Hokage Building.
As soon as the Nine-Tailed appeared within Konoha's Barrier, Root Ninja immediately came to report.
"What? Appeared in the Village!?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's scalp tingled.
According to his original plan, the Nine-Tailed would only rampage outside the Village for a period, causing appropriate panic.
Minato Namikaze would be temporarily held back by the powerful individuals hired by the Crown Prince, preventing him from acting in time.
And due to the heavy casualties among the Fourth Hokage's direct Anbu, Root would ultimately reseal the Tailed Beast.
If Kushina couldn't hold on during this process and the Nine-Tailed completely broke free, then Uzumaki Kana would be used as a backup container.
Afterward, as long as he subtly manipulated public opinion, he could significantly diminish Minato Namikaze's prestige, laying a solid foundation for his return to the Hokage position.
But now that the Nine-Tailed was controlled by a Sharingan and had breached Konoha's interior, it indicated an unforeseen variable in the plan.
Without time to ponder, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly clarified his next steps in a flash of lightning.
"Order all Jōnin Squad members to sally forth and stop the Nine-Tailed, evacuate the civilians!"
"All medical personnel are to prioritize rescuing the injured, at all costs!"
"Root is to control the Uchiha Clan; no one among them is allowed near the Nine-Tailed without my permission!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The Root Ninja shunshined away.
Hiruzen Sarutobi went to the rooftop of the building, gazing at the Nine-Tailed roaring wantonly hundreds of meters away, unable to understand where things had gone wrong.
-- But perhaps this was an even better opportunity.
-- So, should he wait a little longer?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils flickered with indecision and reluctance, finally overshadowed by a growing darkness in his eyes.
-- The more severe the casualties caused by the Tailed Beast's escape, the more unstable the Fourth Hokage's position would be.
-- Perhaps he could delay a bit... Unfortunately, just as he had finally resolved to escalate the disaster, he saw a white light ignite within the Uchiha Clan Compound, shooting like an arrow towards the Nine-Tailed.
The familiar Chakra signature; he didn't even need to look to know who it was.
— Uchiha Naraku!
..."This Chakra is...!"
Obito was on high alert, his eyes fixed on his opponent, whose light gradually dimmed after an attack, revealing his true form.
It was a gigantic skeleton, only existing as an upper body, which grew a complete torso and legs within a mere two seconds, its size expanding to a terrifying height capable of rivaling the Nine-Tailed.
By the time the Nine-Tailed regained its balance, this glowing white skeletal giant was completely enveloped by rapidly growing flesh and skin, with heavy armor appearing out of nowhere to cover its body.
Now, he emanated a faint, pure white glow, standing majestically upon the earth.
He resembled a divine being, awe-inspiring, sacred, and pure, in stark contrast to the evil and ferocious Tailed Beast opposite him.
"A white Susanoo... It's really you!"
Obito quietly concealed himself, his heart a mix of emotions.
He hadn't expected to have to fight Naraku head-on so soon after summoning the Nine-Tailed, before it had even caused much destruction or casualties.
Uchiha Naraku was once one of the most important friends in his heart.
Now, he was an enemy obstructing the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Roar—!!
Influenced by its controller, the Nine-Tailed became even more frenzied, roaring as it coiled its limbs, then lunged forward fiercely.
The Susanoo giant moved with extreme agility, raising a hand to parry the pair of crimson beast claws, then smashing a punch into the Nine-Tailed's face, repelling him again.
However, physical attacks were completely ineffective against a Tailed Beast; they caused no significant damage other than being highly insulting.
The Nine-Tailed completely descended into madness, condensing a small Tailed Beast Ball in mere seconds, and blasted it straight at Susanoo's head.
"Hoo... hoo... This isn't good..."
Naraku, located in Susanoo's head, gasped for breath, feeling his Chakra depleting faster than expected.
Since the Nine-Tailed's appearance, his left eye had been continuously active with [Tenmei Gyokumei], infinitely reducing the probability of civilian deaths, striving to keep them alive until they could be rescued by Ninja and taken to the Hospital.
In truth, he didn't care how many people he didn't know died or were injured, but if he didn't do this, Obito's blood debt would be too heavy, making it difficult for him to be accepted by Konoha and the Uchiha later on.
But the cost of doing so was that his Dōjutsu Power and Chakra were being depleted at an unimaginable rate; if he continued like this, he wouldn't even have the strength to maintain Susanoo in a while.
"I absolutely cannot delay...!"
Naraku was about to quickly use brute force to compel the Nine-Tailed to retreat from Konoha when he looked up and saw the opponent's mouth open wide, unleashing a barrage of Tailed Beast Balls at his face.
Under duress, his right eye flashed red, and [Ama no Kaguhiko] activated.
Susanoo drew the golden-white greatsword from his back and, with lightning speed, struck the "Death Line" of the Tailed Beast Ball.
The Tailed Beast Ball, condensed from an excessive amount of Chakra, instantly turned completely ashen white, scattering into large fragments in the wind, vanishing without a trace.
"This is Ama no Kaguhiko?... It's indeed unreasonably powerful."
Witnessing this inexplicable scene firsthand, Obito also found it very troublesome.
But on second thought, no matter how powerful Uchiha Naraku was, he was ultimately just a human.
Humans have a limit to their Chakra reserves.
Letting the Nine-Tailed slowly wear him down would eventually drain him until he could no longer fight.
The more urgent matter now was to deal with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, to prevent him from interfering.
He looked towards the Hokage Rock, where a space-time fluctuation had just occurred, and activated Kamui to warp away from his spot.
While Susanoo and the Nine-Tailed were locked in battle, many Ninja had already gathered among the ruins below, swiftly searching for surviving residents.
A significant portion of these Ninja were Uchiha Clan Member, hurriedly brought by Fugaku for support.
Each of them carried a sufficient amount of healing talisman distributed by the Clan; upon finding an injured person, three to five talismans were affixed as if they were free, and then the person was quickly evacuated on their back.
Fugaku jumped onto one of the few intact small buildings there, looking up at the two giant figures still entangled in battle.
After witnessing Naraku's failed attempt to control the Nine-Tailed with genjutsu, he was immensely glad of his decision to immediately gather his Clan Member, distribute healing talisman, and defy the Third Hokage's orders to come to the front lines.
-- Genjutsu is ineffective, which means the Nine-Tailed is being controlled by someone else!
-- If even Naraku can't break it, how strong is the controller?
Fugaku decisively activated his Mangekyo, using his left eye's [Shinkō Kagami Gyō] to search for the opponent's location and investigate his true identity.
However, he didn't receive any information.
He couldn't see anything, neither the location nor the identity.
-- How is this possible!?
A conjecture, unbelievable even to himself, arose in Fugaku's mind.
For a Mangekyo-level Sharingan genjutsu to be ineffective, the opponent must also possess a Mangekyo, and their Dōjutsu Power must be far stronger than his.
Before Naraku's birth, the only Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan belonged to Uchiha Madara, who had been dead for many years!
-- Could it really be him, returned?
-- Never mind, whether it's Uchiha Madara or not, the Uchiha Clan must show their stance now!
-- Otherwise, after tonight, there will be no place for us in Konoha!
Fugaku didn't hesitate for a moment; while the Nine-Tailed was again charging up for a Tailed Beast Ball, he used [Kenrai Toshin] to deliver a fierce blow inside its mouth.
An explosion caused by high temperature and lightning erupted within the Nine-Tailed's mouth, causing the unfinished Tailed Beast Ball to also explode.
The massive impact forced the Nine-Tailed back two steps, and its head was severely shaken, temporarily halting its attack.