Even if it was still just a prototype, Kazuyama had already given Minato a huge burst of inspiration.
Over the following days, Minato continued refining and adjusting the technique, improving it bit by bit.
Unfortunately, one day, disaster struck first.
Outside the village, Kushina had completely lost control. The crimson chakra of the Nine-Tails surged around her, raging violently in front of Minato Namikaze.
"Damn it! I can't believe we're too late!"
"Kushina, snap out of it! Don't let the Nine-Tails' chakra take over!"
Rasengan's development had been slower than expected, and the excess chakra leaking from Kushina's body hadn't been burned off in time. The result—her seal weakened, and the Nine-Tails' chakra broke loose.
Luckily, this happened outside the village. Otherwise, half of Konoha might already be rubble.
Kushina had entered her Tailed Beast Cloak state. Her entire body was enveloped in a red chakra shroud, three tails whipping through the air behind her.
Back in the village, Kazuyama—who was in the middle of teaching a class—sensed something and froze in shock.
"Chōmei? I didn't misread that, right?"
"No, that's definitely the Nine-Tails' chakra. Looks like it's rampaging."
Kazuyama ignored the students completely and disappeared with a flash of Flying Thunder God.
His sudden vanishing act left the classroom in stunned silence. The students—who had been enjoying his stories... ahem, lessons—were left glancing at each other in confusion.
"Tsk, gotta admit, the Nine-Tails really is something else. That chakra's terrifying. Chōmei, we don't even come close."
Feeling the thick, oppressive malice in the air, Kazuyama smacked his lips. Even he felt a chill.
"Ugh, that damn fox. Still just as infuriating after all these years."
"What now, Kazuyama? You planning to stop her?"
Kazuyama nodded, pressing his palms together.
His confinement had already been lifted—or rather, ANBU just couldn't do anything about him.
If he wanted to disappear, no one could find him. And lately, all he'd been doing was loafing around, enjoying life. Even Danzō had started getting suspicious.
Now that he was free to move, nothing was stopping him.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Poof!
A clone appeared to continue teaching while the real Kazuyama vanished, racing toward the direction of the rampage.
When he arrived outside the village, the scene that greeted him left him speechless.
Kushina, halfway transformed, was beating Minato like a fly—relentlessly and without mercy.
Good thing Minato was spamming Flying Thunder God like a maniac, or he'd have been flattened into a paper doll by now.
"Yo, Minato. Need a hand?"
"Huh? Kazuyama? What are you doing here?"
"Never mind that. What's more important is this mess in front of you."
Kazuyama cracked his neck and loosened his shoulders.
Facing a rampaging Kushina wasn't just a problem—Chōmei inside him was actually getting fired up too.
"Kazuyama, I'm holding my chakra output to the safest level. Go ahead and give that fox a proper beating."
"That stinking furball's been strutting around long enough. Time for a lesson."
Kazuyama grinned at Chōmei's words. Truth was, he didn't mind settling a few old scores either.
Kushina had bullied him plenty back in the day.
"Minato, back up a bit. I'm going in!"
Kazuyama wasn't the least bit worried about handling a half-transformed Kushina.
With a flick, he threw a kunai laced with his formula—and just like that, his performance began.
"Water Release: Fang Cage."
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The attack began with a feint—three swirling water tornadoes surged in from different directions.
At the same time, Kazuyama Gekkō opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of what felt like ancient, oceanic seawater—an overwhelming flood crashing across the battlefield.
Minato, already crouched off to the side and catching his breath, watched the display with a rare flicker of seriousness in his eyes. He knew Kazuyama had grown far stronger than before, but the sheer scale of this jutsu still left him stunned.
No wonder this was the guy who came up with that trick to warp Tailed Beasts off the battlefield. The chakra volume alone was jaw-dropping.
Despite the deluge, Kushina remained untouched—her Tailed Beast Cloak burned hot enough to instantly vaporize the water as it got near. Steam exploded into the air, rising in thick waves.
Exactly what Kazuyama wanted.
As a fellow Jinchūriki, he knew full well how volatile and scalding the Nine-Tails' chakra could be. That smoke was the perfect way to block Minato's vision.
"Rasengan..."
Kazuyama formed the spinning sphere of chakra with practiced ease, a wicked grin curling on his lips.
Then—bam—he flickered forward with the Flying Thunder God Technique, appearing right in front of Kushina before she had a chance to react.
And drove the Rasengan straight into her abdomen.
"ROAR!"
Kushina let out a furious roar as the attack landed.
Ordinary strikes were useless against someone cloaked in Tailed Beast chakra—the intense heat alone made it nearly impossible to get close. But Rasengan was no ordinary jutsu.
With its spiraling, multidirectional compression, Rasengan generated a dense, high-speed chakra sphere capable of delivering sustained, drilling force.
The blast launched Kushina more than ten meters, her feet tearing up waves as she skidded across the water. The cloak of chakra around her midsection rippled and tore—briefly punctured.
But the Tailed Beast's chakra regenerated fast. A wound like that was far from enough to stop her.
...
"Hehehehehe..."
A sinister laugh echoed across the water.
Hovering above the surface, Kazuyama continued his assault, Rasengan after Rasengan hammering Kushina like chakra was free.
Each blow chipped away at the rampaging cloak, suppressing the Nine-Tails' influence bit by bit.
[Ding! Host has taken advantage of Kushina's berserk state to vent years of pent-up frustration. That felt good, didn't it? This system is deeply satisfied. Host, you truly are someone who always returns the favor.
Special Reward: Tailed Beast synchronization chakra reduced by 10%.]
As the steam began to thin, Kazuyama activated Flying Thunder God again and retreated from Kushina's position, reappearing at Minato's side with a serious expression.
"Minato, there's only one way to stop her now."
"We knock her out—cold."
Minato glanced into the dissipating smoke, where Kushina was still thrashing and howling. Pain flickered in his eyes—but he knew Kazuyama was right. It was the only way to break the rampage.
"Alright. Let's do it together. No holding back—knock her out fast."
"Good. Just follow my lead."
Without missing a beat, Kazuyama reached into his robe and pulled out a handful of explosive tags.
Minato's eyes widened.