In all of Konoha, aside from the Hokage Rock that embraced the village, the tallest structure was the Barrier Tower.
The tower housing the Barrier Squad was one of the core centers of Konoha's defense system. In the center of the room, a colossal, semi-transparent water sphere, several meters in diameter, floated.
Three members of the Barrier Squad, dressed in loose, pale purple robes, stood with two of them on either side of the sphere, helping to maintain the connection between their chakra and the barrier apparatus.
The leader of the Barrier Squad had his eyes tightly closed, his mind immersed in sensing the barrier for any abnormal chakra fluctuations, like a meditating monk.
The Barrier Squad, as Konoha's first line of defense, did not engage in direct combat but bore the even more critical responsibility of maintaining, monitoring, and protecting the barrier that enveloped all of Konoha.
Barriers were mainly divided into three categories: Perception-type, used to detect enemy situations and track the trajectory of all objects; Confinement-type, used to restrict powerful enemies; and Defense-type, used to isolate space.
The Barrier Squad primarily operated the Perception-type barrier on a daily basis, which could not only sense abnormal chakra reactions from illegal intrusions but also record the frequency of everyone entering and leaving the barrier.
This allowed them to detect enemy infiltration or the presence of spies, and any abnormal situation would be noticed by the Barrier Squad immediately. This made Konoha the most difficult of the Five Great Ninja Villages to infiltrate, and the water sphere was the core visible manifestation of Konoha's perception barrier.
By the window, the few ordinary ninjas responsible for daily surveillance and patrol seemed much more relaxed, dressed in conventional ninja attire that allowed for easier movement.
Since the alarm hadn't sounded and the barrier was stable, it was their time to rest.
"Come on, it's your turn to draw."
A few of them sat cross-legged on the floor, huddled around a small empty space, idly playing a simple card game.
Another leaned against the window, yawning and staring blankly at the gradually brightening sky outside. The long period of peaceful duty had long eroded most of their vigilance.
But just then.
The leader of the Sealing Squad, sitting at the front of the barrier apparatus with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils contracted sharply, and the expression on his face instantly became grave!
Almost simultaneously, countless ripples violently spread across the surface of the giant floating water sphere, corresponding to the area above the village barrier, as if several pebbles had been tossed in!
"Intruders!"
The leader of the Sealing Squad sharply turned his head, looking at the ninjas who were playing cards, and said seriously, "East Gate Point D! The target is twelve... No! Fifty-three..."
And still increasing?!
This speed...
The relaxed expressions of the Konoha ninjas changed. They instinctively stood up, but before they could react...
Snap! Crack!
The sound of shattering glass instantly rang out as several metal spheres, about the size of a fist, were hurled in through the window.
They hit the smooth floor, making a crisp, ominous sound as they rolled forward into view.
Everyone's eyes involuntarily followed the rolling spheres, and a look of horror rose in their gaze...
At this very moment, on the streets below the Barrier Tower, a few villagers and early-rising merchants were beginning their day.
"Wait, what is that?" a vegetable seller, about to set up his stall, looked up inadvertently and suddenly cried out, pointing to the sky.
The people next to him also followed his gaze, their faces showing confusion and a hint of unease.
Unbeknownst to them, a large, dark "flock of birds" had appeared in the sky above Konoha, flying toward the center of the village at an alarming speed!
And when the noisy wind pressed down from high altitude, and the sharp whistling sound of air tearing rushed in from far away, people could finally make out what they were seeing.
That was not a flock of birds at all!
It was a group of people wearing unified, standard uniforms, with strange wings fixed to their backs, and masks over their faces, leaving only their cold, steel eyes visible!
Three of them separated from the formation and flew towards the Barrier Tower below.
Boom!!!
The first deafening explosion erupted from the top floor of the Barrier Tower, the tower that symbolized Konoha's protection and order!
The searing flames and thick smoke consumed the barrier room at the top of the tower. The sturdy tower structure groaned under the pressure of the explosion, then began to collapse!
Huge chunks of stone and broken beams rained down from the sky, crashing heavily onto the streets below!
A huge rush of wind and noise surged down from above, flipping over makeshift stalls and tossing the clothes and hair of pedestrians on the street.
"Run!"
"Intruders!"
"They can fly!"
Screams of terror and anguish replaced the exclamations.
People were scared out of their wits by this terrifying sight falling from the sky. They instinctively ran in all directions.
Some, with rubbery legs, tumbled to the ground, crawling backward on all fours. More people screamed and shoved, stumbling and scrambling to force open the doors and windows of nearby shops to find cover!
Rumble!!!
The tower completely collapsed. More giant stones shrieked as they poured down from the air, slamming heavily onto the crowded street below!
Smoke and dust shot up, instantly swallowing the screams, cries, and the massive sound of the collapse.
The street was completely blocked. The dust that filled the air swallowed many figures who hadn't managed to escape. Blood instantly stained the ruins and the street!
In the air, the three Sky Ninjas who had completed their bomb run looked indifferently at the collapsing tower and the chaotic street below.
"Target barrier successfully destroyed," one of them reported via communicator.
Immediately, the three of them, without hesitation, controlled their flying ninja tools, circled once, and rejoined the formation above, continuing to fly toward the more central and important areas of Konoha.
The chill of pre-dawn had not yet completely faded. Thin mist swirled through the woods and along the edge of Konoha's high walls.
At the village gate, four Konoha Chunin, responsible for night duty, were forcing themselves to stay awake.
Two leaned against the gate, scanning the quiet forest shrouded in morning mist in the distance. One sipped warm tea to ward off drowsiness, and another was checking the records of people entering and leaving the village...
Boom!!
A dull explosion, like rolling thunder, suddenly came from the direction of the village's interior!
Following that were more continuous, non-stop roars of explosions!
"What's going on?" one of the ninjas leaning on the rail suddenly stood up straight and cried out in shock, his face instantly filled with alarm.
"Enemy attack!" The ninja in the corner dropped his teacup. He stared intently at the chaotic scene inside the village, his voice cracking with shock.
The other two also stared in disbelief at the flames and thick smoke rising within the village, along with an inexplicable golden pillar of light.
"Quick!" The leading ninja reacted fastest and immediately turned, intending to say something.
However, his words were cut short.
A voice, clearly containing a playful and mocking laugh, rang out casually and without warning from the misty shadow of the forest behind them, which should have been empty.
"The few of you should worry about yourselves first."
Almost the instant the last syllable fell.
Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Several sharp shrieks that pierced eardrums and tore through the air suddenly exploded. The four Konoha ninjas didn't even have time to turn around or block.
Pfft!
In the next moment, arrows highly compressed with chakra had already pierced through their chests from behind!
They could clearly feel the terrifying sensation of tearing muscle, shattering ribs, and churning internal organs, as well as the excruciating pain that robbed them of all strength!
Four terrifying, fist-sized, and cleanly-edged blood holes had appeared in their chests. Warm blood sprayed out like a fountain!
"Ugh..."
They gasped, but couldn't utter a complete syllable. Only fragmented blood foam overflowed from the corners of their mouths. One by one, they fell straight forward, slamming heavily onto the ground.
Blood quickly spread out beneath them, pooling into a small, shocking patch of crimson.
Their eyes were wide open even in death, pupils frozen in a final moment of terror, confusion, and disbelief. They died with their eyes still open.
Shh, shh...
Calm and leisurely footsteps sounded from the forest shadow behind them.
Three figures walked out, slowly stepping out of the dense mist and onto the blood-stained ground inside the Konoha gate.
En Oyashiro put away his longbow, which flickered with a cold, silver light. A cynical and mocking smile played on his face as he glanced at the still-twitching corpses at his feet.
"Tsk, tsk. It seems Shinno and his subordinates are making quite a scene. They actually succeeded."
Looking up at the chaos in the distant village, En Oyashiro said flippantly, "But, Boss, it looks like the situation is a bit different from what we expected?"
In the distance, in the direction of the Hyūga Clan, a more eye-catching and divine golden pillar of light formed an odd contrast with the surrounding explosions and thick smoke.
Pain Tendo and Pain Jigokudo looked at the golden pillar of light in the distance, which pierced the sky and earth and was starting to diminish but was still very noticeable.
"It seems we are not the only ones targeting Konoha. But this is even better."
Pain Tendo spoke slowly, his voice low, cold, and devoid of inflection. "Proceed with the original plan: divide into two routes for Feint and Search."
"The feint mission will be handled by Shinno and his aerial unit, as well as..." His gaze settled on En Oyashiro. "You."
"You will create chaos and distract Konoha ninjas to the maximum extent."
"The search mission is our responsibility," Pain Jigokudo said. "We will find the exact identity and whereabouts of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
"Remember, our goal is to take the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and leave immediately upon success. Do not get entangled with Konoha ninjas."
With those words, the figures of Pain Tendo and Pain Jigokudo instantly vanished from the spot.
En Oyashiro stood where he was, shrugging with a helpless smile.
"What an inconsiderate boss," he said. He seemed to have thought of something, and the curve of his smile grew wider.
If he remembered correctly, Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, was currently in Konoha.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, his Boss seemed to have some sort of teacher-student bond with Jiraiya.
"Things just got interesting," En Oyashiro chuckled softly. "I wonder how smoothly things are going for the others."
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