At the end of August, Minato Namikaze, who hadn't been on a mission for a long time, began secretly setting up a spell in a secluded house outside the village.
In about a month, Kushina will give birth, and Minato will begin working with the Hokage's Direct Anbu to protect her.
A few kilometers away from the village, inside a stone wall, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, explained to Minato beside him as he set up a barrier, "This is a modified technique that can be linked with the village's sensory barrier."
"At that time, everyone in the class will take action Sensory Division, so that we can get feedback immediately no matter which side has a problem."
"The only way to break through from the outside is to attack the seal head-on!"
"This was also secretly built by Lady Mito back then; only the Hokage in the village knows about it."
Minato knew that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, had done a great deal of work to protect him and his wife. Seeing these techniques that represented such painstaking effort, he immediately shouted his gratitude, "Thank you, Lord Hokage!"
"We've caused the village a lot of trouble this time. Please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything I can do for you."
Wearing black armor, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and laughed heartily. Looking around at the completed jutsu, he patted Minato on the shoulder and said, "All you need to do is protect your wife. The Flying Thunder God runes alone aren't enough."
"You don't need to tell anyone about the houses outside the village, so the news won't leak out."
"In case of any emergency, take Kushina and the child and leave immediately. There's no need to participate in the battle. Remember to set up a protective barrier around the house as well. You must be fully prepared at this time."
Minato hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to see through his thoughts and added with a chuckle, "With this Old Man like me around, Tsunade won't have any problems."
Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If everything goes smoothly, nothing will happen.
"Speaking of which, have you already decided on the baby's name? I'm a little worried about your naming skills, so remember to discuss it with Kushina beforehand."
Seeing that the other party was trying to change the subject, Minato didn't insist. Thinking of his unborn child, he scratched his head and gave a slightly silly smile, "In Jiraiya- sensei's novel, the protagonist's name is Naruto."
"If it's a boy, I think Naruto would be a good fit, Kushina also really likes the name."
Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered a few times, and surprisingly found it rather pleasant to hear. He patted the young man beside him again, and praised him with a smile, " Naruto! Very good!"
"Without war, the new generation of children can grow up better. Thanks to you, the village has been able to experience rapid development once again."
"It's all thanks to Lady Tsunade!"
Minato echoed the praise, saying that the Fourth Hokage had given the village a completely new look, and every Konoha Ninja was extremely satisfied.
After chatting for a while, the two resumed their work. This secluded location was known to only a few people, and all the work required their personal attention.
When Minato returned to the secluded cabin in the dense forest using the Flying Thunder God, looking at the crib he had made himself, a happy smile once again appeared on his face, "I'll see you soon!"
As night fell, Ichiraku Ramen's business had recently been hit hard, with fewer people eating there, which made Teuchi's face show a worried expression.
After serving a bowl of seafood noodles, Teuchi behind the counter and complained about the fierce competition among his peers, "Master Xiu, although my prices are a bit higher, I can guarantee that the ingredients are absolutely fresh."
"Those despicable merchants! What kind of price reduction and promotion is this? They're clearly lowering the quality of the ramen."
"They can't even make their char siu tender and flavorful. I really don't understand why their business is so good."
After taking a few bites of noodles, Shu Furukawa immediately gave a thumbs up. Hearing the complaints, he offered encouragement. "As long as you maintain this quality, you'll soon see a return of customers. Now that everyone's income has increased, more and more people will be pursuing quality."
Haha, I think so too!
Just as Teuchi was about to say a few more words, he saw Minato Namikaze appear, paused for a moment, and then greeted him warmly, "Hey buddy, want some takeout? We're having a char siu promotion tonight."
"A large bowl of miso char siu would be enough. I didn't expect there to be so few people; only Xiu is here."
Having been busy all this time, Minato, he sat down next to Shu Furukawa.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Minato quickly asked in a low voice, "Shu, we discussed that technique before, the one that cuts off the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Do you think the severed portion of Chakra can protect the Jinchuriki's safety?"
Shu Furukawa understood the unspoken message: "When the Eight-Tails Nine-Tails Chakra uses the Tailed Beast Chakra's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the Tailed Beast also absorbs the Jinchuriki's own Chakra."
"Perhaps this is why Killer B rarely uses the Clone Technique; if it's fed back, his Chakra might be completely drained."
"When Chakra mixes, its quality improves; once it leaves the body, the Chakra within the body will be depleted."
"The severed portion should have some effect, but its vitality will still be a problem, since human Chakra cannot compare to that of Tailed Beast."
Among the medical department's secret projects was the analysis of the Nine-Tails Chakra, Shu Furukawa was already fully aware of the research results.
When the Jinchuriki of a Chakra mixes with that of Tailed Beast, a strange reaction occurs, but the risks also increase. Once the Tailed Beast leaves the Jinchuriki's body, the Jinchuriki Chakra also be extracted.
Minato's contingency plan was to preserve some Chakra to sustain his life, but how long that would last was unknown.
"As expected, developing the power of Tailed Beast carries enormous risks; the depletion of life force is also a major problem."
Minato didn't ask any further questions. He and Kushina had fought over the Nine-Tails Chakra together, and he had sensed the problem long ago. After receiving confirmation, he could only pray that nothing unexpected would happen.
After Teuchi, Minato quickly finished his dinner, said goodbye again, and then disappeared.
After finishing his second bowl Shu Furukawa finally smiled with satisfaction. Looking in the direction Minato had left, he knew that danger was about to strike.
When he got home, it was already late at night. Minato saw Kushina greeting him with her pregnant belly and immediately went up to hug his wife. "Why aren't you asleep yet? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just that I've been having a bad feeling lately. Maybe I'm worrying too much!"
Kushina pulled Minato to squeeze onto the sofa. As her due date approached, her joy gradually turned into fear. Lately, she had even been having some terrifying dreams, as if someone was giving her a premonition.
"I've checked with Xiu. Even in the worst-case scenario, you'll survive!"
"There must be a way to address the issue of vitality, so don't worry, we will definitely be able to watch our child grow up healthy."
Minato embraced his wife and whispered words of comfort. He felt a pang of regret; perhaps things would have been better if he hadn't developed the power of the Tailed Beast. That ominous feeling kept surfacing in his mind.
"This little guy must be scaring me!"
"If it were a boy, I would definitely discipline him properly; but if it were a girl, I could forgive him a bit."
Kushina put her premonitions aside, pressed her stomach, and happily imagined the future. Minato also smiled; no matter how tired he was, he would make thorough preparations.
In early September, outside Konoha, the White Zetsu were searching the ground, and this clumsy search method unexpectedly succeeded.
After discovering several houses, a group of White Zetsu huddled together, laughing and joking, "We've found houses with protective barriers here."
"There's one on the east side too! It's very well-prepared!"
"Including the two we found earlier, there seem to be too many houses. How should we inform Lord Madara that we still haven't found the production site?"
The inferior White Zetsu, after careful consideration, couldn't come up with a good solution. They sent back a message that didn't arrive until the afternoon with new instructions. " Lord Madara tells us to just keep an eye on the Anbu!"
"Once they find the location, Lord Madara will charge straight in; no barrier can stop the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan."
After receiving instructions, the White Zetsu continued searching for houses and buildings outside the village, as these locations could become escape points for the Jinchuriki, and Lord Madara needed to mark them in advance.
In the stillness of the night, when even the moonlight was obscured, a vortex appeared, Obito Uchiha stood atop a building, overlooking the village.
In just a few dozen days, the scene before him might be destroyed. Thinking of his decision, Obito couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
"Shall we go see Rin Nohara?"
"She and Kakashi might die in Nagato's attack."
"That's how Yahiko died with hope; Nagato will never let the Konoha Ninja go."
The White Zetsu on his body reminded him again in a comical tone, Obito's eye twitched, but he was no longer affected by his emotions, coldly replying, "Dying and being resurrected, since some people can do that, what do I have to worry about?"
" Nagato's main target is Orochimaru and his group, right? Let White Zetsu handle this."
"If we can successfully take the Nine-Tails, war will break out soon. Peace built on falsehood is so fragile; ninjas will only engage in meaningless killing."
Obito tried to reason with him, but White Zetsu, only interested in watching the spectacle, interrupted again, reminding him, "Shouldn't we go check on Kakashi?"
"They might sleep together!"
"Shut up!"
After Obito was overcome with pain, but thankfully he managed to convince himself otherwise and avoid losing control and becoming "Kenji" again.
Just as the two were bickering, above the Kage Rock, Shu Furukawa crossed his arms and looked up at Obito. The liquid on his shoulder turned into Katsuyu, and a soft, sweet voice rang out. " The Third Hokage has mastered that Sealing Jutsu, and the formula was completed yesterday."
"To replenish our life force, do we need to prepare another White Zetsu Clone?"
"Very well, let's see if the Sage of Six Paths will awaken now that the Child of Prophecy has lost the power of the Nine-Tails."
Katsuyu sensed a certain excitement in Shu Furukawa's tone. She couldn't quite grasp the thrill of altering the "world line," but she still cheerfully replied, "Yes, Osamu-sama!"