Just as Uchiha Mu was mumbling to himself, the wet sound of blood splattering echoed in his ears.

He turned quickly and was stunned—Kaito had appeared in front of the other ANBU at some point, a bloody kunai gripped tightly in his hand.

Uchiha Mu's eyes widened in disbelief. The ANBU around them all had red lines slit cleanly across their throats.

Some were still mid-hand seal, faces frozen in confusion and disbelief, unaware they were already dead.

Gulp.

Uchiha Mu swallowed nervously, unable to speak. If he dared say a word, he was certain he'd follow those ANBU to the afterlife in the blink of an eye.

He thought grimly,

"How can this man possibly be Tsunade sama's fiancé? He feels more like a god of death than anything else…"

Roar!

A massive claw—so large it seemed to blot out the sky—suddenly slammed down toward Kaito and Uchiha Mu.

Kaito lifted his head, calmly staring at the enormous paw overhead. Without a word, he raised his right hand slightly.

Bang!

A muffled impact exploded across the battlefield.

The ground beneath Kaito's feet caved inward from the pressure, and a powerful shockwave blasted outward in all directions.

The Nine-Tails froze for a split second. In its eyes, a flicker of confusion passed—like it had just struck an immovable wall.

Undeterred, it raised its claw again and brought it crashing down.

Once.

Twice.

A third time.

Over and over, the colossal paw slammed down.

Yet Kaito stood motionless, one arm still outstretched. His face was calm, almost bored. His thin palm remained steady, like an unyielding pillar holding up the heavens.

Uchiha Mu watched in stunned awe. Just moments ago, he thought he was doomed. Now… he understood why this man had crushed Sand shinobi and other top commanders without effort.

"That's it?" Kaito's gaze locked onto the Nine-Tails. There was a faint smirk in his voice.

"That all you've got?"

Uchiha Mu couldn't believe his ears.

"Is that… is that a provocation?" he muttered under his breath.

Roar!

Enraged, the Nine-Tails opened its maw wide. In an instant, dense black and white chakra particles spiraled into a tight sphere—a Tailed Beast Ball, formed faster than Uchiha Mu had ever seen.

It launched the attack directly at Kaito.

Still calm, Kaito raised his hand, white lightning crackling to life.

It surged forward in a blinding flash, and in the next moment, a square-shaped thunder barrier formed, enclosing the entire Nine-Tails within.

Boom!

The black Tailed Beast Ball struck the barrier head-on with devastating force. The sky shook with the impact.

Black energy flooded over the thunder barrier like a tidal wave, but the glowing electric walls held firm, absorbing the full fury of the blast. Outside the barrier, silence reigned. The ground didn't so much as tremble.

But inside—it was pure chaos.

The earth shattered. Rocks exploded. Dust clouds churned like a storm. It looked like the end of the world.

Uchiha Mu trembled as he stared.

"This… this is insane. It blocked the Tailed Beast Ball… just like that?" His voice was shaking, though he didn't realize it.

Inside the barrier, Kaito remained focused. With a mere thought, the electric walls began to close in, tightening slowly around the Nine-Tails.

Crack!

Crack!

Roar! Roar!

Kushina—completely cloaked in the Nine-Tails' chakra—let out a guttural, animalistic scream. It sounded nothing like a human's voice. It was the cry of a beast caged and burning.

Yet Kaito's face remained impassive. He gestured again.

From the walls of the barrier, thousands of white-blue lightning snakes emerged like flowing mercury, surging into the Nine-Tails all at once.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The beast howled louder than ever. In seconds, it was engulfed in flickering white lightning, like it wore a net of pure energy.

One minute passed.

Then two.

By the third minute, the beast's cries began to weaken.

Its massive form slowly began to shrink.

The fiery red chakra peeled back, retreating into Kushina's body. She dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Kaito exhaled quietly. With another silent command, the barrier faded away.

The storm was over.

Smoke rose from a deep, scorched pit in the earth. At its center, Kushina lay completely still. Her body was exposed, her chakra cloak fully gone.

Kaito didn't avert his gaze. His face was unreadable. He removed his outer robe and gently covered her before lifting her into his arms.

Just as he turned to leave—

Rustle. Rustle.

From the shadows, dozens of masked figures emerged like insects from the earth. ANBU. Root. A dense wave of shinobi now surrounded him.

"You must be Kaito," one Root agent said coldly. "Hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to us immediately."

Kaito scoffed, "I recognize your chakra. You were hiding nearby while I killed several of your comrades."

He glanced around, sneering.

"So brave now. But earlier, when your own were dying, you were nothing more than cowards watching from the dark. This is Konoha's elite? Pathetic."

He had sensed them earlier. Dozens of chakra signatures staying still, waiting, lurking. And now, when the danger had passed, they crept out from their holes like rats.

He scanned their numbers. Around fifty in total. The weakest were chunin-level, the strongest elite jonin.

Kaito's expression twisted into something between disgust and fury.

"So this is the proud might of Konoha. Fifty to one, like cowards."

He shifted Kushina slightly in his arms, then turned his gaze to the one who'd spoken.

"You want her? Fine. Tell me—who gave you the right to talk to me like that? Was it that sewer rat Danzo, or that fossil Hiruzen Sarutobi?"

The moment the words left his mouth, tension exploded among the ANBU and Root. Several reached for their weapons, chakra flickering dangerously.

Kaito stared them down.

"You want to attack me? You better think very carefully about what that'll cost you."

He took a step forward, his gaze cold and cutting, like blades slicing through the crowd.

"No," one ANBU said, his voice slightly softer than the rest. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki belongs to Konoha. Considering your relationship with Lady Tsunade, we are... allies."

Kaito chuckled coldly. "Tsunade?"

His laughter grew louder, more bitter. "You leeches never stop bringing her up, do you?"

He stepped forward again.

"Yes, Tsunade and I are close—but that has nothing to do with Konoha. Don't insult her by pretending otherwise."

"You want Kushina?" He lowered his voice. It dropped into something dark and razor-sharp.

"Then fight me for her."

He paused, letting the words settle like poison in their ears.

"And if you can't win…"

His eyes glowed with killing intent as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"…then none of you leave here alive."

__

I've held up my end.....so, where are my power stones?