Chapter 50: Danzo, Open the Door
Konoha Village was originally a military organization. Once alerted, their response was extremely fast.
Though the village had never experienced large-scale combat before, related contingency plans existed.
Without needing orders from above, a group of ninja immediately mobilized, rushing toward where incidents occurred.
For a moment, people ran everywhere across rooftops.
Moreover, specialized personnel were responsible for directing crowds, guiding ordinary civilians toward defensive fortifications.
Uchiha Yasushi and Orochimaru just walked leisurely along the street, accompanied by a Rinnegan-eyed ninja.
Not Nagato, but the Human Path.
The Six Paths didn't act together but dispersed.
Before the battle began, each team had been assigned combat missions.
Yasushi and Orochimaru volunteered to separately handle Root and the Hyuga clan.
Yasushi had actively requested the Human Path from Nagato.
The Human Path could capture and extract others' souls, read memories, and obtain intelligence.
In the original plot, when Nagato came to Konoha Village to capture the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, he'd sent the Human Path and Naraka Path to search for jinchuriki intelligence.
But this time Akatsuki's purpose in coming was to destroy Konoha Village.
After Konoha Village was destroyed, whatever jinchuriki or not—wouldn't they be at their mercy!
So the Human Path's role was greatly diminished.
The Human Path's greatest function was obtaining intelligence; the Naraka Path's greatest function was repairing damaged puppets.
Using the Human Path and Naraka Path as ordinary jonin in combat would be too wasteful. Better to use them efficiently, following Yasushi's route to visit Root.
Considering Yasushi's contributions and how his plan greatly helped Akatsuki, Nagato readily agreed.
This trio walking so brazenly along the street naturally attracted Konoha ninja's attention.
Orochimaru's face was practically a calling card—one glance let people recognize him as an enemy.
A series of whistle sounds rang out. Immediately a group of ninja rushed over.
Yasushi casually scanned them, seeing no powerful ninja. He remained motionless, smiling at Orochimaru:
"Say, Lord Orochimaru, things have already started over there. Let's hurry too!"
"If we wait until Nagato starts his ultimate move, Konoha Village will be finished."
"While the Hyuga clan members are still fresh, you need to act quickly!"
"First come, first served!"
Orochimaru's long snake tongue swept around his lips. His face full of excitement, he formed seals and slapped the ground.
With a boom, a giant snake appeared on the scene.
Upon emerging, Manda looked left and right. Discovering himself in Konoha with smoke and battle cries everywhere, he immediately became extremely excited.
"Hahaha... Orochimaru, we're fighting Konoha this time? This time, I want one hundred living sacrifices!"
Orochimaru leaped to Manda's head, pointing toward the Hyuga clan's direction: "As long as you can eat them, take however many you want."
Manda's long tail swept, sending all approaching Konoha ninja flying. Simultaneously extending his head, he suddenly bit down on one person, swallowing them with a few crunching bites.
That unfortunate ninja screamed twice before falling silent. Only massive amounts of fresh blood sprayed from Manda's mouth, flowing down his neck—a sight that chilled one to the bone.
Having received benefits, Manda also delivered. Along the straight line Orochimaru indicated, he crushed across houses and streets.
Wherever he passed, houses collapsed and pavilions toppled. He forcibly carved out a snake path through the village, leaving behind countless broken eaves and walls, blood dripping from the ruins.
"Orochimaru!"
Accompanied by an angry roar, an Akimichi clan member's body immediately swelled, transforming into a giant to stop him.
But a massive centipede charged diagonally from the side, coiling around his leg and rapidly climbing upward, opening its bloody maw to bite toward his head.
Shadows on the ground instantly came alive, transforming into countless ropes that wound around the centipede, tightly restraining it and forcibly pressing it toward the ground.
Then a giant rhino charged over recklessly, ramming into the giant and knocking him over. He crashed heavily to the ground, crushing countless houses. Screams continued endlessly.
Though insufficient supplies and preparation time greatly reduced the Animal Path's summoning beasts, under the Rinnegan's ocular technique, their power remained unchanged. Each possessed elite jonin combat ability.
With this slight obstruction, Manda's massive body had already crashed through buildings, reaching the Hyuga clan's territory.
Yasushi withdrew his gaze, grinning as he waved at the Human Path.
"Let's go, Leader. Let's take a stroll through Root and see just how many shameful things Danzo has hidden."
Root's location wasn't particularly secret. Most jonin in the village knew it, only concealing it from ordinary ninja and ignorant villagers.
But Root's internal situation—very few understood that. Even the Third probably didn't dare claim comprehensive knowledge of Root's affairs.
Root was relatively remote, located toward the village's outer areas.
If Yasushi charged inward, obstacles would naturally abound. But walking outward, far fewer enemies came to block.
He easily killed some troublesome guys, accelerating his pace and soon arriving outside Root.
Upon reaching here, pressure immediately increased sharply. Massive numbers of Root ninja surged out madly, rushing toward him.
"Hahaha... Danzo, open the door! !"
Yasushi laughed heartily. His Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly, activating Susanoo. His hands formed rapid seals.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
The energy giant's massive mouth opened. Blazing flames emerged from deep in its throat, sweeping overwhelmingly toward the enemies.
Excessively high temperatures distorted and bent the surrounding air. Even stones on the ground were blown up, floating and melting.
Root ninja hurriedly used various jutsu to block.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Water walls and earth walls rose from flat ground, blocking everyone behind them.
But Fire Style strengthened by Susanoo was incredibly powerful, flames towering to the heavens.
Water Formation Walls began boiling the instant they rose. Earth Flow Wall surfaces rapidly became brittle and cracked.
The defensive line jointly created by dozens of ninja trembled violently like paper. In moments, massive amounts of water were evaporated into steam, earth walls also baked into ceramics.
More importantly, Yasushi wasn't their only enemy.
While they busied themselves handling the frontal enemy, the Human Path had already body-flickered past, arriving behind them. Grabbing a Root ninja, he easily extracted his soul.
"Yasushi, found it!"
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