On the walls of Konoha, the Konoha ninja squads stood ready to resist the combined forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure while protecting the village behind them.
Looking at the Sunagakure elites in the distance and the dozen giant snakes towering higher than the city walls, Shikaku Nara and the others briefly discussed their battle plan before immediately joining the fight against the invaders.
In times of war, raid forces made up of only a few hundred people would never have posed much of a threat to Konoha.
But now was an era of peace, and most of the jōnin and chūnin were away on missions. There actually weren't many elite ninja left inside Konoha.
Fortunately, the Fifth Hokage, the Third Hokage, and Tsunade were all still in the village.
As long as they could hold out for a while, they would eventually secure victory and wipe out the invaders.
While the heads of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans resisted the attacks of the giant summoned beasts, Kakashi, Might Guy, and Asuma were locked in fierce combat against the Sunagakure ninja led by Baki, including Kabuto Yakushi, who had already discarded his disguise.
Baki's strength wasn't particularly outstanding. Against Special Jōnin, he could easily score instant kills.
But when faced with the combined assault of Might Guy and Asuma, he was quickly pushed into a disadvantage. Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi had been entangled with Kakashi for a long time, the two constantly clashing kunai in close combat.
Unfortunately, Kabuto's body was suddenly swallowed by a giant snake that appeared out of nowhere, leaving only Baki behind as an important prisoner.
"Sharingan: Genjutsu!"
After being caught in the Sharingan's illusion, Baki was just about to reveal information when the curse seal restriction inside his body activated and stopped him.
Left with no choice, Asuma captured several other prisoners. After some interrogation, they finally learned part of Sunagakure's plan.
Sunagakure had been invited by Orochimaru and mysterious outside forces to use the Chūnin Exams as an opportunity to ambush Konoha.
At this moment, Sunagakure had already released Shukaku to attack Konoha. Orochimaru and the Fourth Kazekage were targeting the Third and Fifth Hokage near the arena, while another key squad had launched a raid on the Hokage Building.
"The Hokage Building was attacked?"
Asuma Sarutobi's expression changed instantly. Might Guy also frowned as he looked at Kakashi and asked, "Kakashi, should we go support the Third and Fifth Hokage now, or return to defend the Hokage Building?"
Kakashi glanced toward the distant arena, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said, "The Third and Fifth Hokage don't need our support. They can definitely deal with the Kazekage and Orochimaru. Let's go reinforce the Hokage Building instead."
Might Guy froze for a moment, but after thinking about it carefully, it made sense. The Hokage were the strongest ninja in the village.
Not long afterward, Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, and the others arrived near the Hokage Building. Unexpectedly, there was no battle happening around the building at all. Instead, two groups of Konoha ninja were facing each other in confrontation.
Might Guy looked confused and asked in puzzlement, "Kakashi, was the information from those Sand ninja fake?"
Kakashi's eyes turned playful as he looked toward Asuma Sarutobi beside him and said, "The Sand ninja's information was correct. I already know which clan the mysterious force working with Orochimaru belongs to. What do you think, Asuma?"
"Kakashi, are you saying there are ninja inside the village colluding with Orochimaru and Sunagakure?"
Might Guy gradually realized what was happening, but he still couldn't understand what it had to do with Asuma. After all, Asuma had grown up with Kakashi, and his father was the Third Hokage. It should've been impossible for him to work with invaders.
"I don't know what's going on either... but there must be some misunderstanding."
Asuma Sarutobi's face looked terrible. The ninja confronting the guards of the Hokage Building were all members of the Sarutobi clan. Had the old man really colluded with Orochimaru?
Unable to remain calm any longer, Asuma used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared between the two sides. Looking at the Sarutobi clan ninja, he demanded, "What the hell are you doing? The village is under attack by foreign enemies, so why aren't you helping defend it?!"
One of the Sarutobi ninja glanced at Asuma and calmly replied, "Asuma-sama, we're fighting for the interests that rightfully belong to the Sarutobi clan. Would you like to join us?"
"The interests of the Sarutobi clan? Do you even understand what you're doing?!"
Asuma was furious. Raising his chakra blades, he charged toward the Sarutobi jōnin and shouted angrily, "Does the old man know you colluded with outsiders to launch a coup?!"
The Sarutobi jōnin quickly distanced himself and calmly answered, "At the very least, Hiruzen-sama didn't stop us. If he didn't stop us, then he supports us. It's always been this way. Besides, even the daimyo is dissatisfied with Jiraiya."
"We're only trying to restore order and return Hiruzen-sama to the Hokage position."
The argument between Asuma and the Sarutobi jōnin shocked the guards of the Hokage Building. They had originally believed this coup was being led by the Third Hokage himself, which was why they hadn't clashed with the Sarutobi ninja earlier.
But now, even the Third Hokage apparently knew nothing about it. Ever since the Third retired, he couldn't even fully control his own clan anymore.
Might Guy didn't know whether he should intervene and instinctively looked toward Kakashi.
Kakashi only showed a helpless expression and said, "Guy, let's head elsewhere and maintain order. This has nothing to do with us."
Might Guy nodded seriously and followed behind Kakashi, but a deep sense of helplessness filled his heart.
Ever since childhood, the education he received was the Will of Fire—the belief that comrades must be protected. His father, Might Duy, gave him his final lesson with his own life, teaching him that a ninja's true value lies in protecting the people important to them.
He had long decided to protect his comrades with his life until the very last spark of youth burned out.
But now... he had to deal not only with enemies outside Konoha, but also enemies within the village itself. This involved the power struggle between two generations of Hokage and even the political game between the ninja villages and the daimyo.
This kind of battle wasn't worthy of the youth he wanted to protect, nor did it resemble the Will of Fire in his heart at all.
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly turned around and patted Might Guy on the shoulder.
"Guy, just do what you think is right. Someone like you doesn't need to fall into darkness like me. But don't lose hope in the Will of Fire."
Might Guy froze for a second before immediately giving a thumbs-up.
"Of course! My youth is only just beginning! I don't know what you've gone through these past few years, but I'll drag you back out of the darkness just like before!"
Seeing Might Guy regain his fighting spirit, Kakashi smiled faintly before glancing toward the nearby rooftops.
Guy's words reminded him of his former companion—that once hot-blooded teenager who had fallen even deeper into darkness than he had and become part of it.
On a day this important, Obito had to be hiding somewhere nearby, secretly watching him.
And if he found Obito...
He was definitely going to beat the hell out of him.
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