Buzz!
On the turbulent ocean surface, the sphere of absolute darkness continued its relentless expansion, carving yet another massive crater into waters already transformed into chaos by their previous exchange. The Four Symbols Seal had turned the battlefield into something resembling the surface of an alien world—scarred, unstable, and utterly hostile to life.
Whoosh!
Minato's form streaked across the waves with desperate speed, his body moving in calculated retreats that kept him just ahead of the expanding void. Even with his chakra reserves depleted to perhaps ten percent of their normal levels, his legendary velocity remained sufficient to outpace the advancing annihilation zone.
The black sphere formed by the suicidal sealing technique continued growing until it reached a diameter of nearly one hundred meters—a zone of pure negation that consumed everything within its boundaries. For several heart-stopping moments, it hung in the air like a miniature black hole, warping the very light around its edges.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the sphere began to contract. The terrible gravitational forces collapsed inward until the entire manifestation simply vanished, leaving behind only empty space and the echo of unimaginable destruction.
A hundred meters away, Minato floated on the churning waters and watched the spot where his enemy had made his final stand. The tension in his weathered features gradually began to ease as his sensory abilities confirmed what his eyes suggested.
"Finally... it's finished," he murmured, exhaustion weighing heavily on every word.
Under his enhanced perception, the masked man's chakra signature had been completely extinguished. There was no trace of the overwhelming malevolence that had characterized their opponent, no hint of the space-time abilities that had made him so dangerous. Death had claimed another enemy of Konoha.
Yet even in victory, questions continued to gnaw at Minato's mind. Who had this masked figure truly been? What had driven him to such lengths of hatred and destruction? The mysteries would likely die with their bearer, lost to the depths of the ocean.
Pushing aside his curiosity, Minato began moving toward where the body should be floating.
Splash! Splash!
However, the Four Symbols Seal had created such a massive depression in the ocean floor that seawater was rushing in from all directions to fill the void. The tremendous current generated by this displacement was already beginning to drag the masked man's corpse down into the depths.
Seeing the urgency of the situation, Minato increased his speed, racing to reach the body before it disappeared forever.
Just as he was about to dive beneath the surface, a familiar sensation struck him like a physical blow to the chest.
"Something's wrong in the village," he said, his voice tight with sudden alarm.
Kakashi had activated the special marker that Minato had given him before departing—a technique that could only be used in the most dire emergencies. The implications sent ice through the Fourth Hokage's veins.
Minato hesitated for a crucial moment, torn between securing evidence of his enemy's identity and responding to whatever crisis had developed in his absence. In that brief span of indecision, the ocean's currents claimed their prize, pulling the masked man's body completely below the surface and out of sight.
BANG!
Making a rapid tactical decision, Minato formed the cross-shaped hand seal and channeled what little chakra he had remaining. A shadow clone materialized beside him—flickering and unstable due to his depleted energy reserves, but functional enough for basic reconnaissance.
With his chakra reduced to such critical levels and an unknown emergency developing in Konoha, this clone wouldn't last long. Every second would have to count.
After leaving his duplicate to handle the search, Minato's expression hardened with resolve. He formed the sequence for his signature technique and vanished from the chaotic seascape in a flash of golden light.
The shadow clone that remained behind closed its eyes and extended its sensory abilities as far as possible.
The masked man was undoubtedly dead—his chakra signature had been completely extinguished, and his body was now sinking rapidly through the turbulent waters. Given the chaotic current patterns in this devastated area, any attempt at blind searching would be futile at best.
The only viable option was to use natural energy perception to locate the corpse before it was lost forever.
Unfortunately, the original Minato had already absorbed virtually all the natural energy in this region during their final battle. With such limited chakra reserves and an increasingly unstable form, the clone's chances of success were minimal at best.
Back in Konoha
The protective dome of dark golden chakra that had shielded Konoha's civilians was now riddled with countless cracks, its radiance dimming with each passing second like a dying star. The once-brilliant barrier flickered and wavered under pressures that would have crushed mountains.
Around the mountainside, Kushina and her multiple shadow clones maintained their desperate vigil, pouring every last ounce of their strength into preserving the lives of those they had sworn to protect.
"ROAR!"
From deep within Kushina's seal, the Nine-Tails' voice erupted with primal fury. Under normal circumstances, the contained beast would never be able to manifest its presence so clearly, but the current situation was far from normal.
In order to protect Konoha's civilians, Kushina had been forced to draw upon the fox's chakra to an unprecedented degree. Yet every time she accessed that power, Kurama exacted its own price, steadily draining her personal energy reserves in a deadly spiral of mutual consumption.
Through gritted teeth and sheer force of will, Kushina endured the internal struggle while maintaining the barrier. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the overwhelming repulsive force from above began to weaken and dissipate.
The technique that had been powerful enough to level entire districts was finally running out of energy.
Looking around at the aftermath, Kushina felt a mixture of relief and horror. While the mountain she had protected remained relatively intact, everything else in the surrounding area had been completely obliterated. What had once been thriving neighborhoods and familiar landmarks was now nothing but flattened earth stretching to the horizon.
The massive Shinra Tensei had also affected the village proper, leaving Konoha's infrastructure in ruins and its population scattered or worse.
"Huff..."
Seeing that the immediate danger had passed, Kushina finally allowed herself to relax her concentration. The protective barrier collapsed instantly, its golden light scattering like dying embers.
Simultaneously, her shadow clones dispelled themselves, and the dark golden chakra that had been wreathing her form faded back into invisibility. The tremendous effort had pushed her far beyond her normal limits.
"Huff... huff..."
Kushina stood before the partially collapsed mountain, breathing heavily as waves of exhaustion washed over her. The strain of channeling so much Nine-Tails chakra had left visible marks of fatigue around her eyes and mouth.
"Impressive work," came a voice from above, tinged with what might have been genuine admiration. "I must say, you're worthy of being both the Fourth Hokage's wife and a descendant of the Uzumaki clan."
Kushina's head snapped upward, her tired eyes focusing on the figure floating impossibly in the sky above her.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice hoarse from exertion.
Looking at the red-haired man whose coloring matched her own, Kushina felt a chill of recognition mixed with dread.
"How interesting," the floating figure replied with a sardonic smile. "Technically speaking, we're from the same clan. Your husband and I are also fellow students, in a manner of speaking."
"What do you mean?" Kushina's pupils contracted as the implications began to sink in.
"Because Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, was also my teacher," the man explained with casual cruelty.
As he spoke, he raised one hand toward Kushina, dark energy beginning to coalesce in his palm like a miniature black hole.
"Since our plan to attack Konoha using Shukaku failed so spectacularly, taking the Nine-Tails as compensation seems like an acceptable alternative."
Tremendous gravitational force suddenly erupted from his outstretched hand, focused directly on Kushina's position.
Kushina's face contorted with rage and determination as the invisible force began pulling at her, but she had just expended enormous amounts of chakra protecting the civilians. Her reserves were too depleted to mount effective resistance against such overwhelming power.
Crack!
At that critical moment, a brilliant bolt of blue lightning tore through the air, launched from somewhere on the mountainside and aimed directly at the floating enemy above Kushina's head.
The red-haired man's eyes shifted lazily to track the incoming projectile—a short sword wreathed in crackling electrical energy.
Without apparent effort, he raised his other hand and generated a pulse of repulsive force that sent the lightning-enhanced blade spinning harmlessly away.
Flash!
But during that brief moment when his attention was divided, a familiar figure suddenly materialized beside Kushina with the distinctive displacement of space-time ninjutsu.
Kakashi appeared at her side and immediately grabbed her arm, preparing to extract her from the immediate danger zone.
The floating enemy turned in mid-air, but by then both figures had already vanished from their original position.
His gaze immediately shifted, tracking to where his repulsive force had deflected the lightning-charged weapon.
Sure enough, Kushina and her rescuer reappeared directly in front of the spinning blade.
"Flying Thunder God Technique," the red-haired man observed with mild interest. "How fascinating."
"Lady Kushina, are you injured?" Kakashi asked as he caught his short sword, then positioned himself protectively in front of the exhausted woman.
"I'm fine. Thank you," Kushina nodded, though her breathing remained labored.
Both of them turned their attention to the figure floating effortlessly above them, studying their aerial opponent with growing apprehension.
"Hatake Kakashi," the enemy said with casual indifference. "Your Flying Thunder God technique is truly inferior to the Fourth Hokage's mastery."
The speed and precision of Minato's signature jutsu had reached levels that even the legendary Rinnegan could barely track. This pale imitation, while functional, lacked the overwhelming efficiency that made the Yellow Flash so terrifying.
Kakashi chose not to respond to the taunt, focusing instead on analyzing their tactical situation. It was during this tense standoff that Kushina finally got a clear view of their opponent's most distinctive feature.
"The Rinnegan..." she whispered in shock and recognition. "You're... you're Nagato?!"
"You know him?" Kakashi's voice carried equal measures of surprise and alarm.
The legendary eyes possessed only by the mythical Sage of Six Paths himself—the ancestor of all ninja—actually existed and were wielded by an enemy of Konoha. The implications were staggering.
"It seems the Fourth Hokage and Jiraiya-sensei have mentioned me to their friends and family," Nagato replied with dark amusement, making no effort to explain further.
Just as he prepared to resume his attack, a massive murder of crows suddenly erupted from the mountainside below, their black wings creating a living storm as they swarmed toward his position.
The birds moved in perfect coordination, surrounding a lone figure who was rapidly approaching Nagato's floating form with desperate determination.
"You overestimate your capabilities," Nagato said without even turning around.
His enhanced perception had immediately identified the approaching threat. With casual disdain, he turned his head slightly, allowing one purple eye to focus on the incoming attacker.
"Konoha's ANBU captain amounts to nothing more than this," he sneered dismissively.
But then his expression suddenly froze as he got a clear view of his approaching opponent.
Itachi's normally composed features were streaked with tears that reflected the destruction spread below them—the collapsed mountains, the scattered corpses of Konoha's ninja and civilians, the ruins of everything he had sworn to protect.
His blood-red Sharingan eyes burned with grief and rage that transcended normal human emotion.
Swirl!
Within those crimson orbs, the three black tomoe were spinning with increasing velocity, their rotation accelerating beyond anything Nagato had ever witnessed. The pattern was shifting, evolving, transforming under the pressure of overwhelming trauma and desperate need.
The three separate marks began to connect and merge, flowing together to form an entirely new configuration—the birth of power that would forever change the course of their battle.
The Mangekyō Sharingan had awakened, born from the ashes of tragedy and the fire of a brother's love.