October 10th, Year 51 of the Hidden Leaf Village.The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—the leader of all tailed beasts—suddenly broke free from its seal and rampaged into Konoha.
"S-save me!""Run! It's the Nine-Tails—!"
The gigantic fox appeared in the middle of the village, the houses in its grasp looking like fragile toys.With a single swipe of its massive tail or a casual rake of its claws, destruction and death erupted instantly.Screams shattered the calm of the Hidden Leaf.
"Damn fox!""K-Kill—!"
The first wave of Konoha shinobi rushed in, desperately attempting to halt the rampaging beast. But without the strength of a Kage, they were little more than cannon fodder.Even when they unleashed everything they had, they could only distract the Nine-Tails for a fleeting moment—before being crushed moments later.
Every movement of the Nine-Tails brought catastrophic devastation.A casual lift of its paw, a careless swing of its tail—dozens of Konoha shinobi were flattened like ants and hurled across the battlefield.
"W-waaaah—!"
In less than fifteen minutes, countless shinobi who had bravely charged forward lay dead.Civilian casualties were even worse.Those who understood what was happening fled toward the shelters beneath the Hokage Rock with their families, overwhelmed by terror.
"Hurry! Get the sealing corps!""Anyone who knows sealing techniques—try something—!"
But the Nine-Tails' power was far beyond the capacity of ordinary shinobi.A jōnin narrowly evaded a fatal strike with Body Flicker and shouted to the others:
"R-Retreat! The Nine-Tails is too strong—we can't seal it! We need to restrain it first!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Rumble—rumble—rumble…
But ordinary sealing techniques were like trying to chop down a giant tree with a pocketknife.To restrain a monster of this scale, the target had to be willing to cooperate.
And clearly, the Nine-Tails—caught in a powerful genjutsu and utterly berserk—was in no mood to cooperate with anything.
"Summoning Technique—Enma!"
"Sarutobi!"
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally arrived.When he saw the Nine-Tails ripping apart the village he loved, his eyes blazed with fury. Without hesitation, he performed a summoning, and the mighty Enma appeared.
"Enma—transform! Adamantine Staff!""Extend!"
With Enma's help, the fifty-year-old Hiruzen used the staff's expanding ability to force the enormous fox back and shove it out of the village.
"Third Hokage-sama!""We're saved!""Where are the medical shinobi? Hurry! We have wounded!"
But even after driving the Nine-Tails away, Hiruzen did not relent.He knew the crisis was far from over.
The only solution was to seal the Nine-Tails again.But where was Namikaze Minato?
"Make way! Where are the wounded?!"
A medical ninja with short pink hair rushed to the scene.He looked young—no more than twelve—his delicate features framed by a white long coat as he ran toward the injured.
"It's Haruno Shō!"
"Over here! Kazama's hurt!"
Haruno Shō—an otherworldly transmigrant who had lived in this world for twelve years—now served as a medical chūnin in Konoha.Despite his age and his efforts to hide his true abilities, his medical skills were exceptional—more than enough to qualify him as a medical jōnin.
His unique identity also meant he'd met countless people while treating patients, and many shinobi recognized him on sight.After all, who among them hadn't been injured at least once?
And among the medical staff of Konoha Hospital, Haruno Shō was one of the best.
"Let me take a look…"
He quickly approached Jōnin Nohara, who was cradling a young man with his chest torn open, blood soaking through his clothes.
"This is bad. Watch closely…"
"Water Release: Water Orb Technique!"
Shō did not immediately use medical ninjutsu.Instead, he formed a high-speed spinning sphere of water in his palm. For him, this technique was so simple he no longer needed hand seals.
He ran the spinning orb over the wound, swiftly washing away the blood and debris before dispersing the water.
In the next instant, ten thin, water-blue chakra threads shot out from his fingertips.He pressed his hands onto the injured man's chest, guiding the threads deep into the wound with expert precision, repositioning and suturing the damaged tissues.
"Healing Technique."
Only after repairing the internal injuries did Shō use a basic healing jutsu to finalize the treatment.
The effect was immediate.The wounded man's breathing steadied, the tension fading from his face—he was out of danger.
"Kazama! You're alive!""If you died, I… I wouldn't know what to do—"
"Nohara… get off me…"
Shō ignored the dramatic duo.There were still many wounded waiting for him.
He moved on without hesitation.