The consequences of overwork

Konoha Village, the sirens wailed mournfully through the night sky.

After countless years, this peaceful village has once again entered a state of alert.

Pedestrians on the street scattered in panic, Ninja shouted to evacuate the residents, women, children and the elderly were quickly moved into shelters, shops closed one after another, and the whole village was shrouded in a tense and suffocating atmosphere.

On the walls of Konoha, figures appeared one after another.

Those were Konoha's elite combatants— Jonin, Special Jonin, Anbu elites—all gathered here, gazing at the distant scene.

In the distance, everything was white.

Pale white, boundless, like the white of the ocean.

White Zetsu army.

There were at least tens of thousands of them, densely covering the entire plain outside Konoha Village, like a heavy snowfall in winter, but even more eerie and terrifying than snow.

Those pale figures writh in the moonlight, forming a terrifying legion capable of engulfing any village.

Their numbers far exceed those of all the Ninja in Konoha combined.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the wall, wearing a black armor combat suit that had been gathering dust for many years. He hadn't worn it for who knows how long, but it still fit him perfectly and made him look as imposing as ever.

His face was solemn, his aged eyes gazing at the distant white ocean, his brows furrowed.

Jiraiya stood beside him, also looking in that direction.

"Old man, do you recognize what this is?" he asked, his voice unusually serious.

"I don't know." Hiruzen shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Each one contains chakra, and their strength is roughly around that of Chunin..."

"Chunin?!" Jiraiya's brow twitched.

Tens of thousands of Chunin —this goes beyond just being "troublesome."

"Has Naruto arrived?"

"Hmm, that kid should be here soon."

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "We can't let these guys attack before then."

As soon as the words were spoken, the white ocean in the distance suddenly boiled over, and the White Zetsu began to shout.

Tens of thousands of voices rose up at the same time, merging into a deafening sound wave that swept towards Konoha Village like a tsunami! The sound was so loud, so noisy, so chaotic that it was almost impossible to tell what they were shouting.

Jiraiya listened intently, barely managing to make out the words mixed in with the noise.

"Hey! You guys from Konoha!"

"Release our new master, whom you have imprisoned!"

"Hurry up! Otherwise, we'll raze Konoha Village!"

"Master?" Jiraiya frowned, muttering in confusion. "What are these guys talking about?"

He shook his head, temporarily putting those doubts aside. The most important thing now was to buy time for Naruto to arrive. Until then, he had to find a way to protect the outer perimeter of Konoha.

Jiraiya bit his finger and began Hand Seals.

"Summoning Jutsu--!"

"Bang."

White smoke exploded, enveloping the area in front of him.

Jiraiya stared expectantly at the plume of smoke, waiting for the giant, reliable Toad who had fought alongside him for decades to appear.

The smoke cleared.

"Pat. Pat."

A small, red creature was hopping around on the ground.

Jiraiya looked down.

It's a big tadpole.

It was red, round, and had a long tail. It hopped around on the ground, making a "pat-pat" sound.

"Huh?! What... what's going on?!"

Jiraiya was dumbfounded. His mouth was agape, his eyes were wide open, and he stood there, completely stunned and at a loss.

"Hey! Jiraiya!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted from the side, "Stop fooling around! Quickly summon the Toad of Mount Myōboku!"

Jiraiya turned around, his face filled with innocence and grievance. "I wasn't messing around! I really just wanted to summon Gamabunta!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him, at the two huge dark circles under his eyes, at how haggard he looked, as if he might collapse at any moment—and suddenly, he understood.

"You..."

Hiruzen's voice carried a hint of disbelief. "Could it be... even if you're not talented, you shouldn't be so overwhelmed by the work of the Hokage?"

Exhausted from work, they were even unable to fight.

Even Summoning Jutsu cannot be cast normally.

Jiraiya's face turned bright red. "What?! Don't underestimate me!"

He couldn't stand it when others said he wasn't good enough.

He immediately formed a hand seal.

The Clone Technique, one of the simplest Three Body Technique.

"Bang."

The white smoke exploded again, and when it cleared, there was a person on the ground...

"Huff... huff..."

Even breathing could be heard. The clone lay on the ground, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slightly, fast asleep.

Jiraiya. "..."

The clone represents the Ninja's will, and his clone only wants to sleep; the implications of this are self-evident.

He can no longer even use the most basic Three Body Technique properly.

Jiraiya was silent for a few seconds, then he turned to look at Hiruzen and said in a pleading tone.

"Old man, I don't want to Hokage anymore!"

"Is this the time to talk about this?!"

Hiruzen roared in exasperation, never expecting that even after so many years of retirement, he would still encounter such a mess.

I, an old man nearing eighty, have to go into battle myself.

He took a deep breath, preparing to Hand Seals to summon the Enma —the next moment.

A golden light flashed beside him.

After the light of the Flying Thunder God Technique dissipated, a figure was already standing steadily on the wall.

blonde hair, blue eyes, orange tracksuit.

"Sorry I'm late."

Uzumaki Naruto spoke, his voice calm and steady. Because of Satsuki, it took him a little while to get dressed, but fortunately, he arrived before the battle began.