The night sky above Konohagakure burned red with fire and chakra.
When Minato reappeared on top of Hokage Rock in a yellow flash, the scene that greeted him was one of pure devastation.
The Nine-Tails.
A beast of nightmare and chakra incarnate, now rampaging through the heart of the village.
Each swipe of its claws flattened city blocks. Each swing of its tails sent rooftops spinning into the air. Whole avenues disappeared under its crushing weight. It wasn't just destroying houses—it was tearing into the soul of the village itself.
The kunai and jutsu of dozens of ordinary Konoha shinobi flashed around it like sparks. But no matter how many launched attacks, they couldn't even leave a scratch. Their efforts, against this walking calamity, were like trying to stab a storm cloud.
And why would it be any different?
The Nine-Tails wasn't just a beast—it was chakra given form. A physical manifestation of energy so dense and violent, it could level mountains on instinct.
Even standing still, its defenses were stronger than most people's strongest jutsu.
The village was in chaos.
And at its center, standing tall and unwavering above the storm, was Minato Namikaze.
The Fourth Hokage.
Blue eyes sharp with resolve, golden hair flickering like fire in the wind.
The Nine-Tails had noticed him almost immediately. It stopped mid-roar and turned its burning red gaze toward the Hokage Rock.
Even under Obito's control, the beast retained some instinct.
And its instinct screamed danger when it saw Minato.
Without hesitation, it opened its jaws wide. Black and purple chakra surged between its fangs, compressing rapidly into a deadly sphere of destruction.
A Tailed Beast Ball—the size of a small hill.
Condensed destruction aimed straight at Hokage Rock.
The chakra ball whined and groaned as it stabilized, then shot forward with terrifying speed.
The village beneath it barely had time to react.
Buildings were torn apart before the explosion even hit. Shockwaves cracked walls. Trees ripped from the earth. The destructive force traveled ahead of the sphere like a stormfront, promising total annihilation.
But just before it could detonate—
A flash.
A strange ripple distorted the air in front of the Hokage Rock.
A massive space-time barrier expanded outward, shimmering with layers of sealing arrays and complex formulas. It folded reality, warping the space around the Tailed Beast Ball.
Minato moved faster than the explosion. His eyes narrowed as he raised both hands, manipulating the sealing grid mid-air.
And then—whoosh!
The entire Tailed Beast Ball vanished.
Transferred.
Dozens of kilometers away, deep in the uninhabited wilderness, the sphere detonated.
BOOM!
The sky turned white.
A ring of destruction expanded in every direction, carving a fresh crater into the earth the size of a small village.
Birds fled for miles. Trees vaporized. The shockwave flattened distant mountain slopes.
And all of it—had been meant for Konohagakure.
Minato landed gently, his coat fluttering as the dust settled. His face was grim, but calm.
This was the Fourth Hokage at his peak.
The man who ended the Third Great Ninja War.
The man feared by the five great nations.
The man who could move between places faster than sound and seal entire demons into newborns.
He wasn't just the Yellow Flash.
He was the line between survival and annihilation.
But as impressive as his defense was—there was still one enemy watching closely.
In the shadows behind the ruined battlefield, Obito Uchiha narrowed his eyes.
That teleportation speed… That control over space-time…
It was even faster than before.
"Tch…"
He couldn't let this go on.
If Minato had time to interfere, he might reseal the Nine-Tails completely. The plan would fall apart.
No more hesitation.
Obito appeared behind Minato in a flicker, aiming to grab him and suck him into the Kamui Dimension.
But he missed.
Just as Obito's hand phased through Minato's shoulder, the Fourth Hokage vanished in a yellow flash.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
Minato reappeared meters away, eyes sharp.
Obito scowled under his mask. He hated this technique.
They both knew they couldn't fight in the village. So they moved—each knowing exactly where to go.
To the outskirts.
To the ruined forest clearing where it all began.
There, under the broken moonlight, the real fight began.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile… not far from the battlefield…
In the darkness just beyond the treeline, three shadows stood watching.
Tobirama Senju glanced around wildly. "Where are we now?"
Hashirama didn't answer right away.
He'd already seen this before. He could feel it.
The scent in the air, the chakra lingering in the soil… this was decades beyond their time.
"This is… the future," Hashirama murmured.
Tobirama turned sharply. "What!?"
Kai calmly walked forward, his tone as steady as ever. "Yes. This is the 51st year of Konohagakure's history. Tobirama—you are 34 years in the future. Hashirama, 50."
"Wait, wait, wait." Tobirama blinked hard. "You're saying this is real? This isn't genjutsu?"
"Do I look like a genjutsu?" Kai gestured toward the battlefield. "The Nine-Tails is attacking your village. Right now."
Tobirama turned, and his breath caught in his throat.
The Nine-Tails.
Roaring. Thrashing. Unleashing devastation in the heart of his legacy.
His village.
Konohagakure.
The seal had failed.
And in that moment, Tobirama's mind raced faster than any jutsu. "But that shouldn't be possible. The sealing method from the Uzumaki Clan—Mito's seal—was stable. The Jinchūriki shouldn't have lost control unless…"
Kai spoke coldly: "Unless someone made it happen."
Tobirama's fists clenched.
"Do you still believe," Kai asked slowly, "that Konoha's sealing techniques and Uchiha 'cooperation' are enough to guarantee peace?"
Tobirama couldn't answer.
His mouth opened, but no words came.
A punch to the gut would've hurt less.
"I… I had safeguards. We had protocols."
"None of it mattered," Kai said flatly.
"But what about the Uchiha? Where are they now? Kagami should be alive by now, right?"
"Kagami?" Kai chuckled. "Your precious student is long dead. Danzo stole his eye."
"Danzo?! That little prick—!"
"And the Uchiha clan?" Kai continued. "Ordered to stand down. Forbidden from interfering."
Tobirama froze. "What? Who gave that order?"
"Your monkey," Kai said coldly. "The Third Hokage."
Hashirama winced. "Hiruzen?"
Tobirama's voice rose. "Are you telling me that idiot told the Uchiha to stand down while the Nine-Tails attacked the village?!"
"Yes. He feared it would 'look suspicious' if the Uchiha fought the Nine-Tails. Since the beast was being controlled by Sharingan, it would only worsen relations."
"So instead of using their dojutsu to save the village, he… benched them?!"
Tobirama's face turned red with fury.
"This is exactly why I gave him that name!" he shouted. "Stupid monkey! He's so afraid of looking bad he'd rather watch the village burn!"
Hashirama tried to reason. "Maybe he just didn't want to provoke—"
Tobirama cut him off. "He didn't want to lead! That's what this is!"
"He could've chosen one trusted Uchiha to help counter the Nine-Tails. If there's suspicion, you investigate later. You don't freeze when the village is under attack!"
"I should've made Kagami Hokage," Tobirama muttered darkly. "He wouldn't have hesitated."
"I'm going down there," he said suddenly. "I'm going to fix this. I'll control the Nine-Tails myself."
"No," Kai said coldly.
"What?"
"You're not going anywhere."
Tobirama turned on him. "You expect me to watch the village burn?"
"This pain is necessary," Kai replied. "The Nine-Tails Rebellion is more than a disaster. It's a turning point of time. A lesson."
"What kind of logic is that!?"
"A logic that unifies the world," Kai said evenly. "A broken village must be rebuilt stronger. Not just patched."
"If you insist on going back, I'll send you home right now. And you'll learn nothing more about this timeline."
Tobirama was silent.
Then, finally, he took a breath and nodded. "…Fine."
Hashirama placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"We wait," he said gently.
They both looked toward the battlefield.
Minato and Obito clashed in the distance.
Seals sparked, kunai flew, and chakra lit the night like fireworks.
This was the beginning.
The moment that would shape everything to come.
"Watch closely," Kai said. "You're about to meet the man this world calls the Yellow Flash."