Chapter 525: The Third and Fourth Hokage Join Forces
Obito gradually realized that the Three-Tails, Isobu, seemed to be targeting him specifically.
The reason it hadn't attacked him immediately was because Isobu hadn't controlled the direction of its Shadow Stroke—the move similar to the Human Bullet Tank.
Right from the start, it had spun the wrong way.
As a result, it charged off in the opposite direction.
If it had aimed correctly from the beginning, the first thing destroyed would have been the house Obito was in.
So how did Obito figure this out?
Because the Three-Tails realized it first.
After charging once, Isobu came to a stop. It glanced around at the Konoha shinobi trying to block it and immediately noticed something was wrong.
It had charged in the wrong direction.
So it adjusted its aim and prepared to attack again.
The moment Obito noticed this, he immediately started running for his life.
Of course, he wasn't just running.
As he fled, he conveniently "rescued" stray cats, dogs, and children along the way.
Basically, he saved anything small and easy to carry.
From the perspective of the other Konoha shinobi, however, they had no idea the Three-Tails was consciously hunting someone down.
They simply assumed it was attacking everything indiscriminately.
As for Obito...
In their eyes, "Kakashi" kept arriving just in time to save those people...
...and the cats and dogs.
It wasn't that the Three-Tails was chasing him.
Rather, disaster always seemed to arrive one step too late to catch him.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage felt a wave of satisfaction.
"Kakashi is truly a brave child. He's risking his own life, running ahead of the Three-Tails' attacks to save the villagers."
"Listen up! Support Kakashi with everything you've got! Stop the Three-Tails!"
"The Akimichi Clan—move in!"
The Third Hokage began issuing orders.
Compared to the Night of the Nine-Tails in the real ninja world, the Three-Tails Isobu was causing even greater destruction.
Looking at it this way, the concern that the real-world Rin had before choosing to take her own life because of Uchiha Madara's scheme had actually been justified.
During the Night of the Nine-Tails...
The Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb had been teleported away by Namikaze Minato.
Its ordinary attacks had only caused a little destruction in the beginning.
After that, Hiruzen simply used Enma's staff to knock the Nine-Tails out of the village.
The Nine-Tails had been surprisingly cooperative.
Once it was knocked outside, it really did stay outside and continued fighting there.
Although it was still an unforgettable tragedy for Konoha...
The actual destruction caused by the Nine-Tails wasn't all that extensive.
At the very least, it didn't come close to matching the level of destruction someone would expect from the Nine-Tails' power.
The greatest damage it inflicted was during those first few moments after it appeared, when it slammed the ground several times before being knocked away.
But the Three-Tails was different.
The moment it appeared, it launched into Shadow Stroke, ricocheting through Konoha like a giant billiard ball.
Hiruzen wanted to use the same strategy and knock the Three-Tails out of the village.
But he simply couldn't.
The speed of Enma's transforming staff was nowhere near fast enough to catch the Three-Tails while it was spinning.
To stop it...
They first had to make it stop moving.
The most suitable people for that task were naturally the members of the Akimichi Clan, who could use the Expansion Technique.
The Third Hokage hadn't ordered them forward earlier because the Three-Tails had only just appeared, and the area of destruction was still limited.
If the Akimichi Clan had enlarged themselves then—or worse, used Human Bullet Tank to collide with the Three-Tails' Shadow Stroke—it would have turned into a literal game of pool. (Like 8 Ball Pool)
Those enormous rolling Akimichi would have been knocked flying everywhere, causing even more destruction throughout Konoha.
But things were different now.
While chasing Obito, the Three-Tails had already devastated a large section of the village.
There was finally enough open space for the Akimichi Clan to unleash their Expansion Technique.
The logic was similar to Pain's Almighty Push in the original story.
Once the enemy had already destroyed part of the village, fighting within the ruined area was acceptable.
But if the village was destroyed because of your own battle with the enemy...
The villagers would definitely blame you.
Even if both situations ended with exactly the same amount of destruction, or even if acting earlier actually saved more lives and reduced the damage, it didn't matter.
People would still complain.
"Expansion Technique!"
Several large members of the Akimichi Clan unleashed their clan's secret technique with all their strength, transforming into towering giants who blocked the Three-Tails' path.
Those who weren't strong enough to enlarge their whole bodies instead used Partial Expansion Technique, enlarging only their hands to help stop it.
Seeing this, Obito deliberately lured the Three-Tails toward them.
Under the combined effort of the entire Akimichi Clan, the rapidly spinning Three-Tails gradually slowed to a stop.
Once the Three-Tails finally stopped spinning, every Akimichi canceled their Expansion Technique.
Their hands were mangled, covered in blood and torn flesh.
The sight was horrifying.
"Third Hokage-sama! Hurry! Attack its rear!"
Obito shouted to the approaching Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage, who had been about to send the Three-Tails flying out of the village, stumbled at those words and nearly tripped.
Still...
Since Kakashi had said so, there had to be a reason.
"Third Hokage-sama, what's happening here?"
In a flash, Namikaze Minato appeared beside the Third Hokage using Flying Thunder God.
His expression grew grim as he looked over Konoha's shattered ruins.
Despite being the fastest shinobi in the world, Minato had, as always, arrived one step too late.
He had been away on a mission.
By the time he received news that the village was under attack, even Flying Thunder God couldn't bring him back before the destruction had already begun.
"Minato, Nohara Rin has become the Three-Tails' jinchūriki. She suddenly went berserk in the village today... There's no time to explain. We have to stop the Three-Tails while it's standing still!
"Minato, assist me!"
After a brief explanation, the Third Hokage realized there was no time for further discussion.
He swung Enma, transformed into the Adamantine Staff, and called out to Minato.
The Third Hokage decided to trust the "reformed" Kakashi and strike directly at what he believed was the Three-Tails' vital point.
Yes.
In Hiruzen's mind, if Kakashi had specifically told him to attack there, then Kakashi must have discovered the Three-Tails' weakness.
"I understand, Third Hokage-sama. Let's do it!"
Minato placed a hand on the tip of the staff and nodded.
"Good!"
The Third Hokage shoved forward with all his strength.
The Adamantine Staff extended into a gigantic pole that shot straight toward the Three-Tails.
Minato vanished in a streak of golden light and reappeared at the very tip of the staff.
Just before the impact, he scattered a stack of explosive tags across the front of the staff.
Right before the extending staff would have slammed into him, he used Flying Thunder God again to teleport back.
He repeated this over and over.
By the time the Adamantine Staff reached the Three-Tails, its entire tip was completely covered with explosive tags.
Meanwhile, Obito stood directly in front of the Three-Tails, deliberately keeping its attention focused on himself.
He knew Isobu wanted to kill him.
Now that it had stopped moving, all of its attention would naturally be fixed on him.
"Isobu, why are you so determined to chase me?"
Obito leaped in front of the Three-Tails and spoke in a voice that only he and Isobu could hear.
After all...
In the middle of a crowd, no one would be eavesdropping on what he said.
"You filthy, disgusting villain! I swear I'll kill you!"
The Three-Tails had never expected him to actually jump right in front of it.
Its fury instantly reached its peak.
Now, every time Isobu looked at Obito, it felt a chill run down its spine.
If it didn't kill Obito...
It feared it would never be able to sleep peacefully again.
What Isobu didn't realize, however, was that the chill running down its back wasn't because of Obito.
It was because an attack was about to strike from behind.
The way Obito looked at it now no longer held the greedy desire he had shown earlier toward the Tailed Beasts.
Crack!
Just as the Three-Tails was about to attack, its pupils suddenly contracted.
Its entire body froze.
The combined assault of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Namikaze Minato...
Had arrived.
(End of this chapter)