps and ninja armies distributed throughout the Ninja World, the Hidden Leaf not only sent out all its elites this time but even high-level officials went into action one after another!
As advisory elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were stationed in the Land of Rivers and Land of Tea southwest of the Land of Fire respectively.
The only high-level official remaining in the village was the Third Hokage, who lost an arm in the last Chunin Exam battle.
Jonin and Chunin were almost completely drafted, leaving only some Academy students and Genin who had just graduated from the Academy unmobilized.
So even knowing that the remnants of the Sky Ninja Village wouldn't be too strong, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, still broke a sweat for the village in her heart!
Mei Terumi comforted: "What we can do now is just trust our companions!"
Tsunade sighed softly: "Sigh!"
Hidden Leaf Village.
Woo woo woo...
Because the general headquarters had already conveyed the news that the remnants of the Sky Ninjas were about to attack the village, piercing sirens resounded over the entire village.
On the streets, villagers carrying large and small bags with panicked expressions were everywhere.
Under the sirens echoing throughout the village, adults' discussions, children's crying, and various noises mixed with disputes, shouts, and even cursing also shrouded the streets and alleys of the village.
"Yes, yes, Aishi Town goes to Shelter No. 2. Just keep walking along this street, and you will see the next sign..."
"Small carts cannot enter the shelter, you'd better leave it at home!"
At a congested intersection, Sakura and Ino were directing the evacuating villagers.
Although they had just left the Academy not long ago, they were already official Genin, so they spontaneously took to the streets.
Only when the flow of people decreased slightly did they catch their breath.
Ino looked worried: "Why is the alarm so sudden this time? I don't know if there's enough time for all villagers to enter the shelters."
Sakura nodded repeatedly: "Yeah, Tsunade-sama and Shizune-sensei are not here. I'm a little worried if the village will..."
Before Sakura finished, Ino interrupted: "It won't, isn't Shinji still here!"
Sakura was stunned for a moment, then seemed to regain some confidence: "Mhm, and Sasuke too! With them here, the village should be fine!"
On the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage stood at the edge of the rooftop, watching the flow of people urgently evacuating on the streets below.
At this time, Danzo came to the Third Hokage's side and said in a deep voice: "Hiruzen, if needed, I can serve the village!"
The Third Hokage remained silent.
Because it was a special period, the Third Hokage released Danzo from the secret prison. After all, Danzo was also a Kage-level expert and could be useful at a critical moment.
However, even so, Danzo was still a prisoner at present.
Danzo himself was obviously aware of this point. He knew that now was the best time to wash away his guilt of colluding with Orochimaru. As long as he could play a role in this attack by the Sky Ninja remnants, he could logically get rid of his prisoner status and even return to the village's management level.
Seeing the Third Hokage didn't respond, Danzo continued to persuade: "I know the situation of the Sky Ninjas relatively well. If we don't destroy their motherships at sea, even if we block this time, they can launch a second or third round of attacks on us at any time! So don't hesitate, let me lead a team to destroy their motherships at sea!"
The Third Hokage shook his head, rejecting Danzo's proposal.
He also had difficulties he couldn't speak of. Temporarily unable to fully trust Danzo was just one reason. The real reason was that he couldn't scrape together a ninja army to hand over to Danzo to destroy those motherships of the Sky Ninja remnants at sea.
Woo woo woo...
Woo woo woo...
Woo woo woo...
Just then, triple sirens suddenly sounded over the village. The overlapping sirens made everyone stunned for a moment, and then the already chaotic streets became even more chaotic.
Looking into the distance, the Third Hokage's gaze focused: "Here they come!"
Danzo hurriedly looked over, and dense small black dots indeed appeared in the distant sky.
He raised his hand to signal the Anbu standing aside. The Anbu hurriedly handed him and the Third Hokage two pairs of binoculars prepared long ago.
Observing with binoculars for a moment, the Third Hokage said: "Indeed Sky Ninjas!"
Danzo said coldly: "These damned remnants, I should have killed them all back then if I knew!"
The Third Hokage ignored Danzo, instead asking the Anbu standing aside: "Are the air defense troops ready?"
The Anbu hurriedly answered: "All units are deployed in place!"
Although the individual combat power of the Sky Ninja remnants wasn't strong, they could fly with the help of equipment, which was a huge advantage in the Ninja World.
In the original timeline, the reason why Sasori and Deidara dared to break into the Hidden Sand Village with just two people to capture the One-Tail Jinchuriki Gaara was relying on the huge air superiority provided by Deidara's ability to create clay birds!
As the head of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Leaf's ability to defend against air raids was still very strong.
For example, ninjas specializing in 'Super Beast Scroll' cultivated by Danzo in his Root could create birds through ninjutsu for air combat.
At the same time, the Aburame clan's kikaichū also possessed powerful air combat capabilities.
Plus long-range ninja tools like ballistae, kunai, shuriken, and various offensive ninjutsu with long-range strike effects.
So although severely short of manpower, the Third Hokage still cobbled together and temporarily formed an air defense troop, deploying them throughout the village.