Due to the Undead Army summoned by Moryo charging toward Hidden Leaf Village, now just a dozen miles away, a large number of Hidden Leaf shinobi tasked with defense, patrols, and alerts were urgently reassigned to form a ninja army. They set out from various parts of the village, rushing to the front lines to intercept the Undead Army.
As a result, the streets of Hidden Leaf were filled with fully armed shinobi hurriedly weaving through.
Whoosh whoosh.
Seeing this, Hiruko chuckled lightly. "Looks like the Five Great Shinobi Villages have already discovered Moryo's Undead Army!"
Ranmaru let out a relieved breath. "This should take some pressure off us."
"Indeed!" Hiruko smirked. "Those soldier statues summoned by Moryo are immortal and indestructible. Aside from sealing techniques, there's no good way to deal with them. That's enough to keep the Five Great Villages busy for a while!"
Historically, Moryo's Undead Army had a record of annihilating entire nations, so Hidden Leaf would undoubtedly take this threat seriously.
After all, if anything went wrong, Hidden Leaf Village would be the first to suffer!
Hiruko continued, "But don't underestimate the Five Great Villages, especially Hidden Leaf. They've got all sorts of sealing techniques up their sleeves, so we need to move fast!"
"Yes!"
Ranmaru responded.
For Hiruko and Ranmaru, who wielded Swift Release, reaching the Forest of Death on the other side of Hidden Leaf took mere moments. Soon, the two arrived, one after the other, at the edge of the primal forest maintained by Hidden Leaf.
A Hidden Leaf squad intercepted them. "Which village are you from?"
Since this was a covert raid, both Hiruko and Ranmaru wore black cloaks over their red-cloud robes, so the Hidden Leaf squad guarding the Forest of Death entrance didn't immediately recognize them as Akatsuki members.
Hiruko ignored the squad and spoke casually to Ranmaru beside him. "This is Hidden Leaf's Forest of Death. Uchiha Shinji and the Jinchuriki should all be inside!"
"Understood!"
Ranmaru nodded lightly.
Hearing Hiruko mention the Jinchuriki, the Hidden Leaf squad reacted instantly. "You're—?"
Whoosh. Hiruko lunged forward, closing in on the squad leader in a flash. His right hand shot out, precisely gripping the leader's neck.
The Hidden Leaf squad was equipped for maintaining exam order, so seeing their leader attacked, the members immediately counterattacked.
"Fire Release, Flame Bullet!"
Boom.
"Lightning Release, Thunder Wave!"
Crackle.
In an instant, Fire Release and Lightning Release techniques struck at Hiruko from both sides!
Hmph!
Hiruko sneered contemptuously. While crushing the squad leader's neck, he raised his free left hand, activating Dark Release to absorb both the incoming Fire and Lightning techniques completely.
"It's the Akatsuki's Hiruko!"
The Hidden Leaf shinobi's faces changed as they identified Hiruko through his Dark Release.
Hiruko activated Swift Release again, moving like a shadow among the shinobi.
Splatter.
Blood sprayed from the Hidden Leaf shinobi as they collapsed one by one, lifeless.
After dealing with the squad, Hiruko turned to Ranmaru. "Let's go. We don't have much time!"
"Yes!"
The thought of his enemy being in the forest ahead filled Ranmaru's translucent Hogan eyes with killing intent!
Hiruko's lips curled into a grin. He tore off the black cloak covering his red-cloud robe. "Remember, this time we're capturing the One-Tail, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to make up for the mission Kurosuki Raiga and I failed last time!"
Ranmaru also ripped off his black cloak, revealing the red-cloud robe marking his Akatsuki identity.
…
Inside the Forest of Death.
Dodging wave after wave of sand, Yakumo shielded Shion and Tenten, taking cover behind a large tree.
Under constant pressure, Shion's temper flared. "These Sand shinobi are going too far!"
Tenten added, "Hiding like this isn't a solution!"
Yakumo shook her head. "Sand's One-Tail Jinchuriki has a good relationship with Naruto, making them a potential ally. With Cloud, Mist, Stone, Grass, and Sound shinobi surrounding us, we don't need to fight Sand to a mutual loss!"
This was exactly why she hadn't used Wood Release to counter Gaara's attacks, conserving chakra while fighting and retreating.
Swish.
At that moment, an Anbu landed before Yakumo's team. "Kurama Yakumo, there's been an incident. The Chunin Exams are suspended. Come with me immediately to support another battlefield!"
Yakumo was taken aback. "What happened? Why suspend the exams?"
The Anbu shook his head. "I don't know the details!"
Yakumo pressed, "Who are we supporting?"
The Anbu replied gravely, "Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke!"
Shion quickly asked, "Someone attacked Naruto and Sasuke? The Akatsuki?"
The Anbu shook his head again. "No comment!"
Unlike Yakumo, a disciple of Tsunade, the Anbu clearly wouldn't answer sensitive questions from the Priestess of the Land of Demons, a guest in Hidden Leaf.
Yakumo pointed to her teammates. "If I go with you, what about them?"
"Don't worry. My colleague will take them to the nearest shelter."
The Anbu's gaze shifted.
Following his line of sight, Yakumo, Shion, and Tenten noticed another Anbu standing atop a tall tree in the distance, keeping watch.
Yakumo nodded immediately. "Alright, I'll go with you—"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Before she could finish, a massive wave of sand surged from both sides of the tree, attacking Yakumo's team and the Anbu indiscriminately.
The Anbu retreated swiftly while shouting, "Sand shinobi, due to an emergency, the Chunin Exams are suspended! Cease your attacks immediately!"
Temari and Kankuro, following behind Gaara, exchanged a glance, their expressions growing serious.
Undoubtedly.
Before leaving, the Fourth Kazekage had privately instructed them that if anything unexpected happened during the Chunin Exams, they were to follow Hidden Leaf's shinobi to safety without question.
And now, an incident had clearly occurred.
The two shouted to Gaara ahead, "Gaara, the Chunin Exams are suspended! Stop!"
But Gaara ignored them, continuing to manipulate his sand with focus.
Kankuro grumbled in frustration. "Damn it, why now of all times!"
Temari was equally exasperated.
In his half-lost-control state, Gaara wasn't someone a few words could reason with, and the timing of this incident left her feeling helpless.