Demon Fox Cloak

Kushina Uzumaki had heard of the Uchiha clan's great reputation long before she arrived in Konoha, as they were hailed as the only power capable of suppressing the Tailed Beasts after the disappearance of Wood Release.

But in her eyes, aside from the Sage Body of the Land of Whirlpools, there was no other power in this world capable of sealing the Nine-Tails.

Until today!

BOOM!

A verdant, emerald-green hue, resembling a towering ancient tree, manifested before her eyes. A massive skeletal arm gripped a Spiral Sword capable of cleaving mountains and parting seas, swinging down with immense force. Dazzling golden chains, imbued with the Nine-Tails' Chakra, formed a net in front of the red-haired girl, meeting the short Anbu operative in the fox mask in a direct, head-on collision.

The entire forest felt the aura of destruction in that instant and began to quake violently. At the point where the Spiral Sword met the Adamantine Sealing Chains, a blinding, piercing light erupted in all directions, accompanied by a terrifying shockwave that obliterated all signs of life and sent the Konoha ninjas watching from the sidelines flying.

"Is this the power of Danzo's 'Root'? How terrifying!"

Hizashi Hyuga had always believed his eyes could see through anything, but amidst the clash of the secret techniques of the Spiral Sword and the golden chains, he was forced to turn his head away.

Aburame Torune and the other Anbu injected Chakra into the soles of their feet to avoid being swept away by the terrifying shockwave.

"He is the newly recruited 'Ren'. He truly lives up to being a disciple taken in by Danzo."

As the training base for the Anbu, Root usually saw most of its trained ninjas taken away by the Hokage. However, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a bit guilty about this, so he made an agreement with Danzo that he could keep ten Anbu as his personal confidants.

Danzo naturally did not stand on ceremony; using the Ten Heavenly Stems as names, he kept his ten most elite subordinates at full strength at all times.

Among them, "Kinoe" had already been reserved for that child with Wood Release, Aburame Torune was "Ding," Orochimaru had taken an "Yi," and after Shisui Uchiha accepted his grandfather's ideals, he took the codename "Ren"—who had sacrificed himself in the Land of Rain—in Root, and was currently grouped with "Gui."

"The commotion is too great; it has already exceeded Danzo's bottom line."

As the leader of Root in the absence of Danzo and Orochimaru, Aburame Torune possessed the calmest mind. Seeing the Jinchuriki begin to manifest the "Demon Fox Cloak" and her pupils start to show black bases with red patterns, he immediately signaled "Bing" and "Gui" beside him to strike.

"Jonin Hyuga, since you are here, the four of us can activate this scroll."

The opponent was a Jinchuriki, so Konoha had naturally considered the situation regarding the Tailed Beast. Kushina Uzumaki possessed the sealing heritage of the Land of Whirlpools and was herself a Sage Body; this opponent could be treated as a "Kage" level threat.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Danzo had requested the most powerful sealing scroll currently existing in the village from Utatane Koharu.

"Four Symbols Seal!"

As a member of a prestigious clan, Hizashi Hyuga knew the reason the moment Aburame Torune revealed the scroll.

"I never expected the Sealing Squad to be able to produce a tool of this caliber."

"No, this was left behind by Mito. It was meant for this very moment."

After Aburame Torune finished speaking, blood appeared on his right index finger, and he activated his own "symbol."

"This is the strongest sealing technique that requires four Jonin with precise Chakra control to activate. Even if the opponent is the Nine-Tails, they will never escape."

BOOM!

With a loud crash, the small figure of Shisui Uchiha landed on the edge of a massive crater. The intense pain forced him to close his left eye, and a trickle of blood flowed down, staining his pristine white fox mask with a vivid crimson.

"Is this the power of the Nine-Tails?!"

Although precocious, he was still young. Having just obtained the power of the Mangekyo and mastered the ocular technique of his left eye under Danzo's guidance, he had been eager to test this myth that belonged only to his ancestors. The scene of devastation before him made Shisui's heart burn with excitement, yet he also felt a trace of fear.

"War is even more terrifying than this!"

Just then, a translucent light curtain emerged from the four cardinal directions. It curved through the air, converging in the center, and then shattered into rows of ancient, cryptic characters and images, forming a massive sealing barrier.

"Qing, Bai, Zhu, Xuan... the Four Symbols Seal, is it."

With a slight cough, a wisp of red light emerged from the smoke in the center of the crater. A graceful figure wrapped in the Demon Fox Cloak lay prone on the earth; although she still possessed clear consciousness, her entire being was gradually transforming into a beast.

"Senior Uzumaki, please return to the village with us. Otherwise, being dragged back in this beastly state would not be good for Namikaze's reputation."

Although he had joined Root, Shisui was still a gentle and kind child at heart. Unfortunately, his good intentions were interpreted by his opponent as mockery.

"Using the sealing techniques of our Land of Whirlpools to deal with me? You really have the nerve to say such things. As expected, that gloomy old man is still holding a grudge because I poured a basin of foot-washing water for him to drink in front of Grandma Mito back then."

It was as if they had heard something incredible; at that moment, the hands of Aburame Torune and the other three operating the sealing technique trembled in unison, causing the previously flawless barrier to stutter.

For Kushina Uzumaki, one of the top three sealing experts in the world, this was the chance to escape.

The Yin and Yang forces in the void mixed in a special ratio, forming a pitch-black sphere that she swallowed into her mouth.

"If I could, I truly wouldn't want to use this ugly form. You forced my hand."

The Tailed Beast Bomb erupted with a roar, blasting a gap in the yet-to-be-completed Four Symbols Seal.

Hizashi Hyuga felt as if he had been struck by hundreds of heavy blows. He only saw a flash of red light, and an unprecedented threat of death welled up in his heart.

BOOM!

A verdant emerald glow appeared out of thin air. The small Anbu operative blocked the path of the Tailed Beast-transformed Jinchuriki with near-teleportation speed, extending his right hand against the claws capable of tearing through steel.

Another earth-shattering roar echoed as both the Jinchuriki and the blood-eyed youth were sent flying.

"Interesting. Using a Jinchuriki as my first opponent after awakening my eyes—Danzo's arrangements are truly not bad."

Shisui Uchiha placed the Hizashi Hyuga he was holding into the hands of the Konoha ninjas who had come to find them. His true form, with both Mangekyo eyes fully opened, radiated a verdant light like a blazing sun, manifesting as a translucent giant in the center of the forest, looking like a legendary god descending to the mortal realm.

"What did you do!"

In the Land of Hot Water, on the front lines of the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure, at the Land of Fire's main base, Guo Wang, who had just arrived, looked at the pale-faced Jiraiya with an extremely furious tone.

The latter wore an awkward smile, looking left and right, at a loss for what to do.

He had been afraid of this gloomy martial uncle since he was a child!