CHAPTER 241: CHAPTER 241: NINE-TAILS: GATE OF THE GREAT GOD? A FAMILIAR FEELING!

This was not the only group of rebellious Uchiha. Surrounding the summoned Nine-Tails, dozens more Uchiha ninjas were also lying in ambush. Nearly a hundred core members had chosen to rebel. This was the result of the efforts of Uchiha Shinji and Uchiha Inabi.

But now, one after another, fireballs spewed from their mouths, blasting towards Ryoho Kyohiko and the Nine-Tails, seemingly wanting to kill them both.

Ryoho Kyohiko glanced around. This group of idiots! Even now, these people still wanted to attack him. Did they really think that Obito and Black Zetsu would help them? He sneered.

Flying Thunder God!

Ryoho Kyohiko appeared on the Nine-Tails’ head.

"AWOOO!"

A roar.

Chakra exploded from the Nine-Tails’ body, sweeping in all directions. Previously, when splitting the Nine-Tails, he had left a Flying Thunder God formula on each Tailed Beast clone. The reason he could quickly teleport and divert the Tailed Beast Bomb just now was by using that symbol as a springboard to get close, allowing him to instantly arrive in front of the Nine-Tails.

But now, since this group of people was obstinately blind to reason... Then I’ll send you to your deaths!

A fierce glint flashed in Ryoho Kyohiko’s eyes. The Uchiha were indeed a powerful force, but those who were bent on rebellion and fighting against Konoha ninjas were definitely not one of his own! Death was their best destiny.

Boom!

The frenzied Nine-Tails, fearless of any ninjutsu attack, sent everyone in the vicinity scattering with a single tremor.

The next second, Ryoho Kyohiko’s gaze hardened, and he formed hand seals. One by one, trees grew from below. The trees were not tall, but every single one was a pine tree, exuding a thick resin into the surroundings. In an instant, the resin connected into a sheet. As the forest grew, those who couldn’t escape in time were all frozen within the resin.

Wood Style: Advent of an Amber World!

Under the terrifying amber, even the Nine-Tails was temporarily frozen. Seeing that the Nine-Tails was still struggling, the next second, Ryoho Kyohiko leaped up, clapped his hands together, and a continuous stream of sage chakra poured out from his body.

The Nine-Tails looked up, a rare trace of clarity appearing in its eyes. This presence again... so familiar!

The next second, one by one, trees appeared in the sky, forming the shape of torii gates. And then. Boom!

Layer upon layer of the "Gate of the Great God" stacked up, each layer pressing it down to the ground. In just a few seconds, its entire body was locked by the Gates of the Great God, unable to move anymore.

Damn you, Gate of the Great God! the Nine-Tails roared. This familiar suppression reminded it of the humiliating scenes of the past. Being controlled by Madara’s dōjutsu... being hammered by Senju Hashirama’s Wood Style and Sage Art!

"AWOOO!"

"Alright, stop howling."

Ryoho Kyohiko pressed his hand on its head and began to extract chakra, using a form of the Temple of Nirvana Technique to counteract and relieve the mental turmoil caused by the genjutsu.

One second, two seconds... After a few seconds passed, the Nine-Tails was still struggling with all its might.

Ryoho Kyohiko frowned.

"That’s about enough. If you keep making a scene, believe it or not, I’ll punch you."

Although he hadn’t yet learned the True Several Thousand Hands, the Wood Human Technique was not difficult. Punching a Nine-Tails clone was perfectly doable.

Clone #1 stopped. It had indeed been released from the genjutsu. Just now, it had only wanted to try and see if it could break free from Kyohiko’s Gate of the Great God. The result was obvious. With only a quarter of its chakra, it was simply impossible for it to break free from the restraints of these wooden structures. Even with all its chakra, it probably couldn’t...

The Nine-Tails lay on the ground, completely subdued. It knew it could never escape the clutches of the person above it. Another hundred years of suffering! The light in the Nine-Tails’ eyes faded.

Boom! A loud noise.

"How is it? Do you need me to seal it?"

Uzumaki Kushina quickly jumped over, her body blooming with fiery red chakra. But seeing the scene before her, she was stunned for a long time. "Is it over?"

"No, you’ve come at the right time."

Ryoho Kyohiko clapped his hands. "Restore its contract seal. It would be best to change it a bit, add a few more layers of insurance, so Madara can’t easily break it."

"Umm, I’ll do my best..."

Uzumaki Kushina scratched her head, not daring to boast for a moment. She had thought it was foolproof before, but she hadn’t expected that Madara could forcibly break it with a scroll and sealed chakra. Just as Kyohiko had said, to be foolproof, the contract must be completely and thoroughly sealed, and even—the structure of the Nine-Tails had to be changed. Difficult! She frowned.

"Let’s apply the normal seal first. I’ll carefully study later how to completely seal the summoning contract on a spiritual level."

"Alright, then I’ll have to trouble you."

Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.

In other areas, Kushina might not be very reliable, coming up with some whimsical ninjutsu. But when it came to sealing jutsu, she was definitely an expert. Even Minato might not be as proficient as her.

"Where’s Minato?"

"He sensed your presence and thought it was definitely safe here, so he went directly to the perimeter."

"Mm."

Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.

Lock the door and beat the dog, don’t let the enemy run away. Against normal people, Minato’s strategy was correct, but Obito and Black Zetsu were not in that category, especially—Obito had reawakened his space-time ability. Facing such an enemy, even if Minato encountered him, he might not be able to discover or subdue him.

Ryoho Kyohiko looked at the Uchiha ninjas sealed in the amber world in front of him, pondering how to deal with them. Currently, they were not yet dead. But if they continued to be sealed in the amber for a period of time, then it would be hard to say. As Kyohiko pondered, he applied a seal, resealing most of the Nine-Tails’ chakra, returning it to its previous miniature state.

At this time—Swish! One by one, figures flickered over from the direction of Konoha Village. Arriving beside Kyohiko, Sarutobi Hiruzen held a staff, his face grave.

"What happened?"

"As you can see, a part of the Uchiha has rebelled. According to my observation, Clan Head Fugaku is suppressing the rebellion, and the part over here has been taken care of by me."

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyes widened. Was he asking about the Uchiha? He was asking about the Nine-Tails! Ryoho Kyohiko’s understatement seemed to describe the facts, but it left out the Nine-Tails. Such a terrifying Tailed Beast, why did its seal break? And the current Kushina is fine, so it’s clear that the Nine-Tails inside Kushina was not unsealed.

The Nine-Tails... why did it come out? He stared at the miniature version of the Nine-Tails, his beard bristling.

The Nine-Tails didn’t indulge him.

"Old man, what are you looking at? I, your grandpa, just came out, so what?"

"???"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the clamoring Nine-Tails with a bewildered expression, then looked at Kyohiko and Kushina, his face gradually turning unfriendly.

Ryoho Kyohiko coughed lightly.

"Alright Nine-Tails, say a few less words. Sandaime-sama, for the specific situation, we’ll talk later in the meeting room. For now, I think what’s more important is..."

He pointed to the Uchiha clansmen before them.

"In a few more minutes, if I don’t release the jutsu, they will be directly solidified to death by the amber. So, the key now is how to deal with them."

Ryoho Kyohiko pondered for a moment.

"These people, while I was saving the Uchiha clan and dealing with the Nine-Tails, still wanted to kill both me and the Nine-Tails. I have determined that they are incorrigible and recommend execution."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked around, and his heart immediately became heavy. This forest surrounded by amber... at this moment, was freezing Uchiha ninjas one by one. Some of them were even still in the motion of leaping or body flickering, but unfortunately, under the amber world, they could not escape at all. This was the ultimate Wood Style ninjutsu that combined Deep Forest Emergence and the Amber Jutsu, a creation unique to Kyohiko. Even Senju Hashirama had never developed in this direction. Such a powerful ninjutsu... Sarutobi Hiruzen was amazed in his heart, having a clearer understanding of Kyohiko’s current strength.

The current Kyohiko had indeed surpassed the scope of his imagination, already very close to the power of Senju Hashirama back then. Dealing with a part of the Nine-Tails was simply a piece of cake. So, the other party had absolute confidence in keeping the losses to a minimum, and...

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the Uchiha clan. Combined with Kyohiko’s past style, he vaguely pieced together the outline of the truth in his mind. Entrapment. An old routine, but indeed effective.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly, then rubbed his temples. Killing them... is a bit too extreme!

"Let’s imprison them first. As for how to deal with them specifically, we’ll hold a meeting later to discuss."

This wasn’t one or two rogue-nin, but dozens, or even a hundred! It could even be said that eighty percent of the Uchiha’s combat power had very likely participated in today’s rebellion. If they were all killed, the Uchiha would be nearly extinct. The responsibility was too great!

A slight smile touched Ryoho Kyohiko’s lips. He naturally didn’t plan to kill them all. But the impact it would cause might make many of the Konoha families feel afraid. After all, the Uchiha were a prominent clan, in charge of an entire Police Force, and could appoint the leader of the Police Force themselves. In Konoha... only the Uchiha had such an honor. This kind of thing could easily escalate into a centralization of power, targeting families, and so on. Even if the influence could be quelled after a long time, the suspicion caused in the short term would definitely not be small. It was better to avoid it if possible.

The main thing was to let the Third Hokage say it himself—who knew, Sarutobi Hiruzen happened to be here. If he were to release them himself now, this old man might become a contrarian again later.

Ryoho Kyohiko satisfyingly dissolved a part of the amber, allowing these people to breathe freely and not be directly petrified into "collections" inside the amber. All the Uchiha ninjas’ faces instantly showed expressions of terror and fear. A few of them even had new changes appear in the tomoe in their eyes. However, such emotions didn’t seem to allow them to awaken the Mangekyo. Or rather... these people’s abilities and talents were too weak, they simply didn’t have the potential to awaken the Mangekyo.

That was also true. If the threat of death and emotions could allow them to awaken a higher level of Mangekyo, the Uchiha in the original timeline would not have been so easily wiped out. Ryoho Kyohiko secretly grumbled. The Uchiha’s eye-awakening also had limitations on ability and their own talent. Otherwise, in these years, there would not have been only a few people who had mastered the secret of the Mangekyo.

He glanced around.

"You can choose to continue to fight, or obediently follow my subordinates’ arrangements and enter the prison, awaiting the village’s judgment."

No one answered. All the Uchiha family members here were frightened by Kyohiko’s methods. Such a means of control... they had no ability to resist at all. Numbers were meaningless in front of Kyohiko! They looked at each other, and finally fell into a long silence. Betrayal equals death. This was the iron law of ninjas. They didn’t think they could be exempted. Konoha probably had no intention of letting them go.

After a moment of silence, Ryoho Kyohiko nodded lightly.

"I understand. Then let’s take them away first."

He waved his hand, and one by one, figures flickered out from the shadows, instantly controlling them, taking away the Uchiha clansmen controlled by the amber.

After dozens of people were taken away, Ryoho Kyohiko looked at Kushina and Hiruzen beside him, as well as the ninjas who had come to support, who were looking at each other, not knowing what to do next.

Ryoho Kyohiko said.

"The chaos within the Uchiha clan, I think we can let them solve it themselves."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked deeply at Kyohiko.

"You are very confident."

Ryoho Kyohiko answered frankly.

"It’s not that I’m confident, but their strongest combat power is all here. And on my way here, I have already met Fugaku senpai’s wife and son and know the general situation."

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long sigh, then his expression became serious.

"Do as you wish. I am already old. If you need my help, just say so. I will never cherish my life."

He knew that between himself, Kyohiko, and Tsunade, there were some political disagreements and misunderstandings. But for Konoha, he had the determination to sacrifice everything, including himself.

Ryoho Kyohiko shook his head.

"It hasn’t reached that point yet."

Compared to Danzo, Hiruzen was still a tiny bit better. Of course, it was only a tiny bit. He shook his head, then said.

"I’ll go inside and take a look. You can go back and rest first. There won’t be any chaos here. We’ll discuss the specific situation at the meeting tomorrow."

"Alright."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.

By now, he had long understood that everything was within the design and was unlikely to go wrong. Naturally, he no longer worried. After nodding in agreement, he left with peace of mind.

However, Kushina on the side was not so self-aware.

"Did you know? I activated a new Tailed Beast mode before. It’s just as you said, if the Nine-Tails is willing to cooperate with me, the effect is completely different..."

She chattered about her powerful strength just now. Ryoho Kyohiko smiled without saying a word. After a good while, he finally said.

"Well then, Kushina-senpai, have you truly reconciled with Kurama?"

Hmm?

Uzumaki Kushina was stunned for a moment, then fell silent. Obviously... no. The reason she was able to get Kurama’s help this time was mainly because of Uchiha Madara’s presence, which made Kurama determined to cooperate. So, the initiative was with the Nine-Tails, not her. In other words—although this power was strong, it did not belong to her.

"Ahhh! Damn it, one day, I will make it willing to cooperate with me!"

Uzumaki Kushina screamed.

Then, a small Nine-Tails was thrown onto her. The person and the beast looked at each other. The person saw contempt in the beast’s eyes, and the beast saw a threat in the person’s eyes...

The next second. Bang!

A powerful force knocked it to the ground.

"You actually sneaked out today! Made me worry about you!"

The Nine-Tails clone took a punch, speechless in its heart—it’s clearly you who’s too thoughtless! It had sensed that strong malice during the day, but Kushina had not noticed at all. Although it was because the other party’s target was not Kushina, as a ninja, Kushina was really not that qualified in its eyes. Of course, the "qualified" target the Nine-Tails was comparing to... Senju Hashirama, Uzumaki Mito, and Ryoho Kyohiko, Namikaze Minato. Strictly speaking, the standard was indeed a bit high.

The Nine-Tails clone glanced over, sighed inwardly, and pondered today’s events with boredom. He hadn’t expected that guy to actually still be alive! Besides that one, no second person knew the method of the Summoning Technique. What’s more, that familiar presence and chakra were genuinely from Uchiha Madara. What exactly does this guy Madara want to do? The Nine-Tails glanced at Kushina beside it. If it were Kushina’s ability, even if she encountered Madara, it would probably be difficult to defeat him. Fortunately, its clone came out and could cooperate with Namikaze Minato. That guy was still pretty good!