CHAPTER 205: CHAPTER 205: NAMIKAZE MINATO, TAILED BEAST MODE!

"Kyohiko, is there something urgent?"

Ryoho Kyohiko asked first.

"Minato, I sensed the presence of a Tailed Beast just now. Have you been researching Tailed Beast power recently? Is everything alright?"

That presence just now was definitely the Nine-Tails’ chakra!

Namikaze Minato smiled helplessly.

"My chakra is limited, and Sage Mode isn’t very suitable for me, so I’m trying to fuse with the Tailed Beast’s power. After all, with Kushina..."

Tailed Beast power was definitely a problem the village needed to overcome. If they could further utilize the power of the Tailed Beasts, instead of just suppressing them like prisoners as they did now, perhaps the power of the Jinchuriki could be even greater! This was also a direction Ryoho Kyohiko had mentioned before.

"How is Kushina doing?"

Namikaze Minato shook his head.

"Not so good."

Reformation... If the Nine-Tails were so easy to reform, it wouldn’t still be full of resentment and anger to this day. Although Ryoho Kyohiko had made a deal with it before, it didn’t mean the Nine-Tails was willing to help them or restrain its temper. After all—Konoha hadn’t released it either. What it resented was its lack of freedom. But in the current situation, who would dare to let the Nine-Tails out?

Ryoho Kyohiko shook his head.

"Tailed Beasts... most of them are like this. The current Nine-Tails should be considered quite well-behaved. At least it doesn’t affect Kushina’s daily life too much."

Minato nodded, then chuckled in spite of himself.

"That’s true. Currently, as long as she doesn’t actively draw on the Nine-Tails’ chakra, she won’t be affected too much by it. Kushina’s days have become much easier."

"Speaking of which, we’re the ones being greedy..."

"There’s no helping it."

In large-scale confrontations, the threat of a Tailed Beast’s combat power was simply too terrifying! Konoha couldn’t be without the Nine-Tails. Unless the Nine-Tails was willing to stay in Konoha, if it wanted freedom, Ryoho Kyohiko would find it hard to agree.

Ryoho Kyohiko changed the subject.

"I came this time to ask for your help. Sensei has gone back, otherwise I could have asked him for help and not disturbed your training and research."

Namikaze Minato was very open about it.

"If you need help, just say so. My research here is nothing. It’s hard to get significant results in a short time anyway."

The Nine-Tails’ power was inherently very difficult to fuse with. This was even after Ryoho Kyohiko had communicated with the Nine-Tails and they had reached an agreement on some goals. If not for that... he wouldn’t have had such an idea at all.

Ryoho Kyohiko explained his discovery regarding the Amber Jutsu.

Namikaze Minato’s eyes lit up.

"Really?"

Ryoho Kyohiko said.

"That’s why I wanted to try it with you."

"Alright."

Namikaze Minato nodded and immediately created a shadow clone.

The next moment, Ryoho Kyohiko formed hand seals. In the blink of an eye, streams of resin poured out, engulfing Minato’s shadow clone, then rapidly solidifying into a fossil-like state.

At that instant. Poof!

Namikaze Minato took a deep breath, his face turning a little pale, but soon the state of Sage Mode appeared on his face. However... unlike Ryoho Kyohiko, his Sage Mode was still the Mount Myoboku method.

"It’s feasible, but very dangerous. More dangerous than normally gathering natural energy! Even my shadow clone was almost petrified just now."

Petrification.

Namikaze Minato’s feedback sent Ryoho Kyohiko into deep thought. Clearly, in a perfect state, the amber he created could directly turn a person into an amber stone. This was equivalent to... death. Also, with the previous Amber Jutsu, even if it trapped an opponent, there was still a possibility of them breaking free by force. After all, its texture was not very hard and had many flaws.

Now—

"Let’s try one more time. Try preparing a Rasengan in advance and see if you can break free when I seal you instantly."

"Alright."

Namikaze Minato nodded. Although this jutsu was derived from Wood Style, it had very powerful potential!

Soon, the amber shattered, turning into several stone blocks.

"Let’s try again with me using the Flying Thunder God to come over and seal you instantly."

"Alright."

Namikaze Minato remained vigilant.

The next moment, the amber instantly covered him. But the moment the amber covered his body, it was too late for the Rasengan. Namikaze Minato tried to break free with his strength, but in a fixed state, he couldn’t exert any force at all. The next moment, Lightning Release chakra appeared on his body, and then his entire body vibrated with high-frequency lightning.

Bang! The amber stone cracked irregularly!

However, Namikaze Minato recalled his shadow clone, let out a breath, and said, "It’s already very strong! Just now, besides using Lightning Release chakra to shatter it with co-frequency vibrations, I also used Kakashi’s derivative jutsu. Otherwise, it would be impossible to break through with my own strength alone."

Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.

"Perhaps the Raikage and A could do it."

However, this also proved that the Amber Jutsu was very sturdy. Just the amber stone seal itself was very difficult to break out of from the inside.

"One last try."

"Alright."

Namikaze Minato nodded.

The next moment, Ryoho Kyohiko formed hand seals again. The Flying Thunder God and Amber Jutsu were completed in an instant, engulfing Namikaze Minato’s shadow clone. At the same time, a base mark appeared in Ryoho Kyohiko’s palm.

Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!

Branches grew out from where the amber stone touched Ryoho Kyohiko’s palm, quickly wrapping the stone and forming a double seal. Even—Namikaze Minato’s shadow clone couldn’t disappear on its own, solidified by the seal and unable to break free.

However, the next moment, a stream of chakra appeared in Namikaze Minato’s palm, resisting the chakra inside the amber. Following that. Poof! Inside the amber, the shadow clone disappeared.

"How was it?"

Namikaze Minato rubbed his brow.

"Very terrifying!"

The continuous damage and cancellation of his shadow clone in a short period of time had left him somewhat fatigued. However, the biggest impact was from that last time—his shadow clone was facing the erosion of the amber on one side, while also having to resist the seal’s hypnosis and break the seal. At the same time, the amber’s assimilation and erosion also seemed to be absorbing his chakra.

Minato recounted his experience. After hearing it, a trace of surprise appeared on Ryoho Kyohiko’s face. Assimilation, erosion, absorption. He thought of White Zetsu. White Zetsu were people who had been assimilated by the God Tree. The perfected amber seemed to have a similar effect. Of course, compared to the real God Tree, the Amber Jutsu was weakened countless times.

Ryoho Kyohiko suppressed the joy in his heart and let out a light breath.

"Thank you!"

Namikaze Minato said.

"It’s nothing. This jutsu is very valuable. If it can be perfectly used in battle, it will be very useful in the future."

Ryoho Kyohiko nodded. It wasn’t enough for just him to master it. If Yamato could also learn this kind of ninjutsu, then it would be truly practical and expand its effect.

Besides—could the amber stone be used to seal the erosive ability of Hashirama cells while retaining a part of their life force? If so, Hashirama cells combined with a curse mark could almost be used as a "battery." Of course, this was in an ideal state. It would be best if it succeeded, but it didn’t matter if it didn’t.

Namikaze Minato couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Kyohiko, this jutsu of yours... has great potential. I feel there is still a lot of potential to be developed. You must master it!"

"Mm."

"By the way, about the Nine-Tails’ power, you can give me some advice on that too."

Namikaze Minato hadn’t originally intended to try. But Kyohiko’s methods just now had really shocked him, and he was certain that Kyohiko’s current ability was enough to suppress the not-so-large amount of Tailed Beast chakra inside him. Since that was the case... with Kyohiko watching over him, he could boldly release his chakra and try to fuse with and master it.

Ryoho Kyohiko said.

"Let’s go to the Forest of Death. If we trigger the barrier here, it might cause some chaos."

"Alright."

***

The current Forest of Death had become the Anbu’s base. A large number of monkeys and trained ninja beasts lived here, and at the same time, many Anbu patrolled the surroundings to prevent them from escaping. Namikaze Minato and Ryoho Kyohiko arrived outside Orochimaru’s research institute via the Flying Thunder God. How could research on Tailed Beast power be done without Orochimaru?

Orochimaru’s shadow clone sensed their presence and immediately knew Kyohiko must have something to do—he wouldn’t come without a reason. He was already used to it.

After some exchange, a look of pleasant surprise appeared in Orochimaru’s shadow clone’s eyes. Fusing with the Nine-Tails’ power!

He licked his lips.

"Kyohiko-kun, this is a bit difficult. I’m afraid my real body needs to arrive before..."

The Nine-Tails. Even just a part of the Nine-Tails’ power, the force it could erupt with was very terrifying! As a shadow clone, he had no confidence he could help.

Ryoho Kyohiko said.

"Senpai, you don’t need to make a move. You just need to watch from the side. If Minato shows signs of going on a rampage, I can handle it myself."

"..."

Orochimaru’s shadow clone opened his mouth, then fell into silence. This was the Nine-Tails’ power! And Namikaze Minato himself was not weak. Once he went on a rampage, the destructive power he formed would definitely far exceed that of an ordinary jounin.

"Don’t take reckless risks."

Namikaze Minato said.

"Kyohiko should have this ability. I’ve already seen it just now."

The Amber Jutsu alone was definitely not enough to seal the Tailed Beast’s power after a rampage, but combined with the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, it could achieve an effect similar to the Adamantine Sealing Chains. Besides—he himself was not completely unprepared. Over the past period of time, Namikaze Minato had had several "confrontations" with the Nine-Tails’ power and had a very deep understanding of it and its influence. As long as there was a little external force intervening, he was confident he could suppress the erosion of the Nine-Tails’ power.

Orochimaru’s shadow clone was silent for a moment, then said, "Well then, let’s go. We’ll go deeper. As for here..."

Ryoho Kyohiko looked deeply at the cave base, then a wood clone split off from his body.

"Don’t worry, he can’t leave."

With a wood clone here... a mere Kazuma couldn’t possibly run away.

The three of them walked deeper.

Namikaze Minato couldn’t help but ask.

"Does Kazuma have any special talents?"

Orochimaru’s shadow clone smiled.

"His research talent is quite good. In the research of some forbidden jutsu, he has good ideas and suggestions, but his disposition is problematic."

"So, he must be strictly monitored. Once he gets away..."

"Will there be a problem?"

Orochimaru said.

"Not really. He only knows a small part, so there won’t be any substantial leaks. But it’s not a good thing in the end. What’s more, it’s still unknown what’s going on with the current ’Madara.’ It’s good to be cautious."

Although he wasn’t researching the Reanimation Jutsu, Madara’s subordinates could silently take away Uchiha Obito. Who’s to say they didn’t have the means to steal the Reanimation Jutsu data? After all, the previous Danzo’s data protection in this area was not very strict—at least not as strict as Kyohiko’s.

The three entered the forest and began their attempt with the Tailed Beast’s power. Namikaze Minato released more of the Nine-Tails’ power, trying to control as much of it as possible without going on a rampage himself. One bit, two bits... Nine-Tails chakra leaked out from the seal, flowing through his meridians to his whole body. The next moment, a red chakra cloak appeared on Namikaze Minato’s body.

Orochimaru’s shadow clone said.

"This is the first stage."

Clearly, having had the experience of releasing the Eight-Tails, Orochimaru was quite familiar with the various stages of Tailed Beast transformation.

A ferocious look appeared on Namikaze Minato’s face. But a few seconds later, he took a deep breath and gradually calmed down.

Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly.

"Success!"

The first step was controlled.

His voice carried a hint of temptation.

"If you continue to increase the output of the Tailed Beast chakra, then a tail will appear. In that state, physical fitness, chakra, and so on will be further enhanced."

"Minato, won’t you give it a try?"

However, Namikaze Minato was completely unmoved.

"I need to first master my current power and state, and then further explore the next stage."

Then, he sat on the ground, feeling the power within his body, and quickly adapted to his current state. Since it wasn’t his real body... the Tailed Beast chakra inside him had very little effect on him. Otherwise, just his current state would have increased the impact on his emotions several times over.

I can use methods to soothe my emotions and enter a calmer state, Namikaze Minato thought. After trying for a while, he successfully controlled his current state.

Next step! Further release of the Tailed Beast’s power.

Just then.

"Hey, brat, you want to master my power?"

Namikaze Minato heard a voice from within his body. Immediately—his vision blurred. Then, Namikaze Minato found himself in a dim space. In front of him, a double seal locked a much smaller Nine-Tails, which was currently showing a ferocious expression.

"Although I have reached a certain cooperation with you, it’s not so easy to control my power!"

Namikaze Minato said.

"I see. No wonder I felt different from before."

He was only surprised for a moment before he understood the Nine-Tails’ state. According to Kyohiko, the so-called Tailed Beasts might be a kind of chakra creation. Then, chakra was a part of their life. Splitting chakra, to some extent, could create a new conscious individual, similar to a human’s shadow clone. The Nine-Tails in front of him was equivalent to a clone of the main body, and it should have been deliberately done by the Nine-Tails’ main body to influence his consciousness. Unfortunately... it probably didn’t expect that he would, in turn, control its power.

Namikaze Minato said, "Actually, we can cooperate."

The small Nine-Tails sneered.

"Cooperate? Are you willing to let me out?"

"If you are willing to stay in Konoha, letting you out is not out of the question."

The Nine-Tails wouldn’t fall for it.

"Just a part of me staying outside, right!"

The Tailed Beast and the Jinchuriki were already inseparable. Once the Tailed Beast was released, the Jinchuriki would also die. However, on this point, the other party had not deceived him.

"Of course. I will not sacrifice my family, nor will I sacrifice my comrades."