Along the banks of the Naka River.
"Naruto, remember… Mommy will always love you."
After whispering those words, Minato Namikaze turned to face the fox behind him. Only resolve remained in his eyes.
"Nine-Tails — Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
He carried an unshakable determination, determined to leave something behind for his child.
"Sealing this old man again?!"
Kurama was furious—absolutely furious!
Decades ago, that man had sealed him away with one hand while saying his power was too strong.
Later, before he could even do anything, he was sealed again into a red-haired woman's body.
Now that he had finally broken free, he was about to be shoved back in again?
Then what was all this chaos for?!
His emotions surged violently.
All nine crimson tails began smashing about aimlessly, venting his rage.
Boom!
Rumble!
The ground split open as eerie, fiery-red chakra shot outward like blazing flames!
A massive fox tail slammed down without any warning.
But as a phantom wielding a blade in its mouth appeared, all the chaos was cleaved apart.
Unwilling yet helpless, the Nine-Tails was forcibly torn apart.
One half entered the tiny body of Naruto.
When the battle finally ended, Minato Namikaze and Kushina collapsed on opposite sides.
Between their hands, they held a naked blond infant.
On the child's cheeks, three faint whisker marks could be seen on each side.
Looking at his child, a faint smile finally appeared on Minato's face.
Joy, relief, hope, regret, and heartache intertwined within it.
Gathering his remaining strength, he leaned close to the baby's ear and whispered softly,
"Actually… Daddy loves you very much too, Naruto."
"With the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, even without his parents' protection, the people in the village won't dare act recklessly, right?"
"Plus the Third Hokage, Lord Jiraiya, and that kid from the Hatake family… that should be enough to protect you."
"Naruto, please don't blame your mom and dad…"
…
Beneath the burning clouds of chakra, the Four Red Yang Formation let out a dying hum.
The blood-colored barrier sealed the entire lowland into a hemispherical prison.
Looking closely, countless dense sealing formulas crawled across the surface of the barrier.
Occasionally, sparks would burst out.
Pffft.
Even solid rock was easily melted into honeycomb-like holes.
The power was terrifying.
"The Third Hokage has given orders! No one is allowed to approach!"
Outside the formation, an ANBU jōnin wearing a dog-faced mask stood with blade drawn horizontally.
Where his sword pointed, the three members of Genma's squad came to an abrupt halt.
Genma Shiranui spat out the senbon in his mouth and frowned.
"Look carefully. The three of us are the Fourth Hokage's guards!"
In response, the ANBU merely shook his head silently and continued blocking their path.
The Fourth was dead.
The Third Hokage's authority was absolute.
Whoosh—
Fifty meters behind them, a white cloak embroidered with the words "Fourth Hokage" fluttered violently in the night wind.
But that once-dazzling golden hair had already lost its light.
Tap.
Uchiha Ren was curled up behind a charred tree stump.
The Nine-Tails had been too stubborn—it had taken until now to be completely sealed.
He then turned his gaze toward the three-man squad, his eyes slowly locking in place.
Before him floated multicolored light points that only he could see—their traits!
Above the head of the escort captain, Genma Shiranui, a rare purple glow flickered.
[Flying Thunder Formation (Incomplete): When three people form a formation together, after activation they can teleport to a marked location. Limited to three uses per day.]
"So this is… a nerfed version of Flying Thunder God."
Behind the stump, Ren's chubby cheeks puffed slightly.
Like a cautious night owl, he hugged the shadows and moved quietly.
Along the way, seven ANBU corpses lay sprawled across the cracked ground, smashed to death by the rampaging fox tails.
Among them, one corpse wearing a breathing apparatus identical to Hanzo of the Salamander's stood especially close to him.
Residual Nine-Tails chakra still lingered above the shoulder armor.
A corpse?
Ren's heart stirred.
He turned to glance at the four ANBU near the formation. None of them were paying attention to this area.
He lightly licked the corner of his lips. After pondering for three breaths, he decisively stopped moving.
Since he'd never looted a corpse before, it was best to practice first!
In the next second, he lay prone in the shadow of the stump and reached out.
The moment his fingertips touched the first corpse, an icy system prompt exploded in his mind.
[Contact with elite chūnin corpse!]
[Plundered Common Trait: Agile Body (White): Slightly increases limb coordination (stackable).]
[Stacking in progress. Congratulations, host, you have obtained Fine Trait (Green): Light as a Swallow.]
[Light as a Swallow: Limb flexibility increased by 50%, speed increased by 50%.]
In an instant, a tingling sensation surged up his spine to the back of his neck, then spread through all four limbs.
He felt the muscles in his legs grow a little denser.
His arms felt noticeably lighter, almost giving him the illusion that his body truly was as light as a swallow.
It upgraded!
Two identical white traits had actually fused and upgraded!
"So this is looting? No wonder it's addictive!"
He licked his slightly dry lips again and reached toward another corpse.
This one actually dropped a green trait!
[Contact with elite chūnin corpse!]
[Plundered Fine Trait: Dynamic Vision (Green): Your eyesight can track a flying insect (stackable).]
The instant the green glow merged into his body, Ren clearly felt his eyes heat up slightly.
Very quickly, the surrounding scenery in the darkness seemed to slow down just a bit in his vision.
He could even make out the lip movements of the Hokage's escort squad cursing at a distance.
"This one's nice."
He took a deep breath. Looking toward the remaining corpses a short distance away, he bent his body and tested a light push off the ground.
Whoosh.
Tap.
His two-and-a-half-year-old body leaped nearly two meters in a single step, landing without even kicking up dust.
Meanwhile, the ANBU were still outside the barrier, uselessly staring down the three-man escort squad.
No one noticed that in the corner, a certain Uchiha child was quietly looting corpses.
Zzzzt!
When Ren touched the fifth charred corpse still wearing a mask, something unexpected happened!
The corpse suddenly grabbed his wrist.
A raspy "hrrrk hrrrk" sound came from its crushed throat.
"Damn—there are zombies in Naruto too?!"
Without hesitation, he snapped the withered bone directly!
Only then did he realize it was residual Lightning Release chakra in the corpse causing the reaction.
He immediately lowered his body and curled himself tightly into the dark shadows.
Completely motionless.
"Hm?"
At the same time, several ANBU heard the faint disturbance.
They casually glanced over. After realizing it was a fallen comrade, they stopped paying attention.
Only Genma Shiranui frowned slightly and looked more carefully.
A hint of doubt crossed his face.
"What is it, Captain?" Raidō Namiashi scratched his head, pressing down on the hilt of his long blade.
"Oh, n-nothing. Probably heard it wrong."
Genma shook his head and spat out the senbon.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The senbon struck over there—yet nothing happened.
He shook his head and stopped paying attention.
Three breaths later, Ren finally let out a quiet sigh of relief, his eyes gleaming with amazement.
"This trait… how is this any different from turning on invisibility…"
"You can't even see me when I'm right in front of you. How is this any different from a stealth fighter?!"
Still, the scare made him abandon the urge to keep looting.
He turned to look at the Four Red Yang Formation, which had grown even dimmer, and started circling toward the other side.
It was getting late. If he didn't enter now, the barrier would break soon.
Ten seconds later.
On the other side of the formation.
Under the moonlight, Ren activated his golden body.
A faint golden glow made his entire body slightly translucent.
Then—without alerting anyone at all—he openly walked straight into the formation.
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