People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

Orochimaru manipulated the giant snake to attack Yosuke.

"Sun Breathing? Third Form? Blazing Red Mirror!"

Yosuke unleashed symmetrical slashes, instantly dismembering the giant snake.

Orochimaru, who was standing on the head of the giant snake, began to fall from the sky.

"Breath of the Sun? Seventh Form? Sunset Turn!"

Yosuke teleported into the air and aimed a horizontal slash at Orochimaru, who was falling.

To Yosuke's surprise, Orochimaru, whom he expected to block, did not resist at all and allowed Yosuke's slash to hit him.

Orochimaru's dismembered body fell to the ground, but strangely, no blood flowed from the cuts on his body. Instead, the cuts turned yellowish-brown and turned into a puddle of mud that merged into the ground.

Meanwhile, on another part of the ground, Orochimaru emerged from the soil, opened his mouth, and a sword slowly rose from his throat.

Orochimaru gripped the wet hilt of the sword and drew it.

"That's quite a powerful sword technique, but we don't seem to have any reason to fight. After all, you came here for the same reason as me, right?"

Yosuke understood that Orochimaru, like Danzo, considered him an enemy who had invaded Konoha. Yosuke didn't explain further; what he needed to do now was carefully search for the trail of the God.

That intangible intruder should be easily dealt with by the renowned Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Seeing that Yosuke was not going to move aside, Orochimaru remotely controlled the Grass Sword and slashed at Yosuke.

The two were locked in a struggle, while inside the delivery room...

Just as Sarutobi Biwako, who was in charge of the delivery, was about to hand the newborn Naruto over to Uzumaki Kushina, a dark figure snatched him away in an instant.

And this dark figure was the masked man.

The masked man threatened Naruto with Naruto: "Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, get away from the Jinchuriki, or this child will only live for one minute!"

Minato Namikaze couldn't understand how the masked man had passed through the barrier, and just as Minato was about to launch an attack on the masked man, Kushina Uzumaki encountered a problem.

Kushina Uzumaki let out a scream, because the seal on the Nine-Tails was not yet complete, and the sealing technique on her abdomen was now spreading to her entire body.

"Get away from the Jinchūriki right now! Don't you care what will happen to the child?"

"Wait, calm down!" Minato Namikaze stopped him.

"You should be saying this to yourself. I am completely calm right now."

The masked man tossed Naruto into the air and stabbed him with a kunai.

Minato Namikaze used his Body Flicker Technique to save Naruto first.

"As expected of the Yellow Flash, but what will happen next?"

A hissing sound came from behind Naruto's swaddling clothes; the explosive tags had been activated.

Minato Namikaze removed the baby from its swaddling clothes and forcibly used the Flying Thunder God Technique repeatedly to relocate the location, successfully rescuing Naruto.

However, this also forced Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki to separate.

Kushina Uzumaki was forced to a lake by the masked man, who used a sealing technique to bind her.

A weakened Kushina Uzumaki questioned the masked man: "What...is your purpose...?"

"I will drag the Nine-Tails out of your body and destroy Konoha!"

Kushina Uzumaki was utterly shocked: "What did you say?!"

"Instantly moving from one space to another from the space marked with the technique seal, that is Minato Namikaze's Body Flicker Technique. That mark seems to be engraved in your sealing technique as well. Normally, Minato Namikaze is by your side to protect you, but now he is not by your side, and the sealing technique has been weakened to the minimum."

The masked man revealed a scarlet Sharingan: "I've been waiting for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a long time!"

Chapter 172 Breaking the Seal

After placing the newborn Naruto in a safe place, Minato Namikaze rushed back to the battlefield, only to find Yosuke and Orochimaru locked in fierce combat.

Orochimaru...

Minato Namikaze's expression was grave; the purpose of Orochimaru, this S-rank rogue ninja, appearing here was self-evident.

However, what Minato Namikaze couldn't understand was that Yosuke was also there, and was fighting with Orochimaru.

This is Yosuke's first real battle against a Kage-level powerhouse in this world.

Orochimaru's attacks posed no threat to Yosuke, but the problem lay in Orochimaru's endless means of survival, which always managed to escape during lulls in the fighting, causing Yosuke's fatal blows to miss.

For a time, they were unable to do anything to Orochimaru.

"Minato, hurry to Kushina's side! I can feel the Nine-Tails within her gradually breaking free of its seal, and the air is now filled with the Nine-Tails' malevolent chakra!"

Yosuke didn't have time to explain much to Minato Namikaze; he told him to hurry up and stop Kurama.

Yang Jie had a premonition that the God was watching him from somewhere. At Yang Jie's level of strength, the feeling he got from his body was not unfounded.

Minato Namikaze also sensed that Kushina Uzumaki's seal was weakening, and now was not a good time to ask questions, so he nodded and said, "I'll leave this to you, Yosuke-san!"

The god, lurking in the shadows, had eyes filled with greed.

Zetsu, standing beside him, thought that the God Lord had only shown that kind of look when he saw Minato Namikaze.

"Minato Namikaze's body is pretty good, isn't it? Don't worry, you'll have his body soon."

However, the god's greedy gaze was not because of Minato Namikaze.

"No! Compared to Minato Namikaze, I've found a body that suits me much better."

Jue asked in utter confusion, "Who?"

Orochimaru!

Meanwhile, on Kushina's side...

The sealing technique on Kushina Uzumaki's abdomen has been completely broken, and the red chakra cloak has enveloped Kushina Uzumaki's entire body.

"Alright...come out, Nine-Tails!"

With the masked man's low shout, Kushina Uzumaki's red chakra transformed into a fox head, which then soared into the sky and materialized in mid-air.

With the Nine-Tails freed, a roar echoed throughout the Land of Fire.

The masked man manipulated the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan: "Very well, let's head towards Konoha like this!"

"stop..."

Because of Kurama's departure, Kushina Uzumaki, whose life force was constantly draining away, collapsed weakly to the ground, but still managed to prop herself up in front of him, trying to stop the masked man.

"The Uzumaki clan is really powerful. Even after the tailed beast is removed, they don't die immediately. Since you are the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, I'll have this guy kill you first!"

The masked man controlled the Nine-Tails, and the Nine-Tails' enormous hand pressed down on the powerless Kushina Uzumaki.

At the critical moment, Minato Namikaze finally arrived and rescued Kushina Uzumaki.

Upon seeing Minato Namikaze appear, the masked man sighed, "He truly lives up to the name of Flash, but it's too late now."

Nestled in Minato's arms, Kushina Uzumaki weakly asked, "Naruto... is Naruto alright...?"

"Yes, Naruto is alright, he's safe now!"

"That's great..." Kushina Uzumaki breathed a sigh of relief, then warned Minato Namikaze, "Minato, you have to stop that man and the Nine-Tails right away. They're preparing to... destroy Konoha."

Minato Namikaze, who had always been gentle and kind, revealed a terrifying, murderous expression on his face. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique once again to take Kushina Uzumaki away from there.

Minato Namikaze brought Kushina Uzumaki to the place where Naruto was being settled.

"Alright, I'll take care of it. Kushina, you stay with Naruto."

Kushina Uzumaki looked at Naruto beside her and pulled him into her arms.

"Naruto..."

Minato Namikaze looked at his wife and children, his hands clenched into fists.

"Minato, thank you... Take care on your journey..."

Minato Namikaze dons the Hokage's robe.

"I'll be right back!"

Minato Namikaze was extremely anxious. Kushina Uzumaki was losing her life force rapidly, and he had to reseal the Nine-Tails back into her body immediately.

As the Nine-Tails approached Konoha, everyone felt an indescribable sense of suffocation.

Orochimaru's pale face revealed a sickly smile: "Hahaha, the Nine-Tails has been released after all. After tonight, Konoha will cease to exist!"

Yosuke had already spotted a massive creature approaching from afar, and the aura it emitted was enough to terrify even Yosuke.

Yosuke no longer had time to search for the God Lord; he had to deal with Orochimaru immediately and then help Minato Namikaze block the Nine-Tails.

After all, Yosuke's friends, Asuma, Hayate Gekko, and his disciple Itachi Uchiha are still in Konoha.

Yosuke no longer cared about hiding himself and looked sharply at Orochimaru not far away.

Orochimaru licked the grass sword with his tongue and said, "Heh, your eyes are truly terrifying. But you're not from Konoha, are you? Why are you protecting Konoha?"

"I'm not protecting Konoha, I'm protecting my friends. My friends are protecting Konoha, and I want to protect them!"

Yosuke's aura gradually became terrifying.

Orochimaru sensed Yosuke's change and his expression gradually became serious. Although he could only defend passively in his battle with Yosuke, he was still able to hold his own with his impregnable defensive capabilities.

But the aura emanating from Yosuke at this moment gave Orochimaru the feeling that he had seen that person again.

That person was Pain, who possessed the Rinnegan, whom Orochimaru met after receiving a letter from the mysterious Akatsuki organization and going to the appointed time.

Orochimaru is now a member of the Akatsuki organization.

Orochimaru, having received a letter from the Akatsuki, went to the appointed time. Upon discovering the Rinnegan, he deliberately lost to Sasori and transformed into a snake, attempting to seize Pain's Rinnegan at incredible speed. However, he was repelled by Pain's Shinra Tensei.

Orochimaru then volunteered to join the Akatsuki organization, and Pain agreed to his request.

At the same time, Orochimaru also recognized Pain as one of the war orphans that Jiraiya had taken in in Amegakure.

At this moment, Yosuke gave Orochimaru an even stronger feeling than Pain.

Yosuke's hair turned the color of blood, blood wings grew from his back, and his body was surrounded by constantly flowing blood.

Orochimaru frowned upon seeing Yosuke's current posture.

"Bloodline Limit? No, this is not a Bloodline Limit. What exactly is this form?"