The Curtain Rises
Boom! Boom!
In the afternoon, Konoha and fire filled the air!
Disguised as tourists and foreign spectators, the Sound Ninja, at a command, tore off their disguises, donned their Sound Ninja Forehead Protector, and launched a surprise attack on Konoha. The Konoha Ninja were horrified to discover that a continuous stream of ninjas wearing Otogakure Forehead Protector emerged from nowhere, fearlessly charging towards them!
The Konoha instantly erupted into a frenzy.
From the streets to the buildings, from the bustling city center to Konoha Rock, everywhere was filled with flying ninja tools and Explosive Tag. Arrows flew like locusts, like waves crashing and crashing. All kinds Hayate Ninjutsu collided and bombarded each other like a storm, and for a moment the earth shook and the drums of war resounded!
After testing each other with Ninjutsu and ninja tools, the Sound Ninja and Konoha Ninja engaged in fierce and direct hand-to-hand combat, throwing and grappling with each other!
Explosions, howls, shouts, screams... all came from various places.
The Konoha Ninja were both shocked and furious that Orochimaru had brought such a large number of Sound Ninja to participate in the Konoha Crush Plan!
How did he do it?
On the surface, besides the three Genin participating in the exam and their instructors, Orochimaru can bring a maximum of two bodyguards into Konoha.
Secretly, a large number of Sound Ninja had infiltrated Konoha.
To evade Konoha's rigorous inspection, these Sound Ninja ingested a secret drug with devastating side effects, forcibly suppressing their Chakra fluctuations and disguising themselves as defenseless civilian tourists, successfully infiltrating Konoha. However, first suppressing their Chakra with forbidden drugs, and then immediately engaging in full-force combat, came at a huge cost: after this battle, these Sound Ninja would suffer permanent damage to their bodies, with some even unable to use Chakra for the rest of their lives!
They are truly cannon fodder, disposable items with no value after this one use.
Whether they were bewitched, coerced, or willingly sacrificed themselves out of intense admiration for Orochimaru... regardless of their wishes, the Sound Ninja launched a fanatical and bloodthirsty attack!
Relying on this reckless attitude and local numerical superiority, the unsuspecting Konoha suffered heavy casualties. The Sound Ninja, for a time, aggressively pushed back the Konoha Ninja on several battlefields!
However, the Sound Ninja only gained a temporary advantage through an unexpected sneak attack. Konoha, as a major village, had a much stronger foundation and far greater power than the Otogakure Sound Ninja. The Sound Ninja simply caught Konoha off guard and formed a local numerical advantage. Once Konoha regained its footing and reinforcements arrived, the waves stirred up by the Sound Ninja would inevitably subside quickly.
However, the invaders were not only the Sound Ninja.
While the Sound Ninja launched surprise attacks from various parts of Konoha, Orochimaru, with the intelligence support he provided, successfully found a loophole in Konoha's defense system. The Sand shinobi, who had infiltrated the vicinity of Konoha, also launched a powerful attack on Konoha, preparing to coordinate with the Sound Ninja from within and without, leaving Konoha unable to defend itself from both sides!
"Bang!"
While the attacks launched by other Sound Ninja drew Konoha's attention, a team of Sound Ninja forcefully stormed the Konoha walls. After several probing battles, the Sound Ninja finally found the right opportunity and used the Summoning Scroll Orochimaru had prepared for them beforehand. Under the attack of the Konoha Ninja, they forcibly summoned a giant python on the Konoha walls!
The wooden walls, tens of meters high and several meters thick, reinforced with Ninjutsu, are the steel barrier that Konoha is proud of. Their very existence is enough to extinguish the ambitions of most people. However, now they face a powerful challenge: giant pythons of equally enormous size that inspire despair. And their master is Orochimaru, a Kage Level shinobi who once guarded these walls.
The giant pythons twisted and turned, coiling themselves around the wall.
Each of their bodies was as thick as ten people could hug, making the three-to-five-meter-thick Konoha wall seem insignificant in comparison! Whoosh—! With a whooshing sound, the giant python swung its tail and lashed fiercely at the wooden wall, and the two behemoths collided violently!
Crack!
A long, chilling groan emanated from the wall!
The Konoha Ninja, still fiercely engaged in battle, paled upon hearing the sound. They hastily stopped fighting and withdrew, their eyes fixed on the source of the sound. They couldn't believe that the incredibly sturdy Konoha walls had been cracked by the giant python's brute force!
"Stop it!" The leader of the Konoha Anbu threw away his shattered mask, his face pale, and shouted stiffly!
Dozens of Konoha Ninja simultaneously Hand Seals, attempting to unleash their most powerful Ninjutsu. However, the giant python moved faster than the ninjas' Hand Seals; it once again raised its tail and lashed out at the wall with boundless force—
Boom!
The wooden wall exploded with a deafening roar, sending splinters flying like bullets, leaving the Konoha Ninja on the other side, who were about to unleash their Ninjutsu, in a sorry state. At that moment, the leader of the Konoha Anbu turned pale, ignoring his disheveled comrades and the backlash caused by the forced interruption of his Ninjutsu, and just stared intently at the wall.
Staring at the wall that had been violently smashed open by the giant python.
As the figures moved, the hearts of those in the Anbu plummeted endlessly into the abyss.
"Damn it...!" the Anbu muttered.
They watched helplessly as the Sunagakure ninjas, wearing their Forehead Protector, filed into the breach, effortlessly breaking through Konoha's last line of defense.
The tender heartland of Konoha opened its arms to the Sand shinobi.
The Sand shinobi's main force has invaded Konoha!
An even more brutal and intense battle has begun.
Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.
Leaving aside the attacks, battles, life-or-death struggles, and heroic scenes that have occurred or are about to occur in Konoha, far from Konoha, a team temporarily composed of Genin has also encountered their own enemy.
However, the young girl running through the woods was all alone.
The black-haired girl leaped lightly across the branches of the trees in the forest, using a technique often employed by ninjas.
A faint blue light emanated from her feet—the glow of condensed Chakra. The girl manipulated it with exquisite precision to aid her progress. Empowered by Chakra, her long, slender legs could unleash astonishing power with the slightest effort, allowing her to easily traverse distances of tens of meters with each step. The Chakra embedded in her ninja shoes ensured that when she stepped on tree trunks, she wouldn't trample branches due to excessive force, nor would she slip on moss.
Compared to running on the ground, which involves encountering various obstacles and needing to dodge, this leaping method of movement is actually a more energy-efficient and faster way for ninjas to move. Therefore, it is also a compulsory course for ninjas. However, to reach the level of effortless and free movement like the black-haired girl is not something that ordinary ninjas can achieve.
It would be impossible to achieve such ease without years of practice or Chakra manipulation skill as refined as that of a young girl.
If someone were watching from afar, they would surely be able to feel the smooth, rhythmic movement of the girl's light steps, the tension and relaxation, arising naturally like breathing.
It's as if even the slightest bend and leap contains a captivating beauty.
Suddenly, the girl seemed to sense something, her expression shifting slightly. Then, without hesitation, she abruptly stopped, turned around, and looked solemnly into the woods behind her.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the woods.
No, it wasn't just the wind rustling the leaves; the girl keenly sensed an unusual frequency in the rustling sound.
It wasn't the wind; it was human voices! She concluded.
Looking intently, I could see the source of the strange noise in the grove of trees.
A fair hand reached out from among the lush leaves, pressing down the branches that were obstructing the way. With a slight bend of her wrist, a girl with bright eyes and white teeth emerged gracefully.
"Phew, I finally caught up with you, Hinata!"
The girl with pink hair and blue eyes smiled sweetly and looked up at Hinata in the tree.
With her radiant smile and signature confident demeanor, who else could it be but Sakura?
Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, her expression softening. She lightly leaped down from the tree and landed beside the girl.
"You finally caught up! You've worked hard!"
"Hmm, by the way, Hinata, where are they?"
Sakura casually responded to Hinata's greeting, then, noticing that Hinata was alone, tilted her head cutely and looked behind Hinata to ask a question.
Hinata shook her head.
She walked up to Sakura and opened her mouth as if to say something.
In an instant, Hinata sprang up, twisted her waist and threw a punch, the brilliance of Chakra exploding outwards, and a violent punch slammed into the girl in front of her!
Bang!
The force penetrates the spine and reaches deep into the bone marrow.
Hinata could feel the force strike the girl's heart; it completely penetrated her defenses, venting itself into her body without wasting a single drop. The power of the punch seeped into her body, churning her internal organs like a blender.
His internal organs must be completely shattered, right? He's... utterly dead.
Hinata thought to herself, took two steps back, her Byakugan wide open in a ferocious expression, and coldly stared at the girl in front of her who had fallen to the ground in disbelief.
Where's Sakura?
She finally let out the words that had been stuck in her throat.