After a period of development and expansion, Konoha Village had grown much larger than before.
As the village's area expanded, the number of people living in it also increased significantly.
However, with so many people, completing an evacuation in a short amount of time was no easy task.
At the same time, the Sky Ninja flying in the air were rapidly approaching Konoha at an astonishing speed.
Like agile eagles, they soared freely through the sky, their speed enough to leave people stunned.
In less than twenty minutes, this incoming swarm of Sky Ninja swept over Konoha like a plague of locusts.
This attack force could be said to have come out in full strength, numbering in the thousands.
Accompanied by the piercing and shrill air raid sirens, the moment these Sky Ninja entered Konoha, they rushed straight toward the most densely populated areas without hesitation.
Not only that, while flying at high speed, they continuously dropped powerful bombs toward the ground below.
Loud explosions rang out one after another:
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The streets, which had still been relatively orderly, instantly fell into chaos.
Many people were still racing against time to evacuate, but not every villager possessed strong discipline and organization.
Some villagers were still lining up, waiting to enter shelters, hoping to find a chance to survive this sudden disaster.
The continuous thunderous explosions in the distance grew closer and closer, filling the hearts of the ordinary villagers, who had no combat ability, with fear and panic.
"Help! We're going to get blown up!"
"Everyone run!"
Shouts and cries mixed together, turning the whole scene into complete disorder.
At this moment, the Konoha ninja responsible for maintaining order stepped forward decisively.
They shouted sternly, "Everyone, stop right there!"
"Anyone who keeps running will be executed on the spot!"
Because at a moment like this, if people were allowed to run around freely, it would inevitably cause even greater chaos and trampling accidents.
So strong measures had to be taken to stop this disorderly behavior.
Just as the Sky Ninja were closing in aggressively, around the already tense evacuation groups, a group of ANBU skilled in Earth Release suddenly appeared without any warning.
"Earth Release, Earth Movement Technique!"
A series of unsettling cracking sounds rang out.
In the blink of an eye, the ground began to tremble violently, as if a giant dragon beneath the earth had turned over, collapsing downward at an astonishing speed.
The area where the nearby villagers stood rapidly shrank, as if being tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand.
The space above quickly sealed shut as well, forming an impenetrable barrier that completely enclosed the area.
At the same time, deep rumbling explosions erupted, deafening and echoing into the sky.
However, the villagers trapped within this dangerous situation were completely unharmed.
Scenes like this were unfolding one after another across many parts of the inner city.
After all, for Konoha's ninja, protecting the lives of their own villagers was always the top priority.
In contrast, the situation in the outer city was becoming increasingly chaotic.
People ran in all directions, screams and shouts rising one after another.
Faced with such an overwhelming enemy, everyone could only rely on their own strength and luck.
Whether they could survive this life-and-death disaster depended entirely on themselves.
———
At the entrance of the Uchiha clan district, crowds bustled about as Uchiha civilians were being brought inside in an orderly manner.
At this time, Naruto split into five shadow clones, sending them to various hospitals across Konoha to assist with guard duties.
Hinata wasn't idle either. Her unique Byakugan ability was proving extremely useful at this moment.
She stayed close to Naruto's main body, carefully scanning the surroundings, searching for those who were injured or unable to evacuate in time for various reasons, and escorting them to safety.
"Naruto, there's another person here!"
Hinata suddenly called out, her Byakugan constantly sweeping the area.
Hearing her call, Naruto reacted instantly, "I'm coming!"
Following the direction Hinata pointed, Naruto quickly spotted an overturned carriage, with a large amount of goods spilled all over the ground.
Although it looked like no one was there, Hinata's Byakugan had already detected something unusual.
A massive Nine-Tails chakra hand glowing with a bright red light extended from Naruto's body, easily moving the piled goods aside.
Soon, they found an injured person buried underneath, already unconscious.
Seeing this, Naruto immediately created another shadow clone.
The clone swiftly picked up the injured person and rushed toward the interior of the Uchiha district like a gust of wind.
At the same time, inside the Uchiha clan grounds, Itachi was patrolling with his younger brother Sasuke.
"Nii-san, why aren't we going out to fight?"
Sasuke asked in confusion, his eyes showing a trace of eagerness and longing.
Sasuke had also noticed the Sky Ninja flying in from outside. His eyes gleamed with excitement, and he couldn't help feeling the urge to jump into action.
However, Itachi raised his hand and lightly tapped Sasuke on the forehead, saying with mild reproach, "Do you have any way to deal with enemies in the air? Be careful you don't end up in danger yourself without taking down any enemies, and then have to rely on me to save you."
Sasuke rubbed his aching forehead, dissatisfied, and muttered, "Who says I don't have a way! I can use ninja tools to knock them down from the sky."
As he spoke, he gestured with the kunai in his hand, as if he had already imagined shooting the Sky Ninja down.
Although Sasuke was already sixteen, in front of Itachi, he always looked like a younger brother.
Seeing Sasuke's confident expression, Itachi shook his head helplessly and didn't say anything more.
Because he knew very well that even the most skilled users of thrown ninja tools among ordinary people only had an effective attack range of a few dozen meters.
But these Sky Ninja were flying at heights of at least a hundred meters, with some even exceeding two hundred meters.
At such distances, it was nearly impossible for ordinary ninja to land a successful attack.
Moreover, this was their home base. Protecting their clan members and villagers was the priority.
Right now, the most important task was to organize the villagers to evacuate quickly from dangerous areas and ensure everyone's safety.
As for counterattacking the Sky Ninja, that would have to be considered later.
Thinking this, Itachi glanced at Sasuke again, quietly reflecting.
Over the years, compared to other ninja, Sasuke had experienced far fewer setbacks and hardships.
Although he had encountered some unpleasant things recently and felt a bit of frustration, it was far from what could be called real pain.
His desire to grow stronger still wasn't intense enough.
Itachi's gaze turned strange as he looked at Sasuke. According to the clan leader's instructions, today, he would let this younger brother experience what real pain was.
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