Konoha.
An open clearing outside the village.
A smaller version of the Nine-Tails sat in front of a television, clutching a game controller in its claws, eyes fixed on the screen showing a fighting game.
Beside it sat a shinobi, also holding a controller.
"Take this! Take this! Take this! Get wrecked!!"
Kurama's claws clicked furiously over the buttons, all nine tails swaying behind it as it glared intently at the screen. The character it controlled still had full health, while the one controlled by the ninja next to it, Nara Yoshihisa, was down to a sliver of life.
Just as Kurama was about to win, Yoshihisa's eyes flashed. His fingers suddenly moved with lightning speed, clickclickclick!
Crack!
Boom boom!
Rumble!!
Under Kurama's wide, bloodshot eyes, its character's health bar plummeted in an instant.
K.O.!
The announcement rang out from the TV.
Yoshihisa scratched his head and said, "That was a last-second comeback. Was that one a little more exciting, Kurama-sama? Your move set is kinda repetitive. Honestly, I only needed two fingers to, "
CRACK! CRACK!!
His words were cut short.
Kurama now had a vein-popping tic mark on its forehead. Its nine tails bristled with rage, and the fur stood on end. With one squeeze, the controller in its paws shattered into pieces.
Yoshihisa jumped in fright, instinctively leaning away.
"K-Kurama-sama?!"
"Damn it... One more round!!"
Kurama snarled and hurled the broken controller to the ground.
"I-I could maybe go easy on you this time if you want...?" Yoshihisa said, trembling.
"FOOL!!"
Kurama spat a faceful of saliva at him. "Are you saying even at full power I could never beat you?!"
Yoshihisa opened his mouth, he wanted to say yes, but quickly ducked his head instead.
He wasn't particularly talented among the Nara clan. His Shadow Imitation Jutsu was still unrefined, and he was still just a Genin. But he did have one special skill, his gaming talent. Practically all of his ability points were dumped into that. Which was exactly why, ever since Kurama developed an obsession with video games, he'd been assigned to "serve" the Nine-Tails.
With a new controller in hand...
Another round began. And ended.
SMASH!!
The controller exploded in Kurama's claws again.
Yoshihisa sat frozen, sweating bullets. Kurama had specifically ordered him not to hold back, but the more serious he got, the scarier Kurama became.
Smash!
Yet another controller was obliterated.
Kurama, slightly larger than human-size at the moment, now had its ears and tails fully upright, golden fur bristling wildly with fury.
Boom!
The ground beneath Kurama cracked and buckled from the force of its rage, fractures creeping outward.
Just as the atmosphere became suffocating,
One of Kurama's tails twitched.
It suddenly sensed something. Its head whipped around to look toward the distance.
"That chakra…"
Its eyes widened, filled with a deep and bitter hatred. That chakra was unmistakable, it belonged to the First Hokage!
At that very moment, Kaede appeared silently beside them.
"H-Hokage-sama!"
Yoshihisa looked like he was on the verge of tears as he turned to Kaede, as though clinging to his last hope.
Kaede didn't acknowledge him. Dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Fifth Hokage, he looked off toward the horizon and muttered, "So... it finally begins."
"Hey! Kaede! Give me chakra!!"
Kurama turned to him, eyes bloodshot, and growled, "Give me chakra! I'm gonna beat that bastard Hashirama into the ground!"
Kaede gave Kurama a sidelong glance, then another toward Yoshihisa, then looked at the many shattered controllers littering the ground. He had a pretty good idea of what had just happened. His lip twitched slightly.
He wanted to say, "Even resurrected by Edo Tensei, you probably still can't beat Hashirama," but decided not to provoke the already-fuming fox. Silently, he transferred chakra over.
Whumm!!
A massive surge of chakra burst forth from Kaede and flooded into Kurama's body. In an instant, Kurama's small form expanded, rapidly returning to its towering original size.
=============
Meanwhile,
Not far from Konoha's outskirts, Senju Hashirama and Hatake Sakumo had already arrived. Hashirama's expression shifted sharply as he sensed something ahead.
"That chakra… is that the Nine-Tails?!"
He had vaguely sensed the Nine-Tails earlier, but the signature was so faint he wasn't sure. Now, that chakra had suddenly exploded in intensity.
And from this distance, he could already see Kurama's massive form just outside the village.
"Nine-Tails?!"
Sakumo's eyes widened in shock. "Is it going berserk? Why now, of all times...?"
Before he could finish his thought, Kurama's thunderous roar tore through the air.
"SENJU HASHIRAMA!!!"
With the roar, one of Kurama's massive claws came crashing toward them. The ground erupted as it slammed down, sending a wave of destruction directly at Hashirama and Sakumo.
Hashirama's expression turned grim. He quickly clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Four Pillar House Technique!"
BOOM!
Two massive wooden shields, shaped like demon masks, erupted from the ground in front of him. Kurama's paw slammed down on them with a deafening crash.
The earth shattered beneath the impact, but the wooden masks barely showed any damage.
"What insane chakra..."
Sakumo was thrown backward by the shockwave. He managed to stabilize himself in midair, but before he could react, his body suddenly lunged toward Konoha, beyond his control.
Whoosh!!
In a flash, he appeared beside a Konoha ninja, drew a short sword he didn't even recognize, chakra flaring across the blade, and struck out toward the man's neck.
As the sword fell, Sakumo's eyes widened. He shouted:
"Look out! Dodge it!!"
But it was too late.
The Konoha ninja, just a Chunin stationed at the gate, had been focused entirely on the rampaging Nine-Tails. There was no way he could react in time to an attack from the famed White Fang.
In his final moments, all the ninja could do was turn slightly and stare in horror at the white arc of the blade coming for his throat.
And then,
Silently.
A hand reached in from the side, even faster than Sakumo's strike. With a flick of a single finger, it deflected the sword's edge.
"So fast!!"
Sakumo's pupils contracted. Instinctively, he lashed out with a kick.
Bam!
The figure raised an arm and blocked the blow effortlessly, unmoving, while Sakumo was knocked backward several meters.
It was only then that Sakumo finally saw who had stopped him.
He froze, stunned.
"Y-You're…"
Kaede slowly lowered his arm, looked at Sakumo, and spoke softly:
"I'm sorry your rest was disturbed…"
"Father."
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria