Minato knew the situation was critical. He couldn't wait any longer.
'Swish!'
His figure flashed, and he vanished into thin air. Like teleportation, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly appear in front of Kushina, who was in her Half-Tailed Beast Transformation.
"Four Symbols Seal!"
Minato formed a hand sign, and chakra flowed through his left hand, condensing at his fingertips. He pressed them toward Kushina's abdomen.
He intended to reinforce the Nine-Tails' seal.
"Roar!"
However, the rampaging Kushina clearly wouldn't stay still. Having lost her sanity and acting purely on instinct, she let out a low growl.
Dark red chakra surged and erupted from her body, stirring up strong winds and kicking up dust everywhere, forcing Minato to keep his distance.
'Snap!'
An orange-red tail lashed out from behind Kushina. In her Half-Tailed Beast Transformation, the tail whipped through the air, creating an explosive sound as it swung directly toward Minato.
'Boom!'
The ground shook. The power behind the tail was terrifying, smashing a crater into the earth.
"Such incredible strength..."
Minato's reflexes were exceptional. He instantly used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge, landing several meters away, but he didn't dare relax in the slightest. This wasn't his first encounter with a Tailed Beast. He had previously faced the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwa on the battlefield, and was well aware of the power of the Tailed Beasts.
The idea for his Hand Sign-less Ninjutsu, Rasengan, had also come from his battles against the Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
'Chichichi...'
A faint sound came from beneath his feet. Minato instantly reacted, flashing away again, leaving his original position.
The very next second, a chakra arm shot out from the ground, narrowly missing him and continuing to chase.
"I need to find an opening..."
Minato continued dodging while thinking of a countermeasure.
To successfully reinforce the Nine-Tails' seal, he needed to first suppress the rampaging Kushina and create an opening.
"I'm sorry, Kushina. This is the only way."
Taking a deep breath, Minato performed the Flying Thunder God Technique again, instantly appearing beside Kushina. In his hand, a glowing ball of chakra formed.
"Rasengan!"
'Boom!'
He pressed the Rasengan down, but it was blocked by a tail. With a roar, the impact exploded outward, generating a violent hurricane.
'Rumble!!'
After blocking the Rasengan with her tail, Kushina let out another low growl. Her right arm, transformed into a claw, tore toward Minato, aiming to shred him.
Minato flashed away again, pulling a specialized kunai from his pouch and throwing it while forming hand signs.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
'Chichichi...'
One split into two, two into four, four into eight... countless shuriken shot toward Kushina's location, the sheer number making it impossible to dodge.
'Clang clang clang...'
Kushina exhaled white steam, and violent chakra surged from her body. Four tails whipped around furiously, deflecting every incoming shuriken.
"An opening!"
Minato's eyes sharpened. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique to flash in front of Kushina, ready to press the sealing formula onto her abdomen once more.
The rampaging Kushina was acting purely on instinct, her aura brutal and filled with killing intent.
Instead of dodging, she opened her claw and tore down toward Minato.
'Bang!'
Minato's body was shredded by the claw, but no blood splattered. Only white smoke rose as a specialized kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Formula flew up.
This was clearly a Shadow Clone.
"Great Ball Rasengan!"
At the same time, the kunai above Kushina's head was grabbed by a hand, and Minato's real body appeared out of thin air.
He held a Rasengan slightly larger than a basketball and slammed it down onto Kushina without hesitation.
'Rumble!'
The Great Ball Rasengan was incredibly powerful. With a loud roar, Kushina was smashed into the ground, the force so immense that the ground cracked and caved in.
'Thump...'
But in that instant, a tail lashed out, striking Minato and sending him flying, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
'Buzz buzz buzz!!'
Dark red chakra surged endlessly. Kushina, still in her Half-Tailed Beast state, raised her head to the sky and opened her mouth.
Red and blue chakra began to gather.
A chaotic sphere of chakra began forming and growing larger.
'Crack!'
The sheer pressure caused the ground beneath her to sink.
This was the Tailed Beast's ultimate technique, the Tailed Beast Ball.
"Hey, hey, there's no need to go that far, right?"
Watching this, Seiryū broke out in a cold sweat.
Even though it was a Tailed Beast Ball in the Four-Tails state, its destructive power couldn't be underestimated.
Seiryū knew he couldn't take it head-on. If he did, the odds of survival were too low.
But sneaking in a strike was still possible.
'Bang!'
Using Shunpo at full power, the ground beneath Seiryū cracked. Using the force of the rebound, he shot forward and quickly closed the distance.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"
Forming a hand sign with his left hand, Seiryū pushed his right hand forward. An orange-red fireball blasted straight ahead.
'Rumble!'
A violent explosion erupted as the flames soared into the sky. The surprise Red Fire Cannon interrupted the casting of the Tailed Beast Ball and sent Kushina flying.
Seiryū didn't stop. After forming a hand sign, he swung his right hand down.
"Bakudō #30. Shitotsu Sansen!!"
'Chii! Chii! Chii!'
Three sharp-beaked beams of condensed chakra shot forward, piercing into Kushina and pinning her to the ground.
"What a chance. Senpai, quickly use your finishing move!"
"You've been a great help, Seiryū!"
Minato didn't let Seiryū down. Even though he had been hit and coughed up blood, his injuries were not light. He endured the pain and moved without hesitation.
With a 'swish', he used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, appearing beside Kushina. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his right hand onto her abdomen.
"Four Symbols Seal!"
'Chichi!'
Ink-black formulas extended from his fingertips, reinforcing the seal on Kushina's body against the Nine-Tails.
'Whoosh...'
The dark red chakra cloak around her receded like a tide, surging toward her abdomen. She gradually returned to normal from her Half-Tailed Beast state.
But right at that moment—
With a 'hiss', a claw pierced through Minato's abdomen, and blood splattered...
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)