Yusuke pulled a Storage Scroll from his robes and released its seal. A massive scroll appeared, taller than he was.
Facing the Nine-Tails, Yusuke swept one hand through the air. The enormous scroll shot upward, unfurling in layer after layer as it floated around the Nine-Tails' huge body.
"Yin-Yang Seal—Barrier!" Yusuke formed Hand Seals at high speed, their sequence incredibly complex. As he formed more seals, the inscriptions on the scrolls circling the Nine-Tails lit up one by one with a blue glow.
The Nine-Tails stared at Yusuke in terror as he formed the seals. It had no idea what kind of Sealing Jutsu he was using, but from the scale of it, this was clearly no ordinary technique.
Surrounded by layer upon layer of Sealing Scrolls, the Nine-Tails struggled wildly. But Kushina's Adamantine Attacking Chains still held it fast, and with Adamantine Sealing Chains wrapped around its mouth, it couldn't even roar.
"Yin Release: Seal!"
When every inscription on the scrolls had lit up, Yusuke brought his hands together and completed the Hand Seals. A massive Yin-Yang Seal formation took shape beneath the Nine-Tails. Its body began to turn into energy, breaking apart into wisps of blue light that streamed into the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal on Yusuke's left chest.
The process of sealing and absorbing the Nine-Tails' Yin Release Chakra was agonizing. Yusuke felt a sharp pain throughout his left chest, as though it were being torn apart.
But compared with that pain, he felt far more excitement. He knew that this time, his strength would make a qualitative leap!
The Nine-Tails had an immense amount of Yin Release Chakra, but the process didn't take long.
When the last wisp of Yin Release Chakra had been absorbed into the Cursed Seal, Yusuke calmed himself. He didn't immediately draw on the seal's chakra to force his Sharingan to awaken. Instead, he looked toward Minato and Kushina, and the infant Naruto beside them.
Kushina had watched the entire process of Yusuke sealing the Nine-Tails. She guessed that, despite saying he was helping them seal it, his true purpose was to claim the Nine-Tails' Chakra for himself.
"So your real target was the Nine-Tails." Kushina went on guard again.
Naruto still had the other half of the Nine-Tails' Yang Release Chakra inside him. If Yusuke wanted to take that as well, she would have no choice but to fight back with every last bit of strength she had.
Yusuke didn't try to hide it. "That's right. I did want the Nine-Tails' Chakra. But don't worry, I only need the Yin Release half. I won't hurt this child."
Seeing the sincerity in Yusuke's eyes, Kushina nodded. Given his strength, there was no reason for him to keep lying to her.
She turned away from Yusuke and gathered the unconscious Minato in her arms. Gently, she kissed his forehead and smiled tenderly. "Minato, thank you for staying by my side all this time. I'll leave Naruto in your care."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the eight Adamantine Sealing Chains extending from Kushina's back plunged into Minato's body. Chakra and life force visibly flowed through the chains into him, while Kushina's red hair gradually lost its color.
"What!" Yusuke cried, stunned by Kushina's actions.
"Fourth-sama's constitution is far weaker than yours. Even if you pour all your remaining life force and Chakra into him, he still might not survive. You, on the other hand, might still have a chance." Watching Kushina choose to sacrifice herself for Minato, Yusuke couldn't help speaking up.
But as soon as he said it, he regretted it. He understood Kushina's choice and resolve. His words were completely pointless.
Sighing, Yusuke couldn't help thinking of a line from his previous life.
"Tell me, what is love? That it makes people vow to live and die together?"
As Kushina's once-vibrant red hair gradually turned gray, Yusuke felt both regret and admiration for her.
Suddenly, something occurred to Yusuke.
"Kushina-sama, you must still want to see Fourth-sama and Naruto again. I have a method here. I don't know if you'd be willing to try it!"
Not long after Yusuke left, the Third Hokage arrived at the scene with the Anbu.
"Third-sama, Fourth-sama, Kushina-sama, and an infant are ahead. But Kushina-sama has passed away, and Fourth-sama is unconscious and looks extremely weak," an Anbu agent reported after going ahead to assess the situation.
The Third Hokage stepped forward. Looking at Kushina's pale hair and lifeless body, he let out a long sigh.
Then he noticed the faint rise and fall of Minato's chest and felt slightly relieved. But his gaze was drawn to the Yin-Yang Fish Cursed Seal visible where the fabric over Minato's chest had torn.
"This must be the jutsu Kushina used to sacrifice herself and save Minato," the Third Hokage thought.
He could tell that Kushina's hair had turned gray because her life force had been drained. So he assumed the Yin-Yang Fish Cursed Seal was the jutsu she'd used at the end to transfer her life force to Minato.
He picked Naruto up from the ground and looked at Minato and Kushina lying there. The Third Hokage couldn't help blaming himself.
"Was I wrong this time? If I hadn't agreed to Danzo's demand to restrict the Uchiha Clan, would things have turned out differently?"
By the time the Third Hokage arrived, Yusuke had already reached a secluded valley nearby. He was preparing to use the Nine-Tails' Yin Release Chakra to break through Ryujin Jakka's suppression in his Mental World and awaken his Sharingan.
"Yin-Yang Cursed Seal: Release!"
Yusuke silently gave the command and released the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal. Black markings spread out from the seal on his left chest, covering his entire body.
At that moment, Yusuke felt as though he had inexhaustible strength. It seemed he could never run out of Chakra.
But as Yin Release Chakra, its primary uses were casting genjutsu and certain secret techniques related to the soul or mind. It couldn't be used to perform ordinary ninjutsu.
As far as Yin Release goes, even if I'm not a "Chakra-holic" now, I must be a "Chakra-saur," right? Yusuke thought.
Putting such thoughts aside, Yusuke focused and prepared to force his Sharingan to awaken.
"Open!"
Yusuke channeled all the Yin Release Chakra in the Cursed Seal into his Mental World at once. A splitting pain, as if his soul were being torn apart, exploded in his mind.
Yusuke grunted but didn't stop. He gritted his teeth and pressed on.
He could feel Ryujin Jakka in his Mental World suppressing and absorbing the Yin Release Chakra pouring in. But the Nine-Tails' supply was simply too immense, and it kept flooding into his Mental World without end.
I'm almost there!
When the Yin Release Chakra in the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal had dwindled to less than a tenth, the scene before Yusuke's eyes suddenly shifted. He saw a massive rift split open in the cloud-shrouded sky of his Mental World, as though an eye were opening.
In an instant, Yusuke found himself inside the Mental World that he'd once entered only with Uchiha Fugaku's help through his dōjutsu.
This time, he saw not only Ryujin Jakka, stretching between heaven and earth, but also a pupil in the rift overhead that resembled a three-Tomoe Sharingan.
He called it similar because the three Tomoe in that pupil weren't the ordinary black ones seen in a Sharingan. They were three golden-red, flame-shaped Tomoe!
"Is this my Sharingan? It seems different from the rest of the Uchiha Clan."
Yusuke looked up at the pupil in the sky and spoke to himself. The pupil in his own eyes had also changed into the exact same pattern.
He couldn't see his own eyes, but Yusuke knew that he'd successfully awakened his Sharingan. He could clearly feel that his vision was different now—sharper than before, as if he could make out every last detail.
Yusuke had also been able to enter his Mental World because the dōjutsu power of his newly awakened Sharingan was strong enough to grant him the ability to look within himself.
My Sharingan has clearly mutated. These golden-red flame Tomoe were probably influenced by Ryujin Jakka. I'll have to take my time understanding the power they contain.
Overjoyed that his Sharingan had awakened, Yusuke remembered that he still needed to greet the new guest in his Mental World.
He looked toward a small Nine-Tails fox cowering at a distance and slowly walked toward it.
As Yusuke's gaze moved, the pupil in the sky turned to look at the same spot.
"What are you going to do? I'm the mighty Nine-Tailed Fox! Don't come any closer!" Seeing Yusuke approach, the little fox tried to sound fierce as it crouched to pounce.
But in that form, the Nine-Tails couldn't scare anyone. It was actually quite adorable. Girls who liked fluffy little animals would probably love it.
"Your current form must be the result of running out of Chakra. How long will it take you to recover?" Yusuke asked with interest, paying no attention to the Nine-Tails' attitude.
"Damn you! What kind of Sealing Jutsu did you use? I can't recover my Chakra at all!" the Nine-Tails snarled.
Normally, its Chakra recovered quickly. But after being sealed inside Yusuke's Yin-Yang Cursed Seal, it discovered that once its Chakra was drained, not a trace of it returned.
Hearing this, Yusuke immediately understood the limitation—or perhaps the strength—of the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal.
The seal completely isolated anything inside from the outside world. As a result, the Nine-Tails' Chakra couldn't replenish itself. Only Yusuke could slowly restore it by supplying Yin Release Chakra of his own.
Fine, I'll treat it like a battery. Except once this battery runs out, it'll take a whole month to charge.
Though the Nine-Tails inside the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal could no longer recover its Chakra automatically, it could still serve as a reserve of Yin Release Chakra, so it remained very useful.
Yusuke ended his inner vision, released the Cursed Seal state, and immediately headed back to the village. He'd been gone for too long, and he was worried his Fire Clone might be exposed. If that happened, he might end up a missing-nin.
I wonder how powerful Ryujin Jakka will be when I use Yin Release Chakra to imitate spiritual energy. Would I count as Kage Level now?
As he hurried toward the village, Yusuke couldn't help wondering.
Before you continue