Luckily, Uchiha Chen reacted incredibly quickly and steadied himself at once, avoiding a fall in front of the people of Hot Spring Village.
"That feeling... Ah, my chakra's almost depleted again."
"What a pity..."
Watching the Sunagakure shinobi disappear into the distance, Uchiha Chen could only sigh and murmur to himself.
Although he had improved the Chakra Refinement Method and greatly increased his chakra reserves, advanced versions of techniques like Wind Release and Fire Release were far more powerful—and consumed vastly more chakra.
Still, the fact that he had killed three or four hundred Sunagakure shinobi all by himself was proof enough of his strength. What was more, three of them had been Sunagakure jonin.
"We won?!"
"I'm not seeing things, am I? Brother Chen really won?"
"Hahahaha! That's amazing! Brother Chen must be the God of Shinobi!"
The Hot Spring Village shinobi, who had narrowly escaped death, all rushed toward Uchiha Chen in excitement. Even the elderly Izumitani Yoju strode forward with surprising vigor.
Just as they were about to lift Uchiha Chen into the air and celebrate, he stopped them. It was too soon to celebrate.
Uchiha Chen remembered that, according to the original story, a famous battle would break out toward the Late Stage of the Third Shinobi World War: the Battle of Mount Kikyo!
Mount Kikyo was a tall mountain on the outskirts of Konoha. Why was it called a defensive battle?
Because the enemy had pushed all the way to Konoha's doorstep. How could it not be a defensive battle?
The fact that Sunagakure could reach Konoha's doorstep showed just how much of its strength it had committed. The Sunagakure shinobi Uchiha Chen had just driven off would surely return with an even larger force.
If the Hot Spring Village shinobi stayed here, they would be in grave danger.
After hearing Uchiha Chen's analysis of the pros and cons, Izumitani Yoju, the village chief, decided to follow his advice and evacuate for the time being. They would return once the war had died down.
They were reluctant to leave, but anyone would know what to choose when their lives were at stake.
After hastily packing their belongings, nearly a thousand villagers and shinobi from Hot Spring Village left their homes and set off, raising clouds of dust behind them.
As for Uchiha Chen, he chose to stay behind so he could keep an eye on the approaching Sunagakure army.
Konoha,
At the walls of Mount Kikyo,
Konoha shinobi patrolled from time to time, their expressions stern.
Aoba Yamashiro and Namiashi Raidō stood atop the wall, equally serious as they gazed into the distance every so often.
Aoba Yamashiro and Namiashi Raidō were both Special Jonin of Konoha, and they were highly skilled.
Namiashi Raidō favored a black-bladed katana and often worked alongside Aoba Yamashiro. When he coordinated with Aoba's crows, they were said to deliver "a strike from which no one could escape."
"Aoba, do you think Sunagakure will really send a large army to attack Konoha?"
"This information came from Lord Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin. Of course it's true. Otherwise, the Third wouldn't have personally ordered these defensive walls built and assigned us to patrol and guard them day and night."
Aoba Yamashiro gazed into the distance, worry in his eyes.
They had received the news in advance and put the necessary defenses in place, but there were far too few shinobi left in the village. If they had to face a large force from Sunagakure, they might...
As Aoba Yamashiro fell into thought, Namiashi Raidō suddenly pointed at the rustling shadows ahead and called out gravely,
"Aoba, look over there! There are so many of them. Could that be a force of Sunagakure shinobi?"
"That... There must be nearly a thousand. It could well be Sunagakure's vanguard. Send word—we're going on alert!"
Aoba Yamashiro frowned. After giving the order, he fixed his gaze on the shadows ahead.
As the shadows drew closer, Aoba Yamashiro and the others finally made out who they were.
"These are... Forehead Protectors from Hot Spring Village? What are people from Hot Spring Village doing here?"
Namiashi Raidō looked puzzled.
"Let's wait and see, but don't let your guard down. Stay on alert."
Aoba Yamashiro pushed up his small dark glasses and spoke calmly.
"People of Hot Spring Village, please stop there."
Seeing the people of Hot Spring Village approaching, Aoba Yamashiro quickly called out to them.
"People of Konoha, I'm Izumitani Yoju, chief of Hot Spring Village. The war has driven us from our homes, and I had no choice but to bring my villagers here to ask for an audience with the Third and seek shelter!"
Izumitani Yoju hurried forward to explain why they had come.
The Hokage Office in Konoha,
Tsunade slammed a palm onto Third Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk and gritted out a few words through her teeth.
"Old man, when are Uchiha Chen and Jiraiya coming back from their mission?"
She had never expected that she would miss just one day visiting Uchiha Chen, and then...
"Tsunade, Jiraiya's with him. That boy will be fine."
Third Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Tsunade and sighed inwardly. Why were both of his students so disrespectful to their teacher? They wouldn't even call him "Teacher."
Never mind. After all these years, he was used to it...
Just as Tsunade was about to say more, a flurry of urgent knocks sounded at the door.
"Third, Izumitani Yoju, chief of Hot Spring Village in the Land of Rivers, requests an audience."
"Hot Spring Village?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade both frowned in confusion.
"Then let's hear what he has to say."
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe and pondered for a moment. Then he slowly exhaled a wisp of smoke and spoke.
A few minutes later,
With Aoba Yamashiro leading the way, Izumitani Yoju arrived at the Hokage Office.
"I, Izumitani Yoju, chief of Hot Spring Village, pay my respects to the Third."
The moment he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, Izumitani Yoju brightened and hurried forward to bow.
"Please, Izumitani, there's no need for such formalities. What brings you and so many people to Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi got straight to the point and asked Izumitani Yoju why he had come.
At that, Izumitani Yoju let out a deep sigh. Then he slowly explained how the Sunagakure shinobi had nearly wiped out Hot Spring Village, and how Uchiha Chen had saved them.
"What did you just say? Who saved you?"
Tsunade, standing nearby, quickly asked.
"The Konoha shinobi who saved the people of Hot Spring Village from disaster was Uchiha Chen. It was on his advice that we came to Konoha to seek refuge!"
Whenever Izumitani Yoju mentioned Uchiha Chen, a smile spread across his face.
If Uchiha Chen had been there, though, he would definitely have rolled his eyes at Izumitani Yoju. He had only suggested that they find somewhere to hide; he hadn't said a word about Konoha!
"Did you just say that Uchiha Chen drove off hundreds of Sunagakure shinobi all by himself?"
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing nearby, looked utterly shocked.