At the heart of Konoha, villagers and shinobi were winding down for the night after a day's work. The peace following the end of the Third Great War had lulled everyone into a sense of complacency. No one noticed the crisis that was about to erupt.
Obito appeared on the street and without hesitation performed a summoning technique—Kurama appeared out of thin air, his terrifying chakra sweeping across the entire village!
Obito's Sharingan flickered as he muttered, "Go, Kurama! Destroy everything to your heart's content!"
Receiving the command, Kurama became even more ferocious and began destroying Konoha's buildings on a massive scale.
The once-peaceful crowds now screamed in terror and despair.
With just a casual sweep of his tail, Kurama could shatter everything in his path. A Konoha shinobi attempted an Earth Release technique to stop him, but the next second his ninjutsu was ruthlessly torn apart like paper, and he was instantly crushed into pulp by Kurama.
Back at the Konoha Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Yuan wore a grave expression. He had sensed Kurama's chakra instantly.
To be honest, Yuan always knew Kurama was powerful—but not this powerful.
He had previously faced and defeated the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Four-Tails, and Seven-Tails, but Kurama was clearly in a league of his own.
Whether it was chakra volume or destructive power, the gap between Kurama and the other tailed beasts was staggering.
"Yuan-senpai, is this chakra from the Nine-Tails?" Shisui rushed in anxiously.
"Yes, it's Kurama. Shisui, inform all Uchiha clan members in the Police Force to join me in the rescue."
"Understood!"
Moments later, Shisui had gathered all the Uchiha shinobi.
Yuan ordered them to begin rescue efforts for injured civilians across the village.
But just as the police force stepped out, they were blocked by Root operatives.
"You cannot—"
Zzt!
A flash of purple lightning surged past. The Root operatives were instantly annihilated.
Yuan glanced coldly at the corpses and said flatly, "Tonight, anyone who obstructs the Uchiha's rescue efforts will be treated as traitors to the village—execution on sight. Understood?"
"Understood!" the Police Force members responded in unison.
"Good. Begin the rescue immediately." With that, Yuan vanished.
Elsewhere, Uchiha Fugaku had also begun to mobilize the clan members left at the compound.
But as he stepped out, he was intercepted by Danzo and his men.
"Stop right there, Uchiha Fugaku. None of your people are leaving tonight," Danzo declared coldly.
"Danzo-dono, what is the meaning of this? The village is under attack by Kurama. As members of Konoha, we should help defend it!"
"Didn't you see the three-tomoe Sharingan in Kurama's eyes?"
"That wasn't us. The Uchiha aren't controlling the Nine-Tails!"
"It's not up to you to say. I'm acting under the orders of the Hokage. If you want to clear your name, turn back."
Fugaku's expression twisted, but in the end, he chose to withdraw.
"That's more like it. If you're innocent, the Hokage will—"
"Danzo, which Hokage are you referring to?" A voice cut in as Uchiha Yuan appeared.
Danzo scowled upon seeing him.
"What? Are you deaf? Didn't you hear my question?"
"Yuan, you—"
"Shut up! Fugaku, are you trying to get the Uchiha clan killed?"
To Yuan, the Night of the Nine-Tails wasn't just about Konoha's political upheaval—it was a turning point for the Uchiha clan's fate.
In the original timeline, Fugaku listened to Danzo and halted all support efforts.
From Fugaku's perspective, it was the Hokage's order and a way to prove the Uchiha were not involved.
"Yuan, this is the Hokage's order. We Uchiha must obey," Fugaku responded calmly.
Yuan sneered. He turned back to Danzo and asked, "Danzo, whose order was this?"
"Of course—Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Heh. Fugaku, do you really think Hiruzen orchestrated this?" Yuan asked.
"Uchiha Yuan, what are you implying? Are you suspecting me?" Danzo challenged.
"Yes. Look at the situation. Would Hiruzen really be prioritizing holding back a whole clan instead of fighting Kurama? Every bit of help increases the odds of defeating it. Hiruzen understands that."
"Hmph! Everyone saw the three-tomoe Sharingan in Kurama's eyes. Hiruzen would never let the Uchiha join the battle. Only by staying out of this can you clear your name."
"Really? But Danzo—don't you think the best way to clear suspicion is to actively confront the Nine-Tails?"
Fugaku was stunned by Yuan's words. The other clan members murmured in agreement.
Yuan pressed further: "Even if Hiruzen gave you this order, answer me this: who is the current Hokage? Hiruzen Sarutobi or Minato Namikaze?"
Danzo's face turned dark. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying, who the hell is Hiruzen Sarutobi to command us? He's not Hokage anymore. He doesn't have that authority. The current Hokage is Minato. And the Uchiha only follow his orders.
Fugaku, if you still see yourself as our clan's leader, then take everyone and assist the village. Otherwise, after tonight, there will be no place for us in Konoha.
You should not be accepting this silently. You should push back. I've paved the way—can't you take the next step on your own?"
Fugaku clenched his teeth and turned to the others. "Uchiha clan—come with me! We're going to help!"
"You will not—"
Squelch!
"Shut up. Who gave you permission to speak?" Danzo's head was sliced clean off by Yuan.
Fugaku flinched in shock.
"Yuan, you—"
"He's not dead yet. Leave him to me. Go do what needs to be done."
As if to prove his words, Danzo reappeared a few meters away, unharmed.
"That's… Izanagi!" gasped Uchiha Yakumi.
Fugaku's expression shifted dramatically. Without another word, he led the clan away.
"Now that's how a clan leader should act." Yuan's figure vanished.
In the next second, Danzo could hear only the sound of blades piercing flesh—his entire entourage had been slaughtered by Yuan.
"Uchiha Yuan, you—"
"Don't rush, you're next. Last time in the Land of Rain, your men fought tooth and nail to save you. This time, I've taken care of them first. I want to see how you plan to escape me again."
As soon as he said this, Yuan vanished once more. Before Danzo could react, he felt a chill on his neck—his head had been severed again.
A few seconds later, Danzo revived once more.
Uchiha Yuan mercilessly continued his assault.
Unlike Sasuke in the original story, Yuan was a speed-type shinobi. When he first obtained teleportation, his physical condition wasn't strong enough, causing some discomfort when breaking through space. Additionally, his attack speed wasn't fast enough, allowing some to react.
But now all those weaknesses were gone. In Yuan's hands, teleportation could be fully unleashed.
Against someone like Danzo, he was just a plaything.
Danzo also realized he stood no chance. In a short time, all the Sharingan implanted on his right arm had closed—only the one in his eye remained.
Danzo didn't want to die—he still dreamed of becoming Hokage.
"Uchiha Yuan, do you really intend to kill me? This is betrayal against the village!"
"Heh! Betray the village? Are you the Hokage? Do you have the right to say that? And ever since you stole my clan's secret technique, your death was already sealed."
With those words, Yuan teleported right in front of Danzo and pierced his heart.
Now Danzo had only one life left.
He quickly formed hand seals, attempting to summon his beast to buy time.
But before he could finish, he suddenly felt that he was flying, but why was his body still in the same place? This was Danzo's last thought before he died.
Yuan searched Danzo's corpse and retrieved his sealing scroll.
After eliminating Danzo and his Root subordinates, Yuan sealed all their corpses into an empty scroll, intending to toss it onto the battlefield with Kurama later.
After checking on the Kurama situation, Yuan teleported rapidly toward the battlefield.
Just as he arrived, he saw Kurama being knocked away from the village center by the Third Hokage's adamantine staff, just like in the original story.
The Konoha shinobi, seeing Kurama thrown back by the Third, erupted in cheers.
"These idiots. Instead of cheering, they should be running." Yuan muttered sarcastically.
And sure enough, Kurama was enraged by the earlier attack. He charged up a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The Third Hokage, to his credit, managed to redirect the attack with ninjutsu, sending the bomb hurtling toward the Forest of Death instead of exploding in the village.
BOOM! The blast lit up the sky and scorched a wide swath of the forest into charred earth.
But Kurama wasn't finished. As soon as he saw the attack miss, he prepared another, even larger Tailed Beast Bomb. This time, the Third Hokage clearly wouldn't be able to block it.
Seeing this, Yuan didn't have time to sit back and watch. He immediately teleported in front of the Third Hokage.
He turned to him and said, "Third, please assist with evacuating the villagers. Leave this to me."
"Yuan, you can't take Kurama on alone, let me—" But before he could finish, a ghostly blue ribcage emerged from Yuan's body.
In an instant, the ribcage grew arms, a torso, and a skull.
With more chakra infused, the ribcage was clad in muscle and flesh.
BOOM! With a loud roar, Susanoo donned the fearsome armor of a Karasu-Tengu, and the massive curved blade it wielded expanded proportionally to match.
"That—that's Susanoo!" the Third Hokage exclaimed in astonishment.
Seeing the armored giant in front of him, the Third sighed in relief and turned to help the evacuation.
Yuan, feeling the overwhelming power of Stage 3 Susanoo, felt his confidence surge. With a single sword swing, he shattered Kurama's Tailed Beast Bomb in mid-air.
Next, Susanoo raised its fist and punched straight at Kurama's head.
Even under Obito's Mangekyō control, Kurama's instincts kicked in. He reflexively dodged the punch rather than take it head-on.
Though the first strike missed, Yuan followed immediately with a second punch—this one landing squarely on Kurama's stomach.
The force of Susanoo's blow sent Kurama flying.
Kurama struggled to stand. The pain in his gut made him even more frenzied. He opened his jaws and began forming a huge Tailed Beast Bomb.
Yuan sensed the immense chakra in it and furrowed his brows—he wasn't sure if his Susanoo could withstand it.
"Looks like I'll have to use the Four-Tails chakra I've been storing," he muttered.
But just then, he sensed something. He dodged slightly to the side, narrowly evading the Tailed Beast Bomb, which shot toward the Hokage Monument.
Just as it was about to strike the mountain, a barrier appeared, absorbing the bomb and redirecting it elsewhere.
"That's a space-time barrier! Could Minato have arrived?" the Third Hokage called from below.
"Too bad it's not just Minato—Obito came with him. But Minato should be able to handle him. Right now, I need to focus on Kurama."
With that thought, Yuan charged forward again in his Susanoo, preparing for the next round of battle.
(To Be Continued...)