❝ they're here. ❞

conversation with Naruto that night was successful or not, but now the boy has returned to his old self and is practicing senjutsu with the toads.

Senjutsu. A specialized field of jutsu that involves the use of natural energy. According to Shizuka, it was a difficult thing to learn, even for herself, and usually took a long time to master it. She didn't know whether Naruto could master it quickly or not.

Boom! A sudden explosion could be heard within the village this afternoon. Then several explosions resurfaced followed by screaming from the crowd. The girl immediately looked up seeing black smoke gathered from the blast.

Is it the enemy?

From her sight, several ninjas had already run to the source of the explosion but the sound of screams of fear and battle was still loud.

Shizuka automatically headed towards the civilians and helped them to immediately evacuate in a secret cave that was inside the cliffs behind the Hokage Rock.

She jumped down to help a child who was crying in fear. But her gaze was shifted to a loud scream not far from them. As she approached, she saw a chunnin who was looking down terrified and a man with long orange hair and a robe was pulling something from his head.

Wait. That robe. Akatsuki. They're here.

She gasped when she saw the chunnin lying dead when the orange haired man lowered his hand.

He can take people's soul? she thought. Shizuka immediately brought the small child behind her to be with the other ninja. She walked forward towards the Akatsuki member. And she just noticed his purple eyes with several black rings. There's no mistaking it. That's the Rinnegan.

"Tell me where Uzumaki Naruto is," he ordered. Staring monotonously at the green haired girl.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. But Pain seemed to ignore the answer and immediately attacked Shizuka.

She jumped away then bent down, her hands forming a snake seal. Then wood comes out of the ground and heads towards Pain, which unfortunately easily dodging it.

Fighting him for several minutes and she realized that Pain's power in front of her only attracts human souls. Not as strong as the others like what the toad had said. Shizuka was lucky that the Pain were scattered, it was easier to defeat them. Although this can easily pull the soul out of the body.

Shizuka dived while turning her body, her right hand had turned to stone and she quickly punched the man's back. The punch created a crack in the ground and a slight earthquake.

While panting, she took out a scroll from her pocket. Quickly she inserted the dead body into the scroll and sealed it.

The green haired girl immediately rushed to the hospital. As expected, many wounded ninja lays across the room. She immediately searching for Sakura, who was treating the patient who had already passed out in exhaustion and pain. "Where are the critical ones?"

"Shizuka!" she sighed in relief before pointing the door a few meters from them. "The critical ones, I put them in the room over there. They wear red cloth."

With a nod of gratitude, she went straight into the room. As Sakura said, they wear red cloth to indicate that they need to be handled immediately. Shizuka walked towards the center of the room and sat cross-legged. Her palms pressed against the floor and vines came out of the floor and wrapped around the injured patients.

Immediately she felt her energy decrease, moreover, she had to treat 25 more critical patients. This is only the beginning of the war, she doesn't know how many more people will come.

It's been an hour, and there have been several patients in and out. Her chakra is also getting drained because of treating many people. Even though someone said, the Hokage had helped by summoning Katsuyu, a slug who has the ability to heal people.

She released the vines on the last patient. With a deep sigh, she went outside to confirm the current condition. Black smoke was still billowing in the air, buildings collapsed, and there were cracks in the ground. But Shizuka's gaze fixed on a Pain who was floating in the air. Both of his hands were raised.

What is he doing?

A warning alarm resounded in Shizuka's mind. Trusting her instinct, she made 3 clones of herself and spread them out in the corners of the hospital building. Forming a square. "Four Violet Flames Formation!"

Four purple walls appeared and locked the hospital. Along with a blinding light and a very powerful earthquake. The sound of the wind and loud screams, followed by the sound of buildings crumbling under the pressure. Shizuka closed her eyes tightly and pressed even more chakra against the purple wall. Hoping that the hospital will not be affected by whatever jutsu it was, especially with the patients in it. And also so that she doesn't collapse as a result of the attack.

It's going to be okay. I have my lucky item.

After a few minutes and it goes quiet, she shakily opened her eyes with a cough. Her chakra had drained a lot and she was already coughing up blood. Slowly she turned around and gasped at the sight.

There is a large and deep crater in the middle of the village with buildings pushed against the wall of the village boundary. Everything was destroyed. Except for the hospital that she protected, even though the barrier was broken and there were several cracks in the walls.

What jutsu could easily destroy Konoha in an instant, she wonders. She couldn't believe it, Pain, the Rinnegan, what an incredible power.

Blood came out of her mouth again. She can't hold it back anytime soon. This was the first time she had made the purple barrier by herself. And it really drains her chakra. Her body swayed, wanting to collapse. And before she got to the ground, someone had held her back.

"Shizuka!" the said teen opened her eyes to see Sakura looking at her with worry. "I'm going to heal you."

Sakura placed her palm over her chest and performed medical ninjutsu. "Thank you, for protecting the hospital."

"As a medical ninja, the patient is more important, nanodayo," she said with her usual stoic tone. Her gaze then fixed on Pain who was still in the air. And someone crossed her mind.

Naruto.

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