"That guy had already broken free of the control, and he still wouldn't quit!"
Outside Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen knelt weakly on one knee. With a ninja helping him up, he glared at the Nine-Tails.
A purple-black sphere of light in the Nine-Tails' mouth continued to swell, nearly solidifying. It was the ultimate release of Tailed Beast power—the Tailed Beast Bomb!
If that Tailed Beast Bomb hit Konoha, the entire village would be razed to the ground!
"Summoning Technique!"
At the critical moment, a giant toad with a pipe in its mouth dropped from the sky and slammed into the Nine-Tails with a crash, forcefully pinning it to the ground.
"It's Minato! And the person in his arms... is Kushina!"
With his keen eyesight, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately spotted the two people atop the toad's head.
"Gamabunta, please hold the Nine-Tails down for a while!" Minato asked.
Gamabunta's mouth trembled around his pipe. "Ribbit! Even I can't keep this guy under control!"
Minato ignored Gamabunta's complaints and looked hopefully at Kushina in his arms.
"Kushina, do you still have enough strength to seal the Nine-Tails back inside you?"
Kushina slowly shook her head. Minato's gaze instantly froze, and his heart sank.
Once they lost their Tailed Beast, even Jinchūriki with powerful life forces... couldn't escape death.
"Oh no!"
Noticing that the Tailed Beast Bomb in the Nine-Tails' mouth hadn't disappeared and was still radiating terrifying energy, Minato's pupils contracted sharply.
Whoosh!
The instant the Tailed Beast Bomb shot out, a pitch-black space-time barrier opened and swallowed it whole.
Boom!
A deafening crash rang out from the mountains nearby. A small mountain was flattened by the terrifying energy, and the white glow that rose into the sky illuminated half the heavens.
Plop.
Minato was so fast that he teleported the Tailed Beast Bomb away in the blink of an eye, then used the Body Flicker Technique to return just in time to catch his wife as she fell from the sky.
"I can hold on a little longer, Minato."
Kushina forced the corners of her mouth upward and smiled at him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Five golden chains shot out of her body. Just as Gamabunta was slapped away by the Nine-Tails and vanished in a puff of smoke, they bound the beast's limbs and tails, then burrowed deep into the ground, trapping it.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."
"Kushina!" Seeing his wife coughing nonstop, Minato's eyes flashed with sorrow.
"I'll use the chakra I have left to hold the Nine-Tails back, and then... die with it."
Kushina looked at Minato with tears in her eyes. "That way, we can delay the Nine-Tails' revival a little longer. It's the only way."
"Roar!"
The Nine-Tails struggled wildly, making the chains rattle. They looked ready to snap.
"Don't let up! Keep attacking! We can't let the Nine-Tails break free!" Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted.
The other ninjas didn't need to be told. With roars, they charged at the Nine-Tails like madmen.
Tears slid down Minato's cheeks. Choking with emotion, he said, "Kushina, I failed to protect you!"
"Don't say that, Minato. Every day I spent with you was so happy," Kushina said softly.
"Other than wishing we could live together as a family of three, what more could I... ask for? I... I wish I could see Naruto grown up..."
Tears streamed down Minato's face. As he looked at his dying wife, his gaze grew more resolute, and he made a decision.
"Kushina, you don't have to die with the Nine-Tails. I'll seal the chakra you have left inside Naruto, so you can see him when he's grown up."
"I'll deal with the Nine-Tails myself. Its power is too great to suppress physically, so I'll seal it with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
If they couldn't live together, then they would die together!
"No! I won't let you sacrifice yourself for me!" Kushina refused to let Minato go through with it.
"All right, Kushina." Minato used the Body Flicker Technique to bring Naruto over and set him down in front of her. He spoke gently. "I'm not doing this just for you. I'm doing it for Naruto, too. Being willing to die for our son—that's a father's duty!"
"Father! Mother!"
As the battle grew more and more intense, a boy of about eleven or twelve suddenly rushed onto the battlefield and shouted at the two people attacking the Nine-Tails.
A middle-aged man turned around, his face changing dramatically. "Iruka, this isn't the place for you! Go back!"
"No! I'm staying to fight alongside you and Mother!" Iruka shouted stubbornly.
Thud!
In the instant he let his guard down, Iruka's father was struck by the tip of the Nine-Tails' tail.
He flew through the air in an arc, landing right in front of the Nine-Tails.
"Damn it! Don't let yourself get distracted on the battlefield!"
Yuhi Shinku roared and rushed over to Iruka's father, trying to pick him up and carry him away.
"Lord Shinku! Look out behind you!"
Iruka's father's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The Nine-Tails dragged its chains along as it swung a claw at them. A shadow as large as a house instantly fell over the pair.
Sarutobi Hiruzen collapsed to his knees, drained of strength. Minato formed Hand Seals, preparing to die. Shinku and Iruka's father were on the verge of death.
Fate bore down like a line of dominoes. This chain of tragedies seemed inevitable, destined to unfold!
But just as the first domino was about to fall—
A wildly arrogant laugh rang out from above, instantly drawing everyone's attention... even the Nine-Tails'.
"You stinking fox! Your dad's here! Hahahaha!"
The Nine-Tails froze in place, unable to believe its ears.
In all its years alive, this was the first time anyone had dared to insult it like that. It was completely dumbfounded.
...It had never seen anyone this arrogant in its entire life!
Minato paused in the middle of forming Hand Seals and instinctively looked up.
Who was crazy enough to call himself the father of a ferocious beast powerful enough to destroy the world?
"That voice sounds familiar..."
Hizashi Hyuga recognized the speaker almost instantly. In utter shock, he shouted, "Genye, get ou—!!!"
But the Nine-Tails reacted faster than Hizashi. Its eyes reddened with rage. "You brat, you're asking to die!"
Genye had drawn way too much of the Nine-Tails' ire. The beast immediately abandoned its attack on everyone else and lunged, claws and teeth bared, at Genye as he dropped through the air.
"No!" Hizashi Hyuga cried out in anguish.
"Ah." Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes, unable to bear watching. There had been far too many children dying in front of him today.
"Damn it!" Minato gritted his teeth. From this far away, he couldn't use the Body Flicker Technique to reach the boy in time.
"That kid came to save me, and he actually..." Yuhi Shinku's eyes widened—oh, sorry, his eyes were red to begin with.
Crack.
As everyone watched in grief and regret, Genye vanished into the Nine-Tails' enormous jaws.
"Hm? Grr? Grrr?"
The Nine-Tails smacked its lips twice. It felt like it had bitten into nothing at all, as if it hadn't tasted a thing.
"Idiot, I'm right here!"
Genye suddenly appeared atop the Nine-Tails' head. Humming a tune, he raised his fist and slammed it down.
"My Door Is Always Open~~ Gentle Fist—Smash that bastard to hell!"
Before you continue