Chapter 65: Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina
After a brief moment of thought, Yuto drew back his focus. Whatever backup plan Uchiha Madara might have left behind had nothing to do with him — not right now.
If soldiers come, you counter them. If water floods, you block it with earth. Madara hadn't been his match while alive; what could the man possibly do after death?
"What's your purpose for coming here?"
The Nine-Tails stared at Yuto, its voice deep and edged with hostility.
"Oh, I'm just here to borrow some of your chakra."
Yuto looked up at the massive fox, meeting its enormous eyes with a calm smile.
A violent surge of chakra exploded from the beast. The Nine-Tails' whole body rose, claws digging into the ground as its tails lashed behind it like thunderous whips.
"Please," Yuto said dryly, stepping toward the giant iron cage, "you're already sealed. Don't bother with scare tactics."
Ignoring the fox's furious glare, he turned his attention to the sealing talisman fixed at the center of the cage.
"Before I borrow your chakra, there are two annoyances I need to deal with first."
In a flash, Yuto vanished from where he stood and reappeared before the talisman. He raised his hand, ready to tear it off.
The moment his fingers touched the paper, a blast of lightning erupted from the seal.
Crackle!
Electric current engulfed his hand, snapping and sparking with harsh pops.
Yuto's expression didn't change — as though the lightning didn't even exist. His arm continued forward until his fingers brushed the talisman itself. Then came fire.
Flames burst out of nowhere, igniting the entire charm in a sudden blaze.
"So these attacks really are meant for intruders," he muttered.
He remembered clearly — when Naruto had torn off this seal, there hadn't been any such traps.
Even under the twin onslaught of lightning and fire, his hand remained untouched. Without hesitation, he gripped the corner of the talisman and began to pull.
Inside the cage, the Nine-Tails widened its eyes. Its once-feral face twisted, not in rage this time, but in confusion.
Was this brat trying to kill the Jinchūriki?
The thought flashed through its mind, but it dismissed it almost instantly. With Yuto's strength, crushing that kid would be as easy as swatting a fly.
Freeing it? The fox sneered inwardly. Not a chance. There was no reason for him to — not when the two were natural enemies.
Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, and now this Yuto… The Nine-Tails hated all three equally. If it could, it would crush them underfoot without hesitation.
Then, without warning, a brilliant golden light erupted within the darkness.
The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes, recognizing the source immediately. The next instant, it roared, its voice shaking the chamber.
"Namikaze Minato! It's you!!"
Yuto paused mid-motion, glancing at the half-torn talisman and smiling lazily.
"Oh my, I've only ripped halfway through — and you're already showing up?"
He turned around, still smiling, to see a tall man with bright blond hair standing behind him — radiating that familiar heroic aura.
The Fourth Hokage — Namikaze Minato.
"Who are you?" Minato demanded, eyes fixed on the damaged seal. His tone was grave.
The seal's defensive strikes had done nothing to this stranger — not lightning, not fire. What kind of monster had appeared in the shinobi world now?
"Who I am doesn't matter…" Yuto began quietly, but before he could finish, a golden flash streaked toward him.
Without missing a beat, Yuto moved aside, watching the attack pass through the space he'd just occupied.
"Attacking without so much as a greeting," he said wryly. "Not a very polite habit, Hokage."
Minato didn't stop. He knew his time was limited — just a fragment of chakra left behind in the seal. He couldn't afford to waste even a second on conversation.
As his eyes swept the surroundings, he realized something — Naruto wasn't here. Relief and regret flickered across his face at once.
Minato sighed softly. "I thought I might get to see Naruto… guess not."
In the next instant, his chakra flared sharply. The already blinding speed of the Fourth Hokage rose to another level. Golden flashes multiplied across Naruto's mindscape, darting like lightning in all directions.
"Using the Flying Thunder God in pure chakra form… so it doesn't even need a medium?"
Yuto stood still, unfazed, quietly murmuring to himself while Minato's attacks passed harmlessly through him.
Minato's expression darkened. No matter how many times he struck, his attacks couldn't touch this man — not even once.
It was the same sense of helplessness he'd felt years ago against the masked man who attacked Konoha. But that man had used ninjutsu to evade him. This one simply nullified his strikes altogether.
Minato flickered behind Yuto in an instant, a Rasengan forming in his palm. He slammed it against the back of Yuto's head — but again, it did nothing.
Then, Yuto's eyes brightened slightly. He twisted his body and launched a punch forward — aimed at seemingly empty space.
A heavy thud echoed through the air. The countless golden lights vanished in an instant as Minato was sent flying backward by that single strike.
The chakra body making up Minato's form rippled and began to distort. There was no pain — how could there be? His body wasn't flesh and blood, merely residual chakra.
Glancing down at his fading arm, Minato sighed. His time was nearly up. Bitterness and frustration flickered across his face.
"Hmph. You? You couldn't touch him even at your peak."
The cold, mocking voice came from the side — the Nine-Tails, its tone dripping with derision.
"Even Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara barely managed to deal with him back then!"
Minato froze. The bitterness in his eyes deepened into reluctant recognition.
"The First Mizukage… Yuto."
The Nine-Tails hadn't said the name directly, but there was only one man in the entire shinobi world who fit that description — someone even the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara struggled to subdue.
As a former Hokage himself, Minato knew well that the First Mizukage Yuto hadn't died — he had merely been sealed away.
"One's out already," Yuto said lightly, stepping forward with a grin. "Now there's just one left."
In a blink, he appeared before the Nine-Tails again, his tone half-amused, half-taunting.
"Hey, Nine-Tails. Seeing Namikaze Minato doesn't piss you off? If not, maybe think back to the time Uchiha Madara had you under his control."
"You damned bastard!!!"
The moment Yuto uttered that name, the fox erupted.
A wave of violent, hateful chakra burst from its body, flooding the entire space with crushing malice. The negative energy grew rapidly, nearly spilling into the outside world — almost reaching Naruto himself.
But before it could, a brilliant orange light flared to life.
A woman with long, fiery red hair appeared between them, her presence radiating warmth and fierce determination.
Uzumaki Kushina.
(End of Chapter)
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