"Sensei, I want to go collect some of the Nine-Tails' chakra," said Ryujin Kenichi, scratching his head but speaking with honest intent.
To be more precise, he also wanted to gather some experimental materials. The Nine-Tails' Attack—that night of horror—had already cost countless lives. Even with the entire Anbu mobilized, they could barely contain the destruction.
Kenichi couldn't help but think that perhaps if Root had also joined in, the damage might have been less. But up to this point, he hadn't seen any sign of Root operatives. No Danzo, no Foundation. Suspicious, but not unexpected.
He speculated they might be focused elsewhere—likely near the Uchiha compound. After all, the Sharingan—specifically a Mangekyō Sharingan—was visibly active in the eyes of the Nine-Tails.
And everyone in the village knew: only the Uchiha clan possessed the Sharingan. To see the Nine-Tails being controlled like that… it was inevitable that suspicion would fall on the clan. Perhaps that's why Root was watching them instead of fighting.
Since he could die at any moment anyway, Kenichi figured he might as well make the most of the chaos. Chakra samples, battle debris, maybe even some quick loot to fund his research—any of it could prove valuable later.
"Nine-Tails' chakra? That's a dangerous little idea," Orochimaru said, glancing sideways at the rampaging beast in the distance. He chuckled as shinobi after shinobi were flung aside like leaves in a storm.
The Nine-Tails—Kurama, the strongest of the tailed beasts—was now razing Konoha to the ground.
"And where is the ever-dutiful Third Hokage?" Orochimaru muttered, lips curling in disdain.
He found the answer soon enough. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the so-called "God of Shinobi," stood at the front lines, leading Anbu in an attempt to distract and lure the beast out of the village.
Orochimaru's amusement turned cold. He had expected Hiruzen to stay hidden—calculating, pragmatic, detached. Let the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, handle it. That was the logical move.
But no—Hiruzen just had to perform.
"Truly hypocritical, sensei," Orochimaru sneered under his breath. "You could do it alone, couldn't you? What's the point of sending those Chūnin to die? Just more blood for your theatrics."
Turning back to Kenichi, Orochimaru gave a faint nod. "Go, if you think you can manage it. Now is the perfect time to acquire… materials. And funds."
Kenichi blinked. "You mean it?"
Orochimaru's eyes briefly flicked toward the Hokage Tower. "Yes. I have something more important to retrieve."
Kenichi understood immediately. After years under Orochimaru's tutelage, he knew his sensei's ambitions: to learn all ninjutsu in the world. And with the village in disarray, the defenses around the Hokage's private vault—and the Scroll of Seals—would be thin.
If Orochimaru made a move, he could get it.
Kenichi was left to his own task. He made his way through the shattered streets, gathering funds from abandoned homes and offices, careful not to linger. Screams echoed through the air, but he avoided the fighting.
He preferred materials that didn't scream, didn't bleed, and didn't require sedation—like ryo and chakra samples.
Suddenly, something strange caught his eye: a pulsing mass, twitching on the ground like a live nerve. As he looked closer, dread spiked in his chest—an instinctual terror, like something primal had seen him.
"Chakra?" he muttered, and then his eyes widened.
It wasn't just chakra. It was Nine-Tails chakra—dense, malevolent, lingering unnaturally in the air. Only a tailed beast's chakra could remain like that after being severed from its host.
Not wasting a second, Kenichi unrolled a sealing scroll and began inscribing the necessary characters. The chakra resisted, but he pushed harder with his own will, drawing it in.
As the scroll snapped shut with a faint hiss, Kenichi allowed himself a smile. This… this was a successful night.
He had the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Just as Ryujin Kenichi felt a surge of triumph, a sudden fluctuation in chakra alerted him. Without hesitation, he flickered to the right with a swift Body Flicker Technique, narrowly evading a Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique that roared in from behind.
In one fluid motion, he formed hand seals with practiced speed.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
With a surge of chakra, a stream of searing flames shot out toward the source of the water jutsu. The fire ignited several nearby buildings, their wooden frames crackling as they were consumed by flames. But Kenichi saw no one—no shadow, no movement.
Only the roar of fire and the splintering collapse of structures remained.
His eyes narrowed, body tense. The attacker hadn't revealed themselves or spoken a word. It was a true assassination attempt—silent and lethal.
Kenichi didn't linger. The spreading flames lit up the night sky like a beacon. If he stayed any longer, Konoha's Anbu would descend on the scene. And even he wouldn't escape easily once they got involved.
"A direct attack... It could be Root, but more likely—it's him," Kenichi thought, sprinting through the alleys. "The one who tried to gather the Nine-Tails' chakra during the Night of the Nine-Tails."
He didn't recall the man's name. Not surprising—he was a minor figure, overshadowed by others. But he had guts to attack like this in the heart of Konoha, ignoring the consequences.
Still, Kenichi found it unlikely to be Root. Danzo's operatives never left a mission incomplete. If it were Root, they would've chased him down, regardless of Anbu presence.
Yet no further pursuit came.
That alone suggested the attacker had no interest in escalating things once attention was drawn—just a quick, decisive strike that failed.
"Definitely him," Kenichi concluded. "That rogue from the Twelve Guardian Ninja."
He wasn't sure which one it was—but he remembered that the man had once tried to absorb the Nine-Tails' chakra. Kenichi hadn't paid much attention back then. The only member he respected from that group was Asuma Sarutobi.
The rest?
"If I have to kill the others, so be it. Even Asuma..." He paused for a moment. "Well, maybe not Asuma. At least not yet."
Suddenly, a powerful chakra tremor hit him like a wave. He stopped mid-stride, turning his gaze toward the outskirts of Konoha.
There—rising like a crimson mountain in the night—the Nine-Tails had emerged. Its maw was open wide, an ominous sphere of rotating black and white energy forming within.
A Tailed Beast Ball.
Kenichi's expression turned grim.
"So it begins again..."