Chaos, utter chaos!
Within Konoha Village, the scene was one of complete disorder and devastation, with cries of despair echoing everywhere.
A large number of villagers were running wildly through the streets, desperately heading towards the shelters. The surroundings were ablaze, with houses collapsing and debris flying everywhere.
Panic was spreading throughout Konoha, as people fled in all directions, with shouts and screams rising and falling.
Some children were crying in fear, while adults could only hold them tightly, trying to find a safe place to hide. The streets were in complete disarray, with people pushing and shoving each other, some even being knocked down and trampled upon. Many shop owners, unwilling to part with their possessions, closed their shops and hid inside, trembling.
Although Naruto's Giant Spiralling Ring had erupted within the territories of the three great Ninja Clans, the area it covered was not limited to just those clans. The surrounding houses were also completely destroyed, and the shockwaves from the explosion had thrown almost the entire Konoha into chaos.
This was a situation even more chaotic than the Nine-Tails' attack.
But the main reason for this chaos was actually the failure of the Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen had gone all out, taking almost all of Konoha's Anbu with him, along with the leaders of several Ninja Clans. The ones left behind in the Hokage Tower were only the two advisors, Koharu and Homura, along with two Anbu teams.
Faced with an explosion that had affected almost the entire Konoha, both of them were stunned. They had thought they were just there to handle some urgent matters, but no one had told them it would be this urgent.
Having lived most of their lives and served as Konoha's advisors for decades, they had truly never seen such a situation before.
Especially Koharu, who nearly fainted upon learning that her own home had been bombed. Before Homura could comfort her, he received news that his home had also been bombed.
With the higher-ups not issuing any orders, those below naturally didn't dare to act, and the entire Hokage Tower fell into a state of paralysis.
It wasn't until Danzo Shimura took over the Hokage Tower with his Root that the panic among Konoha's villagers was slightly alleviated.
"How is the situation at the Hokage?"
In the Hokage's Office, Danzo asked his subordinate. Sitting beside him were Koharu and Homura, though both of their faces were pale and their eyes vacant.
In front of Danzo was a man wearing black sunglasses with a purple mark on his right cheek. Danzo was asking this man.
Aburame Tatsuma lowered his head slightly and said expressionlessly: "Anbu have already been sent to check the situation. We should receive news soon."
"Is that so?"
Danzo lowered his head. He didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. Hiruzen had taken most of Konoha's elite forces with him, and their fate was unknown. If they were dead, then there would be no one left in the village to compete with him for the position of Hokage. But if they were truly all dead, could Konoha, having lost so many of its elite, remain stable?
"What is the Hyuga Clan doing now?"
"Hyuga Hiashi is leading his clan members to rescue the injured and evacuate the villagers."
Hearing this, Danzo frowned.
'The Hyuga Clan had been acting very strangely these past few days, as if something had happened within the clan. The faces of the main family's members were all clouded with gloom.'
'Could it be related to this explosion?'
"Let's go, we should help out as well."
With that, Danzo stood up. He had already adapted to his one-armed state these past few days.
"Danzo, are you going to the scene?"
A hoarse and weak voice spoke up. It was Homura, who had noticed Danzo's movements.
Danzo nodded and explained, "Hiruzen isn't here right now. Someone needs to go and reassure the villagers."
Homura watched Danzo's retreating figure and shook his head, 'At a time like this...'
'Danzo, you are anxious again.'
---
Neji was also troubled. Although he had heard that the Nine-Tails' attack had caused great destruction to the village, he had been too young at the time to understand. But now, it seemed that even the Nine-Tails' attack might not have been as terrifying as today's explosion, which had turned half of Konoha into ruins.
He had seen the ruins with his own eyes. If he remembered correctly, that area had originally been the territory of the Third Hokage's clan. Hiashi had wanted to lead the clan there to help, but upon arriving, they found it was a wasted trip. The former territory of the Sarutobi Clan was now just a crater, and it was unlikely that even ants could have survived.
Hyuga immediately ordered the evacuation of civilians and the rescue of the injured.
Neji had just delivered an injured mother and daughter to a shelter. He heard they were good friends of the Hokage's grandson, but judging from the scene, the Hokage's grandson was probably just ashes now.
He still had to go and help other injured people.
'How could such an explosion happen so suddenly, and at this time?'
As Neji pondered the reasons, a glimmer of light suddenly flashed in his mind. Slowly, his footsteps came to a halt, and his expression became somewhat grave.
'Could this have been Naruto's doing?'
"Oh? I didn't expect you to figure it out."
A sudden voice made Neji shiver. He looked up and saw Naruto standing right in front of him.
"R-Really, it was you?"
Neji felt his throat go dry, 'Would I be considered an accomplice?'
"If you're talking about that crater, then yes, it was me."
Naruto admitted it openly, then asked, "So, are you still planning to leave with me, a terrorist?"
"This..."
Neji's face was still filled with confusion.
Naruto frowned and said, "Thinking twice before acting is a good habit, but being too hesitant can easily make people dislike you."
"Cough, I just couldn't process it for a moment. You, of all people, managed to pull off something so huge without a sound."
Neji couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, 'Now, both me and Naruto are going to become Missing-nin.
'Wait, no… me and Naruto weren't even Ninjas yet.'
'Never mind, then.'
"That's good. Do you have anything else to prepare?"
"Can you give me half an hour?"
"Of course. With Konoha in its current state, you could wait half a day and it wouldn't matter."
Seeing Naruto agree, Neji immediately ran toward the Hyuga Clan's compound, with Naruto following close behind. Along the way, the chaotic crowds instinctively avoided the two, as if they hadn't seen them at all.
Neji didn't make Naruto wait for half an hour. After rummaging around at home for a bit, he came out.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's go."
Just as Naruto placed his hand on Neji's shoulder, the latter spoke up again.
"Wait."
"Do you have anything else to say?" Naruto was a bit exasperated, 'Couldn't this guy just say everything at once?'
Neji's expression was complicated: "Aren't you going to say anything to Hinata-sama?"
Naruto shook his head without any hesitation and said, "There's no need for that."
"Why?" Neji could tell that Hinata liked Naruto, and Naruto usually took good care of her. They seemed like a good match. He had even hoped to hear Naruto call him 'brother-in-law' someday.
"Hinata needs a real transformation."
Naruto didn't give Neji a chance to say anything more. With a flash, the two of them disappeared from the spot. The large branch family's residence was now empty.
A gentle breeze blew through, causing the wind chime hanging at the entrance to tinkle softly. Inside the room, a pure white ribbon was tied simply to the window, with a line of farewell written on it.
[Birds are born to fly.]
Hinata, who was resting in the main family's residence far away, seemed to have sensed something and looked up at the sky.
Even in the darkness of night, she could see a pure white bird flying into the distance.