At that moment, Tahara Rokuro was still about a kilometer away from the Nine-Tails, yet the sheer force of its roar and the shockwaves it created were enough to make his body sway violently. He was forced to leap down from the rooftop, finding a spot sheltered from the wind just to stand upright.
"The complete Nine-Tails really is like a natural disaster… For Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama to subdue it so easily, their power must've been beyond imagination. No wonder Madara could take on the entire Allied Shinobi Forces by himself in the Fourth War. I really need to find a way to evolve my eyes into a Mangekyō—no, an Eternal Mangekyō. Power that can crush the Nine-Tails… that's just too tempting."
As Rokuro calculated and fantasized about his brilliant future, a large group of masked ninja suddenly charged toward him. These weren't the weaklings from before—their chakra and movement clearly showed they were elite. And following close behind them, gripping his signature staff, was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage himself.
"Anbu and the Third Hokage, huh? What a great opportunity."
The moment the Anbu arrived on scene, they immediately unleashed high-level ninjutsu.
Several of them formed hand seals in perfect synchronization, landed, and slammed their palms onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Tremor Technique!"
The ground beneath the Nine-Tails rippled like waves. The colossal beast stumbled slightly, roaring in irritation, and swung one of its tails down toward the attacking ninja.
At that instant, the other Anbu performed Wind Release techniques, launching gales as powerful as hurricanes. The combined blast struck the Nine-Tails' massive frame, forcing it to lean back and deflecting the deadly swing of its tail.
Seizing the moment, Hiruzen's staff, the Nyoi-bō, extended at lightning speed and drove straight into the beast's stomach. The enormous impact actually sent the Nine-Tails flying backward.
A deafening series of crashes followed—whole blocks of buildings collapsed as the monster tumbled through them like a giant bulldozer. The ground was gouged into a deep trench, ending only when the Nine-Tails smashed into Konoha's towering outer wall, shattering it completely.
Watching Hiruzen exert himself to push the Nine-Tails out of the village, Rokuro decided it was time to act. He didn't linger another second. In a flash of light, he vanished—Flying Thunder God activated.
A heartbeat later, he appeared outside the Sarutobi residence. Activating Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Rokuro vaulted over the wall and landed in the courtyard.
"Who's there?!"
A shout rang out from across the hall. Rokuro had barely stepped into the corridor before he was spotted by an Anbu guard.
"Seriously? Even at a time like this, he still leaves someone home on watch? Hiruzen, you really are paranoid."
Naturally, Rokuro had already disguised himself with a Transformation Technique—he wasn't stupid enough to break into the Hokage's home showing his real face.
The Anbu, seeing that the intruder had no intention of stopping, drew his kunai and lunged forward.
Rokuro's eyes narrowed. He stopped abruptly and pressed his right hand against the wall, as if out of reflex—then quickly retreated.
The Anbu pounced. The moment he crossed the spot where Rokuro had touched the wall
Rokuro disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind the guard. With Lightning Chakra Mode enhancing his reflexes and power, his reaction speed was nearly on par with Namikaze Minato himself.
If Minato could prevent Obito from phasing through attacks, then this Anbu—nowhere near that level—had absolutely no chance to dodge.
Before he even realized what had happened, his head was already rolling across the floor.
Rokuro flicked the blood off his hand, ignored the corpse, and rushed deeper into the house.
He eventually found what he was looking for—a sealed room lined with complex symbols. Inside sat a single, massive scroll: the Book of Seals. Not the Uzumaki Clan's sealing scrolls, but the legendary tome—containing countless ninjutsu and forbidden arts, the very same book Mizuki once tricked Naruto into stealing in the original tale.
With a faint grin, Rokuro unlatched the door and immediately spotted the scroll placed on a pedestal in the center of the room. He stepped forward and reached out—but a sudden burst of repelling force slammed his hand away.
"A barrier, huh? That makes sense. The complete compendium of Konoha's forbidden techniques wouldn't just sit there unguarded. If Naruto could've just waltzed in and taken it, that'd have been ridiculous."
Muttering under his breath, Rokuro pulled a small scroll from his cloak and unrolled it. Drawn inside were over a dozen intricate sealing arrays—his own Barrier-Breaking Formations, custom-designed to dismantle protective seals of any kind.
Each formation was like a unique key designed for different locks.
Of course, with Rokuro's current mastery of sealing arts, he could have cracked the barrier manually given enough time. But that would've been inefficient—and tonight, efficiency was everything.
After testing three formations, the No. 4 Barrier-Breaker did the trick.
The invisible resistance vanished. Without hesitation, Rokuro snatched the Book of Seals, triggered Flying Thunder God, and disappeared once again.
When he reappeared, he was back in his home's underground shelter.
Uchiha Ashikaga, his mother, ran up to him at once.
"What's going on out there?!"
"Mom, no time to explain. Just stay down here—it's safe. Once the Nine-Tails is dealt with, I'll let you out. Oh, and take this."
He handed her the Book of Seals. Ashikaga froze the moment she saw what it was, her face turning pale.
"The Book of Seals?! You brat—you actually used the chaos to go steal it?!"
"Why not? Half of what's inside was stolen from other clans to begin with—including the Uchiha. It's already dirty loot, so I might as well take it off their hands."
Ignoring her stunned expression, Rokuro shoved the scroll into her arms, then teleported away once more.
This time, he reappeared atop Konoha's outer wall.
By now, the Fourth Hokage had entered the fray—standing atop the mighty Gamabunta, who towered like a mountain himself. But in front of the complete Nine-Tails, even that massive toad looked like a child facing a giant.
The Nine-Tails was roaring in fury, bombarded by dozens of coordinated ninjutsu. Though unscathed, it was clearly irritated.
Then, its maw opened wide, chakra converging in a sinister spiral.
"Careful! It's a Tailed Beast Bomb—scatter, now!"
Hiruzen's shout echoed through the chaos. He was gasping for air, leaning on his staff—completely spent.
Even as he spoke, the massive orb of condensed chakra shot forth, expanding like a miniature sun.
More than a dozen Konoha shinobi caught in its path were vaporized instantly—no screams, no bodies, not even blood left behind.
At that crucial moment, Minato appeared before the blast in a golden flash. Forming hand seals faster than the eye could follow, he invoked a space-time sealing array—a dimensional pocket that swallowed the Tailed Beast Bomb whole.
The orb vanished.
A moment later, a deafening explosion erupted miles away in the forest—a blinding flash and a storm of wind that uprooted trees by the hundreds.
Feeling the dense Nine-Tails chakra spreading through the air, Rokuro smirked.
"Time to move."
He teleported straight to the village center and activated his massive sealing formation. The symbols embedded across Konoha flared to life, drawing in the stray chakra floating through the air.
Not only within the village—he was pulling in the Nine-Tails' chakra from outside as well.