The Nine-Tails Appears

"Summoning Jutsu!" The Masked Man landed in the middle of Konoha and immediately summoned the Nine-Tails.

Boom!

The Nine-Tails appeared on the ground, crushing the houses around it.

Roar!

The Nine-Tails roared at the sky and began destroying the buildings. Konoha sprang into action, and all the shinobi deployed to help the noncombatants evacuate.

"Mom..." Yin Xiang clutched Kushina's hand, his whole body trembling. Kushina had heard the noise outside, too. "Don't be afraid, Yin Xiang." Kushina turned around and reached out to pick him up, but she didn't have the strength.

So Yin Xiang climbed onto the bed by himself. His clumsy little effort brought a faint smile to Kushina's face. He crawled to the other side of Naruto, and Kushina held both boys close.

"Don't be afraid. Minato is here. Everything will be all right." Kushina comforted her children, but despite her words, she was frightened, too.

Meanwhile, Minato was fighting the Masked Man. They were at the small cabin where Minato had first carried Naruto. Minato knew he had to defeat the Masked Man here. He had left the Nine-Tails in the village in the Third Hokage's care, trusting him to hold it back.

But the Masked Man's ability was so bizarre that Minato's attacks passed right through him. He could also become tangible, but Minato had earned his reputation as a genius. He quickly figured out how the ability worked and used Flying Thunder God Second Step alongside the Rasengan to slam into the Masked Man's back.

The blow drove the Masked Man hard into the ground. When the smoke cleared, his arm had fallen off—but it wasn't a real arm. It looked like white paste.

Minato didn't give him a chance to speak. He used Flying Thunder God again, appeared in front of him, and struck him in the chest with a palm, using the Contract Seal to break his pact with the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails was no longer under his control.

Yin Xiang and Kushina heard the commotion, too. Yin Xiang got off the bed and jumped down, ready to go find Minato.

But just then, Minato appeared in front of them again. He picked up Kushina and Naruto and prepared to use Flying Thunder God to leave, but he hadn't planned on taking Yin Xiang. Thankfully, Yin Xiang was quick and grabbed the hem of Minato's clothes.

The family of four appeared together in front of the Nine-Tails, which Minato had transported outside the village.

"Yin Xiang! How did you come with us?" Minato cried, panicked when he saw him.

"I want to be with you!" Yin Xiang said firmly. But when he actually saw the Nine-Tails before him, his little body trembled. It was so savage, so terrifying.

"Whoosh!"

Several Chakra Chains appeared behind Kushina and wrapped around the Nine-Tails, leaving it unable to move.

"Wah... wah..." Naruto woke up at the noise.

"I woke you up." Kushina panted heavily. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Kushina!" Seeing her use the chains, Minato looked at her anxiously.

"I'll hold the Nine-Tails here... and die doing it. That way... I can delay its resurrection..." Kushina gasped out her words. "I have to use the chakra I have left to help you. It's the only way."

Kushina gave them a broad smile. "Thank you... for everything you've done for me."

Little Naruto seemed to sense the sadness in the air. Even his crying grew slower and quieter.

"Kushina... you made me the Fourth Hokage, you made me your husband, and you made me the father of these children... And yet I..." Minato trailed off, his expression turning sorrowful.

Yin Xiang stepped forward and took Minato's hand. "Dad..."

"Minato, don't look so sad." Kushina was still smiling. "I'm happy. You and Yin Xiang love me, and today is this child's birthday, too." She looked at Naruto.

"More than anything, if I were still alive, all I could do would be imagine the happy life the four of us might have together..."

As Minato listened to Kushina, tears streamed down his face. He was the Fourth Hokage, and protecting the village was his duty. But he was also a husband and the father of two children.

"I have one last wish. I want to see... Yin Xiang and Naruto when they're grown up..." Kushina looked at the boys.

"Kushina, you don't have to die with the Nine-Tails." Minato wiped away his tears. "I'll make sure you can see Naruto with the chakra you have left. I'll seal all of it inside Naruto and combine it with the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. I'll deal with the Nine-Tails myself."

"Since I'm not a Jinchūriki, I can only use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

"But... that Sealing Jutsu will take the caster's..." Kushina couldn't finish. The Sealing Jutsu would cost its user their life.

"There's something else. Only half of the Nine-Tails is sealed inside me. Such immense power can't be suppressed by physical means, and that wouldn't work strategically either. You helped seal the Nine-Tails. If no Jinchūriki exists before it revives, the balance among the Tailed Beasts will collapse."

"If I use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, I can seal myself and the other half of the Nine-Tails away. So the other half..."

Minato remembered Jiraiya's words about the Child of Prophecy: Naruto.

"I'll seal it inside Naruto with the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style."

Kushina was startled when she heard him say that.

"I know what you want to say, but today I confirmed two things about the world-changing events Jiraiya-sensei spoke of, and the disasters that would follow. The Masked Man who attacked you will surely bring bloodshed and chaos."

"And this child will be the one to stop him." Minato looked at Naruto. "This child, whom Jiraiya-sensei has placed so much faith in, will become a Jinchūriki and open the way to the future... Somehow, I believe it."

"Dad... you can seal the other half of the Nine-Tails inside me." Yin Xiang spoke up.

"Yin Xiang, you can use the Prophecy Art. Your life will be difficult enough as it is." Minato looked at him. "You must study the jutsu I gave you carefully. I can't seal the Nine-Tails inside you. It would affect you."

"Dad! But if you seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, the villagers will think he's the Nine-Tails and hate him!"

"Uh..." Minato and Kushina both froze.

"Does Yin Xiang want to bear all that for his little brother? What a good boy." Kushina understood what he meant and stroked his head.

"It'll be all right, Yin Xiang. Naruto will manage. Don't you believe in him?" Minato said.

"I believe in him! He can do it!" Yin Xiang answered without hesitation.