Blackening

Seeing Soseki charge forward to intercept, the leader of the ninjas was overjoyed. "Heh heh, so what if he's a genius? He's still an inexperienced rookie who fell for my simple trick!"

Up ahead, Kushina stood frozen as if terrified, a look of struggle and pain on her face. The great beast sealed within her was trying to break free.

"You want my power, don't you? Just a little... no, just release your restraints. With your strength, defeating them won't be difficult!"

"No, I can't!"

"Why resist your own heart? You clearly hate those who bully and humiliate you!"

"I don't like them, but I'll hate myself even more if I unleash a monster! Besides, not everyone in the village is like that!"

The lead ninja didn't know why the young girl in front of him wasn't running, nor did he care.

After all, his prey had taken the bait!

"Get out of my way!"

"Aha! I was waiting for you!"

Just as the lead ninja was about to punch Kushina, he suddenly changed direction. The lightning crackling around his right fist engulfed Soseki, who couldn't dodge in time.

With a roar.

Soseki was sent flying, spitting blood that formed a shimmering red bead chain in mid-air.

"Soseki!" Asuma cried out in anguish, his eyes bloodshot as he charged at the enemy. "You bastard, I'm going to kill you!"

"Ahahaha! Stop boasting. What can your weak Fire Release do?" The lead ninja laughed heartily.

Kushina, struggling in pain, was jolted awake by the piercing laughter. She then realized her face was smeared with warm blood.

"This is Soseki's blood? To protect me?"

A wisp of dark mist quietly emerged in the depths of her pupils.

Meanwhile, Asuma had lost all reason, forgetting to even use Ninjutsu as he charged at the enemy with a kunai.

"Huh? Is this the level of the Hokage's son?" The lead ninja easily grabbed Asuma's wrist, mocking him.

Considering Asuma's identity, he didn't dare go too far.

At this moment, Asuma also calmed down from his impulsiveness, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked behind the enemy.

"Heh? Are you going to say there's an enemy behind me? Idiot, I dealt with that kind of trick over ten years ago..." As the lead ninja sneered coldly, a voice as if from the underworld echoed from behind him.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

The lead ninja's body stiffened as he turned around. He saw a monster enveloped in blood mist staring intently at him.

That eerie, ominous Chakra seemed to awaken the deepest fears within human hearts.

"Aaaah!!!"

Sarutobi Clan Compound.

The Third Hokage, who had been critically observing the contents of the crystal ball, suddenly stood up. He walked to the window and looked at the scarlet blood mist in the distance, which almost tore through the night. His eyes were filled with worry and heaviness. "What in the world is going on? Why is the Nine-Tails' Chakra erupting in that direction?"

With that thought, he quickly returned to his desk.

He gently brushed his right hand, and the image on the crystal ball began to change.

The next moment, Kushina, draped in a blood-red veil, appeared before him, along with a Cloud Village ninja who had collapsed on the ground in fright.

"Damn it! These Cloud ninjas..." The Third Hokage muttered angrily, then his eyes widened. He had actually spotted Asuma in a corner of the crystal ball!

"Wait, what exactly is happening?"

Root Underground Chamber.

A ninja wearing a Stone Village forehead protector stared in horror at the old man before him.

"What are you doing? No, don't come near me!"

"Stop struggling. Just let me give you the injection!"

"What is this? Poison?"

"Heh! Didn't Ōnoki send you to infiltrate Konoha for this very purpose?"

Hearing this, even though imprisoned, the Stone Village spy's eyes couldn't help but show a flicker of desire. "This is the First Hokage's..."

Danzō seized the moment and injected the needle.

"Aaaargh!" The Stone Village spy screamed in agony. In an instant, his body was consumed by wood.

"One less specimen!" Danzō frowned, but the next moment, he hurriedly jumped to the ground.

"This evil, ominous Chakra fluctuation... it's the Nine-Tails!"

Seeing this, the shadows in Danzō's eyes almost rippled. "Allowing the Nine-Tails to break its seal is a grave dereliction of duty. Hiruzen, you're a truly incompetent Hokage!"

Meanwhile, on the border of Konoha.

Soseki crawled out of the crater in the distance, his eyes twitching wildly as he looked at the scene before him.

Had he, by accident, gone too far?

"I originally thought that as a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, she should be able to sense my condition easily..." Soseki sighed inwardly. "But fortunately, if the tails had burst out, it would have been truly difficult to handle. This current situation isn't too bad!"

With that thought, Soseki "struggled" to climb out of the crater. "Big sis, please stop, I'm fine."

Kushina, in her corrupted, berserk state, quieted down upon hearing Soseki's voice, and the blood mist around her began to dissipate.

Asuma, who was standing far away as if stunned, finally snapped back to reality upon hearing Soseki's voice. "Soseki, I'm so glad you're okay!"

As for the Cloud Village ninja, they could no longer hear Soseki's voice. Targeted by the Nine-Tails' chakra, he had been scared to death!

"This level is still far from enough!" Soseki frowned. He naturally didn't care about those Cloud Village scrubs, but he noticed that the blood-red veil on Kushina stabilized after dissipating to a certain extent.

At this moment, Asuma also trotted over and asked Soseki nervously, leaning close to his ear, "Soseki, what's wrong with big sis?"

"Perhaps it's a Tailed Beast mentioned in the books."

"Is big sis a Jinchuriki? How pitiful!"

Soseki shook his head slightly and then shouted shamefully, "Kind big sis, you must hold on! You, who are so kind and brave, absolutely cannot lose to the demon in your heart!"

As if his words were tangible, with every shout from Soseki, the blood mist on Kushina dissipated a little more.

"This is still too embarrassing!" Soseki took a deep breath and looked to the side. "Asuma, quickly come and cheer for big sis with me!"

Asuma, who had been watching from the sidelines, was dumbfounded and pointed at himself blankly.

It was fun to watch others shout, but it was too embarrassing to be put on the spot himself.

However, seeing Soseki's determined gaze, Asuma could only agree.

Then, after holding his breath until his face turned green, he managed to blurt out, "Big sis, your current form is really ugly! Hurry up and change back!"

As soon as his words fell, the blood mist on Kushina surged upwards "whoosh whoosh whoosh."

Seeing this, Soseki helplessly patted Asuma's shoulder. "Forget it, you should just stop talking. If you keep talking, you'll get beaten!"