"It's a Tailed Beast Bomb—everyone, scatter!"
The warning ripped through the air, raw panic in the Sarutobi ranks. Dozens of shinobi turned at once and froze. A burning orb of condensed chakra, black at its core and ringed in red light, swelled in the monster's jaws.
Then it launched.
The explosion that followed wasn't a sound—it was an extinction. A white flash tore through the battlefield, shredding earth and bone alike. For one breathless instant, the world vanished in fire.
Someone screamed, "Damn it—go to hell!"
Then there was no one left to scream.
When the light died, a crater smoldered where a battalion had stood. Ash drifted like snow. The monster—massive, fox-shaped, nine tails lashing in the smoke—snorted in disgust.
"Pathetic insects."
Its voice carried like thunder. But as it spoke, a lance of pain shot through its side. The Nine-Tails looked down, eyes narrowing.
A lone shinobi was still standing—burnt, bleeding, but alive.
"You damn monster!"
"Come and finish me yourself!"
That hoarse voice belonged to Sarutobi Renji, the commander who had ordered the awakening. His armor was cracked, one arm useless, but he still glared up at the beast like a man who'd already accepted death.
The Nine-Tails' hackles rose, red fur bristling. Chakra poured off him like a storm.
"You dare bark at me, human?"
The air distorted. With a guttural roar, the fox swung a claw down. Renji threw himself backward, barely dodging as the ground split apart. He ran—not away, but toward the northern front.
"I have to draw it in… to the Floating Slope battlefield…"
Every step left a smear of blood in the dirt. Behind him, the Nine-Tails gave chase, earth trembling with each bound. The crimson titan moved like a nightmare given speed—each leap devouring hundreds of meters.
"Roar!"
A shockwave of raw chakra blasted outward, ripping trees from their roots. Villages crumbled. The fox carved a path of ruin toward the north—until it suddenly stopped.
Its slit pupils flicked upward. Across the valley, the sky glowed scarlet.
A Susanoo stood there, a giant of fire and chakra wielding a black blade wreathed in flame.
And beside it—looming, howling—rose the Three-Tails.
"Indra…"
The word left the Nine-Tails like a memory it hadn't meant to speak. For a moment, hesitation flickered in its gaze. The shape of that giant, the eyes behind it—it remembered something, someone.
Then Renji's broken voice pierced the silence.
"Nine-Tails, you demon! You killed my men! Someday you'll pay for it!"
It was a stupid thing to shout at a god of destruction.
The Nine-Tails' hesitation vanished. Fury ignited.
"You miserable insect!"
It lunged forward, a living storm of claws and teeth.
Renji ran harder. His lungs screamed, his vision blurred, but he didn't stop. Just a little farther. If he could lead it to the main field, maybe, just maybe—
Let Raizen deal with this nightmare.
Behind him, a roar shook the heavens. The fox reared back, chakra condensing in its jaws once more.
The second Tailed Beast Bomb formed faster, denser, deadlier.
Renji's legs gave out as the glow swallowed him. He smiled faintly through cracked lips.
"Mission… complete."
The world vanished again in light.
Amamiya Raizen felt the pressure before he saw it.
A sickening, heavy chakra surged from the southern hills—older, darker, hateful. He turned from atop the Three-Tails, eyes narrowing.
"That chakra… no way."
Through the dust and chaos, he saw it: a crimson fox racing toward them, tails flailing like banners of war.
"Nine-Tails. Why the hell is that thing here?"
He didn't need an answer. He knew.
"The Sarutobi dragged it here. Trying to pit us against each other."
His voice came out cold, almost amused.
"Smart. Suicidal, but smart."
Raizen inhaled deeply, chakra flooding through his network as he barked a command:
"All Konoha Allied Forces—retreat fifty miles! Now!"
Confusion rippled through the ranks, but every shinobi moved. Orders were orders, and Raizen's tone left no room for debate.
On the other side, the Sarutobi Alliance did the same. The plan had worked.
Now, two monsters stood where armies had once fought.
Raizen deactivated his Susanoo, landing on the Three-Tails' armored shell. He stared at the incoming fox—its chakra flaring like a dying sun.
"Guess I'm the main course."
He drew a breath, Sharingan and Byakugan both igniting in his eyes, pupils splitting under the strain.
"Alright, Nine-Tails… let's see if I can tank this."
The fox's jaws opened wide. Another orb of black-red energy formed—massive, humming, devouring air itself.
Raizen clenched his fists. The Three-Tails' roar shook the valley as it charged forward, meeting the attack head-on.
"Ikazuchi Release—Threefold Shield!"
The two forces collided. Light swallowed the world again.
And somewhere in the heart of that explosion, a single thought echoed through Raizen's head—half fear, half exhilaration:
So this is what it feels like to piss off a god.