The towering flames, scattered dust, and the cacophony of cries, curses, and wails blended together, plunging the once-peaceful Hidden Leaf Village into chaos.
The attack had been far too sudden!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Soon, accompanied by the dense sound of breaking wind, more and more Hidden Leaf shinobi arrived at the scene.
When they saw the devastation of the battlefield, they were all dumbfounded.
"How… how could this happen?"
"The fighting just started—how could the destruction be this severe?"
"Is it a full-scale Akatsuki invasion?"
"Where's the enemy?"
Everyone was shocked and bewildered, at a loss for what to do!
Tsunade stepped forward, shouting, "Have you all forgotten the contingency plans we drilled? Do your jobs—don't just stand there!"
With Tsunade's commanding shout, the crowd finally found their anchor and sprang into action.
Some shinobi joined the rescue efforts, others began patrolling the perimeter, and a final group of elites formed squads to search for the enemy.
Clearly, though the attack was sudden, the Hidden Leaf's prior preparations for an Akatsuki assault allowed Tsunade to quickly curb the chaos.
At that moment, Tsunade summoned the giant slug from the Shikkotsu Forest, then had it split to aid in the rescue efforts while she returned to Yakumo's side.
As Tsunade examined Yakumo, Shizune anxiously asked, "Lady Tsunade, is Yakumo alright?"
Tsunade replied, "Her chakra was completely drained by the enemy."
"What!?"
Shizune was stunned.
She knew how terrifyingly vast Yakumo's chakra reserves were, enhanced by the First Hokage's cells. She couldn't fathom what kind of jutsu could siphon all of Yakumo's chakra in an instant.
Tsunade began forming hand signs, preparing to release her Yin Seal to transfer chakra to Yakumo.
Chakra depletion was potentially fatal for a shinobi, so she needed to replenish Yakumo's reserves quickly.
Shizune hurriedly stopped her, "Let me do it! With a great enemy at large, you can't afford to deplete your chakra here!"
"Alright, then."
Tsunade hesitated, then nodded.
Meanwhile, the rookie shinobi training at various practice fields across the village began arriving at the scene.
Like the other Hidden Leaf shinobi who had arrived earlier, they were all shocked. Seeing Sasuke bloodied and slumped in the rubble, and Yakumo unconscious and under Shizune's care, they panicked.
The rookies knew better than anyone how strong Yakumo and Sasuke were.
For them to be so gravely injured in mere moments—especially Yakumo, who wielded Wood Release—was almost unthinkable.
Since Yakumo was being treated by Shizune and seemed in critical condition, Shion, Sakura, and the other rookies rushed to Sasuke's side.
Sakura, voice trembling, asked, "Sasuke, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Pale-faced, Sasuke shook his head. A small slug was tending to his wounds, so the bleeding had stopped.
Shion glanced at the wrecked streets and the injured scattered around, urgently asking, "What happened? Was it an Akatsuki attack?"
Sasuke's face darkened, "Not Akatsuki. It was some guy I've never seen before. He grabbed Neji, so we fought, but damn it—that guy was ridiculously strong!"
"What!?"
Tenten and Hinata gasped in shock.
Shion covered her mouth, "Even Neji was defeated?"
Counting the injured Yakumo and Sasuke, this mysterious figure had taken down more than half of the ninja academy's prodigies.
"Hiss—"
Sasuke tried to stand, but the movement tugged at his wounds, making him grimace in pain.
Sakura quickly supported him, "Sasuke, don't move! Your injuries are too severe. I'll bandage you up first, and once Shizune-sensei finishes treating Yakumo—"
Sasuke pushed Sakura away, his dark eyes turning crimson with the Sharingan, "No time! Shinji's gone after him!"
"What!?"
Haku and Karin, among the rookies, exclaimed in unison.
Shion panicked, "An enemy that strong—how could you let Shinji chase him alone? Which way did he go?"
"I didn't expect him to rush off so fast. I couldn't stop him in time!"
Sasuke pointed in a direction, his face full of self-blame.
Shion turned to the other rookies, "Let's go support Shinji!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Haku stepped forward, dropping his disguise, "I'll go check first. This enemy is strong—you all stay here and wait for my signal!"
Whoosh!
Before anyone could respond, Haku vanished from the spot.
"So fast!"
Everyone was stunned.
Sasuke's pupils constricted. Even with his Sharingan active, he hadn't caught Haku's movement.
"Me and Haku will handle it. It's too dangerous for you to follow!"
Karin left those words and leapt after Haku.
Sasuke's face darkened. Gritting his teeth, he stood, "The Uchiha aren't extinct yet. Shinji, I'll save you myself!"
Whoosh!
He activated his Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.
"Wait for me!"
Shion, ignoring the warnings, chased after him.
The other rookies, seeing this, followed suit.
In the Hokage's office.
Naruto, sleeves rolled up, shouted, "Pervy Sage, why won't you let me go? I'm super strong now!"
Jiraiya pressed down on Naruto's head, "Idiot, the first thing a shinobi learns is patience!"
Naruto muttered, "But everyone's fighting! Why are we hiding here?"
Jiraiya ignored Naruto, turning to the Third Hokage by the window.
The Third stared silently at the flames outside.
The elder advisors in the room also sat in grim silence.
Whoosh.
A member of the Anbu appeared before the Third, kneeling to report, "Lord Hokage, it's confirmed—the attacker isn't from Akatsuki!"
The Third asked, "Can we identify the assailant?"
The Anbu shook his head, "We can't confirm their identity yet, but witnesses report the attacker possesses the Byakugan!"
"Byakugan?" The Third frowned slightly, then asked, "What's the village's casualty status?"
The Anbu replied gravely, "Multiple streets are damaged, and casualty numbers are still being tallied. It's confirmed that the enemy abducted Neji Hyuga of the Hyuga clan and severely injured Sasuke Uchiha, who tried to intervene. After Lady Tsunade arrived, the enemy retreated, but…"
The Third pressed, "But what?"
The Anbu steeled himself and reported, "Kurama Yakumo was defeated in a single move and is critically injured. Uchiha Shinji has gone after the enemy alone!"
"What?"
For the first time, the usually composed Third showed a look of shock.