The Opportunity He Had Been Waiting For

The corner of the masked man's mouth curled into a cruel smile beneath his mask.

"Just as expected of the Yellow Flash."

"But what does saving her change? Having the Nine-Tails extracted from her means that even a member of the Uzumaki Clan is destined to die."

"And you—even with the Flying Thunder God—will always arrive one step too late. You can only watch your wife die in your arms, unable to do anything."

Minato looked at Kushina's pale face in his arms. His eyes were bloodshot with pain.

"Who exactly are you?!" Minato roared through gritted teeth.

The masked man sneered and did not answer such a foolish question.

The next second, a pitch-black sphere slowly gathered in the Nine-Tails' mouth.

Yin Release and Yang Release merged at a ratio of 2:8—the most destructive technique that only Tailed Beasts and Perfect Jinchuriki could use: the Tailed Beast Bomb!

Its target... Konoha!

"I've changed my mind. Since the plan hasn't begun yet, I'll let you see what kind of terrible hell the Konoha you fought so desperately to protect will become!"

Under Minato's gaze, the masked man's body twisted instantly and vanished without a trace.

Seeing that the Nine-Tails was about to unleash the Tailed Beast Bomb, Minato had no time to remain in grief. He could only grip his specially made kunai and prepare for battle.

"Minato!" Gathering the last of her strength, Kushina unleashed Adamantine Sealing Chains, binding the Nine-Tails' entire body and rendering him completely immobile.

Releasing chakra so recklessly would only hasten Kushina's death.

Minato watched the scene in anguish, but he knew that as the Hokage, this was the moment he had to step forward.

He absolutely could not allow the Nine-Tails to destroy the village!

But at that moment, a dazzling flash of purple lightning suddenly erupted from the direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound!

A few minutes earlier.

An Anbu member knelt on one knee before Sarutobi Hiruzen, his voice trembling noticeably.

"Lord Third Hokage! The Nine-Tails... the Nine-Tails has broken free of the seal!"

Not only that, to prevent the news from leaking, Kushina had been sent to give birth far away from Konoha, so that if things became uncontrollable, the losses could be minimized.

But why had the Nine-Tails suddenly appeared inside the village?

Hiruzen wanted nothing more than to curse that Anbu out.

He was not so old that his eyes had gone dim. How could he possibly fail to see such an enormous fox demon in the village?

The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen sensed that something was wrong, he had rushed into Kushina's delivery room. Yet aside from Biwako's corpse, there was no one inside.

Minato, Kushina, and their unborn child had all vanished.

Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately realized something had happened. With no time to grieve, he directly ordered the Anbu to deploy and search everywhere for possible traces.

But who could have expected that not long afterward, the Nine-Tails would appear in the village?

Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his teeth and issued his orders in an almost roaring voice:

"All Anbu, deploy! Evacuate every villager! Save as many as you can!"

"The Sealing Squad comes with me. Nothing must happen to the Nine-Tails!"

"Yes!"

The Anbu immediately accepted the order, their figures flashing away into the night.

Sarutobi Hiruzen also desperately rushed back toward Konoha, even though he knew that after tonight, many in the Anbu—including himself—might perish.

Cold sweat continuously formed on Sarutobi Hiruzen's forehead as he failed to understand how things had developed to this point.

They had clearly set up barriers in advance and arranged so many Anbu guards.

How had the enemy bypassed the barrier without anyone noticing and launched an attack?

Even Minato's Flying Thunder God required a Flying Thunder God Mark to be placed beforehand!

Uchiha...

Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately drove the thought from his mind. Now was not the time to think about such things. The most important matter was sealing the Nine-Tails as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, inside the Root base.

Danzo had also noticed the Nine-Tails wreaking havoc throughout the village. His face showed fear, shock, and a faint trace of fervor.

"So this is... the Nine-Tails' power?"

Behind him, Aburame Torune knelt on one knee and reported in a deep voice:

"Lord Danzo, the Nine-Tails is rampaging through the village. Should Root deploy?"

Danzo did not answer.

But as he stared at the Nine-Tails, something called ambition appeared in his eyes alongside fear.

"Something like this should become Root's strength."

If I obtain the Nine-Tails' power, Konoha will become unstoppable!

How could Sarutobi Hiruzen, that decaying relic in his grave, understand how deeply I love Konoha?

As if he had not heard those words, Aburame Torune kept his head lowered and remained silent.

Houses, villagers, even ninjas clutching kunai—all were as fragile as insects before the Nine-Tails. With a single swipe, great numbers of them died.

This was a moving natural disaster, something beyond human capability.

After that brief flare of ambition, Danzo's gaze calmed.

"Pass down my order. No Root ninja is to act without my command."

Aburame Torune froze for a moment and raised his head.

"But, Lord Danzo... Konoha is under attack right now."

Danzo suddenly turned around, his exposed eye giving Aburame Torune an icy look.

"Hm?"

That single sound made Aburame Torune immediately lower his head, cold sweat pouring down his body.

"Do you wish to defy my order?"

"This subordinate would never dare!"

What Danzo's Root needed were tools that obeyed orders completely.

Those who disobeyed orders, even if they were Danzo's right-hand men, could face being purged at any time.

Aburame Torune vanished from the spot in a Body Flicker, going to convey Lord Danzo's order.

Watching the Nine-Tails ravage Konoha, Danzo murmured:

"Everything I do is for the village... necessary sacrifices are unavoidable."

At this moment, Xuanye, within the Uchiha Clan Compound, immediately sensed a cold and evil chakra.

He immediately understood that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"Someone!"

A member of the Security Division immediately pushed open the door and entered. Xuanye swiftly gave his orders in a loud voice:

"All members of the Security Division, deploy! Rescue all noncombatants with everything you have!"

"Yes!"

After Xuanye's training, the Security Division's operational efficiency had improved considerably.

Before long, all members of the Security Division had assembled, awaiting Xuanye's command.

Just as Xuanye shouted for them to move out, a voice suddenly stopped him.

"Xuanye! What exactly are you trying to do?"

Fugaku had emerged in the middle of the night with only a robe draped over himself.

Xuanye looked at Fugaku strangely, unable to understand what fit of madness had seized him this time.

Why was he trying to stop him?

"Clan Head, can't you see the Nine-Tails? It's huge."

"The Nine-Tails is destroying the village everywhere. This falls within the Security Division's responsibility."

Fugaku was unusually firm at this moment as he said:

"Without a deployment order from the Hokage, no one is permitted to act."

"Furthermore, Root members are monitoring the area outside the clan compound. Going out means confronting Root head-on. I will never allow that to happen!"