Chapter 92: In the Name of the Shadow

"Hokage-sama..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't open his eyes and remained lying on the bed. "What's the matter?"

"Lord, Moon God has appeared, just outside the village."

No sooner had the Anbu finished speaking than the door was opened.

Hiruzen had just fallen asleep. If he were an ordinary person of his age, he would have been bleary-eyed and sluggish. But he was different. As the "Professor of Ninjutsu" who was still at the tail end of his prime, Hiruzen's physique hadn't deteriorated significantly yet.

He stood at the doorway. Though not tall, he exuded a massive aura of oppression. The small old man who smoked a pipe during the day was gone, replaced by a war behemoth ready to pounce!

The Anbu subordinate gulped and instinctively lowered his head. "Who saw him?"

"Returning to you, Hokage-sama, it was Kotsu Inuzuka."

"With his intuition and sense of smell, unless under a high-level genjutsu, he wouldn't mistake it." Hiruzen paused, then said softly, "Send an urgent message. as fast as possible, gather all the heads of the Konoha clans, the elder advisors, the Anbu captains, and Tsunade at the location of the barrier team."

"Yes!"

The Anbu disappeared. Hiruzen stood alone at the doorway, gazing distantly at the Hokage Rock.

"Hiruzen..."

His elderly wife, Biwako Sarutobi, approached him from behind, concern evident in her voice. "Call Jiraiya or Orochimaru back."

"No need. The matters at the frontlines are more important, and..." Hiruzen turned and smiled at his wife. "I'm just old, not useless."

He donned his battle gear.

...

Barrier Team.

In a few minutes, one after another, the big names appeared here: Uchiha, Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho, Koharu Utatane, Tsunade...

The barrier team members on duty dared not breathe loudly, pretending to focus on their work while sneaking glances at these high-ranking individuals.

Soon, Hiruzen, dressed in his Hokage robe, entered.

"Shigeyoshi Yamanaka," he called out the name of the shinobi on duty. "Any unusual activity?"

"Hokage-sama, nothing so far."

"Open the outer perimeter of the barrier; don't just monitor inside the village."

"Understood."

"Hiruzen," Koharu Utatane frowned. "Expanding the barrier's monitoring range requires a massive amount of chakra. Are you sure they can handle it?"

"Don't worry, Koharu," Hiruzen said calmly, but then his voice became serious as he addressed the room. "Outside the village, we've discovered Moon God's whereabouts."

The atmosphere in the room froze.

Before anyone could say anything, the barrier team shinobi shouted, "Hokage-sama! Something's appeared... a strong source of chakra! At two o'clock from the village gate!"

On the spherical miniature barrier model, a jumping ripple continuously resonated, spreading wave after wave across the entire sphere.

When a genin-level chakra passes through the barrier, it only causes tiny ripples.

But now, a massive force, completely different from an ordinary shinobi's, appeared outside the village without any concealment.

Such arrogance...

What is he doing with this level of chakra reaction? Is he using that terrifying ninjutsu? Or something even more shocking?

But no matter what, the man known as Moon God, who gouged out Byakugan and slaughtered Konoha shinobis, is an enemy. He wouldn't come here at night just to release chakra for fun.

"Hiashi, Fugaku, take some of your clansmen and follow me. Tsunade, stay in the village. Ino-Shika-Cho..."

Hiruzen quickly selected a group of people, leading a high-quality combat force out of the village while ensuring enough defense.

Finally, the Third Hokage gave a calm order: "If anything happens to me, everyone here should remember, for the Fourth Hokage, I favor... Orochimaru to succeed!"

As Hiruzen said this, he sighed inwardly.

It's a pity. If only it were two years later, Minato would have been... but luckily there's Orochimaru. He's more suited to be a leader than Jiraiya or Tsunade.

Without hesitation, Hiruzen left the barrier team, and those selected followed. Various shinobi clans, the Anbu, and renowned Jonin all sent a portion of their forces out of the village with the Hokage.

They ran through the night and quickly arrived at the place where the chakra had erupted.

In fact, from a kilometer away, Hiruzen could see what was happening.

A man wearing an oni mask stood in the sky. Behind him, two invisible giant serpents intertwined, using repulsion and attraction to separate the soil and casually tear the underground rock layers. The forest, losing its soil, broke and fell in patches, the rising dust seemingly covering the moon.

"Yo, good evening, everyone in Konoha."

Yuto rested his chin on his hand, smiling at everyone. "Please do not disturb me."

"Aizen Sōsuke, what are you planning?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at the mysterious man high above.

"There's something I want beneath this land."

"Does it concern Konoha?"

"Of course... it does."

"Then, there's nothing more to say."

Hiruzen bit his fingertip and pressed it to the ground. A strong, two-meter-tall monkey appeared, white-haired and bearded, staring coldly at Yuto. "Sarutobi, his chakra... tsk, it's terrifyingly strong."

"Sorry, every time I call you out, it's to face such troublesome opponents."

Hiruzen used the Summoning Technique again, placing a giant shuriken on his back. "He's an extremely dangerous man. In the name of the Hokage, I must kill him."

In the next moment, he threw the giant shuriken.

Ninjutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

Boom boom boom boom—

Thousands of giant shuriken appeared in the air, covering the sky, filling the space within a hundred meters, each one capable of shattering rocks.

Yuto's pale blue eyes narrowed, his ocular power surged, repulsion enveloping his body, blocking all the incoming shuriken.

Boom!

A long staff pierced through the air. As the shuriken were all blocked, it shot up from the ground, aiming for Yuto's chest.

"So fast..." The branch family boy's half eye caught this vicious and cunning attack. He placed his hand on his chest, pressing the nearly hundred-ton weapon, halting its advance.

King of Monkeys, Enma, was an exceptionally strong and rare summon, not only capable of human speech but also able to perform ninjutsu, even transforming into the "Adamantine Staff," freely changing its length!

For a shinobi, intelligence is life. After Yuto's previous rampage, Hiruzen could formulate a countermeasure based on that information.

By not using ninjutsu but first forcing him to use repulsion with the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, and then attacking with the Adamantine Staff, leveraging the difference in attack strength to disrupt Yuto's defense balance!

At this moment, Hiruzen stepped on the Adamantine Staff, using it as a bridge to charge up.

As fast as the Lightning Body Flicker Technique!

"Hand-to-hand combat... I can fly, you know." Yuto smirked, intending to distance himself again, but before he could move, two hands extended from the Adamantine Staff, gripping his wrist tightly.

—Secret Technique: Enma's Hands!

(End of Chapter)