In the dense forest, night had fallen.
Since Sakumo's departure, Minato had been deeply reflecting on his words.
Simultaneously controlling both the form and elemental nature of chakra was extremely difficult. Even though he had regained his full strength, mastering this advanced technique still seemed impossible.
Although Minato possessed great talent in ninja technique development, advancing Rasengan now required more than just skill — it demanded precise chakra control.
This control did not stem from innate talent alone but was built through constant practice and accumulation.
In other words, with his current level of skill, success within a short time frame was absolutely out of reach.
However... if one hand focused on shape transformation while the other added an elemental nature to it, it might actually work.
As Sakumo had pointed out, using both hands would sacrifice Rasengan's instantaneous advantage. Yet for Minato now, when the time came to use a nature-changed Rasengan, it meant facing enemies far too powerful for the standard version alone.
Like the Masked Man who once attacked Konoha — neither Rasengan nor physical strikes could bring him down.
"Try it."
Resolved, Minato's gaze sharpened suddenly. He extended his right hand and formed a Rasengan.
"Hum!"
The brilliant blue glow mirrored the color of his eyes. Slowly, he stretched out his left hand toward one side of the Rasengan.
Wind nature transformation was Minato's specialty. Among the five elemental natures of chakra, Wind Release surpassed even Lightning Release in cutting power.
If he wanted to enhance Rasengan's destructive force, then wind nature transformation was the natural choice.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
At first glance, nothing appeared to be happening with his left hand. In reality, however, he had already concentrated all his chakra into his palm—without releasing it outwardly.
Released chakra without specific shape or nature transformation would quickly dissipate back into the environment.
He was seeking balance—one that had eluded him through countless failed attempts. Controlling both forces wasn't enough; he needed harmony between them.
...
Then at some point, Minato slowly began pushing forward with his left hand, initiating nature transformation on the chakra.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Gradually, faint gusts of wind started swirling around the Rasengan.
This unexpectedly smooth progress caused Minato's expression to flicker slightly.
Indeed, compared to multitasking with a single mind, using an additional hand to handle nature transformation significantly reduced the difficulty.
Using both hands might even make Rasengan easier to learn overall.
Wind chakra continued gathering around the Rasengan, yet Minato's face grew increasingly tense.
That was because he had overlooked a fundamental issue.
The rate at which chakra drained during this advanced Rasengan technique far exceeded his expectations.
For now, the balance between the two forces remained stable—but judging by his own reserves, he couldn't maintain it much longer.
"Damn it!"
Minato gritted his teeth. The Nine-Tails' physiological alteration of his body had caused his chakra reserves, at barely eleven years old, to already reach more than half of what they had been when he was an adult.
Yet even these chakra reserves seemed insufficient for Minato to complete this current training session.
"Buzzzz."
The Rasengan in Minato's hand emitted a faint buzzing sound as wind-nature chakra was continuously infused into it.
A moment later, nearly all of Minato's chakra was depleted. Without enough remaining energy to sustain it, the previously balanced force in his hand suddenly became unstable and exploded outward.
"Boom!"
Overextended and unable to activate Instant Flash, Minato crossed both arms protectively in front of him. Even then, the force still pushed him backward several meters.
Pain shot through his arms. Minato glanced sideways—both sleeves were shredded, torn in multiple places.
His expression darkened briefly before soon giving way to visible delight.
"It seems my assumption was correct," Minato mused inwardly.
Though injured by his own jutsu, he actually felt pleased.
Because judging by this outcome, if he could fully refine this jutsu, its power might surpass even his expectations.
The problem was, with his current chakra capacity, he simply didn't have enough to continue developing this new jutsu.
Just as the old problem was resolved, a new one had immediately emerged.
"Still, it's not like there's absolutely no solution," Minato murmured after a short pause, offering a faint smile.
He shut his eyes tightly, entering deep focus and shutting out all external distractions.
"Hehe, I never expected that you'd reach this state on your very first try..."
Moments later, a familiar voice rang out beside Minato's ear—it was his former self speaking.
"As strange as it sounds to praise myself, your talent really is beyond words," the voice added again.
A slight smile tugged at Minato's lips as he asked, "You... aren't dead yet?"
Even asking that question felt odd to him. After all, he retained all his previous memories. Yet since this voice existed within his consciousness and had even helped him during Nawaki's crisis, it proved that "he" still existed in some form.
So even for Minato, understanding the nature of his current physical state remained difficult.
As he felt somewhat awkward and confused, the voice spoke once more: "I'm definitely dead, just like most of what you're thinking. What remains of my consciousness, carrying those past memories, has become attached to your soul. As for the exact details, I can't describe them clearly either."
Concerning souls—this already exceeded anything ninja knowledge could explain. Even Minato, despite once being the Fourth Hokage, couldn't explain this condition.
But since they were essentially one being, while explaining, the voice transferred that indescribable sensation directly into Minato's mind along with the words.
This was definitely a state that only "they" could understand.
[Dead Demon Consuming Seal] has bound your chakra together with the Nine-Tails'. So when your soul latched onto mine, the Nine-Tails—whose very form was already chakra—also had its chakra attach itself to my body?
In this synchronization, Minato instantly understood many things.
For unknown reasons, a Tailed Beast's soul and chakra were one and the same—in other words, their very souls were made up of chakra.
But for Minato, a human, his soul was different. Therefore, the soul of the Nine-Tails was simply a mass of chakra, unable to directly attach itself to Minato's own soul, and could only bind itself to Minato's physical body instead.
The changes occurring in his body began precisely from this attachment.
"That's right. But since your current body is still too weak, I've barely managed to perform the sealing technique on most of it. It's also because of this power that I've been able to maintain this state until now."
"Until one day you're fully capable of bearing this power, I suppose I will have completely disappeared by then."
Minato paused for a beat when he heard that. Even though he'd long accepted that "he" was gone, the idea of his own death still brought him a pang of sorrow.
"Hehe, however, your situation is quite different from that of a jinchuriki (a human host of a Tailed Beast). You're using your body as a vessel to hold the Nine-Tails' chakra. Whether or not a human body can truly withstand such an immense amount of chakra remains uncertain."
Minato naturally understood—if he couldn't handle it, his body would simply explode from the pressure.
"I see. I understand now," Minato murmured softly.
"Mm. Since you're creating new ninjutsu, go ahead and use this guy's power—it's perfect for the job."
"At the moment, you still need my help to use this power. However, once you fully master the Uzumaki Sealing Technique, you'll be able to regulate it on your own. But remember, don't exceed your body's limits."
"Thank you."
Though thanking oneself sounded strange, Minato still said it.
"Hmm." That voice responded, and immediately, Minato felt a force—hidden somewhere deep within his body—surge forth like a tidal wave!
...
...(To be continued.)
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