Kushina's Choice

"As expected of the Fourth Hokage, I never imagined you would wound me so severely and even break my control over the Nine-Tails."

At this moment, Minato was still locked in a standoff with Obito, though Obito was now heavily injured. If not for the fact that most of his body had been replaced by White Zetsu tissue, a normal person would have long since died from the damage caused by Minato's Rasengan and the kunai piercing his chest.

"However, the Nine-Tails will be mine sooner or later!"

"I am the one who can unite the world; when it comes to methods, I have plenty!"

Obito knew that in his severely wounded state, there was nothing he could do, and he had to return as soon as possible to heal. Therefore, after throwing out these two harsh threats, he activated the Kamui ability in his right eye, slowly sucking his entire body in until he vanished from the spot.

Regarding the words Obito left behind, Minato's heart was filled with anxiety, fearing that the ninja world, which had just calmed down after the end of the Third Shinobi World War, was about to face turmoil once again.

Watching the Nine-Tails still wreaking havoc in the distance, Minato stopped overthinking and immediately activated the Flying Raijin Jutsu, rushing to the location of the Nine-Tails.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A massive, deep-red toad descended from the sky, pinning the Nine-Tails—which was currently gathering a Tailed Beast Bomb—firmly beneath it. This toad wore a purple haori with the character for 'shrimp' written on the back, a hideous scar over its left eye, a pipe in its mouth, and a giant short sword hanging at its waist, making it look both stylish and fierce. It was none other than Gamabunta, one of the bosses of Mount Myoboku.

At this moment, Gamabunta stood atop the Nine-Tails, while Minato, who had arrived just in time, stood on its head!

Seeing the Fourth Hokage appear with his haori fluttering, the Konoha ninja who were struggling to survive on the scene were immediately invigorated, while the Third Hokage, who was kneeling on the ground gasping for breath, also revealed a look of relief.

Looking at the powerful Nine-Tails, Minato truly could not think of any countermeasure. After only a moment of thought, Minato, who embodied the Will of Fire, decided to sacrifice his own family to secure peace for the village.

Keeping Gamabunta pressing down hard on the Nine-Tails, Minato channeled the chakra in his body and performed the Flying Raijin Jutsu, teleporting with the Nine-Tails to a desolate clearing outside the village.

A few seconds later, a violent light erupted in the distance; clearly, the Nine-Tails, which had just been suppressed, had fully charged its Tailed Beast Bomb and unleashed it.

"Now is the time!" Seeing Minato teleport the Nine-Tails away, Uchiha Yusuke knew that Minato was about to use his final resort to seal the beast.

Following the distant light, Uchiha Yusuke immediately used his fastest speed, continuously performing the Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the location of the Nine-Tails—the very place where the Fourth Hokage and his wife would meet their end in the original story!

According to the plan, Uchiha Yusuke had to arrive before Minato's self-sacrifice; otherwise, the Yin Release Chakra of the Nine-Tails would enter the stomach of the Death God along with Minato.

"Kushina, I'm sorry." Minato apologized, gasping for breath.

At this moment, Minato was supporting the weak Kushina with his right hand while holding Naruto with his left. Because teleporting the Nine-Tails had consumed a massive amount of chakra, and his previous battle with Obito had also drained much of his stamina, Minato, whose chakra reserves were not particularly exceptional, was already in a state of severe overdraw.

"No need to say anything, I support you." Kushina shook her head with a smile. At the same time, she forced her body up and performed the Uzumaki Clan's secret technique, Adamantine Attacking Chains.

Eight golden chains extended from Kushina's back, firmly restraining the massive Nine-Tails, while a barrier expanded to envelop them all, including the beast.

Under the control of the eight Adamantine Attacking Chains, no matter how the Nine-Tails struggled, it could not move even an inch.

From this, it was clear that Kushina's strength was truly extraordinary; even in a state of total exhaustion, she could still maintain such a stable hold on the full-bodied Nine-Tails.

Gently placing Naruto on the ground, Minato immediately formed hand seals, performing the sealing technique Kushina had taught him.

"Eight Trigrams Sealing Style!"

To prevent the Nine-Tails' power from being too overwhelming for the young Naruto to bear, Minato used the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to separate the Nine-Tails' Yang Release Chakra from its body and seal it into Naruto's stomach.

Two layers of the Four Symbols Seal patterns appeared on Naruto's stomach, forming an Eight Trigrams seal, before gradually fading from sight.

Because half of its Yang Release Chakra had been extracted, the Nine-Tails' size immediately shrank by half, and large gaps appeared in the golden chains that had been tightly locking it down.

"Die!" The furious Nine-Tails seized the opportunity, its massive, sharp claws swiping immediately toward Naruto, attempting to kill him and release the other half of the Yang Release Chakra that had been sealed.

At this moment, Uchiha Yusuke, who had been rushing forward by continuously using the Body Flicker Technique, finally arrived and saw a scene from afar that shocked him. To protect Naruto, Minato and his wife had used their bodies to block the Nine-Tails' claws; the giant nails pierced through both of their bodies, but in that split second, they had saved Naruto's life.

Kushina let out a desperate cry, blood spilling from her mouth, and the eight loosened Adamantine Attacking Chains immediately tightened, locking the Nine-Tails firmly once again.

At this point, both Minato and Kushina were not only drained of chakra but had also suffered fatal wounds; they were clearly at the end of their rope.

Their gazes met, looking into each other's eyes, everything understood without words. Beside them, Naruto seemed to sense something and began to cry loudly.

"I really wish I could see Naruto all grown up." Kushina's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the crying Naruto with tenderness and sorrow.

Minato, standing behind Kushina, hugged his beloved wife one last time and whispered, "Soon, I will use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal a strand of your chakra into Naruto; when he grows up, you will be able to see what he looks like."

"What? Why use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal? If you do that, your soul will be devoured by the Death God and you will never find peace!" Kushina was horrified and adamantly tried to stop him.

Both of them had suffered fatal injuries and were certain to die. She had originally thought Minato would only use a standard sealing technique to seal the other half of the Nine-Tails' Yin Release Chakra, never expecting him to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

"Only the Dead Demon Consuming Seal can leave a strand of both our chakra inside Naruto!" Minato said with a smile.

"No, the price is too high!" Kushina gripped Minato's hand tightly, trying to persuade him otherwise.

"Fourth Hokage, it is not yet the worst-case scenario!" Just then, a figure wearing a white cloak and a ghost mask appeared outside the barrier.

The person who arrived was none other than Uchiha Yusuke.

Looking at yet another ninja of unknown identity, Minato asked while coughing, "Who are you? Why appear at a time like this, and what is your goal?"

Kushina also looked at Uchiha Yusuke with a guarded gaze, her heart filled with anxiety.

Once she could no longer maintain the barrier, she and Minato would have no power to resist. Most importantly, Naruto would fall into the hands of this stranger.

"I only want to help you seal the Nine-Tails. At this point, I have no reason to deceive you; as you are now, I doubt you can hold on for even five minutes." Uchiha Yusuke said slowly.

"Then why are you being so secretive, hiding your identity? If you don't reveal who you are, I cannot open the barrier." Kushina said.

Looking at this couple who had given everything for Konoha, Uchiha Yusuke pondered for a few seconds and decided to remove his mask so they would know his identity.

"Uchiha Yusuke!" Seeing that it was actually Uchiha Yusuke beneath the mask, the two looked at each other in surprise. As a talented Jonin who had already gained considerable fame in Konoha, Minato and his wife naturally knew him.

Uchiha Yusuke spoke up: "When the Nine-Tails caused a disturbance in the village tonight, the Clan Head wanted to lead the Uchiha Clan ninjas to assist the Third Hokage in resisting it."

At this point, Uchiha Yusuke sighed: "But the Third Hokage agreed to Danzo's blockade of the Uchiha Clan, forbidding anyone from the Uchiha Clan from leaving the clan grounds tonight, which is why I hid my identity and snuck here."

Minato and Kushina exchanged a glance; Minato's eyes remained filled with doubt, while a glimmer of hope flickered in Kushina's.

"Even if you have arrived, what could you possibly do?" Minato asked.

"Although my nickname is 'Flame Tachi', in reality, I am also proficient in sealing techniques. I believe sealing this Nine-Tails, which is now left with only Yin Release Chakra, will not be a difficult task."

Hearing Yusuke's words, Minato furrowed his brows, finding it difficult to make a decision in such a short time.

Although Yusuke was indeed a ninja of the village, since Danzo had blockaded the Uchiha Clan compound at this time, and the Third Hokage had approved it, there must be reasons he was unaware of.

To be safe, I cannot let him enter the barrier! After thinking for a moment, Minato made his decision.

Seeing Minato's gaze shift from doubt to resolve, Yusuke knew Minato would not take the slightest risk to let him into the barrier. Since he could not find a breakthrough there, Yusuke turned his gaze toward Kushina and said sincerely, "You don't have much time left. Your life force is constantly draining away; in a little while, even this last sliver of vitality will be gone."

"Lady Kushina, you make the decision!"

"Kushina, we cannot trust him yet. If we just hold on a little longer until the Third Hokage arrives, I can use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails, and then everything will be foolproof!" Minato said hurriedly, before he couldn't help but cough, blood gushing from his mouth in large mouthfuls.

"But by that time, both of you will truly be beyond saving!" Yusuke reminded her, his gaze fixed intently on Kushina.

At this very moment, the power of decision lay in Kushina's hands!

Kushina lowered her head, silent for a few seconds, then gently cupped Minato's face with her hand, stroking it softly. "Forgive my selfishness this once. This time, I want to make a choice for your sake!"

"Kushina, you—" Before Minato could finish his sentence, Kushina's slender palm had already moved from his cheek to the back of his neck.

With a gentle pinch, Minato lost consciousness.

Seeing this, Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lady Kushina, your choice is the correct one."

"I hope so," Kushina said, simultaneously dispelling the barrier.

Time was pressing, so Yusuke didn't waste words; he took two syringes from his robes and injected them into the necks of Minato and Kushina, respectively.

"Seal of Life!"

Yusuke quickly formed hand seals, then pressed his fingers onto the injection sites on both Minato and Kushina, forming a circular cursed seal on each.

After the seals were completed, Kushina immediately felt much better, and the pale complexion of the unconscious Minato regained a hint of color.

This 'Seal of Life' was a byproduct of the process in which Yusuke and Orochimaru developed the 'Yin-Yang Cursed Seal'. Combined with the Hashirama Cells fusion fluid, it could stimulate the powerful life force within the Hashirama Cells while simultaneously suppressing their aggressive nature.

"Thank you. I never expected there to be someone in the Uchiha Clan as proficient in sealing techniques as you," Kushina said.

However, Yusuke's brows were tightly knit. "We still wasted too much time. It didn't achieve the effect I anticipated; your injuries are simply too severe. Especially you, Lady Kushina—if you were an ordinary person, you would have died ten times over already."

As for Yusuke's words, Kushina seemed not to hear them, merely turning her face to gaze blankly at Minato.

After a few seconds, Kushina suddenly smiled. "It's not too late, it's not too late. You should seal the Nine-Tails as quickly as possible."

Yet, as she spoke, tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.

Seeing Kushina crying and laughing like this, Yusuke couldn't fathom what she was thinking. However, there wasn't much time left for him; he had to complete the sealing of the Nine-Tails before the Third Hokage arrived.

Turning around, Yusuke looked at the Nine-Tails, which was firmly restrained by the Adamantine Attacking Chains. The Nine-Tails glared at Yusuke with a ferocious gaze, as if warning him not to play any tricks.

"Nine-Tails, this is the end of the line for you!"