After speaking, Tsunade immediately stomped hard on the ground, her body shooting rapidly toward the Senju clan's compound, her heart leaping into her throat.
You must be all right.
Hearing Tsunade's words, Shikashin instantly understood what she meant.
The one the Hokage meant to deal with the Nine-Tails could only be Shin.
Back when Shin awakened the Complete Body Susanoo, although Shikashin hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, he still knew how formidable its might was. After all these years, no one knew exactly how strong Shin had become, but it was definitely astonishing.
However, the Nine-Tails was still the Nine-Tails. Its destructive power was infamous throughout the entire ninja world, just a casual swing of its tail could flatten an entire block of buildings.
The appearance of the Nine-Tails meant that Mito was in trouble. It was understandable for Tsunade to lose her composure in such a situation, and it was only natural that as the Head of Administrative Department, he should step in to fill in the gaps.
He stopped worrying about Tsunade and immediately formed a detailed plan in his mind. He shouted loudly:
"Men!"
Several ninjas appeared before Shikashin, ready for his orders.
"You will do this and this, like so and so..."
As he issued one command after another, all of Konoha's ninjas were mobilized, quickly and in an orderly fashion spreading out toward the surrounding areas.
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Senju clan's Compound.
Hanma, who had never before witnessed such a terrifying scene or felt such an oppressive presence, had already retreated several hundred meters away. Staring at the massive, mountain-like figure, his body trembled uncontrollably.
This... this is the Nine-Tails? Too... too terrifying... No, if I stay here I'll die. I have to get out of here.
Not far away, Black Zetsu, who had been secretly watching everything, was nearly driven mad by Hanma's cowardice.
Weren't you always acting so bold, like the whole world owed you respect? Weren't you always saying you wanted to take on Shin or Minato? And now, just one Nine-Tails has scared you into this pathetic state?
Don't you know? Madara could treat the Nine-Tails like a pet back in the day, and Hashirama could handle it like a little chick. You may not be on their level, but those eyes of yours aren't ordinary. They're Mangekyō Sharingan! Where's the genjutsu I taught you? Go! Fight!
Wasn't releasing the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc on Konoha your own idea?
I must have been blind to think you had potential, to even consider observing you further. And now, you can't even stop trembling at the sight of the Nine-Tails, how could I expect you to hunt tailed beasts?
Seeing Hanma shivering uncontrollably and having lost all rationality, he was so angry his head hurt.
Useless! Absolutely useless! A whole year wasted on you.
Madara was right, you're nothing but mud that can't be molded into a wall, not even worth cultivating. Good thing I listened to him back then and didn't tell you any real secrets. Otherwise, I'd be banging my head against a wall right now.
He finally gave up completely on this blustering, cowardly, bully-of-the-weak fool. With extreme disgust, he gave Hanma one last glance before sinking into the ground and disappearing.
He loved watching chaos more than anyone, yet he didn't even want to stay and watch the Nine-Tails rampage through Konoha, showing just how foul his mood was.
Just as he left, a figure suddenly appeared above the Senju compound. With a single glance, the newcomer immediately understood what had happened.
In the next moment, the figure vanished again, reappearing in front of the Nine-Tails' head, blocking its path to Mito.
Just moments earlier, after venting its rage, the Nine-Tails had set its sights on Mito, its eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty cold light.
It's her, the woman who forcibly bound and sealed me for decades, subjecting me to endless torment.
Having escaped and vented its rage, the one thing the Nine-Tails wanted most was to tear this woman into countless pieces.
But what it hadn't expected was that even now, this woman still showed no fear, still faced it head-on, her presence not yielding in the slightest. That actually made it pause in surprise for a moment.
The Nine-Tails knew it had been deliberately released, so there was still a trace of wariness in its heart.
Could it be that this woman still had some hidden trump card?
However, in the instant that a new figure appeared before its eyes, that hateful woman suddenly toppled backward, her body going limp, the life force within her rapidly fading.
At the corner of her mouth hung a faint smile, one of a plan successfully carried out.
I was tricked again?
The Nine-Tails stared blankly at the scene before it.
When it finally processed what was happening, a surge of burning shame erupted from deep within its heart. With years of pent-up fury, it swung a massive claw down toward both the suddenly-appeared figure and Mito below.
But halfway through the strike, one that could crush a mountain, the claw suddenly stopped, as if it had struck something solid, unable to descend an inch further.
The next instant, the Nine-Tails felt its claw being forcibly pushed upward. What filled its vision was a dazzling golden light.
That golden radiance rapidly expanded, forcing the beast's massive body to tilt backward, nearly toppling it. It hastily withdrew its claw and stepped back two paces to steady itself.
Yet the golden light continued to swell, shooting skyward, instantly forming a massive, semi-transparent golden skeleton. And that was only the beginning.
As the golden energy kept surging, bones and muscles began to form around the skeleton. In moments, the figure had grown taller than the Nine-Tails, quickly becoming a golden giant over 200 meters tall.
The golden giant wore armor, bore twin wings on its back, and carried at its waist a longsword a hundred meters in length.
Complete Body Susanoo.
The Nine-Tails froze, staring in disbelief at the golden giant standing three times its height. A deep, instinctive fear welled up from within, dragging it back into memories of a tragic past.
It couldn't even recall how many years ago it was, but Madara had appeared before it in this exact way, pressing it to the ground with one hand, leaving it utterly unable to move.
Then came those terrifying eyes, and it had become nothing more than a puppet, forced to move at his will.
The Nine-Tails had never imagined that just after breaking free from a seal, it would be met again with such a nightmare.
Why... why is my fate so wretched?
But it wasn't over yet. Inside the golden giant, changes were still taking place. A vast surge of chakra poured forth, rapidly taking shape. In an instant, the giant's interior was completely filled, perfectly merging with the golden exterior, forming a wooden giant encased in golden armor.
Wood Release...
Another memory, another deep psychological scar, surfaced in the Nine-Tails' mind.
When it first saw the Complete Body Susanoo and those cold, merciless Mangekyō Sharingan, it felt fear. But now, seeing the wooden giant inside, it felt... numb.
In fact, at this moment, it almost wanted to laugh, as though the world itself had become absurd beyond belief.
But reality gave it no time to linger in numbness. A massive hand fell toward it at a speed it couldn't hope to react to, striking its body.
"ROAR!"
A furious howl burst forth, adding a trace of momentum to its spirit, but not an ounce to its strength. Its massive body was slammed into the ground, the crushing force pinning it completely, leaving it unable to move.
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Completed at Chapter 278!
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