To sacrifice his own life and use the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect all of Konoha…
That meant his plans would need to be completely rearranged.
Fortunately, that was only the future. There was still time to change things…
Hidden Leaf Village.
Ordinary shinobi and villagers were hugging one another and cheering.
Their future selves had truly been saved by Naruto!
And without a doubt—
Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki who had long been ostracized and discriminated against…
Was not only the son of a hero, but also the future great hero of Konoha!
Inside the Shinigami's stomach, sealed within the Reaper Death Seal—
Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato both wore warm, relieved smiles.
As expected of their son.
His performance was simply outstanding.
At that moment, the massive scroll floating above Konoha burst into golden light once more.
A new scene began!
Everyone lifted their heads to look at the translucent screen.
[Amegakure.]
[After gathering information while trapped inside the Deva Path's Rain Tiger at Will Technique, Jiraiya arrived at a mysterious space.]
["Summoning Jutsu!"]
[A scroll toad was summoned by Jiraiya.]
…
The ninja world buzzed.
"That toad is also from Mount Myōboku, right? Does the toad clan have a toad for everything?"
"I heard that the toads all know Sage Arts, and each has unique abilities."
"No wonder both Naruto and Jiraiya, who are contracted with the toad clan, rank eleventh on the Summoned Beast List."
"Compared with other summons, the toads are indeed much stronger."
"Hey, hey! Jiraiya is gathering intel in Amegakure, right? We already know the Akatsuki Base is here, and we know he's killed by Pain…"
"Look—Pain already used a jutsu in the scene. Everything Jiraiya is doing is under his surveillance."
"In other words… Jiraiya dies here."
…
Jiraiya himself also realized it after watching the scene.
A bitter smile formed on his face.
He didn't expect that, just like Hiruzen before him, his ranked scene would also be the moment of his death.
The scene continued.
[Scroll Toad: "Jiraiya, what are you planning? Naruto's key has long been—"]
[Jiraiya interrupted him: "I'm not asking you to open Naruto's seal for repairs. For certain reasons, you need to leave my body for a while."]
[The scroll toad looked confused: "Leave? What exactly are you planning?"]
[Jiraiya's face grew heavy: "I'm about to fight someone… quite strong."]
[Scroll Toad: "Oh? Someone strong enough that I have to escape first?"]
[Jiraiya: "Let me set the mobility seal first."]
[The toad's scroll belly unfurled automatically, and Jiraiya stamped a chakra seal onto it.]
[Jiraiya: "If something happens to me… move into Naruto's body."]
[Scroll Toad froze: "What nonsense are you talking about? My belly holds the key to Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal!"]
["The Fourth Hokage's seal is weakening. The key was left to reseal the Nine-Tails if necessary."]
["Such an important key—how can I be kept together with a vault?"]
…
The ninja world erupted.
"So Naruto saved the village thanks to another of the Fourth's preparations! And now we learn he even left behind a 'key'—one that can reseal the Nine-Tails!"
"Yeah! Even we in small villages know the name of the Fourth. He's nothing like Hiruzen, who was supposedly 'the strongest Hokage in history' in name only."
"If you ask me, that title of 'strongest Hokage' Hiruzen had… he might actually be the weakest of them all!"
"What about Tsunade? She has hemophobia! She might be the weakest."
"No, no. The Third sacrificed his life to seal Orochimaru's arms. Tsunade at least fought Orochimaru evenly and forced him to retreat."
…
The scene continued.
[Jiraiya: "This key was left by Minato for Naruto. One day, it must be given to him."]
[Scroll Toad: "But it's far too early! You remember what happened last time when you made me loosen Naruto's seal a little, right?"]
[The earlier scene appeared: Naruto, in Four-Tails Nine-Tails Mode, seriously injuring Jiraiya and leaving an almost fatal wound on his chest.]
…
The ninja world murmured.
"So that's how Jiraiya got that wound he showed in Kakashi's hospital room."
"That being the case… it makes sense he'd be killed by Pain."
"Exactly. Pain fought against Naruto when he had Nine-Tails chakra up to nine tails. Jiraiya couldn't even handle Four-Tails."
"Hahaha! No wonder Jiraiya, despite being one of the Legendary Sannin, wasn't considered for the Hokage seat. Turns out he was too weak!"
"That's not fair. Don't forget—Minato, Pain, and Naruto were all Jiraiya's students."
…
The scene continued.
[Jiraiya: "You're right. But since Minato left this technique and entrusted the key to me, it means Naruto must complete that technique one day. I believe this is Minato's will."]
[Scroll Toad was shocked again: "Jiraiya, are you serious?"]
["Naruto can't even control the Nine-Tails' chakra right now. Does he really need that technique?"]
["Even loosening the seal a little forces his chakra back and lets the Nine-Tails take control."]
["If the seal opens too much, Naruto might fully transform into the Nine-Tails! Wouldn't that go against Kushina's last wish?"]
…
Inside the Shinigami's stomach—
Uzumaki Kushina: "Nani!? Is he looking down on our Naruto?"
Minato quickly soothed her: "Relax, Red-Hot Habanero… the scroll toad is only worried about him."
Minato thought to himself: As expected of his teacher.
Even without being told, Jiraiya could guess his intentions.
But it was true—Naruto wasn't ready to use that technique yet.
…
The scene continued.
[Jiraiya: "Minato only sealed the Yin half of the Nine-Tails with the Reaper Death Seal. He deliberately split the Nine-Tails' power into Yin and Yang. The Yang half was sealed into Naruto—that was to leave the Nine-Tails' power to him."]
[The scroll toad still objected.]
[Jiraiya: "Why did Minato specifically choose to seal the Nine-Tails into his own son?"]
[Scroll Toad: "How should I know? Maybe circumstances forced him, or… maybe he wanted to entrust his power to his child. Fatherly love, maybe."]
[Jiraiya shook his head: "Minato was my student. He would never do something meaningless. He must have learned something important."]
["And if it's because of that truth that he entrusted the Nine-Tails' power to Naruto… then Naruto must…"]
…
The ninja world was stunned.
"How terrifying was Minato? Just how many layers of backup plans did he leave behind!?"
"So the Nine-Tails' power was split into Yin and Yang… and Naruto only has the Yang half. Meaning he only has half the Nine-Tails inside him!"
"Good lord! How strong is the complete Nine-Tails then!?"
"I never understood why the Fourth died from sealing the Nine-Tails—now it makes sense. The Nine-Tails was far more terrifying than we imagined."
"What is that 'truth' Minato wanted Naruto to inherit?!"
…
Jiraiya stared at the screen, momentarily dazed… then he burst into hearty laughter.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789