"This power—?!"
Late at night, Uchiha Fugaku had just returned home after a long, exhausting day. He hadn't even had time to pour himself a cup of water when his entire body stiffened.
His gaze snapped toward the outskirts of the village.
There—
a mass of sinister chakra dyed half the night sky a violent crimson.
"Nine-Tails chakra?!"
"Don't tell me… another Nine-Tails incident?!"
Muttering under his breath, Fugaku immediately issued orders for the clan to secure the Uchiha district. Then, without hesitation, he turned and rushed out first.
They were too close.
If something truly went wrong, the Uchiha compound would be the first to be hit.
"Hmm? Outside the village… no, wait—this is the Nine-Tails?!"
Inside the Sarutobi residence, the Third Hokage—who had been slumped in lethargy for two straight days—suddenly straightened.
His expression changed sharply.
"This chakra… it's definitely the Nine-Tails. Did something happen to Naruto?"
Instinctively, he moved to rush out.
But just as his hand touched the wooden door, he froze.
Memories of the Nine-Tails' night six years ago surfaced in his mind.
After a moment of hesitation, he quietly withdrew his hand and let it rest by the bed instead.
Then he lay back down.
Waiting.
"If it really turns into a Nine-Tails rampage and you can't handle it," he thought calmly, "won't you still have to come begging me in the end?"
Right now, Uchiha Kai stood at the center of the storm in Konoha.
Many wavering clans had chosen to side with him.
The Third Hokage couldn't act openly.
But—
If the Nine-Tails lost control and caused damage to the village, those wavering clans would naturally start remembering how good Sarutobi Hiruzen used to be.
By then, Konoha would still be his to command.
With that thought, the Third Hokage relaxed even further.
He even began humming softly, swaying his head in rare good spirits.
"This chakra… something's off."
At the same time, Nara Shikaku rubbed his temples, set aside the ledger in front of him, and turned toward the window.
"It feels like… Nine-Tails chakra."
"It's not 'feels like,'" Yamanaka Inoichi said bitterly. "It is the Nine-Tails. But the jinchūriki shouldn't be rampaging…"
"Naruto… lost control?"
Shikaku and Akimichi Chōza exchanged a glance and immediately stood up.
"Hey—hey—are you two serious? That's the Nine-Tails! We'll be useless if we go!" Inoichi shouted, waving his hands frantically.
But the two didn't even look back, their figures already disappearing into the distance.
Grinding his teeth, Inoichi chased after them.
"I'm going to die because of you two someday!"
Before long, figures began appearing throughout Konoha's streets.
All moving in the same direction.
Toward the terrifying chakra surging outside the village.
This concerned Konoha's safety—no matter how dissatisfied some clans were, they couldn't ignore it.
Of course, some compounds remained tightly shut.
Konoha's fate had nothing to do with them.
Puff!
A burst of white smoke flared brightly in the night.
Kai's small figure appeared silently.
"Huh? Still the same spot?" he muttered, glancing around. "This reverse summoning is more convenient than I thought…"
But before he could finish speaking, a thunderous roar in the distance drew his attention.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Hey—hey—slow down! At this rate even this great sage is gonna make you eat a taste of my sandals!"
"Tch! Hitting my face?! Brat, you actually dare hit my face?!"
"Do you think I, the Toad Sage, am made of vinegar—OW!!!"
Kai looked over.
For a moment… his brain failed to process what he was seeing.
He recognized both figures.
One was Naruto—fully feral, chakra raging.
The other was Jiraiya.
He'd just returned… and Naruto was beating the crap out of Jiraiya.
And not lightly either—every punch was aimed straight at the face.
Kai blinked.
"…What did Jiraiya do?"
"To push Naruto straight into a Four-Tails state… and he's even showing signs of a Fifth Tail forming."
If Jiraiya could hear that, he'd definitely cry injustice.
He hadn't expected the Nine-Tails to be this easy to provoke.
He'd just stepped on Naruto's head to provoke him—
—and suddenly four tails exploded out.
Worse still, Naruto was still far too weak.
The Four-Tails' chakra was already burning through his skin.
Jiraiya didn't even dare use high-level ninjutsu, afraid of hurting the kid further.
Which led to the current situation—
He could only run, getting chased and beaten.
Of course, that was technically a method.
Once Naruto completely collapsed from exhaustion, the chakra would naturally subside.
But Kai watched for a moment, then shook his head and walked closer.
A method was a method, sure—
—but Naruto was suffering way too much.
Whoosh—!
After fighting for a while, the Four-Tails Naruto—his skin completely burned away, muscle fibers exposed—suddenly inhaled deeply.
Inside his body, violent Nine-Tails chakra surged madly toward his mouth.
A dark red, nearly black, incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb slowly took shape.
"…Crap."
Seeing the bomb's power, then glancing at the village behind him, Jiraiya's face turned pitch-black.
"Summoning—Gamaken!"
He could dodge this attack.
But he couldn't.
If he did, the villagers less than a hundred meters behind him would be erased.
He didn't dare gamble on how much power would be left after that distance.
After a brief hesitation, he hastily formed seals and summoned a toad in front of him.
BAM!
A massive toad carrying a giant pot-lid shield and wielding a steel fork appeared.
"Jiraiya… long time no—wait, what is that?!"
Gamaken had just begun speaking when he sensed the terrifying pressure behind him.
Turning around, sweat the size of beans instantly formed on his purple face.
"That's terrifying… Jiraiya, you don't mean to make me fight that, do you?"
"I'm… not very smart. I probably can't win…"
His voice was slow and calm, but the meaning was clear.
Jiraiya slapped his webbed shoulder reassuringly.
"Relax, Gamaken! You can definitely block this one for me!"
"…Really?"
Gamaken wiped the sweat from his head and said honestly,
"I'll… try my best."
He pulled the massive shield from his back and raised it with both hands.
This was his strongest defense.
Whooo—BOOM!
Almost simultaneously, the wheel-sized Tailed Beast Bomb finished forming.
It shot forward.
The compressed chakra warped the air itself as it flew—fast beyond reason.
In the blink of an eye, it slammed into Gamaken's shield.
Crack!
The shield barely lasted a second before shattering into pieces!
"This is bad—I can't block it!" Gamaken cried out, hurriedly using his own body to shield the village!
But the Tailed Beast Bomb's heat alone was enough to melt his black vest before contact.
"…Am I going to die?"
Sweat poured down Gamaken's face as he spoke apologetically,
"I'm sorry… Jiraiya. I'm… too foolish…"
At that moment—
A figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
A small hand patted his enormous head.
Kai shook his head gently and said,
"Hey now, big guy."
"You really shouldn't underestimate yourself."
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