As Fei Shi descended from the sky, he tucked his legs against his chest and spun rapidly. A flash of red light, and the Mangekyō Sharingan activated.
A golden humanoid giant appeared—the third power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Susanoo!
Susanoo tucked its legs against its chest just like Fei Shi and spun rapidly as it fell toward the Nine-Tails. Just before it hit, it suddenly stuck out one foot.
The Nine-Tails, busy wreaking havoc, looked up. A golden heel appeared before its eyes and slammed its head straight into the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent tremors spread across the ground. Many shinobi lost their footing and nearly fell.
Far away, Uchiha Fugaku was coordinating the evacuation of civilians, his face dark. He had received orders from Root: that old bastard Danzo had told the Uchiha Clan to evacuate the civilians. Fugaku knew exactly what Danzo was thinking, and what they were afraid of.
But the higher-ups had made them stand by and watch just because of a mere possibility, letting countless people die to hold the Nine-Tails back. It filled him with fury. After all, he cared about Konoha, too.
If the Uchiha Clan had been deployed, things wouldn't have been this disastrous.
The golden Susanoo that suddenly appeared in the sky startled him.
Wh-who was that?!
Besides himself, who in the Uchiha Clan had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?! And who could wield the terrifying third power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Susanoo?!
But hadn't he already ordered them not to get involved? Which fool had caused trouble for the clan?
Damn it! He ran toward the Nine-Tails, hoping to get a closer look at the person inside the Susanoo.
After slamming the Nine-Tails' head into the ground, Fei Shi immediately dispelled Susanoo and dropped toward the ground. The instant he landed, he activated Susanoo again and charged at the Nine-Tails.
The heavy blow from Fei Shi had broken the Nine-Tails free of the Sharingan's control, but boundless fury quickly welled up inside it. A human had beaten it into such a sorry state, and that Masked Man had controlled it with a Sharingan!
But the one before it had dealt it a heavy blow and stopped it from wreaking havoc. It decided to deal with him first.
Chakra surged throughout the Nine-Tails' body. At this point, controlling it with genjutsu would require either overwhelming ocular power or a Mangekyō Sharingan suited to genjutsu.
The Nine-Tails gathered Yin and Yang chakra, combining them in a 2:8 ratio to form a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Heh, a Tailed Beast Bomb? Amaterasu!"
A cluster of black flames appeared directly in front of the Nine-Tails, interrupting the Tailed Beast Bomb it was forming.
The Nine-Tails recoiled in pain, then smacked Fei Shi's fourth-stage Susanoo aside and pinned him beneath it, biting at him over and over. (There are no official figures for the sizes of Tailed Beasts and Susanoo; everything online is fans' own calculations, and some of it doesn't make sense. I saw one explanation that their sizes can change, but doing so takes a huge amount of chakra and has its limits. I'll go with that.)
At over seventy meters tall, the Nine-Tails dwarfed Fei Shi's roughly fifty-meter Susanoo. He could make Susanoo larger, but the chakra cost would rise proportionally. He still couldn't bring out the full power of his Sage Body, so all he could do was wait for the others to arrive.
Whoosh!
A staff whistled through the air, driving the Nine-Tails off Susanoo and out of Konoha. Many shinobi rushed over to keep it from entering the village.
"Fei Shi, are you all right?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked as he landed beside him.
"I'm fine, old man. Let's work together. The others can harass it from the sidelines. If they jump in, they'll only get themselves killed, and we'll take far too many losses. I don't know if the Fourth Hokage can get here in time. A mysterious man abducted Kushina and released the Nine-Tails. The Fourth Hokage is confronting him right now."
"Is that so? Then..."
"Ha ha ha, just trust the Fourth Hokage. I hear 'Yellow Flash of Konoha' all the time. He earned that name fair and square... And you don't need to worry about your wife. I rescued her."
Hiruzen Sarutobi froze, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! That's right, I should trust him. After all, he became Hokage because everyone believed in him."
"Also, thank you for saving my wife. If you ever need help, come to me. As long as it doesn't endanger Konoha, I'll do everything I can for you."
"Oh, then I won't stand on ceremony. Let's go. The others can't hold off the Nine-Tails."
As he spoke, Fei Shi made Susanoo stand and set Hiruzen Sarutobi on its shoulder before charging toward the Nine-Tails.
"You really don't seem like an eleven-year-old kid."
"Experience makes you grow up. Can't be helped."
Shadow Clone Technique!
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fei Shi sent clones circling the Nine-Tails, striking again and again to slow its advance. The other shinobi joined in, coordinating their attacks.
"Good! Keep it pinned down like this! Don't let it enter Konoha again. Our homes are right behind us!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's go!"
Summoning Technique!
A giant toad dropped from the sky and stomped the Nine-Tails back into the ground.
"The Fourth Hokage!"
"Lord Hokage is here!"
Minato had just arrived, his expression grim. Thinking of the mysterious man from earlier, he seemed to make a decision.
"Please hold down the Nine-Tails for a while."
"Even I can't suppress that monster."
The toad replied.
"I'll do it!"
Adamantine Sealing Chains!
Fei Shi had just bound the Nine-Tails when it began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb again. Susanoo raised its right hand to strike, but the Nine-Tails suddenly disappeared.
"Just like in the original story?"
Boom!
At the sound of the explosion in the distance, Fei Shi and the Third Hokage both rushed over. When they arrived, they saw Minato using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. A barrier blocked them from entering.
"Fei Shi, can you open it?"
Fei Shi didn't answer. He immediately set about breaking the barrier.
Just then, the Nine-Tails' claw shot toward Naruto, who was about to have it sealed inside him. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki tried to shield him with their bodies.
Even though Fei Shi used Susanoo and the Third Hokage used Enma's Adamantine Staff to block the Nine-Tails' claw, it still pierced Minato Namikaze in the chest.
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal... Minato, you... Sigh..." Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know what to say.
"Tell the Third Hokage what happened. I'll help you seal the Nine-Tails. You don't need to worry about your wife. I have something that can seal her and preserve the life force she's losing. When the seal is undone, she'll be in the same condition as she is now. We can seal her away first, then save her once we've found a way to keep her from dying... Besides, the Ninja World is full of wonders. There may even be a way to bring people back to life."
Minato fell silent, unsure what to say.
"...Thank you... I'll never forget what you've done for me."
She then looked at Kushina and said, "I'll seal some of your chakra inside Naruto. Say whatever you want him to hear."
Kushina lay weakly nearby. Slowly, she sat up, and Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi helped her over to Naruto.
With tears streaming down her face, Kushina gave Naruto a long list of instructions. Then Fei Shi placed her in the Ice Coffin he had brought out. Minato was failing fast, too. After telling the Third Hokage what had happened, he asked Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fei Shi to look after Naruto.
"Let me do it. You're about to die, and Konoha has no qualified successor for the Hokage position. The old Third Hokage will have to take up the post again. He probably won't have much time to look after Naruto. I don't have much going on, and I can take care of a kid just fine."
Minato looked relieved.
"Then... I'll have to trouble you. I fear I won't be able to repay you..."
"It's all right, Minato. Rest easy. I'll help Fei Shi hold the others back."
"...Thank you... Thank you..."
Minato fell silent before he could finish speaking.
The Fourth Hokage of Konoha, the Yellow Flash of Konoha, the fastest shinobi in the Ninja World—all gone just like that, cut down in his prime.
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