Chapter 66: The Nine-Tails' Revenge

Not far away, Akira overheard their conversation, feeling somewhat surprised. He had thought that with Minato's inevitable passing, Kushina would also choose to leave this world. But unexpectedly, she had listened to Minato's words and decided to continue living.

"Well, at least after all that has happened, there's some difference in the outcome," Akira thought to himself.

"But what will Minato do next? If he doesn't use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, how does he plan to split the Yin and Yang halves of the Nine-Tails? Or will he re-seal its whole form? Or... maybe just the fragment of the Nine-Tails is enough?"

Lost in thought, Akira studied the couple, his mind churning with possibilities. The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was a forbidden technique—using it would mean the Shinigami would devour the target's soul. In this case, the Yin half of the Nine-Tails would be swallowed by the Shinigami. Akira found it a steep price to pay, especially since the fragment would be taken beyond reach, disappearing from the living world.

Kushina turned to Minato, asking, "Minato, what do you plan to do?"

Without much hesitation, Minato replied, "I'll seal the main body of the Nine-Tails into our child and place the fragment in you."

"The fragment will be enough to keep me alive," Kushina nodded. "But, Minato… don't you think this is too much of a burden for our child?"

"We have no other choice." Minato shook his head grimly. "Inside that Sharingan of Uchiha Madara's lies an unimaginable darkness. I have a feeling that to stand a chance against him, we'll need the power of the Nine-Tails. And then there's Nagato… he's an enormous threat too. The Rinnegan, eyes that once belonged to the Sage of Six Paths—if fully unleashed, they'd hold god-like power."

Kushina fell silent, a hint of sorrow in her gaze as she looked at Minato.

"Minato, you're a pretty lousy father, you know that? He's just been born, and you're already giving him this weight to carry."

ROAR!

Just then, a deafening roar shook the area as the Nine-Tails surged with ferocious energy, struggling more violently than ever before. Kushina's face turned pale, the chains encircling the beast clanking under the strain, pulled taut to their limit.

"Nine-Tails, stop struggling—"

Kushina's voice broke off as a scarlet chakra tendril shot up from the ground, piercing her abdomen, leaving a massive, bleeding wound. In the next instant, the tendril dissipated, scattering into nothingness.

The sudden attack left everyone in shock. They hadn't expected the tightly bound Nine-Tails to still have such a move left!

"Haha... how does it feel?" The Nine-Tails sneered, his laughter echoing through the air. "This is the taste of my long-planned revenge!"

Before anyone else could react, the chains of the Adamantine Sealing Chains tightened further, suspending the Nine-Tails mid-air, entirely immobilizing it.

"Minato…" Kushina whispered, blood pouring from her lips as she gazed at him with a resigned sadness. "I… I won't be there to watch Naruto grow up."

Minato sighed deeply, his voice low. "Kushina…"

As he spoke, he began forming a sequence of hand signs, chanting, "Eight Trigrams Sealing Style!"

In the next moment, countless black sealing markings radiated from him, spreading across the massive form of the Nine-Tails like a web. The markings transformed into an intricate Eight Trigrams Seal that covered the entire beast. Only the Nine-Tails' eyes could move now, watching in terror as the seal tightened around him, its enraged roar echoing one final time:

"Minato!"

With that, the seal closed in, forming a solid black sphere around the beast, faint red light flashing from within. The sphere began to shrink as it floated toward Naruto, condensing until it was the size of a fist.

Hovering above Naruto for a brief moment, the black sphere then descended into his abdomen. A burst of red light erupted as the sphere disappeared into Naruto, and an Eight Trigrams Seal took shape on his belly, before quickly fading from view.

The seal complete, Minato and Kushina knelt on the ground, their life force fading as they looked lovingly at their newborn son. Minato glanced at the four approaching figures—Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Fugaku, and Akira. Speaking with a weak voice, he said,

"Lord Third, Jiraiya-sensei, Fugaku, Akira… please, look after Naruto for us. I'm sorry to burden you all."

"We will protect Naruto," Hiruzen answered firmly.

Tears flowed down Jiraiya's face as he nodded, choked with emotion. Fugaku's expression was somber as he nodded in agreement, and even Akira felt a pang of sadness at the scene before him.

"Please… keep Naruto's identity a secret. I have too many enemies. They may come after him. Tell him who he is only when he's strong enough to protect himself…"

Minato's voice grew fainter as he spoke his final words.

"As for the remaining fragments of the Nine-Tails… Third Hokage, Jiraiya-sensei, Fugaku, Akira… I'll leave them to you…"

And with that, Minato fell silent, his head bowed.

The four remaining shinobi knew that the Leaf's Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage, had passed.

With Minato's departure, Kushina's life also faded, and she too fell still. The four men looked at the couple's lifeless forms, sadness filling the air, especially in Hiruzen and Jiraiya's sorrow-filled gazes. Fugaku watched in silence, his hopes for the future scattering like dust. Akira, too, sighed, reflecting on the inevitable conclusion they'd reached.

"Let's discuss how to handle the remaining fragments of the Nine-Tails," Hiruzen finally said, his voice heavy with weariness.

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