Yosuke noticed that his opponent lacked real combat experience—she only knew how to rely on brute force.
The adamantine chains behind her back were clearly meant to restrain the enemy by surprise, yet this kunoichi was swinging them around like a whip.
Although the fight looked evenly matched on the surface, Yosuke could restrain her instantly if he wanted to.
But doing so would surely cause trouble.
First, the overwhelming power sealed inside the red-haired kunoichi was clearly being forcibly suppressed. If he wanted to eliminate her completely, he would have to kill her before that power broke free of its seal.
Second, this was Konoha. As a guest brought here by Asuma, Yosuke couldn't go too far. If he killed this kunoichi, it would put Asuma—another Konoha shinobi—in an impossible position, and Yosuke himself would inevitably break ties with both Asuma and the village.
So he could only passively counter her attacks.
Yosuke also tried to explain, but the woman gave him no chance, swinging her fists and chains at him again.
He shifted aside, and her punches and chains smashed directly into a nearby house.
The wall of the house began to crack, the fissures widening. The entire structure started to shake as chunks of the wall came loose.
The house was about to collapse—and two children were still trapped inside, holding each other in terror.
Yosuke frowned. Is this woman insane? Rampaging like this in her own village without caring about the civilians?
When the red-haired kunoichi saw the children inside, she realized her mistake. She immediately abandoned the close-at-hand Yosuke and rushed toward the house, trying to save them.
But she was already too late. The building had begun to fall.
At that critical moment—
"Blood Breathing, Fifth Form—Blood Flash!"
Yosuke's Blood Flash was even faster than the Sun Breathing's Round Dance Flash—after all, it was a technique he had devised and perfected himself, a breathing style unique to him.
He appeared beside the two children in an instant, but there was no time to move again. All he could do was shield them with his own body.
This level of impact wouldn't hurt Yosuke at all, anyway.
However, a kunai suddenly appeared before his eyes, and he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. His vision blurred—and in the next moment, he was outside the collapsing house.
Yosuke turned his head. Standing beside him was a blond, blue-eyed man wearing a white Hokage cloak over a blue jumpsuit.
The blond man scolded, "Kushina, you went too far!"
"Sorry, Minato… I didn't expect this would happen…"
Yosuke looked at the blond man in astonishment. So this was the legendary Yellow Flash—Namikaze Minato.
Uzuki—no, Uzumaki Kushina pointed at Yosuke, her guard up.
"Minato! This guy has an extremely ominous aura, and he's very strong. Be careful!"
Minato smiled and shook his head, explaining for Yosuke,
"Kushina, you misunderstood. This is Ubuyashiki Yosuke. Asuma already told me about him. That ominous aura you sensed is coming from the blade he used to slay demons."
Kushina circled Yosuke skeptically, sizing him up.
"Really? Why does it feel like the aura is coming from him instead?"
To confirm it, Kushina sank into her consciousness, arriving at the space where the Nine-Tails was sealed.
"Hey, stupid fox! You can sense a person's good or evil. That man I fought just now—is he good or evil?!"
The Nine-Tails, dozing in its cage, opened one eye impatiently at Kushina. After glancing at her, it turned over and closed its eyes again.
A vein bulged on Kushina's forehead. She quickly formed hand seals, summoning countless chains that wrapped around the Nine-Tails and tightened.
The fox roared in pain and fury, "Uzumaki Kushina! When I get out, I'll kill you!"
"Hmph. Talk big when you actually manage to escape. Now speak!"
The Nine-Tails glared at her with pure hatred, then forced out a single word through gritted teeth:
"Evil."
"Good! If you say evil, then he must be good. Thanks, stupid fox!" Kushina waved dismissively and exited her mindscape.
"You hateful woman!" The Nine-Tails seethed. Kushina had him completely at her mercy.
When Kushina and Yosuke first encountered each other, the Nine-Tails had sensed the ominous aura emanating from Yosuke's body.
Initially, it assumed Yosuke was another miserable human like itself—one with a tailed beast sealed inside him. But upon closer inspection, that wasn't the case.
The Nine-Tails, who had endured millennia of war, hatred, and betrayal—who was practically the embodiment of malice—detected something beneath that ominous aura.
Not malice, but a powerful, overwhelming goodness.
The Nine-Tails wanted to lie to Kushina and cause more conflict between her and Yosuke, hoping to entertain itself while trapped.
But she immediately saw through him.
Asuma soon arrived from the Hokage building, panting heavily.
Earlier, when Asuma had been reporting to the Hokage, he had been describing Yosuke's situation when Minato suddenly interrupted him, saying that Konoha's barrier had been triggered and Kushina was fighting someone—someone who showed no signs of using chakra.
Asuma immediately guessed it was Yosuke and told Minato.
Minato departed in a flash, disappearing instantly, with Asuma hurrying after him.
Asuma wasn't worried for Yosuke's safety at all.
He was worried Kushina might get hurt by Yosuke.
Kushina's identity carried immense weight: the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, wife of the Fourth Hokage, last survivor of the Uzumaki clan.
All together, her importance was equivalent to that of a village leader.
"Asuma asked, breathless, 'Yosuke, why were you fighting Kushina?'"
Yosuke answered helplessly,
"I don't know either. I was just walking through Konoha, and this woman suddenly attacked me."
Guilty, Kushina hid behind Minato and stayed quiet.
Minato sighed with helpless fondness.
"It's a good thing no one was hurt. Otherwise this would've been serious. Don't be so reckless next time. Contact me first."
"I knooow," Kushina said with her tongue out.
Minato walked up to Yosuke and extended his right hand.
"Welcome to Konoha, Yosuke-san. I am the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and this is my wife, Uzumaki Kushina. I apologize for her behavior just now."
When Yosuke heard the surname "Uzumaki," he couldn't help wondering if she was connected to the child of destiny—Uzumaki Naruto. But now wasn't the time to investigate. Yosuke clasped Minato's hand calmly.
"No harm done. I am Ubuyashiki Yosuke, a samurai from the Land of Iron. Thank you for your hospitality."
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