"Fourth Hokage Minato, step away from the Jinchūriki right now!"
"Otherwise, this child has only one minute left to live!"
Minato's pupils shook as he thought:
What Gentō said had actually come true!
But why hadn't there been any sound from the barrier or the Anbu outside?
How... had he gotten through the barrier?
"Ngh-!"
Behind him, Kushina let out a muffled groan of pain.
Minato looked back, and his heart sank.
The seal on her abdomen was breaking apart before his eyes.
The black markings spread rapidly like living creatures, crawling over her entire body.
The Nine-Tails was about to emerge.
"Kushina!"
Minato gritted his teeth.
"Get away from the Jinchūriki!"
Before he could think through a plan, the masked man pressed him again.
He raised a kunai and aimed it at Naruto's face.
"Don't you care whether this brat lives or dies?"
Before his words had finished ringing out, he hurled Naruto into the air.
"Naruto!"
Kushina cried out with all her strength, tears spilling from her eyes.
The masked man leaped up, thrusting his kunai straight at Naruto.
At that very instant.
A yellow flash streaked through the air.
Minato had already caught Naruto securely in his arms.
But a moment later, his expression changed sharply.
The hiss of burning explosive tags reached his ears.
Several explosive tags attached to the swaddling cloth were burning rapidly.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Minato vanished with Naruto.
Inside the barrier, only the masked man and Kushina, who lay on the ground, remained.
The masked man glanced down at the weakened Kushina and said flatly:
"Just what I'd expect from the Yellow Flash."
He reached out, grabbed Kushina, and slowly turned intangible.
An instant later, the two appeared atop a dimly lit altar.
The masked man used chakra to suspend Kushina in midair, her arms and legs spread wide.
"Come out, Nine-Tails."
His voice was cold.
A mass of crimson chakra was forcibly torn from the seal on Kushina's abdomen. It landed on the ground, rapidly expanding and taking shape.
In the blink of an eye, a colossal demon fox appeared atop the altar.
"ROOOAR!!!"
The Nine-Tails threw back its head and roared, its violent chakra filling the surroundings.
The Sharingan in the masked man's eye slowly spun.
The Nine-Tails' roar cut off abruptly. Its eyes lost focus as it fell completely under his control.
The masked man turned, preparing to leave with the Nine-Tails.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kushina shakily push herself up from the ground.
He paused briefly, then spoke with a trace of admiration:
"The Uzumaki Clan really is remarkable. Even having a tailed beast torn out of their bodies doesn't kill them immediately."
"In that case..."
A cold gleam flashed in his eye.
"I'll let the Nine-Tails finish you off!"
With that, he commanded the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails raised its massive paw and slammed it down at Kushina.
"BOOM!"
Dust billowed everywhere.
When the dust cleared, Kushina was nowhere to be seen.
The masked man looked up to find Minato standing a short distance away with Kushina in his arms.
A cold smile curled his lips.
"Just what I'd expect from the Yellow Flash!"
"Unfortunately, however tenacious her life force might be, having her tailed beast extracted still means certain death."
"Even with the Flying Thunder God, you're always one step too late."
With those words, he ignored the two of them and vanished with the Nine-Tails.
A moment later, above Konoha.
"Summoning Technique!"
"BOOM!"
The enormous Nine-Tails appeared out of thin air.
Its massive body crashed to the ground, crushing a vast swath of houses.
The villagers looked up in terror. The sight of that colossal figure sent them into a panic.
"What... what the hell is that?!"
"The Nine-Tails! It's the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!"
"The Nine-Tails is back! Help!!!"
"Run! Run for your lives!"
"BOOM!"
Its paw came down.
Rows of houses were pulverized in an instant.
Countless figures were swallowed by the flames.
Sobs, screams, and cries for help mingled into a cacophony.
Some ran desperately toward the outskirts of the village. Others huddled in corners, trembling as they held their children, while still others knelt on the ground and wept in despair.
"Help!"
"Someone, please save us!"
Amid the chaos, someone shouted:
"Lord Danzo! Where is Lord Danzo?"
"Lord Danzo said he would protect us!"
An Anbu member knelt on one knee before Hiruzen Sarutobi, his voice visibly trembling.
"Lord Third! The Nine-Tails... the Nine-Tails has appeared in the village!"
Hiruzen did not turn around.
He had already noticed the tremendous commotion coming from the village.
The deafening crashes, the flames soaring into the sky, and the relentless screams were unmistakable even several streets away.
As he hurriedly put on his protective gear, he gave an order in a grave voice:
"I know. Leave the Nine-Tails to me."
He paused, then added:
"You Anbu are to protect the noncombatants. The elderly, children, the wounded-save as many as you can."
"Understood!"
The Anbu member accepted his orders and vanished into the night.
Standing alone in the room, Hiruzen finally stopped moving.
As he watched the enormous red figure outside the window, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Had Kushina's seal... been undone?
They had set up a barrier. They had stationed so many Anbu guards...
Yet in the end, they had still failed.
He suddenly remembered what Gentō had said in the Hokage's Office a few days earlier.
"Someone will strike when Kushina gives birth."
"Their targets are the Jinchūriki and the Nine-Tails."
At the time, he had dismissed it as Uchiha fearmongering, believing Gentō was looking for an excuse to stir up trouble.
But now...
Hiruzen regretted not listening to Gentō's plan.
He gritted his teeth, pushed open the door, and went out.
The Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
Fugaku stood at the window, staring fixedly at the colossal creature rampaging through the village.
Its nine tails thrashed wildly. Every sweep brought down entire rows of houses.
Flames soared into the sky, screams rang out without end, and all of Konoha trembled.
He spun around and addressed Shisui behind him:
"Go outside the village and notify Clan Head Gentō! Tell him the Nine-Tails has appeared!"
"Yes!"
Without another word, Shisui vanished.
Fugaku turned to the police force members gathered in the room and spoke gravely:
"Everyone, move out! Put everything you have into rescuing the noncombatants!"
But the room fell silent.
No one moved.
Fugaku frowned and swept his gaze over them.
Inabi stood at the front, making no effort to hide his resistance. Through gritted teeth, he said:
"I'm not going!"
His voice grew louder.
"When we tried to evacuate them yesterday, what did they call us? They said we had nothing better to do, that we were just showing off!"
"Now that the Nine-Tails is here, suddenly they remember us?"
Tekka stepped forward too, his face dark with anger.
"I'm not going either!"
He pointed out the window.
"Listen! They're shouting, 'Lord Danzo, save us!' They trust Danzo, not us Uchiha!"
"Now that things have gone wrong, why should we Uchiha throw our lives away for them?"
"Exactly!"
"Let them go find Danzo!"
"Didn't they say they didn't need us? Then let the Nine-Tails kill them!"
The other police force members grew equally incensed at those words.
After all, they knew all too well the position the Uchiha were in.
The Uchiha had done everything they could to maintain order, only to earn the hatred of Konoha's people.
They no longer wanted to step forward to protect such ignorant civilians.
Fugaku looked at them, at the anger and hurt they had bottled up for years written across their faces, and swallowed.
"Enough!"
Fugaku slammed his hand on the desk and shot to his feet.
His piercing gaze swept over them.
"This is no time to act out!"
"The police force's duty is to protect the people. No matter how they insult us or hate us, as long as we wear this uniform, that is our duty!"
"Do as I say. Move out!"
Moments later, one figure after another shot out of the police headquarters and raced toward the village engulfed in flames.
Before you continue