Blood continued to pour from the masked man's incomplete body.
"To think you two managed to counter me… So this is the famed 'Yellow Flash'—truly, one can't afford a moment of carelessness…"
But before he could finish speaking, Minato had already used the Flying Raijin to appear before him, pressing a hand hard against his abdomen.
"Flying Raijin?!"
"I see… That Rasengan earlier marked me!"
Sealing marks spread across the masked man's body.
His voice trembled with disbelief:
"A Contract Seal? You intend to separate me from the Nine-Tails?!"
Minato answered coldly:
"With this, the Nine-Tails is no longer your tool."
Inside the Leaf Village, the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes—forced upon it through manipulation—slowly faded back into its original pupils.
But even with the Sharingan released, the beast did not stop attacking; instead it rampaged with even greater fury.
Years of pent-up rage from being sealed inside a jinchūriki erupted all at once.
The destruction in Konoha grew worse than ever.
The Third Hokage summoned Enma, who transformed into the adamantine staff. Using its ability to freely extend and contract, Hiruzen forcibly pushed the Nine-Tails out of the village.
He turned to the ANBU at his side:
"Where are Danzō's Root shinobi?! Why haven't they deployed?!"
"We went to the Root base for reinforcements, but there was no response at all!"
Hiruzen slammed the adamantine staff into the ground in fury, leaving a deep crater.
"This is the village's moment of life and death—what on earth is Danzō doing?!"
The ANBU continued their report:
"We also discovered traces of Orochimaru's presence outside the village."
Hiruzen's expression darkened instantly.
His own student had become a rogue ninja—his greatest shame as Hokage—and for Orochimaru to appear at such a critical time made his intentions obvious.
Hiruzen immediately commanded:
"Don't concern yourselves with Orochimaru now. Our priority is to deal with the Nine-Tails outside the village!"
"Yes, sir!"
Back on the battlefield with Yosuke, Minato, and the masked man—
Despite his heavy injuries, the masked man seemed almost unaffected.
"As expected of the Fourth Hokage. I didn't think you and this swordsman could injure me and separate me from the Nine-Tails. But the beast will belong to me eventually. I am the one who will unify the world… and I have the means to do it."
As he spoke, his body began phasing, gradually vanishing until he disappeared completely.
With the masked man gone, Minato could finally focus on the Nine-Tails.
He looked toward the raging beast in the distance and asked gravely:
"There are too many suspicious elements in this incident. Yosuke… can you tell me why you appeared there?"
Minato's sharp gaze locked onto Yosuke.
"Because of Danzō."
Yosuke gave up the name without hesitation.
"I hid aspects of my identity. I am not a samurai of the Land of Iron. Danzō tried to use that against me, attempting to force me into cooperating with him—ordering me to kill the ANBU assigned to protect the barrier. But you saw the result. Their deaths weren't my doing, and I never intended to work with Danzō."
There was no longer any reason to conceal anything; Yosuke laid it all out.
"Danzō… So it really was him. Then Orochimaru's appearance must also be related to him."
Minato had long suspected Danzō still maintained ties with the rogue Sannin, though he'd never found proof.
"Then, Yosuke-san, can you tell me why you came to Konoha?"
"Although I hid my identity, I haven't lied about anything else. My homeland produced a traitor who stole something extremely important to us. If we don't retrieve it, my entire homeland will suffer devastating consequences. According to the intel, he would come to Konoha. That's why I came here—to pursue him."
In the distance, flames erupted and screams echoed endlessly.
Yosuke asked:
"What do you plan to do now?"
Minato answered bitterly:
"Originally, I intended to suppress the Nine-Tails and reseal it inside Kushina. But now… everyone is at their limit. Konoha can't endure any more destruction. So… I must apologize to Kushina and Naruto…"
Yosuke suddenly asked:
"To what extent must the Nine-Tails be restrained for the sealing to work?"
"It has to be suppressed until it cannot move at all."
"Leave that to me."
Minato was surprised.
"Yosuke-san? Why?"
"Asuma and Hayate are my friends. Itachi is my student. That alone is reason enough."
Minato never doubted Yosuke's strength. If he said he could do it, he must truly have a plan.
The Eight Trigrams Seal used for jinchūriki required the Nine-Tails to be completely immobilized—something Minato could not achieve alone.
Kushina, having lost the Nine-Tails, no longer had the strength to restrain it either.
Minato had intended to use a mutual-death sealing method… but with Yosuke's promise, hope returned to him.
As Hokage, duty demanded sacrifice—but as a husband, Minato wanted Kushina to live. And he wanted to watch Naruto grow up.
"I'm counting on you, Yosuke-san!"
With the Flying Raijin, Minato vanished.
Yosuke looked toward the colossal beast before him, his fighting spirit rising.
"My first battle against a top-tier force of this world… Let me see just how strong you truly are, Nine-Tails!"
He unfurled his blood-red wings and flew toward the beast.
Meanwhile Minato reappeared beside Hiruzen.
"Minato, you finally arrived."
"Lord Third, please dispatch the ANBU immediately to arrest Danzō."
"Why arrest Danzō?"
"He played a role in this Nine-Tails attack. And his entire Root division has yet to appear. To avoid any further interference, he must be detained for now."
Hiruzen looked deeply troubled—torn between an old comrade and the Hokage he'd chosen as his successor.
"Minato… There's still no decisive proof of Danzō's involvement. Let us deal with the Nine-Tails first, then we'll discuss it."
"Lord Third?"
Minato could not understand Hiruzen's stance.
It was only a temporary detainment—yet even that was refused.
Hiruzen's influence far exceeded Minato's.
If Hiruzen insisted on protecting Danzō, even the orders of the Fourth Hokage would be useless.
The shinobi were far more inclined to follow Hiruzen.
After all, nearly all ANBU under Minato had already—
"It's decided, Minato. You must place the village above all else."
Minato's eyes filled with indescribable disappointment.
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