Chapter 249: Save Hiruzen Sarutobi? That Can Wait
Seeing Kabuto, Uzuki Yūgao's pupils constricted. She could already vaguely guess what had happened to Gekkō Hayate.
She bit her lip, tightening her grip on her sword, but then slowly lowered it and looked at Akiyama Makoto.
Although she had gradually gotten used to ordinary life, she had been an Anbu ninja not long ago, and she knew that there were more important things right now.
So what was the most important thing at this moment?
Saving Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Defeating the enemies in front of them?
Or evacuating the civilians and dignitaries who were still unconscious?
Makoto was actually curious about this question too.
The girls around him all stood up, ready to join the battle at any moment.
But he said softly, "Don't rush. Put your hands on me."
The girls obediently did as he said. Then, they felt a powerful chakra released from his body, pouring into theirs, adjusting their spirits and energy to their peak state.
The girls felt refreshed, their fighting spirit igniting. But they still obediently stayed by his side, waiting for the Konoha leaders to issue orders.
Finally, Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma, as the Jōnin present and the leaders of the various squads, began to lay out the battle plan.
"Naruto, use your Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to assist in evacuating the civilians here. Remember to protect your main body, don't pass out."
"Sasuke, you are responsible for assisting Naruto. Don't let ordinary Chūnin and Genin interfere with him. If you encounter a stronger enemy, retreat."
"Sakura—"
Just as Kakashi finished speaking, Sakura jumped down from the stands and came to his side.
Kakashi couldn't help but look at Makoto. Seeing him nod, he began to issue orders to Sakura as well.
"Your mission is the same as Sasuke's. Remember, do not engage in prolonged combat for now. Wait until we stabilize the battle lines before counterattacking."
Although Naruto and Sasuke were still eyeing Gaara eagerly, Kakashi judged that they didn't have the ability to fight the current Gaara. The two of them and Sakura could only obediently accept their orders and leave.
The other rookies were in a similar situation. The Jōnin all chose to let them leave this battlefield, because it was simply too brutal.
Orochimaru had dragged Hiruzen into the barrier. Rasa had gathered all his gold dust and was floating in the sky. Under the pressure of a Kage-level powerhouse, there was also his son, Gaara, who had turned into a monster and was constantly releasing evil chakra.
Not to mention Baki, Kabuto, and a series of other powerful ninja. This put immense pressure on Kakashi and the others.
Kakashi had already pulled up his headband, ready to fight for his life.
Rasa did not order his men to stop them, because the reason they had agreed to start the Konoha Crush plot was ultimately because the Sand Village's finances could no longer support the village's continuation. Many of the Wind Country's missions were assigned directly to Konoha. After all, the two countries were allies!
Theoretically, this was correct, but in reality, it left the Sand Village with almost no way to survive. Funds could be cut, but the Sand ninja couldn't just kill themselves to fill the deficit.
Therefore, even the tyrannical Rasa had to let these civilians, nobles, and wealthy merchants go, because these people were their patrons.
From this point, one could see more clearly why ninja were willing to accept the constraints of the Daimyō. In the final analysis, ninja only knew how to fight; they didn't understand production, let alone governing a country.
Ninja chose to monopolize violence, raising the cost of war and making the ninja world more orderly, in exchange for the Daimyō's support.
On Makoto's side, while watching, he used his sensory ability to judge everything. He knew the battle was about to begin.
Anko Mitarashi used a Body Flicker to appear at his side. Her clothes were already stained with enemy blood. However, this made the expression on her face look a little crazy. Clearly, Anko was about to go on a killing spree.
"Little brother, you, Yūgao, and Karin leave first. Yūgao, remember to protect Karin."
"You can rest assured about things here. Although the situation looks a bit bad, we will win."
She wanted to say something more, but he held her hand and filled her chakra as well. "At a time like this, you should obediently listen to the master of the house."
"You leave here and assist in the evacuation of civilians. Yūgao, take Karin and retreat. Check on Moegi while you're at it to see if she's in danger."
"As for me... don't forget, I know the Flying Thunder God."
Anko opened her mouth, but finally, under his gaze, she slowly nodded.
She knew she had just lied. There was Rasa, a Kage-level powerhouse, here! Even if Kakashi and the others attacked together, they might not be a match for him. Anko was already prepared to die in battle.
Fortunately, she now had him. Although he looked young, his shoulders could already carry the entire Akiyama family, giving Anko a sense of security she could rely on.
Yūgao also nodded. She just wanted to send Karin and Moegi to a safe place, and then use her sword to start a massacre. Perhaps this was the only way she could avenge her old friend.
Although Karin wasn't strong yet, she had experienced no less pain than Anko and Yūgao, so she was actually quite calm.
But she didn't retreat immediately. Instead, she pulled down her collar, stood on tiptoe, and looked at him stubbornly.
He smiled faintly. Not refusing her kindness, he lowered his head and bit her neck, leaving a plum blossom mark. Only then did he look up, kiss her forehead, and straighten her clothes.
"After you find Moegi, wait for me with her. It'll be over soon."
"Mm!"
He sent Anko and the other two away. The "cleaning" of the competition venue was also coming to an end.
In his perception, Jiraiya, who should have appeared here to solve the problem, was now entangled with Kimimaro.
Sure enough, in this kind of melee, deviations could easily occur. As for the reason for the deviation... maybe it was because Orochimaru had taken an extra look at him before the battle started.
But he remained calm. Everyone here was completely under his control.
Of course, Rasa didn't know this. He turned his head to look. Near the East Gate of Konoha, the three-headed snake Orochimaru had summoned earlier smashed through the wall, and then more than a hundred Sand Chūnin and even Jōnin rushed in. This meant the battle had fully begun.
Rasa clasped his hands together, then slowly separated them, as if praying.
The next second, the entire arena began to shake violently. Massive amounts of iron sand surged from underground. Simultaneously, countless iron objects from the entire building flew out, turning into iron sand and mixing with the gold dust Rasa controlled.
The number of people in the official Sand Village delegation for the Chūnin Exams was limited, so the gold dust Rasa could hide was naturally limited as well. For now, he could only use iron sand as a substitute.
However, this did not have much impact on the power of his ninjutsu. A huge iron sand vortex with a diameter of more than fifty meters formed under everyone's feet, ready to swallow them at any moment.
Seeing this, Kakashi and the others immediately jumped onto the remaining buildings. But the moment their feet touched the ground, the buildings beneath them were swallowed again.
"We can't go on like this."
Guy's gaze was solemn. He took a deep breath. "Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, I'll rush up and stop him. You take the opportunity to reduce the number of enemies as much as possible."
"Alright!"
As everyone agreed, Guy shouted, "Eight Gates Released Formation! Sixth Gate: Gate of View, OPEN!"
Then, his entire body turned green, transforming into a green Morning Peacock as he charged towards Rasa.
Guy suddenly exploded with the Sixth Gate, his strength leaping to around Kage level. His speed caught Rasa off guard. Rasa only had time to condense a shield of gold dust before he and the shield were sent flying dozens of meters.
The next second, Guy practically stepped on the air to charge over and became entangled with the gold dust.
At the same time, Kakashi and the other two immediately made their moves.
Kakashi used Chidori, wanting to interrupt Gaara's constantly surging evil chakra. But a Chakra Scalpel slashed towards him. It was Kabuto, who had long since chosen Kakashi as his opponent.
"Kakashi. Lord Orochimaru says our strength is similar. perhaps it's time to compare."
Kabuto launched a series of taijutsu attacks. Just looking at the speed and power of the attacks, he was indeed no worse than Kakashi in this regard. Kakashi was forced to stop releasing Chidori and became entangled with him.
Asuma wanted to rush up and check on his old man's condition, but was stopped by Baki. The two also began a contest of Wind Style.
Seeing this, Kurenai rushed towards Gaara, trying to defeat him with her genjutsu.
But she was met with Temari's Wind Style and Kankurō's puppet sneak attack.
Both Temari and Kankurō were far stronger than average Chūnin. Normally, the two of them wouldn't be Kurenai's match, but with the addition of the possessed Gaara, it was different.
"Sand Shuriken!"
Gaara's large, Shukaku-like hand slammed the ground. Countless shuriken made of sand shot towards Kurenai, forcing her to retreat, helplessly watching as Gaara continued to build up his momentum.
A helpless Kurenai looked at Makoto. But he just smiled slightly. "I'll find you two helpers."
Then his figure vanished, reappearing beside Naruto and Sasuke. The two of them, along with Sakura, were leading the Konoha civilians to safety. His sudden appearance startled them.
"Big Brother Makoto, why are you here?"
Perhaps because the situation was too critical, Naruto subconsciously called him "Big Brother."
He placed his hands on their shoulders, infusing them with chakra. Then he said, "There's an enemy you need to team up to defeat. Go."
The next second, the three of them were thrown back into the ruined arena by him. Their sudden appearance immediately attracted Gaara's attention, and a dense barrage of Sand Shuriken immediately flew towards them.
It was Kurenai who used a Body Flicker to take the three of them away, avoiding a successful sneak attack.
"Makoto-kun sent you here?"
Kurenai couldn't believe it, but Naruto and Sasuke immediately perked up.
"Is our opponent that guy?"
"He looks like a worthy opponent."
Sakura also explained, "Makoto-kun went to assist on another battlefield. It seems he thinks we can win."
Looking at their soaring fighting spirit, Kurenai's brow relaxed. "I'll help you hold off Temari and Kankurō. The rest is up to you."
She then created a shadow clone to pincer attack Temari and her brothers' position from both sides.
Temari and Kankurō immediately blocked left and right. Meanwhile, Sakura and Sasuke each grabbed one of Naruto's hands and threw him into the sky.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The next second, hundreds upon hundreds of Narutos fell from the sky like dumplings. Seeing this, Gaara quickly released a ninjutsu: Sand Shuriken: Barrage!
Dense, round sand bullets swept towards the Narutos in the air like a machine gun, popping almost all of them.
But in the end, one Naruto managed to throw two kunai to Gaara's feet.
The next second, the kunai on the left turned into Sasuke, his Sharingan spinning as he used a hypnotic jutsu.
At the same time, Sakura quickly formed hand seals, casting a super-large Water Prison Technique, trapping Gaara inside.
Success?
Before Sakura could celebrate, Temari and Kankurō looked as if they had seen a demon and began to flee without a second thought.
Hypnotizing Gaara?
Is that something a human would do?!
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