Kushina's hair was being yanked hard, her scalp burning with pain as her head was forced back. She gritted her teeth stubbornly, refusing to make a sound, her eyes glaring up with cold defiance at the person behind her.
The Root operative, initially wearing a fierce expression, felt his heart tighten at the intensity of her gaze. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, but he only doubled down, pulling her hair even more violently. The Root's mission had to be completed; even knowing this girl was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he had to push forward.
Kushina's scalp screamed in pain, yet she remained silent. Seeing that this wasn't enough to break her, the second operative lunged forward, slamming a palm toward her stomach.
If it had been a punch, Yagami wouldn't have been worried—that would just be an escalation of bullying. But a palm strike? That suggested a Sealing Jutsu.
Sure enough, Kushina's expression shifted instantly. Much like Naruto's fox-like transformation in the future, her pupils narrowed into vertical slits. An ominous, heavy chakra surged into the surroundings.
In the narrow space behind the school building, a violent wind began to howl. The Academy teachers watched the Fox ANBU with unease, unsure of what was happening.
'How do I even explain this?' Yagami thought. 'I'm ANBU, the ones attacking are Root. I have no authority to stop them.'
At that moment, a blond figure blurred from a second-story window. He landed momentarily upside down on the window frame before kicking off with immense force, propelling himself downward.
Yagami's eyes widened in surprise. He noticed a crucial detail: as Minato kicked off the frame, a gust of concentrated wind erupted from beneath his feet.
Compressing Wind Style chakra at the soles of his feet to explosively accelerate his Body Flicker?
Yagami had been monitoring Kushina for days and hadn't visited the training grounds where Sakumo and Minato practiced. 'Has Sakumo already started teaching Minato chakra compression?'
Chakra Refining—the art of crystallizing chakra—was an incredibly difficult secret technique. With the system's help, Yagami had mastered Earth Style refining, but his progress with other elements had been stagnant. Yet here was Minato, already stable enough to compress Wind chakra for movement.
'What kind of monstrous talent is this?'
If Minato eventually gained the Flying Thunder God from Tsunade and combined it with the White Fang's chakra refining, his future power might even surpass his original canon self. All he'd be missing would be the Mount Myoboku summons and Sage Mode.
Luckily, Yagami was on excellent terms with the Uzumaki remnants and was essentially family to Minato. This was what you called an "early investment."
Minato moved like a lightning bolt, hitting the ground and appearing instantly beside Kushina. He grabbed the wrist of the man pulling her hair.
"Agh!"
With a sickening crack, the man's wrist was snapped. Minato followed up with a flying kick, sending the second operative crashing into the wall. The impact was so great that cracks spider-webbed across the masonry, sending bricks flying.
"Teacher," Yagami remarked to the man beside him, "you're going to need to fix that wall. Send the bill to Root."
The teacher gasped, "Minato has gotten stronger again... How is he so fast? And that striking style—it's strange, I've never seen it before."
'Of course it's fast,' Yagami thought. 'Look who's teaching him.'
The Nine-Tails' chakra continued to leak, casting a chilling, oppressive shadow over everyone nearby. Kushina clutched her head, trembling and letting out low, guttural growls. The red chakra bubbled up like boiling water.
Minato placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to steady her, but he didn't know how to stop the surge. Students began gathering at the end of the alley, their numbers growing as they sensed the commotion.
Yak suddenly appeared behind Yagami. "Captain, the Root ninja show no intention of resolving this. What's the move?"
"Root isn't in a hurry, so we aren't either. Wait a bit longer."
Kushina desperately tried to suppress the chakra, but the interference seal placed on her stomach was clashing with her own seal. Slowly, a translucent chakra tail began to manifest behind her.
Yagami frowned. 'The Root is being reckless. They're treating her purely like a weapon—it's too crude.'
Minato was frantic; he didn't want the other students to see Kushina like this. Suddenly, Kushina looked up, her fingers hooked into claws as she lunged at Minato's midsection. Her nails had grown abnormally long and sharp, like blades.
Minato didn't expect her to attack him and failed to dodge in time; his stomach was slashed. Kushina didn't stop, launching a relentless barrage of strikes. Yagami glanced at the tree where the Root were hiding; they still weren't moving.
Kushina's power had spiked significantly, and Minato was being forced onto the defensive. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her. Just as her claws swiped toward Minato's throat, a figure flickered into the center of the fray.
The Fox-masked ANBU caught Kushina's wrist with his left hand. His right hand, fingers splayed, slammed into her stomach.
*Five Elements Seal!*
This was a sealing technique specifically designed to disrupt and suppress chakra. The ANBU archives contained this jutsu, and as a squad leader, Yagami could now learn any technique in their collection without fear of reprisal.
Testing the Nine-Tails' seal was one thing, but he wouldn't let Minato get hurt.
The red chakra began to recede, the translucent bubbles becoming unstable. The flickering fox tail behind Kushina lashed out one last time, striking Yagami. He instinctively activated his Absolute Defense: Bronze Light.
The Bronze Light was designed for physical impacts; the Nine-Tails' chakra tail, being pure energy, left a searing, burning pain where it hit him. But the cold, malicious chakra quickly vanished. Yagami felt a lingering sense of dread—the Nine-Tails' energy was truly unique.
The Root ninja paused; he had been about to step in, but the Fox Captain had beaten him to it. He hadn't expected the ANBU captain's sealing arts to be so proficient.
The bullying incident ended quickly. Teachers moved in to disperse the students and offer comfort.
When Yagami arrived at the Hokage's office later, he found Hanamaki Senju, Tsunade, and Danzo already there. A Root operative named Bing reported on the status of the seal.
"The Jinchuriki's personal strength is too low," C concluded. "The seal Lady Mito gave her is weakening. If her own power doesn't keep pace, the seal will fail. A significant amount of chakra leaked, manifesting a single tail. The malicious intent attracted several students. At one tail, the Jinchuriki lost her sanity and attacked indiscriminately, failing to recognize Minato Namikaze. The Fox Captain intervened and used the Five Elements Seal to suppress the chakra."
Tsunade glanced at the Fox. 'An ANBU captain has the ability to seal the Nine-Tails' chakra?'