"I… I'm not leaving! I'll fight these guys to the end!"
Naruto's eyes were bloodshot. The chakra of the tailed beast and Sage Mode surged wildly around him, clashing and erupting in violent waves.
In this state, Naruto's combat power was terrifying.
Against the puppets surrounding him, he could destroy one with just two or three punches.
But the real problem was that after being smashed apart, the puppets quickly reassembled themselves and continued fighting.
If this continued, even after a hundred years of fighting, Naruto would never truly defeat them.
What worried everyone even more was the enemy's intention.
Were these puppets meant to stall Naruto?
Or were they meant to stall all of them until something far more terrifying arrived—something that could completely capture Naruto and extract the Nine-Tails sealed inside him?
To prevent that possibility, Tsunade made a decisive decision.
She told Minato Namikaze to take Naruto away immediately.
The enemy's situation was still unclear, and Tsunade could also sense that the chakra fluctuations of Hashirama Senju were growing weaker and weaker.
Under such circumstances, Naruto's safety became the top priority.
"Minato!"
Tsunade shouted.
In the next instant, Minato appeared silently behind Naruto and struck the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.
Minato caught Naruto's collapsing body and sighed helplessly.
"This child… he'll probably blame me after he wakes up."
Tsunade crossed her arms.
"Even if he does, it's better than letting him get captured by those strange enemies without understanding the situation."
Her gaze hardened.
"Naruto… is Konoha's last hope."
Minato paused for a moment.
He had never expected Naruto to carry such weight in Tsunade's heart.
"I understand," Minato said softly. "I'll do everything I can to keep him safe."
With that, Minato disappeared.
Meanwhile, more and more Ōtsutsuki puppets began gathering around Konoha.
They seemed endless.
While the puppets continued attacking relentlessly, the Ōtsutsuki forces waited patiently, draining the stamina of Konoha's shinobi before stepping forward to deliver the finishing blow.
The ninja of Konoha felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Even if they wanted to fight desperately, they couldn't find the opportunity.
Flames continued spreading throughout the village.
Konoha burned.
Outside the village, Minato stopped briefly and looked back.
A helpless sigh escaped his lips.
Where should he go?
Where could Naruto truly be safe?
After thinking for a moment, only one place came to mind.
Kirigakure—the Hidden Mist Village.
"The Mizukage himself said Naruto was his friend…"
"And Naruto also said that Shigure is his friend."
"If they're friends, they won't harm him."
Shigure was extremely powerful, and the shinobi of Kirigakure were formidable as well.
If there was anywhere safe, it would be there.
Of course, if Shigure truly wanted the Nine-Tails, then nowhere in the world would be safe.
Minato gritted his teeth.
He would gamble.
Holding Naruto, Minato used his space-time ninjutsu and rushed toward the Hidden Mist Village.
Not far away, someone had already noticed him.
Obito frowned.
"Where is he taking Naruto?"
Orochimaru glanced at the direction Minato had disappeared toward.
"If I'm not mistaken, he's heading to Kirigakure."
"That direction only leads to the Hidden Mist."
Obito narrowed his eyes.
"Then should we intercept him and take Naruto now?"
Madara shook his head slightly.
"That man is proficient in a powerful space-time ninjutsu. His speed is extraordinary."
"If we make a move and fail to catch him, we'll expose ourselves."
He paused and looked toward Konoha in the distance.
"Besides…"
"Who exactly are those people attacking the village?"
Obito raised an eyebrow.
"You're more concerned about them?"
Madara smiled faintly.
"No."
"But for a moment just now… I felt a familiar presence."
His eyes darkened.
"If this attack wasn't carried out by Kirigakure…"
"Then it's worth thinking about where these people truly came from."
At the same time, far away above Kumogakure—the Hidden Cloud Village.
Dark clouds filled the sky.
Thunder roared.
Countless bolts of lightning gathered toward a single point in the air.
Shigure stood calmly in the center of the storm.
Under his control, the violent lightning condensed into a massive thunder spear in his hand.
Across from him stood the Raikage.
Shigure looked down at him indifferently.
"Raikage."
"Since Sasuke's matter has nothing to do with you…"
"Then I'll let this go."
With that, Shigure spread his hand.
The lightning spear instantly dispersed.
However, the released electricity exploded outward, spreading across the sky like a massive web of thunder.
Even hours after the rain stopped, the terrifying lightning network still lingered in the clouds.
Shigure had already left.
The overwhelming terror that Shigure had displayed in Kumogakure left the entire village uneasy.
He had appeared in the Hidden Cloud Village, gathered thunder and lightning in his hand, and demonstrated his power without the slightest restraint.
It was pure arrogance.
Yet no one dared to say a word.
An existence capable of grabbing lightning itself—like Shigure—was something no one in the shinobi world dared to provoke.
When Shigure finally left the village, the Raikage let out a long breath of relief.
"It seems that over the past few months, the Mizukage has grown even stronger."
His expression turned grim.
"The proposal we sent to Kirigakure hasn't received a reply for a long time. Do they really intend to start a war?"
Now, the one who should truly be worried was the Raikage.
If Shigure decided to wage war without restraint, the destruction of Kumogakure might take nothing more than a flick of his fingers.
"Raikage-sama, you absolutely cannot act rashly right now—"
Before the shinobi could finish speaking, another Cloud ninja suddenly appeared inside the room without warning.
Everyone froze.
Such a sudden report meant only one thing.
Something major had happened.
"Report, Raikage-sama!"
"There's a massive fire in the direction of Konoha!"
"Konoha Village… seems to have been destroyed!"
Hearing this, the Raikage inhaled sharply.
Destroyed?
By whom?
Across the entire shinobi world, there was only one person capable of doing something like that.
Shigure of the Hidden Mist Village.
The current power of Kirigakure alone was enough to make Kumogakure wary. When combined with Shigure's terrifying strength—and the tailed beasts under his control—the destruction of Konoha would not be difficult.
If Shigure and Kirigakure had truly made their move, they could have completely wiped out Konoha.
But if Kirigakure had really done it, then the question remained—
Why destroy Konoha?
Was it meant as a warning to the other villages?
If that were the case, then the Raikage had to admit…
Kirigakure had succeeded.
Destroying Konoha in such a short time would be a terrifying display of power.
So terrifying that the remaining three great ninja villages might have no choice but to unite from now on.
Otherwise, who knew which village would be next?
Meanwhile, Shigure—who had already visited Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure—was on his way back to Kirigakure.
At the same time, he had strengthened the network of his Cloud Pigeons, ordering them to search everywhere for Orochimaru's base.
No matter where Orochimaru was hiding, he would eventually reveal himself.
And once he did, the Cloud Pigeons would certainly find him.
I hope Sasuke is alright.
With that thought, Shigure continued rushing toward the Hidden Mist Village.
After all, there were still many matters waiting for him there.
Time slowly passed.
Inside Konoha, the battle was still raging.
Tsunade had already been defeated.
She lay on the ground, struggling to crawl forward, trying to reach another injured Konoha shinobi so she could heal him.
But suddenly—
A foot stepped down hard on her hand.
"Still thinking about saving others at a time like this?"
"You're about to die yourself…"
As the man spoke, another Ōtsutsuki clan member suddenly appeared behind him.
"My lord."
"The Hyūga clan has been completely wiped out. We've collected a large number of Byakugan."
"Mm. I know."
Hearing this, the man's expression changed several times.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke again.
"My lord… I would like to request a pair of Byakugan."
"It's for my son."
"Toneri…"
(End of Chapter)
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