Boom!
Boom—boom!
Powerful jutsu after jutsu exploded against the Nine-Tails' massive body, but aside from further enraging the beast, none of them could truly wound it.
Arms folded, Uchiha Yuan stood calmly amid the roaring gale, watching the battle unfold. His gaze lingered on the Sharingan marks swirling in the Nine-Tails' eyes.
"Foolish Obito."
Under the control of the Sharingan, the Nine-Tails fought with frenzied rage, but its movements had become stiff and mechanical—it simply charged forward blindly, ignoring tactics or defense.
Amid desperate screams, an entire squad of ninja was swept away by one casual swipe of the beast's paw.
Bang!
The Adamantine Staff—Sarutobi's transformed partner, the Monkey King Enma—smashed down upon the Nine-Tails' head, forcing the monster to stagger back a step.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Leaping high, Sarutobi Hiruzen hurled five blazing fireballs toward the Nine-Tails.
The flames exploded inside its gaping maw, enveloping its head in a sea of fire.
A heartbeat later, the flames dispersed—only to reveal an overwhelming surge of chakra that sent a chill down every spine present.
The Nine-Tails opened its mouth wide. Streams of colored energy from the surroundings converged toward it, condensing into a glowing orb before its jaws.
"Not good! It's a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
"We have to stop it—if that thing hits the village, everything will be gone!"
Panic rippled through the ranks. Every ninja poured their chakra into desperate attacks, trying to interrupt the gathering sphere.
But before their horrified eyes, the Tailed Beast Bomb completed its form and shot straight toward the heart of the village.
In that instant, a golden flash appeared—
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had arrived.
Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!
Four shuriken streaked out, forming an invisible net that intercepted the Tailed Beast Bomb. The next moment, the bomb vanished—teleported far outside the village.
BOOM!
The world seemed to split apart. The distant night sky turned bright as day for a brief, blinding moment.
A heartbeat later, the Fourth Hokage's figure flickered beside the Nine-Tails. He grabbed hold of the beast—and in another flash, both vanished from sight.
Uchiha Yuan turned his eyes toward the far rear of the village, where the Nine-Tails' presence had instantly reappeared.
"So, the Fourth truly is remarkable—he's developed a secondary application of the Flying Thunder God, that 'Guiding Thunder' technique. This must involve direct manipulation of spatial principles."
Yuan extended his spiritual sense, carefully memorizing the spatial fluctuation frequency from Minato's teleportation.
It would serve as excellent reference data for his future research into the spatial dynamics of Summoning Jutsu. In his view, the Flying Thunder God technique was essentially a reverse-engineered form of Summoning.
While he pondered, the Nine-Tails' chakra signature abruptly vanished.
He knew what that meant—the beast had been sealed once more.
"Farewell, Fourth Hokage."
"The Uchiha no longer have a choice."
Gazing toward the direction where the Nine-Tails had disappeared, Yuan whispered softly. Then, his figure flickered and vanished from the tree branch.
By dawn, the entire Hidden Leaf Village was draped in mourning.
At the Memorial Stone, every villager stood in solemn silence, clad in black.
October 10, Year 48 of the Hidden Leaf Calendar—
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had fallen during the Nine-Tails' attack.
"…As long as there are leaves flying, the fire will burn. The shadow of the fire will shine upon the village and cause new leaves to sprout. Only when one seeks to protect the people they cherish does a ninja's true strength manifest…
…Remember this—wherever the leaves dance, the fire of the Will of Fire shall never die."
Standing among the mourners, Uchiha Yuan watched quietly as Sarutobi Hiruzen led the memorial ceremony for those lost during the Night of the Nine-Tails.
Then his gaze shifted—to that familiar tuft of white hair ahead.
Even from afar, Yuan could sense the grief and loneliness radiating from Kakashi's figure.
When the ceremony ended, the crowd began to disperse, though many stayed behind to weep before the names of loved ones engraved on the stone.
Kakashi remained still, standing motionless before the marker of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
"Kakashi-senpai," Yuan called softly as he approached.
Kakashi did not respond. He stood rooted in silence.
Seeing this, Yuan said no more. He understood—Kakashi wished to be alone.
After lingering for a moment before the names of the fallen, Yuan turned and quietly left.
From his memories of a previous life, he knew the Fourth Hokage and his wife had believed their son, Naruto, would grow up as the beloved child of a hero.
But they had trusted the wrong people. The boy would instead grow up shunned, scorned, and cursed by the very villagers his parents died to protect.
After the memorial, the village turned to clearing the ruins and rebuilding.
Soon after, the Uchiha Clan received an order—from the village council—to relocate their entire compound.
Outrage swept through the clan.
As one of the two great founding families of Konoha, both the Uchiha and Senju had their lands situated in the very heart of the village.
But now, the new Uchiha compound was to be moved to the outskirts—isolated and remote.
Night fell.
Uchiha Yuan walked alone down a dim, secluded path within the clan grounds, until he reached a cluster of warehouses in one corner of the district.
Before one of them, he stopped and pushed open the iron door.
"Chief."
Inside, about thirty Uchiha youths were already gathered—some about Yuan's age, others no more than seven or eight.
When they saw him enter, they all straightened and called out respectfully in unison.
These children were Yuan's loyal followers. Most had been deemed talentless—unable to even refine chakra, destined to live as ordinary civilians.
But Yuan had taken them in, teaching them a strange breathing technique that awakened power within them.
"Chief, I still can't get the Great Fireball Technique right…"
"Chief, my chakra flow feels blocked in these meridians—what should I do?"
One after another, they approached him with questions.
After some time, Yuan raised his hand for silence.
His sharp eyes swept over the group as he asked, "What do you all think about the village's order to relocate our clan?"
At once, murmurs broke out—resentment in every voice.
"It's outrageous! The new land they assigned us is way out on the edge of the village!"
"This is an insult to the Uchiha!"
"Yeah! What is the village trying to pull?"
"I don't understand how the clan head could agree to something like this!"
Yuan lifted a hand, and the chatter ceased. Forming a single Earth Release hand sign, he caused a sand model of the village to rise before them.
"Look carefully at where our new compound will be," he said, pointing to a spot on the model. "Do you notice anything?"
The youths leaned in, studying the miniature layout closely.
After a while, a boy named Uchiha Qiren spoke up, "Chief, our new territory… it's surrounded by other clans."
Gasps rippled through the group. Eyes widened as realization sank in.
Yuan's tone grew cold. "Exactly. We're surrounded. The village no longer trusts us…
No—that's wrong. The village never trusted the Uchiha. It simply no longer bothers to hide its hostility."
His words left the room heavy with unease.
"Why?"
"Yeah—why would the village treat us like this?"
"…We Uchiha helped found Konoha together with the Senju!"
Yuan let their questions hang for a moment before saying, "Quiet."
When the room stilled, he continued, "You all wonder why the village targets us—even though we helped create it. But as I said, the village has never trusted us."
A boy from a shinobi household raised his hand. "I know about this! It started with the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. My father says the elders curse his name even now—he always hated the Uchiha!"
Yuan nodded. "Correct. As Fūya said, it began with Tobirama's time. The village's suspicion of us traces back to him.
And the reason is simple—our strength. Our Sharingan. It terrifies them."
"For years, the village and our clan have been locked in silent conflict. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Uchiha control the Police Force. It sounds powerful…
But in truth, it's nothing more than a gilded cage. A way to keep us far from the true center of power."
"What?!"
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