Entrusting His Wife and Son!

Although he often lied to Anko, he really was not lying this time. He truly wanted to become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.

Kushina looked at Minato, leaving the decision to him.

Minato glanced at Ye Liang and saw unshakable resolve in his eyes.

"Looks like he truly wants to help us," Minato sighed.

"Ye Liang, although I, Minato Namikaze, do not know you well, I will forever remember what you have done today. Thank you!" With that, he immediately knelt before Ye Liang.

This was a gesture of gratitude from the island nation. Anyone who sincerely wished to thank someone would do this.

"Damn it, then quit wasting time! Once the Nine-Tails fully enters little Naruto's body, it really won't be able to come out!" Ye Liang urged anxiously.

By now, the Nine-Tails was already halfway inside. Once it fully entered, the only way to extract it would be to kill Naruto!

"Alright, I'll cast the technique!" Seeing this, Kushina immediately rushed before Ye Liang. She quickly used blood to carve a curse seal onto his stomach, then formed hand seals.

Ye Liang remained very still.

He knew Kushina was using the curse seal to draw the Nine-Tails back. The Uzumaki Clan had originally been the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, and they were extremely skilled in Sealing Jutsu, so Ye Liang trusted Kushina.

Very soon, the Nine-Tails' soul that had flowed into Naruto's body stopped completely, then began to reverse! Strands of red soul slowly flowed out of Naruto's body and back into the curse seal on Ye Liang's stomach.

The curse seal slowly glowed.

Ye Liang felt a surge of comfort, along with an unprecedented itching sensation.

Soon, the transfer was complete.

"Is it over?"

Ye Liang sensed his body. An immense power lay dormant within his stomach, but he could not yet wield it.

Looks like I'll still need to fight the Nine-Tails before I can truly control its power. Ye Liang made his guess.

Kushina let out a breath of relief. She was drenched in fragrant sweat, her lips pale. She was clearly exhausted, yet she still forced herself to walk over to Minato.

"Am I going to die?" Minato murmured as he looked at Kushina.

The Death God's phantom was slowly fading away. Once it disappeared completely, Minato's soul would be taken away entirely.

"Yes."

Tears glimmered in Kushina's eyes.

They loved each other deeply, yet not long after their wedding, their next meeting was already a farewell!

"Ye Liang, could you come over for a moment?"

At that moment, Minato suddenly called out to Ye Liang.

"Huh?"

Ye Liang found it strange. You two are about to exchange your last words, so why are you calling me over now?

Still, he walked over.

"Ye Liang, I am about to leave, but my wife and son will have to live on alone. Could I ask you to take care of them?"

"What? Take care of your wife?" Ye Liang was stunned!

His mind raced, and he immediately understood what Minato meant!

He was entrusting his wife and son to him!

Ye Liang froze. He had only come to get a share of the Nine-Tails' Chakra, yet he had unexpectedly run into this legendary act of entrusting one's wife and son!

He looked at Kushina beside Minato. She lowered her head in silence, clearly acquiescing!

What the hell was this supposed to be?!

Ye Liang was helpless, but Minato was someone who had sacrificed his life for the greater good. He truly could not refuse him.

"Minato, don't worry! As long as I, Ye Liang, live another day in this world, your child will be my child, and your wife will be my wife! I will never let them suffer any harm!" Ye Liang solemnly reassured Minato.

"Then I can rest easy."

Minato replied faintly, then slowly looked toward Kushina.

"Ye Liang is a good man, and an upright one. I believe he will treat you well. Leaving you with him puts me at ease."

"Yes."

The two spoke softly, seemingly making their final arrangements.

Ye Liang slowly stepped away.

With a leap, he landed atop a large tree.

"Is that the Masked Man?"

The distant battle was still ongoing, but it was gradually reaching its end. The Third Hokage and numerous jonin had forced the Masked Man into a desperate situation. Without the Nine-Tails, the Masked Man's stamina was slowly failing.

But at that moment, a blue warrior phantom wielding twin swords instantly enveloped the Masked Man!

It was towering and enormous, like a mountain peak, with a pointed tengu mask on its head!

"Susanoo! You're from the Uchiha Clan!" the Third Hokage shouted. He recognized it at once! But the sword strike that followed sent all the jonin flying.

"Hmph, you know quite a lot. Then die together!"

The Masked Man controlled the gigantic warrior and slashed at Hiruzen Sarutobi with all his strength.

Its power was immense; even from afar, its howling could be heard!

The Third Hokage was exhausted and simply could not withstand such overwhelming strength. But just then, an ordinary shuriken flew before him.

Whoosh!

A golden figure appeared in an instant. He braced himself against Susanoo, gripping its greatsword with both hands!

"Flying Thunder God Technique? Is that Minato?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled, but when he saw who it was, he was immediately dumbfounded!

"It's Ye Liang! Why are you here?!"

"If I weren't here, wouldn't you be dead?" Ye Liang grinned at the Third Hokage.

The Masked Man's expression turned grave. Someone who could catch Susanoo barehanded was clearly no ordinary elite ninja.

With a slight exertion of force, Susanoo's greatsword once again hacked downward. But Ye Liang used the Body Flicker Technique, grabbed Hiruzen Sarutobi, and fled!

Bang!

The greatsword struck empty air!

"Body Flicker Technique? So it's you, brat. No wonder you looked familiar earlier. I still haven't settled the Kannabi Bridge matter with you, yet you actually dare show up!"

"Hehe, you already sent people to kill me. If I didn't come, wouldn't that be disrespecting you?" Ye Liang shot back.

Hearing their exchange, the Third Hokage was puzzled. From the sound of it, these two definitely knew each other!

"Ye Liang, this is...?"

"Uchiha Madara!"

"What?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked!

Then he saw the Masked Man remove the mask from his face.

An aged face, its skin dry and withered, yet his eyes shone brilliantly. Countless tomoe swirled within them, but with a single blink, they transformed into white rings.

"Those are the Rinnegan!"

Ye Liang was shocked.

In Uchiha Madara's original plan, he had intended to implant his Rinnegan into Nagato, then arrange for Obito to set things up from behind the scenes, and finally use Nagato's Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive himself after his death.

But Ye Liang had disrupted Obito's planned setup—the assassination plan at Kannabi Bridge.

And judging from the current situation, Uchiha Madara had not given his Rinnegan to Nagato. Instead, he had chosen to personally attack Konoha, which was actually an extremely risky move.