The Third Hokage's reaction was strange. He didn't move when the Temple of Nirvana Technique was used, and he didn't intervene when Special Jonin Namikaze Raidō, who was beside him, was attacked and stabbed three times by a Kunai.
He was even calmer when the Sound Four used the Four Violet Flames Formation. Once the barrier was fully erected, he calmly asked the "Fourth Kazekage" what was wrong.
Then, the fifty-year-old woman embraced the seventy-year-old man and began to talk about private matters that outsiders shouldn't hear.
The woman yawned and said she was a little sleepy.
The man said he had an extendable adamantine staff and asked if she wanted to see it.
Seeing them discussing matters of length, depth, and shallowness, the Sound Four were very perceptive. Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, they each created a small barrier, clearly showing a strong desire to survive and remembering their role as tools, not wanting to hear those fatal words.
Taking advantage of the Chunin Exams, the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Sound Village sent a large number of Ninja. They disguised themselves as civilians and merchants, but now, they all shed their disguises and launched attacks within the Village.
At the same time, outside the Village, a joint Ninja army formed by the two Villages had gathered.
With attacks from both inside and outside, the originally peaceful Konoha Village instantly became engulfed in war. The Village's patrol routes, secret sentry posts, and other intelligence had long been secretly passed out by Kabuto.
At this moment, the Ninja allied forces outside the Village were unstoppable, breaking through one defense line after another. The Village was in a critical situation, and places like the Ninja Academy and Konoha Hospital quickly organized personnel for evacuation.
Kakashi took many ANBU Ninja, Might Guy and Lee went to train, and Asuma and Yuhi went to watch a movie. Some Jonin and Special Jonin at the competition venue tried to rescue the Third Hokage, but they were all stopped by Hidden Sand Village Ninja and Hidden Sound Village Ninja.
Baki, a Jonin from the Hidden Sand Village, was quite fierce, single-handedly blocking the combined attack of two ANBU Ninja.
Many Chunin and Genin were affected by the Temple of Nirvana Technique, and most of the Jonin were not at the scene, causing the entire Konoha Village's Ninja command system to fall into disarray.
With a loud roar from One-Tail Shukaku, its violent Chakra swept across the battlefield, and the Third Hokage's voice came from within the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"You don't need to worry about me; focus all your efforts on rescuing the civilians and guests from various countries."
The few Special Jonin who were present all felt their livers tremble as they looked at One-Tail Shukaku.
Fear was certainly present, but when duty called, they had to act. How was the Nine-Tailed back then? A large number of Ninja still rushed forward one after another to stop it. Konoha Ninja are commendable for their willingness to sacrifice.
The key was the wrong timing; there were simply too many civilians present.
Some believed that the Village's residents should be rescued, while others thought that the dignitaries from neighboring countries should be saved first.
Coupled with the lack of command, the scene became particularly chaotic.
Whether for public or private reasons, Shiranui Genma, as the referee, had to step up and confront the Tailed Beast.
He was the closest; if he didn't go, who would?
He wanted even more to lure the Tailed Beast out of the Village, so he was currently attacking it with all his might.
Ino didn't know how it had come to this. With her butterfly wings flapping wildly, it now seemed even more chaotic than the original Konoha Crush plan.
In the original timeline, Shukaku didn't appear in the center of the Village. This was now equivalent to a weakened version of the Nine-Tailed Demon Foxs Attack, wasn't it?
Seeing that Naruto, Sasuke, and Shiranui Genma seemed about to fight One-Tail Shukaku, she chose to temporarily avoid them.
Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, who had no parents, no friends, no wives, and no children, she had a large family.
One choice was to charge up and confront the Ichibi head-on; the other was to protect her family. She definitely chose the latter.
Two Hidden Sound Village Ninja fiercely lunged at her. Ino cut them into four pieces with a Water Severing Wave, not even glancing at them, and grabbed Hinata's hand to run.
On the way, she handed Hinata over to her father, Hyuga Hiashi, and rubbed Hanabi's little head. Everyone had a tacit understanding, nodded, and quickly evacuated the scene.
Ino quickly reunited with Inoichi and Rino.
Yamanaka Rino was different from Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto; the latter two were Jonin, while Rino was just a Chunin and hadn't fought anyone in over a decade.
The family of three killed more than ten people, then regrouped with a large number of Yamanaka Clan, Nara Clan, and Akimichi Clan Ninja.
Afterward, they quietly made their way to the Nara Clan's medicinal herb base outside the Village.
The Ino–Shika–Choji Ninja gathered, and everyone first arranged for the elderly, weak, women, and children.
Rino, Shikamaru's mother, and Choji's mother all went to the Nara Clan's underground shelter for temporary refuge. There was also a secret passage below, allowing for escape if the Village fell.
The Village had corresponding protection mechanisms, but the Ninja clans also had their own arrangements. At this time, they trusted their own abilities more.
Ino was pounding the Jinchuriki on the ground; no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't be counted among the elderly, weak, women, and children.
Rino gave her a few instructions, and she followed Inoichi to attend the meeting. Shikamaru nodded to her, and before long, Choji also arrived.
For these Ninja clans, family came first. The Village? The Village could only be second.
Shikaku had the strongest sense of belonging to the Village, but he couldn't ignore family interests either.
At this time, foolishly rushing out to fight the enemy to the death? Don't be ridiculous! Of course, the priority was to protect one's family; everything else could be dealt with later.
The Hyuga Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Aburame Clan, and even the Sarutobi Clan all did the same. They had to protect the elderly, weak, women, and children in their homes, as these people were the foundation of the clan.
The clan heads of the three families were discussing in low voices. Ino didn't care about the image of a cun hua, sitting there pouring and drinking for herself. Shikamaru was yawning, having been hastily woken up, and was still sleepy.
Choji, seeing Ino drinking and the adults not saying anything, his small eyes darted around twice, then he also pulled out potato chips and started munching on them.
The Ninja from the three families continuously gathered information from various sources.
"Clan Head, Lord Third did not summon the Ninja clans to participate in the battle."
"Clan Head, the Anbu and Root Ninja did not participate in large numbers, and the two Advisors and Lord Danzo have not appeared."
"Clan Head, the Hyuga Clan members are all gathered at the main family estate for defense."
While there was fighting to the death outside, the Nara Clan side was very peaceful.
The clan heads of the three families listened to reports from the main seats. Ino and the other two younger ones could only sit below, waiting for orders, ostensibly to "learn."
Even Shikamaru and Ino had little say in this setting, let alone the chubby young master, Choji.
The Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Sound Village's attack routes were very clear; they didn't attack these Ninja clans, or even the large shops and banks. Their forces were all deployed at the arena, clearly indicating a decapitation strike.
Ino–Shika–Choji had decided to continue supporting the Third Hokage, but they couldn't just jump into the fray.
Shikaku understood the principle that it's better to offer help in times of need than to add to what is already abundant.
Moreover, if the Sarutobi Clan Ninja hadn't even moved, why should Ino–Shika–Choji be at the forefront? There was no logic to that.
"Wait a little longer." When a Nara Clan Ninja, brainwashed by the will of fire, requested to fight, he directly ordered them to wait.
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