Chapter 19: The Entire Village Mobilizes - Danzo, You've Made a Big Mistake!
Seeing Captain Terai's panic, the Root members who had arrived to support him quickly whispered, "Captain Terai! Stop asking pointless questions and take action! We need to kill Natsuhane before anyone else arrives!"
"No matter how strong he actually is, we have the advantage in numbers. If we attack together, we can definitely find an opportunity to kill him!"
Terai snapped back to reality, "You're right!"
Without hesitation, they launched an attack.
At this point, there was no turning back. The commotion was already massive, and they had nothing left to lose. The priority now was to kill Natsuhane as quickly as possible.
In the next moment, kunai flew through the air like a torrential downpour, all aimed at Natsuhane.
Natsuhane quickly formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A massive stone wall erupted from the ground beneath his feet. This wasn't just any wall—it was gigantic, towering as high as a multi-story building. The incoming kunai seemed like tiny pebbles against it.
"Oops, didn't control it again. This chakra is really hard to manage!" Natsuhane muttered to himself.
He had little talent in chakra control, but it didn't matter. With an absurd amount of chakra in his body, he could afford to be reckless!
"Hey! Who are you guys? In broad daylight—no, moonlit night—you dare attack me right here in Konoha Hospital and on the streets? Answer me! Why are you all standing there dumbfounded? Cat got your tongue?"
The thirty-plus Root ninjas stood frozen, unable to speak. They were in utter shock.
This wasn't the Earth Flow Wall they were familiar with! It was even larger than the high-level summoning technique Rashomon!
If the earlier fireball gave them a glimmer of hope that they could fight Natsuhane by combining their strength, the sight of this colossal Earth Flow Wall shattered that hope completely.
"Unbelievable, this defies all logic!"
"Run! We can't deal with this! Natsuhane must have invoked some deity!"
For the first time in their careers, they felt despair, their eyes filled with disbelief as they instinctively retreated, trying to flee.
But it was too late.
The commotion had already alerted various clans and factions within the village. Their first reaction was to think it was an invasion, and they quickly arrived at the scene.
The first to arrive was the Inuzuka Clan's night patrol unit.
Next came the temporary security force led by Morino Ibiki, with his subordinates in tow.
The security force had originally been managed by the Uchiha Clan. After their massacre, Morino Ibiki's interrogation unit temporarily took over.
Simultaneously, other ninja clans and some jonin also arrived.
In just a minute, almost all the high-ranking combatants in the village appeared, including the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.
Morino Ibiki scanned the scene, shouting, "What's going on? Who dares to be so brazen in Konoha? Uchiha Natsuhane? What are you doing here? And what's with this wall?"
Before Natsuhane could respond, a security team member quickly reported to Morino Ibiki, "Captain! We've found a group of unidentified ninjas below. Our men and other jonin who arrived have surrounded them!"
Morino Ibiki's brow furrowed. "Be careful. This giant stone wall and the huge fireball in the sky might be their doing. They must be extremely powerful!"
Natsuhane jumped to Ibiki's side and said, "They're trying to kill me!"
Ibiki was stunned. He knew Natsuhane's abilities well. The idea of a 30-strong ninja squad openly infiltrating Konoha just to kill someone who wasn't even a jonin was hard to believe.
"Kill you? Are you serious?"
Natsuhane shrugged innocently, "Why would I lie? Aren't you the expert in interrogation? Just capture them and question them one by one."
Asuma Sarutobi, wielding his chakra blades, shouted, "You unidentified invaders, who sent you? What's your purpose in Konoha?"
Might Guy added, "Tell us the truth, or we'll show no mercy!"
Kakashi Hatake said, "Don't resist. Causing trouble in Konoha means you can't escape!"
Hiashi Hyuga added, "Are you from the Cloud Village again, trying to steal our Byakugan? If that's the case, I won't hold back this time!"
Surrounded by numerous jonin and the security forces, Terai and the other Root members were filled with regret.
"Damn it, we can't even escape now!"
"Captain Terai, what should we do? Should we fight our way out?"
"Idiot! What's the point of fighting our way out? The mission has failed. You know Lord Danzo's methods. We'll die either way. It's better to just end it ourselves and avoid being tortured!"
Inuzuka Hana, observing their unusual behavior, shouted, "They're trying to commit suicide!"
Shikaku Nara knelt on one knee, forming his unique hand seal, "Don't worry! I anticipated this. I won't give them the chance!"
"Shadow Imitation Technique!"
Shikaku's shadow split and extended, merging with the shadows of the "invaders."
"Quick, capture them! I can only maintain control over 30 people for half a minute with my chakra!"
Choza Akimichi said, "Good job, Shikaku! Half a minute is enough!"
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
Choza's arms expanded rapidly, wrapping around the "invaders," preventing their escape.
Other ninjas and security team members quickly moved in, binding everyone securely.
Konoha's efficiency was unmatched.
In less than five minutes, the "crisis" was resolved.
Nearby villagers who had gathered to watch cheered and praised their ninjas.
This should have been a moment of celebration, but two individuals wore dark expressions.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.
As the two pillars of Konoha's leadership, they should have been the first to issue orders and resolve the crisis. But from start to finish, they remained silent, brooding.
Hiruzen turned his head slightly, glaring at Danzo with an expression that seemed to say:
"Danzo, you've caused a disaster! Didn't you say we could trust your Root division? Look what happened! Not only did you fail to kill the target, but the entire village witnessed this mess!"
Danzo, sensing Hiruzen's gaze, twitched slightly.
Though his subordinates were captured, Danzo wasn't worried about the interrogation department's torture methods. Every Root member had been implanted with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. Anyone with the intent to speak about Danzo would be immediately paralyzed and unable to move.
What concerned him was the presence of the Yamanaka Clan's leader, Yamanaka Inoichi.
Inoichi, the head of Konoha's analysis team, possessed the secret Mind Reading Technique, allowing him to directly read thoughts. If he participated in the interrogation, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal would be useless.
"Hiruzen, you must cover for me. If our secrets are discovered, we're finished..."