Chapter 186: We can only make Naruto suffer once more

The center of Konoha Village.

A gigantic orange Nine-Tailed Fox roared towards the sky, its nine tails dancing wildly behind it, wreaking havoc.

"Again... It's the Nine-Tails..."

Numerous Konoha ninjas watched this scene unfold, a mix of terror and shock written across their faces.

For Konoha, this was the third Nine-Tails disturbance. The previous two left the village with painful memories that were hard to forget.

Facing the Shinobi Alliance, the Konoha ninjas could still fight to the end, fueled by their belief in protecting their village.

But when facing the Nine-Tails, all they were left with was deep despair, their only thought being to escape.

Fighting it would simply be a suicide mission.

There was no need to guess.

The Nine-Tails had undoubtedly been released by Danzo.

The newly appointed Hokage of Konoha was a man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Just like now, in order to deal with the Shinobi Alliance, Danzo didn't hesitate to release the rampaging Nine-Tails, launching indiscriminate attacks on both enemy and ally.

Yet, there was no sign of Danzo himself, no one knew where he was hiding.

It seemed that even after becoming Hokage, his style of operation was still the same as when he was in the Anbu – operating in the darkness, far from the public eye.

Not only the Konoha ninjas, but even the Nine-Tails itself was very displeased.

As the strongest Tailed Beast in the ninja world, it looked down on humans as if they were ants, yet it was continuously being exploited by them.

Those bastards from Konoha.

Whenever they needed its power, they would release it to kill and destroy. When they no longer needed it, they would seal it up again.

Again and again.

This way of using it as a tool was a huge insult to the Nine-Tails, and it felt extreme anger.

Especially the last time when it was hit hard by a woman whose fist contained a very familiar and powerful energy, it brought back bad memories for the Nine-Tails.

It was the Wood Release chakra of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, a power that it dreaded the most.

Being suppressed by the Wood Release was something the Nine-Tails never wanted to experience again.

At this moment, its hatred for humans had reached its peak, and it swore to take its revenge by destroying everything in sight.

Buzzing.

As the Nine-Tails opened its mouth wide, black Tailed Beast chakra gathered and spun rapidly, forming a sphere of energy.

It emitted energy fluctuations that made people's hearts pound.

Then, these black energy balls flew out of its mouth, whistling as they flew in all directions.

Tailed Beast Bomb barrage.

Boom! Boom!

The terrifying Tailed Beast Bombs fell all over Konoha Village, causing a series of big explosions, reducing a large number of buildings to rubble.

At this moment in Konoha Village, the Konoha ninjas and the Shinobi Alliance were engaged in a fierce battle. With a total of sixty thousand people, you can imagine the density of the population.

Therefore, this round of attacks by the Nine-Tails caused a large number of casualties on both sides, killing thousands of people at once.

This was the power of the Nine-Tails.

It was the strongest creature in the ninja world, a horrifying weapon on the battlefield.

If the Nine-Tails were allowed to continue uncontrolled, firing a few more rounds of Tailed Beast Bombs, everyone in Konoha Village would probably be wiped out soon.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

In an instant, more than a dozen powerful chakras shot up from different directions on the battlefield.

They were the Kage-level powerhouses and Jinchuriki from various villages, all rushing towards the center of Konoha, heading straight for the Nine-Tails.

The Fourth Raikage, Eight-Tails Killer B, Two-Tails Yugito Nii, Tsuchikage Onoki, Five-Tails Han, Fourth Kazekage Rasa, Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Six-Tails Utakata...

Each of these individuals was a notorious figure in the ninja world.

They all rushed forward, using their respective techniques. Various ninjutsu came from all directions, all directed at the Nine-Tails.

Boom, boom.

Under the barrage of attacks from everyone, the Nine-Tails was immediately knocked to the ground, writhing in pain.

Even with its tough skin and thick flesh, if it were any other Tailed Beast, it would probably be unable to get up after this round of attacks.

"Roar."

The enraged Nine-Tails went completely berserk, swinging its claws and tail, rushing towards the crowd.

In its full rampage state, anyone would have to give way to the Nine-Tails.

In the distance.

Jiraiya watched this scene, his face serious.

Although he had been defeated by the Cloud's A and B combination, he still had his trump card, Sage Mode. That was the true power of this lecherous hermit.

However, Jiraiya was confused. Even if he entered Sage Mode now, who... should he help?

Both the rampaging Nine-Tails and the Shinobi Alliance were enemies of Konoha.

For Jiraiya,

it seemed that standing by and watching the two sides fight each other to a standstill, causing mutual damage, was the right choice.

It's just that, Naruto, the poor boy, would have to suffer again.

"Sigh."

Thinking of Naruto, a hint of reluctance flashed in Jiraiya's eyes, and he quickly looked away.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he decided to go somewhere and rescue a very important person.

A few minutes later.

Underground, in the sunless Anbu prison.

Drip, drip, drip.

Jiraiya, with hurried steps, passed through the prison corridor and arrived at the deepest part.

"Jiraiya, why are you here?"

The Third Hokage, from inside the prison cell, was surprised to see his disciple.

"Old man, I'm here to get you out. At a time like this, you can't possibly want to stay here and slack off, can you?"

Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage, asking seriously.

As he opened the cell door, he informed his teacher about what was happening on the surface.

Hearing this, the Third Hokage sighed:

"Danzo has indeed released the Nine-Tails again. As the Hokage, is he trying to protect Konoha or destroy it? Nevermind, this old body of mine will just have to break out of prison one more time and see what I can do for the village."

After saying this, the master and disciple quickly left the Anbu prison.

Just as they returned to the surface, they were stopped by a bald monk.

This person was Chiriku, one of the "Twelve Guardian Ninja" who served the Daimyo of the Fire Country.

"Master Jiraiya, Third Hokage, I've finally found you.

The Daimyo disguised himself as a commoner and hid among the people in the shelter. However, he was discovered and is now under attack by the Shinobi Alliance. The situation is critical.

Please go to his aid immediately and escort the Daimyo out of Konoha. I beg of you!"

Chiriku quickly told the two of them, relaying the Daimyo's request.

"This..."

The Third Hokage glanced at the battlefield in the distance, where the Nine-Tails was fighting fiercely against the strongest of the various ninja villages. The battle was currently at a stalemate.

After quickly weighing the options in his heart, he finally decided – to save the Daimyo.

This was the most urgent matter.

"Let's go!"

At the Third Hokage's command, the three of them rushed towards the shelter as quickly as possible.

During this process, a few roars could be heard from the battlefield behind them.

Huh?

Jiraiya, who was at the back, turned around and saw that the battle had intensified.

In the face of the rampaging Nine-Tails, the Jinchuriki of the various villages had no choice but to go all out, even transforming into their half-Tailed Beast or full Tailed Beast forms.

Two-Tails Matatabi, Three-Tails Isobu, Five-Tails Kokuō, Six-Tails Saiken, Eight-Tails Gyūki.

These five Tailed Beasts surrounded the Nine-Tails, looking ferocious and terrifying.

"Naruto, you must hang in there."

Jiraiya prayed in his heart.

Naruto, that little brat, is Minato's son.

Just like the Fourth Hokage who saved the village, as the son of a hero, Naruto can surely hold on and create miracles.

Believe in Naruto.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya couldn't help but harden his heart and once again looked away.

...

Outside Konoha, on a hillside.

The Six Paths of Pain appeared here, observing the situation in Konoha from a high point.

"Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, Nine-Tails."

Pain counted the Tailed Beasts in the center of the battlefield, speaking calmly, "I didn't expect this Shinobi War to bring together six of the great Tailed Beasts in Konoha. We are only missing three more to gather them all."

Upon hearing this, Konan immediately said: "The information about the other three Tailed Beasts is already in the hands of Akatsuki. We should be able to capture them during this opportunity."

Akatsuki has been collecting information about the Tailed Beasts all these years.

The One-Tail, Shukaku, was sealed into Gaara, the young son of the Kazekage Rasa, after the death of its previous Jinchuriki, the monk Fū.

Gaara was too young to control Shukaku's power, so he didn't participate in this Shinobi War, but stayed in Sunagakure under the protection of the Sand ninja.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when Sunagakure is empty, a thousand-strong elite force from Amegakure has already gone there.

Their mission is to take Gaara away.

Next is the Four-Tails, Son Gokū's Jinchuriki, Rōshi.

As a ninja from Iwagakure, Rōshi should have appeared in this Iwagakure army, but he has always been stubborn and therefore had a fallout with Tsuchikage Ōnoki.

According to Akatsuki's information,

Rōshi left the village a few years ago and became a wandering monk.

After learning of his whereabouts, Akatsuki sent out Jūzō Biwa, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, leading an elite force to go and capture him.

Finally, there's the Seven-Tails, Chōmei.

It is the only Tailed Beast among the Nine Great Tailed Beasts that doesn't belong to the Five Great Ninja Villages, but belongs to Takigakure.

Years ago, Takigakure had a rebellion, and the criminal, Kakuzu, escaped from prison and killed all the high-ranking Takigakure ninja, causing great harm to the village.

Since then, Takigakure has kept a low profile, living in peace with the world, and did not participate in this feast to divide Konoha.

Capturing the Seven-Tails Chōmei is the easiest task, just leave it to Kakuzu.

As the second strongest force in the Akatsuki organization after the leader, Pain, Kakuzu never disappoints and always completes the tasks assigned by the organization successfully.

Moreover, Takigakure is Kakuzu's hometown, so he is familiar with the area.

After listening to Konan's report.

"That means, as long as we can capture these six Tailed Beasts from Konoha, we will be very close to gathering all nine of the great Tailed Beasts. With this, Akatsuki's dream will be realized, and the Shinobi world will truly experience peace."

Pain clenched his fist, showing a rare display of emotion.

Konan nodded, but also reminded Pain:

"However, even for you, dealing with six Tailed Beasts including the Nine-Tails as well as the Kages from each village won't be an easy task."

Pain agreed with Konan's view, so he said coldly:

"If that's the case, let them fight a bit longer and deplete each other's strength."

Now was not the time to make a move.

On the battlefield.

The Nine-Tails was a Tailed Beast favored by the Sage of Six Paths.

Back then, the Sage of Six Paths created the nine Tailed Beasts to split the Ten-Tails, giving them each a part of the Ten-Tails' chakra.

However, it was clearly not an equal distribution.

After the distribution, the Nine-Tails' chakra was even more than the other eight Tailed Beasts combined.

So the Nine-Tails certainly had the capital to be arrogant, and even a siege of several Tailed Beasts could not do anything to it.

However.

The Nine-Tails had been sealed by the Fourth Hokage once before, leaving only half of its chakra.

Furthermore, its host, Uzumaki Naruto, was not even aware that he was a Jinchuriki, let alone a perfect one.

The existence of Naruto was a significant limitation for the Nine-Tails, preventing it from fully utilizing its power.

With the eruption of the other Jinchuriki.

The restrained Nine-Tails was quickly suppressed.

At this moment.

A bovine beast with eight octopus-like tentacles on its back was wrestling with the Nine-Tails.

The Eight-Tails, Gyūki, was the closest in power to the Nine-Tails among all the Tailed Beasts, and its host, Killer Bee, was a perfect Jinchuriki.

With their combined efforts, even a head-on collision with the Nine-Tails did not put them at a disadvantage.

Just as they were in a stalemate.

Whoosh.

The Six-Tails, Saiken, a giant slug, opened its mouth and sprayed a large amount of highly corrosive solution, attacking the Nine-Tails directly.

On the other side.

The Two-Tails, Matatabi, was also not willing to show weakness, and spat out a massive fireball. The high temperature engulfed the Nine-Tails.

The corrosion of the acid and the burning of the fireball made the Nine-Tails feel extremely uncomfortable. The intense pain distorted its facial expression.

But it was not over yet.

Whoosh.

The Eight-Tails Gyūki suddenly retreated, creating a distance between it and the Nine-Tails.

Then, the Three-Tails, Isobu, and the Five-Tails, Kokuō, each used their ultimate techniques, attacking the Nine-Tails from the left and the right.

Isobu, the giant turtle, curled up its body, using its massive and sturdy shell to cover itself. It rolled towards the Nine-Tails like a wheel.

This move, known as "Shadow Isobu," was somewhat similar to the Akimichi clan's Human Bullet Tank.

But it was several dozen times stronger.

Kokuō, a white beast formed by a combination of a dolphin and a horse, had five large horns on its head.

It ran at high speed, lowered its head, and used its horn to hit the Nine-Tails.

This move was called "Horn Break."

Boom!

Hit simultaneously by Isobu and Kokuō, the Nine-Tails was sent flying into the air. It flew backwards for hundreds of meters and finally—

Crashed heavily into the Hokage Monument.

This time, the Hokage Monument could not escape. It was crushed on the spot by the massive body of the Nine-Tails flying at high speed.

This landmark building of Konoha, which had endured more than fifty years of wind and rain, stood tall.

Until today, when it became a ruin.

But at this time, who had the mind to care about the Hokage Monument? Let it collapse.

The Nine-Tails shook its head vigorously, struggling to climb out of the rubble.

Its vertical pupils were filled with endless rage and hatred. It opened its mouth again, trying to condense a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Hum, hum.

This Tailed Beast Bomb was almost as big as the Nine-Tails' head. The massive energy it contained made the surrounding space fluctuate.

This was the Nine-Tails' all-out attack.

If it could finish brewing, the entire Konoha would be completely destroyed by this Tailed Beast Bomb.