It was hard not to worry that Aogetsu Hyuga might not withstand the power of that sword strike.
Many Ninja clasped their hands and prayed silently that Aogetsu Hyuga would be all right.
Tsunade and the members of Team 7 had been confident in Aogetsu Hyuga, too.
But what they had just witnessed was different. That sword strike had been even more powerful than Aogetsu Hyuga's earlier Raigo!
How could they not worry?
Just then, a piercing roar rang out in the distance.
Everyone turned. The sky had been dyed red, its orange-red glow carrying a faint, chilling aura that made their skin crawl.
"Is that... the Nine-Tails' aura?!"
Someone recognized it.
Everyone looked at Naruto.
Even Naruto was startled.
He hurriedly clutched his stomach and cried out in panic,
"Big Fox! Are you still there?!"
"Say something!!"
A deep voice immediately sounded from within Naruto.
"You little brat! Can't you sense whether I'm still inside you?!"
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Right! Of course!"
Sasuke glanced at him.
"Idiot. If the Nine-Tails weren't there, how would you still be using Nine-Tails Chakra Mode?"
"What did you say?!"
"You smug jerk, Sasuke!"
"That's enough, you two! We're in the middle of a war!"
Sakura scolded them with her hands on her hips.
The people around them, however,
still looked doubtful.
After all,
there was no mistaking the Nine-Tails' aura in the distance.
Then the Nine-Tails spoke again.
"When Minato Namikaze performed the Sealing, he didn't seal all of me in one place. He split me in half and sealed the other half inside his own body."
At those words,
everyone nearby looked stunned.
Clearly, they were only learning this now.
That meant Minato Namikaze had suddenly been taken away
because the enemy had found a way to extract