"Kazuyama, what the hell are you doing with that many explosive tags?"
"You trying to blow Kushina to pieces?!"
Minato's voice cracked with concern, his eyes locked on the thick stack of tags in Kazuyama's hand. There had to be over a hundred—enough to blast not just Kushina, but even the Four-Tails into next week if they all went off at once.
Kazuyama rolled his eyes and responded coolly, "Jinchūriki have insane healing abilities. What are you so nervous about?"
"Even if I set off all of these, the worst she'll get is a missing layer of skin. What matters now is breaking the Nine-Tails' grip on her."
"You seriously can't afford to hesitate at a time like this!"
Minato was thrown off. He wanted to save Kushina, sure—but not by sending her straight to intensive care.
Yeah, the Nine-Tails' chakra might be neutralized, but Kushina would be hospital-bound for a month.
"Relax, I'm messing with you. Seriously—did you think I was going to blow her up?"
"You're too serious. Where's your sense of humor?"
With a smug grin, Kazuyama changed his tone and gave Minato a look of mock disappointment. He set the stack of tags aside and pulled out a scroll from his coat.
Minato finally realized he was being toyed with.
Embarrassment crept up his neck. Here he was, sweating bullets—and Kazuyama was treating it like a joke. That was beyond rude!
Ignoring Minato's indignant glare, Kazuyama unrolled the scroll.
The character "雷" (lightning) was written boldly across it. He pressed his palm down.
Poof!
A puff of white smoke—and two swords appeared.
"Now this," Kazuyama said, gripping one of the blades and tossing the other to Minato, "is what the situation really calls for."
Minato caught it—and immediately froze in surprise.
"The Lightning Blade... Kiba? One of the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure?"
"Wasn't this supposed to be with Kakashi and the others?"
That earned him yet another eye-roll from Kazuyama.
"What kind of question is that? I'm the one who killed Raiga Kurosuki. These are my spoils of war."
"I only loaned them to Kakashi and Obito because they were training their bodies to handle lightning. But they've moved on from that phase."
"They don't need these anymore—so I'm reclaiming them."
"And let me make this crystal clear—you better not try to lay claim to my sword. This thing finally covers my Five Element gap in lightning. It's mine."
Minato: …Do you even hear yourself? Why are you like this?
Granted, Minato was a natural-born genius, but he only had three chakra natures—fire, wind, and lightning.
That Water Release jutsu Kazuyama used earlier to reshape the battlefield? Minato probably wouldn't be able to learn that in his entire life.
"Alright," Kazuyama said, refocusing, "we go in together. Channel chakra into the swords, generate lightning, and use its piercing force to stop Kushina's rampage."
"Right."
Each of them gripped a blade in one hand and threw a Flying Thunder God kunai with the other.
As they began their assault, arcs of lightning surged through the air, striking Kushina again and again.
The Lightning Blade, Kiba, transformed chakra into pure electricity—and the more chakra it absorbed, the stronger the output.
Both Minato and Kazuyama had chakra to spare—and Kazuyama had a Tailed Beast backing him on top of that.
In no time, the entire battlefield turned into a hellish storm of lightning.
Poor Kushina had barely recovered from the Rasengan barrage before she was engulfed in thunder.
"Roar!"
Kushina's furious howls echoed, but no matter how she raged, she couldn't escape the lightning storm engulfing her.
The relentless strikes quickly drained the Nine-Tails' chakra, and it was clear the rampage had been suppressed significantly.
"Minato, look—this is the jutsu I created."
"Swish!"
Kazuyama slashed his blade, sending out another bolt of lightning. With his other hand, he swiftly gathered chakra into a spinning orb.
The Rasengan.
Minato's eyes widened the moment he saw it, locked onto the chakra sphere forming in Kazuyama's palm.
"Sleep it off."
Kazuyama launched himself at Kushina, aiming the Rasengan directly at her head.
The full might of the Rasengan burst forth—shattering the surrounding lightning and slamming into her half-transformed face.
He'd calibrated the power just right—enough to knock her out, end the transformation, but not cause any real harm.
Boom!
The impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield, prompting Minato to immediately stop channeling lightning.
The collision between the Rasengan and the Nine-Tails' chakra kicked up a massive dust cloud.
But then, the roaring stopped.
As the dust settled, Kushina was sprawled on the ground, battered and unconscious, her transformation gone.
"Hey! Don't just stand there—get that seal reinforced!"
Kazuyama knew Fūinjutsu, sure—but against the literal son-in-law of the Uzumaki Clan, he was happy to pass the baton. This kind of follow-up was Minato's job.
"Got it!"
Minato rushed to Kushina's side and began reapplying and fortifying the sealing formula.
Once the seal was stable, Minato looked back at Kazuyama, his expression filled with gratitude—and curiosity.
"Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that."
"It's just a jutsu, no big deal."
"When Kushina wakes up, I'll teach it to you both. Happy now?"
"As for the rest? That's on you. I've got a class waiting."
With a wave, Kazuyama vanished from the scene.
...
Back on the Academy rooftop, someone was already waiting for him.
"Huh? Principal? You waiting for me?"
"Oh? Not just the principal. Well, if it isn't Lord Hokage himself. You both waiting here just for me?"
Kazuyama couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the two veteran shinobi standing there.
"Everything settled with Kushina?"
"Yeah. I helped Minato suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra. He reinforced the seal."
He wasn't surprised they knew where he'd gone—Kushina was a Jinchūriki, after all. There were always eyes on her. Hiruzen wouldn't have let her go unwatched, not with her youth and inexperience.
"Good to hear."
"You did well, Kazuyama."
Hiruzen let out a long breath and took a drag from his pipe, clearly relieved.
Kazuyama rolled his eyes.
"How about something real instead of praise?"
"Like a nice courtyard?"
"Or at least some money? I've got a whole clan to revive here. I can't do that broke."
Hiruzen and Sakumo exchanged a look—both of them clearly exasperated.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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