Kyusei felt like nothing more than a bystander now, silently watching the scenes play out before him one after another.
He glanced at the adult Kyusei, who was maintaining the chakra transmission. The man's expression remained calm, not a single ripple of emotion on the surface.
Yet Kyusei knew better.
That man existed purely as chakra, but in essence, he was still another version of himself.
As if sensing Kyusei's gaze, the adult Kyusei turned his head and met his eyes. There was a faint tremor in those gray-brown pupils—subtle, fleeting, but unmistakable.
He wasn't as composed as he appeared.
Kyusei hesitated, then spoke.
"Do you know who Boruto is?"
The adult Kyusei frowned slightly, genuine confusion crossing his face.
"…Who's that?"
Kyusei studied him for a moment, then shook his head.
"Never mind. Just a nobody."
Their exchange faded into silence as the chakra-formed vision continued.
Third Parallel World
"Beast!"
The scarred man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as crimson flooded into his eyes.
Sharingan.
Kyusei's expression turned icy.
Senju Nawaki could never have possessed the Sharingan. Worse still, his internal organs had been completely destroyed by explosive tags back then—there was no way that body should have been able to survive.
To keep such a ruined body functioning, something had to replace those organs.
The Sharingan was the pinnacle of Yin Release.
To counterbalance that and sustain life, an equally extreme Yang Release was required.
And yet this man wasn't just alive—his combat power was terrifying.
Something even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had never achieved.
Who are you…?
A being like this could not exist unnoticed within the shinobi world.
What unsettled Kyusei even more was the man's eyes.
One was a standard three-tomoe Sharingan.
The other bore an unfamiliar pattern—like a three-pronged sickle.
Kyusei had never seen such a Mangekyō design.
He didn't fear Sharingan genjutsu. If he ever fell into an illusion, the beast within him would immediately warn him.
But the Sharingan's strength wasn't limited to genjutsu alone.
Its perception—especially in the hands of a taijutsu specialist—was lethal.
He's coming.
Kyusei's gaze hardened as the man closed in at explosive speed, the air screaming under the force of his punch.
Kyusei didn't retreat.
He gathered chakra into his fist, planning to take the blow head-on and immediately follow up with Adamantine Chains to seal the enemy's chakra.
Their fists were about to collide.
Got him.
Both of them reached the same conclusion at the same instant.
But—
Kyusei's punch passed straight through the man's body.
No resistance. No impact.
His entire body phased through the opponent as if striking a mirage.
Bad—!
At the precise moment when Kyusei's old force was spent and new force hadn't yet formed, a hand slammed into his lower back.
The man's scarred face twisted into a wild grin.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Come forth—Nine-Tails!"
Yin–Yang chakra surged violently into Kyusei's body, tearing through his seal with unstoppable force.
Against that overwhelming power, Kyusei's own Yin Release chakra stood no chance.
Time seemed to freeze.
The crimson tailed-beast cloak around the adult Kyusei vanished instantly.
What followed was pain—pain so intense it felt like his body was being torn apart from the inside.
Scarlet chakra was ripped violently from his body, grasped tightly in the man's hand. With a backward leap, that vast chakra was torn free like a raging tide.
"ROAR—!"
A colossal fox, fur blazing like fire and body towering like a mountain, burst into the night.
The Nine-Tails was freed.
Its roar unleashed a shockwave that swept across the entire village in an instant.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Yes—this is it!"
The man stared at the Nine-Tails with unrestrained exhilaration, not a shred of fear in his eyes.
"Damn it…"
A jinchūriki's life was bound to their tailed beast.
Once the beast was extracted, death became inevitable.
Kyusei staggered upright, gasping for breath. The moment the Nine-Tails was torn from him, the battle had already been decided.
One wrong move.
Total defeat.
"Oh?"
The man tilted his head, amused as he watched Kyusei still standing.
"Impressive. As expected of an Uzumaki."
"Even after losing your tailed beast, you're still alive."
Before he could say more, a massive claw descended from above.
BOOM!
The ground shattered as the Nine-Tails smashed its paw down with overwhelming force.
When the dust settled, the man emerged—his body phasing cleanly through the fox's massive limb.
He glanced at the Nine-Tails and spat contemptuously.
"A beast will always be a beast."
"Now behave."
His Sharingan spun violently, an immense surge of ocular power shooting straight into the Nine-Tails' eyes.
Kaoru lay on the bed, staring blankly at the old man holding her child.
She had just lifted her arms, wanting to hold her newborn—
When a thunderous roar echoed from outside.
Her body froze.
Through the window, she saw it.
That enormous, blazing-red silhouette.
In that instant, her limbs went cold.
Kyusei…
An unbearable pain seized her heart.
He hadn't fully mastered the Nine-Tails.
Which meant—
Her husband.
Her beloved.
Her everything…
Was gone.
"Third Hokage," Kaoru said softly.
"Please… take care of this child."
"Her name is Uzumaki Naruko."
No one knew where she found the strength.
Kaoru rose from the bed and swiftly donned her combat uniform.
"Kaoru!"
"Your body—!"
The Third Hokage was still reeling from the Nine-Tails' escape, but the woman before him was the Fourth Hokage—just as irreplaceable.
"I'm fine."
Her voice was cold, but her trembling fingers betrayed her.
"I'm going to…"
"…bring Kyusei back."
She draped the white cloak over her shoulders.
Five crimson characters burned across her back.
Fourth Hokage.
As Kaoru vanished in a flash, the Third Hokage clenched his teeth, handing the child to the waiting ANBU before rushing toward the battlefield himself.
Konoha had already lost a Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
It could not afford to lose a Fourth Hokage as well.
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