Although he often lied to Anko, this time Ye Liang truly wasn't lying—he genuinely wanted to become the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
Kushina looked toward Minato. The decision rested with him.
Minato glanced at Ye Liang, yet saw in his eyes an unshakable resolve.
"It seems he really wants to help us," Minato sighed.
"Ye Liang-kun! Although I, Namikaze Minato, don't know you well, I will never forget what you've done for us today. Thank you!" Saying that, he immediately knelt before Ye Liang.
This was the Island Country's way of expressing deep gratitude—people would kneel when sincerely thanking someone.
Come on, stop wasting time! Once the Nine-Tails fully enters Naruto's body, there'll be no way to pull it out!" Ye Liang urged anxiously.
At this moment, the Nine-Tails had already entered halfway—if it completely entered, extracting it afterward would require killing Naruto!
"All right, I'll perform the technique now!" Seeing the situation, Kushina rushed to Ye Liang without delay. She swiftly painted a Cursed Seal onto Ye Liang's belly using her blood, then began forming hand seals.
Ye Liang remained silent.
He knew Kushina was using the Cursed Seal to redirect the Nine-Tails once again. The Uzumaki Clan had originally been the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, and were extremely skilled in sealing techniques. Thus, Ye Liang trusted Kushina completely.
Soon, the soul of the Nine-Tails entering Naruto's body froze, then started flowing backward. Streams of red chakra slowly flowed from Naruto's body back into Ye Liang's abdomen.
The Cursed Seal gradually began glowing.
Ye Liang felt a comfortable sensation, along with an unprecedented tingling feeling.
The transfer soon completed.
"Is it over?"
Ye Liang briefly examined himself. A massive power now resided within his belly, but he couldn't control it yet.
Looks like I'll have to get control over the Nine-Tails before I can fully harness its power, Ye Liang mused.
By now, Kushina let out a sigh of relief. Sweat poured down her face, her lips turned pale, clearly exhausted, yet she still forced herself to walk up to Minato.
"Am I going to die?" Minato murmured softly.
The Shinigami's phantom was already slowly vanishing. Once it disappeared completely, Minato's soul would also be taken away entirely.
"Yes."
Tears filled Kushina's eyes.
They had only just gotten married, yet now their joyful reunion was already turning into a painful goodbye.
"Ye Liang-kun, could you come here for a moment?"
Suddenly, Minato called upon Ye Liang at this moment.
"Wait, what?"
Ye Liang found it strange—why call him over at such a moment? You two are about to exchange your last words…
Still, he walked closer.
"Ye Liang-kun, my time is near, yet my wife and son must continue living alone. Therefore, may I ask you to look after them?"
"What? Look after your wife!" Ye Liang exclaimed in surprise.
His mind raced, instantly understanding Minato's meaning!
This was truly entrusting one's wife and child to him!
Stunned, Ye Liang hadn't expected that simply stopping by to channel some Nine-Tails chakra would land him in this legendary moment—the "entrusting of wife and child."
He glanced at Kushina beside Minato. She kept her head lowered in silence, clearly resigned to the situation.
What the actual hell is going on here!
Ye Liang felt helpless. But faced with someone like Minato, willing to sacrifice his life for a noble cause, he truly found it impossible to refuse.
"Don't worry, Minato-san! As long as I, Ye Liang, am still alive, your child will be my child, and your wife will be my wife! I will never allow any harm to come to them!" Ye Liang earnestly reassured Minato.
"In that case, I can rest easy."
Minato replied calmly, then turned his gaze toward Kushina.
"Mr. Ye Liang is a good man, an upright one too. I believe he will always treat you well. Entrusting you to him gives me peace of mind."
"Alright."
The two whispered to each other—it seemed they were preparing their final words.
At this moment, Ye Liang quietly stepped away.
With a single leap, he jumped onto the top of a tall tree.
"So that's the Masked Man?"
The battle in the distance continued, but was gradually reaching its end. The Third, together with numerous Jonin, had pushed the Masked Man into a desperate corner. Without the Nine-Tails, the Masked Man was beginning to weaken.
Just then, however, a blue warrior—[Susanoo]—wielding dual blades instantly surrounded the Masked Man!
It loomed over them, massive as a mountain, with a sharp tengu mask perched atop its head!
"Susanoo! So you're from the Uchiha clan!" The Third shouted in shock, recognizing it immediately. Yet the next moment, a sword strike sent all the Jonin flying backward.
"Hmph, you have quite the knowledge. Then die together!"
Controlling the giant warrior, the masked man powerfully slashed downward toward Hiruzen.
The attack carried incredible force—one could hear the whistling sound from afar!
At this moment, Hiruzen was already exhausted and powerless against such overwhelming strength. Yet just then, a regular shuriken flew in front of the Third.
"Shsh!"
A golden blur instantly appeared. He stood firm against the Susanoo and locked both hands around its blade!
"Flying Thunder God Technique? Is that you, Minato?" Sarutobi exclaimed in surprise, but seeing who it really was, his expression shifted instantly.
"It's you, Ye Liang! What are you doing here!"
"If I weren't here, wouldn't you be dead by now!" Ye Liang shot the Third a grin.
At this moment, the Masked Man showed slight seriousness on his face. Someone capable of catching the Susanoo barehanded was clearly no ordinary high-level ninja.
The Susanoo swung its sword down again, this time with even more force, but Ye Liang used the Body Flicker Technique, grabbing Hiruzen mid-air and vanishing with him.
"Peng!"
The slash missed entirely.
"The Body Flicker Technique? So it's you after all. No wonder you looked familiar just now. I still haven't settled the score from that incident at Kannabi yet. How dare you actually show up again!"
"You sent assassins after me once already — not showing up now would've been rude, wouldn't it?" Ye Liang shot back.
Hearing the two exchange words, the Third felt puzzled. From what he could tell, these two definitely knew each other!
"Ye Liang, who is this?"
"Madara Uchiha!"
"What!"
Hiruzen was shocked beyond measure.
Then, they watched as the masked man removed the mask from his face.
The old man's face was dry and wrinkled, but his eyes shone brightly—filled with countless swirling tomoe. In an instant, they changed into a white, circular form.
"This is the Rinnegan!"
Ye Liang exclaimed in shock.
Uchiha Madara's original plan was to implant his Rinnegan into Nagato's body, then use Obito as a puppet in the background. From there, he would employ Nagato's [Rinne Tensei – Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life] to resurrect himself.
But Ye Liang had already interrupted that setup—the assassination plan at Kannabi Bridge.
Looking at it now, Madara Uchiha hadn't passed the Rinnegan to Nagato after all. Instead, he chose to personally attack the Hidden Leaf Village, which was actually a very risky move.
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