The moment the words "As you wish" left his mouth, Senju Hikaru had already finished preparing everything.
His figure vanished like a ghost.
And then—
He reappeared directly behind Murashima Takumi.
At some point, Hikaru's ninjatō had already been coated in a dazzling blue chakra, compressed to an extreme—its sharpness almost beyond imagination.
"Water Release: Water Blade Slash!"
The blade cleaved down.
And in that instant, Murashima Takumi displayed a level of mobility that was honestly hard to believe.
As the Head of ANBU, his reaction speed was absurd. Or rather—he trusted no one. He guarded against everyone, all the time.
So the moment Hikaru moved, Murashima's body responded.
In the blink of an eye, he used the Substitution Technique and slipped away.
He didn't even need to look back to know it—his clothes had been torn open, and his back had been cut.
Hikaru's Flying Thunder God ambush really was fast enough to make your scalp go numb.
But Murashima also had a question he couldn't shake:
He hadn't seen Hikaru do anything at all.
So how did Hikaru activate Flying Thunder God?
Unfortunately, this wasn't the time for questions.
Because Murashima could feel it clearly—
"Nightingale" was trying to kill him.
Not just Murashima.
Every ANBU present was stunned.
The target was the ANBU Head.
If Hikaru did this, he would be placing himself in an extremely disadvantageous position.
And yet he hesitated for exactly zero seconds.
Instead of trying to talk Murashima into moving, he simply chose to cut him down.
That alone left everyone shaken.
But at the same time, it felt… strangely satisfying.
The situation outside was beyond urgent.
Konoha was being torn apart by the Nine-Tails, and they were still here waiting for a piece of paper.
How was that acceptable?
Hikaru frowned slightly, but he didn't care that his first strike failed.
Murashima Takumi was dead either way.
That was a decision Hikaru had already made—nothing was going to change it.
His body flickered again.
Almost no time passed at all—he used Flying Thunder God a second time.
To everyone else, it looked like he'd teleported twice without any interval.
Hikaru's Sage Mode was already active, and his sensory field was locked onto Murashima with brutal precision.
Blue chakra surged over the blade again.
This time, he wasn't letting Murashima slip away.
"Now."
Hikaru judged perfectly—
Murashima wasn't forming seals. He wasn't activating a technique.
He had no room.
Hikaru swung.
The blade tore down diagonally.
Murashima's pupils contracted.
Midair, he had nowhere to dodge and no time to respond—
He could only watch as the blade crossed his throat.
Hikaru landed.
He sheathed his sword.
His movements were smooth and merciless, like a single clean flow of water.
Murashima collapsed onto the ground.
Blood spread across the floor.
Silence.
The ANBU headquarters went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
No one dared speak.
Even the other two squad leaders were frozen.
Murashima Takumi—who had sat at the top of ANBU for more than ten years—
was dead.
And more terrifying than that?
He'd been killed by one of their own.
They slowly lifted their heads and stared at Hikaru.
That young man in the mask—
In that moment, he felt colder and more ruthless than anyone had ever realized.
"Everyone," Hikaru said calmly, his voice no longer warm at all. "Everything that happens tonight—I'll take responsibility for it afterward."
"But we don't have time to waste here."
"Outside, the Nine-Tails is rampaging."
"Our home—our villagers—are being destroyed and slaughtered."
"I don't have time to go find the Third Hokage for another written order."
I don't have time to confirm anything with the ANBU Head."
"And I don't have time to wait for him to give permission."
"We can't be disrupted. None of us can be disrupted."
Hikaru's gaze swept across them.
"Now listen to my command. Any objections?"
They still hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
But once their brains caught up, they all understood what mattered most.
Yes—this was insane.
But if they stood here any longer, people would keep dying.
Someone finally stepped forward and shouted:
"Nightingale Squad Leader—give the order!"
And then the dam broke.
"Nightingale Squad Leader—give the order!"
Even the other two squad leaders followed.
They didn't have to obey him. Murashima was dead, and the chains were gone.
But they chose to cooperate anyway.
Because Hikaru had already said it:
He would carry the blame.
And because in a moment like this, leadership mattered.
"Good," Hikaru said.
"All reserve units—your training isn't complete. I can't send you to face the Nine-Tails."
"You will evacuate civilians to shelters, rescue wounded shinobi, and send a team to the prison to prevent riots."
"Your instructors will assign roles."
"You have five minutes."
His voice sharpened.
"As for all combat units…"
"Move out with me!"
Elsewhere, after settling Kushina and confirming that the Third Hokage had brought the baby home, Minato left the room.
Even though he was desperate, he didn't rush straight into the battlefield.
Because the Nine-Tails was too strong.
Even if Minato could fight it, there were things he had to confirm first.
He needed three things:
the scale of destruction,
the identity and location of the controller,
and the best path to sealing the Nine-Tails back—while saving Kushina.
So the best vantage point was obvious—
Hokage Rock.
Especially the top of his own monument.
His Flying Thunder God marker was there.
A white Hokage cloak fluttered.
In an instant, Minato appeared on the hair of his stone face and took in the chaos of Konoha.
His heart clenched.
But he forced himself to stay calm.
Soon the Third Hokage was visible on the battlefield.
Minato felt a small relief—at least the child was safe.
Still, something felt off.
The Police Force, ANBU, and Root were all moving strangely late.
And then—
The Nine-Tails raised its head and began gathering a pitch-black chakra sphere.
A tailed beast bomb.
Its aim—
Hokage Rock.
Minato's eyes sharpened.
He formed seals instantly, raised a special kunai, and summoned a space-time barrier.
The tailed beast bomb vanished into a deep spatial void, completely swallowed.
A moment later, a blinding explosion erupted far away in the forest outside Konoha.
Minato was drenched in cold sweat—
If that bomb had hit Hokage Rock, half the village would have been erased.
But in that same moment, a hand appeared behind him, reaching for his throat.
Minato reacted on instinct and slashed with his kunai—
Only for the blade to pass through the attacker like a phantom.
Space-time ninjutsu…
And then the "phantom" turned solid.
His arm was seized, and a spiraling distortion appeared—trying to drag him into a private dimension.
"Your opponent is me. It's over, Yellow Flash!"
Minato grunted, understanding a little more.
This enemy could phase in and out at will, and strike the moment he became tangible.
Minato couldn't afford to gamble without reading the full nature of the technique.
So he made the only correct choice:
He used Flying Thunder God and vanished.
The masked man frowned.
"Tch… he slipped again."
"Next time, I'll absorb you faster."
He glanced at the battlefield, satisfied that the Nine-Tails was still wreaking havoc, then let space ripple around him—
And disappeared.
Back within the former Uzumaki district in Konoha, space warped.
Hikaru arrived with Tsugaya Hiroshi, tossing him to the ground.
He threw a bundle at Tsugaya's feet.
"Inside: a Konoha pass, clean clothes, disguise tools, soldier pills, and what you'll need for the job."
"Eat the soldier pills, restore your chakra, and stay ready."
Tsugaya laughed—wild, almost feverish.
"The Nine-Tails is loose… and you pick now to have me break a seal?"
"Interesting. Very interesting."
But behind his laughter, fear crept in.
Was Hikaru using the Nine-Tails as cover?
Was this chaos part of Hikaru's plan?
Hikaru's shadow clone looked at him coldly.
"I don't care what you're thinking."
"Do as you're told."
"Or I'll use other methods."
Tsugaya narrowed his eyes.
"Threatening me now isn't smart. I'm not afraid of death—I won't die under the Jashin Lord's protection. And you're only a shadow clone, aren't you?"
Hikaru nodded calmly.
"Yes. I'm a shadow clone."
"But you know I use Flying Thunder God."
He flashed behind Tsugaya. A kunai touched Tsugaya's throat.
"You really think I didn't leave a marker on you?"
"Run anywhere you want. I'll catch you."
"And since you 'can't die,' that actually makes things easier for me."
"Human experiments. Medical trials. Poison trials."
"You'll be my one—and only—test subject."
"For a very, very long time."
His tone was soft.
But every word was a blade.
"Do you understand?"
On the battlefield, the Third Hokage rallied the village, ordering everyone to push the Nine-Tails out of Konoha.
But even as the shinobi surged forward, he noticed something strange.
He hadn't seen Owl, and he hadn't seen Murashima Takumi.
Root still hadn't moved.
But he didn't have time to dig into it—
Because the situation changed again.
Smoke exploded near the Nine-Tails.
A massive silhouette emerged.
A giant lizard.
And on its head—
stood Hikaru.
The Third Hokage's eyes narrowed.
"…Hikaru."
He didn't move.
He understood immediately:
If he rushed in now, he'd only get in the way.
Hikaru stood calmly atop Lizardmaru, staring at the Nine-Tails with a faint smile.
He'd endured for years.
Waited for years.
And now the moment had finally arrived.
"Lizardmaru," Hikaru said quietly, "this time, we fight for real."
"Are you ready?"
The lizard's voice rumbled low.
"Nine-Tails… that's a terrifying enemy."
"Can we beat it?"
Hikaru shook his head.
"I don't know."
"But we can try to drive it out of Konoha."
The Nine-Tails roared and charged straight at them, as if it had found a rival of similar size.
Hikaru blinked—then smiled a little wider.
"So it's going to be easier than I thought."
"Lizardmaru—go!"
Lizardmaru crouched, then launched himself forward.
Wind howled.
Hikaru entered Sage Mode in midair. His aura climbed sharply.
His hands formed seals in a blur.
"Sage Art: Water Release — Water Dragon Bullet!"
The water dragon, infused with senjutsu chakra, slammed into the Nine-Tails.
The beast howled in pain—
And in the next instant, Lizardmaru crashed into it like a mountain and whipped his tail down in a brutal strike.
The real battle had begun.
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