Bloodied tears streaked down Anya's face. The blades within her eyes began to spin, and time around Minato slowly shifted. The claws previously lodged inside his body began to withdraw, inch by inch.
"L-Little Anya… can you really save him? Please, save Minato." This was the first time Little Pepper had ever called Anya by name.
Anya clenched her teeth and uttered three words: "I know."
After responding to Kushina, Anya flooded her eyes with chakra recklessly, as if it were unlimited. Deep within her mind, a furious roar erupted: "Time, reverse yourself. Spin already...!"
However, both Minato and Little Pepper possessed Kage-level chakra, and combined with the Nine-Tails, whose chakra far surpassed even the Kage level, the collision of these three energies created a time rule far beyond Anya's limits.
"Puh-puh-puh…"
She spat out several mouthfuls of blood, her body reaching the peak of weakness. Her mind throbbed with unbearable pain.
Her face twisted in agony, the veins on her forehead bulging prominently like jagged cracks in cracked earth. Droplets of cold sweat trickled down from her forehead.
One second. Two seconds. Time began to reverse. Everyone's hearts raced in suspense. Only Minato weakly murmured, "There's no need, Anya. I've already decided..."
"Shut up. You don't get to die yet. It's just the Nine-Tails. Is it really worth this?" Anya gritted through the pain, her entire body icy cold. Spitting the words through clenched teeth, her heart pounded twice before another gush of blood erupted from her mouth. The blades within her eyes stopped spinning, their blood-red hue turning pitch-black. Her once vivid eyes became sluggish, and soon, all color vanished, replaced entirely by darkness.
The side effects of the Mangekyo Sharingan had fully erupted due to Anya's overuse—she had gone blind.
"Your eyes?" Both Minato and Kushina simultaneously noticed the abnormality.
"It's fine. I still have my soul." Anya had long accepted this fate. Saving them was what mattered most now.
[Dark Soul], now detached from her body, had already seen the situation clearly. Since the Mangekyo's Reversal had failed, there was only one alternative left.
"Little Pepper, there's still another way. I need you to believe me completely."
Kushina's hope reignited as she responded, "Do it."
"It's simple. Just exchange your soul for his."
Indeed, Anya intended to exploit an exploit. The principle behind the Dead Demon Consuming Seal [Shiki Fujin] was a one-for-one trade. Theoretically, any soul would suffice. Since Kushina was already dying anyway, why not...
"Fine." Kushina immediately and decisively agreed.
Minato still didn't understand Anya's plan. Confused, he asked, "What are you planning to do?"
Anya didn't have time to explain and simply said, "Don't ask. Take advantage of the fact that I'm still in control of the Nine-Tails, and do what you must."
Though confused, Minato realized that at this point, this was the only way.
"Summoning Jutsu."
A toad was summoned into the battlefield. Upon seeing the Nine-Tails, it shrieked in terror, mistakenly thinking Minato had summoned it to fight the beast.
Minato turned to Gerotora and said, "Gerotora, I'm entrusting you with the key to this sealing technique. Please make sure Jiraiya-sensei keeps it safe afterward."
After completing the scroll seal, Gerotora said, "I've received the key. Then I'll take my leave first."
As the summoned creature vanished, Minato relaxed completely.
Meanwhile, Anya's Division Technique entered Little Pepper's body. With her full cooperation, the Spirit Control Technique was successfully carried out.
Now, it was time to exchange souls with the Shinigami.
Dark energy surged from Anya's body, and the immense Dark Soul quickly engulfed the surrounding area. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been watching from a distance, lost sight of the three figures.
This scene looked eerily similar to what happened when Anya learned of White Fang's death.
What exactly is he trying to do? Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep confusion.
Minato had almost no chakra left after being injured. Fortunately, the first stage of the seal had already been completed, and it was time to proceed to the next step.
[Eight Trigrams Seal!]
Anya lifted Kushina's soul into midair. As the soul power increased, the Dark Soul also expanded in size. From the aura alone, she was clearly overpowering the Shinigami.
The Shinigami, licking its tanto and preparing to reap souls, suddenly paused. As if gaining awareness, its ethereal form flickered abruptly, as though some enormous pressure was forming before it.
The formed Dark Soul approached the Shinigami. Anya guided her own soul forward and directly grabbed hold of Minato's soul within the Shinigami's embrace.
Sensing the threat to its sacrifice, the already disturbed Shinigami finally reacted. Its hollow facial features gained glimmers of life, and its gaze turned sharp. The tanto gleamed coldly as it pointed straight at Anya.
How dare you point your blade at me?
Already boiling with rage, Anya struck with a single powerful slap. It was as if an adult were swatting a misbehaving child—on the Shinigami's face, emotion emerged, unmistakably fear.
Even the tanto returned to its original position.
Seeing its submission, Anya didn't hesitate further. She began employing the Spirit Control Technique on Minato's soul. Once both souls of the couple were completely under control, she spoke to Minato, "Alright, begin now."
Minato finished the hand seals, and the massive form of Nine-Tails poured entirely into Naruto's infant body. Thus was born the new Jinchuriki of Nine-Tails.
[Seal!]
Just as the Dead Demon Consuming Seal completed, and while the Shinigami was about to claim the soul, Anya took Minato's soul and pulled it free from the Shinigami's grip, smoothly replacing it with Kushina's soul. The soul exchange was shamelessly complete.
The Shinigami's strike hesitated momentarily during the switch. Upon sensing that another sacrifice remained, though merely substituted, it swiftly slashed downward again, devouring Kushina's soul before vanishing—leaving the clear impression of retreating in defeat.
On the ground below, Kushina's physical body suffered severe injuries, her soul sealed away, leaving behind no signs of life whatsoever.
Minato's situation was also grim. Although his soul had been forcefully saved, physical damage to his body was unavoidable. Even with Anya using medical ninjutsu to stabilize him, his internal organs had been completely pierced by the Nine-Tails—his injuries were extremely similar to Dan Kato's back then. He stood on the brink of death.
No, I can't let Minato's soul enter my body. As long as his soul remains, even without a physical body, there's still a slim chance of survival. Worst case, I'll ask the Serpent Master for the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.
Resolving on his course, Anya pulled Minato's soul into himself and created a Wood Release Clone to start treating him with medical ninjutsu.
Without his soul, Minato's body began rapidly deteriorating. No matter how skilled the Wood Release Clone was at medical techniques, the deathly pallor on Minato's face kept intensifying. If this continued, death was only a matter of time.
Anya's mind raced.
Minato's soul spoke to Anya: "Anya, don't waste your effort. Listen to me—there's a masked man…"
"Wait, I've got an idea," Anya paid no heed to Minato's words and cut the soul off directly, eyes suddenly lighting up. "Perfect scapegoat—I'll take the Nine-Tails."
The Nine-Tails sealed half inside Minato by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal [Shiki Fujin] just now had been dragged into Anya's spiritual realm. Trapped here, the Nine-Tails felt itself enveloped in a massive wave of darkness—an immense power even surpassing Madara Uchiha's from the past.
Hearing Anya's call, the imprisoned Nine-Tails couldn't help shivering involuntarily.
He didn't care. Activating the Spirit Control Technique, he yanked the Nine-Tails out. The mighty Nine-Tails, even half of it, could offer no resistance under Anya's soul pressure. With a flick of his hand, he hurled it straight into Minato's body.
At the same time, he gave the Nine-Tails a warning: "Use your chakra to keep him alive. If he dies, so do you."
With the Nine-Tails' power flowing into him, Minato's body showed signs of life once more, although his vitality remained extremely weak. Without hesitation, Anya packed both of their bodies away and sped off toward the Grass Village. Right now, the only person he could rely on was the Serpent Master.
When darkness finally lifted, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard only Naruto's lonely cries echoing across the altar. The other three had vanished without a trace, leaving only a pool of blood behind hinting at what had transpired.
Thus ended the Nine-Tails' rampage, leaving in its wake mass deaths among Konoha's ninja and the birth of a new Jinchuriki housing the Nine-Tails.
Of those three who surrounded Naruto in the end, one died, one was wounded, and one lost his sight—a terribly tragic outcome.
Hiruzen carefully approached and picked up Naruto, filled his heart with endless sighs.
Outside Konoha, the Masked Man used Space-Time Ninjutsu to locate Nagato and Konan. Seeing that Pain wasn't present, he immediately understood, "Has that person come already?"
Nagato nodded. "You invited me to observe your plan specifically to prepare for his appearance, right?"
"Looks like you've lost."
"You yourself don't look too good."
"Yeah, we're both losers tonight. Minato Namikaze really lives up to the name of the Yellow Flash. I'm no match for him. Yet, Minato was just too strong..."
The Masked Man was undoubtedly Obito Uchiha. His former mentor, Minato, had achieved the dream Obito once held—becoming Hokage—and easily saw through his abilities, countering them effectively.
His master was terrifyingly strong, yet why was he always too late? He failed to save Obito from being crushed beneath the rocks, failed to rescue Rin who was surrounded by Mist ninjas, and tonight, hadn't even recognized his former student.
Hatred burned like wildfire in Obito's heart, his remaining Sharingan swirling with darkness and pain.
Nagato couldn't comprehend Obito's hatred, but he understood that look.
"We won't fail forever."
Obito murmured, "That's right. Next time, Konoha won't be so lucky. Your Akatsuki can begin expanding."
Having lost the Warhawk Puppet, Anya could only travel on foot. Fortunately, her speed remained unaffected. Rushing forward, she reached Serpent Master's stronghold without incident.
Serpent Master, already sensing her approach, immediately spotted Anya's battered state and the figure slung across his back.
"Minato Namikaze? What happened to him?"
"Uncle, please save him," Anya's face lit up with hope, her entire body weakening as she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Orochimaru used Shunshin to rush over and support Anya, frowning slightly. "You're in bad shape yourself. As for him, there's no saving him."
Anya shook her head, refusing to accept it. "Uncle, anyone else might fail, but you're different. I know you can save him."
Seeing Anya's unexpected faith in him, Orochimaru chuckled dryly. "There's only one method, which you already know. But his current physical condition makes survival absolutely impossible."
"Hashirama's cells," Anya immediately understood, excited. "It'll work. It can save him. Minato has the Nine-Tails sealed inside him. Its chakra reserves are more than enough to suppress Hashirama's cells."
Orochimaru regarded her with surprise. "Judging by your condition, this must have been quite the ordeal. Since that's the case, let's begin. For your sake, I'll save him. Remember—you owe me a life."
"Fine." Anya readily agreed. She'd deal with everything else later.
Without another word, Orochimaru placed his hands on Minato's body, entering the laboratory where Anya often stayed.
Within Minato's soul, he remained immersed in grief over Kushina's loss. His use of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal carried a hint of romantic sacrifice—it was well known that a jinchuriki would die once the tailed beast was extracted.
"Consider yourself lucky; you might actually survive," Anya sprawled ungracefully on the floor, her overused Mangekyou and days of nonstop travel finally pushing her body to its limit.
"Anya, if you can save me after I used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, what about Kushina?" Minato's soul voice carried a rare note of pleading.
"Ahh, Minato... From childhood until now, you really haven't changed one bit. Always the hopeless romantic," Anya gave a teasing grin, trying to lighten the mood. "Her soul was taken by the Shinigami. We'll just have to find a way to get it back from him. As for her body, I'll preserve it. Wait until the future comes, and I'll give you back a complete Kushina."
"Really?"
"Minato was delighted at first, but his expression quickly fell. "Anya, I know you're just trying to comfort me."
"I'm a member of the Uchiha Clan, a true descendant of the Sage of Six Paths. Once my strength improves, I stand a chance of awakening the Rinnegan. The Rinnegan—the legendary eye that controls life and death reincarnation. When that happens, I'll bring back not only Little Pepper, but even my Master." Anya said this with unwavering conviction.
Minato couldn't help but nod, momentarily forgetting that the one talking so boldly within his soul had already gone blind. Or maybe he did know. But still, everyone needs a glimmer of hope.
Not long after, Orochimaru stepped out of the lab calmly.
Anya forced herself upright and asked, "Uncle, how did it go?"
"He's technically alive."
"What do you mean?" Anya didn't quite understand.
Orochimaru explained, "Hashirama's Essence has reconstructed his internal organs and can sustain basic bodily functions, but this is only possible because the Nine-Tails' chakra suppresses the cells' expansion, keeping both in a relatively balanced state. In other words, his body is alive, but he cannot interact with the outside world—it's practically the same as being dead."
Anya pressed, "Then how can this be resolved?"
Orochimaru replied slowly, "Unless a force strong enough to suppress both the Nine-Tails and Hashirama's Essence emerges, allowing his soul to regain control of the body and absorb the Nine-Tails' chakra—making him a perfect Jinchuriki. Only then can all hidden dangers be resolved."
"Is there really someone in this world capable of that?" Anya became lost in confusion.
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