The Nine-Tails' form swelled, becoming even more monstrous amidst the chaos. Its six tails whipped through the air like crimson dragons, each movement churning with world-ending power. Its blazing eyes, pits of pure fury, locked onto Iruka, dismissing him as nothing more than an insignificant insect.
A low, guttural roar ripped from the beast's throat. One of its tails lashed out with impossible speed, whistling as it tore through the air. It crashed down on Iruka like a collapsing mountain. The world went black for the chunin as an irresistible force slammed into him, sending him tumbling through shattered earth and stone. The ground erupted, and a torrent of dust and rubble rained down, burying him completely.
But the Nine-Tails was not finished. It threw its head back and let out a howl of pure, contemptuous rage. Tilting its head down, it opened its monstrous maw, and a terrifying power began to coalesce in its throat. A sphere of raw, condensed hatred—a Tailed Beast Bomb—slowly took shape, its dazzling, malevolent light piercing through the dust cloud, aimed directly where Iruka lay buried. With a deafening BOOM that seemed to crack the very sky, the bomb was unleashed.
The beam of destruction devoured everything in its path, leaving only a massive, smoldering crater in its wake. Iruka's body, and any hope of his survival, was instantly turned to ash.
Perhaps the finality of his death pierced through the haze of Naruto's shattered mind, for in that instant, three more tails erupted from the beast's body, tearing out from the void like furious, writhing dragons. With a final, soul-shaking roar, the Nine-Tails achieved its complete, terrifying nine-tailed form. The great beast, imprisoned for decades, was finally free to unleash its heaven-shaking power, to announce its return and its wrath to the world.
An oppressive, suffocating aura of destruction radiated from its body, warping the very space around it. Every strand of its fur seemed to crackle with the power to unmake the world. Its eyes were no longer just burning with simple anger; they were twin infernos of vengeful, absolute desire for freedom.
Then, the Nine-Tails opened its colossal mouth, a gaping abyss large enough to swallow the world, and an unprecedented level of terrifying energy began to gather in its deep throat. This energy devoured all light and sound around it like a black hole, gradually condensing into a Tailed Beast Bomb far larger than any before, a sphere of annihilation that could easily wipe Konoha from the map. It would use this single attack to destroy the village that had suppressed it for decades.
Despair spread through the surviving crowd like a plague. On every face was a mask of pure terror and helplessness. People trembled and scrambled backward, but there was nowhere to run. They could only watch as the god-killing weapon took shape, the scythe of the Death God hanging over their heads, ready to fall. The faces of the remaining shinobi were filled with horror as they stared at the attack that would turn them all to ash, their courage completely shattered. The world seemed to fall silent, holding its breath, waiting for the final, devastating blow.
However, just as the Tailed Beast Bomb reached its peak, a storm of silver light streaked across the sky, faster than lightning and fiercer than thunder. The streaks of light rushed from all directions at impossible speeds and angles, weaving themselves into an impenetrable net of slashes, aimed directly at the destructive power the Nine-Tails was about to unleash.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of deafening metallic clashes rang out. The Tailed Beast Bomb, a condensation of countless chakra, was sliced apart like fragile porcelain under the impossibly sharp assault, shattering into a million tiny fragments of energy that scattered harmlessly into the air, leaving only faint ripples to prove it had ever existed.
Then, Kagami's voice cut through the stunned silence. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you destroy Konoha."
Though he cared little for most of its people, if Konoha was destroyed, he would have to take his family and find a new place to live. He had just become Hokage, had just brought the great clans to heel. He would not allow his new territory to be destroyed so easily.
His intervention sent a wave of ecstatic relief through the desperate crowd. "Great, we're saved!" they cried, tears of joy streaming down their faces.
"He's finally taking action!" The patriarchs of the major clans exchanged looks of weary helplessness, but their expressions immediately relaxed. Though they were frustrated that Kagami had waited so long, they were also overwhelmingly grateful that a man who could defeat the Nine-Tails was on their side. They knew that as long as Kagami was here, the crisis was over.
The younger shinobi stared with wide-eyed disbelief. "That's amazing! He destroyed a Tailed Beast Bomb that huge in an instant!"
"That kind of strength... it completely surpasses the Third Hokage! Perhaps only the First Hokage, Lord Hashirama, could rival him!" They looked at Kagami as if he were a savior, a living god. The entire battlefield seemed to fall silent at his arrival, every eye fixed on him, filled with a mixture of awe and joyous relief.
This sudden turn of events also sent a jolt of unprecedented threat through the Nine-Tails. Its eyes, burning with murderous intent, locked onto Kagami, as if it wanted to tear him limb from limb.
"Damn Uchiha brat!" it roared. "Do you think you can stop my revenge?" In Kagami, it saw the shadow of the one man who had ever truly terrified it. Although it knew in its heart it was likely no match for this Uchiha, its pride would not let it admit defeat.
Hearing the beast's defiant roar, Kagami's eyes filled with contempt, and a cold smile touched his lips. "Kurama, I'll give you one chance. Go back where you came from, on your own. Or else I will make you and best the living shit out of you."
Even at its full strength, he wouldn't have taken the Nine-Tails seriously, let alone now when it only possessed half its original power.
But Kagami's casual dismissal sent the Nine-Tails into a blind fury. The dismissive contempt in his eyes was identical to Madara's, a look that filled the beast with both terror and an all-consuming hatred.
"Uchiha brat, do you think you're Madara? Even if Madara himself were still alive, I would kill him today!" the Nine-Tails roared, its voice a mad frenzy.
Kagami stood his ground, completely unmoved by the beast's hysterical tantrum, the disdain in his eyes only growing more profound. He knew that even at its peak, the Nine-Tails was no match for Madara, and now, it was just bluffing.
His silent, contemptuous response was the final straw, and the Nine-Tails' defenses completely broke.