In the end, Kurenai decided to stay.
No one had to sleep on the couch.
Three bedrooms were still enough.
After everyone had gone to sleep, time quickly approached one in the morning. Under the cloak of night, many shinobi donned masks and moved quietly into position.
The house where Kaede lived was soon surrounded by dozens of Root operatives. Some stood atop telephone poles, others on nearby rooftops or perched along the walls.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Danzo appeared from the darkness, walking calmly toward them.
"Danzo-sama, the area has been secured," one of the Root shinobi reported in a low voice.
Danzo looked over at him and asked quietly, "Are you sure it's clear?"
"The two Anbu stationed next door, two more crouched in the distance, plus two patrolling shinobi and one scout, all are under control."
The Root shinobi's voice was steady, but he added, "However, there was a slight complication. There are four people inside the house, an extra shinobi."
"Who?"
"Yūhi Kurenai, the daughter of Yūhi Shinku."
"Oh, that doesn't matter."
Danzo dismissed it without concern and walked toward the house. Forming hand seals, a flow of chakra began to spread from him.
Several nearby Root shinobi also formed seals, not to assist Danzo's jutsu, but to cloak his chakra, ensuring his technique's release would be silent.
Five minutes later,
Buzz!!
A sudden wave of darkness blanketed the entire house. The blackness seeped over every building, through walls, creating a shadowy curtain that covered the entire area.
The genjutsu, which took five minutes to cast, was undoubtedly a powerful wide-area illusion.
At the exact moment the genjutsu took hold,
Inside the house, Nohara Rin suddenly snapped awake. Her eyes flashed, first revealing the unique three-tailed pattern of the Three-Tails' chakra, then quickly shifting back to her own gaze.
"What's going on?!"
Alarmed by the situation outside, she sensed a large number of shinobi rushing toward her location.
The voice of the Three-Tails echoed inside her mind: "It's a genjutsu. I've already helped you break free."
Boom!!
As the Three-Tails' voice faded, the room exploded.
Rin instantly understood what was happening. Her expression turned grim as her chakra burst forth. Three massive tails swirled behind her, the immense chakra of the Three-Tails jinchūriki roaring into the night.
This overwhelming chakra surge couldn't be concealed and instantly alerted the entire village.
….
At the Uchiha clan estate,
"This chakra... a tailed beast?!"
Uchiha Fugaku shot upright, throwing off his blanket. His eyes revealed the three-tomoe Sharingan as he focused on the direction of the chakra surge.
Moments later, his expression shifted sharply.
"From that direction..."
….
Meanwhile, at the Hyuga clan estate,
Hyuga Hiashi also awoke abruptly. He vaulted from his bed, leapt through the window onto the rooftop, activating his Byakugan to scan toward the source of the chakra explosion.
"That's... the jinchūriki of a tailed beast?"
"What's going on?!"
Seeing the scene clearly, his face showed a mix of shock and uncertainty.
A house was shrouded in blackness, obscuring what was happening inside. Outside on the street, a girl enveloped in massive chakra fought masked shinobi who trapped her inside a barrier.
"Anbu? No, not Anbu... these shinobi... and that direction..."
Hiashi narrowed his eyes as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
…..
Throughout Konoha, shinobi from every corner awoke and sat up, all turning their gaze toward Kaede's house.
Seeing a masked Konoha shinobi battling a girl wielding the overwhelming chakra of a tailed beast left many confused and suspicious. The identity of Rin as the Three-Tails' jinchūriki remained secret for now.
But that didn't stop them from noticing something else.
"Isn't that Silver Flash's place? Why is there no sign of his chakra?"
Though they didn't understand what was happening, it didn't appear to be an invasion by outsiders. The sudden battle seemed odd enough that most shinobi merely watched from a distance, hesitant to intervene.
Only two shinobi acted immediately.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Namikaze Minato.
A Flying Thunder God kunai landed on the street outside Kaede's house. Minato appeared in a flash, draped in the Fourth Hokage's ceremonial cloak, eyes locked on the nearby fight.
"Rin, what's going on?"
Minato immediately recognized the shinobi as Root operatives under Danzo's command and glanced at Rin, who was trapped inside the barrier.
Rin, struggling with the Three-Tails' power, doing her best to break the seal, called out, "Minato-sensei! These guys suddenly attacked!!"
Minato furrowed his brow, quickly piecing things together.
At that moment, another figure dropped down. Short in stature and clad in black battle armor, an intense chakra aura pulsed within him.
"What's going on?"
Sarutobi barked sharply, then looked toward the darkness covering the house. His eyes flickered.
"The Second Hokage's Dark Arts technique? No, there's something else... Danzo, what are you doing?!"
Sarutobi shouted.
After a brief hesitation, he formed hand seals and slammed his palm to the ground. A flood of jutsu instantly spread toward the house.
At the same time, Minato sprang into action, throwing a volley of Flying Thunder God kunai that flashed across the street, knocking out the Anbu operatives.
The black darkness shrouding Kaede's house began to dissolve, revealing the interior.
The house was in ruins, surrounded by a purple barrier.
The Four Violet Flames Formation!
Seeing the purple light, Sarutobi halted mid-air. Minato's expression darkened as he threw another kunai, but it instantly burned to ashes upon touching the barrier.
"Danzo! What are you doing?!" Sarutobi shouted toward the barrier's interior.
Inside, on the second floor, Danzo stood calmly, hands pressed downward as dark kanji formed an intricate jutsu.
"I'm using the Cursed Corpse Seal Technique. It will be complete in six minutes. You won't break through this Four Violet Flames Formation in that time."
While maintaining the jutsu, Danzo replied evenly, "So instead of trying to stop me, Sarutobi, you should focus on calming the village. The Three-Tails jinchūriki suddenly went berserk, and Root and Anbu are working together to suppress her. Just tell them to respond accordingly."
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