Kazuo Yamamoto stood in the main hall of the Yamamoto Clan's ancestral home, his expression grave. Suddenly, his whole body jolted, and a flicker of alarm crossed his face. He had just received a telepathic message from the Yamanaka Clan: a large force of powerful Senju Clan members was heading toward the Yamamoto Clan. They were to prepare for an attack, while the eighteen clans' experts were gathering.
I have to get the clan's future bloodline out of here! Kazuo Yamamoto thought. Without a moment's hesitation, he immediately summoned three Clan Head Level experts. Each of them was a pillar of the Yamamoto Clan, their strength unfathomable. Ordinarily, a stomp of their feet would have made the entire clan tremble.
"You three, take the clan's geniuses and leave through the secret passage at once. Remember, you must keep them safe!" Kazuo Yamamoto spoke urgently, his expression stern.
The three Clan Head Level experts exchanged glances and nodded without asking any questions. They knew that anything capable of making the clan head this nervous had to be serious. Before long, the clan's geniuses were assembled. Their young faces still showed bewilderment and curiosity, unaware of the turn their fates were about to take. Led by the three clan heads, they hurriedly disappeared into the secret passage.
With everything arranged, Kazuo Yamamoto took a deep breath and began gathering the clan's experts. As one of Konoha's ten strongest clans, the Yamamoto Clan had a terrifyingly deep foundation. It had thirteen Clan Head Level experts alone, every one of them powerful enough to stir up a storm beyond the clan. It also had over a hundred Elite Jonin, more than a thousand Jonin, two thousand Chunin, and four thousand Genin. A force that vast could have made all of Konoha tremble with a stomp of its feet.
Yet Kazuo Yamamoto had long been nursing a grudge. They were all great clans with a thousand years of history, so why should those with Kekkei Genkai be a cut above the rest? In what way was the Yamamoto Clan inferior? In Konoha, their clan's status fell far short of its strength. How could Kazuo Yamamoto tolerate that? He was determined to replace Konoha's three great clans, and he was willing to use any means to strike at them and weaken their strength.
Now, over a hundred Senju Clan experts had aggressively blocked the clan gates. Kazuo Yamamoto stood atop the high clan wall, looking down at the Senju below. His brows furrowed slightly, but there was not a trace of fear in his eyes. Hmph, so what if they're the Senju Clan? He had the 18 Clan Alliance behind him! The eighteen great clans had joined forces, and their experts were several times as numerous as the Senju's. Though the Senju had four top-tier fighters, he firmly believed that even a fierce tiger feared a pack of wolves, and enough ants could bite an elephant to death. All he had to do now was hold the defenses and wait for reinforcements.
Just as Kazuo Yamamoto was making his plans, something unexpected happened. The sounds of fierce fighting came from the Shinozuka Clan's direction. Kazuo Yamamoto's heart tightened, and he hurriedly sent someone to investigate. Before long, word came back that the 18 clans' assembled force of over 200 Clan Head Level experts and more than 2,000 Elite Jonin had been held back by just three wooden Shadow Clones of Hashirama Senju, and quite a few Clan Head Level shinobi had died!
"What? How is that possible? He can't be that strong!" Kazuo Yamamoto's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. He knew how powerful Hashirama was, but for a single Shadow Clone to hold back so many experts was outrageous! A powerful unease welled up inside him, and an unprecedented fear began to spread through his heart.
"We can't just sit here and wait to die!" Kazuo Yamamoto gritted his teeth and shouted an order. "Everyone, attack!" He thought that if they could break out, they might still have a chance of survival.
A group of clansmen poured out of the clan grounds like a tide, but as soon as they reached the gates, everyone stopped short. Their expressions froze, as if they had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.
A beautiful red-haired woman stood there quietly, nine fox tails waving wildly behind her. Every tail radiated a powerful negative pressure and gave off a chilling aura that made their hearts quake. A suit of fox-shaped energy armor covered her body, its eerie light flickering like flames from hell. Countless golden chains surged out of her, lashing wildly across the entire Yamamoto Clan grounds like golden pythons.
"Wh-what kind of monster is that?!" a Yamamoto Clan Genin cried in terror, his voice on the verge of tears. His legs went weak, and he could barely stand.
The clansmen at the front were struck by the chains before they could react. Some were pierced through, blood spraying everywhere; some were whipped away and slammed heavily into the ground, their fates unknown; others were bound so tightly they could not move, able only to scream in despair.
"Use Ninjutsu! Hurry, use Ninjutsu!" Kazuo Yamamoto roared frantically from the rear. The clansmen snapped out of their daze and formed Hand Seals, sending a rain of Ninjutsu crashing toward Mito Uzumaki. Fireball Jutsu, Wind Blade Jutsu, Water Dragon Bullet—their various lights lit up the entire sky.
But to their despair, the golden chains effortlessly caught every Ninjutsu the instant it approached Mito, then devoured it completely, leaving not a trace behind.
The Yamamoto Clan's clansmen panicked completely, their eyes filled with fear and despair. The beautiful red-haired woman before them was no human; she was a god of death from hell! Before her, they were no more than ants, utterly incapable of fighting back.
"Spare us! We surrender! Don't kill us!" At last, some Yamamoto Clan members could no longer bear the overwhelming terror and fell to their knees, begging for their lives. Like dominoes falling, the rest dropped to their knees in an instant, their cries, shouts, and pleas mingling together.
Yet Mito seemed not to hear their pleas at all. Her gaze was icy, without a trace of pity. The golden chains continued to lash without pause, each swing claiming several living lives. She was like a merciless killing machine, leaving corpses strewn everywhere she went. For the first time, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki displayed her terrifying power in the Shinobi World.
The Yamamoto clansmen began fleeing in every direction in despair, but just then, a massive Four Violet Flames Formation sprang up, trapping the entire Yamamoto Clan inside. They were like prey caught in a cage, with nowhere to run. The shinobi attacked the Four Violet Flames Formation frantically, but to no effect.
Mito moved through the Yamamoto Clan grounds, and with every step she took, a swath of clansmen fell. Blood stained the earth red, and the thick smell of blood filled the air, yet not a drop touched her. She remained as beautiful as a fairy descended to earth. Her red hair streamed wildly in the wind, a stark contrast to the bloody scene.
At last, not a single living person remained in the Yamamoto Clan grounds. Mito stood quietly as her nine tails slowly withdrew and the fox-shaped energy armor gradually vanished. She became the beautiful red-haired woman once more, elegant and dignified, as if the bloody slaughter had never happened. She turned gently and walked away with graceful steps, leaving the Yamamoto Clan grounds deathly silent.
The Senju Clan's hundred-strong unit entered the Yamamoto Clan grounds afterward, and everyone drew a sharp breath at the horrific scene before them. They watched Mito's departing figure with awe in their eyes. They had just witnessed the terrifying power of the First Hokage's wife with their own eyes; it was beyond anything human strength could withstand. Before this beautiful yet ruthless woman, all they could feel was awe.