Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

"Is it over already?" Mei Terumi murmured to herself.

"If you like it, Mei, we can do it again next year. We'll prepare ahead of time and make it a proper festival—it'll be lively for sure."

"Mm. I'll help with the preparations too."

Mei paused, then said with a light laugh:

"But why today? It's not our wedding anniversary, nor either of our birthdays."

"True. Today isn't anything special. Maybe it was just a whim?"

Shirou nodded slightly, a smile spreading across his face.

This dazzling fireworks display had been in the works for a month.

Originally, Shirou had planned to lead an elite squad into Konoha the day after the fireworks.

That invasion plan had been in preparation long before Shirou succeeded the Water Shadow.

By now, three years had passed in preparation.

He'd sent countless spies to Konoha, mapped out the terrain, gathered intelligence, and simulated escape routes.

Over those three years, Shirou had made extensive preparations—everything was ready, only the final spark was needed.

According to the original plan, entering Konoha would coincide with the Nine-Tails Incident.

On that day, most of Konoha's forces would be tied up dealing with the Nine-Tails and the injured villagers, leaving the village virtually defenseless.

A surprise attack, catching Konoha off guard, would yield a massive haul.

But plans never keep up with changes.

Before the three-year plan could be executed, the golden finger had arrived.

These past few days, Shirou had been wavering over whether to continue with the plan.

But just now, during the gathering, he'd finally made up his mind: the plan would proceed as scheduled.

After all, Konoha had far too many good things. The Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and the Flying Thunder God Technique in the Scroll of Seals were, in Shirou's eyes, strategic assets.

The Impure World Reincarnation went without saying. Even if it didn't work in every world, as long as it worked in one, it would be a huge win.

In life, who didn't have deceased friends or family? Even if it couldn't truly resurrect them, it held immense appeal for many.

As for the Flying Thunder God Technique—a fixed-point teleportation jutsu—with some expansion, it could likely be developed into return scrolls or teleportation arrays.

Chakra was unique to the Ninja World, but mana was common across many worlds.

With modifications, the jutsu's consumption could be shifted from chakra to mana.

"The fireworks are over. Let's head home. It's windy on the mountain—watch out for colds."

Mei stared intently at Shirou, her gaze unwavering. After a long moment, she asked softly:

"Shirou won't suddenly leave, will he?"

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." Shirou smiled gently.

The original plan had been to lead an elite squad into Konoha.

But now, splitting into a dozen clones and sending them to Konoha would actually be faster.

This approach also made it easier to conceal his identity.

Using the Transformation Technique to steal things, with Konoha in the midst of the Nine-Tails Incident, the chance of exposure was very low.

Though he wasn't afraid of Konoha, getting his hands on the goods without anyone knowing was still better than personally sparking a war across the Ninja World.

The Third Great Ninja War had just ended not long ago. Every village was recovering—it really wasn't the time to start another conflict.

A few nights later.

The massive Nine-Tails Fox rampaged through Konoha, reducing many buildings to rubble, with dead and wounded scattered everywhere.

Minato Namikaze used the Summoning Technique to call forth Gamabunta, temporarily suppressing the Nine-Tails. He quickly formed hand signs, teleporting both himself and the Nine-Tails outside the village.

But summoning Gamabunta and teleporting the Nine-Tails with the Flying Thunder God were both massive drains on chakra.

"Huff... My chakra is almost gone. I need to set up a barrier immediately."

"I still have... Minato."

Kushina Uzumaki, barely clinging to life, glanced at Minato and forced a weak smile:

"First, drag the Nine-Tails back."

The chains formed by the Adamantine Sealing Chains instantly extended into the distance, binding the Nine-Tails.

"Sorry, Minato. I'm going to take the Nine-Tails down with me. With the little chakra I have left, this is all I can do now..."

Before she could finish, a voice rang out from afar:

"Well, well, what do we have here? A lone Nine-Tails?"

At the same time, a blade flashed, and the chains of the Adamantine Sealing Chains snapped apart, fading away.

The colossal Susanoo, over eight hundred meters tall, appeared in an instant, its form sending a tremor through the hearts of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

Size often meant power.

Even in his prime, with a full reserve of Chakra, facing such a terrifying giant would leave little chance of victory—let alone now, when both of their Chakra reserves were nearly depleted.

Minato Namikaze forced himself to stay alert, handing the baby Naruto in his arms to Kushina Uzumaki, his gaze solemnly fixed on the masked man encased within the translucent giant.

A strange pattern swirled in the red eyes, a ghost-face mask covered his face, and he wore a standard Jonin vest from Konoha.

"Another Uchiha? Doesn't seem to be with that other masked guy who controlled the Nine-Tails."

Noticing Minato's wary stare but lack of action, Shirou pondered.

Looks like his Chakra's running low.

After all, Minato Namikaze wasn't the type of ninja with a mountain of Chakra.

"Hold on a moment. Let me finish up here first."

Shirou said casually, bending down to grab the Nine-Tails by the scruff and pin it to the ground.

Then, with a swift motion, he chopped off all nine of its tails one by one.

"You damned human! I'll—"

Amid the Nine-Tails' curses, Shirou dismissed the Susanoo and gave it a cold glance.

The next instant, the Nine-Tails' pupils shifted into the pattern of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and it docilely lay down like a small pet.

"I've already got the Scroll of Seals and the Medical Ninjutsu materials. I also drew a big vial of blood from each bloodline-limit ninja in the various clans."

"Everything I needed is in hand. Next up, just the Uzumaki Clan."

Shirou sealed the Nine-Tails' nine tails into a sealing scroll, stowed it in the White Mist Space, and slowly walked toward Minato.

With every step, Minato felt an immense psychological pressure.

But his wife and child were behind him, forcing him to stay rooted, unable to retreat or make a strategic withdrawal.

Chapter 48: Only Your Husband Can Take His Place

Just then, a baby's cries rang out.

"Sorry, Naruto. I still woke you up."

Kushina Uzumaki set Naruto down on the ground, turned around with difficulty, and forced a smile:

"Minato, that guy isn't an opponent we can handle right now. You should still have enough Chakra for one more Flying Thunder God, right?"

"Naruto... I'm leaving him to you. Run with Naruto. I'll hold him off."

Minato glanced dejectedly at little Naruto in his swaddling clothes, a faint smile crossing his face:

"Sorry, I don't have enough Chakra left for even one Flying Thunder God."

Of course, that was a lie.

Both to make Kushina drop that idea and to lull the enemy.

Even in a hopeless situation, you can't give up hope—that's what it means to be a ninja.

"This scene makes me feel like I'm the big bad guy or something," Shirou muttered offhandedly, and with a flicker of thought, a bottle of Recovery Potion from the Slime appeared in his hand.

"Fourth Hokage, this is top-quality healing medicine. It should be able to cure your wife."

"As payment, I want a vial of her blood. Deal?"

Minato's eyes lit up, a spark of hope rising in his heart.

With the Nine-Tails sealed inside Kushina extracted, her life force had reached its end, and she could die at any moment.

Earlier, Minato had considered using the Reaper Death Seal to follow Kushina in death.

But now, a vision of a happy family of three seemed to appear before his eyes.

"Throw me the medicine first. Once Kushina is healed, I'll give you her blood."

"Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Shirou shot him a speechless glance, pulled an empty bottle from the White Mist Space, and tossed it over.

"Fill it with blood, and we'll throw at the same time."

He didn't seem to have any ill intent.

Minato caught the empty bottle, thinking of a countermeasure as he slowly crouched beside Kushina.

Just then, someone in the distance sprinted over at incredible speed.

Minato turned his head and his face lit up with surprise.

"Third Hokage-sama, perfect timing! Please help me!"

But the Third Hokage didn't respond. Instead, he stopped beside the masked man and said calmly:

"What's going on? Haven't you finished over there yet?"

"No, I've already got the goods. All that's left is the blood of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Is that necessary? We could just go to Kusagakure and find Karin Uzumaki."

"True, but since we've run into them, it's convenient to save them along the way. With Minato Namikaze's talent, he's bound to push the Flying Thunder God Technique to new heights in the future."

"You're aiding the enemy! If the original knew you were doing this, he definitely wouldn't be happy."

"No, this is a normal investment. I plant a seed now, and when it bears fruit in the future, the harvest will be even greater."

Watching the two arguing in the distance, Minato Namikaze heightened his vigilance even further.

Not the Third Hokage, but the effect of the Transformation Technique?

From their conversation, he analyzed that they were clones of the same person, who had snatched quite a few things during the Nine-Tails Incident just now.

What could be worth such a powerful ninja acting personally?

Damn! The Scroll of Seals.

"You're not Konoha ninja, are you?"

Shirou turned his head and glanced at Kushina Uzumaki behind Minato Namikaze, then sighed:

"It seems your wife doesn't hold a very high place in your heart. Even though she's on the verge of death, you're still trying to gather intel."

Minato Namikaze froze for a moment, then quickly turned around.

Kushina had blood at the corner of her mouth, sitting weakly on the ground, her expression even dimmer than before.

"Damn it! I'll trust you this once!"

The Chakra he had left was meager—only enough for a single strike.

But before that, he had to save Kushina first.