According to his original line of thinking, Habara felt his connection to the Uchiha clan was minimal. He didn't particularly care what happened to them. Extermination or not, what did it have to do with him?
Given his views, feelings, and general attitude towards the Uchiha clan and what they represented, the mere fact that he hadn't actively gone out of his way to help Uchiha Itachi already demonstrated considerable restraint and rationality. He was practically doing good deeds by staying uninvolved.
He just hadn't expected the fire tonight to suddenly leap onto him. That was a rather unpleasant surprise. Accusing him of assassinating the Hokage? He had neither the interest nor the time for such things…
Thinking this, he suddenly paused. The mission he'd received today was to monitor the Uchiha alone. He hadn't thought much of it before, but now… had he walked right into someone's trap? Did this mean the prime suspect lacked an alibi, making him even more suspicious? No, in the shinobi world, if certain people pushed this narrative, it could be considered ironclad evidence.
The mission Habara received earlier was undoubtedly compromised. ANBU had been infiltrated on a large scale. In Konoha, who possessed both the capability and the willingness for such infiltration? The answer was self-evident… Who else could it be but Danzo Shimura?
The Foundation was ANBU's training institution. A significant portion of ANBU shinobi originated from the Foundation, and Danzo held immense influence over them.
Furthermore, the ANBU Commander had suddenly died just days ago, leaving the Third Hokage grief-stricken. Combining these factors, the Hokage's control over ANBU had likely diminished considerably. At the very least, the Commander's death would easily cause panic and unease among the ANBU ranks.
This was no longer the time to worry about the Uchiha. Habara quickened his pace towards the blockade line, asking Kinoshita Tadashi as they moved, "The Third Hokage – what's his current situation?"
"Unclear. But the last time I saw Lord Hokage was this morning," Tadashi replied.
The situation was dire. If the Third Hokage were still in control, ANBU certainly wouldn't be spreading rumors about Habara assassinating him. The Third Hokage was sharp; he understood Habara's character and knew Habara had no reason to rebel. Even if someone impersonated Habara to carry out an assassination, the Third Hokage would see through it… The current situation implied the opposite: the Third Hokage had, at minimum, lost his ability to manage affairs.
Tonight, Konoha was leaking from all sides. Habara felt a deep unease, as if someone had pushed the first domino, or removed a load-bearing wall on the ground floor. A chain reaction was unfolding.
Habara sighed inwardly. Why don't these people understand? He had always followed the rules, leading others to believe he was a rule-follower. But what if, just once, he decided not to follow the rules? Had those who favored insidious schemes truly not considered that possibility?
As he walked, another thought struck Habara. He glanced back at Kinoshita Tadashi beside him, then tapped the side of his own forehead protector. "Wait. You couldn't find me – why didn't you use remote communication? Where's your high-tech gear?"
Kinoshita Tadashi shook his head. "I tried, but it didn't work."
Habara stopped abruptly. He quickly tried himself and found he couldn't connect to Daigo either. There was a problem somewhere in the middle link. Was the "central signal tower" or the exchange malfunctioning?
He didn't need to think hard. Habara instantly understood. Something had happened on Daigo's end too, something so severe she hadn't even had time to manage the remote signals.
"Let's go! Faster!"
Habara grabbed the blood-covered, limping Kinoshita Tadashi and broke into a sprint.
Quickly – well, no, he didn't quickly reach the Archive. Instead, he quickly ran straight into the defensive line Konoha ninja had established around the Uchiha Compound.
Dozens of ANBU shinobi blocked Habara's path. No, Habara could no longer be certain if these were truly ANBU.
Look at that, dozens of pairs of eyes saw him. Wasn't that witness testimony right there? But undoubtedly, the time these witnesses saw him wouldn't match the alleged "time of the crime." And even if it did, so what? Even if Habara had a perfect alibi, the power to dictate the narrative in Konoha rested with the higher-ups. Pinning the blame on someone – wasn't that the easiest thing in the world?
Looking at the group before him, Habara said calmly, "Friends, listen to my advice. At least for now, don't look for trouble with me."
Faced with this well-intentioned warning, the group remained impassive.
Habara shook his head and said to Kinoshita Tadashi, "They won't listen."
Tadashi was already injured, had lost quite a bit of blood, and had just been dragged along at high speed by Habara. His brain felt scrambled from the run. He asked dazedly, "What happens if they don't listen?"
The question was… strangely innocent. It actually made Habara pause.
His expression froze for a moment. After a few seconds, he replied dryly: "Take a guess."
Rewind slightly.
Uchiha Itachi broke free from the attack by the unidentified enemy. He moved deeper into the Uchiha district.
It was hard to describe his state of mind at that moment, nor could he sort through the tangled mess of thoughts in his head. But as he walked, the sounds he heard, the scenes he saw, dragged him back to reality.
"ANBU! Konoha ANBU are attacking! Dying silently is worthless! Let Konoha's ninja see – whose blood runs redder, ours or theirs!"
The words had the distinct flavor of a drunkard standing in the middle of the road, yelling at oncoming traffic to hit him if they dared.
This ninja burst into Itachi's field of vision, causing Itachi's slightly unfocused gaze to sharpen instantly with resolve.
He hoped everything he was doing would have meaning.
"Itachi! You're just in time! You…"
"Cough… Itachi… You…"
With a look of utter disbelief, the ninja collapsed backward.
Rewind slightly further.
A commotion of unclear significance suddenly erupted at the Hokage Tower. Being nearby and having a direct line of sight, the Archive building detected the situation immediately. Now was the moment for Kushina Uzumaki's retained mobile reserve force to act.
She charged towards the opposite Hokage Tower almost instantly, taking nearly all the shinobi under her command. Injecting this effective fighting force might play a crucial role. However, Kushina and her ninjas' departure left the Archive suddenly vulnerable.
Just after Kushina left, a highly skilled enemy force infiltrated the Archive. Approximately fifty elite ninja forced their way in at top speed – clearly, some kind of desperate gamble.
Attacking an undefended base is a time-tested tactic. Considering the relative strength of the opposing forces, what was happening now couldn't even be called a sneak attack; it was blatant robbery.
The group stormed the short, two-story building, instantly flooding into nearly every room. Soon, someone called out in a low voice, "Target found!"
A… well, a… no, a little blond appeared in the intruders' sight. He was their target.
For the past few days, Kushina Uzumaki had been stationed at the Archive, the place she considered safest under her control. Given the severe situation in the village, she had naturally kept her son under her watchful eye.
This demonstrated that whoever made a move tonight was exceptionally well-prepared. Their goal wasn't just to seize power, but to seize total power. Controlling the Jinchuriki was therefore paramount.
Naruto Uzumaki saw the crowd of menacing ninja. It wasn't that his nerves were so thick he couldn't recognize danger, but rather… he wasn't scared at all.
Far from being scared, he was even feeling a bit cheeky.
Looking at the group, Naruto, who might have been fiddling with a toy moments before, calmly stood up. He raised his right arm, clad in a small wrist guard, curling his thumb, ring finger, and pinky, while extending his index and middle fingers together straight. He then supported the base of his right palm with his left palm.
He squinted one eye, aiming at the group, then suddenly flicked his thumb up, muttering something under his breath: "Bang!"
Of course, nothing actually banged. Who knew which irresponsible adult had taught him such a useless gesture for a ninja? But undeniably, the kid had guts.
Or perhaps it wasn't just guts. More accurately, he had nothing to fear.
No one laughed at the child's gesture. Besides, they didn't get the chance. Because just after Naruto went "bang," a massive fireball flew over his head and slammed into the middle of the ninja group.
BOOM!
Then, like a storm fanning fierce flames, the fireball exploded outward. The violently expanding inferno shattered every window on that floor, blasting fire out into the night. The immense force nearly tore the roof off. With this single blow, Daigo turned the building into a fiercely burning torch.
It couldn't be helped. When you were willing to splurge chakra, this was the kind of power you could unleash.
"Water Release!" someone in the group yelled.
Ninja capable of Water Release instantly unleashed their most powerful water techniques. Rushing torrents collided with high-temperature flames, instantly generating massive clouds of steam. The torch became a boiler room in seconds.
The building's second floor was already wide open to the elements. The thick steam quickly dissipated, gradually revealing a short, pale figure holding a distinctive red-and-white feathered fan.
"Watch out for the Jinchuriki! Take her down!" the enemy leader shouted immediately, completely disregarding the losses his side had just suffered.
Daigo stood protectively behind Naruto. She had already completed a hand seal. Tapping one hand against the side wall, a spiderweb-like jutsu formula spread out:
Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!
Flames, water cutters, wind blades, earth spears, lightning flashes – a barrage of area-of-effect attacks simultaneously rushed towards Daigo. However, in the next moment, they were all blocked by a wall of black…
What exactly had Daigo summoned?
Ga ga ga sounds echoed continuously. A figure in a worn cloak hovered in the air. It was Sasori's favorite large puppet figure: the "Strongest Kazekage" Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai puppet.
Normally, it was kept in the secret realm guarding Daigo's main body. But in special circumstances, it could certainly be requisitioned. Borrowing from oneself, left hand borrowing from the right – was there any problem with that?
A massive amount of Iron Sand piled up defensively in front of Naruto. If these ninja wished, they could test whether the Strongest Kazekage's defense was merely an empty reputation.
The enemy leader hidden within the crowd was about to issue further commands when he saw the comrade in front of him suddenly collapse without warning. A flash of lightning cleared his vision.
By the time he reacted, a figure was already upon him.
"Hatake…"
Kakashi Hatake's left arm crackled with blue lightning. He swung it towards the enemy's neck while his right hand shot out, grabbing the man's hair. With a powerful grip and a slight flick of his wrist, he tore the man's head clean off.
Logically, both being Jonin-level, a proper back-and-forth battle should have occurred. However, Kakashi's speed was too great, and it was a sneak attack. The result could only be this… In this moment, he bore a striking resemblance to the Yellow Flash.
In fact, his right hand moved so fast, yanking fiercely while his left arm was still only halfway through the neck, that the decapitation was flawed, not clean at all. When he held up the head, a string of red and white entrails dangled below, looking rather unsanitary.
Blood gushed violently from the headless enemy's neck. Under such tense circumstances, the body naturally increased oxygen supply to the brain. Unfortunately, while the powerful heart did its job pumping blood upward, the head…?
The head wasn't there to receive the blood, because the head was gone.
Blood sprayed everywhere, including all over Kakashi. He looked like an inept melon farmer who had dropped and smashed his harvest all over the ground.
Kakashi then slammed the head onto the floor. Unfortunately, it was a wooden floor. The head didn't shatter as he might have expected, but instead became half-embedded, as if planting a head might cause some beastly creature to sprout next year.
Kakashi decided then and there that he wouldn't bother identifying these attackers. There was no need.
Naruto Uzumaki's status as a Jinchuriki was a top-level Konoha secret. To ordinary ninja, he was merely the Fourth Hokage's orphaned son; the Jinchuriki was still Kushina Uzumaki. Yet these attackers targeted Naruto directly. This either meant Naruto's Jinchuriki status had been exposed – and how could they know such a secret? – or they understood that controlling the young Jinchuriki was equivalent to controlling the elder one.
His sensei's wife's care and affection had not been in vain. Tonight, Kakashi Hatake didn't need to hold back.
In fact, Kakashi seemed very un-Kakashi right now. His methods were too crude, his actions too violent, almost as if…
…he had rediscovered his peak state from when he was six years old.
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