Chapter 61: Weakness and Powerlessness

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Weakness and Powerlessness

Kakashi then revealed another piece of news.

"The main force of Iwagakure has already assembled along the border of the Land of Grass, so we need to end this conflict with Kumogakure as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if Iwagakure senses an opportunity, they could intervene at any moment."

Conflicts between the Five Great Shinobi Villages were never isolated affairs.

Now that Kumogakure had launched a surprise attack against Konoha, Iwagakure was bound to respond once they received the news.

And as word continued to spread, Sunagakure and Kirigakure might make moves of their own as well.

But none of that was something Team Eleven needed to concern themselves with right now.

Shisui asked solemnly, "In other words, the safety of the village depends on our mission?"

Kakashi nodded.

"If we fail, the village could be placed in an extremely unfavorable position. The horrors of the Third Shinobi World War could repeat themselves."

Guy showed neither fear nor discouragement.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!"

As Kakashi folded up the map, he said calmly, "I’ll carry out the final assault. The three of you only need to cover me."

On the battlefield within the Land of Fire.

In his partially transformed state, Killer B effortlessly blocked Choza Akimichi’s Expansion Technique. With a sweep of his eight tails, he sent Choza flying violently to the side.

Immediately afterward, Killer B spoke in his strange, rhythmic cadence.

"Yo, Yoh! Why’d Konoha only send guys like you?"

Across from him, Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka could only look helpless.

In their eyes, Killer B, who could coordinate perfectly with the Eight-Tails, was nothing short of a monster. Even with all three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation working together, they could only barely hold him back.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the other battlefields and seeing that Konoha was at a disadvantage everywhere, Shikaku couldn’t help but grow anxious.

"Why hasn’t Lord Jiraiya arrived yet? A monster like this isn’t something ordinary shinobi can handle!"

Not far away.

Hyuga Hizashi was breathing heavily as he stared intently at the black-haired Kumogakure shinobi standing before him.

The man was none other than Aida, a Storm Release shinobi and the deputy commander of Kumogakure’s invading force.

Before Hizashi had arrived, two entire squads of Konoha shinobi had already fallen at Aida’s hands. If Hizashi hadn’t managed to hold him back, the nearby Konoha shinobi would likely have suffered the same fate.

Aida gave a vicious grin.

"You’re no match for me!"

Hizashi didn’t argue.

Instead, he silently considered how to deal with his opponent.

Storm Release was a combination of Lightning Release and Water Release. It possessed both the destructive power of Lightning Release and the fluid control and versatility of Water Release.

Combined with the fact that Aida was an experienced elite jonin, the Storm Release techniques he unleashed were incredibly difficult to defend against, making him a particularly bad matchup for a taijutsu-type shinobi like Hizashi.

Glancing at the faintly exposed Caged Bird seal on Hizashi’s forehead, Aida curled his lips disdainfully.

"What a shame you’re from the branch family. Otherwise, I could’ve added a pair of Byakugan to my collection."

Hizashi’s expression immediately hardened. He adjusted his forehead protector, completely covering the Caged Bird seal.

Aida’s casual remark had inadvertently struck at the deepest wound in his heart.

On another battlefield in the distance.

In her fully transformed state, the Two-Tails’ jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, was virtually unstoppable. The entire battlefield had become a stage for her to unleash her chakra without restraint.

At that moment, eight Konoha shinobi shouted in unison,

"Earth Style: Earth Prison Dome!"

Enormous earthen walls rose from every direction before suddenly closing together, completely trapping Yugito’s Tailed Beast form inside the earthen prison.

"ROAR!"

Before the surrounding Konoha shinobi could even breathe a sigh of relief, Yugito let out a deafening roar.

Still in her Tailed Beast form, she effortlessly smashed through the Earth Prison Dome and swiped a massive claw toward the Konoha shinobi.

With a single swipe of her claw, six or seven Konoha shinobi were torn apart on the spot. Even those who managed to escape were wounded.

"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"

"Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"

The remaining Konoha shinobi no longer dared to conserve their chakra and immediately unleashed a barrage of ninjutsu.

BOOM!

Countless techniques crashed into Yugito’s Tailed Beast form, yet they failed to injure her in the slightest.

Yugito opened her mouth and spat out several enormous masses of flame.

In an instant, the surrounding forest was consumed by fire, and every Konoha shinobi nearby was swallowed by the sea of flames.

"Cough... cough..."

The sole surviving Konoha shinobi, grievously wounded, coughed up blood as he spoke bitterly.

"If the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails’ jinchuriki were still alive, you people would—"

Before he could finish, Yugito crushed him beneath her claw.

With a cold snort, she said,

"Too bad they’re already dead!"

Tsunade’s departure from the village.

Orochimaru’s defection.

The unexpected deaths of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails’ jinchuriki.

The consequences of this entire chain of events finally erupted in full force at this moment, right here within the Land of Fire!

Faced with Kumogakure’s two perfect jinchuriki, Konoha displayed a degree of weakness and powerlessness it had never shown before.

Meanwhile, on Team Eleven’s side.

After several days of travel, the four finally crossed the Land of Hot Water and entered the Land of Moon.

The Land of Moon bordered the Land of Lightning and served as an important buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. Konoha and Kumogakure had fought several massive battles here over the years.

As a result, Konoha had a thorough understanding of the terrain.

Using the highly detailed maps drawn by the Intelligence Division, the four members of Team Eleven managed to cross the Land of Moon without incident and arrived at the border of the Land of Lightning.

At the border, Kakashi stood atop the branches of a tall tree and gazed toward a distant valley.

"It should be over there!"

Hyuga Kagami focused his gaze in that direction. After observing for a moment, he shook his head.

"There are a large number of sealing formulas arranged throughout the valley. They’re interfering with my Byakugan’s reconnaissance, so even I can’t determine exactly how many Kumogakure shinobi are inside."

Kumogakure had years of experience fighting Konoha.

Naturally, when fortifying important facilities, they took the reconnaissance abilities of Konoha’s dojutsu kekkei genkai shinobi into consideration and prepared corresponding countermeasures.

Kakashi wasn’t too disappointed.

He calmly said, "Then we’ll proceed according to plan. You three will draw away the guards on the perimeter. I’ll carry out the final attack."

Guy hurriedly spoke up.

"But—"

Before Guy could finish, Kakashi cut him off.

"I’m the captain. That’s an order. Carry it out!"

Shisui looked at Kakashi, then turned toward Hyuga Kagami, seeking his opinion.

Guy also turned toward Hyuga Kagami.

As far as he was concerned, if there was anyone in Team Eleven who could persuade Kakashi, it could only be Kagami.

Kagami rested one hand on his hip while the other settled on the hilt of Kusanagimaru at his waist.

He asked calmly,

"Kakashi, I only have one question. Are you confident you can pull it off?"

Kakashi answered without hesitation.

"Of course I am. Don’t worry. I’ll meet up with you at the extraction point!"