Nine-Tails

Baiye sped southwest at full speed.

The night wind howled in his ears, and the shadows of trees raced past him. His brow was tightly furrowed as a realization dawned on him—he should have thought of this when Rin mentioned the Rasengan.

Much of what he knew came in fragments.

Forgetting some things and overlooking others was unavoidable. But it had to be this...

As Baiye raced along, he went over the sequence of events in his memory once more.

Minato had developed the Rasengan because he had seen the power of a Tailed Beast Bomb.

After witnessing the Tailed Beast Bombs unleashed by the Four-Tails and Five-Tails' Jinchūriki during a battle with the Stone ninja, he realized what kind of monster was sealed inside Kushina.

If the war escalated, Kushina would take the battlefield one day too. He had to develop a Ninjutsu capable of countering a Tailed Beast Bomb and teach it to her, so she could protect herself against Tailed Beasts.

After three years, Minato had finally completed the Rasengan thanks to an inadvertent suggestion from Jiraiya.

That should have been cause for celebration, but the danger involved in developing the Rasengan had led Minato to keep it from Kushina. Feeling neglected and provoked by the Nine-Tails, Kushina had knocked out the Anbu watching her and left the barrier to look for Minato.

The seal had begun to loosen the moment she ran out, and the Nine-Tails Chakra had slowly begun to seep into Kushina's consciousness, like a venomous snake in the shadows.

It erupted completely the moment she met Minato and they cleared up their misunderstanding.

Baiye picked up speed.

He heard sounds in the distance—muffled impacts and explosions.

Even Minato Namikaze, the fastest man in the Shinobi World, probably hadn't had time to dodge a sudden attack from his lover, had he?

Then again, how could he have simply dodged and left his rampaging lover alone?

Baiye gritted his teeth and unleashed his Chakra, pushing Shunpo to its limit. The normally silent technique produced a violent pounding with every step.

The wind became a piercing whistle, and the trees on either side blurred together. The Nine-Tails' rampage was growing louder and more violent; there was no point in hiding anymore.

This was beside a river in the forest.

When Baiye arrived, the scene before him was worse than he had expected.

In the clearing by the river, Kushina had nearly entered a complete Tailed Beast Transformation. Dark red Nine-Tails Chakra enveloped her body, and seven tails lashed wildly behind her, leaving deep gouges wherever they swept across the ground. Her pupils had become vertical slits, and an inhuman growl came from her mouth.

This is the Nine-Tails? He's even more dangerous than I imagined.

The rampaging Chakra whipped up a gale that filled the air. Every nerve in Baiye's body screamed a warning, urging him away from the danger before him.

If he felt like this from dozens of meters away, how much pressure must Minato, standing practically against Kushina, be under?

Minato stood in front of Kushina, one hand pressed against her abdomen. The markings of the Four Symbols Seal spread from his palm, barely suppressing the Nine-Tails' rampage. But his other hand clutched his own abdomen, blood seeping between his fingers and dripping onto the ground.

Both of them had gone still.

Baiye knew where they were—in Kushina's inner world. Minato's consciousness had already entered it and was confronting the Nine-Tails.

Baiye tentatively took two steps forward, then immediately leaped away with Shunpo. One of the tails formed from Nine-Tails Chakra behind Kushina slammed into the spot where he had been standing almost instantly.

The Nine-Tails' attention probably wasn't here, but instinct alone was enough to stop anyone who tried to approach.

Baiye took a deep breath and activated Transparent Release. His body turned invisible, and his presence sank to its lowest level.

But that wasn't enough.

"Bakudō #26, Kyokkō!"

An invisible covering of Reiatsu settled over Baiye, completely concealing every trace of his presence.

He took two steps, and the Nine-Tails Chakra showed no reaction.

It works!

He approached without a sound. He didn't dare use Shunpo and suppressed all his Chakra, relying on his legs alone to walk slowly toward the pair.

At last, he reached Minato's back.

The light of Medical Ninjutsu and healing Kidō shone as he pressed his hand to Minato's wound.

The wound went deep through his body, and his internal organs were damaged, but fortunately, it hadn't struck a vital spot.

Baiye steadied Minato's body while sending Reiatsu through his meridians and along his Chakra into Kushina.

Kushina's soul lay deep within, like a string being tugged by a fierce wind.

The soothing power of healing Kidō seeped into Kushina's soul, steadying the string that had seemed ready to snap at any moment.

Their spiritual powers touched, and Baiye followed a pull into Kushina's inner world.

It was dark and damp, with cold water beneath his feet. In the distance, a massive iron cage stood in the darkness. A sealing tag was pasted to its gate, but the paper was badly torn, and dark red Chakra poured through the cracks, burning hot like magma.

The cage had been opened at some point, and the Nine-Tails' enormous eyes looked down at the two people before him.

Minato stood in front of the cage, covered in wounds but with his back perfectly straight, shielding Kushina behind him.

"Why? Why did you have to interfere?!" The Nine-Tails was furious at being prevented from controlling Kushina.

"Kushina is a strong girl, and that's what I love about her! I can't bear to lose her!"

Hearing such heartfelt words, Kushina could no longer hold back her tears. They streamed down her face, but at the same time, her eyes grew resolute.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Countless chains emerged from Kushina's body and bound the Nine-Tails tightly.

"Damn Uzumaki!"

The Nine-Tails began struggling wildly. The chains pulled taut, creaking under the strain.

"Minato, get out of here! I can't hold him for long!"

"I won't leave! I will never give up on you!"

Chakra began spinning in Minato's hand, and a rapidly rotating sphere of Chakra gradually grew larger.

The Nine-Tails' pupils contracted. He sensed a threat from this Ninjutsu.

"Don't even think about it!"

The Nine-Tails unleashed all his strength and pulled at the restraints on his body. Several chains snapped at once, and then he opened his mouth slightly as a Tailed Beast Bomb began to form.

"Carriage of thunder, gap in the spinning wheel, this light gathers and divides into six."

"Bakudō #61, Six Rods Prison!"

Six enormous panels of light flew in from six directions, pinning the Nine-Tails in place.

"Baiye?!"

Minato stared in surprise at Baiye as he walked out from behind him. He had never imagined he would run into someone he knew here.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt the three of you..."

Baiye put all his strength into maintaining the Six Rods Prison.

"But what could I do when I happened to run into this? There really aren't many chances to have you owe me a favor, Minato."

Minato knew things weren't as simple as Baiye made them sound, but at this point, he didn't dwell on it.

"All right. Once this is over, I'll thank you properly... if there's an afterward!"

With that, Minato charged at the Nine-Tails, Rasengan in hand, and crashed into the still-forming Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Boom!"

After the blinding white light and violent explosion, everything fell silent.

Minato and Kushina had both vanished—they had exhausted their strength and lost consciousness.

With Kushina unconscious, this inner world, formed by her and the Nine-Tails, was also about to fall into darkness.

Baiye dropped to one knee, gasping for breath, his head buzzing. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the cold ground of the inner world without a sound.

Though he was only in spirit form, the strain had been so great that he could barely maintain himself.

He braced a hand against his knee and stood, facing the iron cage.

"Nine-Tails, stop playing dead."

There was no sound in the darkness, but Baiye knew he was listening.

"You don't really want to kill the two of them, do you? You can sense emotions, so you should know they're good people."

"All humans deserve to die." The Nine-Tails' voice came from deep inside the cage, low and hoarse, carrying anger suppressed for countless years. "I will never forgive them!"

Baiye fell silent for a moment, recalling the tears the young Nine-Tails had shed when the Sage of Six Paths was about to die.

"Deep down, you hope someone will truly accept you, don't you?"

"Shut up, human!"

The voice was deafening, and violent emotion poured out of the cage.

"Have you forgotten what the Sage of Six Paths entrusted to you, Kurama?"

"?! Who are you?!"

"Give them a chance... As long as you reach out to them, they'll answer you."

Darkness surged, swallowing Baiye's figure.

"Come back! Who are you?!" There was a different emotion in the Nine-Tails' voice, something like hope, yet also like helplessness.

But there was no one left to answer him.

The canyon.

By the time the Sannin arrived, the area was already in chaos.

The Anbu stood by in the distance, while several Jonin maintained order. Shikaku Nara leaned against a tree with his arms folded, looking toward the canyon, his thoughts unknown.

Jiraiya was at the front. When he saw Kushina in her Tailed Beast Transformation and Minato covered in blood, his eyes reddened.

"Minato!"

He was about to rush over when Tsunade grabbed him.

"Don't go over there. You'll agitate the Nine-Tails."

Jiraiya looked in the direction she pointed. Several injured people had already been carried to the rear.

"We can't just do nothing, can we?"

"Trust Minato and Kushina... and Baiye."

"Baiye?"

Only then did Jiraiya notice another person behind Minato. He looked young, and his hand was pressed against Minato's wound, a faint green light glowing around it.

"Gekkō Byakuya," Tsunade said, her voice betraying no emotion. "A medical-nin."

Jiraiya froze. "Konoha has a genius medical Jonin that young? How come I've never heard of him?"

"...He's not a Jonin. He was only promoted to Chunin a few days ago."

Jiraiya stared at Tsunade in bewilderment.

"Isn't this reckless?" As he spoke, he tried to push her hand away and rush out again.

To his surprise, her hand didn't budge.

Her grip even hurt a little.

"His Medical Ninjutsu is unusual. He really might be able to help them. The Sealing Squad is already on its way, so don't go over there and make things worse."

"...If you say so..."

With no other choice, Jiraiya held himself back for the time being.

Tsunade didn't look at him. Her gaze remained fixed on Baiye.

Orochimaru stood a little farther away with his arms folded, watching Baiye with his eyes slightly narrowed.

After a while, the Sealing Squad still hadn't arrived, but the situation changed.

Kushina's Tailed Beast Transformation began to recede. The dark red Chakra slowly withdrew into her body, the Chakra tails vanished, and her body returned to its human form. She and Minato collapsed side by side.

Their breathing was steady; they were only unconscious.

Baiye opened his eyes, withdrew his hand, and stood.

His face was a little pale, but his expression was fairly calm.

"Good job, kid!"

Jiraiya strode over and slapped him on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"Uh..."

"You idiot!"

Tsunade shoved Jiraiya aside and went to help Baiye up. Only after finding that he had merely exhausted his Chakra did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Are you all right?"

Tsunade's voice trembled, and two faces involuntarily flashed through her mind.

"I'm fine... Minato is the priority. I only stabilized his injuries; he still needs more treatment."

"Don't worry."

Members of the medical team had already carried the two away on stretchers.

"Hahaha, thanks, kid! Someone as talented as you only just made Chunin? Looks like the old man's eyesight is failing him!"

Jiraiya tried to pat Baiye's shoulder again, only to retreat under Tsunade's gaze.

"Ahem, let's have a drink together sometime! My treat!"

"Lord Jiraiya, I'm twelve!"

"Then see you later!"

Feeling Tsunade's increasingly dangerous gaze, Jiraiya hurriedly said goodbye and went after Minato and the others.

Orochimaru also came over to Baiye.

"Baiye."

Whether because of his preexisting impression of Orochimaru or something else, Baiye felt a slick sensation winding around his body.

"Lord Orochimaru."

"You've made a great contribution this time. We'll give our teacher an accurate report."

"Thank you, my lord."

"I'm also quite interested in your Medical Ninjutsu, Baiye. I hope we'll have a chance to discuss it further. Until then, goodbye, Baiye."

Baiye didn't know whether Orochimaru's research had already reached the subject of souls... Being noticed by him was no good.

As he walked toward Konoha with the main group, Baiye felt someone watching him and turned to look.

Shikaku stood in the distance. When he saw Baiye turn, he nodded to him.

He showed no intention of coming over to talk.

After all, there were quite a few people around.

Baiye nodded back. An exchange like that was of no consequence. In fact, several Jonin he had never met before had already greeted him.

He had made a bit of a name for himself.

Baiye touched the Zanpakuto hanging at his waist.

A faint stream of red energy flowed slowly within the blade.

[Shikai: 20%]