Chapter 93: Aoba's Purpose

After hearing from the Great Toad Sage at Mount Myoboku that he could no longer see the future, Jiraiya went through a period of uncertainty. However, he eventually found his purpose again and, upon receiving word from Konoha's Anbu, hurried to arrive just in time.

The Toad Boss, Gamabunta, appeared and instantly crushed the large, mindless snake that had been wreaking havoc.

This victory greatly boosted Konoha's morale, while the Sand shinobi, facing Jiraiya, had little ability to resist.

According to the plan, Jiraiya was supposed to confront their strategic weapon, the tailed beast. But for some reason, although the tailed beast had appeared, they found it missing when they entered Konoha.

It was utterly baffling!

After swiftly dealing with the threat on his side, Jiraiya headed to his next destination.

In truth, he was most concerned about the old man.

Having worked alongside Orochimaru for many years, Jiraiya understood him well and could even guess his purpose in returning. So, he set off for the arena first.

However, he didn't notice Yumi watching him from a small, inconspicuous courtyard in Konoha.

Yumi hadn't joined the battle, instead setting up a temporary treatment center with Sakura. Numerous injured shinobi and civilians were being brought to Aoba's house nearby.

Here, Yumi and Sakura had established a temporary shelter. The Konoha Hospital was already overwhelmed with patients.

Moreover, the hospital had been a primary target, suffering heavy damage early in the assault. The medical facilities were largely in ruins.

Thus, Yumi and Sakura's makeshift shelter quickly became the preferred choice.

Initially, most shinobi doubted these two young kunoichi, but when Sakura demonstrated her mastery of the Mystical Palm Technique, all skepticism faded.

Most of the injuries were external wounds, and the Mystical Palm Technique was the ideal method for treatment. Remarkably, both Yumi and Sakura seemed tireless, with chakra reserves appearing endless as they healed hundreds of people without pause.

Seeing Jiraiya rushing toward the arena, Yumi re-entered the house.

Inside, Hidan was waiting eagerly.

"Do you remember all the details?"

"Yes, perfectly."

"Good. This is Aoba's order. Now, begin."

"Understood." Hidan grinned with excitement before disappearing from the room with a Body Flicker Technique.

Jiraiya's pace was slower than usual, as there were battlefields all along the way. Although Konoha was strong, they had been caught off guard by the enemy's surprise attack, and many areas had fallen. The Konoha forces were fighting hard but were somewhat overwhelmed.

This was partly due to Konoha's lack of high-end combat power.

Figures like the White Fang, the Sannin, the Fourth Hokage, and even the Uchiha clan—any of them could have turned the tide.

Now, with only Jiraiya left, he was stretched thin.

Hidan, on the other hand, had no such concerns. His mission wasn't to save Konoha.

He quickly approached the arena. His goal was to intercept Jiraiya. But Jiraiya was moving more slowly than expected, so when Hidan arrived, he didn't find Jiraiya but rather two secondary targets.

Outside the village, Aoba's battle with Shukaku had reached a fever pitch.

Among the nine tailed beasts, Shukaku wasn't the strongest nor the weakest but was somewhere in the middle.

With Shukaku trapped in the Swamp of the Underworld, Aoba could have severely injured or even killed him using Lightning Release: Flash. However, he decided against it.

For one thing, tailed beasts exist somewhere between energy and matter. Given their massive size, fully killing them would be highly complicated.

And even if they were killed, they would eventually revive in a few years, causing more trouble.

But more importantly, Aoba wasn't here to kill the tailed beast.

Enraged, Shukaku condensed a Tailed Beast Bomb while trapped in the swamp. Aoba had no intention of trying to block it.

Even in Sage Mode, this attack was far too dangerous.

In fact, to Aoba's knowledge, only the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, could face a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on with his Wood Human Technique.

With enough chakra, Aoba poured more energy into the Swamp of the Underworld, causing Shukaku to sink even deeper.

As Shukaku lost his balance, the Tailed Beast Bomb angled off, blasting a nearby mountain into rubble.

Aoba felt a shiver as he watched. If Shukaku had launched it downward, his only option would have been to escape using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The advanced Flying Thunder God Technique used by the Fourth Hokage to teleport a Tailed Beast Bomb was far beyond his current ability.

Dodging the Tailed Beast Bomb, Aoba leapt onto Shukaku's head.

Two scrolls appeared in his hands. Unfurling them into a cross shape, he placed them on Shukaku's head.

Shukaku sensed something was wrong and thrashed in anger, trying to shake Aoba off.

Aoba steadied himself, pressing his right hand onto the intersection of the scrolls.

"Energy Absorption Seal."

This was a special sealing technique, originally designed to absorb and seal an opponent's chakra.

Due to its limited practical value, it wasn't widely known. But Aoba had enhanced it, preparing special scrolls and infusing them with his chakra to maximize its power.

He intended to use this seal to steal Shukaku's chakra.

Tailed beasts possess enormous chakra reserves, enough to be sensed even from a distance. But Aoba wasn't interested in this ambient chakra.

This chakra was merely an outer manifestation. The true essence of a tailed beast was a portion of the Ten-Tails' chakra divided by the Sage of the Six Paths.

The Sage had sealed the Ten-Tails' body in the moon and split its chakra into nine parts, creating the nine tailed beasts.

This was why the Akatsuki sought to capture tailed beasts, not because the Ten-Tails needed their power to be revived, but because each tailed beast was a part of the Ten-Tails itself.

What Aoba wanted was the core essence hidden within the tailed beast, the portion of the Ten-Tails' chakra that made them immortal.

Chakra could be accumulated by tailed beasts far beyond what any hundred ninja could produce, but that was just chakra.

What Aoba was doing was akin to cutting off a piece of Shukaku, and he was cutting it right from the heart.

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Currently on Chapter 134 - Obito Attacks