Intervention

Giant earthen walls rose from all sides, completely enveloping the chaotic ground created by Minato Namikaze. The Water Release activated by the three Jonin together was like a vast ocean, filling every place and raising the battlefield to the surface of the water like a giant earthen platform.

"Kill!"

Beneath the water platform, outside the barrier, a howling north wind swept past, scattering grass and trees, and rustling fallen leaves across the vast wilderness.

"Boom!"

The killing intent gathered Jonin more than a dozen Root Jonin seemed to freeze the entire water platform, causing waves to surge up from time to time on the surface of the vast ocean.

Even for Jonin, the fighting style of ordinary ninjas is mainly based on Taijutsu. Ninjutsu, especially large-scale Ninjutsu, seems too extravagant for ordinary ninjas. They are either used as auxiliary means in combat or to determine the final outcome.

Kato Osamu remained completely still, but the pale blue light in his hand grew even brighter each time the Root ninjas unleashed their Ninjutsu.

The Root standing behind him couldn't Jonin but look at him with a hint of doubt. He narrowed his eyes, and a strange killing intent shot out from his eyes, locking onto Kato Osamu.

"Wei! What are you doing?!"

Ignoring the Root ninjas completely, Kato Osamu simply spoke in a calm voice, making no attempt to conceal his killing intent.

"Just do your own thing... don't go looking for trouble..."

"What did you say?"

The three remaining Root Jonin to be constantly on guard against his betrayal. Upon hearing Kato Osamu's words, they immediately surrounded him, their eyes filled with coldness and undisguised killing intent.

"Aren't you guys being a little too hasty...?"

"No wonder they're a bunch of useless trash!"

Kato Osamu's gaze was fixed on the Yamanaka Ling outside the barrier, which remained motionless and constantly scanning the battlefield. A subtle, almost imperceptible spiritual fluctuation was already emanating throughout the entire space.

Having been a spectator for so long, Kato Osamu certainly wouldn't just sit idly by and wait for his fate.

"Magic - The Art of Seeing As I See!"

With a slight movement of his lips, a faint blue light flashed in Yamanaka Ling's eyes. After only a moment's hesitation, he turned his gaze elsewhere, and the intense battle scenes he had imagined began to appear one after another in Yamanaka Ling eyes.

"Well, it seems you're eager to die..."

"We don't mind sending you off early!"

The three Jonin exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a hint of ferocity. They glanced at Minato Namikaze, who was already in trouble, and slowly took out Kunai from their hands. Then, as if without any restraint, they attacked Kato Osamu.

Water Release: Water Blade Slash!

"Water Release: Water Barrage!"

"Water Release: Wave Riding Strike!"

Two Jonin to the left and right. One held Kunai high, its Water Release Kunai radiating intense Chakra fluctuations. The other merely glided rapidly across the water's surface, but a thunderous strike was brewing in his hand hidden behind him. Countless water bullets also flew in from afar; the seemingly gentle water, at such high speeds, was like cannon fire.

Such a water surface environment is an ideal setting for releasing Water Release Ninjutsu.

"Shortsighted, a despicable rat from the shadows... He'll never become Hokage in his lifetime..."

"You deserve to die!"

Kato Osamu's words made the three Jonin's gazes even more predatory, as if they wanted to turn into invisible blades and pierce him like sieves.

Kato Osamu simply hummed softly, slowly took out a vial of pale purple reagent from his pocket, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Since that's the case..."

"You, along with Shimura Danzō, shall die together!"

"Magic - Multiple Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"

An endless darkness seemed to crash down from the sky in an instant, enveloping everyone. Silence reigned in this seemingly absolute darkness, and the Root ninjas, who had lost all sight and senses, could only let out screams of agony.

"Quickly! Notify Danzo! He has not betrayed Root!"

"Yamanaka Ling!"

The piercing screams seemed to be trapped in the darkness, and countless Chunin by Minato Namikaze vanished from the world under Kato Osamu's silent attack.

"Xu, you've finally made your move..."

Sensing the darkness enveloping him, Minato Namikaze suddenly vanished from the barrier, reappearing outside with a light laugh. Although he appeared somewhat disheveled, he only suffered minor injuries.

"What?"

The old man at the four corners of the barrier stared at Minato Namikaze, who was already outside the barrier, his eyes filled with panic. The Chakra in his hands slowly dissipated, and the huge barrier trembled violently before quickly vanishing into nothingness.

Minato Namikaze's gaze was cold and detached as he stared at the four old men still sitting in a circle at the four corners of the barrier. It seemed that he was more concerned about the identities of these four old men than the assassination attempt by Root.

"Gentlemen, now it's time to show me your true colors, isn't it?"

"Minato Namikaze! What are you doing here? Could it be...?"

"From the very beginning..."

Although the war-weary elders no longer possessed their former strength, they instantly understood the cause and effect, and their eyes filled with a touch of sorrow.

They had anticipated this outcome before setting off, but they never expected to be manipulated by a young man in his twenties.

"Before asking someone a question, you should first tell them who you are... right?"

"Elder Kurama Qing..."

A deep, unsettling gaze emanated from Minato Namikaze's eyes. The cloaked old man trembled inexplicably, paused for a moment, and then laughed again.

"Minato Namikaze, you're still too green..."

Without sensing the slightest fluctuation of Chakra, raging flames instantly erupted from the four elders' bodies. The four elders, seemingly cut from the same mold, endured the scorching flames, and after their faces were carbonized, they lowered their heads completely.

"To avoid implicating the family...?"

Standing quietly to the side, Minato Namikaze showed no intention of investigating. He sighed softly, his gaze filled with a complex emotion.

"Perhaps for the clans of Konoha, there is only family, and not country..."

At this moment, the old man's identity seemed to no longer matter. The estrangement between commoners and families, and the conflict of interests between villages and families, were all displayed more clearly before Minato Namikaze's eyes than ever before.

"Go to hell!"

The battle on the high platform over the water continued, the violent impact shaking the entire space. The sudden dissipation of the barrier allowed the remaining Root Jonin to react instantly, leaping off the platform and fleeing the area sealed by darkness.

Minato Namikaze looked at Kato Osamu, who remained expressionless but continued to wield his long, black sword, with an inscrutable expression on his face.