Uchiha Obito was hit in the back by Namikaze Minato's Rasengan, and the fierce wind swept up sand and gravel.
Hyūga Shinichi, who had witnessed Minato's fighting style throughout the engagement, couldn't help but be impressed. With mastery over the Flying Thunder God, Minato could even split his attention to sense the location of a Flying Thunder God kunai while fighting a powerful enemy like Obito. This fighting technique was something the current Shinichi could not replicate.
His control over the Flying Thunder God was somewhat similar to Minato's future grandson, Boruto; when fighting at full strength, he couldn't spare the attention to perceive his Flying Thunder God markers, making it difficult to achieve Minato's level of instantaneous counter-attack during a fierce battle.
If Minato's combat could be described as multi-threading, Hyūga Shinichi's use of the Flying Thunder God was more like single-threading. To transfer, he had to concentrate. When engaging an enemy, he had to preset his next move in his mind, making his on-the-spot use of the Flying Thunder God incomparable to Minato's.
However, Shinichi wasn't discouraged. Proficiency in the Flying Thunder God could be gained through battle. Once he grew accustomed to splitting his attention, he would eventually be able to integrate the Flying Thunder God into his combat like Minato.
In addition to gaining new insight into the application of the Flying Thunder God, Shinichi also silently committed the Rasengan, which he had only seen once, to memory. Although the Rasengan was an A-rank Ninjutsu, it was an unsealed technique that could be seen through to its essence by the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan.
This technique was the ultimate manifestation of Chakra nature transformation, and the Hyūga Clan's Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists was also an ultimate manifestation of Chakra nature transformation. There was a certain degree of overlap in the training methods for these two Ninjutsu.
However, the effects of the two techniques were different. The Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists required the Byakugan, inflicting damage by attacking the enemy's chakra pathways and pressure points over a large area.
The Rasengan inflicted damage through the power of chaotic rotation and the direct destructive force of the exploding chakra.
While Shinichi might not necessarily need a technique like the Rasengan, the Jutsu itself had a very high ceiling. If he had spare time, refining this technique wouldn't be out of the question. Hyūga Shinichi stood within the formation of Hyūga clansmen, seemingly inconspicuous.
On the battlefield, Uchiha Obito, after suffering a heavy blow, swiftly shot out from the smoke and dust, landing in an open space, slightly hunched over, clutching his "right arm," which had been reduced to a white liquid.
Although he had only been hit once by the Fourth Hokage, that single Rasengan had left Obito virtually incapable of continued combat. He could feel the White Zetsu's body slowly peeling away from him. He had to use White Zetsu to stabilize his body, or his physical functions would be completely lost.
"As expected of the Yellow Flash..."
"This round, I lost!"
"But..."
"Not yet...."
Obito knew he was spent, but he didn't quickly flee. Before leaving, he still wanted to plant the concept of "his great power" into the minds of the Konoha ninjas, hoping they would live under perpetual threat.
However, before he could finish his threat, Namikaze Minato's figure suddenly appeared in front of Obito, placing a hand directly on his body.
"Contract Seal!"
Minato could sense a connection between Obito and the Nine-Tails. The power of the Contract Seal was intended to sever this link, allowing the Nine-Tails to break free from Obito's Sharingan Genjutsu.
"!!!"
Minato's sudden appearance shocked Obito. Only now did he realize that the moment Minato hit him with the Rasengan, he had already placed a Flying Thunder God marker on his body. Obito no longer had the presence of mind to stay here. He stared intensely at Minato, and the Sharingan in his eye quickly released a spatial vortex, rapidly sucking his intangible body into it before he vanished from Minato's sight.
"Obito...."
Sensing that the Flying Thunder God marker placed on Obito had completely lost its signature, Minato couldn't help but sigh softly, his gaze dim. Ultimately... it was his failure to properly mentor Obito that had brought this unprovoked disaster upon Konoha and Kushina... Minato felt disappointment toward Obito, as well as guilt over his dereliction of duty as a teacher.
"ROAR!!!!!!"
Freed from the control of the Sharingan, the Nine-Tails' eyes became clear. Sensing the physical restraints immediately upon recovering consciousness, the Nine-Tails lost all reason and began to thrash violently.
"Quick, restrain the Nine-Tails!!"
Hyūga Hiashi saw the Nine-Tails going berserk and showing signs of breaking free from the Adamantine Sealing Chains. He immediately shouted.
At his command, the Hyūga elites quickly dispersed around the Nine-Tails. They channeled chakra into their hands and firmly gripped the golden chains restraining the Nine-Tails, contributing their strength. Although Kushina was weak, the durability of the Adamantine Sealing Chains was unquestionable. With the efforts of the Hyūga ninjas, the rampaging Nine-Tails was firmly restrained in place.
"Next..."
There was no time for Minato to wallow in despair; the Nine-Tails' presence was a problem he had to face. Minato quickly flashed to Kushina's side, staring at the colossal Nine-Tails before him, lost in thought.
Although... according to the intelligence Shinichi provided, they only needed to seal the Nine-Tails back, there was a difficult, realistic problem: what Jutsu should be used to seal the Nine-Tails?!
What kind of sealing technique could seal the Nine-Tails?
The person who sealed the Tailed Beast inside Kushina was Uzumaki Mito, whose sealing prowess was arguably the strongest of her era.
But even Uzumaki Mito's sealing technique couldn't completely restrict the Nine-Tails' power. Minato later learned the Four Symbols Seal and, on that foundation, developed the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to stabilize the seal within Kushina's body. Even so, Tailed Beast chakra would still leak out whenever Kushina experienced extreme emotional fluctuations.
Now, Uzumaki Mito's original seal had been broken. Relying solely on the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style might not be enough to seal the Nine-Tails completely.
Moreover, Uchiha Obito's power made Minato realize that a Jinchūriki must possess the ability to protect themselves. If Kushina could master the Tailed Beast's power like Killer B of the Cloud Village, she would have been a great help in the fight against Obito and would not have been constantly on the defensive.
He looked back at Kushina and then at Naruto in her arms. Namikaze Minato's eyes were filled with determination.
"Kushina...."
"The Nine-Tails' power is too vast. I am not confident I can seal it completely."
"I intend... to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to split the Nine-Tails, and then use the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to seal it separately into your body and Naruto's body."
"But..."
"After this... I'm afraid I'll have to rely on you alone to take care of Naruto...."
Faced with the massive Nine-Tails chakra, Minato had made up his mind. For the Village, for his wife, and to give the Jinchūriki a chance to control the Tailed Beast's power, Minato intended to wager his life and give it his all.
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