Blood Moon Calamity! Azure Dragon Protects Konoha!

The slight dizziness from the space-time transition vanished instantly, and Duanmu Ci and Tsunade appeared in a secluded alley in Konohagakure. A heavy, suffocating stench of blood and acrid smell of gunpowder assaulted their senses! In the distance, deafening roars, the collapse of buildings, the shouts of ninja, and... the desperate cries of civilians!

Looking up, a huge Blood Moon, radiating an ominous red light, hung high above Konohagakure! The moonlight dyed the entire village in an eerie dark red! And in the central area of the village, an unimaginably large, orange-red figure was rampaging wildly!

The Nine-Tails Fox!

It was like a World Annihilation demon god crawling out of hell, its nine huge tails waving like mountain ranges, each sweep bringing a destructive storm that crushed entire rows of houses into dust! It spewed dark red Tailed Beast Bombs from its mouth, slamming into the ground like meteors, each explosion creating a huge mushroom cloud, devouring countless lives! Its Chakra, filled with violence, hatred, and the will to destroy, crashed against the entire space like a tangible tide, making the air thick and heavy!

"Roar--!!!" The Nine-Tails' roar was like a doomsday knell, shaking the earth!

"Kushina!" Tsunade's face was pale. She saw the location where the Nine-Tails appeared—right near the center of the village, where Minato's house used to be! Now, only a huge ruin and burning flames remained! She immediately wanted to rush over there.

"Wait!" Duanmu Ci grabbed her, his Rinnegan instantly opening to its full extent! Pale purple ripples flowed in his eyes, and powerful insight and perception swept across the chaotic battlefield like radar. "Something's wrong! The Nine-Tails' Chakra is extremely violent, but it seems to be forcibly controlled by some Power! Its target is very clear: the densely populated area in the center of the village! Someone is controlling it!"

He instantly captured the key information: near the Nine-Tails' huge head, there was an extremely subtle distortion in space, difficult for ordinary people to detect! A figure wearing a swirling mask, revealing only a scarlet Sharingan, was floating there like a ghost! It was Obito Uchiha (the Masked Man)!

"It's that Masked Man! The Sharingan... he's controlling the Nine-Tails!" Duanmu Ci immediately understood the mastermind! Obito used the Power of his Kamui space to infiltrate and release the Nine-Tails at the moment when Kushina's childbirth seal was at its weakest, and forcibly controlled it with his Mangekyo Sharingan!

"Senior Minato is there!" Duanmu Ci's gaze locked onto a golden light constantly flashing in front of the Nine-Tails! Minato Namikaze was using the Flying Thunder God Technique to maneuver with difficulty under the Nine-Tails' violent attacks, rescuing people, and trying to attack the Masked Man! But he was clearly suppressed by the Nine-Tails' terrifying Power and the Masked Man's elusive space abilities, and was in a precarious situation! He was already injured in many places, and his white Divine Robe was stained with blood and dust.

And on a relatively intact rooftop not far behind Minato, Duanmu Ci saw Kushina Uzumaki, who was being desperately protected by several Anbu, extremely weak, with blood-stained bandages wrapped around her abdomen! Her face was as pale as paper, and her Chakra was extremely weak, but her eyes were full of anxiety and determination. She obviously wanted to reseal the Nine-Tails, but she was unable to do so!

"Obito... why..." Kushina seemed to recognize the aura of the eye under the mask, and her eyes were filled with pain and disbelief.

"There's no time! Tsunade, go protect Kushina! She just gave birth, she's extremely weak, and she needs your Medical Ninjutsu to keep her alive! Stop her from doing something stupid (sacrificing herself to seal the Nine-Tails)! Leave the Masked Man and the Nine-Tails to me and Senior Minato!" Duanmu Ci spoke extremely quickly, instantly making the most reasonable division of labor.

"Okay! Be careful!" Tsunade didn't hesitate at all. She trusted Duanmu Ci's judgment and abilities. She immediately unleashed her powerful Chakra, like golden lightning, and rushed towards the rooftop where Kushina was! "Kushina! Hold on! I'm coming!"

Duanmu Ci took a deep breath, turning all the worry for his newlywed wife and the anger at the tragic situation before him into cold killing intent and boundless fighting spirit! Sage Mode! Activate!

Buzz!

Pale green eye shadow instantly appeared! Boundless natural energy poured into his body like a torrent! His aura soared, and his dark green Azure Dragon Divine Robe moved without wind! The purple ripples in his Rinnegan became even deeper!

"Senior Minato! I'm here to help you!" Duanmu Ci let out a long roar, his voice shaking the wilderness! He slammed his hands on the ground!

"Sage Art Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence - Modified!"

Rumble rumble rumble--!!!

This time, the Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence had a smaller range, but it was more targeted! Countless thick trees, entwined with rich Sage Chakra and emerald runes, broke through the ruins and earth around the Nine-Tails like living earth dragons, growing and entangling wildly! The target was the Nine-Tails' huge body and its wildly waving tails!

Tough vines wrapped around the Nine-Tails' limbs and tails like giant pythons, trying to restrain its movements!

Sharp wooden thorns shot towards the Nine-Tails' eyes and vital joints like siege crossbows!

A huge Wood Dragon roared out of the forest, opening its huge mouth and biting fiercely at the Nine-Tails' neck!

"Roar!!!" The Nine-Tails' attack was slightly hindered by this sudden Wood Release attack, and it let out an angry roar! It waved its giant claws, easily tearing apart the entangled vines and swatting away the attacking wooden thorns! The Wood Dragon was also slapped on the head by its claw, letting out a painful hiss, and cracks appeared in its dragon body!

But Duanmu Ci's purpose was not to achieve success with one blow, but to create an opportunity for Minato! And to limit the Nine-Tails' range of movement!

"Well done, Duanmu-kun!" Minato's pressure was greatly reduced, and his spirits were greatly lifted! He instantly seized the opportunity when the Nine-Tails was restrained by the Wood Release and its attack had a brief pause!

"Flying Thunder God Technique - Second Stage!"

With a flash of golden light! Minato's figure instantly appeared above the Nine-Tails' huge head, next to the Masked Man (Obito)! The speed was so fast that it exceeded the limits of vision! In his hand, he condensed a highly compressed Chakra ball that emitted destructive fluctuations—the Rasengan! He slammed it hard towards the Masked Man's head! This strike condensed all his anger and determination to save his wife!

"Hmph!" The Masked Man (Obito) snorted coldly, and the scarlet Sharingan instantly transformed into a complex Mangekyo pattern! "Kamui!" His body twisted like a ripple of water, and the Rasengan actually passed directly through his head, as if hitting the air! The Flying Thunder God Technique's killing blow was easily resolved by Kamui's Phasing!

"What?!" Minato's pupils shrank! The other party's spatial ability was far more bizarre than he imagined!

"Senior Minato! Be careful!" Duanmu Ci's warning came!

Just as Minato's attack missed, the Masked Man (Obito)'s Phasing was released, and he suddenly had a black, strangely shaped giant scythe in his hand, slashing towards Minato, whose movements were slightly stagnant due to the missed attack, with a Cold Glint that tore through space! The timing was perfect!

"Almighty Push!"

Duanmu Ci's support arrived! He didn't directly attack the Masked Man, but instead unleashed a powerful repulsive field towards a space in front of Minato!

Buzz--!!!

An invisible, powerful repulsive force instantly acted on the space in front of Minato!

Clang--!!!

The Masked Man's scythe struck the repulsive field, making a loud sound like metal colliding! The powerful repulsive force not only blocked the scythe, but also pushed the unprepared Minato backwards, narrowly avoiding this fatal blow! Minato flipped in the air and landed steadily, breaking out in a cold sweat, and looked at Duanmu Ci gratefully.

"It's you again! Duanmu Ci!" The Masked Man (Obito)'s gaze truly fell on Duanmu Ci for the first time, and the scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan was filled with cold killing intent and a hint of rage at his plans being repeatedly disrupted! "You've ruined my plans time and time again! Today, I'll take care of you too!"

He gave up chasing Minato and controlled the Nine-Tails, turning its huge head towards Duanmu Ci! The Nine-Tails opened its blood basin mouth, and a dark red Tailed Beast Bomb, even larger and more condensed than before, emitting destructive fluctuations, rapidly condensed in its mouth! The target was Duanmu Ci and the Wood Release forest behind him!

"Duanmu-kun!" Minato's expression changed drastically! Such a close-range Tailed Beast Bomb had enough Power to raze half of Konohagakure to the ground!

"Duanmu!" Tsunade, who was urgently treating Kushina, also exclaimed!

Faced with this World Annihilation strike, Duanmu Ci's eyes were as cold as ice. Sage Chakra roared in his body! The Power of the Rinnegan was pushed to its limit! He knew that he could no longer hold back!

"Want to kill me? A puppet blinded by hatred like you is not qualified!" Duanmu Ci's voice was like an icy wind from the nine hells. He slammed his hands together, and the Chakra in his body, which had fused Sage Art, Wood Release Life Force, and Rinnegan Eye Power, circulated, compressed, and erupted in an unprecedented way!

"Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands - Initial Manifestation!!!"

Boom--!!!

The ground behind Duanmu Ci exploded like a volcano! Endless light and Chakra soared into the sky! A huge Wood Release Buddha Statue phantom, revealing only its upper body and part of its arm outlines, slowly rose from the ground amidst earth-shattering roars!

Although this Buddha Statue was far from reaching the scale of the complete "True Several Thousand Hands" (only dozens of arms were manifested), its height already far exceeded the Nine-Tails! Its entire body radiated a rich golden-green light (Sage Art + Wood Release), carrying a kind of sacred, majestic, and suppressing aura! The Buddha Statue's face was blurred, but its huge eyes, composed of pure Chakra, overlooked the Nine-Tails and the Masked Man below like the sun and moon, filled with compassion and... the will to judge!

"Roar?!" The Nine-Tails' action of condensing the Tailed Beast Bomb was stagnant, and the huge Buddha Statue phantom was clearly reflected in its hateful beast pupils for the first time. A natural Fear of Wood Release, originating from the depths of its bloodline, actually made its huge body tremble slightly!

The face under the Masked Man (Obito)'s mask also changed instantly! The Sharingan that he used to control the Nine-Tails felt a burst of stinging pain, as if burned by the Buddha Statue's gaze! "What is that?! Wood Release... how could it reach this level?!"

Duanmu Ci stood in the palm of the Buddha Statue phantom (actually, the phantom energy was connected to him), like a Buddha controlling divine punishment. He issued a decree-like announcement to the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb about to erupt, to the Masked Man, and to this World Annihilation disaster:

"Evil creature! How dare you be presumptuous! Be—suppressed!!!"