Chapter 179: Alliance
Following behind Baki were numerous Sand shinobi, as well as a group of Konoha ninja led by Kakashi Hatake.
"Baki san!"
Kakashi and Baki hurried to Minato's side.
"Fourth Hokage," Baki said apologetically, "I am truly sorry. This is all a misunderstanding. We in the Sand Village…"
Before he could finish, Minato held up a hand. "Say no more. I understand. You have fallen into Orochimaru's trap." From the moment Orochimaru had revealed his true face, Minato had understood everything.
"What I want to know now is where your Fourth Kazekage is," Minato asked, his voice laced with concern.
"That… I do not know," Baki gritted his teeth and said. "I have a bad feeling. I fear something may have happened to the Fourth Kazekage…"
Hearing this, Minato was silent for a moment, then comforted him. "Not necessarily. It is hard to say until he is found. Let us deal with the current trouble first."
"I know that the Hidden Sand is also a victim. I do not blame you for this incident. I just want to know what the Sand Village intends to do now."
"Because of our actions, we have caused Konoha a great deal of trouble. I hope you can forgive us," Baki said. "The Sand is, and always will be, an ally of Konoha. If Konoha is in trouble, we will definitely offer our full support." As he spoke, he looked across the battlefield at the Uchiha.
Minato was very satisfied with Baki's answer. "I am relieved to hear you say that. Once this turmoil is over, Konoha will send a team to search for the whereabouts of the Fourth Kazekage. We will inform the Sand as soon as we have any news."
"So, next…" The combined fighting forces of Konoha and the Sand all turned their attention to Shiro. "The next step is to capture him and Danzo alive."
Baki was stunned. "Capture them alive? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill him?"
Minato shook his head. "No. This child is no ordinary person. First of all, I never knew there was a child named Shiro in the Uchiha clan. He is a complete mystery. I want to know where he came from."
"And Sasuke and Izumi seem to listen to him without question. Sasuke is the son of Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan. On top of that, he has even tamed Danzo as a pet. Are you not curious?"
"Let us not treat him like a child. We must end this quickly!" Before he could finish his words, Gaara had already rushed out again. His eyes were fixed on Shiro, and no one could stop him.
Baki exclaimed in shock, "Gaara! You are no match for him! If you keep this up, the beast inside you will break free!" Gaara refused to listen, showing no intention of stopping his attack.
Raido Namiashi whispered in Minato's ear, "Sir, it looks like Gaara cannot be stopped. In that case, why don't we all attack together?"
"Using nearly half of the combat power of two villages to deal with a child," Kurenai Yuhi said, "wouldn't that be a bad look if word got out?"
"It's time to stop caring about appearances!" Asuma Sarutobi interjected. "He's not just an ordinary kid!" Asuma was already in position, ready to strike at any moment. A fire burned in his heart, fueled by the death of his father.
I'm going to capture him, and then I'm going after Orochimaru!
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Asuma shot forward. Seeing this, most of the Jonin from the Sand and Konoha followed suit, all of them aiming directly for Shiro.
Faced with such a massive force, one would think Shiro would either fight back or flee. But instead, he actually sat down leisurely on the wooden chair he had created and shouted to the sky, "Father! So many people want to kill me! How long are you going to just watch?"
"Aren't you going to come out yet?!"