Chapter 570: Konoha's Battle Escalates
After Ishiro finished speaking, he waved his hand toward Sōkai and the others. Instantly, a porcelain platform appeared in front of them.
Sōkai, Neji, Sakura, and Shion boarded the platform. Might Guy hesitated but did not stop them.
From the very beginning, Ishiro had never fully torn face with Konoha. He couldn't be the one to make the first move. Konoha could not bear the responsibility of initiating a war.
Kakashi hoped today's situation could be limited to the internal turmoil caused by the rogue-nin Danzō, rather than dragging other great villages into it.
After this, Konoha would need to recuperate. They had no confidence to openly turn on Iwa.
When Sōkai's group reached his side, Ishiro said to Kakashi, "Hokage-dono, Mizukage-dono, these few will act as my guards. You are free to call up some of your own guards as well."
As he spoke, Ishiro's eyes looked directly at Hiashi Hyūga.
Kakashi, in turn, glanced at Neji and understood what Ishiro was doing. He nodded.
Then, Kakashi brought Hiashi Hyūga and Shibi Aburame, while Kisame also brought his two attendants, and they all leaped onto Ishiro's porcelain platform.
At the same time, Might Guy, who was in the Iwa contestant area, followed them, landing heavily on the porcelain platform.
Once everyone was in position, Ishiro glanced down at the thoughtful Orochimaru, then formed a hand seal and launched a C-rank Light Release jutsu at Kakashi.
With a single Light Release, Ishiro opened the curtain on the battle.
Konoha Command Center
Shikaku Nara thought for a moment, then said to Inoichi Yamanaka beside him, "Inoichi, check again, carefully. Is there anyone else in the shadows?"
Inoichi complied and began to scan the village's perimeter, asking, "Shikaku, did you find something?"
Shikaku said, "No. But the Tsuchikage wouldn't just jump out for a 'spar between Kage' for no reason. He must be sending a signal to someone."
"Could it be Danzō?"
Shikaku thought. "I'm afraid it's not Danzō. If Danzō appears, the Third will deal with him. But if another enemy shows up now... we'll be in a completely reactive position!"
Inoichi was silent. "Shikaku... maybe we really were wrong before. All those 'benefits' we fought for our clans... they're useless at a time like this. Just now, when I was tallying our combat strength, I didn't even count you, me, or Hiashi Hyūga."
Shikaku smiled. "It's pointless to say that now. Soon, there will be no Yamanaka clan, no Nara clan. If the village can get through this, our descendants will be just like normal ninja. They'll do missions, earn contribution points, and redeem jutsu. Maybe it's not a bad thing. At least they'll be free from the restrictions of the clan."
Inoichi asked, "Restrictions of the clan?"
Shikaku nodded. "That's right. The clan gives us a higher starting point, but it also limits our endpoint. Back then, we could only watch as Minato surpassed us, eventually becoming Hokage. But our ceiling... was only Elite Jonin.
"Was it because our talent was inferior? I don't think so. In all these decades, how many people have our great clans produced? Was every single one of them mediocre?
"In the Warring States Period, we couldn't compare to the Senju or Uchiha, but we still produced strong shinobi. Why is it that after the village was founded, not one of our clans has produced a truly top-tier powerhouse?"
Inoichi thought. "You mean... by only learning our clan's hiden (secret techniques), we limited our own growth?"
Shikaku nodded. "Exactly. In the Warring States Period, we would try to steal other clans' jutsu to round out our skills. But after joining Konoha, to avoid suspicion, we learned nothing but our own clan's jutsu.
"Maybe... only by returning to this 'normalcy' can our families produce a true powerhouse. As you said, you didn't even count yourself. In the Tsuchikage's eyes, Konoha probably only consists of Kakashi, Lord Third, and a few others."
As they were talking, Inoichi suddenly said, "Found him!"
Shikaku's heart skipped. "You found the Tsuchikage's hidden move?"
Inoichi shook his head. "I found Danzō!"
Shikaku paused. "Notify the Third, immediately!"
Inoichi said, "No need. The Third is right next to him. Danzō must have been forced out of hiding by Lord Third."
Shikaku: "..."
That's right. Directly across from the Hokage Monument, Hiruzen Sarutobi had found Danzō.
Ishiro had used his Mind's Eye and sensed Hiruzen was about to find Danzō. That was why he had moved to tie up Kakashi and Kisame.
With the Third, Kakashi, and the others all occupied, the other ambitious people hiding in the shadows could finally make their move.
For example: as Hiruzen's Fire Release clashed with Danzō's Wind Release, Orochimaru whipped his head around to look at Itachi Uchiha, who had been watching him.
In the instant he turned, his appearance changed, reverting to the form of Akira Hyūga, his Byakugan already activated.
Beneath his mask, Itachi's expression was calm, but his heart shook. What jutsu is this? Orochimaru transplanted a Byakugan?
But Orochimaru didn't give him time to think. He thrust out his arm, launching his Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
Itachi wouldn't be caught by such a small trick. He countered with a Great Fireball Jutsu, incinerating the snakes, and the fireball continued, undeterred, toward Orochimaru.
The White Zetsu clone behind Orochimaru shrieked, "Yikes! Fire!" It then sank halfway into the ground, leaving only its upper body out to observe.
Kabuto Yakushi took a combat stance, his eyes on the other ANBU who had been with Itachi.
Orochimaru ignored them. He quickly formed seals, slammed his hand on the ground, and three coffins rose up.
The coffins blocked Itachi's fireball.
Itachi stopped the jutsu and retreated, his expression grave as he looked at the coffins.
The lids opened, and three men walked out: Hashirama Senju, Jiraiya, and... Fugaku Uchiha.
When Itachi saw his father, his expression froze.
Fugaku was clearly disoriented. He didn't immediately recognize Itachi. After a moment, he noticed the ANBU's Sharingan and realized it was his eldest son.
Fugaku's death had been a suicide of sorts; he had simply given up resisting. But Itachi was the one who had dealt the blow. At that time, knowing all was lost, he had accepted it. Better to die by my son's hand than by Orochimaru's.
But seeing his son again like this... his feelings were completely different.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he only asked, "Itachi... is Sasuke alright?"
Itachi was silent for a moment. "Sasuke is fine. He has awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan. He is now the disciple of the Seventh Hokage, Kakashi Hatake."
Fugaku nodded. "The Hokage's disciple... That's good."
He didn't care which number Hokage it was. He remembered Kakashi as being fair to the Uchiha. He was relieved.
While father and son spoke, Jiraiya and Hashirama looked at the chaos in Konoha, their hearts heavy.
Especially Hashirama. This was the first time he had been reanimated in Konoha. He stared at the many faces on the Hokage Monument, stunned.
Jiraiya said to Orochimaru, "Why just us two this time? Where are the others? Where is the Second Hokage?"
Hashirama also looked over, wondering where his opinionated younger brother was. He'd been so busy watching his wife (Mito) fight in the distance that he had forgotten about his brother.
Orochimaru jerked his chin toward Ishiro's platform. "Sealed by the Tsuchikage."
Hashirama said, "This is that Fourth Tsuchikage you mentioned, isn't he? He can even seal an Edo Tensei? Impressive."
Orochimaru said, "Alright, nostalgia hour is over. Time to work."
The next moment, the light in their eyes faded, and all three attacked Itachi.
Itachi immediately suppressed his emotions and drew his sword.
But Orochimaru wasn't playing around. Fugaku Uchiha's eyes changed... three-tomoe, then Mangekyō!
A skeletal giant—a Susanoo—appeared around him.
Fugaku's Susanoo immediately swung its hand at Itachi.
Itachi didn't want to fight here. He leaped away, leaving the stadium.
Orochimaru didn't care. He had the three Edo Tensei follow. He wasn't interested in destroying the village, and as a scientist, he had no desire to slaughter the wealthy patrons in the stands.
And just like that, the situation in Konoha, which had been stabilizing, descended into chaos again.
Three new battlefields had opened up.
Hiruzen and Danzō, the old friends, were having their own "spar." They fought, they chatted, they reminisced, occasionally glancing at Hiruzen's young face on the Monument and Danzō's old one. Danzō didn't use his Wood Release or dōjutsu. Hiruzen didn't summon Enma.
It was a civilized fight, just like when they were boys, sparring under Tobirama Senju. However, for some reason, Hiruzen was steadily gaining the upper hand.
On the porcelain platform, Ishiro, Kakashi, and Kisame were "playing house."
Their fight looked intense. Grand jutsu, sparks flying. Ishiro used a wide variety of jutsu. Kisame would wait, then unleash a massive, crowd-stunning technique. Kakashi, using Lightning Release as his base, switched between offense and defense with ease.
But none of them were fighting seriously. In reality, they were probing each other.
Beside them, Sōkai and Might Guy were not idle. Sōkai was Kage-level. He could trade a few blows with Guy (who had not yet opened the Seventh Gate). But when he was pushed too far, he had to activate his Mangekyō and use his Susanoo.
And elsewhere on the platform, Neji had found Hiashi Hyūga.
Today, in front of all these people, Neji was going to crush Hiashi, and crush the Main House.
So, on this giant porcelain platform, the fight between Neji and Hiashi was the only real deathmatch.
Facing Hiashi's flawless Gentle Fist, Neji was completely suppressed. If not for the Tenseigan chakra neutralizing the Gentle Fist's tenketsu strikes, Neji would have lost long ago. But with every blow he took, Neji was refining his new style.
The final battlefield was Orochimaru versus Itachi Uchiha.
The moment Orochimaru's team left the stadium, Itachi hit Hashirama with Amaterasu.
Hashirama was then stuck in an endless loop of burning and regenerating.
Orochimaru frowned. He had no way to counter the black flames.
Luckily, he still had two more. Fugaku, with his Susanoo and no need to worry about dōjutsu consumption, charged Itachi with a reckless barrage.
Itachi, wanting to conserve his strength, was forced to dodge frantically. He also had to deal with Jiraiya's surprise attacks. He was at a disadvantage from the start.
What made it worse was that Itachi had given his father's eyes to Shisui, who had never figured out their specific dōjutsu. After Shisui was killed by Ishiro, Fugaku's eyes had also fallen into Ishiro's hands.
So, to this day, Itachi had no idea what his father's Mangekyō dōjutsu was. And a Mangekyō with an unknown ability was a terrifying opponent.
Itachi was quickly losing.
On the platform, Kisame had also noticed this. It was his first time seeing Edo Tensei in action.
He was stunned. The jutsu is... this useful?
He quickly noticed the two different states: Mito Uzumaki, who was willing to fight, was suppressing five Kage all by herself.
At that moment, Kisame suddenly coveted the jutsu.
Konoha's history is a mess... But our Kiri's former Mizukage are our own people. If I summoned them... wouldn't that just be... free Kage-level allies?
Just as the chaos seemed to have reached its peak, another explosion rocked the west side of Konoha.
Ishiro's lips curled. He knew from the chakra signature who it was.
The arrivals were the Six Guardian Ninja of the Fire Daimyō, led by Kazuma.
After learning Danzō's men had all been "turned," Ishiro had "invited" Kazuma from the capital. "Invited" wasn't the right word. Ishiro had simply informed him of the plan, the timing, and given him a jutsu to hide his chakra.
He knew Kazuma would seize the opportunity.
These six "guardians" weren't what Ishiro was waiting for. Six men who were barely Elite Jonin couldn't change this battle.
But there was one exception: Kazuma's son, Sora.
Just as in the original story, Kazuma had collected the Nine-Tails's chakra that had scattered during the attack on Konoha and sealed it into his son.
Thus, Sora contained a partial Nine-Tails, similar to Ishiro's Little Saiken or Little Chōmei, capable of briefly exerting Kage-level power.
This pseudo-Jinchūriki was the straw that could break the camel's back.
With Sora at the head, the six guardians as the core, and a large number of the Daimyō's regular guards as the main force, this new army charged into Konoha.
The sudden attack shattered Shikaku Nara's deployments. With no high-end fighters to dispatch, he could only send his remaining elites to plug the hole while informing Kakashi.
Hearing the report, Kakashi shot a dark look at Ishiro. He was done "playing house." He clapped his hands together and began to use Wood Release.
Ishiro's guard went up, but his face remained relaxed. He even smiled. "Hokage-dono, planning to end this quickly?"
Kakashi didn't reply. He shouted, "Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
He didn't use the Deep Forest Emergence; that was useless against Ishiro. A single, powerful attack like the Wood Dragon was the only thing that would work.
Seeing the dragon, Ishiro countered with an A-rank Light Release.
Boom! The Light Release vaporized a large section of the dragon, but the rest of it continued its charge.
Ishiro frowned, his hands flashing, and hit it with a second A-rank Light Release.
Boom! The area was once again filled with blue light.
Just then, Ishiro sensed a massive amount of chakra gathering in Kakashi's left eye.
Kamui! A large mass of porcelain mud instantly formed in front of him.
Sure enough, the moment the barrier formed, a violent spatial distortion appeared on its surface. The next instant, that entire section of porcelain vanished.
Ishiro was alarmed. Kamui. So fast. Kakashi's speed with it... it's already almost as fast as Obito Uchiha's.
It seems the Hashirama cells were a big help.
Kamui was a massive 'bug' (cheat/hack). Its only weakness was its activation delay.
Kakashi immediately began to gather chakra in his left eye again.
Ishiro's Mind's Eye was locked onto him. He formed seals, and a massive earth wall rose between them.
A moment later, a large chunk of the earth wall vanished.
Kakashi frowned. Kamui was powerful, but Ishiro clearly knew it well. It was too hard to hit him, especially with his sensory perception. He couldn't win this quickly.
Kakashi's gaze shifted to Sōkai.
Ishiro knew his plan and immediately blocked his line of sight with a porcelain screen.
Kakashi grit his teeth. He turned to Kisame. "Mizukage-dono! Please stall him! I will deal with the other enemies!"
Kisame: "..."
Before Kisame could agree, Kakashi formed a few seals and vanished.
(End of Chapter)
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