On the Sky Screen, the music began to play again.
A high-pitched female voice suddenly rang out, as if drifting from far away, piercing through the various Shinobi World timelines and buzzing in everyone's ears.
On the screen, two hands clapped together in the sky, emitting a crisp sound, followed by a blinding white light that flooded the screen, causing many to instinctively squint their eyes.
When people across the various timelines of the Shinobi World could see clearly again, a pale moon hung high in the sky.
Even more surprising was that in the next second, the Nine-Tails' massive body appeared on the screen.
Its jaws gaped wide, letting out a piercing roar under the moonlight.
Its fur gleamed red in the moonlight, its nine tails whipping behind it. Just this single image sent Konoha's people into an instinctive state of alarm.
"No way? Again?!"
Many people instinctively took a step back, their hands already reaching for their Kunai. The memories of the Nine-Tails' Rampage were too profound; no Konoha Shinobi wished to experience it a second time.
But they quickly calmed down, because the scene of Kushina's wide-eyed face appeared again on the screen.
Clearly, this was still a scene from the previous Nine-Tails' Rampage.
Though it might be a bit insensitive, as long as it wasn't another such incident, it was fine. And the Fourth Hokage had died last time; if it happened again, perhaps even the Fifth would meet with disaster.
In that case, the Nine-Tails might as well be called the "Hokage Slayer."
And the Third Hokage might truly end up being Hokage for life.
---
"Kushina!!"
On the screen, the Nine-Tails had already broken free of the Adamantine Sealing Chains. Its massive claws seemed poised to pierce through Minato and Kushina's bodies, just as it had happened before.
Minato held Kushina, his back to the Nine-Tails, still using his own body to shield her from the attack.
But just then, a figure appeared in midair.
No one saw how he arrived—it was as if he stepped directly out of the moonlight. He then swung a horizontal kick, breaking the Nine-Tails' claw.
Instantly, the Nine-Tails let out a shrill cry, its blood-red pupils widening to their fullest.
"You are…?"
Minato, still holding Kushina, ready to block the Nine-Tails' attack with his body, finally noticed something was off.
Someone had actually intervened to save them?
But he had set up a barrier here. Who could have ignored it and entered so quickly?
There was definitely no one in Konoha right now who could do that.
So who was it?
Minato's mind raced, but he couldn't come up with an answer.
And when the figure finally landed, Minato and Kushina's pupils dilated to their fullest.
"Seventh…" Sweat trickled down Minato's face. The words on the cloak were unmistakable.
"Hokage…?" Kushina said in disbelief, finishing Minato's sentence.
In their line of sight, the figure stood with his back to them. Only the words "Seventh Hokage" on his cloak fluttered in the wind.
Seemingly to hide his identity, the figure also wore a strange mask—but his short blond hair and blue eyes were unmistakably familiar to many.
---
[Konoha, Year 83. Naruto's home]
Himawari bounced excitedly, clapping her hands. "Dad, Dad! It's you! You went to save Grandma and Grandpa!"
Boruto was equally pumped, his fists clenched. "Great! Give the Nine-Tails a good beating!"
Meanwhile, inside Naruto, Kurama let out another disgruntled snort.
What did this brat mean by "give the Nine-Tails a good beating"?
Naruto comforted Kurama in his mental space, gently patting its claw. "Don't mind it, don't mind it. Kids don't know any better."
But on the outside, his fists were already clenched tightly—clearly not as calm as he appeared. His eyes were fixed on that cloaked figure's back, his throat tight as if something was lodged there.
'If… if…'
Noticing Naruto's subtle changes, Hinata walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, silently comforting him.
Naruto took a deep breath and placed his hand over hers.
---
Same timeline, somewhere in a forest.
Adult Sasuke leaned against a large tree, arms crossed, watching the screen with interest.
Were those two hands at the beginning his and Naruto's?
But his Amenotejikara only had the ability to manipulate space—it couldn't send him back in time, could it?
Amenotejikara could only swap positions, not traverse time.
And if he did have that ability, aside from helping Naruto change fate, he would probably use it to go back to that night and stop the tragedy from happening too.
Thinking this, Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly.
---
On the screen, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, was blocked outside the barrier, his hands pressed against the transparent wall—unable to push through
He stared in shock at the mysterious figure who had appeared out of nowhere.
'Seventh Hokage? Who the hell was that? Wasn't it only the Fourth right now? Even if someone was pretending, they should at least make it look convincing.'
Hiruzen's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, spinning like a carousel.
The stranger's blond hair did resemble Minato's, but Minato had long hair—this man had a crew cut.
Though he had stopped the Nine-Tails, so he seemed more like a friend than an enemy. But could it really be… Konoha's Seventh Hokage?
At that thought, Hiruzen shook his head. Too many strange things had happened tonight—they were affecting his judgment.
What "Seventh Hokage"? Minato was only the Fourth. There were still Fifth and Sixth—how could it jump straight to Seventh?
Just then, Minato, having regained his composure, looked at the figure's back and couldn't help asking:
"May I ask… who are you…?"
"The Seventh Hokage." The masked Naruto turned around, answering Minato's question.
His voice sounded a bit more mature, perhaps even older than Minato himself.
Only then did Minato notice that the mask the stranger wore was fox-shaped, orange and black, oddly familiar.
After Naruto finished speaking, he quickly walked to Minato's side, reached out his right hand wrapped in bandages, and gently placed it on Minato's shoulder.
Then under the stunned gazes of Minato, Kushina, Hiruzen, and the others, the Shinigami—which had almost fully materialized, a short sword in its mouth, radiating an ominous aura—dissipated into white smoke and retreated back into Minato's body with that single casual tap.
Hiruzen was completely dumbfounded.
He stood outside the barrier, mouth agape, eyes wide as saucers.
'Just who is this man?'
As someone who had also mastered the Reaper Death Seal, one of the Uzumaki clan's advanced sealing techniques, he knew exactly how powerful the summoned Shinigami was.
Minato had planned to use it to seal the Nine-Tails—that much was clear.
And once the Shinigami was summoned, the caster's soul was the required sacrifice; the Shinigami simply wouldn't leave without it.
It was a classic mutual-destruction technique—trading one's life to seal the Nine-Tails.
But this mysterious man just gave a casual pat, and the Shinigami just drifted back like that? What about the sacrifice? The Shinigami didn't need it anymore?
Was the Shinigami really that easygoing?
Hiruzen swallowed hard, feeling his throat dry.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade looked at Hiruzen, her expression puzzled. "Old man, is the Reaper Death Seal really that easy to break?"
Hiruzen gave her a wry smile, "Of course not, but to be able to so casually dismiss the Shinigami… I'm afraid this has already exceeded the scope of a Shinobi."
Tsunade sighed, "So this is what Six Paths-level power looks like, huh?"
Though it wasn't as visually spectacular as Ōtsutsuki Toneri cutting the moon in half—the laymen only saw spectacle, but experts saw the subtleties—this display of power was equally astonishing.
*****
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