Chapter 331: Sealing Minato
As the ninja clan most skilled at sealing chakra beasts, the Uzumaki clan also specialized in summoning techniques used to form contracts with chakra creatures.
Summoning itself is a kind of contract sealing technique.
In fact, the Flying Thunder God Technique was developed from summoning techniques. At its core, it is also a type of contract seal.
Thus, the contract sealing technique developed by the Uzumaki clan to nullify summoning-based combat was also effective against the Flying Thunder God Technique.
It was the classic offense-versus-defense relationship.
They studied how to attack—and how to defend against it.
That's why this particular sealing method remained a secret art of the Uzumaki clan, never passed to outsiders.
Minato was only able to learn the Contract Seal because he was Kushina's partner, and since the Uzumaki clan had been wiped out, she—an Uzumaki princess—passed it on to him.
But even then, the technique was so difficult that Minato had never fully mastered it.
What he never expected was that one day, an enemy would use the Contract Seal against him, sealing away his Flying Thunder God.
Even knowing that Li Yao was from the future, Minato still couldn't understand how he had learned it. This was a secret so closely guarded that even ordinary members of the Uzumaki clan had no access to it—only direct bloodline heirs of the clan head were allowed to learn it.
So how did Li Yao know it?
Could he be a surviving direct descendant of the Uzumaki clan?
In that moment, Minato was filled with questions.
But sadly, none of them mattered anymore.
He had lost. Li Yao's version of the Contract Seal had been modified. Even if Minato had known the original technique, he wouldn't be able to undo it.
Black ink instantly wrapped around Minato. Sealed and powerless, he realized that this was the end. But if he was going to die, he had to make sure information about his enemy got out.
"Chōza, Shibi—run!!"
Minato shouted with all his strength. Akimichi Chōza and Aburame Shibi, who were rushing to help him, paused.
"Minato…"
They hesitated. After all, he was their comrade-in-arms, someone they fought beside day in and day out. They couldn't abandon him.
But even if they hadn't hesitated… they still couldn't have escaped Li Yao.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Countless ink tendrils surged toward Chōza and Shibi at a speed far greater than before. Clearly, Li Yao had been holding back earlier.
His goal had always been to get Minato to touch him—so he could seal him using the Contract Seal.
When he inherited the Uzumaki legacy, it included the Contract Seal. Naturally, Li Yao studied it thoroughly, knowing full well it could counter the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In fact, Li Yao had learned every sealing jutsu in the Uzumaki legacy, including powerful techniques like the Reaper Death Seal.
So Minato's loss wasn't unjust. Li Yao had superior skills—and more importantly, superior intel.
Splat, splat, splat…
In an instant, despite their best efforts, Akimichi Chōza and Aburame Shibi were no match for Li Yao's overwhelming strength. His ink tendrils pierced through them, killing them instantly.
"Chōza!!!"
"Shibi!!!"
Minato screamed in anguish, but it was useless. No matter how angry he was, sealed in black iron chains, he couldn't move a muscle. All he could do was watch the ink engulf him, and then… his consciousness faded into darkness.
In the end, Minato was sealed inside a ping-pong-ball-sized orb of ink and placed in Li Yao's pocket.
But the pocket was just for show. In reality, the orb was stored within the black ink storage space inside Li Yao's own body—for safety.
…
In front of the Ryūmyaku transmission tower at the base of the tower, Li Yao's shadow clone stood facing off against Minato's shadow clone and Naruto.
The clone stood at the main gate, which led to the massive Ryūmyaku chakra pit and the altar used to seal it.
Standing across from him were Naruto, Minato, Sāra, and the surviving citizens of Loran. They wanted to go inside. Li Yao told them Mukade was already taken care of and there was no need to hide anymore, but they accused him of tampering with the Ryūmyaku chakra.
Words were failing. Now it was a matter of force.
Just then, Minato's shadow clone vanished with a "poof."
Li Yao's clone remained calm. Sharing consciousness with his original body, he knew Minato had been sealed, causing the clone to dissipate.
But Naruto didn't know that. To him, there was only one reason a shadow clone would disappear suddenly.
The real body was dead.
As soon as he thought of that possibility, rage exploded within Naruto. A layer of red Nine-Tails chakra erupted from his body, his eyes turned into sharp, fox-like slits, and his hands grew into clawed forms.
"What did you do to Big Brother?!"
Naruto's voice shook with restrained fury. Li Yao's clone didn't even have a chance to speak—
Whoosh!
Li Yao's original body appeared beside the clone using the Flying Thunder God Technique. The clone vanished instantly as Li Yao turned to look at the Nine-Tails-shrouded Naruto and smiled faintly.
"Want to know?"
"I'll take you to see for yourself."
When he said the first sentence, he was still standing in place. By the second, he was already beside Naruto, his hand lightly resting on Naruto's shoulder.
"So fast!!!"
Even in his rage, Naruto was stunned by the speed. He hadn't even reacted before Li Yao was at his side. If Li Yao had attacked him just now… the result would've been unthinkable.
Naruto reflexively tried to shake him off using Nine-Tails chakra—but the moment he did, the world around him changed.
Whoooosh—sand and wind howled all around. They were in a vast desert.
"Where is this?"
"How did I get here?"
"Is this… a genjutsu?"
Naruto looked around. Sand stretched endlessly in all directions. He couldn't see a single building from Loran. He thought he had been caught in a genjutsu.
After all, just a second ago, he was still in Loran. Now he was in the middle of nowhere.
But if it was a genjutsu… everything felt far too real.
If it wasn't… then what the hell was this?
How had he been teleported here?
Naruto's mind raced, the sudden change in environment partially cooling his rage. But the Nine-Tails chakra cloak didn't dissipate. In fact, it grew stronger.
"Kid, this isn't a genjutsu. It's the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique."
Inside Naruto's mind, in the sealed space, the Nine-Tails stood tall. Its giant lantern-like eyes peered through the iron bars at Naruto's consciousness and gave a warning.
"Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"A genjutsu?"
Naruto blinked in confusion. He had never heard of such a jutsu and had no idea what it did.
The Nine-Tails' eyes flashed with a complicated mix of wariness and respect. "Look at your feet."
Naruto instinctively looked down and saw a black kunai beneath his feet.
"What's this?" Naruto picked it up, and then froze. In the sealed space, his expression twisted in disbelief as he turned to the Nine-Tails.
"You… you… how can you…"
(END CHAPTER)
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