The moment Uchiha Obito summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha Village, countless houses were instantly crushed. Since it was night and most Konoha villagers had few evening entertainment options, they were largely home and resting. No one knew how many bodies would be buried beneath the houses crushed by the Tailed Beast tonight.
"ROAR—"
The Nine-Tails' roar transformed into a terrifying shockwave that shot out in all directions. In an instant, a fierce wind erupted.
Houses nearby instantly crumbled into ruins under the force of the shockwave. It was only at this moment that the residents of Konoha realized that a Tailed Beast had appeared in the Village.
The Nine-Tails' savage chakra and its terrifying size shone like a blazing sun in the darkness. No one could fail to notice its presence. Even the Sharingan eyes reflected in the Nine-Tails' pupils now caught the attention of many ninjas.
Tonight was supposed to be the important day of Kushina's delivery. Although the Konoha high command had placed the delivery location outside the Village, the Village was heavily guarded against any potential mishap. Soon after the Nine-Tails appeared, many ninjas, reacting swiftly, rushed toward the Nine-Tails' location without needing direction from the Hokage.
At the same time, the villagers, having endured previous wartime hardships, followed established drills. The moment the crisis erupted, families rushed toward the shelter beneath the Hokage Rock. In an instant, the streets were filled with chaotic, fleeing crowds.
Rocks and rubble, lifted by the shockwave, plummeted from the sky into the downtown area. This was merely the aftershock caused by the Tailed Beast's roar, not even the epicenter of the disaster, yet the falling rocks and debris were deadly weapons capable of easily taking lives. Some civilians, fleeing, were unaware of the falling hazards, were directly struck, and lay in pools of blood, their fate unknown.
Both the selfishness and the brilliance of human nature were fully exposed during this crisis. Some fleeing individuals noticed the injured, stopped their flight, and rushed forward to help. Others, the young and strong, abandoned their wives and children, shedding all burdens, intent only on saving themselves.
The Nine-Tails' destructive power had barely been unleashed, yet for the ordinary people of Konoha Village, it was already a disaster of unprecedented scale. Even ninjas seemed incredibly insignificant in the face of this natural catastrophe.
Under Uchiha Obito's control, the Nine-Tails began moving toward the Hokage Tower, wantonly destroying streets and houses along the way.
Ninjas who dared to impede the Nine-Tails were swept aside. The shuriken and kunai shot by the ninjas to stop the Nine-Tails couldn't even penetrate the Tailed Beast's fur. Furthermore, the various Ninjutsu used by the ninjas not only failed to leave any mark on the Nine-Tails but further provoked the Tailed Beast, making its actions even more savage.
The Nine-Tails' nine sweeping tails were like a punishing whip held by a god, carving deep, bottomless ravines into the earth. By sheer physical strength alone, the Tailed Beast was unstoppable.
...
Just as a large number of Konoha ninjas were falling to the Nine-Tails, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, finally arrived on the battlefield, leading the Anbu.
Although the Third Hokage was past his prime and his strength had declined to some extent, he still chose to stand up in the face of the Tailed Beast disaster. Upon arriving, he summoned Enma, the Monkey King, and used the Kongō Nyoi (Adamantine Staff) to strike the Tailed Beast, impaling it and forcing it outside the walls of Konoha Village.
The Nine-Tails' massive body burst through Konoha's walls under Sarutobi Hiruzen's assault and appeared in the dense forest outside the Village.
Seeing the distance from its target, the Hokage Tower, increasing, the Nine-Tails began to condense chakra in its mouth, preparing to launch a Tailed Beast Bomb to destroy the Hokage Rock. That was precisely where Konoha's civilians were taking shelter.
Obito, a former Konoha ninja, understood the Village far too well. His attack was designed to leave Konoha with no room for recovery.
Since Namikaze Minato had discovered his identity, destroying Konoha was undoubtedly the best way to keep his identity completely concealed. Even if he couldn't completely erase Konoha from the map, merely crippling the Village would be enough for other Hidden Villages to seize the opportunity and attack Konoha in this fragile ninja world political structure.
The Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly condensed. In a moment, a massive black chakra sphere shot out from the Nine-Tails' mouth. In the blink of an eye, it tore through the night sky, hurtling toward the Hokage Rock.
Just as the Tailed Beast Bomb was about to strike the Hokage Rock, black runes suddenly flashed in the space before the rock face.
The Tailed Beast Bomb was forced to stop right there in front of the runes. Space twisted, and the Tailed Beast Bomb was slowly consumed by this alternate dimension, vanishing before the Hokage Rock in a moment.
Sensing the fluctuation, the Third Hokage looked toward the direction of the Hokage Rock behind him. Although he couldn't see the man's figure in the dark, the Third Hokage knew that only one person in Konoha Village could perform such a feat.
"Minato!"
"You finally made it!"
A look of joy flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, but in the next second, he returned to his previous solemnity. The Tailed Beast's appearance here meant something had gone wrong on Kushina's side. Worried about the situation, the Third Hokage also became anxious about the safety of his wife, Biwako.
"BOOM!!!"
A soaring blaze lit up the horizon. The Tailed Beast Bomb, transferred outside Konoha Village, violently exploded. The light even illuminated half the sky. Seconds later, the sound of the thunderous explosion rolled in, followed by a blast of terrifying air that carried the distinct smell of burning, sweeping over all of Konoha.
Outside the Village.
A giant toad suddenly appeared above the Nine-Tails' head. Minato had summoned Gamabunta and used a "Crushing Toad Technique" to briefly restrain the Nine-Tails' movement. The next instant, the Nine-Tails, along with Gamabunta, vanished from outside Konoha Village.
...
Inside the safe house.
Hyūga Shinichi had witnessed the entire, brief exchange between Minato and the Nine-Tails. Sensing that the Nine-Tails had been transferred by Minato's Flying Thunder God and had vanished from Konoha, his heart finally calmed down slightly.
Looking in the direction where the Tailed Beast had vanished, Shinichi's expression was grave. His hands were tightly clenched, his mind unable to settle. Having witnessed the power of the Tailed Beast firsthand, Hyūga Shinichi truly felt his own insignificance.
He currently possessed no technique capable of dealing with this entity that was comparable to a natural disaster.
Gentle Fist striking chakra points? Kaiten blocking a Tailed Beast Bomb? Or using the Flying Thunder God to frantically escape?
In the face of this power, nothing Shinichi did would matter.
However... the Tailed Beast was far from the pinnacle of power in this world. In front of truly powerful individuals, a Tailed Beast was merely a "pet" that could be manipulated at will.
"I must become stronger... even if it means risking my life, I must grow stronger!"
"Only by becoming stronger can I truly control the fate of myself and my family!"
"Instead of... only being able to watch helplessly like I am now, unable to do anything."
Shinichi's body trembled slightly. Fear? Excitement?
Shinichi himself couldn't describe his feelings, but one thing was certain: he had never felt such an urgent, resolute desire to grow stronger as he did at this moment. The shock delivered by a vague threat and the shock delivered by immediate danger are completely different. Shinichi had always worked hard, but his resolve to become strong had never been as firm and determined as it was now.
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