For a very long period of the shinobi world's history, the existence of Tailed Beasts had been regarded as an unstoppable and irresistible natural disaster.
The most important reason for that was their ability to use Tailed Beast Balls.
It was a technique whose destructive power surpassed almost every known ninjutsu.
Driven by the instincts that had accompanied the Tailed Beasts since birth, and relying on the vast chakra within them that could nearly be called endless, it ultimately unleashed power enough to split mountains, break peaks, and make heaven and earth change color.
Even after the mythical era of the Sage of Six Paths had ended, the two people whose strength came closest to that legend, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, possessed destructive power only comparable to Tailed Beasts.
And what that "comparable" was being compared to was a Tailed Beast Ball released by a Tailed Beast at full power.
Under the terrified and stunned gazes of the Konoha villagers who happened to look up, and under Minato Namikaze's anxious and astonished gaze, two fully formed Tailed Beast Balls that would have been enough to blast more than half of Konoha proper into the sky if they hit directly collided with the technique released by the tall, thin figure whose appearance could barely be seen in the thickening night.
Boom—!
An enormous invisible repulsive force field forcefully stopped the incoming Tailed Beast Balls.
Immediately afterward, a ball of dazzling light, so bright it was like staring directly at the sun with naked eyes, erupted from the place where the Tailed Beast Balls had stopped.
A massive shockwave swept across the earth and forest.
Almost instantly, everything beneath the explosion was blown away.
The blazing hot blast ignited the trees it tore from the ground midair, sending them flying like flaming meteors in the opposite direction of the repulsive force field and quickly turning the surrounding area into a burning hellscape.
But what shocked and stunned people was that the high temperature and shockwave produced by the exploding Tailed Beast Balls showed no sign of spreading toward Konoha Village.
That man, walking through the air, had truly blocked two fully formed Tailed Beast Balls head-on.
He had completely shielded the countless lights of Konoha behind him.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Nagato breathed heavily.
That Super Shinra Tensei had indeed crushed two Tailed Beast Balls, but it had also consumed a large amount of his chakra and stamina.
Compared to the two Jinchuriki who had fired the Tailed Beast Balls, he was at a very clear disadvantage in terms of stamina consumption because he had to ensure Konoha proper was not hit directly.
At that moment, Minato Namikaze approached Nagato's side by continuously throwing Flying Thunder God kunai upward.
In an extremely serious tone, he asked, "Are you Lord Nagato of the Akatsuki?"
"Yeah. That's me."
Nagato took a deep breath and called down the giant bird that had been carrying him high in the sky earlier, providing Minato Namikaze, who had still been relying on Flying Thunder God kunai to maintain his position, with a foothold.
Seeing the other party's cooperative attitude, Minato Namikaze could not afford to dwell on why Nagato had appeared in Konoha at this time.
He stared at the three directions where another wave of massive chakra fluctuations was gathering and said solemnly:
"It will still take Konoha some time to gather manpower. During this period, may I ask Lord Nagato to help intercept the Tailed Beast Balls I cannot transfer in time? As for compensation, as long as Konoha still exists after today, we absolutely will not disappoint you."
"What about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Looking at Minato Namikaze, whose consumption was also far from light, Nagato could not help frowning.
"If the intelligence I collected before was not wrong, the only person at her side who can be considered an expert guard is you, right? If you come back to protect the village, what happens to her?"
"…I still have my Anbu and Lord Third's Anbu guarding that side. For such a short period of time, there should not be too much of a problem…"
"Get back there immediately!"
Nagato's expression darkened as he looked at Minato Namikaze, who seemed to have been stopped by his question.
"To the people of Root, the fact that the seal on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki weakens during childbirth will absolutely not be a secret. If they seize the Nine-Tails inside her, no one will be able to protect a place as large as Konoha from four Tailed Beasts!"
The moment Nagato finished speaking, Minato Namikaze vanished from his sight with haste and anxiety.
Nagato took a deep breath.
He looked at the Konoha shinobi below, rapidly leaping onto rooftops and preparing to meet the enemy.
His brows knitted tightly.
The next direct strike from the Tailed Beast Balls would arrive soon.
If he were Root's leader, then while Konoha's shinobi were all thrown into panic by the sudden Tailed Beast Balls, he would simultaneously activate his next hidden move.
In other words…
Inside Konoha proper, the members who had infiltrated by using Root missing-nin's intelligence would launch a surprise attack.
Where would it begin?
Root's internal breakthrough?
…
"They really came… And they even directly used several Jinchuriki in a decisive battle formation. After leaving Danzo Shimura, those Root bastards can still create such a huge commotion?"
The moment the first Tailed Beast Ball struck the earth and the explosion spread, Tsunade rushed out of her room.
Then she looked at the two Tailed Beast Balls exploding in the airspace outside Konoha, her face dark as water.
"No matter how they did it, the trouble we have to face will not be small."
Jiraiya handed a messenger toad to Tsunade, his gaze grave as he looked toward the direction from which the Tailed Beast Balls had flown.
In a low voice, he said, "I have given you the messenger toad. If any disorder breaks out inside Konoha, remember to contact me immediately. I will return as quickly as possible after dealing with the enemy Jinchuriki."
"Call the jonin who do not know what they should be doing and take them with you."
Tsunade placed Jiraiya's messenger toad on her shoulder, then pointed toward the Konoha jonin on the eaves nearby, who were nervously exchanging information.
"The enemy managed to infiltrate this close without being discovered by Konoha's warning squads. That means their Jinchuriki must have escorting jonin nearby. If you go alone, it will be too dangerous."
"…That's true."
Jiraiya, who had been sorting out the summoning scroll on his back, paused for a moment before nodding in agreement with Tsunade's suggestion.
Then he leaped over to the jonin wearing Konoha flak jackets. After quickly sweeping his eyes over their appearances and traits, he ordered in a deep voice:
"Hyuga Yuto, Aburame Aoba, Akimichi Ryunosuke, you three come with me. The Hyuga Byakugan will be responsible for searching for the enemy Jinchuriki's location and the exact number of people around them. The Aburame clan's kikaichu will be responsible for setting traps and preventing them from retreating. Akimichi Ryunosuke and I will meet the enemy Jinchuriki head-on. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya!"
The three jonin gathered there saw that the person speaking was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and immediately gained some confidence.
When Hyuga Yuto glanced downward, he also saw Tsunade-hime forming hand seals to prepare a summoning.
Two of the legendary Sannin had already arrived and entered the battle.
Even if the village was currently facing a siege from at least three Jinchuriki, their hearts still did not lack confidence in fighting and winning.
"Then, we move—"
Jiraiya nodded and was just about to lead his temporary squad to search for the Jinchuriki bombarding the village from the outskirts.
Suddenly, a dense and familiar deep purple poisonous gas erupted violently from a place less than one kilometer away from him in a straight line.
With the violent wind that suddenly rose, it rapidly spread into the surroundings.
"Salamander poison gas!? Impossible. Hanzō was already taken down by that guy Rei Kaguya—"
"Gyaaa—!"
Under Jiraiya's disbelieving gaze, a giant black salamander appeared in the center of the poisonous mist.
It opened its huge mouth, spewing lethal poison while letting out an ear-piercing, ugly scream, distracting Konoha's shinobi and disrupting their thoughts.
"Damn it!"
Jiraiya had personally experienced the salamander's deadly poison before.
He knew that if that enormous black salamander was allowed to move freely inside Konoha Village for more than three minutes, the casualties it caused would be no less than a direct hit from a Tailed Beast Ball.
But right now, he was the only Kage-level fighter on this side.
Whether he went to deal with Hanzō or the unknown Jinchuriki, the other side would be left with an enormous and irreparable opening.
"Don't freeze up. Leave the salamander to me. Keep leading people to pursue the Jinchuriki outside the village!"
Just as Jiraiya was torn over what choice he should make, Tsunade stopped her own Summoning Technique.
The wooden sandal under her foot stomped heavily against the ground.
Then her entire body shot toward the poison-spewing salamander at an astonishing speed.
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