Masked Man Appears

Yin Xiang had naturally noticed as well; Rin hadn't come by in a long time, and she was likely dead. It was fortunate that Yin Xiang and Rin weren't particularly close, or he would have inevitably felt some sorrow.

Kakashi would occasionally drop his mask while looking through the window to check on little Yin Xiang, a forced smile seemingly tugging at the corners of his mouth beneath the fabric. This only confirmed Yin Xiang's suspicion regarding Rin's death.

"Little Yin Xiang, time for milk." The nanny walked over with a bottle. Yin Xiang lay on the bed, took the bottle himself, and began to drink without needing any help.

"What a good boy." The nanny patted Yin Xiang's head as she spoke. She had never seen such an obedient child; at only five months old, Yin Xiang could already hold simple conversations. He was nothing short of a prodigy.

"Where is Mommy?" Yin Xiang asked the nanny.

"The Mistress is in the living room reading the newspaper. Your little brother will be born soon," the nanny replied.

Yin Xiang nodded. "Okay. When I'm done, I'll call you," Yin Xiang said, breaking up his sentences to mask the fact that he could speak fluent Japanese.

"Alright." The nanny nodded with a smile and left the room. Yin Xiang didn't require much care, and Kushina could look after herself; the nanny's duties were mostly cooking, cleaning, and tidying up, making her job quite easy.

He still remembered when Yin Xiang first called them Mom and Dad; it had thrilled Minato and Kushina to no end. A child so young yet so sensible—he was surely destined for greatness.

When Minato returned from work, he would occasionally tell Yin Xiang about ninjutsu. Yin Xiang would pretend to only half-understand while memorizing everything, secretly practicing hand seals with his tiny paws when no one was watching.

In the blink of an eye, another five months passed. During that time, Jiraiya had come to see Yin Xiang and even named Kushina's child: Naruto.

The day finally arrived, and with it, the night they had been dreading.

That day, Kushina, who was about to give birth, was taken out of the village by a midwife. Because the delivery was a classified matter, they had to be extremely cautious.

In a cave outside the village, surrounded by a barrier and guarded by four Anbu ninjas, Minato was inside personally suppressing the Nine-Tails within the seal. It was the first time he had seen Kushina screaming in such agony.

Finally, after a long period of shouting, the cry of an infant pierced the air. Kushina stopped screaming and began to pant heavily. Hearing Naruto's cries, tears of joy streamed down her face.

Looking at Naruto in the midwife's arms, Minato was momentarily stunned. Gazing at his own true-born son, he wept with excitement.

After Kushina had a brief look at Naruto, Minato prepared to fully suppress the Nine-Tails, but at that moment, the midwife was killed. A masked man holding Naruto appeared before them.

Of all these events, Yin Xiang only knew that Kushina had been taken away by the midwife. Left at home with the nanny, one-year-old Yin Xiang stood by the window, his expression grave. His demeanor was so intense that the nanny beside him didn't dare to speak.

Yin Xiang knew that something terrible was going to happen tonight. He looked at his hands; what could he do in this body? Nothing! He could only stay here and wait for Minato and his wife to meet their deaths.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar echoed as a small shed on the vacant lot behind the house suddenly exploded. Hearing it, Yin Xiang rushed toward the sound.

"Little Master! Little Master!" the nanny shouted from behind, but Yin Xiang ignored her. He ran out the door and saw Minato land on the ground, holding Naruto.

The masked man had just tossed Naruto into the air, intending to pierce him with a kunai. Minato had used the Body Flicker Technique to save him, but a paper bomb was still attached to the blanket wrapped around the infant.

With no other choice, Minato used the Flying Thunder God to teleport into the small shed, threw the blanket aside, and the resulting explosion destroyed the building.

"Daddy!" Yin Xiang ran toward Minato step by step, panting heavily from the exertion.

"Yin Xiang!" Minato crouched down, surprised to see him there. "Yin Xiang, how did you get here?"

"I... huff, huff..." Yin Xiang caught his breath quickly. "I felt like something was going to happen tonight, and then I heard the explosion, so I came over."

"You're hurt, Daddy." Yin Xiang reached out and pulled a wooden splinter from Minato's leg, lodged there by the blast.

"Yin Xiang." Minato patted his head. "Take care of your little brother. I'll be back soon." With that, Minato used the Flying Thunder God technique again to teleport home, placed Naruto on the bed, and left two scrolls behind. The masked man's target was Kushina; he had to return as quickly as possible.

Just as Minato was about to leave, Yin Xiang grabbed his sleeve. "You must come back, Daddy."

Minato paused, looking at Yin Xiang's sorrowful expression. "Don't worry, I will definitely come back." He then used the Flying Thunder God to return to the scene.

Yin Xiang held the two scrolls in his hands, staring at them: the Flying Thunder God and the Rasengan.

Back at the scene, the masked man had already bound Kushina to a pillar and begun extracting the Nine-Tails. A mass of dark red chakra surged from Kushina's abdomen, forming the head of a fox. Finally, the Nine-Tails tore itself from her body and roared at the sky, though its eyes had already turned into the Sharingan.

Just as the Nine-Tails was about to strike the weakened Kushina, Minato arrived, scooped her up, and vanished, reappearing before Yin Xiang.

"Mommy!" Seeing the frail Kushina, Yin Xiang ran over and took her hand.

"Yin Xiang, I'm back." Though weak, Kushina spoke to him. Minato laid her on the bed, and throughout the process, Kushina kept a tight grip on Yin Xiang's hand.

"Mommy... is Mommy going to die?" Yin Xiang held her hand by the bedside, while Kushina held Naruto with her other arm.

"How could that be? I'm perfectly fine," Kushina turned to pat Yin Xiang's head, offering a forced smile.

"Mommy is lying to me. If a Tailed Beast is removed from its host, they die." As Yin Xiang spoke, tears streamed down his face. Kushina and Minato exchanged a startled glance, and Kushina hurriedly wiped his tears away.

"How do you know about that, Yin Xiang?" Kushina asked, her voice still gentle.

"Daddy... Daddy is going to die along with Mommy to seal the beast. I... I had a premonition." In his panic, Yin Xiang remembered the "Insoro" who could foresee the future, whom the Third Hokage and Minato had mentioned. He decided to use this "premonition" to bluff them.

"Swish."

Minato donned his Fourth Hokage haori.

He walked over, patted Yin Xiang's head, and placed his hand over Kushina's. "You must not tell anyone about what you've foreseen, Yin Xiang."

"But Daddy..." Yin Xiang looked back at Minato, now clad in his official robes. "Even if you know you're going to die, you're still going?"

"Ah," Minato nodded. "This is my duty as the Fourth Hokage."

"Minato, thank you. Be careful," Kushina said, pulling Naruto into a hug as she looked at him.

"I will be back soon," Minato said with absolute conviction, and then his figure vanished from before Yin Xiang's eyes.