At this moment, Minato's pupils were blood red, shaped like the fox eyes of the Nine-Tails. His usually sunny temperament seemed fierce, and his gaze was filled with a cold, piercing resentment and awe.
Minato could feel the chakra in his body, which had previously been nearly depleted, suddenly filling up again—more than before. However, he reacted instantly and suppressed all the overflowing chakra fluctuations. Despite his changed appearance, Minato's will remained unaltered.
In the past, when he was with Kushina, he had seen the Nine-Tails' chakra riot inside her body several times. The emotions contained within the Nine-Tails' chakra had affected Kushina's mind.
But for some reason, his mind wasn't affected at all.
And just now, why had he heard the voice of his grown-up self from the depths of his soul?
Minato possessed a very cautious mind, a key factor in his becoming the Fourth Hokage at such a young age. If circumstances were different, he would have taken the time to explore these questions, but now was not the time to think too deeply.
The most important thing at the moment was to take Nawaki to find Tsunade and cure the poison in his body.
"Nine-Tails, although I've borrowed your power this time, I will definitely change the past!" Minato thought to himself, feeling a sense of competition with the Nine-Tails.
"Next, it's all up to you!" Minato thought. Although his chakra reserves had returned to their peak, facing twelve Sand Ninjas—especially with three Jonin among them—made the odds of him successfully escaping with Nawaki less than 20%.
Even if he could escape, finding Tsunade in time would be nearly impossible.
This wasn't something that could be solved with his current strength alone.
However, for a ninja, strength isn't the only tool they can rely on.
Just like Hanzo, who is called a demigod, but more widely known as Salamander Hanzo. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were called the Three Sannin not just because of their own abilities, but also because of their powerful summoning beasts.
Minato bit his finger, smeared the blood on his palm, and then began to form seals with both hands.
"Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram!"
This hand sign, both in his past life and this life, was part of a ninjutsu Jiraiya had taught him.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Minato's palm slammed onto the ground, and a black summoning circle spread rapidly across the terrain. A huge wave of chakra surged from Minato's body.
"THERE'S SOMEONE HERE!"
This massive chakra release immediately alerted the Sand Ninja who were about to leave the area. Even without a sensor-type ninja among them, they could feel the sheer amount of chakra that had been released.
What happened next made it impossible to hide, even if Minato wanted to.
"Bang!"
A massive cloud of smoke erupted in the forest, followed by a loud crash that made the mountains tremble. An impatient voice echoed through the area.
"Jiraiya, you actually summoned me to this place?"
The Sand Ninja rushing toward the source of the chakra fluctuations stopped in their tracks when they saw the massive creature. One of them swallowed nervously and asked, "What kind of creature is that?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Minato, who was now standing on top of Gamabunta, felt a surge of nostalgia. He remembered the effort it had taken to earn the toad boss's recognition.
The one Minato had summoned was none other than Gamabunta from Mount Myoboku!
As Minato stood there momentarily stunned, Gamabunta raised his eyes, noticing Minato standing on top of him, along with the unconscious Nawaki.
"It's you, little brat!"
Gamabunta was startled. As an elite of the Toad Clan, he immediately realized that the chakra summoning him wasn't Jiraiya's, but Minato's.
"I'm sorry, Toad Boss. I summoned you so suddenly, but I had no choice!" Minato knew Gamabunta's temper well, so he spoke carefully.
Gamabunta was surprised. He knew Minato was Jiraiya's apprentice and had seen him at Mount Myoboku before.
But he was shocked nonetheless. This little brat was only ten years old and could summon him? That was something even most Jonin couldn't do.
However, Gamabunta wasn't unreasonable. He looked around and quickly assessed the situation. The gloomy sky and constant rain made it clear they were in the Land of Rain, a battlefield in the Second Ninja War.
Gamabunta also noticed the Sand Ninja who had stopped in the distance. He raised his eyes and asked Minato, "Kid, are you surrounded by Sand Ninjas?"
Minato nodded. "Yes."
"Then I'll take care of them for Jiraiya's sake."
Despite the more than dozen Sand Ninja in the area, Gamabunta knew it wouldn't be too difficult to deal with them.
However, Minato's voice came from above his head: "No, boss, we don't have time to deal with them now. My friend has been poisoned by Lady Chiyo of the Sand Village. We need to find Lady Tsunade to detoxify him!"
Gamabunta was no stranger to Chiyo's name. He also noticed the unconscious figure on his head.
"Is this kid from the Senju Clan?"
Gamabunta was familiar with sensing chakra, and Nawaki's Senju bloodline and chakra were distinct from ordinary people.
"Yes, he is Tsunade-sama's younger brother, the grandson of the First Hokage, Nawaki." Minato quickly explained Nawaki's identity to Gamabunta.
"Quite someone, the grandson of the First Hokage." Gamabunta murmured, with a hint of respect in his voice.
The God of Shinobi, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was a figure even Gamabunta had heard of from Mount Myoboku. Those who had witnessed his power likened him to the legendary ancestor of the ninja, the Sage of Six Paths.
"Kid, which direction are we going?" Gamabunta asked directly, surprising Minato.
He quickly pointed in a direction and said, "We need to head that way!"
Gamabunta turned his massive body toward the direction Minato had indicated. As he shifted, the ground trembled beneath him.
"Kid, hold on to that little brat, Nawaki. If you fall, I'm not responsible!"
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