Facing the Masked Man

Outside the village.

Ten kilometers from the gate.

A heaven-shaking roar trembled through the entire mountain range!

Minato stared wistfully at the gigantic fox before him.

The Nine-Tails!

With nine tails hanging from its body, the Nine-Tails was the strongest of all the tailed beasts passed down from the Sage of Six Paths. Yet such a powerful tailed beast was now being tightly controlled by a gloomy man in a mask!

"Damn it! Who the hell is this guy?"

Minato was at a loss for words.

He had once been a genius, the center of attention wherever he went. But ever since meeting Ye Liang, everything had become strange. First, Ye Liang had sent him flying with some bizarre Ninjutsu.

Then, he had encountered this strange Masked Man!

Actually, he could still forgive himself for losing to Ye Liang before. After all, he had been weak back then. But after training, Minato clearly felt that he had become incomparably powerful, yet he had still been defeated by a mysterious Masked Man.

Something was seriously wrong here!

"Where exactly are all these mysterious powerhouses coming from?" His brows were tightly furrowed when Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with others.

"Hiruzen, how is the situation now?"

Hiruzen darted through the forest, stepping swiftly across the branches beneath his feet.

"We've driven the Masked Man back several times, but the Nine-Tails is far too troublesome. It can share Chakra with him endlessly. We have to deal with it first!"

"Share Chakra?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked suspiciously at the Masked Man standing atop the Nine-Tails' head.

Just as Minato had said, the man was wrapped in layers of dense, dark-red liquid, like a cloak of Chakra!

"It really is Nine-Tails Chakra! But with something this huge, I'm afraid we can't deal with it immediately."

"It's fine, Sensei. I already have a solution!"

"A solution?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes narrowed as he looked at Minato again.

He did not know where Minato's confidence came from. In his view, even Ye Liang from before might not have been able to handle such a gigantic Nine-Tails.

"Sealing!"

"Sealing?"

"That's right!"

Minato cleared his throat.

"I intend to use my self-created Reaper Death Seal to seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. Kushina is already on her way. Once the Nine-Tails is gone, the Masked Man should be much easier to deal with."

"You're insane! The Reaper Death Seal requires a soul as its vessel!"

"It's fine, Sensei. I'm willing!"

Minato Namikaze suddenly looked at his teacher with a resolute expression.

In the original story, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had been an exceptionally upright man who understood the greater good. Although Ye Liang's existence had thrown things off course, his character remained unchanged.

"Sensei, after I die, I'll leave Kushina to you." He gave the Third Hokage his instructions calmly.

"Mm."

At that moment, the Masked Man attacked again.

He leaped off the Nine-Tails beneath him and swiftly unleashed Great Fire Annihilation at the ninjas before him!

A massive wave of flames surged toward Konoha's ninjas, blotting out the sky and covering even the Nine-Tails within its fiery tide.

"Damn it! Why is this fire wave so strong? It's almost as powerful as an S-rank Ninjutsu!"

"Yeah! Great Fire Annihilation is supposed to be only a B-rank Ninjutsu!" The Konoha ninjas around them suppressed their shock.

After unleashing more than twenty Water Release techniques, they finally managed to withstand the fire wave!

"Hiss! This guy really is formidable!"

The Third Hokage sucked in a breath of cold air. Only then did he understand why Minato Namikaze would rather sacrifice his life to seal the Nine-Tails.

Against such a powerful ninja, defeating the Nine-Tails first truly was the best choice!

"Everyone! We can't retreat any farther! Konoha lies behind us—we must prove our strength!" Minato suddenly leaped into the air. His gaze was dim, and it was clear he had already resolved to die.

"Two Red Sun Formation!"

A square red barrier instantly enclosed the Nine-Tails and the Masked Man within it. This was a reduced version of the Four Red Yang Formation. With time pressing, there was not enough time to deploy the Four Red Yang Formation. Besides, Minato knew that such a simple sealing formation could not possibly do anything to the Masked Man.

"Sensei! It's up to you now!"

Minato suddenly shouted. This move was not meant to deal with the Masked Man at all—it was meant to trap the Nine-Tails. As long as the Masked Man left the Nine-Tails, he would have the chance to use the Reaper Death Seal!

"Got it!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately understood. As a tactical master of the ninja world, the Third Hokage saw through Minato's plan at a glance.

He immediately led a group of jonin into the Two Red Sun Formation!

"Hmph, mere gravel, not worth even half my strength!"

The Masked Man counterattacked!

Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique!

Just as the Third Hokage had expected, the Masked Man's Fire Release far exceeded its proper range of power. Even a simple C-rank Ninjutsu could produce an effect beyond that of an S-rank Ninjutsu!

"Five Releases—Great Barrage Technique!"

He immediately used the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Then, Dragon Bullet Jutsu of five different elements lunged together at the Masked Man's Great Fireball.

The Dragon Bullet Jutsu was an A-rank Ninjutsu. With Dragon Bullets of five different elements combined, its strength had long surpassed that of an ordinary S-rank Ninjutsu. Even if the Masked Man's Great Fireball possessed S-rank power, it could not withstand it!

"Boom!"

The Masked Man was blasted off the Nine-Tails by the five elemental Dragon Bullets, and the other ordinary jonin immediately rushed in!

"Fire Release—Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

"Fire Release—Flame Whirlwind!"

"Fire Release—Dragon Fire Technique!"

A barrage of miscellaneous Ninjutsu rushed at the Masked Man.

Their goal was clear: while Minato sealed the Nine-Tails, they had to completely drive the Masked Man out of the Two Red Sun Formation!

After all, the Masked Man's presence could very likely interfere with the sealing of the Nine-Tails.

"Hmph, do you really think I can't see through that? Summoning Jutsu!" The Masked Man snorted coldly and slapped his hand through the air. A massive gunbai fan as large as a person suddenly appeared in his hand.

"Not good, it's the Uchiha Gunbai! Stop attacking, all of you!"

From afar, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately recognized it. It was a divine artifact of the Uchiha clan, once owned by the Sage of Six Paths. It could reflect all long-range Ninjutsu attacks. Hiruzen Sarutobi had once seen the Uchiha clan use it in his youth.

But it was already far too late.

Ninjutsu large and small had already bombarded toward the Masked Man. Yet just as the attacks were about to strike his head, the Masked Man gave a light wave!

Every Ninjutsu aimed at him instantly changed direction!

As though they had suddenly veered off at the critical moment, all the Ninjutsu rolled back toward their original casters!

The ninjas were horrified. No one knew the power of these many Ninjutsu better than they did. These were attacks unleashed by dozens of jonin together—even Kage-level powerhouses could not withstand them head-on!