The Night of the Nine Tails

Konoha 48, October 10, Uchiha compound.

The night was deep and quiet; a full moon hung high overhead, casting its pure light like a veil of silver over the earth.

A crow swept through the sky and landed on the roof of a two-story wooden house at the edge of the Uchiha compound.

But a group of small animals had already gathered on the roof. There were three cats with differently colored fur, and not far from them were two large black rats with sleek, glossy coats.

There were also five crows, an owl, and a Little White Snake.

Strangely, the little animals coexisted peacefully. The cats didn't try to catch the rats, the owl didn't try to catch the snake, and they all gathered quietly on the roof without moving.

Below them, in a second-floor room, a boy sat cross-legged on the tatami. A shaft of moonlight from outside the window fell upon him.

The boy was named Uchiha Yuan, and he was a fifth-year student at the Ninja Academy.

The room was utterly silent. Any ninja there would have realized that they couldn't sense Uchiha Yuan's presence.

If nothing unexpected happened, tonight would be another peaceful, ordinary night.

But a deafening roar shattered the stillness, jolting the entire village of Konoha from its sleep.

Then the ninjas throughout Konoha felt an earth-shattering, frenzied presence appear.

A gentle breeze suddenly stirred in the room.

It spun rapidly like a vortex, with Uchiha Yuan at its center.

At that moment, the moonlight around him bent and warped in a strange fashion.

The next instant, the breeze vanished.

Uchiha Yuan opened his eyes, and the room suddenly brightened. Two dazzling beams of light shot from his eyes. They were like a pair of crystalline gems, radiating a brilliant glow.

"That ominous Chakra... It's the Nine Tails."

Sensing the terrifying Chakra that blanketed all of Konoha, seething with rage and violence, Uchiha Yuan murmured softly, his expression complicated.

Following the course of fate, the Night of the Nine Tails had arrived.

The light in Uchiha Yuan's eyes slowly faded. From his perspective, he could see a mist made up of colorful specks of light dispersing around him.

These specks of light were what the world of Naruto called Natural Energy, otherwise known as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

A personal Attribute Panel, visible only to Uchiha Yuan, appeared before his eyes.

Name: Uchiha Yuan.

Constitution: Moderate 66/100 (Your body is stronger than that of most ninjas in the Ninja World.)

Health: 3660/3660 (Healthy, full of energy)

Spirit: 5820/5820

Chakra: 6380/6380

Renown: You are utterly ordinary, just a nobody for now.

Uchiha Yuan was a reincarnator. In his previous life, he had been developing a bootleg Naruto game. After working overtime late into the night for several days in a row, his vision suddenly went black. When he woke up again, he had become a newborn Uchiha baby.

Then the character Attribute Panel from the game he had developed appeared before his eyes. Along with it came a golden gift pack.

When he opened the gift pack, he found the ultimate secret technique he had just designed for the game: the Sage Art: Ultimate Evolution he was now practicing.

A flurry of hurried footsteps approached, and the door was flung open. A beautiful woman with disheveled long hair said in a panic, "Yuan, the Nine Tails has gone berserk! We need to hurry to the village's Shelter Cave."

A sleepy-eyed girl was nestled in the woman's arms. They were Uchiha Yuan's family in this life: his mother, Uchiha Rei, and his younger sister, Uchiha Izumi.

His father had married into the Uchiha Clan and had died in the war several years ago.

Izumi had just been woken by their mother and still looked groggy. Seeing Uchiha Yuan, she called out, "Brother."

Uchiha Yuan smiled and affectionately ruffled her hair. "Izumi, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll protect you and Mom."

"Mm. Izumi isn't afraid."

The family of three ran toward the edge of the compound. On the way, they saw their clansmen hurrying about in a panic.

"That's the Nine Tails!"

As soon as they left the compound, the three of them stopped in their tracks. In the distance, they could see a terrifying beast as enormous as a mountain, thrashing its nine tails across the sky.

Amid earth-shattering crashes, the Nine Tails rampaged through the village, wreaking havoc.

"Clan leader."

"Rei, it's you. Hurry and take the children to the village's Shelter Cave."

At the sound of the exchange, Uchiha Yuan turned his head and saw a large group of fully armed Uchiha gathered at the compound's entrance.

Their clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, was leading the Police Force toward the Nine Tails to stop its rampage.

Just then, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared in a flurry of rushing wind.

"By order of Lord Danzo, no member of the Uchiha Police Force is to leave the station."

A squad of masked Root ninja blocked the Uchiha Police Force. Every one of them was on high alert, radiating a cold, ruthless air. It seemed that if the Uchiha disobeyed, they would attack at once.

"What!"

"What does the village mean by this?"

"Does the village suspect the Uchiha Clan?"

Hearing this order, so full of distrust and hostility, the proud Uchiha erupted in anger and began cursing.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression also darkened, anger flashing in his eyes.

He knew the village was wary of the Uchiha, afraid they would use the Sharingan to control the Nine Tails while they had the chance.

The Uchiha Clan and the village had always been suspicious of each other, and they had been clashing in secret for a long time.

But now the village had dropped all pretense, making its distrust of the Uchiha plain. The rift between them would only grow wider from here on.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression shifted, but he remained silent.

Behind him, the Police Force members glared at the Root ninja with hostility.

The Root ninja were emotionless, cold-blooded tools. Even under the pressure of the Uchiha Police Force's formidable presence, they didn't give an inch, openly radiating a sharp killing intent.

For a moment, the two sides faced off, poised to clash, their killing intent colliding fiercely.

"Brother."

Uchiha Izumi's face turned deathly pale, and she looked utterly terrified. The Root ninja's killing intent had affected her.

Uchiha Yuan hastily took her hand. A gentle flow of Chakra entered her body, calming her nerves.

When he saw that Izumi's complexion had returned to normal, Uchiha Yuan turned toward the Root ninja and scoffed. "Izumi, don't be afraid. Those guys are just a bunch of lowly pretenders. We Uchiha are the strongest."

Uchiha Yuan's words rang clearly in everyone's ears, and the members of the Police Force looked at him approvingly.

The Root ninja's masks hid their eyes, but their killing intent surged toward Uchiha Yuan like a tide.

"Yuan." Uchiha Rei looked at her son with concern.