Jiraiya took one look at Tsunade's expression and let out a light sigh. This necklace really did carry a heavy meaning for her.
Even so… did this necklace have some special function?
"It's nothing. Just make sure you keep that necklace safe."
Hiruzen suddenly shook his head and said with a small smile.
Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, who had been straining their ears to eavesdrop, all froze, their faces going stiff.
Jiraiya was also taken aback for a moment. Then, seeing Tsunade on the verge of exploding, the corner of his mouth couldn't help twitching.
"Since the four great villages have joined forces to attack Konoha, then let them learn the price of attacking Konoha."
Killing intent surged off Hiruzen's body; his tone turned utterly cold.
With that, he was the first to stride out of the pocket dimension.
——
ROAR!
With a bellow from the Three-Tails Isobu, a Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb) turned into a streak of red light and blasted toward Konoha.
Crack. Crack.
A sound like shattering glass rang out from the defensive barrier.
An instant later, the defensive barrier formed with a technique similar to Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) completely shattered.
Boom!
The shockwave from the exploding Bijuu Dama spilled outward the moment the barrier broke.
The barrier squad closest to the front was blown away outright by the blast. Three barrier ninja at the very front didn't even have time to react before they were killed on the spot.
The shattering of the defensive barrier seemed to serve as an invisible signal.
"As expected of Konoha—actually managing to withstand several Bijuu Dama."
Kitsuchi looked toward the village, a hint of admiration in his voice.
"I don't have time to stand around listening to you spout nonsense."
Darui, standing at the very front of the Kumo forces, shot Kitsuchi a sideways glance.
Then he turned to the Kumo-nin behind him. "Get ready, everyone. Begin the attack!!"
Whoosh!
Without any unnecessary words, the moment the last syllable of "attack" left his mouth, large numbers of Kumo shinobi turned into streaks of motion, charging toward Konoha.
And not just Kumo—Kitsuchi's Iwa forces, Maki's Suna forces, and the Kirigakure forces all launched their assault on Konoha at the same time.
They didn't need any particular strategy. Sheer numbers alone meant the four villages fielded two to three times as many ninja as Konoha.
It was an overwhelming advantage in manpower. In a situation like this, trying to use complicated tactics would only restrain them.
"Earth Release specialists, construct defensive positions! Everyone else, begin long-range attacks!"
Shikaku shouted, his face deadly serious.
Facing the head-on charge of the four great villages' numerical superiority, Shikaku had known from the very beginning that Konoha couldn't hold.
Quantity leads to qualitative change.
Unless you had overwhelming personal power, in a shinobi war, individual strength would always be shaved down to the minimum.
Even ninja at the level of the Sannin, even tailed beasts—once surrounded by a shinobi army, their only endings were defeat and being sealed.
Large numbers of Konoha's Earth Release–proficient ninja stepped forward, raising layer after layer of earthen walls like outer ramparts.
At the same time, a storm of ninjutsu and secret arts poured out from Konoha's side, crashing toward the combined forces of the four villages.
"Chou Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique)!"
Choza bellowed, his body rapidly swelling in size. One massive stride took him past Konoha's defensive earthworks, and he curled his huge frame into a ball.
"Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)!!"
Combining the two jutsu, Choza became a gigantic meat grinder, rolling straight toward the four villages' shinobi to crush them.
"An Akimichi clan member, huh? I'll deal with you."
Kitsuchi's face stayed steady and composed as his hands formed seals and then slammed down onto the ground.
"Doton (Earth Release): Kaido Shouga (Opening Earth Rising Excavation)!"
With a rumble, the ground itself heaved. Like a volcanic eruption, a volcano-shaped mound of earth suddenly jutted upward from below.
Choza, who had become a Nikudan Sensha, rolled right onto this rising formation and was abruptly flung high into the air by the sudden "volcano."
He hurriedly released the Nikudan Sensha to lessen the impact on himself, stretching his body out as best he could.
Suspended in midair, Choza's enormous frame hung like a dark cloud over the many ninja below.
Seeing this, a cold smile appeared on Kitsuchi's calm face. His hands flew into seals again and pressed into the ground as he shouted:
"Doton (Earth Release): Sando no Jutsu (Mountain Soil Technique)!"
Two half-dome, mountain-like earth formations surged up from both sides, not only wrecking the terrain in front of Konoha in an instant…
They also rose in a pincer, enclosing Choza between them.
Kitsuchi's eyes narrowed. His hands slammed together in a hard clap.
The two half-dome "mountains" of earth closed in on Choza, grinding toward the center.
The scene instantly drew every gaze on the battlefield.
"What power…"
Maki, leading the Suna forces, couldn't help letting out an admiring sigh.
Even the rookies at the rear—Naruto and the others—could clearly see the mountain-like jutsu from where they stood.
"So strong…"
Sasuke gulped, staring blankly at the sight before him, unable to keep himself from speaking.
Naruto and the rest on the other side were just as dumbfounded.
This was their first time seeing ninjutsu on this scale. Compared to this, their past battles really were nothing more than child's play.
Crash!
Suddenly, the two mountain-like half-domes of earth began to crumble at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The audience could see that Kitsuchi, who had been maintaining the jutsu, had stopped channeling chakra entirely, standing stock-still in a daze.
"Not good, it's a genjutsu (Illusion Technique)!" an Iwa-nin cried out softly.
"It's not genjutsu (Illusion Technique). It's someone from Konoha's Yamanaka clan."
Akatsuchi walked over from the side and drove his fist hard into Kitsuchi's stomach.
At that very moment, Inoichi of Konoha's Yamanaka clan snapped his eyes open and unconsciously rubbed his own belly.
"You okay?"
Shikaku placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine. We're all old rivals, after all. And with them having several times our numbers, this battle isn't going to be easy."
Inoichi shook his head with a bitter smile.
Because of Kitsuchi's jutsu, Konoha's earthwork defenses had been torn open, and shinobi from the four villages surged toward that breach.
At the same time, large numbers of Konoha ninja gathered there as well, scrambling to defend and counterattack.
Hiss—
Wisps of pale green mist drifted in from the distance, spreading toward the Konoha side.
Konoha shinobi who didn't notice in time collapsed to the ground the instant they inhaled the mist, their limbs going limp.
"Even if we Suna-nin are few, the number of people we can kill with poison isn't necessarily less than yours."
Watching the Konoha shinobi dropping from the toxin, a faint smile appeared on Maki's face.
"There's poison in that mist! Seal this breach, now!"
An ANBU shouted the warning.
"Doton (Earth Release): Tenka Nendo (Heavenly Descending Clay)!"
Several Konoha ninja rushed out from the side, forming seals together.
A huge pocket space manifested in the air above Konoha, and then a flood of red clay poured down from the sky, plugging the breach in an instant.
At the same time, several Fuuton (Wind Release) jutsu blasted out from Konoha's side, blowing much of the toxic mist away.
The Kumo forces had pushed the farthest forward. All manner of Raiton (Lightning Release) jutsu flashed as they hammered Konoha's defenses over and over.
Even with the advantage of terrain, facing several times their number and an endless stream of jutsu from every village…
The plan Shikaku had drawn up in advance couldn't possibly handle such a complex situation.
In only a short span of time, Konoha's first defensive line was completely breached.
Large numbers of Konoha ninja and shinobi from the four villages clashed directly.
As for the rookies in the rear—even if they wanted to join the battle, no one dared give them the chance.
On a battlefield like this, genin like them—without some special trump card—would probably be killed in seconds. This was nothing like one-on-one duels.
Kakashi and the others had already thrown themselves into the fighting, leaving a random chunin to lead the rookies back toward the second defensive line.
Tragic.
That was the only word that could describe the battlefield. For a time, the roar of combat echoed over all of Konoha.
Blood splashed across the ground in sheets. In just a brief exchange, Konoha's forces were already being pushed back.
The enemy's numbers were simply too great. Among the ninja still resisting, most Konoha shinobi were already fighting one-on-two, even one-on-three.
Yuto still sat quietly on the back of the Three-Tails Isobu, calmly watching the battle in front of him.
Unless you possessed absolute power to suppress everything, war would never bend to the will of any single person.
"At this rate, the villages probably won't even need to use their jinchuuriki."
Propping his cheek on one hand, Yuto spoke quietly.
If someone had appeared in the sky right now to look down on the battlefield, they would have noticed that although shinobi from the four villages were all fighting Konoha, the Kiri forces were positioned behind the other three villages.
At that moment, on a hillside some distance from the Konoha battlefield…
A masked man and a strange, half-black, half-white figure emerged from a swirling vortex.
"I knew it. Tell you something like this, and you just can't resist coming to take a look."
White Zetsu grinned at the masked Obito.
Obito didn't answer. He simply stared silently at Konoha in the distance, its outline hazy from here.
"Isn't this a bit far away? Why not move in closer?"
Seeing Obito stay silent, White Zetsu didn't mind, scratching his head and asking on.
"There are several jinchuuriki over there. Pain should be coming as well. There's a chance we'll be noticed."
Obito's slightly low voice sounded by his side.
White Zetsu nodded as if he understood, then suddenly froze. His expression changed, and he quickly said, "He's here!"
As his voice fell, another vortex swallowed the two of them, and they vanished in an instant.
Not long after, not far from the spot where Obito and White Zetsu had just disappeared, Pain and Konan slowly appeared.
Pain glanced thoughtfully in the direction the two had vanished, then turned his gaze back toward Konoha.
"Will this affect our plan?"
Konan frowned slightly as she looked at the distant battlefield.
"No."
Pain's tone was flat and mechanical.
"As long as great nations exist, the shinobi world will never be free of war."
After a moment of silence, Konan's voice grew a little heavy.
"Wars between nations have always been nothing more than struggles for profit. And war always breeds pain. Perhaps it's precisely for that reason that people yearn for peace all the more."
"To feel pain and thus desire peace—that is the will of a god."
Pain's stiff yet resolute voice slowly reached Konan's ears.
Back on the Konoha battlefield…
From the very beginning, this battle had been fated to see the weaker side crumble quickly.
Corpses of Konoha shinobi were strewn across the ground.
No one had time to grieve; the next second, they themselves might be the next to fall.
When Hiruzen and the others emerged and took in the scene before them, everyone's eyes reddened.
"Damn it!"
Danzo clenched his staff so tightly his face twisted with rage.
Jiraiya and Tsunade were just about to charge out when Hiruzen reached out to stop them both.
"The jutsu the First Hokage left behind will put an end to this."
Then, seeing Jiraiya's slightly startled expression, Hiruzen patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "From here on out, Konoha is in your hands."
Jiraiya opened his mouth to say something, but Hiruzen had already taken a stride forward and flashed out onto the battlefield.
"Shinobi of the four villages—Konoha isn't so easily invaded!!"
A furious roar rang across the battlefield.
Every ninja who was fighting faltered for a heartbeat and couldn't help looking toward the source of the voice.
Hiruzen, clutching the massive scroll, yanked it open and slammed it down against the ground.
On one side of the scroll, the name of the technique was clearly written.
"Senpou (Sage Art) — Mokuton (Wood Release) — Shin Susenju (True Several Thousand Hands)!"
A little late~
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