It wasn't until Naruto Uzumaki fought his own mother for the first time that he realized just how mysterious his jonin instructor's true strength was. To face an enemy of Kushina Uzumaki's caliber and still manage to hold his own for so long, Kakashi Hatake was truly not to be underestimated.
Even Naruto found Kushina to be a tricky opponent.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
With a sharp cry from the red-haired woman, a dense barrage of golden chains shot through the air, tightly binding the giant chakra hand Naruto had formed.
"Even Kurama's chakra can't move..."
Naruto watched as the chakra hand was bound tightly, unable to break free. He quickly condensed a chakra vortex in his palm and blasted it toward Kushina.
"Spiral Shockwave!"
A beam of azure light shot forward. However, a red chakra curtain suddenly rose from the ground, blocking Naruto's ninjutsu before it could reach Kushina.
Inside the sealing space, the giant fox spoke, a hint of a headache in its voice. "Naruto, your mother isn't weak. That's a derivative of the Four Red Yang Formation, called the Red Yang Barrier. It can even block a Tailed Beast Bomb..."
"It's fine."
Naruto looked at the Red Yang Barrier standing between them. His palms suddenly came together as he said in a deep voice, "It only blocks attacks from one direction... Wood Style: Tree Bind!"
Countless vines grew rapidly from under his feet. The vines quickly covered the ground, deftly bypassing the barrier and spreading toward Kushina. The barrier's area, it had to be said, was just too small.
At the same time, to prevent Kushina from escaping, eight golden chains shot out from Naruto's body, tangling with Kushina's own Adamantine Sealing Chains.
As the last orthodox Uzumaki, Kushina did not sit idly by. Her fingertips nimbly formed a hand seal, and she suddenly stretched her palm toward the approaching vines. "Sealing Jutsu: Absorbing Seal!"
A few black curse marks appeared on her palm, forming a peculiar pentagon that rapidly absorbed the attacking vines.
Unfortunately, due to her limited chakra, the absorption speed of her sealing jutsu was far slower than the vines' growth. A vine finally grabbed her arm, pulling her toward Naruto.
Just when Naruto and the Nine-Tails inside him thought the victor was decided, Kushina, who was being pulled by the vine, suddenly clenched her fist and sent Naruto flying with a single punch.
However, she only had that one chance to strike. The vine immediately wrapped around her body, binding her firmly in place, unable to move again.
Even with the protection of his chakra cloak, Naruto could feel how heavy Kushina's punch was. He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. "So strong..."
"Yeah, this woman is still as savage as ever..." the Nine-Tails commented dryly on its former landlady.
"Alright, I can finally save Mom."
Naruto walked toward his mother, placed his palm on her body, and said in a low voice, "Sealing Art: Devour!"
When the red-haired woman tried to resist, the chakra in her body gushed out, flowing through Naruto's palm and into his own. Her movements immediately stopped. As the chakra vanished, the dust on Kushina's face slowly fell away.
Both the chakra of the reanimated body and the curse mark controlling her were absorbed into Naruto's body, quickly replenishing the energy he had consumed in the battle. When Naruto released his hand, the reanimated body began to repair itself and replenish its chakra once more.
Kushina's eyes gradually regained their clarity. After regaining control of her body, she immediately recalled what had happened. "Orochimaru-senpai is a rogue ninja now. I have to break his control first. Fortunately, this jutsu has a loophole..."
"..."
Naruto looked at his fiery mother and helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose. At least he had achieved his goal.
On the other side, the reanimated Rasa was still fleeing with Orochimaru.
However, Orochimaru, standing on the sand platform, was in bad shape. His fingers were trembling slightly, and he looked unwell. When Kushina completely severed the chakra connection between them, Orochimaru coughed up a mouthful of blood. "What a joke! Kushina Uzumaki... broke free from my control so easily?"
He had suspected that the Uzumaki clan might be able to break free from the Impure World Reincarnation with sealing jutsu, but the problem was, Kushina's method was just too simple, wasn't it? Less than half a minute had passed since Orochimaru sensed his control curse mark disappear, and now he could no longer sense Kushina's location.
It looked like a mother and son were being reunited.
When Kushina sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra on the Konoha ninja before her, her dark gray eyes stared intently at the blond-haired boy. The red-haired woman covered her lips, but no tears could flow. "You're... Naruto? Is it really Naruto?"
Before she died, she had hoped to see her son grow up. Unexpectedly, she was now seeing that little boy grown into a young man, and he had even become a powerful ninja.
"...Yes."
Naruto nodded. After such a long chase and battle, the initial joy of seeing his mother again was slowly fading, replaced by a weary sense of accomplishment. The blond-haired boy sighed, looking at the reanimated woman kneeling before him. He reached out, hugged her shoulder, and closed his eyes. "Welcome back, Mom..."
It was like embracing the world again.
Ever since he had woken up from that dream, he had never felt this ninja world was particularly wonderful. Now, he felt it wasn't so bad after all. At least, it gave him a chance to truly embrace his mother.
Kushina grabbed his arm, her face a mixture of shock and joy. "You know... ah, right, you can already use the Nine-Tails' chakra, so you must have seen my chakra spirit! Naruto, how is it? Is the Nine-Tails behaving in your body? If it's not, you have to give it a good beating, and it will be honest for a long time..."
Naruto helplessly scratched his hair. "..."
He felt that the relationship between the Nine-Tails and his parents could never get better. Last time in the sealing space, Kushina's chakra spirit had used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain the Nine-Tails. Now, her reanimated body was teaching him to be violent toward it.
After Kushina finished rambling, she suddenly said with emotion, "Sigh, even though Orochimaru revived me and controlled me to fight Konoha, I can't bring myself to blame him for letting me see my own son..."
As a mother, her point of view was just that simple.
Naruto was momentarily unable to respond. In a sense, it was indeed thanks to Orochimaru that he and his mother could meet again... but Orochimaru had also manipulated them into fighting each other. That grudge would definitely be remembered.
Just as the mother and son were about to have a proper talk, a red Susanoo giant materialized on the battlefield, swinging a huge, flowing sword.
The Susanoo had descended again.
This time, its appearance directly decided the winner between Itachi Uchiha and the reanimated Third Hokage. The tall Susanoo held a gourd, from which a mass of light suddenly transformed into a giant blade, swiftly piercing Hiruzen Sarutobi's body.
The legendary item capable of sealing anything... the Totsuka Blade.
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Bonus Scene
Itachi Uchiha: I sealed the Third Hokage...
Fugaku Uchiha: Nice!
Itachi Uchiha: ???
Fugaku Uchiha: If I'd known, we shouldn't have launched the coup so early...
Itachi Uchiha: ...