Chapter 220: Where's Danzo?

Seeing how the situation had developed, Hiruzen Sarutobi was so furious he could have killed Danzo on the spot.

This guy had previously assured him with complete confidence!

But now, Danzo had been utterly useless.

"Danzo... he's still outside the village, gathering a group of people to intercept the forces from the Hidden Cloud Village!"

Koharu Utatane hesitated for a moment before speaking up in defense of Danzo.

They were part of a long-standing "Iron Triangle" alliance; this conflict couldn't be allowed to destroy their unity.

"Hmph!"

Hiruzen glanced at Koharu, immediately realizing she was covering for Danzo.

However, arguing about it now was pointless. The priority was to repel the enemies surrounding Konoha.

Only after driving them back could they hope to rebuild the village.

"Homura, what should we do now?"

Homura Mitokado, too preoccupied with the crisis, quickly asked.

Matters concerning Danzo were trivial; solving the immediate problem was crucial.

"First, have the villagers evacuate. Then, mobilize all available shinobi to defend the village."

"Konoha has never retreated. The Hyuga Clan should lead the remaining forces to stop the Tailed Beasts."

"Your clan's reserves shouldn't be kept back either. This is Konoha's moment of life and death. If we hold back now, it’ll be pointless."

"As for the Raikage, I'll deal with him myself!"

Hiruzen said sternly.

Konoha was his home, and there was no way he would abandon it.

The Uchiha Clan had left Konoha because they had no future there, but Hiruzen...

There was no one left in Konoha who could oppose him now.

In a sense, Konoha was entirely his!

So, Hiruzen had no intention of leaving.

As long as Konoha didn’t fall, that was all that mattered.

"Understood!"

Homura and Koharu nodded, though they carried a sense of helplessness.

While they couldn’t compare to powerful clans like the Sarutobi, they had spent years alongside Hiruzen, benefiting from their relationship.

They didn't possess as much power as imagined, but they were still stronger than the smaller branch clans.

They had only refrained from taking action because they hadn’t faced major conflicts, so others didn’t know much about their true capabilities.

But Danzo...

He was the only one who truly sacrificed his clan for Konoha.

Hadn't they noticed the Sarutobi Clan growing stronger, while Danzo’s sacrifices seemed pointless?

"Who would've thought that in just a few decades, Konoha, once flourishing under Hashirama Senju, would end up like this?"

An elderly man sat in the Hyuga Clan's compound, watching as flowers fell from the trees.

Even without activating his Byakugan, he could see the distant war unfolding.

Back in the days of Hashirama Senju, Konoha was the strongest nation.

They had endured three world wars, fighting against four major nations, and Konoha never weakened.

In fact, they even won those wars!

But...

Ever since the Fourth Hokage died...

Konoha had started to decline.

The once-promising talents at the ninja academy slowly vanished from Konoha.

The Uchiha Clan, once producing many geniuses, had turned against the village, causing great losses.

Worse still...

There were no more promising young ninjas emerging from the lower ranks.

That was the key issue.

And all of it stemmed from the Third Hokage’s leadership.

"Lord Ryuya, the village has asked the entire Hyuga Clan to confront the Tailed Beasts from the Hidden Cloud."

A voice came from the entrance—it was the temporary head of the Hyuga Clan.

He had been selected from the main family, with abilities comparable to Hiashi Hyuga.

Even before Hiashi’s defection or potential death, they had chosen a temporary leader.

"You are the clan leader. You shouldn’t be seeking my advice!"

Ryuya Hyuga slowly turned to face the clan leader, his gaze filled with pity. The Hyuga Clan was walking toward ruin.

In the end...

They wouldn't escape their fate—just like the Senju Clan, they too would be sacrificed in the ninja world.

But it didn't matter.

That guy, Raijin Uchiha, had taken part of the branch family with him.

Although their fate was uncertain, the Hyuga Clan’s bloodline wouldn’t vanish.

"Lord Ryuya, you have lived through the Warring States period. What do you think about this war?"

The Hyuga Clan leader asked earnestly.

Indeed!

This was a man who had lived through the same era as Uchiha Setsuna and survived until now.

He was a true relic of Konoha, privy to many secrets from the Warring States era!

"I just got lucky. The Hyuga Clan swore loyalty to Konoha, which allowed me to live this long."

"I'm nothing but an old man on the brink of death, who hasn’t stepped onto the battlefield in over 30 years."

"What could I possibly think of this war?"

Ryuya Hyuga retracted his gaze, his eyes filled with calm.

At nearly 80 years old, he had lived long enough. During the Warring States era, the average life expectancy of a ninja was barely 30 years.

He had outlived many of his peers.

"Sarutobi only tasked our Hyuga Clan with confronting the Hidden Cloud’s two Jinchuriki! Our clan..."

As he spoke, fear crept into the clan leader’s face, and his hands clutched his robes tightly.

"Are we going to be abandoned?"

The Hyuga Clan leader finally voiced his concern.

"..."

Ryuya’s eyes showed a trace of disappointment.

Though his abilities were not far behind Hiashi’s...

This man had been pampered from birth, always living under the protection of the branch family.

His hands had personally slain only a handful of enemies.

His character was evident—it still needed much tempering.

But Konoha no longer had the time for that.

"Step!"

Ryuya Hyuga stood up slowly, walking toward the entrance.

When he reached the clan leader’s side, he stopped.

"Don’t whimper like some girl. Don’t disgrace the Hyuga name in front of others."

"If you’re going to die, do it at the hands of the enemy. Don’t let anyone look down on you."

Ryuya’s voice rang out harshly, his Byakugan activating, exerting an overwhelming pressure on the clan leader.

The Hyuga leader was stunned, looking at Ryuya in disbelief.

Who would have thought an almost 80-year-old man could still command such presence?

"The Hyuga Clan won’t perish. And even if we do, it’ll only be within Konoha."

"Take the elders, the children—even the infants—onto the battlefield with me!"

"If we must die, let the ninja world remember the name of the Hyuga Clan!"

With those words, Ryuya walked out of his courtyard.

The clan leader, left sitting behind, slowly regained his composure.

Finally...

The head of the Hyūga clan summoned the entire clan!

Even newborn infants were carried onto the battlefield.

"Big brother! It looks like Konoha still has a lot of strength left."

Killer Bee gestured with his hand, watching the Konoha shinobi emerge from the village and enter the forest.

He had thought Konoha was already at the end of its rope, but there were still so many shinobi.

Since Konoha still had so many forces, they couldn't afford to launch a full-scale attack just yet.

"Don’t underestimate Konoha; it's a colossal power that has won three Great Ninja Wars! It’s not that simple!" A said in a deep voice.

His eyes gleamed with excitement—they were finally at Konoha's doorstep.

No other shinobi villages were involved, so this time they alone would enjoy the spoils of Konoha’s defeat.

Even though victory was in sight, A remained calm and cautious.

Kumo had deployed about 15,000 shinobi, with less than 2,000 casualties so far.

In other words, they were still at full strength!

But even so, A didn’t let his guard down.

Just because they had agreed to fight Konoha didn’t mean they were prepared to face the entire ninja world.

It wasn’t just Konoha they had to worry about—there were other villages as well.

So, to ensure victory, A decided to proceed carefully.

"Lord Raikage, we’ve gathered all our forces! We can use that now." Dodai approached A and spoke.

"Not yet. Keep that as a last resort," A frowned. "There’s no need to reveal our trump card so early."

"Understood! But Lord Raikage," Dodai hesitated, then sighed and continued, "the Hero Water that Takikage gave us seems to have side effects. Those who drank it… their condition isn’t right."

"They've lost a significant portion of their life force. Some of them are already starting to look like old men!" Dodai said, his expression mixed with concern.

The Hero Water was indeed powerful, but they hadn’t anticipated such severe side effects.

They expected temporary exhaustion, maybe being unable to move for a few days, but this—this was far worse.

They never imagined the price would be their lifespan, risking their lives for power beyond their limits.

"I knew about this from the start! I tested it immediately when I received it," A said. "Even though the side effects are great, they are still our key to conquering Konoha."

"Let them charge for Kumogakure one more time. We’ll compensate their families afterward."

A nodded, his eyes also filled with a hint of complexity.

But as a leader, he couldn’t afford to show compassion. A wrong decision might cost them not just a thousand shinobi, but many more.

Konoha's attack had already helped him make up for most of the losses.

"Understood," Dodai nodded and said no more. Since Raikage knew, there was no need to argue.

As he watched A, Dodai had a momentary flashback—he almost saw the Third Raikage in him.

"Big brother, it looks like they're coming out," Killer Bee said, his gaze fixed on Konoha.

At least ten thousand shinobi were emerging in organized lines, giving off an intimidating presence.

But Killer Bee, sharp-eyed, noticed that there were many children among them.

Many of them hadn’t even fully grown up yet.

They were probably Konoha's genin, he thought, cursing under his breath.

He relayed the situation to A.

"Then prepare for battle!" A’s expression remained unchanged as he moved forward.

He stepped to the front lines, eyes locking on a fleeting glimpse of a familiar figure.

A smile finally crept onto his face—Sarutobi Hiruzen had come to the front to lead.

Raikage had thought Hiruzen would continue hiding in Konoha, but now he couldn’t stay hidden any longer.

"Launch a four-pronged attack on Konoha. Crush their offense before it can even take root."

"Those thousand men—send 500 to the front and scatter the rest across the other battlefields."

"Have them disrupt Konoha’s formation with suicide attacks. We’re at the final stage now; they need to understand the bigger picture."

A returned to his tent, his face cold as he spoke.

Those shinobi were under Dodai's command, so he left it to Dodai to mentally prepare them.

"Yes!" Dodai nodded and left the tent.

A remained seated, ensuring his shinobi were ready.

Since they were at Konoha’s doorstep, there was no rush to attack.

Physical force alone was a lower strategy.

What A wanted now was patience.

With minimal effort, he aimed to achieve maximum benefit.

By waiting for Konoha to lose their nerve and step into his trap, they could easily crush them.

However, since Konoha was defending their home turf, they would eventually gain the upper hand in a prolonged standoff.

So, A planned to break through a weak point.

The ninja tool Dodai had mentioned earlier—now it was finally time to use it. There was no other choice.

"Iwagakure! Once Konoha is dealt with, we’ll settle the score for what you did to my father."

A's eyes flashed with killing intent. He had never forgotten the day Iwagakure ambushed his father.

No matter what, he would avenge him—until Iwagakure was completely destroyed.

But for now, it was Konoha’s war. A didn’t dwell on his hatred for long, quickly regaining his composure.

Losing his cool could lead to fatal mistakes in the battle.

"Lord Hokage, the Kumo forces have split into four groups!" a shinobi reported to the Hokage's office.

The Hokage couldn’t personally oversee every detail of the battle.

Sarutobi Hiruzen mainly focused on holding the line.

Konoha had already set up a defensive stance; now they just had to keep an eye on Kumo's movements.