"Kushina!!"
Minato's figure suddenly solidified in mid-air. When his deep blue eyes refocused on the direction of Takuno and Kushina, the sight that met his eyes almost made his heart stop instantly!
Kushina was currently slumped on the ground like a broken puppet, having already fallen into a deep coma.
That iconic fiery red hair had lost its usual vitality, spreading out dully.
What made his blood freeze even more was that The Collector was holding a massive, suffocatingly violent, and rampaging crimson chakra energy ball in one hand!
As the husband of a former Jinchuriki, Minato was all too familiar with the nature of this power—it was the Nine-Tails!
It was the Nine-Tails chakra sealed within Kushina's body, symbolizing calamity and destruction!
"How can this be...?!" Minato's pupils contracted violently due to extreme shock.
The scale of that chakra... The Collector had actually completely extracted the entire Nine-Tails from Kushina's body in an instant!
The outcome for a Jinchuriki who loses their Tailed Beast... is death!
This realization instantly pierced through Minato's consciousness.
No! He would never accept it!
A glimmer of almost frantic hope suddenly ignited in his eyes!
His memory flashed back to that tragic night of the Nine-Tails Riot; as long as he moved fast enough!
Just like when he sealed half of the Nine-Tails back then, he could stuff this massive chakra back into Kushina's body!
As long as there was still a sliver of chakra maintaining the connection, there was still a chance for survival!
Minato snapped his head up, his gaze shooting toward Takuno like a sharp arrow.
The shock brought by the terrifying power of the opponent's previous Shinra Tensei was now completely replaced by another more primal and blazing emotion.
It was a towering rage that could burn everything to ashes!
This fury exploded against the backdrop of his gentle and peaceful personality, appearing exceptionally thrilling.
Takuno's pale mask turned slightly, having long since captured the movement of Minato's return.
The fact that the opponent could neutralize the impact of Shinra Tensei and return accurately in such a short time was indeed commendable, however...
It was too late.
For him, this brief moment was enough to finish what he wanted to do.
This Yellow Flash, who once required a bit of attention, had already lost the qualification to be a threat in terms of speed and power before his current self.
The gap between the two sides was already like a natural chasm.
Facing the fury in Minato's eyes, Takuno had no interest in tangling with him.
His goal had been achieved. He didn't spare another glance, simply tossing the unconscious Kushina through the air toward Minato.
"Kushina!!"
Minato's heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand; Takuno's sudden action was completely beyond his expectations.
In just a moment of shock, his extraordinary reflexes drove his body to turn into a Yellow Flash, instantly appearing beside the trajectory of Kushina's fall.
He bent his knees slightly and steadily caught Kushina's unconscious body. That familiar weight now carried a heart-wrenching sense of fragility.
Without the slightest hesitation, Minato immediately laid Kushina flat on the ground and began to meticulously check every aspect of her condition.
However, the results of the examination made him pause abruptly, a deep confusion surfacing on his face.
Kushina's condition... was not as disastrous as he had anticipated.
While her life force was indeed weak due to the massive drain, strangely, this candle flame had not been extinguished. Instead, it flickered steadily with an unexpected resilience.
Those symptoms were all too familiar to Minato.
It was clearly a case of chakra being excessively drained, causing the body's self-protection mechanism to kick in and trigger a deep coma.
He had seen this situation many times among his comrades on the battlefield.
But... why?
A surge of post-disaster joy almost overwhelmed Minato's reason, but this joy was instantly shrouded by a deeper cloud of doubt.
This result violently conflicted with his knowledge!
According to common sense, when a Jinchuriki has their Tailed Beast forcibly stripped away, their life force should drain away like a flood through a broken dam, with no hope of survival.
Yet Kushina before him, though incredibly weak, still had the spark of life stubbornly continuing within her.
He could even predict that with just a day or two of peaceful rest, she would be able to recover...
Where was there any sign of a life about to reach its end?
Suppressing the confusion in his heart, Minato's chakra also probed toward the seal core in her abdomen, which was once the cage where the Nine-Tails Demon Fox was bound.
The feedback from his fingertips confirmed his worst suspicions, yet deepened that incomprehensible mystery.
As expected!
The barrier once constructed by the Eight Trigrams Seal, formed from the top-tier Four Symbols Seal secret technique of the Uzumaki Clan, was now shattered to pieces.
The exquisite symbols that made up the seal had long since been annihilated, leaving only residual chakra traces telling the tragic tale of being forcibly destroyed.
And within that sealed space... it was empty, without a trace of the Nine-Tails' violent chakra aura.
The Nine-Tails... had indeed been completely extracted from Kushina's body.
This confirmation, rather than answering Minato's confusion, stirred up an even more turbulent vortex of questions.
The chain of logic had completely broken at this point.
As for the fact that the Eight Trigrams Seal had been forcibly destroyed by external force, Minato was not surprised in the least.
In the lightning-fast first exchange with Takuno just now, the immense power contained in the Shinra Tensei the opponent unleashed had already clearly demonstrated a fact to him.
Faced with such overwhelming power, it was completely reasonable that even one of the strongest sealing techniques the Uzumaki Clan took pride in would be crushed by the opponent's arrogant posture.
While Minato was carefully probing Kushina's physical condition with his chakra, Takuno had already completed his actions. That massive and ferocious Nine-Tails Demon Fox, like a docile toy in his hands, turned into a crimson stream of light and was completely stored away.
He had no intention of handing it over to the Akatsuki for the time being. After all, those people followed a strict order for sealing Tailed Beasts, starting from the Ichibi.
Handing over the Nine-Tails now would serve no purpose other than adding trouble.
Takuno's gaze calmly turned to Minato, taking in the expression on the other's face—a mix of shock, confusion, and a hint of disbelief.
Clearly, this Fourth Hokage had already confirmed the most crucial fact.
Kushina, despite having her Tailed Beast forcibly extracted, was in no life-threatening danger.
This was exactly Takuno's intention.
His core goal for this trip had only ever been the Nine-Tails itself. As for Kushina's life? He had no interest in taking it.
With the Yang Release Power he now possessed, filling the void in a Jinchuriki's life force that collapses instantly upon losing a Tailed Beast was a simple task.
At this moment, Takuno could have left leisurely, but he chose to stay.
He stood in place with ease, his gaze falling on Minato.
After a moment of silence, a curve hooked at the corner of Takuno's mouth, and his voice broke the frozen air:
"Since you've confirmed your wife is safe and sound, Minato..." He paused deliberately.
"So, what is your choice now? Is it to immediately take back the Nine-Tails from me and defend Konoha's treasure? Or... prioritize dealing with the matters of the Village behind you?"
This questioning, which struck at the core, caused Minato's pupils to contract suddenly.
Kushina's survival was indeed the result of this mysterious man's manipulation!
This realization was transmitted clearly, dousing the towering rage in Minato's heart that had ignited because of his wife's suffering.
Although his vigilance and suspicion had not diminished in the slightest, that bone-deep killing intent had mostly dissipated.
But...
Taking back the Tailed Beast belonging to Konoha was indeed an inescapable responsibility as the Hokage.
Minato knew this, yet at this moment, he chose to give up on taking action.
This abandonment did not stem from cowardice, but from the return of reason at the edge of life and death.
Witnessing Kushina on the brink of death earlier had consumed his composure in that instant.
At that moment, the ownership of the Nine-Tails or the gains and losses of the Village were all thrown to the back of his mind.
There was only one desperate, frantic thought in his heart: to take back the Nine-Tails from The Collector even if it meant risking his life!
This was not just for the Tailed Beast itself, but to re-seal the Nine-Tails back into Kushina's body as the key to maintaining her life. It was his only hope for saving Kushina.
He was even prepared for the realization that even if he ultimately failed and fell, he would accompany Kushina on the road to the Yellow Springs, not letting her bear that loneliness alone.
However, now Kushina had turned the corner to safety.
This instantly dispelled the despair and madness shrouding Minato.
After confirming his wife's safety, the battlefield judgment belonging to the Yellow Flash quickly took the lead.
He re-evaluated the enemy before him, "The Collector," a terrifying existence whose strength was unfathomable and far beyond his imagination.
In the lightning-fast initial exchange, Minato had already confirmed a fact that made his heart turn cold.
The Flying Thunder God Technique he took pride in was actually useless before the opponent!
The Collector could not only accurately capture the surprise attacks he launched through space jumping but could also perform perfect counters with unbelievable reaction speed and power.
This was by no means accidental.
Minato immediately realized that before The Collector, perhaps his active use of Flying Thunder God for close combat not only failed to establish an advantage but instead sent him into a fatal situation.
Having lost the absolute speed and spatial control brought by Flying Thunder God, the core tactic he relied on for victory completely collapsed.
So, what else was there to rely on? Sage Mode?
Minato quickly dismissed this option in his heart.
Even if he could enter that peak state of self-strengthening in an instant, he calmly assessed that facing The Collector's initial "Shinra Tensei," the result would not have been any different.
That was a kind of desperate crushing on a level of pure power.
With just one tentative collision, Minato had already perceived the strength gap between the two sides, which was like a natural chasm.
This gap could not be bridged by exquisite tactics, rich experience, or a surge of hot blood.
It lay there, real and cold.
Therefore, now that Kushina's life was no longer in danger, continuing to persist in taking back the Nine-Tails from such a fearsome opponent was no longer heroic, but a valueless act of suicide.
As the Hokage, he bore the heavy responsibility of protecting the Village and its people; he could not let his sacrifice be so reckless and meaningless.
Minato gazed at Takuno with a calm look, his tone carrying an unquestionable decision.
"Since your Excellency has already obtained the Nine-Tails, please leave quickly."
He knew very well that asking the opponent to return the Nine-Tails was but a fool's dream. At this moment, his heart was only set on the crisis raging within Konoha.
"Heh." Takuno let out a light snort, as if Minato's reaction had long been within his expectations.
He nodded slightly and fell into a brief thought. A moment later, a meaningful curve pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"Very well. Since I have taken the Nine-Tails, in exchange, I will give you a piece of intelligence."
Minato was slightly taken aback, but he did not refuse.
At this moment, any information regarding the invaders was precious.
"I'm listening."
Takuno's voice was neither fast nor slow.
"The ones invading Konoha this time are not just the Shinobi of Sunagakure. Orochimaru's people are also mixed among them."
"This point... we have already noticed, it's just that we are still unable to lock down their exact identities."
A trace of imperceptible disappointment flashed in Minato's eyes; the value of this intelligence seemed limited.
"What I am saying goes far beyond that." Takuno slowed down his speech, carrying a hint of playfulness as his sharp gaze pierced toward Minato.
"The key lies in not engaging Orochimaru's people within Konoha. Otherwise..."
He deliberately dragged out the end of his sentence, his mocking eyes like he was admiring the panic the other was about to show.
A strong sense of unease instantly gripped Minato's heart.
Takuno gave the answer at the right time.
"...the 'grand occasion' you previously experienced on the spectator stand will be repeated."
Boom!
Before Takuno's words even finished, thunder had already exploded in Minato's mind!
The scene of the violent explosion that destroyed everything on the spectator stand instantly reappeared! His pupils contracted suddenly!
human bombs!
This terrifying realization sent a chill up his spine, making his scalp tingle!
Even though he had already ordered the evacuation of civilians, those Konoha Shinobi who were fighting bloody battles with the enemy on the front lines... they were still in the center of the battlefield!
If every one of Orochimaru's subordinates turned into a human bomb like that, the explosive power...
Konoha... would suffer incalculable losses!
"Thank you for the warning!" Minato no longer had the slightest hesitation, words of gratitude escaped his mouth, his voice slightly tight due to urgency.
Before his voice had even faded, he grabbed Kushina beside him.
With a "Swish!" sound, a brilliant golden light shone, and the two had vanished into thin air, leaving only the instantaneous spatial ripples when the Flying Thunder God Technique was activated.
He had to rush back to the core battlefield of the Village at the fastest speed!
Looking at the place where Minato had disappeared, Takuno let out a light laugh of unknown meaning.
Immediately, his figure silently dissipated into the air, as if he had never set foot there.
After this, what happened in Konoha no longer had anything to do with him.
Whether those human bombs were handled well by Minato and the state of Konoha's losses were also not things he should be concerned about.