Chapter 171: Black Zetsu’s Wild Ecstasy, A Father–Son Battle

"Ni… Nine-Tails Chakra Mode?!"

Seeing a golden form identical to his own, Naruto stood there, dumbfounded. Plainly, Namikaze Minato's identical gold silhouette sent a decisive message:

He possessed the Nine-Tails as well!

Clever minds among the Konoha ninja outside the barrier instantly drew their conclusions.

"So during the Fourth Hokage's sealing of the Nine-Tails, he must've split it in two—one part sealed inside Uzumaki Naruto, and the other sealed inside himself, taking that half to the afterlife?"

"Yes, that must be it. After all, the Nine-Tails is the strongest Tailed Beast; no newborn infant could bear its full might."

"Truly the Fourth, he's incredible. Even in death, Edo Tensei'd, he can immediately become a perfect Jinchūriki."

"But… now the Fourth is our enemy!"

" … … …"

Cries of astonishment soon fell silent.

Just as in the original story, where the reanimated Four Hokage gave Konoha ninja or the Allied Shinobi Forces a massive sense of security, these resurrected Hokage brought massive pressure instead.

But glimpsing Yagyu's calm expression—no trace of solemn fear, only a faint smile and confident battle spirit—the more perceptive Konoha nin regained faith:

Thank goodness we have Lord Yagyu!

"So there was also half the Nine-Tails in Minato's body?"

Orochimaru's consciousness-possessed Edo Tensei puppet, hiding in the dark to observe, wore a look of realization.

"What a surprise. The Fourth Hokage's soul has been freed—and his medium was indeed in Hundred Faces's hands."

While a White Zetsu clone was merged with the terrain via Mayfly, its countenance broke into glee, swiftly passing intel up the chain to White Zetsu and then to Black Zetsu—who burst into inward joy.

The entire shinobi world had only a tiny handful aware that when Minato died sealing the Nine-Tails, he'd split it into Yin and Yang halves, sealing the Yang half into his infant son while the Yin half stayed in his own body, devoured by the Reaper.

For Black Zetsu, it had been terrible news.

Were he not nominally acting as "Madara's will," he would have cursed Uchiha Obito out loud.

Yes, capturing the Nine-Tails last was plausible. But to sabotage Konoha in so many ways—and stir the Nine-Tails rampage—Obito's childishness had led to an embarrassing fiasco: Minato battered him, nearly losing the entire Nine-Tails.

Had Minato sealed the full beast away with the Reaper, the entire Tailed Beast plan would have gone bust. Even splitting the Nine-Tails in two already caused Zetsu profound heartache. The Nine-Tails was "the strongest Tailed Beast;" half of it still outmatched a complete Eight-Tails.

With half the demon sealed away in Shinigami's domain, reassembling the Ten-Tails would be incomplete, inevitably reducing Kaguya's resurrection by some fraction.

Moreover, the demise of Uzushiogakure meant no one, not even Zetsu, could free Minato's soul from the Reaper.

But now, seeing Minato with that brilliant golden form was a monumental surprise for Black Zetsu. Were it not for the Tailed Beast sealing in progress and tenuous ties with Hundred Faces, Zetsu would have wanted to hug him in gratitude. This time, he definitely couldn't let Minato's soul take the Yin half of the Nine-Tails back to the Pure Land.

Whether Hundred Faces triumphed or not, Black Zetsu must ensure the complete Nine-Tails for the Gedo Statue. If Yagyu somehow won but didn't restore Yin-Kurama to Naruto, Zetsu might risk it all to snatch that Yin half for himself.

But Zetsu didn't know that Hundred Faces had reanimated Minato precisely so Naruto could attain true perfection as a Jinchūriki. Nor that Yagyu would have reunited the halves anyway, without being asked.

"Naruto, be careful. I learned this form along with Kushina when we aided you inside the Jinchūriki space,"

Minato warned:

"Plus, this Edo Tensei body is extremely formidable, near my prime with infinite chakra. Orochimaru must have perfected that jutsu… This is bad—"

Suddenly, Minato's face changed; his hands, beyond his control, slammed together.

In an instant, he performed an action that startled Naruto and Sasuke again. With a soft "pak," blue "flames" of aura erupted around Minato. Those flames—not standard chakra but natural energy—rushed into him as if magnetically attracted.

His gold, slit-pupil eyes mutated further, forming a cross shape—a golden cross. He now had the combined look of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode plus Sage Mode, reminiscent of Naruto's own advanced transformation.

"That's incredible, Dad—when did you learn all that?!"

Naruto gaped.

Inside Naruto's mental space, the "caged" Nine-Tails under sealing rods snorted:

"This Fourth guy is no small fry, brat—he's on a different level from you."

Truly, the Nine-Tails recognized only a handful. Uchiha Madara forcibly suppressed it, but it never conceded to him. Whereas Minato nearly extinguished it by sealing its full power into the Reaper. Even Hashirama or Madara never accomplished that. So the Nine-Tails retained a mix of loathing and respect for him.

"Stay alert, Naruto, Sasuke—and Yagyu."

Sage and Nine-Tails Chakra Mode surging, Minato addressed them gravely.

He then pulled out two tri-pronged kunai, a hallmark of Flying Thunder God. Indeed, Edo Tensei was bizarre enough to recreate his gear. Even appended abilities not physically present—like Edo Tensei'd Nagato's Rinnegan. That was why Edo Tensei was top-tier among ninjutsu.

Whoosh—

Minato casually tossed one kunai skyward, not aiming at the trio but at empty air. Then, weaving seals:

"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone!"

In a flash, that single kunai soared up, illusions flickering around it, then turning from hazy afterimages into real objects.

One kunai became two, two into three, three into thousands—forming a massive barrage high above, then abruptly reversing direction, like a downpour raining upon Yagyu's trio.

The three showed no sign of alarm.

"Amaterasu!"

Sasuke merely glared, and black flames materialized midair, engulfing the kunai barrage and rapidly incinerating them.

Pop, pop, pop…

Like dispersing Shadow Clones, the kunai parted in a series of balloon-like pops, clouds of white smoke.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Simultaneously, two differently colored afterimages flashed behind Naruto and Sasuke at lightning speed.

"Naruto, be careful!"

Minato advanced, clutching his tri-bladed kunai at Naruto's back:

"Dad, I'm not who I used to be!"

Naruto grinned confidently.

As if in response, the golden chakra behind him abruptly formed a giant fist laced with Sage chakra, smashing at Minato. The father's kunai had not yet reached Naruto; the son's extended fist was already on Minato's doorstep. Seeing it, Minato wore a gratified look. But he had no control over his body, which simply released the kunai and brought both hands up to block. Naruto's blow was tremendous, enough to break lesser Edo Tensei. But Minato was an exception—he too was in golden form and Sage Mode, nearly as strong as Naruto, minus a genuine Sage Body. Then again, Edo Tensei needed no physical stamina or concern for cell burn, so ironically he might overshadow Naruto's own reserves. In fact, at full strength and under free will, Minato could thrash the younger shinobi. He also excelled in seals and Flying Thunder God, overshadowing Naruto.

Sure enough, though Minato's arms parted from the blow, he swiftly formed a blue "Rasengan." Just as Naruto turned to face his father, Minato's figure flickered from view:

Pop! a sudden afterimage in front—slamming a blue Rasengan into Naruto:

Boom—

A swirling shockwave erupted, launching Naruto. Yet Naruto emerged unscathed, sporting a grin:

"Heh… If I hadn't sensed it in advance, you'd have nailed me, Dad."

Rewinding a second: Minato employed Flying Thunder God to jump to the kunai's location, pressing a Sage-boosted Rasengan into Naruto. But Naruto's golden chakra shaped a palm to intercept.

Minato once again looked proudly at his son:

"You truly are my child."

In Naruto's moves, Minato glimpsed his and Kushina's shadows—Naruto's personality echoes his mother, whereas his cunning strikes evoke himself. If only Kushina were here to see… She'd share his pride.

"Heh-heh…"

Minato's praise left Naruto's eyes a bit misty, self-consciously rubbing his nose. That fatherly compliment was all he'd longed for. During their meeting in the mindscape, he'd forgiven Minato's decisions. Now, he felt proud—and determined to surpass his father, not just to free him but to reassure him as well. He advanced boldly.

Meanwhile, Sasuke traded sword blows with a similarly malevolent Senju Tōbirama who flickered behind him. The Uchiha scion's Kusanagi vs. the Second Hokage's short blade locked in a flurry. Under a hidden Wood Clone's control, Tōbirama and Minato parted ways from Yagyu and Hashirama—so father vs. son, "evil Senju" vs. "Uchiha scion," both pairs well separated, leaving Yagyu and Hashirama alone.

Glancing at Naruto and Sasuke's spirited battles—especially father and son's tender gestures—Yagyu nearly removed Hashirama's mind seal. But after a moment's thought, he dismissed that notion.

If he freed their consciousness, Hashirama would break free of the Wood Clone's control. Tōbirama might disapprove of Yagyu's manipulations, perhaps exposing Yagyu's plans. With no need for their help, Yagyu saw best to let them slumber.

"Time for us to put on a show."

He dashed toward Hashirama, resuming the act.

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