A deafening explosion rang out in Konohagakure, accompanied by a burst of flames and a shockwave of immense force.
Standing at the window of the Hokage’s office, Tsunade clenched her fists against the windowsill, her face cold and serious. "How many enemies are there?"
Behind her, Shikaku stood with an equally grim expression. "Seven. Five men, two women. They’re all wearing the same uniform. Based on intel reports, they seem to be a mercenary group active in various small countries. They call themselves Akatsuki."
"No more detailed intel?" Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"None," Shikaku shook his head. "We don’t know their abilities, structure, or strength at all. They’ve only been stirring up wars in small nations to make money, so the intel division never considered them a real threat."
"Heh." Tsunade let out a cold laugh. "After this is over, every last one of those useless idiots in the intel division can pack their bags and get lost!"
She slammed her fist onto the desk, splitting it into pieces as her furious voice rang out: "Not a threat? They didn’t think a group of six people capable of invading Konohagakure was a threat?! Even with Chunin and Jonin mobilized, they still can’t stop them, and they didn’t think it was worth looking into?!"
"The enemy is right in front of us, and we don’t even know their abilities! Is this how the intel division does its job?!"
Tsunade glared at Shikaku, her face filled with anger.
Shikaku remained silent.
He knew she wasn’t blaming him—this whole situation was just absurd.
It was bad enough that the enemy was strong enough to reach the village’s borders unnoticed, but they had actually infiltrated Konohagakure without triggering any barrier alarms. Worse still, after getting inside, they caused a huge commotion, and despite the village’s response, no one could stop them.
Each of them was ridiculously strong, with strange and unpredictable abilities. The intel division had nothing useful to offer besides their names, brushing them off as "not well-known enough to be a concern." No wonder Tsunade was furious.
Tsunade pulled back her fist, took a deep breath, and glanced at the broken remains of her desk. "How many forces do we have left to mobilize?"
"Quite a few," Shikaku replied. "The Hyuga clan is available, but Clan Head Hiashi left recently with his two daughters to visit relatives. Without his leadership, they won’t be able to perform at full strength."
"The Ino-Shika-Cho clans are already in action. The Inuzuka and Aburame clans are getting ready. The Sarutobi clan is fully prepared and awaiting orders. As for the Shimura clan..." Shikaku hesitated for a moment before continuing, "They claim their shinobi are all part of Anbu and can’t be reassigned right now."
"Anbu? More like Root." Tsunade sneered.
Shikaku didn’t respond. Some things Tsunade could say, but he couldn’t. Instead, he simply continued, "All other clans, big and small, have also started moving to the battlefield."
The village wasn’t lacking in power. In fact, if they pooled their forces together, they probably had enough strength to start another Great Ninja War.
"Identify the strongest and weakest among the enemy," Tsunade ordered. "Send Jiraiya to deal with the strongest. Have Anbu and the interrogation squad capture the weakest one—we need intel as soon as possible. The rest should be taken down if possible, and if not, just stall them. Our top priority is preserving our own forces."
She turned to look out the window, her gaze ice-cold. "Tell the Genin and Chunin to withdraw. Their job is to evacuate civilians. Do everything possible to keep them safe."
"Understood," Shikaku agreed without hesitation.
After a brief pause, Shikaku hesitated before asking, "Do we need to contact Danzo?"
"What for? To clean up the battlefield?" Tsunade shot him a glare. "Tell Danzo this: if he dares to sit back and hoard his forces at a time , he’d better be ready to face the consequences."
If Danzo couldn’t even tell the difference between a personal power play and the survival of the village, then what was the point of having him as an Anbu advisor? Just to stab them in the back?
Normally, she could tolerate his constant scheming. They were all part of the same village, after all. As long as his actions were for Konoha’s sake, she could let things slide. But if he still wanted to play games when the village was in a life-or-death crisis, then he was done for.
Just thinking about it pissed her off. "Damn it! Konoha is the number one ninja village—why do these idiots insist on coming after us? Are they tired of living? There’s a weak and broke Sand Village right next door! Why not go after them instead?!"
Shikaku wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Tsunade-sama, like you said... Sunagakure... is broke."
Tsunade slowly turned to look at him. "Do you think you’re funny?"
Sorry, I’ll see myself out.
Tsunade-sama is in a bad mood right now.
Better not mess with her.
"Hmph." Tsunade snorted, her expression turning cold again as she looked outside. "Gather the medical team. I’m going to use Creation Rebirth, and I’ll need their assistance."
She didn’t actually *need* them, but having them around would help share some of the burden. If necessary, they could take over the healing while she went straight into the fight.
To be honest, when it came to close combat, Tsunade had never backed down from anyone.
If you’ve got the guts, take one of my punches!
"Yes." Shikaku had no objections.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Jiraiya stood frozen, staring at the two familiar figures in front of him. His usual carefree expression was gone, replaced by sheer disbelief. "Yahiko... Konan... What’s going on...?"
He never could’ve imagined that the ones leading the invasion of Konohagakure would be Yahiko and Konan.
Among the shattered ruins and raging fires, Konan’s white wings fluttered behind her, paper fragments dancing in the air. She gazed at Jiraiya without any emotion, while Yahiko... or rather, Nagato, looked completely cold.
"Jiraiya... Sensei..." Nagato’s voice was quiet, and on Yahiko’s lifeless face, a trace of sadness appeared.
Konan landed gently beside Yahiko. She didn’t speak, only stared at Jiraiya in silence.
Jiraiya’s hands trembled, his disbelief now mixed with sorrow. "Yahiko, your eyes... Where’s Nagato? Why do you have his eyes?"
That’s right—Yahiko’s eyes now held the Rinnegan, the very same eyes that belonged to Nagato. Jiraiya had no idea what had happened, but one thing was certain: the person standing before him was Yahiko, yet he bore Nagato’s eyes.
Jiraiya didn’t even consider the possibility that Yahiko had killed Nagato and taken his eyes. He believed Yahiko would never do such a thing.
Instead, he was more inclined to believe that something had happened to Nagato.
Nagato could hear the deep concern in Jiraiya’s voice. For a brief moment, his long-dead heart felt a flicker of warmth. He looked at Jiraiya, and for the first time in a long while, his voice wasn’t entirely devoid of emotion. "Jiraiya-sensei, there’s no need to dwell on the past. Right now, we are enemies."
Jiraiya’s trembling body gradually steadied as he forced himself to calm down. "What happened?"