Soul-Sealing Dharma Seal

"Since Kushina became pregnant, she's been knocking on our door much less frequently."

Minato's voice carried a hint of regret, and his sky-blue eyes were slightly lowered, as if he were recalling those days that had long gone by.

The gentle smile still lingered on his lips, but beneath it lay a faint trace of disappointment.

"Thinking about it now, it was probably the Uchiha Clan's idea."

Minato's tone became serious, as if he were reviewing a game of chess that had ended many years ago:

"Although as Shisui grew up, the title of 'the number one genius of the Uchiha Clan ' was gradually forgotten."

But in reality, the Uchiha Clan valued Kokoro far more than Shisui.

Shisui was indeed a "genius," but Kokoro was the "future," the hope for the Uchiha Clan to return to the core of Konoha's power.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was incredibly firm:

"Although this wasn't my original intention, as Hokage, I must admit..."

"That child, Koko, played an irreplaceable role in stabilizing and changing the Uchiha, and in connecting the Uchiha with the Konoha High Command."

As he spoke, Minato paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the Third Hokage Hokage behind his desk:

"Back then, both the Lord Third Hokage and I had already intended to groom Kokushiro as the next Konoha Jonin Commander leader."

Minato's words were spoken in a very calm and even matter-of-fact manner.

But everyone in this office knows the significance of this position.

The position of Jonin Commander leader is even more prestigious in Konoha than positions such as Hokage Advisor or Hokage assistant.

The Hokage Advisor are strategists, Hokage's assistants are deputies, but the Jonin Commander leader is the direct representative of the entire Konoha's elite fighting force, the Jonin.

To attain this position, one must first gain the heartfelt approval of most Jonin, and at the same time, have the Hokage's unreserved trust; neither is dispensable.

This is one of the most crucial hubs in the entire Konoha decision-making chain, a figure who combines popularity and real power, truly placing him at the core of power.

The current Jonin Commander leader is Shikaku Nara, the head of the Nara Clan.

The strategist of Konoha, the mastermind Ino–Shika–Cho, and the most trusted advisor of the Third Hokage Hokage.

The previous Jonin Commander leader was none other than the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, who was currently standing before everyone in the body of his seven-year-old son.

The person who sits in this position has always been the most likely candidate to become the next Hokage.

"Knock on him... He is the most important figure for the Uchiha to return to the core leadership of Konoha."

The sound of the Minato deepened:

"But precisely because of this, the Uchiha is extremely sensitive to contact between Kotori and Kushina, who is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki' Kushina."

The birth of Jinchuriki is a top secret of the village, and as a key figure in the Uchiha, Kotomi's every move is scrutinized and magnified.

He shook his head with a wry smile and explained helplessly:

"Although both we and the Uchiha have great trust in Kotobuki."

However, given the sensitive timing of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's childbirth, any unexpected event could potentially impact Koko's career.

This is something the Uchiha Clan absolutely cannot accept.

It's better to protect yourself than to invite disaster.

At the time, keeping Kokoro at a distance from Kushina, who was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was indeed the right choice made by the Uchiha Clan.

Minato's gaze became distant, as if piercing through the veil of time, and he saw the boy standing between the Uchiha Clan Compound and the Hokage Building:

"Back then, I fully understood the Uchiha's decision."

To allay the Uchiha Clan's anxieties, I also assigned Kokoro to the Ino–Shika–Cho, so that he could carry out Konoha's most crucial missions alongside them.

While allowing him to make contact with his future colleagues and supporters, he also cultivates his abilities as a "Shadow".

"Kou did everything perfectly. He learned quickly, had a clear mind, and his cooperation with Ino–Shika–Cho became more and more seamless."

Shikaku told me privately more than once that this child could take over his job well in the future, but...

Minato paused, looked at Jiraiya before him, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly:

"I always felt that Kou seemed to be in a lot of a hurry during that period..."

"A bottleneck in terms of strength."

Jiraiya took over the conversation in a low voice, his tone hoarse but resolute.

He knew this better than anyone else; it was precisely this issue that was the subject of his urgent, almost anxious letter.

Minato nodded in agreement:

"A young man, burdened with the expectations of his family and on whom everyone places high hopes, finds himself stagnating for a long time, limited by his talent, during a period of rapid growth in his ninja skills..."

Even for Kou, that must have been immense pressure.

The sound of the Minato was lowered slightly here:

"I want to help him, both for Kokoro's sake and for the sake of Obito and Rin, who are no longer here."

"So, I talked to Kushina, who was pregnant with Naruto at the time and was usually bored at home, about Naruto's current situation..."

Ultimately, we decided to help Kou in our own way.

"Let's begin with the research on Sealing Jutsu that has been temporarily set aside."

Minato spoke in a more composed tone:

"In the days that followed, Kushina studied Sealing Jutsu at home, while I, while fulfilling my duties Hokage, searched for the Book of Seals and related information on Sealing Jutsu, looking for useful clues."

He looked at the crowd, and the light in his sky-blue eyes grew even brighter:

"Finally, I found a technique in the Book of Seals that could connect with the idea that Kou had described."

Although it differed from Kou's original vision of "rapid recovery," the final research results, in a sense, were a technique that could "bring the dying back to life."

At this point, Minato's voice lowered slightly:

"At the same time, it is also Sealing Jutsu that can be used at the cost of one's life to unleash a powerful seal."

Jiraiya's brow furrowed slightly.

He certainly knew what Minato's words meant.

The Minato can still stand in front of him and speak, and the reason Kushina can still use Naruto's body to punch him, are probably all related to this technique.

He lowered his voice and asked the question that Minato had been waiting for so long:

"What... is that technique?"

Minato looked at Jiraiya and said with a wry smile:

"You should be very familiar with this technique, Jiraiya- Teacher."

"Spirit Transformation Technique —that's the name of that technique."

Upon hearing the name of the technique, Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, a flash of reminiscence crossing his eyes.

"Break..."

Dan Katō, Tsunade's former lover, is an elite Jonin of Konoha.

The Spirit Transformation Technique he used was a rare secret technique in the Ninja World, capable of materializing the soul, launching long-range attacks, and establishing mental connections.

Seeing Minato's expression Jiraiya he was lost in memories, Minato's tone became more serious as he continued:

"I have learned the forbidden technique of the Uzumaki Clan, a soul -Sealing Jutsu called Reaper Death Seal."

Therefore, I have some understanding of the arts of the soul.

Although Sealing Jutsu and Spirit Transformation Technique belong to different systems, they have something in common in that they touch the soul.

So I combined it with the manuscript about the Spirit Transformation Technique left by the Second Hokage in the Book of Seals.

In addition, there are records of Dan's improvements made in actual combat, and even Lord Orochimaru's early research reports on the soul...

After integrating all these elements and combining them with the initial ideas proposed by Kou, and after nearly a year of research, we finally managed to barely complete the new Sealing Jutsu.

Combining this with the research manuscripts on the Spirit Transformation Technique from the Second Hokage, Dan, and Lord Orochimaru, and considering the ideas previously proposed by Kou...

Minato's lips curled slightly upward, and his tone became more confident:

"After a year of research, Kushina and I finally managed to complete that new Sealing Jutsu, albeit with some difficulty."

This Spirit Transformation Technique and the Reaper Death Seal, combined with multiple Sealing Jutsu such as the Five Elements Seal, was barely completed after repeated failures. Its name is...

"Super Thunderbolt Soul Sealing Fifteen Yin Yang..."

"Soul-Sealing Dharma Seal! That's the name!"

A strong, resonant voice came from Naruto's throat, abruptly cutting off Minato's unfinished words.

Naruto's expression changed from excitement to disgust, and his childish voice carried a hint of helplessness.

In Naruto's inner world.

Kushina stood on the water, arms crossed, ignoring the dejected Minato beside her.

She gazed upwards, her words piercing through the mental space and reaching the real world:

"Minato and I used this technique to seal the Nine-Tails when we were on the verge of death, and sealed it inside Naruto's body."

"Because of our combined suppression, even the complete Nine-Tails can be withstood by Naruto's body."

She paused, her tone suddenly turning serious.

"Although the technique is complete, it has never been used before."

After the seal was completed, Minato and I suffered severe damage to our souls, and could only recover by absorbing the Nine-Tails Chakra that overflowed from the seal within Naruto's body...

We only woke up a year ago.

Her voice grew colder, her gaze sharpened, and she glared fiercely at the Third Hokage Hokage beside her.

"We never imagined that Naruto would be living this kind of life in Konoha!!"

The sound exploded in the office, causing the documents on the desk to tremble slightly.

The Third Hokage Hokage lowered his head in shame upon hearing Kushina's rebuttal.

In Naruto's mental space, Minato, with his arm around Kushina's shoulder, comforted his wife while continuing in a slightly regretful tone:

"Just like Kushina said, we only regained consciousness a year ago."

After recognizing Naruto, we quickly met the Lord Third Hokage and learned from him what had happened over the years...

Minato's tone became more somber here:

The most important of these is the matter of the Uchiha Clan.

He looked at Jiraiya and said in a helpless tone:

"We wanted to try to change all of this, but it was too late."

When we awoke, we learned that Kou had defected for reasons unknown.

After Koko left, Shisui, who barely maintained the fragile Shisui between the Uchiha and Konoha...

The Minato stopped, and a long silence followed in the office.

"He's already dead."

Minato looked at the silent crowd in the room and continued:

"At that time, we were extremely weak in our soul form, and even communicating with Naruto in his mind was a struggle, so we couldn't change anything at all."

He raised his head and said firmly:

"But one thing I'm absolutely certain of."

"The Nine-Tails Incident back then was indeed orchestrated by a mastermind. Although that person possessed the Sharingan,... it was absolutely unrelated to the Uchiha Clan."

Because the mastermind behind it all... has Summoning Contract with the Nine-Tails!

Minato paused, and the light in his sky-blue eyes deepened.

"If I'm not mistaken, he could very well be that legendary..."

His lips parted slightly, and he glanced at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. After hesitating for a moment, he continued with difficulty:

"Uchiha Madara."

(I missed a chapter yesterday, but I'll make it up today.)