As far as Akashi knew, there was only one Uchiha capable of controlling the nine tails like this.
Fighting Minato as well, the infamous Yellow Flash who was given the rank of SS in the bingo book...
"Uchiha Madara."
"What?"
"There is a possibility that the mysterious Uchiha whom you mentioned is none other than Madara himself."
Tsunade frowned.
"But that's impossible!"
"...What do you mean by that?"
Akashi raised an eyebrow.
"If he were Uchiha Madara, why did his body look so young? Even if he were alive, his age doesn't match that body type!"
'...Now that's new.'
Akashi intentionally leaked the information to Tsunade, the 'princess' of the Senju clan, to see if there was anything he could learn from her.
Instead, he found a new perspective on this matter.
'What if, it isn't Uchiha Madara, but someone impersonating him?'
Question is, who?
Either way, it was worth noting.
"Anyhow..."
Akashi peeked at Kushina once again, as well as the blonde boy in her grasp.
Tsunade, with an alert, stepped in, preventing Akashi from staring at them any further.
"...Don't you dare try anything funny while I'm watching!"
"It doesn't sound too convincing when you're shaking like that. Hemophobia, eh?"
Akashi sighed.
"But I don't plan to do anything to them, so worry not. Rather, I'm trying to save her."
"...Why?"
Tsunade gazed at him in suspicion.
"Minato is a good man. Jiraiya helped me many times. I have the power to help."
"...Just because of that?"
"What other reason do I need?"
Tsunade, taking a step back, inspected Akashi's full form.
"And now that I look at you... what's with that cloak of yours? What have you been doing for years, getting wanted here and there?"
"Now isn't the time to speak of those, is it?"
Most of the elite ninjas of Konoha had now fallen back, unable to fight any longer.
The third Hokage, Hiruzen, was facing the tailed beast mostly by himself.
Though old, he truly deserved the name of the 'Professor'.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
As the staff in Hiruzen's hands, Enma, enlarged to defend against the nine tail's tail, two shadow clones by his sides breathed out potent streams of fire and wind.
Merging together, they pushed the nine tails back with a tremendous force.
The nine tails roared in pain and rage, and its thrashing got even wilder.
Jumping up as the staff retracted back to its size, Hiruzen began to undergo hand seals. Two shadow clones leapt and also went through the hand seals, able to throw another ninjutsu before the dispel.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The original Hiruzen spat out a huge volume of water, soaking the nine tails.
""Lightning Release: False Darkness!""
Two shadow clones spat out spears of lightning from their mouths. Merging with the water, they effectively electrocuted the huge tailed beast.
As the nine tails roared from the pain and momentarily stopped its attack, Hiruzen landed back on the ground, huffing in exhaustion.
"Sarutobi... you've gotten weaker."
Exiting the staff form, Enma remarked.
"That's what the age does, my friend."
Said Hiruzen, smiling even as he panted.
The nine tails, with its bloodshot eyes, now laid its focus on Hiruzen and Enma.
"Well, there's my call."
Akashi, without letting Tsunade speak any further, jumped out the window.
'And just in case...'
Forming a hand seal mid-flight, Akashi produced one shadow clone.
Nodding, the clone dashed toward where Minato was last seen.
...
The nine tails opened its jaws once more.
Hiruzen and Enma grimaced as they exchanged a look.
'Bijuudama!'
The black sphere of energy began to gather within its mouth.
Knowing that they shouldn't give the nine tails more time to prepare the attack, they began to act.
"Enma!"
"So we're doing that, eh?! After years have passed!"
Hiruzen underwent hand seals before slamming his hands on the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
A huge, thick wall of solid earth rose from the ground.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Enma spat out a wall of water.
The wall of water smashed into the wall of earth.
"Water Release: Starch Syrup Binding Rope!"
Hiruzen, immediately casting another ninjutsu, spat out a long rope of viscous water that wrapped around the crumbling earth wall—such that it now stood in the form of a very dense and huge ball of earth.
"Transformation: Adamantine Staff!"
Enma transformed back to his staff form.
Hiruzen held Enma with both hands. He swung back, and with a war cry, slammed the staff right onto the dense earth ball.
With a boom, the dense ball of earth shot out and struck the nine tails right in the cheek, interrupting its process. From the force alone, it was knocked down headfirst. The bijuudama couldn't be completed and faded away.
"Huff... huff..."
Hiruzen fell to a knee, sweating profusely.
"Now that... is a strike..."
However, the technique wasn't enough. Wobbly, the nine tails rose back up. Looking up at the sky, it then roared.
Angrier than ever, the tails recklessly smashed and destroyed everything in their path.
Hiruzen managed to evade at the last second and watched the ongoing rampage grimly.
"Minato..."
Hiruzen couldn't help but mutter,
"Where are you..."
"Don't put up such a weak face, Sarutobi."
Enma's eye opened up in the middle of the staff. Though his staff form held no mouth, his voice was just as clear.
"You are the Hokage of the village."
"Hokage... yes, I still am."
However, Hiruzen knew that he was at the limit. He exerted everything that he had just now to stop the nine tails from blasting the bijuudama.
To them, a company arrived.
"Do you need help?"
Hiruzen stiffened up. He then turned around.
"You are..."
A man wearing a black cloak with red cloud symbols was seen seated atop a boulder.
He was a stranger to them, having never met them in the past.
However, there was no way that Hiruzen didn't know who this man was.
"The murderer of Danzo... Akashi!"
'Now of all times...!'
Hiruzen gritted his teeth. Enemies front and back—
...Hold on.
'Help?'
"What do you mean by that?!"
Urgently, Hiruzen shouted, sensing no killing intent from Akashi.
"As in,"
Akashi casually pointed his finger at the nine tails who now held a huge ball of black energy in its mouth... yet again.
Hiruzen turned pale as he noticed an impending attack.
"Re-sealing that nine tails back in the body of Uzumaki Kushina."
"And why would you do that—no, forget it. How?!"
Hopping down from the boulder, Akashi walked past Hiruzen and Enma.
"Bring Kushina to where I direct the nine tails. I'll handle it from there."
The nine tails fired the bijuudama right in front of the three.
Hiruzen's eyes widened, and then—
It was gone. Not only the bijuudama, but the nine tails as well.
BOOM.
Slowly, Hiruzen turned.
There was a huge explosion outside the village, along with the silhouette of the nine tails.
'Flying Thunder God...?'
A chill ran down his spine.
'How...?'
The fact that the infamous 'Red Blade', the criminal known to have earned the rank of S with nothing but his proficiency in kenjutsu and fire release ninjutsu, knew how to use the trademark technique of Minato, the exact technique that no one but him should know how to use in today's world.
'SS-rank... no. Can a ninja like himself be defined by a ranking system like that...?'
Hiruzen, no matter how old he was, was a veteran. Upon doing a quick calculation, he could only draw one result...
...There was no one in today's world who'd win in a one versus one against Akashi.
Nevertheless, Hiruzen ignored such thoughts and regained his senses.
The nine tails was still up, and their job was far from done.
For now, Hiruzen decided not to think.
Regardless of Akashi's status, he, a Kage-level shinobi at the very least, was willing to help them.
...
With the use of the Flying Thunder God technique, Akashi teleported himself to the site where the nine tails was.
Immediately, a tail came down, crushing the earth as Akashi dashed back to dodge it.
"Now, this is the second time that I'm facing a tailed beast. And you see, after my first time, I took a good amount of time studying about you folks."
The nine tails, completely out of its mind, threw its hands, tails, and everything that it had to harm Akashi. Its eyes, lingering with pure hatred, looked very unusual; the nine tails reminded him of Karatachi Yagura.
'Genjutsu, huh? Again.'
Leaping to dodge a tail that swept across the ground and pulverized numerous trees, Akashi finally revealed his prized sword, Ryuma.
He then 'threw' it.
As it was thrown, something looked different about Ryuma. Its hilt was covered in a complex seal, one that began to glow in blue.
Energy Release,
The hovering form of Ryuma suddenly became encased in a potent, green energy that shone brilliantly. A seal on Akashi's right wrist, one that looked exactly the same as the seal on Ryuma's hilt, glowed in blue.
Spirit Blade.
Abruptly, Ryuma shot out toward the nine tails on its own as if it had its own sentience.
Ryuma then struck the tail that was lashed out toward Akashi, and surprisingly, managed to hold its own.
Chasing Ryuma with his eye, Akashi flicked his finger.
Ryuma immediately flew to the right and parried another tail that was approaching.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
It moved at an incredible speed, flying freely in the air as if it were a fish swimming in a pond.
Leaving a trail of green hue as it travelled, Akashi was surrounded by the green trails; an unusual sight, it was.
"And... here we go."
While protected by Ryuma, Akashi raised his hands and formed a hand seal.
Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Numerous golden chains sprang out of Akashi's back. Ferociously, they flew toward the nine tails, which was caught off guard. It thrashed its arms and tails, but in an instant, its form was strangled by the potent chains.
The only thing it could move was its mouth.
So it gaped it open, about to fire the bijuudama once more.
"As if I'd let that happen."
However, another golden chain then sprang forth and wrapped around the nine tails' jaw and head, forcing it to close its mouth.
Nine tails lashed out, but the chains weren't undone. Though shaking, the chains held on, and as long as Akashi's chakra persisted, the nine tails wouldn't be able to move.
"You..."
And just then, Hiruzen finally arrived, together with Tsunade, who delicately held Kushina.
"The nine tails... how...?"
"Perfect timing."
Hiruzen and Tsunade's eyes didn't know how to leave the powerless form of the nine tails, completely subdued in such a short span of time.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains..."
Tsunade whispered.
"How do you know that technique..."
Hiruzen stared at Akashi and saw two figures of resemblance.
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
If this wasn't the feats of a god of shinobi, then what was?
"Put her down here."
Although still trembling, Tsunade slowly placed Kushina down on the hard ground.
Her stomach, where the seal is drawn, was presented. It was the area that held a lethal wound beforehand, but Tsunade thankfully healed quickly enough, such that Kushina was given more time.
"This is..."
Akashi read the seal.
"Two Four Symbol Seals I see, where one is piled on top of the other... what's its name?"
Hiruzen found himself chuckling dryly, unable to believe that the advanced fuinjutsu of the Uzumaki clan was read like this.
"...Eight Trigram Divination Seal."
"A fine seal it is. Two seals complement each other in near-perfection."
Placing his hand on Kushina's stomach, Akashi turned.
Click.
The seal 'opened'.
Akashi 'pulled' the golden chains.
The nine tails thrashed, but to no avail. Slowly, it was being pulled. Slowly, its size began to diminish.
It clawed the ground, but it didn't help. It roared, but could do nothing as it was helplessly pulled—
—Pop.
With a whoosh, the nine tails re-entered Kushina's stomach.
Akashi turned his hand in the opposite direction, now closing the seal.
"Fuin."
Boom.
With a burst of chakra, the seal was locked. The dust flew centering Kushina as Akashi's sealing process expelled chakra and generated force.
"...Hu."
Standing up, Akashi wiped the sweat on his forehead and looked at the flabbergasted form of Tsunade.
"Check her."
His words were the cue for Tsunade to regain her senses. Hurriedly, she leaned down to Kushina and underwent the diagnosis.
"She's..."
Her eyes widened. Looking up, Tsunade turned to nod at Hiruzen.
"She'll be fine."
Hiruzen let out a breath of relief at that. Placing his hand on his tired visage, he rubbed his face.
"I still don't understand the reason behind your action. I cannot deny my dislike of you, for you are the one who killed my close friend. However, for now... thank you."
"No need for thanks."
Akashi stated, hiding the fact that he's feeling a little winded.
"I've already gotten the payment in full."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I—wait."
Akashi frowned as he turned to gaze at the location far away.
His shadow clone dispelled, after leaving a kunai that had the seal of the Flying Thunder God technique.
It located Minato, who he was facing the masked Uchiha with bizarre abilities.
"It isn't over yet."
Without a further explanation, Akashi teleported, disappearing from Hiruzen and Tsunade's view.