Yako's heart was pounding.
If he didn't act soon, the Senju Clan was going to be wiped out right before his eyes.
In the original timeline, the Senju's destruction had been total. Only a few old, sick, or crippled survivors remained in the clan compound—barely able to guard their ancestral home.
And the way it happened? No one even blamed Konoha's leadership. Not even Tsunade could accuse the higher-ups of wrongdoing.
Danzo had always insisted ANBU handle the sealing of the Nine Tails. It was the Senju Clan who had stubbornly demanded to carry out the sealing independently.
But Yako couldn't accept the Senju's extinction.
So what could he do?
***
The Nine Tails howled in agony, a roar that tore into the sky.
Its head, shoulders, and forelimbs still retained the form of a massive beast.
But from the chest down, its body was rapidly shrinking—funneling into a conical shape that ended at the frail back of Princess Kushina.
They were forcefully cramming the Nine Tails into a human-sized container. Its screams were laced with fury.
Its waist had been compressed to the thickness of a rope, barely a dozen centimeters wide—unbearable for a creature that spanned dozens of meters.
The Nine Tails snarled and slammed a claw down at Kushina.
Senju Rinju's wife led the united sealing formation. Rinju himself stood between her and the beast.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
A towering stone wall rose to block the claw.
Chunks of rock exploded outward—some even smashing into Kushina's body.
Yako exhaled in relief. The blow was blocked. Rinju's Earth Release proficiency was top-tier.
The Senju's unified sealing technique flared again, every ninja draining themselves of chakra.
Black sealing marks crawled across the Nine Tails' body. The beast's movements stalled every few seconds, each swipe of its claws costing it full-body effort.
Then it struck again—this time sweeping through a full row of Senju.
Over thirty were crushed in a single blow.
The Nine Tails knew that the Senju clansmen were behind the sealing runes on its body so it kept swinging.
In mere moments, over a hundred Senju were dead.
The Nine Tails threw back its head and let out a long, piercing howl at the moon—then began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Kushina, trembling, forced her head up and whispered, "We can't… let it fire… that technique…"
Two glowing Adamantine Sealing Chains shot from her back, clamping around the Nine Tails' throat.
Its head jerked sideways—the Tailed Beast Bomb missed the Senju and sailed into the distance before exploding.
But its chakra reserves were vast. Even a failed shot barely slowed it down. Another bomb began to form immediately.
Kushina was out of strength. She could only watch as the sphere launched toward the left flank.
The explosion consumed everything.
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Over three hundred Senju were vaporized.
The earth trembled.
Every time the Nine Tails struck the ground, the shockwaves mimicked an earthquake.
Dozens more were pulverized into bloody paste.
Some Senju wore fear on their faces. Others had tears. But none turned to run.
Fathers. Mothers. Sons. Daughters. Cousins. Childhood friends.
They all stayed in place, clinging to their positions, pouring every last drop of chakra into restraining the beast.
Slowly, the Nine Tails shrank—Kushina was drawing it in.
But with the death of Uzumaki Mito, over half the Senju were already gone.
The sealing marks across the Nine Tails' body grew fewer and weaker.
Sarutobi Hiruzen smashed the surrounding forest to splinters with his adamantine staff, then leaned on it, watching the sealing with a grim face.
As the situation grew worse, he finally raised a hand… and then slowly swept it down.
The signal to strike.
Even if he had private reservations, he couldn't afford to push things too far. If the Nine Tails fully broke loose, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Four ANBU units saw the Third Hokage's hand and charged.
"Suppress the Nine Tails! Keep attacking—drain its power! Take the pressure off the sealing team!" shouted Yellow Dog Unit.
Yako, a squad captain, followed closely behind.
Fire Release jutsu and exploding tags rained down as ANBU joined the battle.
Attacks peppered the Nine Tails from all sides. It had to start swatting away the incoming fireballs with its claws.
One ANBU leapt into the air, aiming a tag at the creature's eye—thinking it a weak point.
The Nine Tails swiped casually.
Blood mist burst in the air. The ANBU's internal organs scattered mid-flight.
Bits of shattered mask spiraled down, but behind them—no heads.
It was a massacre.
Yako gritted his teeth. No wonder the original story said that night left an entire generation scarred… The Nine Tails wasn't just powerful—it was beyond what shinobi could handle. Its strength and durability defied everything they knew.
Yellow Dog's Fire Release was monstrous. His Flame Bullet alone was the size of half the Nine Tails.
Even the Nine Tails had to take that one seriously.
As its attention shifted downward, Yellow Dog pushed forward—drawing its gaze closer to the ground.
The beast slammed down a claw to crush him.
Yellow Dog dodged—but Senju Rinju's wife, still leading the seal, was struck instead.
She died instantly.
Senju Rinju, who had just been breathing easier thanks to the ANBU's arrival, turned pale as he watched his wife die.
His eyes reddened. Panic twisted his features.
Why… why didn't the ANBU protect her? She was the core of the sealing formation!
The unified sealing technique collapsed in an instant.
The sealing marks vanished from the Nine Tails.
Its movements became fluid again—unrestrained.
Even Kushina's Adamantine Chains began to flicker and tremble.
The Nine Tails wrenched itself free from her body. Kushina screamed in agony and collapsed.
The beast saw its opening.
Another Tailed Beast Bomb flew toward the Senju ranks.
Another explosion.
Another hundred lives lost.
Senju Rinju roared:"The seal has failed! All Senju—attack the Nine Tails! We must weaken it!"
He wanted to say Hold out until the Third Hokage can reinforce the seal… but the words never made it out.
Yellow Dog rushed to Kushina's side. He didn't make another reckless move. He just guarded her.
Yako landed near the unit commander.
The Nine Tails loomed overhead—an overwhelming, suffocating pressure.
From below, all he could see were its wildly lashing claws.
Even the tips of its nails were the size of Yako himself.
One claw came down hard. Yako rolled away desperately, barely avoiding it.
He formed a hand seal.
"Earth Release: Earth Longspear!"
The stone spear jabbed into the Nine Tails' claw—but only created a shallow dent before shattering.
Its hide was too damn tough.
The spear, meters long, had done nothing more than scrape gunk from under its nails.
Another claw came swinging down.
Yako sealed again.
This time, instead of piercing, dozens of spears erupted like thorns from the earth—meant to entangle, not impale.
They held for barely a second before the Nine Tails flexed and shattered them all.
Chunks of debris flew everywhere.
Annoyed by the fox-masked ninja stalling it, the Nine Tails casually swatted him aside. Its movement to fast for the Fox to dodge.
Yako's bones cracked mid-air.
He died before hitting the ground.
[Host death detected. Initiating Arc of the Waning Moon System…]
The scene shifted.
Yako found himself back outside the Senju compound, under a full moon.
Cold sweat dripped down his back.
A calamity like that… How could anyone stop the Senju from being destroyed?
System… give me my reward already. What are you waiting for?