Chapter Thirty: The Konoha Collapse Plan, Collapse

Chapter Thirty: The Collapse of the Leaf—Collapse

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"Isn't the next match mine?" Temari stood up, resting her hand on her fan.

"Oh, I see. Hey, the other one, hurry up and get down here," Genma Shiranui, showing a bit more enthusiasm, called out.

"Ugh, why is this so troublesome? Why is it my turn so soon? Why do my matches always end up being so unpredictable? Maybe I should just forfeit too!" Shikamaru grumbled to himself, feeling thoroughly annoyed.

"Hey, you, Shikamaru Nara! Get down here!" Genma shouted at Shikamaru.

"Go on, Shikamaru! Do your best!" Naruto gave him a hearty slap and sent him tumbling down.

"Whoa—clunk!" Shikamaru crashed flat on the ground, arms and legs splayed.

"Sigh, that Naruto..." Shikamaru lay there, looking utterly dejected, glaring up at Naruto, who was brimming with confidence in him, and muttered inwardly.

"Boo! Hiss! Get on with it!" The audience grew restless, hurling all manner of trash, soda cans, wads of paper, and the like at Shikamaru.

"Sigh, it seems they're all waiting for Sasuke's match. For side characters like us... it's so frustrating. It's like there's no point in even trying." Shikamaru continued to wallow in his gloom.

"Bang! So? Are you going to forfeit too?" Temari tapped her fan against the ground.

"Why does my opponent have to be a girl again?" Shikamaru's mood remained as dreary as ever.

"Enough! If you're not going to speak, then I'll make the first move!" Temari swung her giant fan and charged forward.

"She's really fired up..." Shikamaru pulled out two kunai.

"Boom!" The iron fan smashed down, sending up a huge cloud of dust.

"Whether I become a Chunin or not doesn't matter to me at all, but a man can't lose to a woman... Oh well, guess I'll have to fight." As he spoke the last line, Shikamaru's listless face finally turned serious.

"This guy...!" Temari could feel a throbbing vein pulsing on her forehead.

I am the dividing line where the fight is skipped.

"Well then! I lose, I forfeit!" Shikamaru, having trapped Temari with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, declared his surrender himself.

"......" The silence was absolute, a chill 200 percent cold, as if a top-tier forbidden spell, Heaven's Ice and Earth's Crystal, had been cast upon the arena.

"After using the Shadow Possession Jutsu so many times, my chakra's almost gone—probably won't last ten more seconds. Even though I've already come up with about two hundred follow-up strategies, there's just not enough time. Things have gotten way too troublesome; one symbolic fight is enough." Shikamaru shrugged.

"What a weirdo... Well then, the winner is Temari!" Genma Shiranui announced.

Next up: Gaara of the Sand vs. Sasuke Uchiha.

Gaara dissolved into sand, which gathered and reformed into him—his signature move, the Sand Body Flicker.

That foolish brother nearly arrived late. Schuster grumbled inwardly...

"Because Sasuke Uchiha is late, I hereby declare—" Genma began, helplessly.

A gust of wind rose, swirling leaves and gales into a vortex.

"Sorry, we’re late!" Kakashi and Sasuke appeared back-to-back in the center of the arena, Kakashi smiling as he spoke.

"Name?" Genma, clearly pleased, asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said coolly.

A wave of cheers erupted in the stands.

"Begin!" Genma waved his hand and jumped aside.

"Let's see how many of my sword strikes you can block." Sasuke drew the Kusanagi Sword.

"I'm looking forward to it, Sasuke," Gaara replied.

Lightning began to flicker along Sasuke’s blade.

"Hmm? A chakra-conducting weapon?" Asuma said, astonished.

Gradually, arcs of electricity danced along the Kusanagi Sword.

Imagine the rest—their battle is not the focus of this chapter.

"Chidori!!" Sasuke drove his hand into Gaara's absolute defense.

"Ding—S-rank plot mission detected. Mission objective: Kill Orochimaru, defeat the First and Second Hokage. Mission reward: Soul Crystals x100,000, Skill Scroll: Path of Darkness."

"Well, it's my turn then! Temple of Nirvana Technique!" Schuster used the same genjutsu Kabuto had employed in the original story.

"Has it begun?" The Kazekage, who was actually Orochimaru in disguise, thought to himself.

"It's begun," the Konoha Jonin and Sand shinobi thought inwardly.

Boom! An explosion erupted where the Hokage and Kazekage sat.

"Don’t worry, we have that guy," Kakashi called out.

"Right! Take down every Sound ninja!" Guy launched a Konoha Whirlwind, sending a Sound ninja flying.

On the rooftop above the Hokage's stand, the Sound Four stood at the four corners. Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, seized the Hokage and brought him into their midst.

"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Barrier!" The Sound Four performed hand signs, erecting a barrier around them. The barrier formed rapidly, but not as fast as light itself.

"You again!" Orochimaru glared hatefully at Schuster, who flickered with electric light.

"Heh, Orochimaru-senpai, why look at me like that?" Schuster teased the soon-to-be-dead Orochimaru.

"You..." Orochimaru realized he couldn’t keep holding the Third Hokage hostage, so he released him and shed his disguise.

"Damn it, no more delays—let’s finish this quickly!" Seeing his Sound ninja being slaughtered outside and realizing the plan had failed, Orochimaru went straight to his trump card.

"Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!" Orochimaru unleashed the forbidden jutsu. "One, two, three!"

Three coffins rose from the ground—yes, they grew out of the earth. Each bore a character: 'First,' 'Second,' and 'Fourth.'

"Schuster, whatever happens, you must stop the third one!" the Third Hokage shouted.

"No need. Just watch. If the Fourth Hokage really emerges, I'd love to test my speed against his," Schuster replied.

"Too late! Even if you try, you can't stop it now!" Orochimaru snarled.

Clang! The lids of the three coffins crashed to the ground.

"To think I'd get to face the first two Hokage in my lifetime—no regrets left!" Schuster drew his Blood Dance Crescent Moon.

"What are you talking about, brat? I summoned three Hokage!" Orochimaru roared.

"See for yourself," Schuster said.

"What? What’s going on?" Orochimaru hurried to the front of the coffins, shocked to see the Fourth Hokage entirely immobile.

"Because the Fourth Hokage's soul was taken by the Reaper long ago," Schuster explained.

"Impure World Reincarnation, is it? So this young man was the one who called us back," the Second Hokage said.

"So, are we your targets this time?" the First Hokage asked, addressing Schuster and the Third Hokage.

"How dare you toy with the dead! Tampering with time is unforgivable!" The Third Hokage was furious—no one would feel calm facing their elders resurrected and forced to fight them.

"Well then, let me send you both back where you belong, honored Hokage," Schuster spun his sword in a flourish.

"Hey, a chance to battle with the legends—make the most of it! Heh heh!" Orochimaru licked his face with his tongue, as ever, repulsive.

"Still as disgusting as ever, Orochimaru. But today, you’re not getting away! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Schuster immediately deployed his army of clones.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Schuster and his clones blanketed the area with this wide-range concealment technique.

The battle was about to explode!

P.S. Two chapters tonight—just enough to finish this volume! Starting tomorrow, each chapter will be 3,000 words, and there will be two updates daily: at noon and at nine in the evening! See you all tomorrow!