A terrifying explosion erupted from the cave behind them!
The Yellow Dog Captain was a Fire Release jōnin—this scale of explosion must have been his doing.
Yako didn't know Fire Release and wasn't even sure if it required oxygen to burn. If it did, wouldn't everyone inside the cave suffocate? In fires, over ninety percent of victims die from poisoning and suffocation—burns claim far fewer lives.
Yako kept his distance from the cave.
He had already warned the Yellow Dog Captain. He'd done all he could—if the sky was going to fall, the taller ones had to hold it up.
Two Iwa-nin who had been tunneling underground were taken out by the Anbu squad, but in the forest opposite, two more Iwa-nin squads appeared.
Yako created a shadow clone to guard Purple Cat.
This clone would protect her while she seized the opportunity to use the Mind Body Switch Technique.
With only two of their squad left, each person was critical.
The situation was dire, and there was no time to worry about revealing Purple Cat's Yamanaka clan identity.
Yako drew his blade and charged the Iwa-nin.
A dozen kunai whistled through the air; with several swift movements of his ninja blade, he deflected them all.
The Iwa-nin squad leader was shocked. This "Fox" Anbu's fundamentals were so solid—this reaction speed wasn't something ordinary Anbu possessed.
Two Iwa-nin rushed him while the squad leader remained in the back, forming hand seals for a jutsu.
The blade spun and leapt through the darkness.
Under Cloud Flow Swordsmanship, Yako decisively struck down the Iwa-nin on the left, killing him quickly.
The other Iwa-nin seized the perfect moment to strike, driving a kunai toward Yako's exposed flank.
Yako's blade hadn't yet recovered from the last strike.
The ninja Ōnoki brought with him were all highly skilled.
Yako could kill this attacker even if it meant taking a wound himself—
But at the critical moment, the Iwa-nin froze mid-motion.
Purple Cat collapsed—she had taken control of the enemy's body.
Yako took the chance and cut the Iwa-nin down.
But the squad leader's jutsu had already arrived!
Hundreds of stones hurtled toward him like bullets.
Yako was already ready with the one-handed seal for the Earth Substitution Technique.
The stones hit him—but the sound was that of striking a mud pit.
Splatter, splatter, splatter!
His body dissolved into sludge, splashing everywhere under the barrage.
The Iwa-nin leader was stunned again.
Why would a Konoha ninja know an advanced Earth Release technique from Iwagakure?
Even he didn't know this A-rank jutsu.
On instinct, he leapt back.
Earth Substitution was often followed by an underground sneak attack—something many Iwa-nin jōnin favored.
Sure enough, a kunai shot up from below.
The squad leader was relieved at his quick reflexes, avoiding the "Fox" Anbu's ambush.
But when the kunai passed before his eyes, he saw the handle was wrapped with an explosive tag!
BOOM!
The blast hurled him through the air.
Yako drew another kunai from his pouch and hurled it from afar.
It buried itself in the squad leader's throat—execution complete.
With the squad cleared, Yako returned to Purple Cat's side.
His blade was quick—hopefully her soul had returned in time, or she might have been caught in his strike.
Seeing she was fine, he leapt up into a tree and peered toward the main battlefield.
Adamantine Staff, Dust Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Fire Release—the entire field was chaos.
But none of that was the most striking sight.
Yako saw her.
From the valley, Princess Mito Uzumaki walked out slowly.
Unaided.
Gone was any sign of frailty.
She stepped beyond the valley, hands coming together in a seal.
Her chakra boiled forth, condensing rapidly into physical form.
Beneath Mount Ushiga, an ominous aura spread.
The air felt cold, yet a killing urge rose in the heart.
This was Nine-Tails chakra.
It surged around her, forming into a fearsome fox's head.
More and more of the chakra poured out, until a complete, translucent Nine-Tails appeared in the valley.
Chains coiled around its body; its shoulders, waist, and other key joints were pierced through by iron links.
This was a unique tailed beast cloak form, never revealed in the original work.
Only the Uzumaki clan's top sealing masters could use the Adamantine Sealing Chains like this with the Nine-Tails.
The beast raised its head, a massive Tailed Beast Ball forming before its maw.
Ōnoki's anguished cry rang out in the night.
"Trap! Mito Uzumaki isn't anywhere near death yet!"
Seeing her immense power, Yako finally understood—this was never the day of the Nine-Tails' transfer.
Tonight was a banquet Konoha had prepared for its enemies!
Few forces had the power to interfere with a Nine-Tails sealing transfer, and Iwagakure was among the strongest.
A false message was bait they couldn't resist.
Draw them in, then show them the might of the strongest tailed beast!
Even Han, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki in his three-tailed state, was no match for the Nine-Tails.
His Tailed Beast Ball was only the size of a fist; the Nine-Tails' was dozens of meters wide—like half a mountain.
The gap was too great.
Iwagakure's sealing techniques were garbage compared to the Uzumaki's.
After decades, Mito Uzumaki was nearly a perfect jinchūriki, having developed her own way to harness the Nine-Tails.
This time, Konoha hadn't brought many shinobi.
Now that became an advantage—their side could flee at full speed.
The Iwa-nin didn't give up, raising wall after wall of Earth Flow Ramparts.
Before the Nine-Tails' massive Tailed Beast Ball, those walls were as flimsy as a stack of old playing cards.
Yako looked down and shouted to Purple Cat: "Run! Now!"
He didn't dare glance back again and sprinted at full tilt.
Chakra flooded his legs, Body Flicker Technique pushed to the limit.
Purple Cat knew it too, matching his speed.
After only a few dozen seconds, a terrifying explosion sounded behind them.
Yako tackled her to the ground—they hugged the earth.
The shockwave shredded the canopy; trunks tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, nearly falling.
Even a kilometer from the blast, the force was still this great.
Those Iwa-nin in the center must have suffered terribly.
Ten seconds, maybe fifteen, and the shockwave ended.
Yako scrambled up, pulled out binoculars, and climbed the slanted trunk to look back.
The Iwa-nin's position was now just a massive crater.
Above it, a figure floated.
Ōnoki had escaped with his flight technique, carrying an unconscious Han.
On the ground, there was nothing but bare earth—no grass, no bodies.
"Shimura Danzo! I'll kill you for this!"
From the look of it, Ōnoki believed Konoha's Anbu had set the trap.
Spies and counterspies, intelligence and false intelligence—these were all the Anbu's trade.