Dust swallowed the Cloud shinobi who had entered the village. Darui stared at the scene, his eyes turning red.
His hunger for glory had made him rush in and fall into the Konoha shinobi's trap. If he had advanced steadily from the start, they would not be in this position.
"All Cloud shinobi, withdraw from Konoha! We'll advance again. Victory will be ours!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just as the Cloud shinobi prepared to retreat, Konoha shinobi appeared on the surrounding rooftops.
"Attack!"
Five hundred Konoha shinobi struck at once, sending a storm of concealed weapons toward the surrounded Cloud shinobi.
"Form a defense! Everyone, fall back toward the center and use defensive ninjutsu to block their weapons!" a voice shouted amid the chaos.
The Cloud shinobi responded quickly, converging on the Hokage Building.
Those on the perimeter formed hand signs.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
At the same time, shuriken and kunai flew from the Cloud shinobi's ranks to intercept Konoha's attack.
Explosions erupted in quick succession. Shock waves merged, shattering the surrounding buildings one after another.
Rubble sprayed outward with the blasts, cutting many Cloud shinobi who were not sheltered by defensive ninjutsu.
Mito Uzumaki appeared on the battlefield and quietly surveyed the chaos below.
"Senior."
Several members of the Konoha leadership gathered around Mito Uzumaki.
"Senior, this happened because I was careless. Let me take the lead now. I'll give my life to rally our shinobi.
"Then I might at least have the face to meet Konoha's fallen elders in the Pure Land," Homura said.
Mito Uzumaki remained calm. "I'm old. I don't have much time left. With Hiruzen gone, Konoha still needs you to lead it."
Worry immediately showed on the faces of Homura and the others. The Uzumaki Clan had few ninjutsu with