Chapter 568: Konoha in Chaos
Ishiro smiled as he watched the Soragakure's Sky Fortress draw closer and closer to Konoha.
Like Ishiro, Orochimaru also wore a look of faint excitement. He stretched his long tongue out, licking his lips, his gaze flickering from time to time toward Kakashi in the highest box.
In the stands, the nobles and merchants, who had been watching Neji and Hinata Hyūga, were startled by the distant explosion. A minor panic broke out in several sections.
Fortunately, numerous Konoha ANBU immediately appeared to maintain order, preventing a full-blown stampede.
Neji had anticipated this. He glanced one last time at Hinata, who was struggling back to her feet, said nothing, and leaped back to the Iwa contestant area.
The Konoha Crush Plan had begun. His allegiance was not with Konoha. It was safer to be with his shishō (master), Sōkai.
As for his grudge against the Main House... that was a matter for Hiashi Hyūga, not this weak cousin of his.
Hinata Hyūga watched Neji leave, bit her lip, and then walked alone toward the medical area, where Naruto was being treated.
In the Iwa section, Sōkai and Might Guy were already in a standoff. Sōkai had even activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. He knew getting close to a top-tier taijutsu user like Guy was dangerous, and he was prepared to activate his Susanoo at any moment.
When Neji returned, he didn't stand behind Sōkai as Sakura and Shion had. He stood in front of him.
Sōkai didn't refuse the gesture. In terms of pure taijutsu, Neji, with the aid of the giant Tenseigan, had indeed surpassed Sōkai, a Kage-level shinobi. While he couldn't stop Might Guy, he could at least hold on for a round or two.
Compared to the tension in the Iwa box, the Kage box was eerily calm.
Kakashi hadn't moved. The moment had finally arrived. He was prepared.
Konoha was now united. He and Hiruzen Sarutobi had prepared for the worst. This was just the beginning; it wasn't time for the Hokage to panic. He needed to remain calm.
He was sure Danzō and Ishiro had other moves to play.
A voice suddenly spoke in Kakashi's ear. "Lord Hokage! Five Edo Tensei ninja are attacking the village from the south! They are: Lord White Fang, Ryōsuke, Chiyo, Pakura, and Hanzō! Requesting backup!"
Kakashi looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen nodded and quickly left the box.
After he was gone, Ishiro asked Kakashi curiously, "Hokage-dono, was that the voice of the former Nara clan head, Shikaku Nara? I heard you... uprooted... all of Konoha's great and small clans. How did you manage to get him to still obediently command your armies?"
"Aren't you afraid he'll defect? Let's just say... hypothetically... what if Iwagakure offered to take in the Nara clan? You know we have an excellent policy for ninja who come from Konoha. What if all he had to do was 'accidentally' cause Konoha to suffer a major loss in this war? Do you think he'd do it?"
Kakashi stared at Ishiro, his face expressionless.
Ishiro quickly added, "Relax, relax! I wouldn't do that. We at Iwagakure are peace-lovers! It was just a hypothetical! I'm sure Shikaku Nara will make the right choice!"
Kakashi turned his head back to the field, still refusing to speak.
Just then, a massive chakra spike erupted from the south.
Ishiro turned his head. "The Nine-Tails? But that's not Naruto Namikaze's chakra. Could it be an Edo Tensei? Is it Kushina Uzumaki? No, I've sensed her chakra before, it's not like this... This... This must be Mito Uzumaki's!"
Kakashi shot Ishiro a glance. "The Tsuchikage even knows of Lady Mito."
Ishiro just smiled, observing the situation with his Mind's Eye.
Mito Uzumaki, unlike the other five Edo Tensei, was in a free-willed state, and she was single-handedly suppressing all five of them.
Ishiro couldn't help but sigh. "What powerful chakra. The Uzumaki clan's constitution is truly enviable."
Kakashi suddenly spoke. "Tsuchikage-dono, rather than envying the Uzumaki, perhaps you'd care to explain this?"
Ishiro looked at him with feigned surprise. "What does Hokage-dono mean? I haven't done anything!"
Kakashi knew Ishiro was shameless. He didn't bother asking where Danzō had gotten the genetic material for those five reanimations. All five of them had died because of Iwa; their DNA was in Iwa's hands. Danzō couldn't have gotten it without Ishiro's approval.
But he knew Ishiro would just make an excuse, so he didn't press the issue.
He just said, "Does the Tsuchikage not plan to participate in this... internal rebellion... of Konoha's?"
Ishiro said righteously, "Rest assured, Hokage-dono. Iwagakure is a peace-loving village and will never interfere in another's internal affairs. I'm just here today to attend the exam and have a nice chat with you and the Mizukage."
"Instead of asking me, you should be asking Leader Orochimaru. He is one of your rogue-nin. Perhaps he holds a grudge and has colluded with one of your former Hokage."
No one present believed a word of this.
Kisame just grinned. Baki kept his profile low. The Kumo representative wasn't anyone's concern.
As they spoke, the Sky Fortress drew closer.
But Konoha was not idle. Squadrons of flying units rose from all over Konoha to intercept it.
"Cough, cough," Ishiro suddenly sputtered. He then said with admiration, "My, my. It seems Konoha has acquired Kumo's flight technology. How enviable. Kumo has always 'misunderstood' us... they've never been willing to sell us such high-end tech."
The Kumo representative thought, Misunderstanding?! You personally murdered our Kage! How is that a misunderstanding! I wish we had the chance to 'misunderstand' you!
As Ishiro spoke, his ANBU-clad attendant, Kanako, who stood behind him, closed her eyes. Her right hand, hidden in her sleeve, formed a single hand seal.
...Then...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of massive explosions erupted from all over Konoha. Even some of the flying Konoha ninja exploded in mid-air.
In an instant, Konoha was thrown into chaos. Their intercepting formation completely shattered.
Kakashi shot to his feet, staring in disbelief.
Impossible! Are there spies? How can there be so many?!
The explosions continued for a long time. When they stopped, Konoha's entire defense system was in shambles.
Ishiro let out a sigh. "Danzō's methods are impressive. Even in this situation, he managed to plant so many people in Konoha."
Kakashi's fists were clenched, and he said nothing.
Ishiro continued, "Hokage-dono... do you think... it could have been Shikaku Nara? He is the army commander. If not Danzō, he's the only one who could have done this. Is he... planning to defect? But don't worry, Hokage-dono. While Iwagakure would definitely welcome him, I promise I had nothing to do with this. I suspect... another village... must have contacted him in secret."
Orochimaru chuckled. Kisame looked amused. Is he really doing this? Shikaku Nara can probably hear every word you're saying.
A voice immediately sounded in Kakashi's ear. "Lord Hokage, all the explosions came from ninja Danzō had recently... 'recruited.' He must have developed a technique... similar to the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal... that can bypass their consciousness and detonate them."
Kanako, standing behind Ishiro, almost smiled.
It wasn't Shikaku's fault. He'd never heard of anyone being able to remotely detonate explosive tags.
The tags Ishiro had given Danzō were all made from Kanako's Paper Release.
When Danzō used those tags to "bribe" Konoha ninja, he was, in effect, handing their lives over to Ishiro.
That single "fireworks display" had cost Konoha at least a thousand ninja.
But that wasn't the worst part. Because of the chaos, the Sky Fortress broke through Konoha's defenses unopposed.
The plan to intercept the enemy outside the walls had failed. It was now a defensive battle... from the air.
Kakashi immediately ordered, "Reorganize all units! Speed up civilian evacuation!"
"Yes, sir!" Shikaku's voice replied, and then went silent.
Ishiro's Mind's Eye could clearly sense the response. Konoha's ninja had only panicked for a moment. Once the explosions stopped, most had regained their composure.
They were quickly reforming.
Ishiro felt a twinge of regret. He should have had Kanako detonate them in waves.
"Hokage-dono, your ninja's discipline is impressive," Ishiro said. "To recover so quickly from a blow like that. I've spent decades trying to close the gap between our villages... but in this, I admit, Iwa is still far behind."
Kakashi ignored him. He pushed his headband up, revealing his three-tomoe Sharingan, and silently watched the battle unfolding across his village.
Suddenly, a figure dropped from the Sky Fortress, plunging into a Konoha platoon of over a hundred ninja.
It was Shinnō. His chakra was raging, like a Jinchūriki, and he began a slaughter.
He fought with a single tactic: recklessness. He used suicide-moves, but any damage he took—from ninjutsu or taijutsu—he regenerated from instantly.
Ishiro asked with false concern, "Hokage-dono, that man-kun looks just like a Jinchūriki. Are you just going to let him rampage? Why don't you go take care of it? The Five Great Villages are one big family, we're not strangers. You don't have to stay here and entertain us."
Kakashi said flatly, "Your concern is appreciated, Tsuchikage-dono. Konoha has this handled."
No sooner had he spoken than a figure shot toward Shinnō.
The figure was in ANBU gear, but was radiating Tailed-Beast chakra.
This, Ishiro knew, was Konoha's new Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.
Ishiro wasn't interested in his identity. He was interested in the chakra. This person-kun has only been a Jinchūriki for a month, at most. He can't be controlling the Seven-Tails on his own. He must be under a Mangekyō genjutsu...
The Jinchūriki's intervention, with the support of the other Konoha ninja, managed to stall Shinnō's rampage.
Ishiro watched for a moment. "Hokage-dono, you seem to have been well-prepared for an aerial assault!"
Konoha's response was surprisingly robust. Even after being ambushed by Kanako, they had re-established an anti-air defense that was suppressing the Sky Fortress's other forces.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Perhaps Danzō's preparations were simply... sloppy."
Baki, in the background, remained silent. He could piece together what was happening. Ishiro and Orochimaru were both involved. Konoha's Hokage and Kiri's Mizukage were just sitting here, watching them.
Baki glanced at the Iwa stands, at the standoff between Sōkai and Might Guy, and his theory was confirmed.
He decided Suna would not get involved.
...
Before the chaos in Konoha, just after Ishiro had confirmed Kisame's arrival, he had given a signal to Akino Atsumi.
Akino had used her space-time ninjutsu to relay the "Go" order to Iwagakure.
Iwa's main army, along with Ōnoki, Ikura, Kawakita, Han, Rōshi, Deidara, and Natsuki, had immediately begun to move.
They boarded a massive warship on the coast.
This ship had been built from the special rock under the Land of Moon's lakes. It was covered in seals that, when activated by Takuhiro Uchiyama's Light-Heavy Boulder Jutsu, would make the entire ship lighter.
It had no engine. It was pulled by Ishize Jōsei's contracted shark pack.
Their target: Kumogakure.
But they weren't sailing straight for Kumo. They were taking a wide detour around the north, coming at the Land of Lightning from the southeast.
Their first target was the Kiri army, which was staged on a large island off the coast.
Using the Minazuki blood Chiga had collected, they had pinpointed the location of the Kiri fleet.
If Iwa attacked Kumo, Kiri was in a perfect position to reinforce them. So, Ōnoki had decided to hit Kiri first.
While Kiri was reeling, Kumo would be too far away to help.
To complete the deception, a 5,000-man decoy army had been left on the Land of Earth's coast, in plain sight.
...
At the Kiri forward base.
Terumī Mei, Mangetsu Hōzuki, and Nagi Minazuki stood on the beach.
Mei held several intel reports, her brow furrowed.
"What is it?" Mangetsu asked. "Bad intel?"
Mei shook her head. "The intel is fine. It says the Iwa army still hasn't moved. Our patrols confirm it. But... I have a bad feeling. I feel like Iwa has already made its move."
Mangetsu was about to dismiss her premonition when a scout rushed up.
"Sirs! Konoha is under attack!"
Mei asked quickly, "What about the Iwa army on the coast? Is it moving?"
"No! It's still holding its position!"
The three of them looked at each other, their faces grim.
It's a trap.
They knew the army on the coast had to be a decoy. Ishiro would never wait this long.
This meant... they had lost track of Iwa's main force.
Just then, a cry came from the watchtower.
Ao, his Byakugan active, was pointing frantically at the horizon.
"They're here! The Iwa army is here! They're... they're riding on a giant rock ship!"
Mei looked out at the small dot on the ocean, which was growing larger at an impossible speed.
(End of Chapter)
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