Good People Don't Live Long

The radiance was so blinding that even the dead of night was dyed as bright as day.

Konoha, in particular, bore the brunt of it; it truly felt as though the village were illuminated by the midday sun.

Those facing the light could even feel a scorching heat radiating from it.

From this, one could gauge just how astonishing Genkawa Uchiha's self-detonation had been.

BOOM!

The light reached the eyes of everyone in Konoha before the sound did, followed by a thunderous roar and the subsequent trembling of the earth.

In that moment, the heavens and the earth seemed to lose all color, leaving only a blinding white in one's field of vision.

The shockwave generated by the explosion was incredibly violent, instantly obliterating everything where the Nine-Tails stood; soil and trees alike were pulverized in an instant.

Driven by the gale, trees at the edge of the blast were uprooted and sent flying into the high heavens, while vast swathes of land were heaved upward, surging like ocean waves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, who were some distance from the Nine-Tails, had just crossed the outer wall of Konoha when they saw the flash. Before they could even attempt to dodge or react, they were swept up by the rapidly approaching wind, tossed aside like heavy objects and scattered everywhere.

Some slammed into high walls, others were flung dozens of meters away, while a few barely managed to steady themselves, avoiding too much disgrace.

Hiruzen Sarutobi performed a roll, thrusting the Adamantine Staff—transformed from Enma—deep into the ground to stabilize his body, his eyes fixed intently ahead.

That was where the Nine-Tails stood, now engulfed in towering flames.

Following the massive explosion was a sea of fire, appearing like a giant fireball rising up to envelop the Nine-Tails.

From Hiruzen Sarutobi's vantage point, he could clearly see the Nine-Tails rearing its head and roaring amidst the flames; two of its nine tails had been blown off, yet they still whipped about like lashes, stirring up fierce gusts of wind.

"What about that child?"

Despite him being an Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not wish for any accidents to befall Genkawa Uchiha; after all, a natural Sage Body was far too special.

To Konoha, Genkawa Uchiha had value, and immense value at that.

BOOM!

"ROAR!"

With another earth-shattering roar, the Nine-Tails charged out from the center of the blast, its body mottled with traces of the explosion.

But it was not dead.

Such was the vitality of a Tailed Beast.

Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Genkawa Uchiha still perched atop the Nine-Tails' head.

Compared to before, he did look a bit more disheveled now.

His clothes were torn, his hair was disheveled, and there were traces of smoke and scorch marks on his body, but he did not appear to be suffering from any injuries.

This was the formidable nature of an SS-rank Sage Body.

The natural energy within him had erupted like ignited hot oil; the explosion caused in that instant was directed from the inside out.

And Genkawa Uchiha was that "inside."

Because the natural energy only ignited after leaving his body, the impact was directed outward.

This resulted in an explosion that looked terrifying, but the very center actually suffered little damage, at most enduring a significant shock—which, for a Sage Body of Genkawa Uchiha's caliber, was not a problem at all.

Seeing Genkawa Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi visibly exhaled in relief and, without a moment's hesitation, charged toward the Nine-Tails.

"Enma!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi threw the Adamantine Staff in his hand while simultaneously performing rapid hand seals.

"Hmph!"

A response came from the Adamantine Staff, which then rapidly expanded.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Simultaneously, a series of explosions rang out as the Adamantine Staff split from one into two, two into four... until it multiplied into a vast array, descending toward the Nine-Tails.

Each Adamantine Staff, transformed from Enma, was like a giant pillar, rapidly dispersing and seemingly guided by eyes, with each one landing precisely upon the four claws of the Nine-Tails.

"Ninja Art: Adamantine Prison Wall!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi landed and completed the hand seals.

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

Amidst a series of crisp sounds, the Adamantine Staffs interlocked and stacked upon one another, firmly sealing the Nine-Tails' four claws like a set of shackles.

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!"

The Nine-Tails struggled violently, throwing its head back and roaring.

"Quiet down."

Genkawa Uchiha, still atop its head, showed no mercy and delivered another heavy punch, resulting in a loud thud that left the Nine-Tails' head momentarily rigid.

"Five Styles: Great Barrage Jutsu!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

With another series of explosions, four shadow clones appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, all completing the hand seals in unison.

The next moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his shadow clones unleashed ninjutsu of five different natures: fire, lightning, water, earth, and wind.

Tongues of flame surged forth.

Gale winds howled.

Giant boulders erupted.

Lightning bolts crackled.

A water dragon swept across the field.

These represented the pinnacle of chakra nature transformation, just one step away from Kekkei Genkai. As they took shape, their target was the Nine-Tails.

The sheer magnitude of these five combined ninjutsu meant the resulting impact was self-evident.

Bathed in multicolored light, the five-element ninjutsu struck the Nine-Tails on its flank, all landing at the exact same point.

The five distinct chakra natures mingled; beyond the destruction caused by the techniques themselves, their fusion triggered a chain reaction.

It was like ignited gasoline, burning instantly and concentrated in a tiny area, the result of which was naturally... an explosion!

BOOM!

The firelight was blinding, and smoke billowed into the sky.

The massive blast detonated against the side of the Nine-Tails, instantly forcing its body to tilt to the side, though its claws remained restrained, leaving it in a state of teetering without fully collapsing.

This explosion was naturally inferior to the self-detonation Genkawa Uchiha had just performed, but it had to be said that the title of "Professor of Ninjutsu" was well-earned; this single move was enough to demonstrate the strength of Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Hokage.

However, it was clearly not enough to deal with the Nine-Tails.

As Genkawa Uchiha steadied himself and prepared to act, he caught a glimpse of the Nine-Tails' eyes out of the corner of his eye.

The eyes that had been overlaid with the three-tomoe pattern had reverted, returning to the original eyes of the Nine-Tails.

Genkawa Uchiha understood the reason; it was clearly not caused by the Five-Element Great Barrage.

Has Namikaze Minato already dealt with Obito Uchiha?

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he heard the sound of something cutting through the air.

The next moment, a figure wearing the Hokage haori appeared atop the Nine-Tails.

The newcomer had yellow hair and a refined face, though his expression was grave—it was Namikaze Minato.

"Genkawa-kun?"

As soon as Namikaze Minato appeared, he spotted Genkawa Uchiha standing on the head of the Nine-Tails.

"Why are you here?"

Perhaps because he had just emerged from his battle with Obito Uchiha, his first instinct upon seeing Genkawa Uchiha—who also possessed the Sharingan—was suspicion.

It was simply too much of a coincidence.

"Alright, I've had my fun."

Seeing that the newcomer was Namikaze Minato and noticing the suspicion in his eyes, Genkawa Uchiha lost the desire to continue.

It was a pity, though; he hadn't gotten to see the iconic scene of the Flying Thunder God Level 2 beating the hell out of Obito Uchiha.

Since the main character had arrived, he had no desire to stay any longer.

For no other reason than that he couldn't be bothered to explain.

"Handle the rest yourself."

With that, Genkawa Uchiha prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

Namikaze Minato tried to call out to Genkawa Uchiha, but the latter spoke first.

"Don't look at me, this has nothing to do with me. If you want to ask questions, ask the Third. I'm off."

Coincidentally, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at that very moment.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi did not move against Genkawa Uchiha, Namikaze Minato realized he had misjudged him and refrained from speaking further.

There was no time for pleasantries; he simply nodded to Hiruzen Sarutobi below before biting his finger and rapidly forming hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A giant toad descended from the sky, slamming down onto the Nine-Tails and pinning it to the earth.

Taking this opportunity, Namikaze Minato formed seals again and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Lord Third, I will find a way to reseal the Nine-Tails. I leave this to you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly asked, "What happened with Kushina?"

Namikaze Minato's expression darkened. "Someone with the Sharingan appeared and attacked Kushina..."

He explained the sequence of events in a few short sentences, then his face changed as he saw the Nine-Tails beginning to struggle.

"No time to talk."

As he spoke, he pressed one hand onto the Nine-Tails.

The next moment.

A massive gust of wind roared as the colossal figure of the Nine-Tails vanished along with Namikaze Minato.

The Great Toad landed with a thunderous boom, then dissipated into a puff of white smoke as the summoning ended.

Genkawa Uchiha alighted upon the outer wall of Konoha, gazing toward the direction where the Nine-Tails had disappeared, the chaos within the village behind him failing to affect him in the slightest.

He shook his head, as if lamenting.

"As expected, the good die young."