With the Nine-Tails sealed, the Fourth Hokage dispelled the barrier.
The Third led a large force of elite ninja into the basin. At the head of the group, he saw the fissures the battle had carved into the earth, and four tiny figures standing within them.
The Nine-Tails was gone? Had Minato killed him, or sealed him back inside Kushina?
Puzzled, he quickened his pace. Only when he drew close did he notice Minato's helpless smile and the twisted sealing formula on his stomach.
As Hokage, he recognized the formula as the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, a powerful Sealing Jutsu that cost its user their life.
Minato must have used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails.
"Minato, you shouldn't have done this. The village needs you!"
The Third looked at Minato in anguish. He had personally chosen Minato as the Fourth Hokage, and Minato was also his student's student. For reasons both public and personal, he did not want Minato to die.
"Third," Minato said with a smile, revealing the wounds on his back. "Even without using a Forbidden Technique, I wouldn't have had long to live. I'd rather Naruto have the chance to meet Kushina someday."
"I see..."
The Third sighed. Minato was as exceptional as ever, both as Hokage and as a husband.
After a pause, the Third raised another matter. "Minato, did you deal with the enemy who released the Nine-Tails?"
"No. He escaped."
The Fourth Hokage shook his head and frowned. "There were two enemies. One had a Mangekyō Sharingan with space-time abilities and could also use Wood Release. The other could use a stealth technique that even I couldn't detect."
"He could even use Wood Release?!"
The Third's expression shifted. First the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan, and now the First's Wood Release. The