You'll Regret This!

Fear.

What was fear?

It was a basic emotional response shared by humans and living creatures, born from the need for survival in ancient times.

When faced with unknown environments, the threat of wild animals, and the dangers of natural disasters, humanity's ancestors developed an instinctive fear response.

As an emotional response, fear strongly protected humanity. It could inspire people to protect themselves, allowing them to avoid danger and disaster.

From A's perspective.

The person approaching him was not a thin young man.

It was hell, ash-gray and spreading across a sea of blood.

It was a pair of scarlet eyes that filled the entire world.

It was a blade that would cut him apart, piece by piece!

His instinctive fear wailed fiercely, demanding that he flee at once!!

Boom!!!

Brilliant blue Lightning Release exploded, forcing open a barrier amid endless slashes!

"Brat!!"

"Who do you think I am!!!"

"I am!!"

"Raikage Candidate! A!!!"

"Wrapping Lightning Release around the body... Lightning Release Chakra Mode!" Jiraiya's pupils shrank.

He hadn't used a technique like this before. He was looking down on me.

Jiraiya had misunderstood A. A simply wasn't proficient in Lightning Release Chakra Mode yet, making it unsuitable for coordinated combat.

He was furious because he had felt fear.

As it happened, that fury helped him break through the bottleneck.

When humans faced fear, fleeing was the correct choice.

But if one chose to face fear head-on, one might gain something from it as well.

Fast!

Fast as lightning!

Bang!!!

Waves of air rippled outward in circles, like a cannonball smashing into an iron wall.

"Stop making such a fuss. You're only showing how weak you are."

A stood a full two meters tall, and his fist was larger than an ordinary person's head.

Yet it was blocked by that seemingly slender palm.

Compared to Uchiha Kagami's immense Spiritual Energy, his body was indeed his weak point.

Using Black Flash twice had injured his own body.

That wasn't to say... his body was fragile.

"How... how is this possible! Your strength!!"

How could a mere brat block the body he had tempered through relentless training day and night?

Uchiha Kagami chuckled softly. "What's so unbelievable about it?"

"The only people who can surpass the Uchiha physically are the Senju and the Uzumaki. What are you supposed to be?"

You trained day and night, but so did I.

There were savage beasts within and without. What he had to fight was the torrent known as fate.

His pressure was greater than anyone else's.

Uchiha Kagami had pushed his body to the brink more than once.

He had struggled to breathe, while hallucinated sounds rang in his ears.

Even so, unless he wrung out every last bit of potential from his body, he would never be satisfied.

Uchiha Kagami rarely considered whether he could truly change the history of the Uchiha.

He would not say he had done his best after failing, then leave his homeland alone.

If he failed, it would only be because he had fought until his strength was exhausted and died.

"Next, I'll punch with my right hand."

"The target will be your left chest."

A's expression froze, and the hand Uchiha Kagami withdrew made his body stagger.

Black lightning coiled around Uchiha Kagami's fist.

"Get out of the way!!"

Dodai roared and poured all his strength into constructing a protective barrier before A.

Roar!!

Blue B, in a partial Tailed Beast Transformation, charged over at incredible speed. A and Uchiha Kagami were too close together for him to use a ranged attack.

After his experience using Chakra Black Flash twice, Uchiha Kagami had learned how to control the variables.

Not every Black Flash needed to withstand the power of Dust Release. That would be excessive.

Without injuring himself, Uchiha Kagami mobilized Chakra to the greatest extent possible, combining it with his physical attack to find the spatial distortion produced within an error of less than 0.000001 seconds.

"Black Flash."

Crack--

Black lightning shattered the layers of protective barriers and struck A's left chest with perfect accuracy!

Bang!!

The muffled impact sounded like a cannonball striking a city wall!

A's figure flew backward at incredible speed, stopping only after smashing through several huge boulders!!

"Big Brother!"

"A!!"

Roar!!

Dense Energy Bombs shot from Blue B's mouth. At the same time as he attacked, Blue B issued an order.

"A's still alive! Retreat! I'll cover you!"

"Blue B..."

"Go!!"

A dazzling Blade Aura cut the Energy Bombs apart. These mass-produced Chakra bombs were no Tailed Beast Ball.

Uchiha Kagami leaped high into the air and charged straight at Blue B.

His target had been the Eight-Tails from the very beginning.

Quite a few Energy Bombs also blasted toward Jiraiya and the others.

"This... is truly a battle between monsters..."

Maruboshi Kosuke had seen plenty in his time, and his strength was considerable.

But when faced with a battle of this level, he could apparently only watch from the sidelines.

The group was at least at Jonin level. They wouldn't be injured by the shockwaves, and they quickly formed Hand Seals. Water Release and Earth Release neutralized the Energy Bombs.

"Looks like there's no chance for us to get involved. Tsk, tsk. I wanted to let this brat see..."

Kushina looked at Minato and Jiraiya, whose expressions remained calm, and asked in confusion, "Kagami is fighting a Jinchuriki, you know. Why aren't you worried at all?"

Jiraiya simply sat down to recover his strength. "I taught this brat for more than a year."

"What a strange fate. My disciples seem to have more outrageous talent than the last... Ah, sorry, Minato. You're here."

Minato chuckled and shook his head, indicating that Jiraiya didn't need to mind him.

Jiraiya continued, "The Uchiha... as expected of a bloodline clan that has been passed down for a thousand years."

"I was a little worried about that fellow using Lightning Release Chakra just now, but if his opponent is a Jinchuriki, Kagami won't have a problem."

Jiraiya looked meaningfully at Kushina, the corners of his lips curling upward. "That fellow's Dojutsu Power is something even the Nine-Tails fears!"

"Uh..."

Kushina suddenly clutched her head as scarlet vertical pupils flickered in her eyes.

"How many times do I have to say it!"

"That brat is Madara's reincarnation!!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill him right now!!"

Violent Chakra eroded Kushina. In this situation...

Without a word, Minato placed his hand against Kushina's abdomen and used Sealing Jutsu.

Fortunately, not much Chakra had leaked out, and he quickly brought it under control.

"Kushina, are you all right?!"

After several heavy breaths, Kushina looked at Minato's anxious face so close to hers and forced out a faint smile.

"I'm fine. The Nine-Tails is talking nonsense again. Reincarnation and rebirth or whatever... I can't understand it at all."

"As far as this old man knows, the Ninja World has no such thing as reincarnation."

As the oldest person present, Maruboshi Kosuke had some authority to speak on the matter.

"Yeah, I heard the old man say that the dead of the Ninja World all go to the Pure Land to rest. The Second Hokage developed... Cough, cough, never mind."

Within the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tails was bound atop a massive stone sphere, every one of its tails nailed firmly in place.

"Bastards! Fools!!"

"What do you idiots know!"

"Kill him quickly! If you let him continue growing..."

"Foolish Kushina! Let me out so I can kill him!!"

Kushina's spiritual form appeared. She frowned at the Nine-Tails.

"Can you stop shouting? You can't break through my Adamantine Sealing Chains anyway. You ambushed me just now, but do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

The Nine-Tails tried—tried very hard—to calm its rage.

Compared to being sealed, being controlled by Madara was even more terrifying.

Kushina had never heard the Nine-Tails speak without a single exclamation mark before.

"Uchiha Madara was the one who controlled me and made me fight Hashirama Senju."

"You can't imagine how terrifying he was. I'm absolutely certain that brat is Madara's reincarnation."

"Perhaps... Madara never died at all. He was reborn through that brat's body!"

"There's still time. He doesn't have those eyes yet. Kill him while you still can!"

Clatter, clatter...

More chains spread out from behind Kushina.

"What are you talking about? He's Minato's Junior Disciple, just an obnoxious brat."

"You're so noisy. I'd better seal your mouth shut."

More and more chains coiled around the Nine-Tails. Seeing that they were about to wrap around its head, it panicked.

"Fool! Idiot!!"

"You'll regret this! Kushina!!"

Kushina turned around and said coldly, "Don't even think about influencing me, Nine-Tails."

"No matter what the future holds, I will never regret it!"