"Rin, are you okay?"
Shizune first wiped the sweat from her forehead with one hand, then used both hands to pull Rin out from beneath the rubble, a trace of fear lingering on her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Although her arms had been scratched by falling debris, Rin still offered a faint smile toward Shizune.
The attack had come too suddenly. They were just walking down the street when an unexpected shockwave sent them flying, plunging them into a semi-conscious state.
If not for their considerable strength and luck, who knew what might've happened?
Earlier, because there was a massive amount of damaged architecture overhead, although they weren't injured, escaping proved extremely difficult.
But now, somehow, much of that debris overhead seemed to have been cleared away, allowing thin rays of light to filter through cracks and illuminate their faces.
So they seized the chance and pushed hard to crawl their way out.
Initially assuming someone had arrived to rescue them, Shizune was the first to struggle free, but she discovered no Konoha ninjas as expected outside. As for why the wreckage above moved on its own, they hadn't figured it out yet.
Freed from near burial, they took deep breaths of fresh air—but instead of feeling relieved, they felt even more pressure than before.
"What exactly is going on?"
After being pulled up by Shizune onto a wooden board, Rin took in the surroundings, couldn't help but wonder aloud.
This place was completely unrecognizable compared to the village she once knew. The one once hailed as the most prosperous village had vanished entirely, replaced only by a ruined settlement.
"It must be the Akatsuki attacking Konoha."
Shizune lived with Tsunade regularly, so she was privy to more information, understanding the current situation better than Rin, who preferred staying in the hospital treating patients.
Besides, she already heard rumors that this time Minato, the Hokage, left the village for the Five Kage Summit, and it was likely that the Akatsuki would appear, perhaps even launching a full-scale assault on the village.
Yet she never imagined their earlier suspicions could actually become reality—and judging from the current situation, things probably got... worse.
"Was that battle out there caused by them?"
Rin recalled the commotion outside while they were buried, her wide eyes fixed on Shizune, asking with evident concern.
"Most likely, yes," Shizune nodded slightly before continuing, "How bad is your arm? Let me help treat it!"
Continuing to dwell on the topic wouldn't achieve anything—better to deal with it directly.
"All right."
Though her injuries weren't severe, they still affected her mobility somewhat, so Rin didn't refuse Shizune's kindness.
Right now, circumstances remained unclear; carrying injuries always created uneasiness. Resolving such potential risks early meant a better chance of handling whatever comes next.
"Shizune! Rin! Is that really you guys?"
Just as the two sat side-by-side doing some quick wound treatment, a group appeared in the distance. One among them waved energetically from afar, seemingly unable to confirm their identities due to the distance.
She was a familiar support staff kunoichi, wearing glasses and looking very gentle. Her usual job was guarding the archive room.
Indeed, this time the situation was really not optimistic at all, so even those like her who usually handled support duties were dispatched.
"It's us. What are you doing here?"
Shizune placed her hand, glowing with green light, onto Rin's wound, then slightly turned her head to respond loudly.
"Following Shikaku's orders, we're trying to rescue as many survivors under the ruins as possible. This attack affected the entire Konoha. Although most of the villagers had been evacuated before the battle began, there are still some left behind who now lie buried beneath."
The kunoichi leaped over to join Shizune and the others, pushed up her glasses, and said with a worried look on her face.
It was exciting—but also unsettling—to put someone like her, who had always stayed in the back, into what was clearly a frontline team.
"Hmm...then we'll come over to help later. In the current situation, the injured can't even be sent to the hospital."
Shizune glanced toward where the hospital used to be. She noticed earlier that it had become a sudden deep pit. Though she didn't know exactly how it had formed, it must have had a lot to do with the enemy from the Akatsuki Organization.
"Alright, a squad of medical ninja will arrive here soon. Once they come, you should link up with them. No more chitchat—I'm going to assist in the search over there!"
Seeing that Shizune and the others were holding up well, the female ninja did not linger further. Answering her companion's call, she quickly ran off and rejoined the search efforts.
Her teammates had already located an injured survivor trapped beneath the rubble and begun removing the heavy debris stacked atop.
Konoha had the Aburame Clan, the Hyuga Clan, and the Inuzuka Clan, meaning searching for survivors was something they were both experienced and thorough in.
Under professional coordination, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
"What chaotic times we live in. It's only been a few years since the Third Great Ninja War ended."
Looking upon the ruined Konoha, Rin could already sense the upcoming war and felt rather down.
Someone who had gone through war firsthand truly disliked that atmosphere where lives were treated as if worthless—but it seemed like she couldn't stop its approach this time?
But even if it was just the Akatsuki Organization alone, once the Five Great Villages joined forces, they should be easy enough to deal with, right?
Even if individual power was strong.
"It will pass soon. This is nothing but a farce—an absurd attempt by people who think they're doing the right thing while committing terrible acts!"
Lowering her head, Shizune recalled something and her eyes darkened significantly.
So this was his idea of peace?
How ridiculous. Look at what he has done to Konoha—causing unimaginable casualties!
"Shizune, are you alright?"
Noticing the shift in Shizune's mood, Rin spoke with slight concern in her voice, understanding full well what Shizune was thinking.
"Are you thinking about Saitama Uchiha again?"
"Ah, you say that Akatsuki's recent attack on Konoha didn't involve him? I wouldn't buy that myself. Still, never did I imagine he could actually bring himself to strike against the village where he once lived and grew."
"That's beyond your decision. He has already walked a path that opposes everything the village stands for. Let Minato-sama and others decide his fate."
At this point, their conversation continued in silence. Neither knew what else to say.
Soon after, Shizune healed Rin's arm injury. It was just a scratch—using Mystical Palm Technique felt like overkill.
The two women joined the nearby rescue team, helping carry out Konohagakure's 'salvation' mission—saving lives buried beneath the ruins.
Highly skilled medical ninja were now more in demand than ever. The overwhelming number of injured had nearly crippled Konoha's remaining medical system.
And outnumbering even the wounded were the warm corpses devoid of life.
With too few hands to handle the task, these bodies were hastily zipped into body bags and stacked like bricks off to the side, waiting for proper treatment later.
Most ninja active here had experienced the Third Great Ninja War, but seeing such scenes still deeply shocked them.
Battlefields are indeed cruel, but there you witness how people fight and fall—you at least understand what happened.
But here, they died in an instant—without any warning or understanding. Their deaths were utterly meaningless.
And this was at the very center of Konohagakure Village—not some border battlefield. Such heavy losses were a cruel insult to the very heart of the village.
But there's nothing that can change what's happened. The living can only face reality.
Thus, each person involved in the search and rescue efforts carried heavy hearts.
After all, watching fellow villagers—familiar faces or strangers—either drenched in blood with fading breaths or utterly lifeless and motionless, created inner torment impossible to release.
Reportedly, only six or seven enemies had attacked Konoha.
Yet those six or seven accomplished something enemy Hidden Villages had failed for decades.
Is Akatsuki really that powerful, or has Konoha truly grown weaker?
Everyone asked themselves this question. This event hit them with the worst kind of self-doubt they'd ever known!
Earlier, they also saw that flying figure in the sky—the godlike power he wielded made resistance seem hopeless.
"It's Tsunade-sama!"
"And also Kushina-san, wife of the Yellow Flash Hokage! I've heard she's quite skilled as a medical ninja herself!"
"With them arriving, our medical burdens will ease greatly!"
As several figures entered the area, slight excitement stirred within the group of medical ninja busy treating the injured.
Because there were too many casualties, a clearing had been quickly set aside just for triage. Medical ninja worked nonstop. Seeing Tsunade, hailed as the peak of all medical ninja, rolling up her sleeves ready to join, naturally infused everyone with renewed energy.
Shizune was bandaging a Chunin's wound. He was a ninja who had been struck directly by a collapsing building while evacuating civilians.
Despite having both hands fractured, he had ensured the safety of several civilians in that critical moment, using Earth Release to pull them underground for shelter.
Sensing the commotion in the crowd, Shizune looked up curiously and immediately recognized a familiar figure.
Without stopping deliberately to greet, she simply exchanged a brief glance with the other person before continuing to stabilize the injured man's arm and begin treatment with both hands.
Perched on her shoulder was a small, tired-looking slug, glowing faintly with green chakra—like a living battery latched onto her body.
"Teacher!"
Rin Nohara had just finished wrapping the head wound of a shop owner and helped him lie down on a makeshift bed when she noticed Tsunade and Kushina approaching.
She bowed respectfully.
"It's you, Rin. I feel relieved knowing you're safe. You were fortunate to have left the hospital area beforehand; otherwise, something might have gone wrong."
Tsunade lightly placed a hand on Rin Nohara's shoulder as she spoke.
The hospital area had turned into the main battlefield during Pain's attack. Hardly anyone survived there—that was part of why Tsunade was so down now.
After being hit head-on with the full force of Shinra Tensei, the place had then undergone massive geographical transformation from Planetary Devastation. Without sufficient strength, survival under such circumstances would be extremely difficult.
"Teacher, your Boss Summon came through for us in a big way this time. Without Katsuyu's help, the survival rate among the wounded here would have dropped dramatically."
Rin Nohara gently nudged Katsuyu on her shoulder—the slug continuously replenishing her chakra—with a smile unconsciously spreading across her face.
Seeing the sorrow hidden deep in Tsunade's eyes, she chose a lighter topic to ease the mood.
This particular slug had fallen from the sky earlier, and many of the seriously injured here were clinging to life thanks to these slugs, waiting for proper treatment.
"Katsuyu can only temporarily hold the situation together. We need more medical ninjas joining this rescue effort now."
Tsunade said while observing people hurriedly setting up tents and moving the wounded inside.
It was clear at a glance, however, that there was a severe shortage of medical personnel.
There were plenty of helpers around, but they weren't making much difference in the current situation.
"Enough talk. Back to work. If you feel tired, rest for a while. The slugs' recovery abilities are limited and cannot support nonstop work around the clock."
Giving instructions to her disciple, Tsunade walked toward an injured patient lying on the ground, impaled through the thigh by a sharp wooden stake.
Kushina scanned the surroundings and without delay headed toward another wounded individual nearby. Her abilities might prove quite valuable in a setting like this.
As for Naruto, he quietly found a spot and sat down alone, beginning to observe his surroundings. He understood that this wasn't the time for him to act recklessly; staying quiet in place was already helping everyone.
Looking at the wounded around him crying out in pain, a deep, contemplative expression appeared on his face.
...
Swoosh—
A yellow flash passed by in an instant.
Shikaku was in the middle of talking with a ninja whose face bore crisscross scars when he suddenly sensed another presence beside him.
"Hokage-sama!"
The ninja, whose appearance was somewhat intimidating, slightly bowed his head.
"Minato."
Shikaku said as he turned sideways to take a look. The fact that Minato had appeared here meant that the current situation in the village was relatively stabilized.
Earlier, that massive shadow hovering over Konoha had terrified him. Although it was later destroyed by the ninja called Guy, the lingering fear still haunted him.
"How's everything going here?"
After glancing from afar at his wife and child and confirming there were no accidents, Minato immediately headed straight to where Shikaku was stationed.
Compared to where he'd been before, he felt this location required his presence more to maintain control over the situation.
The Hokage Building had also been reduced to ruins during the earlier attack, the large "Fire" character buried beneath rubble.
Therefore, Shikaku had quickly set up a tent right next to the ruins as a temporary command post.
"The situation isn't optimistic. Casualties are heavy, but we're doing our best to rescue survivors. How about you?"
Shikaku signaled for the ninja standing in front of him to leave while turning his gaze toward Minato.
He noticed Minato looked quite disheveled, which showed just how grueling the fight against Pain had been.
"We wanted to keep them here, but the enemies weren't acting alone. They've already fled."
Minato explained. On his way here, he'd seen that Shikaku had already posted guards at the village's entrances and exits, guarding against possible follow-up attacks or opportunistic intrusions.
"It's better they left for now. Absolutely can't let them break through again like this."
Shikaku gave a bitter smile, his eyes filled with bloodshot fatigue.
Who would've thought Akatsuki could deliver such a devastating blow with just one strike?
Looking at Konoha's current pitiful state, if they suffered another attack like this, it might mean its complete destruction!
"Don't worry. We've got this under control. However, village defenses need to be restored immediately. Tell the Barrier Unit and Communications Team to get operational quickly. At the very least, we need to maintain the village's current order. Also send people to calm down civilians and uninformed shinobi so they don't spark any unrest."
Minato gave a confident nod and shared a few suggestions with Shikaku.
"I've already assigned people to handle those matters. No problem."
Shikaku nodded in response, having already considered all these things himself.
"By the way, have you seen Obito that kid?"
After running through a few other key points, Minato realized Shikaku's omniscient brain had already taken care of everything, leaving nothing more for him to worry about.
So, abruptly shifting the topic, he thought about his disciple.
Since he hadn't seen him at Kushina's either, he assumed this kid couldn't handle the loneliness and had gone to help Shikaku. Yet there was no sign of him here.
"Not here, though I remember seeing him head east earlier. That looked like the site of the recent explosion—didn't you notice?"
Shikaku paused a moment before answering Minato.
"I didn't catch that. Forget it then; as long as he stays within the village, he should be fine."
Minato scratched his head slightly.
Right now, he really needed Obito to help deal with things, but since he couldn't find him for the moment, he decided not to pursue it further. He could always send Anbu instead—though it might take longer.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a figure flickered into view in front of both men—a Ninja wearing an Animal Mask from the Anbu.
"Hokage-sama!"
The moment he appeared, the Anbu dropped to one knee before Minato.
"What's going on?"
"There are two suspected Akatsuki members inside the village. Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha are holding them off right now. The location is—"
"Eh?"
Minato's eyes widened in shock—he never expected the Akatsuki to still be inside the village by now.
Could it be Nagato returning?
That seemed unlikely!
Almost instantly, he ruled out that possibility completely.
"I'll go check it out. Shikaku, stay behind and oversee the situation. Coordinate the other ninja."
Without hesitation, Minato immediately set off.
If the Anbu reported in person, it meant they were already certain of the enemy's identities—it was definitely Akatsuki.
This was truly unexpected!
"Sigh..."
Shikaku glanced at where Minato had vanished, gave a weary sigh, and returned to his seat to continue studying Konoha's map.
There was such a serious lack of manpower—Konoha had taken a serious hit this time!
...
Boom—
As far as the eye could see, flames bloomed across the battlefield.
[Amaterasu] engulfed Saitama's Susano in an instant, spreading rapidly outward, covering nearly half its body in moments.
Shwosh! Shwosh!
Never expecting such an attack, Saitama instinctively pulled back his arm aimed at Shisui and instead positioned Susano's arms defensively in front of himself, shielding his core from the onslaught.
He had no intention of enduring Amaterasu again—one taste was more than enough.
Tap-tap—
Though consumed by the Black Flames of Amaterasu, Saitama remained unharmed inside Susano for now.
Enduring the searing heat, he swiftly leapt aside. With practiced precision, he used Susano's arms to scrape away portions of the clinging black fire and flung them forcefully onto the ground like filth.
But would the Black Flames of Amaterasu really be so easy to get rid of?
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>