69novels Chapter 398 The Night of the Nine-Tailed Fox
Chapter 398 The Night of the Nine-Tailed Fox
Chapter 398 The Night of the Nine-Tailed Fox (Part 3)
The cold, sharp blade of the kunai pressed against the baby's delicate neck, and a thin trail of blood slowly seeped along the edge.
The masked man's crimson Sharingan was fixed on Minato, with a cruel, cat-and-mouse-like pleasure in his eyes.
"Oh dear, Fourth Hokage, don't get too excited." The masked man's voice came through the spiral mask, his hoarse tone clearly intentional. "I'm not very brave; my hands tremble. And you, Tsunade-hime—"
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Tsunade, who was doing her best to stabilize the seal beside the delivery bed. "I don't want to get punched by you, so please everyone—keep calm."
He moved his feet lightly, seemingly casually, but in reality, each step was an adjustment to the optimal position, paving the way for the deadly action to come.
Minato's muscles were tense, and his azure eyes burned with a heart-wrenching rage.
He forced himself to loosen his clenched fists, his voice slightly hoarse from extreme suppression, but he tried to remain calm: "Calm down! We can all calm down! Don't hurt the child! We can discuss any conditions!"
Every word seemed to be ground from the depths of his throat. Taiyi's warning exploded in his mind, and regret clung to his heart like a poisonous vine.
He thought he was vigilant enough, but the enemy still managed to find a fatal loophole!
"Baby—" Kushina's weak voice rang out from the delivery bed.
She struggled to get up, ignoring the excruciating postpartum pain and her physical weakness.
"My child!"
Those maternal eyes were now filled with despair.
"Kushina! Don't move!" Tsunade shouted sharply, quickly performing postpartum care with one hand while keeping her other hand firmly on the seal that was violently pulsating in her abdomen.
Kushina's turbulent emotions were like throwing a boulder into a fragile dam, causing the already precarious Nine-Tails seal to crack even wider!
The dark red, blood-red Nine-Tails chakra, like a venomous snake out of control, hissed and overflowed wildly from between the sealing runes, carrying a suffocatingly violent aura.
Tsunade's forehead veins bulged, and the light of medical ninjutsu flashed intensely between her hands. She had to complete the final crucial stitches while also suppressing the raging power of the tailed beast. Her face was as pale as paper due to the combined strain of chakra and mental exertion, leaving her no time to think about anything else.
"Conditions?" The masked man seemed to have heard something utterly ridiculous, a low, twisted chuckle escaping his throat. "Fourth Hokage, do you think this is a mission assignment?"
He pressed the kunai in his hand down a little further, and the baby cried loudly because of the discomfort. The sound was like a sharp needle piercing Minato's heart.
"I'm just here to take back what belongs to the Uchiha."
He deliberately emphasized the words "Uchiha," his gaze sweeping meaningfully over Kushina's abdomen.
"And while we're at it, let's see what kind of expression Minato Namikaze will have when everything he cherishes is destroyed before his eyes."
Shuimen's heart sank into an icy abyss.
Verbal probing is useless; the other party's purpose is naked and insane: destruction!
He forced his brain to work at high speed, searching for any possible flaw. He needed an opportunity, even if it was just for a moment!
Just as the two sides were locked in a standoff, the masked man's Sharingan shifted almost imperceptibly, capturing the fleeting moment when Tsunade was distracted by the intense burst of Nine-Tails chakra!
His feet naturally moved to a suitable position.
"Tsk, looks like this brat's getting in the way. Here you go!" The masked man's voice suddenly rose, carrying a malicious mockery.
With a sudden swing of his arm, he slammed the baby in his arms against the rock wall behind the Water Gate, treating it like an object!
The angle was extremely tricky; the baby's tiny body flew past Tsunade's back!
"child!"
Minato's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints! All reason and tactical thinking were utterly crushed at this moment by his most primal paternal instincts!
He had only one thought in his mind: to catch the child!
Instantaneous movement! Minato's figure transformed into a golden flash, fearlessly rushing towards the fragile life flying towards the rock wall.
He moved with incredible speed, and just as the baby was about to hit the rock, he gently caught it in his arms! The enormous impact of inertia was neutralized by his body, and his back slammed heavily against the rock wall with a dull thud.
However, this less than half-second difference in rescue time was enough for the masked man!
"Lady Tsunade, watch out!" another nurse cried out, but it was too late!
The moment the masked man threw the baby, his body lunged forward like a ghost, his target Tsunade, who was instinctively looking back as the baby flew by.
"Get out of my way!" Tsunade reacted incredibly fast, her iron fist, filled with anger and monstrous strength, along with Kushina's fist, which she swung with all her might, slammed into the masked man's chest!
However, the two men's fists seemed to strike an empty phantom, passing through the masked man's body without any resistance!
"An illusion? No!" Alarm bells rang in Tsunade's mind.
Just as their fists completely passed through his body, the masked man's illusory figure solidified instantly! His hands, filled with icy malice, pressed precisely onto Kushina's abdomen, where the Nine-Tails was sealed!
Seal Disruption - Released!
A surge of chakra rushed into his palm, not to completely destroy the complex sealing technique, which was impossible anyway.
All he wanted was to be the last straw that broke the camel's back, to give that final push to the crumbling seal.
boom!
It was as if a volcano was erupting inside me! The seal, which had already been loosened to its limit due to childbirth, could no longer hold on under this disturbance and shattered with a crash!
"No!!!" Minato, holding the baby in his arms, roared with bloodshot eyes.
Kushina's abdomen erupted with a torrent of dark red chakra that seemed to be tangible! It was no longer a trickle of chakra, but a cataclysmic flood that had burst its banks!
The violent, chaotic, and hateful Nine-Tails chakra roared out of her body like a ferocious beast that had broken free of its thousand-year shackles!
The dark red energy formed a visible shockwave, instantly sending Tsunade and the nurse flying and crashing heavily into the rock wall!
The entire cave shook violently, with rocks falling in a flurry. The sturdy barrier groaned under the strain, instantly becoming covered with spiderweb-like cracks before shattering with a deafening roar.
"Ugh!"
Kushina let out a bloodcurdling scream that was so shrill it was inhuman. Her life force drained away like a flood, and her red hair instantly lost all its luster.
Once the tailed beast is separated from its jinchūriki, only death awaits her!
"Kushina!" Minato held the crying baby, his heart breaking, yet he was temporarily unable to approach the area enveloped by the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"The barrier is about to break! Everyone, prepare for battle!" Jiraiya roared from the outside, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
At this moment, the masked man had achieved his goal. He stood in a phantom form at the edge of the surging torrent of Nine-Tails chakra, glancing at Jiraiya, Kakashi, and the others who had surrounded him, his face showing disdain.
"The game has begun, everyone from Konoha. Enjoy!"
A dark red pillar of chakra light, so powerful it made one's soul tremble, shot into the sky! Within that pillar, a colossal, sky-covering phantom of a nine-tailed fox was rapidly solidifying, unleashing a roar that shook mountains and was filled with boundless hatred!
"Nine—Nine-Tails!" A member of the ANBU exclaimed, his voice trembling, barely able to hold the kunai in his hand.
"roar!!!"
The fully-formed Nine-Tailed Fox has arrived! Its enormous head is raised, and its nine tails are like demonic whips that stir up the sky. The chakra impact that is naturally emitted when it materializes is enough to flatten the surrounding forest like weeds!
8:55 p.m.
Rooftop of Minato Namikaze's residence in Konoha Village.
Taiyi sat cross-legged, like an ancient, unchanging rock. His eyes were closed, and his vast senses covered a large area centered on the Minato family, not missing a single sound or movement.
The evening breeze, carrying the slight dryness of a summer night, brushed against the stray hairs on his forehead, but could not dispel the solemnity that had settled between his brows.
suddenly!
A very familiar spatial fluctuation came without warning from inside the room beneath him!
Taiyi suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes without hesitation, and his figure disappeared from the rooftop the instant he opened his eyes.
The next moment, Taiichi's figure appeared in the center of the Minato family's empty living room. His gaze was like lightning, instantly locking onto the figure standing in the center of the living room with his back to him—Namikaze Minato.
Minato's condition made Taiichi's heart sink.
This "golden glitter," who is usually known for his sunny and neat appearance, now had his clothes open in a disheveled manner, covered with dust and unknown stains.
With his back to Taiyi, he was slightly hunched over, but his movements were exceptionally gentle and careful. He was gently placing a tiny baby, wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes and still making soft sobs, into the crib that had been prepared nearby.
The gentleness in his movements contrasted sharply with the icy killing intent and profound despair emanating from him, creating a suffocating effect.
When Minato carefully placed the baby down, straightened up, and turned around, Taiichi saw the expression on his face.
The gentle, sunny disposition of the past had vanished from that handsome face, leaving only a chilling, hardened look, as if frozen in ice.
Beneath his blond hair, his deep blue eyes burned with a destructive flame capable of incinerating everything.
It was the pain of losing a loved one, the self-blame for failing to protect, and the resolute determination to face overwhelming disaster.
"Senior Brother Minato—" Taiichi had just opened his mouth, wanting to ask "How is the situation?", when Minato raised his hand to interrupt him.
"The Nine-Tails has been released." Minato's voice was unusually calm, eerily calm, each word like an ice bead hitting the ground. "Master and Tsunade-senpai are doing their best to hold it back outside the village. I need to get there immediately."
His words were concise and to the point, without any unnecessary embellishment, yet they conveyed the harshest reality and the most urgent task. Before he had even finished speaking, he was about to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique again.
"Wait!" Seeing Minato's figure about to disappear again, Taichi rushed forward, speaking rapidly, "The Nine-Tails has broken free! Kushina is in grave danger! Bring her here quickly! I have a way to save her life!"
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the almost lifeless lake of Shuimen's heart!
Minato suddenly turned his head, his icy blue eyes fixed on Taiichi, and a huge light of hope burst forth from them!
"What did you say? Taiichi! You—are you telling the truth?"
For the first time, Minato's voice trembled violently, an overwhelming excitement that came from suddenly seeing light in the depths of despair.
Is there any hope for Kushina? This sudden glimmer of hope nearly shattered the psychological defenses he had painstakingly built up.
"No time to explain! Trust me! Hurry!"
Taiyi's voice was resolute, his eyes unwavering. "Bring her here! Immediately! Her time is running out!"
Minato's chest heaved violently as he looked into Taiichi's eyes, which held absolute confidence and an undeniable urgency.
A thousand words stuck in his throat, finally turning into an incredibly bright smile, yet tinged with tears, a smile filled with the ecstasy of surviving a catastrophe and the deepest gratitude.
"Alright!" Without another word, Minato's figure disappeared once more. He was going to bring back the most precious person in his life!
Only Taiyi and the tiny life in the crib remained in the living room.
Taiyi walked quickly to the crib, looked down at the little one in the swaddling clothes with his eyes closed, his face wrinkled, and who was sobbing softly.
This is Naruto Uzumaki, the prophesied child carrying Ashura's chakra—but this time, his fate may be completely different?
He reached out a finger and touched the baby's soft cheek with utmost care. At the same time, a wisp of gentle yang-attribute chakra quietly entered the baby's body.
"Hiss—" Even with Taiyi's strong will, the results of his investigation still made him secretly alarmed.
The life force contained within that small body was as vigorous and vast as the rising sun! It was the powerful bloodline of the Uzumaki clan combined with the reincarnation chakra of Ashura!
This power, even though it is only in its nascent stage now, is already far beyond the reach of ordinary ninjas.
9:02 p.m.
Spatial fluctuations returned. Minato's figure reappeared in the living room, this time tightly holding a figure whose aura was so faint as to be almost nonexistent—Kushina Uzumaki.
Her once fiery red hair was now dull and lifeless, like withered autumn grass scattered haphazardly on her bloodless cheeks.
Her body slumped limply in Minato's arms, her life force rapidly ebbing away at a visible pace.
The seal on the abdomen had completely disappeared, leaving only a broken sealing rune array.
Her eyelids drooped heavily, her eyes unfocused, as if they might go out at any moment.
"Child—Naruto—"
Kushina's lips moved with difficulty, emitting a faint sound like a mosquito's buzz.
She thought her life was coming to an end, and all that remained in her heart was endless longing and reluctance to part with her newborn child who had suffered such a terrible tragedy. She only wanted to see her flesh and blood one last time and feel that tiny warmth in her final moments.
"Kushina-nee!" Taichi's voice, infused with chakra, carried an exhilarating power that instantly penetrated Kushina's almost chaotic consciousness.
"Look at me! Listen! Don't fall asleep! You won't die! I promise you! You'll have plenty of time to spend with Naruto! Watch him grow up, watch him call you 'Mom'! Cheer up!"
These powerful words acted like a shot of adrenaline, bringing a faint light to Kushina's unfocused gaze. She strained to look at Taiichi, then at the tiny baby on the bed, her will to live flickering like a candle in the wind.
Minato carefully placed Kushina on the temporarily cleared ground in the center of the living room, his movements as gentle as if he were holding a fragile, rare treasure.
He looked deeply into Taiyi's eyes, his gaze filled with entrustment, trust, and endless pleading.
"Taiichi, Kushina—and Naruto—I'm leaving them to you!"
Shuimen's voice was deep and hoarse, each word carrying immense weight.
He took one last look at his wife's pale face and his sleeping son, then suddenly sat up and forcefully shook the Hokage's robe, which was stained with his wife's blood and dust!
"Wait for me to come back!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Minato vanished without a trace. He was going to fulfill his duties as Hokage, to confront the rampaging Nine-Tails, and to find the culprit who had caused all this disaster!
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