Hiss!
Naruto, in his three-tailed Demon Fox form, surged toward him with terrifying bloodlust, zigzagging in an S-shaped rush!
His attacks were simple: he used the claws of his Fox Mantle to furiously rake at the exoskeleton of Yu's Susanoo!
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape...!
Yu murmured, "Just scratching the surface, huh? Then this Susanoo-lite should hold out for a while."
The most urgent concern was Iruka. His injuries were so severe that he barely had a breath left!
"With a wound this deep, the only person besides me who could save him would be Granny Tsunade."
"Oh, right. Granny Tsunade has a fear of blood at this point, so she's out of commission. That leaves only me..."
Whoosh!
Yu formed a small ball of white light in his right hand and pressed it against the bloody wound on Iruka's back!
-Divine Healing Technique!
This was a technique Yu had learned from the Book of the Gods when he was injured fighting wild beasts before coming to Konoha. Its effects were equivalent to Hashirama's Mystical Palm Technique, but back then, he could only use it to heal himself.
Over the years, as his proficiency improved, he had become able to heal others.
Though it was far less effective on others than on himself, it was enough for a fatal wound of this severity!
Hiss, hiss, hiss... amid rising steam, Iruka's wound closed!
Yu withdrew his hand. "There. Iruka's life is safe..."
Scrape, scrape, scrape...!
Under Naruto's relentless, all-out attacks, the Susanoo's exoskeleton was beginning to crack!
He couldn't expect too much. After all, Yu was only using Susanoo's most basic form.
"Sorry for the wait. Now I can focus on fighting you!"
Smiling, Yu extended his small hand toward the snarling, clawing Naruto!
"Let's start by greeting you with a technique passed down in the Hyuga Clan..."
-Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
Boom!!!
A terrifying blast of air erupted in front of Yu's little hand, knocking Naruto into the woods and toppling a whole swath of trees!!
Mizuki was so terrified that he began questioning his entire life as a ninja.
"That's the Hyuga Clan's Vacuum Palm??? What's with that power??? And what is that skeleton??? What did he do to Iruka??? Who the hell is he? Who is he? Even if he's pretty talented, isn't he still just a brat who hasn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet!!!!"
Yu dispelled his Susanoo and jumped off the top of the upright Scroll of Seals.
Looking at the cloud of dust in the woods, Yu murmured, "Naruto has tailed beast chakra protecting him. That Vacuum Palm shouldn't have done any serious damage. But Iruka and the Scroll of Seals are both here, and I don't want them getting caught in the crossfire. Oh well, I'll stay put. Naruto's aggro is on me anyway, so he'll keep attacking..."
So Yu laid the Scroll of Seals down beside Iruka and waited where he was!
Boom!!
Flinging the broken trees aside with chakra arms, Naruto climbed to his feet and glared murderously at Yu!
Bzz!
Yu switched back to his Byakugan and took a defensive stance. "Come on!!"
Boom...!!!
Naruto lunged at him, even more fiercely than before!
Thud!!!
Yu stopped Naruto's headbutt with his left hand!
-Secret Technique: Catch, Neutralize, and Return!
After catching the attack, he neutralized its force, then combined it with his own strength and sent it back!
Thud...!!!
Naruto was knocked away again, but this time he had learned his lesson. His three tails stabbed into the ground, and his two chakra arms stretched out to grab Yu!!
Bang! Bang!
Yu fired two consecutive Vacuum Palms, blasting the arms aside!!
Boom...!
Naruto lunged at him again!!
Catch, Neutralize, and Return was Yu's own secret technique, but ultimately, it was mostly a joke!
Using the orthodox Gentle Fist's Eight Trigrams Palm, Yu engaged the transformed Naruto in close combat!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every blow struck flesh as storms of force collided!
The longer Yu fought, the more energized he became!
"This is great! When I was four, only Big Brother Neji could give me a little fun in hand-to-hand combat. But these past two years, I've just been humoring him when we sparred. Today, I'm finally getting a taste of a real fight again...!"
Yu countered every move, trading blows back and forth with Naruto in his Tailed Beast Transformation!
As the sole witness, Mizuki had a long trail of snot dangling from his nose.
"I... what am I seeing?? A brat from the Hyuga Branch Family is fighting the Demon Fox with taijutsu??? Isn't that something only the Hyuga Clan head could do???"
Hearing Mizuki's thoughts spoiled Yu's fun. "Hey, hey... who are you looking down on?"
Bang! After taking Naruto's full-force smash head-on, he changed his moves and used an Ōtsutsuki Style technique from the Book of the Gods!
-Divine Vacuum Strike!
This was the move that had killed a ferocious beast in one blow on his journey to Konoha!
It was the foundation of Kaguya's divine technique, Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!
Bang...!
A solid white chakra fist blasted Naruto away!
The three-tailed Fox Mantle simply couldn't withstand it and teetered on the verge of collapse!
Lowering his hand, Yu murmured, "I guess that's all three tails can manage..."
The Nine-Tails glared in fury. "Damn it!!! I am the mighty Nine-Tails, the strongest of them all! I refuse to believe I can't handle a brat like you!!"
Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble...!
He released more chakra, trying to break through the seal and take greater control of Naruto!
But because Naruto had never gone berserk before, the Eight Trigrams Seal was still strong. In the end, the fourth tail never emerged!
Yu knew where to draw the line, too. "That's about enough. If this keeps going, it'll be hard to avoid hurting Naruto..."
Swish!
With a flash of the second stage of Divine Movement Step, Yu appeared in front of Naruto, switched his Byakugan to the Sharingan, and met Naruto's gaze!
Drip...!
Ripples spread across the water.
Yu's consciousness entered Naruto's inner world. Facing the snarling Kurama through the cage, he greeted him. "Hello~ Little Nine~!"
Kurama's fury gradually gave way to a searching look.
He was a thousand-year-old fox. Even if Madara Uchiha had once declared that he possessed no intelligence whatsoever, that couldn't erase his experience!
"You can switch freely between the Byakugan and the Sharingan, but I'm certain you're no brat from the Hyuga or Uchiha Clan! Because... those horns on your head are exactly like the ones on the Sage of Six Paths, who created me!!! Are you a direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths!!!"
Yu smiled. "I can't tell you the details just yet~"
Kurama snapped, "Hmph! What sinister purpose brought you sneaking into Konoha and getting close to Naruto? Are you after my power!!!!"
What a terrible persecution complex. Poor Little Nine. This is all Hashirama and Madara's fault...
Yu said teasingly, "And what if I am...?"
Kurama laughed bitterly, pitying someone whose fate mirrored his own. "Hahaha, there's nothing I can do. I just feel sorry for this brat! He lost his parents the moment he was born and spent all these years being shunned. He finally managed to make a friend, only to be used again! But remember this: if I weren't down to half my power, if I weren't trapped inside this frail brat, dealing with you would still be child's play!!!"
Yu said, "Hey, hey, you can look down on me, but don't look down on Naruto. He's only seven this year, and he's got plenty of potential. If you hadn't kept interfering with his chakra, he would never have fallen behind everyone else in everything..."
Kurama stopped caring. "What business is it of yours what I do!! If you want this brat dead, hurry up and do it!"
Yu said, "You're overthinking it. I'm not going to do anything to you. But for now, I still need to teach you a little 'lesson,' so you won't stir up trouble again!"
Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble...!
Outside, Naruto's Fox Mantle was gradually stripped away and condensed into a vermilion Pill in Yu's hand!
Thump...!
Freed from his berserk state, Naruto lost consciousness and fell onto the soft ground.
Yu looked at the Pill in his palm. "So this is a Pill, one of the methods the Ōtsutsuki use to plunder chakra. Momoshiki once said that taking one could grant immortality and supernatural power..."
"But according to the Book of the Gods, a Pill's increase in power is temporary, and its effect on lifespan is practically negligible. That makes sense. If Pills could grant eternal life, what would they need Chakra Fruits for? Still, there's one thing Pills really can do: keep all illness at bay!"
Yu had ruthlessly condensed a portion of Kurama's chakra into this Pill not merely to warn him to stop interfering with Naruto. In fact... he had another use for it.
When he came back to his senses, Mizuki was already gone.
Once Mizuki had recovered his wits, he had seized the chance to flee, without even bothering to take the Scroll of Seals!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Konoha ninja who had received Sakura's report arrived to help!
Yu had already expertly lain down on the ground. "Wah, Iruka-sensei was hurt by Mizuki while trying to save us. It's all thanks to Iruka-sensei. Boo-hoo-hoo..."
One of the rescuing ninja asked, "Where did Mizuki go!!"
Yu pointed with his little hand. "Mizuki-sensei ran that way!!!"
"After him!!!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The rescuers became pursuers, chasing toward the woods.
Yu sat up and opened the Scroll of Seals.
If the Book of the Gods was the crystallization of the Ōtsutsuki Clan's greatest wisdom...
"Then the Scroll of Seals is the crystallization of the Second Hokage Tobirama's greatest wisdom as a ninja..."
"I'm an Ōtsutsuki, but I'm also a ninja, so I'll help myself and 'copy' it!"
Bzz!
Yu unfurled the Scroll of Seals, activated his Sharingan, and began copying it page by page!
Oh... as for Mizuki.
Since Yu had dared to reveal his secrets right in front of him...
Of course he had never intended... to let him leave alive!
Flutter, flutter...!
Earth Grudge Fear's Bats had already set out...
Before you continue