But right after that, the toad noticed Minato and Kushina's condition. A bead of cold sweat trickled down as he asked, "You two... what happened? What's going on, Fourth Hokage?"
Minato gasped weakly. "Gamatora, I don't have time to explain everything. I'm entrusting you with the key to the seal. When you see Jiraiya-sensei, give it to him to look after."
Outside the barrier, the Third Hokage seemed to understand what was happening when he saw Gamatora. He murmured, "I see. Minato is planning to make his own child a Jinchuriki to save the village."
Inside the barrier, the runes of the sealing formula were recorded on Gamatora's body. The toad quickly drew itself in and said, "I've taken the key to the seal. In that case, I'll be off. You two take care of yourselves."
As he spoke, he pressed his hands together. With a bang, he vanished from the spot.
Behind them, the phantom of the "demon" lifted the short blade in its mouth, ready at any moment to reap the life of the one performing the technique. Time was running out.
When Gamatora disappeared, Minato let out a quiet breath of relief. "Now I can rest easy. But next, we have to use the Eight Trigrams Seal. The longer we wait, the more our lives will ebb away. I also want to seal as much chakra as possible inside Naruto. Kushina, we'll be apart from Naruto for a long time. If there's anything you want to say, say it now..."
Kushina lowered her head slightly and gazed tenderly at Naruto on the altar. A faint smile, one unique to a mother, appeared on her lips. She spoke softly, her voice low, as if chatting at home and afraid of waking a sleeping child.
"Naruto, don't be a