After placing newborn Naruto in a safe spot, Minato Namikaze rushed back to the battlefield—only to see Yosuke locked in fierce combat with Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru…"
Minato's expression darkened. The appearance of an S-rank rogue like Orochimaru could only mean trouble.
But what Minato couldn't understand was why Yosuke was here as well—and fighting Orochimaru of all people.
This was Yosuke's first true battle against a Kage-level opponent.
Orochimaru's attacks posed little threat to Yosuke, but the problem was Orochimaru's endless survival tricks. Every time Yosuke was about to land a killing blow, Orochimaru would slip away in the briefest opening.
For the moment, Yosuke couldn't finish him.
"Minato! Hurry to Kushina's side! I can feel the Nine-Tails inside her breaking through the seal—its malicious chakra is filling the air!"
Yosuke didn't have time to explain. He urged Minato to stop the Nine-Tails immediately.
A strange premonition gnawed at Yosuke. He sensed that the Priest Master was lurking somewhere, watching him. At Yosuke's level, that kind of bodily intuition was never baseless.
Minato also sensed Kushina's seal failing. This was not the time for questions.
He nodded. "I'll leave things here to you, Yosuke-san!"
Hidden in the shadows, the Priest Master's eyes gleamed with greed.
Black Zetsu beside him assumed the expression was because Minato had appeared.
"Minato Namikaze has quite the body, doesn't he? Don't worry—you'll have it soon," Zetsu said.
But the Priest Master's greedy gaze wasn't directed at Minato.
"No. Compared to Minato, I've found a body far more suitable for me."
Zetsu asked in confusion, "Who?"
"Orochimaru."
Meanwhile, by Kushina's side—
The sealing formula on Kushina's abdomen had been completely destroyed. A cloak of red chakra wrapped around her entire body.
"All right… come out, Nine-Tails."
With a low command from the masked man, the red chakra around Kushina took the form of a fox's head, then shot skyward and materialized into the Nine-Tails itself.
As the Nine-Tails broke free, its roar echoed across the entire Land of Fire.
The masked man used his Sharingan to control it.
"Good. Now head toward Konoha."
"Stop…"
With the Nine-Tails forcibly extracted, Kushina's life force was rapidly fading. She collapsed weakly, but still tried to drag herself up to stop the masked man.
"The Uzumaki really are something… Even with a tailed beast ripped out, you still won't die right away. Since you were the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, I'll have it kill you first."
Under the masked man's control, the Nine-Tails raised its enormous hand to crush the helpless Kushina.
At the last possible moment, Minato arrived and whisked her away.
Seeing Minato appear, the masked man said calmly, "As expected of the Yellow Flash. But you're already too late."
Cradled in Minato's arms, Kushina asked weakly, "Naruto… is Naruto safe…?"
"Yes, he's safe. He's in a secure place right now."
"That's… good…"
Kushina breathed a sigh of relief, then urged Minato, "You must hurry… stop that man and the Nine-Tails… they're going to destroy Konoha…"
For the first time, Minato—usually so gentle—wore a terrifying expression filled with killing intent. He used the Flying Thunder God to teleport Kushina away.
Minato brought her to where Naruto was.
"All right. I'll handle the rest—stay here with Naruto."
Holding Naruto in her arms, Kushina whispered, "Naruto…"
Minato looked at his wife and child, his fists clenched tight.
"Kushina… thank you. I'll be back soon."
Donning his Hokage cloak, Minato declared, "I'm going!"
Kushina's life was slipping away—Minato had to reseal the Nine-Tails inside her as soon as possible.
As the Nine-Tails approached Konoha, everyone felt an indescribable suffocating pressure.
Orochimaru's pale face twisted with a sickly smile.
"Hahaha… so the Nine-Tails has been released after all. By the end of tonight, Konoha will be no more!"
Yosuke had already spotted the massive creature in the distance. Even he felt a shiver from its overwhelming aura.
He could no longer afford to look for the Priest Master. He had to finish Orochimaru now and go help Minato stop the Nine-Tails.
After all—Yosuke's own friends, Asuma, Hayate, and his student Uchiha Itachi, were still in Konoha.
Yosuke dropped all attempts at concealing himself. His eyes sharpened, fixing on Orochimaru.
Orochimaru licked the Kusanagi blade with his tongue.
"Heh… such frightening eyes. But you're not even from Konoha, are you? Why protect it?"
"I'm not protecting Konoha. I'm protecting my friends. My friends are defending Konoha—so I want to protect them."
A terrifying aura surged from Yosuke's body.
Orochimaru felt the change and grew wary.
During their battle he had been forced into pure defense, but his ironclad survival ability let him hold out.
But now, the pressure Yosuke released made Orochimaru feel as if he were facing that person.
The one he had met after receiving a mysterious invitation from the Akatsuki—the wielder of the Rinnegan: Pain.
By now, Orochimaru was already a member of the Akatsuki.
He had followed the letter's instructions, gone to meet Pain, pretended to lose to Sasori, and then attempted to seize the Rinnegan by shedding his body and striking like a snake.
But Pain had easily repelled him with a Shinra Tensei.
Afterward, Orochimaru had volunteered to join the Akatsuki, and Pain accepted.
Orochimaru also recognized Pain as one of the war orphans Jiraiya had once taken in at Amegakure.
Yet the pressure Yosuke radiated now surpassed even Pain's.
Yosuke's hair turned the color of fresh blood. Wings of blood sprouted from his back, and streams of flowing blood swirled around him.
Seeing this form, Orochimaru frowned deeply.
"A kekkei genkai? No… this isn't a kekkei genkai. What is this form?"
With all his expertise in bloodline limits, Orochimaru could tell at a glance that this was something else entirely.
His desire for the unknown outweighed his earlier urge to retreat—now he wanted to uncover the secret behind Yosuke's transformation.
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