Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 80 Chaos

"Smoke is rising from the main stadium!"

The scouts on higher ground spotted the signal to begin the battle and immediately relayed it down. The impatient squads took up positions, forming a circle, waiting for their captain in the center to smear blood onto the summoning scroll. They would simultaneously provide a large amount of chakra when the summoning jutsu was activated, ensuring the summoned snake was large enough to break through Konoha's barrier and outer walls.

However, the scroll had barely been taken out when a figure suddenly appeared behind the captain. Completely unprepared for the attack, the captain remained in the motion of opening the scroll, his head flying off. Even the quick-reacting ninjas were stunned by this sudden death; a mere moment of stunned silence sealed their fate. The assassin in blue armor quickly disappeared into the ocean of water. The ninjas' hasty response was futile in the vast current; they were soon completely submerged and drowned on the dry land.

"Oh!"

The distant sound made Tobirama frown, having just finished off his opponent. That direction was in a place where snakes were not supposed to be summoned according to the plan, and the person dealing with that area was his older brother. He didn't necessarily think that his brother's operation had failed, resulting in the appearance of the snakes, but rather...

"I told you to keep it down! I can hear you from five miles away!"

"Tobirama... that's a clone over there, he can't hear me..."

"Isn't this your clone?"

I'm sorry.

Outside Konoha, chaos reigned, and within the village itself, the situation was equally turbulent. Many outsiders walking on the streets, sitting in shops, and lying in inns suddenly pulled out weapons and indiscriminately attacked nearby civilians, creating chaos. Their original plan was to disperse Konoha's guards as much as possible, preventing them from supporting the main arena and thus buying time to kill the Third Hokage. However, the summoning beasts they had planned to break through the defenses only managed to get in one. Even though they hadn't expected all the snakes to enter Konoha, stopping four was still beyond their expectations. If there was only one entry point, their subsequent battle would be extremely passive.

"Lord Jiraiya?" The ninja in charge of defending the southern side of Konoha had experienced three wars and immediately recognized the toad that had sat on and killed a giant python as that ninja's summoning beast.

Jiraiya's return was kept secret from everyone except the higher-ups. He had various ways of evading detection, and he had also received special instructions from the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage intended to use Jiraiya as a last resort, while also testing the strength of the higher-ups. Based on the intercepted intelligence, he determined that the other side was very familiar with the various levels of Konoha's defenses, and that obtaining so many entry slots meant they must have an inside contact. The Third Hokage didn't want to doubt his comrade who had fought alongside him for most of his life, but reality no longer allowed him to indulge in wishful thinking.

If Orochimaru had known of Jiraiya's existence beforehand and made corresponding preparations during today's battle, he would have had to confront the fact that there was a traitor among the higher-ups. Of course, even if there wasn't, he couldn't continue to hypnotize himself into ignoring the threat. If he survived the battle, he would have to act decisively and swiftly.

"Master Jiraiya is not available to come at the moment." The one who got off the toad was not the one expected. The blond boy had the iconic long beard that everyone in Konoha recognized. At this moment, no one would mistake him for an enemy ninja.

Is that the fox spirit? He actually called Jiraiya-sama "Master"? Could a fox spirit catch that man's eye? Wait, isn't today the Chunin Exams? How did he end up on the other side of Konoha?! But… the toad summoning beast can't be faked; only Jiraiya-sama and Minato-sama can summon it…

"Oh dear, there's still one summoned beast to deal with. Good luck, everyone. I'll be going now." The boy paid no attention to the conflicted emotions of the people opposite him. He saw the smoke rising from the outer wall in the distance, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and disappeared instantly.

"What!" The ninja, caught off guard, forgot all his hesitation. The boy's dazzling golden hair instantly matched the figure in his memory. There was no mistake, it had to be the Flying Thunder God Technique! That boy, could he be...?

Let's go back to the moment the raid began.

Naruto's intimidation didn't last long, because Baki, the leader of the Sand Village team, quickly arrived to try to rescue his student, but Kakashi-sensei also appeared in time to stop Baki's actions.

"You did indeed launch an invasion."

Kakashi's casual remark sent a chill down Maki's spine; he couldn't understand how the plan had been leaked.

"Konoha already knew?"

“Hayabusa Gekko, do you remember him?” A rare, intense killing intent flashed in Kakashi’s black and red eyes. “You tried to kill him, but luck is clearly on our side.”

"He's not dead? No wonder..." To prevent any further complications, Izuna went and deleted Maki's memories again, completely erasing any mention of Namikaze and Hui, and even created a scene where Maki closed his eyes while watching Gekko Hayate's chest crack open. Therefore, Maki believed that he indeed did not watch Gekko Hayate die, which was a huge mistake he made.

"What on earth is going on?" Sakura, who had been diligently dispelling the illusion, couldn't understand why the match had started in the stands one second and then the players below had also begun to fight the next.

"The Sand Village and the Sound Village have joined forces to invade Konoha. Team 7's mission is to capture Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, and ensure he is unable to fight." Kakashi quickly issued the team's mission, not forgetting to check on the equally confused Shino, "Shino, go and regroup with your teammates."

Shino was indeed a little worried that Hinata and Kiba might fall into a genjutsu, so he nodded and immediately left during a gap in the standoff. Naruto glanced down and, seeing that the situation was also at a standoff, didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked up at the Kage's seat. At this moment, Sunagakure had already taken the Hokage hostage to the rooftop, and the Hokage's only bodyguard stood a few meters away from the two, never being left too far behind.

"Um, I've been wanting to ask this for a while. Is your Kazekage Orochimaru?" Naruto didn't seem to be joking at all, but he still angered the three Sand Village ninja opposite him.

Kankuro shouted the loudest, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting! Lord Kazekage is my father, how could he be Orochimaru!"

Upon hearing this, Naruto continued with a very sincere expression, "But the Kazekage's chakra does indeed belong to Orochimaru. I encountered him in the Forest of Death, and I was terrified by that snake, so I remembered his chakra very well. I was startled when he entered just now, thinking that the Kazekage was Orochimaru."

At that moment, Maki felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, but he forced himself to remain calm and not be distracted by the enemy's words. However, the commotion on the Hokage and Kazekage's side did not stop because of his composure. He witnessed Kazekage's guards split into four, skillfully creating a huge purple barrier that covered the two Kage and the only surviving guard. Then, Kazekage lifted his tightly wrapped outer robe.

That jet-black long hair, that huge, eye-catching purple waist sash—he doesn't look like Lord Rasa at all.

Machi immediately realized that this was going to be a disaster.