Chapter 49: Let Konoha Feel Pain!
Konoha Village, Hokage Building.
Inside the Hokage's office, large numbers of personnel came and went continuously.
After Nara Shikaku's death in battle, though the Nara clan arranged a replacement named Nara Shikasumi, many tasks he couldn't handle immediately, requiring the Third to personally process them.
Especially now preparing for new war, affairs had multiplied many times over, keeping everyone impossibly busy.
The Third was signing different documents when an ANBU suddenly appeared in the office, bowing in apology.
"My sincere apologies, Third-sama. I failed to complete my mission."
The Third's pen paused momentarily. He looked up with a sigh.
"Both Jiraiya and Tsunade refused to return?"
"Yes." The ANBU ninja kept his head deeply bowed, not daring to look at his Hokage's expression.
"Lord Jiraiya inquired the messenger about rumors of the Uchiha massacre. Upon learning the news was true, he remained silent briefly before saying he needed to gather material and had no time to return."
"Lady Tsunade said her luck was currently excellent, winning big, and she needed to seize the opportunity to win back all her gambling debts. She'll return after clearing them."
"Clearing gambling debts..." The Third smiled bitterly, taking out his pipe and placing it in his mouth.
After puffing clouds for a moment, he sighed and asked: "Naruto's still the same?"
"Yes. Since that day, Naruto just sits around dazed all day, his smile vanished. Only when Sakura Haruno speaks to him does he show some spirit. However, due to Sasuke's death, Sakura Haruno has also become quite withdrawn."
"Alas!" The Third sighed deeply, looking troubled as he held his pipe. "Such a small child, yet experiencing so much—no wonder he's become this way."
"I can't spare time to see him. Arrange for that girl to interact with him more often. We must ensure he forms solid bonds with the village."
"The jinchuriki matter absolutely cannot fail!"
"Yes." The ANBU responded, about to continue reporting when suddenly a cold, stern voice came from outside the door.
"Hiruzen, you're letting danger run rampant again!"
Danzo strode in, face darkened:
"Now that the Nine-Tails jinchuriki knows his background, he'll definitely feel dissatisfied with the village's previous attitude."
"Under these circumstances, the jinchuriki must be strictly controlled to prevent thoughts of betraying the village!"
"Just hand him over to me..."
"Silence!" The Third angrily interrupted Danzo's words, forcefully tapping his pipe on the desk.
"Danzo, Naruto is Minato's child. Like Minato, he possesses the Will of Fire and would never betray the village!"
"By the time he betrays, it'll be too late!" Danzo also refused to back down, loudly refuting: "Something as important as the jinchuriki absolutely cannot place hope on illusory trust!"
"Moreover, war will begin again soon. We need the jinchuriki's power!"
"Give me some time. I guarantee I can get him combat-ready!"
"Absolutely not—he's still a child!" The Third repeatedly shook his head in opposition. "Konoha Village hasn't weakened to the point of needing Naruto, such a small child, to fight!"
"Besides, this is merely a small-scale conflict that will end quickly and won't develop into large-scale war!"
The two were arguing intensely when suddenly a tremendous "boom" came from outside, making the windows buzz and rattle.
Both immediately fell silent, turning to look. Through the distant window, they saw black smoke rising like a tornado into the sky, flames shooting below, faint sounds of battle cries continuous.
"Trouble! Enemy attack!"
The Third threw off his Hokage robes, revealing his combat outfit beneath. He leaped from the building, standing on the rooftop and looking into the distance.
In that direction, three orange-haired ninja wearing black cloaks with red clouds were charging toward the Hokage Building.
One of them extended his wrist, multiple missiles flying everywhere. Tail flames traced spiderweb-like trajectories in sunlight, carpet-bombing the area.
Each warhead that landed collapsed a building. Burning signs fell through thick smoke like flaming birds. Blast waves from explosions overturned passing pedestrians, scattered limbs and remains charring in midair from the high heat.
That tremendous explosion earlier was caused by this one ninja alone.
Besides him, another summoned many creatures—multi-headed giant dogs, several-story-tall rhinos, centipedes spanning entire streets, giant birds flying in the sky—wreaking massive destruction.
Another floated suspended in midair, flying directly toward the Hokage Building.
These people's faces were all very unfamiliar. Their only common feature was that these people and summons all had purple eyes with circular pupils, like mosquito coils—clearly the legendary Rinnegan.
This situation made the Third very uneasy.
According to intelligence, there were only two Rinnegan users, yet now three appeared before him.
Almost simultaneously, the alarm bell at the main gate rang urgently, clearly indicating enemies weren't limited to these few.
"Such audacity! We haven't even settled accounts with them, yet they dare run wild in Konoha Village!"
Danzo raged, accusing:
"Hiruzen, your weakness has made even such small nations treat Konoha like a soft persimmon!"
"The losses the village suffers this time—you must bear the greatest responsibility!"
The Third was equally furious. Slapping his hand on the ground, he summoned his old partner Enma.
After Enma appeared and looked around, he was immediately shocked.
"Third, has the Fourth War broken out?"
"How have enemies attacked Konoha Village?"
"I've never witnessed such a situation before!"
The Third said darkly:
"Now isn't the time for this. We must let the enemy know Konoha Village isn't a soft persimmon anyone can squeeze!"
Sensing the Third's fury, Enma said no more. Transforming, he became a staff and fell into the Third's hands.
The Third raised the staff high, about to advance when alarms sounded all around. ANBU appeared, reporting:
"Hokage-sama, enemies have appeared around the entire village. Judging by their attire—black cloaks with red clouds—they should be the Akatsuki organization mentioned in intelligence."
"What? More?" The Third's heart jumped. He quickly withdrew his weapon and began assigning tasks.
If enemies were few, he wouldn't mind personally fighting, displaying his might and recovering some of the image lost among villagers.
But now with enemies attacking in force, he couldn't personally take risks.
But whether he wanted to fight or not depended on whether the enemy agreed.
Pain flew directly above the Hokage Building, suspended high in the air, looking down indifferently and arrogantly, like a deity observing the ants below.
"Many ninja of Konoha!"
"Do you feel pain?"
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