Chapter 197: Three Together! Sage Art: Whirling Great Spiraling Orb Slash!
As Kushina stared at Minato, whose abdomen had been pierced, her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her cheeks, falling to the ground.
Her heart was instantly engulfed by overwhelming sorrow, regret, and fatigue.
Yes, she thought.
Someone like her, a monster like her...
Why had she ever left her cage?
Was she pursuing love? Or merely indulging her selfish desires, acting willfully, and burdening others?
The duty of being a Jinchūriki, the weight of the Uzumaki Clan's downfall, and the anguish of injuring her beloved with her own hands—all of it, everything!
"Haah... haah..."
Kushina's breathing grew heavy as she displayed a nearly despairing expression. She murmured:
"I've had enough!"
"I've had enough, enough, enough, enough, enough, enough, enough!!!"
She clutched her head with one hand, her eyes widening with pain and confusion. Suddenly, she bowed her head, her voice trembling with helpless sobbing as she spoke with heavy remorse:
"Minato... please, don't worry about me anymore!"
"Take Ci and leave this place!"
"Leave now!"
"Hurry, get out of here!"
Uchiha Ci let out a faint sigh as he watched the scene unfold before him, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
Undoubtedly, the plot of The Tale of Minato had reached its most climactic chapter.
Although he had altered many aspects of the story through his involvement, it had still arrived at this critical turning point because of him.
This filled Uchiha Ci's heart with a sense of absurdity.
A theory of fateful entanglement and karmic cause-and-effect echoed in his mind.
So, after everything he had done, what had he truly changed?
At that moment, the voice of the Nine-Tails echoed once more:
"A brat who isn't even from the Uzumaki Clan, yet managed to enhance the Four Symbols Seal with his own ideas."
"And another one—"
"A deceptive kid, fooling others, fooling himself, unsure of why he even exists... lost, confused, and aimless, wandering like a ghost through the world, yet powerful like no other Uchiha brat."
The Nine-Tails' tone turned cold as it growled:
"This ends now!"
"Release your hands from the seal! And you, stop your outrageous act of stealing my chakra this instant!"
Half of Kushina's face, shrouded in the Nine-Tails' chakra, turned toward Minato.
Her cold gaze fell upon him, even as he kept his hand pressed on her abdomen, resolutely maintaining the Four Symbols Seal despite his abdomen being pierced.
Then, her gaze shifted to Uchiha Ci, silently stealing her chakra right in front of the fox.
"Tch, busted," Ci muttered irritably.
But stopping? Out of the question. Besides, Zero-Tails was having the time of its life. Even if Ci, its master, wanted it to stop, it wouldn't comply.
"Go ahead, Nine-Tails, stab me again if you dare."
At that moment, Minato's subconscious counterattack temporarily restrained the Nine-Tails with the Four Symbols Seal. Ci certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.
The Nine-Tails glared at them darkly and issued a chilling warning:
"This woman is my Jinchūriki!"
"She has nothing to do with you!"
"Why would strong people like you concern yourselves with this girl?"
"Leave now! You might still save your lives!"
Hearing this, both Uchiha Ci and Minato shook their heads simultaneously.
For Ci, if he left now, what would happen to the "Crown Prince"? Without Minato, how could he find another savior?
Moreover, Minato was inherently a good person, someone who had shown him kindness. There was no way Ci would abandon him!
As for Minato...
He coughed up blood in pain, raising his head with great effort and rasping out:
"It's not... not like that!"
He exhaled and gazed at Kushina resolutely.
"I admire strong people!"
"I like people who are stronger than me!"
"That's why I love Kushina!"
Kushina froze, her head snapping up as she stared at Minato in a daze.
This confession, spoken in the face of death, sent a tremor through her heart.
"And I can feel it," Minato continued firmly. "In Kushina's heart, there has always been a place for me!"
As his words fell, his gaze sharpened. Placing one hand on Kushina's abdomen, he twisted the Four Symbols Seal, transforming it into the Eight Trigrams Seal—a method he had previously tested on Ci.
Then, he placed his other hand on Ci's shoulder.
In an instant, through the connection of chakra, their surroundings shifted dramatically.
Minato's actions had brought all three of them into Kushina's mental realm—the prison of the Eight Trigrams Seal that contained the Nine-Tails.
Standing ankle-deep in water within the spiraling domain, the three stood shoulder-to-shoulder before the towering iron gate.
Behind it loomed the oppressive, ferocious, and monstrous Nine-Tails—a collection of all the world's malice and violence.
Kushina looked at the two figures beside her—one tall, one shorter—both unwavering.
Her gaze trembled slightly as memories of the previous Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito, surfaced in her mind. She recalled Mito standing on the veranda of the Uzumaki clan's residence, gazing up at the stone visage of the First Hokage, Hashirama, as she imparted her wisdom:
"Kushina, we may have come here as the vessels for the Nine-Tails."
"But before that, we must find love and fill our vessels with it."
"In this way, even as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki..."
"You can still find happiness."
"Believe in yourself. As long as you keep climbing upward, you will eventually encounter people and things worth protecting!"
"In the end, the whirlpool will become a spiral!"
In that moment, Kushina's eyes snapped open!
No longer was there any hesitation.
She looked at the two beside her, a radiant smile breaking across her face.
"Thank you, Minato. And you too, Ci!"
With those words, Kushina took the first step forward.
With a low shout, countless golden chains shot from her abdomen!
"Haah!"
The adamantine chains bound the Nine-Tails in an instant, forcing it to unleash a thunderous roar that shook the entire domain.
"Grgh! Kushina, what are you doing?!"
"Even I will retaliate!"
Gritting her teeth, Kushina shouted back, "Nine-Tails, I won't let you hurt them anymore!!"
Minato smiled faintly at this sight.
He turned to Ci and said firmly, "Ci!"
"Let's go together, the three of us!"
Raising his hand, Minato conjured a shining blue sphere.
Ci followed his gaze, smirking as he raised his own hand to join. Infusing it with the Sage Chakra converted from the Nine-Tails' stolen chakra, he added his energy to the sphere.
Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails broke free from the chains around its neck, stomping the ground.
"Curse you brats—!!"
It roared, gathering a massive ball of chakra into its mouth—a colossal Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Die!"
But before it could launch the attack, Ci bellowed louder:
"Nine-Tails!"
"Try this—our ultimate combo move!"
As Ci finished, both he and Minato shouted in unison:
"Sage Art: Radiant Cat's Paw Reversed Enlightenment Double Uchiha Spiral Ball!!"
At that moment, Kushina placed her hand on the sphere, her expression exasperated.
"That's so lame!" she exclaimed.
"And the name's way too long!"
With a decisive gesture, she infused her golden chakra into the sphere.
"Let's just call it... the Rasengan!"
"And this combo move—"
Linked by chakra, the trio understood one another's intentions instantly.
Together, they raised the tricolored Rasengan—golden, blue, and black—and leaped into the air!
With determination, they struck their tiny Rasengan against the massive Tailed Beast Bomb!
At its core was Minato's refined Whirling Great Spiraling Orb Slash.
Encircling it was Ci's expanded Rasengan infused with Sage Chakra.
And surrounding both was Kushina's sealing technique, the golden adamantine chains preventing the energy from escaping.
The fusion of the three created a chemical transformation.
The ultimate Rasengan, surpassing the Great Spiraling Orb Slash, was born!
The trio roared as one, driving the sphere forward:
"This is our ultimate combo—"
"Sage Art: Whirling Great Spiraling Orb Slash!"
In an instant, two drastically different-sized orbs collided!
A three-colored, radiant Rasengan surged forward with overwhelming force!
It shook the air, stirred the soul, and pierced through the Tailed Beast Ball!
A straight beam of light shot forth, carrying an unstoppable storm and immense power—slamming hard onto the stunned and astonished face of the Nine-Tails!
It delivered a ferocious blow squarely to its face!
In the next moment, a blazing warm light erupted, drowning all love, hatred, and grudges within its brilliance!