Impressive.
Tonbo couldn't help but marvel. Anyone who survived the Warring States Period and the First Great Ninja War was built differently.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was a titan, but his peers were monsters in their own right.
BOOM!
Just as the Nine-Tails was being shoved through the breached wall, a massive figure lunged forward.
The shinobi expanded instantly, growing to the size of a small mountain. He grabbed the Fox's tails with colossal hands and slammed the beast into the dirt outside the village perimeter.
Torifu Akimichi.
That has to be him, Tonbo analyzed, sensing the dense, heavy chakra. A member of the Second Hokage's guard unit. I completely forgot about him.
Age had slowed him down, but the raw strength was still terrifying. He pinned the Nine-Tails just long enough for the barrier teams to erect a perimeter.
"Go! Push it back!"
Other ninja swarmed to support the giant.
Tonbo shook his head and turned away. That battlefield wasn't for him. He had thought his new Hiden technique might turn the tide, but seeing these legends fight humbled him. Konoha didn't lack firepower; it lacked safety.
Swish!
He dove into the wreckage beneath the path of the Fox's rampage.
"Help me!"
"My baby! Has anyone seen my baby?!"
The air was thick with dust and screams. Survivors clawed at the rubble of their homes.
Tonbo moved like a ghost. He used his sensory net to locate heartbeats buried under tons of timber and stone.
"Hold on!"
He lifted a collapsed roof beam, dragging a bleeding man to safety.
"Thank you, ninja-san! Thank you!"
Tonbo didn't stop for gratitude. He moved to the next victim.
For those with crushed limbs, he applied tourniquets with practiced speed. For those screaming in agony, he cast Psycho Mind Transmission: Anesthesia, blocking the pain signals to their brain so they wouldn't go into shock.
It was all he could do. He wasn't a medic. He was just a guy trying to keep the death toll down.
Sob—
Wail—
The chorus of grief was unending.
"Mom... Dad..."
Tonbo's heart tightened. If my dad or Ayame died... I would be just like them.
The resolve to get stronger hardened in his chest like steel. He couldn't save the world, but he had to be strong enough to save his world.
The sun began to rise, casting a pale, sickly light over the devastation.
The battle in the distance had gone silent. The terrifying chakra of the Nine-Tails had vanished.
"Minato must have done it," Tonbo murmured, wiping grime from his face.
He knew what that silence meant. The Fourth Hokage and his wife were dead. The Jinchuriki cycle had begun anew.
As he sifted through the debris near the academy, Tonbo found a small boy crying alone in the ruins of a house.
Iruka Umino.
He looked younger than Tonbo by a few years. His face was streaked with tears and soot.
Tonbo paused. He knew Iruka's parents had died fighting the Fox.
He didn't offer empty platitudes. He just placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, pulsed a calming wave of chakra to lower his heart rate, and signaled a medic team to take him.
"Tonbo! Any more survivors?"
Genma, Guy, and Ebisu appeared, covered in dust. They looked exhausted.
"None here," Tonbo shook his head. "Everyone else... is gone."
Dead. So many dead.
"If you hadn't coordinated the sensors, the count would be double," Genma said, clapping Tonbo on the back. "Good work."
"It wasn't just me," Tonbo deflected. "We all did our part."
Ayame's House.
"Tonbo! You're safe!"
Ayame burst out the door the moment she saw him. She didn't care about the dirt or the blood on his vest; she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.
"I'm tough," Tonbo hugged her back tightly, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I'm okay. But the village... it's bad."
"As long as you're safe," Ayame sobbed. "I'm so proud of you."
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Hey, hey. Don't pretend I'm invisible, you brat."
Teuchi glared from the doorway, though his eyes were red-rimmed with relief. "Give an old man some space."
Beside him, Tosei Tobitake smiled, looking at his son with immense pride.
"Good job, son," Tosei said. "You protected what matters."
"I did."
With his family safe, Tonbo felt the adrenaline crash. He was exhausted.
The Next Day.
The atmosphere at the Intel Division was funereal.
Everyone walked with their heads down. The usually bustling corridors were silent.
"Any news?" Seishi asked Tonbo, sliding into the seat next to him. "What actually happened?"
"The Fox is gone," Tonbo said quietly. "The main force succeeded. But the cost..."
He didn't finish.
Soon, Inoichi arrived. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week.
"Listen up," Inoichi's voice was hoarse. "Due to heavy casualties among the standard forces, the Analysis Team is being deployed for street patrols. We need to maintain order and prevent looting."
"Understood."
As Tonbo and Seishi walked their patrol route through the shattered streets, Tonbo noticed something peculiar.
The Uchiha District was pristine.
And there were no Uchiha police on the streets.
"Where are they?" Seishi whispered, noticing the same thing. "The Police Force should be everywhere right now."
"They were held back," Tonbo murmured, his eyes narrowing. "Or ordered to stand down."
The absence of the Uchiha during the Nine-Tails attack was the final nail in their coffin. The village would blame them. The leadership suspected them.
The Sharingan controlled the Fox, Tonbo thought. The Third knows. Danzo knows.
The countdown to the massacre had begun.
Sharingan... what a troublesome bloodline.