Konoha Village, at the edge of the Outer Defense Barrier.
Jiraiya, who had just finished guiding another round of emergency evacuation, stood solemnly on a temporarily erected lookout platform, his gaze fixed outside the Village—where a hundred-meter-tall, ferocious and violent Nine-Tailed giant beast roared toward the sky, shaking the very earth!
This scene caused many Chunin and Genin to turn pale.
"There's... another one?" Jiraiya said solemnly. "Is that bastard trying to distract Naruto this way?"
Although the giant beast before them looked exactly like the Nine-Tailed, the Konoha Ninja knew clearly in their hearts—this was a fake!
Because everyone had just witnessed the legendary battle in the distance, where the true Nine-Tailed, radiating golden light like the sun, fought fiercely against five other giant beasts of different attributes, ultimately destroying them all with an earth-shattering Round Slash.
From the still heavily injured Third Hokage, Jiraiya had learned some of the attacker's abilities—the power to steal others' Chakra and use it to create powerful Puppets or attacks.
The source of the Chakra for this dark red Nine-Tailed beast before them was the Nine-Tailed power stolen from Uzumaki Kushina.
"Lord Jiraiya! What should we do next?!"
"That monster is too close to the Village! If it attacks..."
"The evacuation isn't completely finished yet!"
Around the temporary command post, the Konoha Jonin responsible for combat and the Anbu elites had quickly gathered. Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy were both here, standing ready. All eyes were focused on Jiraiya—the Third Hokage was still heavily injured, and the only one capable of coordinating the overall situation and issuing the highest combat orders was this man, the soon-to-be Fifth Hokage.
Jiraiya immediately made a decision.
"Everyone, continue to hold your respective defensive posts! Prioritize keeping the evacuation routes clear, reinforcing the barriers, and remaining vigilant against any potential sneak attacks!"
"Areas where evacuation is incomplete, speed up! The interior of the Village is entrusted to you!"
"As for that big fellow outside..." Jiraiya began rapidly forming hand signs, "—I'll handle him!"
Dealing with large Summoning Beasts or giant enemies? Jiraiya had plenty of experience with this kind of battle! The hand signs for the Summoning Technique were about to be completed at his fingertips... However, just as his final sign was about to be formed, and his Chakra began connecting with Mount Myōboku for the summoning—
"Awooo!"
An extremely sudden wolf howl abruptly rang out from a certain direction within Konoha Village.
Immediately following, a figure as fast as a streak of blue light passed through the not-yet-fully-closed defense channel at astonishing speed, swept past the assembled Jonin squad, and sped out of the Village without stopping, heading toward the Nine-Tailed beast!
"What?!"
"Is that...?!"
Including Jiraiya, all the Konoha Jonin and Anbu present showed expressions of utter astonishment! They saw clearly—it was a canine creature with blue fur!
Its entire body emitted a unique and noble Aura that was neither Chakra nor Natural Energy.
"Is that... the 'Ninja Dog' Naruto keeps?!"
Kakashi Hatake was the first to recover from the shock. He certainly recognized that figure—at a dinner gathering not long ago, this blue giant beast named Zacian had quietly stayed in the corner of Naruto's apartment, its demeanor impossibly elegant, leaving him with a deep impression.
But... how did it appear here?! And, is it... charging toward the Nine-Tailed beast?!
Under the disbelieving gaze of the crowd, Zacian's blue figure, like a retrograde meteor, rushed out of Konoha's defense perimeter without hesitation, heading straight for the Nine-Tailed beast, which was as massive as a mountain!
Although Zacian's size was considered a behemoth among Ninja Dogs, compared to the hundred-meter-tall Nine-Tailed giant beast ahead, which resembled a moving mountain range, its figure instantly seemed incredibly tiny, like a blue ant.
"This is bad! Stop it quickly! We can't let Naruto's pet get hurt...!"
Kakashi's voice carried panic. Not out of fear of the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed, but out of a sense of responsibility for something belonging to Naruto.
In his perception, Zacian had never displayed even a trace of Chakra fluctuation. It felt more like a highly spiritual, rare and exotic beast, perhaps possessing special auxiliary abilities.
Letting it face that kind of monster was tantamount to suicide!
However, before he could even finish his words of dissuasion, what happened in his line of sight caused his voice to suddenly halt.
Zacian's blue figure did not linger on the ground. Instead, after approaching the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast by a certain distance, its hind legs pushed off forcefully, and its long, athletic body soared into the air, shooting toward the sky!
Just as it reached the apex of its leap—
Energy, originating not from Zacian's body but from the air itself, swiftly converged and seamlessly merged into Zacian's physique!
Not just Kakashi, but all the Konoha Ninja who witnessed this scene were dumbfounded.
"Weng—!!!"
Dazzling light instantly enveloped Zacian's entire body! The light lasted for an extremely short time, dissipating rapidly in the span of a breath.
And when the light faded, the figure that reappeared in everyone's view was completely different from the "beast" it was before!
The original blue fur remained, but its head was now covered by a streamlined yellow helmet, and its mane was no longer smoothly draped but spread out fluffily like sacred wings.
The most striking change, however, was in its mouth. A longsword was held firmly between its jaws!
Having completed its "Transformation," Zacian coldly and hostilely locked onto the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast.
It could clearly distinguish—the Aura emanating from this giant beast, although sharing the same origin as the warm power on its master, was fundamentally different.
This Aura was corrupted, filled with violence, emptiness, and a sense of... "foreignness" that repelled and disgusted it from the depths of its Soul.
That was not a will naturally born of this planet, but a product tainted by a strong "alien" Aura!
Seemingly sensing the provocation and threat from the "tiny" creature in the air, the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast began gathering massive Chakra in its gigantic mouth, clearly preparing to launch a devastating attack.
However, Zacian was faster!
Hovering in the air, the noble and ancient Aura surrounding it suddenly soared to its peak! The longsword held in its mouth instantly burst forth with an incomparably dazzling, brilliant blue light!
Following this, Zacian simply swung its head sharply toward the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast!
"Swoosh—!!!"
——————
In the distance, the Main Battlefield.
Uchiha Sasuke frowned tightly, staring in the direction of Konoha.
"What was... that?"
Even with his experience, he was momentarily unable to comprehend the situation unfolding before his eyes. A suddenly appearing, rusty, broken sword flying toward Konoha on its own?
But he quickly made a judgment, turning to Naruto, preparing to speak. "Naruto, you go back and deal with the situation in Konoha first, leave this guy to me to resolve..."
Before his words were finished—
"Awooo—!!!!!!!!!!"
Something happened that made all three of them—Naruto and Sasuke, who were standing ready, and Urashiki, who was observing and waiting for an opportunity—utterly disbelieving, almost doubting their own senses and eyes!
From the direction of Konoha, the dark red Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast, which had just appeared with a menacing Aura, suddenly stiffened its massive body, then let out a sharp roar filled not with anger, but with agony!
On its body, a gigantic, mirror-smooth cut mark, faintly shimmering with brilliant blue light, appeared out of thin air without warning!
The next moment—
"Tear—!!!"
The massive body of the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast was cleanly and neatly split into two halves right down the middle along that cut mark!
This exposed the inner structure of wildly surging red Chakra turbulence, which attempted to reorganize but failed in vain!
This fatal trauma completely destroyed the core of its existence. The two halves of the Pseudo-Nine-Tailed beast, having lost their physical cohesion, suddenly disintegrated.
They turned into a monstrous flood of Chakra, wildly sweeping toward the sky and surroundings, finally vanishing completely between heaven and earth after the dull sound of energy annihilation, leaving not a single trace behind.
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