After hearing a thunderous roar, I instantly woke up. The moment that deafening sound reached my ears, my heart jolted violently. Every trace of sleep vanished as I shot upright and immediately looked toward the direction from where the roar had come.
What I saw made my blood run cold: a gigantic fox was rampaging through the village. Its massive body towered over buildings while its nine enormous tails whipped through the air like natural disasters. Every swing carried terrifying force, tearing through structures and kicking up clouds of dust and debris. It was terrifyingly close to the area where my house was located. As soon as I laid eyes on the beast, I recognized it. The Nine-Tails.
I gritted my teeth. Nine-Tails. Dammit. Why did I sleep here in the fields? I should have returned to my house at night. Shit.
Worry for my parents immediately surged through me. Without wasting a second, I closed my eyes and expanded my Observation Haki. My senses spread outward in all directions. The range of my Observation Haki was not particularly large yet, but after a month of relentless training inside my mental space, it had improved enough to barely reach my house from my current position.
My perception expanded until it covered my entire home. For a brief moment, my heart remained tense, but then I felt them: two familiar presences. My father and my mother. Their spirits were still there, alive and safe. A wave of relief washed over me, at least for now.
However, that relief only lasted a moment, because through my Observation Haki, I could also sense just how close the Nine-Tails was. Maybe one hundred meters, maybe two hundred, but not much farther than that. For a beast of that size, such a distance was practically nothing.
This is bad.
The situation was rapidly becoming dangerous. Without hesitation, I reached into my mental space and pulled out all three of my swords, the blades appearing in my hands one after another. As carrying swords was prohibited for civilians, I almost never kept them on my person, bringing them out only while training in the fields or practicing at home. The rest of the time, they remained stored inside my mental space. Now, however, was not the time to worry about such restrictions.
I immediately placed all three swords at my right side and pushed off the ground.
Boom!
The earth cracked beneath my feet as I dashed forward, my figure blurring across the field. The cold night air whipped against my face while the distant sounds of destruction echoed across the village. As I rushed toward my home, my Observation Haki remained fully expanded. Within its range, roughly a hundred meters ahead of me, I sensed numerous chakra signatures: twenty or so ninjas, maybe more. Among them, I recognized quite a few. Some of those chakra signatures were familiar, but I paid them no attention. My speed did not decrease in the slightest. Right now, nothing mattered more than reaching my house and bringing my parents somewhere safe.
…
Meanwhile, not far away, Shinku Yuhi looked at the group of young ninjas gathered in front of him. Together with his teammates, he had erected a barrier around them, trapping them safely inside. Normally, such a thing might have caused complaints, but not today. Today, none of them were being allowed to run around freely, as the situation was simply too dangerous.
Shinku's expression was grave as he looked toward the distant silhouette of the colossal fox rampaging through the village. The ground trembled with every movement of the beast, and the air itself seemed heavy under its terrifying presence. After all, the Nine-Tails had been unleashed, and everyone in Konoha knew what that meant.
Shinku looked at the group of young ninjas trapped safely inside the barrier and spoke in a firm voice. "You all should remain safe here and leave the fighting to us adults. We will do the fighting."
The moment those words left his mouth, Kurenai immediately stepped forward. "And why are you deciding that for us?" she shot back. "We don't need to stay here. We can fight. We are not weak. You cannot stop us."
There was clear anger in her voice, not because she failed to understand what her father was doing, but because she understood it all too well. That was exactly why she was angry. The Nine-Tails had been unleashed, presenting a calamity unlike anything the village had ever experienced, and her father was one of the shinobi who would be sent to confront it. Kurenai knew that Shinku was trying to protect her and the other young ninjas, but she also understood another possibility: this could be the last time she ever saw her father. The possibility that he might die tonight was very real. Perhaps when the sun rose, he would already be gone forever.
The thought alone made her chest tighten. More than anything, she wanted to stand beside him, to fight beside him. If fate truly demanded it, then she would rather face death alongside him than remain hidden behind a barrier while waiting helplessly for news of his fate. Her fists clenched as she looked directly into her father's eyes and spoke with unwavering conviction. "Let us fight."
For a brief moment, father and daughter stared at each other. Then Shinku answered. "No." His voice was not loud, yet it carried absolute authority, stopping Kurenai from speaking further.
Shinku's gaze swept across all the young ninjas gathered before him, his expression softening slightly. "You all should live on."
The young ninjas fell silent; even the most stubborn among them could not find words to interrupt him.
"And even if we die, we will continue to live through you," Shinku continued. His eyes lingered on Kurenai for a brief second before moving across the others. "You all should live long enough to have children." A faint smile appeared on his face. "And grandchildren."
The area inside the barrier suddenly became completely silent. The young ninjas looked at one another, unable to find a response. What could they even say? Every argument they had prepared suddenly felt meaningless. They wanted to fight and help, yet the people standing before them were prepared to sacrifice themselves so that they could live. Faced with such determination, none of them knew how to respond.
As they struggled to think of something to say, Shinku's expression suddenly changed. His eyes narrowed as a powerful chakra signature entered his perception. Someone was rapidly approaching their location at incredible speed. Without hesitation, Shinku grabbed the hilt of the sword resting on his back, shifting his body into a combat stance and preparing to draw at a moment's notice. The other adult shinobi nearby instantly became alert as well, locking their gazes onto the direction from which the chakra signature was approaching.
Shinku's face grew solemn. The approaching chakra was far from weak, possessing considerable strength. At a time like this, when the village was in chaos, nobody could afford to be careless.
The chakra signature grew closer and closer until, in the distance, Shinku finally saw a green light. The chakra surrounding the approaching figure was so dense that it formed a visible green aura around his body as he moved like a streak across the ground, far faster than most jonin should ever be capable of moving.
Shinku focused his gaze as the approaching person seemed to notice the gathered shinobi. In the next instant, the figure abruptly halted.
Boom!
The ground exploded beneath his feet. Because of the tremendous speed at which he had been traveling, stopping almost instantly created a powerful impact. Cracks spread across the earth while dust and loose dirt erupted upward, momentarily obscuring the person's figure. The gathered ninjas instinctively tensed, several reaching for their weapons. For a few moments, only the drifting dust could be seen until the cloud gradually settled.
A young man stood there. Green chakra surged around his body like a blazing aura, and three swords rested at his side.
As soon as Shinku got a clear look at the newcomer, recognition flashed across his face. He knew this young man; in fact, he had seen him many times before. More specifically, he had seen his daughter Kurenai spending time with him on numerous occasions. Although Shinku had only personally spoken to him once in a brief conversation, he still remembered him after all his daughter was interested in him.
The young man standing before him was none other than Ryuma Hatake.
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