It was still that enormous prison.
But the moment the Nine-Tails saw him enter, it looked at him warily.
Yet when Zhengye saw the Nine-Tails, he did not waste a single word.
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
Dōjutsu: Amenotokotachi!
With a hum, immense gravity crashed down onto the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails' pupils abruptly contracted.
"W-Wait..."
Zhengye said nothing, merely sustaining the technique. As the Dōjutsu continued, the gravity quickly reached five times normal.
"Th-This brat's sealing pathways are too perfect. It took this old man some time to release my Chakra."
The Nine-Tails hurriedly explained, its body already pinned firmly to the ground.
"Heh... is that so?" Zhengye sneered.
He increased the output of his Dōjutsu once more—six times gravity!
Bang!
With a dull explosion, the Nine-Tails' entire body was crushed against the ground.
If I don't make the Nine-Tails hurt, it'll keep obeying on the surface while defying me underneath.
Zhengye's expression was vicious as he increased his Visual Prowess output again.
Seven times gravity!
Splurt!
Blood burst across the Nine-Tails' body, and its bones let out a string of cracking explosions.
"Roar, agh..."
The Nine-Tails let out a miserable howl as it collapsed onto the ground, its limbs gradually flattening.
Zhengye stared coldly at the Nine-Tails. Only when he saw pleading in its eyes—
did he abruptly cancel the Dōjutsu.
"Whew..."
"Whew..."
The Nine-Tails panted heavily. It lay sprawled on the ground, unable even to stand.
Zhengye asked expressionlessly, "So according to you, releasing Chakra takes this long?"
The Nine-Tails swallowed. It had a premonition that if it answered this poorly, it might not make it through today.
It slightly raised its head, its voice weak.
"It's only slower the first time. After that, I can release it instantly."
After staring at the Nine-Tails with a cold expression for several seconds, Zhengye said icily,
"Remember what you said today. When I tell you to withdraw your Chakra later, you will withdraw it."
Then his figure dissipated into the space.
The Nine-Tails let out a long breath. There was not a single part of its body that did not hurt.
Why was I so determined to make trouble for him?
Hokage's Office.
The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, with Kakashi Hatake standing across from him.
"Kakashi, Naruto has grown up a little." The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and slowly said,
"As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he needs to understand what the Will of Fire is."
"You were once Minato's student. No one is more suitable 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, holding softened biscuits and wearing a happy smile.
And that voice still echoed in his ears: "You really are an animal..."
"Yes." Kakashi lowered his head. "I'm 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 into a fight with our people in the residential district. Hattori and the others have already been killed."
"What!? What happened!?" The Third Hokage abruptly stood up, knocking his pipe onto the desk.
Kakashi also raised his head, his eyes full of shock.
The ANBU continued, "They claimed that Hattori and the others were 'spies' intending to trigger another Nine-Tails Attack, so they attacked immediately."
A trace of confusion flashed through the Third Hokage's eyes.
He had only intended to clash with the Uchiha, yet they had turned around and pinned the accusation on them.
But the logic did not add up. The Uchiha'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, summon the Barrier Team, and notify Jiraiya to come at once!"
The Third Hokage grabbed his hat and strode out of the office.
Kakashi followed behind him, but complicated emotions churned within him.
The two had barely reached the hallway when a piercing shriek exploded beside their ears.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Warning flares detonated one after another in the sky.
Those were!
The highest-level warning flares, alerts for a village-destroying crisis!
The Third Hokage and Kakashi's expressions changed drastically. They instantly smashed through the hallway window and leaped outside.
At the same time,
the pillars and elites of Konoha's various clans rushed from their homes toward where the signal flares had risen.
Let us turn back time a little.
Zhengye emerged from Naruto's inner world. Having just expended a great deal of Visual Prowess,
two trails of bloody tears immediately ran down his face, and Shisui and Itachi hurried over in alarm.
"Senior Zhengye!? What happened to you!?"
Zhengye placed one hand on Naruto's head and gave them a reassuring look.
Then he deliberately said loudly,
"I'm using the Mangekyō 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 pulled a red signal flare from his robes and fired it into the sky.
As a Police Force squad captain, he was authorized to carry flares of this level.
By then, more Police Force members had already gathered.
At Shisui's signal, highest-level flares shot into the sky one after another.
All of Konoha's top combat power surged toward Zhengye's location.
Because they were closer, the Ino-Shika-Cho arrived even before the Third Hokage.
"What happened? What's wrong with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
The moment Luhe and the others of the Ino-Shika-Cho arrived, they saw crimson Nine-Tails Chakra continuously spilling from Naruto's body. Everyone's expressions turned extremely grim.
At Shisui's prompting, Itachi also understood. He stretched out an arm to stop Luhe and the others.
Shisui explained, "Don't go over there. Elder Zhengye is using the Mangekyō Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails' rampage!"
"We fired the signal flares so everyone could prepare for battle in case he fails to suppress it."
As he spoke, members of the Hyuga Clan also arrived. Hiashi and Qingyu brought a large number of Branch House elites to the scene.
With their Byakugan activated, they could all see Chakra pouring from Naruto's body like a volcanic eruption.
Everyone held their breath, their hearts heavy.
Zhengye truly had expended a massive amount of Visual Prowess dealing with the Nine-Tails just now. His eyes really did hurt, and his Visual Prowess really had been greatly depleted.
But his Chakra had not diminished.
His Chakra now radiated outward in all directions like a tide.
Other than the Uchiha Clan, outsiders naturally did not understand the principle behind using Visual Prowess to suppress the Nine-Tails.
Seeing how hard Zhengye seemed to be struggling, they all tightened their grips on their weapons as sweat gradually beaded on their foreheads.
Only five years had passed since the Nine-Tails Attack, and Konoha's people still vividly remembered the disaster from five years ago.
Everyone prayed, praying that Zhengye could successfully suppress the Nine-Tails again.
Zhengye was indeed exhausted at this point.
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 shouted, "Seal!"
The crimson Nine-Tails Chakra around Naruto's body slowly receded.
When that sinister crimson Chakra finally vanished, everyone present let out a sigh of relief.
The Third Hokage also relaxed inwardly at the sight.
With a wave of his hand, the Sealing Team hurried forward, preparing to inspect Naruto's condition.
"Stop!"
Zhengye held the unconscious Naruto in one arm while drawing 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 attempted to overthrow Konoha!"
"How exactly have you been watching over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!?"
The entire crowd was stunned by his words!
Before you continue