The light was so dazzling that even the dark night was dyed as bright as day.
Konoha, bearing the brunt of it, looked as if it were illuminated by the midday sun.
Those facing the flash could even feel a wave of scorching heat radiating from it.
This alone showed just how astonishing Uchiha Taiga's self-destruction truly was.
*RUMBLE!!!*
The light reached the eyes of the Konoha villagers a step before the sound, followed by a deafening roar and the violent trembling of the earth.
For a moment, the world seemed to lose all its color, leaving nothing but a blinding, piercing white.
The shockwave from the explosion was incredibly fierce, instantly obliterating everything around the Nine-Tails. Dirt and trees alike were reduced to fine dust in the blink of an eye.
Driven by the gale, trees at the edge of the blast were uprooted and hurled into the sky. Massive chunks of earth were torn up, rippling outward like ocean waves.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were some distance away from the Nine-Tails. Having just crossed Konoha's outer wall, they saw the flash of the explosion but had no time to dodge or brace themselves before the sweeping hurricane caught them, tossing them around like discarded ragdolls.
Some crashed into the high walls, others were flung dozens of meters away, while a few barely managed to stabilize themselves, avoiding total disgrace.
Hiruzen flipped in mid-air and violently thrust the Adamantine Staff—transformed from Monkey King Enma—into the ground to anchor himself, his eyes locked dead ahead.
That was where the Nine-Tails was, now engulfed in towering flames.
The massive explosion left behind a sea of fire, wrapping the Nine-Tails in what looked like a rising, colossal fireball.
From Hiruzen's vantage point, he could clearly see the Nine-Tails roaring at the sky amidst the flames. Two of its nine tails had been blown off, yet the remaining ones still thrashed like giant whips, churning up fierce gusts of wind.
"What about the boy?"
Even though he was an Uchiha, Hiruzen still didn't want anything bad to happen to Taiga. After all, an innate Sage Body was simply too extraordinary.
To Konoha, Uchiha Taiga was valuable—immensely valuable.
*Boom!*
"Roar!"
With another earth-shattering roar, the Nine-Tails charged out of the explosion's epicenter. Its body bore numerous mottled scorch marks from the blast.
But it wasn't dead.
Such was the vitality of a Tailed Beast.
Hiruzen spotted Uchiha Taiga, who was still standing on the Nine-Tails' head.
Compared to before, he did look a bit worse for wear.
His clothes were torn, his hair was disheveled, and he had a few soot marks on him, but he didn't seem to have suffered any actual injuries.
This was the sheer resilience of an SS-rank Sage Body.
The eruption of natural energy from his body was like igniting boiling oil; the explosion in that instant was triggered from the inside out.
And Taiga was that 'inside.'
Because the natural energy only ignited after leaving his body, the shockwave was directed outward.
This made the explosion look terrifying, but the very center was actually the safest spot. At most, he endured a heavy shockwave, which was nothing to a Sage Body of Taiga's caliber.
Seeing Taiga alive, Hiruzen visibly sighed in relief. Without hesitation, he dashed toward the Nine-Tails.
"Enma!"
Hiruzen hurled the Adamantine Staff with all his might while rapidly weaving hand seals.
"Hmph!"
A grunt of acknowledgment came from the Adamantine Staff before it rapidly expanded.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
At the same time, a series of popping sounds echoed as the Adamantine Staff multiplied—one became two, two became four... until a massive cluster of staffs rained down on the Nine-Tails.
Each staff transformed from Enma was like a giant pillar. They quickly spread out, as if guided by eyes, and slammed down around the Nine-Tails' four limbs.
"Ninja Art: Adamantine Prison Wall!"
Hiruzen landed, completing his hand seals.
*Clack! Clack! Clack!*
Amidst a series of sharp clanking sounds, the Adamantine Staffs interlocked and stacked together, firmly pinning the Nine-Tails' four limbs to the ground like a giant shackle.
"Roar!!!"
The Nine-Tails struggled wildly, throwing its head back in a furious roar.
"Keep quiet."
Taiga, still perched on its head, showed no mercy. He ruthlessly brought another heavy punch down, landing with a loud thud that left the Nine-Tails' head paralyzed for a split second.
"Five-Style: Massive Combo Jutsu!"
*Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!*
With a series of pops, four shadow clones appeared beside Hiruzen, all completing their hand seals in unison.
The next moment, ninjutsu of five different chakra natures—Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, and Wind—were unleashed by Hiruzen and his clones simultaneously.
Tongues of fire spewed forth.
Fierce winds howled.
Boulders shot through the air.
Lightning crackled.
A water dragon surged.
Representing the absolute pinnacle of chakra nature transformation in the five basic styles—just one step shy of a Kekkei Genkai—they took shape and converged on the Nine-Tails.
The result of combining five high-level elemental jutsu at once was self-evident.
Bathed in multicolored light, the five ninjutsu struck the Nine-Tails squarely in its flank, all hitting the exact same spot.
The five different chakra natures mixed together. Beyond the sheer destructive force of the jutsu themselves, their fusion triggered a devastating chain reaction.
Like ignited gasoline, it combusted instantly, concentrated in a very small area. The result, naturally, was... an explosion!
*BOOM!*
Blinding fire erupted, accompanied by billowing smoke and dust.
The massive blast detonated against the Nine-Tails' side, instantly forcing its massive body to tip over. However, because its four limbs were pinned, it was left awkwardly suspended, half-fallen.
This explosion naturally couldn't compare to Taiga's earlier self-destruction, but it had to be said—the title of 'The Professor' was completely justified. This single move was enough to showcase Hiruzen's immense power as the Hokage.
However, it was clearly not enough to take down the Nine-Tails.
Taiga steadied himself. Just as he was about to make a move, he caught sight of the Nine-Tails' eyes from the corner of his vision.
The eyes that had previously been overlaid with the three-tomoe pattern had now faded, returning to the Nine-Tails' original slitted pupils.
Taiga knew exactly why. Obviously, this wasn't the result of the Five-Style Massive Combo Jutsu.
'Has Namikaze Minato already dealt with Uchiha Obito?'
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the sharp sound of something cutting through the air.
The next moment, a figure wearing the Hokage cloak appeared on top of the Nine-Tails.
The newcomer had blond hair and handsome features, though his expression was currently dead serious. It was Namikaze Minato.
"Taiga?"
As soon as Minato appeared, he also noticed Taiga standing on the Nine-Tails' head.
"Why are you here?"
Perhaps because he had just disengaged from his battle with Uchiha Obito, seeing another Uchiha with the Sharingan immediately made Minato suspicious.
Simply because the timing was far too coincidental.
"Okay, I've had my fun."
Seeing that the newcomer was Minato, Taiga naturally noticed the suspicion in his eyes and lost all interest in sticking around.
It was a bit of a pity that he didn't get to witness the iconic scene of Flying Raijin Level 2 absolutely thrashing that bastard Uchiha Obito.
Since the main character had arrived, he naturally had no desire to stay any longer.
For no other reason than he couldn't be bothered to explain himself.
"You can handle the rest yourself."
With that, Taiga prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
Minato tried to stop him, but Taiga beat him to the punch.
"Don't look at me. This has nothing to do with me. If you have questions, go ask the Third. I'm out."
Right at that moment, Hiruzen arrived.
Seeing that Hiruzen made no move against Taiga, Minato naturally realized he had wrongfully suspected the boy, so he didn't say anything more.
With no time to explain, he simply nodded to Hiruzen below, then bit his thumb and rapidly wove hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
*Poof!*
A giant toad fell from the sky, slamming heavily onto the Nine-Tails and pinning it to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Minato formed another set of hand seals and called out to Hiruzen, "Lord Third, I will find a way to seal the Nine-Tails again. I leave this place to you."
Hiruzen hurriedly asked, "What happened with Kushina?"
Minato's expression darkened. "Someone with the Sharingan appeared and attacked Kushina..."
He briefly explained the situation. Then, seeing the Nine-Tails beginning to struggle again, his expression changed drastically.
"There's no time to explain further."
With that, he pressed a hand against the Nine-Tails.
The next moment.
*Whoosh!*
A massive gust of wind howled as the Nine-Tails' colossal figure vanished along with Minato.
*Thud!*
The giant toad hit the ground with a heavy thud, then dispersed into a cloud of white smoke with a loud pop, ending the summon.
Taiga landed on Konoha's outer wall, gazing into the distance where the Nine-Tails had disappeared. The chaos in the village behind him didn't affect him in the slightest.
He shook his head, letting out a sigh.
"Indeed, good people don't live long."