Chapter 340: Impervious Defense? Pain Breaks Through the City!
The next day, at dawn—
Yunming City.
Though the sky was still dim and the sun had yet to rise, the inner city gates were already open to welcome the envoys from the Five Great Nations.
The city walls were lined with heavily armed warriors, forming an almost human wall along the long ramparts. Elite teams of Cloud Ninja patrolled the walls in groups of three, constantly reporting their findings.
Crossing the drawbridge, over the moat, and through the towering twenty-meter-high city walls—
As the representative of the Land of Fire for this summit, Jiraiya finally saw the interior of this steel fortress.
The ten-hectare-wide inner city had been stripped of all useless structures. In their place stood countless fortified bunkers, military tents, chevaux-de-frise, battering rams, grappling hooks, swallowtail torches, and bladed siege carts.
From this wide expanse, he saw streams of Cloud-nin, all wearing forehead protectors emblazoned with the village symbol, moving like flowing rivers.
They guarded the heart of the city—a massive, three-story Tenshukaku tower erected atop a fifty-meter-high stone spire created through Earth Release techniques.
Atop the tower to the left of the Tenshukaku, a massive chakra cannon forged from steel loomed ominously, radiating a sense of foreboding just by looking at it.
This city within a city was no longer the bustling capital it once was. It had been hollowed out and rebuilt into an enormous military base—
Or rather, a massive battlefield designed to ensnare and kill Uchiha Ci!
A battlefield—
Constructed at the very heart of the capital!
"Whoa, whoa..."
"You're going this far just to deal with one guy? Isn't that a bit much?!"
Having passed through one exaggerated layer of defenses after another, Jiraiya arrived beneath the Tenshukaku. Staring at the scene before him in stunned disbelief, he couldn't help but step forward, trying to pry some information from their Cloud escort.
"Too much?"
A cold voice suddenly cut in.
A tall, broad-shouldered young man in Cloud ninja garb—A—emerged from the other side of the spire at the base of the Tenshukaku, followed by the remaining delegates from the Five Nations.
He shot Jiraiya a cold glance and replied in a deep voice,
"No. This is not excessive at all."
"So long as we can eliminate Uchiha Ci here, it will all be worth it."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed slightly.
Though he was here as a representative of the Land of Fire, ever since he learned of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, he had resolved to protect Uchiha Ci and ensure he reached Mount Myōboku to meet the sage.
But based on what he'd seen so far—by his rough estimate, there were no fewer than 4,000 Cloud forces stationed here—this situation was giving Jiraiya a major headache.
If a battle broke out here, it wasn't just a matter of whether he could protect Uchiha Ci. Even if he summoned the two elder toads and entered Sage Mode, whether he could escape from the Cloud army and the countless traps and barriers along the way—
That was a serious concern.
And most baffling of all—what was it about Uchiha Ci that warranted Cloud going to such insane lengths?
Jiraiya's impression of the boy was still stuck back in the Land of Rain.
Even then, the kid's strength had exceeded expectations, managing to duel the Sand's Chiyo to the death.
But even if he was at Kage level—
That didn't justify this military overkill, did it?
At that moment, Jiraiya looked up at the other envoys gathering behind A, each one wearing forehead protectors from their respective villages. Excluding himself, there were four others.
Sunagakure seemed to have given up hope on killing Uchiha Ci. Chiyo had been replaced by the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's loyal subordinates—Maki, a rather young man, and another high-level officer-in-training, Yura.
Representing Iwagakure were the Four-Tails Jinchūriki Roshi, who had come as a previous envoy, and a newly assigned elite Jonin named Higashishibito, sent to replace the deceased Kitsuchi.
Then Jiraiya looked further back—
"Huh? The Land of Water didn't send anyone this time?" He scanned the envoy group and asked in surprise.
Yura from the Sand shook his head.
"I heard that the Third Mizukage had sent the head of the Hunter-nin—Hoshigaki Kisame. But for some reason, he never arrived, and all contact was lost."
He tightened the long scarf around his head and neck, letting out a snort.
"Maybe he got scared."
"After all, when you're up against that kind of guy, who wouldn't feel unsafe?"
As the group climbed the spiral stairs surrounding the stone pillar, A suddenly halted and turned to speak,
"Everyone, there is no need to worry about your safety."
"This time, to ensure the proper conduct of the Five Nations Summit—"
"We've transferred all elite forces from our village to this location. Moreover, we've accepted reinforcements sent by the Five Great Daimyō and nobles from other nations."
"From the invitation of the Daimyō: the Suiryū clan of Iwa; the Meiton-wielding ninja Naka from Kiri; Hyuga Ka and Hyuga Shota of Konoha; members of the Fuma clan; shinobi from the Forest Country; the hired Mercenary Clan; and many small nations—Grass, Taki, Hoshi, Kuma, Ame, and the Land of Iron—all have sent reinforcements."
"All these ninja have been formed into sensory units, intelligence divisions, special combat squads, raid teams, daimyō guards, suppression teams, and elite kill squads!"
"This eight-thousand-strong force forms an absolute encirclement—a defense with not a single leak!"
"Three layers of defense, seamless sensory detection, overwhelming firepower—no matter what direction the attack comes from, it will be immediately detected. The command center will dispatch units to obliterate the attack in an instant!"
Standing on the stone staircase of the spire,
A suddenly swung his arm downward, pointing toward the massive military force below with a face like iron:
"No one—"
"Can break through this kind of defense!"
The envoys were just about to follow A's gesture and inspect the grand formation of Cloud's army—
When suddenly,
A startled shout erupted from within the envoy group:
"Look—!"
It was Iwagakure's Higashishibito. He was pointing toward the east, his voice trembling in shock:
"What is that!?"
Everyone turned instinctively to look—
From their vantage point, they clearly saw a figure suddenly rise from the eastern sky.
This person wore a black cloak adorned with red clouds, a forehead protector bearing the four-striped symbol of Amegakure, and crimson hair that gleamed brilliantly beneath the first light of dawn.
And then—
"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
The red-haired youth let out a feral roar, eyes wide with bloodthirsty patterns, and raised a single hand high—
Aiming directly at a section of the wall below, and the thousand-strong troop stationed behind it—
"From this moment forward, let the world feel pain—"
"Shinra... Tensei!!"
The next instant—
A blinding white light engulfed the entire eastern ground.