Behind the Scenes

After the team that had captured the Nine-Tails returned to the village, a fresh wave of excitement swept through it.

According to eyewitness accounts,

the colossal Buddha in blue armor had seized the Nine-Tails in one swift motion. Then the Wood Golem had patted it on the head. Trapped in its grasp, the Nine-Tails had been as helpless as a chick, and meekly allowed itself to be bound by the Uzumaki Clan's Chakra Chains. They had sealed it completely without breaking a sweat.

"So that's how it is?"

A wistful sigh came from the Sarutobi Clan Compound. The current head of the Sarutobi Clan set down his chopsticks, looking somewhat lost.

"Father, are you all right?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting quietly in his chair, looked with concern at his father's downcast expression.

As Sarutobi Sasuke steadied himself, he couldn't help remembering the time he had tried to take a shortcut and wandered into the Nine-Tails' territory. The sinister chakra that had made his heart seize up had left a deep impression on him even now.

The name Sarutobi Sasuke was renowned among the other shinobi clans, but what did the Five Element Jutsu he took pride in amount to before power capable of laying waste to the world?

Facing young Hiruzen's bright, resolute gaze, Sasuke quickly shook off his dejection. Whatever happened, protecting his clan was worth it.

"Eat up. Once you're done, get some rest. You have class tomorrow."

Sasuke picked out the best morsels from the steaming dishes with his wooden chopsticks and placed them in his son's bowl.

He was currently serving as head of Konoha's Police Department. When he heard from the guards changing shifts that the unit that had sealed the Nine-Tails was back, he seized the chance to slip home from work.

He'd come specifically to check on his son. He hadn't wanted anyone to be crushed by such inhuman power. But when he got home and saw that everything was fine, he realized he'd been worrying too much.

Well,

that was the excuse he gave in public. The real reason was that the boy's mother was still working at the Medical Department, and he was worried young Hiruzen might be hungry.

He'd come home to make him a special meal. After all, they'd been eating the same communal fare for days, and he was sick of it.

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his little hand and stood up, bright-eyed, to say goodbye to his father as he left the house and disappeared into the night.

Compared to the warm atmosphere in the Sarutobi home, the mood at the Hyuga Clan Compound was far more solemn.

The senior elders of the Hyuga Clan held their breath and strained to listen as the young clan members who had witnessed the Nine-Tails' sealing described what they had seen. They paid close attention, unwilling to miss a single detail.

Hyuga Gencho, stooped with age, nodded in satisfaction. He turned to the boy before him, whose forehead was bare, and said, "Ye, take them down to rest. And everyone else, don't forget you have class tomorrow."

Hyuga Ryudo, seated in the middle, said nothing. He simply watched in silence. Once only a few of them remained in the room, he began to consider the matter and opened the discussion. "Lord Hokage took two days to successfully seal the Nine-Tails."

The people sitting quietly beside him merely nodded in agreement. The plan had already stated that all the Tailed Beasts in the Shinobi World were to be sealed.

"This is the newborn Konoha flexing its strength to intimidate the other Hidden Villages that are gradually taking shape," Ryudo continued calmly. "And judging by Hashirama and Tobirama's temperaments, their goal in gathering all the Tailed Beasts certainly isn't to start a war."

Seeing that everyone was thinking it over, Ryudo paused. He handed the intelligence reports to the elders beside him, then closed his eyes to rest.

Hyuga Qingxuan accepted the reports. His pale eyes narrowed as he studied the writing in surprise. The intelligence had come from friendly clans in other Hidden Villages.

The most detailed report came from the Kaguya Clan. Their newly established Kirigakure had also begun a plan to capture the Three-Tails. Unfortunately, the Three-Tails had escaped into the vast ocean using its own abilities.

Kirigakure had launched its operation ahead of the others, sending out an elite unit assembled from numerous clans with Kekkei Genkai.

The reports also showed that the other Hidden Villages had, to varying degrees, begun their own plans to capture the Tailed Beasts.

Once the reports had made the rounds, Hyuga Ryudo opened his eyes, tucked them into his wide sleeve, and continued, "Tobirama in the Hokage Building must know about the other Hidden Villages' plans by now."

"Then what does the clan head intend to do?" asked an elder seated to one side.

"The Hyuga Clan can't influence Konoha's core decisions right now," Ryudo analyzed coolly. "The other Hidden Villages are already making preparations. Our clan needs to show our strengths and take part in the plan to seal the Tailed Beasts."

Hyuga Qingxuan was an old fox himself. His gaze flickered in the candlelight as he looked at the current Hyuga clan head and said, understanding immediately, "We have as many Branch Family members as we need."

As soon as the topic of the Main and Branch Families came up, the other elders, who had been silent until then, joined in. This was their specialty; they had plenty of experience with it.

Hyuga Ryudo looked with some frustration at the noisy room. He rapped on the wooden floor to quiet everyone and sighed helplessly. "The Main Family will have to shoulder part of the responsibility too."

"How can we allow that? The lives of the Main Family are too precious!" an elder behind Gencho murmured. When he noticed everyone looking at him, he quickly lowered his head. "It's not that I doubt Lord Hokage's strength."

Ryudo waved for him to be quiet. Luckily, he was just a yes-man who helped carry on the family line and had no real say. Ryudo returned to the earlier question. "What exactly is the goal?"

Candlelight fell across the wrinkles on Ryudo's face. His dry lips parted, and his aged murmur lingered in the room.

"Could it be that they're doing this for an ideal?" Qingxuan ventured, straightening up a little as he broke the silence.

Ryudo's eyes widened. An astonishing light shone from his slightly dimmed Byakugan. He rose from his cushion and paced across the wooden floor, speaking excitedly. "Everything Konoha has done points to that being the case."

"But what will they do with the Tailed Beasts?"

Ryudo's bewildered question brought silence back to the room. Only the candlewick's soft crackling remained.

Black Zetsu felt a pang of regret. He was deeply disappointed that he hadn't been able to witness the Nine-Tails' sealing in person. Those jutsu had been among the most spectacular clashes in his long memory.

Judging by the final battle between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, the Ashura and Indra of this generation were terrifyingly powerful. They had nearly reached the strength of the first Ashura and Indra—perhaps they had even surpassed them.

He hadn't dared to watch the battle where Senjutsu clashed with the Eternal Mangekyo in person. If they sensed him, his concealment of nearly a thousand years would be exposed to the light. He couldn't let himself slip up at this crucial moment, just when success was within reach.

This was the generation with the best chance of awakening the Rinnegan. He couldn't afford to be too careful.

Hidden in the night, he flowed through the shadows like a pool of thick ink. He slipped past the guards stationed outside the room, both seen and unseen, and sensed the limits of the sealing barrier inside. Carefully, he poked his head out to gaze at the sealing tool containing the sealed Nine-Tails, now lying silent.

He muttered inwardly, What a brilliant idea, sealing the Tailed Beasts separately. I wonder which genius came up with it. I'll have to find a chance to thank him properly. It's absolutely perfect.

The black pool suddenly rippled. A gray, round eye emerged above his upright body. His sharp, sharklike teeth curled at the corners of his mouth as he laughed soundlessly.