Just as all the Konoha Ninja were in despair, a giant red toad descended from the sky and landed on Kurama.
Naruto's sensation at that moment was like this:
He was used to a young woman, weighing less than a hundred pounds, giving him a back massage, but in that instant, she suddenly transformed into a much heavier woman, weighing several hundred pounds.
This sudden change almost made Naruto throw out his back.
When the surrounding Ninja saw this giant red toad, their previously despairing eyes suddenly lit up with a glimmer of hope.
"That's Jiraiya-sama's summoning beast."
"Could it be that Jiraiya-sama has returned?!"
"This is great! With Jiraiya-sama here, Kurama can definitely be dealt with!"
Immediately, everyone looked at the figure on Gamabunta's head.
That figure was not Jiraiya, whom they had hoped to see.
Instead, it was Minato Namikaze, wearing the Fourth Hokage's uniform and with a head of golden hair.
"Am I seeing things? Is that the Fourth Hokage?"
"It really seems to be him."
"The Fourth Hokage is alive?!!!!"
Some even cried upon seeing Minato Namikaze.
Just then, Minato Namikaze's voice reached everyone's ears.
"Everyone, don't worry! Now that I'm here, everything should end!"
As soon as Minato Namikaze finished speaking, Gamabunta, who was beneath his feet, was sent flying by an immense force.
After sending Gamabunta flying, the Kurama-transformed Naruto stared intently at Minato Namikaze, as if the two had a deep-seated grudge.
Seeing this gaze, Minato Namikaze thought to himself, "Naruto's acting is really good!"
What Minato Namikaze didn't know was that it wasn't actually Naruto looking at him, but the genuine Kurama!
Perhaps it was a case of being moved by the scene, but when Kurama saw Minato Namikaze, the hostility in its eyes was absolutely genuine.
After a few seconds of staring, Kurama immediately unleashed a Tailed Beast Ball without another word.
While Kurama was condensing the Tailed Beast Ball, Naruto began searching the entire Konoha Village for the Nen Ability Minato Namikaze had left behind.
They had already discussed it beforehand: as soon as Minato Namikaze appeared, a Tailed Beast Ball could be fired, and it should be aimed at the spot where Minato Namikaze had left a mark.
After the Tailed Beast Ball was fully condensed, Kurama fired it without hesitation.
Minato Namikaze did not try to stop this Tailed Beast Ball, allowing it to land in a corner of Konoha Village.
There, a pile of corpses lay—all of them belonging to high-ranking Konoha elders.
After the Tailed Beast Ball exploded, along with these corpses, an entire sixth of Konoha Village vanished without a trace.
All the Konoha Ninja who witnessed this scene gaped in astonishment.
They were very fortunate, fortunate that Kurama had not seriously attacked them before.
If it had, they might not even have had intact bodies!
At the same time.
Shiranui Genma, Aoba Yamashiro, Raidō Namiashi, and Gekkō Hayate all arrived beside Minato Namikaze.
Seeing the Fourth Hokage, they were arguably the most excited.
Because when the Fourth Hokage was alive, the four of them were his bodyguards.
Minato Namikaze had even taught them the Flying Thunder God, but due to their limited aptitude, they could only use it successfully if all four activated it simultaneously.
The main purpose of these four coming to Minato Namikaze was to confirm whether the person before them was truly the Fourth Hokage they knew.
"Fourth Hokage-sama… Is it really you?"
Shiranui Genma, not chewing on his characteristic senbon, asked with great excitement in his voice.
"You all step back for now! Let me deal with Kurama first!"
As he spoke, Minato Namikaze revealed a warm, sun-like smile.
Seeing this smile, the four's hearts trembled instantly; they knew that the person before them was indeed the Fourth Hokage they knew!
After confirming his identity, the four left Gamabunta's head. They knew that only the Fourth Hokage could deal with Kurama, and their staying would be useless!
Just as the four were about to leave, Minato Namikaze seemed to remember something and said, "Oh, right… If possible, please bring me the sealing jutsu!"
The four nodded in unison upon hearing this and then disappeared from their spot.
"Alright, next up should be the next wave of Tailed Beast Balls, right!"
Just as Minato Namikaze finished speaking, Kurama's second Tailed Beast Ball was fired.
Its target was directly Minato Namikaze.
The Ninja standing nearby panicked when they saw the Tailed Beast Ball approaching.
They had all witnessed the power of the Tailed Beast Ball just now; if it exploded in the center of the crowd, probably few would survive.
Even Danzo secretly formed hand signs, activating Izanagi in advance.
Minato Namikaze, upon seeing the approaching Tailed Beast Ball, closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the eye shadow of Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode appeared.
In addition, Minato Namikaze also unleashed his own Nen Ability.
With the dual enhancement of natural energy and life energy, Minato Namikaze's Nen became incredibly powerful.
Just as the Tailed Beast Ball was less than five meters away from Minato Namikaze, he raised his hand.
Immediately, everyone saw that the pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball was actually blocked by Minato Namikaze with a single hand.
That wasn't all; an invisible Nen began to seep from Minato Namikaze's hand, quickly enveloping the entire Tailed Beast Ball.
Finally, to everyone's bewildered expressions, the giant Tailed Beast Ball began to shrink continuously, eventually becoming palm-sized!
This was one of Minato's developed Nen Abilities: [Space Compression].
Danzo looked at Minato Namikaze, who had effortlessly dealt with the Tailed Beast Ball, and sighed to himself, "It seems Orochimaru was right; Minato Namikaze really does have a way to revive… He not only revived, but he also became stronger! How did he do it?!"
"Wait a minute… Minato Namikaze's revival, Kurama's appearance… Could all of this be…"
The schemer Danzo suddenly thought of something. He guessed that Kurama's appearance was definitely related to Minato Namikaze's revival.
Danzo looked at the ravaged Konoha Village and sneered, "Minato Namikaze, I thought your heart was so pure! Turns out, for the position of Hokage, you can also resort to any means!"
Just then, the Third Hokage's voice sounded beside him.
"Hmph! Danzo, don't compare Minato to yourself. Haven't you noticed? Although many Konoha buildings were destroyed, there were hardly any casualties among Konoha's villagers and Ninja!"
"Hmm? Hiruzen, when did you wake up?" Danzo asked Hiruzen Sarutobi with some confusion.
"Just woke up!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, like Danzo, had also guessed that this Kurama attack was actually a grand play for Minato Namikaze's return.
Knowing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was relieved.
Since it was a play, Uzumaki Naruto would definitely be fine, after all… he was the Fourth Hokage's biological son!