Konoha Notes.

Chapter 541 A Way Out or a Dead End

Chapter 541 A Way Out or a Dead End

As Konoha Village began to fall, countless thick vines crawled out from the depths of the huge cavity left by the complete uprooting of the foundation.

They extend in an intertwined manner, transforming into a huge net, with one layer supporting the bottom of the village, the second layer wrapping around the edge of the foundation, and the third and fourth layers stacked on top of each other.

The rapid descent of Konoha Village was stopped, and before the feeling of weightlessness could even reach the ground, the sinking speed had already slowed to a level visible to the naked eye.

Along with Gaara, Naruto, protected beside Minato Namikaze, stared in disbelief at the sky.

Over the course of those two years, Minato began guiding him to connect with the fox within him. Although that fox had a fiery temper, its other half had long since reconciled with the culprit that had separated it.

The other tailed beasts protected by Konoha also reached an agreement with their respective jinchūriki.

Compared to Konoha's previous two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Mito and Kushina, Naruto was more likely to be accepted by the Nine-Tails.

The reason is quite simple.

It's not that Mito and Kushina are no good.

Rather, both of them were relatively too ninja-like, and naturally had a wariness of the Nine-Tails based on the power imbalance.

For Kurama, who is extremely sensitive to emotions, this is an insurmountable barrier.

Therefore, Naruto is now able to borrow Kurama's chakra.

This is precisely what frustrates Naruto.

Even though he had learned a lot of ninjutsu and even had strength that was no less than Gaara's.

Today, when everyone is facing threats, he, who wants to become Hokage and Champion, has been excluded from the fighting force from the very beginning.

Even when the village was sealed away, he could only stay with Gaara and Minato in a corner of the barrier, protected by the triangular barrier derived from the Four Red Sun Formation.

Even though they weren't at the bottom of the class, they still couldn't help with anything or do anything.

This feeling of frustration was still stuck in my chest until just now.

Now, all the frustration was overshadowed by the scene before him.

It's too big, this wooden giant is too big.

Even the Nine-Tailed Fox seemed tiny in front of this behemoth.

"What is this?!"

The nine-tailed fox inside him sat upright, which was a bit of an overreaction for it today.

First it was Madara Uchiha, and then this one.

Hashirama Senju?!

No, that guy is long dead.

Moreover, it's not in terms of chakra perception either.

"That's Wood Release."

"It's the little one from the Senju clan—"

The original term "nine-tailed demon" was changed to a different word.

"That person."

Naruto murmured, "Wood Release?"

Minato heard this and explained, "This is Wood Release: True Several Thousand —"

The other half of the Nine-Tails inside the Fourth Hokage interrupted him, because it didn't think so.

As the only tailed beast to have withstood the True Thousand Hands attack, it has every right to speak on this matter.

Although the heights look similar, this wooden figure doesn't have as many hands on its back.

Moreover, the Thousand Hands statue of Hashirama was solemn, while the lines of this huge guy in front of us were much more ferocious.

"So, it's Wood Man, huh? —" The Fourth Hokage smiled. "After returning, he's become even more formidable, Shuji."

"Is that Brother Shuji?!"

Naruto's brain first went blank, and then it exploded.

"————?! Brother Shuuji knows this kind of technique?! Can I learn it?! Does Dad know it?!"

His voice involuntarily grew louder.

"As long as I have that power—then I will—"

We will no longer have to be just bystanders like this.

Minato looked at him: "This is a choice made out of tactical necessity, Naruto."

"It's not time for you to fight yet."

At this moment, Gaara said, "Shuji has returned. We can go out and assist Konoha in their landing."

The One-Tailed Jinchūriki pointed to the vines that had appeared at the edge of their field of vision and were climbing up.

"Maintaining this number of wooden dummies, along with these others, would be a significant drain on any ninja."

Minato glanced at Gaara and nodded.

After he conveyed the consensus on dispelling the Four Red Sun Formation through the secret techniques of the mountain clan, the crimson barrier disappeared.

The sudden disappearance of the protective barrier did not cause panic; everyone's attention was already focused on the giant.

Gaara pressed his hands to the ground.

The sand layer spreads out from the bottom of the village, pressing down between the vines.

The Fourth Hokage shared the Nine-Tails' chakra with Gaara. Both were Jinchuriki, but there are differences between Tailed Beasts. The One-Tail is not known for having a lot of chakra.

Naruto looked at his father, then at Gaara: "Me too—"

Minato smiled at him and said, "Let's go into the village, Naruto. There are still many things to do in the village."

"We can't waste manpower. With me and Ai-Luo here, that's enough."

Naruto nodded emphatically and ran towards the center of the village.

As the village was about to touch the ground, the vines retreated into the earth first.

Gaara's sand became the final layer of buffer.

He estimated the pressure on the ground, calculated the distance, and removed the sand layer by layer. The moment the bottom of the village finally touched the original foundation, a deep and prolonged tremor came from the earth.

Once the tremors had completely subsided, the residents of Konoha Village realized something.

Konoha has returned to where it belongs.

The tall wooden figure remained standing, with Shuji atop it. Behind the figure, Nagato watched his retreating figure: "This is the backup plan you left behind."

He saw the tree that Shuuji had summoned when he saw the Planetary Devastation, and even sensed what the chakra within the tree was.

Then he saw the man in front of him absorb the tree into his body and unleash his current power.

Shuji did not turn around.

"The village has been severely damaged, so you'd better cover yourself up a bit, Nagato."

The fact that the leader of the Akatsuki organization appeared in front of so many people at this time will cause some problems.

As soon as Shuji finished speaking, Yamanaka Inoichi's tentative contact request echoed in his mind.

He answered the call and then asked Inoichi to relay the instruction: "Please have the Fourth Hokage come over."

Within a few breaths, Minato's figure appeared on the wooden figure.

Shuji then turned to Nagato: "You all go to Toneri's side first."

"I still have things to prioritize as Hokage."

"We'll talk about other things later."

"Besides, you two have the same teacher, so you should have a lot to talk about."

What he wanted Nagato to see, Nagato had already seen; what needed to be shown had already been shown, and Shuji believed that Nagato wouldn't have any objections.

It's no use having it, since he's already tricked the person back to the vicinity of the village.

Minato gave Nagato a friendly look, placed his hand on Nagato's body, and Nagato did not resist. The two figures disappeared from the wooden dummy.

The giant wooden figure sat cross-legged, then bent over, its arms forming a bridge, and came to a steady stop in front of the gate of Konoha Village.

Shuji slowly stepped off his arm and, facing everyone's gaze, entered the main gate of Konoha Village.

Among the civilians evacuated from the venue area, some were trembling, some were wiping away tears, and some had lost loved ones when the meteorite fell.

Many of them were initially filled with fear, unease, or even anger.

But now, they just looked up at the figure that stepped down from the wooden figure.

"god----"

When the voice peeked out from the crowd, no one found it strange.

The ninjas from the Joint Affairs Bureau were also standing there. From Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure.

Their expressions were not much better than those of the common people.

They have seen more and understand the gap between powers better; it is precisely because they understand that they are even more speechless.

This is the Sixth Hokage of Konoha.

As Shuji's figure disappeared into the crowd, the wooden figure also lay prostrate on the ground, silently disappearing into the earth as if it had never existed.

When Shuji entered the Hokage Building, Kakashi and Kabuto were already waiting for him.

Director Hatake's eyes held a hint of guilt: "The Joint Secretariat and the venue area—"

These two places are almost completely destroyed.

Shuji returned to his seat and asked, "Are the casualties serious?"

Kakashi said, "Apart from those who suffered damage from the initial impact, no one died in battle."

"But minor and serious injuries—"

Xiu Si waved his hand: "That's good. It just so happens that the design of these two areas is no longer reasonable in retrospect."

"Rebuilding directly would save trouble."

"With the Fifth Hokage here, the wounded can just work overtime. She's rested for so long, she should stretch her muscles a bit."

Kakashi was about to say something else when Shuji didn't give him the chance.

"Have you made contact with the other ninja villages? Have the other four villages been attacked in a coordinated attack?"

At this point, Director Hatake put aside his distracting thoughts.

"We immediately made emergency communications after the Earth-Exploding Star was deactivated."

"At the same time that Madara attacked Konoha, Kairyo's undead army appeared, and the defenses set up in the coastal area were also under attack."

"Both Iwagakure and Sunagakure are under attack."

"Moreover, there has been some movement from the Land of Snow."

The real Shinobi World War is about to break out.

Shuji didn't sigh. He simply leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

Kabuto had been observing him since earlier, and now asked seriously, "Hokage-sama, is there anything wrong with your body?"

""

He had already guessed Shuuji's current state.

Shuji replied calmly, "Aside from being a bit noisy, it's fine for now. I'll put it back later."

The cave was dimly lit. Madara Uchiha stood before the stone wall, the flames behind him flickering.

Orochimaru stood leisurely to one side.

"The demonic statue of the heretic was once summoned out."

Ban didn't seem to care: "Oh."

"It was Nagato who did it," the Black Zetsu on Obito said. "He's still with Shuji."

"It's irrelevant," Madara said. "The gathering of the Ten-Tails is an inevitable outcome; everything else is insignificant."

"Nagato will only choose to take the Golem away or bring back the Tailed Beast."

Then he turned to Obito.

"You can't even see this clearly, yet you chose to betray me. Your stupidity is truly beyond my expectations, Obito."

"No wonder he accomplished nothing all these years and was eventually killed."

Then he looked at Black Zetsu.

The same gaze, the same indifference.

"You too. As my will, you've assisted him to this extent. How many years has my resurrection been delayed?"

What are you doing?

Before Black Zetsu could even offer a defense, Orochimaru said with a smile, "You're being a bit too harsh on Obito and Zetsu, Madara Uchiha."

His golden vertical pupils shone strangely in the dim light.

"After all, they are facing someone who combines the strengths of all the previous Hokage."

Ban slightly raised his eyelids: "Over a long period of time, interesting things will also emerge."

"This body is still not enough."

Orochimaru said, "Among all the techniques related to resurrection, the Impure World Reincarnation is the highest level, except that it can be controlled by the caster."

"It can reproduce the bloodline limit of the resurrected without requiring a matching physical body."

"Aside from sealing techniques, it has no fatal weaknesses, and its chakra recovery speed is much faster."

"It can bring more possibilities."

Madara's Sharingan glared disdainfully at the snake that exuded a chilling aura.

"After witnessing true power, do you think that inferior fake death can compare to a fresh, living body, Orochimaru?"

""

Orochimaru's tongue slowly swept across his lower lip.

"It's just a pity that even such a skill has an insurmountable gap and is looked down upon by people."

"The physical body has a higher value than pure immortality."

"After all, what you're really facing are immortals who have lived for over a thousand years."

At this point, Madara looked at Orochimaru: "Faced with the immortality you've always pursued, after coming into contact with that thing, you actually chose to leave?"

Orochimaru calmly accepted the scrutiny: "That person does indeed possess a composure and strength worthy of respect."

"Even when being spied on, one can calmly communicate with the vulnerable."

"After the failed attempt to land on the moon, I did learn a lot from him in my exploration of other myths."

"However, in essence, Jigen is still an extremely arrogant being who has no compassion for anything in the world."

"They belong to the type who treat everything in the world as food and tools."

Madara said, "Oh—don't you have the same judgment about yourself?"

Orochimaru chuckled and said, "As you said, I am also such a being, which is why I can't get along with him at all."

"I prefer to be the one using tools rather than the one being used by others."

"That's why we chose to revive you. After all, you're easier to deal with compared to Jigen."

A white Zetsu emerged from the ground.

"Konoha is free now, Madara-sama. That thing that broke the seal looks like the True Thousand Hands."

Ban's expression changed slightly.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Prepare for resurrection; I'm tired of this body."

Orochimaru said, "The body possessing the power of the Senju and Uchiha clans has been prepared."

"However, it is still unknown whether it is possible to leave a mark on a living body directly using chakra, thus freeing you from the bondage of the Pure Land."

Madara said calmly, "If I fail, I'll use Rinne Rebirth to retrieve my eyes."

"This is just an experiment I did on a whim."

"6

>