"He's not your jinchuriki? Shukaku, could it be that you…?"
Matatabi's voice carried unmistakable disbelief.
Not being sealed, yet still able to understand each other and become friends. To tailed beasts, that held an extraordinary meaning.
"Hmph. This great tanuki has already learned what true power really is. So? Want to know?"
Shukaku's slightly excited tone made Matatabi feel a stir deep inside.
"That's enough" Mitsuki said. "You can talk all you want on the way back to Konoha. For now, let's handle the important business."
He controlled a cloud of sand to wrap around Yugito, then formed seals with both hands and slapped his palm against the sand mass.
"Four Symbols Seal."
A high-level sealing formula originating from the Uzumaki clan surfaced on the surface, completely sealing all the chakra inside Yugito's body.
Unlike the version used to seal the Nine-Tails, this Four Symbols Seal left no channel at all for chakra circulation. It was locked down completely.
After dealing with Yugito, Mitsuki formed another sand cloud for himself and rode it upward.
Forming seals with both hands, he controlled the sand hands and processed the sealed A in the same manner.
"Bastard, what are you trying to do?" A had just been pulled out of the Sand Technique, and the moment he opened his mouth, it was nothing but foul language.
"So noisy." Mitsuki rubbed his ears. "I really don't get why Kumogakure values an idiot like you so much. Is the Raikage position hereditary or something?"
"What did you say? You bastard, don't you dare look down on the Raikage!" The moment Mitsuki questioned the legitimacy of the Raikage's succession, A erupted in furious rage.
Snap.
Mitsuki snapped his fingers, and a strand of sand rose up and sealed A's filthy mouth shut.
The world instantly became quiet.
...
At another frontal battlefield.
"Why are you over here?" Minato wiped his kunai across a Kumogakure ninja's throat and asked Shisui beside him.
According to the agreed plan, Shisui and Ruri were supposed to serve as Mitsuki's guards.
Their role was to prevent Mitsuki from being ambushed while reflecting Tailed Beast Balls.
No one had expected Kumogakure to roll out a new tactic this time, firing multiple Tailed Beast Balls simultaneously. Fortunately, Mitsuki still delivered and blocked them all.
Faced with Minato's question, Shisui scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Mitsuki told us to come eliminate the Kumogakure shinobi. He went to deal with their commander."
"I see."
A hint of worry rose in Minato's heart. He sped up his movements, planning to use Flying Thunder God to support Mitsuki once things wrapped up here.
Seeing that Minato did not pursue responsibility for him and Ruri, Shisui let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He was not very familiar with Minato's character, only having heard that he was upright, gentle, and bright in personality. Now it seemed those rumors were true.
If a shinobi like this became the Fourth Hokage, perhaps the Uchiha clan would finally be able to integrate smoothly into Konoha.
Whoosh.
A blade packed with highly condensed Lightning Release chakra shot toward Minato from behind.
Whoosh.
Space-time rippled slightly as Minato used Flying Thunder God to vanish instantly, evading the ferocious sneak attack.
With his excellent sensory ability, he immediately pinpointed the enemy's position and turned to look.
It was Kumogakure's perfect jinchuriki, Killer B.
"Yo, yo, village battlefield losing ground, pressure's heavy. Killer B enters, time to show my power. Baka yarou, kono yarou."
After his opening assault failed, Killer B realized that Kumogakure was likely finished this time. Konoha had come fully prepared.
Thinking of the shinobi world rumors about Konoha's Gale brutal nature, he could not help worrying about his big brother's safety.
So after recovering his chakra, he tossed aside A's order forbidding him from joining the battle and rushed straight to this battlefield.
He did not find his brother, but instead ran into Konoha's overall commander, Minato.
Picking up the ninja blade he had just thrown, Killer B asked in a rap-filled tone,"Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze , have you seen my big brother? Baka yarou, kono yarou."
Facing Killer B's question, Minato took out two kunai and answered seriously.
"Sorry. I won't tell you where your brother is, and I also won't allow you to go look for him."
With words failing, Killer B's anxiety only grew heavier.
Only Minato stood here on the battlefield. That meant his brother was currently fighting Shimizu Mitsuki.
That was terrifying.
That Konoha's Gale was a cold-blooded monster who could blow up an entire hidden village at the slightest disagreement. His brother was fighting someone like that right now.
Thinking of that image, Killer B shuddered and immediately sprinted toward the other side of the battlefield.
But Minato had no intention of letting him interfere with Mitsuki's fight.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
A Flying Thunder God kunai infused with Wind Release chakra was thrown out. In an instant, one became thousands, raining down like artillery shells and enveloping Killer B within the attack range.
"Don't stop me!" Killer B shouted as he spun around and instantly entered Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak mode.
Eight crimson chakra tails lashed out, deflecting all the incoming shuriken shadow clones.
Explosions rang out one after another, blasting countless craters into the surrounding ground.
Within the smoke, Shisui formed seals with both hands and used his signature Body Flicker Technique, splitting into more than a dozen afterimages that attacked Killer B from multiple angles.
Killer B continued to swing his eight tails in an impenetrable defense, completely preventing Shisui from closing in.
However, in the next instant, Killer B suddenly felt himself dragged into a pitch-black space, where only a pair of scarlet Sharingan eyes slowly rotated.
Taking advantage of this moment, several of Shisui's clones lunged forward with ninja blades, stabbing toward Killer B's body.
"B, it's genjutsu!"
With the Eight-Tails's warning, Killer B instantly snapped awake and used his tails to force back all the approaching Shisui clones once more.
But Shisui was not his only enemy.
Relying on his unmatched reaction speed, Minato seized the brief fraction of a second between Killer B being pulled into the genjutsu and breaking free. He threw a Flying Thunder God kunai straight at Killer B's head.
At the same time, his right hand condensed a Rasengan and charged directly at Killer B from the front.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Killer B reacted with extreme speed. While controlling his tails to repel Shisui's clones, he tilted his head, letting the sharp Flying Thunder God kunai graze past his cheek.
Then he positioned his tails in front of him as a shield. As long as Minato dared to press in, he could instantly use the Tailed Beast Cloak to restrain him.
However, at the very moment Minato's Rasengan was about to collide with Killer B's defense, space rippled.
Whoosh.
Minato suddenly appeared behind Killer B. His left hand grabbed the Flying Thunder God kunai that Killer B had dodged, while his right hand slammed a Rasengan into Killer B's back.
"This is Flying Thunder God: Second Step!"
Boom.
The Rasengan detonated violently against Killer B's back, the tremendous impact force collapsing even the solid rock ground beneath them.