Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 396 Konoha Crisis 5

“But…” Choji Akimichi hesitated. He was unwilling to leave Kakashi Hatake like that. But he also understood that Kakashi Hatake was right. If the Hokage wasn’t notified in time, the entire Hidden Leaf Village would face great danger.

"Go now!" Kakashi Hatake shouted with his last ounce of strength. "That's an order!"

Choji Akimichi gritted his teeth and nodded. He knew Kakashi Hatake was right; now was not the time to act on emotion. He stood up, preparing to head to the Hokage Building as quickly as possible.

"You must live..." Kakashi Hatake said softly, then fell silent.

Choji Akimichi took a deep breath, then turned and left. He secretly vowed to relay Kakashi Hatake's words to the Hokage, so they would be on guard. At the same time, he also needed to return here as soon as possible to take the other man to the medical department for treatment.

As Choji Akimichi rose to leave, he assumed he had dealt with Mechanical Pain, but to his surprise, the enemy pierced by Kakashi Hatake's Lightning Blade began to move again. Mechanical Pain's back began to writhe rapidly, as if something was trying to emerge from within. Suddenly, a rocket shot out from its back, precisely aimed at the retreating Choji. "Whoosh!" The rocket emitted a sharp whistling sound as it hurtled towards Choji. This rocket locked onto its target using chakra, so no matter how Choji dodged, he couldn't escape its pursuit. As the rocket drew closer, Choji felt a strong sense of crisis; he knew he had to act quickly to complete the intelligence transmission.

Kakashi Hatake's eyes were filled with tension and worry; he knew that Choji Akimichi's safety was of paramount importance. He quickly considered his options while closely monitoring his surroundings. His anxiety grew as he realized that no matter how he dodged, he couldn't shake off the pursuing rockets.

"We absolutely cannot let Choji Akimichi get into trouble!" Kakashi Hatake made up his mind. He knew that this intelligence was of great significance to Konoha, and if it couldn't be safely delivered to the Hokage, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, he resolutely decided to take action.

Kakashi Hatake took a deep breath and slowly opened his right eye, which had been tightly closed. A mysterious and powerful light shone in that eye—the Sharingan that Obito Uchiha had entrusted to him on his deathbed. As the Sharingan activated, it rapidly transformed into the Mangekyou Sharingan, displaying unparalleled power.

Kakashi Hatake's vision instantly locked onto the rocket chasing Choji Akimichi. He concentrated and used the power of his Mangekyou Sharingan to distort the space around him. The space seemed to be kneaded and deformed by an invisible hand, gradually forming a huge vortex.

The rocket lost its bearings in the distorted space, its speed gradually decreasing until it was eventually caught in it. Kakashi Hatake stared intently at the scene before him, only letting out a sigh of relief as he watched the rocket disappear into the distorted space.

However, Kakashi Hatake, already at his limit, squeezed out his last bit of life force to activate the Mangekyou Sharingan. His life came to an end, and he slumped down, utterly devoid of vitality.

Konoha technician Kakashi Hatake has fallen in battle.

But this was only part of the tragedy that befell Konoha. Pain's invasion brought unimaginable destruction to Konoha, killing countless ninjas. Their sole objective was to find Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and they showed no mercy to the stubborn Konoha ninjas. Having already witnessed countless human tragedies, they would not stop their pursuit of peace simply because of some sacrifices.

Soon, Human Path Pain completed his intelligence gathering. His eyes flashed with a cold light as he observed the Hidden Leaf Village's autopsy and intelligence teams busily compiling and analyzing information. At that moment, he launched his attack without hesitation, his target being the Hokage's assistant, Shizune.

A sharp black beam of light shot out from the Human Path of Pain's hand, instantly piercing through Shizune's body. She groaned in pain, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground. The Hell Path of Pain coldly approached, reached out and gently grabbed, extracting Shizune's soul from her body.

Human Path Pain stared at the extracted soul, his eyes cold and ruthless. He began to carefully read through the memories and information within, searching for clues about Naruto Uzumaki. Finally, he found the crucial information—Naruto Uzumaki's trail pointed to Mount Myōboku.

"Mount Myōboku, huh? It's certainly well-hidden!" Pain's Hell Path lips curled into a disdainful smile. After digesting all the information related to Naruto Uzumaki within Shizune's soul, he casually tossed aside her soulless body, then vanished in a flash.

With the departure of Pain of the Hell Path, only silence remained at the scene. His actions were swift and decisive, ruthlessly obtaining the necessary intelligence and immediately launching the next phase of his plan.

Just then, Pain also began to quickly withdraw from the battlefield. They had successfully obtained the necessary intelligence and there was no need to waste any more time and energy in Konoha. Only Pain remained in Konoha and was rapidly heading towards the Hokage Building.

Hidden behind the scenes, Nagato harbored deeper ambitions. He hoped to have an in-depth conversation with the Hokage of Konoha to determine whether the village would become an obstacle to peace. After all, Nagato's parents had been brutally murdered by Konoha ninja, and the village's tenacious resistance today made him realize that the village might be the biggest obstacle to future peace. This would be a perfect opportunity to have Pain intervene, thoroughly deterring Konoha and serving as a warning to other ninja villages.

With the departure of the other Pains, the sounds of battle ceased in Konoha, leaving only ruins and endless wails. The Konoha ninja, seeing their home reduced to this state, also showed expressions of hatred.

Tsunade stood silently atop the Hokage Building, her eyes revealing unspeakable grief and anger. Her gaze swept across the entire village, taking in the thick smoke and the constant wails of agony. Each scream pierced her heart like a sharp sword, filling her with unbearable pain and helplessness.

She clenched her fists tightly, her face contorted with rage. However, as Hokage, she couldn't let her emotions control her; she had to remain calm and rational to deal with the current crisis. So, she resolutely walked to the edge of the Hokage Building, took a deep breath, and mobilized all her chakra.

As her chakra surged, Tsunade formed hand seals and cast a summoning jutsu. In an instant, a powerful force erupted from her body, and then a gigantic figure appeared below the Hokage Building. It was an incredibly large slug, its body completely level with the height of the Hokage Building, giving a truly awe-inspiring sight.

Without hesitation, Tsunade immediately commanded the slug, "Slug, immediately split into countless smaller pieces and do everything you can to treat the wounded!" Hearing Tsunade's instruction, the slug reacted swiftly. Its body began to split into countless small pieces, which then flew towards every corner of the village. These tiny slugs, carrying Tsunade's will, quickly reached the injured villagers, using their saliva and mucus to heal their wounds and relieve their pain.

Tsunade watched the slugs' departing figures, silently praying that she could save as many lives as possible as soon as possible. At the same time, she knew this was only a temporary solution; the real battle awaited her. But no matter what, she would do everything in her power to protect this village that had suffered so much damage.

As the slugs rapidly dispersed to every corner of the village to provide aid, Tsunade began gathering information about the village's current situation. However, as the intelligence accumulated, her expression grew increasingly grim and somber. She simply couldn't have foreseen the sheer scale of the casualties suffered by the village. Especially when the slug crawled onto Kakashi Hatake, Tsunade's face instantly turned ashen, and her hands trembled involuntarily. She had already sensed through the slugs that Kakashi Hatake had completely lost his vital signs and had heroically sacrificed himself. Kakashi Hatake was not only Tsunade's most capable subordinate but also her carefully chosen successor to the Hokage. Now, he had died tragically at the hands of Pain, a fate Tsunade had never anticipated.

Just as Tsunade was overcome with grief, Choji Akimichi swiftly appeared on the top of the Hokage Building and stood before her. At this moment, Choji disregarded etiquette, knelt directly before Tsunade, and began to report on their encounter with Pain's abilities and specific characteristics.

Tsunade suppressed her grief and listened quietly to Choji Akimichi's detailed report, finally understanding why Kakashi Hatake had died at the hands of Pain. The opponent's ability was simply unbeatable; it could deflect all attacks while simultaneously drawing enemies close to it for further attacks, with only a five-second interval between each attack.

Facing an enemy of this caliber, it was already remarkable that Kakashi Hatake was able to gather enough intelligence. Kakashi's sacrifice gave Konoha the basic ability to deal with Pain, increasing their chances of victory in subsequent battles.

Looking at the sorrowful young Choji Akimichi before her, Tsunade said, "Your father still has a sliver of life; he's not dead. Quickly take him to the medical ward. Go!"

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Choji Akimichi showed a hint of joy, but quickly remembered how Kakashi Hatake had blocked Pain's final attack for him, and hurriedly asked, "Where's Kakashi-sensei? How is he?"