Chapter 361: Dead End
An attack method carrying powerful sealing force? Minato Namikaze himself didn't directly master such techniques, but his wife—Uzumaki Kushina—was precisely this path's absolute expert!
Those brilliant golden chains piercing Urashiki and firmly confining him were precisely the Uzumaki clan's greatest specialty, praised as "Tailed Beast Nemesis" sealing technique—Adamantine Sealing Chains!
At this moment, maintaining chain output behind Urashiki, binding him deadly tight, was precisely Uzumaki Kushina's chakra body.
While fully maintaining sealing suppression on Urashiki, she covered her head with one hand, rapidly receiving and digesting intermittent yet critically important memory fragments transmitted from her "main body" due to intense chakra resonance—about her experiences after "revival."
Then why would Uzumaki Kushina's chakra body appear in Naruto's mental world depths?
This traced back to that night over ten years ago—the Nine-Tails Calamity.
At life's final moment, Kushina left part of her chakra—along with final maternal love and entrustment—in the just-born Naruto's deepest interior. This wisp of chakra carried two strongest wishes from her deathbed.
First was "witnessing." She hoped someday this chakra could be triggered, awakened, letting her personally see grown-up Naruto, completing regret as mother unable to accompany child's growth and final yearning.
Second was "protection." Because of Nine-Tails' violence and danger, leaving this chakra containing pure Uzumaki sealing power was also for critical moments suppressing Nine-Tails, preventing it from bewitching Naruto or going berserk from losing control, becoming insurance protecting her son.
This chakra had always been deeply buried at Naruto's consciousness sea's bottom layer, quietly sleeping until just now—
When Minato Namikaze fought in mental world, he sensed this wisp of chakra from his wife's familiar fluctuations surprisingly "awakened"! Though not understanding specific reasons, at the critical juncture when Urashiki subdued Nine-Tails and battle fell into stalemate, Minato decisively through chakra connection rapidly communicated with this awakened Kushina chakra body and formulated just-now tactics.
Then why would chakra sleeping many years suddenly awaken at this moment?
The key precisely lay in Nine-Tails itself.
Originally, according to Kushina's preset, this chakra's "trigger condition" leaned toward "Nine-Tails rampage." However, current Nine-Tails had long been thoroughly moved by Naruto. The two were mentally connected. For Nine-Tails, Naruto was more important than its own existence—irreplaceable close friend and family.
Therefore, when Urashiki declared taking over Naruto's body and erasing his existence, what Nine-Tails felt wasn't pure fury but mixed extreme protective desire, bone-deep fear, and towering hatred "rampage"! This was a special state not harming jinchuriki yet triggering sealing resonance from powerful negative emotions.
Precisely Nine-Tails' intense chakra cry erupting from "possibly losing Naruto" awakened sleeping Uzumaki Kushina's remaining chakra!
After this chakra awakened, instinctively first searched for Naruto's figure but couldn't find him.
Just as she was about to fall back into slumber—she "saw" intense battle occurring in mental world, furious Nine-Tails, and her husband fighting a bizarre enemy emanating strange aura!
Finally, main body revival memories completely integrated and understood. Uzumaki Kushina's expression became incomparably terrible—fury wrapped around killing intent of most treasured possession about to be defiled and destroyed.
The son she'd risked her life bringing to this world, unable to personally accompany his growth, now finally able to meet again... his personality, consciousness and soul, everything he represented—would be thoroughly erased by this bastard appearing from who-knows-where through such despicable means?!
"Kushina! Wait a moment!" Minato Namikaze's voice timely rang. "The urgent matter is sealing! He's now merely a consciousness body relying on [Karma] data existence. Conventional methods cannot thoroughly eliminate him. We must completely isolate him before he fully revives by continuously 'adapting' to Naruto's body power. Otherwise once fusion completes, truly beyond remedy!"
Minato rapidly analyzed. He observed each time Urashiki launched attacks or used abilities, surrounding permeating Otsutsuki chakra concentration growth would briefly stagnate. This explained Urashiki's current power sourced from fusion power with Naruto itself.
"...After everything completely ends! I'll properly settle accounts with you!"
Kushina viciously glared at Minato. That gaze mixed annoyance at husband daring to "hide" so long in son's body without informing her, plus that year's "mutual destruction" decision's grief and resentment still unable to let go.
But now wasn't time dwelling on these. Son's safety above everything.
Minato merely silently nodded, forcibly suppressing surging complex emotions in heart.
He stepped before Urashiki firmly bound by Adamantine Sealing Chains, still futilely struggling. Both hands began forming seals.
That was Eight Trigrams Seal's seal formation.
Besides the forbidden technique Reaper Death Seal costing caster's soul for mutual destruction with enemy, Eight Trigrams Seal ranked as Uzumaki clan—even entire shinobi world's—most top-tier, most stable, most widely applied powerful sealing techniques. Whether Minato himself, Kushina, or later Uzumaki Naruto—all used and relied on core seals being this technique or its variants.
Its strength sufficiently ranked shinobi world sealing technique's absolute top. For Tailed Beasts—disaster-class existences possessing nearly infinite chakra—one complete Eight Trigrams Seal sufficiently locked their power deadly tight, suppressing them. Unless extreme external interference or internal drastic changes, absolutely difficult raising big waves.
"Eight Trigrams Seal!"
With Minato's low shout, seal formation completed!
Instantly, massive pitch-black, structurally complex and profound sealing runes surged from Minato's palm, rapidly spreading and climbing along Adamantine Sealing Chains piercing Urashiki's body, instantly covering Urashiki consciousness body's entire body!
Urashiki immediately felt terrifying suppression force far exceeding physical restraint, reaching soul origin level! Layer upon layer wrapping, penetrating, solidifying his "existence" itself, thoroughly cutting all connections with outside world, power's source!
"Damn it! Stop!"
Urashiki released hysterical roars filled with unwillingness and fear, madly twisting body, but Adamantine Sealing Chains' suppression and Eight Trigrams Seal's erosion made all resistance futile.
Sealing technique's execution process was abnormally smooth. Pitch-black runes finally completely entered Urashiki consciousness body's interior, then radiance converged inward, returning to calm. Adamantine Sealing Chains' golden chains subsequently slowly loosened.
"Huff... huff..." Urashiki collapsed on ground, heavily "gasping," consciousness in chaos from sealing's impact. He still didn't completely understand what exactly happened to himself.
Standing opposite him, Minato stared tightly at Urashiki, silently praying in heart. He hoped his judgment and just-cast seal could achieve expected effects.
Soon, signs appeared. Urashiki dazedly raised his head.
His originally golden Rinnegan—radiance completely lost at this moment, color faded, surprisingly reverting to most basic, completely pale forest white—ordinary "Byakugan"!
"This... this is impossible..." Urashiki incredulously murmured, instinctively attempting to sense and mobilize power.
Completely empty!
"Where's my chakra?! My power?! What... what did you do to me?!" He completely panicked, voice distorted from fear. Obviously those damned golden chains had vanished—why was his body interior still deathly silent?
He refused to believe it, concentrating remaining consciousness, attempting to activate most basic ocular technique.
"Universal Pull!"
He grabbed toward distant Minato.
...But nothing happened.
Forget attractive force—couldn't even stir slightest chakra fluctuation. Those Byakugan futilely widened, containing only endless bewilderment and gradually spreading despair.
"AWOOOO—!!" Just then, a roar shook the entire mental space!
Nine-Tails previously pinned to ground by Urashiki's chakra giant pillars—with Urashiki's power thoroughly sealed, restraints vanishing—violently broke free from shackles!
It swung tails, thunderously descending before Urashiki!
Shadow instantly completely enveloped tiny Urashiki.
"You dared... targeting Naruto..." Nine-Tails lowered its head, beast eyes nearly dripping blood, voice low and hoarse from hatred. "I will... tear you apart!!"
Having lost all power, reverted to ordinary Byakugan Urashiki collapsed sitting on "ground," looking up at this Tailed Beast with killing intent boiling to peak before him, glancing at nearby cold-gazed, red-haired-moving-without-wind Uzumaki Kushina...
One large one small, one beast one person—both emanating wanting-to-dismember-him, thoroughly-annihilate-even-soul terrifying auras—step by step, unwavering, approaching Urashiki.