When everyone in Konoha was thrown into shock because of Jiraiya's words…
Outside the village, the Iwa-nin unit led by Kitsuchi and the Kumo-nin unit led by Darui quickly appeared in front of Konoha.
After receiving orders from their respective Kage, both forces no longer had any scruples.
After all, they were already prepared to crush Konoha, so there was naturally no need to save any face.
When the Kumo and Iwa units appeared at the position in front of Konoha's gate…
They naturally also saw the Suna and Kiri units likewise stationed before Konoha's main entrance.
The shinobi of the four villages silently traded glances, then withdrew their gazes again, saying very little.
From the First Shinobi World War to the Third, everyone carried some degree of grudge. Even if they had joined forces now, that didn't mean those hatreds would disappear.
The four villages maintained a peculiar tacit understanding as they stood side by side in front of Konoha's gate.
Aside from the forehead protectors they wore, each village's clothing and equipment were very distinctive; with a single glance, you could tell which village any given ninja belonged to.
For a scene like this, Yuto, the mastermind behind it all, naturally didn't need to appear.
Ao, standing as Kirigakure's representative, and the representatives of the other villages all stood at the very front of their respective forces.
At this moment, if anyone paid attention, they would notice that people like Zabuza and Kimimaro were not among Ao's unit.
Though Zabuza and the others, like Ao, were shinobi of the Mist, they belonged to a different chain of command.
Put simply, Zabuza and the rest answered directly to Yuto; even Mei couldn't give them orders.
Of course, in Mei's view, the entire village of Kirigakure was under Yuto's management; at most, she was only assisting him.
The four great villages' armies stood clearly divided, shoulder to shoulder. Even without making a move, the sheer pressure they released was enough to make ordinary shinobi's hearts tremble.
The many sensor ninja within Konoha, seeing this brazen display, felt the last shred of hope in their hearts completely extinguished.
The four great villages had really joined hands without a sound!
At this moment, the group of Konoha rookies stationed at the rear no longer felt the excitement they'd had at the beginning when facing war.
"Th-this… what on earth is going on?"
Feeling the air around them solidify, Sakura asked in a trembling voice.
Ino saw Sakura's slightly shaking body, reached out to grab her hand, and her own face was likewise filled with worry.
A wry smile appeared on Shikamaru's face. Even though they, as genin, had always been kept at the very back and hadn't really encountered much danger…
From here on out, people would probably really start dying!
"Um, Kurenai-sensei… is there still somewhere we can hide?"
Shikamaru looked toward Kurenai standing ahead and asked in a low voice.
Hearing Shikamaru's words, Kurenai froze for a moment, then lifted her head and saw the panic flashing across the other genin's faces. Helplessness surfaced on her own.
"Sorry. At a time like this, every ninja in Konoha has to fight, genin or not."
Naruto looked at everyone's expressions and scratched his head. Just as he was about to speak, a hand shot out and clamped over his mouth.
"Naruto, you'd better not say anything right now," Shikamaru's resigned voice sounded by his ear.
"Don't worry, you won't be in any real danger."
A hearty voice rang out from ahead, and everyone couldn't help turning to look.
They saw Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen, Danzo, as well as Homura and Koharu, all appear within their field of vision at the same time.
Shikamaru couldn't help blinking; his mouth fell slightly open. The people before him were all true top brass and power-holders of Konoha.
As for the one who'd just spoken, it was Jiraiya.
Shikamaru hurriedly took his hand off Naruto's mouth and carefully shuffled a few steps to the side.
Naruto shot Shikamaru a resentful look. This wasn't the first time Shikamaru had tried to shut him up.
But compared to that…
Naruto looked at Jiraiya in surprise.
"Ero-sennin, what are you doing here?!"
Whoosh!
In a blur, Jiraiya appeared beside Naruto and brought his fist down hard on Naruto's head.
"How many times have I told you, it's Toad Sage! And you, you little brat, do you have any idea you almost got me killed?!"
Jiraiya spoke in a furious tone, but when he saw Naruto's utterly blank expression, he drew in a deep breath, glared at him, and said:
"We'll settle that later."
Hiruzen came up from behind with a kindly smile, gently patting Jiraiya on the shoulder. He looked at the gathered rookies, his expression softening even more as he said:
"There's no need to worry. This will all pass, and the village will make sure you're safe."
After speaking, Hiruzen turned his head to look at Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai and the others standing guard over the rookies.
"A brief but fierce battle may break out next. I'm entrusting these kids' safety to you."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai and the rest quickly answered with respectful voices.
After that, Hiruzen led Jiraiya and the others off into the distance. As they left, Danzo's gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment.
"Besides Old Man Third and Ero-sennin, who were those other people? They looked really badass."
Watching Hiruzen and the others' figures slowly recede, Naruto couldn't help asking.
"Idiot! Keep your voice down," Sakura hissed as she smacked Naruto hard on the head.
"Those people are all big shots in Konoha."
Shikamaru sighed and explained to Naruto.
On the other side, Hiruzen and the others were heading in a certain direction.
"Hiruzen, this way should be toward the Hokage's office. What does that have to do with the method you mentioned for solving our current predicament?"
Danzo spoke, frowning, his tone a little impatient.
Right now, the whole of Konoha had reached a life-or-death moment; he didn't have the leisure to play guessing games.
"If your method doesn't work, it's still not too late to use the Nine-Tails' power."
Danzo paused for a second before continuing.
Beside him, Homura and Koharu quickly chimed in; other than the Nine-Tails, they knew of no other trump card Konoha could play.
"Relax. If the contingency Lord Hashirama left behind back then doesn't work, then the Nine-Tails will be even less useful."
Hiruzen's calm voice slowly sounded in their ears.
"A method left behind by the First Hokage, Hashirama?"
Danzo, Homura, and Koharu all clearly froze for a moment. How could there be something this important that they had never heard of?
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