ROAR—!!
As soon as he saw the figure in the divine cloak, Kurama—the Nine Tails—immediately surged forward, letting out an earth-shaking roar of fury.
He bared his fangs and snarled as though he wanted to tear the man before him to pieces.
"You… You are…"
Uzumaki Naruto, who had finally regained a shred of consciousness, stared in astonishment at the man standing in front of him.
"The Fourth Hokage? Why are you here...?"
Looking at the figure clad in the Hokage cloak, with blond hair that matched his own, Naruto's expression turned from confusion to disbelief.
Until—
"Not here, Naruto. This isn't the place for questions."
"Let me strengthen the Nine Tails' seal first—then we can talk properly."
Namikaze Minato looked warmly at his son, now a twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy. A gentle smile crossed his face, though his gaze remained filled with unspoken emotion.
Naruto, still overwhelmed, could only nod, his mind blank.
BANG——!!
"Minato!!"
Behind the seal gate, the Nine Tails slammed its massive body against the door again, its teeth gnashing furiously as it glared at the Fourth Hokage with venomous hatred.
"Kurama..." Minato murmured, his gaze complicated as he looked upon the beast that had caused so much suffering.
For a moment, memories of Kushina—the woman he loved—flooded his heart.
But now was not the time to dwell in emotion.
Minato shook himself from his thoughts and began to summon the last remnants of his chakra to strengthen the seal.
BOOM——!
But just as Minato began to channel his chakra—
A sudden blast of deep blue energy exploded into him, hurling him backward with terrifying force.
The attack had come out of nowhere, so fast and overwhelming that Minato had no time to react.
And more importantly—
He wasn't even truly alive.
What stood here now was only a fragment of his consciousness—a residual imprint of chakra sealed within Naruto.
As he regained his balance in the air, Minato looked up sharply—only to be met with a chilling sight.
A pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
'Crap!'
Minato's heart clenched instinctively.
ZING——!
The moment the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life, its peerless ocular power surged through the entire sealed space.
A cold, mocking voice echoed in the air.
"Eight Gates Guy was the first."
"That rat Danzo was the second."
"You, Namikaze Minato... you're the third."
"Now... break the seal."
The speaker appeared—Leo, his red armor gleaming, long hair cascading to his waist, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan burning like hellfire.
He stared directly at Minato, who was now frozen in place, unable to move.
...
"Ma... Madara?!"
Kurama's eyes widened.
The fearsome beast who just moments ago had been furious and aggressive now took a step back in dread.
This was not Uchiha Madara—but the power Leo now wielded was eerily similar. In fact, it might be even more terrifying.
Kurama trembled.
If the seal had been broken just moments earlier, he would've been free. But now, with Leo here?
If the seal was undone now, he would just be enslaved again under the horrifying power of those eyes!
"Damn it!!"
Kurama roared with frustration. His chance at freedom had turned into a nightmare.
And yet—
Minato had already begun to reach out toward the seal, compelled by the influence of the Mangekyō.
"Naruto, stay back!"
But Naruto had already seen Leo—and he snapped.
"Get away from my dad!!"
Fueled by fury, Naruto lunged forward with a punch aimed straight at Leo.
"Don't interfere."
Leo's eyes flashed.
BOOM—!!
With a burst of pupil power, Naruto was instantly crushed to his knees.
His body trembled violently, unable to move even an inch.
"D-Damn it...!" Naruto growled, his teeth clenched tightly in frustration.
ROAR—!!
Kurama also bellowed in protest, thrashing against the seal.
Leo sneered.
"Patience, Nine Tails."
He cast a sideways glance at Kurama with a wicked smirk. "Soon enough, you'll be mine."
The seal began to loosen further, inch by inch, link by link.
Kurama could only watch, unsure whether to cry or scream.
---
OINK—OINK—OINK—!!
Suddenly—
Just when the seal was about to be completely undone, a surge of golden chakra chains erupted from nowhere.
The glowing chains wrapped around Leo's body in an instant, binding him in place.
ZING———!!
Leo didn't panic.
With a thought, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan flared again. The oppressive eye power shattered the chains effortlessly, the chakra dispersing like dust in the wind.
His eyes narrowed.
From within his vision—
SWOOSH—!!
A massive blue skeletal arm shot forward, grabbing something hidden in the shadows and yanking it into view.
Enclosed tightly in the giant chakra hand was a woman with long red hair and a furious expression.
"Uzumaki Kushina."
Leo's voice turned ice cold.
"You're not even worth being the fourth."
His Sharingan burned as he looked at her—just another chakra consciousness, nothing more.
"Kushina!!"
Minato's eyes widened.
"Mom?!" Naruto gasped, still pinned to the ground.
But it was too late.
BOOM—!!
Leo's mind pulsed—and the skeletal hand crushed Kushina's chakra presence into oblivion.
There was no mercy.
No sentiment.
Only power.
"She's not alive," Leo murmured.
"If it were the real Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, maybe I'd enjoy a real fight…"
"But this? Just fragments of old chakra?"
He shook his head.
"Worthless."
---
CLICK—!!
The final seal shattered.
In that moment, Kurama's imprisonment was broken.
"Ugh...!" Naruto gasped as a chilling cold gripped his chest—like his heart had suddenly stopped.
The seal was broken.
---
Outside World—
"Haah… Haah…"
Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Hyuga Hiashi, and countless others—
Even the three toad brothers, Gamabunta, Gamahiro, and Gamaken—were panting heavily, completely drained.
They had been holding back just five Shadow Clones of Leo.
And even that had pushed them to the edge of collapse.
"Hokage-sama, our chakra is almost gone…" Kakashi said weakly, barely able to stand.
Tsunade's Seal of the Hundred Healings glowed dimly. Even she, with all her vitality, was reaching her limit.
"Jiraiya... you okay?" Fukasaku asked, worried.
"I'm fine…" Jiraiya said with a wry smile, though his pale face said otherwise.
Sage Shima added, "Don't overdo it, little Jiraiya. That man isn't someone to face recklessly."
But Jiraiya shook his head.
"No matter what, I won't abandon the village."
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged glances and sighed.
This might really be Jiraiya's final battle.
---
On the side—
"Damn it! These are just Shadow Clones!!"
Mitarashi Anko slumped to the ground, growling in frustration.
"How can they still be this strong?!"
Hyuga Hiashi, Kakashi, and many others felt the same.
Five Shadow Clones.
And each still wielded Third Stage Susanoo effortlessly, even after all this time?
"Ridiculous…" Kakashi muttered. "Are these really clones?"
"They're like boss characters from some cheating game," Anko said bitterly.
---
ROOOOAR—!!
Suddenly, a terrifying roar ripped through the battlefield.
BOOM—!!
The earth trembled.
Something massive had landed nearby.
Everyone instinctively turned their gaze toward the source of the sound—
Their eyes widened.
Their hearts froze.
The Nine Tails had returned.
The gigantic beast stood tall under the sky, red chakra radiating off its body like waves of molten fire.
And seated on its head—
Leo.
Wearing red armor, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan glowing, he sat atop the Nine Tails like a conquering god.
This surreal, terrifying image made everyone freeze in shock.
For a moment—
The entire battlefield fell into silence.
No one could believe what they were seeing.
Then someone finally spoke.
A whisper, trembling with dread—
"We're... f***ed."
---