"Everyone, look! Who is that standing on the Nine-Tailed's shoulder?"
"I don't know. A spiral mask… Such a strange outfit, I've never seen it before."
"The Nine-Tailed seems to have stopped. What's going on?"
"Could it be…?"
Everyone looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in unison, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was also filled with confusion.
He couldn't figure out what had happened for a moment.
What method did this suddenly appearing person use to make the Nine-Tailed quiet down? Was he a friend or foe?
Soon, the Nine-Tailed's actions gave everyone the answer.
It suddenly changed direction, turning its body to face Konoha Village.
It raised its head, and a giant Tailed Beast Ball rapidly condensed in the air, its destructive aura continuously spreading.
Everyone, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, changed their expressions.
A Tailed Beast Ball!
And this direction… "Oh no, stop it quickly!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, and the surrounding Konoha Ninja quickly reacted.
If this giant Tailed Beast Ball exploded in the Village, everything would be over!
For a moment, everyone desperately circulated the Chakra within their bodies, attempting to draw the Nine-Tailed away from the Village, just as they had before.
However, this time, the Nine-Tailed completely ignored the Konoha Ninja's attacks.
Finally… under everyone's desperate gaze, the giant Tailed Beast Ball stirred up a violent wave of Qi and sped towards Konoha Village.
A massive ball of light rose out of thin air, and the ground trembled violently.
Everyone could see that the space near the ball of light seemed to become distorted.
It wasn't until tens of seconds later that the enormous roar came from afar.
"Such expressions are truly delightful…"
Looking at the angry, unwilling, fearful, desperate, and sad expressions of the Konoha Ninja below, the Nine-Tailed showed a hint of triumph.
The next second, its massive body disappeared, leaving only the unconscious Minato Namikaze lying on the ground.
"Catch that masked guy!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted through gritted teeth.
It must have been that bastard's prompting that made the Nine-Tailed redirect its target towards the Village.
No matter who he was, he absolutely could not be let go.
Looking at the Konoha Ninja who surrounded him, the spiral masked man suddenly clapped his hands, and then a low voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Secret Art!!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu immediately stopped, watching the mysterious man in front of them with full vigilance.
A guy who could make the Nine-Tailed obedient was definitely not to be underestimated.
The next second, the masked man's voice suddenly became playful: "Shadow Clone Jutsu: Release!"
Bang!
As a puff of white smoke dissipated in mid-air, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others' faces looked as if they had eaten dirt.
They had been tricked!
——
——
On the Hokage Rock, Uchiha Yuzuru, standing on top of Senju Tobirama's head, looked down at the constantly wailing Konoha villagers below.
Ever since he deliberately let those Konoha Ninja go last time, he had infiltrated using Kamui.
Originally, he had thought of using the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan to make Uzumaki Mito go berserk, but after sensing Uzumaki Mito's dwindling life force, he changed his mind.
Instead of wasting his ocular power, it would be better to wait a few days quietly.
Without Uzumaki Kushina, Konoha had no one who could perfectly suppress a fully-formed Nine-Tailed.
And indeed, just as he expected, the moment Uzumaki Mito died, the Nine-Tailed directly broke through its Seal.
Nearly a thousand Ninja died, almost a third of the area turned into ruins, countless civilians were homeless, and property losses were immeasurable… He wondered if they now realized some of their mistakes?
Living in a Village established by the Uchiha Clan, yet never truly accepting the Uchiha Clan members.
Not only did they not appreciate the Uchiha's contributions to Konoha, but they instead regarded the Uchiha as an unstable factor in Konoha.
Exclusion, surveillance, slander… Since that was the case, then let the facts prove… who brought them the right to enjoy this fertile land beneath their feet!
——
——
The scorching sun hung high.
The biting cold wind blew incessantly, and the people of Konoha huddled in the underground shelter, their expressions somewhat numb.
The Nine-Tailed's rampage in the early hours of the morning had cost countless lives.
Many people's homes had been directly reduced to ruins.
For the Konoha villagers, whose economy had been sluggish ever since the Uchiha Clan left Konoha, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
Perhaps, they would truly have to sleep on the streets in the future.
A sense of despair spread through the crowd, and the entire underground shelter was filled with Death Qi.
A series of footsteps sounded, and dozens of extremely tired, dust-covered Ninja walked in. After handing over to the relief shift, they all lay directly on the ground.
"I'm exhausted. The Nine-Tailed's power is truly terrifying. Just looking at those messy ruins, one can imagine how terrifying the power of the Tailed Beast Ball explosion was."
"Why do we have to let the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki live in the Village? If there were no Nine-Tailed, we wouldn't have lost so many people!"
"There's no choice. Other Villages all have Tailed Beasts. If we alone didn't have such a strategic weapon, we would be very passive."
"That's true… The situation in other Villages should be no different from ours. Possessing the power of a Tailed Beast means having to bear the corresponding risks."
Hearing their discussion, a low voice spoke: "No, at least Hidden Cloud Village isn't like that."
Everyone turned to look, and one of them asked curiously: "Toru, why do you say that?"
"Because I saw it with my own eyes!" Harada Toru gritted his teeth, "Not long ago, I was on a mission outside and ran into Hidden Cloud Village's Jinchuriki."
"That guy can freely use the Tailed Beast's power!"
"What?!" Harada Toru's words made everyone gasp in shock, and the previously quiet shelter became noisy.
Everyone gathered in the direction of Harada Toru, curiously looking at the injured man whose head was wrapped in bandages.
"My comrades died at the hands of Hidden Cloud Village's Jinchuriki, so I couldn't be clearer about this."
"That guy used the Tailed Beast's tail to block all of our attacks."
The scene of his comrades' tragic deaths flashed through his mind, and Harada Toru's expression became grief-stricken: "If it weren't for Jiraiya-sama, I might have already died at his hands."
"But a brutal thing like a Tailed Beast doesn't seem willing to lend its power to humans, does it?"
Seeing everyone's suspicious gazes, Tachibana Hiko and Yamada Koushi sighed and stepped forward, saying: "Whether you believe it or not, this is what we saw with our own eyes, and Jiraiya-sama can also testify."
"Actually, Hojo Shinroku also knew about this, but he died last night at the hands of the Nine-Tailed."
Hearing the three mention Jiraiya's name, the doubts in people's hearts vanished.
With that adult's prestige and status, no one would lie using his name.
"I'm so envious…" Someone said with a bitter smile, "If our Jinchuriki could also do what Hidden Cloud Village's Jinchuriki can, then we wouldn't have to experience such pain."
"That's why…" Harada Toru suddenly said loudly, "That's what makes me so angry!"