Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

The main gate of the Hidden Hot Spring Village erupted into fierce battle, with hundreds locked in chaotic combat.

Fighting was also taking place across the entire village. After a day of silence, the Hidden Hot Spring Village became noisy again, filled with endless cries of battle.

However, to the villagers hiding inside the underground shelters, this was nothing more than an invasion drill.

The Hidden Hot Spring Village sat at a low elevation, and its shelter had been built on the lowest western ground, excavated underground. It had taken several years for the village's ancestors to build.

Though located beneath the surface and not particularly spacious, it could still comfortably accommodate all the villagers without becoming overcrowded.

Although the Land of Hot Springs was a peaceful nation, the ninja village represented military force and warfare, so such emergency measures had been planned from the very beginning.

...

"Hiss!"

An object flickered with faint sparks and flew over the high walls of the Hidden Hot Spring Village.

The hidden ninja guarding this area narrowed his eyes... It was a bundle of [Explosive Tags] tightly tied together, estimated to number no fewer than one hundred.

At this height, the tags would explode precisely upon impact with the ground. The power released from over a hundred tags could cause violent tremors to the land housing the underground shelter.

Though not enough to destroy the shelter itself, it would certainly terrify the civilians inside, prompting many to flee outside.

Once they emerged, the Hidden Hot Spring ninja would inevitably divert their attention toward protecting them.

The enemy was really sly.

Shwa!

However, just as anxious eyes watched, a flash of white leapt straight into the sky.

Sakumo Hatake focused—he saw that the bundle of [Explosive Tags] was coated in a powerful adhesive liquid, making it impossible to throw back along its original path.

The enemy had already anticipated that strong ninja would be guarding here.

In fact, someone like Tachiyama Shinsaburo had even taken precautions against him specifically.

"Hehe, Sakumo Hatake, I knew you'd be here."

Outside the high walls, Tachiyama Shinsaburo gazed at the airborne Sakumo Hatake, a sinister grin forming on his face. Having once worked in Konoha's Intelligence Division, he was intimately familiar with most of the Leaf ninja.

Among them was Sakumo Hatake—a man regarded as second only to the Third Hokage within the village.

He understood well that Sakumo Hatake would never abandon the civilians of the Hidden Hot Spring Village, especially considering the political relationship between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs.

Konoha's people—led by the Third Hokage—were always putting on airs of righteousness.

From the time of the First Hokage onward, they preached peace and justice, yet the truth was that right now, in the Land of Rain, Leaf ninja were locked in confrontation with ninja from both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.

This standoff had already caused countless innocent lives to be lost across the Land of Rain.

Tachiyama Shinsaburo firmly believed that soon, a great war would erupt among the Five Great Ninja Nations—each fighting for their own interests.

"Hiss!"

Sakumo Hatake didn't have much time to think. He swung the chakra tanto in his hand, and arcs of brilliant blue chakra crashed heavily onto the cluster of explosive tags.

"Boom!"

Immediately afterward, high above, the explosive tags detonated, and the explosion seemed to tremble the ground beneath.

"Lord Sakumo!" A ninja from the Hidden Hot Spring Village cried out in shock at what he had just done.

They hadn't expected that this powerful ninja from Konoha would make such a move to protect their village.

"Go!"

Meanwhile, beyond the high wall, Tachiyama Shinsaburo, who had already anticipated Sakumo's actions, smiled faintly and raised his hand. In an instant, over a hundred figures around him charged forward madly.

The earlier explosion had blown away two-thirds of the western high wall of the Hidden Hot Spring Village. What was left could no longer stop them.

"I'm fine. Prepare for battle."

From within the smoke created by the explosion, a figure landed. Some parts of Sakumo Hatake's clothing had been destroyed by the blast, but there was no sign of injury on him.

Such an explosion, at such proximity, would have certainly killed an ordinary Jonin — a highly skilled ninja — without question.

But for a ninja of Sakumo Hatake's caliber, powerful chakra could form an instant defense. Although it wasn't like Ryo Yagura (Night Moon's) Lightning Release Armor, which could withstand nearly all damage, thinking one could kill him simply with some explosive tags was nothing short of wishful thinking.

There was no longer any need to hide. A dozen or so of the Hot Spring ninja immediately rushed out as well.

At that moment, more than a hundred Evil Cultists poured inside. However, instead of attacking immediately, they quickly formed a protective circle around a black-cloaked, hooded figure at the center.

Seeing this, Sakumo Hatake coldly remarked, "Tachiyama Shinsaburo, since you already know I'm here, why hide your face? Why this unnecessary charade?"

"Heh." Hearing this, Tachiyama let out a light chuckle before lifting the brim of his hat, revealing a pair of eyes sharp like a hawk's that locked onto Hatake Sakumo standing over ten meters away. "You Leaf ninjas are like flies — so annoying..."

"You were once a ninja of the Leaf yourself, yet saying such shameless things after betraying and slaughtering your own people — I'm not surprised at all."

Sakumo Hatake observed that there was still a faint scar on Tachiyama's neck — a truly terrifying vitality, considering that just two days ago, Sakumo Hatake himself had personally severed his head.

"But if you already know I'm here and still dared to sneak up on me, do you really think I can't kill you again?"

Sakumo Hatake unleashed an overwhelming killing intent, his eyes burning with cold fury. It caused even the fanatical followers of the 'Evil Cult' surrounding Tachiyama to sweat involuntarily and instinctively step backward.

Knowing he couldn't withstand even a single strike from Sakumo Hatake, Tachiyama deliberately had the hundreds of Evil Cultists surround him tightly in protective formation.

As Sakumo Hatake said, Tachiyama Shinsaburo had not yet become truly immortal.

They needed to find the Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons as soon as possible and complete the last stage of the Ritual. Only then would they no longer need to fear this guy and Konoha.

Facing Sakumo's overwhelming killing intent, Tachiyama Shinsaburo remained unfazed. The Evil Cultists surrounding him, though they looked somewhat eager, seemed to have received orders not to move forward.

"What exactly are they trying to do?" 

A Hot Spring Village ninja murmured to himself. Both sides faced each other without making a move.

Was it because Sakumo Hatake was here that they dared not act recklessly?

Frowning, Sakumo thought that Tachiyama Shinsaburo surely knew he'd be here. Yet this guy had still only brought a group of Evil Cultists whose combat strength didn't seem particularly impressive for an ambush on the Shelter. 

What was he really plotting?

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