Night of the Nine-Tails (Three)

The Kunai, sharp blade of the kunai pressed against the baby's delicate neck, and a thin trail of blood slowly seeped along the edge.

The Masked Man's Sharingan was fixed on Minato, a cruel pleasure in his eyes, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Oh dear, Fourth Hokage, don't get agitated." The Masked Man's voice came through the Spiral Mask, his hoarse tone clearly intentional. "I'm not very brave; my hands tremble. And you, Princess Tsunade— "

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Tsunade, who was doing her best to stabilize the seal beside the delivery bed. "I don't want to get punched by you, so please—keep calm."

He moved his feet lightly, seemingly casually, but in reality, each step was an adjustment to the optimal position, paving the way for the deadly action to come.

Minato's muscles were tense, and his deep blue eyes burned with a heart-wrenching rage.

He forced himself to loosen his clenched fists, his voice slightly hoarse from extreme suppression, but he tried to remain calm. "Calm down! We can both calm down! Don't hurt the child! We can discuss any conditions!"

Every word seemed to be ground from the depths of his throat. Taiichi's warning exploded in his mind, and regret clung to his heart like a poisonous vine.

He thought he was being vigilant enough, but the enemy still managed to find a fatal loophole!

"Baby—" Kushina's weak voice rang out from the delivery bed.

She struggled to get up, ignoring the excruciating postpartum pain and her physical weakness.

"My child!"

Those maternal eyes were now filled with despair.

"Kushina! Don't move!" Tsunade shouted sharply, quickly performing postpartum care with one hand while keeping her other hand firmly on the seal that was violently pulsating in Kushina's abdomen.

Kushina's turbulent emotions were like throwing a boulder into a fragile dam, causing the already crumbling Nine-Tails seal to crack even wider!

The dark red, blood- Nine-Tails Chakra, like a venomous snake out of control, hissed and overflowed wildly from between the Sealing Talisman, carrying a suffocatingly violent aura.

Tsunade's forehead veins bulged, and the light of Medical Ninjutsu flashed intensely between her hands. She had to complete the final crucial stitches while also suppressing the raging power of the Tailed Beast. Her face was as pale as paper due to the Chakra and mental exertion, leaving her no time to think about anything else.

"Conditions?" The Masked Man seemed to have heard something utterly ridiculous, a low, twisted chuckle escaping his throat. "Fourth Hokage, do you think this is a mission request?"

He pressed the Kunai in his hand down a little further, and the baby cried out loudly in discomfort. The sound was like a sharp needle piercing Minato's heart.

"I'm just here to reclaim what belongs to the Uchiha."

He deliberately emphasized the words "Uchiha," his gaze sweeping meaningfully over Kushina's abdomen.

"And while we're at it, let's see what kind of expression Minato Namikaze will have when everything he cherishes is destroyed before his eyes."

Minato's heart sank into an icy abyss.

Verbal probing is useless; the other party's purpose is naked and insane: destruction!

He forced his brain to work at high speed, searching for any possible flaw; he needed an opportunity, even if it was just for a moment!

Just as the two sides were locked in a standoff, the Masked Man's Sharingan shifted almost imperceptibly, capturing the fleeting moment when Tsunade was distracted by the intense burst of Nine-Tails Chakra!

His feet naturally moved to a suitable position.

"Tsk, looks like this brat's getting in the way. Here you go!" The Masked Man's voice suddenly rose, carrying a malicious mockery.

With a sudden swing of his arm, he hurled the infant in his swaddling clothes at the rock wall behind and to the side of the Minato, as if it were an object!

The angle was extremely tricky; the baby's tiny body flew past Tsunade's back!

"Child!"

Minato's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints! All reason and tactical thinking were utterly crushed at this moment by his most primal paternal instincts!

He had only one thought in his mind: to catch the child!

With Body Flicker movement, Minato's figure transformed into a Yellow Flash, fearlessly lunging towards the fragile life flying towards the rock wall.

He moved with incredible speed, and just as the baby was about to hit the rock, he gently caught it in his arms! The enormous impact was absorbed by his body, and his back slammed heavily against the rock wall with a dull thud.

However, that less than half-second difference in rescue time was enough for the Masked Man!

"Lady Tsunade, watch out!" another nurse cried out, but it was too late!

The moment the Masked Man threw the baby, his body surged forward like a ghost, his target Tsunade was instinctively looking back as the baby flew by.

"Get out of my way!" Tsunade reacted incredibly fast, her iron fist, filled with anger and Chakra Enhanced Strength, along with Kushina, which she swung with her last bit of strength, slammed into the Masked Man's chest!

However, their fists struck nothing but an illusion, passing through the Masked Man's body without any resistance!

"An illusion? No!" Alarm bells rang in Tsunade's mind.

Just as their fists completely pierced through his body, the Masked Man's illusory figure solidified instantly! His hands, filled with icy malice, pressed precisely onto Kushina's abdomen, where the Nine-Tails was sealed!

Seal Disruption - Released!

A Chakra rushed into his palm, not to completely destroy the complex Sealing Jutsu technique, which was impossible anyway.

All he wanted was to be the last straw that broke the camel's back, to give that final push to the crumbling seal.

Boom!

It felt like a volcano erupting inside me! The seal, already stretched to its limit due to childbirth, could no longer hold on under this disturbance and shattered with a deafening roar!

"No!!!" Minato, clutching the baby in his arms, roared with bloodshot eyes, his voice filled with anguish.

Kushina's abdomen erupted with a torrent of dark red Chakra that seemed to solidify! It was no longer a trickle of chakra, but a cataclysmic flood that had burst its banks!

The raging, chaotic, and hate-filled Nine-Tails Chakra, like a ferocious beast breaking free of its thousand-year shackles, roared and surged forth from her body!

The dark red energy formed a visible shockwave, instantly sending Tsunade and the nurse flying and crashing heavily into the rock wall!

The entire cave shook violently, with rocks falling in a flurry. The sturdy Barrier groaned under the strain, instantly becoming covered with spiderweb-like cracks before shattering with a deafening roar.

"Ugh!"

Kushina let out a bloodcurdling scream, her life force draining away like a flood, and her red hair instantly lost all its luster.

Once the Tailed Beast is separated from its Jinchuriki, only death awaits her!

"Kushina!" Minato held the crying baby, his heart breaking, yet he was temporarily unable to approach the area enveloped by the Nine-Tails Chakra.

"The Barrier is about to break! Everyone, prepare for battle!" Jiraiya roared from the outside, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

At this moment, the Masked Man had achieved his goal. He transformed into an illusion and stood at the edge of the surging torrent of Nine-Tails Chakra, glancing at Jiraiya, Kakashi, and the others who had surrounded him, with a look of disdain.

"The game has begun, everyone from Konoha. Enjoy!"

A dark red pillar of Chakra light, enough to make one's soul tremble, shot into the sky! Within that pillar, a colossal, sky-covering phantom of Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was rapidly solidifying, unleashing a roar that shook mountains and was filled with boundless hatred!

"Nine... Nine-Tails!" A member of the Anbu exclaimed, his voice trembling, barely Kunai in his hand.

"Roar!!!"

The fully-formed Nine-Tailed Demon Fox has arrived! Its enormous head is raised, and its nine tails are like demonic whips that stir up the sky. The Chakra impact that naturally emanates when it materializes flattens the surrounding forest like weeds!

8:55 PM.

Rooftop of Konoha Minato Namikaze's residence in Konoha Village.

Taiichi sat cross-legged, like an ancient rock. He closed his eyes, his vast senses covering a large area centered on the Minato family, not missing a single sound or movement.

The evening breeze, carrying the slight dryness of a summer night, brushed against the stray hairs on his forehead, but could not dispel the solemnity that had settled between his brows.

Sudden!

A very familiar spatial fluctuation emanated from the room beneath him without warning!

Taiichi suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes without hesitation, and his figure disappeared from the rooftop the instant he opened his eyes.

The next moment, Taiichi's figure appeared in the center of the Minato family's empty Reception Hall. His gaze was like lightning, instantly locking onto the figure standing in the center of the Reception Hall with his back to him - Minato Namikaze.

Minato's condition made Taiichi's heart sink.

This "Yellow Flash," who is usually so sunny and neat, now had his clothes open in a disheveled manner, covered in dust and unknown stains.

With his back to Taiichi, he was slightly hunched over, but his movements were exceptionally gentle and careful. He was gently placing a tiny baby, wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes and still making soft sobs, into the crib that had been prepared nearby.

The gentleness in his movements contrasted sharply with the icy killing intent and profound despair emanating from him, creating a suffocating effect.

When Minato carefully placed the baby down, straightened up, and turned around, Taiichi saw the expression on his face.

The gentle, sunny disposition of the past had vanished from that handsome face, leaving only a chilling, hardened look, as if frozen in ice.

Beneath the blonde hair, deep blue eyes burned with a destructive flame capable of incinerating everything.

It was the pain of losing a loved one, the self-blame for failing to protect, and the resolute determination to face overwhelming disaster.

"Senior Disciple Brother Minato— " Taiichi had just opened his mouth, wanting to ask "How is the situation?", when Minato Teuchi.

"The Nine-Tails has been released." Minato's voice was unusually calm, eerily calm, each word like an ice bead hitting the ground. "Master and Tsunade- Senior are doing their best to hold it off outside the village. I need to get there immediately."

His words were concise and to the point, without any unnecessary embellishment, yet they conveyed the harshest reality and the most urgent task. Before he had even finished speaking, he was about to activate the Flying Thunder God again.

"Wait!" Seeing Minato's figure about to disappear again, Taiichi rushed forward, speaking rapidly, "The Nine-Tails has broken free! Kushina in grave danger! Bring her here quickly! I have a way to save her life!"

These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the almost lifeless lake of Minato's heart!

Minato suddenly turned his head, his icy blue eyes fixed on Taiichi, and a huge light of hope burst forth from them!

"What did you say? Taiichi! You—you're telling the truth?"

For the first time, Minato's voice trembled violently, an overwhelming excitement that came from suddenly seeing light in the depths of despair.

Is there any hope for Kushina? This sudden glimmer of hope nearly shattered the psychological defenses he had painstakingly built up.

"No time to explain! Trust me! Hurry!"

Taiichi's voice was resolute, his eyes unwavering. "Bring her here! Immediately! Her time is running out!"

Minato's chest heaved violently as he looked into Taiichi's eyes, which held absolute confidence and an undeniable urgency.

A thousand words stuck in my throat, finally turning into an incredibly radiant smile, yet tinged with tears—a smile filled with the ecstasy of surviving a catastrophe and the deepest gratitude.

"Alright!" Without another word, Minato disappeared again. He was going to bring back the most precious person in his life!

Only Taiichi and the tiny life in the crib remained in the Reception Hall.

Taiichi quickly walked to the crib, looked down at the little one in the swaddling clothes, whose eyes were closed, whose face was wrinkled, and who was sobbing softly.

This is Naruto Uzumaki, the Child of Prophecy carrying Asura Chakra —but this time, perhaps his fate will be completely different?

He reached out a finger and touched the baby's soft cheek with utmost care. At the same time, a wisp of gentle Yang Release Chakra quietly entered the baby's body.

"Hiss----" Even with Taiichi's strong will, the results of his Scout still made him secretly alarmed.

The life force contained within that small body was as vigorous and vast as the rising sun! It was the powerful bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan combined with the reincarnation Chakra of Asura!

This power, even though it is only in its nascent stage now, is already far beyond the reach of ordinary ninjas.

9:02 PM.

Spatial fluctuations resounded once more. Minato's figure reappeared in the Reception Hall, this time tightly embracing a figure whose aura was so faint as to be almost nonexistent— Kushina Uzumaki.

Her once fiery red hair was now dull and lifeless, like withered autumn grass scattered haphazardly on her bloodless cheeks.

Her body slumped limply in Minato, her life force rapidly ebbing away at a visible pace.

The seal on the abdomen had completely disappeared, leaving only a broken Sealing Talisman array.

Her eyelids drooped heavily, her eyes unfocused, as if they might go out at any moment.

"Child---- Naruto ----"

Kushina's lips moved with difficulty, emitting a faint sound like a mosquito's buzz.

She thought her life was coming to an end, and all that remained in her heart was endless longing and reluctance to part with her newborn child who had suffered such a terrible tragedy. She only wanted to see her flesh and blood one last time in her final moments and feel that tiny warmth.

"Kushina- nee!" Taiichi's voice, infused with Chakra, carried an exhilarating power that instantly penetrated Kushina's almost chaotic consciousness.

"Look at me! Listen! Don't fall asleep! You won't die! I promise you! You'll have plenty of time to spend with Naruto! Watch him grow up, watch him call you 'Mom'! Cheer up!"

These powerful words acted like a shot of adrenaline, bringing a faint light to Kushina's unfocused gaze. She strained to look at Taiichi, then at the tiny baby on the bed, her will to live flickering like a candle in the wind.

Minato carefully laid Kushina flat on the temporarily cleared space in the center of the Reception Hall, his movements as gentle as if he were holding a fragile, rare treasure.

He looked deeply into Taiichi's eyes, his gaze filled with entrustment, trust, and endless pleading.

"Taiichi, Kushina —and Naruto —I'm leaving them to you!"

Minato's voice was deep and hoarse, each word carrying immense weight.

He took one last look at his wife's pale face and his sleeping son, then suddenly sat up and forcefully shook the Hokage 'Mizukage Haori, which was stained with his wife's blood and dust!

"Wait for me to come back!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Minato's figure vanished without a trace. He was going to fulfill his duties Hokage, to face the rampaging Nine-Tails, and to find the culprit who caused all this disaster!