Kurama, It Seems You Haven't Been Doing So Well These Past Years

Tobirama Senju had actually arrived a little late.

Tobirama Senju had originally intended to rush over at once, but he noticed that Madara Uchiha's Susanoo was in an extremely weakened state. Then he saw his elder brother here and immediately understood what he needed to do.

Prevent Madara Uchiha from escaping Konoha!

To cut off Madara Uchiha's possible escape routes, Tobirama Senju spent some time arranging for the Anbu ninjas in the village to head to various areas and block off his retreat in advance.

Only after Tobirama Senju had finished arranging everything did he hurry here, intending to have Shirou Emiya remove his Curse Mark.

As long as he recovered, he could immediately go after the equally weakened Madara Uchiha. This was the best chance to kill Madara Uchiha once more!

And yet...

It seemed he had arrived a step too late.

Shirou Emiya was already the one stopping the Nine-Tails' rampage.

However, once Tobirama Senju stood here, he realized that this might be the most advantageous choice for Konoha, because Konoha was not particularly strong at the moment.

His elder brother, Hashirama Senju, had yet to fully recover. His sister-in-law, Mito Uzumaki, was weakened from constantly suppressing the Nine-Tails. He himself, the fastest ninja, had his Chakra temporarily sealed by the Curse Mark's power. If Shirou Emiya was willing to help, nothing could have been more suitable.

"Sasuke!"

Watching the battle between the Nine-Tails and Shirou Emiya, Tobirama Senju no longer worried about dealing with the Nine-Tails and loudly gave his orders. "Immediately take some men and assist several Anbu squads in searching for Madara's whereabouts. Once we're done dealing with the Nine-Tails, we'll head over!"

"Yes!"

Sarutobi Sasuke swiftly accepted the order.

"Tobirama..."

"Come to think of it, that person looks really familiar..."

Hashirama Senju watched Shirou Emiya fiercely battling the Nine-Tails. His gaze fell on Shirou Emiya's profile as he quietly asked, "Although there's something strange about his condition, I feel like I might have seen him when I was little. Is it really not just my imagination?"

"..."

Tobirama Senju fell silent.

How could his big brother even ask something like that?

Had his big brother forgotten the childhood days when he would always sneak over to lie in front of Shirou Emiya's Crystal Coffin, only to be harshly lectured by their father?

"Big Brother."

Tobirama Senju wanted to avoid the subject of Shirou Emiya, so he rarely took the initiative to mention the man he hated most. "What exactly is going on with Madara?"

That guy...

How had he escaped death?

Or perhaps...

Had this been a conspiracy from the start?

Tobirama Senju suspected that Madara Uchiha had faked his death and secretly observed Konoha ever since. Otherwise, Madara Uchiha could not possibly have found this place!

Tobirama Senju had even guessed why Madara Uchiha had come to where Shirou Emiya lived. He also guessed that Madara Uchiha must have clashed with Shirou Emiya. Perhaps Madara Uchiha had intended to kill or take Shirou Emiya away!

If that had happened...

Konoha would have been in serious trouble!

After all, only Shirou Emiya knew the condition of his elder brother, and even the hope of curing him rested solely on Shirou Emiya.

News about his elder brother absolutely could not be leaked. Otherwise, the other ninja villages eyeing them like tigers would surely make some moves. If Madara Uchiha truly did that, an unprecedented war might break out in the future, dragging all ninjas into it!

"..."

This time, it was Hashirama Senju's turn to fall silent.

Hashirama Senju was silent for a while before turning his gaze back to the Nine-Tails. "Let's deal with the Nine-Tails first. Once today's matter with the Nine-Tails is over, I want to leave the village for a while and investigate Madara's whereabouts. I want to find out what exactly he intends to do..."

"If he still wants to harm Konoha..."

"I'll kill him again at any cost..."

On the other side of the battlefield.

The battle between Shirou Emiya and the Nine-Tails was drawing to a close.

"Roar!"

The Nine-Tails' roar was miserable!

It did not even have the chance to unleash a Tailed Beast Ball!

"Calm down for a moment!"

Shirou Emiya's body suddenly landed on the ground. He raised his left hand, his palm facing the Nine-Tails close at hand as he curled his fingers!

"Earth Release!"

Countless clumps of earth and rocks surged up from the ground!

The earth and rocks rapidly gathered, wrapping around the Nine-Tails' body!

"Roar!"

The Nine-Tails strained with all its might against its restraints!

The ferocious tailed beast swung its claws, trying to seize Shirou Emiya!

Yet Shirou Emiya ignored the claws that could descend at any moment. His five fingers remained tightly clenched, while soil and rocks continued to surge endlessly from underground!

A pitch-black Curse Mark emerged beneath Shirou Emiya's feet like a barrier. Curse Mark energy flowed over the soil and rocks like running water, staining the surging earth and stone with an eerie black!

"Die!"

The Nine-Tails' claw slashed down viciously!

With just one strike...

It could tear Shirou Emiya to pieces!

Yet the Nine-Tails' claws ultimately could not come down!

The earth and rocks transformed into a hill, completely trapping its body within. Pitch-black Curse Marks appeared across the hill.

The Curse Marks became an unbreakable seal, thoroughly binding the Nine-Tails' movements and leaving its body unable to move another inch!

The Nine-Tails' head remained exposed. It bared its fangs and glared furiously at Shirou Emiya, one claw hanging barely a foot above Shirou Emiya's head!

"What a familiar feeling..."

Shirou Emiya looked at the vicious-faced Nine-Tails, a trace of nostalgia crossing his face. "It feels just like when we were kids. You always fall just short at the crucial moment..."

"So strong..."

Hashirama Senju praised him without the slightest concern.

Though coming from him, it sounded less like praise and more like a faint mockery.

"Indeed..."

Mito Uzumaki could not help voicing her admiration as well.

Though given her own abilities, her words also carried a hint of mockery.

"No hand seals needed..."

"And he can unleash such powerful Earth Release Ninjutsu..."

When Tobirama Senju took the initiative to praise someone, he could still point out exactly where they excelled. "Even while using Earth Release Ninjutsu, he still had the focus to integrate the sealing Curse Mark energy into it..."

Ninjas of the Ancient Era...

They were far too powerful!

Even a single Medical Ninja possessed such tremendous strength!

And he had displayed it while still restricted by the Impure World Reincarnation state!

However...

It was not over yet.

Shirou Emiya walked step by step toward the Nine-Tails.

Shirou Emiya raised a finger and pointed it at the Nine-Tails' head, directly dispelling the Sharingan genjutsu on it and restoring clarity to its eyes!

"Release!"

"Roar!"

Yet even after breaking free from the Sharingan's control, the Nine-Tails remained utterly enraged. As though controlled by its own emotions, it roared with all its strength, struggling to break free of the seal!

The Nine-Tails!

Whenever it encountered humans...

It only ever wanted to kill in rage!

Because the Chakra within it was already a convergence of hatred and pain!

Snap!

A finger snap sounded beside the Nine-Tails' ear.

The snap came abruptly, yet it immediately drew the Nine-Tails' attention!

In an instant, the most ferocious tailed beast in the world regained its reason from its rage. Memories from the Ancient Era gradually awakened in its mind.

"Kurama, are you awake?"

Shirou Emiya's voice sounded strangely familiar in the Nine-Tails' ears.

Along with that familiarity came a helpless drowsiness, as though back in the Ancient Era, when it had been exhausted during a journey and some human had forcibly woken it from a deep sleep to pull a cart and continue traveling.

"Let me sleep a little longer..."

The Nine-Tails instinctively wanted to snort.

The next moment!

The Nine-Tails suddenly came to its senses!

This was not the Ancient Era at all!

How could that human, who had died long ago in its memories, possibly appear more than a thousand years later?!

Even that old man of the Six Paths had been unable to achieve immortality...

That tiny, fragile human should have died long ago!

"Shirou Emiya..."

The Nine-Tails' pupils shifted, and its eyes finally focused.

The Nine-Tails looked at the figure standing before it. It clearly saw that familiar face—the tiny, fragile human from long ago—and its mind tightened in alarm!

"So it really is you!"

"How could you appear in this era?!"

"You really remember me?"

A trace of surprise appeared on Shirou Emiya's face. "I was practically about to forget that the two of us were old friends..."

SSS-Rank Mission: Quell Konoha's Nine Tails Riot. Mission completed. Reward: Nine-Tails Chakra (SSS-Rank Chakra) and Tailed Beast Ball. Currently unusable due to the restrictions of Impure World Reincarnation.

This was power he had never obtained even in the Ancient Era.

Or rather, it was a reward that had been within easy reach in the Ancient Era, yet one he had chosen not to claim.

Shirou Emiya had nearly become the Shinobi World's first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but for certain reasons, he had chosen to give it up.

"You bastard, you actually forgot?!"

The Nine-Tails' gaze suddenly turned vicious!

As though someone had touched its reverse scale, the Tailed Beast glared fixedly at Shirou Emiya before it. It seemed that if he said even one wrong word, it would immediately risk everything to leap out of the seal and tear him apart!

"You even learned how to curse..."

Shirou Emiya looked at the Nine-Tails in surprise.

"You... bastard."

The Nine-Tails stared at Shirou Emiya with a savage expression.

"You think I wouldn't dare kill you?!"

"Your Chakra has become more violent."

"The emotions affected by your Chakra have also become more extreme."

Under everyone's disbelieving gazes, Shirou Emiya stretched out his hand and symbolically scratched the Nine-Tails beneath the chin. "Looks like these past thousand-odd years haven't treated you very well..."