"Over there! They're alive!" Hiashi let out a low growl. Without even time to give Shikaku a detailed explanation, his figure had already turned into an afterimage, racing along the dizzying edge of the sinkhole towards where Hinata and the others were located.
Shikaku was also awakened by Hiashi's action. He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, looked in the direction Hiashi was running, and sure enough saw vague figures at the edge of the rising mist.
"Everyone, watch your step! First, rescue people! Collect intelligence!" Shikaku's voice returned to its usual calmness, though somewhat hoarse. It was like a reassuring medicine, helping the somewhat dispirited Konoha's Ninjas behind him barely muster their spirits.
The group carefully followed Shikaku and Hiashi's footsteps, hurrying towards the gathering point of survivors on the other side of the sinkhole.
As they approached, the scene before them became clearer.
In this area at the edge of the sinkhole, the survivors were gathered in small groups, mostly covered in dust and abrasions, their expressions tired and frightened. Some sat, some leaned, and some were tending to each other's wounds.
Big Sis Hinata supported Naruto, who had just woken up and was still unsteady on his feet.
"What... happened?" Naruto's azure blue eyes were now wide open, staring blankly at the giant sinkhole ahead that had devoured the horizon, his mouth slightly agape, as if completely unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The Nine-Tails' Chakra within him also seemed to have been somehow cowed, unusually quiet.
Sasuke leaned against a piece of charred broken wood, his Ninja Sword stuck in the ground beside him. He kept his head lowered, making his expression unclear.
But Sai and Shigaraki beside him could still observe Sasuke's clenched fists and slightly trembling shoulders.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were huddled together. Shikamaru's brow was deeply furrowed, his gaze constantly shifting between the sinkhole and the Land of Stars' members, clearly thinking rapidly. Choji's face was pale, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the fright. Ino, pressed close to her two teammates, still had remnants of fear in her eyes.
Not far away, the Kirigakure's team… Ao, Suigetsu, Chojuro, Honoka, were gathered together.
The veins around Ao's transplanted Byakugan had not yet completely faded, his face grave to the point of being terrifying. He was speaking in a low voice with Chojuro.
Suigetsu, looking still shaken, kept slapping his arms.
Kumogakure's team's Samui was equally silent.
Samui's always calm green eyes were now fixed on this desperate sinkhole before her, her gaze distant, as if penetrating time and space, returning to that afternoon nine years ago, also enveloped in despair.
Kumogakure, surrounded by mountains. The Raikage Building and a large area around it had been similarly erased into such a regular, bottomless sinkhole by an unremarkable black Chakra Ball.
Even after years of reconstruction, that scar was still carved on the heart of Kumogakure.
"Th-This... is even more terrifying than Master's Tailed Beast Bomb..." Karui murmured, her voice trembling, instinctively grabbing Omoi's arm beside her.
Omoi didn't complain this time, just as pale, the lollipop in his mouth long gone.
Samui took a deep breath, withdrew her gaze, and looked up at the sky above the sinkhole.
'The battle... seemed to be over?'
'But over didn't mean safe. It could be the calm before an even more terrifying storm.'
Just then, Hiashi's figure landed behind Hinata and Naruto like a gust of wind.
"Hinata!" He hurried two steps to his daughter's side, his gaze quickly and carefully sweeping over Hinata's entire body. Confirming no obvious severe injuries, his tight heartstrings relaxed slightly, but the concern in his voice was still thick.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Big Sis Hinata then released her support of Naruto, letting the still somewhat dazed Naruto stand on his own, swaying slightly.
She turned to face her father, still in that casual and unrestrained posture, one hand on her hip, the other waving casually: "Yo, old... Dad, you came pretty fast. I guess the trouble in the village is almost handled?"
"..."
The concern on Hiashi's face instantly froze, his temples throbbing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see many Konoha's Ninjas around, even some from other villages, instinctively turning their gazes this way.
'This daughter of mine's second personality... was still so unrestrained.'
Fortunately, in front of outsiders, especially on such a serious occasion, she left him, her father, a little reputation. She didn't directly call him 'old fart' like she did at home.
"Good to know you're alright." He had also grown accustomed to his daughter's personality, and it was partly because he was somewhat helpless about it that he decided to have another child.
Almost simultaneously, Shikaku also landed beside Shikamaru with his team.
He first quickly looked over Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. Seeing that although they were disheveled, their spirits were still intact, and they hadn't lost any limbs, a weight was also lifted from his heart.
"How are you? Anyone injured? What exactly happened here? How did it come to this?" He fired off a series of questions, but his gaze involuntarily glanced again at that abyss.
Shikamaru, seeing his father, seemed to relax slightly.
He rubbed his somewhat aching temples and said in a low voice: "Dad, we're all fine. Just minor injuries. As for the situation here..."
Shikamaru paused, his gaze glancing at the Land of Stars' members nearby, who were calm to the point of being unusual.
Gaara stood with his arms crossed, quietly looking at the sinkhole. Karin had her eyes closed, concentrating, as if sensing something. Temari, Kankuro, Kurotsuchi, and Ranmaru stood guard around them.
"The situation is very complex, hard to explain in a few words. What's involved... likely is not just Orochimaru. But I think, there should be a resolution soon." His voice was lowered, meaning something else.
Just then, several sounds of wind breaking came.
Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma had also arrived.
They looked equally disheveled. Kakashi's mask was covered in dust, Guy's signature green jumpsuit was torn in many places, and Asuma's face also bore traces of smoke.
"Shikamaru! Choji! Ino!" Asuma spotted his three students at a glance and immediately strode over, his face full of concern.
"Are you alright? Anyone hurt?"
"Asuma-sensei!" Shikamaru and the others quickly responded.
Seeing their familiar teacher, the unease in their hearts seemed to dissipate somewhat.
"We're fine, Sensei." Shikamaru answered for them.
Asuma carefully examined his three students. Confirming they were in decent condition, he let out a sigh of relief.
Kakashi's Sharingan narrowed slightly, his gaze sweeping over the entire scene.
He noticed the presence of the Land of Stars' members, saw the Kirigakure and Kumogakure's Ninja, and also saw the confusion and fear on the faces of the Konoha's Ninja.
The unease in his heart grew stronger.
And when Kakashi's gaze met Shikaku's, he saw in Shikaku's eyes that complex, hesitant to speak, heavy look.
Shikaku looked at Asuma. His lips moved slightly.
He knew that some news couldn't be hidden, and the time had come to tell it.
He took a deep breath, as if to draw upon all his courage. He stepped forward two paces, stood before Asuma, his voice low and clear, carrying an unmistakable grief:
"Asuma... we've just received confirmed news. The Third Hokage-sama... has sacrificed himself."
The air seemed to completely freeze at this moment.
Kakashi's pupils suddenly contracted, his body trembling slightly.
"Wh-What?!" The always passionate smile on Guy's face also instantly vanished, replaced by great shock.
And Asuma...
His entire body, as if struck by lightning, instantly stiffened.
The trace of relaxation that had just appeared on his face upon seeing his students unharmed completely froze, then shattered.
In his widened eyes, there was first confusion, then that confusion was rapidly replaced by enormous shock and sting.
His lips trembled: "Th-The old man...?"
He murmured, his voice even trembling: "Ho-How is this possible... the old man... how could he..."
Asuma's grieving murmur, like a stone cast into a deep pool, stirred up layers of suppressed ripples among the survivors.
Ao and Samui opposite exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
'The Third Hokage was... dead?'
The air was so heavy it could almost wring out water. Vigilance and hostility towards the Land of Stars' members began to coalesce in the eyes of the Konoha's Ninja.
Just then, several sounds of wind breaking came from far to near.
The first to land were three light but swift figures: Yukimi, Yusuke, and Neji.
Yukimi landed on a piece of scorched black rock. Her eyes quickly swept over Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, then over Karin, Kurotsuchi, and Ranmaru.
Seeing that her students, though disheveled, were all intact standing there, she sighed in relief, and a concerned voice sounded: "Are you guys alright? Any injuries?"
Temari, seeing her teacher, relaxed slightly, nodded, and answered: "Yukimi-sensei, we're fine, all good. It's just..."
Her gaze complexly glanced at that desperate sinkhole, and the still twisted air above it.
Gaara stood with his arms crossed, his green eyes calm and unruffled, just nodding slightly to Yukimi, indicating he was fine.
Kankuro also quickly spoke up to prove his condition was acceptable.
On the other side, Karin, Kurotsuchi, and Ranmaru, seeing Yusuke, clearly perked up.
Karin spoke first: "Sensei! We're fine!"
Kurotsuchi also waved her fist. Although her small face still carried dust, she tried to look energetic.
Ranmaru stood obediently beside Kurotsuchi and Karin, giving Yusuke a reassuring smile.
Yusuke, carrying the giant Kubikiribocho on his back, his solemn face also showed a relieved expression.
He walked to Ranmaru's side, reached out his big hand, and naturally rubbed Ranmaru's hair, smiling gently: "Good to know you're fine. That blast just now was really something. I thought you were going to get blown away."
In the Konoha's crowd, Hiashi's gaze firmly locked on Neji, who stood beside Yusuke in a clean white training uniform.
Six years.
Since that [Night of Defection] six years ago, when his younger brother Hyuga Hizashi led some branch family's members to defect from Konoha and join the Land of Stars, Hiashi had not seen this nephew again.
Neji now stood tall, his features handsome, the Land of Stars' forehead protector tied on his right arm, long since shed his childhood innocence. His brows carried a calmness and detachment beyond his years.
What made Hiashi's Byakugan narrow the most was that Neji's smooth forehead was completely empty, with no trace of the Caged Bird Cursed Mark!
Hiashi's emotions were extremely complex.
There was a sense of strangeness at his nephew's growth, complex emotions about the branch family's defection, an indescribable relief at seeing Neji freed from the Caged Bird's shackles, and even more so, deep worry and vigilance about his standing on the 'enemy side' of Konoha.
Neji also seemed to feel this gaze. He slightly turned his head, those pure white eyes calmly meeting Hyuga Hiashi's gaze.
No hatred, no excitement, not even any emotional fluctuation, just like looking at a stranger.
That cold stare drew a clearer line than any heated words.
This silent barrier and confrontation was instantly ignited by Asuma's barely suppressed rage.
"Land of Stars... Shura!" Asuma suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at Yukimi, Yusuke, and Gaara, Karin, and the others behind them.
Earlier, it was these three Land of Stars' Ninja who had stopped them at the arena, preventing them from reinforcing Hiruzen in time!
Driven by grief and anger, he turned all his hatred towards these 'accomplices' of Orochimaru.
It looked like he would recklessly charge up to avenge his father the next second!
"Asuma!"
A steady, powerful large hand firmly pressed down on Asuma's tense shoulder.
Everyone followed the sound and saw that, at some point, Jiraiya, accompanied by a black-clad youth and a blonde-haired boy, had quietly appeared at the edge of the crowd.
Jiraiya's white hair was covered in dust, his face bearing fatigue and lingering worry. In those eyes, always carrying a hint of unrestraint, there was now only solemnity and grief.
Adult Sasuke's injuries were not light... dried bloodstains still remained on his black clothes, but he stood straight, the Rinnegan beneath his side-swept bangs warily observing the direction of the sky.
And Boruto was now staring intently at Naruto, not far away, who was still staring blankly at the sinkhole.
When Boruto's gaze swept over Big Sis Hinata, who stood with one hand on her hip beside Naruto, his entire body trembled, and a drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.