"Maybe once this war is over, we could hold an ice sculpture exhibition here."
Yoru murmured the morbid joke to himself as he looked out at the frozen valley of Kazama Valley, then turned his gaze behind him.
"How's the situation at the front lines?"
"It's a bloodbath, Lord Yoru,"
replied Uzumaki Hiromi, her red hair streaked with ash and chakra residue. "The Tailed Beast Bomb hit indiscriminately. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's power far exceeded any standard beast… the entire base has been destroyed."
"Captain Terumi Mei and Mangetsu survived only because you ordered them to withdraw with their elite squads in advance. Aside from that… only Lord Yagura and a handful of elite shinobi made it out alive."
After all, it was half of the Nine-Tails bullying five other Tailed Beasts. That Sage of Six Paths guy clearly played favorites when dividing up the Ten-Tails' chakra.
Yeah—eight of the beasts got one share each…
The Nine-Tails got the remaining ninety-two.
"There's also this,"
Hiromi said, producing a sealed scroll.
"These are the remains you asked me to collect from the fallen elite jōnin on the battlefield. There are samples from nearly a hundred."
Yoru's eyes lit up as he took the scroll.
He channeled chakra into the seal, and several jars containing blood and tissue samples materialized in front of him.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Hiromi, curious, tilted her head slightly.
"Lord Yoru… are you planning to perform some forbidden jutsu? Or are these for research?"
"It's not quite research," Yoru replied. "I'm using them as conduits—to summon certain things back."
"Summon… what back?"
Hiromi blinked in confusion at the phrasing.
"This world functions… differently. When someone dies, their soul is pulled directly into the Pure Land, never lingering in the physical world."
"I need these samples to pull their souls back from that place."
Yoru resealed the jars and tucked the scroll into his ninja tool pouch.
"I've had some ideas—some theories. If I can make them work, it could help you and Kirigakure's future immensely. But I don't have enough data yet, so I need to run some experiments."
"Spiritual experiments…"
Hiromi didn't show fear—only deep curiosity.
After all, Kirigakure had conducted its share of body-related experiments—like transplanting organs and kekkei genkai, and studying how to trigger or suppress bloodline reactions.
As Yoru's personal medic and confidant, she had been exposed to such research, especially around genetics and biology.
She even had some understanding of chakra flow and mental energy—but the soul?
That was completely outside her scope.
Still… if Yoru said he could do it, she believed he could.
"Whsssshk!"
A uniquely-shaped kunai suddenly whistled through the air.
Yoru and Hiromi both vanished in a flash of movement, narrowly avoiding the surprise attack.
The next instant, a yellow flash ripped through the sky—Namikaze Minato descended with a glowing Rasengan, smashing it down where Yoru had just been standing.
Dust and frost burst into the air as two more figures arrived.
Minato stood atop the now-frozen landscape of Kazama Ridge, tightly gripping his Flying Thunder God kunai. Beside him, Kushina Uzumaki radiated intense chakra, visibly shaken.
"…We're too late."
"Don't make that disgusting face, Minato,"
Yoru said coolly, his hand resting on Hyorinmaru's hilt. "If you'd come straight here, maybe you could've done something. But no—you chose to wipe out our forward base first. So now, all you get is the aftermath. Welcome to the ice sculpture exhibit."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I'm curious, though. You've avoided facing me this entire war. Now, when things are this far gone… you show up. What's the matter?"
"Still need time to mentally prepare to fight the man who killed your teacher?"
Minato didn't answer.
He simply raised his kunai in a reverse grip and began forming a Rasengan in his other hand. At the same time, Kushina clapped her hands together—adamantine chains erupted from her back, whipping through the air and charging toward Yoru.
In that very moment, Minato vanished again—reappearing above Yoru, Rasengan crashing down from above.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Kushina shouted—but her technique was blocked by a matching set of chains.
At the same time, Minato's Rasengan struck—but Yoru had vanished.
"That speed—!"
Minato's eyes widened, but he quickly located Yoru a short distance away.
"Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!"
He hurled a shuriken, which multiplied into a rainstorm of deadly steel, covering the entire area within a hundred meters.
But Yoru danced through the storm, his movements flawless—dodging every blade.
And in the blink of an eye, he was once again directly in front of Minato.
"Rasengan!"
Minato reacted instantly, slamming another Rasengan toward Yoru's abdomen.
This time, Yoru didn't dodge.
He took it head-on.
But what happened next shocked Minato to his core.
Yoru's flak jacket shattered under the impact—but his body?
Unharmed.
The Rasengan had landed clean…
But it might as well have hit solid steel.
"…Surprised?"
Yoru's voice whispered at Minato's ear.
A flash of steel.
Minato teleported back—just in time—but not before a deep cut slashed across his chest.
Blood soaked his jōnin vest.
"Minato!"
Kushina cried.
"He's different now," Minato panted. "He's fully mastered space-time ninjutsu… and his body—it's like reinforced armor. It's not just chakra enhancement. It's like…"
"Steel," Kushina finished.
Her body lit up with Nine-Tails chakra, a deep orange-red glow pulsing around her. Her hands formed a rapid sequence of seals.
"Minato… Use it."
Minato nodded.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Four identical copies of Kushina emerged. Without a word, Minato and the four clones disappeared in a flash.
In the next moment, Kushina activated the seal.
Four massive chakra pillars erupted from the north, south, east, and west—a glowing red rectangular barrier surged up, surrounding Yoru and Hiromi in its center.
"Four Red Yang Formation!"