I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 401 The most important role of the top leader in a project is to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony upon completion.

"Are you sure I can break the seal now?"

Inside the Forest of Death, Kushina looked at Tatsuma with a questioning expression, with Minato, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Sannin beside her, and the sealing team on the outer perimeter also ready at any moment.

Tatsuma nodded and said, "It's alright. Even if you lose control and unleash a Tailed Beast Bomb, Minato can teleport away."

As he spoke, he patted Minato on the shoulder. Minato nodded and said, "Kushina, believe in yourself, and believe in me and Tatsuma. There won't be any problems."

Jiraiya, who had rushed back after being notified, leaned close to Hiruzen Sarutobi's ear and asked, "Are you really confident? Or do you, old man, have confidence in fighting the Nine-Tails?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been looking quite relaxed, couldn't help but show a tense expression after Jiraiya's words. Even as the Hokage, it seemed that he didn't have much of a chance of winning against the Nine-Tails.

"Shut up, Jiraiya!"

Tsunade uttered a dissatisfied sound. Unlike the nervous Jiraiya, Tsunade's face was full of confidence, not only confidence in her disciple, but also a kind of...mysterious confidence.

Orochimaru said, "It would be best if we could succeed on the first try. Haven't we heard that Kirigakure has already started contacting Konoha? If something goes wrong, the surgery might have to be postponed."

Tatsuma had been busy for half a year, just like the analysis class, all for the sake of performing surgery on Genmi. If it was delayed, the hospital would have to go through a lot of procedures to reschedule the surgery, let alone perform surgery on a Kage.

Orochimaru actually had no reason to worry, since this mission had nothing to do with him. Whether Tatsuma succeeded or not, he wouldn't get any mission rewards.

Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips. This was the first bloodline limit transplant surgery he had participated in. Although he wouldn't be on the operating table or on the mission list, the sense of participation made Orochimaru extremely concerned.

Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly, then changed the subject, saying, "I've noticed a lot of activity in the Land of Earth lately. I almost got caught up in it last time. Old man, what kind of mission did you assign to Sakumo-senpai?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Spend more time focusing on your own development. If this continues, Minato will surpass you, his teacher."

Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded him somewhat displeasedly, while Jiraiya scratched his head and said, "Personal development isn't just about strength. The book I wrote before has been picked up by a publisher and is planning to be published."

"You think you can sell your worthless writings?"

Orochimaru frowned, a hint of sourness in his voice. He hadn't been living lavishly for long before Danzo ran out of money and could no longer support his experiments, which was truly disappointing.

Now, hearing that Jiraiya is also starting to make money through side hustles, and those meaningless fictional stories at that, Orochimaru thought of the papers he submitted to those journals, which not only didn't bring him any royalties, but also required him to pay publication fees himself.

No wonder the truth is in the hands of a few, because those few who possess the truth simply don't have the money to spread it.

"Cough cough~"

Seeing that the conversation was going off track, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly coughed twice and then pointed towards Kushina.

Kushina seemed to have mentally prepared herself. She took a few deep breaths and was about to place her hand on the seal on her abdomen when she suddenly remembered something, looked at Tatsuma, and asked, "Don't you need to prepare yourself?"

As she spoke, she haphazardly traced lines on her face with her fingers. Tatsuma knew she was referring to Sage Mode, so he shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. If the sealing barrier isn't working, it must be a problem with the Nine-Tails, not with my sealing technique."

As Chenma spoke, he shook his left hand. In order to test his seal, he had used up all the chakra he had absorbed from the Nine-Tails. Now, the seal's absorption and conversion of the Nine-Tails' chakra was perfect.

Besides, several months have passed, and he is no longer the naive young man who needed to slowly find his footing in the Whirlpool Tower.

Even without external assistance, he could hardly enter the perfect Sage Mode of theory, which was determined by his personality.

However, his current Sage Mode is almost identical to the Perfect Sage Mode in terms of performance data.

To put it abstractly, the theoretically perfect Sage Mode is like a device that's fully powered from the factory. Chenma's current Sage Mode is like it's been overclocked; the performance is the same, but it's not as good as being at full power.

However, Chenma felt that it was enough for now. In addition, the Death Forest had been modified by him, and many trees had actually been replaced. Chenma absorbed natural energy very quickly in the Death Forest, which allowed him to deal with emergencies at any time.

Tatsuma couldn't possibly ignore the contingency plans that Kushina could think of; he just didn't need to explain too much to an "outsider."

"Alright then," Kushina nodded reluctantly, then looked at Minato and said, "Minato, you must be careful and don't push yourself too hard."

Despite being protected and cared for, Minato's smile was still somewhat awkward. He liked the powerful Kushina, but he didn't like the version of himself that needed to be protected.

"Be careful, everyone."

Hiruzen Sarutobi also spoke up, fidgeting with his hands behind his back. Jiraiya hid behind Orochimaru, who stood motionless, while Tsunade crossed her arms, her face still displaying a mysterious confidence.

"Untie the tail mudra!"

Kushina raised her hand and pressed it against the seal on her abdomen. The seal's changes were not visible through her clothes, but the immense chakra that could stir up a whirlwind made everyone's expressions become extremely serious.

"This is only Kushina's chakra."

Tatsuma raised his hand and placed it on Minato's shoulder, whose face was filled with tension. Minato was taken aback, then somewhat incredulous. He knew Kushina better than Tatsuma, and had even sparred with her many times, but...

Kushina has never unleashed this level of chakra before. Could it be that Kushina is holding back for him?

Seeing Minato's confusion, Tatsuma explained, "What sealed the Nine-Tails was essentially Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Technique. She was constantly engaged in a tug-of-war with the Nine-Tails, and she has only just withdrawn this portion of her chakra."

Minato instantly understood, but looking into Kushina's eyes, his worry was mixed with heartache. This was the nature of a Jinchūriki; from the moment a Tailed Beast was sealed within them, their entire lives were spent fighting against it.

Tsunade and the others also heard Tatsuma's words. Tsunade narrowed her eyes, her mysterious confidence fading somewhat, but she still stood still.

Orochimaru instinctively wanted to lick his lips, but as soon as he stuck out his tongue, the strong wind scraped it and made it hurt, forcing him to give up licking his dry lips. Actually, it wouldn't have made a difference anyway, since the saliva would have dried up instantly.

He pulled his hands back, both of them covered by the wide sleeves. His eyes were listless, and the pupils in the center of his golden pupils were reduced to mere slits.

Jiraiya had already reached out and placed his hand on the large scroll he was carrying on his back. The tension and fear on his face just now disappeared, and his usually unreliable face became extremely serious.

That was just an interaction with a good friend. As an excellent ninja, Jiraiya wasn't really afraid.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at his three disciples, a slight smile playing on his lips. These three good-for-nothing disciples were finally showing some promise. His heart calmed down for some reason, and his hands stopped moving.

"roar!!!"

Suddenly, Kushina's chakra erupted once more, the fiery red chakra transforming into a ring of air waves that rippled outwards. From within Kushina's body, even the roars of wild beasts could be heard.

His skin was covered in red chakra, and his fiery red hair fluttered in the wind. Two chakra ears had appeared on the top of his head at some unknown time.

The chakra invasion caused Kushina's features to distort slightly, with cracks appearing on her cheeks like blood-red beards, and her exposed teeth becoming sharp.

Even the shape of her pupils changed from dots to vertical pupils like Orochimaru's, and a violent and chilling aura spread continuously from Kushina's body.

"Buzz~ Buzz~"

A faint light suddenly emanated from the ground, and the sky seemed to darken slightly. In the perception of "vision," the entire Death Forest was enveloped by a giant chakra sphere.

The chakra sphere is also engraved with many techniques, including sealing techniques and Flying Thunder God techniques.

Seeing the barrier erected, Minato breathed a slight sigh of relief, looked at Kushina, and called out, "Kushina!"

"roar!"

But the only response to Minato was a roar. Kushina's gaze did not linger on Minato for long; in an instant, it shifted to Tatsuma beside him.

"roar!"

Another short roar followed, accompanied by a torrent of chakra comparable to a hundred-meter-high wave crashing down. The violent killing intent, which had been overflowing just moments before, became extremely targeted.

"Kushina is completely unable to control that huge thing inside her."

Despite being enveloped in murderous intent, Tatsuma's tone remained relaxed. At this moment, the expressions of those around him became extremely solemn, as it was almost certain that Kushina had entered a berserk state.

The one in control now may no longer be Kushina, but the Nine-Tails.

"boom!"

"Swoosh~"

Kushina's body transformed into an arrow, piercing towards Tatsuma. Tatsuma and Minato vanished from the spot, and Kushina rushed past their afterimages, sliding for over a hundred meters before stopping. This demonstrates just how much power Kushina had unleashed.

"Sakamoto!!! Tatsuma!!!"

Kushina, in her berserk state, struggled to speak, her words coming out very awkwardly. Perhaps she was not used to speaking through a human body, but perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult for the Nine-Tails to adapt.

Tatsuma removed his hand from Minato's shoulder and said, "Let's see everyone off."

"But."

Minato looked worried as he watched Kushina sprout tail after tail from behind her, and said to Tatsuma, "Kushina can now use more than just six tails."

"I didn't intend to fight her or it. Today was just to let that big guy vent and test the strength of the sealing barrier. Minato, you know what to do."

Upon hearing this, Minato nodded. He had been too worried to think clearly, but now he realized that Kurama could speak.

The next instant, Minato was already behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, "Hokage-sama, please move away, at least outside the barrier."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a second, then nodded. Minato then placed his hand on Hiruzen Sarutobi. As for the Sannin, they were not in such a hurry, since they could keep the Nine-Tails' possible words a secret.

With Minato gone, besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, there were still many members of the sealing squad who needed to be moved. Orochimaru turned to his two teammates and asked, "What do you think are the chances if the three of us team up?"

"Add another 15% to your original budget."

Tsunade crossed her arms, a spell seemingly floating on her forehead, while Jiraiya grinned heartily and said, "Add another 15% to my tally too."

That's about 50%.

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, while Jiraiya, taken aback, asked, "Only 20% originally?"

"No, it was originally only half a percent, but I added another 15 percent."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya and Tsunade were both taken aback for a moment, then smiled. Indeed, no one stays in the same place forever.

(End of this chapter)