Orochimaru slipped the control talisman into the reanimated body.
Minato Namikaze's eyes opened—and to his surprise, he once again beheld the world of the living.
He couldn't move.
There was no sensation of flesh and blood, no heartbeat, no pulse flowing through his veins.
He immediately assessed his condition—he was still dead. Only brought back by some form of resurrection jutsu.
Orochimaru watched him with satisfaction, eyes gleaming. "Success."
"Orochimaru…?"
Minato quickly recalled what kind of technique could produce such an effect. He'd read about it in Konoha's Scroll of Seals.
His pale, reanimated face darkened with a hint of anger.
"The forbidden jutsu that revives the dead… Edo Tensei."
He glanced at the discarded snakeskin beside him—its stomach had been split open.
"Heh, don't blame me, Fourth Hokage-sama."
Orochimaru offered a courteous "sama" and raised his hands in mock surrender, part amusement, part nonchalance.
"This jutsu was invented by the Second Hokage. I'm merely a humble user."
Minato didn't waste his breath arguing with this slippery snake. His attention shifted to the man standing not far away—Yagura.
A younger man than himself. Minato had wanted to meet him for a long time, to reopen ties between Konoha and Kirigakure. But Yagura had always refused.
Now, what he couldn't accomplish in life was somehow happening after death.
Normally, one might consider this a satisfying resolution to past regrets. But Minato knew this situation was far from normal.
"Mizukage."
"Well, well. You're just as impressive in person as they say, Hokage."
Yagura raised a hand in greeting and smiled. "I read every letter you sent. That's why I decided to come meet you. On my own terms."
Minato didn't respond. His gaze on Yagura was cautious, wary.
"Not in the mood to chat, I see."
Yagura turned to Orochimaru, eyes silently asking: how tight is your control over the Edo Tensei? Any risks? Don't give me some half-baked jutsu that'll fall apart on me.
Sure, the reanimated body looked like it was made of papier-mâché—but if Orochimaru's control was as flimsy as it looked, Yagura would turn him into literal tofu.
Such a terrifying threat~
Orochimaru smiled confidently. "You can test him if you'd like."
"And how exactly am I supposed to test him? You can't kill an Edo Tensei."
He stepped closer to Minato—but kept a reasonable distance.
Part of it was caution.
The other part? Pride. Both of them carried the title of "Kage." No way he'd let his presence be overshadowed.
To his left stood Orochimaru. To his right, Sasori.
The infamous trio of villains.jpg
"Should I tell you that after Hiruzen Sarutobi took up the Hokage's mantle again, he and Danzo Shimura wiped out the Uchiha? That the clan's true heir is now hiding in Kirigakure?"
"Or maybe I should let you in on the little secret Sarutobi's been hiding—that your son, Naruto Uzumaki, the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, is actually your child? And he's been living a lonely, neglected life in Konoha?"
Minato's face remained unreadable. "..."
He'd already tried using Flying Thunder God to escape this space.
The technique's markings didn't disappear. If he wanted to, and if he could, Minato could teleport back to Konoha right now.
But Orochimaru had planted the Edo Tensei control tag inside him. Minato had no illusions—he was under Orochimaru's control, and there was no pretending otherwise.
As for Naruto… Minato had already considered what might become of his son after his death.
Most Jinchuriki faced discrimination. Bunpuku and Gaara in Sunagakure. Killer B in Kumogakure. Even Kushina herself, the previous Nine-Tails host.
Of course, it hurt him to think of his child suffering. But he wasn't surprised.
What truly shocked him wasn't Naruto's pain—but Sarutobi's decision to hide Naruto's true parentage.
The son of a hero, versus the demon fox that killed the hero… Perhaps the former would only have brought greater pain.
Sasori, with his own sharp sensitivity toward parental matters, let out a mocking laugh.
"So much for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki… doesn't seem like this father cares at all."
Yagura said nothing.
Caring or not—what difference would it make?
Minato wasn't the impulsive emotional type. He was a bearer of the Will of Fire.
Naruto's suffering, in his view, was a sacrifice made for the greater good of the village.
Faced with the choice—Konoha or his son—Minato would hesitate, yes. But whether he'd ultimately choose Naruto? That was less certain.
Now, if it were Kushina brought back instead, and she learned what their son had gone through… that would be a very different story.
Naruto really was the quintessential shonen protagonist—the one who had the most reason to turn evil, yet ended up saving the world as the Seventh Hokage.
Just look at Obito—he lost someone he loved (barely more than a childhood crush!) and decided to destroy the world.
"Why not just bring his kid over here~" Orochimaru offered, twisting the knife a little deeper.
He was deliberately provoking Minato—seeing how far he could push before the Hokage lost control.
If Minato snapped, Orochimaru had contingencies.
Reliable, as always.
More importantly, Orochimaru was eager to see whether Edo Tensei still had hidden potential—was there more to uncover?
He certainly hoped so. That meant more research to do!
"We could try," Yagura said with a smile.
Bringing Naruto over wouldn't be hard. But the Nine-Tails sealed inside him—that was another matter.
...
Looking into Minato's eyes, Yagura thought to himself: at least all the money I poured into Orochimaru's research paid off. This was worth it.
It was time.
He gave the order. "Notify the sealing team immediately. Bring Uzumaki Menma here."
"Yes, sir!"
Sealing… Uzumaki!
So that was the plan.
The Mizukage and Orochimaru hadn't pulled Minato from the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and resurrected him for no reason. They were after the Nine-Tails.
"You—Mizukage—!"
"You don't seem all that concerned about your son," Yagura interrupted. "So here's the deal: give us the Yin half of the Nine-Tails, and I'll tell you the identity of the one who attacked you and Kushina the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage."
Before the sealing team and the Jinchuriki arrived, Yagura wanted to give Minato one final gut punch—to make sure he understood what was really happening.
"And let me be clear—that man wasn't one of mine."
Orochimaru formed a hand seal, stripping away Minato's consciousness entirely.
"He was yours. One of your three students—Uchiha Obito. Still alive. Still has one Sharingan."
Obito…?!
Wait—!
There was no time for Minato to process the truth, or even react emotionally.
His blue eyes turned pale and lifeless—the blank stare of the reanimated dead.
Despite the flood of shocking revelations, Minato's body remained stable. No signs of breaking free from Orochimaru's control.
Orochimaru looked down at the golden-haired young man who had once surpassed him in the race for Hokage.
His competitive spirit stirred. "How does my puppet compare to yours, Sasori? Mine can retain their jutsu, has an indestructible body, limitless chakra, and eternal preservation."
"Hah. If it's so perfect, why don't you kill yourself and turn into one?"
"Oh, I'm quite satisfied with my current body, thank you."
"Enough," Yagura cut in. "Quit it, both of you."
These two scientific lunatics could argue forever. Neither would back down.
...
A red-haired, red-eyed child was led in.
Uzumaki Menma glanced curiously at Minato, then obediently laid down on the sealing altar.
He was to become the Nine-Tails' new vessel.
But Menma wasn't afraid—in fact, he was proud.
After all, the Mizukage had been about his age when he became a Jinchuriki too!
He was following in the Mizukage's footsteps.
Unlike the clueless child, the adults of the sealing team were shaken the moment they laid eyes on Minato.
Once Yagura explained the mission, they were stunned.
They'd been confused when they were summoned.
Both of Kirigakure's tailed beasts were already sealed in stable Jinchuriki. Why had the ANBU called them for a sealing mission?
The captain of the Uzumaki sealing team murmured, "Mizukage-sama… this is quite the operation…"
The entire team was still reeling. Their eyes couldn't leave Minato or Yagura.
Swallowing hard, they tried to compose themselves.
Everyone knew how the Raikage of Kumogakure had tried to steal a Byakugan through underhanded schemes, only to be forced into a humiliating concession after Konoha and Iwagakure joined forces.
And that was without success.
Meanwhile, their own Mizukage had quietly stolen half of the Nine-Tails—and succeeded in one move.
Compared to that, the Raikage's actions looked like child's play.
"Ahem~ All right, all right."
Yagura raised an eyebrow, then said sternly, "We'll save the commentary for later. Let's begin."
"Yes, sir!"
The sealing team cleared the area and took their positions.
...
[Isobu]: Want me to help out?
[Yagura]: You're volunteering? Yeah, I think I'll need you.
[Isobu]: Just saying—Kurama's not as easy to deal with as me or Saiken. And Uchiha Obito isn't much of a threat to you anymore.
[Yagura]: True. Won't be able to use the same trick to fool Kurama.
But forging bonds with tailed beasts wasn't just about trickery.
Naruto Uzumaki, Killer B, even Minato inside the Shinigami's stomach—each had succeeded.
Besides, the bond he now shared with Isobu, Utakata, and Saiken—wasn't one built on shared enemies anymore.
...
The sealing team extracted the Yin half of Kurama's chakra from Minato's body.
And sealed it into Uzumaki Menma.
An Uzumaki body, combined with the Eight Trigrams Seal—they'd created a vessel much like Kushina herself.
Even if Menma couldn't form a spiritual bond with the Nine-Tails, the fox wouldn't rampage unless provoked by outside forces.
Barring surprises, Kurama was about to settle into yet another Uzumaki host.
Even his own name had been given to him by Yagura.
Uzumaki Menma really didn't want to lose face right now—but he failed. "
...Yeah."
Just a kid, suddenly saddled with the name "Menma" and all the expectations that came with it.
Yagura knew full well this Menma wasn't that Menma, so he remained patient.
"Hey, hey, check this out—let me show you Isobu and me."
Isobu responded immediately.
The tiny turtle-like beast appeared, lying lazily on the back of Yagura's hand.
It hadn't been summoned in a while, so it stretched out its back half in a huge, exaggerated yawn.
Its tail perked up and gave a friendly little wag. In a display of politeness, it greeted Uzumaki Menma: "Hi. Good evening. I'm sleepy."
Having just witnessed the ferocious Nine-Tails, Menma was stunned to see how gentle and affectionate Yagura's Tailed Beast was!
What a stark contrast!
Was it possible for him and the Nine-Tails to be like that too?
[Nine-Tails: Don't even think about it! (roars) Isobu, you spineless fool!!]
As if he'd heard Kurama's angry outburst, Isobu lazily opened one eye.
He glanced at the seal etched around Menma's navel.
Through that symbolic barrier, he sent a calm, mocking look in Kurama's direction.
You think about that, Kurama.
If you explode from rage, that's your problem, not mine~
Isobu was beginning to realize that spending so much time around Yagura had rubbed off on him—he was getting cheeky.
But it was fine. He had a thick shell.
...
Yagura quickly linked minds with Isobu.
He knew better than anyone that Kurama was completely unreasonable right now. Going inside to talk to him would be asking for trouble.
"Well then."
Yagura didn't bother confronting the Nine-Tails. Instead, he addressed Uzumaki Menma directly, trying to prepare him mentally.
"The Nine-Tails inside you is stronger—and more temperamental—than my Three-Tails or Utakata's Six-Tails. Taming it is going to be way harder than what either of us went through."
"I raised a turtle—ow, hey!" He winced as Isobu smacked him lightly. "Utakata's raising a giant bug. You, on the other hand, have a cat."
Menma blinked. "Wait... isn't it a fox?"
"Temperament-wise? It's a fox with extra spicy attitude points. Still a canine. I'm making a comparison here."
"Oh..."
...
"Do you still need him?"
Orochimaru's voice cut in. He was asking Yagura whether he still needed the reanimated Minato Namikaze.
"If not, I'll cancel the Reanimation Jutsu."
Their objective had already been achieved. Yagura had no desire to keep entangling himself with Minato.
Besides, aside from the fact that they both held the title of Fourth in their respective villages, there had never been any real connection between them.
Yagura looked down, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Was there anything else Minato could offer?
Then he glanced back at Uzumaki Menma. A sudden idea sparked.
"Orochimaru, could you control Namikaze Minato and have him write down the training methods for the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan?"
When there's a favor to ask, look how polite he gets.
"No problem."
Orochimaru was used to it by now. He nodded calmly and went to handle the follow-up.
...
"The signature techniques of the Fourth Hokage—Flying Thunder God and Rasengan—will be passed on to you over the next few days. Whether or not you can master them... that's up to you."
Yagura reached out and ruffled the boy's hair without restraint.
He wanted to enjoy moments like this while he still could. In a few years, those opportunities might be gone.
Menma had heard of the Yellow Flash, this distant uncle of his, and now he nodded in a daze.
...
"To suppress a Tailed Beast, you'll need real strength of your own," Yagura added after a pause.
"That might sound like a big goal. So let's start small—beat Sasuke."
Sasuke had Shisui's personal instruction.
He inherited the Uchiha clan's expertise in tool use, Fire Style, swordsmanship, genjutsu—he wasn't lacking in any area. And he'd already awakened his Sharingan with one tomoe.
Taming the Nine-Tails felt far away and abstract.
Beating Sasuke? That felt within reach.
A burning resolve flared up in Menma's red eyes, matching the color of his irises.
Mission: Inspire the Jinchuriki — complete ✔
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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