Everyone knew—after the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
That calamity which shook all of Konoha had only been quelled through the life-sacrificing struggle of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
That night, the Fourth Hokage and his wife fell, Konoha suffered devastating losses, and the Nine-Tails' chakra was finally sealed inside the newborn Naruto Uzumaki.
From that day forward, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who once again shouldered the mantle of Hokage, treated the Jinchuriki's safety as the highest priority. He even personally ordered that Naruto be placed under strict, around-the-clock surveillance.
ANBU guarded him nearly twenty-four hours a day.
What he ate, where he went, who he spoke with—everything was recorded in detail.
And yet, now...
"Why...?"
"Why is there a Nine-Tails inside the Uchiha Clan Grounds?!"
Hiruzen's mind reeled, his thoughts crashing into one another.
"Something's wrong—something's very wrong!"
His old eyes locked on the rampaging giant fox, his voice trembling despite himself:
"Naruto hasn't left the village... the ANBU's reports haven't been mistaken... so where did this Nine-Tails come from?!"
Beside him, Nara Shikaku's brows furrowed, his mind racing.
"Even if it's genjutsu, no one could maintain an illusion of this scale... besides, that's genuine Nine-Tails chakra!"
"But how could two Nine-Tails exist in the shinobi world?!"
There was no time left to think—
The massive beast lunged forward, barreling toward the Sarutobi clan.
"Retreat! Retreat—fall back, now!!"
The squad leader's command had barely left his mouth before the enormous claws slammed down.
BOOM!!
Over a dozen Sarutobi elites were crushed into nothing but a bloody mist without even a scream, leaving a deep gash across the earth where the claws struck!
"AAAHHH!!"
"Captain!! No—!!"
"Run! Get out of here!!"
"..."
The formation instantly collapsed into chaos. The Sarutobi shinobi, who had just been setting their lines, now fled in panic.
But the Nine-Tails was the king of the Tailed Beasts. These shinobi could never match its speed.
Every sweep of its claws erased another cluster of Sarutobi lives.
From the distant platform, the Third Hokage's heart bled, his eyes twitching.
Those were his clansmen!
But he was Hokage—he forced his emotions down, straightened, and bellowed:
"Move!! Support them!! We cannot let history repeat itself!"
"Remember the price we paid during the Nine-Tails' Rampage!!"
His roar snapped everyone awake.
What had begun as a mission to annihilate the Uchiha had now turned into a desperate life-and-death battle against the Nine-Tails itself!
"Activate Byakugan! Support the Sarutobi!"
"Everyone, assemble! With me—move to assist!"
"I'll evacuate the villagers nearby!"
"..."
In an instant, the clans gathered for the Uchiha extermination transformed into an emergency task force against the reappearance of the Nine-Tails.
And in the midst of the chaos and despair—
Ryota stood upon the high platform of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, watching the rampaging beast with the faint curl of a smile on his lips.
At his side, Ais's golden eyes reflected the massive figure of the Nine-Tails. She asked softly:
"What is that...? Is it some kind of monster from this world?"
Lefiya stepped closer, her voice trembling as she added:
"Ryota... this creature is different from what we saw in the Dungeon before."
"Did you really... summon this thing?"
Clearly, the monstrous fox had shaken the two girls so deeply that they struggled to even put their feelings into words.
Ryota nodded slowly.
"Mm. Same as Madara, same as Pain... but the Nine-Tails is a little different. It's a part of me."
Ais and Lefiya nodded, half-understanding, half-bewildered.
This was, in truth, the first time he had ever fully released the Nine-Tails from within his body.
With each mission he completed, the Nine-Tails' chakra inside him had steadily grown stronger.
And Naruto's Nine-Tails still existed as well—only dormant in slumber.
But a thought stirred in Ryota's heart: if both versions of the Nine-Tails' chakra could exist at once... didn't that mean they could potentially be fused?
That Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra could be absorbed into his own?
And not just Naruto.
There was also Sasuke.
The potential within those two was practically tailor-made for Familia templates.
"They'd both make excellent Familia members."
A strange glint flickered in Ryota's eyes.
"Once things are settled in Konoha..."
"It'll be time to meet those two children."
Just as he pulled his thoughts back, hurried footsteps rushed up behind him.
Uchiha Fugaku arrived with over a dozen elites in tow. Yet the moment they caught sight of the battlefield ahead, they froze, nearly collapsing to their knees.
"Clan Head... is that the Nine-Tails...? The Nine-Tails?!"
His voice shook as he stared wide-eyed at the colossal beast tearing through the battlefield.
That familiar silhouette, that ocean-like surge of chakra, those nine tails of calamity...
There was no doubt. It was the legendary King of Tailed Beasts.
"What else would it be?"
Ryota's voice carried a teasing edge, but it thundered like lightning in Fugaku's mind.
"But... but it's helping us?"
"No... no, wait. It hasn't touched the clan grounds at all. It's avoided every inch of the compound, it's... it's fighting alongside us?!"
Fugaku felt his vision swim, nearly fainting on the spot.
This wasn't just a battlefield tactic—
This was control over the Nine-Tails!
The same Nine-Tails that had nearly destroyed Konoha, now weaponized to crush their enemies!
"Impossible... this is impossible..."
"The Nine-Tails... being used by us Uchiha...?"
And yet, there it was, rampaging across the battlefield, ripping through Konoha's attack lines, shattering the Sarutobi defenses.
Ryota glanced at the clan members standing behind Fugaku, each one bearing the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
"Have them prepare to sweep the battlefield."
"Anything useful, bring it back. In times like these, resourcefulness matters."
The Uchiha stared blankly.
"...Huh?"
"Clean... clean up the battlefield?"
"You mean... we're leaving the clan grounds?"
"..."
Outside their gates, the Nine-Tails and Konoha's shinobi were locked in a life-and-death clash. If they walked out there casually, wasn't that suicide?
But Ryota spoke so lightly, as though the battlefield were nothing more than a garden after the lawn had been cut.
"Go on. The Nine-Tails will protect you."
The Uchiha: ???
"...Yes!"
The first young Uchiha clenched his teeth and answered, then the second, then the third.
"Yes!!"
"Yes, Clan Head!!"
The doubts that had plagued them—the sleepless worry of whether the Uchiha could survive at all—were swept away. Flames lit their eyes anew.
With the Nine-Tails on their side, how could they possibly lose?!
In a blur, the figures dashed out, streaks of motion racing toward the battlefield.
Only Ryota, Ais, and Lefiya remained behind.
"Ryota..."
Lefiya tugged at his sleeve.
"Do you need me to do anything?"
Ryota smiled at her, turning to meet those earnest eyes.
"Of course I need you, Lefiya."
And then—
BOOM!!
A thunderous sound split the skies.
Ais and Lefiya both snapped their heads upward.
From within the flames, the Monkey King Enma leapt high, cradling Sarutobi Hiruzen in its great hands.
On Enma's palm, the old Hokage's hands blurred through seals, each movement strengthening the ghastly specter looming behind him.
The Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal.
Hiruzen was preparing to gamble his life, to seal away the rampaging Nine-Tails once and for all!
Ryota had already foreseen this moment. He turned his head toward the elf girl beside him.
"Lefiya."
"Use your magic. Target him."
Lefiya nodded, lifting her staff as her voice carried the chant:
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree—"
"I am the expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy!"
"Alio!"
With the final words, her spell ignited into an Arcs Ray, a blazing arrow of light streaking straight for Hiruzen.
At that moment, Hiruzen's focus was locked on the Reaper Death Seal. His entire being had narrowed to that single task, his vision filled only with the raging Nine-Tails.
Then, suddenly—
An alien energy, nothing like chakra, jolted his senses.
His head snapped up.
A dazzling arrow of light hurtled straight for his face.
"What?!"
Hiruzen's eyes widened. In that split-second between life and death, he twisted desperately aside.
SHHH!
The arrow skimmed past his cheek.
He had barely dodged it.
But Enma, holding him aloft, was not so lucky.
"Damn it—!!"
The Monkey King gave a cry of pain before bursting into a puff of white smoke.
Without Enma, Hiruzen plummeted, landing heavily on the ground, his face etched with shock.
"What was that ninjutsu? Why have I never seen it before?!"
But he had no time to dwell on it.
That single arrow hadn't only struck Enma—it had shattered the rhythm of the battlefield.
Hiruzen barely regained his footing when an oppressive force bore down upon him.
He looked up.
The colossal Nine-Tails ignored everything else, charging straight for him.
"...Damn it..."
"This beast is even more troublesome than before!"
A twitch pulled at the corner of his eye. Something wasn't right.
The Nine-Tails, the most savage of Tailed Beasts, should have been a mindless whirlwind of destruction.
But this one—
Every time it avoided the clan grounds with uncanny precision. Not a single brick disturbed, not a single tile broken.
Even against waves of ninjutsu from the shinobi forces, it needed only a flick of its tails to swat them aside.
This wasn't a rampaging beast.
Every movement, every claw swipe, every roar carried deliberate intent!
"What's happening... why is this worse—far worse—than that night?!"
Cold sweat streamed down Hiruzen's face.
That night, he had seen Minato and Kushina give their lives to subdue the Nine-Tails and seal it away.
But this—this Nine-Tails wasn't in a frenzy.
It was fighting like a trained shinobi.
Not a berserk monster...
A weapon, wielded under orders.
"This... this can't be..."
He muttered, but there was no time left.
The Nine-Tails' claws crashed down.
BOOOM!!
The ground erupted, earth and dust blasting skyward.
Hiruzen barely evaded, forcing himself to resume the seals for the Reaper Death Seal.
That had been Minato's final weapon. He had dragged the Nine-Tails' yin chakra into the Reaper's belly, dying alongside it.
Then sealed the yang chakra into newborn Naruto with the Eight Trigrams Seal.
That battle had been both sacrifice and legacy.
But Hiruzen had no legacy left.
No Naruto.
No vessel.
If he used the Reaper Death Seal now, he could only drag both halves of the Nine-Tails' chakra into himself.
A storm of power so violent that even touching it was like knives scraping bone. To seal it entirely...
It wasn't sealing. It was suicide.
"So it's come to this after all..."
His eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted in pain.
He was the Third Hokage, the protector of Konoha.
He had once watched Minato sacrifice his life to suppress the Nine-Tails.
Now it was his turn.
But unlike Minato, he had no successor. No future.
Only his own death to gamble on a sliver of hope.
"Reaper Death Seal..."
He forced his hands through the signs, his body trembling, blood dripping from his lips.
The Reaper's specter grew clearer, its fangs and tongue stretching wide, awaiting its next sacrifice.
And then—
Footsteps.
From behind.
Followed by a voice, smooth and mocking.
"A life for a life, Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
"But I'm afraid I won't be giving you that chance..."
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