Even Buddha has wrath, let alone humans. It's merely a matter of threshold.
Sunagakure, no, even many in Konoha now, knew Karura was a gentle person.
She didn't become sad when encountering sorrow but grew stronger. She'd smile and let go of things that angered ordinary people. Her gentle face always wore a smile, healing hearts from afar.
With such a personality, conflict was nearly impossible.
"It must be Konoha's doing."
An upper-ranking Shinobi in the meeting room clenched his fist indignantly. Others echoed his anger.
Ryuji's expression was also grave.
This was obvious, needing no reminder.
Why Karura conflicted with someone wasn't important. What mattered was this incident occurring on the delegation's final day, giving Konoha an excuse to detain the entire delegation.
Yes, the entire delegation, not just Karura personally.
A simple statement of 'the Suna delegation is suspected of involvement, requires investigation' would suffice.
Ryuji took a deep breath, closing his eyes in thought.
After about a minute, he opened them. A sharp light flashed in his black eyes. "Notify everyone: prepare for combat. The worst outcome is fighting our way out of Konoha."
Hearing this, the meeting room erupted.
Though everyone anticipated this possibility, facing it now still caused unease.
They were in another village's territory, with vastly inferior numbers.
Moreover, regarding individual strength, Konoha, as the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, wouldn't lose to them.
They couldn't see how to win.
"Silence!"
Ryuji shouted, a vast aura emanating from him.
The room instantly quieted, everyone looking at their leader at the head.
"This scenario was anticipated before coming to Konoha. Plans were made accordingly..." Ryuji scanned the room, ensuring everyone listened, then continued, "Though Karura's incident introduced an unexpected variable, preventing me from guaranteeing everyone returns alive, I can guarantee over eighty percent."
"Ryuji-sama, you jest," a guard captain accompanying them stood, saying, "We're all Shinobi, prepared to die on missions long ago. We were just momentarily flustered by the sudden severity."
Others chimed in, expressing similar sentiments.
"In that case, everyone prepare. Get ready to fight our way out after retrieving our people."
"Yes!"
The meeting adjourned. Sunagakure's members returned to their rooms to prepare weapons, armor, and soldier pills.
Three minutes later.
Over forty people assembled in the courtyard before the main house.
Everyone wore Sunagakure's vests, kunai pouches strapped to their thighs, large shuriken or long swords on their backs.
The twenty-plus miscellaneous Genin carried giant repeating crossbows, with quick-reload quivers on their backs.
These were specially crafted by Ryuji for them.
If Konoha prepared to break the agreement, how could he not prepare earlier?
These giant repeating crossbows auto-loaded bolts via magazine, firing six short arrows per trigger pull. One magazine held twelve volleys. The alloy-infused bow bodies had excellent elasticity, allowing arrows to penetrate tree trunks as thick as a soccer ball.
Besides crossbows, Ryuji equipped them all with explosive shuriken, 'Thousand Purple Ten Thousand Red' pellets, and other lethal weapons.
Even perpetual Genin possessed considerable combat power with this gear.
Seeing the confident, high-spirited Sunagakure's members, Ryuji nodded in satisfaction. "First, to the commercial street to retrieve Karura. Then to the hospital for Yashamaru and others. If anyone obstructs, show no mercy. Kill on sight."
"Kill on sight!"
The group roared in unison, forty-plus voices carrying the force of hundreds.
"Move out!"
Ryuji waved his hand, leading the way.
Aka, Gin, Kuro, and Kana followed closely. The four guard captains with their teams followed a step behind, with the Genin arrayed behind them.
The group marched with purpose, arriving at the main gate in moments.
Outside, a group of Shinobi in green vests had been waiting.
They halted, drawing weapons, confronting the Konoha's Shinobi. The atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Ryuji's cold eyes swept over them… roughly two to three hundred. The leader was a stern-faced young man in a green vest, somewhat familiar, though Ryuji couldn't immediately place him.
Pressed for time, Ryuji didn't dwell on it, asking coldly, "What is the meaning of this?"
The young leader stepped forward, serious. "Ryuji-dono, Karura of your Suna delegation caused a disturbance on the commercial street, causing significant damage to the village, violating Konoha's law. I suspect other delegation members are involved. Please cooperate with our investigation. If you are innocent, we will apologize accordingly."
'See? Just as predicted.'
Ryuji sneered, countering, "And if we refuse to cooperate?"
"Then we can only proceed by the book."
The young leader's voice turned sharp. His black eyes turned blood-red, three tomoe slowly rotating within.
Sunagakure's Shinobi under that gaze felt immense pressure, lowering or averting their eyes.
But Ryuji, Gin, Kuro, and Aka were exceptions.
Not only unafraid, they stared back directly, contempt unconcealed.
"No wonder you looked familiar. It's you, Uchiha Fugaku."
As he spoke, Ryuji's gaze swept behind the leader.
Among the crowd, about twenty revealed Sharingan. Those without also emitted oppressive auras.
"The Police Force's elite, all deployed." Ryuji's gaze returned to Fugaku, sneering. "But even so, it's insignificant. I'd like to see how you 'proceed by the book'."
Fugaku wasn't surprised Ryuji knew his name.
Though only in his early twenties, he already possessed Elite Jonin strength, earning the moniker 'Wicked Eye Fugaku' in previous wars.
While not as universally known as the legendary Sannin, he was a feared presence on the battlefield, so noticed by other villages is unsurprising.
Hearing Ryuji's follow-up, he remained unmoved, crossing his arms, expression stern. "If you refuse cooperation, we'll have to use force to ensure it."
With that, he waved his right hand.
Police Force subordinates streamed forward, preparing to enter and arrest, utterly disregarding Ryuji and the others.
To them, the Sunagakure's delegation trapped in Konoha was fish on a chopping block, to be dealt with as they pleased. With such overwhelming disparity, this group wouldn't dare resist.
But reality often contradicts expectations.
As the Police Force rushed the gate, over twenty Sunagakure's Shinobi surged forward from behind, positioning themselves before Ryuji.
They held giant repeating crossbows, arranged in two rows.
The front row knelt on one knee, the back row stood. Without exception, both rows aimed their crossbows at the approaching figures, sharp arrowheads glinting coldly in the sunlight.
Konoha's members' hearts sank, sensing trouble.
"Scatter!"
Fugaku's eyes blazed crimson, shouting at his advancing comrades.
But it's too late.
As his warning sounded, Sunagakure's Genin squeezed their triggers one by one. The clicking of mechanisms rang like death knells.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
A dense rain of short arrows blanketed the Konoha's Shinobi.
And those rushing forward Konoha's Shinobi... Arrogant from the start, believing Sunagakure wouldn't resist, they held no respect for their opponents, lacking proper vigilance. Thus, when the Genin with crossbows appeared, they failed to react.
By the time Fugaku's warning registered, pulling them from their stupor, they faced an arrow rain without gaps.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!!!!!
Short arrows mercilessly pierced Konoha's Shinobi's bodies. Blood sprayed like fountains from dense wounds, then they silently collapsed.
Before this future Uchiha Clan's compound's gate, corpses quickly piled up. Blood flowed like a mountain stream, a horrifying sight.
"How dare you..."
Fugaku's eyes bulged with rage, but before he finished, he saw the Sunagakure's Genin pull reloading levers, aiming cold arrowheads at them once more.
Chill rose in his heart. Intense danger made the battle-hardened youth sweat.
Twang! Twang! Twang!!!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
Crossbow strings thrummed again. Another arrow rain descended.
But prepared Konoha's Shinobi weren't so easily handled.
Several experts among the group charged forward, instantly forming seals. Multiple tall walls rose before the crowd.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!!!
Arrows embedded halfway into the walls, unable to advance further. The walls, riddled with arrows, cracked and crumbled.
Kill! Kill! Kill!!!
As if a battle signal, the moment the walls collapsed, both sides charged at each other.
To prevent Sunagakure from using crossbows again, Konoha split into two groups. One, fifty strong, charged the gate. The other, over two hundred, hurled shuriken and kunai from behind.
Though each threw limited numbers, with so many, even one per person created a barrage.
But it was useless.
Two accompanying guard captains rushed forward.
Wielding massive iron fans, they swept them fiercely at the enemy. A gale suddenly descended, scattering kunai and shuriken, even toppling the charging group.
Not satisfied, they swung their fans again.
[Wind Release: Wind Murder Formation!]
A storm rose with the fans' motion. The two Jonin infused Chakra into the wind, creating vacuum currents enveloping the fifty charging Shinobi, unleashing indiscriminate slicing attacks.