"Hah... gasp..."
Might Guy sat up in bed. After yawning, he rubbed his sleepy eyes. In a daze, he looked out at the night sky shrouded in rain and saw a faint red light on the distant horizon.
"Huh? Is it morning?"
Might Guy's brows knitted together as he mumbled with a troubled expression, "My sleep quality wasn't very good last night. The sun's up, but why am I still a little tired?"
"Looks like I'll have to double my training today so I can get a good night's sleep tonight..."
With that, he stretched, but before he could finish, his body went rigid. His eyes stared straight ahead at the red light on the horizon. Why did the red light, which looked like the morning sun, seem to be getting brighter and brighter?
"Wait a minute." Most of Might Guy's sleepiness instantly vanished. "The rising sun? No, that's not right. The direction is wrong, and the color..."
No, it wasn't getting brighter; it had already turned a blood-like crimson. And the light was approaching Konoha at an alarming speed?!
"This isn't good!"
Might Guy's expression immediately changed. A primal sense of danger gripped his heart.
He wasn't the only one; all the ninja who were at home also saw the light in the distance. But just as they saw the true nature of the red light, their pupils constricted.
Rumble!!
The piercing screech of something tearing through the air instantly shattered the tranquility of the rainy night! Several crimson beams of light finally arrived, shooting from the distance like spears and illuminating several faces frozen in terror.
The next moment, everything fell silent, but it wasn't a true silence. The sound and light of the beams were so overwhelming that their ears and eyes couldn't handle them. Everyone was temporarily deaf and blind, able only to feel the ground beneath their feet trembling madly!
After an unknown amount of time, when their sight and hearing returned to normal and sounds returned...
BOOM!!
A resounding roar echoed over the peaceful village of Konoha. Windows of apartments, storefront displays, and street lamp glass all shattered like rain under the sweeping shockwave. The ground instantly cracked as the beams of light struck, and large chunks of rock were sent flying into the air. The deafening explosions left a ringing in everyone's ears. The scorching heat and impact hit them like a heavy hammer, and their vision was completely filled with a blinding red light and rolling flames!
After an unknown amount of time, from within the ruins of an apartment building...
"Cough! Cough, cough!!"
A muffled, pained cough came from the rubble. An arm covered in dust and blood stretched out from a pile of twisted steel, shattered rock, and broken furniture! Then, another hand appeared, and both hands worked to push aside the debris on top of him.
Might Guy's disheveled figure emerged from the large patch of ruins. His ridiculous pajamas were in tatters, largely burnt away, revealing his muscular body covered in scrapes and bruises. There were countless small cuts all over his body, and blood mixed with dirt slowly trickled from them.
"What's going on?"
His face, with his eyes closed, was full of pain. He shouted but couldn't hear any sound. He covered his head and shook it hard, trying to get rid of the ringing and dizziness.
But when Might Guy looked up and saw his surroundings, his face went blank, as if he had turned to stone.
Fire!
Fire was everywhere!
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, and flames constantly devoured the air, their heat twisting it and painting the black rainy night a dark red! The towering Hokage's office had been completely pierced by the beams of light from the sky. Even the steel framework supporting the building had been melted down and torn apart.
Creak! Bang!!
The flames crackled, and the building moaned before collapsing entirely! The trees on both sides of the street spontaneously ignited, turning into a blazing sea of fire. The ground was left with terrifying scars, completely exposing the cross-sections of several streets.
"..."
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in front of a residential building, gripping the gigantic Adamantine Staff. The firelight cast a long shadow behind him. Looking at Konoha, which had been completely turned into a sea of fire, he turned his head to look in the direction the attack had come from. His face had already turned ashen.
That direction was the Uchiha Clan's compound!
As expected, it hadn't been resolved peacefully?
"Third Hokage!"
Several dark figures appeared behind Hiruzen Sarutobi like ghosts. They were the elite Anbu tasked with protecting the Hokage. They were dressed in Anbu uniforms and wore masks, but even through their masks, one could feel their seriousness, anger, and a hint of fear.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't turn his head. His gaze was fixed on the Uchiha Clan's compound. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Emergency Alert, Level Three!"
"Order all ninja in the village, regardless of affiliation or mission status, to immediately drop everything and come here."
"Provide aid and rescue. Search all the ruins and save every possible survivor at all costs!"
"Transfer the villagers. Guide all unharmed or lightly injured villagers to the nearest underground shelter immediately!"
"Organize a defense. Notify the Barrier Team to activate the defense barrier. No one is allowed to enter or exit. All combat personnel, after completing rescue and defense deployments, are to immediately gather with me!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu ninjas' hearts trembled. They responded in unison, their voices trembling slightly. They instantly transformed into shadows, rushing in different directions.
Meanwhile, all the Konoha ninjas who were still in the village had been drawn in by the explosions. Large groups of ninjas ran through the streets and leaped across rooftops. They had already organized themselves, digging through rubble to rescue the injured and guiding the terrified villagers toward the underground shelters.
Whiz! Boom!!
Just then, a piercing shriek came from the direction of the Uchiha Clan's compound, and a crimson beam of light tore through the rain curtain and struck again.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Several Konoha ninjas made hand signs, and a massive stone wall rose from the ground, just barely blocking the Cero.
"This attack, this chakra... what's going on?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Uchiha Clan's compound in the distance and felt the unfamiliar and cold chakra. The grimness on his face gradually turned to a serious and solemn expression.
The beams of light were still coming. From where he stood, he could see the crimson lights constantly flashing in the distance. Could the Uchiha Itachi or the person who called himself Uchiha Madara do this? A Mangekyō Sharingan?
Because he was aware of the actions of the Anbu and the Root, he hadn't slept all night, worried that something unexpected might happen. He hadn't expected his fears to come true, but in a way he could never have predicted. He thought that even if there were a conflict with the Uchiha clan, with Kawa and Danzo's abilities, along with the Anbu and Root, they could limit the conflict to a small area.
He had never imagined that the entire village of Konoha would be affected. Konoha was not like the Land of Fire with its pure civilians; everyone who lived here was a Konoha ninja and their family. Any deaths or injuries would be on him as Hokage! He could already foresee the criticism and condemnation that would follow.
However, now was not the time to be thinking about that.
"Phew!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a deep breath, suppressing the unease and fear in his heart. He turned to look at the apartment building behind him. There was no doubt that this was the home of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. After realizing that the Uchiha clan might go crazy tonight, he had neglected his own house and the Hokage's office to stand guard here, afraid that the Nine-Tails attack from years ago would happen again.
He had to, because according to the information Kawa had extracted from that White Zetsu, the masked man who had caused the Nine-Tails attack had appeared again. And he was using the name "Uchiha Madara." When he heard that name, Hiruzen Sarutobi had trembled with fear.
However, a single sentence from Kawa had reminded him.
"Uchiha Madara, if it were really him, even if he were still alive, do you think he would appear in such a cowardly way?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally knew the answer to that question.
—No.
From what Hiruzen Sarutobi knew of Uchiha Madara, even if the man were old and dying, even if he had little strength left, he wouldn't hide behind a mask and play a trickster. With Uchiha Madara's personality, he would rather die in an unknown place than show his weakness to anyone. So, the man was most likely a fake, probably an Uchiha clan member who had inherited Uchiha Madara's extreme ideologies and legacy.
At the same time, inside the room Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching, Naruto Uzumaki was still sleeping peacefully, completely undisturbed by the chaos outside.
And inside the seal space, sensing the several unfamiliar and familiar chakras that had suddenly appeared in Konoha, the Nine-Tails opened its eyes.
"That damned Uchiha again!"
Sensing Uchiha Obito's chakra, a hint of wariness flashed in the Nine-Tails' vertical pupil. It still hadn't forgotten the feeling of being forcefully ripped out of Kushina Uzumaki by someone using Uchiha Madara's summoning jutsu and then being controlled by the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But soon, as if it suddenly remembered something, it looked at the quiet wooden house in the distance, and its slightly tensed body immediately relaxed.
Oh, right. With this old guy here, what do I have to be afraid of?
I've been used as a cushion by this old guy for so long, after all. Even if he doesn't care about me, he should at least not just stand by and watch me die since he finds me so comfortable.
"Cough, cough."
Thinking this, the Nine-Tails coughed and lowered its voice to test the waters. "Um..."
But before it could finish its sentence, it was interrupted by a voice from the wooden house.
"You are my possession," the voice said calmly. "They can't take you."
Hearing this, for the first time, the Nine-Tails wasn't angry about being called a "possession." Instead, it was happy because it inexplicably felt a strong sense of security. Being a cushion for a while wasn't for nothing! It was almost looking forward to that damned Uchiha coming for it now.
But...
"Aren't you interested in those Yin Release creations outside?" the Nine-Tails asked curiously.
Toneri Ōtsutsuki's father had been able to see that the 'Hollows' were Yin Release creations, so the Nine-Tails, a Yin-Yang Release creation itself, could also sense the true nature of the 'Hollows.' To be honest, it was the first time it had encountered such a Yin Release creation. It felt so strange and had such a unique way of existing.
Oh, wait, not the first time...
As if it had realized something, the Nine-Tails' vertical pupil slightly constricted.
"They are products I created," Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki's flat voice entered its ears. "Why would I be curious about them?"
This sentence instantly confirmed the Nine-Tails' guess, deepening its awe. This kind of ability was on par with creating a being that was completely different from a living organism.
"So, you want to destroy Konoha?"
The Nine-Tails' vertical pupil flickered, its eyes filled with an eager look. If you let me, I can do this!
But the next sentence poured a bucket of cold water on its enthusiasm.
"What does its destruction have to do with me?" he said.
"Don't you think the existence of Konoha and the other villages is a mistake?" the Nine-Tails couldn't help but ask.
"What does it matter whether it is a mistake?"
"Do you think I haven't tried to guide the lambs who are being raised only to be slaughtered?"
Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki's tone was cold. "But when I opened the lambs' cage, they only stood there, their eyes full of confusion."
"Fox, you are the same."
Listening to the arrogance in his words, the Nine-Tails opened its mouth to say something but ultimately shut it again obediently. This was because it did indeed feel that humans were constantly repeating their mistakes and were completely unaware of them. The reason it wanted to object was just that it felt that it was different from humans. But from the perspective of an observer who had lived for hundreds of years, it could see the inherent flaws of humans. So maybe in the eyes of this old man who had lived for thousands of years, it was no different?
While the Nine-Tails was self-reflecting, inside the wooden house, Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki slowly opened his eyes.
"Finally, I've found you," he thought to himself. In the days he had been inside Naruto Uzumaki, he had finally found what he was looking for: Ashura's chakra!
He wouldn't be like Black Zetsu. After obtaining the Rinnegan from the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, he completely ignored the later reincarnations, which led to his plan's failure. As long as Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were in Hagoromo's hands, and as long as the Ashura and Indra chakras were still reincarnating, Hagoromo could always turn the tables on him.
No matter what Hyuga Kawa turned the ninja world into, the Ashura and Indra chakras would continue to reincarnate. Hagoromo could always create a "Child of Prophecy," the so-called "protagonist of the world," and use them to overthrow Kunishiki's plan and rule. Even killing Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha would be useless; it would just alert Hagoromo and cause him to lose track of Ashura and Indra.
Therefore, the purpose of this "Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki" body was to hold the "protagonist" in his hands.
However...
Looking at the Ashura chakra, which was almost completely fused with Naruto's soul, Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki couldn't help but frown. No wonder the personalities of the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra were so similar; it was because their chakras had fused with their souls. Or rather, the chakras of Ashura and Indra were, in essence, their souls.
That Hagoromo guy had really perfected this soul business; its effect was infinitely close to the Ōtsutsuki clan's "Karma." He couldn't remove it, and in addition to Ashura's chakra, he also noticed something else mixed in.
"Is this a contingency left by that Hagoromo guy?" Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki's blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Does he think I can't touch Ashura's chakra like this?"
Since you won't let outsiders touch Ashura's chakra, I will grant your wish and let Ashura's chakra become Naruto's power. But the way that power is manifested might be different from what you imagined.
"Ashura," Ōtsutsuki Kunishiki whispered. "Become Naruto Uzumaki's Zanpakutō."
You will no longer be in a symbiotic relationship.
Instead, you will be the blade and the wielder.
Two separate individuals.