A terrible explosion tore through the cave behind them.
Captain Yellow Dog was an advanced Fire Release user; for a blast of that magnitude, it was likely his doing.
Yagami didn't know Fire Release well enough to say whether a fire jutsu needed oxygen to burn. If it did, wouldn't everyone inside the cave suffocate? In real fires, over 90% of victims die from smoke inhalation and asphyxiation; death by flame itself is far less common.
Yagami kept well away from the cave mouth.
He had already warned Captain Yellow Dog. He'd done all he could; if the heavens fell next, the big men had to stand and hold them up.
The two Stone shinobi crawling through the earth had been handled by an ANBU squad, but two Stone teams now appeared in the woods opposite.
Yagami made a shadow clone and positioned it in front of Purple Cat.
That clone's sole job was protecting Purple Cat long enough for her to use the Yamanaka mind technique. Purple Cat had to seize the chance to employ the mind-control method.
Every member left in the squad was critical.
Time was short. Yagami no longer cared whether exposing Purple Cat's Yamanaka identity would be risky.
He drew his blade and charged the Stone shinobi.
A dozen kunai whistled in, Yagami raised his sword and knocked several away.
The leader of the Stone squad stared in surprise—this Fox ANBU's basics were rock solid. That reaction speed was not typical ANBU.
Two Stone shinobi attacked directly while their squad leader performed hand signs, preparing a jutsu.
The sword danced through the night.
Using his Cloud-Flow sword style, Yagami decisively struck at the left Stone ninja and cut him down.
The other Stone ninja timed his throw perfectly and thrust a kunai into Yagami's side.
Yagami's blade had not yet been fully withdrawn.
The Hidden Stone Village troops were of very high caliber.
Willing to risk injury, Yagami still managed to kill the flanking Stone shinobi.
At the crucial moment, the Stone ninja's movement froze.
Purple Cat had fallen—she'd taken control of that Stone shinobi's mind.
Yagami seized the opening and cleaved the Stone ninja down.
The Stone squad leader's jutsu followed—hundreds of rocks shot forward like bullets, screaming through the air.
Yagami had already prepared the one-handed sign for his Earth Substitute.
The stones struck what sounded like a mud splatter.
Pfft pfft pfft.
Yagami's body turned into mud, the stones struck and sprayed the mud around.
The Stone squad leader was shocked again.
How could a Hidden Leaf shinobi possess such advanced Earth Release?
Earth Substitute was an A-rank technique—he didn't even know it.
Instinctively the Stone leader jumped.
After an Earth Substitute comes earth-stealth strikes—a Hidden Stone jonin's favorite.
Sure enough, a kunai launched from the ground beneath his feet.
He thought himself lucky to dodge Yagami's sneak attack.
Only when the kunai flew past his face did he see the handle wrapped with an explosive tag.
Boom!
The Stone leader was blown away.
Yagami pulled a kunai from his pouch and lobbed it at the Stone leader from a distance.
It landed in the leader's throat—execution complete.
After cleaning up that squad, Yagami returned to Purple Cat's side.
He worried whether the soul had returned to her body in time and whether his blade might have accidentally struck her.
Seeing Purple Cat was unharmed, he climbed a tree and looked toward the main battlefield.
Enma's iron rod, Dust Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Fire Release—the whole battlefield had become a chaotic mess.
But those things weren't what drew his eye most.
He saw a single person.
Uzumaki Mito slowly walked out of the valley.
No one supported her.
She no longer looked feeble in the slightest.
She reached the mouth of the valley and clasped her hands.
Chakra boiled from her body and quickly condensed into a physical form.
A sinister atmosphere crawled across the foot of Mount Ushigashira.
The air chilled, and within the chest rose a murderous agitation.
This was Nine-Tails chakra.
Uzumaki Mito's external chakra swelled and took the shape of a ferocious fox head.
Chakra surged outward—more Nine-Tails chakra manifested.
A semi-transparent, full-sized Nine-Tails appeared in the valley.
The translucent Nine-Tails was bound in chains, iron shackles pierced important joints at the shoulders, hips, and so on.
This was a special tailed-beast cloak form that hadn't even appeared in the original story—only the top sealing masters of the Uzumaki clan could marshal the Nine-Tails like this with locked chains.
The Nine-Tails lifted its head. Before its blood-dripping maw, a Tailed-Beast Ball coalesced.
Ōnoki's anguished cry cut through the night.
"A trap! Uzumaki Mito is hardly dying at all!"
Seeing Uzumaki Mito's terrifying strength, Yagami finally understood—the day's not the Nine-Tails' transfer night.
Tonight was a feast the Hidden Leaf had prepared for its enemies.
Only a few powers could openly interfere with a Nine-Tails transfer, the Hidden Stone Village was one of the stronger temptations. Spread fake news and the enemy will bite.
Lure the Stone in, then show them the true power of the strongest Tailed Beast.
Han, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki, with three tails out, was no match for the Nine-Tails. Han's Tailed-Beast Ball was fist-sized; the Nine-Tails' orb loomed dozens of meters—a small mountain itself.
The gap was immense.
The Hidden Stone's sealing techniques were trash compared to the Uzumaki's. Uzumaki Mito had spent decades approaching a near-perfect jinchūriki technique and had learned how to use the Nine-Tails.
Leaf forces were few tonight—and that scarcity became an advantage. Leaf shinobi threw themselves into controlled retreats.
The Stone shinobi did not relent, they raised earth-flow bulwarks after bulwark.
Against the Nine-Tails' massive orb, those earthen walls were as flimsy as old playing cards.
Yagami bent his head and shouted at Purple Cat, "Run! Now!"
He dared not look back. He broke into a sprint.
Chakra poured into his legs, Body Flicker pushed to its limit.
Purple Cat knew Body Flicker too—she kept pace.
Only a few dozen seconds later, a deafening explosion thundered behind them.
Yagami dove on top of Purple Cat; the two flattened to the ground.
The shockwave shredded the treetops and tilted a trunk at a forty-five degree angle; the tree nearly fell.
They were a kilometer from the blast but felt its terrifying force.
The Stone shinobi at the blast center had taken a terrible hit.
Ten seconds, maybe fifteen—the shockwave finally subsided.
Yagami scrambled up and grabbed his binoculars, climbing the slanted trunk to peer toward the Stone positions.
Where the Stone had stood was only a huge crater.
Hovering above the pit was a silhouette.
Ōnoki had used his flight ability to avoid the Nine-Tails' Tailed-Beast Ball.
In his hand he carried an unconscious jinchūriki—Han.
On the ground, the land was bare and dead; not a blade of grass remained. No figure stood.
"Danzo Shimura! I will kill you!" Ōnoki roared.
He was convinced the trap had been set by the Leaf ANBU.
Spies and counter-spies, true intelligence and false—this was ANBU work.