Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Roars, screams, and cries...

All these sounds converged, making this night in Konoha incredibly chaotic, like the end of the world.

At this moment, the attention of almost every ninja in Konoha was focused on the Nine-Tails.

The terrifying behemoth they had failed to stop, despite their best efforts, was suddenly kicked into the air.

The shock brought by this scene was beyond words. Anyone with working eyes who witnessed this was left dumbfounded, as if they had been caught in a genjutsu.

"Release!"

Indeed, someone actually formed hand seals, attempting to dispel the illusion.

When they realized it wasn't a genjutsu but reality, the sheer impact and astonishment were indescribable.

Panic and unease...

Disbelief...

Followed immediately by wild ecstasy.

"W-Who is that?"

"Why does it look like a child?"

"It's that kid from the Uchiha clan!"

"Who?"

"The one who destroyed the Ninja Academy a few years ago."

Sharp gasps of realization rippled through the onlookers.

While the numerous ninjas were shocked, they also felt a surge of inspiration.

In the short time since the Nine-Tails appeared, the destruction it had caused to the village was already incalculable, and the number of civilian casualties remained unknown.

Even if these ninjas fought with everything they had, they couldn't halt the Nine-Tails' advance.

But now, someone who could actually stop the beast in its tracks had finally appeared!

*Swish!*

*Swish!*

Amidst the sound of rushing wind, several figures landed on a rooftop. Leading them was Sarutobi Hiruzen, followed by Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and others. All of them were clad in combat attire, their brows furrowed as they stared in the direction of the Nine-Tails.

"It's Uchiha Taiga!" Utatane Koharu said, her voice grave. "Why is he there?"

No one gave her an answer.

"Now is not the time to worry about that. I will use Enma to drive the Nine-Tails out of the village. Each of you will lead your teams and coordinate with me."

Knowing they had no time to dwell on the details, the others nodded in agreement.

*Swish!*

A few more figures appeared via Body Flicker. It was Shimura Danzo and his Root operatives.

"Hiruzen!" Shimura Danzo spoke up immediately. "I have already sent Root operatives to deliver an order, forbidding the Uchiha from taking action."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand movements didn't stop. He bit his thumb and rapidly formed hand seals, asking simultaneously, "What did you find?"

"The Nine-Tails is being controlled by the Sharingan," Shimura Danzo stated.

At these words, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "Are you certain?"

"It's confirmed. The Jinchuriki went into labor tonight, and I took precautions very early on. Unfortunately, I still missed the Uchiha."

Every word he spoke was designed to shift the blame onto the Uchiha clan.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance. The former said, "If it's the Uchiha, we should have taken precautions earlier."

Utatane Koharu also nodded. "Danzo did the right thing."

The corners of Shimura Danzo's mouth twitched upward imperceptibly before he replaced his expression with one of heavy solemnity.

"I told Uchiha Taiga to go back, but that brat didn't listen. After tonight, both he and the Uchiha must be punished."

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his hand onto the ground. Summoning formulas spread outward, and with a loud *poof*, a cloud of white smoke erupted. A humanoid summoning beast over two meters tall appeared within the dust.

It was the Monkey King Enma.

"We will deal with the Nine-Tails first. Something went wrong on Uzumaki Kushina's end, and Minato hasn't shown up yet. He must have run into trouble..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a deep sense of unease. Finishing his thought, he called out to Enma, "Adamantine Staff!"

"Hmph!"

Enma spotted the Nine-Tails the moment he appeared. Without wasting words, he leaped high into the air. His figure exploded into white smoke mid-flight, and by the time he descended, he had transformed into a long, pitch-black staff.

"Everyone, let's go!"

The Adamantine Staff rapidly extended, shooting straight toward the Nine-Tails.

"Yes, sir!"

The crowd behind him scattered. Even Shimura Danzo quickly departed with his Root operatives to provide support elsewhere.

The Nine-Tails was still falling.

Below it, Uchiha Taiga leaped up again the moment his feet touched the ground, this time soaring even higher than the Nine-Tails.

One falling, one rising—the two converged in midair.

Uchiha Taiga twisted his body once more, spinning rapidly in the air like a top before whipping out another kick that struck like a sledgehammer.

*Bang!*

A muffled thud accompanied the Nine-Tails' roar as Uchiha Taiga's leg smashed into the beast's cheek.

For this strike, Uchiha Taiga utilized every force-generating technique of his Monstrous Strength. Powered by his SS-rank Sage Body, the explosive force he unleashed was truly terrifying.

The Nine-Tails' massive body was actually sent flying backward once again.

But he wasn't done yet.

Uchiha Taiga landed on a nearby rooftop, immediately pushed off with explosive force, and leaped high into the air. Moving faster than the beast was flying backward, he quickly caught up to the Nine-Tails.

That old dog Shimura Danzo had run away, so he needed something else to vent his frustrations on. The Nine-Tails was the perfect candidate.

It couldn't be beaten to death, and it couldn't talk back. What a perfect punching bag.

Uchiha Taiga didn't care about much, but he wasn't a pushover either. When he was angry, he naturally had to let it out.

He landed squarely on the Nine-Tails' head, grabbed a fistful of its fur, and prepared to swing his fist, ready to give the beast a good taste of a reincarnator's iron fist.

Just then, a long, thick black staff shot in from the side, viciously jabbing into the Nine-Tails' flank.

The immense force caused the Nine-Tails to roar loudly. Its massive body, which hadn't even hit the ground yet, was forcefully shoved backward through the air.

With a deafening crash!

The Nine-Tails smashed through Konoha's outer wall and tumbled outside the village.

A brief cheer erupted within the village. All the ninjas knew who had just intervened, and seeing the Nine-Tails driven out of the village naturally lifted their spirits.

"Wait! I haven't gotten off yet!"

Still riding on the Nine-Tails' head, Uchiha Taiga frowned, realizing something was wrong. But before he could think too much about it, the Nine-Tails hit the ground and began to roll. He had no choice but to grip its fur tightly to anchor himself.

"Roar!"

Furious, the Nine-Tails planted its four limbs on the ground and threw its head back in a thunderous roar. Discovering a tiny pest on its head, it immediately began thrashing its head wildly to shake him off.

Uchiha Taiga felt like he had been tossed into a washing machine; the turbulence was beyond description.

Without another word, he decided to throw a few punches to warm up.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

Punch after punch landed with bone-jarring impact, every single strike unleashing the absolute pinnacle of his Monstrous Strength.

The tremendous force hammered into the Nine-Tails' head. The resulting sounds were muffled, but the shockwaves were immense.

The Nine-Tails was truly suffering now.

Uchiha Taiga might have been minuscule compared to the beast, but his fists were anything but light.

If Kinkaku and Ginkaku could injure the Nine-Tails with their incomplete Sage Bodies, the damage inflicted by Uchiha Taiga—whose Sage Body rivaled that of Hagoromo Otsutsuki—went without saying.

Three punches a second wasn't Uchiha Taiga's limit, but the Nine-Tails was already howling in agony. The three-tomoe Sharingan pattern in its eyes even flickered unsteadily, a clear testament to the sheer weight of Taiga's blows.

"Rooaar!!!"

The Nine-Tails thrashed its head frantically, desperate to break free from Uchiha Taiga's grip. However, Taiga was simply too small, making it impossible for the beast to shake him loose.

Suddenly, it opened its jaws, aiming recklessly in the direction of Konoha. Natural energy rapidly gathered in front of its massive maw, gradually condensing into a single point.

That point lit up like a beacon, instantly turning blindingly bright before expanding amidst a violent gale.

A Tailed Beast Bomb!

"Oh no!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was rushing toward the Nine-Tails' location, saw this and his expression changed drastically.

At the same time, Uchiha Taiga also witnessed the scene.

He naturally knew what a Tailed Beast Bomb was. Perhaps no one understood its destructive power better than he did.

"Alright, fine. So that's how you want to play."

Uchiha Taiga's eyes flashed with ruthlessness.

With a mere thought, he instantly refined chakra within his body. With his abilities, doing so was as natural as breathing; it was simply a matter of whether he wanted to or not.

Possessing a Sage Body, his chakra refinement speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person. In the blink of an eye, the chakra within him reached the threshold required to trigger his own natural energy.

In that instant, Uchiha Taiga turned into pure light!

The radiance he emitted was not the slightest bit weaker than the Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Wait!!!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to stop Uchiha Taiga.

Although he had witnessed Uchiha Taiga's "self-destruction" with his own eyes before, facing it still left him with lingering fear every time. No one knew if Taiga's next self-destruction would be the one that finally killed him.

And right now, this was the absolute last thing Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to see.

The next moment.

*Rumble!*

An earth-shattering boom echoed outward. Preceding the deafening sound was a blinding, incandescent light that instantly flooded the vision of everyone who witnessed the scene.

Under the moonlit night, everyone in Konoha saw a second sun rise outside the village!