The Beginning of the Collapse

In the surrounding spectator stands, civilians had already begun to collapse in droves.

Takuma gritted his teeth, reached his right hand into his ninja tool pouch, and gripped a kunai.

The blade pressed against the inside of his thigh, the cold sensation seeping through the fabric.

He took a deep breath, reversed his grip on the kunai, and stabbed down without hesitation.

The tip pierced the fabric and sank into his muscle.

A sharp pain surged through his spine like an electric current, shooting straight to the back of his head.

Fresh blood seeped out along the blood groove of the kunai, soaking his pant leg.

His consciousness returned.

Takuma pulled out the kunai and gasped for air.

Tenten had completely lost consciousness.

"Wake up!"

Takuma grabbed Tenten's shoulders and shook her hard, but she didn't react.

Takuma looked at Tenten's leg and made a shallow cut.

Tenten's brows furrowed, and then she snapped her eyes open.

"Ow!"

She gasped, instinctively lifting her leg and covering the wound with her hand.

Takuma let go of her shoulders and let out a long breath. "Stop covering it, it's just a surface wound."

Tenten blinked, her pupils refocusing.

She saw the bloodstain on Takuma's pant leg, then looked down at the wound still oozing blood on her own calf.

"You stabbed me?"

"I was saving you."

Most experienced Chunin and Jonin had managed to dispel the genjutsu and were now fighting on their own.

At the entrances around the arena, the assault forces of Otogakure Ninja and Sunagakure Ninja had already charged in, clashing with the Konoha ninja left behind.

The chaos spread from the arena to the entire Konoha Village.

Explosions rang out from every direction.

Takuma vaulted over the railing of the spectator stands and landed in the aisle. An Otogakure Ninja was raising his kunai, preparing to strike at a sleeping civilian; hearing the movement behind him, he had just turned his head when Takuma's fist smashed into his face.

The moment the fist connected with his face, the crisp sound of a nasal bone fracturing could be heard.

The Otogakure Ninja's kunai flew from his hand, and his entire body was sent flying backward, knocking over a row of seats.

Takuma didn't finish him off, instead turning to the nearest civilian.

Takuma grabbed the man by the collar and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

"Tenten! Wake up everyone you can, and just carry the ones you can't!"

"Already on it!"

Tenten's voice came from the other side.

She was helping an elderly woman who had fallen asleep to her feet, leading her toward the emergency exit.

Takuma carried the man to the corridor on the outer edge of the arena and shoved him behind a relatively safe stone pillar.

He turned around and charged back in.

His movements grew faster and faster, as he ran back and forth between the spectator stands and the safety exits.

More than twenty rescued civilians had already gathered in the corridor.

Takuma turned to rush back again, but a hand reached out from the side to stop him.

Tenten's face was smeared with dust, a few strands of hair stuck to her forehead, and her breathing was ragged.

"Take a break."

"No need—"

Tenten pulled a handkerchief from her ninja tool pouch and wiped the blood and dust from Takuma's face. "If you collapse from exhaustion, who's going to carry people? Me?"

"Don't play the hero," Tenten stuffed the handkerchief into his chest pocket. "You haven't paid back the money you owe me yet, so you better stay alive."

After saying this, she turned and ran toward the other side of the corridor, beginning to organize the awakened civilians to evacuate the arena.

Takuma tucked the handkerchief into his pocket and charged back toward the spectator stands.

Several Konoha ninja had organized themselves spontaneously, setting up a simple defensive formation at the corridor entrance.

Elsewhere in the arena, the battle continued.

Takuma took a moment to glance at the roof.

Inside the barrier, the figures of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage stood side by side, clad in tattered armor, their eyes hollow, their bodies wreathed in an ominous gray aura.

Orochimaru stood behind the past Hokage, a sickly smile on his pale face, his arms spread wide as if admiring his proudest work.

The Third Hokage had shed his Hokage robe, revealing his black combat suit. He held a kunai in his hand, his back straight, facing the two deceased former Hokage.

Takuma took a deep breath, turned, and continued to hoist the next sleeping civilian.

In the corridor, Tenten had already led the first group of civilians out of the arena and returned to lead the second.

The two crossed paths at a corner of the corridor; neither spoke, they simply nodded at each other.

Tenten's hair was completely loose, the hair tie lost somewhere along the way, her long hair draped over her shoulders, covered in dust and wood splinters.

Explosions continued to echo throughout Konoha. Thick smoke obscured the evening sky, staining the sunset an ominous, rusty red.

In the forest to the east of the arena, a series of Explosive Tags suddenly detonated in a chain reaction, the firelight reddening half the horizon.

The joint assault force of Sunagakure and Otogakure had infiltrated the village from multiple directions.

Although they had lost the element of surprise, their numerical advantage remained.

Konoha's ninja were fighting individually, engaging in a tug-of-war with the enemy in the streets and alleys.

His Spider-Sense suddenly warned him.

Takuma rolled to the side, and almost simultaneously, a kunai pinned itself to the spot where he had just been standing, the tip buried three inches into the stone floor.

"Not bad perception, little brat from Konoha."

A tall Otogakure Ninja leaped down from above the spectator stands, landing five meters in front of Takuma.

He was wrapped in bandages, his arms bare, his muscles bulging.

Takuma adjusted his Neo Sunglasses; the flow of the opponent's Chakra was clearly visible.

High-density Chakra was gathered in his arms and legs—this was likely a Taijutsu-enhancement type.

"By the order of Lord Orochimaru, we are to clear out as many Konoha ninja as possible."

The Otogakure Ninja grinned, revealing sharp canines. "You look like you can take a beating."

Takuma didn't speak; his right hand reached into his ninja tool pouch and touched three Chakra-Conducting Kunai.

The Otogakure Ninja launched the first attack, his entire body charging at Takuma like a cannonball, his right fist carrying a gust of wind directly toward Takuma's face.

The speed was extreme, and the power was shockingly high.

Takuma tilted his body, the fist grazing his ear, the wind of the punch stinging his cheek.

The Otogakure Ninja's left fist followed immediately, the rhythm of his attacks faster than expected—elbow strikes, knee strikes, leg sweeps, a continuous, violent assault pouring down like a rainstorm.

Takuma retreated repeatedly, using Water Release: Water Wave to create a curtain of water in front of him, attempting to create distance.

The Otogakure Ninja charged straight through the water curtain, shattering the waves with a single punch, water splashing everywhere.

"This level of Ninjutsu isn't even enough to scratch me!"

Takuma narrowed his eyes.

His Neo Sunglasses captured a detail: the Otogakure Ninja's right shoulder likely had an old injury, as there was a clear obstruction in his Chakra flow.

As the Otogakure Ninja's right fist came crashing down, Takuma sidestepped the strike, his left arm actively meeting the attack.

A sharp pain surged, and his shoulder blade let out a groan of unbearable strain.

But at the same time the fist hit him, Takuma's right fist slammed solidly into the old injury on the Otogakure Ninja's right shoulder, his fist wrapped in Chakra, precisely hitting the point of obstruction.

The Otogakure Ninja's right arm went numb instantly, his attack rhythm faltering.

Takuma didn't give him time to react; a Chakra-Conducting Kunai slid from his sleeve, and he stabbed it backhanded into the Otogakure Ninja's left knee.

The kunai pierced the muscle, Chakra poured into the joint, and the support of his left leg was instantly lost; the Otogakure Ninja fell to one knee.

With his right arm paralyzed and his left leg crippled, the Otogakure Ninja could only rely on his left fist to counterattack.

He roared and swung his left fist; Takuma didn't dodge or evade, taking the punch head-on with his right shoulder, the bone feeling as if it were shattering.

At the same time, a second kunai stabbed into the Otogakure Ninja's left shoulder.

With both arms useless and both knees on the ground, only the Otogakure Ninja's torso could still move.

He looked up at Takuma, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Are you crazy? Who fights like this!"

Takuma didn't answer.

The kunai slashed across.

The Otogakure Ninja collapsed, the stone floor beneath him stained red with blood.

The system notification sounded slowly in his mind.

[Witnessed the "Beginning of the Konoha Crush Plan"]

[Obtained a lottery chance]

[Lottery result: Mjolnir (Replica) — Can summon lightning to attach to weapons, lasting for three minutes; seven-day cooldown after the lightning is exhausted.]

[Note: Suitable for use with melee weapons; recommended to pair with Chakra-Conducting Kunai.]

Takuma held the hammer in his hand, and a faint electric current traveled from the handle through his entire body.

He gripped the handle tightly and looked up at the Four Violet Flames Formation in the sky.

Inside the barrier, the Reanimated Bodies of the First and Second Hokage were killing their way toward the Third Hokage with unstoppable momentum; the giant trees of Deep Forest Emergence tore through the roof, and the torrent of Water Severing Wave sliced through the air like a sharp blade.

Orochimaru stood in the shadows, his eyes excited and insane.