Watching the endless waves of explosions outside her window, Tsunade's brow furrowed. There was never a moment's peace. She wondered what kind of situation had arisen this time.
With a soft shhh, an Anbu appeared in the Hokage's office.
"Have you found the intruder?" Tsunade asked.
"We have not yet found any trace of the intruder," the Anbu replied.
"I see." Tsunade rested her chin on her hand, watching the village continue to be ravaged by explosions. She pondered for a moment before asking, "Have you identified the source of the explosions?"
"Based on evidence from the blast sites, we have confirmed they are clay bombs," the Anbu reported.
"Clay bombs?" Tsunade's expression faltered. Could it be the Hidden Stone Village?
"Continue searching for the intruder. At the same time, assign ninja with Lightning Release to deal with any bombs found. For an attack of this scale, there must be a significant number of intruders," Tsunade ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," the Anbu acknowledged, then vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Bang! The door to the Hokage's office was violently thrown open.
"Lady Tsunade, the civilians have mostly been evacuated, and all available Jonin in the village have been assembled… Hah… hah…" Shizune rushed in, panting as she delivered her report.
"I know." Tsunade didn't turn around. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Where is Jiraiya?"
"I'm sorry, we haven't been able to locate Lord Jiraiya yet," Shizune reported, her expression anxious.
"And Sakura Haruno?" Tsunade continued.
"That… I'm sorry, we haven't been able to contact Sakura either… When the Anbu arrived at her house, no one was there," Shizune said, biting her lip.
"What about Karin?" Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she pressed on.
"Also… no sign of her." Shizune gritted her teeth, then added, "Even Yakumo is missing."
After Shizune finished, the room fell silent. Tsunade stared out the window, lost in thought.
"Send the Anbu to the village perimeter. The Jonin will search within the village," Tsunade said, her voice calm.
The core strength of the village was mostly present. If the enemy didn't want a direct confrontation and was only planning a hit-and-run, then they should be planning their escape by now.
Therefore, deploying the Anbu to the perimeter would allow them to intercept the intruders, or at least track them if they fled. The Jonin would remain in the village to search, preparing for the enemy's other possible moves.
Before Shizune could leave, another figure suddenly appeared in the room.
"There's no need for all that trouble."
A deep, serious voice echoed through the office.
"Lord… Lord Jiraiya!" Shizune stared in surprise at the sudden appearance of Jiraiya.
"Oh? What is it?" Tsunade turned her head to look at him. "Do you have a lead?"
A shadow passed over Jiraiya's face. "There is only one intruder."
"One?" A look of astonishment appeared on Tsunade's face.
"Yes, only one," Jiraiya repeated.
"Then why didn't you stop him? What are you still doing here?" Tsunade asked coldly.
"Because… I can't fly…" Jiraiya said, his expression utterly serious, delivering a line that sounded almost comical.
"Fly?" Tsunade was taken aback.
"Come with me," Jiraiya said, opening the window and leaping out onto the terrace of the Hokage Tower.
Tsunade followed him out.
When they reached the large rooftop terrace, Jiraiya handed Tsunade a pair of binoculars and pointed to a spot in the sky. "The intruder is there. See for yourself."
The explosions within the village continued unabated. Tsunade raised the binoculars and looked in the direction Jiraiya was pointing.
Sure enough, she saw a figure. The sky was too dark, so she could only make out a faint silhouette. From its position, white objects were continuously falling downward.
Tsunade lowered the binoculars, silent.
"Understand now?" Jiraiya said with a sense of helplessness. "At that altitude, our only option for now is defense. Fortunately, it's night, and the civilians have mostly been evacuated. Based on the residue, they're clay bombs. We just need to use Lightning…"
"I've already given the order," Tsunade interrupted him. She mulled it over for a moment. "Just one person, capable of this level of destruction, and using an Earth Release ninjutsu…"
"No." Jiraiya shook his head, cutting her off. "I know what you're thinking, but that's impossible. Why would the Tsuchikage come here himself? I have a guess as to who might fit the description, though."
"Who?"
"Shuying!" Jiraiya said without hesitation.
"Shuying?" Tsunade was stunned. "Isn't that the person you encountered on your last mission?"
"Yes, but there was something I didn't tell you at the time." A bitter look crossed Jiraiya's face. "She seems to be able to copy any ninjutsu."
"Copy… any ninjutsu?" Tsunade's expression grew grave. "What do you mean?"
"The last time I met her, she used my ninjutsu. I originally thought the details had been leaked somehow, but then, in the Waterfall Village, she seemed to be able to copy… Sage Art," Jiraiya said, choosing his words carefully.
"Copy… Sage Art?" Tsunade was shocked. "Are you sure?"
"I wasn't sure at first," Jiraiya said helplessly. "But what's happening now forces me to be certain. When Sakura touched her with that Storm Release formed from natural energy, nothing happened. Now I understand. She used the power of natural energy to negate it. I don't know how she did it, but from the looks of things now, she can copy any ninjutsu."
"Alright… we can discuss these problems later." Tsunade stared hatefully at the small, blurry dot in the sky, gritting her teeth. "Right now, I just want to know how to shoot her down."
"She's too far. It's beyond the maximum range of any ninjutsu. If there was a way, I would have already acted," Jiraiya said, equally powerless.
"Dammit…"
Shuying looked down at the village, now a scene of utter devastation. Her breathing was a little ragged.
"That took a bit more out of me than I expected…" Shuying stopped releasing the clay bombs.
"That should be enough. Time to go down and play with them." Shuying looked at the two familiar strangers standing on the Hokage Tower terrace, staring up at her.
"She's coming," Jiraiya said, watching the black dot in the sky grow larger. He readied himself for an attack.
Tsunade also took a stance, preparing for Shuying's arrival.
At that moment, the Jonin on the floors below also noticed the dark figure descending toward the Hokage Tower and quickly began to gather on the terrace.
"Spread out! The enemy uses clay bombs!" Tsunade shouted. "Lightning Release users, get ready!"
"Right." Kakashi appeared in front of Tsunade, along with several other Lightning Release users who stood by his side.
Shuying slowly drifted down onto the terrace of the Hokage Tower. The moment she landed, she was surrounded by Jonin.
Smoke from the distant fires drifted over on the wind, filling the air with a murderous intent. The Jonin waited only for Tsunade's order to swarm forward and take down the seemingly fragile girl.
"This welcoming committee is quite flattering," Shuying said, her voice flat as she scanned the circle of ninja.
"It really is you," Jiraiya said, stepping forward, his voice cold. "It seems I underestimated you. But since you've come here, don't even think about leaving."
"So you're Shuying," Tsunade said in a low voice. "What is your purpose in coming to Konoha?"
"My purpose?" Shuying paused. "For now… I don't have one."
"…" Tsunade was speechless. The words she had prepared were stuck in her throat.
"If I had to say…" Shuying thought for a moment, looking troubled. "It was for the fun of it…"
The atmosphere on the rooftop froze. For the fun of it…?
"Stop screwing around! So many people in the village have died because of you, and it was just for your fun?!" Tsunade roared. "Take her down!"
Evidently, Shuying's words had enraged the Jonin as well. The moment Tsunade's voice fell, they all unleashed their ninjutsu, trying to take down the perpetrator who had caused so many deaths out of 'interest' as quickly as possible.
Watching the overwhelming barrage of jutsu coming at her, a cold smile formed on Shuying's lips beneath her mask.
With a massive BOOM, the spot where Shuying stood was struck by the Lightning Release techniques of several Jonin.
A thick cloud of smoke instantly rose from the point of impact.
Jiraiya frowned at the smoke, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.
Watching the direction the smoke was drifting, Jiraiya suddenly shouted, "Everyone, fall back!"
But his warning was a step too late. A giant blue sphere of rotating chakra burst through the smoke, expanding rapidly until it slammed into the Jonin who had just attacked.
The Jonin were sent flying by the rotating sphere, crashing heavily to the ground.
Even Kakashi was no exception. He was knocked to the ground, his single exposed eye revealing his pain.
Jiraiya stared in astonishment at the giant blue sphere, his mouth agape, unable to form a single word.
Tsunade also gritted her teeth, her mind struggling to process what she was seeing.
The rotating sphere gradually slowed, and a figure could be seen spinning within it.
When the massive blue sphere came to a complete stop, the ground around Shuying had been carved into a perfect hemisphere.
And Shuying herself stood before them in the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.
"That… That's… Ro… Rotation… Who… Who in the world are you?!"