"..."
As Shisui Uchiha's voice faded, silence settled over the area.
It was terrifyingly quiet. Even a pin drop would have been audible.
Before long, Orochimaru, who had just fled amid the chaos, emerged from a tree's shadow with a smile.
"Heh, as expected of you, Yoru. You even noticed that."
"Tell me your choice."
Shisui Uchiha spoke without expression, chakra already flooding the hand resting on his sword hilt.
His meaning was clear.
Either submit or lose his head!
Seeing this, Orochimaru took a wood chip from his robes, a fragment left behind when Shisui Uchiha had used Wood Release. A sick, obsessive look filled his face.
"Yoru, tell me, what choice would I make with such exquisite material before me?"
"Hehehe. Orochimaru, you really are a clever man."
Hearing Orochimaru's final choice, Shisui Uchiha gave a slight nod.
But before long...
Hurried footsteps began drawing closer.
One of the approaching figures seemed to have rather powerful chakra fluctuations...
Hiruzen Sarutobi. That old man had finally arrived.
With that thought, Shisui Uchiha turned and rushed toward the Nine-Tails, his calm voice echoing through the area.
"These two Wood Dragons and this Wooden Man will obey your commands for now and help you hold off Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"I hope you won't disappoint me."
Hiruzen Sarutobi only needed to be held back for a little while.
The most important thing now was to ensure that the Uchiha Clan reached the battlefield safely.
And to check in on top of the Nine-Tails' head!
"..."
Hearing Shisui Uchiha's words, Orochimaru extended his tongue and licked his lips.
He gazed at the two Wood Dragons and the Wooden Man before him, gently stroking them with his palm, his eyes brimming with excitement.
"My precious treasures. If I didn't need you to hold off my teacher and the Anbu, I truly couldn't bear to send you into battle."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Barely had Orochimaru finished speaking when Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared before him with the Anbu.
His orders came before he even arrived.
"Everyone, split up according to the original plan and search for the Wood Release shinobi mentioned in the letter!"
"As for Danzo, don't concern yourselves with whether he lives or dies."
"Yes, Third Hokage!"
Roar!
But the instant the Anbu members split up, two enormous tails and a fist smashed toward Hiruzen Sarutobi at the same time.
"Protect the Third Hokage!"
"Protect the Third Hokage..."
"You handle the attacks from the sides! Leave the Wooden Man in the middle to me!"
Seeing that the Anbu around him could not get back in time to defend him, Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and frantically formed hand seals.
Boom!
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A stone wall instantly rose from the ground, blocking the path of the Wooden Man's fist.
But just as Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to seize the chance to escape, countless cracks spread across the wall.
"What?"
Boom!
After smashing through Hiruzen Sarutobi's Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, the Wooden Man's fist hurtled toward him without losing momentum.
"Damn it! How could it be so fast..."
Realizing he had nowhere to dodge, Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and formed hand seals again.
"Fire overcomes wood. Even Wood Release can't escape the laws of the five elements. Try this."
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Boom!
As Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted, a searing fireball erupted from his mouth, twisting like a raging dragon as it met the Wooden Man's fist head-on.
Although it successfully stopped the Wooden Man's attack...
Its power still seemed... a little lacking!
"It worked! In that case, try this next."
With its attack blocked and its fist damaged, the Wooden Man was forced to pull its hand back. It raised a foot, ready to crush Hiruzen Sarutobi to pulp.
But just as that foot was about to descend, Hiruzen Sarutobi rapidly formed hand seals and pressed his palms together.
He was even faster than before!
With his life on the line, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to get serious.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
"This is..."
Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi unleash two jutsu of completely different elements at once, Orochimaru frowned slightly from his hiding place.
His teacher's combination jutsu, Fire-Flow Earth-Flame Bullet!
Before Orochimaru's eyes, the earth beside Hiruzen Sarutobi formed a dragon's head. It opened its mouth and spat a barrage of mud bullets toward the Wooden Man's foot, pinning it in place.
At the same time, a stream of fire erupted from his mouth at just the right moment, continually scorching the Wooden Man's foot.
"Everyone, attack with everything you've got!"
"For the Will of Fire! For the peace of the village!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, the Anbu members fighting the Wood Dragons...
Seemed suddenly supercharged. Resolve filled their eyes as they recklessly unleashed every jutsu and attack at their disposal.
They attacked without dodging!
"The Third Hokage is right! For the Will of Fire! For the peace of the village!"
"Go! Let's give these two beasts everything we've got!"
"For the Will of Fire! Aaaah..."
Watching the Anbu's sudden surge in fighting spirit, Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, then began slowly retreating into the distance.
The moment the Wooden Man and the Wood Dragons were defeated, he would flee!
After all, his task was merely to hold Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others back, not kill them.
There was no need to risk exposing his identity by personally fighting Hiruzen Sarutobi and his men.
Rumble!
As battle erupted on Orochimaru's side, elsewhere on the battlefield...
With no Kage Level shinobi to stop him, the Nine-Tails rampaged through Konoha.
Gruesome, mutilated corpses littered his wake!
"Damn it, haven't they found Lord Hokage yet? And what about the Third Hokage? What the hell happened?"
"I don't know, but at this rate, if the village's major clans don't send reinforcements soon, we won't be able to hold... huh?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Konoha shinobi from civilian families, who had been desperately resisting and thought all hope was lost...
Froze in astonishment.
Before their eyes, fireballs from an unknown source surged past them from behind, forcibly intercepting the Nine-Tails' attacks.
Not only that, but a middle-aged man radiating powerful chakra...
Leaped straight to the front of all the fighting shinobi, rapidly formed hand seals, and pressed his palms together.
His powerful voice rang across the battlefield.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Roar!
A ferocious fire dragon opened its enormous jaws and lunged straight at the Nine-Tails.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out. Waves of heat and flame surged outward, whipping Uchiha Fugaku's coat, embroidered with the Uchiha Clan crest, wildly in the blast.
Under everyone's gaze, Uchiha Fugaku slowly turned. His scarlet Sharingan stood out vividly in the light of the sea of flames.
"I, Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha Clan, have brought my entire clan..."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Uchiha Fugaku spoke, Uchiha Clan shinobi leaped past the civilian-born shinobi in unison and landed beside him.
The densely packed Uchiha Clan shinobi all drew the longswords at their waists, their fighting spirit blazing.
"We have arrived!"
Before you continue