Chapter 119: Calming Down

Under the night sky, the battle in Konoha intensifies.

Shisui is sprinting towards the Hokage building.

To conserve chakra, he doesn't engage in any fights along the way. After crossing almost the entire village, he finally sees from a distance—

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is locked in fierce combat with Sasori, the Red Sand, atop the Hokage Rock, their dazzling ninjutsu clashing.

He speeds up to join them.

The Third Kazekage puppet of Sasori, with its Magnet Release, can manipulate Iron Sand into various forms. It can be a rain of needles or coalesce into large cones, spheres, and columns to strike and suppress the enemy.

On the other hand.

Although Hiruzen doesn't possess a Kekkei Genkai, as the Professor of Ninjutsu, he can effortlessly use thousands of techniques, even capable of releasing powerful combination ninjutsu on his own.

One is the strongest puppet master in the ninja world, the other is the strongest Hokage in his prime.

Their strengths are evenly matched, making it hard to determine the victor.

Is this the battle of Kage-level fighters?

Several Anbu stay far away, unable to find an opening to intervene, they can only watch in awe.

"Indeed, the strongest Hokage in Konoha's history, I'm even more interested in your body now."

Sasori ends the probing, ready for a quick fight.

Thousand Hands Manipulation Force!

The seals on the left arm of the Third Kazekage puppet light up, instantly summoning thousands of arms. Each arm hides various mechanisms, all attacking Hiruzen at once.

Hiruzen's eyes narrow, he leaps high, avoiding the first wave of the Thousand Hands Manipulation Force.

Then, his Adamantine Staff grows longer and thicker. Swinging it with all his might, he strikes at the Third Kazekage.

Crack.

The thousand arms are shattered in a few hits, Sasori and the Third Kazekage puppet retreat, falling into a disadvantage.

Seizing this opportunity.

Hiruzen takes the initiative to pursue, intending to take down the enemy in one fell swoop.

"Hmph."

Sasori snorts coldly, without hesitation, he activates the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release ultimate technique.

Whoosh.

Countless Iron Sand particles in the air condense into sharp spikes. They weave and intersect with each other, forming an impenetrable large-scale barrier in an instant.

Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle.

This is the Third Kazekage's ultimate barrier ninjutsu. Its attack power, range, and density have all reached the peak of Magnet Release.

Not good.

Hiruzen realizes the danger, but it's too late to retreat.

"Die."

With Sasori's cold declaration, he clenches his fist.

Whoosh.

The countless Iron Sand spikes floating in mid-air instantly pierce towards Hiruzen from all directions, leaving him nowhere to escape.

"Hokage-sama!"

Several Anbu cry out, trying to rush forward to help, but they are injured by the Iron Sand Drizzle.

At the critical moment.

Hiruzen throws his Adamantine Staff forward. It multiplies like a Shadow Clone, turning into dozens of staffs, forming a cubic wall around him.

Impenetrable.

Clang.

Despite the ferocious Iron Sand spikes, they can't penetrate the adamantine hardness of the staff, and are all blocked.

Inside the Adamantine Wall, a temporarily safe Hiruzen sighs.

He's indeed getting old.

Plus,

he hasn't been in a fight for a long time, and he's not adapting well, leading to a rapid consumption of chakra.

However.

What Hiruzen can't understand is.

He's been fighting Sasori for so long, why hasn't anyone come to help?

Neither Danzo's Root nor the Jonin from the major clans like Ino-Shika-Cho have come. Have they all been held back by the enemy?

The shadow of a village, reduced to a lone wolf.

No choice, it seems like he has to go all out.

Hiruzen finally decides, even at a great cost, he must bring out all his strength to defeat Sasori and his puppet of the Third Kazekage.

Just at that moment, reinforcements finally arrive.

A surge of intense chakra reaction shocks both Hiruzen and Sasori, they turn their heads to look.

Whoosh.

Shisui leaps up, releasing tangible chakra from his body in mid-air, summoning the green giant, Susanoo.

In just a few seconds.

It grows from a skeletal frame to a lifelike network of muscles and flesh, holding a spiral sword, and even dons a magnificent Tengu armor.

Susanoo's third form.

Although Shisui hasn't transplanted Hashirama's cells, with Itachi's help, his abilities have been amplified, not inferior to Fugaku's.

"Shisui!"

Seeing the newcomer, Hiruzen is overjoyed.

Sasori, on the other hand, instinctively retreats because he remembers the scene where Shisui defeated Orochimaru with genjutsu, and he's deeply wary.

Coming back to his senses, he quickly manipulates the Third Kazekage to push the Iron Sand Drizzle to its limit, intending to take down Hiruzen before they end up in a two-on-one disadvantage.

Shisui, of course, won't let him have his way.

Susanoo: Pierce.

He controls Susanoo to charge towards the Iron Sand Drizzle, and raises the spiral sword in his hand, spinning it at high speed to pierce the Iron Sand barrier.

Susanoo, known as the power of the gods.

In the face of this power, even the Kekkei Genkai of Magnet Release seems so vulnerable.

Boom.

The Iron Sand Drizzle is shattered by Susanoo in an instant, then completely collapses.

Sasori is shocked, retreating with the Third Kazekage puppet.

Shisui seizes the opportunity to pursue, opening Susanoo's chest plate to reveal an orange Rinnegan.

Susanoo: Ninety-nine.

Whoosh.

Countless green chakra arrows are fired from the Rinnegan, covering Sasori.

Iron Sand Wall!

The Third Kazekage immediately condenses Iron Sand to form a solid wall in front of him, trying to resist.

But it's in vain.

Puff puff puff.

The powerful chakra arrows easily penetrate the Iron Sand Wall, as simple as poking through a piece of paper.

Is this the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan?

In Sasori's eyes, the reflection of the majestic Susanoo deeply shocks him.

Compared to such a mighty power, his proud puppet art suddenly seems insignificant.

At this moment.

This artist, doubts himself.

The next second.

Boom.

Sasori, along with the Third Kazekage puppet, are engulfed by a large number of chakra arrows, causing a massive explosion.

When the dust settles.

A huge pit with a diameter of more than ten meters appears on the spot.

Shisui dispels Susanoo and steps forward to check, finding the broken Third Kazekage puppet and some remnants of Sasori

's body.

He still managed to escape.

"Chase him!"

The few Anbu finally find a use. A sensory ninja locks onto Sasori's chakra, and they quickly pursue him into the forest behind Konoha.

Shisui doesn't personally chase, because his shadow clone's chakra is about to run out.

Therefore.

He turns around and quickly returns to Hiruzen's side, explaining:

"Hokage-sama, when the Uchiha clan received your orders, Itachi was in seclusion and couldn't leave, and Clan Head Fugaku had to lead the clan to guard against Akatsuki's attack, unable to leave the clan grounds. So, I could only...

"I came alone to provide support. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"Shisui, what are you talking about?"

Hiruzen was moved, saying with emotion, "If it weren't for you, this old man might have been done for tonight."

Shisui finally felt relieved, but then stumbled, his figure wavering.

"Shisui, what's wrong?"

Hiruzen was startled and quickly moved to support him, but saw the other person "poof" into a puff of white smoke and disappear.

So... it was just a shadow clone.

Hiruzen was taken aback.

A moment later.

Hiruzen returned to the Hokage building and immediately summoned the injured Tenzo.

"Hokage-sama, we failed. The enemy is a masked man who calls himself Uchiha Madara. Team Six was no match for him."

Tenzo, having narrowly escaped death, reported the situation of the mission to Hiruzen while bandaged and still in shock.

"What, Uchiha Madara?!"

Hiruzen was shocked and taken aback by this terrifying name.

After a while.

"Where's Kakashi?" He came back to his senses and asked.

When he learned that Kakashi had fallen under Madara's genjutsu and had his Sharingan taken, his expression became even more serious.

Hiruzen's brow furrowed.

He kept thinking, trying to see the truth behind the chaos of the night, but found helplessly—

His vision was filled with fog.

In the village.

Although the crisis facing the Third Hokage was resolved, the whole of Konoha was not. The escaped prisoners, the White Zetsu, and spies from other villages stirring the pot were still causing chaos.

On Food Street.

The brothers Fujin and Raijin, after robbing food from a shop and feasting, used their terrifying power to injure many police force members.

The people of Konoha were at a loss for what to do with them.

"Look at their eyes, they're Sharingan."

"They've been manipulated by Uchiha's genjutsu, go get Captain Hyuga."

People realized what was happening and hurried to notify the main force of the police department.

It wasn't until Hyuga Hizashi, Akimichi Chomaru, and Nara Shikaku and others arrived and joined forces, using a great deal of effort, that they managed to subdue the gluttonous brothers.

Fujin and Raijin were tied up with iron chains, the Sharingan in their eyes gradually faded, and they returned to their usual not-so-bright selves.

"What happened, brother?" Raijin asked, curiously looking at the unhappy faces of the people around him.

"I don't know, but I feel so full." Fujin said, and even let out a satisfied burp.

The two brothers laughed at each other and, having eaten their fill, fell asleep in front of everyone.

Hyuga Hizashi's gaze was sharp.

Including him, everyone present had seen the Sharingan in the brothers' eyes. Hizashi had enough reason to suspect that someone from the Uchiha was behind this.

However, the urgent task was to quell this chaos.

So, Hizashi temporarily shifted his gaze from Fujin and Raijin and ordered coldly:

"First, take these idiot brothers away and lock them up."

One piece of good news was.

The remaining White Zetsu in the village, as if they had received some kind of order, suddenly sank into the ground and retreated.

The escaped prisoners saw the situation was hopeless and scattered in all directions

, unable to stir up any more trouble.

The spies from other villages also laid low.

A night passed.

At dawn, after a night of chaos, Konoha finally restored order, preventing a larger disturbance.

But when the preliminary casualty figures came out, they were still shocking.

Hundreds dead, thousands injured, ruins everywhere in the village, smoke billowing everywhere, fires still burning.

Even the Hokage building was severely damaged in the battle between Hiruzen and Sasori last night and needed urgent repairs.

On the rooftop.

Hiruzen looked at the scarred Konoha in front of him, feeling heavy-hearted.

Danzo, leaning on his cane, came to the rooftop. Seeing Hiruzen unharmed, deep disappointment flashed in his eyes.

What a pity.

Hiruzen sensed someone behind him, turned his head and saw Danzo, immediately frowning and questioning: "The village was attacked by enemies last night, where were your people, where did Root go?"

Danzo was calm, having prepared his excuse:

"I found a lead on Akatsuki, led the elite of Root out of Konoha, and successfully repelled the enemy. Hiruzen, do you think you're the only one protecting Konoha?"

Hiruzen knew Danzo was lying, but couldn't expose his lie for the moment, so he could only snort and let it go.

Danzo, however, was invigorated, his gaze flickering, accusing Hiruzen of his faults:

"With such heavy casualties in the village, as Hokage, can you escape blame?"

"So, what do you want?"

Hiruzen stared at Danzo, seeing through his intentions in an instant.

He was still coveting the position of Hokage, wanting to drive him out.

In Hiruzen's view, the most important thing at this time was to unite all the villagers of Konoha to overcome the current difficulties.

"But some people, I'm afraid, don't think so." Danzo spoke sarcastically.

"Who are you talking about, not yourself, I hope." Hiruzen retorted lightly.

Danzo pointed directly at the distant Uchiha clan area, saying coldly:

"The whole of Konoha was attacked, only the Uchiha clan area is fine, isn't that strange? And I heard that the prisoners who escaped from the Anbu prison last night were manipulated by the Uchiha's Sharingan."

Hearing this, Hiruzen's brow furrowed.

Although he also found it strange, remembering that it was Shisui who saved him last night, he warned Danzo sternly:

"I advise you to stop focusing on the Uchiha."

Hearing this, Danzo's eyes darkened, and he turned and left without a word.

He had learned that it was Shisui who had thwarted his plans this time.

Thinking about how Hiruzen had just promoted Uchiha Itachi to Jonin out of the ordinary, and even gave the Uchiha a hundred million ryo in the name of a bounty.

Hiruzen and the Uchiha were getting closer and closer.

Danzo realized that this was not good for him, he had to do something.

So.

As soon as Danzo left the Hokage building, he ordered his subordinates to spread certain rumors, and then went directly to the police department.

Uchiha clan area.

Although Tsunade told herself to stay out of it, she eventually softened, taking Shizune and leaving the Uchiha compound.

On the streets of Konoha, injured people were constantly being carried out of the rubble and sent to the hospital.

It was said that the hospital was already full, and many

injured people couldn't receive timely treatment, leading to unfortunate deaths.

Not far away.

A large wall collapsed, burying a mother and child underneath. People tried to rescue them, but they couldn't lift the heavy debris.

Seeing this, Tsunade stepped forward.

Under the surprised gaze of the villagers, she lifted the rubble with one hand, rescuing the mother and child.

Then, she treated them on the spot, helping them escape the danger to their lives.

"Thank you, Doctor."

The villagers thanked Tsunade for her kindness.

Tsunade waved her hand, then left with Shizune. They moved through the streets and alleys of Konoha, treating one injured person after another.

However.

During this process, Tsunade unexpectedly heard some rumors.

They were saying that the Uchiha clan had orchestrated this chaos.