"Chizan, what are you doing with so many explosive tags?"
"Are you trying to blow up Kushina?"
Out of concern, Minato's gaze immediately fell on the thick stack of explosive tags in Chizan's hand. There had to be at least a hundred of them! If those all went off at once, forget Kushina—even the Four-Tails would probably get sent flying.
Gekko Chizan rolled his eyes at him and said calmly, "Jinchūriki have incredible self-healing abilities. What are you so afraid of?"
"I'm guessing that even if this whole pile exploded, Kushina would only lose a layer of skin. The key now is to separate her from the Nine-Tails' chakra control."
"At a time like this, how can you be so indecisive?"
Minato felt his mind go blank. He wanted to save Kushina, sure—but not hurt her!
If that stack of explosive tags went off, sure, the Nine-Tails' chakra would be gone, but Kushina would end up in the hospital!
"Relax, I was just joking with you. You actually believed me?"
"You're such an adult, and yet you've got no sense of humor at all."
Chizan's tone shifted suddenly as he gave Minato a look full of mock disdain. Then, setting the pile of explosive tags aside, he pulled out a scroll from within.
It was only then that Minato realized Chizan had been teasing him all along.
That realization made him feel a bit awkward—he'd been panicking like crazy, and yet Chizan had been using him for amusement. That was way too much!
Ignoring Minato's wounded expression, Chizan unrolled the scroll.
On it was written a single character—"雷" (Lightning). Once unfurled, he pressed one hand against the surface.
"Poof~"
A small burst of white smoke appeared, and two blades materialized in front of them.
"See? This is what we need right now."
Chizan took one blade for himself and tossed the other to Minato.
The moment Minato caught it, his eyes widened in shock.
"Kirigakure's Lightning Blades—one of the Seven Ninja Swords?"
"Shouldn't this weapon be in Kakashi's hands?"
That earned him another eye roll from Chizan.
"What are you even talking about? Raiga Kurosuki was killed by me. This weapon is my trophy."
"I only lent it to Kakashi and the others because it helped with their training. But now that Kakashi and Obito have already passed the lightning-body strengthening stage, they don't need it anymore. So of course, it's back to its rightful owner."
"And let me warn you—don't even think about taking my blade. This thing perfectly compensates for the lack of lightning nature in my Five Elements."
Minato: …Are you even listening to yourself? Why do you always say things that sound so annoying?!
Sure, Minato was a genius, but even he only had three chakra natures—Fire, Wind, and Lightning.
Just like the Water Style technique Chizan used earlier to reshape the terrain—Minato would probably never be able to learn something like that in his life.
"Let's do this together. We'll channel chakra into lightning and use its penetration and destructive power to end Kushina's rampage."
"Alright."
The two of them gripped their blades with one hand while tossing special kunai with the other.
As they moved in unison, lightning began to roar continuously, striking Kushina again and again.
The Lightning Blades could convert chakra directly into electricity, and the more chakra infused, the stronger the power.
Both Minato and Chizan had large chakra reserves—especially Chizan, who still had the tailed beast's support within him.
In an instant, the entire battlefield turned into a hell of thunder and light.
Poor Kushina—she had just been worn down by Chizan's Rasengan, and now she was being engulfed by relentless lightning.
"Roar!"
Her furious howls echoed across the area, but no matter how she roared, she couldn't break free from the lightning storm that wrapped around her.
The continuous thunder drained the Nine-Tails' chakra rapidly. Soon, its energy was suppressed to a manageable level.
"See that, Minato? This is my original technique."
"Slash!"
Chizan swung his blade again, unleashing another thunderous strike. With his other hand, he quickly formed a chakra sphere.
It was a Rasengan.
Seeing that sphere, Minato's eyes went wide as he stared at it in disbelief.
"Sleep now!"
This time, Chizan directly aimed the Rasengan at Kushina's head.
The Rasengan's terrifying force exploded, shattering the lightning around them and slamming straight into the half-transformed beastly head.
But under Chizan's control, the power was just right—enough to knock Kushina unconscious, return her to normal, and not injure her.
"Boom!"
The collision created a violent gust. Seeing that, Minato immediately stopped releasing lightning.
The clash between tailed beast chakra and the Rasengan's force kicked up clouds of dust and energy.
But as the blast faded, the roars ceased abruptly.
When the smoke finally cleared, Kushina lay motionless on the ground, covered in wounds, unconscious but safe.
"Hey! Don't just stand there—reinforce the seal!"
Chizan could perform sealing jutsu, sure, but compared to the son-in-law of the Uzumaki clan? Not even close. This kind of cleanup was definitely Minato's job.
"Right!"
Minato instantly appeared beside Kushina and began strengthening the seal's formula.
Once the sealing was complete, Minato turned back to Chizan. Gratitude and curiosity both shone in his eyes.
"Alright, stop staring at me like that."
"It's just a jutsu."
"When Kushina wakes up, I'll teach you two. No big deal."
"You can handle the rest yourself—I've got classes to teach the kids."
With those words, he vanished on the spot.
...
When Chizan reappeared on the academy rooftop, someone was already waiting for him.
"Huh? Principal? What are you doing here—waiting just for me?"
"Oh? Not just the principal—Hokage-sama too? What, you've both been waiting for me?"
Looking at the two old-timers standing there, Chizan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Kushina's situation handled?"
"Yeah. I helped Minato suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra rampage, and he reinforced her seal."
He wasn't surprised that they knew where he'd gone.
After all, as the village's Jinchūriki, Kushina was always being monitored. There's no way Hiruzen Sarutobi would just relax otherwise.
Even though she was an Uzumaki, she was still young—lacking experience and preparation for such things.
"Good."
"You did well, Chizan."
Hiruzen let out a long sigh, taking a puff from his pipe. His entire demeanor relaxed.
Hearing that, Chizan rolled his eyes.
"Can't you give me something tangible?"
"Like maybe a house with a courtyard?"
"If not that, then at least some money? I'm planning to expand my family line, and that takes funds, you know."
At that, Hiruzen and Sakumo exchanged a glance—each seeing the same helpless expression mirrored in the other's eyes.