Chapter 467: Inexplicably Reliable

Chapter 467: Chapter 467: Inexplicably Reliable

Rumble...

The thunderous noise penetrated the thick layers of earth and reached the shelter more than a dozen meters underground.

Amid wave after wave of tremors, the rows of lights inside the shelter flickered erratically, making everyone even more restless. Fine dust also trickled down through cracks in the ceiling, causing the children who breathed it in to sneeze one after another.

Just then, another group entered the shelter.

Leading them was an elderly member of the Hyuga Clan. From his clean, unmarked forehead, it was clear that he was a highly respected member of the Hyuga Main family. Following behind him were all the elderly, women, and children of the Hyuga Clan who needed to take refuge.

Among them, the only able-bodied adult man was actually disabled and confined to a wheelchair. Yet his expression remained calm and composed, without the slightest trace of the panic or unease visible on everyone else’s faces.

Because the evacuation encompassed the entire village, the shelter was extremely crowded. The Hyuga clansmen had no choice but to disperse and find whatever space they could squeeze into.

Seeing this, Ashiho, who had entered the shelter earlier, quickly gave up his own seat and said to Hinata, "Lady Hinata, please come over. There’s a seat here."

Because of Hyuga Kagami, Shion was very close to the Hyuga Clan. With nothing much to do, she would visit the Hyuga compound every few days and had developed a very good relationship with Hinata. Thus, as Shion’s attendant, Ashiho naturally treated Hinata with great respect.

Hinata hurriedly waved her hands. "N-No... there’s no need. I can just squat over there."

"You’re the eldest daughter of the Main family. How could we possibly have you squatting off to the side!"

As he spoke, Ashiho urged Hinata into taking his seat.

After sitting down, Hinata looked beside her at Shion, who was curled up into a ball with her arms wrapped around her knees and was still trembling uncontrollably.

Confused, Hinata asked, "Shion, what’s wrong? Are you sick?"

Before Shion could answer, Naruto, who just happened to be taking shelter across from them, called out, "Do you even need to ask? One look at her and you can tell she’s scared out of her wits!"

Shion lifted her head from where it had been buried against her knees. She desperately wanted to confide in her close friend Hinata about the terrifying scenes she had witnessed in her ’Death Prophecy,’ but then she remembered Hyuga Kagami’s earlier instructions and could only force herself to hold it in.

Sasuke, who was squeezed in beside Naruto, snorted. "She’s already this scared even inside the shelter. How useless!"

Bonk...

The moment Sasuke finished speaking, his mother, sitting beside him, rapped him on the head. "Don’t be rude!"

Seeing Sasuke get reprimanded, Naruto immediately covered his mouth and snickered.

Sasuke merely muttered under his breath, "Hmph, those bad guys are way too cunning. They actually waited until Big Brother and Brother Shisui were away training before attacking the village. If Big Brother and Brother Shisui were here..."

......

Inside the former Root underground base.

Within an ornate hall, five people sat around a circular conference table.

They were the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, and Konoha’s advisory elder, Mitokado Homura.

The guards of each Kage stood behind their respective leaders.

Including the four Kage and their numerous guards, there were clearly quite a few people inside the hall. Yet at this moment, it was utterly silent. Not a single person spoke, and only the faint rumbling from outside could be heard.

The Third Hokage had been very shrewd. After inviting the four Kage to Konoha, he had truthfully explained the entire situation to them.

Although they realized that they had been used, every one of the Kage had to admit that this was an excellent opportunity to deal with the leader of Akatsuki. Thus, after a brief discussion, all four Kage agreed to the Third Hokage’s request. At the critical moment, they would strike together and assassinate Nagato, the leader of Akatsuki, eliminating the organization once and for all.

A long while passed, yet the rumbling outside showed no signs of subsiding.

Unable to hold back any longer, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, asked, "You still haven’t found a way to counter that monster?"

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, teased him in the tone of an elder, "Young people really are impatient!"

As far as Onoki was concerned, it wasn’t his village being ravaged, so naturally, he wasn’t anxious in the slightest. In fact, from his perspective, it would be even better if Konoha’s strength could be worn down a little more while they had the chance.

Naturally, Yagura wasn’t concerned about Konoha either. He had simply heard that a member of Kamigami was currently fighting the monster outside, so he was somewhat concerned about how that Kamigami member was faring.

At this point, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure also joined the conversation and asked Mitokado Homura, "Does Konoha have some kind of agreement with Kamigami that the rest of us don’t know about?"

Mitokado Homura shook his head.

The hot-tempered Fourth Raikage immediately demanded, "Then why are they helping Konoha?!"

The Third Tsuchikage chimed in as well. "Konoha must give us a reasonable explanation for this."

Mitokado Homura replied, "The appearance of a Kamigami member surprised us as well. This wasn’t part of our plan at all. According to our Intelligence Division’s analysis, it likely has something to do with the secret struggle between Kamigami and Akatsuki."

The Fourth Kazekage lightly tapped the conference table with his puppet prosthetic arm.

"Enough arguing. If we lose this battle, the Five Great Shinobi Villages will become history. Whatever disputes we have can wait until after the battle."

The Fourth Raikage gave a heavy snort and said nothing more.

The others also fell silent in tacit agreement.

......

The battle on the surface was still raging.

Since Konoha’s forces were unable to inflict any damage on Satori, they could only resort to passive defense. As a result, more and more districts were being destroyed, while the area affected by the battle continued to expand, gradually spreading toward the center of the village.

After yet another attack ended in failure, Jiraiya panted heavily as he shouted toward Kagami in midair, "Hey! Got any ideas?"

As far as he was concerned, Kamigami might be equally mysterious and impossible to distinguish as friend or foe, but for some reason, whenever its members became temporary allies, they always gave him an inexplicable sense of reliability.

Just then, a mass of black Iron Sand carrying something within it came hurtling over from the distance and landed in front of Tsunade.

When the Iron Sand dispersed, it revealed what had been wrapped inside—a man with an injury to his chest.

And this man was none other than Mui, the one who had opened the ’Box of Ultimate Bliss.’

The scattered Iron Sand gathered together once more, transforming into the appearance of Kagami’s Type-A Wind Release clone. Facing the puzzled Tsunade, it urgently instructed, "Hurry and treat him! He’s the key to dealing with this monster!"

Tsunade glanced at the injured stranger before asking Kagami’s Iron Sand clone, "Who is he?"

Just as the Iron Sand clone was about to answer, Satori in the air seemed to sense Mui’s presence as well.

Realizing something, it suddenly lunged toward them!

Kagami’s true body descended from the sky. As he dispelled the Iron Sand clone, he casually swept one hand through the air.

In an instant, countless grains of black Iron Sand converged together, forming a sturdy, pitch-black iron dome that came down over Tsunade and the injured Mui, shielding them inside.

Immediately afterward, Kagami spread the pair of black iron wings on his back and stood before the dome like an angel of the night.

Staring coldly at Satori, he declared,

"Your opponent is me!"