Hikaru flashed to the Hokage Tower with Naruto still wailing in his arms.
He stopped in front of the Hokage's office door for half a beat, staring down at the infant, and a strange daze surfaced in his chest.
This kid… is Asura's reincarnation. The future savior of the shinobi world.
And right now, he was in Hikaru's hands.
Not that Hikaru had ever entertained the thought of harming a newborn. It was simply the absurdity of fate—Naruto should have been delivered by Minato, yet somehow he was the one bringing the child back.
Was that a major deviation from how the Nine-Tails incident "should" unfold?
Hikaru shook the thought away. While sprinting into the building, he extended his sensory field and checked Naruto's condition.
As expected—there was no detectable power within the child yet.
Perhaps Asura's chakra hadn't awakened. In Hikaru's memory, that power truly stirred only after resonating with Indra's counterpart.
Forget it. Don't chase nonsense.
He withdrew his perception and accelerated.
Get Naruto back safely. Then move on to what must be done.
The moment he crossed into the Hokage Tower, smoke puffed—
A shadow clone formed silently.
And in the next instant, the clone used Flying Thunder God and vanished into the night.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage sat in casual clothing, pipe in hand, forcing himself awake with bitter smoke as he handled paperwork.
Minato wasn't here.
So he had to shoulder the village's administration personally.
One day of neglect in a Hokage's work meant a mountain of backlog tomorrow. With Kushina's delivery approaching, Minato had handed everything else to his predecessor—and the Third had kept his word. He shelved controversial proposals and processed only what he could without stirring conflict.
Then—
A chill crawled up his spine.
He lowered the pipe and looked out the window.
The sky was clear: a full moon, few stars.
Konoha looked… normal.
He let out a quiet breath and murmured, "Perhaps I'm overthinking…"
The next moment—
Rapid footsteps shattered the silence.
Hikaru burst through the door with Naruto in his arms.
ANBU hidden in the room materialized instantly, blades drawn, forming a tight ring—
"Stand down," the Third Hokage snapped, recognizing him at once. "Nightingale? Why are you back? Weren't you—"
"Things changed, Lord Hokage." Hikaru spoke fast, steady. "We were attacked. The attacker is an Uchiha—but not one from the village. He uses space-time ninjutsu and has already taken Lady Kushina."
"What?!" The Third Hokage surged to his feet, fury flaring. "Kushina is gone? Where is the Fourth? What was he doing? And what were you doing—"
"He used Naruto," Hikaru cut in, lifting the infant slightly. "He forced Lord Fourth and me to prioritize saving the child, then used that opening to seize Lady Kushina. His objective is the Nine-Tails."
The Third Hokage's face tightened, teeth grinding.
But he didn't explode.
Because he understood immediately.
If your child's life is in danger, you move—no matter who you are. Even he would have done the same.
His rage wasn't for Minato or Hikaru.
It was for the unknown Uchiha who had crawled out of the dark.
He took a breath, forcing calm through sheer will.
"Then what are the Fourth's orders?"
"Deliver Naruto to his home," Hikaru answered. "He's going after Lady Kushina. He said… he trusts your judgment. He said Konoha will need you to decide the next steps."
"I see." The Third Hokage nodded once—hard. "First, get the child home. Then fire signal flares—full mobilization. We retaliate immediately."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Hikaru handed Naruto over.
As he watched the Third cradle the newborn, he sighed inwardly.
The madness—true madness—was about to begin.
"Go," Obito said quietly, staring at the monstrous fox. "Nine-Tails."
He turned away, satisfied.
Behind him, there was movement.
Kushina—barely alive—forced herself upright against a rock.
Her tenacity wasn't normal. Even now, even after extraction, she refused to collapse into death.
Obito didn't turn at first.
"Worthy of the Uzumaki," he said in that low, indifferent voice. "Even without the beast, you don't die immediately."
He paused.
Then he looked back.
The Sharingan in the moonlight was a cold red wound.
"But since you were the Nine-Tails' vessel… dying by the Nine-Tails is fitting."
The tomoe in Obito's eye mirrored in the Nine-Tails' gaze.
The fox lifted a colossal paw and slammed it down—
Stone pillars and earth were pulverized in a thunderous crash.
Obito tilted his head, as if disappointed.
His gaze rose toward a nearby tree.
"So you came." His voice softened into a faint exhale. "As expected of the Yellow Flash."
On the branch, Minato stood with Kushina in his arms.
His face was pale with fury and restraint, eyes fixed on the Nine-Tails—then on the masked man controlling it.
But he didn't allow the storm inside him to break his composure.
"Kushina…" Minato murmured.
Kushina clutched his sleeve like a lifeline.
"Naruto… is Naruto safe?"
For a mother who had just given birth, nothing in the world mattered more.
"He's safe," Minato said gently. "I had Hikaru bring him back."
Relief trembled through her expression.
Then urgency snapped back into her eyes.
"Minato—stop him. Stop the Nine-Tails. He's going to destroy Konoha!"
Minato didn't answer.
He only turned his gaze, etching the Nine-Tails and its controller into his soul.
Flying Thunder God activated—
And Minato vanished with Kushina.
Obito watched, amused.
"Running again." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter anymore. We proceed to Konoha."
The Sharingan spun.
The Nine-Tails began moving.
Minato's home.
A flash of light—
Minato appeared carrying Kushina.
He moved quickly and quietly, laid her down in the bedroom, and adjusted her blankets with hands that refused to shake.
Naruto wasn't here yet.
Hikaru didn't have a marked coordinate inside this house.
Still—Minato trusted him.
Hikaru had ambition. Too much ambition. But after all this time… Minato believed the boy would not betray Konoha at a moment like this.
He straightened and looked down at Kushina.
A bottomless grief tugged at his chest—
But grief would have to wait.
He leaned closer and whispered, "Rest. When you wake up… it'll be alright."
Kushina's eyes shimmered, lips trembling as she forced herself not to cry.
Minato's fists tightened out of sight.
He turned, opened the wardrobe, and pulled out the white cloak.
The words "Fourth Hokage" gleamed under the lamplight.
"Minato…" Kushina's voice was thin. "You're leaving now?"
"Yes." Minato's voice was firm. "Saving you and Naruto is my duty as a husband and father. Now that you're safe… I have to fulfill my duty as Hokage."
He paused at the door.
"Stay here. Naruto will be here soon."
"Be careful," Kushina whispered.
Minato smiled—bright, brave, and heartbreakingly human.
"Don't worry. I'll be right back. I'm the Hokage."
Konoha, under a cold, clean moon.
To most people, it was an ordinary night—lanterns glowing, footsteps passing, laughter spilling from bars, couples bickering behind paper walls.
Noise and warmth blended into something that felt permanent.
But a handful of shinobi—those with sharp instincts—felt the air turning wrong.
On a main street, Kakashi lifted his head, unease tightening his brow.
"Kai… do you feel that? Since a moment ago… it's like the air got colder."
Might Guy, in green spandex, grinned like a storm had finally arrived.
"Cold? Don't be ridiculous! I feel nothing! And don't change the subject—today we settle our rivalry!"
Kakashi didn't answer.
That sense of danger—born from years balanced on the edge of death—was screaming.
Something was coming.
Elsewhere, inside the Uchiha district, the clan compound was eerily quiet.
In the clan head's residence, a five-year-old boy held his infant brother carefully in his arms.
Uchiha Itachi lifted his head, a shadow passing through his eyes.
What is this…? What's about to happen?
The baby began to cry.
Itachi rocked him gently.
"Shh… don't worry. No matter what happens… I'll protect you."
The baby slowly quieted.
But Itachi's heart did not.
Why does it feel like this—right when Father and Mother are both out?
And in a secluded corner of Konoha—
Space rippled.
Obito stepped out of the void.
He glanced around, then formed seals rapidly, chakra surging like a tide.
His palm slammed into the ground.
A summoning formula spread outward.
"Summoning Jutsu—Nine-Tails!"
ROOOAAAR—!
A world-shaking howl erupted from the edge of the village.
A storm of chakra exploded outward, ripping the nearest houses into splinters.
Even in an outlying district, civilians were caught—flung through the air like leaves in a hurricane.
Through dust and debris, a beast as tall as a mountain rose into view.
Nine tails.
Blood-red eyes.
A presence so hateful it made the earth tremble.
"T-That's…"
"No—don't tell me…"
"THE NINE-TAILS!"
Panic spread like fire.
People ran—trampled, screaming—desperate for distance that didn't exist.
On a nearby tower, Obito stood in the moonlight like an omen.
"Nine-Tails," he ordered, calm as death. "Move."
The fox's chakra surged skyward.
Its tails churned the air.
Everything around it—walls, rooftops, streets—was shattered in moments.
Konoha became a battlefield of screams and collapsing stone.
"That… is the Nine-Tails?"
Hikaru, moving with the Third Hokage's group toward Minato's home, stopped mid-run as the massive silhouette appeared in the distance.
The Third Hokage's heart sank.
The Nine-Tails was Konoha's greatest weapon—
And the worst disaster it could suffer.
If it rampaged inside the village…
The damage would be beyond imagination.
"Lord Hokage," Hikaru said rapidly, voice clipped. "We don't know Lord Fourth's status. But Konoha's safety takes priority."
The Third Hokage nodded.
He understood the cruel truth.
If he chased Minato now and the village collapsed behind him, there would be nothing left to save.
He lifted his voice, cutting through chaos.
"All units—listen!"
"Evacuate all non-combatants immediately! Mobilize every available shinobi! Protect the village!"
"Yes!"
He turned sharply.
"Owl—Nightingale. You two go to ANBU."
He shoved a sealed order into Owl's hands.
"Use my authorization. Tell Murashima Takumi—every ANBU unit deploys now."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
"And one more thing." The Third Hokage's eyes hardened. "Evacuate the younger generation. No rookies near the Nine-Tails."
Then his gaze flicked to Hikaru.
"…Nightingale. You should be evacuated too. But you're strong. I can't afford to lose your blade tonight."
Hikaru cut him off cleanly.
"I'm ANBU. This is what I exist for."
No smile.
No warmth.
Only duty.
The Third Hokage exhaled.
"Then go."
"THIS is… the Nine-Tails?!" Guy stared, eyes blazing. "A youthful opponent worthy of my flames! Let me face it!"
"Don't be an idiot!" Kakashi snapped. "This isn't right. I'm going—"
He stopped.
An ANBU appeared beside them with brutal speed.
"Might Guy. Captain Kakashi—both of you, report to the designated assembly point immediately."
"Captain… White Fang?" Guy blinked, then looked at Kakashi, confused.
Kakashi's eye narrowed.
"What's happening? Why is the Nine-Tails—"
"Situation is critical." The ANBU refused to explain. "You'll understand later. Move now."
"I can't fight?" Kakashi's voice tightened. "Where is Nightingale? Where is the Fourth—"
"The Fourth hasn't appeared. Nightingale has his orders. Don't make this difficult, Captain."
Kakashi clenched his jaw.
He hated it.
But defying the Hokage's order was not an option.
"…Understood."
He turned.
"Guy. We're leaving."
Guy followed, quieter than usual.
Then, near the village boundary, Guy suddenly spoke again.
"You're ANBU… and you called Hikaru 'Captain.' So… Nightingale is Hikaru, isn't he?"
Kakashi froze.
"…."
Since when did you get sharp?
Hikaru and Owl sprinted toward ANBU headquarters.
He was almost grateful Minato's home was far from the Hokage Tower.
ANBU HQ sat only two streets behind the Hokage building—close enough that even a minute mattered.
And a minute… was all Hikaru needed.
Because he had been waiting for an opening like this.
Murashima Takumi.
That rigid, obedient ANBU Director.
Hikaru had never found a clean way to eliminate him.
He had even considered faking a "Nine-Tails casualty."
But now…
The Third Hokage needed a special written order just to mobilize ANBU.
That alone said everything about Murashima Takumi's sickness.
So if the order disappears… he won't act.
And if he won't act—
ANBU slows.
Responses fracture.
Confusion spreads.
And in confusion…
people die.
Hikaru's eyes turned cold.
Then he glanced sideways at Owl.
But first… you.
Ahead, the Nine-Tails was advancing toward the village center, pushing toward the Hokage Rock.
The Third Hokage had already engaged it.
The entire village's shinobi mobilized—jutsu exploding like fireworks against a mountain.
Beautiful.
Useless.
Water, fire, wind—everything struck the beast like pebbles into a flood.
Some attacks slowed it.
None stopped it.
And every time the Nine-Tails swiped—
a shinobi died.
Only the Third Hokage's techniques could actually interrupt it, even briefly.
But even his damage healed rapidly beneath that endless chakra.
The Nine-Tails was getting closer.
Too close.
Hikaru shifted his tone back to gentle, calm—like putting on a mask.
"Owl, we should speed up," he said. "The Nine-Tails is coming this way. We'll collide with it soon."
"Agreed," Owl said, but his eyes stayed wary. "What's your plan, Nightingale?"
"Flying Thunder God." Hikaru answered simply. "I left a mark at Third Division. We can use it to reposition."
"Flying Thunder God…" Owl hesitated.
He didn't trust Hikaru.
Not even a little.
After being "disciplined" by him once, that instinctive distrust had dug deep.
But he had no choice.
This was the Third Hokage's order.
He nodded stiffly.
"Understood. Do it."
"Then come closer," Hikaru said with a faint smile.
Owl stepped in.
Hikaru's hand reached out—
Slow.
Controlled.
Owl's guard rose.
But it didn't matter.
The moment Hikaru's fingers touched him—
click.
A reverse lock snapped Owl's arm into place.
"What—?!"
Hikaru's fist drove into Owl's stomach.
A brutal, sinking impact.
Owl's body folded like a shrimp, but he couldn't fall—Hikaru held him upright.
Then—
A vast surge of chakra flooded into Owl's body.
His limbs stiffened instantly.
His eyes went wide—
And his whole frame locked in place.
…Like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
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