A Parents' Love

When Chen Feng saw the world again, he found himself a newborn baby. At that moment, he was being held by a middle-aged woman with her hair tied in a ponytail, who was walking toward a young man with blond hair and blue eyes.

The young man hurried over too, calling, "Naruto!" as he reached out to take him. But the woman holding him said, "The child's mother should be the first to see him." Then she walked past him.

The man froze in place. Chen Feng was completely dumbfounded, too. A chill swept through his heart as he cursed, Damn it, I've become Naruto Uzumaki. I was an orphan in both my previous lives, and now I'm going to be an orphan again. Am I destined never to know a parent's love?

That was right: Chen Feng had been an orphan in both his previous lives. He had no parents in his first life, though he didn't know why. In his second life, his parents had died in an accident. They had shielded him with their bodies during a car crash and died saving him.

That was why Chen Feng had longed so desperately for parental love. He was carried over and placed beside a young woman with red hair. Naruto (from now on, he would be called Naruto) looked at the woman gazing at him with adoration and realized she was his mother in this life, Kushina.

She softly called, "Naruto," and gently stroked him. "I finally get to see you, Naruto." Naruto felt that this was the happiest moment in the world.

Minato came over and softly asked Kushina, "Are you all right? And... thank you." After gently stroking his wife and son, Minato steeled himself. "You've just given birth, but there's still something we need to do. We have to calm the Nine-Tails down right away."

As he spoke, he placed both hands on the Nine-Tails' sealing formula. Meanwhile, Biwako, who had delivered Naruto, carried him away. Naruto wanted to stay. If he remained by his father's side, no one would be able to use him to threaten his parents.

Unfortunately, he was only a newborn baby. As Biwako carried Naruto through the doorway, she ran straight into the Masked Man and was sent flying. Naruto was snatched away, too.

Minato had just been about to reinforce the Nine-Tails' Sealing when he saw the two of them fly into the room. He shouted anxiously, "Lady Biwako! Taji!"

Then the Masked Man's voice rang out. "Fourth Hokage Minato, stay away from the Jinchuriki, or this child has only a minute to live." Minato and Kushina saw Naruto in the Masked Man's arms and grew extremely tense. Kushina cried out Naruto's name, while Minato wondered how the man had gotten through the barrier.

Kushina's Sealing was loosening, too, and its markings had appeared. The Nine-Tails struggled to break free. The Masked Man said, "It seems you don't care whether this child lives or dies." Minato said tensely, "Wait. Calm down." The Masked Man tossed a Kunai into the air and caught it in his right hand. "You should be telling yourself that. I'm perfectly calm."

Then he threw Naruto into the air and leaped after him, thrusting the Kunai forward. Just as it was about to pierce Naruto, Minato rescued him with the Body Flicker Technique. The Masked Man praised him. "As expected of the Yellow Flash. But what will you do now?"

As soon as Minato rescued Naruto, he noticed the Explosive Tag stuck to his back. He quickly tore away the cloth wrapped around Naruto, threw it aside, and leaped out of the house with him in his arms. The house behind them exploded.

Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Naruto home. After laying him on the bed, he told him, "You're safe here. I'll bring your mother back." Then he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the room and rescue Kushina.

Left alone in the room, Naruto hated his own helplessness. His parents' actions showed him the greatness of a father's and mother's love, but they also made him suffer because he couldn't protect them and had only dragged them into danger. His heart filled with anguish and hatred for the Masked Man.

The tremendous upheaval of his emotions also affected the White Eye on his forehead. The eye, tightly shut, was absorbing his emotions and was close to opening.

Time quietly passed as Naruto suffered and blamed himself. Suddenly, the space in the room rippled, and Minato appeared with Kushina in his arms. After laying Kushina beside Naruto, he said, "Don't worry about anything else. Stay with Naruto."

Kushina held Naruto and cried softly. Looking at his weeping wife, Minato was already furious beyond measure. He opened the wardrobe in the room and took out his Fourth Hokage Cloak. Kushina said, "Be careful."

After putting on the cloak, Minato said softly, "I'll be right back." Then he disappeared. Holding Naruto, Kushina gazed at him with nothing but love and reluctance, without a trace of hatred.

This moved Naruto deeply. He knew Kushina had already had the Nine-Tails extracted from her. A Jinchuriki died when their Tailed Beast was extracted because the Jinchuriki's chakra and mental energy—that is, their soul—were bound together. Once separated, a human body and soul couldn't withstand it.

In other words, Kushina knew her life was coming to an end, but she wasn't thinking about revenge. Her thoughts were on him, her newborn son. Naruto's heart felt warm, filled to the brim with a mother's love.

Minato returned before long. He appeared before the Nine-Tails with Naruto and Kushina. After fighting one battle after another, Minato was already exhausted, with hardly any chakra left.

Minato struggled to speak. "We have to put up a barrier quickly. I'm almost out of chakra." After they set up the barrier, Kushina said, "I'll use what little chakra I have left to restrain the Nine-Tails for you."

She pressed both hands to the ground and released several massive chains, binding the Nine-Tails so tightly it couldn't move. Then she continued, "This is the only way I can help you. That way, I can die in peace.

"But at least this will delay the Nine-Tails' revival. Thank you for always loving me." Minato looked sadly at Kushina, who was smiling. "Kushina, I'm the one who should thank you. You made me Hokage, made me your husband, and made me this child's father. And yet I..."

Kushina said tenderly, "Minato, don't say that. I'm happy. You've always loved me, and today is this child's birthday. Most importantly, while I'm alive, all I can imagine is the three of us living happily together. But I have one wish: I really want to see Naruto when he's grown up."

Minato said, "Kushina, you don't have to die together with the Nine-Tails. I'll use the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to seal your remaining chakra and the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. That way, you'll be able to see Naruto grow up.

"But I'm not a Jinchuriki, so I can only use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal half of the Nine-Tails inside myself." Hearing that Minato intended to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Kushina hurriedly said, "But if you use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, you'll..."

Before Kushina could finish, Minato had already completed the hand signs and used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Seeing that he had used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Kushina said sadly, "You did this just so I could see Naruto grow up, just for this brief reunion. I wanted you to stay and watch Naruto grow up. You know how hard it is to become a Jinchuriki, so why did you...?"

Minato gazed at Kushina tenderly. "Making Naruto a Jinchuriki will preserve the balance of the Tailed Beasts among the Five Great Nations. And that Masked Man will bring bloodshed and chaos to this world. One day, Naruto will have to protect this hard-won peace."

Kushina couldn't accept it. She challenged Minato, "For the balance between the Five Great Nations, for the country, for the village—does that mean Naruto can just be treated as a sacrifice?"

Minato looked at Kushina. "You understand better than I do what things would be like without a country, a village, or peace. Besides, all of us are shinobi."

Kushina held Minato's gaze for a moment after hearing his final words. In his eyes, she saw the resolve of a Hokage.

Minato continued, "Besides, even when I was alive, I couldn't beat you. There are things only a mother can teach him, even if you've only just become one. So this isn't all for you; it's for Naruto, too. Being willing to die for your son—that's a kind of fatherly love."

With that, Minato activated the technique. He drew half of the Nine-Tails out and sealed it inside himself. He immediately felt the chakra's immense weight, then summoned the sealing platform and placed Naruto on it.

The Nine-Tails recognized the sealing platform and realized Minato intended to seal it inside a little brat. Enraged, it tried to kill Naruto. Just as its claws were about to strike him, Minato and Kushina stepped in front of Naruto and stopped it. The Nine-Tails' claws pierced their bodies instead.

Minato smiled at Kushina. "Is there anything you want to say to Naruto? We don't have much time."

Tears streaming down her face, Kushina looked at Naruto. "Naruto, don't be picky about your food. Eat plenty and grow up quickly. Remember to bathe every day, and don't stay up late. Get enough sleep. Make lots of friends. You don't need many—just a few you can trust. And although your mother isn't very good at it, you should study hard and learn your Ninjutsu. Everyone has things they're good and bad at, so don't get too discouraged if you struggle with your studies. Respect your teachers and seniors at school. And don't borrow money at high interest; save the money you earn from missions."

"You have to be twenty to drink alcohol, and even then, don't drink too much. When you grow up, you'll become interested in women. Your mother is a woman herself, so I don't really know what advice to give you. But this world has only men and women, so just find someone like your mother. Don't choose a bad woman."

"Also, be careful around Teacher Jiraiya. You'll face a lot of pain and hardship, but you have to stay true to yourself. You should have dreams, and the confidence to make them come true. And... and... and... there are so many more things I want to teach you. I want to stay by your side forever. I love you."

Kushina turned to Minato. "I'm sorry. I did all the talking."

Minato smiled. "It's all right. Naruto, what your mother said is what I wanted to tell you, too. Now I'm going to seal my chakra inside you as well. The Eight Trigrams Sealing Style." After saying this, Minato formed the hand signs and sealed the Nine-Tails' chakra along with his and Kushina's chakra inside Naruto.