As Xuandou activated his ocular jutsu, the enormous Nine-Tails instantly vanished.
"Whew... thank goodness I made it in time."
Seeing Kushina unharmed, Xuandou let out a long breath.
Thud!
A soft sound rang out.
Minato finally lost the strength to hold himself up and collapsed.
Blood gushed from the wound that pierced his chest, staining the earth beneath him red.
"Minato!"
Kushina let out a heart-wrenching cry and rushed to Minato's side.
She tried to cover the bloody hole with her hands, but it was no use.
Minato weakly raised his eyes and looked at Xuandou.
"Xuandou... where's the Nine-Tails?"
"I've trapped him for now. Don't worry."
Hearing that, Minato finally breathed a sigh of relief, his lips pulling into a faint smile.
Xuandou crouched down and looked at the dying man, his heart a jumble of emotions.
Although he had coveted Kushina for a long time, he did not necessarily have to put Minato to death.
On the contrary, he admired Minato greatly.
If possible, he was even willing to save Minato as well.
His earlier revelation about the Masked Man's invasion had been an attempt to save Minato and his wife.
But the arrogant, stubborn Konoha High Command had not trusted him.
Besides, he had people of his own to protect.
The Shinobi World was not at peace.
The Uchiha Clan had left Konoha and stationed themselves outside the village. They needed a Kage Level fighter there to hold the fort.
By the time he received Shisui's message and returned using the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left in the village, Minato had already used the Reaper Death Seal and been pierced by the Nine-Tails' claw.
All he could do was barely manage to save Kushina.
"Minato!"
A jumble of footsteps approached.
Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived late with the Anbu.
He hurried to Minato's side and pulled him up.
"Minato! You could have left... why?"
Minato looked weakly at the Third Hokage, his voice faltering.
"Lord Third... this was my duty... as Hokage... as a father."
Then he turned his head with difficulty to look at Xuandou, his eyes filled with guilt.
"I'm sorry... Xuandou... I didn't listen to you before... otherwise, Konoha wouldn't have..."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly at those words.
Xuandou merely shook his head in silence.
At that moment, Kushina's body began to give out as well.
Despite the Uzumaki Clan's tenacious vitality, with her Tailed Beast forcibly extracted, her death was only a matter of time.
Minato looked at her, his eyes full of heartache and reluctance to part.
Mustering his last bit of strength, he spoke softly.
"Kushina... we have to say goodbye... if there's anything you want to tell Naruto... say it now."
Tears streamed down Kushina's face as she looked down at the baby in her arms, her voice gentle.
"Naruto... don't be picky about food. Eat well and grow big and strong..."
"Bathe every day... don't stay up late... make good friends..."
"Make sure..."
She went on and on, as though she wanted to say everything she would ever have told her child in this one moment.
Xuandou suddenly interrupted her.
"Um... Kushina doesn't actually have to die."
"Um, Kushina doesn't actually have to die..."
What?
Everyone present froze at once.
Hiruzen jerked his head up, his eyes filled with shock.
Even Minato, who was on the verge of death, immediately sat up in surprise and looked at Xuandou.
Meeting everyone's gazes, Xuandou slowly explained.
"As long as the extracted Tailed Beast is sealed back inside the Jinchūriki, the Jinchūriki can survive."
"And sealing a Tailed Beast requires two things: first, controlling the Tailed Beast. Second, knowing Sealing Jutsu."
He paused.
"Humble though my abilities are, I happen to meet both requirements."
Kushina froze for a moment, then lowered her head and spoke very softly.
"With Minato dead... I don't want to live either."
Xuandou's heart tightened.
Xuandou knew that Kushina was already thinking of following Minato in death.
But of course, he could not simply let Kushina die.
Besides coveting her beauty, completing the system's mission was another reason.
So he immediately tried to persuade her.
"Kushina, calm down."
"Do you really want... Naruto to grow up without his mother by his side?"
Kushina trembled all over at his words.
Using the last of his strength, Minato gripped Kushina's hand tightly.
"Kushina... you have to live."
He turned to Xuandou, his eyes filled with pleading.
"Xuandou! Please... save Kushina!"
Xuandou looked at Kushina.
At last, Kushina raised her head and looked at Naruto in her arms, her gaze softening.
She nodded gently.
Xuandou hesitated no longer.
"Yomotsu!"
Space distorted.
Poof!
The Nine-Tails, who had only just been locked inside Yomotsu Space, was released again.
"ROAR!!!"
The Nine-Tails let out an earth-shaking roar.
His savage gaze swept over the tiny humans below, then he raised his enormous claw and slammed it down!
Xuandou rapidly formed hand seals with both hands.
"Yin Release: Heart's Divergent Gate!"
An invisible surge of mental power instantly rushed into the Nine-Tails' mind.
The Nine-Tails' descending claw stopped in midair.
Three tomoe slowly appeared in the pupils of his savage eyes.
Xuandou glanced at Kushina's pale face and faint breathing, not daring to delay.
He pressed one hand against the Nine-Tails and the other against Kushina's lower abdomen.
"Yin Seal: Slave Mark!"
The Nine-Tails' enormous body jolted, then turned into streams of violent red chakra that surged through Xuandou's body and into Kushina.
That chakra was far too wild, like countless beasts rampaging through Xuandou's body.
Veins bulged on his forehead, his teeth clenched, and every muscle in his body trembled.
But he held on with everything he had.
Yin Release chakra circulated through his body, suppressing that violent power bit by bit.
At last, the final stream of chakra flowed into Kushina's body.
A heart-shaped pattern slowly appeared on her lower abdomen beneath her clothes.
The Nine-Tails had been successfully sealed.
Seeing Xuandou seal the Nine-Tails so easily, a trace of deep wariness flashed through Hiruzen's eyes.
Then, the instant the seal was complete, Kushina's eyes closed and she fell straight into Xuandou's arms.
"Kushina!"
Everyone cried out.
Xuandou caught Kushina as she fell into his arms, then looked up at everyone.
"Don't worry. She's just exhausted and passed out."
Hiruzen immediately turned and sternly ordered the Anbu behind him.
"Take her to Konoha Hospital immediately! Gather the medical ninja!"
"Yes!"
Two Anbu stepped forward and carefully carried Kushina away.
As Minato watched Kushina being carried away, the last trace of worry in his eyes finally faded.
He turned to Xuandou, his lips pulling into a weak smile.
"Thank you... Xuandou."
He looked at Hiruzen again, his voice growing softer and softer.
"Lord Third... I leave Naruto and Kushina... in your care..."
Hiruzen held his hand tightly.
"Don't worry... Minato... I'll take good care of them..."
Minato smiled.
That smile was just as it had been in life, warm and sunny.
Then he closed his eyes.
Hiruzen looked at Minato's body, his thoughts unknown.
Xuandou stood to the side, his heart a jumble of emotions.
He glanced in the direction Kushina had been carried away and prayed silently.
You have to hold on...
After all, Kushina had been put through so much all night.
On top of that, the Nine-Tails had been repeatedly extracted from her body.
Even with the constitution of the Uzumaki Clan, Xuandou worried that she would not be able to take it.
Fortunately, the system's voice sounded just in time.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission: Nine-Tails' Catastrophe! Reward: lottery draw ×1]
Joy stirred in Xuandou's heart.
But he kept his expression composed, turning to walk out of the village.
The Uchiha clan members were still waiting for him outside.
The Nine-Tails' Catastrophe was over. It was time to bring them back.
"Xuandou."
Hiruzen's voice came coldly from behind him.
Xuandou stopped.