Chapter Sixteen: Detonation Effects (Part 1)

Konoha, inside the Hokage's office.

A shinobi belonging to the Konoha's Intelligence Division was briefing the Hokage on the latest developments at the front lines.

"At present, the conflict between Konoha and Amegakure has essentially concluded. Both sides are in a state of silence and ceasefire. Amegakure's leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, seems willing to discuss terms for peace. We believe they will send envoys to Konoha soon."

This was good news. After a moment of consideration, the Third Hokage replied, "We'll accept the ceasefire with Amegakure. Inform the front-line command not to attempt any further incursions into Amegakure territory. Strictly focus on defense. If Hanzo indeed sends envoys for peace negotiations, let them pass."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"As for our conflict with Sunagakure, the front line is currently under the command of Lady Tsunade. While we're still outnumbered, we've transitioned from defense to offense. The battlefield has shifted from the Land of Fire to the Land of Rivers, gradually approaching the border of the Land of Wind."

"Very well," the situation with Sunagakure was improving too. Sunagakure faced threats not only from Konoha but also from Iwagakure, thus its war potential was strained.

Following Konoha's strategy, they were resolving the war in a sequence: west, then north, and finally east. The primary target was Sunagakure. Consequently, three defensive lines were established.

Currently, only the Sunagakure direction was attempting to launch an offensive, while the other two lines remained in a defensive posture.

Of course, due to the formidable pressures of Kumogakure and Iwagakure in the north, Konoha had deployed substantial forces in that direction. With two powerful enemies to face, Konoha occasionally mounted counterattacks. As for the direction of Kirigakure to the east, they were in a strictly defensive position.

Just as the Third Hokage was about to speak again,

"Boom!"

An explosion, not particularly loud, more like the sound of a giant grunting, resounded abruptly. During times of peace, such a sound might not have been concerning, but now, during a tense war period, nothing was insignificant. This sound could potentially signify an intrusion into Konoha.

The Hokage stood up from his seat abruptly.

"What's happening?"

Four ANBU guards stationed outside the office instantly appeared before the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," at this moment, the same intelligence shinobi from earlier pointed to a shelf with various scrolls displayed.

There was an upright scroll that suddenly caught fire for unknown reasons. It quickly turned into ashes, followed by two scrolls beside it, even though they weren't in direct contact.

The Hokage's gaze briefly touched the numerical coding beneath the scrolls. He immediately said to the ANBU operatives, "Konoha's Barrier, Sector Fifty-Nine."

Rewind a few minutes back in time.

"Anyway, let's move back a bit first, and then a bit more. The extent of this jutsu's effect is still unclear, so we need to ensure our safety," Kushina instructed Kenji.

"Understood, Kushina-sensei." Actually, even without Kushina's instructions, he had no intention of observing this experimental jutsu at close range. He valued the second lease on life he'd just received.

Both of them kept retreating, moving farther back until they reached the surface of the lake. At this point, they were about three hundred meters away from the scroll. This was already the limit; any further, and the scroll would exit Kushina's chakra communication range.

"Are you ready? I'm about to begin," Kushina looked at Kenji. Her hands were poised, ready to form seals at any moment.

Kenji nodded; months of labor were about to be put to the test. Kushina's hand speed was a basic requirement for a Jōnin. Her hand movements began almost instantly after Kenji nodded, and then just as quickly stopped.

Kenji was quite capable himself, his unblinking gaze locked onto the scroll. He watched as a spherical blackhole, rapidly expanding, enveloped everything around the giant scroll at its core. This blackhole expanded outward.

"Not good, run!" Seeing the dangerous expansion speed of this phenomenon, it might soon encompass where Kenji stood.

However, after taking only a couple of steps in retreat, Kushina grabbed him.

"Calm down, it's already over."

In Kushina's eyes, the spherical blackhole rapidly expanded to a radius of 200 meters. It remained in this state for two or three seconds before, along with everything within its bounds, being drawn back to the center.

Then, just like that, the blackhole disappeared, much like a soap bubble popping.

Disappeared without a trace? How could that be? When the blackhole had appeared, it had formed a spherical black mass with a diameter of 200 meters. Half of it lay above the ground, and the other half below. Let's not even talk about the portion above; the underground section had formed a standard hemisphere-shaped depression.

The sound of rushing water filled the air as the lake began rapidly flooding into the large depression.

"The experiment succeeded." Gazing at the scene before him, Kenji calmly spoke. It was as if the person who had turned to run a moment ago wasn't him.

"Yes, the sealing jutsu experiment was a success, but we're in big trouble," Kushina whispered.

Indeed, she was facing a headache once again.

Due to the fear that this immature experiment might lead to malicious consequences, they had intentionally chosen the outskirts of the Konoha village as the test site, right against the village's barrier. However, since the Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu had proven quite effective, this was an irreversible and unsealable sealing jutsu. Not only had the sealed items disappeared, but even the scroll bearing the jutsu itself had vanished.

This explanation implied that the Konoha village's barrier, which was within the range of the Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu, had been damaged to a considerable extent.

Originally, there had been nothing in mid-air, but now, it revealed a transparent and translucent glass-like structure with a hole in it.

Undoubtedly, this large dome-shaped barrier had suffered partial damage due to the Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu.

Well, let's hope that it's only partially damaged, not completely destroyed.

Kushina and Kenji stood on the surface of the water, lost in thought.

And then, the Third Hokage, along with four ANBU operatives, arrived on the water's surface.