I thought I could raise a Hokage!!!

Beiyuan's behavior had made the Uchiha household uneasy before, mainly because the crow had run away from home for the second time—while Sasuke still couldn't even crawl! The thought of another incident was worrying. 

To avoid more trouble, the family tried everything to separate Beiyuan and Sasuke. Itachi took the crow to the training grounds every morning, keeping it occupied for hours. After lunch, Mikoto and Itachi would take Sasuke out for some sun, or Fugaku would bring Beiyuan along to work at the police force. At night, the couple would take the crow as a guest when they went out, making sure it was too exhausted to pick fights with the baby when they returned. 

Still, Konoha's rumors kept growing. Between the police force and Ichiraku Ramen, there were too many people, too many witnesses—how could they possibly hide the fact that the Uchiha clan head once mobilized officers to search for a missing crow? 

"I heard the village is talking about us," Mikoto said cheerfully during dinner. 

Fugaku found his meal a little hard to swallow. After a moment, he sighed and looked toward the other end of the table. "It's noisy again…" 

That side of the table was in complete chaos. 

"Pfft… pfft… pfft! Wahhh!" 

"Gah! Gah!" 

"Sasuke, be good, don't cry, don't cry! Brother is here! No spitting at others—be polite!" 

"Don't be angry, Beiyuan, just eat… Please, Sasuke is still a baby, don't take it personally!" 

Sweating profusely, Itachi finally managed to separate the crow and the baby before returning to his seat. Fugaku handed him a tissue. "Well done, Itachi." 

"Of course, only Itachi could handle this!" Mikoto chuckled as she placed a cold drink in front of her son. 

"Mom… Dad…" Itachi looked exhausted. 

"Alright, alright," Fugaku relented, standing up to put on his uniform. "I'm heading to the police force to arrange the patrols. Beiyuan, want to come along?" 

The crow, happily pecking at its meat porridge, shook its head. 

Fugaku had only asked out of habit. Work had been busy lately—Konoha's barrier defenses were being breached more frequently, and the village feared that intruders were sneaking in by disrupting the barrier. The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had proposed reallocating police force members to an emergency response team, freeing up more Anbu for external missions. 

But Danzo, ever suspicious, questioned the Uchiha's abilities and suggested that Root take over surveillance instead. It was clear what he was after—cutting into the Uchiha's authority. 

For Fugaku, proving the police force's competence was now more important than ever. 

"Itachi, I'll be visiting Kushina later," Mikoto said. 

"Aunt Kushina? Is something wrong?" Itachi hadn't seen Uzumaki Kushina in a long time. Ever since Minato became Hokage, his wife had been living in seclusion. 

Mikoto shook her head, rubbing Sasuke's chubby cheeks. "I ran into her today. She's due soon—Sasuke will probably be in the same generation as her baby!" 

In truth, Mikoto had another reason for visiting. Kushina had few friends in Konoha, and pregnancy could be an anxious time. Of course, knowing that fiery redhead, Mikoto doubted she even understood what anxiety was. 

"I'll take good care of Sasuke," Itachi declared, hugging his brother tightly. But he shot a wary glance at the burping crow. 

Mikoto caught Itachi's reaction and suppressed a smile. She leaned down toward Beiyuan. "Why don't you come with me? Kushina mentioned you today!" 

"Gah…" 

Beiyuan flapped onto her shoulder. A full stomach and a change of scenery—why not? At least there, he wouldn't have to deal with the spitting baby. 

The night was clear, the moon shining so brightly it illuminated the streets. It was the perfect evening for a walk—cool, quiet, peaceful. 

But something was different. 

A distortion in space. 

Beiyuan's senses sharpened immediately. The Flying Thunder God. 

Minato… was he really using the technique just to save time cooking for his wife? 

As expected of Konoha's Yellow Flash. If he just placed a mark on Itachi and the house, wouldn't that solve all his problems? No more running back and forth every day! 

Then Mikoto's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey? Why are Kushina's lights out?" 

That was strange. At this stage, a pregnant woman should be resting at home or preparing to give birth in the hospital. 

"Gah?" 

"Maybe she's already gone to the hospital?" Mikoto mused, glancing at Kushina's rounded belly. "It should be any day now…" 

Beiyuan narrowed his eyes. He didn't care about human pregnancy talk, but… was she saying that Kushina was about to give birth? That meant… 

The Uzumaki woman would lose control of the Nine-Tails. 

"Gah…" 

The little crow tilted its head, gazing at the moon. Chakra stirred within him. If Kushina was giving birth, then those distortions in space weren't just Minato teleporting for errands. 

And then— 

A monstrous roar shattered the tranquility. 

"ROAR!" 

"Gah!" 

The deafening cry of the Nine-Tails rang out at the same time as Beiyuan's startled screech. 

A suffocating pressure descended on Konoha. 

The Nine-Tails had appeared. 

Its sheer presence sent shockwaves through the village. Buildings trembled. The air thickened with an overwhelming chakra. 

"Gah!" 

Without thinking, Beiyuan flapped frantically, tugging Mikoto's sleeve and yanking her away from a collapsing house. 

"T-The Nine-Tails!" Mikoto gasped, shielding her eyes from the dust. Her instincts kicked in immediately. "Beiyuan, we have to go home—now!" 

Sasuke and Itachi were still there. 

Even if this was the first time in this era that the Nine-Tails had gone berserk, everyone knew of its terrifying power. The other Great Nations had long wielded their tailed beasts as weapons of war. Konoha had seen them before. 

Especially Sunagakure—how many times had Konoha's shinobi fought against that fat raccoon, the One-Tail? 

But this wasn't just any tailed beast. 

This was the Nine-Tails—the strongest of them all. 

Konoha's shinobi weren't afraid. If anything, they were overconfident. After all, the legends of the Nine-Tails were overshadowed by the even greater legend of Hashirama Senju—the man who had tamed the beast with his bare hands. 

No, they weren't afraid. 

But they should have been. 

Because the moment they saw the fox under the moonlight, a terrible truth settled into their hearts. 

This wasn't a battle to be won. 

This was the night Konoha would never forget.

Title: Night of the Nine-Tails