Outside Konoha Village, in a hidden mountain forest.
The Snake Princess Kōjinja quietly stood guard beside a cylindrical life-sustaining device.
The device was filled with pale green nutrient solution, and a body that bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Sora floated within it.
Suddenly, the body inside the device moved slightly.
The Snake Princess Kōjinja immediately bowed.
"Master."
The hatch of the life-sustaining device slowly opened, and Sora——
or rather, the Yin Release clone, Sora——sat up from within the device and opened his eyes.
They were crimson Sharingan eyes.
The three tomoe slowly spun, then their form shifted, transforming into Uchiha Kenta's four-pronged windmill Mangekyō pattern.
"Ha..."
Sora exhaled, sensing the state of this new body.
His chakra reserves were still not large, but the quality was very high, filled with the unique cold feeling of Yin Release.
And his eyes...
Sora raised a hand to touch the corner of his eye.
Uchiha Kenta's Mangekyō truly had very little ocular power left.
Uchiha Kenta had used his ocular techniques desperately before; these eyes were nearly at their limit. Still, they were sufficient for tonight's operation.
"Master, how do you feel?"
The Snake Princess Kōjinja asked with concern.
"Not bad."
As Sora stepped out of the device, the Snake Princess Kōjinja immediately handed him a set of black tight-fitting clothes.
He quickly changed into them while asking,
"How is Ichikishimahime doing over there?"
The Snake Princess Kōjinja respectfully replied,
"Following your instructions, she has already infiltrated Miss Kurenai's home and ensured the safety of Miss Kurenai's mother."
"Tenji is also already secretly following Shinku Yūhi to guarantee his safety."
Sora nodded.
Quite a few people died during the Nine-Tails Incident in the original story, and Shinku Yūhi was one of them; he didn't want Kurenai to lose both her parents.
"Good."
Sora flexed his wrists, getting used to the coordination of this new body.
At that moment, a sky-shaking roar came from the direction of Konoha Village in the distance.
The Nine-Tails had completely broken free from its seal and was beginning to rampage wildly.
Sora could perceive several powerful chakras clashing with the Nine-Tails——it was Namikaze Minato, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the others.
Moreover, an aura of violent chakra was rapidly moving further away from Konoha——it was Might Duy, who had opened the Seventh Gate, and Zetsu.
"Time to move."
Sora closed his eyes, sensing the "artificial Jinchūriki" shell meticulously crafted within his body using the Sea Dragon Jade.
Sealed inside was one-third of Matatabi.
Although it was just a remnant, as a chakra source, it was sufficient.
The Sea Dragon Jade shell began to operate, and pure tailed beast chakra surged continuously into his chakra pathways.
The Yin Release clone's chakra reserves rapidly climbed, soon reaching a level close to Kage-tier.
"Indeed, using tailed beast chakra as a 'power bank' is the most suitable."
Feeling the surging power within, Sora's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.
"Master, do you need me to accompany you?"
The Snake Princess Kōjinja asked.
Sora shook his head.
"No need. You wait here. After it's done, bring the Yin Release clone and the Nine-Tails back to Ascension Island."
"You wouldn't be of help in the upcoming battle."
"Yes."
The Snake Princess Kōjinja bowed and stood aside.
Sora stood in the mountain forest, looking towards Konoha Village.
The Nine-Tails' massive form was clearly visible in the moonlight, its nine tails thrashing wildly, each swipe causing tremendous destruction.
Meanwhile, Konoha's ninjas were fighting desperately, risking their lives.
"In the original story, many people will die tonight..."
Those scenes flashed through Sora's mind.
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and Kushina Uzumaki would sacrifice themselves, using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to contain the Nine-Tails.
Many ninjas and civilians would perish in the disaster.
The Uchiha clan would fall under suspicion for not intervening, sowing the seeds for their eventual annihilation...
...
Konoha Village, atop the Hokage Rock.
A figure in a black robe stood silently under the moon, wearing a silver-white mask engraved with a crescent moon pattern.
It was Sora's Yin Release clone——code-named "Yōu Yíng," meaning the ultimate beast of Yin, the Lunar Yōu Yíng.
"The Nine-Tails has completely gone berserk..."
"Next, Minato will use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to split the Nine-Tails in half, seal one half within himself to be taken into the Shinigami's belly, and seal the other half for the newborn Naruto..."
Watching the rampaging Nine-Tails in the distance, Sora calmly recalled the plot.
What he wanted was precisely that half destined to be eaten by the Shinigami.
On the battlefield's center, the situation had reached a fever pitch.
Namikaze Minato's golden figure flickered rapidly through the night sky, attempting to use the Flying Thunder God to relocate the Nine-Tails outside the village, but the Nine-Tails' rampage was too violent; its chakra interference made space-time ninjutsu extremely unstable.
Sarutobi Hiruzen led Anbu squads in bombarding it from a distance with ninjutsu, trying to divert the Nine-Tails' attention.
And further away, the direction of the Uchiha clan compound was completely silent——
Just as Sora had predicted, aside from the three Uchiha serving as the Hokage's personal guards, no other Uchiha ninjas appeared on the battlefield.
Soon, the situation at the center of the battlefield shifted.
Namikaze Minato seemed to have made up his mind. He formed hand seals, and a vast Shinigami phantom slowly materialized behind him!
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
"Finally..."
Sora's gaze sharpened. He leaned forward slightly, ready to strike at any moment.
He watched as the Shinigami behind Namikaze Minato extended its pale arms, passing through Minato's body to directly seize the Nine-Tails by the neck!
"ROAR——!!!"
The Nine-Tails let out a sky-shaking roar, struggling wildly, but it couldn't break free from the Shinigami's grasp.
Then, the Shinigami's arm began to pull outward——the Nine-Tails' chakra was forcibly dragged out from its body!
Half remained in place, while the other half was pulled by the Shinigami towards Namikaze Minato's abdomen!
Now!
Sora's feet slammed into the ground, launching his entire body forward like a shot, the crescent moon mask starkly visible in the moonlight.
His speed was immense, crossing several hundred meters in an instant, lunging straight for the half of the Nine-Tails' chakra being pulled by the Shinigami towards Minato!
"Who goes there?!"
"Stop him!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen and several Anbu immediately spotted this suddenly appearing figure and made their moves.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Several ninjutsu hurtled towards Sora.
Without looking back, Sora's left eye's four-pronged windmill spun rapidly——
"Kamizarashi!"
An invisible force of spatial repulsion erupted from him, deflecting all incoming ninjutsu before they could get within ten meters!
"Sharingan?! And it's Mangekyō!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils contracted sharply, staring intently at the crimson eyes beneath Sora's mask.
But he had no time to ponder, because Sora had already reached the Nine-Tails' chakra!
At that moment, half of the Nine-Tails' chakra had been pulled by the Shinigami right in front of Namikaze Minato, on the verge of being sealed into his body.
Namikaze Minato also sensed this sudden enemy, but he was fully focused on maintaining the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and couldn't spare any attention to deal with this!
"Sorry, Yondaime."
Sora muttered to himself, his right hand flipping over to reveal a Sea Dragon Jade shell in his palm.
This shell was semi-translucent, its interior densely inscribed with sealing formulas——it was the "container" prepared specifically for the Nine-Tails!