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

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

Naruto spat out dozens of spinning, blade-like wind blades, which hurtled toward Kushina's vital points.

Minato Namikaze instantly appeared beside Kushina Uzumaki, pulling her out of the range of the wind blades.

"Kushina! Don't stand still! Naruto really intends to take our lives!"

However, Kushina Uzumaki was on the verge of a mental breakdown and was completely deaf to Minato Namikaze's words.

"Kushina, we can't let Naruto bear the name of killing his father and mother, otherwise Naruto will really never turn back!"

Kushina's eyes regained some light, but Naruto's next attack was already underway.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Ball!"

As Naruto exhaled, he shot out the chakra in the air like bullets.

Minato and his wife constantly shifted their positions to dodge.

During a lull in Naruto's ninjutsu, Minato Namikaze threw a Flying Thunder God kunai.

After Naruto easily dodged, Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly appear behind Naruto, reaching out his hands to subdue him.

Naruto gave a sarcastic smile.

Suddenly, a hand made of chakra extended from Naruto's chakra cloak and reached out to grab Minato Namikaze behind him.

Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique again to escape Naruto's range.

"Minato Namikaze, known as the Yellow Flash, how could I not be on guard against your signature ninjutsu, Flying Thunder God Technique?"

Naruto used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly appear next to Kushina Uzumaki, a high-density chakra ball appearing in his hand, which he slammed down on Kushina's body.

"Spiral pills!"

Kushina Uzumaki stared at Naruto, who was so close to her, her eyes glazed over, forgetting to dodge.

Minato Namikaze instantly appeared in front of Kushina Uzumaki and grabbed Naruto's right hand, which was using the Rasengan.

Despite having his hand restrained by Minato Namikaze, Naruto remained calm and instead smiled mysteriously, saying, "Got you, Minato Namikaze!"

Naruto grabbed Minato's wrist with his other hand, and a black sphere made of a mixture of tailed beast chakra and compressed into an ultra-dense form appeared in front of him.

Minato Namikaze's pupils contracted sharply as he hurriedly broke free from Naruto's counterattack and used the Flying Thunder God Technique with Kushina Uzumaki to escape the area.

Naruto's Tailed Beast Ball attack missed its target and struck the ground. In an instant, a violent explosion occurred, creating a large crater in the ground and sending dust flying.

Seeing his attack miss, Naruto scoffed, "That's fast a reaction time..."

Not far away, Minato Namikaze looked at Naruto with a serious expression. He couldn't understand why Naruto in his Three-Tails form was able to release the Tailed Beast Ball.

Chapter 222 Trading

"Minato Namikaze, you truly are a genius. Inspired by the Tailed Beast Ball, you developed the Rasengan. It is also thanks to the ninjutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals that I learned the Rasengan and was able to use the Tailed Beast Ball even though the seal was not completely broken."

To be honest, in order to learn the ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals, I pretended to be stupid for a long time to gain the trust of that old geezer Hiruzen Sarutobi. That old guy didn't know that I already knew your identity. He praised you to the skies in front of me and even told me that I should learn from you in the future. It made me laugh so hard.

If that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi knew you were still alive and had abandoned Konoha, I wonder what he would think?

As if recalling Hiruzen Sarutobi's astonished expression when he learned that Minato Namikaze and his wife were still alive, Naruto burst into laughter.

Minato Namikaze trembled, his voice choked with emotion as he asked, "Naruto, why have you become like this..."

"Isn't this all thanks to you, Fourth Hokage! Minato Namikaze! Why didn't you take me with you when you left Konoha? Why?!" Naruto demanded, his face contorted with rage.

Minato Namikaze urgently explained, "Naruto, you don't know the situation at the time. We had to make a choice."

Naruto demanded, "So you've chosen to use me as a sacrifice?!"

"No, I have no such intention. I only hope that you can inherit my will and one day become a strong person who can protect everything."

"Well, what a pity, I've disappointed you. Right now, all I want is to destroy everything!" A fourth tail appeared under Naruto's Tailed Beast Cloak.

Just as Naruto was about to launch another attack on Minato and Namikaze, he suddenly stopped.

"It seems Danzo has discovered I wasn't at the Root base and has come looking for me. The battle can't continue. Minato Namikaze, how about we make a deal?"

"What deal?" Minato Namikaze frowned.

"Don't interfere with me. In return, once I've done what I want to do in Konoha, I will personally find you and settle our feud. I don't think you want anyone to know you're still alive right now."

Minato Namikaze explained sadly, "There is no hatred between us, Naruto."

"As long as Kushina Uzumaki has half of Kurama's body inside her, there will be an irreconcilable hatred between us. If you choose to fight here, then so be it, we will fight to the death!"

Minato Namikaze looked at Kushina Uzumaki, who was trembling with grief beside him. Naruto was too disoriented to listen to any of their explanations.

Minato Namikaze hesitated for a moment, then nodded painfully and said, "Fine, I won't interfere with what you want to do. I just want us to be able to sit down and talk peacefully when you've finished all this."

Minato Namikaze helped Kushina Uzumaki leave the area, while Danzo, along with Hiruzen Sarutobi, found Naruto.

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked urgently, "Naruto, who kidnapped you just now?!"

Naruto explained without changing his expression, "Some unknown ninjas kidnapped me at the Root base. I fought them here. Perhaps they sensed your arrival and retreated."

Looking at the ravaged ground and the ominous aura of the Nine-Tails lingering in the air, Danzo asked, "Naruto Uzumaki, have you managed to gain some initial control over the Nine-Tails' power?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "No, it was just that some Nine-Tails chakra was released in a fit of anger. However, I can control this released Nine-Tails chakra, but if I want to control the Nine-Tails chakra, the seal on my body must be further broken."

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly stopped him, saying, "No, the seal cannot be completely broken."

"Hiruzen, haven't you seen the results yet? This kind of destructive power is something even a Jonin might not be able to achieve. Under my tutelage, Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness has not been controlled by the Nine-Tails. I am confident that I can make Naruto Uzumaki control the Nine-Tails!" Danzo assured Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Seeing Naruto's calm expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped trying to stop him. Konoha did indeed need the power of the Nine-Tails within Naruto.

Danzo and the Root ninjas took Naruto away from there.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to leave, he stared in astonishment at something on the wrecked ground in the distance, his eyes filled with guilt, panic, and confusion.

On the ground, a Flying Thunder God kunai was stuck in the ground.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up, drew his Flying Thunder God kunai, and fell into deep thought.

This type of kunai was used only by Minato Namikaze in the entire ninja world, leading Hiruzen Sarutobi to speculate that Minato and his wife were still alive.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately rejected the idea, because if Minato Namikaze were still alive, he would never stand idly by and do nothing about Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also afraid that Minato Namikaze was still alive because he had not kept his promise to take care of Naruto and had handed Naruto over to Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled the Flying Thunder God kunai from the ground and muttered to himself, "Maybe Naruto found out who his parents are, so he made this on purpose..."

After leaving, Minato and his wife rested temporarily in the forest of the Land of Fire, because Kushina Uzumaki was in poor condition.

Kushina Uzumaki, whose mind was severely damaged, was given an opportunity by the Nine-Tails within her, which wanted to break the seal.

At this moment, Kushina Uzumaki, like Naruto, appeared with a Nine-Tails chakra cloak and three tails.

To prevent the Nine-Tails from further corrupting Kushina Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze immediately used the Four Symbols Seal to reinforce Kushina's seal.

Kushina Uzumaki's chakra cloak gradually faded away, and she regained consciousness.

Kushina Uzumaki cried and blamed Minato Namikaze: "Minato, I just wanted to stay by Naruto's side, why did it have to come to this! Why!"

Kushina Uzumaki kept patting Minato Namikaze's chest, and Minato silently endured it, his expression full of self-reproach.

After venting her frustration, Kushina Uzumaki gradually calmed down: "Minato, what should we do? How can we make Naruto change his mind and come back to us..."

Minato Namikaze said in confusion, "I don't know about Kushina. Right now, Naruto only has hatred in his heart, not only towards Konoha, but also towards us."

Kushina wiped away her tears and said resentfully, "Minato, I will take revenge on those in Konoha who bullied Naruto! We kept Naruto alive for Konoha's sake, but they betrayed us. They don't deserve it!"

Chapter 223 Breaking the Eight Trigrams Seal

Minato Namikaze was taken aback upon hearing this, but he understood Kushina Uzumaki's feelings and hatred at that moment.

Kushina Uzumaki said earnestly to Minato Namikaze, "Minato, I will not ask you to join me in revenge, because you were born in Konoha, Konoha is your home, and you are the Fourth Hokage."

But I'm different. Just like Naruto said, I'm an orphan of the Land of Whirlpools. I had to become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki to stay in Konoha. So, I only like Konoha because Minato likes it.

But I don't like it anymore. I hate Konoha. They bullied my child, turning him into this state. I can no longer tolerate it, and I can no longer forgive them.

Minato Namikaze sighed deeply: "Kushina, even now, it's undeniable that I still love Konoha, but I love Naruto even more. Now, you and Naruto are my home. Naruto became like this because of me, and I have a responsibility to guide him back to the right path."

"But Kushina, helping Naruto seek revenge against Konoha now won't change his mind; it will only make him more resistant to us. Konoha is completely corrupt. Rather than prolonging its existence, perhaps being destroyed and rebuilt is Konoha's only way out. Naruto has his own choice now, and we, as his parents, should for now secretly support and protect Naruto's choice."

Minato Namikaze's decision was extremely difficult and painful for him. The will he once wanted to uphold had completely collapsed, and he constantly questioned whether the Will of Fire he had inherited was correct.

Even so, Minato Namikaze still held a glimmer of hope for Konoha. He hoped that someone would emerge in Konoha who could change Naruto, just like he had met Kushina.

Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha, the person destined for Naruto, was in the Village of Blazing Sunlight at that moment.

At this moment, Sasuke was clinging to Itachi's back, acting spoiled and affectionate.

Sasuke pestered Itachi, pleading, "Brother, please teach me ninjutsu. I want to learn your sword technique that comes with flames."

Itachi asked helplessly, "Sasuke, I only taught you the Uchiha clan's Fire Release ninjutsu not long ago. Have you learned it yet?"

Sasuke proudly declared, "Of course I've learned it! I'm a genius!"

To show that he had really learned it, Sasuke immediately demonstrated it.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Sasuke spat out a fire dragon that crashed into the tree trunk, instantly creating a large hole in it, from which flames continued to burn.

After extinguishing the fire, Itachi shook his head and said, "Sasuke, you only learned the Great Dragon Fire Technique, but you haven't mastered it. The power and scale of the ninjutsu are completely inadequate."

Sasuke pouted, "But I really want to learn that gorgeous swordsmanship. I want to defeat that person when I meet him again."

Itachi became interested: "Oh? Who is it?"

"He was originally in the same class as me at the Konoha Ninja Academy. His name was Uzumaki Naruto. He was a really annoying person. Even though his strength was about the same as mine, he always pretended to be stupid and unable to learn ninjutsu. He would never fight back when others bullied him. If I hadn't happened to run into him during training, I would have really been fooled by him."

Itachi asked with a smile in his eyes, "Let me guess, you must have fought him one-on-one, and lost, right?"

Sasuke's face turned bright red: "How could that be? I didn't lose, it was just a draw at most!"

Itachi solemnly instructed, "Losing is losing. Don't feel ashamed. You have to face yourself squarely in order to make great progress. Do you understand, Sasuke?"

Sasuke lowered his head in disappointment: "Fine, I lost that battle..."

"Sasuke, have you asked Master Yosuke about your desire to learn swordsmanship?"

Sasuke suddenly raised his head, looking at Itachi with hopeful eyes: "I asked! Lord Yosuke said that as long as you agree, brother, it's fine."