Chapter154

Even at first glance, the width of the destroyed section was about thirty meters. Considering the explosion power needed to create such damage to a multi-meter thick wall, one might feel a shiver. And before that, it was necessary to deplete the barrier and survive under the defenders' fire…

Old fart Oonoki certainly sent his elite shinobi on a suicide mission if they managed not only to break through Hanzo the Salamander's lands but also to retain enough strength for such a result. However, the destruction of the wall itself isn't as impressive when you look at the explosion's result—the torn pieces were scattered within a five-kilometer radius from the epicenter, not much smaller than an average two-story house, creating whole swaths through relatively flimsy residences of ordinary citizens.

Surely, the main impact fell on the buildings right next to the wall in that section, but determining this was impossible—about three kilometers inward was a landscape riddled with craters from the explosions. The buildings there were simply wiped off the face of the earth. It felt as if some giant had struck that place, leveling a whole part of Konoha. So that's what Ishi meant when he spoke about huge destruction and casualties…

Even though the enemy jōnin were stopped, preventing them from reaching the Hokage Tower as they were so eager to, judging by the battle's aftermath, they managed to cause significant damage, even grazing the main building of the hospital. And they ruined everything they could reach.

Although there were a lot of people now sifting through the ruins, clearing debris, and gathering usable materials into piles while burning the rest and smoothing the torn earth with Doton techniques, it was clear at first glance that the cleanup work would take more than a week, even with the immense capabilities of shinobi.

I also noted with fury that one of the orphanages I had visited before being sent to the front was located exactly in the area where no traces of buildings remained. I could only hope that the caretakers and staff managed to evacuate the children before the enemies arrived.

The chance was fairly high since orphanages were primarily staffed by retired shinobi, still capable of fleeing the combat zone faster than ordinary people. Disabilities aside, even former shinobi preferred to keep themselves in shape as much as possible—years of habit are hard to shake.

After surveying the destruction once more, I shook my head and settled on the roof. Although the state of Konoha was disheartening, Saya's fate was far more important to me than that of unfamiliar people, so it was time to get to work. I formed a few seals for the technique designed to locate people by their chakra.

— Hiden: Kagura Shingan!

First, I searched the partially destroyed hospital building but didn't find the sought-after spark of chakra, although some familiar iryō-nins were there. However, the staff was about ten times less than before my departure. If at least a quarter of all the familiar faces survived after the war, I would consider it a great fortune. Saya was not found in the other departments either, and I began to worry.

Quickly scanning the entire village and the most prominent chakra sources, I confirmed that Kushina, Mito, and Linli were alright and examined the Nara clan lands. More accurately, I attempted to do so, as the number of erected barriers on the houses and overall protection significantly hindered my sensitivity. So, the houses are still standing… or the body just hasn't been found yet?

Shaking my head and using willpower to suppress the rising panic, I ended the technique and, getting to my feet, used several Shunshin techniques to reach the clan district wall. Jumping over the wall in one bound and slowly passing through the two outer barriers, I found myself near our house, close to the training grounds. Despite this proximity, I still didn't sense Saya's chakra.

Taking a deep breath and wiping the sweat of anxiety from my brow with a trembling hand, I slowly walked to the front door, mentally convincing myself that this didn't necessarily mean anything and that Saya might just have too little chakra at the moment for the sensor to detect. I wanted to rush forward to test this theory and not cross the final threshold, after which it would become clear that Saya was definitely not here.

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