"I—I can't hold on…"
Under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra, members of the Sealing Squad collapsed one after another.
Although replacements rushed in immediately, the seal still began to fail in countless places.
The leaking chakra had already gathered into a towering, blood-red silhouette.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Several chains of golden light burst from Uzumaki Mito's body, lashing around the Nine-Tails' chakra and pinning it down.
But Mito's already-fading life force plummeted again.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi said grimly, "Speed it up!"
"Yes!"
By the time dawn broke gray over the horizon, Uzumaki Mito's final breath had left her—and the Nine-Tails was sealed completely into Namikaze Minato's body.
Everyone present wiped the sweat from their faces.
The Nine-Tails' power was far more ferocious than they'd imagined.
If not for Uzumaki Mito's desperate suppression, tonight could have ended in catastrophe.
"Good work, everyone. Go get some rest."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
With the sealing complete, people began to rise and prepare to leave.
But the next second, a ninja from the Sealing Squad had blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, an expression of disbelief in her eyes.
Looking down, she saw that her chest had been pierced by beast-like claws.
"Damn it, Minato has lost control!"
Hiruzen tore off the Hokage's ceremonial cloak, revealing a lean, battle-hardened frame.
The ever-watchful Anbu immediately formed up to shield him.
Minato's eyes had become crimson slits. Terrifying chakra poured off him, condensing and swelling…
In mere moments, the Nine-Tails' colossal body loomed before them.
"Roar!"
With a sky-shaking howl, the Nine-Tails slammed an enormous claw into the earth. A spiderweb of cracks laced out in all directions.
"I'm finally out..."
"You damned humans!"
After so many years, it could finally see the light again.
It had once lived a leisurely life in the forests—until two bastards showed up muttering, "You're too dangerous," and "You must be sealed," then beat it senseless without a word.
In the end, they'd sealed it away to use its power.
Hmph.
Konohagakure, was it?
Tonight, it would raze this village to the ground!
The more it thought, the angrier it grew. The Nine-Tails swiped at the ants scurrying below.
In an instant, several shinobi who couldn't dodge were crushed to pulp.
"Summoning Technique: Monkey King Enma!"
The summoned Enma stared at the rampaging beast. "Hiruzen, what's going on?"
"No time to explain," Hiruzen said, voice like iron. "Transform—Adamantine Staff!"
With one mighty sweep, he drove the Nine-Tails back hundreds of meters. The prepared Barrier Squad leapt into action, erecting a barrier that trapped the beast inside.
The Nine-Tails hurled its massive body against the barrier again and again, making it shudder on the brink of collapse—yet it held.
"Damned humans! You won't cage me again!"
The Nine-Tails raised its head. A torrent of chakra gathered before its maw, coalescing into a small Tailed Beast Ball.
Boom!
At the Nine-Tails' command, the bomb detonated. The sturdy barrier shattered into fragments.
Most of the Barrier Squad died or were maimed in the blast.
"Damn it!"
Hiruzen hadn't expected the Nine-Tails to be this troublesome. Even with full preparations, it had broken free.
"Go—stop the Nine-Tails and protect the village!"
At his order, the Anbu charged the beast.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"
"..."
A storm of ninjutsu hammered the Nine-Tails, but none of it mattered. It only enraged the beast further.
With a sweep of its claws, Anbu fell in droves.
Just then, a blade flashed like lightning.
Hatake Sakumo dashed to the Nine-Tails, striking its body with relentless, surgical cuts.
But even a swordsman famed for one-strike kills found his blows useless. On the Nine-Tails, they scarcely stung.
Even wounds carved out with everything he had sealed up within seconds under the monster's terrifying regeneration.
Under the brutal tempo of battle, Sakumo's strength flagged within ten minutes.
"Sakumo, fall back!"
Hiruzen barked, hands flying through seals. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Four clones appeared. Planting the Adamantine Staff in the earth, Hiruzen and his four doubles wove signs in unison. "Ninja Art: Five Release Great Combo Technique!"
Wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth combined into a devastating fusillade that engulfed the Nine-Tails' vast frame.
"As expected of Lord Hokage, that's amazing!"
"This has to finish it—even the Nine-Tails can't withstand that!"
"What power—truly the strongest Hokage!"
Hope flared in their chests, praise breaking out around the field.
The next second, a colossal claw tore out of the rolling smoke.
Crash!
It came down, and dozens died in a heartbeat.
"So this is the current Hokage? Compared to that bastard from back then, you're sorely lacking."
"Tonight, none of you will stop me!"
Reinforcements from the various clans arrived one after another.
At Hiruzen's command, elite shinobi poured into the fight.
Though the Nine-Tails raged, it couldn't kill them all at once.
As the battle reached a fever pitch, a figure in a black cloak and a spiral-patterned mask suddenly appeared on the Nine-Tails' shoulder.
"How foolish, Nine-Tails."
"At this rate, it won't be long before you exhaust all your energy and are sealed again."
"Beyond slaughtering a few inconsequential Leaf shinobi, nothing will change."
The Nine-Tails turned its head, cold light glinting in its vertical pupils at the human who had appeared upon it.
It didn't strike immediately—because it saw a pair of eerie scarlet eyes.
Eyes too similar to the ones that had once brought it endless humiliation.
"Who are you? What do you want?" the Nine-Tails asked warily.
"I'm merely someone whose goal happens to align with yours," the masked man said blandly, lifting a hand to point toward the Hidden Leaf.
"Use the chakra you have left. Fire a Tailed Beast Bomb at the village."
"Shinobi can dodge. Buildings can't."
"A human choosing to help a Tailed Beast?" The Nine-Tails sounded amused. "You hate them that much?"
"Hate?" The masked man shook his head. "Rather than hate, let's say… it's more that they are not to my liking."
At that, the Nine-Tails burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha… interesting. Very well—let it be as you wish."
A Tailed Beast's chakra is not infinite—its sheer volume and rapid recovery only create the illusion.
After continuous, high-intensity combat, even a Tailed Beast needs time to restore chakra, stamina, and focus…
And with sealing arts suppressing it, the time it had left was indeed short.
T/n:
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