As darkness fell, Sakumo, who should have gone home after work, remained in the office.
Beneath his God-striking Robe and cloak, Sakumo was dressed neatly, clearly in a battle-ready stance.
He had never witnessed the power of the Nine-Tails firsthand, but he had seen the destructive power of the One-Tails during the war.
That was something that ordinary ninjas could not defeat. Looking across the entire Shinobi World, besides the legendary Sage of Six Paths, only the Hashirama of God of Shinobi, Hashirama, and his rival Madara Uchiha, could defeat it.
If this kind of monster were to appear in Konoha...
But...
Sakumo recalled a rumor circulating in the Shinobi World.
The Uchiha Clan was able to control the Nine-Tails.
"Something terrible has happened, Lord Sakumo!"
Suddenly, an Anbu appeared hurriedly in front of Sakumo.
"What's wrong?!"
Upon seeing the Anbu, Sakumo immediately assumed that something was wrong with Nine-Tails).
"Intruders have breached the barrier, and Outpost D has been captured by the enemy. Lord Jiraiya has already gone ahead to investigate!"
"At a time like this?!"
Sakumo was shocked, but quickly regained his composure. "How many invaders are there, and from which hidden village do they come?"
"Only one person! Identity unknown!"
One person?
At the outpost.
Jiraiya looked at the Konoha Ninja corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, his expression serious.
"Lord Jiraiya, the enemy seems to possess immortal beings, and they can even transfer the damage they suffer onto others!"
After sacrificing the lives of twelve ninjas, the Konoha Ninja who had been ordered to arrive finally figured out the abilities of the strange man before them and told Jiraiya all the information they knew.
"Immortality and the ability to transfer damage—when did so many troublesome beings appear in the Shinobi World?"
Jiraiya, who had just fought Hanzo the zombie not long ago, felt that his luck had been terrible lately.
"What's wrong? Is this all the Konoha ninja are capable of? More, make me feel even more pain!"
Seeing that the Konoha ninjas dared not advance easily, Hidan and swung his three-edged scythe with great force.
"Really? I've been underestimated."
Although he didn't understand how Hidan transferred the damage, Jiraiya still decided to try it out himself.
He warned the ninjas nearby not to attack, Jiraiya struck first. "Earth Release: Yomi Swamp!"
Feeling the ground beneath his feet suddenly become unusually soft, Hidan hurriedly swung his scythe, embedding it in a tree trunk, and used the chain of the scythe to escape the range of Yomi Swamp.
"It's not over yet, Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya unleashed a fireball in the path the opponent was bound to take.
"Tch, all you do is try to be clever!"
Hidan released the chain, Hidan to the ground, and ran towards where the scythe was stuck.
Having failed to expose Hidan with either of his two attacks, Jiraiya decided to employ an even bolder attack to probe for information about his opponent.
Just as Konoha's attention was focused on Hidan, Setsuna appeared at the Konoha Gate with his army.
"Who are you?!"
Chunin the two Chunin guarding the gate could even question their attackers, they were suddenly cleaved in two at the waist by a slash, along with the gatehouse behind them.
"Hmph, go for it!"
With a flick of his wrist, the corpses, having received the order, immediately rushed into the gates of Konoha.
He stepped on the half-dead corpse beneath his feet, and in that instant, a wave of madness surged across his face beneath the mask.
"Konoha, I'm back again, hehehehe!"
The laughter stopped abruptly. In a split second, he tilted his head to dodge a shuriken shot from the shadows, then used his Dojutsu to sever the opponent's arm.
While the other was wailing, the corpse of a fellow Konoha Ninja plunged Kunai deep into him, sending him to meet the Six Paths.
"Although I really want to use my Kage Rock on you, it would be against the honor of the Uchiha Clan to fight against an inanimate object. Besides, it would be quite thrilling for you to watch your beloved Konoha turn into ruins."
No longer looking at the distant battle, Setsuna, guided by White Zetsu, headed towards Orochimaru's Research Bureau.
Almost simultaneously, Sakumo received a report that the Konoha Gate had been attacked.
The attack on the gate made Sakumo, who was waiting for news, restless. He was especially alarmed when he heard that some of the enemies were former comrades from Konoha.
Pushing open the window, Sakumo leaped down and quickly headed towards the gate.
"That flash of light... I see. Konoha was attacked."
The noise from outside caught Scorpion's attention, causing him to put down the puppet parts he was holding.
As he drew back the curtains, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, but Scorpion still recognized Sakumo's identity.
This is a good opportunity. Although it is unclear who attacked Konoha, the fact that Sakumo was mobilized by the other side is advantageous to us.
"Let the enemy witness your power, the strongest Kazekage in history..."
Sakumo quickly appeared in the most chaotic part of the battlefield.
With a single slash, the head of a ninja wearing Amegakure Forehead Protector flew off, but little blood gushed from the wound.
"Fourth Generation- sama!"
The rescued ninja was about to express his gratitude when he looked up and realized that the person in question was none other than his own Hokage.
"Don't get distracted, focus on dealing with the enemy!"
Sakumo's expression was serious, and he quickly spotted the Konoha Ninja mixed in with the enemy.
"Why, Kazuha, why did you betray Konoha?"
Sakumo knocked the weapon from an enemy's hand, pierced the man's shoulder with his Ninja Blade, and questioned him.
"Lord Sakumo, they are no longer alive! Unidentified people are controlling their corpses!" Another Konoha Ninja fighting the corpses hurriedly reported his discovery.
"Manipulating corpses... could this technique be from Sunagakure?!"
In Sakumo's understanding, only the Puppet Technique of Sunagakure could achieve this.
A skilled Puppet Master can even control living people.
As if to confirm Sakumo's conjecture, several poisoned needles suddenly shot out from the shadows.
He drew his Ninja Blade, knocked away the poison needles with a backhand, and in the next second, Sakumo appeared at the position where the enemy had launched the sneak attack.
The Ninja Blade, its blade coated in Chakra, stabbed down fiercely, but it did not pierce the enemy as Sakumo had anticipated.
Thanks to Hiruko's hard back armor, Sasori blocked Sakumo's attack and then used his tail to slam Sakumo hard.
Hiruko's entire body is riddled with deadly toxins, and apart from Tsunade and Chiyo, no one else can break through them.
However, in Sakumo's eyes, Sasori's attack was too slow. Before the tail could even touch Sakumo, Sasori used his Lightning Body Flicker to return to his original position.
Sakumo cautiously Hiruko before him and began to analyze the other's abilities.
This low-lying thing was undoubtedly a puppet, as evidenced by its superb defensive capabilities and the distinctive sound it made when moving.
However, he did not notice the Chakra Threads used by the Puppet Master to control the puppet, combined with the other party's posture.
So that's how it is; the real body was hidden beneath the puppet.