Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 275: The Awakening of Minato Namikaze

Inside the hollowed-out mountain, a massive figure quietly emitted an orange glow, its faint light illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Everything was silent.

Until two sets of footsteps broke the quiet, bringing some activity to the place.

Hagoromo Gengetsu opened his eyes.

Deidara, looking triumphant, and the aloof Seimei were carrying an unconscious Gaara, the jinchūriki of the One-Tail, towards them.

"So? Has it already started?"

Deidara looked up at the Gedo Statue in front of him, expecting his team to be the first back, only to find that someone else had arrived even earlier and had already begun extracting the tailed beasts.

Who could it be? Oh, it's the boss!

That settled it.

"One-Tail goes at the end. Let's finish what's already started," Hagoromo Gengetsu ordered, glancing at them.

"No problem!"

Deidara responded enthusiastically.

He tossed Gaara onto the ground, then flashed to his usual spot on the Gedo Statue's fingers. Forming hand signs, he channeled chakra to accelerate the extraction process.

Seimei, who was there for the first time, looked around the fingers of the Gedo Statue. Seeing that Hagoromo Gengetsu hadn't assigned him a spot, he chose one randomly and stood there.

As he stood near the enormous, intimidating Gedo Statue, a look of awe crossed Seimei's face.

Possessing the ability to absorb chakra, he could sense the immense amount of chakra within the colossal figure before him.

Even if it allowed him to absorb all he wanted, he couldn't take it all in. It would eventually lead to chakra overload and a self-destructive end.

"No wonder this belongs to that great person."

Seimei glanced at Hagoromo Gengetsu with respectful eyes, then quickly got to work, forming hand signs.

After some time, Kakuzu and Hidan returned, empty-handed.

Knowing the routine, they took their usual positions and joined the extraction process skillfully.

When Sasuke and Kisame returned last, they didn't even have time to speak before the extraction of Yin Kurama neared its end.

Just as the last strand of Yin Kurama's chakra was pulled from Minato Namikaze's body and absorbed by the Gedo Statue, Minato's previously vacant eyes suddenly sparkled with life.

"Where am I?"

Minato blinked, looking around in confusion as he regained consciousness.

The moment Yin Kurama was completely extracted, his soul was jolted, instantly reviving him.

Before he could assess his situation, Minato's first sight was the imposing Gedo Statue, freshly absorbing Yin Kurama, emanating an overwhelming aura.

His heart skipped a beat.

The immense statue, nearly filling the entire mountain cavern, was beyond anything he could comprehend.

"Hmm? It seems something unexpected has happened upon my return."

A strange voice spoke behind him.

Minato's expression tightened. He quickly turned around to see a man with a shark-like face, dressed in a black cloak with red clouds, grinning at him.

"A rogue ninja from the Mist?"

Minato didn't recognize Kisame but noticed the Mist forehead protector with a slash across it.

His gaze then shifted to the unconscious Cloud ninja on Kisame's shoulder and the young man with an Uchiha fan emblem on his clothing.

Why would an Uchiha be with a rogue ninja?

Minato immediately identified Sasuke as an authentic Uchiha, raising questions about why a Konoha Uchiha was with a rogue from the Mist.

Having died young, Minato's only recent appearance in the world was when the Shinigami summoned him for a battle with Hagoromo Gengetsu.

He hadn't had the chance to learn about the current state of the ninja world.

"Am I revived through Reanimation?"

Minato realized his current state matched the Reanimation technique described in Konoha's Forbidden Scroll of Seals.

His expression changed as he noticed that the Nine-Tails he had sealed within him was gone.

What happened?

Minato looked up, sensing the people standing high on the Gedo Statue's fingers. He frowned as he realized they were also rogue ninjas from various villages—Rock, Sand, Waterfall, and Hot Springs.

Is this a rogue ninja stronghold?

"Then, the person who used Reanimation to revive me must be..."

Minato turned to the last person.

In the next moment, his pupils shrank as he spoke, enunciating each word:

"Hagoromo Gengetsu!"

Upon hearing this, Hagoromo Gengetsu slowly opened his Rinnegan, looking down with a faint smile:

"A bit surprising that you woke up."

Seeing Hagoromo Gengetsu's unusual purple vortex eyes, Minato asked with a serious expression:

"Did you revive me using Reanimation to take the Nine-Tails from my body?"

In that brief time, he had pieced together the events.

Though he didn't know why Hagoromo Gengetsu wanted the Nine-Tails, the fact that someone so feared by past Hokages—who had once fought and defeated four of them at once—was now allying with rogue ninjas was deeply concerning.

'I must inform Konoha of this situation.'

Minato made up his mind quickly.

As Hagoromo Gengetsu began to speak, Minato, without waiting for a response, vanished in a flash, moving at a speed that surprised everyone present.

"No wonder you're Minato Namikaze." Hagoromo Gengetsu calmly finished his sentence, making no further moves.

But just because he did nothing didn't mean others wouldn't.

Among those present were some of the strongest in the ninja world.

In an instant.

Deidara's clay bombs, Sasori's puppets, Kakuzu's ninjutsu, and Seimei's Steel Cannonfire all targeted Minato.

Swish, swish, swish!

Minato moved like a phantom, easily evading all the attacks.

Just as he was about to pass by Kisame and Sasuke without a scratch.

In that moment, Sasuke, with a blank expression, activated his Sharingan and drew his sword, stopping Minato's nearly invisible movement.

Minato blocked the sword and asked Sasuke:

"As a Konoha ninja with the Sharingan, why are you helping Hagoromo Gengetsu?"

"Your information is outdated."

Sasuke swung his sword again.

Minato didn't engage Sasuke but retreated, launching several kunai.

As Sasuke prepared to deflect them.

Swish!

Minato reappeared beside the kunai closest to Sasuke, grabbed it, and thrust it toward him.

Sasuke was about to counterattack.

Minato vanished again.

Reappearing near another kunai he had just thrown past Sasuke.

"Flying Thunder God Technique." Sasuke looked back at Minato, raising an eyebrow.

Minato ignored Sasuke behind him and continued to sprint, almost escaping the mountain.

Suddenly, a massive wave flooded the passage.

Before Minato stood Kisame, materializing from the water.

Grinning at the blonde man before him, Kisame said:

"You're not getting through here."