Chapter 44 – The Jinchuriki Let Loose, and the Elders Dig Their Own Graves
"Guy!"
"Got it!"
Best bros in sync.
Guy exploded into a green meteor, slamming Shukaku with everything he had.
"Morning Peacock!!"
Fist-shaped fireballs hammered the tanuki so hard it actually started whining.
Naruto and Sasuke shared a quick glance and silently dialed their effort down to 30%.
Protect civilians?
Sorry, not on the menu tonight.
Their "slacking" gave Shukaku exactly the breathing room it needed.
"You damn insects!!"
"Air Bullet Barrage!!!"
Massive compressed-air cannonballs roared out, one after another.
Shukaku was finally venting months of pent-up frustration.
Without Tailed Beast Bombs, Air Bullets were still city-block level threats.
Kakashi struggled the most.
Guy kept bailing him out.
Naruto and Sasuke suddenly looked "careless," letting a few shots slip past toward the village.
Ever since the Asura reincarnation influence was removed, Naruto had stopped being the saintly golden retriever.
Add the memories Aike gave him, and his moral compass now pointed in a very different direction.
No more automatic forgiveness for Iruka or random villagers.
And Sasuke? Mercy wasn't even in his dictionary.
So under their deliberate "oopsies," civilian casualties started piling up.
Kakashi's heart sank.
"Damn it!"
"I should've learned more sealing jutsu from Kushina-sensei…"
The full burden fell on him and Guy.
Guy was fine—small target, Eight Gates speed.
Kakashi, ever since trading away his Sharingan, relied on swordsmanship and regular ninjutsu.
Neither worked great on a fifty-meter sand monster.
He was stuck playing support.
"We can't keep this up!"
"Guy! Naruto! Sasuke!"
After tanking another barrage, Kakashi roared:
"Full power! Get this thing OUT of the village!"
He was ready to burn his life if needed.
Guy's green steam flared hotter.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto.
Naruto gave a tiny nod.
Time for the main course.
The appetizer (civilian casualties) was seasoned perfectly.
Meanwhile, Root headquarters.
Danzo Shimura sat like a king on his throne, listening to reports.
"Hmph!"
"I told you Sunagakure were nothing but scheming jackals!"
"If they had listened to me, none of this would be happening!"
Danzo sneered.
As expected.
Compared to Hiruzen's weakness, the Hokage seat belonged to him!
He was done swallowing Hiruzen's "I'm the Hokage" line.
If he had been in charge, Konoha would've dominated the last war.
Danzo's ambition burned hotter than ever.
"Order everyone to stand by and do nothing."
"Also, keep watching. Make sure the Hokage dies in this chaos."
"Yes, sir!"
......
Streets of Konoha.
"Are the Sand shinobi insane?!"
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio leaders cut through another Sound-Sand squad, frowning deeply.
"Don't they realize this could start the Fourth Great War?"
Haiichi Yamanaka asked, confused.
"And these Sound ninja—some tiny village—why are they fighting harder than Sand?"
Nara Shikaku, the brains of the group, was equally baffled.
They had received the arena report.
A perfectly coordinated invasion screamed long-term planning.
But the goal made no sense.
Sunagakure was the weakest of the Five Great Villages.
No Kazekage would be stupid enough to think a no-name village like Sound could actually destroy Konoha.
Even with the One-Tail, it wasn't enough.
Unable to figure it out, Shikaku shelved the thought.
"For now, we end this invasion."
==============================================================
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield