69novels Chapter 478 The Konoha Youngsters
Chapter 478 The Konoha Youngsters
Chapter 478 The Konoha Youngsters
Outside Fushan City.
Shikamaru squatted on a thick tree branch, elbows propped on his knees, chin resting on his hands, gazing at the distant town through the gaps in the leaves.
From their vantage point, they could clearly see that the crowd pouring out of the city gate was like an anthill that had been breached, with a dense mass of people scattering in all directions.
There were men carrying bundles, women holding children, and elderly people with canes being helped along by young men.
Cries, shouts, and chaotic footsteps mingled together, carried by the wind to the edge of the forest, turning into a muffled buzz.
Above these fleeing crowds, in the northern part of the town center, several thick columns of smoke were slowly rising.
At the base of the smoke column, faint orange-red flames could be seen flickering, and sparks were swept into the air by the heat wave, flashing uncertainly in the morning light.
Shikamaru frowned.
"Kiba." He didn't turn around, his voice low. "Are you sure Naruto and Sasuke have entered this city?"
In the past, a mission involving tracking the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would have at least one Byakugan ninja from the Hyuga branch family accompanying the team.
But this time the mission was unsuccessful.
Instead, they assigned the Inu-ka family's ninja dogs as the main tracking force.
Kiba squatted on a tree branch next to Shikamaru, pressing Akamaru's head with one hand.
Akamaru's wet nose twitched wildly in the air, his small black eyes rolled around twice, then he raised his head and barked twice urgently towards the town.
"Akamaru said that Naruto and Sasuke's scents have seeped in." Kiba held up two fingers, his expression certain: "That idiot Naruto's scent is very strong, there's no mistake."
Shikamaru remained silent for two seconds.
He stared at the thick smoke in the distance, his mind racing through all the possibilities.
Urban unrest.
The samurai set out.
Thick smoke and flames.
Naruto has an excessive sense of justice, and he would never stand idly by in such chaos.
"But what exactly happened in this city?" Sakura stood up, leaning against a tree trunk, a few strands of pink hair under her forehead protector being ruffled by the wind.
She gazed at the town being engulfed by thick smoke, her eyes reflecting the faint glow of the fire, her voice tinged with anxiety: "How did things suddenly become so chaotic? What if Naruto and the others—"
She didn't continue.
"Just go down and ask!"
A green figure had already passed by her.
Xiao Li leaped down from the tree branch, using the two intersecting branches in mid-air to slow down, and then landed steadily on the bare muddy ground by the roadside, trampled by passersby.
He landed with his knees slightly bent, the impact was very light, and he didn't even stir up much dust.
But his landing still startled the fleeing crowd, who scattered in all directions.
Several farmers carrying bundles saw the ninja headband he wore as a belt around his waist and, as if struck by lightning, reflexively stepped back to the sides.
A young woman carrying a child and wearing patched clothes walked a good three feet away from him, not daring to raise her head.
An old woman on the roadside was pushed back by the crowd and stumbled a couple of steps. A stone tripped her and caused the sole of her straw sandal to slip.
She fell forward, the bundle in her hand flew out, the coarse cloth bundle unraveled, and two shriveled sweet potatoes and a chipped earthenware bowl rolled out.
The bowl landed face down with a crisp sound, but it didn't break.
Xiao Li swiftly stepped forward, bent down, and supported the old woman's arm, steadily helping her up from the ground.
"Grandma! Are you alright?" Xiao Li's voice was full of energy, but he bent over in front of the old woman and deliberately lowered his voice.
The old woman raised her head, her thin, dry hands gripping Xiao Li's arm tightly.
The wrinkles on her face resembled cracks in a parched rice paddy, and beneath her skin, covered in mud and sweat, veins bulged.
When she saw the headband on Xiao Li's waist, a visible fear flashed in his cloudy eyes. His lips trembled, and he stammered out a few words: "Ninja-sama ...
At this moment, Shikamaru had already led the others down from the tree.
Choji still had a potato chip in his mouth that he hadn't finished chewing, Ino and Sakura stood side by side, and Shino silently lagged behind.
Tenten placed one hand on the scroll at her lower back and the other hand in front of Kurama Yakumo, keeping her within her visible protective range.
Shikamaru walked over to Lee but didn't urge him. He simply stood two steps away with his hands in his pockets, listening quietly.
"Grandma, do you know what happened here? Why is everyone running away?" Xiao Li still held the old woman's arm, his voice very gentle.
The old woman caught her breath, loosened her grip on Xiao Li's arm with her withered fingers, and bent down to pick up the sweet potatoes scattered on the ground.
Xiao Li quickly picked up the sweet potato, then picked up the chipped earthenware bowl, wiped the dust off the bottom of the bowl with his sleeve, and stuffed them back into the old woman's hands.
The old woman's hands trembled, and her eyes reddened slightly, but she only shook her head vigorously.
"I don't know what happened either," she said, clutching the chipped ceramic bowl as if it were her last valuable possession, her voice hoarse. "Everything was fine until suddenly all of Lord Fukuyama's soldiers came out of the castle—and they killed anyone they saw."
She raised her thin, bony hand, pointing towards the direction where thick smoke was rising in the distance, her fingernails filled with dirt: "They didn't just kill those who fled here, they even killed those who originally lived in the city. My neighbor next door, who has difficulty walking and can't run fast, was caught right at her own doorstep—by two mounted warriors, one in front and one behind—her son stood in front of her, and he was also slashed—"
She couldn't continue.
A middle-aged man carrying a tattered bundle and with his trousers rolled up to his knees stopped beside them, wiped the soot from his face, and said in a gruff voice, "Grandma Yuanye, stop talking, run! I heard they're fighting like crazy over there, with fire and smoke everywhere. If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
The old woman shivered, hastily wrapped the sweet potato and earthenware bowl into her bundle, bowed deeply to Xiao Li, and was then pulled by the wrist by the middle-aged man into the flow of refugees. Her hunched back was quickly swallowed up by the rushing crowd.
Shikamaru pulled a hand out of his pocket and pinched his chin with his fingers.
His gaze followed the old woman's retreating figure for two seconds, then he pieced all the fragments together in his mind.
The nobles dispatched troops to suppress the refugees who were gathering in the towns.
Naruto and Sasuke happened to be in the city, but was it really a coincidence?
Given Naruto's intolerant nature and his tendency to intervene in injustices, combined with Sasuke's cold and decisive style, the likelihood of them intervening when noble armies suppress civilians is extremely high.
If one of the two makes the first move, the other will inevitably follow suit.
If intervention were to occur, it would not be surprising if clashes broke out with the local samurai, causing chaos throughout the city.
"It seems Naruto and the others might have gotten involved." Shikamaru lowered his hand and stuffed it back into his pocket.
"What a troublesome pair of idiots." He sighed. "Kiba, can Akamaru still pinpoint their exact location?"
Ya tilted his head and glanced at Akamaru. Akamaru's ears twitched, and he tapped his nose twice in the direction of the town.
"No problem, the smell is very fresh, it's from just now," Tooth nodded and said.
"Very good." Shikamaru had already made up his mind. He turned around, faced the crowd, and quickly issued instructions in a calm voice.
"Our primary goal remains to find and attempt to bring Naruto and Sasuke back. However, the situation inside the city is unclear and extremely dangerous."
Everyone, stay alert, operate in small teams, and look out for each other.
"Team 10, stay with me in the center; Team 8, Kiba, Shino, Sakura, scout on the left flank; Support Team, Lee, Tenten, Yakumo, provide cover on the right flank."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces.
"Pay close attention and report any dangerous situations immediately."
"Yes!" The others nodded in agreement.
Xiao Li was the first to leap up, and he bounced all the way up to the top of the city wall.
The others followed suit.
After landing on the city wall, everyone was able to see the scene inside the city.
It was even more shocking than what was seen outside the city.
Corpses lay scattered throughout the streets, most of them civilians, their blood staining the dirt road a dark red.
Many houses were belching black smoke, and some were still burning.
Cries and shouts of fighting came from all directions of the town, but the most intense fighting seemed to be concentrated in a certain block near the castle.
Following Shikamaru's plan, the nine people split into three small groups and moved quickly across the rooftops, avoiding large groups of people running around and scattered armed men, and approaching the central area where the commotion and the smell of blood were strongest.
But the closer you get to the town center, the thicker the smoke becomes, the brighter the flames, and the chaotic screams roll over like a pot of boiling porridge.
Suddenly, the red ball on the top of the tooth sniffed hard, grabbed the tooth's head with its two front paws, and barked twice urgently in the northwest direction.
Kiba pointed towards the deepest part of the thick smoke: "Shikamaru! Over there! Akamaru said the smell is very close!"
"Let's go." Shikamaru's heart tightened, and he gestured for everyone to slow down and approach carefully.
After passing through a stone wall, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
Before me lay a street enclosed by houses on all four sides.
Then everyone saw it.
Dozens of archers lay sprawled on the rooftops of this neighborhood.
Some lay on their backs with a dent in their chests from the impact; others were curled up on the tiles, their wrists twisted at a clear fracture angle; some had their bowstrings broken, their bow arms split in two and lying nearby.
Judging from the intermittent groans and coughs, they were all still alive, but none of them could stand up and draw their bows.
And the people who caused all of this are now scattered throughout the entire street.
Hundreds of orange-clad figures.
They were all wearing the same orange jackets, they all had messy golden hair, and they all wore Konoha headbands on their foreheads.
Some of them punched the samurai in front of them away, some piled two or three together to drag the mounted samurai off their saddles, and some grabbed the samurai by the ankles and lifted them upside down to throw them against the wall.
Within the encirclement of these hundreds of Naruto shadow clones were armored samurai whose numbers outnumbered theirs several times over.
The warriors formed a battle formation, with swords and shields in the front row, spears in the back row, and light cavalry on both flanks providing support.
On the side of the street, a group of musketeers holding iron cannons were frantically loading gunpowder.
The problem is that their opponents don't care about casualties at all. They use punches, knee strikes, and headbutts in a completely chaotic way. Any samurai who swings his sword to cut down a shadow clone will find that before the white smoke has even dissipated, another shadow clone has already reappeared behind him and knocked him down with a sweeping kick.
None of the shadow clones used kunai or shuriken; they all used only their fists and legs.
Most of the warriors who were knocked down were unconscious or had their limbs broken, rendering them unable to fight, but none of them suffered fatal injuries.
"This, this is—" Ino covered her mouth, looking at the absurd yet exciting scene below, unsure of how to comment.
"It's the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—Naruto's chakra reserves are still ridiculously high." Shino pushed up his sunglasses and analyzed calmly, but there was a hint of unease in his eyes behind the lenses.
"And—he didn't kill anyone," Choji said in a muffled voice, his tone complicated.
Shikamaru's gaze quickly swept across the chaotic battlefield and landed on the roof of a relatively well-preserved two-story shop not far away.
There, two figures stood quietly.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out first, her eyes instantly filled with a complex mix of emotions—surprise, excitement, and worry.
I finally saw him again, albeit under these circumstances.
Hearing the shout, Sasuke on the roof turned slightly to the side, revealing half of his cold and handsome profile.
He did not respond.
He merely glanced indifferently in the direction where Shikamaru and the others were, his eyes cold and detached, as if he were looking at a group of unrelated strangers rather than his former classmates and companions.
Shikamaru's attention, however, was drawn to the long-haired boy next to Sasuke, who wore a white clan uniform, had a low black ponytail, and possessed a calm demeanor.
His pupils contracted slightly, and he whispered, "Hyuga Neji—"
As the young head of the Nara clan, Shikamaru had contact with the heirs of various clans from a young age.
He naturally recognized Hyuga Neji, who was once hailed as a genius of the Hyuga clan, and the undisputed top student of the previous Konoha Ninja Academy.
However, Hyuga Hizashi later led some members of the branch family to defect from Konoha, and Neji also disappeared.
During the Chunin Exams, Neji came to Konoha as a member of the Land of Stars delegation. Although they did not fight, Shikamaru could sense the more restrained yet dangerous aura emanating from Neji, aura that had been tempered and refined over time.
It is said that Neji was already a special Jonin in the Land of Stars.
At this moment, Neji appeared here, standing side by side with Sasuke, calmly watching Naruto's battle below. His stance and purpose were self-evident.
"As expected—there's backup. This is even more troublesome." Shikamaru's heart sank.
The situation was worse than he had anticipated.
Not only will they have to face the town in chaos and Naruto's potential rampage, but they will also have to deal with their allies from the Land of Stars.
Sasuke's attitude was also clearly off.
On the rooftop opposite.
Neji crossed his arms over his chest, his Byakugan piercing through the layers of smoke, clearly capturing Shikamaru's slightly accelerated heart rate and more tense body posture.
He knew that Shikamaru had figured it out.
"Naruto really is just like what Menma-sama said," Neji said calmly, withdrawing his gaze.
Sasuke didn't turn his head, but merely tilted his chin slightly: "What do you mean?"
Neji raised his chin at the dozen or so Naruto shadow clones below who were still punching a mounted samurai.
"Master Menma once said that Naruto is like the protagonist in a traditional shonen manga. No matter how hateful the enemy is, as long as the opponent is unable to fight back, or is not a pure monster, his innocent principle of not killing will emerge."
"Even though these samurai had just participated in the massacre of civilians and their hands were stained with the blood of innocent people, Naruto, in his rage, still chose to subdue them rather than kill them."
"This respect for life, or rather—its rigidity—is a weakness at times, but at other times, it may be precisely its most unique charm."
Neji's evaluation was neither positive nor negative.
Sasuke frowned.
He hadn't noticed this detail before.
Only after Neji pointed it out did he start counting the fallen samurai again.
Some of the people lying down were howling with their arms wrapped around their arms, some were rolling on the ground with their heads covered, and some were tied up like dumplings and thrown in the corner, but everyone's chest was still rising and falling.
There were many fractures and knife wounds, but none of them were fatal.
Naruto faced hundreds of fully armed adult samurai alone, using over a hundred shadow clones, yet still failed to kill anyone.
Sasuke's mind flashed back to the mission in the Land of Waves, where Naruto seemed to always just knock out those vicious wandering samurai.
At the time, he thought Naruto was just being kind-hearted, but now he realizes that it might have been some kind of unwavering belief deep in that loser's bones.
"That idiot," Sasuke muttered under his breath.
Then, Sasuke drew his ninja sword from his lower back, and his three-tomoe Sharingan was fully activated, with a crimson light slowly flowing around it.
"Shikamaru brought eight people. I'll go and hold them off. You take Naruto and go first."
"No need." Neji shook his head.
He didn't move, but simply glanced around with his Byakugan, his gaze finally settling on the rooftops of the houses behind Shikamaru and the others, which were half-hidden by thick smoke.
"You don't think I'm the only one coming to meet you, do you?"
"What?" Sasuke was taken aback.
A gentle breeze swept across the street, parting a corner of the thick smoke.
"Oh no!" Shikamaru also noticed something was wrong at the same time.
Before he could sound the alarm, a purple light rose from the ground.
Then, purple light curtains rose up in the other three directions as well!
Four purple flames erupted from the four corners of the block, extending straight upwards, and then connected with each other in an instant, forming a huge square barrier that enveloped the rooftop where they were, along with Naruto and the hundreds of samurai who were still fighting below.
The purple flames flowing along the rectangular barrier wall silently rolled with heat waves, and when the edge licked the roof ridge, the tiles instantly turned to ashes.
"Four Purple Flame Formation!!" Shikamaru exclaimed in disbelief.
"What?!"
"A barrier?!"
"When?!"
Dingci, Xiaoli, and the others suddenly looked around, their expressions changing drastically.
In each of the four corners of the "Four Purple Flame Formation," there was a figure over two meters tall, draped in a black cloak.
Four humanoid battle puppets are arranged in a square at the four corners of the barrier, and chakra flows from their bodies to the barrier wall, creating a perfect closed cage.
On the outermost rooftops, a fifth puppet silently patrolled, its crimson light band slowly sweeping across the street below from beneath its hood.
Between the two puppets, two figures slowly approached, stepping on the roof tiles, and stood on the left and right sides of the roof within the barrier.
The older boy was shirtless, his medium-length white hair swaying slightly in the wind stirred up by the flames.
Kimimaro draped his kimono over his waist, stretched his neck, making a soft "crack" sound, and flipped his palms over, revealing two pale white bone spurs that slowly emerged from his hands.
On the other side, Otsutsuki Toneri's robes fluttered in the wind, and another group of black-clad puppets emerged from the smoke of the scroll, lining up in a row on the roof behind him.
The crimson light nodes in the puppet's eye sockets lit up.
Kimimaro looked down at the Konoha ninja below.
Let's finish this quickly.
>