Being an action-packed shonen anime, Naruto features a number of hair-raising battles and all-out wars, such as the infamous Great Shinobi Wars that changed the complete political landscape of the shinobi world. One such war, albeit on a smaller scale, is the ‘Konoha Crush’, an operation planned by the Hidden Sand Village to infiltrate and invade the Leaf Village. Even though the invasion was quelled, and peace talks soon followed, the incident left viewers confused with a number of queries that the series never directly acknowledged.

While war and invasions are a staple in the Naruto franchise, this conflict, in particular, didn’t add up, considering how two massive armies remained undetected outside the Leaf Village’s walls. The Hidden Leaf even possessed complex defense systems such as chakra sensors and its Byakugan users, who could easily detect invariable chakra activity in their surroundings. This has led fans to debate whether this can be attributed to poor writing on the authors part, or were there actual signs that explain how the invasion could have been made possible. However, further analysis reveals that there are multiple reasons why the Hidden Leaf was completely blindsided by the attack.

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The Chunin Exams Served as the Perfect Cover

Chunin Exams in Naruto

Being an international event with spectators and shinobi present from nations all over the world, the Chunin exam served as the perfect cover for the Hidden Sand and Sound Village shinobi to disguise themselves under the cover of being visitors. Moreover, transformation jutsus are also a common occurrence in Naruto, meaning enemy shinobi could easily transform themselves into tourists and spectators for the event.

The key figures of the Konoha Crush operation, the Three Sand Siblings, were already in plain sight as they posed as candidates for the Chunin exams. Several other enemy ninjas used the same tactics, acting as Genin that wished to partake in the exams. Under such circumstances, telling apart friend from foe was an impossible feat for the Leaf Village.

The Hyugas’ Absence During the Final Battle

Neji gets defeated by Naruto

Fans often state that the Hyuga clan’s Byakugan could have easily sensed a massive influx of chakra, both around the village and during the final battle of the Chunin exam. While this may have been left unanswered in the series, the events that led up to the final battle can help shed light on how this was set up by infiltrators.

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During the final battle of the Chunin exams, none of the Hyuga clan members were present at the stadium. Neji was defeated by Naruto, forcing him to be taken to the Leaf Village hospital. Hisashi Hyuga, the clan’s leader, left the exam hall after Neji’s defeat, taking his daughter, Hanabi Hyuga, with him. This left the stadium without any Byakugan users to detect the sudden chakra influx in the surroundings.

The Hidden Sand’s Puppet Mastery

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The Sand Village is known for its mastery in puppetry techniques, and several notable shinobi are seen using these jutsu throughout the series, such as Kankuro and Sasori. The Kazekage’s bodyguards were revealed to be puppets, with the Hidden Sound shinobi hidden inside them, suppressing their chakras. From these events, it can be deduced that enemy ninjas infiltrated the village undetected through the use of chakra-suppressing puppets.

Kankuro also forfeits his fight in the Chunin exams since his battle was placed before Gaara’s, as it would have revealed their invasion plan. The series later reveals this fact, stating that Kankuro forfeits simply to avoid revealing his secret puppet techniques to the Hidden Leaf shinobi before the Konoha Crush actually began, as the Leaf Village would have been able to figure out the plan otherwise.

The Anbu’s Numbers Were Limited

Anbu shinobi from Naruto

Another question that arises during the invasion is how the Anbu, a group of S-tier shinobi from the Leaf Village, were nowhere to be seen during the invasion, consequently playing no role in quelling the chaos. However, there is actually a reasonable justification as to why the Anbu couldn’t predict the attack, and why their numbers were so low.

Right before the final phase of the exam, Hayate is killed by Baki, which prompts an emergency investigation by the Anbu into the matter. Since Hayate was killed while secretly investigating Kabuto, it was in the Leaf Village elder’s knowledge that the incident had a direct link with Orochimaru. Therefore, the Anbu were tasked with finding Jiraiya and bringing him back, along with investigating other enemy nations for a possible attack. Since the Leaf Village had initially viewed the Sand Village as an ally, the Anbu’s investigation was mostly focused towards its known enemies – the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud Villages.

Since their forces were already spread all over the world, with the rest stationed throughout the Leaf Village, there were barely any Anbu shinobi left to be present at the stadium. This is evident from the scene where Guy notices the fact that there are only eight Anbu overseeing the event, a number quite small compared to the heaps of spectators present at the event. These series of events led to the Hidden Leaf Village being completely blindsided to the Konoha Crush, allowing one of Naruto’s most exciting arcs to smoothly play out.

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