The Wind Has Come

A blinding white light tore through the forest, reducing everything in its path to dust.

Konoha's defensive line was gradually being pushed back. The Stone Ninja army had closed in, and no matter how desperately they resisted, it was futile.

Ōnoki hovered in the air, looking down at the steadily retreating Konoha ninja below, his heart surging with excitement.

The Konoha of the Land of Fire, which had once filled him with such dread and fear, was finally about to fall beneath his feet. The ancestors of Iwagakure and Konoha should come out and see this—see who now held sway over the ninja world!

A massive staff suddenly shot up from the ground, hurtling straight toward him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared atop a tree.

"Still making a futile stand, Hiruzen Sarutobi? Do you want me to kill every Konoha ninja?" Ōnoki sneered.

His only answer was the Adamantine Staff extending and sweeping toward him.

Ōnoki's expression turned cold. With a wave of one hand, countless rocks appeared from thin air and wrapped around his arm, forcibly blocking the staff's blow.

"Stubborn fool!"

His body continued rising, reaching a height beyond the reach of the ninja below.

Ōnoki pressed his hands together, and a transparent white cube of energy appeared between his palms.

Just as he was about to unleash his technique on the Konoha ninja below, a streak of light suddenly shot up from beneath him. It was a kunai. Ōnoki merely shifted slightly and evaded it.

The kunai continued flying upward, and a sudden howl of wind sounded beside Ōnoki's ear.

For some reason, a blond young man had appeared out of nowhere, holding an azure sphere of Chakra in his hand.

Ōnoki was startled. The transparent crystal between his hands instantly released a white beam of energy toward the man.

That Dust Release blast scattered even the clouds overhead. He did not know whether he had hit his opponent, but at the very least, it should have forced him back.

As Ōnoki was still reeling in shock, a strangely shaped kunai was tossed lazily toward him. Whether intentional or not, it flew so slowly that one could not help wondering whether it could hurt anyone at all.

Ōnoki suddenly caught sight of the words inscribed upon the kunai.

Sword of Ninja Love!

In that brief instant, Ōnoki realized something. His hands abruptly changed seals.

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"

"Rasengan!"

The high-density blue sphere of Chakra slammed viciously into Ōnoki's lower back, and the tremendous impact sent him plummeting from the sky.

His full-body hardening prevented Ōnoki from being injured by the blow. He stabilized himself shortly after falling through the air, but the impact aggravated the old injury in his lower back, making him feel waves of discomfort.

Space-Time Ninjutsu...

This was his first time fighting the Yellow Flash. He only knew that the man had caused his forces tremendous trouble.

One Hiruzen Sarutobi, one Namikaze Minato—two troublesome enemies.

Ōnoki did not continue fighting him and instead descended straight to the ground. What he wanted was victory in this war. There was no need to risk a desperate battle against a young and vigorous junior.

After landing a blow on the Tsuchikage, Minato watched as his opponent fell into the forest and vanished from sight.

"Shikaku, can you tell me where the Tsuchikage is?"

"Shikaku? Inoichi?"

When he received no response, Minato frowned and hurried toward the Sensor Division's position.

Shikaku's group had indeed come under attack. They were positioned in the rear, where their defenses were weak. Though few enemies had bypassed the frontal assault, they still vastly outnumbered the forces available to defend them.

The communications equipment had been destroyed. Several massive batteries had been smashed by rocks, crackling with sparks.

Shikaku had no choice but to set aside his command duties and rise to fight.

But this threw the already disadvantaged Konoha ninja into sudden panic. Without Shikaku's commands in their minds, all they faced were Stone Ninja attacking from every direction.

Minato darted across the battlefield like a streak of golden light. Wherever he passed, countless Stone Ninja were instantly separated from their heads.

He quickly reached Shikaku's location and saw several of them surrounded by dozens of Stone Ninja. He drew a shuriken from his lower back and flung it out with a sharp motion.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

A single shuriken instantly became a rain of shuriken that filled the sky, pouring down upon the enemy. There was nowhere to flee, not even an opening to cast a technique. Numerous Stone Ninja died beneath the storm of shuriken.

At the same time, Minato did not stop moving. He shifted at high speed again and again, leaving countless golden afterimages behind as he slaughtered every remaining Stone Ninja in the area.

Shikaku slumped onto the ground. He had not fought much, yet he felt more exhausted than ever before.

After dealing with the enemies, Minato came over to them.

"Shikaku, Inoichi, how are you?"

Shikaku heard Minato's faint, suppressed panting.

"Minato, you're tired too," Shikaku said softly, glancing at the damaged equipment nearby.

Other than in their youth, Shikaku had never seen even a trace of exhaustion on Minato's face. No matter how powerful the enemy or difficult the mission, Minato had always handled it with ease.

Minato stepped forward to inspect the shattered large batteries, then asked Shikaku and Inoichi, "Can these still be used?"

Inoichi muttered to himself, "Without the equipment, my Chakra can no longer use the Mind Communication Technique or Sensory Transmission. It's over... It's all over..."

Minato merely stood up silently and tightened his grip on the kunai in his hand.

Other than Shikaku's group, there were no allies left in this area. How many Konoha ninja remained elsewhere?

How could they possibly change all this?

Ten thousand thoughts flashed through Minato's mind. An indescribable feeling spread through his heart, as though sorrow, rage, and unwillingness had all become intertwined.

Blood flowed across the ground, soaking Shikaku's clothes as he sat there.

"Go die, go die..." he kept muttering.

Inoichi was mentally dazed, his eyes unfocused. Blood constantly streamed from his nose, and no matter how he wiped it away, it would not stop.

Another wave of Stone Ninja rushed over, but upon seeing the Stone Ninja corpses strewn everywhere and Minato standing there, they all hesitated in fear.

A massive explosion rang out in the distance, followed by countless shrill screams.

Flames spread through the forest, only to be quickly extinguished by Water Release. Then dense volleys of flying rocks smashed through the trees.

Several Stone Ninja were pursuing a Konoha ninja. The latter could only flee across the battlefield in terror, and the kunai he threw in his panic veered wildly into the sky. In the end, another group of Stone Ninja caught up with him and pierced his throat with a blade.

Minato also saw a child no older than twelve or thirteen. His companions were probably all dead. The child clutched a kunai, looking lost, frightened, and helpless.

Minato wanted to save the child, but before he could move, a flying rock struck the child in the head...

Minato's heart turned ice-cold.

Boom!

A sudden deafening blast erupted overhead, and for some reason, a burst of red fireworks exploded above the forest.

The fireworks covered an enormous area, scattering striking sparks and flecks of light. Against this apocalyptic scene, they were especially conspicuous.

Where did fireworks come from... Was that Fire Release?

A thought flashed through Minato's mind.

Boom!

Another shot soared into the sky from elsewhere. This time, he saw clearly that it really was fireworks. The red glow drew everyone's attention. Even the Stone Ninja nearby stopped to look.

"A signal..."

"It's a signal flare!"

Shikaku's voice suddenly sounded beside him. He rose from the ground, his bloodshot eyes shining brightly.

Minato felt his heart seize at those words. His eyes widened as an absurd thought rose in his mind.

He asked, "A Stone Ninja signal flare?"

But Shikaku shouted, "It's ours! It's ours! Our signal flare!"

"What does red mean today? Inoichi, what does the red signal mean?"

His voice was hoarse as he questioned Inoichi beside him. Usually calm and rational, he now felt as though his mind was no longer working properly.

Inoichi kept muttering, "Yesterday, red meant retreat, yellow meant begin execution, green meant mission complete. Today... today..."

Minato stared at the red light in the sky and murmured, "Mission complete."

What mission... Whose mission?

A voice suddenly rang out in Inoichi's muddled mind. "Is this Lord Inoichi?"

The moment he heard it, he froze.

"Fu..."

"Is that... Fu?"

Shikaku hurriedly asked from the side, "Yamanaka Fu?"

Yamanaka Fu was a young junior of the Yamanaka Clan. He had gone to the Land of Wind with Orochimaru's group.

The voice in Inoichi's mind continued.

"Lord Inoichi, we're here. Reinforcements have arrived!"

"Fu... Fu..."

Inoichi's face twisted. It was impossible to tell whether he was joyful or sorrowful, crying or laughing.

He stood and shouted himself hoarse, nearly crazed as he tried to make his voice carry across the entire battlefield.

"Fu has come! Fu is back!"

"Lord Orochimaru is back!"

Please vote!

A quick recommendation for "Konoha: Rebuilding the Ninja World Through Science."

I was chatting in an authors' group, and we all write Naruto fanfiction, so I wanted to interact more. I didn't expect him to be in my reader group too.

Interested readers can check it out.