Inside Konoha Hospital, Uzumaki Kushina stood at the window of her room, visibly conflicted.
"Minato… do you think I should release the Nine-Tails?"
She turned to look at her husband, sitting quietly on the bed.
"This…"
Namikaze Minato also hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Emotionally, he absolutely did not want his wife to take such a risk.
But rationally, he knew that—without Senju Hashirama here—
Releasing the Nine-Tails might truly be Konoha's only hope of survival.
Aramaki's attitude was simply too hostile. He clearly had no intention of negotiating.
How could they possibly let someone like that breach the village?
"Heheh… Looks like you really do need me after all. Let me protect your village this time, Minato."
Uzumaki Kushina gave a radiant smile.
"Kushina—"
Minato opened his mouth, but no words came. He could only watch silently as she turned and left the hospital room.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Clenching both fists, Minato stared bitterly at his legs—
Though their color had returned, they still wouldn't move.
His eyes brimmed with regret.
If only he'd been more cautious—reacted a moment sooner—
Perhaps his leg bones wouldn't have been pierced by Aramaki's wooden spikes…
Meanwhile—
For the first time in years, Kushina raced through the village at shinobi speed, arriving at the main gate of Konoha.
There, gathered at the front lines, stood Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Chōza, and numerous other clan heads, elders, and high-ranking jonin.
Uchiha Fugaku had remained at the barrier, continuing to coordinate the Uchiha Flame Formation.
"Good day, Hokage-sama, Tobirama-sama. Would you be able to open a small gap in the barrier so I can get through?"
In front of the stunned crowd, Uzumaki Kushina stepped forward with a calm smile, addressing Orochimaru and Tobirama directly.
Senju Tobirama and Orochimaru exchanged glances—
Then nodded.
Neither of them were the type to let emotion cloud their judgment.
Several minutes later—
Aramaki suddenly sensed a powerful aura rising in the west—one so intense he couldn't ignore it.
This chakra was raging with fury, hatred, and raw negativity.
"Hm?"
Aramaki raised an eyebrow as he turned to look—
And saw, not far away, a massive orange-furred fox.
Its body rapidly expanded to a height of over 60 or 70 meters, and nine thick, swaying tails extended behind it.
"So this is the so-called strongest of the tailed beasts… the Nine-Tails?"
...
"Rrraaaahhhh——!"
The colossal Nine-Tails Fox.
The moment it reappeared in the world—
It began violently swinging its tails with excitement.
Each sweep of its tails stirred up powerful gales.
It opened its blood-red maw, its crimson vertical pupils gazing up at the somewhat overcast sky above, unleashing a hysterical roar.
At the same time—
A terrifyingly violent aura poured out from the Nine-Tails without restraint, causing countless residents of Konohagakure to feel a deep sense of dread.
"With the Nine-Tails' power, and the traits unique to a tailed beast, even if it can't defeat the enemy, it should at least be able to pin him down for a long time."
Senju Tobirama observed the giant beast outside the barrier with a cold expression.
In his view, as long as his elder brother returned in time—
It wouldn't be difficult to reseal the Nine-Tails into Kushina's body.
However, what the Nine-Tails did next caught everyone off guard—
Including Aramaki, standing outside the barrier.
The Nine-Tails remained crouched, staring at him, with no intention of charging at him immediately.
This surprised Aramaki.
Then he gave a hearty, toothy grin and asked, "Hey, big fox, aren't you coming at me?"
The Nine-Tails was silent for a moment—
Then clearly spoke a shocking counter-question.
"Why would I?"
Inside the crimson barrier—
Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and all the Konoha shinobi, even Namikaze Minato lying in Konoha Hospital, visibly changed expression.
Even Aramaki looked at it strangely and pointed toward the shinobi on the other side of the crimson barrier.
"Aren't you one of them?"
"They let you out, didn't they? Weren't you supposed to come deal with me?"
The Nine-Tails' crimson eyes swept across Tobirama, Orochimaru, and the others, then let out a cold laugh: "They're the ones who forcibly captured me and sealed me inside those two women. For decades, I could do nothing but crouch in a narrow cage. How could we possibly be on the same side? And why should I help them fight you?"
These words left the Konoha shinobi speechless—
What they didn't know was that the Nine-Tails could see and hear what was happening outside.
And so the Nine-Tails had learned of the World Government's origins.
Invaders from another world!
They were a massive power that had already conquered multiple worlds.
This sparked a glimmer of hope in the Nine-Tails' heart.
The Sage of Six Paths had once told the tailed beasts that one day, someone would guide them down the right path.
But a thousand years had passed, and not only had they never met such a person—
They hadn't even encountered anyone who treated them kindly.
On top of that, the repeated experience of being sealed over so many years—
Had left them utterly disillusioned with humanity in this world.
So the Nine-Tails decided to take this opportunity to speak with Aramaki.
"Huh. When you put it that way, it actually makes a lot of sense. Rawawawa~~"
Aramaki burst into laughter at the Nine-Tails' words.
His uniquely styled laugh echoed through the crimson barrier, reaching the ears of every Konoha shinobi, turning their already furious expressions even darker.
"So what do you want now? Planning to leave this place?"
After laughing, Aramaki looked at the Nine-Tails with amused curiosity.
"I can work with you to blast open this barrier, but before that, I want to ask—can you help me free myself completely from this woman's body? And ensure I'll never be captured again by the humans of the shinobi world?"
The Nine-Tails voiced its request in a tone laced with dignity.
[Swish!]
Upon hearing this, Senju Tobirama could no longer contain himself. He leapt onto Konoha's city wall and shouted in fury: "Nine-Tails, are you planning to betray the very world you were born in?!"
Though they were already mentally prepared to submit to the World Government—
That didn't stop Tobirama from questioning the Nine-Tails now.
It was simply an attempt to influence the beast through rhetoric.
"What, am I supposed to let you keep me locked up forever?"
The Nine-Tails sneered in disdain.
It said no more to Tobirama, turning its gaze back to Aramaki, a bit anxious, but also hopeful—quietly awaiting his answer.
"Hmm…"
Aramaki stroked his chin in thought for a while, then replied, "Stopping them from sealing you again won't be a problem."
The fox's face lit up with joy—only for Aramaki to immediately add: "But as for releasing you now... I can't say for sure. Honestly, I don't think I have the ability to do that."
This caused the Nine-Tails' mood to sink. But just as it started to despair, Aramaki continued after a few seconds' pause: "However—once we conquer this world, we'll just make them release you then."
This entire exchange left the Nine-Tails' emotions on a roller coaster.
It even began to wonder if Aramaki was toying with it.
Still, for the sake of reclaiming its freedom, the Nine-Tails calmly suppressed its anger.
"Very well. I'll help you break this barrier!"
The Nine-Tails made its decision on the spot.
Without waiting for Aramaki to ask, it continued on its own: "I once overheard Kushina giving a brief assessment of this 'Uchiha Flame Formation'."
"She said to Namikaze Minato that Uchiha Madara truly was a remarkable genius. This formation he created, the 'Uchiha Flame Formation,' can summon underground flames, continuously replenish energy, and even block a Tailed Beast Ball with ease."
"But it also has a short-term limit on how much force it can withstand. Kushina estimated it could endure the simultaneous impact of at most three Tailed Beast Balls."
"The power of my own Tailed Beast Ball is indeed stronger than that of the others, but still falls short of the combined strength of three."
Standing atop the wooden giant, Aramaki nodded repeatedly as he listened.
Meanwhile, across the barrier, the faces of Senju Tobirama, Jiraiya, and Nara Shikaku grew increasingly grim.
As for Orochimaru—his expression remained unreadable.
To him, even if Aramaki broke through the barrier…
Even if they had to violently suppress all of Konoha, it didn't matter—so long as they could join the World Government as soon as possible.
Of course—
Orochimaru wasn't foolish enough to reveal these thoughts.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---