"Wh-what is that monster?!"
"It's Shukaku! Sunagakure's ultimate weapon! Hahaha, Konoha is finished!"
"Yes! We've finally waited long enough for this moment! Hurry up and destroy Konoha Village!"
"Quick! Crush them all in one go while we have the chance!"
Shukaku's mountainous body appeared in the center of Konoha, instantly transforming the battlefield. Konoha's ninja and the villagers who had not managed to evacuate were plunged into panic.
The invading Sunagakure forces and Sound Ninja erupted in frenzied cheers. Yet they seemed to have overlooked something—would a rampaging tailed beast really distinguish friend from foe?
After a thunderous roar, Shukaku abruptly opened his enormous mouth. His newly recovered chakra, which should have been used to escape, was forcibly drawn out, rapidly condensing in his mouth into a purple-black sphere radiating destructive power.
A Tailed Beast Ball.
On the battlefield, some middle-aged ninja who had lived through the Nine-Tails Rebellion, along with Konoha's older veterans, turned as white as paper the instant they saw that sphere.
That hellish night over a decade ago seemed to unfold before their eyes again—the very same thing had nearly razed Konoha and taken the life of their beloved Fourth Hokage. Deep-seated terror and despair seized their hearts once more.
"I made it!"
At the very instant Shukaku began gathering his Tailed Beast Ball after his roar, a golden figure appeared atop a utility pole in Konoha.
Naruto shuddered at how close it had been—without the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could not have been certain of arriving in time, even with the speed of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
His hands flashed through hand seals, and intricate space-time barrier formulas rapidly formed and unfolded before him.
Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder was ready once again!
"Go on, Shukaku."
In the shadows on the outskirts of Konoha Village,