A few days later.
The New Year Festival, the liveliest holiday of the year, was fast approaching.
Bustling commercial districts like Meicha Street and Ryūtō Street had been decorated early, their roads lined with vibrant lanterns, colorful banners, and blooming flowers. The extravagant decorations stretched all the way to Konoha's central shrine and the Memorial Stone, where the festive atmosphere finally gave way to a more solemn tone. The village streets were noticeably packed with an influx of carriages and pedestrians.
"Sakura, are you really not going out to enjoy the festival?"
"Yeah, I'm meeting up with Ino. We'll head out in a bit."
Sakura Haruno cross-referenced her textbooks and notes, jotting down information into a separate notebook. A moment later, Ino's voice called out from outside the window. Sakura immediately packed up her things and hurried out the door. However, the two girls did not head toward the shopping district. Instead, they took a detour toward a nearby training ground.
Elsewhere on the bustling streets, Naruto was dragging Sasuke along, chattering away endlessly when he suddenly froze.
"Ah! Hold on, I gotta hit the bathroom, ya know!"
"You idiot," Sasuke sighed, his voice dripping with annoyance and sheer exhaustion.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, Naruto emerged looking completely drained. But before they could take more than a few steps, his face abruptly contorted again. "I gotta go back to the bathroom!"
"Idiot! I am going to train!" Sasuke finally snapped, no longer able to tolerate the constant delays. Throwing the words over his shoulder, he walked off to practice on his own.
However, he hadn't gone far before his gaze suddenly sharpened. Discretely pulling out a shuriken, he used its reflective surface to check the situation behind him.
'Someone is following me?'
Sasuke furrowed his brow but did not stop walking. Instead, he subtly quickened his pace, making it look as though he had transitioned into a light jog for exercise. After running for a distance, he gradually approached the vicinity of the training grounds—a relatively secluded area. He planned to conceal himself and ambush his pursuers to see exactly who they were.
Just then, a sudden commotion erupted from within the nearby woods.
"Who are you people?!"
'That voice... Sakura!'
Bang!
A loud explosion echoed from the depths of the forest. Sasuke's heart clenched, but he remained completely silent, moving stealthily toward the source of the noise.
It was Sakura and Ino. Peering through the gaps in the foliage, he saw Sakura being held up by her throat, while Ino had been kicked away, sent tumbling across the ground. The explosion he had just heard was a signal flare going off. Standing before the two girls were two men dressed as noble retainers. However, judging by their ruthless demeanor and the half-buried explosive objects beside them, they were clearly not ordinary civilians.
'There is no time!' Sasuke held his breath, his eyes rapidly scanning the clearing until a plan formed in his mind. He drew a handful of shuriken.
The very next second—Swoosh!
A sharp whistle tore through the air. Another signal flare launched into the sky, exploding into a highly visible warning marker. The two men in the forest immediately moved for the kill, intending to silence Ino and Sakura. Right at that moment, a barrage of kunai and shuriken shot out from the dense tree line.
From up in the treetops, Sasuke deftly manipulated the ninja tools with his fingers, steering them on a deadly collision course toward the two men using the Manipulated Shuriken Technique!
Down below, seeing the incoming assistance, Ino immediately threw out a steel wire, tangling it around one of the enemies' ankles. She quickly sprinted toward a nearby tree to anchor it. However, the enemy forcefully yanked his leg. Unable to withstand the sheer strength, the wire ripped through Ino's grip, carving a deep gash into her palms that bled profusely.
Meanwhile, one of the enemies deflected the incoming rain of kunai and shuriken, while the other swiftly charged toward Sasuke's hiding spot. But before the man could get close, the scattered weapons suddenly rebounded. Striking against each other and guided by barely visible wires, they rapidly changed trajectory to completely blockade the attacker's path. Sasuke's goal was not to kill them, but to stall for time!
But then—Swoosh!
The enemy abruptly accelerated. His hands blurred through a series of hand signs as a massive amount of chakra swelled in his chest.
'They're ninja!' Sasuke's breathing hitched as he realized the danger. He immediately threw down three smoke bombs, blanketing the entire forest floor in a thick grey veil.
Yet, in the next moment, a ferocious gale erupted. It instantly scattered the smoke and blew Sasuke right out of the treetops.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Fortunately, Sasuke managed to use an uncut wire attached to a kunai to grapple onto a distant branch. Using the momentum to cushion his fall, he landed safely without injury. But at the exact same time, the enemy's blade closed in on him, reaching his face in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke's eyes widened in sheer panic.
'Dodge! I cannot die here! Dodge!!'
In that moment of life-and-death crisis, a pair of tomoe materialized within his crimson eyes.
Swish!
Sasuke's hands blurred into seals. In an instant, two or three clones split off from his body, their overlapping silhouettes shifting just enough to let him narrowly evade the fatal slash.
At the same time, Sakura and Ino finally recovered their bearings and desperately fled the immediate vicinity. Having dodged the strike, Sasuke spun around, his hands flashing through hand signs before he exhaled a massive sphere of flames.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
The colossal blast of fire washed over the forest, completely engulfing the area where the two attackers stood.
But quickly... the howl of fierce winds pierced the roaring flames. The two figures spread out specialized wings from their backs, riding the updraft into the sky to perfectly evade his Great Fireball.
Right at that moment—Screech!
From the sky above, a flock of ink-drawn monstrous birds dive-bombed the duo, aiming directly at the mechanical wings strapped to their backs. The very second they achieved lift-off, the strange birds crashed heavily into their wings, sending both men plummeting out of the sky and crashing violently into the earth.
The next second, dozens of ink snakes slithered out from the surrounding brush, swarming and completely submerging the fallen attackers.
Sakura and Ino watched the scene unfold in stunned silence. It was only when the enemies began to wail in agony—tightly constricted by the mass of vipers as the ink continuously exploded—that they snapped out of their daze. The two girls exchanged a look. Mustering up their courage, they each hurled a kunai into the fray. While their contribution was minimal, they had technically assisted in finishing off the assailants.
Hidden deeper within the forest, Sai let out a long breath.
'Success!'
He leaned against a tree trunk, regulating his breathing, when a voice suddenly rang out.
"It is you!"
Sai looked down to see Sasuke staring up at his position. Remaining entirely silent, Sai offered a polite, shallow bow before vanishing into the canopy.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, a profound sense of frustration and inadequacy swelling in his chest. He never expected that the person following him—and the one who had just saved his life—would be the transfer student, Sai. The pale boy's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
'Too weak!'
'Sasuke, you are far too weak! At this rate, how could you ever hope to kill him?'
He was consumed by hatred and rage at his own powerlessness.
But before Sasuke could dwell on it any further, a series of signal flares erupted in the distance, one after another.
Immediately following them—BOOM!
Deafening explosions rocked the village, echoing from various sectors of Konoha. He snapped his head up toward the horizon. High in the distant sky, seven or eight figures soared through the air like predatory birds, gliding directly over Konoha. They rained down explosive ninja tools onto the village below, indiscriminately decimating houses and streets.
In a flash, Sasuke understood. The two men they had just fought were part of the same group!
"Take cover, quickly!"
"Hokage-sama, please evacuate to a safe location! I will handle things here!" Inoichi Yamanaka urged urgently from the rooftop of the Hokage Residence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slowly, his gaze locked on the chaotic sky. "I must hold the fort here. You all go and deal with the intruders. Capture every last one of them!"
"But..." Inoichi hesitated for a split second before gritting his teeth. "Yes, sir!"
With a Body Flicker, he darted off toward the front lines.
Hiruzen continued to watch the sky, his aged face sporting a mixture of anxiety and a rather peculiar expression.
A moment later—a faint rustling sound came from behind him.
Suddenly, a thick earthen wall rose up directly behind Hiruzen's back.
Swoosh!
A razor-sharp blade of wind sliced clean through the rock wall, striking the man standing behind it dead-on. However, the 'Hiruzen' that was hit instantly dissolved into a puddle of mud.
"You came after all," Hiruzen's voice sighed from the shadows, his face steeped in profound disappointment. "Danzō... a mere Wind Blade from Sunagakure is nowhere near enough to wound me!"
The enemy, fully clad in the attire of a Suna Anbu, remained completely silent, answering only by hurling another invisible blade of wind.