Don't Rush to Die for Love!

Back to Konoha.

From the Nine-Tails' appearance until now, only a few short minutes had passed, yet it had already inflicted massive casualties on Konoha.

More than a hundred ninja had died alone, not to mention the ordinary villagers caught in the destruction.

Still, through the sacrifices of wave after wave of fearless Konoha ninja, they had indeed managed to draw the Nine-Tails' attention.

This bought Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi time to perform a summoning technique. Using the Golden Cudgel transformed by Enma, he knocked the Nine-Tails out of Konoha.

But that was only a temporary measure.

They still could not break through the Nine-Tails' defenses and could only barely hold it back.

Having grown thoroughly sick of being harassed by a swarm of "flies," the Nine-Tails began condensing another [Tailed Beast Bomb].

If that attack landed squarely on Konoha, one of the Five Great Hidden Villages could practically be erased from existence.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, the "Yellow Flash" returned!

Minato first used a summoning beast—the toad—to suppress the Nine-Tails. Then he activated the Flying Thunder God again, transferring both the Nine-Tails and the [Tailed Beast Bomb] dozens of miles away.

He had saved all of Konoha once more.

"My Chakra is nearly depleted..."

"I need to set up the barrier quickly!"

Minato gritted his teeth and forced himself onward.

Suppressing the Nine-Tails' seal, repeatedly using the Flying Thunder God, transferring away a [Tailed Beast Bomb] hundreds of meters wide, and finally moving the entire Nine-Tails...

Even if he were made of iron, it was difficult to withstand such terrifying Chakra consumption.

"Minato..."

Kushina said weakly, her voice filled with worry.

After the Tailed Beast had been extracted from her body, her life had already begun counting down. She was only holding on through the Uzumaki Clan's formidable vitality.

But it was obvious she would not last much longer.

Clang—

Five golden Chakra chains shot out from Kushina's back, pierced into the earth, then burst forth again, forming a cage that tightly bound the Nine-Tails not far away.

A-rank Fuinjutsu: [Adamantine Sealing Chains].

It was the Uzumaki Clan's unique and immensely powerful Kekkei Genkai.

In Kushina's hands, it was even more astonishing.

Even after just giving birth, having the Nine-Tails extracted from her, and being in an extremely weakened state, Kushina could still easily suppress the Nine-Tails with [Adamantine Sealing Chains].

At her peak, its power would have been beyond imagination.

The tremendous tremors woke the infant Naruto in Minato's arms. As though he sensed something, he began to wail loudly.

"With this, I can restrain the Nine-Tails and die together with it. That way, its revival will be greatly delayed..."

"I can only use the last of my Chakra to help you..."

"All this time... thank you for everything you've done for me!"

Kushina looked at Minato and forced out a faint smile.

Minato froze, his expression dark with regret. "Kushina, you were the one who made me the Fourth Hokage, made me your husband, and now made me Naruto's father!"

"And yet I couldn't protect..."

Kushina comforted him, "Minato, don't make that face. I'm very happy, because you loved me..."

"And besides, today is Naruto's birthday..."

"If... if I could survive, the future of our family of three would surely be very happy, wouldn't it?"

"I only have one last wish. I want so badly to see Naruto after he grows up!"

Kushina gazed at the infant Naruto, her tears filled with deep attachment and longing.

Minato wiped the tears from his face and made a cruel decision.

"Kushina, you don't need to perish together with the Nine-Tails. With the Chakra you have left, I'll let you see Naruto after he grows up!"

"I'll seal all your remaining Chakra into Naruto and combine it with the Eight Trigrams Seal."

"To accomplish that, since I'm not a Jinchuriki, I can only use [Reaper Death Seal]..."

Kushina was deeply shocked. "But that Forbidden Jutsu will cost the caster their life..."

"I know!"

"If you die together with the Nine-Tails, then during the time Konoha has no Jinchuriki, the balance of Tailed Beasts among the Five Great Hidden Villages will be broken, bringing an even greater disaster upon Konoha."

"I'll use [Reaper Death Seal] to seal half of the Nine-Tails inside my body. Only then can half of the Nine-Tails be permanently sealed, completely weakening its power."

"As for the other half, I'll use the [Eight Trigrams Seal] inside Naruto..."

Hearing this, Kushina immediately became agitated.

No one understood the pain of being a Jinchuriki better than she did.

Even with the strongest [Eight Trigrams Seal] in place, the Nine-Tails was an aggregation of negative Chakra. The malice it occasionally leaked still inflicted immense torment and suffering upon its Jinchuriki.

Not to mention the physical and psychological pressure from society, including the village itself, that came with being a Jinchuriki.

Even Kushina, as optimistic and cheerful as she was, would likely have suffered a mental breakdown long ago without Minato's constant support.

What was more—

After this Nine-Tails' Rampage had caused so many casualties in the village, Kushina could fully foresee that the village would only grow more hateful toward Jinchuriki in the future. Of course, she did not want her son Naruto to bear all of that.

"No! Precisely because I understand this pain, I don't want Naruto to shoulder such a heavy responsibility!"

"He's our son. Believe in him!"

"Then why must you use [Reaper Death Seal]? Just so I can briefly see Naruto again in the future?"

"Why do you have to die?! I only want you to stay by Naruto's side and protect him until he grows up!"

"For the country, for the village, must Naruto become a sacrifice? Must you sacrifice yourself for me too?!!"

Minato shook his head, equally pained inside.

"To abandon the country and the village is no different from abandoning one's child."

"Once one's homeland falls, you should understand all too well that despair. What kind of cruel life must those who lose their country be forced to endure?"

"I don't want Naruto to become a refugee like that either."

"Besides, our whole family are ninja!"

Minato began forming hand seals, resolute as he prepared to use [Reaper Death Seal].

Only by borrowing the soul power of [Reaper Death Seal] could he seal Kushina's remaining Chakra and consciousness into Naruto's body.

Otherwise, sealing only a mass of Chakra would never allow Kushina to truly see the future Naruto.

"Is that the Jinchuriki after my sister-in-law? Those [Adamantine Sealing Chains] are so strong. She can easily restrain the Nine-Tails even in this state..."

Not far away, Tobirama and the other two, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, could not help clicking their tongues in amazement.

That young girl Kushina might even have surpassed Mito Uzumaki in ability!

"She truly is impressive. The Fourth Generation and his wife are both outstanding ninja!"

Hashirama nodded in agreement, extremely satisfied with Minato and Kushina.

As long as Kushina lived, Konoha would basically have nothing to fear from Tailed Beasts with [Adamantine Sealing Chains] alone.

Wonderful!

Brilliant!

Wait, the Nine-Tails had been extracted from her body. Didn't that mean the Jinchuriki would die?

Both Hashirama and Tobirama could clearly sense Kushina's life force rapidly draining away as she swiftly approached death.

"Tobirama, will a Jinchuriki inevitably die after losing their Tailed Beast?"

"This... probably..."

Tobirama was not entirely sure either.

But as far as he knew, every other Jinchuriki in the entire Ninja World had basically croaked the instant their Tailed Beast was extracted.

Even Naruto, who had half Uzumaki blood, had immediately been on the verge of death after the Nine-Tails was pulled out.

Only pure-blooded members of the Uzumaki Clan could survive for a little longer.

But even they could not change their fate of imminent death.

Thus, the general consensus throughout the Ninja World was that a Jinchuriki would certainly die once their Tailed Beast was extracted!

As for whether resealing the Tailed Beast into the Jinchuriki could save them?

No one had ever tried it, so naturally no one knew.

Hashirama frowned, pondering a solution. "This is bad! How can such an outstanding younger ninja be allowed to die so easily?"

Tobirama pursed his lips and cursed, "It's all that damned evil Uchiha's fault!"

Hashirama turned to look at Natsu Yuu, preparing to seek this Sage's opinion.

But Tobirama interrupted with a warning:

"Elder Brother, this feels bad! That Fourth Generation looks like he wants to use [Reaper Death Seal] to seal the Nine-Tails again!"

"Huh?"

"It looks like he intends to seal half of the Nine-Tails inside himself, then seal the other half into that baby."

Tobirama was alarmed, completely unable to understand Minato's intentions.

Such reckless behavior was not something a Hokage should do.

The Nine-Tails had clearly already been subdued by Kushina. Whether it was resealed or sealed into someone else using the [Eight Trigrams Seal], either option would have been safer and more worthwhile than committing suicide with the [Reaper Death Seal], wouldn't it?

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, clearly still had strength left. Why did he choose to die?

"This is love, isn't it? So that the one he loved wouldn't die alone, and so the mother could see her child's future..."

Hashirama was very perceptive—or rather, he understood love far more deeply than Tobirama did.

He easily saw what drove Minato.

"Elder Brother, are you saying it was a lovers' suicide?"

"More or less."

"He was the Fourth Hokage. How could he kill himself for a woman? Elder Brother, I told you we shouldn't get involved with women. This is just too..."

"Tobirama, you don't understand love!"

Hashirama shook his head and reprimanded him sternly.

Perhaps after returning, he should find a way to get the young Tobirama a wife sooner, so he could experience the taste of love?

"Alright, you two can keep arguing later."

"It's our turn to enter."

Natsu Yuu interrupted Hashirama and Tobirama, activating [World Teleportation] once more and flashing into the barrier.

They had seen enough of the show.

If they delayed any longer, the Fourth Hokage Minato would really form the hand seals and cast the [Reaper Death Seal].

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