"Whoosh!"
A faint sound of movement in the air rang out from a safe house in Konoha Village.
Namikaze Minato, holding the weak Kushina, flickered out of the void.
"Naruto!"
Kushina immediately saw little Naruto, who was currently lying sound asleep on the bed. Infants are naturally sleepy, and little Naruto was sleeping deeply, perhaps exhausted from crying. Kushina whispered his name, tears welling up in her eyes. As Minato settled the weak Kushina onto the bed, she looked at Naruto, and the tears couldn't help but stream down her face.
They had only just met their child...
The Tailed Beast had been extracted from Kushina's body by Obito. A Jinchūriki who loses their Tailed Beast has only one fate: death. Although the Uzumaki Clan's powerful life force was enough to keep Kushina from dying immediately, her fate was already sealed.
Kushina was destined not to watch her child grow up, destined not to see what Naruto looked like when he was older, destined not to see the day Naruto became a great ninja, and destined not to see Naruto marry and have children... While Kushina's life up until this point may have been without regret, at the moment the Nine-Tails was extracted and little Naruto was born, Kushina's life became full of regret.
Minato gently placed Kushina on the bed and tucked the blanket around her. His eyes were filled with sorrow and fury. He could clearly sense Kushina's life force rapidly waning; she would completely lose her vitality in, at most, an hour. This was supposed to be the joyous day of their child's birth, but instead...
"Kushina..."
Watching Kushina gently embrace Naruto and weep, Minato felt a lump in his chest, and his breathing was slightly labored. An atmosphere of sadness permeated the safe house.
"Whoosh—"
Just as Minato finished settling Kushina, a spatial fluctuation suddenly appeared in the safe house. Minato, sinking deep into sorrow, immediately gripped a kunai, sharply turning his head to look behind him. He initially thought Obito, who was proficient in Space-Time Ninjutsu, had pursued them here.
However, when he turned around, he saw a crowd of formidable Hyūga ninjas suddenly appear in the safe house. Nearly a hundred elite ninjas filled the one-hundred-plus square meter safe house. The leading ninja was none other than Hyūga Hiashi, wearing a forehead protector and a green flak jacket. Beside him was Hyūga Shinichi, whose height reached Hiashi's waist. The spatial fluctuation was emanating from Shinichi's body.
"You all..."
Even Minato was momentarily stunned to see the Hyūga elites arrive. He had never expected to receive support from the Hyūga Clan at such a critical juncture. After a brief moment of surprise, Minato felt a sense of gratitude. The leader of the group was Hyūga Hiashi, the Clan Head of the Hyūga Main Family had personally rushed here. For a clan like the Hyūga, deploying such a formation was practically mobilizing the entire clan.
Despite his appreciation for the Hyūga Clan's help, Minato could not hide his profound sense of loss. Silently turning his head back, Minato focused his attention on Kushina and Naruto, wanting to cherish their last moments as a family.
"This is..."
Hiashi's Byakugan instantly took in the situation. He could clearly perceive Kushina's life force quickly diminishing, and he also did not see the terrifying, massive chakra of the Nine-Tails within her body. Seeing Minato's dejected look and Kushina's weak state, Hiashi understood what had happened.
Hizashi's protection mission... had failed!
"Sensei Minato, what are you still doing here?"
"Go find the Nine-Tails immediately."
"At this moment... It's still not too late!"
Just as everyone was immersed in the low-pressure atmosphere, Hyūga Shinichi frowned and quickly urged them. His words instantly caught Minato's attention.
"Not too late....?"
Minato looked like he had grasped a lifeline. He suddenly turned to look at Hyūga Shinichi, asking anxiously:
"Shinichi, what do you mean by 'it's still not too late'?"
This was the first time Shinichi had ever seen such a display of distress from Minato. In Shinichi's eyes, Minato had always been confident and composed. Ultimately... the excellent Namikaze Minato was still a deeply emotional human being.
Minato was anxious, but Shinichi was incredibly calm at this moment. Hearing Minato's question, he didn't intend to be cryptic:
"It means exactly what it says."
"I can tell that Sensei Kushina's Nine-Tails has vanished."
"A Jinchūriki who loses a Tailed Beast is destined for death."
"But...."
"That applies to ordinary Jinchūriki! A regular Jinchūriki dies the moment the Tailed Beast is extracted!"
"But Sensei Kushina is an Uzumaki. The Uzumaki Clan's powerful life force means she won't die immediately even after the Tailed Beast is extracted."
"And this time is enough for us to do many things!"
"As long as we can seal the Tailed Beast back, Sensei Kushina will not die!"
All the preparations Shinichi had made beforehand had failed to prevent Kushina from being stripped of the Nine-Tails. Although his arrangements were thorough, Uchiha Obito's Kamui was unpredictable. That ability was incredibly difficult to stop, even with prior knowledge of his techniques. Many ninjas in the world knew the principle of Minato's Flying Thunder God, but weren't the only ones to escape his attacks, the Raikage-Bee combo from the Cloud Village? Knowing Obito's ability is one thing; dealing with Kamui is another.
But...
The situation had not yet reached a deadlock!
The intelligence Shinichi possessed was always one of his greatest trump cards.
A Jinchūriki dies after the Tailed Beast is extracted?!
That was old news!
"What?!"
"Shinichi, what did you say?!"
"As long as we can seal the Tailed Beast back, Kushina can escape death?!"
"Are you sure?"
Minato's eyes lit up at Shinichi's words, and a ray of light suddenly appeared in his dark world. Frankly, after learning that Kushina had been stripped of the Tailed Beast, Minato had momentarily considered committing suicide alongside Kushina. But Shinichi's words gave him hope to live.
"Treat it as a last resort."
"If the Hyūga Clan's records are correct."
Shinichi did not overcommit and quickly provided a source for his information. The Hyūga Clan had a thousand years of history. Hearing this, Minato didn't overthink it and became even more energized.
"Boom—"
Just as they were speaking, a terrifying and malevolent chakra suddenly descended upon Konoha Village. A roar came from somewhere in the village, and the Nine-Tails' chakra instantly appeared in everyone's sensory range.
"The Nine-Tails!"
"Sensei Minato, the Nine-Tails has appeared!"
"Sensei Kushina will be guarded by the Hyūga Clan. Whether you can save Sensei Kushina's life is up to you!"
The moment he felt the Nine-Tails' chakra appear, Shinichi felt a surge of fear. You can never truly understand that power until you face it directly. Even his heart was pounding in his chest. Should he join the fight against Obito? Or join the fight against the Nine-Tails?!
Shinichi would not be so foolish as to put himself in harm's way. While his fighting ability was good and could somewhat affect the battle, the risk-to-reward ratio was too skewed. I'm not strong enough, so don't make rash moves yet. For now, providing intelligence was enough. The rest was just a matter of not causing trouble for Minato.
As for the Nine-Tails and Obito... Namikaze Minato would take care of them!
"Hiashi, Shinichi, everyone from the Hyūga Clan, I leave Kushina to you!"
Minato also knew time was critical. After speaking, he instantly vanished from the safe house.
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