Law-abiding Villagers, Fearful of the Third Hokage's Immortality

"I say, it's about time you let me go, right?" Naruto complained while kicking his legs in mid-air.

"You're so annoying, brat!" said the Anbu agent. "If you keep talking, I'll cut out your tongue."

"Then go ahead, ah~" Naruto stuck out his tongue, deliberately provoking him.

"You're asking for it!"

With that, the two reached out to grab Naruto's head. However, Naruto was not idle. He drew his sword from the sealing space and slashed at the two of them.

Originally, he planned to drag the two into the sealing space and let the Nine-Tails eat them, since any ninja who wasn't too powerful would hardly stir up trouble once inside the space. But considering his consciousness needed to enter with them, for safety reasons, he gave up on that idea.

Drawing his sword, the Wind Blade followed closely behind.

The two Anbu ninjas jumped in opposite directions, but the next second, Naruto threw a Flying Raijin kunai, switching positions, and slammed molten lava into the face of the Anbu ninja who had already been exposed.

The feeling was even more intense than eating instant noodles with a sour taste.

The other Anbu ninja, surprised by Naruto's brutality, was momentarily stunned by his companion's skeletal face. That one second gave Naruto the opening he needed.

He threw three kunai, one of them a Flying Raijin kunai.

Using the same trick again, Lava Style—Great Face Technique!

A scream echoed before being abruptly silenced as the life faded.

---

Sakura pushed through the crowded people, gritting her teeth as she chased after the Anbu agents carrying Naruto out of sight.

But for some reason, the more she chased, the more people blocked her path.

It seemed that all the spectators in the arena had the same face, and the road to the stands seemed endless. Sakura only felt a chill ahead and cold beneath her feet.

The noisy crowd disappeared entirely, and she collapsed to the ground, almost breaking down.

"Sakura, wake up, Sasuke's here."

A familiar voice woke her up. Sakura suddenly opened her eyes and saw Naruto squatting on the ground with a playful grin.

"Looks like Sasuke-sama is still the reliable one..."

Before she could finish speaking, Sakura suddenly hugged Naruto tightly and began crying loudly. Listening to her long-suppressed sobs, Naruto was completely confused, and his shoulder quickly became soaked.

Looking up, he locked eyes with Ino, who was behind Sakura, struggling to break the genjutsu and wake up. Naruto immediately felt embarrassed.

"I'm going to find Chōji," Naruto said, handing Sakura over to Ino before running off.

Chōji was asleep in the crowd, and when Naruto woke him up, he clearly hadn't yet processed what was happening.

"The Anbu ninjas? Where are they?"

"What Anbu ninjas? You must be mistaken."

Naruto coughed, helped Chōji up, and pointed to the purple barrier on the highest stands and the audience, who were all asleep.

"Chōji, the enemy's here."

"Enemies!" Chōji's chubby body suddenly jerked awake. "Where's Shikamaru?"

"Right next to you," Naruto pointed at the boy lying on the ground wearing a fishing jacket.

"Why aren't you helping Shikamaru break the genjutsu?" Chōji hurriedly ran over and shook Shikamaru desperately. "Shikamaru, wake up! The enemy's here!"

"Because I can't break genjutsu," Naruto squatted beside them and complained.

The order in the arena had already collapsed. Ninjas from Sunagakure and Otogakure had infiltrated the entire village. The spectators in the stands were all hypnotized by genjutsu. The Hokage's viewing platform at the top had been covered by a purple Four Purple Flames Formation barrier, isolating the Anbu Hokage guards outside.

The Hokage was taken hostage, and a large number of Sunagakure and Otogakure ninjas were rushing toward them.

Inside the arena, Jonin Might Guy and Kakashi had just arrived with Sasuke. Konoha's collapse plan had come ahead of schedule, and Gaara was still in full health. Now, the only ones able to move freely were the lower-ranked ninjas.

"Shikamaru!" Chōji called as he shook Shikamaru.

"Damn it! Stop shaking me! Are you serious?" Shikamaru grabbed Chōji. "I don't want to get involved! I'm not going!"

Chōji: "....."

Kakashi flashed into the area and knocked away several incoming kunai. He glanced at Naruto and then at Sakura, who was coming, and summoned his ninja dog Pakkun. With a serious look, he spoke.

"Team 7, emergency assembly, A-rank mission, prevent Gaara from Sunagakure from destroying the village."

Lee, Neji, and Tenten soon arrived, and Gai issued orders for the support forces to protect Konoha and intercept the enemies. The Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, and Yamanaka Shino from the Red Team had already been assigned to reconnaissance duties.

Asuma didn't come, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Chōji were assigned by Kakashi to a mission to protect the nobles of the Land of Fire. The new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had a special status in Konoha, and since they weren't his direct disciples, Kakashi couldn't assign them to any too dangerous missions.

"Move out!" Kakashi and Maito Gai ordered in unison.

The lower-ranked ninjas split into several directions and disappeared in a flash.

Might Guy's taijutsu team was indeed powerful—each one of them was a monster. Lee, who had unlocked the Eight Gates, Neji with his absolute defense, and Tenten, a weapons master. For veterans like them, assisting Chūnin in stopping the enemies from entering the village would not be too difficult.

"Kakashi, isn't Team 7's mission too dangerous?" Might Guy asked while spinning and kicking an Oto-ninja with a Leaf Whirlwind, his back to Kakashi.

"Well, I'm well aware of my students' abilities," Kakashi replied lazily. "Anyway, I believe they've already become excellent Genin and will be able to work together to complete the mission."

---

"Is your curse mark alright?" Naruto casually asked as they rushed forward.

"Yeah." Sasuke responded coldly.

Sakura didn't speak, following closely behind them. The emergency mission was not easy for her. This was a real life-or-death battle, and she instinctively cleared her mind of distractions, focusing all her energy.

The forest around them grew denser, and suddenly Pakkun, the ninja dog following them, sniffed the air and complained to Naruto.

"Kid, why do you smell so strongly of blood?"

Sakura froze, as if recalling something. She had been under a genjutsu earlier and was half-awake, forgetting to ask Naruto how he had escaped from the two fake Anbu agents.

"Me?" Naruto sniffed his clothes as he ran. "I don't smell anything."

"Do you have a nose like mine?" Pakkun's forehead twitched with annoyance.

"Ah, the two Anbu who tried to grab me were fighting each other, and I just watched them for a while," Naruto made up a story casually. "There are really a lot of crazy people these days."

"Hey, you should at least make the lie sound believable. Don't you feel guilty deceiving your seniors?" Pakkun glanced at the blonde boy.

"That thing called a conscience? I don't have one, now shut up," Naruto complained.

"Hey, the village's in that state, the Third Hokage won't die, right?"

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