[The scene shifts. Kakashi, who was originally protecting Naruto during the evacuation, comes to a halt. He reveals the Sharingan beneath his forehead protector and looks at Naruto, who is spiraling into panic and confusion amidst the surrounding chaos.
In an instant, Kakashi enters the Sealing Space within Naruto's body and confronts the Nine-Tails.]
Kushina Uzumaki: "Naruto!"
Minato Namikaze: "Don't worry, Kushina. Kakashi will protect our child."
A: "Kakashi might, but Konoha... that's hard to say."
Onoki: "Indeed, hard to say."
Rasa: "Truly."
["Damned Uchiha!"
The Nine-Tails' furious roar echoes through the Sky Screen, reaching every corner of the Ninja World. No matter how much it resists, it struggles against a Mangekyo Sharingan level Ocular Technique, especially since it currently only possesses half of its total chakra.
Just as Kakashi is about to release the Nine-Tails, an unexpected pair of figures appears to stop him.
It is the lingering chakra left behind by Minato Namikaze and his wife—a contingency plan designed to prevent the Nine-Tails from breaking the seal.
"Sensei..."
Seeing Minato appear, Kakashi freezes. Guilt surges over him like a tidal wave. He feels he has betrayed the trust of his teacher and his teacher's wife by failing to look care of their child.
"Kakashi, why are you releasing the Nine-Tails? Don't you know how dangerous this is?" Minato's chakra had been dormant and was unaware of the prior events; he was utterly baffled by Kakashi's actions.
"Sensei, I..." Seeing his mentor again brought a thousand thoughts to Kakashi's mind, but he knew the situation outside was dire. There was no time left.
"Forgive me, Sensei. Konoha is facing an extinction-level crisis. Almost all civilians in the village have perished; only the powerful shinobi remain. I had no choice but to release the Nine-Tails."
"What!?" Minato's eyes widened. "Has the Allied Shinobi Forces of the other four villages invaded Konoha?"
It wasn't impossible. After all, Konoha's ultimate weapon—the Jinchuriki—hadn't grown up yet. If Konoha were truly besieged, an invasion of the home turf was a real possibility.
"Sensei, the situation is far more complicated than you imagine."
"Very well. I won't stop you. But Naruto's body cannot yet handle too much of the Nine-Tails' chakra. If you cannot defeat the enemy quickly, we will have to re-seal the chakra. As long as Naruto lives, there is still hope!"
"I understand, Sensei!" Kakashi nodded heavily.
Nearby, Kushina held the bewildered Naruto, her eyes full of heartache. The boy was so thin; it was obvious he hadn't been eating well. Little did she know, it wasn't just that he hadn't been "eating well"—he had never had a decent meal in his life.
Minato joined them. Once awakened, they wouldn't last long before vanishing. They wanted to use this limited time to truly look at their son. After all, they were merely chakra and couldn't exist for long.
With the obstructions gone, Kakashi successfully gained control of the Nine-Tails. He didn't extract it from Naruto; instead, he released its energy to form a Chakra Cloak over Naruto's body. The form expanded, eventually manifesting as a several-meter-tall monstrous beast with a single tail.
"Good, I'm still in time!"
In the distance, the Honkai Beast within the energy mass was still gestating. Kakashi hadn't wasted much time in the sealing space. Under Kakashi's control, the Nine-Tails began to charge a Tailed Beast Bomb. Even though the amount of chakra was restricted to protect the Jinchuriki, at the Nine-Tails' scale, the Tailed Beast Bomb formed in a mere second. It was aimed directly at Uchiha Hoshi and the gestating beast.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the earth. The terrifying power of the Tailed Beast Bomb swallowed the entire Uchiha Clan Grounds.
Fortunately, the ninjas still fighting in the district were elites. They had already begun to retreat the moment Kakashi prepared the Nine-Tails. The Third Hokage was protected by Uchiha Itachi and survived as well.
When the dust from the Tailed Beast Bomb settled, the Uchiha Clan Grounds had completely vanished, replaced by a massive crater.
But despair soon followed. Within that crater, not a single Honkai Beast swallowed by the explosion was missing! Only the Zombies had been erased by the blast.
However, their deaths only liberated the Honkai Energy within them. This energy was promptly absorbed by the surrounding monsters and the gestating beast, not only strengthening the rank-and-file but accelerating the birth of Uchiha Hoshi's Companion Honkai Beast!]
Unknown Ninja: "What?"
Unknown Ninja No. 2: "Impossible!"
A: "The Tailed Beast Bomb didn't even scratch those monsters? What about the white-haired girl? Is she dead?"
Uchiha Tsukika: "...Hoshi."
[The focus shifts to the gestating beast. Through the nearly liquefied, solid Honkai Energy, the audience sees Uchiha Hoshi suspended in the center, completely unharmed.
Seeing this, the Konoha ninjas fleeing the village felt utter despair. The new generation of Konoha—the future pillars of the village—were still just children. Their chakra reserves were among the lowest. If not for the adults protecting them with their own chakra, they would have likely perished long ago.
They stared at Uchiha Hoshi's unfamiliar form, unable to comprehend how their former classmate had become this. Was that still the Uchiha Hoshi they knew?
Thanks to the Sky Screen, everyone saw the appearance of the beast gestating within the energy. It stood a hundred meters tall, clad in white armor, with four limbs and a long tail. A massive, gaping maw dominated its face, and three pairs of curving horns grew from its head.
Compared to the Chariot-class beasts, this one was not only larger but more proportional, equipped with sharp fangs and claws. It was clearly an apex predator!
The beast had not yet awakened; Uchiha Hoshi was funneling even more energy into it. Under normal circumstances, a Herrscher's Companion Honkai Beast is born during a Great Collapse.
But Uchiha Hoshi was different. She was simply using the energy within her Herrscher Core to trigger a disaster similar to a Honkai Eruption. The scale and concentration couldn't compare to a true Great Collapse, let alone naturally gestating a companion beast.
But it didn't matter. She could make one herself!
The size of Uchiha Hoshi's companion beast continued to grow, seemingly without end.
"Retreat! All units, retreat!"]