Love is like that.
It can drive a kind-hearted child who dreams of peace to total collapse, sparking a war that engulfs the entire world.
It can cause the most brilliant medical ninja in the shinobi world to develop hemophobia.
And likewise—
It can compel even the most rational thinker to make decisions that are impulsive… and foolish.
Sacrificing Kushina to bring an end to the Nine-Tails' rampage was undoubtedly the most logical choice. But in the heat of love, Minato Namikaze—someone known for his clear-headed decisions—made an emotional and reckless call.
"I can't just stand by and watch you die like this, Kushina."
Minato gently cradled her face in his hands.
"I'll fulfill your wish. I'll seal the last of your chakra into Naruto. That way, when he grows up and comes into contact with your chakra, he'll be able to see you."
"As for the Nine-Tails—that's my responsibility as Hokage. Leave it to me."
"Minato..."
Hearing his words, Kushina's eyes widened in alarm.
"No! Not like this—Minato, are you saying..."
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Konoha still needs you! Naruto needs you! Everyone needs you—you can't do something like this!" she cried.
"We both know what happens when someone uses the Reaper Death Seal. I can't let Naruto lose his father on the day he's born—not after already losing his mother!"
"Besides, you're still Konoha's Hokage! The village can't afford to lose you!"
"...But without you, what meaning would my life even have?"
Minato gazed at Kushina tenderly.
"The village still has Hiruzen. And while this may be unfair to Naruto, I believe he'll grow up strong, surrounded by people who care for him."
"Jiraiya-sensei once wrote in The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja that only by honing one's will and spirit can someone become truly strong. We named him Naruto hoping he'd one day bring peace to the shinobi world. I believe he is the child of prophecy—the one Jiraiya-sensei spoke of. I believe… he can be the hero of that story."
"But… but..."
Kushina trembled, unable to speak.
A mother and a father see things differently.
Kushina didn't care whether her son became some prophesied "hero." What mattered to her was that Naruto could live a good life—a peaceful life. That he could grow up safely, find a loving wife, and live out his days in happiness.
"Besides..."
A determined glint sparked in Minato's eyes. As his hands began forming seals, he spoke in a steady tone:
"The Nine-Tails is too important to Konoha. If we go with your plan, the village will lose the beast entirely."
"I'm the Hokage of Konoha. I have a duty to this village and this nation!"
As Minato spoke and acted, several figures arrived—led by the belated Third Hokage himself.
"That seal...!"
Hiruzen's pupils contracted in shock at the sight of Minato's hand seals.
"The Reaper Death Seal!"
With a whispered invocation, a heavy, oppressive chakra surged from Minato's body.
The next moment, a pale, nearly incorporeal figure materialized behind him—forming the image of a white, ghastly shinigami.
It held a short blade in its mouth and a string of prayer beads in one spectral hand. A chilling aura radiated from it, seeping continuously into Minato's body. It was as if, at any moment, that blade would plunge downward and cleave Minato's soul in two.
"For Naruto's future—and for Konoha's."
Minato glanced briefly at the late-arriving Hiruzen, then pressed his palms together.
"I will seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto… along with both your chakra and mine."
"That way… maybe we'll both be able to see him grow up one day."
"Minato..."
Kushina's expression was filled with sorrow and protest. She couldn't bear the thought of her husband dying—because it wouldn't just mean losing the man she loved. It meant her son would grow up alone, a child without a mother or father.
But she had no power to stop him.
As Minato had said—he was the Hokage. He carried the village on his back. And with that came responsibilities… and choices no one else could make.
He was—
The Fourth Hokage.
"I'm starting."
Minato's voice was low, and his chakra surged.
In response, the shinigami behind him shifted. As though it had sensed the presence of a fresh, worthy soul to claim, the shinigami began to stir with an eerie excitement. It extended its tongue like a serpent, gripped the blade in its hand, and reached forward—plunging its intangible hand into Minato's chest.
Summoning the shinigami—regardless of whether the jutsu succeeded or not—always required the caster's soul as payment.
Minato felt the cold grip seize his spirit. It was an alien sensation—freezing and absolute.
But now wasn't the time to hesitate.
He had one goal: to use the power of the Reaper Death Seal to seal away the Nine-Tails!
"Come, Shinigami!"
With that thought and a surge of chakra, the shinigami raised its arm. Using Minato's body as a conduit, it reached toward the beast.
Minato grunted, his abdomen searing with cold. An unseen hand of death reached across the battlefield, striking at the Nine-Tails.
"Damn you! You bastard Fourth Hokage!"
The Nine-Tails roared in fury and fear. It, too, could see the ghastly figure hovering behind Minato—an entity so dreadful even it was terrified. It thrashed and fought with all its might.
But it was already bound—tightly chained by Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains. Even in her weakened state, her final act had been to bind the Nine-Tails at the cost of her own life. These chains were not so easily broken.
To the Reaper, the beast was nothing more than prey on a chopping block.
In the blink of an eye, a pale spiritual form of the Nine-Tails was yanked out of its body by the shinigami.
"Come, Nine-Tails!"
"Seal!"
Minato's gaze sharpened. With a shout, he forced the shinigami to seal half of the Nine-Tails' soul and chakra into his own body.
A searing pain spread through his gut. It felt like a monstrous force had been injected into his core, threatening to tear him apart from the inside.
"Such heavy chakra..."
Gritting his teeth, Minato used his remaining strength to suppress the raging force. The symbol of a sealing formula appeared on his abdomen—the mark of the Reaper Death Seal.
Clang!
Chains clattered as they fell. The Nine-Tails, now missing half its power, shrank rapidly. The chains that had once bound it tightly now hung loose.
"So it's that jutsu after all..."
Seeing this, Hiruzen's expression grew grim. He knew exactly what this jutsu meant—and what its price would be.
Behind him, several Konoha shinobi had arrived and were watching in shock. One of them murmured:
"But the Nine-Tails is still here… it's smaller, sure, but it hasn't been fully sealed yet?"
"No…" Hiruzen shook his head, taking a deep breath.
"Minato isn't just trying to eliminate the Nine-Tails. He's making a new jinchūriki. That child... Naruto, is the new host."
To seal the entire Nine-Tails in Naruto was impossible—Minato and Kushina simply didn't have the strength left. And even if they did, Naruto might not have been able to withstand it.
If the jinchūriki were to lose control, both the child and the village would face unimaginable consequences.
So Minato had chosen to divide the Nine-Tails' power—taking half into himself, and leaving the other half to be sealed in Naruto.
It would weaken the beast, and make the burden safer to carry.
But there was one problem:
Were Minato and Kushina still capable of finishing the seal in their condition?
He tried to move forward, to intervene—but the space around him suddenly pushed back. There was an invisible barrier around them, keeping everyone else out.
"A barrier..."
Inside the barrier, Minato forced his arms to move. He struggled against the pain of housing half of the Nine-Tails' chakra, his body rejecting the beast's power. His fingers flashed through seals before slamming one hand to the ground.
With a burst of chakra, a small stone altar appeared—candles already lit atop it.
"Next is the Eight Trigrams Seal..."
Far above them, the shrunken Nine-Tails looked down. Its eyes blazed with fury as it saw Minato place baby Naruto on the altar.
"A sealing altar... You bastard, Fourth Hokage! You're seriously going to seal me again? And in that brat?!"
The Nine-Tails knew exactly what was happening.
Though its power had been halved, it still resisted with all its might. One massive claw broke through the Adamantine Chains, stretching toward the altar.
Below, Kushina coughed violently—blood pouring from her mouth. She had reached her limit. The Nine-Tails' struggle had disrupted her seal; she could no longer hold it back.
"Kushina!"
Minato's eyes filled with panic as he rushed to support her.
But in that instant—
The Nine-Tails' gaze locked onto the altar.
With the precision of a predator, it struck.
Its claw tore through the air—straight at Naruto!
Splurt!
Time froze.
Blood sprayed.
But the Nine-Tails' claw… had stopped, just inches from the baby.
Dripping blood onto Naruto's tiny body, its strike had been halted—by the bodies of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
They had thrown themselves between the beast and their child.
"Cough... cough..."
Kushina smiled faintly, despite the blood on her lips.
"Maybe this… is what being a parent means, huh… Naruto..."
Minato gently held her, a weak smile on his own face.
"Yeah... it's what parents do... All that's left now... is the final seal."
"Kushina… we probably won't see each other again after this. Say everything you want to say now..."
"Naruto..."
Kushina looked down at her baby boy. She tried to speak—
But a voice suddenly cut her off.
"Touching scene... but I'm going to have to interrupt it."
The voice echoed inside the barrier—calm, casual, and completely out of place.
Three figures in pure white cloaks suddenly sliced through the air and appeared within the seal.
Gasps followed.
Minato and Kushina stared, stunned.
Outside the barrier, Hiruzen and the others were equally shocked.
"That uniform...!"
"It's from the Soul Society! Dammit, what are those bastards doing here? Are they going after the Nine-Tails?!"
"We can't let them interfere—we have to stop them!"
The sealing was nearly complete. Even if it cost Minato and Kushina their lives, the Nine-Tails would at least remain in Konoha.
But if it were stolen now—if these intruders tried to strike Konoha in its weakest moment...
"Yuki Yoru..."
Minato forced himself to lift his head.
There he was—Yuki Yoru. Just recently, they had stood side by side in the Land of Iron.
But now he stood with the others—clad in that white uniform, eyes calm, waving at Minato casually.
Hōzuki Gengetsu even gave him a wave.
Minato's expression grew increasingly complicated.
He coughed, more blood leaking from his lips. Behind him, the shinigami's blade trembled—ready to sever the tie between soul and body.
"So the Soul Society is under your control... You came here today—why?"
"What? You think I'm here to snatch the Nine-Tails and raze Konoha?"
Yoru gave a light chuckle.
"The Nine-Tails has some value, sure. But if I really wanted to take it, I could've done it anytime. Why wait until now?"
"...Fair enough."
Minato panted, eyes dim.
"Your strength... You're on a completely different level than me now..."
"Self-awareness is hard to come by."
Yoru smiled and gave a nod of approval.
"No wonder you beat Orochimaru in the Hokage selection. But don't worry—I'm not here to get in your way. Do what you need to do."
"Not 'we'...?"
Minato was caught by that phrasing. His thoughts raced.
He remembered the rumors about the Seireitei spreading throughout the shinobi world.
If he and Kushina weren't the targets… and the Nine-Tails wasn't either…
Then what else here could possibly interest Yuki Yoru?
And then—his eyes widened.
He followed Yoru's gaze.
Yoru wasn't looking at Minato. He wasn't looking at the Nine-Tails.
He was staring directly behind Minato.
"...You can see the shinigami?"
Minato was horrified.
The Reaper is special. A god of death that governs souls—normally invisible to all but the one who summoned it and its intended target.
Even Kushina couldn't see it.
But Yuki Yoru…
He saw it clearly.
"Shinigami, huh..."
Yoru looked at the ghastly specter hovering behind Minato.
He didn't need to analyze it—his system had already triggered:
[Detected special spiritual entity: 'Shinigami']
[Ferryman of the Pure Land. Reaper of Souls.]
[Side Quest Unlocked:]
Mission (1): Kill the special entity 'Shinigami'. Reward: 5,000,000 points.
Five million points.
That alone proved how powerful the being was.
But interestingly, the system labeled it as a "ferryman" of the Pure Land—not a controller, not a ruler. Just a guide.
"Interesting..."
Yoru's gaze locked onto the Shinigami.
The shinigami, sensing the scrutiny, turned to stare at Yoru and his companions.
And then—it reacted.
It lunged forward.
Its arm extended unnaturally—like something out of a nightmare—as it swiped toward Yoru and the others!
"W-What?!"
Minato was shocked.
He hadn't commanded the Shinigami to attack Yuki Yoru. That meant—it had acted on its own.
The Shinigami was moving of its own will.
Why?
That man—Yuki Yoru—had actually provoked a reaction from the Shinigami itself.
How is that even possible?!
Ordinary people didn't understand, but Minato—who had studied and used the Reaper Death Seal—knew exactly what the Shinigami was.
In this world, the Shinigami wasn't just a summoned spirit. It was a divine entity, a god of death who ruled over the realm of souls. Earthly matters meant nothing to it. Whether someone had high chakra, great power, youth or age—it didn't care.
It only cared about one thing:
Souls.
That was the foundation of the Reaper Death Seal. The user offered up their own soul as a sacrifice, in exchange for the Shinigami's service.
If you didn't offer your soul—no matter how powerful you were—the Shinigami would ignore you completely.
And because of the nature of living beings, the Shinigami could not be drawn to them at will. It only reacted to souls.
Which meant…
Minato's eyes widened in horror.
"...Yuki Yoru, don't tell me you're—"
"Heh."
Yoru didn't answer him.
Instead, he simply stared at the incoming Shinigami's extended arm.
It stretched toward him like some grotesque, divine weapon—endless and unstoppable.
But then—
It twisted away.
Right at the moment it would've struck Yoru, the arm suddenly diverted, curving to aim instead at the two people standing behind him:
Hozuki Gengetsu and Uchiha Shisui.
"Wait, what?!"
Both men froze in brief surprise.
Then, in a flash, they vanished with Shunpo, dodging the strike with lightning speed.
"Hey! Why me?! Lord Fourth the one who taunted you—not me!"
Hozuki Gengetsu reappeared nearby, voice annoyed and wary.
"I'm telling you, don't pick a fight, pal. If I start fighting, I'm not easy to deal with!"
"Idiot."
Shisui snapped at him.
"Idiot, this Shinigami clearly only targets souls."
"He's wearing a Gigai," Shisui continued, referring to Yoru.
"As far as the Shinigami concerned, he's no different from a normal human. But we're different. We fused our souls directly with natural energy. To the Shinigami, we're like beacons in the night."
"...Damn you, Lord Fourth!"
Gengetsu glared at him.
Yoru just laughed.
"Come on. You're all shinigami, aren't you? Don't you want to test yourselves against the ones from this world?"
"This is a rare opportunity—pure soul-to-soul combat. No chakra. No tricks. Just raw spiritual power."
"Tch."
Gengetsu snorted, annoyed. But he couldn't deny it—Yoru was right.
This was an ideal chance to test their limits.
"You or me?" Gengetsu turned to Shisui.
"You take it."
Shisui shook his head.
"I'd rather not fight in Konoha..."