From the depths of the darkness, a strange being—half white, half black—slowly rose out of the ground.
Staring at the Nine-Tails that towered like a god of calamity, the white half of its face spoke with a tone tinged with admiration.
"…Ah. Truly impressive."
Meanwhile, the black half of its face fixed its gaze on the man rampaging below, an ominous darkness flickering in its eyes.
So Madara really did succeed after all.
A product born from the fusion of Yin and Yang Release—the embodiment of Uchiha Madara's will.
Senju Nawaki, as the grandson of Senju Hashirama, naturally possessed astonishing Yang Release within his body. Then there was the carefully orchestrated manipulation of that boy named Uchiha Obito, stealing his Mangekyō Sharingan.
By filling Nawaki's ruined body with White Zetsu tissue and transplanting Obito's Sharingan, the vessel gained sufficient vitality and spiritual power.
If that were all, it would have amounted to nothing more than a powerful puppet—strong flesh, strong mind.
But Madara went a step further.
Using Yin–Yang Release, he directly implanted his own will into the host's consciousness.
And with that—
A perfect executor of the Eye of the Moon Plan was born.
As expected of the strongest Uchiha since Indra…
"…Little Nine."
Kyusei looked at the Nine-Tails, now moving under another's control, his gaze filled with irrepressible complexity.
From the very beginning, the Nine-Tails had been the anchor of his life.
At first, Kyusei had hated its existence.
But over time, that hatred softened. Their relationship gradually eased, and the Nine-Tails even began to willingly lend him chakra.
Yet in the end…
This was how it all turned out.
Kyusei's eyes sharpened as they locked onto the scarred man.
No matter what, this man was too dangerous.
Even if it meant using the Reaper Death Seal or the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, he had to die.
Within what little life Kyusei had left, this enemy had to be erased—
For Kaoru's sake.
For the future.
During their earlier clash, the man had used a bizarre ability, phasing through Kyusei's body and nullifying all physical attacks. But immediately afterward, he had placed a hand on Kyusei and shattered his seal, releasing the Nine-Tails.
Which meant—
Only when he attacked could he be harmed.
Simple in theory.
Nightmarish in practice.
"Oh?"
"Even without your tailed beast, you can still fight?"
The man looked at Kyusei with open amusement. He casually snapped his fingers.
"Then tell me—what do you plan to do next?"
With that snap, the Nine-Tails—standing rigid under control—began gathering chakra.
An overwhelming mass of energy condensed inside its mouth.
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
Kyusei's pupils shrank. He moved to intercept—
But the man instantly appeared in front of him.
"Die."
Golden chains exploded outward, weaving together into an inescapable net as they lunged toward the enemy.
That invulnerability had limits—no jutsu in this world was perfect.
Kyusei needed to force out the flaw.
As for the Nine-Tails…
He could no longer afford to worry about it. Compared to the fox, this man was the greater threat.
The scarred man ignored the writhing chains, his body passing straight through them as he charged Kyusei head-on. With a flick of his wrist, a kunai appeared, stabbing directly for Kyusei's throat.
Kyusei didn't dodge.
Didn't flinch.
He continued driving the Adamantine Chains forward without hesitation.
The kunai pierced straight through his body.
And the man himself passed through Kyusei as if both of them were illusions.
Just as I thought.
When he uses that ability, he can't attack either.
At that very moment, the Nine-Tails completed the Tailed Beast Bomb.
A massive sphere of black and crimson energy roared through the air, tearing straight toward the Hokage Rock.
Everything in its path—buildings, terrain—was erased without resistance.
Just as the Hokage Rock was about to be obliterated—
A lone figure appeared atop the stone face of the Fourth Hokage.
Kaoru Namikaze stood calmly, facing the oncoming annihilation.
She raised a specially made three-pronged kunai horizontally before her.
Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder.
Dense space–time formulae poured from her hand, forming a colossal barrier in front of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The massive sphere collided with the barrier—and was swallowed whole.
A heartbeat later, a cataclysmic explosion erupted far outside the village, lighting up the pitch-black night like a second sun.
Kaoru spared the blast a single glance.
Then she vanished.
In a flash, she charged straight toward the Nine-Tails, hurling a Flying Thunder God kunai in its direction.
Under the scarred man's control, the Nine-Tails could only rely on instinct. It raised a gigantic claw and slammed it down at the "insect" rushing toward it.
Kaoru merely glanced at the attack.
Golden light burst forth—and she disappeared.
Reappearing beside her thrown kunai, she seized it mid-air. A Rasengan the size of a basketball formed in her palm and smashed violently into the Nine-Tails' nose.
Striking such a sensitive spot, the fox howled in agony, flailing even more wildly as it tried to crush her.
Kaoru vanished again in a flash.
At that same instant, a pitch-black iron rod shot forward, slamming into the Nine-Tails' chest.
High atop the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood firm, his expression resolute.
"Enma—extend!"
At his command, the iron staff lengthened explosively. Caught off guard, the Nine-Tails' massive body was forcibly shoved straight out of Konoha.
Kaoru said nothing.
She exchanged a brief look with Hiruzen.
In that instant, his heart sank.
She was going after the scarred man.
Hiruzen didn't stop her.
Kyusei's fate was unknown. That man had to be held back—if left unchecked, he would spell total catastrophe.
If that was the case, then even if this old body had to be broken—
He would keep the Nine-Tails outside the village.
"Pass the order!"
"Enter highest-level emergency alert!"
"Chūnin and below—evacuate and protect civilians!"
"All others—fight to the death with me!"
Hiruzen's voice rang out like steel. The ANBU around him stiffened and vanished instantly to carry out his commands.
BOOM!
Another earth-shattering blow pulverized the ground.
Kyusei gasped lightly, narrowly evading the attack.
This man was a monster of stamina.
Kyusei's life was already running out—this had to end quickly.
Just as he prepared to gamble everything—
A golden blur flashed into his vision.
A blue Rasengan slammed violently into the scarred man's back.
The battlefield shifted in an instant.
To be continued.
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