Naruto looked at Shukaku in front of him, who was deflated like a punctured ball, unwilling yet somewhat fearful. His heart settled. 'Good! Now's the time! I'll use physical means to 'persuade' this big guy back into Gaara's body in one go!'
A golden light flashed around him as he prepared to instantly approach again. However, in that very instant—
A sudden, intense feeling of dread seized his heart without warning! It made him gasp, his Chakra flow became chaotic, and he stumbled, almost falling from the treetop.
"Ugh...!"
Naruto clutched his chest with one hand, a fine cold sweat beading on his forehead. 'What is this feeling?'
'There's a powerful enemy in front of me, and I haven't sensed any new threats around, so why is my body suddenly giving such a strong warning?'
He couldn't understand this sudden abnormality, but his intuition screamed — 'This is definitely not good!'
He forcefully suppressed the unease in his heart and steadied himself again. Just as he focused and became vigilant, the corner of his eye caught sight of something unnatural, shimmering with strange golden light, silently scattering high in the sky.
"Boom—!"
A sudden whooshing sound! Naruto pushed off the ground, his body transforming into a golden afterimage as he rapidly shot forward!
Almost at the same moment he left his original spot, the area where he had stood, along with a large section of forest behind him, was completely covered by a heavy, metallic-golden'sea of sand'. The immense impact caused the ground to tremble violently, and dust mixed with golden debris shot into the sky.
Naruto landed lightly at a safe distance and sharply turned his head to look back.
"This is... Gold Dust?!"
He immediately recognized this iconic Ninjutsu—'Isn't this the Ninjutsu of Gaara's not-so-normal father, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa?! What's going on?! Did this guy not die... or... no, that's not right. If Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan had been executed as scheduled, he would never have let go of Rasa, who was both an important chess piece and an obstacle. So, the only possibility is...' Naruto's guess was cruelly confirmed a few seconds later.
In the distance, a figure, standing on a floating platform of Gold Dust, drifted over and hovered in mid-air. It was the Fourth Kazekage—Rasa!
However, his eyes were hollow and lifeless, devoid of any vitality, like a meticulously crafted puppet. This revealed his true state.
Edo Tensei!
'Why would Rasa, resurrected by Edo Tensei, appear here? And why is his target me?' A series of questions flashed through Naruto's mind, but the urgent situation at hand didn't allow him time to think.
Because in the distance, Shukaku, who had been cowering, seeing Naruto blocked by the suddenly appearing powerful enemy, began to flee clumsily but quickly, dragging its tattered, massive body!
"Damn it! I must end this fight quickly!"
Naruto made a decision instantly. Rasa, summoned by Edo Tensei, could never be stronger than his current self. Moreover, Naruto felt no goodwill whatsoever towards this father who had repeatedly tried to kill his own son, and there was nothing more to say.
Seeing the second, even more turbulent wave of Gold Dust crushing down on him like a wall, Naruto's golden light flared intensely! Two incredibly condensed golden Chakra claws instantly formed in front of him, then clasped tightly together like a giant war hammer, smashing down towards the sea of Gold Dust below!
"Bang—!!!"
A dull, thunderous roar! The sea of Gold Dust was actually blasted open, leaving a huge crater! Gold Dust scattered like a torrential downpour, losing its original form and control.
'Now's the time! While he's temporarily suppressed, I'll send him back to the pure land where he belongs!'
The golden Chakra claws didn't stop, tightly grabbing Rasa, who was suspended in mid-air with hollow eyes!
Naruto's main body also surged forward, rapidly forming hand signs, preparing to cast a sealing Jutsu to completely end this undead spirit that should not exist in the living world.
"Naruto! Watch out behind you—!!"
Just as the sealing Jutsu was about to be completed, Kurama's panicked, almost frantic roar suddenly echoed in his mind.
This might have been the first time Naruto felt such intense emotional fluctuations from the Nine-Tailed, the voice filled with unprecedented urgency.
Kurama's mental power was locked onto a certain spot behind them, the Chakra it least wanted to sense at that moment was rapidly approaching!
There was no time to think; Naruto, relying on his unreserved trust in Kurama, forcefully interrupted the almost complete sealing Jutsu! His body immediately shot upwards!
"Swoosh—!"
Several whooshing sounds almost grazed his feet! Naruto twisted in the air, looking down with surprise and uncertainty, clearly seeing what had almost hit him—
They were several chains emitting a soft golden light and an aura of sealing.
It seems this was the source of that ominous premonition... Naruto hovered in mid-air, his heart feeling as if it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand. He finally understood that the inexplicable dread was not unfounded.
The sneak attack failed. Behind the Edo Rasa, two more figures slowly stepped out from the shadows of the forest, silently standing not far from Naruto.
They also had hollow, lifeless eyes, but when Naruto's gaze fell upon their faces, his pupils suddenly constricted, and his breathing almost stopped. He fully understood why Kurama had been so panicked.
They were two women.
The one on the left wore an immaculate pure white kimono, her hair elegantly styled into a bun, with a clear purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead.
The one on the right had long hair and wore ordinary casual home clothes, yet it couldn't hide her gentle and resilient demeanor.
Their only commonality was—they both possessed fiery red hair, a vibrant color symbolizing the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline!
Inside the sealing space, the Nine-Tailed was completely bristling, baring its fangs and growling threateningly, staring intently at the two old acquaintances in the outside world with whom it had, in a sense, 'lived' for a long time.
Naruto recognized them.
The first was Uzumaki Mito, wife of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, and the previous Jinchuriki who had once housed the Nine-Tailed.
And the second... was Uzumaki Kushina, wife of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, a hero who had once protected the Village as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... and also the one who gave him life, whom he never had the chance to call 'Mother'!
"..."
The Nine-Tailed could clearly feel that Naruto in the outside world first fell into a blank daze, but immediately after, an indescribable, burning emotion mixed with sorrow and rage fiercely ignited in his heart.
Naruto had thought more than once that when he possessed enough power, he might be able to find a way to bring his parents back to life in this world full of Ninja miracles... but never in this desecrated, manipulated undead form!
"Boom—!"
Behind him, the Gold Dust controlled by Rasa re-converged, poised for action.
And in front, the bodies of Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina began to be forcibly enveloped and corroded by an ominous, blood-red Chakra. That Chakra was filled with brutality and pain, completely at odds with their original peaceful demeanor.
"Roar—!!!"
Accompanied by two inhuman roars filled with pain and frenzy, the two Uzumaki women underwent terrifying transformations as the blood-red Chakra completely consumed them.
Their bodies swelled and contorted, ultimately transforming into two Tailed Beast-like monsters, with multiple tails swaying behind them, their entire bodies crimson, leaving only pure destructive desire!
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