Xi, Can We Reconcile?

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi roared in fury, glaring at Uchiha Yue. The next moment, he summoned a massive shuriken and blasted it toward Uchiha Yue. At the same time, he began attacking Uchiha Yue with ninjutsu that carried physical force.

"Is that all?"

Uchiha Yue suddenly stopped and looked at the ninja who were desperately attacking him, to no effect. Even their strongest attacks only managed to blast a few cracks into Susanoo or shatter some of his Chakra armor.

That was all. They could not even harm his true body.

"Fine. Boring, so boring. You can all die! Hahaha!!!"

Uchiha Yue shook his head. In the next instant, countless chains burst from his body and pierced through the ninja. Though some reacted quickly enough to evade them, many still died to this attack.

Uchiha Yue looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still desperately attacking him. He raised a hand and pulled the massive shuriken from his arm. The so-called strongest ninja really was worthy of the title, managing to break through his defenses.

But that was as far as it went.

He suddenly fixed his gaze on Hiruzen Sarutobi. His speed surged, kicking up a violent blast of air, and in the blink of an eye he appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi and struck with devastating force. That figure exploded instantly.

At the same time, five figures appeared around him.

"You fell for it, monster!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi rapidly formed hand seals.

Great Exploding Wind Technique.

During the previous battle, he had realized that the monster was not immune to energy attacks. Rather, energy attacks were drastically weakened after striking it. This thing absorbed energy.

In that case, he would create a massive explosion. As long as the energy released in an instant surpassed the monster's absorption rate, then...

Five attacks of different natures descended upon Uchiha Yue.

Boom! A tremendous explosion rang out, and the towering figure was immediately swallowed by dense smoke.

Had they won?

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared fixedly at the smoke before him. The next moment, his expression changed, and he frantically retreated. A mutilated giant hand burst through the smoke and grabbed at the spot where he had just stood.

As the smoke dispersed, a towering, battered giant figure appeared before everyone.

"It worked!"

Not far away, Kakashi Hatake saw this and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he noticed something was wrong. This monster was not injured at all. The Hokage's strike had merely damaged its outer shell, and that shell was still rapidly repairing itself.

It really was a monster!

"What exactly happened?"

Kakashi Hatake looked utterly confused. Even now, he had no idea what had happened. All he knew was that this monster had appeared in the village and begun wreaking havoc and slaughtering people.

No attack could pose a fatal threat to the monster. And after fighting for so long, not only did it show no signs of weakening, it instead seemed to be growing stronger.

"What a terrifying thing!"

"Can we win?"

Kakashi Hatake asked unconsciously.

"Kakashi, my dear friend, we will win, because this is youth!"

Might Guy appeared beside Kakashi, flashing his gleaming white teeth.

"Let's go!"

The next moment, Might Guy closed his eyes, and a powerful aura rose from his body.

Eight Inner Gates, open!

In an instant, Might Guy's presence began to soar, surge, explode, intensify, as the aura of a powerhouse erupted forth.

"Yeah, we'll win!"

Seeing this, Kakashi nodded. After all, this was Konoha!

Not long after...

"Croak! This is youth!!!"

Might Guy turned into a shooting star after Uchiha Yue sent him flying with one blow, smashing him into a distant mountain.

Kakashi lay weakly amid the ruins, staring up at the sky in a half-dead state.

Could they win? They were going to lose!

"Hokage-sama, we've lost! We've lost! Run! This monster is going to destroy Konoha! Please, take everyone in the village and leave! We'll hold it back for you!"

The Hokage's guards stood before Hiruzen Sarutobi, their faces resolute.

Konoha had suffered a crushing defeat. They were no match for this monster. No matter what attacks they used, they could only damage the layer of Chakra covering the monster's exterior. They could not inflict any substantial harm at all.

They could not win. There was no way they could win!

"No, we haven't lost yet!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. Looking at these Hokage guards reminded him of his younger self. Back then, his teacher had died protecting them, just like these guards were doing now.

"No, Hokage-sama, we have already lost! Even you are no match for this monster. Please leave! You must survive! Protecting your life is the duty of us Hokage guards! You are Konoha's hope!"

The Hokage guards turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi, their expressions steadfast.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was dazed for a moment. At that instant, he seemed to see his teacher. Back then, his teacher had also said that they were Konoha's hope and hoped they would live on.

That was right. They were Konoha's hope. For Konoha, for the Will of Fire, he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had to survive!

With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head and took a deep breath. For Konoha.

"Retreat! Retreat! Evacuate Konoha's civilians at once! Leave Konoha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared as he immediately created Shadow Clones, intending to lead Konoha's people out of Konoha. If they did not flee, this monster might truly destroy Konoha.

"Oh, running? Hahaha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, where do you think you're going? I told you, today is the day you die!"

Uchiha Yue ignored the Hokage guards charging at him. Endless chains surged from his body, sealing off the surrounding area in the blink of an eye.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately attacked the chains. Countless chains were severed, only to regenerate in an instant. These chains were not impossibly tough; they possessed powerful regenerative and energy-draining abilities. With Enma's fate as a warning, he did not dare touch them.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi cursed under his breath and immediately tried to use Earth Style. Yet after entering the ground, he discovered that underground had already been sealed off as well.

Just then, a tremendous roar sounded. Every member of the guard unit had been killed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the enormous giant.

"Xi, can we reconcile?"