Shukaku, in particular, had grown somewhat afraid of Gyarados. As far as he was concerned, anything whose imposing presence could make him feel fear had to be much stronger than he was.
Shouldn't he make a run for it?
"Gyarados, use Dragon Tail!" Just then, Keiichi pointed from afar, switching seamlessly from ninja to Pokémon Trainer.
Sure enough, no matter how far away they were, Gyarados could still hear his commands. It bared a savage expression and lunged at its target, then whipped its tail around and smacked Shukaku hard across the face.
Shukaku stood perfectly still, completely dumbfounded. It took him a long time to recover.
How could something that looked so mighty, like a born king, have such a weak attack?
The damage was negligible, but the insult was immense!
So this seemingly powerful monster was really just a paper tiger. And here he'd been cautious for so long.
"You're asking for it!" Shukaku fired Air Bullets at Gyarados one after another, sounding thoroughly flustered.
How did I let this piece of junk scare me just now?
Gyarados was agile, and in the sky it was more at home than a fish in water. It dodged every Air Bullet.
But Shukaku's actions had also enraged him, making him even more irritable. He let out a series of angry roars.
Ever since evolving, Magikarp had become a completely different fish. The once listless Pokémon had turned into an irritable hothead with a serious case of road rage.
"Naruto, this guy looks like he's on our side?" Gamabunta asked tentatively.
"I've never seen him before, but he does seem kind of familiar..." Naruto racked his brain. He really felt like he'd seen him somewhere before, and that the memory wasn't a pleasant one.
It was as if he'd suffered a lot at his hands.
"Never mind. Tell him that if he can keep Shukaku under control, I can end this fight!"
At that, Naruto immediately shouted, "Tie him down! Get in there and wrap him up, you stupid fish!"
Stupid fish?
Stupid fish!
Naruto suddenly remembered. This guy looked so much like that stupid fish—not, as Big Brother Keiichi would put it, they had the same art style!
Clearly, Naruto's body remembered better than his brain.
Keiichi also realized he'd been mistaken. Even though Gyarados had evolved, the vast difference in their levels remained. There was no way it could hurt Shukaku.
Shukaku had been around for over a thousand years. Though his strength couldn't be quantified by levels, even a hundred levels of grinding on the hill ten miles outside the village wouldn't be out of the question.
To make good use of Gyarados, Keiichi would have to think in terms of support. Naruto's shout gave him an idea.
"Use Wrap!"
But three giant question marks appeared above Gyarados's head, showing that it had no idea what he was talking about.
"Use Bind!"
???
Hey, what was the point of having such a long body if not to tie up your enemies?
Had it never seen a coiled pillar?
Why couldn't it even use the simplest moves?
Keiichi racked his brains, desperately trying to recall everything he knew about Gyarados. It seemed he'd have to pick a move it could actually learn.
But the battle wouldn't wait. Shukaku ignored Gyarados and kept chasing Gamabunta, relentlessly attacking him.
Soon, he seized an opening and pummeled Gamabunta until he was groaning in pain, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.
For Gamabunta to have held out this long without returning to Mount Myoboku, he truly deserved to be called loyal and righteous.
What...
What move could turn this dire situation around?
The Hyuga Clan's compound was nearly empty at the moment. Most of the ninjas were away: the majority had gone with the clan head to watch the exams, while a few were out on missions. Only a handful of clan members had been left behind to guard the place.
News of the uprising in Konoha had spread long ago, leaving everyone on edge. At the slightest disturbance, they activated their Byakugan, afraid an entire elite ninja squad might appear out of nowhere.
If anything happened and the enemy broke into the compound, they would never be able to make amends for their failure.
Just then, a Byakugan-wielding ninja on the watchtower spotted something. But before he could make it out, something whizzed past his ear. He looked closely and saw that it was a Kunai.
Cold sweat covered him. Only a highly skilled ninja could have thrown it with such precision.
Fortunately, nothing else happened, and his anxious heart finally began to settle.
He turned around and saw a note attached to the Kunai. Whoever had thrown it had only meant to deliver some kind of message to the Hyuga family.
He took the note down and read it, then froze in shock. A line of writing stood out on the page—
"Danzo is plotting treason. He has used a genjutsu to control the Hokage. Lord Hiashi, please act as soon as possible."
The news was shocking. It sounded utterly unbelievable, but reports from the front confirmed that Root, under Danzo's command, had taken part in the uprising. Perhaps there really was something to it.
He didn't dare delay. He quickly passed the message to his superior, who also realized how serious the situation was and immediately released a pigeon to carry the news.
"Take the message to the clan head at once!"
With a series of coos, several pigeons scattered and flew toward different corners of Konoha...
Chapter 85: Elite Jonin Reunite
The fire at the Hokage Building had been put out. Hiruzen still held his post, but Danzo and his loyal subordinates now stood beside him.
Hiruzen had ordered the Jonin to assemble again. According to the intelligence Kakashi had sent back, Sunagakure's target was none other than the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
His worst fears had come true. He had no choice but to take the situation seriously.
He had already sent Kakashi, along with the Genin who had performed exceptionally well in the Chunin Ninja Exams, to escort the nobles away from the danger zone. In theory, that should have been enough.
But if Sunagakure had devoted its main forces to kidnapping the Daimyo, he could hardly feel at ease.
After all, Kakashi was the only true Jonin among them.
If Sunagakure managed to kidnap the Daimyo, Konoha would be put in an extremely difficult position. Even if they eventually quelled the uprising, the losses would be irreparable, and Konoha's reputation abroad would be ruined.
Sunagakure had struck right at his most vulnerable point.
When the Jonin came to report to Hiruzen, they naturally noticed Danzo standing silently behind him. They instinctively drew their weapons, their expressions tense.
Why was he here?
Who didn't know that Root, under Danzo's command, had sparked the uprising?
And weren't the rumors circulating through every street and alley the work of Danzo himself?
Could Lord Hiruzen have been taken hostage?
Danzo knew no one would believe him, and he had no intention of explaining. Someone else would clear his name for him.
"Don't be alarmed. Danzo wasn't the mastermind behind this uprising. Someone else was responsible." Hiruzen calmed the Jonin.
His eyes were clear, and his posture relaxed. He showed no sign of being coerced or controlled, which helped the Jonin ease their guard a little.
"Who was behind it?" Kurenai Yuhi pressed.
"Judging by the evidence, it was probably Orochimaru, who infiltrated the village some time ago."
The Jonin showed no surprise. They knew Orochimaru all too well.
"Lord Hiruzen, do you really believe Danzo had no part in this? He and Orochimaru have a close relationship." Inoichi Yamanaka stared intently at Danzo, his face full of distrust.
His words reflected what the other Jonin were thinking as well. They all turned to Hiruzen, hoping he could give them a reasonable explanation.
"There's no connection between Danzo and Orochimaru," Hiruzen declared firmly.
Everyone present was baffled. Was he serious?
They had clashed in the Forest of Death just a month ago!
"In truth, I didn't know Orochimaru had come to Konoha until today. It wasn't me who met him. Someone had disguised himself as me," Danzo explained calmly, clearing his throat.
But the explanation was far too flimsy. Almost no one believed him.
Wasn't Root supposed to be Konoha's largest intelligence agency? How could there be anything he didn't know?
And Orochimaru wasn't just anyone. Could he really have failed to see through someone impersonating Danzo? What kind of transformation technique could be that good?
Even if Orochimaru hadn't noticed, could Aburame Tatsuma, Danzo's most trusted subordinate, have missed it?
No matter how you looked at it, Danzo's story wasn't credible.
Seeing the suspicion on everyone's faces, Danzo sighed helplessly to himself. I've told plenty of lies in my life, but this is the one time I'm telling the truth.
I really don't know anything!
He genuinely wanted to know who had impersonated him, deceived Orochimaru, and even fooled Aburame Tatsuma, who had been right by his side.
He had never before encountered such a situation, where the truth couldn't clear his name.
At that moment, he was secretly glad he'd acted decisively and used Kotoamatsukami to control Hiruzen. Otherwise, he would never have made it through this ordeal.
Even if there were doubts, they wouldn't dispel Hiruzen's suspicions. And when facing the Jonin, Hiruzen might not have defended him.
But now he had Hiruzen's unwavering support. No matter how much the Jonin objected, they couldn't shake his position.
That was the authority of the Third Hokage, who had led Konoha for fifty years!
"Everyone, put aside your suspicions about Danzo for now. We can discuss any questions later."
"But what if Danzo is the one behind all this?" someone persisted.
"That's not for you to worry about. I'll vouch for him. He would never betray Konoha." Hiruzen's face darkened. He waved his hand and immediately silenced every Jonin present.
No one dared challenge the Hokage's authority any further.
"Report the current situation," Danzo said evenly.
"Most of Konoha's ninjas were gathered at the arena and were knocked unconscious by the sleeping gas. Our defenses are severely understaffed. We'll probably have to wait until those ninjas wake up before we can put down the uprising completely." Choza Akimichi looked troubled.
The biggest problem was the shortage of manpower. They couldn't cover every part of Konoha, and whenever they dealt with one disturbance, another sprang up elsewhere. They couldn't find a way to put a complete end to the rebels' actions.
What's more, the rebels were experienced, as if they'd rehearsed beforehand. They knew to strike once and then move on, never engaging in a head-on fight.
Smoke was rising all over Konoha, disturbances kept breaking out, and everyone was on edge. If things continued like this, the villagers themselves might start causing trouble.
After all, some people liked to take advantage of chaos to commit all kinds of misdeeds.
"What? This still hasn't been resolved? Since when have Konoha's ninjas become so useless?" Danzo gave a cold snort, his gaze icy.
The Jonin's faces darkened with anger, but Hiruzen's authority kept them from speaking out.
They were strong, but they couldn't protect all of Konoha.
Besides, wasn't this mess caused by Root? What right did Danzo have to lecture them?
Had Lord Hiruzen really grown senile? Could he not see Danzo for what he was?
"The sleeping gas was specially made. Ordinary antidotes can't wake people up. Right now, we can only rely on Medical Ninjutsu. But the medical team has limited personnel, so it's hard to speed things up."
Seeing the tension rise, Shikaku Nara stepped in to explain. He understood the importance of keeping the bigger picture in mind. This wasn't the time to hold Danzo accountable.
That explanation made Danzo's expression darken. Root had made the sleeping gas to ensure enemies couldn't easily counter it. He'd never expected someone to use it against his own side.
So he was going to have to take the blame for this, too?
Could Shikaku Nara be taking a deliberate jab at me?
"Damn it! If Tsunade were still here, she could solve this in no time!"
"What's the use of saying that now?"
"Then what about the sleeping gas? Who made it, and where's the antidote?"
At those words, everyone seemed to reach the same conclusion. They all turned to look at Danzo.
Chapter 86: Afterword on Going Premium
Everyone, this book will be going premium tomorrow (the 30th). It currently has nearly four thousand bookmarks and over five hundred readers following each update, which is a big improvement over the numbers for my last book when it went premium. Maybe other authors would consider those numbers hopeless, but for me, they're a huge step forward.
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