Several days later.
The New Year Festival, the liveliest holiday of the year, was fast approaching.
Prosperous districts like Tea Street and Ryuto Street had long since finished their decorations, with lanterns, colored banners, and fresh flowers adorning both sides of the roads.
The gorgeous decorations extended all the way to Konoha's shrine and the Memorial Stone, where the style finally shifted.
On the streets of Konoha, the traffic of carriages and horses had noticeably increased.
"Sakura, aren't you going out for a stroll on a holiday like this?"
"Mm, I have plans with Ino. I'll be heading out in a bit."
Sakura Haruno was cross-referencing her notes and books, writing things down in another notebook.
A moment later, Ino's shout came from outside.
She immediately put her things away and ran out of the house, but the two of them didn't go shopping. Instead—
They took a turn toward a nearby training ground.
On the street, Naruto was dragging Sasuke along, chattering incessantly when suddenly... "Ah! Wait, I need to go to the bathroom!"
"You idiot!"
Sasuke let out a long sigh, feeling annoyed and helpless.
After waiting for a while, Naruto walked out looking exhausted. Before he could take more than a few steps, his expression suddenly changed: "I have to go to the bathroom again!"
"Idiot! I'm going to train!"
Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. Leaving those words behind, he went off to train on his own.
However.
Before he had gone far, his eyes suddenly narrowed. He took out a shuriken and used its reflection to observe the situation behind him.
Someone was tailing him?
Sasuke frowned, but he didn't stop. Instead, he sped up slightly, acting as if he were just exercising or jogging.
After running for a while, he gradually reached the vicinity of the training ground, a relatively secluded area.
Sasuke intended to hide and see who these people were.
Just then—
A sudden commotion broke out inside the forest.
"Who are you people?"
That voice... "Sakura!"
Bang!
A loud explosion echoed from within the forest.
Sasuke's heart tightened, but he didn't make a sound. Instead, he quietly moved toward the source of the noise.
It was Sakura Haruno and Ino.
Peering through the gaps, he saw that Sakura was being held by the throat, while Ino had been kicked away.
The explosion just now was a signal flare.
Standing before them were two men dressed as noble retainers, but from their fierce posture and the half-buried objects nearby... they were clearly not good people.
There was no time!
Sasuke held his breath and focused, scanning the area. He quickly came up with a plan.
He took out a handful of shuriken.
The next second—
Swoosh!
A sharp whistle rang out.
A signal flare rose into the air and exploded, forming a conspicuous warning sign.
The two men in the forest were about to move to kill Ino and Sakura when Kunai and shuriken suddenly shot out from the trees.
Up in the branches, Sasuke used his fingers to manipulate the shuriken and Kunai, directing them toward the two attackers.
Manipulated Shuriken Technique!
Below, seeing this, Ino immediately threw out a steel wire, snagging the foot of one of the enemies.
She quickly ran toward a tree.
However—
The enemy suddenly exerted force, and she couldn't hold onto the wire. It even sliced a wound into her palm, causing blood to flow incessantly.
On the other side, one enemy swatted away the Kunai and shuriken while the other rushed quickly toward Sasuke's position.
But before he could get close, all the Kunai and shuriken ricocheted and collided, and through the manipulation of the thin wires, they quickly changed direction to hem him in.
Sasuke's goal wasn't to kill, but to delay!
But—
Swoosh!
The enemy suddenly accelerated, his hands forming seals, and a large amount of Chakra seemed to be brewing in his mouth.
He's a Ninja!
Sasuke's breathing quickened. Realizing things were bad, he immediately threw three smoke bombs.
Smoke filled the entire forest.
But in the next second.
A gale erupted, blowing away all the smoke in an instant and blowing Sasuke right off the branch.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Fortunately—
He immediately used a Kunai and wire that hadn't been cut to grab a distant branch, using the leverage to buffer his fall. He landed without injury.
At the same time, however, the enemy's blade followed closely, arriving before his eyes in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke's eyes widened, filled with anxiety.
Dodge!
I can't die here!
Dodge!!
At that moment, a pair of tomoe surfaced in his eyes.
The next instant—
Whoosh!
Sasuke's hands formed seals, instantly creating two or three clones. In the cross-movement, his figure blurred, and he evaded that strike.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino had also recovered.
The two of them fled.
Sasuke formed seals with his hands, turned, and spat a huge fireball from his mouth.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!
The massive flames blanketed the entire forest, covering the area where the two had been standing.
But soon... a gale howled, and special wings unfolded from the backs of the two figures. Riding the wind, they flew upward, evading his Great Fireball.
Just then—
Swoosh! Swoosh!
In the sky, several strange birds dove down, aiming directly for the wings on their backs.
The moment they took flight, the strange birds crashed into their wings.
The two crashed to the ground.
The next second, snakes swarmed out from the forest, completely submerging them.
Seeing this scene, Sakura and Ino were stunned. It wasn't until the enemies were being strangled by the snakes and wailing, and ink continuously exploded... that they finally reacted.
The two looked at each other, mustered their courage, and each threw a Kunai over.
Though it didn't do much, it did indeed assist in killing the enemies.
Inside the forest, Sai let out a breath.
It was a success!
He leaned against a tree, catching his breath, when a voice suddenly rang out.
"It's you!"
Sai looked down to see Sasuke looking up at him.
Sai remained silent, then gave a slight bow.
In the next moment, he vanished among the treetops.
Sasuke clenched his fists, a deep sense of irritation and unwillingness welling up inside him.
He hadn't expected that the one tailing him and stepping in to help would be the transfer student, Sai.
The other's strength exceeded his expectations.
"Too weak!"
"Sasuke, you're too weak! Like this, how could you possibly kill that guy?"
He felt hatred and anger.
But before Sasuke could think further, signal flares began to burst one after another in the distance.
Following that—
Boom!
Loud explosions echoed from various parts of Konoha.
He looked up into the distance and saw seven or eight figures high in the sky, soaring over Konoha like birds.
They were dropping explosive Ninja Toolss, destroying Konoha's houses and streets.
Sasuke understood instantly.
Those two just now were with them!
"Quick, hide!"
..."Hokage-sama, please go to a safe place. I'll handle things here!"
On the rooftop of the Hokage Building, Inoichi Yamanaka urged.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and looked at the sky: "I will remain here. You go deal with them—take them all down!"
"But..."
Inoichi Yamanaka hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Yes!"
He used Body Flicker to rush forward.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the sky, his face carrying anxiety and a strange expression.
A short while later—
A faint sound came from behind.
An earthen wall suddenly rose from behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Swoosh!
A Wind Blade pierced through the earthen wall, directly hitting the person behind it, but that Hiruzen Sarutobi turned into a puddle of mud at that moment.
"You came after all."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed softly, a deep sense of regret on his face. "Danzo, using Sunagakure's Wind Blade, you can't hurt me at all!"
The enemy, dressed as a Sunagakure Anbu, said nothing, merely throwing another Wind Blade.