For the sake of this coup, they had convened countless times at Nanga Shrine, devising plan after plan.
Most of their supporters were formidable warriors who had awakened the Sharingan.
In their eyes, as long as they concentrated the full might of the Uchiha, they could eliminate both the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō.
It was they who had helped establish Konoha.
It should be the Uchiha who lead it as Hokage.
For the sake of peace, they had even once turned their backs on their former patriarch, Uchiha Madara.
On the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, they had wanted to fight alongside the village's shinobi to protect everyone—
yet they had been ordered to stay far away from the beast.
Afterward, they had been cast out to the village's edge under false accusations.
Years of distrust and ostracism had led to this day.
But never mind taking on Konoha's leadership or the Hokage—
before them now stood Senju Haruto, and they found themselves utterly powerless.
The gap in strength between the two sides was overwhelming.
They could not help but recall a long-buried name—
Senju Hashirama!
They had thought Wood Release was a relic of history, its power long gone.
Yet on this day, it had returned.
Why…
Why must the Uchiha, in the end, still be defeated by the Senju?
This time, Uchiha Itachi didn't even bother to ask Haruto how he planned to deal with these people.
He simply activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, locking eyes on one of them.
Against the power of Tsukuyomi, a mere Three Tomoe Sharingan was no defense.
But before Itachi could drag the man into the illusion world to extract Naruto Uzumaki's whereabouts, a massive surge of chakra—like a tidal wave—rolled toward them.
"This chakra…"
Itachi's eyes widened instantly, turning toward the source of the eruption.
What shocked him most was that the source wasn't anywhere else—it was the village.
Not only was this chakra vast and overwhelming, it was steeped in pure malice.
In his mind, an image flashed: a crimson fox, lashing nine mighty tails.
"You…"
Itachi clenched his teeth. He had never imagined his own clansmen would do something like this.
"That chakra… it's the Nine-Tails."
Haruto's brow furrowed. He didn't have the Byakugan or Sharingan activated, and sensory perception was never his specialty.
Yet even under those conditions, he could feel it.
That alone proved just how terrifying the owner of this chakra was.
The worst part—its epicenter lay in the heart of the village.
The Uchiha… had released the Nine-Tails in Konoha's center!
"Haruto!"
Even the usually composed Itachi now sounded rattled.
Once the Nine-Tails lost control, the devastation it could unleash was unimaginable.
If they didn't stop it immediately, the village might be reduced to rubble.
And this wasn't the first time such a nightmare had occurred.
The Nine-Tails' attack years ago still lingered as one of Konoha's darkest shadows.
"I know."
Haruto's voice was calm, but his gaze flicked back to the Uchiha still bound by his Wood Release.
There was no way they could break free in the short term.
But…
This Nine-Tails attack was different from the last.
Back then, Obito had taken advantage of Kushina's childbirth, summoning the beast into the village.
This time, however, Naruto's consciousness had been corroded by the Nine-Tails, sending him into full Tailed Beast transformation.
In other words—while this Nine-Tails had only half its original chakra, it was even more dangerous.
As Deidara had once remarked, a Tailed Beast without a jinchūriki was merely an overpowered wild animal.
"Minato Namikaze…"
Suddenly, Haruto recalled a detail—
The first time Naruto fully transformed, Minato had appeared in his mindscape to repair the seal.
"There's no time to worry about these people now."
Itachi, seeing Haruto's expression change, assumed he was debating what to do with the captives.
But the coup no longer mattered.
The Nine-Tails had to be stopped before it destroyed Konoha.
"Yeah." Haruto's focus returned. "Let's move."
Before they set off toward the source of the chakra surge, Haruto left behind a Wood Clone to ensure the Uchiha here caused no more trouble.
"If the Nine-Tails is rampaging inside the village," Haruto said casually, "that means there's an Uchiha over there, doesn't it?"
"…Yes." Itachi gave a short nod before darting out of Nanga Shrine.
"Actually… there's something I've never told you."
"Oh? What is it?" Haruto asked without thinking.
But after a pause, Itachi changed his mind.
"…Never mind. I might just be overthinking it. Let's stop the Nine-Tails first."
"Alright."
Haruto agreed, though a possibility crossed his mind.
On the night of the Uchiha massacre, Itachi hadn't acted alone.
Even if Fugaku refused to fight his son and chose suicide, there had still been plenty of Three Tomoe masters in the clan.
To ensure nothing went wrong, Itachi had joined forces with Obito.
So… was Itachi now suspecting that this Nine-Tails rampage was connected to him?
Haruto knew that at this point in time, Itachi believed the masked man he'd met was Uchiha Madara.
The attack years ago was also generally believed to be Madara's doing—
his goal, to destroy Konoha.
In truth, Obito's purpose had been to gather the Tailed Beasts.
But with so little intel, the village could not know the truth.
From Itachi's perspective, this current chaos and the attack years ago might very well be the work of the same man.
And Haruto noticed—when the massive, malevolent chakra had appeared, many Uchiha looked genuinely surprised.
As though this development wasn't part of their plan.
But they quickly accepted it, assuming some of their clansmen had unleashed the beast.
Last time, the Fourth Hokage had died to stop the Nine-Tails.
This time, perhaps it could claim the Third as well.
And if Haruto and Itachi also perished fighting it, all the better.
Still, Itachi didn't bring up Obito again, and Haruto didn't bother to press.
Instead, he activated his Byakugan and raced full speed toward the Nine-Tails' location.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi also sensed the immense, malicious chakra.
"…The Nine-Tails…"