Yoru's heart pounded with fear.
If he didn't do something, the Senju clan was about to be wiped out.
In the original story, the Senju clan's annihilation was real. Only the disabled, elderly, and children remained in the clan territory. The Senju couldn't even protect their ancestral home.
And this method of annihilation left other ninja clans powerless to intervene. Even Tsunade couldn't claim the village leadership was wrong.
Danzo had insisted that the Anbu perform the Nine-Tails sealing, while the Senju clan stubbornly wanted to seal the Nine-Tails themselves.
Yoru could not bear to see the Senju clan destroyed.
Then, what could he do?
The Nine-Tails roared painfully toward the sky.
Its head, shoulders, and forelimbs remained a massive beast.
But from the chest downward, its body shrank rapidly like a funnel, eventually connecting to Kushina's frail back.
Forcing the Nine-Tails into a human-sized vessel, its howl seethed with rage.
Its waist seemed constricted by a rope to mere centimeters—agonizing for a creature dozens of meters long.
Lowering its head, the Nine-Tails' claws slammed toward Kushina.
Senju Rinmu's wife presided over the Combined Sealing Technique while Rinmu shielded Kushina.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A massive stone wall blocked the Nine-Tails' strike.
Boulders flew everywhere, some even hitting Kushina.
Yoru exhaled in relief—Rinmu's Earth Release skill was impressive.
The Senju Combined Sealing Technique activated again, all ninjas draining chakra to reinforce it.
Sealing runes crawled over the Nine-Tails' body. Its movements slowed, stiffened for moments. Every strike of its forelimbs used all its strength.
One swipe struck a line of Senju ninjas, killing over thirty instantly.
Seeing the ninjas die, the Nine-Tails' sealing loosened slightly, and it continued striking.
Within one or two minutes, over a hundred Senju ninjas perished under its claws.
The Nine-Tails howled at the moon, seemingly realizing claws were inefficient. It prepared another Tailed Beast Ball.
Kushina, exhausted, murmured, "I must not… let it release that jutsu…"
Two golden chains shot from her back, locking the Nine-Tails' throat.
Its head tilted, and the Tailed Beast Ball missed the ninjas below, flying off and exploding in the distance.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was immense; as one Tailed Beast Ball failed, it immediately formed another.
Kushina, drained, could only watch helplessly as it shot to the side.
The explosion vaporized over three hundred Senju ninjas instantly.
The ground shook violently.
Each strike of the Nine-Tails created seismic impacts.
Dozens more ninjas were crushed into a bloody mess.
The remaining Senju showed fear, terror, and tears, yet no one faltered.
Among the dead were fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, cousins, and childhood friends.
Everyone stayed in position, draining chakra, holding the Nine-Tails with the Combined Sealing Technique.
The Nine-Tails gradually shrank, slowly being drawn into Kushina's body.
After Mito's death, more than half of the Senju ninjas were casualties.
The sealing runes on the Nine-Tails dwindled.
Sarutobi smashed the surrounding forest with his Adamantine Staff, then leaned on it, observing the seal.
Seeing the difficulty of the sealing, he finally raised his hand, issuing attack commands.
Even if Sarutobi had other thoughts, he dared not overstep—if the Nine-Tails went completely berserk, it would be disastrous.
The four Anbu divisions saw the Hokage's gesture and rushed toward the Nine-Tails.
Captain Hound shouted: "Suppress the Nine-Tails! Use continuous attacks to drain it! Share the sealing burden!"
Yoru, as squad captain, followed closely behind.
As the Anbu engaged, fire jutsu and explosive tags surged forward.
The Nine-Tails faced attacks from every direction, swatting fireballs with its claws.
Some Anbu leaped, thinking its eyes were weak points, hurling explosive tags at them.
They were met with a claw strike, blood mist erupting midair—the Anbu's innards scattered.
Fragments of masks flew, but no heads remained beneath them.
It was horrifying.
Yoru thought: No wonder in the original story the Nine-Tails' rampage left a psychological scar for a generation. Its attack power far exceeds any ninja's ability to defend.
Hound's fire jutsu was terrifying—a single flame bomb half the size of the Nine-Tails.
Even the Nine-Tails needed time to handle it.
Once it drew the Nine-Tails' attention, Hound darted forward, diverting its focus below.
The Nine-Tails' claw slammed toward Hound, who jumped aside—but Rinmu's wife was crushed instantly.
Seeing his wife die, Rinmu's eyes reddened with horror.
Why didn't the Anbu protect her? The key host of the Combined Sealing Technique?
The Combined Sealing Technique collapsed rapidly.
The Nine-Tails' runes vanished; it moved freely.
Kushina's golden chains faltered.
The Nine-Tails tore a massive chunk from her, causing her to collapse, screaming in pain.
Seizing the moment, it formed another Tailed Beast Ball, blasting nearby Senju ninjas.
Over a hundred more were killed.
Rinmu shouted: "Combined Sealing Technique failed! All Senju ninjas—attack the Nine-Tails! Weaken it!"
He wanted to add: Hold out until the Third Hokage reinforces the seal, but the words never left his mouth.
Hound rushed to Kushina's side, defending her.
Yoru, as squad captain, stayed nearby.
Above him loomed the massive Nine-Tails, its presence overwhelming.
Looking up, he could only see its massive claws swinging.
Its nails were nearly his size.
One strike came down; he rolled aside to avoid it.
Quickly, he formed a hand seal.
"Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!"
The spear struck the Nine-Tails' claw; its skin dented slightly, but the spear shattered.
The Nine-Tails' body was too resilient.
His multi-meter Earth Spear was like trying to clean mud from the claws of a giant beast.
Another claw slammed down.
He quickly formed another seal.
This time, the spear wasn't meant to pierce, but to act like a thorny hedge, trapping the claw.
It held only a second before the Nine-Tails freed itself, scattering the stone fragments.
Annoyed by the meddling Anbu in fox mask, it swatted him midair.
Yoru's bones shattered, dying in mid-flight.
[Host detected deceased. Arc of the Full Moon activating…]
His vision shifted. Yoru appeared on the last full moon night, outside the Senju clan territory, monitoring the clan.
Sweat dripped from his forehead. Faced with this disaster, how could he prevent the Senju clan's annihilation?
System, give me a reward! What are you waiting for?!