Tsunade had anticipated Naruto's refusal. After all, the Naruto of the past—just a kid—couldn't have done what the young Naruto could now: watch innocent people die tragically. So, she didn't get angry, and instead kept her eyes on the battlefield, silent.
Meanwhile, on the western wall of Konoha, a short old man and a bandage-wrapped man floated high in the air. Hands clasped before their chests, cone-shaped transparent barriers formed between their palms. Below, Kurama, Minato, Kushina, Haku, Hidan, and the others were in their sights.
"Dust Release: Particle Style!"
"Dust Release: Particle Style!"
Whoosh—!!!
Two transparent beams of light, carrying terrifying destructive power, descended.
This was a Kekkei Tota—a fusion of fire, wind, and earth nature transformations: a terrifying ninjutsu capable of disintegrating a target into atoms.
"Kurama, I'll leave this to you!"
Seeing the Dust Release: Particle Style descending, Minato instantly conjured his Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak and flashed back and forth using the Flying Thunder God Technique. In a blink, he pulled everyone around him out of the technique's range.
Kurama used its massive fox tail to shield the others, then opened its blood-red maw, condensing a black-and-red Tailed Beast Ball aimed at the transparent pillar of light.
"Hmph! Just ninjutsu? One Tailed Beast Ball from me will disintegrate it!"
If one wasn't enough, two would do. That was Kurama's fighting style—treating the Tailed Beast Ball like a basic attack.
Whoosh!!!
The black-and-red Tailed Beast Ball sliced through the air, colliding with the Dust Release: Particle Style pillar mid-air. The next moment, a blinding white light erupted from the sky. A terrifying shockwave swept across the area, followed by a deafening explosion.
A towering flame, originating from the impact point, rapidly spread toward Ōnoki in the sky.
BOOM!!!
"What a powerful Tailed Beast Ball!"
Seeing that the explosion not only negated his Dust Release: Particle Style but also sent residual force his way, Ōnoki activated the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique, flying rapidly to dodge the spreading flames.
"I didn't expect the Nine-Tails to be so much stronger than the Four-Tails and Five-Tails!"
Iwagakure had previously hosted the Four-Tails and Five-Tails jinchuriki, so Ōnoki had witnessed their power. It wasn't weak, but he could at least completely disintegrate their Tailed Beast Balls with a single Dust Release: Particle Style. He thought the Nine-Tails, while strong, wouldn't be this powerful. But now, its Tailed Beast Ball was larger and more explosive than his own technique.
"No wonder Hashirama Senju was so generous back then, sharing the other Tailed Beasts with us. Turns out the Nine-Tails is this strong!"
Just based on this power and the speed at which the Tailed Beast Ball formed, Ōnoki felt that the Nine-Tails could easily handle two of them and even defeat their Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
"Time waits for no man, Ōnoki. Just one Dust Release: Particle Style, and you're already out of breath."
The voice of the Impure World Reincarnation Second Tsuchikage, Mu, rang out beside him. Panting, Ōnoki glanced at him.
"I don't have your dead body, Sensei. Of course I'll feel tired, but it's only slight. If we really wanted to continue, I could unleash a dozen more!"
Just as they spoke, another Tailed Beast Ball shot out from the smoke below.
"A second one already?"
The Second Tsuchikage and Ōnoki dodged mid-air. They had assumed Kurama, like other Tailed Beasts, would need a recovery period after firing, and hadn't expected it to be so overpowered, firing consecutively!
Below, Kurama continuously condensed Tailed Beast Balls in its mouth, firing at the dark figures above the smoke. Meanwhile, it swept away Haku, Karin, and the others with its tail.
"I'll hold these two off. You all go and wipe out those Hidden Stone ninjas with Minato and the others. This is the first mission that brat Menma gave me. I absolutely won't let anyone unrelated interfere with his revenge!"
Kurama had originally thought Menma would imprison it on an island in the Land of Waves as a power source for Tailed Beast chakra. But unexpectedly, Menma actually let it out to complete the mission, without any concern that it would escape.
This feeling of being trusted was incredibly satisfying for Kurama. It had freedom, was trusted, respected by the ninjas, and even received wages and offerings. To be honest, Kurama felt that even if Menma wanted to… wouldn't complain. After all, even the Sage of Six Paths hadn't given it such treatment!
"I understand, Lord Kurama!"
Haku's gentle voice rang out, and then he led Karin and a group of Four Star Village ninjas away.
"Hehehe, Lord Kurama~"
Feeling the respect of these ninjas, Kurama's fox face split into a wide grin. The Tailed Beast Balls in its mouth condensed even faster, firing continuously like a machine gun. The emotions it received were no longer hatred and fear— how wonderful!
Above the sky:
"Damn it, is Kurama's chakra inexhaustible?!"
Ōnoki and the Second Tsuchikage dodged left and right like they were playing dodgeball. They also had to guard against the Tailed Beast Balls exploding mid-air, affected by the energy and gusts of wind.
The Second Tsuchikage looked down and said, "Ōnoki, the situation down below is dire. That blond brat knows the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique."
"That's Minato Namikaze." Ōnoki's face darkened as he rapidly formed hand seals. "Master, I'll create a clone to alleviate the pressure below, then I'll act as bait. You approach the Nine-Tails and subdue it."
As he spoke, six rocks split from around his body, transforming into his likeness and flying rapidly downward.
Earth Release: Rock Clone Technique!
"Alright, but the damage below is quite severe. I'll send a clone to help. Anyway, we won't need Dust Release: Particle Style to capture the Nine-Tails alive."
As the Second Tsuchikage spoke, his body rapidly split into two identical bodies. Then, like chameleons, the two bodies blended completely into their surroundings, becoming undetectable!
This was the Split Technique and Hiding in Stone Technique. The two split bodies were both solid, but their chakra was divided, so they couldn't use Dust Release: Particle Style. The Hiding in Stone Technique was a powerful stealth ninjutsu, difficult even for a Kage-level sensory expert to detect!
Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails below noticed someone disappearing from the sky.
"Disappeared. Did they go to Minato's side?"
Kurama glanced at Minato, who was slaughtering Hidden Stone ninjas in the distance, then ignored him. "Never mind, with one less person, we only need to target one more."
"Prepare to receive my unique violent aesthetics! Chakra Cloak, Infinite Tailed Beast Bombs!"
With a shout, Kurama's nine tails rose straight up, pointing toward the sky. Black-and-red Tailed Beast Balls rapidly condensed. Including its gaping maw, a total of ten Tailed Beast Balls aimed at the sky, targeting Ōnoki from all sides!
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