"Shiki Fuujin!"
The God of Death, with a sharp blade in his mouth, suddenly appeared floating behind Minato. Minato's soul was bound to the God of Death, just like the last time he performed the Shiki Fuujin.
But the difference from last time was that back then, Minato was already in a soul state—he had thoughts and a human shape, but nothing more. This time, Minato's soul fully revealed its appearance.
After using the Shiki Fuujin, Minato's old soul left his body, and his original soul took control again.
Minato turned his head and looked at himself who was bound by the God of Death, his eyes filled with turmoil.
Today was his first real meeting with his other self.
However, this meeting was painfully short.
After all, in some ways, although they were one, they didn't belong to the same time and space.
"Minato!?"
At this moment, Kushina standing in front of Minato suddenly widened her eyes, her beautiful face filled with emotion.
"Kushina, you can actually see?"
Minato's face twitched, because the souls that have been sacrificed to the God of Death should only be visible to the caster himself.
The reason why the Third Hokage was able to determine that Minato was using the Shiki Fuujin was based on the hand seals he made.
"Kushina."
Bound by the God of Death, Minato looked at the woman in front of him with endless tenderness in his eyes.
Once, for Kushina and Naruto, he could face death calmly.
Even after so many years, he would still do it without hesitation if necessary.
If it weren't for her, he would have been swallowed by the God of Death and would have been fighting against the hatred of the Nine-Tailed Fox forever.
Minato watched everything, not wanting to disturb this special farewell.
He and the other Minato were considered the same person, but they couldn't truly be considered identical.
Otherwise, why would there be two souls within one body?
Even Minato couldn't explain the relationship between them clearly.
"ROAR!"
The deep red chakra that was bound by the chains condensed into the shape of a fox head. The terrifying vertical pupils stared at the two people in front of it, full of resentment.
"You are really strong."
Minato and Kushina sighed inwardly upon seeing this. Even with their combined restraints, the Nine-Tails was still able to forcibly harness its own power and take this form.
Although Minato himself possessed half of the Nine-Tails' chakra, it had always been sealed. What Minato had previously possessed was only a small part of the Nine-Tails' power.
Just this small part was enough to benefit Minato greatly. This showed how powerful the Nine-Tails truly was.
"Kushina, I'm about to start."
Minato said solemnly, and then focused his mind.
Kushina nodded, and the chains that bound the Nine-Tails loosened slightly. A stream of chakra that shook the air suddenly burst out.
"Waaah!"
At this moment, Naruto, who was under the protection of the barrier, suddenly burst into tears.
Deep red chakra reflected in his big eyes that were as bright as sapphires.
"Seal!"
Minato shouted loudly. The God of Death behind him licked the sharp blade in his mouth, and then a soul hand covered with black lines passed through the soul abdomen of the God of Death and descended in front of Kushina's abdomen, where the Nine-Tails' chakra originated.
The soul hand grabbed the deep red chakra, and at that moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox's raging power was suddenly suppressed.
"So strong!"
Although Kushina couldn't see the God of Death, she could feel the Nine-Tailed Fox's sudden powerlessness within her body. What kind of power could cause such a reaction?
Swish!
The sharp blade in the mouth of the God of Death disappeared instantly. Under Minato's gaze, the Hand of the Soul transformed into the sharp blade and slashed down!
The crimson chakra was cut off with one slash.
"ROAR!"
The Nine-Tails roared in defiance, but Kushina could clearly feel that the chakra strongly connected to the seal in her body suddenly vanished.
The pressure on her immediately eased.
Kushina stretched out her right hand, and chakra condensed on her fingers.
She placed her palm on the seal and then turned it.
The unlocked Eight Trigrams seal began to rotate again, completely sealing the Nine-Tailed Fox inside.
After containing the Nine-Tails, Kushina gritted her teeth lightly, and more chains extended from her back, completely binding the ball of crimson chakra.
The Shiki Fuujin came to an end, and Minato turned his eyes and glanced at the God of Death behind him.
The God of Death gave him a relieved smile.
"Now, I have completed everything I can do. Everything that comes next is entrusted to you."
Minato took a last look at Naruto in the cradle, his eyes full of love.
"The future of this child, and the future of the ninja world!"
At this point, Minato couldn't help but feel tears in his eyes.
The Shiki Fuujin technique couldn't be maintained for too long, so he needed to release it soon.
Otherwise, something unpredictable might happen.
At this time, Kushina bit her lower lip tightly and her body trembled slightly.
She didn't know what to say, and all her emotions, in the end, solidified into a gentle smile.
"Thank you!"
Minato smiled, because in his fading consciousness, he saw the woman's smiling face again.
There was nothing better than this in the world!
With a smile on his face, Minato withdrew the seal in his hand.
The God of Death behind Minato opened his mouth, and a mysterious force surged out, pulling at Minato's soul to swallow it whole.
However, at this moment, something strange happened.
The God of Death, who could even suppress the Nine-Tails, couldn't shake Minato's soul at all no matter how much strength it summoned.
"Buzz!"
A strange light began to glow around Minato's soul.
The soul was white at first, but in an instant, it turned transparent.
Both Minatos looked on in shock and horror.
Earlier, when the last step of the Shiki Fuujin wasn't completed, the chakra of Kushina and the Nine-Tails had caused abnormal changes in time and space, forcibly pulling Minato's soul in.
However, according to the tradition passed down by the Uzumaki clan, the God of Death of the Shiki Fuujin was supposed to devour the soul of the person who cast the technique.
Judging from the actions of the God of Death just now, it was indeed trying to do so, but something was preventing it.
The light rising from the depths of Minato's soul grew brighter and brighter. It seemed that the God of Death couldn't overcome this power and directly gave up its hold on him.
"What's going on?"
Kushina couldn't see the God of Death, but she could see everything happening to Minato at that moment.
The light switching between white and transparent wasn't chakra, so she couldn't understand it based on her perception.
Minato himself was equally confused. He just witnessed the God of Death give up its hold on his other self's soul.
Freed from its restraints, the other Minato's spirit floated in front of him.
The two looked at each other in shock.
At this moment, the God of Death, who was about to disappear, suddenly extended the soul hand covered with black lines from its abdomen—the same hand that had previously bound the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It quickly reached toward Minato!
It couldn't take away the soul of one Minato, so the God of Death turned its attention to the person next to him who had the same soul!
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