Dividing the Seal!

Obito Uchiha was struck in the back by Minato Namikaze's Rasengan, and a fierce gust swept outward, carrying grit and sand with it.

Shinichi Hyuga, who had witnessed Minato's fighting style from beginning to end, could not help but have his eyes light up.

After becoming proficient with the Flying Thunder God, Minato could even spare attention during a battle against a formidable enemy like Obito to sense the locations of his Flying Thunder God Kunai.

This was a combat style Shinichi could not replicate at present.

His control over the Flying Thunder God was somewhat similar to that of Boruto, the future grandson of the Fourth Hokage. When fighting at full strength, he simply had no spare focus to sense his own Flying Thunder God Marks, making it difficult for him to achieve Minato's level of instantaneous counterattacks during intense combat.

If Minato's fighting style could be described as multithreaded operation, then Shinichi's use of the Flying Thunder God was more like a single thread.

Whenever he wanted to teleport, he had to concentrate. While fighting an enemy, he had to mentally plan out his next actions in advance. His ability to use the Flying Thunder God on the spot was far from comparable to Minato's.

Still, Shinichi was not discouraged. His proficiency with the Flying Thunder God could improve through battle. Once he became accustomed to multitasking, he would sooner or later be able to integrate the Flying Thunder God into his fighting style just like Minato.

Besides gaining new insight into the Flying Thunder God, Shinichi also silently committed the Rasengan, which he had seen once before, to memory.

Although the Rasengan was considered an A-rank ninjutsu, before the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, such a hand-signless technique could be seen through at a glance.

This ninjutsu was the ultimate manifestation of Chakra shape transformation. The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist was likewise the ultimate manifestation of Chakra shape transformation, so the methods of cultivating these two techniques actually overlapped to a certain extent.

It was simply that the two techniques produced different effects. Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist relied on the Byakugan and inflicted damage by attacking an enemy's meridians and acupoints over a wide area.

The Rasengan, on the other hand, relied on chaotic rotational force and the direct power released when Chakra burst apart to injure the enemy.

Shinichi might not necessarily have use for a ninjutsu like the Rasengan, but its potential ceiling was extremely high. If he had spare time, it would not hurt to study the technique in depth.

Shinichi Hyuga stood among the Hyuga Clan Members, looking entirely inconspicuous.

On the battlefield, after suffering heavy injuries, Obito Uchiha swiftly darted out of the smoke and dust. He landed in an open area, bent over slightly, and grabbed his "right arm," which had already been smashed into white liquid, with one hand.

Though he had only been struck once by the Fourth Hokage, that single Rasengan had nearly robbed Obito of his ability to continue fighting.

He could feel White Zetsu's body slowly peeling away from him. He had to let White Zetsu stabilize half of his body, or his bodily functions would completely fail.

"As expected of the Yellow Flash..."

"I lost this round!"

"But..."

"It's not over yet..."

Obito knew he no longer had the strength to fight, but he did not flee immediately. Before leaving, he still wanted to plant the idea that he was powerful in the minds of the Konoha Ninja, hoping to make them live under a constant threat.

However, before he could finish his threatening words, Minato Namikaze suddenly appeared before him and pressed one hand directly onto his body.

"Contract Seal!"

Minato could sense a certain connection between Obito and the Nine-Tails. The power of the Contract Seal was meant to sever that connection and free the Nine-Tails from Obito's Sharingan Dojutsu Power.

"!!!"

Minato's sudden appearance startled Obito. Only then did he realize that the moment Minato had struck him with the Rasengan, he had already left a Flying Thunder God Mark on his body.

Obito no longer had any desire to remain here. After giving Minato a deep look, his Sharingan rapidly released a spatial vortex, swiftly drawing in his intangible body before he vanished from Minato's sight.

"Obito..."

Only after sensing that the Flying Thunder God Mark he had placed on Obito had completely lost its presence did Minato let out a soft breath, his gaze dimming.

In the end... it was because he had failed to teach Obito properly that such an undeserved disaster had befallen Konoha and Kushina...

Minato felt disappointment toward Obito, but also guilt over his own failure as a teacher.

"Roar!!!!!"

Freed from the Sharingan's control, clarity returned to the Nine-Tails' eyes. The moment he regained consciousness, he felt the restraints around his body, and that alone drove him mad as he began struggling frantically.

"Quick, restrain the Nine-Tails!!!"

Seeing the Nine-Tails go berserk and faintly show signs of breaking free from the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Hyuga Hiashi immediately shouted.

At his command, the Hyuga Clan's elite swiftly spread out around the Nine-Tails. Chakra coated their hands as they firmly gripped the golden chains binding the Nine-Tails, lending their strength to the effort.

Though Kushina was weak, the toughness of the Adamantine Sealing Chains was beyond doubt. With the efforts of the Hyuga Clan ninja, the berserk Nine-Tails was firmly restrained in place.

"Next..."

Minato had no time to wallow in sorrow. The Nine-Tails was a problem he had no choice but to confront.

In a flash, he arrived before Kushina. Looking at the massive Nine-Tails before him, Minato fell into deep thought.

According to the information Shinichi had provided, he only needed to seal the Nine-Tails back inside her. But there was one very difficult practical question: what technique could seal the Nine-Tails?!

What kind of Sealing Jutsu could seal the Nine-Tails?

The person who had sealed the Tailed Beast within Kushina's body back then was Mito Uzumaki. Her mastery of Sealing Jutsu could be called the greatest of that era.

Yet even Mito Uzumaki's Sealing Jutsu had been unable to completely restrain the Nine-Tails' power. Later, Minato learned the Four Symbols Seal and developed the Eight Trigrams Seal based on it, which was how he stabilized the seal within Kushina's body.

But even so, whenever Kushina experienced severe emotional fluctuations, Tailed Beast Chakra would still leak out.

Now that Mito Uzumaki's original seal had been broken, relying solely on the Eight Trigrams Seal would likely be insufficient to completely seal the Nine-Tails.

Moreover, Obito Uchiha's power had made Minato realize that a Jinchuriki had to possess the ability to protect themselves.

If Kushina could master the Tailed Beast's power like Killer B of Kumogakure, then she would surely be able to support him in battle against Obito instead of remaining passive the entire time.

He looked back at Kushina, then at Naruto in her arms.

A resolute look appeared in Minato Namikaze's eyes.

"Kushina..."

"The Nine-Tails' power is too immense. I am not confident I can seal it completely."

"I want to... use the Reaper Death Seal to divide the Nine-Tails, then use the Eight Trigrams Seal to seal the two halves separately inside you and Naruto."

"But..."

"After that... Naruto will probably have to be left to you alone..."

Faced with the Nine-Tails' immense Chakra, Minato had formed a plan.

For the village, for his wife, and so that the Jinchuriki might have a chance to master the Tailed Beast's power, Minato intended to stake his life on one final attempt.