"Tsunade, you came at the perfect time!"
Byakuya waved her over. "This is the money our Uchiha Security Force recovered—technically, assets that rightfully belong to the Senju clan."
"Money? What money?"
Tsunade was confused but still took the storage scroll Byakuya handed her. Curious, she opened it.
Poof!
A cloud of smoke burst out, and in the next second, stacks of ryo notes flooded the air, burying Tsunade almost entirely.
"Wh-What the hell?! Where'd all this come from?"
She surfaced from the pile, wide-eyed. But soon, her gaze sparkled. "So much...! Even as the last Senju, I've never seen this much in one place!"
Byakuya smirked. "Most of it comes from Senju clan properties—old shops, real estate, and rights to medicinal businesses. Over the years, many stopped paying dues or tried to divert ownership. Since your clan's management collapsed, we stepped in and reclaimed it. Technically, this is backpay."
"What!?" Tsunade's expression twisted with rage. "Those greedy bastards didn't give me a single coin all these years!"
She clenched her fists in fury—then hurriedly began stuffing the ryo back into the scroll. This'll keep me afloat for months... maybe even let me pay off some debts.
"Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" Byakuya asked.
"Huh? Oh… I just came to yell at you for something... but never mind."
She clutched the scroll protectively and fled. "Anyway, I've got paperwork to do!"
Byakuya raised a brow. Did she forget why she came?
Sure enough, back at the hospital, Tsunade blinked as she looked at her desk. "Damn... I was going to scold that guy..."
She glanced at the scroll again and sighed. "Forget it. Next time."
Meanwhile...
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked Konoha's main commercial district. Panic erupted as smoke and red chakra surged into the sky.
"What's going on?!"
"That chakra... it's overwhelming!"
Uchiha En, in the middle of a training session with the Security Force, turned grim. "Everyone, follow me—now!"
As they arrived at the scene, their Sharingan revealed the truth: a young red-haired kunoichi stood at the epicenter, her hair floating wildly as raging crimson chakra erupted from her body—forming partial tails.
"This chakra…" Uchiha En's face paled. "It's the Nine-Tails."
Indeed, it was Uzumaki Kushina—the newly appointed jinchūriki of Kurama, the Nine-Tails. Though she was brought from Uzushiogakure and trained under supervision, her control over the beast was still incomplete. Normally, she was kept in a secluded valley outside the village, under constant Anbu watch.
But today, Kushina had snuck out, fed up with isolation. Her first time touring Konoha was filled with excitement… until the Nine-Tails' chakra suddenly erupted, hijacking her mind in a moment of emotional instability.
"She's gone berserk!" an Anbu captain shouted as he arrived.
The Anbu squad formed a perimeter immediately. "Suppress the chakra—contain her before it spreads!"
But when they noticed the Uchiha guards nearby, the captain's tone changed.
"Get the Uchiha Security Force out of here. Immediately."
Uchiha En frowned. "Why are we being dismissed?"
"This is an Anbu operation. We'll handle it," the captain snapped. "Now withdraw."
The tension was thick. Everyone knew the Uchiha clan's Sharingan could potentially control the Nine-Tails—a fact that planted long-standing suspicion in Konoha's higher-ups. The Third Hokage and the elders had always feared that if an Uchiha got too close to a Jinchūriki in crisis, they might attempt to seize control of the beast.
But now it was different. Ever since Uchiha Byakuya's rise, the strength of the Konoha Military Police Force had drastically increased. They no longer feared the Anbu.
"Hmph, what right do you Anbu have to order us around?"
"Our duty as the Military Police is to protect the village of Konoha."
"It's you Anbu who should stand down."
Uchiha En spoke with visible contempt.
"Bastards! You dare disobey the orders of the Hokage!?"
The Anbu captain was furious. He had been stationed outside the village with a detachment assigned to monitor Kushina Uzumaki due to her unstable condition as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Having been isolated for some time, he was unaware of the recent internal power shifts within Konoha—particularly the rise of Byakuya and the growing influence of the Uchiha-led Police Force.
The captain had expected the Anbu to be able to easily suppress any guard squad if needed.
"You Anbu better stand down now."
"Don't interfere with our mission to protect Konoha!"
Uchiha En snapped as he led the Police Force toward the area where Kushina had lost control.
The Anbu squad stood frozen, watching them move past.
"Captain, what should we do now?"
An Anbu operative stepped forward nervously.
"Hmph. If they want to charge to their deaths, let them."
"Set up the Four Violet Flames Formation. We begin the Nine-Tails sealing protocol now."
The Anbu captain gritted his teeth and issued the command.
…
"Attack! We must subdue her—now!"
"We can't allow her to keep rampaging through the village!"
"Medical squad, tend to the wounded civilians immediately!"
Uchiha En barked orders as the Police Force moved into action. Several members coordinated to evacuate civilians, while others engaged the rampaging jinchūriki.
Despite the clan's usual arrogance, the Uchiha had always prided themselves on loyalty to the village. As one of Konoha's founding clans alongside the Senju, their protective instincts were rooted deep.
But for years, due to the political suppression by the Third Hokage and the elders, the Uchiha had been denied the chance to truly prove themselves.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Thunderclap Spear!"
"Wind Style: Gale Fang Formation!"
Multiple Uchiha guards weaved hand seals in unison, unleashing a barrage of coordinated elemental jutsu at Kushina.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
The attacks exploded around her in rapid succession.
But instead of slowing down, Kushina—overwhelmed by the Nine-Tails' chakra—roared in feral rage. Her body, partially cloaked in bubbling red chakra, now bore five massive tails formed of the Kyūbi's chakra.
"ROOOAARR!!"
A monstrous roar escaped her lips as the chakra tails lashed outward, sweeping across the battlefield like whips.
Several Uchiha guards were caught by the tails, hurled violently through the air and crashing into debris with sickening force.
The chaos was only beginning.
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