Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

If, by some chance, we can't retrieve the Scroll of Seals, as long as Kushina survives, that's enough.

He pulled out a Kunai and made a cut on Kushina's hand. Blood slowly dripped into an empty bottle.

When the bottle was about two-thirds full, Minato Namikaze capped it, bandaged Kushina's wound, and slowly stood up.

"Throw them at the same time?"

"Yeah." Shirou gave a slight nod.

Minato Namikaze tossed the blood bottle while smoothly catching the healing potion Shirou threw his way.

Because he'd put more force into throwing the blood bottle, Shirou had to jump to catch it.

Seizing the moment, Minato Namikaze bent down, set the healing potion on the ground, and vanished in an instant.

The next moment, he appeared out of thin air behind both Shirou and the Shirou who looked like the Third Hokage. A Rasengan formed in each palm.

This has to hit!

Slap! Slap!

Both Shirous reached out at the same time and struck his left and right wrists.

In that instant, Minato Namikaze felt an overwhelming force. The Rasengan in his hands involuntarily veered off course and slammed into the ground, leaving two large craters.

"I hate it when someone plays tricks during a fair trade. So, you need a lesson."

The Shirou in the guise of the Third Hokage furrowed his brow, stepped forward, and stood before Minato Namikaze.

The other Shirou slowly walked toward Kushina Uzumaki.

Seeing this, Minato Namikaze immediately tried to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique to rush over and save her.

But his Chakra was nearly depleted, and the technique failed.

"What are you trying to do? Cheating in a fair deal was wrong of me, I admit. But you've stolen plenty from Konoha too. How about we call it even?"

Realizing Shirou was getting closer to Kushina, Minato Namikaze's face turned grim. He pulled a Kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch, lowered his stance, and silently prepared to fight to the death.

Because Minato Namikaze had acted too fast, Kushina Uzumaki hadn't had time to drink the healing potion yet. She was still barely clinging to life.

She looked up, staring at the eyes behind the mask, and suddenly noticed he wasn't looking at her—he was staring at little Naruto in the Swaddling Clothes beside her. Panic surged through her.

"You... what are you trying to do? Please, don't hurt Naruto. I'll take his place."

"You can't take his place. If anything, only your husband could replace Naruto. But I don't think you'd want that to happen."

Shirou stopped two meters away from Kushina.

The next instant!

A beam of light shot from his left eye, striking little Naruto dead-on.

"Bastard! What did you do?"

Minato Namikaze roared, but then noticed little Naruto seemed unharmed. He relaxed slightly.

"You... what did you really do?"

"Hahaha..."

Shirou laughed for a while before speaking:

"Come to think of it, something similar happened back at the Uchiha Residence."

"I just wanted to collect some of Itachi Uchiha's blood, but he insisted on fighting me to the death. I had no choice but to turn Sasuke into a Female Infant."

"Didn't expect the same thing to happen here."

"But they're both babies, so it's no big deal. Just think of it as having a daughter."

Minato Namikaze froze for a moment, then quickly caught on and said calmly:

"You're the Gender-Bending Demon of the Ninja World? So you're from the Uchiha Clan."

"Jiraiya-sensei has been hunting you. Kakashi hates you to the bone. Why did you turn them into women? Why... do something so cruel?"

"Cruel?" Shirou countered with a laugh. "They nearly killed me once. As an enemy, I had the chance to finish them off, but I didn't. Isn't that mercy?"

"Mercy? To the people involved, this is a fate worse than death."

Minato Namikaze added silently:

Especially Jiraiya-sensei, who's always had a thing for Tsunade-sama. He's completely given up hope. He even thought about ending it all.

"Well then, goodbye."

Noticing another version of himself flying overhead, Shirou lost interest in chatting. He nodded to the Shirou in the Third Hokage's guise, and both vanished from the spot.

Chapter 49: A Daughter's Not So Bad After All

Chapter 49: A Daughter's Not So Bad After All

"They're gone?"

Minato Namikaze warily scanned the area, then sprinted to the barely breathing Kushina.

He uncapped the bottle and fed her the healing potion. Her face quickly regained color, and her condition improved significantly.

"Kushina, how are you feeling?"

"Much better."

Feeling her Chakra rapidly recovering, Kushina Uzumaki let out a long sigh, but when she turned her gaze to Naruto beside her, her expression grew dazed.

Carefully peeling back the Swaddling Clothes, she couldn't help but gasp.

Her newborn son had turned into a daughter.

"Minato, a daughter is fine too. I heard from Kakashi that people changed by the Gender-Bending Demon are truly transformed from the inside out, completely into the opposite sex."

"Yeah."

Minato Namikaze couldn't help but hold Kushina close, speaking softly:

"If Naruto grows up knowing he was originally a boy, he'll definitely be in great pain."

"So, I'll announce to the outside that we had a daughter from the start. Only the two of us need to know about the Gender-Bending Demon."

Kushina Uzumaki nodded slightly, picked up little Naruto again, and hesitated before saying:

"For a girl, the name Naruto doesn't seem quite right. How about Naruko?"

"Okay."

"From what that Gender-Bending Demon said earlier, it seems Mikoto's child, Sasuke, was also turned into a girl."

"Sasuke and Naruto are both infants, so it's not too big a problem. But a lot of people know Fugaku's second child was a boy; it'll be really hard to keep that under wraps."

"There's always a way. It's for the child's healthy growth after all." Kushina Uzumaki said with a light smile.

"Yeah, little Naruto was just born. As long as we two keep our mouths shut, his gender can be hidden."

Minato Namikaze paused, then turned his gaze to the Nine-Tails Fox not far away.

At that moment, it was lying there obediently, its pupils reflecting a strange red pattern.

"Kushina, has your Chakra recovered?"

"No problem, it's fully restored. That guy's healing medicine was way too effective. There's still some left in the bottle; we'll have the medical department study it later."

"I'll arrange that."

Minato Namikaze took out a sealing scroll, sealed the small bottle with about a quarter of the healing medicine left, then smiled:

"Well, now there's really no Chakra left at all. Kushina, can I ask you to seal the Nine-Tails inside me?"

"Minato wants to become a Jinchuriki?"

"Yeah, the Nine-Tails is temporarily under control and can't resist. The pain Kushina has suffered in the past, I'll bear from now on."

Becoming a Jinchuriki might grant immense power, but it's no good thing.

Not to mention the psychological pressure; if it ever goes out of control, the people around could be in danger.

That's exactly what happened this time. If the Nine-Tails were resealed inside Kushina, and she had a second child later, something similar might happen again.

So, excluding Kushina, the only options left were himself and Naruto.

But Naruto was still too young. If there were any other choice, Minato Namikaze would rather let him grow up happily like an ordinary child.

The choice was really only himself.

"Minato..."

Kushina Uzumaki held her husband's hand, her face showing hesitation.

Seeing this, Minato smiled and said:

"My Chakra has always been a bit lacking. Becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will let me better protect the village and protect you. Please, Kushina."

"Since Minato has made up his mind... then, shall I begin?"

"Go ahead!"

The massive Nine-Tails Fox had just been sealed inside Minato Namikaze's body when the Third Hokage arrived with dozens of Anbu.

And so, this scene was clearly etched into each of their eyes.

"Minato, you... sealed the Nine-Tails inside yourself?"

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama, it was the best choice."

"Minato, is that your child?"

The Third Hokage shifted his gaze to little Naruto in Kushina's arms, curiosity on his face.

"Third Hokage-sama, this is Kushina's newborn child. Her name is Naru... Naruko, a girl."

Minato Namikaze said this a bit awkwardly.

His newborn son had suddenly become a daughter; accepting that fact would clearly take some time.

"Third Hokage-sama, is the village alright?"

"Thanks to you moving the Nine-Tails away, the village's damage is minimal. You did well, Minato."

Minato Namikaze breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then suddenly realized a problem and asked nervously:

"Lord Third, the Nine-Tails was released by a man wearing a Swirl Mask. He had a Sharingan in one eye and specialized in time-space jutsu."

"After I drove him off, he never reappeared."

"But just now, I encountered another Masked Man. His mask was a different style from the first one, and both his eyes had strange Sharingan patterns... He used a special medicine to save Kushina's life."

"As a condition, he took a vial of Kushina's blood."

"Before we fought, from what he said, he's not allied with the first Masked Man. He was just looting in the chaos, taking quite a bit from Konoha. Among it, possibly the Scroll of Seals."

"Also, he drew a vial of blood from every major Kekkei Genkai family in Konoha."

"After we clashed, I realized he's the infamous Gender-Bending Demon of the Ninja World..."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage's expression shifted slightly.

Drawing blood from every Kekkei Genkai family in Konoha clearly meant he was conducting experiments.

This suggested the man likely wasn't from the Uchiha Clan, but had transplanted Uchiha blood through some special method.

If that method could be generalized, Konoha's various bloodlines might run rampant on future battlefields.

Imagining facing a swarm of Sharingan and Byakugan on the battlefield, the Third Hokage fell silent for a moment.

And what might be lost was the Scroll of Seals—far more dangerous than the Sharingan or Byakugan.

Thinking of the forbidden techniques within the Scroll of Seals, the Third Hokage felt unsteady, as if he might collapse.

"Minato, you said that man is the Gender-Bending Demon?"

As he spoke, the Third Hokage unconsciously glanced at the infant in Kushina's arms.

The only way to confirm the Gender-Bending Demon was to be gender-bent.

But Minato was still a man, so the one who got gender-bent was actually his child?

Minato Namikaze paused briefly, noticing the many Anbu behind the Third Hokage, and quickly said: