Chapter 117: Sarutobi Hiruzen's Predicament
The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen's water clone received the intelligence, it immediately shouted at the top of its lungs. Water clones couldn't transmit memories back to the original body after dispersing, and they couldn't even identify where the real body was located.
This crude but effective method was all it had.
Hearing the water clone's shout, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately began analyzing the situation. Ritsu had gone after Danzo? So what remained here were just clones? Or was Danzo facing the clones while the real body stayed here, waiting for the right moment to strike?
But he was ultimately a battle-hardened Hokage who'd clawed his way out of mountains of corpses. He understood that even a wrong decision was better than indecisive hesitation. At times like this, he had to act decisively without wavering.
Wind Release: Typhoon Passage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen went all out, using this advanced Wind Release technique that Sand ninja had specifically developed to counter the Hidden Mist Village's Hidden Mist Jutsu.
A roaring gale blasted forth, sweeping away the surrounding fog and shattering numerous water clones with its powerful force. The clones transformed into countless water droplets that scattered in all directions with the wind.
However, Ritsu's Hidden Mist Jutsu wasn't so easily broken.
The power and effectiveness of any jutsu depended on two conditions. First was the intricacy of the technique's own structure. Second was the quality and quantity of chakra the user invested.
The former determined the technique's upper limit.
The latter determined how well that potential was realized.
As the signature technique of the Hidden Mist Village, the Hidden Mist Jutsu had been refined and improved over decades by successive Mizukage and countless experts in the village. While it might not have reached absolute perfection, its upper limit was undeniably high.
It all depended on how well the user could execute it.
And Ritsu's chakra—both in quality and quantity—ranked among the very best. When he used the Hidden Mist Jutsu, he hadn't been stingy with his chakra investment.
This gave his Hidden Mist Jutsu an inexhaustible quality.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's Typhoon Passage only temporarily dispersed the mist. Once the gale passed, the thick fog immediately proliferated again.
However, in that brief window, Sarutobi Hiruzen glimpsed the situation around him. Roughly twenty copies of Ritsu formed an encirclement, locking them tightly within this circle.
From the looks of it, Ritsu's real body had indeed gone to deal with Danzo first.
Thinking from Ritsu's perspective, if Hiruzen were in Ritsu's position, he'd make the same choice. The isolated Danzo was clearly an easier target to chew on. And Danzo had done many things that Hiruzen himself couldn't do openly—his reputation in the village was genuinely poor. Taking down Danzo first wouldn't provoke too strong an opposition. And if Ritsu managed to capture Danzo alive... that would be a fatal crisis.
Fortunately, Danzo wasn't soft dough to be kneaded at will. Hiruzen still had confidence in his old comrade.
Even if Danzo couldn't defeat Ritsu and Hiruko together, he could certainly hold out for a while. Hiruzen needed to move quickly and reach him before Danzo's strength gave out.
And the force to break this deadlock had already arrived.
ANBU appeared at the edge of the mist.
Two ANBU squads were permanently stationed at the Hokage building. One squad had already been defeated by Ritsu. The other squad had been dispatched to relay orders. The ANBU headquarters wasn't located near the Hokage building—the area was too densely packed with buildings and bustling with people, unsuitable for ANBU operations.
The ANBU base was situated in the northern forest.
Because of this distance, even though they'd rushed over the moment they received orders, it had still taken some time to arrive.
In comparison, mobilizing the jonin was even slower. Jonin throughout the village lived in scattered locations rather than concentrated areas, and many had chosen to help evacuate civilians first after the wartime lockdown began.
However, as time passed, the village's military strength would soon be fully mobilized.
When that happened, Ritsu would face a siege by the entire village.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
The arriving ANBU immediately took action against the mist. Three ANBU members skilled in Wind Release attacked together, combining their efforts to use this C-rank Wind Release technique. Though the rank wasn't high, their combined assault produced some effect, temporarily dispersing part of the fog.
Two of Ritsu's wood clones were exposed.
But they were two wood clones ready and waiting.
These wood clones also possessed the Byakugan. They'd watched the ANBU's every move clearly from within the fog, so they'd long since prepared countermeasures. The instant the fog receded, both wood clones launched their attacks simultaneously.
Ninja Art: Needle Jizo.
Ninja Art: Lion's Mane.
One shadow clone's hair hardened like steel needles and shot out like a torrential downpour. The ANBU members in front were skewered like porcupines. The other shadow clone's hair grew and lengthened, burrowing into the ground beneath its feet. Two seconds later, it suddenly burst out from the ground beneath the distant ANBU, catching them off guard. Sharp, rigid strands of hair impaled them like meat skewers—they weren't dead, but their combat effectiveness was completely gone in the short term.
In the blink of an eye, most of the ANBU who'd just arrived had fallen. Only one squad leader in a tan coat and two team leaders remained, their agile movements barely allowing them to dodge.
They were admittedly among the ANBU's finest.
But they still fell far short of Ritsu's level. As the most advanced type of physical clone technique, wood clones could maximize Ritsu's abilities to the greatest extent. Each wood clone possessed roughly jonin-level combat power—and they were strong even among jonin.
Because the wood clones also possessed the Byakugan, Wood Release, and Shikotsumyaku.
Moreover, wood clones had the highest durability among all physical clone techniques. They weren't as easily destroyed as water clones or shadow clones.
"I'll attack. You two cover me."
The ANBU squad leader barked out orders.
The next second, the two ANBU team leaders threw shuriken and launched attacks to harass and distract, while the squad leader rapidly formed seals. The complex hand signs made it clear he intended to use an advanced technique.
But the two wood clones weren't actual wooden dummies waiting for them to finish. Seeing that their initial wave hadn't taken down all the ANBU, they immediately switched tactics.
One wood clone rushed forward, its palms wreathed in azure chakra lion heads. This was the Hyuga clan's advanced Gentle Fist technique: Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists.
The wood clone didn't use high-powered jutsu because all physical clone techniques shared one weakness: chakra only decreased with use. Wood clones were no exception.
So there was no need for powerful but chakra-intensive techniques. Enemies that could be defeated with taijutsu didn't warrant wasting chakra.
The two ANBU team leaders blocked two strikes before they couldn't hold out any longer.
Even wielding long blades, they couldn't withstand the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists. Each strike delivered such devastating force that their blades developed cracks after blocking twice. Their arms went numb and weak, forcing them to stagger backward, completely unable to cover the squad leader behind them.
Left with no choice, the ANBU squad leader had to abandon the high-powered offensive technique he was one seal away from completing. He stepped forward himself, joining his two subordinates in close-quarters combat with the wood clone.
In truth, the battle around this mist had never ceased.
The first batch of people who'd rashly charged into the fog had all been defeated by the wood clones. More people continued arriving afterward. Some were bold and skilled enough to plunge straight into the mist, only to be beaten down by the wood clones. Others were more cautious, refraining from charging in recklessly. Instead, they gathered their strength outside the mist. But no matter how many people they assembled, once they rushed into the fog, they'd be defeated before long.
Until—
"Enma!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen roared.
In the next instant, a long staff—black in the middle with gleaming gold at both ends—stirred through the fog, striking two wood clones and sending them flying out of the mist. The immense force exceeded the wood clones' durability limits. They transformed mid-air into human-shaped wooden figures covered in cracks, then shattered into pieces when they hit the ground.
As expected of the Third Hokage—attacking with full force, he'd destroyed two of Ritsu's wood clones in the blink of an eye.
However—
Ritsu had left behind quite a few wood clones.
Only two had been destroyed.
And the fact that Sarutobi Hiruzen had summoned his famous summoning beast Enma meant this figure wielding the staff Enma had transformed into was almost certainly Hiruzen's real body.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's summoning beast was among the shinobi world's finest.
Named Enma, it possessed an indestructible adamantine body. Even the sharpest treasure sword in the shinobi world—the Kusanagi Sword—couldn't wound Enma's body. The Kusanagi Sword was currently in Orochimaru's possession.
Moreover, Enma possessed a special ability: it could transform into an unbreakable adamantine staff that could freely change size within a certain range.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had used this adamantine staff to send Ritsu's two wood clones flying.
Now, seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen wielding the adamantine staff and attempting to break out of the mist, a wood clone immediately moved to intercept.
When facing this shinobi hero's real body, the wood clone naturally wouldn't be stingy with chakra. It opened with a devastatingly powerful killing technique.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern.
White bones shot skyward. The buildings on both sides of the street were riddled with holes. Dozens of water clones were impaled and burst into splashing water. But Sarutobi Hiruzen's real body remained unharmed.
The adamantine staff split into dozens of copies, constructing a cubic cage. This technique could be used to imprison enemies—or, conversely, to protect oneself.
Right now, Sarutobi Hiruzen relied on this adamantine cage to completely block the bone forest's damage. The bones sharp enough to easily pierce stone could only produce showers of sparks when they struck the adamantine staff.
After confirming the bone forest had stopped growing, Sarutobi Hiruzen dismissed the staff duplicates, leaving only the real one in his grasp. Chakra surged through both arms, generating tremendous strength. He boldly swung the adamantine staff and shattered the bone forest to powder.
Immediately after, he prepared to break out of the mist.
But at the same moment—
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees.
Hidden Mist Jutsu.
The wood clones attacked again.
They didn't expect to easily defeat this shinobi hero—or rather, the real Ritsu hadn't planned for them to quietly kill Sarutobi Hiruzen within the mist. They only needed to stall him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen realized this as well.
His brow furrowed involuntarily.
Because Ritsu's wood clones were genuinely troublesome. Completely eliminating them would probably take some time. Though Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both working hard to help, their strength ultimately fell short by a significant margin. The two of them together barely managed to fight Ritsu's single wood clone to a stalemate.
Years without real combat had caused their skills to deteriorate considerably.
As for reinforcements from the village, those who'd arrived first had mostly been defeated by Ritsu's wood clones. He could only hope more people would arrive soon... the ones he could count on were his own Sarutobi clan and civilian-born jonin.
The Hyuga clan, Uchiha clan, and Ino-Shika-Cho clans couldn't be relied upon.
Root was watching the Uchiha.
The remaining clans like the Aburame and Inuzuka would prioritize protecting their own families over supporting the Hokage building. And with so many clan members at the two frontline battlefields, the number of reinforcements they could spare would definitely be limited.
So after thinking it through, Sarutobi Hiruzen realized he'd have to rely on himself to break this deadlock and rendezvous with Danzo.
Honestly though, his heart was already somewhat uneasy.
This bout of fighting with Ritsu's wood clones was enough to make him realize that Ritsu's current strength was exceptionally formidable. Setting everything else aside, his mastery of Wood Release already demonstrated thirty percent of the First Hokage's prowess.
"I need to find a way to contact Homura and have him bring Jiraiya back."
Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered to himself.
At first, he hadn't considered pulling forces from the frontline to deal with Ritsu. He'd believed he could control the situation. But now he found himself struggling, realizing things might spiral out of control if they continued this way. He immediately began thinking about Jiraiya and Minato.
Orochimaru wasn't even in consideration.
The reason was simple: Orochimaru had gotten too close to Ritsu at the frontline. Though Orochimaru was his student, honestly, Hiruzen could no longer understand what his disciple was thinking. In other words, he could no longer trust Orochimaru. Otherwise, he wouldn't have favored Minato as his successor.
Sarutobi Hiruzen made his decision and prepared to implement it. He himself had no means of contacting Minato, but the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, definitely had a way to reach him.
So he considered sending someone to deliver a message to Uzumaki Kushina. But then another problem immediately arose: given the current situation, who could help him relay orders to Uzumaki Kushina?
He himself was thoroughly entangled. Even his clones would struggle to escape. The Konoha ninja gathering around were being defeated one after another by Ritsu's wood clones.
Once again, he found himself in the frustrating predicament.
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