Danzo, Gate of Opening, Sending Warmth! (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Konohagakure was originally a military organization, so its response was incredibly swift once alerted.

Although the village had never experienced large-scale battles before, contingency plans were in place.

Without needing orders from above, a group of ninja immediately mobilized and sped towards the direction of the disturbance.

For a time, the entire village was swarming with people.

Special personnel were also responsible for guiding the populace towards the defensive fortifications.

Uchiha An and Orochimaru walked leisurely through the streets, accompanied by a ninja with yellow hair and the appearance of the Rinnegan.

It wasn't Nagato, but the Human Path.

The Six Paths were not acting together; they had split up.

Before the battle began, each team had been assigned combat missions.

Uchiha An and Orochimaru had volunteered to deal with Root and the Hyuga Clan, respectively.

Uchiha An had actively requested the Human Path from Nagato.

The Human Path could capture and extract souls, read memories, and obtain information.

In the original story, Nagato's purpose for coming to Konohagakure was to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which required sending the Human Path and Hell Path to gather intelligence on the Jinchuriki's whereabouts.

However, the Akatsuki Organization's objective this time was to destroy Konohagakure.

Once Konohagakure was destroyed, dealing with the Jinchuriki would be trivial!

Therefore, the Human Path's usefulness was significantly diminished.

The Human Path's greatest utility was information gathering, while the Hell Path's was repairing damaged puppets.

It would be a waste to have the Human Path and Hell Path participate in combat as ordinary Jonin. It was better to utilize them to their fullest potential by accompanying Uchiha An to pay a visit to Root.

Considering Uchiha An's contributions and how his plan greatly aided the Akatsuki Organization, Nagato had readily agreed.

The trio's brazen walk through the streets naturally attracted the attention of the Konoha Ninja.

Orochimaru's face alone was a dead giveaway, instantly recognizable as an enemy.

A series of whistles sounded, and a group of ninja immediately pounced.

Uchiha An casually scanned the surroundings. Seeing no powerful ninja, he remained still and said with a smile to Orochimaru:

"Well, Lord Orochimaru, things have already kicked off over there. Let's hurry up!"

"If Nagato starts using his big moves, Konoha will be finished."

"While the Hyuga Clan is still hot, you need to strike quickly!"

"First come, first served!"

Orochimaru flicked his long, snake-like tongue across his lips, his face filled with excitement. He formed hand seals and slammed his palms onto the ground.

With a "boom," a giant snake appeared in the area.

Upon appearing, Manda looked around and, finding itself in Konoha amidst smoke and battle cries, became incredibly excited.

"Haha... Orochimaru, are we fighting Konoha this time? I want a hundred live sacrifices!"

Orochimaru leaped onto Manda's head and pointed towards the Hyuga Clan's direction. "As long as you can eat them, take as many as you want."

Manda swung its massive tail, sending all approaching Konoha Ninja flying. It then lunged forward, clamped its jaws around one unfortunate ninja, and swallowed them in a few bites.

The unlucky ninja let out a couple of screams before falling silent, leaving only a torrent of blood spraying from the snake's mouth, flowing down its neck, a chilling sight.

After receiving its reward, Manda was also very cooperative. It charged in a straight line towards the direction Orochimaru pointed, crushing houses and buildings as it went. It carved a path through the village, leaving behind only shattered remnants and bloody ruins.

"Orochimaru!"

With a roar, an Akimichi Clansman's body rapidly expanded, transforming into a giant, attempting to stop them.

But a giant centipede suddenly charged from the side, wrapping around one of its legs, rapidly climbing upwards, and opening its gaping maw towards the giant's head.

The shadows on the ground instantly came alive, transforming into thousands of ropes that coiled around the centipede, constricting it tightly and dragging it forcefully towards the ground.

Just then, a colossal rhinoceros charged forward, slamming into the giant and sending it tumbling to the ground, crushing countless houses. Cries of agony echoed endlessly.

Although the number of Animal Path's summoned beasts was greatly reduced due to insufficient supplies and preparation time, their power remained undiminished under the influence of the Rinnegan's dojutsu. Each one possessed the combat strength of an elite Jonin.

With this brief delay, Manda's massive body had already smashed through buildings and arrived at the Hyuga Clan's territory.

Uchiha An retracted his gaze and cheerfully waved to the Human Path.

"Let's go, leader. We're heading to Root to see how many unspeakable things Danzo has hidden."

The location of Root was not exactly a secret; most Jonin in the village were aware of it, only keeping it hidden from ordinary ninja and the ignorant villagers.

However, the internal workings of Root were known to very few. Even the Third Hokage would likely not claim to fully understand Root's affairs.

Root was situated in a relatively secluded area, on the outskirts of the village.

If Uchiha An were to charge in, he would face heavy resistance. However, if he were to move outwards, the number of enemies blocking his path would be significantly fewer.

He easily cut down some troublesome individuals, accelerated his steps, and soon arrived outside Root.

Upon reaching here, the pressure immediately intensified drastically, and a large number of Root ninja surged out madly, charging towards him.

"Haha... Danzo, Gate of Opening, I've come to bring you some warmth!"

Uchiha An laughed heartily, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly. He activated his Susanoo and quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style. Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

The energy giant opened its mouth wide, and fierce flames appeared from the depths of its throat, sweeping towards the enemy like a tidal wave.

The excessively high temperature caused the surrounding air to distort and bend, and even the gravel on the ground was blown away, levitated, and melted.

The Root ninja hurriedly used various ninjutsu to block.

"Water Style. Water Wall Jutsu!"

"Earth Style. Earth Flow Wall Jutsu!"

Water walls and earth walls rose from the ground, shielding everyone behind them.

But the Fire Style, amplified by Susanoo, was incredibly powerful, with flames raging like a deluge.

The Water Wall boiled and churned the moment it rose, and the surface of the Earth Flow Wall rapidly became brittle and cracked.

The defensive line created by the combined efforts of dozens of ninja trembled violently like paper. In an instant, a large amount of water evaporated into steam, and the earth walls were baked into ceramic.

More importantly, their enemy was not just Uchiha An.

While they were busy dealing with the enemy in front of them, Human Path had already used Body Flicker Jutsu to appear behind them. He grabbed a Root ninja and effortlessly extracted his soul.

"An, I found them!"