Whirlwind in the Vortex... (Seeking Follow-ups)

Back in her apartment building under surveillance, Kushina felt dejected, moving slowly by the window all by herself.

Kushina did not know what had happened recently, but the increasingly tight surveillance made her involuntarily conjure up terrible associations.

"...Can a jinchuriki really live a happy life?..."

Mito Uzumaki had taught her to find love when she was very young. Kushina felt she had already found it, yet her life had not changed at all.

After lingering by the window for a long time, Kushina's eyes grew firm. Suddenly, she tapped into the Nine-Tails chakra. The moment her pupils turned into slits, golden chains erupted throughout the building.

The Anbu responsible for guarding her were trapped in place before they could even react. Without waiting for them to speak, Kushina shouted loudly:

"I'm going to watch Minato train! Don't follow me!"

"..."

"The power of the sealing jutsu has increased again; it's impossible to break."

"We can't let her be willful any longer, bring her back..."

The Anbu lying on the ground exchanged loud shouts, but the intensity of the sealing jutsu was extremely high this time. Caught completely off guard, every one of them had fallen victim to her "cruel hand."

After moving from the street to the edge of the barrier, Kushina hesitated for a moment. Then, the Nine-Tails chakra within her erupted once more, and the young girl covered her eyes and sprinted out of the barrier.

"That's it, don't forget the hatred, live as you please!"

The Nine-Tails, bound tightly by the sealing formula within her, began its daily routine of temptation. Kushina ignored it, simply burying her head and accelerating her pace:

"Minato..."

At the Third Training Ground, the rock walls and the ground were covered in spiral-shaped craters. Minato Namikaze sat on the ground, drenched in sweat, propping up his upper body as he summarized:

"It still explodes when I try to maintain it at the end. Controlling this jutsu is still too difficult."

"Perhaps my control over chakra isn't precise enough. If it were a genius like Shu, he might have already completed this jutsu."

Jiraiya stood with his hands on his hips, a thoughtful expression on his face, as he leaned toward his student to offer a reminder:

"Don't look down on yourself. To be able to master and utilize the Flying Thunder God, your talent is second to none."

"Perhaps it's not a control issue. It might be easier to refine chakra according to the direction of your hair whorls. Let me take a look."

Minato hurriedly leaned his head over, responding with anticipation:

"So there's a technique like that! As expected of Master Jiraiya!"

Receiving no response, Minato was about to look up when Jiraiya's mouth twitched, and he muttered in a low voice:

"You actually have two whorls, one on the left and one on the right!"

"..."

The master and student were both speechless; no one mentioned the direction of the rotation again.

After resting for a short while, Minato was still thinking about the ninjutsu. Jiraiya, having returned to the training ground, pulled out a popsicle and asked with a smile:

"Which side do you want?"

Minato suddenly froze in place. Remembering the concept of multitasking that Shu Furukawa had shared earlier, he immediately jumped to his feet and shouted:

"Master Jiraiya, I've got it!"

Jiraiya, having finished his popsicle, watched as his student successfully manifested a stable sphere of chakra in his right hand after a few attempts, and said with pleasant surprise:

"Try out its power!"

"BOOM!"

The rock wall was instantly blasted into a massive crater. Minato felt a surge of exhilaration. He condensed the chakra sphere in his right hand once more, and, drenched in sweat, happily introduced it to Jiraiya:

"I've named it the Light Wheel Popsicle Shu-Inspired Whorl-Hair Jiraiya Dual-Style Ball!"

"It's long-winded and stinky..."

Jiraiya squinted as he complained, and Minato could only offer an awkward smile; he genuinely felt the name was both pleasant and fitting.

"Let's call it a day for now. I still have a mission to request. Minato, remember to get some good rest!"

"Yes..."

Minato followed Jiraiya's instructions and prepared to head home. As he was packing his bag, he suddenly turned his head to see Kushina peeking out from the woods.

"Huh? Kushina, is it okay for you to be here?"

"Well... the Third Hokage gave me special permission today; I can leave the barrier for a while."

"I'm sorry, Minato. I shouldn't have lost my temper at you before."

Kushina bowed in apology, but Minato shook his head. Recalling the Tailed Beast Bomb from not long ago, he said dejectedly:

"It was I who failed to keep my promise. You must know that the surveillance has been tightened, right!"

"I'm sorry. After witnessing that kind of power, I was truly terrified that you would be drawn into the war. This jutsu was developed specifically for you."

"I don't want to lose you!"

Kushina's emotions fluctuated violently, and as her pupils constricted, Nine-Tails chakra instantly overflowed to form a Tailed Beast Cloak. Minato Namikaze rushed over to support her, only to be sent flying by a swipe of a tail.

Blood seeped from the wound on his chest, yet Minato Namikaze did not retreat; instead, he dashed in front of the young girl and unleashed the Four-Symbols Seal.

Within the mental world, Kushina felt the intentions of her beloved and let out a loud shout, attempting to strengthen the seal on the Nine-Tails, but the result was a sudden eruption of Tailed Beast chakra.

"Let's act together..."

Gasping for air, Minato whispered softly as he looked at Kushina. No sooner had the words left his lips than six tails suddenly emerged from her body, and his abdomen was pierced straight through.

"Leave! Quickly leave, Minato!"

"I will absolutely not leave!"

In the mental world, Minato Namikaze faced the Nine-Tails head-on for the first time. Amidst the girl's shrill screams, he proactively used a new technique to collide with the Tailed Beast Bomb that the Nine-Tails was just about to form.

By noon, a blood-soaked Minato Namikaze, his abdomen pierced through, was rushed to Konoha Hospital.

Kushina's coat was also covered in blood. The girl's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and after watching her beloved being wheeled into the operating room, she collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

The Anbu urgently locked down the hospital. When Jiraiya arrived, he was drenched in sweat. Too anxious to ask for the details, he looked at the pale-faced Tsunade and asked in a low voice:

"Are you alright?"

With her hemophobia flaring up, Tsunade struggled to control her trembling body. Shu Furukawa, who had been urgently summoned, took the opportunity to grasp her fair hand and offered a simple reminder:

"Teacher, after I perform a simple debridement, I will summon Katsuyu. When we trigger the Chikatsu Kyusei no Jutsu, there won't be any blood visible."

"Teacher, you will preside over the technique and be responsible for the vitalization, while the four of us will handle the chakra transmission."

The puncture wound was more severe than anticipated, and the Nine-Tails chakra also possessed corrosive properties.

After hearing the report from the Special Jonin, Shu Furukawa took the initiative to take on the task:

"I will first use a sealing technique to control the Tailed Beast chakra at the wound site."

"Don't worry, Minato-kun likely avoided his vitals; don't underestimate him."

The warmth radiating from his palm helped Tsunade regain her focus. Seeing Jiraiya's hesitant expression, she let out a long breath and said earnestly:

"The hospital is fine. You should go to the Teacher; this loss of control happened at a terrible time."

Thinking of the recent arguments between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo regarding the use of the Jinchuriki, Jiraiya felt a headache coming on. Fortunately, Kushina hadn't erupted inside the village, or the situation would be even more passive.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Shu Furukawa summoned a human-sized Katsuyu, then walked directly into the operating room. Upon entering and sensing the Nine-Tails chakra on Minato Namikaze's body, he suddenly sent a mental message to Katsuyu:

"Help me intercept some of the Tailed Beast chakra from the wound. This is a great opportunity to verify my chakra hypothesis!"

The wriggling Katsuyu swayed her antennae and responded without hesitation in a soft, sweet voice:

"I understand, Lord Shu!"

"..."