(T/N: Please consider reviewing this Fanfic, Thanks and appreciate all who support me)
(T/N: Enjoy!!)
<><><><><><>
"Bastard!"
In front of the Tsuchikage Building, Ōnoki trembled slightly as he stared at the blazing inferno engulfing the structure, bound tightly by countless wooden branches.
"Who did this?! I'll tear them to pieces!" He had never imagined such a catastrophic loss. His fury was now boiling over.
The Tsuchikage Building was more than just a building—it symbolized authority and politics in Iwagakure, just like the Hokage Rock or the Hokage Building in Konoha.
Whatever the condition of the other villages' Kage buildings, his had been set ablaze in front of his eyes!
"What happened?! Speak!" Ōnoki roared at the nearby shinobi, unable to contain his rage.
His presence alone was enough to freeze the air, making Deidara, who had rushed over excitedly to see the fire, shudder involuntarily.
He had never seen the old man this furious. Even someone as fearless as him felt uneasy now.
"You're here too, Deidara?"
Kurotsuchi spotted Deidara standing hesitantly in the crowd and quickly ran over.
She couldn't handle her grandfather's overwhelming aura, though she knew things were now more serious than ever.
"What happened? And is the old man even okay?" When Kurotsuchi approached, Deidara asked in a low voice,
"My grandfather will be fine," she replied, shooting him an annoyed glare before shaking her head and explaining further.
"We're not exactly sure, but it looks like we've got serious trouble tonight." Trouble? That got Deidara excited. Trouble meant action.
He had been bored out of his mind lately, stuck in the village learning from the old man daily. If this meant he could finally unleash his art, he was all for it!
"What? Wood Release?!" Suddenly, Ōnoki shouted from the other side, grabbing both their attention.
They had heard his stories about Wood Release—how Kurotsuchi's father, Akatsuchi, had once been ensnared by it.
But wasn't that a power exclusive to Konoha? Why was it appearing in Iwagakure?
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage. It's Wood Release," The Iwa shinobi reporting was trembling, overwhelmed by Ōnoki's pressure, but she mustered her courage to continue.
"We saw trees suddenly erupting from the ground, quickly surrounding the Tsuchikage Building, and then—"
"No need to say more. I understand." Ōnoki's eyes darkened. He already had suspicions from what Akatsuchi had reported earlier.
The person behind this had to be one of Danzō's subordinates from Konoha.
Though part of him doubted it, he knew Sarutobi Hiruzen would never let such talent slip through his fingers.
But Danzō and Hiruzen were former classmates. Even when Hiruzen came to negotiate, Danzō wasn't afraid to make secret moves.
So who could say where such a person's allegiance truly lay?
Still, the likelihood that this individual belonged to Danzō was high, especially since Danzō wasn't pleased with how the negotiations ended.
"But why is he being so reckless?" Ōnoki couldn't understand. It was almost insane!
Was this a tactic to force Iwagakure to move to fulfill political ambitions? Or were there other hidden motives?
Whatever the case, Ōnoki didn't care anymore. His mind was set. "I'll kill them. I won't let a single one escape!"
He clenched his fists tightly, determination surging through him. Just as he was about to storm off, an ANBU suddenly appeared.
"Lord Tsuchikage! It's bad!"
"What now?" Ōnoki's blood pressure was already spiking. Tonight had been nothing but disaster after disaster.
"The forest in the back hills—" The ANBU's voice trembled, but before he could finish, Ōnoki snapped.
"I saw the fire there. Of course they have allies! Get over there and put it out! What are you doing standing around?!"
"But, Lord Tsuchikage… Lord Han is there!"
"Han? Then it's even better. What's the problem?" Ōnoki's words caught in his throat. His expression changed instantly, a dreadful realization hitting him.
At that exact moment, a roar echoed from the burning mountains behind the village. Everyone turned to look—
A massive white beast, the size of a small mountain, leapt from the flames and howled toward the silver moon in the sky.
"Senpai, where are we going now?"
"Shut up. I need to think."
Before Ōnoki could even reach the scene, Kakashi and Yamato had already disguised themselves as Iwa shinobi and escaped.
With a Mangekyō Sharingan, they didn't need a map—just a direction and illusion to knock down anyone in their way.
So far, things were going smoothly, and unlike characters in crime dramas, they had no interest in lingering near the scene.
Kakashi's only goal was to run as far away as possible—he knew all too well they had just caused a major disaster.
"Damn it… what was I thinking?" The burning image of the Tsuchikage Building haunted him.
If this had happened in Konoha, chaos would've erupted. Kakashi deeply regretted releasing a Fire Style jutsu to help Danzō ignite the entire building.
.....
"Senpai, careful. Someone's coming." Yamato was still riding the adrenaline high, but he noticed movement ahead and immediately warned Kakashi.
They quickly hid and waited for the threat to pass before continuing.
"This isn't going to work much longer." Kakashi sighed.
With more shinobi closing in, escaping was becoming less realistic.
If a sensory-type ninja scanned them and saw through the Transformation Technique, it was over.
He glanced toward the burning back hills. The fire there was massive—it had to be Shisui and the others. After a short pause, he turned to Yamato.
"We're heading to the back hills. Shisui and the others are there. We'll regroup first—if trouble comes, at least we can back each other up. Then we wait for Shuuzawa to arrive."
"Good idea. Running aimlessly now would only draw more attention. Heading there might actually be safer,"
Yamato agreed with a nod, though he still had concerns. "There will probably be many enemies there, too. That fire's huge."
"We'll be careful. We'll cover each other." Kakashi had made up his mind.
He didn't feel like chatting anymore. Yamato was already driving him nuts.
After all, his mentor had been Danzō—the man who once tried to assassinate the Third Hokage. What kind of followers could he possibly raise?
"Shisui and Yuugao are both true ANBU. They've got to be more reliable."
Kakashi muttered to himself, though he quickly realized his wording was off.
"More accurately, they were trained by ANBU. At least they won't act so recklessly."
Root was technically part of ANBU, but the people from that division were far too extreme. ANBU operatives were at least more stable.
But as they neared the back hills, something felt off.
They found numerous Iwa shinobi unconscious on the ground, and an overwhelming chakra presence was spreading atop the burning ridgeline.
"What… is this?" Kakashi's heart tightened. The beastly roars from the mountain made his unease worse.
But they had no choice now. Gritting his teeth, he turned to Yamato.
"We need to move faster. More shinobi are arriving behind us." They had a clear sense of how many were on their trail.
Seeing so many knocked-out Iwa shinobi only made Kakashi more anxious.
"Also, be ready to fight. We might—"
"I don't think we'll need to," Yamato interrupted, suddenly excited and pointing ahead.
"Wow… Shuuzawa's teammates are incredible!"
"Hm?" Kakashi looked and saw it, too—a green chakra-cloaked figure completely suppressing a massive white beast with five tails flailing weakly behind it.
It was the Five-Tails of Iwagakure, and its dazed eyes showed it had fallen under a genjutsu.
"Ah, you're here?" Shisui turned as he noticed someone approaching.
Even with Yuugao handling things outside, he couldn't afford to be careless in the middle of Iwagakure.
"Kakashi-senpai, Tenzo." Yuugao appeared from the side, looking a bit disheveled herself.
Clearly, she had taken out quite a few of the Iwa-nin charging in. Kakashi gave her a numbed nod, his attention fully locked on the Five-Tails.
In contrast, Tenzo offered a warm greeting.
"Perfect timing. Tenzo, get over here!" Shisui didn't have the luxury to chat.
His eyes were still irritated, and after quickly wiping the blood from the corner of one, he called out.
"You can use Wood Style. Help me suppress this thing. Its will is too strong—I can't use genjutsu to control it."
"Yes, sir." Tenzo nodded without hesitation and rushed over, leaving Kakashi stunned.
"Whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing? Don't get reckless."
"Relax. I know exactly what I'm doing," Shisui replied calmly.
Tenzo had already weaved his hand signs, quickly binding the Five-Tails with Wood Style.
Shisui smiled as he continued, "We're here under Jiraiya-sama's command."
"He's not present right now, so shouldn't we be covering for him? And the Five-Tails is a valuable asset—we can't let it go to waste."
Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief. Are you insane? You sound just like Shuuzawa now. Did you join Root too?
He turned toward Yuugao, hoping to find some support in stopping Shisui's madness. A Tailed Beast—if it broke free, they were all doomed!
But to his dismay, Yuugao stood silently, not saying a word. He felt despair as the only voices left in his ears were Shisui's and Tenzo's.
"It's done, Shisui-senpai."
"Well done. As expected of Wood Style. Now it's my turn."
As Kakashi snapped back to attention and turned, he saw the creature—part dolphin, part horse—its pupils starting to blur.
The pattern of Shisui's Mangekyō slowly emerged and grew more defined. The Five-Tails' struggles began to fade. Their roars weakened until, finally, they stilled.
It lifted its head and looked at them. Its eyes had taken entirely on the form of Shisui's Mangekyō!
"Alright, time to get moving—" Shisui leapt onto the Five-Tails' back, but quickly corrected himself.
"No, I mean, time to support Jiraiya-sama's mission and help him finish the job!"
Kakashi stared blankly at the scene, especially as Tenzo eagerly ran up after Shisui, and Yuugao cautiously followed suit.
At that moment, Kakashi genuinely wondered—was he the outsider here?
Was he the only one in a five-man squad who didn't fit in?
Was something wrong with his thinking, or was he the only normal team member?
"Kakashi-senpai, what are you waiting for?" Shisui looked at him, puzzled. "Come on, we've still got a mission."
"Yeah..." Kakashi dragged his feet toward the Five-Tails.
The closer he got, the darker his thoughts became. The intense, intimidating chakra radiating from the Five-Tails crushed his hope.
Once we return from this, we'll be seriously finished. As for Shigenari Shuuzawa, he had no idea what was happening with Kakashi and the others.
Right now, he was immersed in an entirely new sensation!
A golden blur flashed across the battlefield as he clashed with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki members who had joined the fray.
Explosions echoed as the surrounding trees and rocks were obliterated by their clash.
And the crazy part? Even though Shuuzawa was fighting four enemies simultaneously, he still dominated them.
His speed had reached an entirely new level!
"This sensation... It's something," Shuuzawa thought as he pressed his attacks.
Yang Release: Chakra Mode—a technique he had been developing for a long time.
Since acquiring Lightning Release: Chakra Mode, he has been constantly modifying and fusing techniques.
Until now, he wasn't sure how the final product would turn out. Many details still need refining. But today, he decided it was time to try it out.
"I've already grasped the key. Even if the fusion isn't perfect, I can refine it in battle, and right now is the best chance!"
Golden light surged across his body. In the dark, he shone like a sunbeam.
In this moment, Shuuzawa felt everything—speed, power, perception, and even jutsu potency—grow stronger.
With the foundation laid by the Cursed Seal and Sage Art's full capabilities carried over, plus the Dragon Vein's chakra enhancing it further, his chakra's quality and volume skyrocketed.
The most critical factor was Yang Release. Its aggressive, invasive chakra pushed his already enhanced abilities even further!
"The only issue is... this consumes too much energy and I can't maintain the state for long."
That wasn't surprising. The techniques he'd fused weren't top-tier on their own.
While his chakra control was strong, it had limits, and this was his first time performing a complete merge.
This was a test run. It wasn't even ready for system recognition. The technique still had significant flaws that needed adjustment and fine-tuning, and battle was the perfect place to refine it.
Even so, the three Akatsuki members and Orochimaru were already overwhelmed.
"Konan? Is that you?" While Shuuzawa clashed fiercely with Orochimaru and the others, someone intercepted Jiraiya.
The moment he saw her, he froze, completely stunned, disbelief written all over his face.
"What's going on? I got intel saying you three were dead. Why are you here, and why are you part of this organization?"
Konan stared coldly at Jiraiya. She had known this meeting would come someday, but not so soon.
Her emotions were a whirlwind. "Hey, Jiraiya, what's going on?" Gamabunta asked, confused.
Jiraiya replied instantly. "Don't you remember? I once had three students in the Land of Rain. Later, Mount Myōboku said they'd died. What kind of garbage intel was that?"
Gamabunta didn't respond. He vaguely remembered something like that, but the details were fuzzy.
Still, the intel had come from Mount Myōboku, but clearly, it was wrong.
"Konan, since you're alive, come back to Konoha with me." Jiraiya pleaded. He truly wanted to save her.
"This organization is on the village's radar. They won't let you go. Stop this madness while you still can!"
"Madness?"
Konan sighed at his words. Her body suddenly transformed into countless sheets of paper.
She didn't know how to face her former teacher. Maybe she needed to talk to Nagato first.
But she knew—Jiraiya would never let her leave quietly. She had already steeled herself.
"If anything, it's you who's made far more foolish choices, sensei." When she finished speaking, the paper flew toward Jiraiya in a storm.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!" Jiraiya was ready. He had defended the moment she attacked.
"Konan, don't be stubborn—"
"You have no idea what we've been through. Don't force your ideals onto us!"
Konan had no intention of listening to his lectures. She attacked again without hesitation.
If you want to support me, join my patr**on. Have 20 advanced Chapters for you guys.
patr**n.com/saitamablast > NTS NOVEL TIER (PLEASE DONT SUBS THROUGH IOS PLATFORM)