enjoyebooks Chapter 618 Minato's Guilt
Chapter 618 Minato's Guilt
"I don't want to kill you."
Naruto stood in the very center of the battlefield, shattered by his chakra, looking at Deidara who was being held in mid-air by the golden giant claw. His tone was sincere, "So please, can you two just be quiet for a bit? We don't necessarily have to solve problems with our fists. We can totally do something different, get along peacefully, chat, have a cup of tea, how about that?"
He did seem to be making a serious suggestion. But Deidara was completely gripped by that huge golden chakra claw, with only his head barely showing. His cheeks were distorted by the chakra energy surging from the inside of the claw, and even the corners of his mouth were twitching involuntarily.
"However, before that..." Naruto raised one hand and tilted it slightly towards Tsunade, the angle of which was exactly aimed at Tsunade's chest, which was still flat when viewed from the side.
"Please apologize to the Fifth Hokage for his physique."
"What a joke! Damn it!" Deidara writhed desperately in the golden giant claw, like an eel being held by the scruff of its neck.
"You resorted to underhanded tactics! If you have the guts, release that damned sealing spell! Fight my art fair and square! What kind of skill is it to hide behind a sealing spell!"
People like Deidara are the kind of people who would actually risk their lives to create so-called "explosive art."
So Naruto didn't give Deidara any chance to bargain. The moment he grabbed him, he had already slapped the sealing jutsu on him, sealing all of Deidara's chakra points. Now, Deidara couldn't even sculpt a clay flea, let alone detonate himself.
Kakuzu lay on the ground not far away, fast asleep like a baby.
Before releasing those masked monsters, Naruto had already circled behind Kakuzu at a speed that even Kakuzu himself couldn't catch. Kakuzu was knocked unconscious without any ability to resist and would definitely not wake up for a while.
"You!" Tsunade's voice rang out from behind Naruto. Her attitude was anything but good; in fact, she was even more tense than when facing the Akatsuki members.
Because those who know should be fought or killed as appropriate, their stance is clear, but the stance of this blond youth who suddenly appeared in front of them is completely unclear.
What she couldn't ignore even more was the golden chakra Naruto had used to grab Deidara, the chakra form that wrapped around his body like an outer garment—its texture and color were the power of the Nine-Tails. The power unique to the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Tsunade clenched and unclenched her fists. She didn't attack rashly. Although she didn't think she would lose to those two Akatsuki members, it would indeed take a considerable amount of time and effort to deal with them.
The blond youth in front of me was able to end the battle in an instant, so his strength is probably above mine.
"What did you do to Konoha's Jinchuriki? Answer me! If you dare touch her!"
Naruto had a bit of a headache. Asking himself why he had the power of the Nine-Tails was like asking him "Why are you staying at home?"
"Hokage-sama!"
Just then, several dark figures flew in at incredible speed from the direction of the center of Konoha Village. There were ANBU members, and one figure that Naruto recognized all too well.
Minato Namikaze was wearing a dark green Jonin vest. In this world, Minato Namikaze was not the Fourth Hokage, but just an ordinary Jonin.
"Minato! How is Mai doing?!" Tsunade immediately turned to him.
"Mai is fine, she's safe now, there haven't been any abnormal situations from beginning to end!" Minato quickly finished reporting, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Naruto.
"Lord Hokage, this person does indeed possess the power of the Nine-Tails; I have sensed it. However, please allow me to negotiate with him. Perhaps this person is not our enemy."
Minato himself found it strange. It was the first time in his life he had ever felt this way.
As a ninja, he should instinctively be wary of a complete stranger he had never met before, a dangerous individual whose identity and stance were unclear, who suddenly appeared on the battlefield and displayed overwhelming power and the Nine-Tails' chakra. However, looking at Naruto's face, he simply couldn't bring himself to label him as an "enemy."
The sense of familiarity that welled up from the bottom of his heart was overwhelming. Minato knew very well that he didn't understand the blond youth in front of him at all, but he still couldn't help but speak up for him, and he still couldn't help but feel that this person couldn't be a bad person.
Moreover, Minato had already noticed. This person looked far too much like his daughter.
He exuded a kind of aura that made him soften his heart and completely unable to maintain a stern face. It was almost like Mai's long-lost brother.
Minato took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress these personal feelings for the time being, and put on a professional and restrained expression again.
He took a step forward, looking Naruto into the eyes. "I'm sorry, but there are some things we need to know. Please answer us: why do you possess the power of the Nine-Tails? This power should be something only my daughter possesses. As her father, I need an explanation."
Naruto looked at Minato with a complicated expression. His father was asking him a question, but he used the polite tone one would use with a stranger, every word polite yet distant.
"This question is actually very simple. Just think about it for yourself, and you'll understand."
He raised his right hand, and a wisp of extremely fine golden chakra emerged from his palm, slowly drifting towards Minato's direction.
Minato originally wanted to dodge to the side, which is the most instinctive reaction of a Jonin when facing unknown chakra, but his body did not move.
Because his eyes were still fixed on Naruto's face. He felt he could trust this person.
The wisp of golden chakra drifted to Minato's front. Minato closed his eyes and used his sensory abilities to discern the internal composition of that chakra.
The texture and the Nine-Tails chakra on Mai's body are indeed from the same source, but if you perceive them carefully, you will find that their "weight" is completely different.
Mai's Nine-Tails is more subdued, calmer, and more restrained, like an undercurrent in the deep sea, while Naruto's Nine-Tails is hotter and more outward-flowing, like the midday sun blazing down on the earth.
"...Hokage-sama!" Minato suddenly turned his head. "This person's Nine-Tails chakra is different from Mai's! It comes from the same source as Mai's chakra, but their attributes are different. The chakra in this person's body is the half that was taken away by the Fourth Hokage back then!"
After Minato quickly explained these technical details, the heavy weight in his heart finally lifted a little, but what followed was a heavy bitterness.
Back then, because of the masked man's attack, her newborn daughter was forced into becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki while still an infant.
But Mai was simply too small, so small that she didn't even have the strength to cry. Her tiny body simply couldn't withstand the full power of the Nine-Tails. The Fourth Hokage, Haruno Shō, used his own life to tear the Nine-Tails in two. The yin half was sealed inside Mai, while the yang half, along with his own soul, sank into endless darkness.
Minato didn't want his daughter to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, but Mai was the only Uzumaki clan member in Konoha at the time.
Minato was just an ordinary Jonin. He had no decision-making power, no say in anything, and for so many years, this matter had been deeply etched in his heart.
"...If you want to ask why my body contains half of the Nine-Tails' chakra that Haruno Chika brought down, please wait a moment." Naruto spoke up, pulling Minato out of that bitter memory.
"I meant no harm. I really came here for tourism, but... Watergate..."
He still felt incredibly awkward calling out that name. "Have you guys checked whether there's anything wrong with Uzumaki Mai, who's been staying at home in Konoha right now?"
------
I'm speechless. They won't let it pass the review without adding stickers.