Lodging Soul

"I didn't say you could move."

The Nine-Tails' massive claw being blocked by such a small blade looked almost comical.

"It's not every day I get such a useful ability. How could I not give it a proper test run?"

The fiery red Hollow Mask was worn over Ye Wuyue's face. The next moment, a powerful black-red Spiritual Pressure erupted from his body. In that instant, he too looked like a monster.

After putting on the mask, wave after wave of impulses crashed against his mind, magnifying his instinctive battle lust to no end. At the same time, his Spiritual Pressure surged nearly tenfold.

"Hehehehehaha! Die for me!"

Ye Wuyue let out a manic laugh, raised his blade, and swung. A black-red slash wreathed in flames shot from the edge of the sword toward the Nine-Tails ahead.

"ROAR!!!"

The Nine-Tails bellowed, extending its only free claw to block the strike.

"Minato... what... do we do now?"

Kushina stared at the scene before her, at a loss. She had originally planned to drag the Nine-Tails back into her body and take it down with her, but Minato had stopped her.

But now, Minato's plan to seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto had clearly fallen through. The Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal had already run off—how could they seal it now?

"I don't have much time left... decide quickly... cough..."

Kushina coughed up another mouthful of blood. She was nearly at her limit.

Minato picked up Naruto from the ground. He had just tested it—the Reaper Death Seal could no longer be used. The Shinigami wouldn't appear at all. Given the Nine-Tails' current state, resealing it was no longer realistic.

"I'll seal your Chakra into Naruto's body first. From now on, I'll do my best to preserve your Chakra and make sure you can see Naruto every day. As for the village... leave that to me."

Minato changed his original plan. Protecting the village, protecting the country, protecting Naruto—those were his responsibilities. He shouldn't have tried to pass them onto his child.

"Thank you, Minato."

Kushina's last worry finally faded. She looked at Naruto in Minato's arms, her gaze full of love.

"Kushina, release the Adamantine Sealing Chains. That way, you'll preserve a little more Chakra."

"Alright..."

The golden chains binding the Nine-Tails vanished without warning. Freed from its restraints, the Nine-Tails roared and swiped a claw at Ye Wuyue in midair.

"Hahahahaha! A caged beast—let me set you free!"

Ye Wuyue neither dodged nor flinched. He swung his blade toward the Nine-Tails' claw. A crescent-shaped black-red slash flew at the beast, and the flames around his body latched onto it, forming a pillar of fire.

The slash, wrapped in the fiery pillar, collided with the Nine-Tails' claw. It sliced through the limb with little resistance, and the wound was instantly seared black by the intense heat.

"ROAR!!!"

The Nine-Tails howled in pain, the cruelty in its slit pupils burning even brighter.

Damn humans!

The Nine-Tails opened its mouth. A black sphere slowly formed within. At the same time, Minato vanished from where he stood...

"Lord Third, I'm entrusting Naruto to you. Please protect him. I'll handle the Nine-Tails."

A flash of golden light, and Minato appeared before the Third Hokage. He handed Naruto over to the Third. Kushina's remaining Chakra had already been sealed into little Naruto's body, so she could still see him through it.

"I understand. I'll protect Naruto. Also, that humanoid figure in front of the Nine-Tails—do you know where it came from?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took Naruto and asked Minato with a grave expression.

"I don't know either. He appeared out of nowhere while I was using the Reaper Death Seal. He looks like a soul entity, but his strength is extraordinary. Regardless, the fact that he's attacking the Nine-Tails now works in our favor."

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After saying these few words, he vanished from the spot...

On the other side, Ye Wuyue, still wearing the Hollow Mask, watched the Nine-Tails about to unleash its Tailed Beast Ball and burst into wild laughter.

"Heheheheheh! What a lumbering beast! Did you really think I'd let you get that attack off?

Torch!"

A tornado-shaped wall of black-red flames instantly engulfed the Nine-Tails. The fiery vortex spun and burned, its terrifying heat searing the beast's body.

"OW!!!"

The searing pain interrupted the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball formation.

"All Konoha shinobi, fall back! Stay away from the Nine-Tails—leave the rest to me!"

A yellow flash appeared before the gathered Konoha shinobi, issuing orders. Then he vanished again, reappearing in front of the Nine-Tails.

Ye Wuyue naturally noticed Minato Namikaze's arrival. But his battle lust was too overwhelming at the moment, and he paid no attention to one of his favorite characters from the Naruto series.

About three seconds later, the Nine-Tails broke free from the tornado of flames. But now its entire body was charred black, its presence significantly weaker. The look it gave Ye Wuyue carried a hint of fear.

Yet Ye Wuyue clearly had no intention of letting it off so easily.

"Try this final blow of mine, beast!"

Blazing heat... hell!"

Ye Wuyue could already feel his Spiritual Pressure running low, and his soul seemed to have grown considerably weaker—he could no longer keep enjoying himself. Before finding a host, he would savor this powerful strength one last time.

As his voice fell, nearly a dozen pillars of flame shot up from beside the Nine-Tails, seeming to pierce through heaven and earth. Then, the ten pillars converged on the Nine-Tails simultaneously, gathering together in an instant explosion. Endless flames spread outward from the blast center.

Not good!

Minato, who had just activated Sage Mode, abandoned his assault on the Nine-Tails upon seeing this catastrophic explosion. After all, the Nine-Tails now seemed to have little chance of survival, but this blast was also a massive threat to Konoha.

"Space-Time Barrier!"

Minato rapidly formed hand seals. To make this barrier contain all the impact of the explosion as much as possible, he poured every last bit of his remaining Chakra into this Space-Time Ninjutsu.

A semi-transparent shield covered the blast center. The full force of the explosion sank into the Space-Time Barrier, then was transferred to the forest outside Konoha...

"Warning! Warning! Host's soul is too weak. Please find a host as soon as possible! Note: The host must be an infant within one year of age, or fusion will be difficult!"

After unleashing this final strike, Ye Wuyue felt his Spiritual Pressure was nearly depleted. The system's alert confirmed this.

Pulling off the fiery red ghost mask from his face, Ye Wuyue's soul returned to its original translucent color.

Everything he had done today wasn't just to experience the power of a high-level combatant. Wanting Minato to survive was also a reason for his actions—after all, he would most likely be living in Konoha in the future, and having Minato in power was far better than Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Must inhabit an infant within one year of age, huh? Then I'd better find one who'll grow up handsome.

Rubbing his chin in thought for a moment, Ye Wuyue settled on a target.

It's you!

Having decided on his goal, Ye Wuyue's soul flew in a certain direction. He had a rough idea of where his target was now.

On the other side, Minato, who had exhausted his strength to transfer the explosion's impact, automatically exited Sage Mode. His gaze then turned forward.

A creature like charcoal lay there. Though it could no longer even stand, it was still alive.

Minato walked toward the creature lying on the ground.

"Lord Hokage!"

A Sealing Squad had just arrived, awaiting Minato's orders.

"Seal the Nine-Tails... inside me..."