Its fur blazed a brilliant red, and its terrifying eyes burned with boundless rage. It threw back its head and unleashed a savage roar.
"The Nine-Tails!"
The name flashed through almost everyone's mind. Alarm bells screamed within them, sending a chill through their hearts.
"What happened? Where was the Barrier Team's warning?" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared in fury.
The Barrier Team's task was to maintain the warning barrier and restrict the Nine-Tails' movements.
But the Nine-Tails' enormous form broke free almost instantly from the invisible chains of the barrier. Its body was not especially bulky, yet it brimmed with power, and every razor-sharp claw gleamed.
It wrenched itself loose, baring its sleek fur. Fury blazed in its eyes.
A blood-red paw slammed down, sending five blades of force hurtling outward.
Boom!
Ninja were thrown in every direction as the paw struck the earth. The ground shook beneath it.
The Barrier Team was wiped out!
Even without the report an ANBU member had risked his life to deliver, everyone present reached the same conclusion.
And it was not just the Barrier Team. Mito Uzumaki, who had held the Nine-Tails in check through sheer force of will, was probably gone too.
"Grandma Mito!" Rage flashed across Tsunade's and Kushina's faces as they charged toward the Nine-Tails.
They knew Mito Uzumaki was nearing the end of her life. Even if the Nine-Tails had been transferred successfully, she would probably have died. But neither Kushina nor Tsunade could accept the thought of her body being destroyed.
For now, they had to drive the Nine-Tails away, then find Mito's body.
"Damn it! This was the Barrier Team's idea of being ready?"
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, clenched his fists and roared.
Clearly, the Barrier Team's preparations had fallen far short of what its report had led