Chapter 55: Konoha Invitation

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After thinking it through carefully, he finally clenched his teeth and decided. Let's just act first and deal with it later. 

Shuuzawa even managed to capture the Fourth Raikage—so grabbing the son of the Third Tsuchikage now doesn't seem like such a big deal, right?

"And it's all for figuring out the truth about Obito. He's too dangerous right now."

Once he made up his mind, the rest became relatively simple. 

Kakashi would handle coordination with the border defence units, prompting them to make obvious movements and shifts to support their mission.

They were already working with the border forces for this operation, so such a request wouldn't be refused. 

Shuuzawa and Shisui coordinated with the Anbu squad that had been secretly following them. 

If anything went wrong, that team would be their backup.

"Alright, it's about time to move," Shuuzawa said, glancing at the five people beside him. 

After a moment of thought, he continued, "We're changing up the team assignments this time. Shisui, you'll pair up with your little brother." 

"You two will handle reconnaissance and cleanup. You're skilled with genjutsu, so you can quickly gather intel and pinpoint our target's location. And for enemies we can't kill…"

"You can just knock them out with genjutsu instead. That won't be a problem, right?"

"No problem," Shisui and Uchiha Itachi nodded in agreement. However, Itachi looked over at his older brother, then at the silent Kakashi nearby.

Weren't they supposed to be the team leaders? "Kakashi-senpai, you and Yamato will flank the target from the side. That okay?" 

Shuuzawa turned to Kakashi's group and continued, "I'll go with Yuugao. We're already teammates—we've got good coordination."

"No issue," Kakashi replied with a nod, though he thought, " So now I'm not even the team leader anymore?

"I'm good too, don't worry, Shuuzawa," Yamato said with a grin. He was more than ready to jump into action.

Yuugao didn't speak, but she was just as motivated. She didn't know when it started, but lately, she'd felt like she wasn't contributing much during missions. 

Even if she had to admit that some of the enemies they'd been facing were seriously overpowered, she was still a ninja trained rigorously in the Anbu.

"In that case, let's move." As soon as the words left his mouth, Shuuzawa and the others swiftly departed, heading toward the pre-planned ambush location.

"Shuuzawa… are you sure this is okay?" On the way, Yuugao finally spoke up. She couldn't hide the concern in her voice.

"You're worried about the consequences? Don't be. It'll be fine." Shuuzawa gave a light smile.

What they were doing was crossing the line—they were about to strike directly at a minor Hidden Village.

No one could predict what kind of fallout it might bring to Konoha, but Shuuzawa still had confidence.

After all, the Land of Grass did have people from the Uzumaki Clan. 

Combined with the issue of Uchiha Obito, as long as they didn't go on a killing spree against Iwagakure shinobi, they could still talk their way out of it.

"Don't worry—I already captured the Fourth Raikage once. And nothing happened, right?"

"I'm not talking about the village… I mean you." He hadn't expected that. Yuugao lowered her head slightly and said it in a soft voice.

"…?" Shuuzawa's expression twitched briefly, but his smile grew even warmer a second later.

He remembered—Yuugao was someone deeply devoted to those she cared about.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to get hurt." Slowing down a bit, Shuuzawa reached out and tapped her on the forehead.

Although the mask blocked the sensation, he still meant it. "Don't forget, I've got the Flying Thunder God Technique. I can warp out of here anytime—"

"Not just myself, I can take everyone with me." Shuuzawa wasn't boasting. With the Flying Thunder God, he really could come and go freely. 

As long as he wasn't trying to die in a blaze of glory like Minato Namikaze, it was pretty hard to kill him.

"We're here. I'll leave my back to you this time." They arrived at the ambush point without a sound and swiftly took down the nearby Grass shinobi on guard. 

Shuuzawa gave Yuugao a smile, then turned his gaze toward the Hidden Grass Village ahead.

At this point, the village was understaffed. Most of their ninja had been drawn away by the diversions set by Konoha's border forces.

This would make things much easier for their mission.

"Almost time," Shuuzawa muttered, checking the clock. Slowly, he began channelling chakra.

And when the moment they had agreed on finally arrived, he didn't hesitate. He formed a hand seal.

"Wood Style: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

BOOM!

In an instant, a surge of violent chakra poured into the ground. Countless green shoots burst through the soil!

They quickly turned into thick vines, intertwining and weaving together. In no time, giant trees began rising wildly within the Hidden Grass Village!

He wasn't the only one—on the other side, Yamato was using the same technique.

Although Yamato's Wood Style wasn't as overwhelming as Shuuzawa's, even a "lifeless" version of the jutsu was still incredibly powerful.

Within moments, two dense forests had taken root inside the village.

Both Grass and Iwa shinobi were left completely stunned.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?!"

"What the hell is this?!"

The Grass ninja were in a full panic. They didn't even understand what was happening.

Amid their confusion, countless vines shot out from the forest near Shuuzawa, suddenly wrapping around the nearby ninja!

"Aaagh!"

"Damn it! What is this stuff?!"

Screams echoed everywhere. The vines didn't care—they swiftly entangled more and more ninja, binding them to the trees and sucking out their chakra.

Fueled by that stolen chakra, the forest only grew larger and stronger.

"It's Wood Style! Konoha ninja are here—run, now!"

Compared to the disorganised Grass forces, the Iwa shinobi reacted far better. The moment they sensed something was wrong, they started retreating.

But by then, Shuuzawa and Yuugao had already charged in, with Kakashi and his team close behind.

"Dammit! Are the Konoha people insane?!"

Kitsuchi's face darkened. He hadn't expected Konoha to strike so aggressively, attacking a whole village without hesitation.

But what shocked him more… was finally understanding why his father feared Wood Style so much.

Watching vines whip through the battlefield, ensnaring shinobi and draining their chakra, Kitsuchi's scalp tingled. This is a jutsu made for war…

"Hm?"

In the middle of those thoughts, he suddenly sensed something. Instinctively turning, he heard a faint slicing sound behind him.

"A kunai?"

Kitsuchi had sharp eyes—he quickly identified what had been thrown. But just then, the face of Bunya beside him twisted in horror.

"Run—it's the Flying Thunder God!"

Before the words even finished, a masked figure appeared before them like a ghost. The person glanced at Kitsuchi, then locked eyes on Bunya.

In that moment, a strange power radiated from him. Something so natural, it seemed like he was nature itself.

His speed was lightning-fast—Kitsuchi didn't fully see how he moved.

But a moment later, a piercing sound split the air!

A violent shockwave exploded outward, knocking Kitsuchi backwards.

Bunya took the full brunt of the blow—his body was flung into a building inside the Hidden Grass Village.

The structure was blasted open with a hole, and the shockwave sent nearby people flying. The building itself began to crumble.

"You're Kitsuchi?"

Kitsuchi's face was grim, but the masked man suddenly spoke. He pulled out a small booklet and began seemingly comparing photos.

"You look older than the picture, but that's fine."

"Who are you?" Kitsuchi asked, keeping his cool—he was Ōnoki's son.

The masked figure smiled slightly. "I'm a Konoha Anbu. I invited you, Lord Kitsuchi, to visit the Hidden Leaf."

"Invite me?" Kitsuchi glanced at the massive forest, listened to the screams of the Grass shinobi, and remembered what happened to the Fourth Raikage.

His expression turned grim. "You call this an invitation? This is how Konoha treats its guests?"

"Mm-hm," the Anbu ninja nodded calmly.

"If you cooperate, everything will go smoothly. If you don't…Then I'll personally show you my way of inviting people."

....

"Kakashi-senpai! Something's happening on Shuuzawa's side!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Yamato was panting lightly as he looked at the Wood Style technique he had just unleashed. 

Then he glanced at the one Shigenari Shuuzawa had cast not far away. 

Deep down, he felt a bit envious—despite using the same technique, Shuuzawa's results were significantly more impressive. 

Still, he didn't feel any jealousy. Instead, he turned to Kakashi.

"Should we make our move as well?"

"Mhm," Kakashi nodded, then looked at the chaotic state of the Grass Village. 

In a low voice, he asked, "Can you bind them all like Shuuzawa did? Or maybe expand the area of your Deep Forest Emergence?"

"Uhh... that might be asking a bit too much from me, Kakashi-senpai," 

Yamato scratched his head awkwardly. "I've explained this a few times already, I—"

"Alright, I get it," Kakashi cut him off, shaking his head. Yamato had explained it more than once, but Kakashi still couldn't help feeling a little jealous. 

Having such a massive and powerful Wood Style ability on their side could save them a lot of trouble. 

But now wasn't the time to get caught up; they had a mission to complete.

"Get ready to move. But before that—" Kakashi pulled a signal flare from his pouch and launched it into the sky. It was a call to summon the remaining Anbu units into the battle.

The rest of the Anbu would act the moment they saw the signal. 

Watching the flare drift upward, Kakashi let out a quiet sigh. "Let's hope things don't spiral out of control…"

"Itachi, our target is over there." Amid the confusion in the Grass Village, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi had already transformed into Grass ninja, blending seamlessly into the crowd. 

Their mission wasn't to fight on the frontlines at the outset—it was to gather intel about the village's experiments and, if possible, locate anything of value. 

That meant infiltration over confrontation. Now, the two had already locked onto their target—the head ninja of the Grass Village.

"You cover me. I'll capture him and extract the intel. Stay sharp," Shisui said as he assessed the situation. 

The Grass leader was surrounded by many shinobi, which made things far less ideal. Still, Shuuzawa and the others had already engaged. 

He couldn't afford to drag his feet, even if it meant a direct assault; he had to act.

"Isn't that too risky?" Itachi asked with concern, but Shisui simply shook his head.

"Relax. I have a plan. Get ready."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shisui darted off. Itachi watched him go, sighing quietly. 

This was a lot more intense than he'd expected for his first mission. But now wasn't the time for hesitation. 

Watching Shisui close the distance, he took a deep breath and activated his Sharingan.

Just as Shisui entered the optimal range, Itachi whipped out several shuriken and hurled them toward the area near the Grass Village leader.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Claw!"

Flames enveloped the shuriken, turning them into searing-hot projectiles.

The weapons were scattered in all directions, like a flurry of blazing phoenix blossoms raining toward their target.

"Watch out! Enemy attack!"

The ninja guarding the Grass leader weren't weak. The moment they sensed danger, they immediately jumped in front of him. 

But in doing so, they inadvertently exposed his back completely and Shisui seized the moment.

Moving like a shadow, he dashed forward and silently appeared behind the leader, yanking him back.

"Hm?" The Grass leader sensed something was off and turned to strike—but what met his eyes were a pair of crimson Sharingan.

"Sharingan—!"

His face changed instantly, but it was already too late. A strange force surged into his mind through his eyes, invading his consciousness.

"Bastard!!"

Kitsuchi was completely restrained by Wood Style, unable to break free. All he could do was curse furiously. 

Shuuzawa stood calmly watching him a short distance away, only adding to Kitsuchi's frustration.

That bizarre, almost omnipresent Flying Thunder God technique had thoroughly overwhelmed him. 

He hadn't even seen Shuuzawa throw a single kunai yet somehow, the guy managed to strike him from every direction.

The battle had been a complete nightmare. If Kitsuchi hadn't used his Earth Style to reinforce his body, he might've been dead already. 

But even the best defences were pointless now. The enemy had subdued him with Wood Style.

He could feel his chakra constantly draining—and at this point, all he could do was hurl insults.

"You're the real bastard here," Shuuzawa replied, shaking his slightly numb hand. He couldn't help but snap back.

"Is Earth Style just for defence with you guys? What about offence? Or is that Iwagakure's signature? All defence, no fight?"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Kitsuchi was furious. 

He wasn't good at trading insults, and Shuuzawa's mocking tone was getting under his skin.

"Oh? You've been turtling up this whole time," Shuuzawa said with an uninterested shrug.

"Maybe that's just how Iwagakure works. Always hiding behind walls." 

"You outsource all your dirty work to mercenary shinobi groups while you sit back and rarely get involved yourselves."

"And what about you? Aren't you the one hiding all the time?" Kitsuchi snapped.

"Isn't that Konoha's way? If you've got guts, let me down and fight me like a real man!"

He was losing his temper. Trash talk wasn't his thing, and Shuuzawa's sharp tongue had pushed him to the edge. 

But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He knew exactly what the shinobi world was like.

Calling someone's methods "underhanded" just meant your skills weren't up to par. But Shuuzawa's unpredictable style had rattled him. 

The more he thought about it, the more he understood why his father had chosen to end the war after the loss at Kannabi Bridge.

It was because of people like Namikaze Minato—unavoidable, unstoppable, impossible to counter.

Fighting like that left you completely powerless, just watching helplessly as you got pounded. Who wouldn't want to surrender after that?

Still, he realised something else—this kid had no intention of killing him. 

If he had, those Wood Style bindings would've been impaling him instead of just restraining him.

"Come on now, didn't your old man ever teach you about winner takes all? History's written by the victors."

Shuuzawa tilted his head at him, genuinely confused. That look alone made Kitsuchi feel a little embarrassed. 

But then Shuuzawa nodded as if he'd suddenly understood something.

"Now I get it. No wonder Iwagakure still doesn't have a Fourth Tsuchikage. This is the problem."

"You—!" Kitsuchi's face turned red with anger, feeling humiliated yet again. But this time, Shuuzawa didn't give him another chance to speak.

Bending forward slightly, with the forest behind him expanding and swallowing everything in its path accompanied by the screams of surrounding shinobi—Shuuzawa smiled.

"That's enough, Lord Kitsuchi. It's over. And by the way…Konoha welcomes your visit."

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