Konoha Encampment – Outside Kumogakure
Yugito Nii stirred slowly.
She awoke, confused and wary. Memories flooded back in fragments—the battle against Uchiha Fugaku, his towering Susanoo... and then, nothing but a blinding explosion.
The moment she had entered full Tailed Beast Mode, something struck her. A force so immense it launched her thousands of meters through the air.
Then—darkness.
Now, she opened her eyes to see the calm, unreadable face of a Konoha shinobi standing before her.
"Awake? I need to speak with Nibi. I require your cooperation," Hyūga Naraku said without preamble.
"Where... where am I?" Yugito murmured, disoriented.
"After I blasted you away, you got caught in the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb detonation. You've been unconscious since then," Naraku said flatly.
Fate, it seemed, had not been kind to her.
Yugito furrowed her brow. A Tailed Beast Bomb? She couldn't even remember it.
Her gaze dropped to the Hyūga symbol on Naraku's forehead protector.
"You're... Konoha? Are we in Konoha now?!"
Naraku let out a soft chuckle. "Captured, yes. But no, this is the opposite of Konoha. We're right outside your precious Cloud Village. Your Raikage is hiding inside."
"Impossible!" Yugito snapped instinctively.
Konoha? At the gates of Kumogakure? How could her village allow that?
"If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself."
Naraku stepped aside and gestured toward the camp entrance.
Cautiously, Yugito walked out—and froze.
She knew this terrain. Jagged mountains, stormy skies. Home.
But in the skies above Kumogakure flew strange, inky birds—Konoha shinobi practicing Lightning-style ninjutsu.
From time to time, bolts of lightning crashed down toward the village, blocked by the barrier dome. Her village looked like it was under siege, yet... no retaliation.
She blinked. "Am I dreaming...?"
Was her Raikage really... hiding?
Naraku leaned lazily against the camp's archway. "Satisfied? Now, will you cooperate?"
Yugito's shock turned into a glare. "Even if I don't understand what happened, I'm still the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails. I won't just roll over and submit!"
Blue chakra, lined with black streaks, erupted around her as she forcefully broke open sealed tenketsu.
Naraku sighed. "So, we really are going to fight."
In a blink, he was in front of her.
He placed one hand on her shoulder and unleashed Tenseigan's repulsive force.
Boom!
They soared skyward.
Within seconds, Naraku descended into a clearing near the Yamanaka squad stationed just outside Kumogakure.
Yugito gasped. "Y-You can fly?!"
Naraku looked down at her calmly. "Let's keep this quick. I have little patience for games."
"Don't look down on me!" Yugito snapped, surging forward with enhanced speed and strength from her tailed beast cloak.
She struck.
Naraku barely moved. He sidestepped, then slammed a palm into her chest.
Bang!
Yugito was knocked backward, skidding across the earth.
She gritted her teeth, shocked. Even with her cloak...!
Naraku raised an eyebrow. "That form's not nearly enough."
Yugito's expression darkened. She focused her chakra.
Then—a roar of blue flames.
Matatabi, the Two-Tails, emerged in full, its blazing form towering over the battlefield.
"You caught me off guard before, but it won't happen again!" Matatabi growled.
Naraku gave a half-nod. "Very well. You may prepare this time. I'll count down for you."
He raised a single hand.
"Three... Two... One."
Boom!
A pulse of pure repulsive force erupted from Naraku's palm.
Boulders, trees—even chakra in the air—were blasted backward.
Matatabi snarled as it dug its claws into the ground. It staggered, tail lashing violently.
"What is this power?!" the tailed beast roared.
Yugito was stunned. It wasn't Wind Release. There was no air current, no storm. Just... pressure.
"Yugito, don't engage!" Matatabi warned from within her mind. "That repulsion... it's like the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan!"
"You think I can just retreat?! I'm Kumogakure's Jinchūriki!" Yugito shouted.
Even so, she could feel it. Step by step, Matatabi was being pushed back.
Then, the pressure ceased.
Yugito's eyes widened. "It's over?"
She readied herself to strike back.
"Impressive," Naraku mused. "To endure it without collapsing. Even without my Tenseigan Chakra Mode."
He recalled how Pain had used Shinra Tensei to level half of Konoha.
Naraku's current force was slightly less—but even so, Matatabi had held her ground.
"Let's switch it up. This time, we pull."
Naraku activated Tenseigan's gravitational pull.
The world seemed to tilt.
Yugito blinked in confusion—until Matatabi's massive body suddenly lurched forward, dragged by an invisible force.
Inside Kumogakure, villagers spotted the chaos.
"That's Nibi! Lady Yugito is alive!"
"We have to help her!"
"How?! Raikage-sama won't even let us out of the village!"
"Someone's fighting her... Is that a Konoha shinobi?!"
"I hope she kills them all!"
In the Raikage building, A recoiled at the sight.
Yugito was alive. Relief washed over him—only to be replaced by fury.
Alive... but captured. Helpless.
"Dodai! How much longer for the Chakra Cannon?!" A roared.
"At least two more months," Dodai replied grimly.
Cloud's secret weapon was still incomplete.
And as things stood... there was nothing they could do to stop Hyūga Naraku.