Konoha.
The edge of the Forest of Death.
Explosions thundered nonstop.
The battlefield was brutal.
Behind Uchiha Fugaku, nearly a hundred Konoha jōnin stood in tight formation, barely holding the line.
Most of them were already wounded—bloodied, battered, breathing hard.
Fugaku stared at the two figures ahead—one tall, one short—still brimming with momentum, and at the hundred-plus elite shinobi standing behind them.
Shock weighed heavily on his heart.
Who could have imagined that a force close to two hundred strong would punch straight through the front lines and reach this place?
Even more unbelievable—
Two villages that usually fought to the death had actually joined hands.
But what troubled him most…
Were the two children standing between the two enemy factions.
A blond-haired boy.
A dark-haired girl with pale eyes.
Naruto and Hinata.
Yes.
Taking advantage of Konoha's weakened state and the chaos of internal power shifts, Kumogakure and Iwagakure had led forces deep into the village.
Their goal—
To abduct two children.
Stealing Naruto, Fugaku could understand.
But—
Why Hinata?
She was just a child. What was there to steal?
If they hadn't been discovered in time, these two groups would have already escaped.
Of course, the Raikage and the Tsuchikage had no intention of explaining that.
"Ha…"
After taking several deep breaths, Fugaku stepped forward.
"Lord Raikage. Lord Tsuchikage. Our three sides signed a ceasefire agreement, did we not? May I ask what brings you here tonight?"
"A ceasefire agreement?"
The Raikage snorted heavily, as if he'd heard a joke.
"That thing is nothing but a piece of paper."
"And besides—this time, I'm only here for those children."
As he spoke, he pointed directly at Naruto and Hinata.
At his side, Ōnoki spoke calmly, adding,
"That's right. We only want those two. Hand them over, and we'll withdraw. How about it?"
The moment those words fell, Fugaku and the others felt their hearts sink.
One child was the heir of a great clan.
The other was the village's hidden weapon.
Handing over either would forever stain Konoha's name.
Exchanging glances with Nara Shikaku and the others, Fugaku's eyes flickered.
There was no avoiding it.
Battle.
In the next instant, terrifying power erupted from Fugaku's pupils.
The crimson three-tomoe spun wildly—
Fusing into a Mangekyō.
He showed no intention of holding back.
"SUSANOO!"
Crack—crack!
A black skeletal Susanoo nearly ten meters tall manifested in an instant, black flames coiling around its frame.
Naruto and Hinata were completely enclosed within it.
"If that's the case…" Fugaku said coldly,
"Then you'll have to take them by force."
The Raikage, A, showed not the slightest fear.
Wrapped in a chakra cloak, he transformed into a blue thunder god.
Lightning Release: Lariat—Horizontal Thousand Blades Dance!
Every movement tore through the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of ferocious blows smashed into the Susanoo's ribcage.
That single exchange ignited everything.
The battle exploded.
Crack!
At one moment, the black chakra skeleton finally reached its limit.
Under hundreds of heavy strikes—
The bones shattered.
"Pff!"
Fugaku felt as if he'd been struck by a hammer.
He staggered back several steps before barely steadying himself.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Even the Susanoo's bones had been broken—
Revealing Naruto and Hinata inside.
"Father!"
"Na—Naruto!"
Sasuke, who had just arrived from the rear, witnessed the scene and felt his vision split.
Scarlet flooded his eyes.
But before he could rush forward, a Cloud ninja kicked him away.
"Clan Head!"
At the same time, Chōza, Shikaku, and the others charged in.
But in that instant—
A white light descended from above.
Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Technique.
Ōnoki hovered in the air, one hand raised as a deadly white cubic beam swept across the battlefield.
Forced back, Shikaku and the others retreated in disarray.
Crack—
The ground was carved open, leaving behind a massive, bottomless ravine.
In mere moments, Konoha's forces were driven back step by step by invaders led by two Kage-level monsters.
Naruto and Hinata were left completely exposed.
"So you're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki…"
From the Cloud ranks, a woman with light tea-colored hair braided down to her waist lowered her head with a proud smile.
Yugito Nii.
The Two-Tails' jinchūriki.
Blue, feline-patterned chakra bloomed around her body.
Casually tearing through an ANBU's chest, she reached for the terrified blond boy at the ravine's edge.
At the same time, an elite Iwa jōnin rushed forward.
Stone surged and gathered, forming a massive hand that lunged out.
"Byakugan Princess—please come with us."
"No! Don't!"
Hyūga Hiashi roared, releasing Rotation at full power.
Yet he only managed to repel the stone hand for a brief instant.
The enemy's strength far surpassed his.
Despair.
Helplessness.
Konoha's defense line had completely collapsed.
Who could have imagined that on the very night of a power transition, such an overwhelming assault would strike?
The jinchūriki and the Hyūga main family's heir—
Both in danger.
"Damn it! Who gave you permission to bully my classmates?!"
Sasuke charged again.
The result didn't change.
Yugito lifted a massive blue chakra claw—
And slammed it down.
Thud!
Uchiha Sasuke was crushed into the ground.
"Sasuke!"
Seeing this, Naruto snapped.
The Nine-Tails' chakra surged violently inside him.
But—
The Eight Trigrams Seal clamped down like a cage.
And Yugito released even stronger blue chakra.
Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
Relying on chakra alone, she easily suppressed all three—
Even stepping on them for good measure.
"Watch out!"
At that moment, Uchiha Shisui, who had been waiting outside the battlefield, crushed the marked kunai left behind by Uchiha Kai.
At the same time, he charged forward.
Flash—flash—flash!
Twelve afterimages burst forward in an instant.
But—
A massive stone colossus appeared out of thin air.
Earth Release: Rock Golem Technique.
Ōnoki moved his hand slightly.
The stone giant—taller even than Fugaku's Susanoo—swung its arm.
Boom!
Even with Shisui's legendary Body Flicker, he couldn't withstand it.
Forced to blink away to another position.
Yet in that brief delay—
The stone giant reached out again toward Naruto and the others.
At the same time, Yugito unleashed all her chakra.
Both sides lunged.
Whoever grabbed them first won.
And the Konoha shinobi—
Could only watch helplessly from afar.
Frustration.
Rage.
Humiliation.
Emotion after emotion surged like weeds after rain.
In the end—
Only powerlessness remained.
What could they do?
Just as everything was about to be decided—
Crack.
A ripple appeared above the ravine.
An icy, soul-freezing pressure descended upon the battlefield.
Time seemed to freeze.
The Raikage's lightning stalled midair.
Ōnoki's stone hand hovered above Hinata's head.
Yugito's claw stopped a hair's breadth from Naruto's throat.
After the spatial distortion appeared, everyone felt as if they'd been bound by an unseen force.
Unable to move.
Pop.
Space rippled like water.
A slender figure in Uchiha clan robes gradually emerged.
His gaze swept across the battlefield with faint curiosity.
Then he turned toward the Raikage and the Tsuchikage, smiling faintly.
"Stealing people…"
"And you dared to steal them right in front of me?"
"Your courage…"
"…is impressive."
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