A terrifying explosion erupted from the cave behind them!
Captain Yellow Dog was a Fire Release Jonin. Judging by the scale of the blast, it had to be his doing.
Yako didn't use Fire Release and didn't know whether it consumed oxygen. If it did, wouldn't everyone inside the cave suffocate?
In fires, over 90% of victims die from poisoning and asphyxiation—few are actually burned to death.
Yako quickly distanced himself from the cave.
He had already warned Captain Yellow Dog. That was the most he could do. From this point on, it was the tall ones' job to hold up the sky if it collapsed.
The two Iwa-nin who had tunneled underground were dealt with by the ANBU squad. But from the woods ahead, two more Iwa squads emerged.
Yako created a Shadow Clone, placing it in front of Purple Cat.
This clone would serve as her shield. Purple Cat had to seize the moment to use Mind Body Switch Technique.
With just two people left in their squad, every action was critical.
There was no time to worry about whether using the Yamanaka clan's jutsu would reveal Purple Cat's lineage.
Yako drew his blade and charged at the Iwa-nin.
More than ten kunai whistled toward him. He raised his blade and deflected them all with sharp, clean arcs.
The enemy squad captain was stunned—this Fox-masked ANBU had such solid fundamentals? That reaction speed—he wasn't your average ANBU.
Two Iwa-nin rushed him while the squad captain stood back, forming hand seals for a jutsu.
Yako's sword danced in the dark, light glinting with every motion.
Under the style of Cloud Flow Sword Technique, he decisively slashed down the left-side Iwa-nin, killing him instantly.
The other struck at Yako's ribs with precise timing—his kunai aimed true.
Yako hadn't had time to recover his stance.
The shinobi Ōnoki brought were all elite.
Yako could counterattack and take him down, but he'd likely be injured in the process.
Just then, the Iwa-nin froze mid-motion.
Purple Cat collapsed—she'd successfully taken control of his body.
Yako wasted no time, slashing down the immobilized enemy.
But the Iwa squad captain's jutsu had already launched!
Hundreds of stone bullets howled through the air like a storm of lead.
Yako was already prepared—he formed the one-handed half-Ox Seal for Earth-Style: Earth Substitution.
The rocks struck "Yako," but the impact was that of splashing mud.
Splurt!
His body turned into a slurry of mud, chunks blasted in all directions.
The Iwa squad captain was once again shocked.
Why would a Konoha shinobi know such an advanced Earth Release technique from Iwagakure?
Even he, a squad captain from Iwa, didn't know Earth Substitution, an A-rank jutsu!
Instinctively, he leapt upward.
After Earth Substitution, the usual next move was an underground sneak attack—a favorite trick of Iwa Jonin.
Sure enough, a kunai shot up from below him.
He thanked his reflexes for dodging the Fox ANBU's ambush.
But when the kunai passed his eyes, he saw something—an Explosive Tag was wrapped around the hilt!
Boom!
The explosion flung the Iwa squad captain into the air.
Yako pulled another kunai from his pouch and hurled it with precision.
It embedded in the man's throat. Execution complete.
After clearing out one squad, Yako returned to Purple Cat's side.
His blade was fast—he worried whether Purple Cat's soul had returned in time. He didn't want to accidentally hurt her.
Seeing she was fine, he leapt into a tree and looked toward the distant battlefield.
Adamantine Staff, Dust Release, Wind Release, Earth, Fire—the battlefield was a swirling maelstrom.
But none of that was the true centerpiece.
Yako saw her.
In the valley, Uzumaki Mito walked out slowly.
No one supported her.
There was nothing old or frail about her anymore.
She stepped beyond the valley and brought her hands together in a seal.
Chakra boiled off her body, solidifying rapidly.
A sinister pressure blanketed Mount Ushika's base.
The air felt frigid, yet something primal and bloodthirsty stirred within.
This was the chakra of the Nine-Tails.
Around Mito, chakra swirled violently, slowly forming into the head of a snarling fox.
More and more Nine-Tails chakra emerged.
A fully-formed, translucent Nine-Tails loomed above the valley.
Its body was wrapped in chains. Iron links pierced through key joints—shoulders, hips, and waist.
This was a form never shown in the original series—a unique Tailed Beast Cloak form.
Only the Uzumaki clan's top sealing masters could manipulate the Nine-Tails like this using Adamantine Sealing Chains.
The Nine-Tails raised its head. In front of its gaping maw, a Tailed Beast Bomb began to take shape.
Ōnoki's anguished cry tore through the night:
"It's a trap! Uzumaki Mito isn't even near death!"
Seeing her overwhelming strength, Yako finally understood—this was never meant to be a real Sealing Transfer of the Nine-Tails.
Tonight was a banquet laid out for the enemy.
Few forces in the world were strong enough to intervene in Konoha's Nine-Tails sealing process. Iwagakure was one of them.
Release false intel, lure them in. The enemy would take the bait.
This was the perfect way to bleed Iwa.
There was no way Iwagakure, powerful as it was, could resist this temptation.
Now that they were here—let them taste what it meant to face the mightiest of Tailed Beasts.
Han, with his three tails, was no match at all.
His Tailed Beast Bomb was the size of a fist. The Nine-Tails'—dozens of meters wide, like a piece of a mountain.
The difference was colossal.
Iwa's sealing techniques were utter garbage—completely inferior to the Uzumaki's.
Mito had spent decades becoming a near-perfect Jinchūriki, developing her own ways of utilizing the Nine-Tails.
Konoha hadn't brought many shinobi tonight.
But now the advantage of fewer people was clear—every Konoha ninja turned and ran for their lives.
Iwa didn't give up. They tried raising walls of Earth Flow Ramps and Earth-Style Barriers.
But before the Nine-Tails' massive Tailed Beast Bomb, they were no better than playing cards against a hurricane.
Yako looked down and shouted to Purple Cat: "Run! Hurry!"
He didn't dare look again. He sprinted with all his might.
Chakra flooded his legs. Body Flicker Technique pushed to the limit.
Purple Cat used Body Flicker too—her speed wasn't slow.
They'd only run for seconds before the blast hit.
Yako tackled Purple Cat, forcing her to the ground.
The shockwave ripped the forest apart. Tree crowns shredded, trunks tilted 45°, almost snapping in half.
They were a full kilometer from the explosion—and it still hit with devastating force.
The Iwa-nin at ground zero… had suffered.
Ten seconds, maybe fifteen—the shockwave finally faded.
Yako climbed up, instantly pulled out his binoculars, and leapt onto a slanted tree trunk to look back.
Where Iwa once stood—only a massive crater remained.
Above it, a lone figure floated.
Ōnoki, using his Flight Technique, had survived.
He held someone in his arms—the unconscious Jinchūriki, Han.
Below, everything was scorched earth, raw soil exposed, not a single living soul.
"Shimura Danzō! I will kill you!"
Clearly, Ōnoki believed this was a trap set by Konoha's ANBU.
Spies and counter-spies. Intel and disinformation. That was the work of ANBU.