In Naruto, build the strongest Hidden Mist Village.

Chapter 162 The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Kirigakure, and the Imminent Collapse of Konoha
"Naoki Kaguya".

With his life hanging by a thread, Minato Namikaze had no time to think about the village, the future, or what he had upheld in the past.

All he knew was that he wanted Kushina to live, and he wanted Naruto to have a mother.

Naoki Kaguya remained unmoved, not even glancing at the source of the sound.

Minato Namikaze lowered his head.

"Kaguya Naoki-sama."

Naoki Kaguya turned around and looked at Minato Namikaze, who was so dejected from being forced into a corner that he even bowed his head to his greatest enemy, and simply spoke.

"Minato Namikaze, are you really so naive as to think that I, Naoki Kaguya, would let go of such a perfect opportunity to let the Nine-Tails destroy Konoha, and then go to save a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who is destined to be disloyal to Kirigakure?"

"I."

Minato Namikaze was speechless.

If Kaguya Naoki or the Hidden Mist Village behind him weren't given enough benefits.

Naoki Kaguya wouldn't make a move.

What do I have to offer him?
No.

Minato Namikaze was in near despair.

No, despair has already been extinguished.

He knew better than anyone else what the current situation in Konoha was.
No one can stop the Nine-Tails.

What's more, there's that guy who uses mysterious techniques.

It's fair to say that Konoha was unable to spare any resources to save Kushina.

In fact, Konoha is now destined to face annihilation.

Under such circumstances, Kushina was destined to sacrifice herself.

Except for Kaguya Naoki.

However, he couldn't offer a price that would sway Kaguya Naoki.

"And me?"

Minato Namikaze gritted his teeth.

"Lord Naoki, if I were to pledge allegiance to Kirigakure, would this price be sufficient?"

"not enough."

Naoki Kaguya finished speaking, his expression a half-smile.

"Minato Namikaze, you should know who you are now."

"This price is not enough."

Minato Namikaze pursed his lips, about to speak.

At that moment, a fiery red light appeared on the distant horizon.

boom!
An explosion, like a muffled thunderclap, followed immediately.

The drifting wood chips dripped and tapped against Minato Namikaze's face, bringing him back to his senses. He looked up at everything on the horizon.

Golden chains fluttered high in the wind.

Lines of sealing, resembling black tentacles, wrapped around the Nine-Tails' body.

There was also a shimmering light illuminating the ordinary ninjas who were constantly squandering their chakra in front of the Nine-Tails, hoping to stop this monster.

just.

not enough.

Still not enough.

Minato Namikaze knew very well that none of this could stop this world-destroying monster.

really.

His waving claws tore through anything that dared to stand in his way.

Broken branches and splashed soil swept in again like a hurricane.

It can't be stopped.

Minato Namikaze looked at Naoki Kaguya, who was simply watching quietly in the storm.

"Lord Naoki".

“I can persuade Kushina to join Kirigakure.”

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, huh?"

"Yes."

Minato Namikaze lowered his head deeply.

"An absolute weapon of destruction, the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"And I have another guarantee."

Naoki Kaguya looked at Minato Namikaze.

"I can have you by my side anytime, anywhere."

"So, as long as Kushina doesn't want you to die, I'm destined to keep her loyal to me."

"Yes."

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Minato Namikaze nodded quickly.

"I never imagined that Minato Namikaze, the loyal dog of Konoha in the past, would have this day."

He was trying to humiliate me.

Minato Namikaze gave a helpless, bitter smile for a moment.

Seeing Kaguya Naoki's earnest expression as she awaited an answer, he couldn't help but pause.

Do you really want an answer?

Correct.

How I long to know the answer!

The expression solidified once more.

Is it humiliation?

Every day in the past, he and Kushina had been subjected to ridicule and humiliation.

No.

Minato Namikaze couldn't deny it.

At that time, even when facing widespread condemnation, he had no intention or action of betraying the village.

Why did I cross the line all at once today?

Woohoo!
Naruto's cries rang out again. Minato Namikaze looked over and then back at the Adamantine Chains around the Nine-Tails.

Is that right?

Minato Namikaze felt a sense of relief, realizing he had found the reason.

"It's because the two sides of the scale are made up of completely mismatched things."

"Compared to the village, what I want to protect more is Kushina."

"That's right."

Naoki Kaguya nodded and casually took out the Kirigakure headband from his hand.

"Put it on."

Minato Namikaze paused, then gritted his teeth.

He took the headband from Kaguya Naoki's hand and ripped it off his own forehead.

I put it on.

Naoki Kaguya silently placed the other headband into Naruto's arms.

Minato Namikaze showed no reaction whatsoever this time.

"However, just making you a ninja of Kirigakure isn't enough."

"Do not."

"Naoki Kaguya, you can't"

Minato Namikaze suddenly stopped.

Because Kaguya Naoki placed his hand on Namikaze Minato's shoulder.

A pale green light flickered at the point of contact.

A peculiar chakra flowed through Minato Namikaze's body, its gentle warmth constantly permeating the air.

soon.

That surge of chakra reached Minato Namikaze's thigh.

There, a place that had been continuously destroyed by the remaining destructive power of the Corpse Bone Vein, to the point that he could no longer feel anything.

Finally, I felt a slight pain.

Minato Namikaze was pleasantly surprised.

but.

That's it for now.

Naoki Kaguya withdrew his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"It's worse than I thought. The power of the Corpse Bone Vein has become completely entangled with your body. It won't be easy to resolve this in a day."

"Thank you."

Minato Namikaze expressed his sincere gratitude.

Feeling her own legs, she couldn't help but smile.

"If my legs could be healed and I could go back to the past, I would do anything."

"Do not."

Naoki Kaguya shook his head.

"This is what you should do as a Hidden Mist ninja."

"Moreover, it's uncertain whether Konoha will still harbor hatred towards Kirigakure after today."

"What's the meaning."

"Well."

"Come with me."

Naoki Kaguya summoned an ice mirror and stepped onto it.

He casually set up the ice mirror and placed Minato Namikaze and Naruto on it.

This is an ice mirror.

Minato Namikaze, holding Naruto, couldn't help but look at him curiously.

This was the main weapon that enabled Kaguya Naoki to display her power and achieve success in the Third Shinobi World War.

What a brilliant idea!

Sometimes, you can only know the mystery behind something after experiencing it yourself.

That way, I can at least feel a little relieved.

With such an ice-style technique, judging by the distance, Kaguya Naoki could reach Kushina in an instant if she wanted to.

Minato Namikaze then looked at Kushina, where the Adamantine Chains were already showing signs of weakening.

Moreover, the Nine-Tails continued to advance relentlessly.

Is this what Naoki Kaguya was talking about?
Wait until the Nine-Tails inflicts enough damage on Konoha before Kaguya Naoki steps in to finish it off.

In this way, can I gain the friendship of Konoha?

That's an oversimplification.

If Kushina and I defect to Kirigakure, that won't be enough.

Or.

He planned to let the Nine-Tails destroy most of Konoha, and then play the role of a savior to pull Konoha back from the brink of destruction.

but.

It still won't work.

Konoha has so many ninjas, if it's just a Nine-Tails.

No, what is that?
Being high in the air, with a wide-open view, it's easy to see very far.

Now, Minato Namikaze, relying on his excellent eyesight, could see far, far away through the thin mist.

There.

A dark purple, destructive sphere is coalescing.

"Tailed beast jade!"

"Why would there be a Tailed Beast Ball?"

"Of course, it's because the whole world knows that Konoha will be in some trouble tonight."

"That doesn't mean they had to offer up the Tailed Beast Ball right from the start."

"Why not?"

Naoki Kaguya shattered Minato Namikaze's illusions.

"One lost Minato Namikaze, and the other lost Orochimaru."

"The former Hokage and the current Hokage are bickering like crazy. The Uchiha clan, the largest clan, has always wanted to rebel. Everyone wants to take a bite out of this village. It's nothing new."

"That's it."

Minato Namikaze was disheartened.

"Then, Lord Naoki, do you intend to make Konoha a completely subordinate village of yours?"

"more or less."

“The other ninja villages are well prepared, if we also consider the Nine-Tails.”

Minato Namikaze involuntarily closed his eyes.

Anyone can figure out this calculation problem.

Naoki Kaguya continued speaking.

"Therefore, as long as the two Hokage of Konoha do not intend to preserve their strength, they will probably die."

"Furthermore, most of Konoha's elite troops will be lost."

"When that time comes, I'll step in and save the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Do you think they'll see me as their savior?"

Minato Namikaze nodded.

"However, I also know that the people of Konoha are all ingrates. The White Fang of Konoha is an example, and you are an example as well. Therefore, these Konoha ninjas will not regard me, this cold-blooded butcher, as a true savior."

"But so what?"

"I will not dismiss the Hokage."

"As long as we keep absorbing blood to replenish our Mist Village, that's enough."

"That's not all, Naoki-sama."

Minato Namikaze opened his eyes at some point.

"The deep-seated hatred and the disorganized Konoha ninja will become the vanguard for your Kirigakure to face the other ninja villages."

"Guessed it right."

Naoki Kaguya clapped his hands lightly.

"Anyway, after we, Kirigakure, have seized most of Konoha's essence, it's not hard to imagine that the other ninja villages would unite to deal with me."

"If, I mean if."

Minato Namikaze was unusually sweating profusely.

He envisioned a terrible future.

"If it succeeds, wouldn't that mean..."

"It means the world is unified, and the entire continent has only one country, one village, and one name."

"Then, it will be time for me to explain what you saw in Kirigakure."

"Is this so?"

Minato Namikaze lowered his head.

He bowed solemnly.

Very serious.

"Minato, wait a little longer, I need the perfect moment."

"But I assure you, Naruto, Kushina, and you will all be alright."

As for the pain that Konoha Village will have to endure
I do not care.
-
"That's... a Tailed Beast Ball!"

Outside the Hokage Building, the ninjas who had just taken off their Root ninja robes and officially become the Hokage's direct ANBU fully inherited the shortcomings of their predecessors.

They, who used to be cold and ruthless, have completely changed.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo."

A group of people squeezed in, creating chaos.

What they were waving in their hands were urgent intelligence reports from all directions within a few miles of Konoha Village.

"Don't rush, give them all to me."

A flash of light appeared not far away, followed by a violent explosion.

"Bring them all to me."

Danzo's expression darkened.

After scanning each dish, I felt my hands and feet were ice cold.

He originally thought there would only be nine-tailed foxes.

Even if other ninja villages were to cause trouble, they shouldn't have such audacity.

Impossible. They have a deep-seated blood feud between them, so why would they join forces to deal with Konoha?

Those damn bastards.

Danzo forced himself to calm down, realizing that Konoha was in its most critical moment.

The monkey is in charge of the nine tails.

Jiraiya was in charge.

and many more.

A mysterious kaleidoscope enemy possesses bizarre magical techniques.

Damn it, those evil Uchiha.

Tsunade has lost her fighting ability?
Useless trash.

There are also tailed beasts.

I.

Danzo suddenly felt his hands and feet were cold.

It seems that Konoha, under his rule, has entered its weakest period.

Right now, Konoha has practically no decent ninjas.

Danzo suddenly understood everything.

Those ninja villages all wanted to take advantage of Konoha's weakness, bare their fangs, and tear Konoha's flesh and blood apart to use as their nourishment.

And Danzo, the darkest figure in the ninja world who loved doing this kind of thing, was completely unaware.

Yes.

It's a monkey.

They're all monkeys, yet they insist on vying with me for the Hokage position.

Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation today.

Danzo angrily threw the intelligence report on the table and was about to walk out the door.

The sky began to shimmer with light again.

He looked over.

The Root ninja looked over.

All the Konoha ninjas looked over as well.

"That's... the Seven-Tails!? Even Takigakure, whose strength is second only to the Five Great Shinobi Villages, has participated in today's war against Konoha?"

Despair crept onto the faces of the Konoha ninja.

"The tailed beasts of Kumogakure, and those of Iwagakure."

"Could it be that the Hidden Mist will reappear soon?"

The Konoha ninjas were shaken.

Danzo, on the other hand, gritted his teeth in anger.

"Absolutely not."

As one of the few ninjas who knew just how terrifying the chakra contained in the Tailed Beast Ball was, if that level of chakra aggregate were to fall into the Konoha area and explode...

That's the end of his reign as Hokage.

No.

Danzo.

This is the most critical moment.

What are you still thinking about, Naruto!
Let's risk our lives!
I am by no means a cowardly or weak person.

Danzo Shimura rushed out the door, no longer feeling the superiority he once had.

but.

The Root ninjas followed even closer.

He rushed out of the Hokage Building.

The ninjas of Konoha also spontaneously gathered around him.

Faced with pairs of eager eyes, Shimura Danzo finally learned the most important secret to Kaguya Naoki becoming Hokage.

But it's too late.

My life is coming to an end.

but.

For Konoha.

worth!

(End of this chapter)