Flowing Blade, Like Fire

Under the black night sky, a nine-tailed orange-red fox was wantonly destroying everything before it, its tyrannical roars audible for a thousand miles.

Countless ninjas who attempted to stop this were swept away by the Nine-Tails' thrashing tails, killed in a single blow.

Just then, countless golden chains erupted from a single point, instantly binding the Nine-Tails and rendering it unable to move.

The cry of an infant rang out at this moment...

"I woke you up... I'm sorry... Naruto..."

Kushina gasped for air, speaking with difficulty as fresh red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth; having just had the Tailed Beast extracted from her, she was now at the end of her rope.

"Kushina!"

Minato called out in anguish, and the crying of Naruto in his arms grew even louder.

"By holding the Nine-Tails down like this... I will die as well... In this way... we can delay the Nine-Tails' resurrection... for a while longer... Using my remaining Chakra to help you is the only way..."

Having finished these difficult words, Kushina wore a look of relief.

"For all this time... thank you for everything you've done for me..."

Naruto's crying softened slightly, while the trapped Nine-Tails continued to struggle violently, desperate to break free from the chains.

"Kushina, you made me the Fourth Hokage, you made me your husband, and you made me this child's father, yet I..."

At this moment, Minato's heart was filled with guilt.

"Minato... don't make that face... I am happy... having you love me... and besides... today is this child's birthday..."

Kushina looked at Naruto in Minato's arms, her eyes filled with lingering affection and reluctance. Naruto seemed to sense something, and with tears in the corners of his eyes, he offered the first smile of his life.

"I only have... one last wish... I really want to see... Naruto after he grows up..."

Kushina wanted to reach out and touch Naruto, but her body was already exhausted, and she could not even manage this small gesture.

"I understand. I will use your remaining Chakra to let you see Naruto. I will seal all of your remaining Chakra into Naruto, combined with the Eight Trigrams Seal. As for the Nine-Tails, I will handle it. Since I am not a Jinchuriki, I can only use the Reaper Death Seal."

Minato wiped the tears from his eyes and made his decision.

Kushina was stunned upon hearing this.

"But... that sealing jutsu will cause the caster to..."

"Furthermore, the Nine-Tails sealed within me is only half; I intend to seal the other half into Naruto using the Eight Trigrams Seal."

Minato continued, placing the swaddled Naruto on the ground before standing up.

After a few hand seals, a terrifying phantom with white hair and white robes manifested behind him.

"Naruto is our child!"

Because she was a Jinchuriki, Kushina knew all too well what it meant to carry that burden, and from the bottom of her heart, she did not want her child to suffer the same fate.

"For the balance of the Tailed Beasts, for the nation, and for the village, I must do this. To abandon the nation and the village is the same as abandoning our child. I think you, having seen your own homeland destroyed, should understand this well—what a cruel life a person without a country is forced to lead..."

Minato's gaze was firm, without the slightest wavering.

The Shinigami behind him slowly bound his soul, waiting to consume it once it had seized the soul of the next target.

Just then, the Shinigami seemed to sense something, reaching its hand directly toward the empty air in front.

Both Minato and Kushina noticed this shift and looked toward where the Shinigami's hand was reaching, yet from their perspective, there was nothing there.

"What... is going on..."

From another perspective, Ye Wuyue watched the Shinigami's hand, which was about to grab him, with sheer terror.

"Damn system! Fuck you! What is this thing?"

He had been an ordinary college student; he had taken a nap while covering a class today, only to be forcibly bound by some damn system and immediately transported to the Naruto World.

Moreover, he was a soul-transmigrator, and his soul hadn't even found a host yet, but now he was facing a massive threat.

Ye Wuyue immediately recognized the scene: it was the Nine-Tails' Rebellion, and the Shinigami summoned by Minato Namikaze had seen him and was trying to grab him.

Detected that the host is under threat. Given that this danger was caused by a system error, the host is now compensated with: Zanpakuto Flowing Blade, Like Fire + Hollow Mask + Captain-level Spiritual Pressure Experience Card. Please check your inventory.

As soon as the system finished speaking, Ye Wuyue felt the compensation the system had promised.

Holy crap! Is it really this intense?

Ye Wuyue reached out his right hand, and a long blade appeared in his grasp. At the same time, he felt his soul grow significantly stronger.

This was indeed the case; the moment he obtained the Zanpakuto, a short-haired youth wearing a black haori suddenly appeared in the sight of Minato and Kushina. Although his form was still spectral, he was now visible to the naked eye.

Additionally, a fiery red demon mask appeared on his left hand at that moment.

Ye Wuyue did not hesitate, drawing Flowing Blade, Like Fire decisively.

"Reduce all creation to ash, Flowing Blade, Like Fire!"

Following the Shikai incantation he had seen before, raging flames immediately spread outward from the center of his Zanpakuto.

Ye Wuyue swung his blade at the Shinigami's arm, feeling his soul weaken slightly after delivering the strike.

Fortunately, the attack was effective; one of the Shinigami's arms was severed by his blade.

Ye Wuyue's soul drifted in mid-air, blade held tight as he stared down the Shinigami, flames swirling around his form.

The Shinigami was stunned by that strike; every soul he had encountered before was fragile and defenseless, but this one seemed different. He could sense the terrifying power radiating from the long blade in the man's hand—a power he could not hope to contend with.

Weighing his options for a mere second, the Shinigami suddenly tossed Minato's soul aside and fled, leaving the pale blue soul to drift back into Minato's body.

A surge of excitement washed over Ye Wuyue. Although that strike had left him somewhat weakened, the thrill it brought was incomparable; he had fallen in love with this sensation.

Transmigrating into this world doesn't seem so bad after all. No, it's actually fantastic!

He had enjoyed watching Naruto in his past life, yearning for the various abilities of the Naruto World and wishing to change certain regrets. His initial panic had only been due to the sudden crisis catching him off guard, but now that the danger had passed, his excitement took over.

On the ground, Minato looked up at Ye Wuyue in the air and the vanished Shinigami, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

However, at that very moment, a massive claw suddenly reached toward Naruto, who lay on the ground. Ye Wuyue reacted instantly, swooping down to block the strike with his blade.