"Quick reflexes!" A cold, disdainful voice came from the man in the black robe.
"Who are you?" Mito, upon catching sight of those Sharingan eyes with three tomoe, immediately lowered her gaze, furrowed her brows, and asked in a deep voice while quickly thinking of a countermeasure.
Even after so many years of retirement, some things were ingrained deep in her bones, the rich combat experience she once had against the Uchiha clan was now surfacing without reservation.
Yet she felt deeply puzzled.
The chakra emanating from this suddenly-appearing Uchiha was the most sinister and bizarre she had ever encountered in her life. His presence here could only mean trouble.
As for herself, she didn't care much, sooner or later, death would come, but an enemy like this must not be allowed to act unchecked. Information about him had to be passed on.
Sensing the presence of a barrier around them, a strong sense of foreboding rose in her heart. Being highly skilled in barrier techniques, she could tell the surroundings had already been sealed off.
It seemed the other party had come well-prepared; this was no spur-of-the-moment action.
From her many years of experience and wisdom, she quickly judged that the most likely target was the Nine-Tails sealed inside her.
After all, she was nothing more than an old woman with little time left to live. Aside from the Nine-Tails, she couldn't think of anything about herself worth an enemy's attention.
The answer was now obvious, the enemy had appeared at the moment when her power was weakest, intending to control her and release the Nine-Tails.
Just like Madara had once done.
"Who am I?" The icy voice came as if squeezed out through gritted teeth. "I am Konoha's nightmare."
Hearing such an over-the-top response, Mito grew even more alert, though her tone softened slightly as she tried to draw him out. "I don't know who you are or what's going on, but isn't there some kind of misunderstanding here?"
"Misunderstanding?" Hanma's tone grew colder. "Ever since Konoha went after my parents, there's been nothing between us but a blood feud, no misunderstandings."
"Shin... haha, aren't you supposed to be so capable?" he muttered to himself. "I'm going to take everything from you."
"You'll be the first, now die!"
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, the patterns in his eyes shifted, they had become a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.
Mito hadn't expected him to act so decisively, giving her no chance to gather more information. But from those few words, she had already deduced his identity.
In the past ten years, there had only been one Uchiha family of three who had all died or gone missing, Hanma's family.
From what she knew, his parents had disappeared while leaving the village to search for him, most likely having died.
Could there be some hidden truth behind it? Was this another scheme by Hiruzen or Danzō?
But none of that mattered now. What mattered was breaking through the barrier sealing this place, forcing Hanma back, and making sure he couldn't release the Nine-Tails, otherwise, the village would suffer immeasurable losses.
Just as Hanma was about to make another move, a sealing chain burst forth from Mito's body, lashing toward him.
She knew that for him to appear now, he must have something up his sleeve. Her goal wasn't to defeat him, but to force him back temporarily.
That way, she could return to the living room and use the wooden plaque inscribed with the Flying Thunder God formula, a gift from Shin, to summon him back.
Thinking of this, Mito felt a pang of regret, for she hadn't kept the plaque with her at all times like others did.
But who could have imagined that someone would be able to directly invade the Senju clan compound?
Hanma let out a cold snort, and his Mangekyō Sharingan technique was suddenly activated.
With just a single glance, Mito's body froze in place, unable to move, and the sealing chain was likewise immobilized.
The eye technique, Domination and Fear.
The "fear" part was something he had added himself, just to make the name of his dōjutsu sound more imposing; in truth, it had absolutely nothing to do with fear.
But "domination" was the perfect description of the power in his eyes.
He had always wanted the world to revolve around him, harboring an abnormal desire to control everything around him.
That inner desire for control had been fully awakened by Black Zetsu, and when his parents were killed, it transformed into this eye technique.
At this moment, Mito's pupils shrank to the size of a needle, for she was staring directly into the Mangekyō Sharingan before her.
During the Warring States period, the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan were steadfast allies, which meant they often fought the Uchiha clan. The Uzumaki knew better than anyone the terrifying power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, they had suffered greatly from it.
The psychological scars left by Madara and Izuna were so deep that they could never be forgotten.
The instant she saw those eyes, Mito knew there was no escape. At her advanced age, she stood no chance against this man.
Watching the vicious-eyed Hanma slowly approach, Mito made her decision in that brief moment. She looked him in the eyes, and suddenly grinned.
Hanma's heart lurched, an overwhelming sense of danger flooding through him. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately leapt back.
Almost at the same time, a black spiral appeared on Mito's lower abdomen.
In the next instant, an enormous orange-red fox head emerged from the vortex. As soon as it came out, it began swelling rapidly, quickly surpassing the size of the house and still growing, baring its fangs and radiating an overwhelming, terrifying chakra.
Before long, the Nine-Tails' entire body emerged from the vortex, landing heavily on the ground and crushing all the buildings of the Senju clan's compound beneath it. It bared its teeth, its massive body writhing wildly, and let out a sky-shaking roar, as if venting the rage of being sealed away for so many years.
Not only was the Senju compound destroyed, but the barrier sealing the area was instantly shattered. The Nine-Tails' colossal form now stood in the heart of Konoha, its roar echoing across the entire village.
Everyone in the village felt a jolt in their hearts, stopping whatever they were doing and looking toward the source of the sound. Even those indoors rushed outside, staring in disbelief at the terrifying scene before them.
While panic spread through the crowd, more than a dozen figures shot out from the Hokage's office, leading them was Tsunade.
Her expression was as grim as could be, for she understood better than anyone what the sudden appearance of the Nine-Tails meant.
"Obachan!" Tsunade's eyes reddened instantly, but duty kept her composed. She shouted loudly: "ANBU, the Police Force, the Guard Unit, and the Special Response Unit, evacuate civilians outward from the Nine-Tails' position immediately! Everyone else, follow me!"
"Hokage-sama!" Shikashin, knowing Tsunade's inner urgency, quickly interjected, "Shouldn't we make additional preparations?"
His concern was justified, after all, they were dealing with the legendary Nine-Tails. If handled poorly, the entire village could be destroyed.
"No need!" Tsunade replied coldly. "The Nine-Tails will be handled, it won't be able to cause any real trouble."