At the outskirts of Konoha,
Despite Jiraiya and the Third Hokage's efforts to stop him, the Three-Tails ultimately failed to break through the defenses and enter the village.
After Obito was badly wounded by Minato, Yagura also received a message from White Zetsu and then retreated.
Even as he withdrew, however, he remained in his Tailed Beast Transformation.
After confirming that the Three-Tails had retreated, Jiraiya hurried off in a certain direction. His brow furrowed, and the unease in his heart grew stronger by the moment.
"Minato."
The Third Hokage looked exhausted. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures dressed as Anbu appeared around him. The masked Anbu said something to him.
The Third Hokage's expression suddenly changed. Without worrying about anything else, he gave a few quick orders, then chased after Jiraiya with several others.
He left a few people behind to handle the logistics.
Although the Three-Tails hadn't breached Konoha's defenses, the aftershocks of the battle had still damaged nearby houses. Fortunately, the civilians in the area had already been evacuated, so there were no major casualties.
At the Senju Clan Compound,
"Oh, it's over already?" The black-robed figures surrounding Tsunade had received the news as well, and began to retreat.
The black-robed figures slowly sank into the ground until they vanished, leaving Tsunade alone, crouched helplessly on the spot and trembling uncontrollably.
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke appeared.
Inside Orochimaru's laboratory,
Danzo, his head wrapped in bandages, slowly stood up and walked outside without a word.
"Oh, the wind has stopped?" Orochimaru's lips curled into a cold smile.
He stood up and went back to his experiments.
"Mm." Kushina, still unconscious, let out a cry of pain. Though her body had recovered, she hadn't woken up.
After everything that had happened, her body had suffered serious injuries, and her mind had been damaged as well. It would be a long time before she woke.
A trace of disappointment flashed in Minato's eyes. He had wanted to say a proper goodbye to Kushina, but it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
Tap. Suddenly, his body took a step backward, and the Shinigami's arm, still pressed against Naruto's stomach, moved with it.
"Waaah!" "Waaah!"
Whether he sensed the pain or something else, Naruto began to cry loudly.
"Looks like my time is almost up." Minato smiled bitterly. Then, without hesitation, blue chakra appeared in his hand once more.
"Four Symbols Seal."
Just like before, the same swirling seal formula appeared on Naruto's body. After completing it, Minato had exhausted all the chakra in his body.
His original plan had been to use the Eight Trigrams Seal, but he didn't have enough chakra left to do it.
"Naruto, Daddy's going now. From now on, you have to listen to your mother and uncle, okay?"
Tap! Tap!
Suddenly, his body moved backward against his will.
A figure flashed past at high speed and appeared before him. Kakashi reached out to grab Minato, but failed. He didn't give up, though. He had already lost too much, and now he raced forward.
His eyes grew damp. By then, Kakashi had realized what was happening.
Behind him, Guy remained silent. He stood in front of Kushina and Naruto with Naraku on his back, keeping watch for danger.
"Kakashi, your teacher is going to find Obito and Rin. Don't be sad. Live on, carrying our will with you."
"And don't forget to keep training. Next time, it'll be your turn to protect everyone."
"And..."
"Mm!"
Minato lost consciousness before he could finish speaking. The next moment, his body came to a stop and fell into Kakashi's arms.
Minato's soul stood above them. Kakashi looked up, fighting back tears.
"Teacher, I'll do everything you said." Kakashi's left eye spun, its crimson light turning brighter as a streak of bloody tears ran from its corner.
The three black Tomoe in his crimson eye spun faster and faster, gradually forming a black triangular pinwheel.
His Mangekyō Sharingan, already awakened, appeared once more after the loss of his beloved teacher.
In fact, Kakashi's Sharingan had awakened into the Mangekyō when Rin died. But he didn't have Uchiha blood, and neither his ocular power nor his chakra reserves were enough to meet the conditions for awakening it.
That was why he had never been able to use the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The Mangekyō placed an enormous strain on him. He couldn't maintain it in his current state, so in just an instant, it reverted to the Three-Tomoe state.
Kakashi staggered, nearly falling to the ground.
"That ocular power... Was it my imagination?" Minato's soul had powerful sensory abilities of its own. For an instant, he had sensed ocular power similar to the masked man's.
Whoosh!
Just then, a tall figure appeared. His long, flowing hair was covered in grime, and his weary face was filled with sorrow.
"Minato, you..."
Minato smiled when he saw him and waved. "Goodbye, Teacher Jiraiya."
But he probably didn't know that Jiraiya couldn't hear him. Minato continued moving his lips, saying something.
Then the Shinigami swallowed his soul.
"Naraku, I'm leaving this family in your hands."
"Kushina, I love you."
Those were the last two thoughts that crossed his mind before Minato lost consciousness completely.
The Shinigami's apparition vanished from the scene and disappeared into another dimension.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several more figures arrived. It was the Third Hokage and a few Anbu.
When he saw Minato in Kakashi's arms, the Third Hokage's pupils contracted sharply. With his keen senses, he could tell at a glance that Minato had stopped breathing and was now a corpse.
"Fourth Hokage..."
"Lord Fourth..."
The Anbu were just as shocked. Konoha's Yellow Flash had become famous throughout the Third Shinobi World War. Everyone knew his name.
They had never imagined that the Fourth Hokage would die here.
"Waaah!" "Waaah!"
For a moment, Naruto's cries were the only sound. Everyone else fell silent.
After a long while, Jiraiya broke the silence. "That child is Minato and Kushina's son. He's also the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Jiraiya pointed at Naruto on the ground.
"The child... A Jinchuriki?" The Third Hokage's expression changed. He turned and saw the seal formula on Naruto's stomach.
"Kushina is badly injured and unconscious. I'm taking her to Tsunade for treatment. I'll be going now." Exhausted, Jiraiya bent down and lifted Kushina from the ground. A white Hokage cloak covered her; it was the one Minato had been wearing.