Highest Level Alert

It was still that enormous prison.

But the moment the Nine-Tails saw him enter, it watched him warily.

Zhengye did not waste a single word upon seeing the Nine-Tails.

His Mangekyo Sharingan spun.

Dojutsu: Amenotokotachi!

With a hum, immense gravity slammed down upon the Nine-Tails.

The Nine-Tails' pupils suddenly contracted.

"W-Wait..."

Zhengye said nothing, merely continuing the technique. As the dojutsu persisted, the gravity swiftly rose to five times normal.

"Th-That brat's sealing channels are too perfect. It took this old man some time to release the chakra."

The Nine-Tails hurriedly explained, its body already nailed firmly to the ground.

"Heh... is that so?" Zhengye sneered.

He increased the output of his dojutsu again. Six times gravity!

Bang!

With a dull boom, the Nine-Tails' entire body was crushed to the ground.

[If I don't make the Nine-Tails hurt, it'll keep paying lip service while defying me.]

Zhengye's expression turned vicious as he increased the output of his ocular power once more.

Seven times gravity!

Pfft!

Blood burst across the Nine-Tails' body, while its bones cracked in rapid succession.

"Roar! Aah..."

The Nine-Tails let out a miserable howl and collapsed onto the ground, its limbs gradually flattening beneath the pressure.

Zhengye stared coldly at the Nine-Tails. Only after seeing a pleading look emerge in its eyes—

did he abruptly cancel the dojutsu.

"Huff..."

"Huff..."

The Nine-Tails panted heavily. It lay sprawled on the ground, unable even to stand.

Zhengye asked expressionlessly, "According to you, releasing your chakra takes this long every time?"

The Nine-Tails swallowed. It had a feeling that if it answered poorly, it might not make it through today.

It slightly raised its head, its voice weak.

"Only... the first time is slower. After that, I can release it instantly."

Zhengye stared at the Nine-Tails with a grim expression for several seconds before saying coldly,

"Remember what you said today. When I tell you to take back your chakra later, you will take it back."

Then his figure faded from the space.

The Nine-Tails let out a long breath. There was not a single part of its body that did not hurt.

[Why did I have to pick a fight with him?]

Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, with Kakashi Hatake standing before him.

"Kakashi, Naruto has grown up a little," the Third Hokage said slowly after taking a puff from his pipe.

"As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he needs to understand what the Will of Fire is."

"You were once Minato's student. There is no one more suited than you to guide him."

Kakashi's body stiffened slightly.

Naruto... Minato-sensei's son.

The scene he had seen through the window that day flashed through his mind—Naruto, covered in wounds, clutching a packet of soggy biscuits with a happy smile on his face.

And that voice still echoed in his ears: "You really are an animal..."

"Yes." Kakashi lowered his head. "I am willing."

The Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Starting tomorrow, you will..."

"Lord Hokage!" An ANBU suddenly flashed into the office. It was the ANBU Zhengye had released.

He said urgently,

"This is bad! Uchiha Zhengye led Shisui and Itachi in attacking our men in the residential district. Hattori and the others have already been killed."

"What!? What happened!?" The Third Hokage abruptly stood, even dropping his pipe onto the desk.

Kakashi also looked up, his eyes filled with shock.

The ANBU continued, "They claimed that Hattori and the others were 'spies' who intended to trigger another Nine-Tails disaster, so they attacked them directly."

A trace of confusion flashed through the Third Hokage's eyes.

He had merely wanted to clash with the Uchiha Clan, yet the other side had turned around and pinned the accusation on them instead.

But the logic did not add up. The Uchiha Clan's claim could not stand at all!

At that moment, the ANBU swallowed and added, "The Nine-Tails'... chakra is leaking out!"

The Third Hokage's vision went dark!

It was over!

"Send the order! Gather every available ANBU, assemble the Barrier Team, and notify Jiraiya to come at once!"

The Third Hokage grabbed his hat and hurried out of the office.

Kakashi followed behind him, but complicated emotions churned within his heart.

The two had just reached the corridor when a piercing shriek exploded beside their ears.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Warning flares erupted in the sky one after another.

Those were—

the highest-level warning flares, for a village-destroying threat!

The Third Hokage and Kakashi's expressions changed drastically. They instantly smashed through the corridor windows and leaped out.

At the same time,

the pillars and elites of Konoha's clans rushed out of their residences and headed toward where the flares had risen.

Let us turn the clock back a little.

Zhengye emerged from Naruto's inner world. Having just used a great deal of ocular power,

two streams of bloody tears immediately ran down from his eyes. Shisui and Itachi were both alarmed as they hurried over.

"Senior Zhengye!? What happened to you!?"

Zhengye placed one hand on Naruto's head and gave them a reassuring look.

Then he deliberately shouted,

"I'm using my Mangekyo Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails' rampage, but I don't know whether I can hold it down. Fire the highest-level warning flare immediately!"

Shisui's expression flickered as he understood Zhengye's meaning.

He took out a red signal flare from his clothes and launched it into the sky.

As a Police Force squad captain, he was authorized to carry a flare of that level.

By then, more Police Force members had already gathered.

At Shisui's signal, highest-level warning flares were fired into the sky one after another.

Konoha's entire upper echelon of combat strength swarmed toward Zhengye's location.

Because of their proximity, the Ino-Shika-Cho members arrived even sooner than the Third Hokage.

"What's going on? What happened to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

The moment Luhe and the others of Ino-Shika-Cho arrived, they saw crimson Nine-Tails chakra continuously billowing from Naruto's body. Everyone's expressions turned extremely grim.

At Shisui's signal, Itachi also understood. He raised a hand to stop Luhe and the others.

Shisui explained, "Don't go over there. Elder Zhengye is using his Mangekyo Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails' rampage!"

"We fired the warning flares so everyone could prepare for battle in case he cannot suppress it."

As he spoke, members of the Hyuga Clan also arrived. Hiashi and Qingyu led a large number of elite branch family members to the scene.

All of them had activated their Byakugan, and they could see chakra pouring out of Naruto's body like an erupting volcano.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts heavy.

Zhengye had indeed expended tremendous ocular power dealing with the Nine-Tails just now. His eyes genuinely hurt, and he had genuinely used up a great deal of ocular power.

But his chakra had not decreased.

His chakra now radiated ceaselessly in every direction like the tides.

Naturally, aside from the Uchiha Clan, outsiders did not understand how ocular power suppressed the Nine-Tails.

Seeing Zhengye struggle so hard, they all gripped their weapons tightly, sweat gradually forming on their foreheads.

Only five years had passed since the Nine-Tails disaster, and Konoha's people still vividly remembered that catastrophe.

Everyone prayed, praying that Zhengye would successfully suppress the Nine-Tails again.

Zhengye was indeed exhausted as well.

Seeing that the act had gone on long enough, and catching sight of the Third Hokage arriving with the Sealing Team and a large number of ANBU from the corner of his eye,

he finally roared, "Seal!"

The crimson Nine-Tails chakra on Naruto's body slowly withdrew.

When that sinister crimson chakra finally vanished, everyone present let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, the Third Hokage also relaxed inwardly.

With a wave of his hand, the Sealing Team hurried forward, preparing to examine Naruto's condition.

"Stop!"

Zhengye held the unconscious Naruto in one arm and drew the long sword at his waist with the other!

The Sealing Team froze where they stood.

The Third Hokage walked over and swept his gaze across the more than thirty corpses on the ground.

"Zhengye, what are you trying to do!?"

Zhengye sneered.

"What am I trying to do!? Spies from another village infiltrated your ANBU and tried to subvert Konoha!"

"How exactly have you been guarding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!?"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire crowd was shocked!