Chapter 187: The Hand That Pierces His Chest

Under the cold moon, the land lay in ruins. The young Hokage pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai, gripping it in reverse.

This wasn't his usual stance for using space-time ninjutsu; it was the posture of close-quarters combat!

Yuto sighed softly.

But strangely, the young man felt little surprise in his heart.

If Minato had done nothing and let him return to the village to cause havoc, he wouldn't be the Yellow Flash he remembered.

"Then let's begin… Minato-senpai," Yuto said calmly.

In the field of his Byakugan, Minato's body was riddled with holes, and his chakra was nearly depleted. Though their earlier conversation had restored a bit of his strength, there was no way he could use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Even if he managed to use the Flying Thunder God technique, he wouldn't be able to travel far.

Yuto didn't believe that Minato, in this condition, could stop him.

"You have a sharp edge, Yuto." Minato smiled, his voice suddenly becoming serious. "First Gate… Open!"

As soon as the words fell, the young Hokage trembled, his muscles working in overdrive to unleash his body's full capabilities.

Bang!

Minato bent low and disappeared from sight.

'The Eight Gates…' Yuto widened his eyes in disbelief, raising his right arm to block Minato's incoming kunai with Ryuun Steel.

Minato slightly curled his fingers, spinning the kunai downward. The yellow flash appeared above Yuto in an instant.

As Yuto predicted, even with very little chakra left, Minato could still use the Flying Thunder God technique to perform short-distance teleportation in tight spaces!

The young man frowned, about to use Gentle Fist to strike Minato's incoming fist when a soft voice reached his ear.

"Second Gate… Rest Gate… Open!"

"Revolving Heaven!" Without hesitation, Yuto spun rapidly, a spherical chakra shield forming to deflect Minato.

In less than a second of combat, Yuto's expression became extremely serious.

"The Eight Gates… I didn't expect you were hiding this technique, Minato-senpai."

Yuto picked up the Flying Thunder God kunai that had fallen to the ground and calmly made a cut on his forehead protector.

A scratch appeared on the metal, slicing through the middle of the Konoha emblem.

"I understand. If I don't fight with the intent to kill you, the one who will lose… will be me." Yuto spoke softly, his ocular power surging.

— Just as the kunai scratched across his forehead protector, the inner layer of the mask fell off and adhered to his skin.

God's Mask… Activate!

"Sorry, Minato-senpai," Yuto spread his fingers, the Repulsion Gun roaring faintly. "The only thing I can do… is to let you die as a hero."

"I'm coming, Yuto." Minato clasped his hands together, enunciating each word clearly:

"Seventh Gate… Shock Gate… Open!"

The branch family member's attention was focused entirely, waiting for Minato's earth-shattering strike.

However, nothing happened.

There was no blue steam or violent gust of wind associated with opening the Seventh Gate; Minato was nowhere to be seen.

'Damn it…' Yuto's pupils shrank suddenly.

— He had been deceived.

Was Minato a genius?

Yes.

But even as a genius, could he master all ninjutsu?

The answer was, of course, no.

Minato could use Sage Mode, but he rarely did because he wasn't proficient in it.

It wasn't surprising that Minato knew the Eight Gates, but since he didn't use it against the Nine-Tails or during the Fourth Great Ninja War, it meant he didn't think the Eight Gates would enhance his combat ability.

Perhaps this young Hokage could only open the first two gates, "First Gate" and "Rest Gate," and nothing more.

But even that was enough to trick Yuto.

In Minato's plan, since Yuto had spied on the Forbidden Scroll, he would surely know about the Eight Gates. Seeing Minato open two gates, Yuto would inevitably be on high alert.

The victory gap lay in this fleeting moment.

Once the "Rest Gate" is opened, the body can be squeezed to restore stamina. In other words, even for a short time, Minato could barely gather considerable chakra.

At the very least, he could use the Flying Thunder God technique for long distances.

Various thoughts exploded in Yuto's mind. Realizing he had been deceived, he disappeared without hesitation, maxing out his repulsive force and rushing backward.

He knew he had only one chance, and only by betting on the right landing spot of the Flying Thunder God kunai could he turn the tide!

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but in reality, only a moment had passed. As the "Lone Lion" praised Yuto, he was a true combat genius, often able to make judgments in the shortest time.

This time, Yuto still trusted his instincts.

Bang!

Minato landed, his foot beside a kunai secretly embedded in the ground. Before "chatting" with Yuto, the young Hokage had anticipated this possibility.

"Minato?"

Five meters away, Kushina Uzumaki, holding Naruto in her arms, looked at him in confusion.

Minato didn't have time to speak. He used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing in front of his wife and child, reaching out, wanting to take them back to the village.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the fastest Yellow Flash in the Shinobi World was half a step too slow.

Yuto, entwined with both repulsive and attractive force serpents, appeared and immediately spotted Minato within arm's reach of Kushina.

—Fighting against a shinobi like Minato, hesitation is tantamount to suicide.

The young man severed the last thread of hesitation.

The repulsive force exploded, causing the young Hokage's body to freeze.

Yuto gripped the Flying Thunder God kunai that had just cut through his forehead protector and fiercely stabbed Minato.

Squelch...

The kunai pierced Minato's flesh, shattering ribs, destroying organs, and, with the added force of repulsion, smashed through his chest, piercing through to the other side.

Kushina Uzumaki's eyes widened in horror.

She saw Yuto suddenly appear, his hand piercing through her husband's chest.

"Minato… Minato!"

The white-haired woman cried out in anguish, trying to stand, but the extraction and sealing of the tailed beast had drained too much of her life force. Kushina fell with a thud, and the double blow to her mind and body caused her to faint immediately. The baby Naruto in her arms woke up from the shock, crying loudly.

A dying father, a fainted mother, a crying infant, and… a silent caged bird.

Yuto withdrew his hand, bringing with it a gush of blood and internal organs.

When Minato had recovered some chakra, the best choice would have been to teleport back to the village, declare Yuto a rogue ninja, and prepare Konoha and the Hyuga clan for defense.

But as a husband and father, Minato couldn't just leave his wife and child.

Yuto judged that Minato would try to return to the village with Kushina and Naruto.

And he was right.

However…

Yuto sighed, summoning a small slug and placing it on Naruto, the gentle chakra soothing the infant's cries.

"Cough, cough…" The young Hokage in his arms suddenly coughed weakly.

Yuto supported the young Hokage's body, resting his chin on his own shoulder.

"Yuto…"

"I know what you're going to say," the young man said softly. "Don't worry, I wouldn't harm a newborn child."

"Good…" With Yuto's promise, Minato's eyes dimmed. "The kunai… is it useful?"

"Very sharp."

"Consider it a gift… I intended to give you something back at Kikyo Mountain, but it ended up being now…"

"Thank you, I like this kunai… very much."

"That's good… Cough, cough…" Minato's voice grew weaker. "Yuto, you know you…"

"…What?" Yuto couldn't hear clearly and leaned closer.

After a long while, he still heard nothing.

The caged bird was stunned.

— Minato had stopped breathing forever.

Thud.

He collapsed to the ground, his blue eyes losing all their light.

Under the moonlit night, the only one still standing awake was Yuto.

He took off Minato's Hokage robe and covered the young Hokage's corpse.

"A brilliant battle." The caged bird's voice was soft.

If Minato hadn't worried about his wife and child and had teleported directly back to the village, with Konoha prepared, it would be hard to say who would have won.

Yuto almost failed, and Minato nearly succeeded... In a shinobi battle, even a little bit of mercy could change the outcome.

Logically, to maximize benefits, Yuto should have taken Minato's body, killed Kushina, and imprisoned Naruto...

But he didn't. He merely glanced at the family, now separated by death, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.

The night was still long.

(End of Chapter)