Chapter 118: Reappearing Wood Release
After the crowd briefly fell silent, a large number of gazes turned toward Nara Shikaku, who was currently directing the evacuation of civilians and coordinating overall operations.
Sensing everyone's attention, Nara Shikaku revealed a faint bitter smile. After a brief moment of thought, he spoke in a solemn tone.
"Although the village gates are important, what matters more right now is eliminating all Mist Ninja, Sand Ninja, and Sound Ninja squads around the village center."
"Once we ensure the civilians in the rear are fully safe, we can then gather our forces to assist the Hokage-sama and reclaim control of the village gates."
His calm voice spread to everyone's ears, causing those present to nod slightly in agreement.
Indeed, this was the most prudent course of action at the moment. After all, the compounds of their respective clans were located near the village center, so clearing nearby threats aligned with their interests.
Moreover, the village gates had already fallen, so whether they rushed there immediately would not change much.
As Nara Shikaku finished speaking, with the Three-Tails no longer posing a direct threat, everyone began to take action.
Akimichi Choza released the Super Expansion Technique and collapsed onto the ground.
Nara Shikaku hurried over to check on him and, after confirming that it was only excessive chakra consumption, finally let out a breath of relief.
"What's wrong, Choza? Is something the matter?" Nara Shikaku asked, noticing the serious expression on Choza's face.
Supporting himself with both hands on the ground, Akimichi Choza took a deep breath. "Something feels strange."
"Strange?" Nara Shikaku paused, not immediately understanding what he meant.
"We fought the Three-Tails for a long time, and I realized that it wasn't a jinchūriki," Akimichi Choza said.
"If it wasn't a jinchūriki, then with that massive body, how did it suddenly appear in the center of the village?"
"Tail Beasts might be able to compress their power, but given their nature, how could they possibly do something like that?"
"And that person who suddenly appeared on top of the Three-Tails' head—although I don't know what he did, after he showed up, the Three-Tails headed straight toward the village gates."
At this point, Akimichi Choza paused to catch his breath and looked seriously at Nara Shikaku.
"When have you ever seen or heard of a Tail Beast listening to a human?"
As Akimichi Choza spoke, Nara Shikaku's expression grew increasingly grave.
Something about this was indeed suspicious, but with so little information available, even analysis yielded no clear answers.
Nara Shikaku raised his head and swept his gaze across the surrounding ruins, a rare trace of unease appearing in his eyes.
After hearing Choza's words, an extremely ominous premonition grew stronger in Nara Shikaku's heart.
Reaching out to pull Akimichi Choza up, Nara Shikaku said calmly, "No matter what, we can only proceed step by step. Even if there truly is some massive conspiracy, the enemy will inevitably reveal their hand."
Akimichi Choza nodded. For now, there was no other choice.
With the Three-Tails gone, the Konoha ninja who were no longer tied down quickly began clearing out the enemies within the village.
No matter how well they hid, they were all exposed one by one under the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, the Aburame Clan's insects, and the Inuzuka Clan's ninja hounds.
With the three clans operating at full strength, even several infiltrators from the Cloud Village and Stone Village hidden among civilians were discovered.
On the other side, at the main battlefield, Hiruzen watched the Three-Tails Isobu leave the village center and charge toward the gates.
The extremely grim expression on his face eased slightly.
Although the Three-Tails continued to cause significant damage along the way, compared to the destruction it had wrought in the village center, it was almost negligible.
"It seems the enemy has recognized the current situation and intends to hold the gates while making further plans," Hiruzen said in a low voice.
Although Konoha appeared to be at a disadvantage, in Hiruzen's eyes, aside from the Three-Tails that had rampaged through the village center and Orochimaru lurking in the shadows, no other threats were truly significant.
This was, after all, Konoha's home ground.
Whether it was the Sand Village or the Mist Village forces, their attacking numbers were limited, while Konoha had a continuous stream of reinforcements.
Fighting a war of attrition on their own territory, Hiruzen did not believe he would lose.
As he fell into silence, an ANBU ninja standing behind him suddenly spoke with respectful tone.
"Hokage-sama, the battle between both sides has reached a stalemate. The One-Tail Shukaku's suppression is too strong. Do you need me to intervene?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen came back to his senses. He looked at the ANBU behind him and smiled kindly.
"So it's Tenzo. I originally did not intend to expose you to the other villages so early."
"But now it seems the other villages have mistaken Konoha's goodwill for weakness. It truly is time to show them Konoha's strength."
As his voice fell, the ANBU nodded slightly and was about to step forward.
At that moment, Hiruzen gently placed a hand on the ANBU's shoulder.
The ANBU's body stiffened briefly. Although his face was hidden behind a mask, his confusion could be felt.
"You carry Konoha's destiny upon your back. Since you have inherited that power, then let the world know it."
"From this day onward, ANBU will no longer have someone named Tenzo. Your new name is… Yamato!"
A unique and heavy light flashed through Hiruzen's eyes, though the gentle smile remained on his face as he slowly removed the ANBU's mask.
A man with refined features and large eyes appeared before him.
Yamato looked momentarily stunned, clearly not understanding what had just happened.
A new name.
Yamato.
Did that mean he was no longer an ANBU hidden in the shadows, but could finally stand openly beneath the sunlight?
At that thought, a brilliant spark flashed in Yamato's eyes.
"Go, Yamato!" Hiruzen said again, his voice now carrying firm resolve.
At that very moment, the One-Tail Shukaku aimed in Hiruzen's direction and unleashed a Wind Release.
Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!
A massive compressed air blast was fired forth, crashing down with thunderous force.
As the Wind Release attack flew toward the Hokage, everyone's attention snapped toward it at once.
Just as other Konoha ninja were about to step forward to block it, a loud shout rang out in everyone's ears.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
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