Chapter 152: The Night of the Nine-Tails (Part 3)

When the Third Hokage arrived at the battlefield outside the village, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio was nearly exhausted.

With a loud bang, after expending most of their chakra, the three were violently thrown to the ground, blood seeping from the corners of their mouths.

Although the three of them were elite jōnin of Konoha, renowned even in the entire shinobi world, the Nine-Tails was the strongest-tailed beast, often regarded as a natural disaster. The fact they had held out for so long was already their limit.

The surrounding Konoha shinobi were all injured, their eyes filled with despair.

They didn't know how to fight back against a tailed beast of such catastrophic power and could only hope for the arrival of a hero.

At that moment, a few Konoha shinobi noticed the Third Hokage in full battle armor, and hope instantly flickered in their eyes, raising their morale.

The Third Hokage was considered the 'strongest' Hokage.

Though he may not have matched the combat prowess of the First Hokage, who pacified the Warring States Period, he had been Konoha's steadfast protector for decades and was undoubtedly the village's anchor of stability.

Under the watchful eyes of the Konoha shinobi, the Third Hokage did not disappoint.

Leaping onto a high tower, he swung his staff, transformed by the Monkey King Enma. With a powerful sweep, the massive staff struck the Nine-Tails directly in the face.

Boom!

The Nine-Tails staggered back dozens of meters!

Recovering quickly, the Nine-Tails, its beastly eyes filled with bloodlust, glared at the Konoha shinobi before once again lashing out with its nine enormous tails. Chakra from the beast surged like waves, flooding the surrounding area.

The Nine-Tails didn't know why it had been freed from its jinchūriki's seal or who had controlled its body, but at that moment, it only had one desire: revenge against Konoha.

Having been imprisoned by the village for decades, it was finally time to unleash its wrath.

Sensing the overwhelming, violent chakra of the Nine-Tails, the faces of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio turned grim, and the other Konoha Anbu could barely stand under the pressure.

The only one unaffected by the chakra was the Third Hokage, but even his expression was intensely serious.

Given his current strength, if this were a battlefield, he could temporarily contend with the Nine-Tails, even if he couldn't fully defeat it. He could whittle down the beast's chakra and, through the use of sealing jutsu, eventually suppress it.

But this wasn't an open battlefield—behind him lay the village of Konoha.

He couldn't afford to rely on any strategies. The only option left was to fight the Nine-Tails head-on, using his aging body to buy the younger generation of Konoha some time.

Resolving himself to this, the Third Hokage fearlessly charged forward, launching another attack against the Nine-Tails.

---

A few kilometers away from the battlefield, at Konoha's orphanage, the ground shook with the distant tremors, waking the children from their sleep. Under the guidance of the headmistress, Nono Yakushi, the children began heading toward the shelter.

As they moved, many of the orphans couldn't help but glance toward the direction of the village outskirts.

Although they couldn't see what was happening, the flashes of lightning on the horizon made them keenly aware of the intensity of the battle, and they understood the gravity of the situation for Konoha.

Among the children, only Kabuto Yakushi remained calm. His intuition told him that his mentor, Byakuya, must know something about what was happening.

With this thought in mind, Kabuto quietly slipped away from the group and returned to the orphanage.

On the roof of the orphanage stood a familiar figure—the man Kabuto knew well: none other than Byakuya.

What Kabuto didn't know was that the Byakuya standing before him was not a clone but a real body.

After learning the specific details of Kushina's delivery, Byakuya used his mayfly technique to arrive that night. In addition to fulfilling certain objectives, he was also there to witness the iconic events of the Night of the Nine-Tails.

Kabuto climbed onto the roof, where the vantage point allowed him to see the battle raging outside the village.

Sensing Kabuto's presence, Byakuya made space for him, chuckling softly, "Kabuto, are you here to watch the battle as well?"

Kabuto's heart skipped a beat, and with some hesitation, he asked, "Sensei, could this attack on the village have anything to do with you?"

"What do you think?"

Byakuya answered with a question of his own. Seeing Kabuto's shocked expression, he shook his head with a smile and said:

"I don't have the ability to release the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, but the fact that the jinchūriki would be attacked today was something I had anticipated. Since you're here, why not enjoy this rare battle with me?"

Facing Byakuya's words, Kabuto Yakushi harbored doubts. He didn't believe that Byakuya hadn't had any involvement in tonight's attack. However, given Byakuya's power, even if he learned the truth, there would be little he could do about it.

At this moment, there was a new development in the battle.

With the Third Hokage's fierce attacks and a steady stream of support from Konoha shinobi, the Nine-Tails had been pushed out of the village's boundaries.

Seeing this, Kabuto felt a glimmer of relief. His anxiety eased considerably.

Despite his dislike for Konoha due to his hometown's destruction and the threats from Root, Konoha had been his home for two years, and the orphanage was like family to him.

If the orphanage were destroyed by the Nine-Tails, the children there would be left homeless.

Noting Kabuto's evident concern, Byakuya seemed to have an idea and turned to him, saying, "Kabuto, do you think Konoha will make it through this crisis?"

Kabuto was momentarily taken aback by the question, unsure of Byakuya's intent.

After a moment of contemplation, he hesitantly replied, "If you don't intervene, the Nine-Tails shouldn't be able to overcome Konoha. The Hokage and the Three Sannin are very strong."

Byakuya smiled at this response.

"If Konoha could truly unite, the Nine-Tails would be nothing more than a pet but if Konoha could have achieved that level of unity, tonight's attack wouldn't have happened in the first place."

Kabuto couldn't quite understand what Byakuya was getting at. The elder seemed enigmatic and indifferent, almost dismissive of both the Hokage and the Nine-Tails as if neither were particularly formidable.

Feeling puzzled, Kabuto hesitated before asking, "Are you really not planning to get involved in today's events? The orphanage might be in danger, and I don't want to see them harmed."

Byakuya glanced at Kabuto and replied:

"I won't easily intervene. Don't think you can trick me but are you interested in following me around the village to see how the various ninja clans of Konoha are dealing with tonight's attack?"

Kabuto instinctively wanted to refuse but eventually nodded.

Byakuya didn't waste any more time, leading Kabuto back to the second floor of the orphanage. After setting up a sealing barrier to block any sensory perception, he began using one of the Sharingan's abilities to project live feeds from various locations around Konoha.

(AN: Don't know if this is actually a thing in OG series but my boi sure has some lofty ways to enjoy a live event.)