October 10th.
It was another quiet night in the village hidden in the leaves. Minato had been Hokage for nine months. The village was thriving.
Rumble!
The silence shattered.
A wave of malevolent energy swept through Konoha, heavy enough to crush the breath out of sleeping civilians. It wasn't just chakra; it was hatred given physical form.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The S-rank siren wailed across the rooftops.
Tonbo's eyes snapped open. His heart hammered against his ribs. He knew this sound. Every shinobi knew this sound. It meant total annihilation was imminent.
Swish!
He grabbed his gear and leaped onto the roof.
His father, Tosei, was already there, staring at the center of the village with wide, fearful eyes.
"Son... what is that?"
A colossal shadow loomed over the buildings. Nine massive tails swayed in the moonlight, smashing through stone and timber like they were made of paper.
The Nine-Tailed Fox.
"It's here," Tonbo whispered. The timeline was absolute.
"Dad! Evacuate!" Tonbo shouted, shaking his father's shoulder. "You know the protocols! Get to the shelters!"
"But—"
"Go! And make sure you get Teuchi and Ayame! Protect them with your life!"
Tosei nodded, his face setting into a grim line. "Understood. Be careful, Tonbo."
Tosei vanished into the streets.
Tonbo turned toward the beast. His sensory net screamed in protest. The chakra density was so high it felt like static noise in his brain.
Minato is fighting Obito right now, Tonbo realized. I can't help there. But I can save the village.
Swish!
He raced toward the carnage.
"Emergency Protocol 1!" Shikaku Nara's voice echoed through the village PA system. "All civilians to the shelters! Combat personnel, intercept the target!"
Tonbo landed on a rooftop near the beast. The heat was intense. The fox roared, a sound that shattered windows for miles.
"I will protect this village!"
A voice like thunder boomed from atop the Hokage Monument.
Minato Namikaze.
The Nine-Tails opened its maw. Black and white chakra coalesced into a sphere of pure destruction.
Tailed Beast Bomb.
"I won't let you," Minato said calmly. He formed a seal.
A massive spatial barrier appeared in the air, swallowing the bomb whole.
BOOM!
A blinding flash lit up the horizon miles away. The shockwave rattled Tonbo's teeth.
"Insane," Tonbo muttered, shielding his eyes. "If that hit the village, we'd be ash."
Minato vanished, likely teleporting to his safe house to confront the masked man.
Now it's our turn.
Tonbo landed next to two familiar figures.
"Kakashi! Guy!"
"Tonbo," Kakashi said, his single Sharingan spinning wildly. "This isn't natural. The fox... its eyes. It's under a Genjutsu."
"YO! IT IS TIME TO BURN MY YOUTH!"
Might Guy struck a pose, ignoring the apocalypse happening fifty meters away. "Dynamic Entry!"
He prepared to launch himself at the demon.
"Stop!"
A figure landed in front of them, sword drawn. It was Hayama Shirakumo.
"Hayama-sensei! Why?" Guy yelled.
"Lord Third's orders," Hayama said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "No Genin or Chunin are to engage the target. This is a Kage-level threat."
"We can help!" Tonbo argued. "I have a new Genjutsu! I might be able to disrupt its chakra flow!"
"It's an order!" Hayama barked. "You are the future of the village. We will not let you die here. Go to the shelters and protect the civilians!"
Tonbo gritted his teeth.
He knew this scene. In the anime, Kurenai's father said the same thing. The older generation was sacrificing themselves to shield the saplings.
"Tch. Fine," Tonbo spat. "Let's go."
"But—" Guy started.
"It's an order, Guy!" Tonbo grabbed his arm. "If we die, who protects the people behind us?"
Kakashi looked at the fox one last time, then nodded. "Let's move."
They retreated to the evacuation zones.
"Hayama... that hypocrite told us to leave and then jumped in himself!" Guy complained, tears streaming down his face as they ran.
"Shut up and run," Tonbo said, though his own heart was heavy.
From a distance, Tonbo watched the battle unfold.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had arrived. And for the first time, Tonbo saw the full might of the "Professor" and his advisors.
Hiruzen summoned Enma, the Monkey King. The Adamantine Staff extended like a pillar, slamming into the Fox's side, pushing it back.
Mitokado Homura unleashed a barrage of giant sealing weapons from a scroll, pinning the Fox's tails.
"Whoa," Tonbo blinked. "Homura is actually useful? He fights like Tenten on steroids."
Even Danzo was there, using Wind Release vacuum blades to slice at the beast's paws.
Utatane Koharu coordinated the medic corps with machine-like efficiency.
They're holding it back, Tonbo realized. Just barely.
Suddenly, the Sharingan pattern in the Fox's eyes faded.
Minato did it. He broke the contract.
But the beast was still a beast. Enraged and free, it rampaged harder.
"PUSH IT OUT!" Hiruzen roared.
The Adamantine Staff expanded to the size of a redwood tree, shoving the Nine-Tails inch by inch toward the village walls.
"Now!"
Tonbo turned his back on the titans. His job was here, in the rubble.
"Help! My leg!"
A woman was trapped under a fallen beam.
Tonbo rushed over. "Hold on!"
He channeled chakra into his muscles—a trick he learned from Guy—and heaved the beam off her.
"Get to the shelter! Go!"
He saved one. Then another.
But his mind was on the Fourth Hokage.
Minato... Kushina... this is goodbye.