The Resolve to Grow Stronger!

The moment Obito Uchiha summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha, its enormous body had already crushed countless houses.

It was nighttime, and with little entertainment available in the evenings, most Konoha residents had gone home early to rest.

Beneath the houses crushed by the Tailed Beast, who knew how many corpses would be buried tonight.

"Roar—"

The Nine-Tails' roar transformed into a terrifying shockwave that blasted outward in every direction. Violent winds erupted, and several nearby houses were instantly reduced to rubble by the shockwave.

Only then did Konoha's residents realize that a Tailed Beast had appeared within the village.

The Nine-Tails' violent Chakra and terrifying size were like a blazing sun in the night. How could anyone fail to notice its presence?

Even the pair of Sharingan reflected in the Nine-Tails' eyes caught the attention of many ninja.

Tonight had been the important day of Kushina's delivery. Although the Konoha High-Ranking Officials had arranged for her to give birth outside the village, security within the village had remained extremely tight in case of an accident.

Not long after the Nine-Tails appeared, many ninja who had reacted needed no orders from the Hokage and rushed toward it of their own accord.

At the same time, the villagers, having weathered many hardships during wartime, followed their usual drills. The moment the emergency occurred, they fled with their families toward the shelters beneath Hokage Rock.

For a time, the streets were filled with crowds fleeing in chaos.

Rocks and debris hurled into the air by the shockwave fell into the bustling districts. They were merely the aftermath of the Tailed Beast's roar, not even from the center of the disaster, yet the rocks and rubble raining down upon the crowded streets became deadly weapons capable of easily taking lives.

Some civilians failed to notice the disaster falling from above as they fled. They were struck directly and collapsed into pools of blood, their fate unknown.

Humanity's selfishness and brilliance were both displayed vividly in this crisis.

Some people fleeing noticed the injured and stopped to help them up. Others, young and strong, abandoned their wives and children, cast aside every burden, and cared only about saving themselves.

The Tailed Beast's destructive power had yet to truly reveal itself, but for Konoha's ordinary people, this was already a catastrophe capable of ending the world.

Even ninja appeared incomparably small before this calamity that was practically a natural disaster.

Under Obito Uchiha's control, the Nine-Tails began moving toward the Hokage Building, wantonly destroying the streets and houses along its path. Any ninja who dared stand before it were swept aside by the Nine-Tails.

The shuriken and kunai hurled by the ninja to stop the Nine-Tails could not even pierce the Tailed Beast's fur.

The various ninjutsu used by the ninja not only failed to leave any mark on the Nine-Tails, but further enraged the Tailed Beast, making its movements even more violent.

Its nine outstretched tails were like punishment whips wielded by a god, carving bottomless ravines across the earth.

With physical strength alone, the Tailed Beast was already unstoppable.

Just as large numbers of Konoha Ninja were perishing at the Nine-Tails' hands, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finally arrived at the battlefield with the Anbu.

Though the Third Hokage had passed his prime as a ninja and his strength had declined to some extent, he still chose to step forward in the face of the Tailed Beast calamity.

The moment he appeared, he summoned Enma and used the Adamantine Staff to thrust the Tailed Beast out of Konoha in a single blow.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's assault, the Nine-Tails' enormous body crashed through Konoha's walls and landed in the dense forest outside the village.

Seeing that it was getting farther and farther from its target, the Hokage Building, the Nine-Tails began gathering Chakra in its mouth, intending to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb and destroy Hokage Rock.

That was where Konoha's civilians had taken shelter.

As a former Konoha ninja himself, Obito knew Konoha far too well. The moment he made his move, he had no intention of leaving Konoha any room to survive.

Minato Namikaze had already learned his identity. To conceal it completely, destroying Konoha here was undoubtedly the best choice.

Even if he could not completely erase Konoha from the map, he only needed to cripple it. Given the fragile balance of the Shinobi World, other Ninja Villages would naturally be unable to resist attacking Konoha.

The Tailed Beast Bomb gathered rapidly. In mere moments, a massive black sphere of Chakra shot from the Nine-Tails' mouth, tearing through the night sky in the blink of an eye as it blasted toward Konoha's Hokage Rock.

Just as the Tailed Beast Bomb was about to strike Hokage Rock, black runes suddenly flickered into existence in the empty space before it.

The Tailed Beast Bomb actually came to an abrupt stop before the runes.

Space twisted, and the Tailed Beast Bomb was slowly swallowed by the Other Dimension. Within moments, it vanished before Hokage Rock.

Sensing the disturbance, the Third Hokage looked back toward Hokage Rock. Though he could not see that man's figure in the darkness, he understood that only one person in Konoha could accomplish such a feat.

"Minato!"

"You finally came!"

A flash of delight passed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, but the next second, his expression returned to its previous gravity.

The Tailed Beast appearing here... meant something had happened to Kushina.

While worrying about the situation, the Third Hokage also began to fear for the safety of his wife, Biwako.

"BOOM!!!"

Blazing firelight burst from the horizon as the Tailed Beast Bomb transferred outside Konoha exploded violently. The flash briefly illuminated half the sky. Several seconds later, a thunderous explosion rolled in, followed by a terrifying blast wave carrying a heavy scent of burning that swept through all of Konoha.

Outside the village.

A gigantic Toad suddenly appeared atop the Nine-Tails' head. Minato summoned Gama Bunta and used the Crushing Vendor Technique to temporarily restrain the Nine-Tails' movements.

Then, in the next instant, the Nine-Tails and Gama Bunta vanished from outside Konoha together.

Inside the Safe House.

Shinichi Hyuga had witnessed nearly the entire brief clash between Minato and the Nine-Tails. Sensing that Minato Namikaze had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transfer the Nine-Tails away from Konoha, his heart finally calmed somewhat.

Looking in the direction where the Tailed Beast had disappeared, Shinichi's expression turned solemn. His hands clenched tightly into fists, unable to calm the turmoil in his heart.

Only after witnessing the Tailed Beast's power firsthand did Shinichi Hyuga truly feel how insignificant he was.

As he was now, he did not possess a single technique capable of dealing with a monster comparable to a natural disaster.

Gentle Fist to strike its chakra points? Kaiten to block a Tailed Beast Bomb? Or use Flying Thunder God and run himself ragged?

Before such power, nothing Shinichi did would have any meaning.

However... Tailed Beasts were far from the pinnacle of power in this world. Before truly powerful beings, Tailed Beasts were merely "pets" to be manipulated at will.

"I have to grow stronger... Even if I have to risk losing my life, I have to grow stronger!"

"Only by growing stronger can I truly control the fate of myself and my family!"

"Instead of... being able to do nothing but watch helplessly like I am now."

Shinichi's body trembled slightly. Fear? Excitement?

Even Shinichi himself could not describe how he felt, but one thing was certain: never before had he wanted to grow stronger as desperately as he did now.

A vague, intangible threat and danger looming close at hand brought entirely different kinds of shock.

Shinichi had always worked hard, but his resolve to grow stronger had never been as firm and absolute as it was now.