One month later, in a cave not too far from Konoha.
"Little Naruto."
Minato and Kushina held hands beside the birthing bed, gazing at the chubby baby in Sarutobi Biwako's arms with happy smiles.
"Yosh!" Biwako carried the child away, and Minato turned around, placing a hand on Kushina's stomach.
"Giving birth was hard on you, but now we need to reinforce the seal!" Minato said with a smile.
"...Ah!"
Just as Minato began applying the seal, a sudden scream came from behind him.
"Granny Biwako!"
Minato hurriedly turned around, only to find Biwako lying on the ground, her life hanging in the balance.
And their child had fallen into the hands of a figure dressed in a black robe and wearing a cloud-patterned mask!
There was no need to ask. The intruder was Uchiha Xia.
"Sorry, Fourth Hokage. Step away from the Jinchūriki at once, or I might kill this child."
Holding Naruto in one arm, Xia rested her other hand on his forehead and spoke in a rough voice.
Damn it!
Minato's expression darkened. "How did this person get through the barrier? Who are they...?!"
Whoosh!
Before Minato could think it through, Xia hurled Naruto out of her arms and toward the cave entrance.
"Naruto!"
Minato was startled. Forgetting everything else, he lunged toward the airborne Naruto.
"Damn it!"
The instant he caught Naruto, Minato's pupils shrank. Explosive Tags covered the baby's swaddling cloth.
Whoosh!
He swiftly tore off the swaddling cloth and flung it away, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Naruto somewhere safe.
Meanwhile, Xia seized Kushina and carried her outside the cave, binding her between several stone pillars.
"What are you trying to do?!" Kushina demanded weakly.
Xia ignored Kushina.
She had gone to great lengths to draw Minato away. She had neither the time nor any reason to explain herself to Kushina.
"Release the Tailed Beast Seal... come forth, Nine-Tails!"
Uchiha Xia formed Hand Seals, her Sharingan spinning wildly as she forcibly pried open the seal on Kushina.
"Gyaaaaaah!"
As Kushina screamed, a ball of orange light burst from her abdomen and shot toward a barren field nearby.
"Roar!"
Beneath the bright moonlight, the orange mass swelled as if inflated, transforming in an instant into a colossal demon fox. It bared its teeth and roared at the moon, drool dripping everywhere.
Gazing at the gigantic beast before her, Uchiha Xia ordered, "Nine-Tails, cut off one of your own tails!"
Squelch!
The three Tomoe reflected in the Nine-Tails' eyes spun. Without hesitation, it turned and slashed off one of its tails with a claw.
The moment it fell, the tail lost its shape and became a mass of pure, reddish-orange chakra.
"Seal!"
At the sight of it, Uchiha Xia took out a scroll she had prepared in advance, formed Hand Seals, and sealed the Nine-Tails' chakra inside.
"Heh heh. I'll take some of the Nine-Tails' chakra first, just in case."
Whoosh!
The chains restraining Kushina slowly vanished. Just as she collapsed toward the ground, Namikaze Minato appeared in time and caught her in his arms.
"Minato, is Naruto all right?" Kushina asked weakly from his embrace.
"He is. Naruto's safe now," Minato reassured his wife, his heart aching for her.
"Minato, you have to stop that person... and the Nine-Tails..."
"Don't worry. I will!"
Minato turned to look at Xia, his gaze so cold it could freeze the air.
She had hurt his wife and child. He wasn't about to let her get away with it!
Whoosh!
Minato vanished again with Kushina in his arms, apparently to take her somewhere safe.
"The Yellow Flash certainly lives up to his reputation," Xia murmured, watching Minato disappear.
"Tonight's a rare opportunity. I might as well see how strong Konoha is."
Xia looked at the Nine-Tails and gave it a new order. "Nine-Tails, try flattening Konoha for me!"
"Roar!"
The Nine-Tails roared and pushed off with all four paws. Dragging its massive body along, it crashed through countless trees as it charged toward Konoha.
It was another peaceful, quiet night in Konoha. No one realized that danger was on its way.
Kakashi walked down the street, glanced at the enthusiastic Guy beside him, and gave him a dead-eyed look.
"Guy, I'm really out of energy. How about we settle things with rock-paper-scissors again today? I just want to go home and sleep."
"Not again! Can't we have a more passionate contest?" Guy stomped his foot in frustration. "Genye's like this, and now you too! How am I supposed to treat you as my rivals?"
"You're at the age when your hearts are overflowing with passion and you have to let it out! How can you sleep at a time like this?!"
Kakashi: (ーー゛)
Boom!
While the two of them were bickering, an earth-shaking crash rang out nearby.
A giant demon fox roared at the sky. Houses looked like toys beside it, and its monstrous figure appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Ah! The Nine-Tails... that's the Nine-Tails!"
"What the hell? What's going on? Did I get drunk again?!"
"Idiot, don't just stand there! Run!"
After decades, humanity once again remembered the terror of being dominated by Tailed Beasts.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Nine-Tails rampaged through the village, swinging its claws and tails without pause.
Whether it was a sturdy house or a fragile person, nothing could withstand it. Everything was crushed beneath its might.
Hokage's office.
A ninja stumbled inside, panicked. "Lord Third, the Nine-Tails! The Nine-Tails... it's in the village!"
"I know."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had already changed into his battle gear and was tightening the armor on his arm. He said gravely, "I'll hold that thing back. You're responsible for protecting the villagers."
He seemed calm, but his heart sank. Had all those precautions been useless...? Biwako...
On the street.
"Damn it! The Nine-Tails!" Guy cried, pumping his fist and delivering an impassioned speech.
"Now's the time to unleash my blazing energy! Bring it on, Nine-Tails! I'll be your opponent!"
"Guy, don't be reckless!" Kakashi frowned. "The Nine-Tails could kill you with one slap."
At that moment, Yuhi Shinku ran past from a nearby street. Seeing the two of them, he shouted, "Don't just stand around! Get to the assembly hall immediately! That's Lord Third's order!"
"You heard him, Guy. Let's go. We shouldn't stay here and get in the way!" Kakashi said.
On the eaves nearby, ninjas raced along, shouting as they went.
"Do not act on your own! Assemble at Lord Hiruzen's location and wait for Lord Minato to return as reinforcements!"
Boom!
A sound loud enough to split rocks and pierce the clouds rang out, and the Kamisato Ayaka on Genye's body instantly disappeared.
(̿▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿)̄
Genye got up from the bed, his face dark, and looked outside with his eyes' full power unleashed.
"Crap! The Nine-Tails Incident?!"
Once he realized what was happening, Genye sucked in a sharp breath.
This made no damn sense.
He'd nearly turned Obito around already, so who the hell had started the Nine-Tails Incident this time?
Hearing the ninjas outside shouting, Genye decided to head to the assembly hall and take a look before deciding what to do next.
If nothing went wrong, tonight might be a great chance to show off... ahem, to earn some goodwill!
Before you continue