It seemed Namikaze Minato had never been merely a puppet Hokage. He wanted to change things, but lacked both the ability and the resolve.
Minato formed hand seals and summoned a toad.
The toad spat out a scroll, which Minato handed to Xuanye.
"This contains the training method for a seal-less jutsu I created, along with my personal experience practicing it."
"It might not help you much, but consider it a little child support from me, as a father."
Xuanye took the scroll and opened it. To his surprise, it contained Minato's experience training in the Rasengan.
It also included some of Minato's personal findings and theories on developing the Rasengan's Chakra nature.
The Rasengan's training requirements were not especially demanding, and Xuanye already knew the basic principle. Still, Minato's experience was an unexpected bonus that could spare him plenty of wrong turns.
"Actually, I'd rather have the Flying Thunder God training scroll." Xuanye smiled as he made another request.
He was keenly interested in the Flying Thunder God. Even Orochimaru, who aspired to learn every jutsu in the world, had failed to master it.
Minato gave a rueful smile. "That belongs to the village. Besides, it's a forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage. I can't hand it over on my own authority."
Xuanye shook his head. "Then you really are a failure as Hokage."
Minato second-guessed every move and let himself be bound by duty and rules. Otherwise, he would never have ended up in such a miserable position.
He had watched his wife have the Tailed Beast extracted from her, then failed to seal it back in time to save Kushina's life.
And now he was going to die with her.
How could it get any more tragic?
Minato had nothing to say to Uchiha Genya's judgment.
"If you want to, you'll become Hokage sooner or later anyway. The Flying Thunder God will be yours eventually."
Minato was at peace with that, and he had no doubt it was true.
"But if the Flying Thunder God is off-limits, why is the Rasengan all right?"
"If that old man, the Third Hokage, finds out you gave a jutsu like this to a Uchiha, he'll be furious."
At Xuanye's words, Minato smiled too.
It was the smile of a man who had made peace with his decision.
"I'm still the Fourth Hokage. And whatever else you say, this is a jutsu I created myself. I do have that much authority."
Xuanye smiled and put the scroll away.
"Have you picked a name for your child?"
Minato's hands were already racing through a complex sequence of seals. From his movements, Xuanye knew he was preparing the ultimate Sealing Technique.
"Kushina already chose one. His name will be... Uzumaki Naruto."
"One last question. Should I tell him about you and Kushina?"
"...Better not. If he wants answers someday, he'll find them himself."
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
As Minato completed the final seal, the enormous shadow of the Death God appeared behind him, a short blade clenched between its teeth. Its movements mirrored his exactly.
This was the ultimate Uzumaki Sealing Technique: the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, a one-for-one trade taken to its limit.
It sealed both the user's soul and the opponent's inside the Death God's stomach, denying them rebirth for all eternity.
Minato's target was the Nine-Tails in its entirety.
But in the process, he pulled a trick.
He sealed half the Nine-Tails inside his newborn son and the other half inside himself. When the Dead Demon Consuming Seal claimed its price, that half would be swallowed into the Death God's belly with him.
"Xuanye, please... take care of Naruto."
With the Dead Demon Consuming Seal complete, the Death God swallowed Minato's soul whole.
Xuanye watched Minato and Kushina lie together, their bodies peaceful and unmarked. For a moment, he was silent.
In truth, he had had a chance to save them both.
He could have prevented Kakashi from leaking the secret at Obito's grave. It would not even have been difficult.
But keeping Minato alive did not serve his interests, and Xuanye had no good way to deal with the Flying Thunder God.
He was bound to clash with the Third Hokage and Danzo someday. Given Minato's character, he would side with the Third Hokage.
So Xuanye had stood by as Minato chose to die with Kushina, removing every card Sarutobi Hiruzen might have used to turn the tables.
After some thought, Xuanye took out a sealing scroll and sealed away both bodies.
Minato's soul had been swallowed by the Death God, so Impure World Reincarnation could not summon him back.
Even so, Xuanye had to make sure no one could use their bodies for some other purpose.
He might not suffer any loss if they did, but the thought still sickened him.
The night the Nine-Tails broke loose was a tragedy for Konoha.
Xuanye's sword strike had held the beast in check, and the Uchiha elite had all mobilized. Together, they had kept the damage to Konoha within limits.
But the deaths of Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina dealt Konoha a devastating blow.
A Jinchuriki was a village's nuclear deterrent. With its Nine-Tails Jinchuriki gone, Konoha had lost a crucial card against the Other Ninja Villages eyeing it hungrily, especially the warlike Cloud Village.
Minato's death was an even more devastating blow to Konoha.
Not just because he was the Fourth Hokage, but because the Other Ninja Villages feared him.
Many people did not know that the Other Ninja Villages considered Minato an even greater threat than a Jinchuriki.
Retreat immediately upon encountering the Yellow Flash. Mission failure will not be punished.
He was the only person in the entire Ninja World to earn such an order.
Only a Tailed Beast Bomb surpassed Minato's killing efficiency. Unlike one, he left buildings largely intact, eliminating targets with precision.
The order made the other villages' assessment clear: coming back alive after encountering Minato was already a good outcome. They could expect no more.
No other Jinchuriki had ever earned such an assessment.
Minato's attack power was a weakness against defense-oriented Kage Level fighters such as Fourth Raikage A and Perfect Jinchuriki. But he could kill almost everyone else in an enemy village.
As for Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, they had transcended the very category of ninja. There was no point even assessing them.
Those two would not engage you in a drawn-out battle on the front lines. They would charge straight for your home village with Susanoo or a Wood Golem, and there was nothing you could do to stop them.
Your only hope was to meet the more reasonable Senju Hashirama, then drop to your knees and surrender before it was too late.
In short, Konoha had lost two top-tier Kage Level fighters at once. For a village that had only just emerged from the Third Great Ninja War and had yet to recover, it was a massive blow.
Worse, there was no way to hide it. Everyone in Konoha had seen the commotion caused by the Nine-Tails and Xuanye, including any spies hiding in the village.
Thankfully, Xuanye had intervened in time, and relatively few civilians had died.
The moment the other villages heard Minato was dead, they would swarm around Konoha like sharks scenting blood.