Ultimately, Konoha has suffered too many losses of talent in recent years, and the strength of its intelligence squad, defense forces, and even civilian ninjas is much weaker than in the original story.
Pain originally intended to disrupt Konoha's defenses with summoned beasts and missiles, while simultaneously searching for the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. However, he hadn't expected that Konoha would be struggling even to stop the giant summoned beast from the Animal Path.
What started as a disturbance almost escalated into a war of annihilation!
The overly smooth invasion operation made Nagato a little complacent, and he even directly sent several summoning beasts close to the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been harboring a simmering anger for a long time, fueled by the intrusion into his home. This anger, combined with the resentment accumulated over the years from his damaged reputation and the crippling of his family, made him somewhat lose his temper.
Therefore, after donning his combat uniform and rallying his spirits, Hiruzen Sarutobi led his team out of the Hokage Building. Just as they emerged, he saw a giant rhinoceros crashing through several buildings and charging towards them.
The roads of Konoha were shattered and cracked like rotten soil under the rhinoceros's hooves, and many Konoha villagers were even trampled into mincemeat on its path of charge.
"Earth Escape: Earth Flow River"
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet
Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly formed hand seals, and a rolling river of mud and a raging fire dragon appeared out of thin air, merging together to form a lava river that instantly submerged the giant rhinoceros.
The rhinoceros instinctively roared and struggled to escape the lava flow, but the river of fire was not only extremely hot, but also contained a powerful suction force. In the end, the rhinoceros collapsed with a mournful cry.
Seeing their Hokage leading the charge with such power and momentum, the eyes of the Anbu ninjas and civilian ninjas following Hiruzen Sarutobi brightened, and their dejected and lifeless aura dissipated somewhat.
The villagers, who were nearly trampled by the rhinoceros, charged desperately toward Hiruzen Sarutobi from behind. As they passed by him, they didn't forget to loudly praise and thank him, as if they had completely forgotten the curses and scorn they had harbored for him over the years.
"The Hokage is mighty!"
"Thank you, Lord Hokage!"
"Lord Hokage, you must destroy the enemy and protect Konoha!"
The villagers' grateful and sincere thanks warmed Hiruzen Sarutobi's increasingly cold heart. He couldn't help but recall his youthful passion when he first became Hokage, as if he had regained his youth.
With a surge of righteous anger, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly waved his hand, "You all retreat behind me. Someone will take you to a safe place soon. As for these criminals who invaded Konoha, as the Hokage, I will never let them get away with it!"
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's statement, the Konoha villagers nearby initially wanted to say a few more words to express their respect, but suddenly they began to scream and howl as they fled backwards, shouting, "Centipede! Centipede!"
Watching the Konoha villagers leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly turned back and saw two giant centipedes crashing through buildings as they approached. At a distance of several dozen meters, they crossed and swept across him, like a pair of sharp scissors about to cut him and the Konoha ninja in half.
Konoha was in chaos, with explosions erupting everywhere. The sounds of blood and fire filled Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears and eyes, reminding him of the feeling of dominating the battlefield in his youth. Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened his body, regaining some of his former heroic aura.
"I am the Hokage, I will protect Konoha! Enma, the Vajra Staff!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly formed hand seals to summon his summoning beast, Monkey King, which transformed into a giant staff. Hiruzen's seemingly aged body unleashed terrifying power; the Vajra Staff, wielded with immense force and speed, instantly inflicted a severe blow on the attacking centipede, breaking off a section of its body.
The large spirit beasts were full of vitality and were still fine despite such severe injuries. The two giant centipedes sprayed blood in mid-air, roared, and wildly shook their broken bodies, crashing into buildings one after another.
"Lightning Release: Four Pillars Binding Technique"
An ANBU member stepped forward and used ninjutsu, causing four giant stone pillars to suddenly rise into the air and surround the centipede. At the same time, endless lightning bolts shot out, crisscrossing the centipede ninja beast and rendering it unable to move for a moment.
With the cooperation of the Anbu to restrict the centipede ninja beast's movements, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flashed with bloodlust as he swiftly struck the centipede with his golden cudgel, moving with a speed so fast it was as if he were pounding garlic. Before the two centipedes could even utter a few cries of agony, they were reduced to dozens of pieces of trash by Hiruzen Sarutobi's attack!
Having just dealt with the immediate trouble, Hiruzen Sarutobi barely had time to catch his breath before he sensed another threat approaching. Looking up, he saw a giant bird with a sharp beak circling in the sky, occasionally dropping eggs from the air. These eggs would explode violently upon landing, their power far exceeding that of explosive tags.
"What are all these things?!"
Seeing the giant bird hurling bombs everywhere, Hiruzen Sarutobi was momentarily stunned, but he quickly came to his senses.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
A clear, inconspicuous stream of water shot out from Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth, then soared into the air, its target the Yatagarasu that was throwing its egg.
The water line rapidly approached, quickly reaching the Yatagarasu. Just when Hiruzen Sarutobi thought he had succeeded, a figure suddenly appeared out of thin air in Hiruzen's attack path, spreading its arms towards the water line. The next moment, to Hiruzen's horrified gaze, the Water Severing Wave shrank smaller and smaller in the enemy's palms, and was quickly completely absorbed!
"What a peculiar ability!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't worried about the sudden appearance of the enemy. He had so many Konoha ninja around him; one Fireball Jutsu from each of them would be enough to incinerate the enemy!
However, the scenario Hiruzen Sarutobi had envisioned—an ANBU ninja helping him attack the enemy, overwhelming them with a massive barrage of attacks—did not materialize. Instead, they had been locked in a fierce battle with a giant dog. No matter how they attacked, the giant dog remained undead; in fact, its numbers seemed to be multiplying.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also saw the futile attack of the Anbu ninjas. He confronted several enemies in black robes with fire clouds that suddenly appeared while giving orders.
"Send someone to notify the sealing team that you should temporarily restrain that dog and have the sealing team seal it!"
......
In a secluded spot on the outskirts of Konoha Village, Konan received a message from her paper clone and asked it in confusion.
"Nagato, wasn't the plan to focus on reconnaissance? Why has it turned into a full-scale attack? Konoha has too many people; it's not worth the effort to wear them down."
call
Nagato took a deep breath, his expression quite strange. "I didn't expect things to turn out this way either. It's probably because Konoha's resistance was unexpectedly weak, and those summoning beasts unconsciously rushed to the center of Konoha. But it's good this way; the bigger the commotion, the more people it will attract. Konan, take this opportunity to investigate."
“I will intensify my investigation,” Konan nodded and continued, “but Nagato, you should still be cautious. There’s no rush to take revenge. Once the Tailed Beast weapons are completed, Konoha will be at your mercy!”
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