Uzumaki Kushina fought desperately to evade Jinghang's assault, but as a mere Chunin, her agility meant nothing against a Kage-level powerhouse. Her Adamantine Sealing Chains could bind Tailed Beasts into submission, but they were utterly useless against someone who'd mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. Within a single exchange, iron sand punched clean through her shoulder. If Minato hadn't flickered in to shove her aside, that projectile would have pierced straight through her heart.
Minato's eyes blazed with murderous rage, his handsome features twisted into a mask of fury.
"What! Don't remember my warning from last time?"
Jinghang's voice dripped with cold provocation.
"Keep glaring at me like that, and I'll rip those eyes out to use as stepping stones!"
Minato's expression went deadly calm. He drew a tri-pronged kunai and vanished from Jinghang's sight in an instant. One heartbeat later, he materialized at Jinghang's flank, using his shoulder to block the Kazekage's vision while driving the blade toward his heart from beneath his armpit.
Clever approach—concealed, lethal, with an easy escape route. But against Jinghang, such tactics were meaningless.
The next breath brought only empty air against Minato's kunai. Jinghang had no interest in engaging the Yellow Flash directly—his target remained crystal clear: Uzumaki Kushina.
For the first time in his career, Minato found himself completely outmaneuvered by such shameless tactics. He'd built his reputation on lightning-fast strikes and unpredictable attacks that left enemies trembling in terror. His flash-step speed had made him invincible on countless battlefields.
But this man—every encounter felt like kicking solid steel. No matter how they clashed, Minato couldn't gain even the smallest advantage.
Speed? Jinghang matched him effortlessly. Attack power? The Kazekage clearly surpassed him. Stamina? This bastard was like a bottomless well—inexhaustible. And now he was directly targeting Minato's most precious person.
Just as iron sand prepared to skewer Kushina again, Minato flickered to her side, wrapped his arm around her waist, and vanished—leaving Jinghang's attack to strike empty ground.
"Jinghang! You call yourself a Kage—what kind of honor is there in attacking a woman?! If you have any courage, face me!"
Minato's roar echoed across the battlefield.
Jinghang folded his arms and flashed a wicked grin.
"I just love watching you rage helplessly while being completely powerless to stop me. Oh!" His expression brightened with mock concern. "Forgot to mention—feeling any lung pain yet?"
He thrust his hand forward with theatrical flair.
"Magnet Release: Ink Mist Technique!"
Agony exploded through Minato's chest. His legs buckled, sending him crashing to his knees as Kushina tumbled from his arms.
"Minato! What's wrong?! Are you hurt?!"
Kushina frantically supported his back, tears streaming down her face as violent coughing wracked his frame. Blood began speckling his lips.
"Pity." Jinghang's tone carried mock sympathy. "You didn't inhale enough iron powder to kill you outright. But with those damaged lungs, you'll be coughing for the rest of your miserable life. How tragic."
His laugh was pure malice. Before the battle, he'd laced his iron sand with microscopic metal particles, hoping for exactly this opportunity. The results exceeded expectations.
Then Kushina rose slowly to her feet. Her crimson hair whipped without wind, and chakra began radiating from her form in visible waves.
Finally. Jinghang's eyebrow arched with interest.
Kushina wiped away her tears, blood-red eyes burning with inhuman hatred as she fixed her gaze on him.
"You monster!"
Jinghang shrugged with casual indifference.
"Never claimed to be an angel. But monster? That title belongs to your houseguest."
Kushina's features began warping, her eyes blazing with otherworldly crimson light. Red chakra bubbled around her expanding form as visible tails materialized behind her.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
The voice that emerged was no longer Kushina's—deep, bestial, dripping with primal malevolence.
"Come on then, you mangy fox!"
Jinghang showed zero intimidation. His hands came together, instantly channeling Sage chakra through his system. Blue-gold energy erupted around him as he assumed his "Warrior Demon" form—not exactly divine, but radiating overwhelming presence.
Kushina exploded into motion. One instant she stood distant, the next she was driving claws toward his throat. Jinghang responded without hesitation—a devastating Bajiquan heart-strike caught her center mass, launching her backward through the air.
Before she could recover, he pressed his advantage, whipping his leg down toward her ribs like a sledgehammer.
The impact drew a bestial roar from her throat. Additional limbs sprouted from her back, razor claws slashing toward his neck.
Jinghang flickered away with Flying Thunder God—no point in trading unnecessary damage.
Kushina landed on all fours like a predator, her form now several times larger, six tails lashing behind her with hypnotic menace.
Undaunted, Jinghang began forming his signature technique. Chakra condensed and spun, gradually taking the shape of a basketball-sized Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
The half-transformed Kushina opened her massive jaws. Chakra gathered in impossible density, compressing into a sphere of absolute darkness. She swallowed the orb whole, then unleashed it as a devastating shockwave that tore across the battlefield!
Without hesitation, Jinghang hurled his completed technique. The two energies collided in spectacular fashion—compressed chakra detonated like thunder, raising a dust storm that blotted out the moon.
Minato's coughing subsided enough for him to search desperately through the settling debris, one hand pressed to his damaged chest.
When visibility returned, his blood ran cold.
No trace of Kushina remained—only the Nine-Tailed Fox, massive as a mountain range, dominated the battlefield.
"Well, well! Not easy at all. After thirty-plus years, I finally get to meet you properly, Kurama!"
"Hmm?"
The Nine-Tails' ears twitched with surprise. That name—who knew that name? His true name, not the human designation?
Scanning the area, he spotted a tiny blue-gold figure standing near his forepaws, apparently studying him with casual interest.
"Insignificant human!"
Sudden, inexplicable revulsion flooded the Nine-Tails' consciousness. How dare this ant presume to judge me?
He raised one massive claw to crush the presumptuous speck.
The figure vanished.
Kurama's head whipped around, searching, until a cocky voice drifted down from above.
"Come on, mangy fox. Let's take this conversation somewhere more private."
"POOF!"
Enormous white smoke erupted from the ground, and both Jinghang and the Nine-Tails disappeared entirely.
"KUSHINA!"
Minato's anguished cry tore across the empty battlefield before dissolving into violent coughing. He forced himself to focus, pushing through the pain.
Another "POOF!" and he too vanished from the scene.
At that exact moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen led Konoha's main army to the gates of the Wind-Cloud Allied Forces' encampment.
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