The sound of explosions from the building's exterior startled everyone inside, but within the dark and quiet Hokage office located in the center of the fourth floor, the atmosphere remained undisturbed. However, the Iwagakure assassins had no time for doubts.

“Bang!”

The wooden door was forcibly smashed open. A burly Iwagakure assassin burst into the office. Just as his foot landed on the marble floor,

“Secret Technique: Shadow Imitation Technique.”

The Anbu, who was crouching upside down on the ceiling, formed a hand seal, and the chakra hidden in the shadows of the moonlight instantly created a long shadow connecting the two figures. Almost at the same moment the Iwagakure ninja was controlled, three figures wielding short swords jumped out in unison.

“Konoha Style: Crescent Moon Dance.”

The interlocking triangular formation surrounded the narrow space of the doorway, with three dazzling blades swinging in synchrony, the ear-piercing sound of the air being cut was chilling. However, just as this Anbu charged out, a companion of the Iwagakure assassin slipped through the narrow gap and confronted the descending blades one-on-one.

“Clang—”

In a split-second confrontation, the friction between the blade and shuriken sparked bright fireworks under the dark night sky. The three shadow clones, which reserved only a small amount of chakra, were completely countered by the prepared Iwagakure ninja.

Yet, there was one last move.

“Swish!”

From directly in front, beneath the Hokage's desk, an Anbu figure, identical in shape to the previous three shadow clones, launched a desperate attack toward the tall Iwagakure assassin at the door without hesitation.

“Konoha Style...”

However, unexpectedly,

“Ha—!”

The tall Iwagakure ninja completely disregarded his life; a massive surge of chakra erupted from under his feet, forcibly breaking free from the control of the Shadow Imitation Technique as he stepped forward to meet the incoming blade, creating more space for his companions behind him.

“Clang!”

The tip of the short sword struck his chest, producing a dull sound akin to hitting metal. The Anbu couldn't help but be taken aback. A terrifying grin spread across the tall Iwagakure's face.

“Earth Release: Earth Spear.”

His body hardened like rock, executing the highest level of earth-based jutsu. Yet, he hadn’t had the chance to relish his triumph for even half a second. The Anbu companion behind him suddenly stepped on the back of the short sword Anbu and thrust forward a kunai wrapped in lightning chakra.

“Thud!”

It struck directly at his throat. The tall Iwagakure ninja's expression of savagery instantly turned to shock. From the moment he pushed open the door to being mortally wounded, the entire process took less than two seconds. However, his death bought enough time for the remaining Iwagakure ninjas.

The force from behind pushed his stout body forward, and the tall Iwagakure, aware of his impending death, hesitated no longer. With the last bit of chakra he refined, he ignited the heavy explosive vest on his body.

“Boom——!!!”

The nearest short sword Anbu and the lightning Anbu were instantly killed by the terrifying explosion. The entire Hokage office was reduced to ruins, and a massive blaze lit up the top of this landmark building in Konoha, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

At the same time, beneath the floor of the devastated Hokage office, the interior of the sealed chamber was revealed. Although the entire Hokage building was slightly shaking, the chamber filled with sealing barriers remained stable. The sealing racks neatly arranged on the floor showed no signs of movement.

‘Kojima-kun’... also known as Gray Soil, felt a bright light ignite in his eyes at this scene. However, before they could react,

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

Several trident-shaped special kunai suddenly shot out from the shadows of the bookshelf. They targeted the nearest Iwagakure ninjas.

“Here they come!”

There was barely time to issue such a brief warning. The next moment, a figure as swift as lightning charged toward them. Despite having prepared for this, the Iwagakure ninjas still felt a wave of terror rise within them upon facing the young ninja known as ‘unbeatable’ by Lord Gray Soil.

Even with their enhanced visual observation capabilities under chakra, which allowed them to see nearly 80 frames, they could only catch a fleeting glimpse of a flashing shadow. Almost at the moment the trident kunai flew before him, the foremost Iwagakure ninja felt a momentary paralysis in his body, which he had previously fortified with “Earth Release: Hardening Technique.”

It seemed as if two sensations arose simultaneously.

The figure of Minato Namikaze flashed by. The two behind him had their necks torn apart by kunai wrapped in lightning chakra. Perhaps due to the lesson learned earlier that day, Minato had slightly adjusted his chakra habits and held his blades with both hands.

Lightning overcomes earth; this was common knowledge.

Watching Minato Namikaze rapidly approaching, the two Iwagakure ninjas barely had time to raise their kunai to block.

“Clang! Clang!”

Realizing the power of this Konoha Anbu, Gray Soil finally ceased hesitating and stepped past his two companions to directly block Minato’s path.

The metal claws he held crossed upwards, firmly blocking the trident kunai. Under the intense friction of the blades, sparks erupted between the two.

“Master!”

The two Iwagakure ninjas, just a second away from death, couldn't even feel relieved and instinctively called out. Only Gray Soil, standing in front of them, remained calm.

“Continue as planned.”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing this, the remaining Iwagakure ninjas finally reacted and swiftly rushed toward the third-floor sealed chamber. Soon, a series of fierce clashes erupted from below.

Gray Soil and Minato Namikaze maintained their standoff, locking eyes.

“Truly terrifying, the ninjas of Konoha,” he said, staring intently at Minato, seemingly still able to speak, “So young yet possessing such strength.”

“However...”

Almost as soon as the words fell, the metal claws he held suddenly raised upwards. Gray Soil took a sudden step forward, his already solid thigh muscles bulging, and chakra erupted from beneath him like flames, raising his voice sharply:

“...the flaws are too obvious!”

“Boom!”

His already stout figure was propelled skyward by the force of his step, completely shattering the already damaged rooftop and shooting straight into the sky. As his figure reversed in midair, he maintained his hand seals.

“Earth Release: Rock and Earth Blast Technique.”

At the same moment he completed the hand seals, the rubble scattered into the air around Gray Soil, all under the control of his chakra, swirling around him. Following that, they all fell like raindrops.

This is bad.

Watching this scene, Minato's heart raced.

Clearly, it was because the earlier battle had been witnessed by spies that his intelligence had leaked significantly, allowing this group of assassins to have such a clear countermeasure.

Facing this large-scale ninjutsu attack, the still-growing Minato had no means to respond and could only utilize Wind Release: Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the remaining opening in the window at his fastest speed, barely avoiding the attack.

“Bang, bang, bang——”

The fine rubble shot forth like bullets, sweeping across the entire Hokage building, resulting in a series of dense explosive sounds.

The entire fourth floor, and even the third floor beneath the opening, was struck by large clouds of dust.

“Thud.”

Gray Soil landed on the chaotic ground. Almost as he finished handling this side of the matter, the last two remaining Iwagakure ninjas, bloodied and carrying a top-secret sealing scroll box marked with an “S,” rushed to Gray Soil's side.

“Master, we found it!”

“Very good.”

Seeing this scene, Gray Soil finally felt relieved.

The entire process took less than two minutes.

Gray Soil turned his head to look at the Uchiha guard and Anbu figures rushing over from the third floor, who had only just arrived, and smirked disdainfully.

The ninjas of Konoha...

They had been immersed in a false sense of peace for too long.

“Let's go.”

“Earth Release: Earth Dragon Hidden Technique.”

The next moment, the three figures sank deep into the ground, completely swallowed up.

“Ding!”

Once they had all disappeared underground, a kunai shot from a distance and was nailed into the ground where they had been.

“Damn it!”

Uchiha Mayu, covered in blood, arrived at the scene, but her Sharingan showed no signs of the enemy’s chakra.

Clearly, their earth release movement capabilities were much higher than she had imagined.

Three entire elite squads...

It had been nearly ten years since Konoha had faced an attack of this level.

The collapsed Hokage building felt like a heavy blow to everyone’s face... especially that of the Uchiha guard.

The stinging pain.

Uchiha Mayu's eyes turned blood-red; she didn’t even care about her wounds and quickly turned around, issuing orders in haste:

“Rinko! Go notify the Hyuga reconnaissance team.”

“Anbu, report to the Hokage.”

The girl clenched her fist tightly, unwillingly stating, “Even if we have to mobilize external defense troops, we must root out this group!”

...

Meanwhile, Gray Soil, leading his two subordinates, leapt out from the earth release in a hidden corner.

Even as masters of earth release, they could not maintain it for long under such conditions, especially since chakra could not be wasted like this.

However, just as he quickly changed his disguise and led his subordinates out of the dark alley, trying to leave Konoha as fast as possible,

his footsteps suddenly halted.

In the moonlight, a tall figure stood at the end of the street, gazing at them with a calm expression.

Bright blue eyes sparkled under the cold moonlight.

“Ah, you are such a bother so late at night.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Spy.”

“Now...”

“Please hand over what you have.”