Daiki and Haruto immediately rushed to the door and began pounding on it. "Come out immediately!" Daiki shouted. "This area needs to be evacuated as soon as possible. Open the gate now, or I will be forced to break it." The urgency and sternness in his voice left no room for argument.
Hearing the loud knocking and Daiki's commanding words, Raito looked toward his wife, Kazumi. Both of them could hear the distant explosions, collapsing buildings, and deafening roars echoing throughout the village. Realizing the situation had grown dire, Raito hurried toward the entrance while Kazumi followed closely behind him.
The moment the gate opened, Daiki wasted no time. "Good. Let's go," he said immediately. "We need to get both of you to the shelter as quickly as possible."
"But our son hasn't returned yet," Kazumi said anxiously, her hands clenching together. The worry in her voice was impossible to miss.
Haruto stepped forward and said reassuringly, "Don't worry. If he hasn't come here, then he was most likely guided to the shelter by other ninjas. The evacuation teams are working throughout the village. Just follow us, and you'll be able to meet your son there."
Hearing those words, Raito nodded. Turning toward Kazumi, he gently held her hands, trying to comfort her despite the fear weighing heavily on his own heart. "What Lord Ninja is saying is correct," Raito said. "Let's go." Kazumi hesitated for only a moment before nodding as well.
Just as the couple stepped out of the house, Daiki spoke again. "We don't have time to move on foot. Hop onto our backs. We'll carry you." Daiki bent down slightly, and without wasting another second, Raito climbed onto his back. Haruto did the same, and Kazumi quickly climbed onto Haruto's back.
The instant both civilians secured themselves, Daiki and Haruto shot forward. Their bodies blurred as they sprinted across the street before leaping onto a nearby house. The two ninjas moved with practiced coordination, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as they headed away from the most dangerous part of the battlefield. The cold night wind whipped past them as they traveled across the village. Around them, buildings burned, smoke rose into the sky, and distant screams mixed with the sounds of battle.
Then, just as Daiki and Haruto landed on another rooftop, everything changed. Far away, the Nine-Tails twisted its massive body while avoiding attacks from the surrounding ninjas. The giant beast shifted its position with a single powerful leap. To the Nine-Tails, it was nothing more than a simple movement; to everyone below, it was a disaster.
The colossal fox descended from the sky and landed directly on Ryuma's home, the very house they had just left moments earlier. BOOM! The entire structure was crushed beneath the unimaginable weight of the tailed beast. Wood shattered, walls exploded apart, and roof tiles flew in every direction. The house was instantly flattened and completely destroyed as debris erupted outward like a violent shockwave.
The Nine-Tails let out a thunderous roar and raised its head toward the sky, the sound shaking the surrounding area. For a brief moment, Raito and Kazumi stared at the ruins of their home from their position on the nearby rooftop. A sharp pain pierced their hearts: years of memories, years of hard work, their home, gone in an instant. But before they could even fully process the loss, that pain was swallowed by something far greater: absolute fear.
The Nine-Tails slowly turned its massive head toward them, its enormous eyes locking onto the group. Within those eyes was the unmistakable pattern of the Sharingan. The moment their gazes met, Raito and Kazumi felt their blood run cold. Daiki and Haruto fared little better, only little. An overwhelming pressure crashed down upon all four of them, freezing their bodies. Their muscles refused to move and their minds screamed at them to run, yet their legs would not respond. Standing before them was not merely a giant beast; it was a living natural disaster.
The Nine-Tails stared at the tiny humans before it. To the fox, they were nothing more than insignificant bugs that had been constantly irritating it throughout the battle. A low growl rumbled from its throat. It had no intention of wasting time on them; it would simply crush them. With a deafening roar, the Nine-Tails raised one of its massive claws high into the air, its gigantic shadow swallowing the group whole before coming crashing down directly toward their position.
From a distance, Hiruzen witnessed the scene unfold, his eyes widening in alarm. "No!" The shout burst from his mouth instantly. Without the slightest hesitation, he thrust his Adamantine Staff toward the Nine-Tails and roared, "Extend!"
The moment the command left his lips, the Adamantine Staff obeyed. The black staff began expanding at a tremendous speed, shooting forward like a giant spear aimed directly at the massive fox. Yet despite acting immediately, Hiruzen's heart sank. He had fought countless battles throughout his life, and his experience allowed him to judge distances and timing with frightening accuracy. That accuracy told him one thing: he was too late.
The Nine-Tails' claw was already descending, its speed simply too great. Even if the Adamantine Staff reached the Nine-Tails, at best it would strike the beast and knock it away only after the claw had already crushed the four people standing on the rooftop. A rare feeling of helplessness surfaced within the Third Hokage as he could only watch.
Below, Haruto, Daiki, Raito, and Kazumi stared at the enormous claw descending from above. The sky itself seemed to disappear beneath its shadow. To them, it was not merely a claw; it was certain death. The overwhelming pressure emitted by the Nine-Tails crushed their will to resist. Daiki and Haruto were trained ninjas who knew exactly how dangerous the Nine-Tails was, yet even they could not force their bodies to move. Run? There was nowhere to run. Escape? Impossible. The claw would reach them before they could even take a few steps. Raito and Kazumi were even worse off, their minds already blank from terror. The gigantic claw continued descending closer, closer, closer. At that moment, the same thought appeared in everyone's mind: We are dead.
Just as all hope seemed lost, a calm, confident voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield, cutting through the despair itself: "Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Crossing the Six Paths."
The instant those words rang out, a sharp metallic sound followed: Shing!
Everything happened so fast that most people failed to comprehend it. The Nine-Tails' claw, which had been descending with unstoppable force, suddenly stopped completely. Silence filled the area for a brief moment. Then, glowing white lines appeared across the Nine-Tails' massive claw and extended upward along its forearm, shining brilliantly against the darkness of the night. For a split second, nobody understood what they were seeing until the glowing lines faded, revealing deep, perfectly clean, horizontal slashes.
The next moment, enormous chunks of flesh and fur separated from the Nine-Tails' arm, and blood erupted into the air. Massive severed sections of the beast's claw and forearm crashed toward the ground below. BOOM!BOOM!BOOM! The earth trembled as the gigantic pieces struck the ground; the Nine-Tails' entire front right leg had been severed.
On the rooftop where Haruto, Daiki, Raito, and Kazumi stood, a lone figure landed directly between them and the place where the claw had been moments earlier. His arrival was so sudden that it felt as though he had simply appeared from nowhere. Haruto's eyes widened, Daiki froze, and Raito stared in disbelief. They immediately recognized the back of the person standing before them. There was no mistaking him: it was Ryuma, Raito and Kazumi's son.
At that moment, Ryuma stood firmly on the rooftop, facing the Nine-Tails without the slightest sign of fear. His forearms and swords were coated in a dense black layer, and a dark purple aura surrounded his body, flickering and swirling around him like an invisible flame. One sword rested in his right hand, another was held in his left, and a third sword was clenched firmly between his jaws. The image alone was enough to leave everyone speechless.
…
I turned around and looked at my parents. Their faces were pale. Moments ago, they had completely given up on surviving, the fear in their eyes so deep that it looked as if they had already accepted death. But now, after I had stepped in and saved them, a glimmer of hope had returned to their eyes.
The same was true for Daiki and Haruto. To be more precise, they weren't looking at me; they were looking at what I had done: the fact that I had instantly severed the Nine-Tails' claw. The fear that had frozen them moments ago had disappeared. Seeing that, I silently let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness I arrived in time. Otherwise, my parents could have died today.
Just then, a thunderous roar entered my ears: "ROOOAAARRRRR!"
The Nine-Tails was screaming in pain after I had cut off its front right leg. The sound shook the surrounding area, but I paid it no attention whatsoever. Instead, I focused on the people behind me.
Looking at my parents and especially at Daiki and Haruto, I immediately gave an order. "Go," my voice was calm but firm. "Take my parents away from here. Get them to the shelter."
After hearing my command, both Daiki and Haruto immediately nodded. Only moments ago, they had resigned themselves to death, frozen in fear and unable to move. But now things were different. Now they had regained their senses, knowing that someone capable of standing against the Nine-Tails was present, and most importantly, that they were no longer about to die.
The paralysis gripping their bodies disappeared, their training returned, and their minds cleared. Simultaneously, both of them answered, "We will do so."
Without wasting another second, they prepared to escort Raito and Kazumi away while I remained standing on the rooftop, facing the enraged Nine-Tails alone.
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