"Sage Art: Giant of Fire!"
Elementalizing his body, flooding it with massive amounts of senjutsu chakra, and finally shaping it into this towering flame giant—it was only a first attempt, so he couldn't maintain it for long.
But it was enough.
Facing the giant that stood about as tall as itself, the Nine-Tails let out a furious roar, opened its mouth wide, and lunged in to bite.
Its jaws sank into pure fire. Enduring the pain, it tore off an arm, only to be struck by a blazing fist that slammed straight into its body, forcing it back.
The severed arm reignited in midair and reassembled at the shoulder, as good as new.
From within the fire giant, Kiyosuke's laughter rang out.
"You think you can hurt me?"
Wiping his nose, he controlled the fire giant to charge forward. The two massive beings collided with a deafening boom.
"RAAAAHHH!!!"
The scorching flames continuously seared its flesh, leaving deep, smoking wounds. Who knew how much of its orange-red fur had already been burned.
"Human!"
The Nine-Tails opened its mouth, preparing to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb.
At that moment, a black snake slithered in, coiling tightly around the beast's maw. The half-formed bomb shattered in its throat, but the snake was also thrown away by the violent outburst.
Boom!
A muffled impact. The fire giant charged in and smashed its fist into the Nine-Tails' face, dazing it and leaving its face scorched and blistering. The pain only made the beast angrier.
"ORAAA ORAAA ORAAA ORAAA!!!"
The fire giant launched a flurry of punches, fists falling like meteors.
Bam bam bam!
The Nine-Tails raised its tails to block the blows. Two of them whipped forward, piercing straight through the fire giant's body—only to be scorched in return.
"This might work!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes lit up with hope. Maybe, just maybe, they could hold out until Minato arrived.
"Go, Kiyosuke-sama! Drive the Nine-Tails out!"
"Do your best, Kiyosuke-sama!"
Cheers rang out all around. At this moment, Kiyosuke stood like a god—Konoha's savior in its darkest hour.
But inside the fire giant, Kiyosuke's face looked grim.
This form was draining his chakra far too fast. There wasn't enough time for the natural energy to fully merge.
He only had a minute left before he couldn't maintain it anymore.
"This won't do… I need to end this quickly!"
The fire giant spread its massive hand, conjuring a long spear of flame.
Gripping it tight, he thrust it through the Nine-Tails' stomach.
"ROOOAAARRRRR!!!"
The Nine-Tails bellowed in agony. The wound wasn't the only pain—the fire was also burning its internal organs.
How could it not scream?
The pain tore through its very soul.
"Shut up!"
Kiyosuke summoned another spear and drove it through the beast's shoulder, pinning it to the ground.
"Stay!"
Nine slightly smaller flaming spears appeared and pinned each of the Nine-Tails' tails to the earth.
With that, the fire giant finally crumbled, unable to hold together any longer. Kiyosuke landed on top of the Nine-Tails, which was still struggling to break free of its restraints.
Pale-faced, Kiyosuke said,
"Don't bother struggling, Nine-Tails. These flame spears will hold for another two minutes. You're not going anywhere."
"Damn you, human! I won't let you go! I'll kill you, Asakawa Kiyosuke!!!"
The Nine-Tails howled his name.
"Oh? You know who I am? Did you find out from Kushina-san?"
Sealed away, the Nine-Tails had nothing to do but watch everything Kushina saw. So it wasn't surprising he knew.
"But it doesn't matter anymore."
The black snake suddenly spoke.
"Time's up. I'm leaving. I'm injured. Don't come looking for me anytime soon."
With a puff, it vanished.
Suddenly, Kiyosuke felt the Nine-Tails' chakra stirring violently beneath him.
No wonder it was the strongest Tailed Beast—capable of rivaling five others with only half its chakra. Clearly, his flame spears weren't going to hold it for the full two minutes.
He only had a few moments to suppress it.
...
The next second, the space around him warped.
He found himself in a forest.
"Minato's Flying Thunder God?"
Just then, a massive claw came down, slamming his body apart.
Grimacing in pain, he pulled out the remaining flame spears from his body. There was no bleeding—thanks to his own flames, his wounds were cauterized.
But that also meant healing would take much longer.
A figure flew in—Minato, clad in his Hokage cloak.
In his arms, a dying Kushina and a newborn baby still wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Naruto.
"I need to set up the barrier immediately!" Minato gasped.
He had been using Flying Thunder God constantly—shifting the Tailed Beast Bombs, battling Obito, and now transporting the enormous Nine-Tails—his chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
"I can still hold on a bit longer, Minato!" Kushina looked at her husband.
Behind her, countless chakra chains shot out, binding the struggling Nine-Tails and forming an impenetrable barrier.
Adamantine Sealing Chains!
A secret technique of the Uzumaki clan. Offense and defense in one, capable of suppressing Tailed Beasts.
"Kushina!" Minato cried out, horrified. This would only hasten her death.
Smiling, Kushina said,
"I'll hold the Nine-Tails here… even if it means dying. This way, we can delay the Nine-Tails' attack. I have to help you… as much as I can… Thank you for everything you've done for me, Minato. I love you both so much. I really wish I could see Naruto grow up…"
"Waaaah!" Naruto wailed in Minato's arms.
Minato's heart shattered.
Kiyosuke's body slowly reformed as he walked over silently.
Minato looked at him and solemnly said,
"Kiyosuke… I'm entrusting Naruto to you."
"Huh? What?!"
Kiyosuke froze.
Was the situation really that dire?
Minato continued,
"Obito's condition isn't good. I couldn't bring him back. He's under deep control and can't be awakened. I barely managed to drive him off. His strength now is already beyond Kakashi's, and approaching mine. I have to leave something behind."
Obito's abilities had become a serious threat—even for him. He couldn't capture him, only force him to retreat.
Minato turned to Kushina.
"Kushina, you made me the Fourth Hokage. You became my wife, the mother of Naruto… I'm sorry. For you, for Naruto, and for the future, I have to do this. I'll seal your chakra inside Naruto with the Eight Trigrams Seal… so that one day, you can meet him."
To prepare for what was to come, Minato placed all his hopes on his son.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo