Chapter 127: The Furious Nine-Tails
The Nine-Tails was fast asleep, a colorful storybook clutched delicately between its massive, clawed paws. Scattered across its rising and falling belly was a miniature library of manga, while half-empty bags of assorted snacks nestled into its thick orange fur. It was entirely lost in dreamland when a sudden, cold droplet splattered directly onto its snout.
The giant fox blinked its heavy eyelids, staring blankly at the gray sky above. 'Oh. It is just raining.'
Wait a minute. That was not right. Didn't it have a house? Where did its massive, custom-built rain cover go?
Before it could process the missing roof, a man's voice, dripping with dark, seductive malice, echoed through the clearing.
"Nine-Tails... I have shattered your cage. I have opened the seal for you. At last, you are free."
The voice paused for dramatic effect. "Do you wish to exact your vengeance upon Konoha? Now, you can do whatever you desire. Destroy them all."
The Nine-Tails lowered its massive head, peering down at the tiny, cloaked figure standing on the forest floor. Sensing the intense, suffocating malice radiating from the man, the great beast opened its cavernous maw and unleashed a deafening roar.
"You are the bastard who smashed my rain cover, aren't you?!" the fox bellowed, spittle flying. "Give me back my roof! This great one's beautiful fur is getting completely soaked!"
'Rain cover? What on earth?'
Takei froze, blinking in sheer bewilderment. He felt like he must have misheard the ancient demon of hatred.
The rain was rapidly intensifying, fat drops pelting the earth in a torrential downpour. The Nine-Tails whipped its head around, its slit pupils shrinking in absolute horror as it realized its favorite limited-edition books and crispy snacks were turning into soggy mush.
And the television! The precious flat-screen sitting on the cabinet beneath the giant tree! Stelle had explicitly warned it that the magic picture box absolutely could not get wet!
The Nine-Tails' nine massive tails began to lash about in a blind panic, churning the muddy ground into a disaster zone.
It desperately tried to scoop up its treasures, attempting to shield them beneath its massive body. But the items were far too small and scattered. It would carefully pinch one manga volume, only to drop a bag of chips. By the time it managed to cover the TV, its luxurious orange fur was already plastered to its skin, dripping wet.
Suddenly remembering a crucial detail, the Nine-Tails hurriedly slammed its giant paw onto a specific patch of dirt near the tree's roots. A circle of golden sealing runes flickered weakly to life, sputtered, and then vanished completely.
"Roar! My books! My snacks! My television!" The Nine-Tails threw its head back, its voice vibrating with apocalyptic rage. "This great one is absolutely furious! You actually destroyed my rain cover completely, and now the manual switch will not even work! Die!"
The colossal beast rose to its full height. Despite its slightly rounded, snack-filled belly, its thick legs and incredibly sturdy tails possessed world-shaking power. With even the slightest shift in its weight, the earth groaned and trembled.
It unleashed a heart-stopping roar that tore through the clouds. Waving its nine tails until they blotted out the sun, the fox brought them crashing down toward Takei with the force of a falling meteor.
That violent, suffocatingly evil chakra instantly flooded the surrounding forest. Even from miles away, the sheer pressure of the beast's fury was enough to make a grown ninja drop to their knees.
"Die, you miserable brat!"
The squad of Uzumaki clansmen, who had rushed toward the back mountain to reinforce the seal, skidded to a halt. They stood frozen in the muddy rain, completely stunned into silence by the giant fox's roaring complaints.
'What?'
The legendary, ultra-complex Sealing Technique used to contain the terrifying Nine-Tails was actually just a glorified rain canopy? And the Fourth Hokage had thoughtfully installed a manual switch so the demon fox could open and close it at will?!
No wonder the sensory division frequently reported the Nine-Tails' chakra signature shifting dramatically. It was not an illusion; the beast was just rearranging its living room!
So, whenever Lord Fourth solemnly excused himself to the back mountain to find the Nine-Tails, he was not going there to suppress its evil will as they had assumed. He was going there to hang out with it?! That was a Tailed Beast!
The entire group of red-haired elites gasped in unison, clutching their chests.
Was the Fourth Hokage perhaps a bit too bold? To make it easier for the Uzumaki to maintain and repair the seal, the Nine-Tails had been relocated right behind their clan compound. If the beast ever went on a rampage, the Uzumaki Clan would be the first to be wiped off the map.
Wait a second. Had they actually been dedicating their lives to repairing a giant umbrella this whole time? What kind of absurdly complex sealing formula was required for a rain cover?!
Back in the heart of the village, the Konoha shinobi actively engaging the invaders suddenly flinched as the massive roar echoed across the skyline. They whipped their heads toward the back mountain, their blood running cold at the sight of the sun-blotting, fiery-red chakra raging on the horizon.
"Oh no, how did the Nine-Tails break free?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, currently locked in combat with a fierce Lightning Release ninja while simultaneously trying to interrogate him for intel, felt his stomach drop. He was in no mood to drag this out any longer.
He slammed his palm onto the earth. A plume of white smoke erupted, summoning his lifelong partner, Enma. Grabbing the transformed adamantine staff from the smoke, Hiruzen pivoted on his heel and swung it in a devastating arc.
The heavy staff slammed into the Lightning Release ninja, instantly snapping his defenses and sending him crashing into a stone wall, out cold.
Hiruzen paused, lowering his adamantine staff as he stared at the unconscious enemy in sheer bewilderment.
Was this the terrifying powerhouse Sakumo had warned them about? The one whose combined strength with three others could supposedly rival Stelle herself? How did the man go down before Hiruzen had even broken a sweat?
He shook his head, pushing the anomaly aside. He could not afford to worry about that now; suppressing the Nine-Tails was the absolute highest priority. He just hoped Stelle had already headed toward the back mountain to handle it.
At the exact moment the Nine-Tails' chakra exploded into the sky, two figures materialized on the rooftop right where Stelle was standing.
One of them immediately stepped forward, blocking Stelle's path. His face was solemn, etched with the calm, unwavering resolve of a man fully prepared to die. He dropped into a flawless offensive stance; the very millisecond Stelle twitched, he would launch a suicidal assault to keep her pinned.
The second figure stood at the very edge of the roof. He slammed his hand hard onto the tiled surface, his fingers blurring as he rapidly wove a series of complex hand seals.
"Barrier Talisman Technique: Four-Corner Seal!"
A massive surge of chakra overflowed from the seals. A pale blue, translucent barrier erupted into the air, instantly forming a perfect cube that completely enveloped Stelle within its confines.
A squad of nearby Anbu operatives noticed the sudden spike in chakra and rushed over to assist their Hokage, but they were a step too late. They slammed into the pale blue walls. A few drew their blades and struck the barrier, but the structure violently rebounded their kinetic energy. The Anbu were thrown backward like ragdolls, coughing up blood as they crashed onto the neighboring rooftops.
"Quick! Find the Barrier Team immediately and have them analyze this barrier's frequency!"
"Where are the Uzumaki Clan Jonin?! Tell them to assemble at the West Plaza, now!"
Inside the cube, Stelle remained perfectly silent, her hands resting casually in her pockets as she watched the chaos unfold outside.
She had originally assumed the invaders would cast a massive barrier over the entirety of Konoha to lure more ninja into a meat grinder. Instead, they had specifically targeted and isolated her.
What a nostalgic scene. This was the exact same VIP treatment Hiruzen had received during the Chunin Exams in the original timeline, and now she was the one locked in the box.
Her golden gaze drifted lazily to the enemy standing in front of her. She scanned him up and down, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. She recognized him. He was one of the wealthy marks she had ruthlessly extorted for registration fees earlier.
"I remember your name was listed as Hōtō on the register," Stelle drawled, her tone dripping with dry amusement. "Given that whole 'I have transcended the mortal world' vibe you are aggressively projecting, let me guess... are you a monk from the Fire Temple?"
Hōtō reached up, grabbed his hair, and pulled. The wig came off, revealing a perfectly shaved scalp. He tossed the fake hair onto the ground and pressed his palms together in a Buddhist prayer gesture. His tone was perfectly flat, neither sad nor happy.
"Hokage-sama truly has a keen eye. I am indeed a monk of the Fire Temple."
Stelle tilted her head, genuinely curious.
"Your Fire Temple boasts a thousand-year heritage and has strictly maintained its political neutrality for generations. What does an external transition of power have to do with your order? As a high monk, why are you out here acting as a thug to help the Daimyo fight for secular power and profit?"
Hōtō lowered his eyes, letting out a long, heavy sigh.
"I have reasons that I must act upon. Please forgive me, Hokage-sama."
'Must act upon.'
Stelle understood immediately.
Life was just that utterly miserable. Whether one was a peerless powerhouse, a weakling, or just an ordinary civilian trying to get by, absolute freedom was a myth. There were always debts to be paid, things that needed to be done, and suffocating responsibilities that had to be borne.
Sometimes, once a burden was placed upon your shoulders, the world simply never allowed you to put it down again. It was as if no one in this universe could ever be truly free.
Even she herself, despite being functionally immortal and possessing world-breaking power, was still just a pathetic, overworked wage slave who had to grind every single day just to farm emotional value and extend her own lifespan.
It was a real tragedy she had not transmigrated into the era of the Crown Prince. Scrimping and saving every little bit of system points in this war-torn era had nearly made her go bald from the sheer stress. Sigh.
"Well then, let us see what you have got," Stelle said, her lazy demeanor vanishing in an instant. "I have always been quite interested in the secret techniques of the Fire Temple."
Searing purple flames abruptly surged to life around her body, the intense heat instantly warping the air inside the barrier. Her hands blurred through a sequence of seals.
"Flame Release: Flame Burst Technique!"
A massive sphere of purple fire materialized, whistling through the air as it rocketed toward the monk. At first glance, it resembled the standard Uchiha Great Fireball Technique, but the sheer kinetic power and the blinding intensity of its heat were on an entirely different level.
More, this specific purple fireball was designed to violently detonate upon impact.
Because of this lethal quirk, most seasoned shinobi would not dare use Water Release to block it head-on, opting instead for evasion or indirect counterattacks. Hōtō, however, did not take a single step back.
He pressed his palms together tighter, his chakra surging like a tidal wave. A massive, ethereal golden statue of a thousand-armed Kannon manifested behind him, completely enveloping his body like a holy, Buddhist variation of the Uchiha's Susanoo.
"Gift of the Hermit Group: Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder!"
Just as the roaring purple flames were about to engulf him, the golden Kannon statue extended its countless arms, rapidly swinging them through the air in a blinding flurry of strikes.
The golden fists formed a dense, impenetrable defensive wall. Using pure, overwhelming physical force, the Kannon actually battered the raging fireball into submission, completely snuffing out the purple flames before they could even trigger their explosive payload.
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