Minato's gallant figure stood atop his own head, or rather, atop his carved likeness on the Hokage Rock.
In his hand, he gripped a specialized Flying Raijin kunai, his arms held level before him. The Tailed Beast Bomb was incredibly close, appearing as if it would swallow him whole in the next heartbeat. Yet, the moment the dark sphere struck the formula of the Flying Raijin: Guiding Thunder, it was as if it hit an invisible, yielding fabric. The space collapsed inward, and the barrier "swallowed" the massive orb whole.
As the Tailed Beast Bomb vanished from Konoha, a blinding halo of light erupted in the distant Forest of Death. The explosion, akin to a nuclear blast, failed to touch the Hokage Rock.
Having successfully diverted the attack, Minato let out a sharp sigh of relief. That was close. If the shelter had been destroyed, he wouldn't just lose his title as Hokage; he wouldn't have the face to even call himself a ninja.
"Lord Third!" Minato shouted.
"Haaaghh!!!" Hiruzen roared in response. Understanding Minato's intent, he exerted all his strength. The Adamantine Staff pressed against the Nine-Tails' chest extended further, its length and power smashing through an entire street and a section of the great outer wall. He forcibly shoved the Nine-Tails out of the village proper.
"With me! Suppress the Nine-Tails! We must not let it re-enter the village!" Hiruzen barked. His staff returned to its normal size, and he vanished in a Body Flicker to give chase. A swarm of ninja followed closely behind.
…
"It really is the Nine-Tails! Kakashi, let's go too!" In a narrow alley, Might Guy turned to Kakashi.
Kakashi's expression was grim. How did the Nine-Tails break free? Is Kushina-nee safe? Did something go wrong during the birth?
Despite being a Jonin and a member of the Anbu, no one had come to notify or deploy him. Guy was in the same boat; both were elite ninja, yet they seemed to have been overlooked in the initial chaos. Regardless, Kakashi suppressed his doubts. The priority was the beast.
"Let's go! We need to assist the Lord Third!" Kakashi said solemnly.
However, as they prepared to leap, Yuhi Shinku and Hyuga Hiashi intercepted them. "That is no place for you brats," Shinku said sternly.
"We are ninja! We're both Jonin, and we've fought in the war!" Kakashi countered without hesitation.
Shinku hesitated, but Hiashi spoke up: "Kakashi, Guy, look at the beast's eyes. It's being controlled by a Sharingan. The village security is currently the responsibility of the Uchiha. While we haven't seen them move yet... you must understand. You can't help with the Nine-Tails. Stay in the village and keep a close eye on the Uchiha!"
"But we—" Guy started.
"That is an order!" Shinku interrupted.
Technically, as an Anbu, only the Hokage could direct Kakashi, and Guy had no such constraints. But Kakashi looked into Shinku's eyes and nodded. "Understood, Senpai. Please be careful."
"Hahaha, don't worry!" Shinku grinned before he and Hiashi vanished toward the outskirts.
"Kakashi, what now?" Guy asked after a moment of silence.
"We watch the Uchiha. There are too many things about this that don't add up," Kakashi mused. But as the words left his mouth, he spun around, hurling a kunai into the shadows behind them.
Guy's body flared with lightning as he stepped in front of Kakashi. Their synergy was flawless, forming a two-man combat formation in an instant.
"Who's there!?" Kakashi demanded.
"My, my. It seems you really do have a talent for this. You've already mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode to this extent?" A relaxed voice drifted from the shadows.
A familiar figure stepped out. It was indeed Diarmuid, now stripped of his "Obito" disguise and back in his original form. He held a lit tobacco pipe, looking calm and leisurely, a stark contrast to the frantic, blood-soaked atmosphere of Konoha.
"Diarmuid-sama!?" Guy exclaimed in surprise.
Kakashi's brow furrowed. Great, someone even more dangerous than the Nine-Tails has arrived. "Diarmuid! When did you get here? Is the Nine-Tails your doing?" Kakashi kept his guard up, questioning the man.
Even Guy remained wary. Despite the debt of gratitude he owed Diarmuid, this was not the time for sentimentality.
Diarmuid stood under a flickering streetlight and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Isn't the answer obvious?"
"I knew it was you!" Kakashi's eyes flashed with anger.
"Are you mental? Do you want to join the Yorozuya? Look at those massive Sharingan in the fox's eyes. You think that's me?" Diarmuid sighed,complaining with a look of exasperation.
Kakashi blinked. Ah... right. Perhaps Diarmuid had access to the Sharingan. Orochimaru had stolen some before defecting to him, after all. But even if Diarmuid had them, he clearly wasn't the one controlling the fox right now; his eyes were normal. Besides, a very different-looking suspect had been standing on the fox's head moments ago.
"Is it someone from your Yorozuya?" Kakashi asked.
"No," Diarmuid said flatly. Technically true. Obito and Zetsu aren't my employees.
Kakashi considered this and actually lowered his guard. He believed a man of Diarmuid's stature wouldn't bother lying about such a thing. Besides, his own "guard" was useless against such a monster; a change in attitude might be more productive.
"Diarmuid-sama, do you know what's going on? Who was that masked man in black?" Guy asked urgently.
Diarmuid thought for a moment and nodded. "I know a bit. I was curious, so I followed them to Konoha."
Kakashi was baffled, assuming Diarmuid had discovered the intruders in secret and trailed them. "Are there others? Who are they?"
"As far as I know, he has companions," Diarmuid added. I'm not a companion, maybe a partner, but since Obito went rogue, our agreement is void. I'm completely uninvolved now. By "companions," he meant Black Zetsu.
Kakashi filed the intel away. So it wasn't just a three-man cell.
"Don't bother looking for the other one," Diarmuid continued, puffing his pipe. "Their companion has incredible stealth; even I find them hard to track. They aren't in the village anyway; they're likely waiting outside to extract the masked guy."
"You still haven't said who he is," Kakashi pressed.
"Easy, brat. I'm answering because I like you two, especially Guy... but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to tell you everything, understand?" Diarmuid tapped his pipe against the wall, clearing the ash with a chuckle.
Kakashi fell silent, unsure how to proceed. But Guy, in his earnest way, bowed deeply. "Diarmuid-sama, this is vital to us. If you know anything, please tell us. This is a formal request!"
Diarmuid looked at Guy's sincere face and shook his head with a helpless smile. "You really are something..."
He paused, looking toward the distant battlefield. The fight had split: Minato had successfully forced Obito off the Nine-Tails and was engaging him in a high-speed pursuit, preventing him from precisely controlling the beast. Meanwhile, Hiruzen and the others had the fox pinned down outside the walls.
"The masked man calls himself Uchiha Madara. Whether it's true or not, I can't say. A few months ago, they tried to recruit me in the Land of Rain. Me? Joining them? I turned them down, obviously. But I've kept an eye on them since. That's why I'm here."
This was 90% truth. Aside from the ambiguity about "Madara," everything else was technically accurate.
"Uchiha Madara?!" Kakashi was stunned.
Guy frowned. "That's impossible, right? Didn't Madara die at the hands of the First Hokage?"
"That's why I don't know if it's true. But the man has a dangerous ideology and formidable strength. Be careful if you face him... especially you, Mr. Fifty-Fifty... yes, you, the white-haired one." Diarmuid looked at Kakashi.
Dangerous ideology, formidable strength... Kakashi noted. Dangerous to you? Because to us, controlling the Nine-Tails is beyond 'formidable.' And why did he call me 'Fifty-Fifty'?
"Why?" Kakashi asked hesitantly.
"Why what?" Diarmuid turned to watch the battle, his gaze distant. He was waiting for the right moment to strike, to see if there was a profit to be squeezed out of Konoha.
"Why specifically warn me to be careful?"
"That guy seems to have a deep grudge against the Sharingan and the Uchiha. I figured he might take a personal interest in 'Kakashi of the Sharingan,'" Diarmuid said without looking back.
A grudge against the Uchiha? Kakashi mused. So this isn't an Uchiha uprising?
Diarmuid didn't mind leaking this. He knew the rift between the village and the Uchiha was already irreversible. One or two pieces of news wouldn't wash away the "black pot" (scapegoating) the Uchiha were about to carry.
"Why are you telling us all this?" Kakashi asked, curious.
Diarmuid paused, his eyes reflecting a hint of nostalgia and a feigned air of magnanimity. "Didn't I say? I like you two. Besides, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade are all my friends. I've even played shogi with Hiruzen... So, I suppose you could say I'm a true friend of Konoha, couldn't you?"
Kakashi blinked. Thinking back, Diarmuid had never technically been an enemy of the village. As for being a friend...
Wait, does he actually have a point?
It was a good thing Kakashi didn't know everything Diarmuid had actually done tonight, or he would have screamed at the man's sheer shamelessness.