After a brief thought, Yuto withdrew his mind. Whatever contingencies Madara left had nothing to do with him for now.
When soldiers come, generals meet them; when water rises, earth dams it. Madara hadn't been his match in life—what use were posthumous schemes?
"What are you here for?" the Kyūbi (Nine-Tails) asked, eyes locked on Yuto, voice low.
"Oh, I plan to borrow a little of your chakra."
Yuto looked up into those massive eyes and smiled.
Boom!
Savage chakra burst off the fox as its body rose, nine titanic tails lashing.
"You're caged. Don't bother with the scare tactics."
Yuto walked up to the great iron bars, sneering at the fox as if it might pounce any second.
Then he turned toward the sealing tag pasted at the center of the gate. "Before I borrow that chakra, there are two little nuisances to clear up."
He flickered and stood before the tag, lifting his hand to tear it free.
The instant his fingers neared it, a lightning strike leapt out from the seal.
Zzzzt!
Electric fury wrapped his hand, crackling sharp and bright.
Unfazed, Yuto kept reaching.
When he touched the talisman, a fierce flame sprang from nothing and raced across the paper.
"So these traps are for outsiders, huh."
He remembered well—when Naruto pulled this tag, nothing like this happened.
Even under both lightning and flame, Yuto's palm didn't change at all. He pinched a corner of the tag and pulled.
Inside the cage, the Kyūbi's eyes widened. Its feral face creased with doubt.
Was he trying to kill the little jinchūriki (Host)?
The thought died at once. With Yuto's strength, killing that kid would be like crushing an ant.
Let it out instead? Even less likely. Never mind whether that benefited Yuto—their relationship was pure hostility.
To be precise, of the three—Madara, Hashirama, and this Yuto—the fox wished it could smash them all flat.
Just then, golden light bloomed in the gloom.
The Kyūbi narrowed its eyes at the glow—and then sprang up with a roar. "Minato—so it's you!!"
Yuto, still halfway through tearing the tag, smiled. "My, my. Only halfway and you're already out?"
He turned, grinning, to face a sunny blond man standing not far behind him.
The Fourth Hokage—Minato!
"Who are you?" Minato's face was grave as he glanced at the half-torn seal.
The tag's defenses hadn't affected this man at all. Since when did the shinobi world have someone this strong?
"Who I am doesn't matter—"
He hadn't finished when a streak of gold flashed in.
"Attacking without so much as a hello? Bad habit," Yuto said, body shifting aside as Minato struck.
Minato didn't slow. He was only residual chakra here; he had little time to waste on this man.
He swept the area with his eyes—no sign of Naruto. Relief and regret flickered through him. He'd hoped to see the kid...
His presence sharpened. Speed, already blinding, climbed higher.
In an instant, countless golden flares flickered throughout Naruto's mindscape.
"Using Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God) in a chakra form—without a 'marker,' huh."
Yuto stood still, letting Minato's attacks pass through their motions, musing aloud.
Minato's expression grew darker. No matter how he struck, he couldn't hurt this youth at all.
It felt like the masked man who attacked Konoha back then—except that one dodged with jutsu, while this one nullified the blows outright.
Minato blinked behind Yuto again, a Rasengan driving down onto Yuto's head—no effect.
Suddenly Yuto's eyes brightened. He drove a fist into a seemingly empty angle ahead.
A heavy thud—every golden flare blinked out. Minato's body shot away, the form that had seemed solid turning translucent.
No pain. A body made of chakra didn't feel pain.
Minato looked at his fading outline and knew he wouldn't last long. Deep unwillingness flashed in his eyes.
"Hmph. Not just in your state now—even at your peak, you couldn't beat him," the Kyūbi said icily, voice thick with scorn. "Back then, even Hashirama and Madara nearly had no way to handle him."
At that, Minato stiffened. The unwillingness on his face turned to a bitter smile.
"The First Mizukage—Yuto..."
The fox hadn't said the name, but only one man in the shinobi world had ever pushed both Hashirama and Madara to the brink.
As a former Hokage, Minato knew Yuto hadn't died—he'd been sealed.
"One out," Yuto said lightly. "One more to go."
He flickered to the Kyūbi's face again, smiling. "Hey, fox. Does seeing Minato make you mad? If not, think about how Lil' Mad controlled you back then."
"You accursed bastard!!!"
At the taunt—especially that name—the Kyūbi exploded.
A storm of rage and hatred surged out.
In a heartbeat, the negative emotion flooded the space—and was about to spill into the outside, when warm orange light flared.
A woman with flame-red hair stepped into view.
Kushina!!
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