"Ren? You mean Ren Uchiha?!"
In the hospital room, Kushina froze upon hearing Minato's exclamation. Her heart tightened instantly, as if a cold snake had slithered up her spine. The face of that earnest, somewhat silly boy flashed before her eyes.
In Konoha, aside from Minato, he was the only person who had ever willingly risked his life to save her.
His decisiveness when facing the rampaging Nine-Tails, the way his arm was crushed as he threw that colossal sword, and the cool combination technique they had used to suppress the Fox...
Every scene was etched deep into her soul. For a Jinchūriki whose life was defined by a pale, monotonous existence of hiding under an alias, Ren had provided a splash of rainbow-like color.
She truly viewed him as her younger brother.
"Yes. The Flying Raijin Kunai I gave him has been triggered!" Minato's voice was heavy with gravity. He grabbed the kunai from the drawer and threw off the covers. He snatched his blue undershirt and green Flak Jacket from the wall.
"There's no time to hesitate. I have to go to him now! Kushina, I'll have to leave it to you to explain things to the Third Hokage!"
"Wait!"
Kushina's hand shot out, grabbing Minato's shoulder. With a slight surge of strength, she pinned him firmly back onto the hospital bed.
"Kushina, I must—"
Minato struggled for a moment, only to find in shock that Kushina's grip was incredibly powerful. It felt like ten bulls were pressing down on him, making it impossible to break free.
"Minato!" Kushina shouted, her voice sharp. A flicker of anxiety crossed her brow as she stared into his eyes. "Listen, you're not the only one who cares about that kid! I'm worried about him too!"
"But if Ren is in a situation where he needs to call for help, you—in your current state—won't be able to help him much!"
Kushina's gaze fell to Minato's torso. Layers of bandages were wrapped around his waist, and due to his sudden movements, fresh blood had already begun to seep through. Tsunade had stated he needed three months to recover; after only a month and a half, he was far from healed.
Faced with this cold reality, Minato went silent for a moment before his gaze hardened with resolve. "I promised him. I won't be late again!"
"I know!" Kushina nodded. "That's why I'm keeping you here, and..."
She closed her eyes. A pale red chakra began to surge around her, forming a Tailed Beast Cloak that fluttered behind her—a unique, stylish cloak reminiscent of a long trench coat.
"Thanks to you and Ren, I can finally do this. It's not perfect yet, but for this one time, it should be enough!"
She reached out and took Minato's hand, lacing her fingers with his. She channeled that chakra—infused with her love and willpower—into him. Through their joined palms, the link was established, and a pale red Tailed Beast Cloak draped over Minato as well.
Kushina opened her eyes, her expression solemn. "Take my share with you. Bring that idiot kid back!"
Looking at Kushina, who radiated such captivating power in this state, Minato's lips curled into a gentle smile. He squinted his eyes softly.
"I will. I promise!"
He pulled on his shirt, donned his vest, and gripped the kunai. His gaze became razor-sharp. Behind him, through the window, the Hokage Rock stood tall; his head happened to align perfectly with the vacant space for the fourth face.
In the next instant, the fastest legend of the Shinobi world, carrying both a mission and a trust, leapt out of the window into the twilight.
He became a streak of gold and crimson light, racing toward the most dangerous battlefield of the Great War.
Outside the Valley of Hell, near the border of the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost.
In front of a massive Kumogakure army that stretched as far as the eye could see, a young white-haired girl named Mabui held a clipboard full of documents. She waited nervously for the report from Motoi, a square-faced sensor ninja.
"It's appeared! The chakra signatures of Killer B and the Two-Tails!"
"They've reached the northern side of the Valley of Hell successfully. According to plan, they've launched the Tailed Beast Bombs!"
Mabui took a deep breath. "Quickly, check if they are following the strategy!"
Motoi didn't dare delay. He maintained his sensory seal and gave a real-time report. "No issues! Killer B has also completed his Tailed Beast Transformation. The second Tailed Beast Bomb has been launched as planned!"
Mabui patted her chest, exhaling in relief. "Good. That's half the plan successful. Next, we determine the enemy's casualties and arrange the next volley. Finally, we recover the Tailed Beasts."
"I hope this round wipes out all those dangerous Uchiha 'red-eyes'."
The strategy Mabui spoke of was a precise tactical allocation based on the intel Killer B had gathered during his last skirmish.
Step 1: Notify the Chinoike clan—who had formed a brotherhood pact with the Raikage's son—to initiate the riot.
Step 2: Deploy the two Jinchūriki from the north to perform full transformations and launch long-range Tailed Beast Bombs to annihilate the Konoha camp.
Step 3: Change positions after every shot, maintaining distance to destroy the enemy's vitality from afar.
This was because B had brought back a vital piece of information: Konoha's "second Jinchūriki," Ren Uchiha, possessed a terrifying ability to cause massive damage to Tailed Beasts at close range. To avoid unnecessary losses, they would fight from a distance. Finally, elite squads would move in to recover the Tailed Beasts and wipe out any survivors.
To ensure the subsequent surprise attack on the Land of Fire succeeded, they would leave no prisoners.
The "recovery" step was mainly for Yugito and the Two-Tails, as she was still young and hadn't achieved perfect control. Mabui secretly felt that since Kumo had the Turtle Island to train perfect hosts, Yugito's failure to harmonize was simply because... cats were just very difficult to please.
As these thoughts flickered through her mind, Motoi's reporting continued.
"The plan is a success! Both Tailed Beast Bombs are homing in precisely on the Konoha camp! They're finished!"
A smile began to spread across Motoi's face. But in the next second, the smile froze.
"What is that?!"
Motoi's eyes snapped open in shock as he stared toward the southern side of the valley. His voice was filled with disbelief. "Someone... someone is charging toward the Tailed Beast Bombs!"
Mabui's expression changed instantly. "What? What's happening?!"
"Damn it!" Motoi shuddered, swallowing hard. "That guy... he just crushed both Tailed Beast Bombs with one hand!!"
"Oh no! He's charging straight for the Two-Tails!"
After sensing for a few more moments, Motoi fell silent. A long time passed before he spoke, stuttering:
"The... the Two-Tails... it... it's gone berserk!"
Mabui felt as if she were listening to a bizarre myth. Her plans and her thoughts were a tangled mess. In her daze, she subconsciously brought her hands together, index and middle fingers raised.
She formed the Ram seal.
It was the starting seal for the Secret Technique: Heavenly Transfer.
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