Unbelievable Sarutobi Hiruzen
Yahiko used Water Release: Water Severing Wave (Suiton: Suidanha) to slice through an Earth Release dome cast by an Anbu, leaving the Konoha shinobi stunned.
As the dome split apart, smoke and debris engulfed Yahiko and Miyuki Uzumaki.
Guided by Miyuki's warning, Yahiko, still concealed in smoke, suddenly turned toward an Anbu hidden within the hollow of a tree trunk.
"Water Release: Heavenly Weeping!"
From his mouth, Yahiko fired a barrage of sharp water needles.
The concealed Anbu failed to notice the incoming attack, but a nearby Hyūga shouted a warning:
"Be careful! Dodge!"
But it was too late. The water needles, swift and unexpected, pierced the hidden Anbu before he could react. The body tumbled lifelessly from the tree, striking the ground.
A chill passed through the Konoha shinobi—this battle would not be simple.
Yahiko then targeted the same Hyūga who had given the warning. Once again, he unleashed Heavenly Weeping, sending another rain of water needles forward.
The Hyūga, using his Byakugan, narrowly evaded. The needles embedded into the trunk behind him.
This Hyūga was not from the main family, and his fighting ability was limited. Only main house members were permitted to learn secret techniques like Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or Rotation. The branch family, meant to protect and serve the main family, were denied these arts, even though they were the ones sent into life-threatening battles. The irony was bitter.
The Anbu who had first used Earth Release countered with another jutsu.
"Earth Release: Falling Earth!"
Chunks of hardened earth poured down from above.
Yahiko quickly formed hand seals and slammed his palms together.
"Water Release: Water Trumpet!"
Water spiraled upward like a twisting column, catching the falling earth and dragging it into its whirlpool before crashing down in a flood, forming a pond at their feet.
At that moment, Raiga Kurosuki and Pakura rejoined Yahiko and Miyuki.
The four stood together atop the water's surface.
Raiga sneered, brandishing the Thunder Swords: Kiba.
"This water is perfect. Keep clear."
Yahiko immediately raised an earth pillar from the pond, lifting himself, Miyuki, and Pakura above the surface.
Raiga drove the twin blades into the water.
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Destruction!"
A violent surge of lightning coursed through the pond. Water, the perfect conductor, carried the high-voltage current across the battlefield.
The Hyūga, an Inuzuka and his ninken, an Aburame whose left arm was shriveled, and two more Anbu were caught in the blast. They collapsed instantly, dead before hitting the water.
With those five gone, and the Anbu earlier killed by Yahiko, Konoha's pursuit force of ten had been reduced to just four survivors and one wounded ninken.
Raiga laughed maniacally, clutching his head.
"HAHAHA! Tell me, is this not the grandest funeral I could give them?"
The remaining pursuers—a Hyūga, an Inuzuka, an Aburame, and two Anbu—were shaken. Their mission had only been reconnaissance. They hadn't expected a full-scale battle, much less the betrayal of Konoha by the wife of the Fourth Hokage.
The commotion had already drawn the eyes of other villages' spies lurking around the Land of Fire.
The Anbu captain made the call.
"Retreat!"
The survivors immediately withdrew.
But Pakura was not about to let them all escape. She weaved hand seals.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
A vortex of wind erupted. Flames swirled around her body, merging with the gale.
"Scorch Release: Overheated Gale!"
A fiery hurricane tore across the battlefield, evaporating Yahiko's pond in an instant.
The Inuzuka's hound, too slow to flee, was incinerated into a husk. One of the wounded Anbu was swallowed by the firestorm, reduced to ash within moments.
Only three of the original pursuers escaped alive.
Raiga prepared to chase, but a calm voice stopped him.
From the ring on Miyuki's finger, Qian Yu's voice rang out:
"Enough. Don't pursue. Leave the Land of Fire immediately and lay low. Miyuki, I'll keep you updated on Naruto's condition."
Hearing her son's name, Miyuki's voice quivered.
"Thank you… truly, thank you, Qian Yu."
"Go now. Avoid entanglement. If trouble arises, contact me immediately—I'll come. I must return to Konoha at once. Danzō won't stay idle, and how Hiruzen handles this will decide everything."
The link cut, and Qian Yu rushed back toward Konoha.
---
The three surviving shinobi staggered into Konoha and reported to the Third Hokage.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Miyuki Uzumaki had defected, his pipe nearly slipped from his lips. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Miyuki Uzumaki? Defect? Impossible.
There was no reason—at least, none he could accept.
Frowning deeply, puffing furiously on his pipe, Hiruzen considered the rumors that had recently circulated in the village. But if those rumors were true, why had Miyuki not taken Naruto with her?
He asked evenly, "Do you know the identities of those who aided her?"
The Anbu captain replied, "They all wore masks, even Miyuki herself. But we confirmed one: the rogue shinobi of Kirigakure, wielder of the Thunder Swords—Raiga Kurosuki.
Another was a kunoichi with the Scorch Release, unmistakably from Sunagakure.
As for the third… he used Water Release techniques. Specifically, the Water Release of the Second Hokage."
Hiruzen froze.
"…What did you say?"
The Anbu continued, "He used Water Severing Wave, Heavenly Weeping, and Water Trumpet in battle."
The Third Hokage's heart pounded.
Senju Tobirama's personal Water Release techniques had long been sealed, restricted even within Konoha. None outside should know them. Only Maruboshi Kosuke, the Eternal Genin, had once been instructed by the Second Hokage and could use Water Formation Wall and Water Dragon Bullet.
But now… someone beyond Konoha wielded Tobirama's exact jutsu.
Unbelievable.
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