Because Deidara's "C5 Fireworks" had almost wiped out all the White Zetsu clones responsible for ground reconnaissance, and Konan feared that God Organization might have other ambushes in place, the Explosive Tag cloud slowed considerably.
By the time the sky-covering Explosive Tag cloud appeared outside Konoha, more than four hours had already passed.
Logically, that should have been enough time for Konoha to evacuate over a hundred thousand villagers. However, the earlier earthquake had caused chaos, and the evacuation did not proceed smoothly. They failed to complete it as planned, leaving tens of thousands of villagers trapped inside the village when Akatsuki arrived.
With no other choice, Itachi, disguised as Hyuga Kagami, could only lead the Konoha Shinobi Army to the front lines.
"Th-this... how are we supposed to stop that?"
"Damn it!"
"Damn Akatsuki!"
Faced with the Explosive Tag cloud that blotted out the sky, all the Konoha shinobi were both furious and alarmed.
Ordinary shinobi had no way to deal with such a formation. Even Jonin, the elite among shinobi, felt a profound sense of helplessness in the face of it.
At that moment, Shikaku Nara, the head of the Jonin squad, said to Itachi, who was disguised as Hyuga Kagami, "Fifth, the communications squad has sent word. The villagers will need another hour to evacuate."
Itachi's expression turned grave. "An hour?"
Shikaku looked toward the slowly approaching Explosive Tag cloud in the distance and analyzed, "We must destroy as many of their Explosive Tags as possible and create an opportunity for the Third Hokage and the other Kage to launch a surprise attack!"
Itachi glanced at the Konoha shinobi around him. "But..."
Before Itachi could finish, Shikaku said, "Kagami, this is a ninja war. Casualties are unavoidable!"
At that moment, Itachi found himself wavering. He turned his