Facing Kakashi's questioning, Sasuke instinctively wanted to respond, but when he caught the stern look in Kakashi's eyes, he realized Kakashi still harbored doubts about his identity—or rather, Kakashi had pieced something together.
"I'm not like them!" Sasuke paused, then glanced at Naruto beside Kakashi: "Don't worry, I'll protect you!"
Naruto rolled up his sleeves: "I'm not scared! If they dare mess with the village, I'll teach them a lesson!"
A relieved smile spread across Kakashi's face.
That exchange was, in a way, a moment of truth, and Sasuke's response satisfied him greatly.
Immediately, he ordered the Anbu guarding the area: "By order of the Hokage, lift Uchiha Sasuke's confinement, effective immediately!"
The Anbu nodded, opening the cell door.
Sasuke rubbed his wrists as he stepped out, his dark eyes shifting to a crimson Sharingan: "Which Akatsuki members are attacking the village?"
Kakashi replied: "So far, we know of six Akatsuki members: Hiruko, Kurosuki Raiga, Moryo, Shinno, Sasori of the Red Sand, and Deidara!"
"Who do we deal with first?"
Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly; none of these enemies were pushovers.
Kakashi shook his head: "Our mission is to protect Naruto. He's their target! As long as we keep Naruto safe, their plan will fail!"
"Got it!"
Sasuke nodded.
Naruto looked disappointed: "What, so we're just gonna hide?"
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, having prepared a slew of arguments to convince him, only to find Sasuke agreeing to the plan so readily. He thought to himself: This kid's grown up!
…
In the village.
The bombardment from above continued relentlessly, and the village, struck by the sudden assault, hadn't yet escaped the chaos.
The streets were a mess, filled with panicked crowds.
Despite having contingency plans for an Akatsuki raid, the Hidden Leaf Village hadn't faced a real attack in over a decade, leading to all sorts of unexpected errors in every step of the response.
Worse, with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and many elite shinobi absent, the village was stretched thin.
Sakura, who had been assigned community service, had long discarded her broom, tending to an injured elderly woman's wounds.
After treating her, Sakura stood and looked around, seeing injured people everywhere, far too many to help alone.
She tugged at Shion, who was with her for community service, and asked in confusion: "Shion, what… what do we do now?"
When she tugged again and got no response, Sakura looked over, only to find Shion staring into the distance, her face filled with terror.
Following Shion's gaze, Sakura spotted a monster wreaking havoc at a breach in the outer wall.
"Oh no!"
Sakura instantly recalled Shion's background, realizing the rampant beast was none other than Moryo, the sworn enemy of Shion, the priestess of the Land of Demons.
Swish.
At that moment, a figure dropped from the sky, landing beside Sakura and Shion.
Sakura's face lit up: "Yakumo!"
"Finally found you two! Shion, I'm taking you to the shelter first!"
Yakumo didn't waste words, grabbing Shion and rushing toward the shelter.
As Shion's teammate, she knew better than anyone the grudge between Shion and the demon Moryo. If Moryo got hold of Shion, not only would Shion lose her life, but it could give rise to an even more terrifying super-demon!
…
In a grove near the ninja academy.
Swish swish.
Amid the sound of rustling wind, two figures landed in the grove from different directions.
They were none other than Haku and Karin, and this grove was their prearranged meeting point for emergencies.
Karin was both shocked and furious: "The Dark Akatsuki dare to attack the village!"
Haku said: "Their target is likely Naruto!"
Karin asked: "What do we do now?"
Haku shook his head slightly.
After Shinji had informed Yakumo about the 'Hegemon,' he'd also used Jikibi to explain to Haku and Karin why he hadn't stopped the Akatsuki from collecting tailed beasts.
So now, Haku was torn. Allowing the Dark Akatsuki to gather tailed beasts was for the sake of saving the shinobi world, but it meant standing by as their classmates and friends faced death, which tormented him inwardly.
…
At the Hyuga clan grounds.
Having received orders from the Third Hokage, Hiashi shed his clan leader robes and donned his shinobi combat gear.
In the courtyard outside, over a dozen elite Hyuga branch members, fully armed, awaited their leader's command.
Clang.
The wooden door swung open, and Hiashi, in full battle attire, stepped out.
"Clan Leader!"
The dozen Hyuga elites saluted in unison.
Hiashi declared: "Move out!"
Just then, a figure hurriedly landed in the courtyard: "Clan Leader, I have experience fighting Akatsuki members. Take me with you!"
It was Neji, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, already fully geared.
Seeing Neji prepared, Hiashi nodded: "Move out!"
…
On the streets.
Crack.
After snapping an Anbu's neck, Hiruko tossed the body aside, a smirk curling his lips: "Yes, that's it. I love that fear in your eyes when you see me!"
The Leaf shinobi surrounding Hiruko in the street exchanged glances.
His arrogance didn't enrage them, because he had the strength to back it up. In the fierce battle so far, they'd lost dozens of shinobi without landing a single hit on him.
Hiruko scanned the crowd with disdain, sneering: "Hand over the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, or I'll raze the entire Hidden Leaf!"
"Damn it…"
"Where's the backup?"
"This guy's too strong—only the Hokage can handle him!"
Murmurs of unrest spread among the Leaf shinobi.
The group facing Hiruko included jonin, Anbu, and a large number of chunin and even genin who had rushed to the scene.
But against Hiruko, who had completed the ritual and wielded five Bloodline Limits, genin were no match, and even chunin fell in a single blow. Most of the casualties so far were the chunin and genin who had hurried to join the fight.
Hiruko's gaze shifted to the distant Hokage Building: "Hokage? Tch!"
Swish swish swish.
In a rush of breaking wind, figures landed on the battlefield.
Leading them was Nara Shikaku, head of the Leaf's jonin squad, accompanied by Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Choza, and a large contingent of Anbu!
After assessing the battlefield, Shikaku ordered: "Genin, evacuate the battlefield and assist with civilian evacuation. Leave this to us!"
Instantly, the genin withdrew from the fight.
Hiruko eyed Shikaku with interest: "Ino-Shika-Cho? Heh, the Third only sent you lot? Looks like I've been underestimated!"