Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 269 Enemy Reinforcements

On the rooftop of the Chunin Exams venue, a fierce battle raged. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, faced alone his traitorous disciple Orochimaru, as well as the First and Second Hokage, who had been summoned by the Impure World Reincarnation technique and were being manipulated.

The battle was fierce, with the sounds of chakra clashing and exploding constantly filling the air.

Outside that solid purple barrier—the Four Purple Flame Formation—several masked members of Konoha's Anbu could only watch helplessly as the Third Hokage struggled in battle, their fists clenched, their eyes beneath the masks filled with anxiety and powerlessness.

The Sound Four—Sakon, Ukon, Tayuya, Jirobo, and Kidomaru—who were maintaining the barrier, had actually created an additional small barrier around themselves, making it difficult for the Anbu to even get close enough to interfere with their spells.

"...That person must be the First Hokage."

A deep voice suddenly rang out beside the members of the Dark Guard. Everyone was startled and turned their heads sharply, only to see a tall figure dressed in a wide black robe that completely covered his body, who had been standing quietly to the side at some point.

"Who are you?!"

The Konoha Anbu members instantly went on high alert, drawing their kunai and fixing their gazes on the unidentified intruder.

However, the man in black seemed to completely ignore the Dark Guard's questions and hostility. His gaze was fixed on the life-or-death battle within the barrier. "No matter how heroic or powerful a person was in life, no matter how great their strength... in the end, they still cannot escape the fate of having their lives taken away by time. How tragic..."

"Even after death, the soul will not find peace, but will be summoned from the Pure Land by such despicable people to be toyed with and manipulated at will."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand, removed the hood from his head and the disguise from his face, revealing his true appearance—a face mostly covered by a mask, and a pair of inhuman green eyes.

Kakuzu's gaze swept indifferently over the heavily armed Anbu. "I never imagined that in just a few decades, the ninja of Konoha would have fallen to such a state? You're even helpless against a barrier set up by a few brats working together?"

"Damn it! What did you say?!" Upon hearing this, a hot-blooded young member of the secret service was enraged and couldn't help but step forward and shout angrily.

"Calm down!" The leader of the ANBU force grabbed his impulsive subordinate. He noticed that the mysterious green-eyed man's gaze remained fixed more on the Sound Four maintaining the barrier than on the Konoha ninja. "...Sir, what exactly is your purpose?"

"End the war."

The moment Kakuzu finished speaking, the figure beneath the tall black robe had already blurred! He instantly appeared behind Kidomaru, one of the Sound Four.

"Earth Release·Earth Spear!"

His arm had hardened during the sprint, and he thrust straight at the small barrier protecting Kidomaru!

"Hmph, idiot!" The other Sound Ninja sneered disdainfully upon seeing this. They actually thought they could use taijutsu to break through the barrier?

however.

"Bang--!!"

With a crisp sound like shattering glass, the small barrier was actually blasted open with a huge gap in front of Kakuzu's hardened fist!

"What?!"

Kidomaru's mocking smile instantly turned to horror. Before he could even react, he was struck hard in the back by the still-powerful force, coughing up blood and flying backward, crashing heavily into a distant wall.

Almost simultaneously, the enormous [Four Purple Flame Array] that covered the entire rooftop began to lose its light, becoming unstable and thinner, due to the loss of a core caster!

"Oh no! Hold on!" Sakon and Ukon shouted in alarm.

The other three Sound Ninja's expressions changed drastically. They frantically channeled their chakra, attempting to forcibly stabilize the collapsing barrier. However, they knew that without one of them, the barrier's collapse was only a matter of time.

"Use that method!" Sakon Matakatsuki made a decisive decision.

The three of them formed hand seals simultaneously.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

boom! boom! boom!

Three shadow clones appeared instantly, taking over the positions of the original bodies and continuing to channel chakra into the barrier. Meanwhile, the three Sound Ninja turned around menacingly, their gazes fixed on the black-robed man who had ruined their plans—they had to deal with this troublemaker first!

All of this was Kakuzu's self-imposed mission: to break the barrier imprisoning the Hokage. Although he appeared a little late in the game.

This brief delay was not due to laziness. It was because when he arrived at the battlefield and his gaze pierced through the swaying purple barrier, he saw the familiar figure in the red robes—it was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. At that moment, Kakuzu's entire soul seemed to freeze.

Immediately afterward, from the anxious conversation of the Konoha Anbu, he learned that Orochimaru was using a forbidden technique to briefly "revive" the dead and control them to fight.

At that moment, the shadows buried deep in his heart for decades were awakened like a nightmare. That godlike power, that despairing gap... immense fear gripped him, almost exhausting all his courage, before he could suppress the instinct to turn and run away.

If the First Hokage were truly resurrected, besides the unfathomable leader, who in this world could rival that man? No, even the leader who could easily overwhelm him, could he truly defeat that god of ninjas?

However, when he forced himself to calmly observe and see clearly the battle within the barrier involving the "First Hokage"... he was too weak.

That was indeed Wood Release, but compared to the power that blotted out the sky and created forests decades ago, the Wood Release before us was like a firefly compared to the bright moon, merely having the form.

Did he possess half the strength of the First Hokage in his lifetime? No, probably not even a tenth...

Kakuzu reached a conclusion. Indeed, this forbidden technique, which blasphemed the dead, had significant limitations. The so-called First Hokage was now nothing more than a soulless battle puppet.

For some reason, seeing the former god of ninjas now reduced to a puppet being controlled by others, Kakuzu felt a burning anger begin to rise in his heart.

"Hey! Are you alright?!"

Sakon and Ukon rushed to Kidomaru's side and pulled him up from the rubble. Jirobo and Tayuya, on high alert, stared intently at this mysterious and powerful enemy who had suddenly appeared and broken through the barrier with a single blow, severely injuring Kidomaru.

Kakuzu looked down at the flames on his fist, then expressionlessly flicked his arm, shaking off the useless burning crust.

"As expected, you're all a bunch of worthless brats." His green pupils swept over the four men who were standing guard, his tone carrying a chilling killing intent. "Not even on the underground bounty list, utterly worthless. But... I'll take your hearts."

Sensing Kakuzu's cold, dismissive attitude, Tayuya gritted her teeth and roared, "Tch... Stop talking nonsense! You bastard, [Jin]!"

They clearly recognized Kakuzu's identity. As key members of this attack, they were already prepared to confront the mysterious organization "Jin".

However, Kakuzu's fearsome reputation was ultimately less oppressive than that of Menma, the leader who made the major powers wary.

"...Stop wasting time talking to him, let's finish this quickly." Jirobo assumed a fighting stance. "Our shadow clones have limited chakra, so the barrier won't last long."

Kakuzu, however, did not seem to take their urgent conversation to heart. He turned his gaze slightly toward the direction from which a huge explosion and chakra fluctuations were coming from the distance of Konoha Village.

That kind of commotion...it doesn't seem like something Deidara would cause. He wondered to himself, could it be the leader? Is he fighting someone?

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Kakuzu refocused his gaze on the Sound Four. "You're nothing but greenhorns. You'll learn the difference in combat experience with your lives."

As he spoke, a chilling change occurred: four masked monsters of different shapes, radiating chakra fluctuations, slowly emerged from the gaps in the stitching behind him.

Looking at the four masked monsters, the Sound Four's expressions grew even more grave. They understood that this enemy before them probably truly possessed the strength to fight four against one!

"There's no other way... use that!" Sakon and Ukon growled.

Without further hesitation, the four simultaneously activated the power of the cursed seals within their bodies. Black runes began to spread across their skin, and their chakra became increasingly cold and violent...

However, at this critical moment when tensions were high and battle was about to break out—

"roar!!!!!!!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted from the center of Konoha Village! Accompanied by the explosion, a massive cloud of dust shot into the sky like a mushroom cloud!

Both sides in the standoff were involuntarily drawn to this unexpected turn of events, and they all looked into the distance.

In the center of Konoha Village, a colossal creature tore through the smoke, revealing its mountain-like body—it was none other than Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast that was supposed to be lured away!

But its crimson eyes, displaying the Sharingan pattern, indicate that it has been controlled by someone.

The fully-formed One-Tailed Beast, now under control, makes its grand entrance!