Ninja Ice House

Chapter 581 Clues

At the Hokage's residence, Hiruzen Sarutobi, now dressed in battle armor, was about to take action when he saw Wood Release breaking through layers of obstacles in the distance. He had no choice but to stop issuing the battle orders he was about to give.

"It really is..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, and as he watched the red curtain of the Four Red Sun Formation gradually close, his worries deepened.

"Shikaku, have you summarized the situation? What are the village's ninja clans saying?"

"They all claim to be unaware! The next head of the Hyuga clan hasn't even been born yet, and on the surface, the relationship between Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi seems quite good..."

"It looks good on the surface, it's acceptable!"

"Hizashi has a son who was born not long ago, named Neji. Hiashi's wife is said to be pregnant, but the gender is unknown and no name has been chosen yet."

"What about the others? Let's talk about them all together..."

“The main branches of Inuzuka and Aburame don’t have such promising young talents, and the situation is similar in Yamanaka and Akimichi. As for us in Nara, Yoshino is confirmed to be pregnant. According to the clan’s naming tradition, if the first child is a boy, I plan to name him… Shikamaru!”

"Shikamaru, Nara Shikamaru, are you sure?"

Behind the rigid animal mask came Nara Shikaku's voice, which was completely devoid of his usual languidness and the composure of someone slightly tipsy after a few drinks. Instead, it was filled with more complexity and fear.

After "encountering" those unfamiliar boys with Minato Namikaze and exchanging a few words, he learned that one of the leaders was named Nara Shikamaru, who claimed to be from the Nara clan in the village, and had indeed demonstrated his shadow technique.

It was precisely because the evidence was so solid and almost flawless that Minato Namikaze did not suspect them.

Who would have thought that these younger generations, who had mastered the village's family secrets and bloodline limits, did not belong to their side?

"Space-time secret techniques, in the past, only space-time ninjutsu represented by summoning techniques and sealing techniques were popular. The Flying Thunder God Technique is a product of the integration of these techniques. But time ninjutsu has almost never been seen by anyone, and... there is not even a single word about it."

"Yes! Third Hokage, but... that's only one possibility! Also, why would the future Konoha be an enemy of the present Konoha, even going to great lengths to cause trouble for Lord Jiraiya?"

"Never mind all that!"

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally demonstrated the decisiveness and courage befitting a village chief.

"We can't let the younger generation look down on us. Let them see that warriors who have experienced the baptism of the Ninja World War cannot be defeated by one or two small sneak attacks."

Throughout the entire dream world, none of the powerful beings doubted that their existence was based on something ethereal, because it felt so real that even Jiraiya, their "master," was so immersed in it that he couldn't extricate himself.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, around sixty years old, had begun to decline from his peak, but he wasn't at the point where even Orochimaru couldn't handle him. If it came down to a full-scale battle, there were very few ninjas in the world who could defeat him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly summoned Enma using a summoning technique, regaining some of his former "heroic" spirit, and led his ANBU detachment towards the most intense battleground.

In less than two minutes, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was rushing forward while forming hand seals, unleashed an extremely powerful composite ninjutsu.

"Five Elements: Great Continuous Bullet Technique!"

The shadow clones summoned during the technique, combined with the main body to unleash different chakra ninjutsu, charged forward fiercely. The five long dragons of ninjutsu were almost unstoppable, shattering all the sealing techniques and barrier techniques of all sizes. They were only stopped when they encountered the Four Red Yang Formation.

The curtain wall of the Four Red Yang Formation swayed a few times but did not break. After pausing for a moment, it continued to spread and reinforce, blocking all the entrances and exits.

As for why it withstood the pressure, it wasn't because the ninjas supporting the barrier were particularly powerful, but because the "eyes of the formation" in the real world, who were already severely injured and coughing up blood from the recoil, couldn't hold on any longer, and it was only by having the younger generation step in that they managed to persevere.

Meanwhile, the Anbu and a group of Konoha ninjas who rushed to the scene to provide support were using their own ninjutsu to attack the barrier, intending to rescue Jiraiya as soon as possible.

After unleashing a powerful escape technique, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had rested for a while, was followed by a flash of light. It was Minato Namikaze who had come to join him.

"Third Hokage, you've come too?"

"The enemy has already penetrated our ranks, how can I, as the current Hokage, stand idly by? What's the situation...?"

"Lord Jiraiya is doing alright and should be able to hold on; I tried to use a summoning jutsu just now but failed, while Lord Jiraiya succeeded, and something just doesn't feel right..."

"Um... uh? What did you say..."

At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't realize what the problem was, but then he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Logically speaking, the barrier spell's ability to seal off space should be internal, not external.

Jiraiya is currently trapped inside the Four Red Yang Formation, which is further reinforced with various illusionary sealing formations, and even traces of contract seals remain. Under these circumstances, it is normal that Jiraiya cannot summon the toads of Mount Myōboku, because the space-time pathway is blocked.

Strangely, Jiraiya succeeded while Minato Namikaze failed, indicating that the connection between the outside world and Mount Myōboku was severed, yet the barrier itself was largely unaffected, which is highly illogical.

"Then...why wasn't my Spirit Ape Demon affected?"

Thinking deeper, could it be that these strange Konoha ninjas, or even younger members of the same village, had a very special reason for ambushing and attacking Jiraiya?

"What's the situation on the other side?"

"It seems like they're stalling for time. I wasn't quite sure what to do either, so... I held back a bit. I injured quite a few people, but none of them died."

"Okay!"

With the situation unclear, Hiruzen Sarutobi largely agreed with Minato Namikaze's assessment: since the enemy might not be after deadly force, there was no need for them to become mortal enemies.

However, one must still take action when necessary. Weakness will not bring the desired result. If you win, everything will be up to you.

"Over there... is Kakashi Hatake, and Might Guy... and... that good-for-nothing Asuma, they're already doing quite well!"

They were all compatriots who saw each other all the time, and the talented juniors who were being given special attention. Hiruzen Sarutobi had been the Hokage for so many years, it was impossible for him not to recognize them. Even if they were masked, he could accurately identify them just by looking at their projected fighting postures through a screen.

"There are a few guys I don't know very well, but they look vaguely familiar, though I can't quite place their names. Sure enough..."

The judgment we reached after discussing with Nara Shikaku is definitely correct in general direction, but the specific reasons for this incident still need to be carefully investigated.

"By the way, did you know about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"