Over here, Seimei was still tallying up the gains from this mission.
Suddenly, a fragment of memory flashed into his mind.
Seimei quickly closed his eyes, diving into the memory. It wasn't someone else's—it belonged to the Shadow Clone he'd created using the Shadow Clone Technique before the operation began.
For the past few hours, that clone had been moving with the main group.
Now, with the village finally settling down, the clone had synced its memories back to him.
Seimei opened his eyes, ready to head back to the village.
But after a moment's thought, he paused.
Raising his hands, he formed seals and used the Wood Clone Technique, creating a Wood Clone in an instant.
Then, he handed over all three tailed beasts, including the Nine-Tails, to the clone for safekeeping.
Based on the intel from his Shadow Clone, the village was just as he'd expected—no hostility toward him so far. They might not even suspect he was the mysterious figure behind it all.
But better safe than sorry.
So, hiding the tailed beasts for now seemed like the smart move. If the village turned on him, he'd have an out.
Not that it was likely to happen.
Shaking off those thoughts, Seimei checked himself over to ensure his cover wouldn't be blown. Then, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to the forest outside the Hidden Leaf Village.
As usual, he activated his Byakugan to scan the surroundings—nothing out of the ordinary.
With that, Seimei stepped forward, heading toward the village walls.
Once he could see the patrolling ninja on the walls, he activated the Ama no Uki ability, cloaking himself from view.
From there, he moved smoothly, passing through the sensory barrier, climbing the village walls, and finally returning to his home.
Even from inside his house, Seimei could feel the tense, somber atmosphere hanging over the village.
The big battle was over, but there were still plenty of issues to sort out.
Outside, ninja were patrolling and maintaining order, while villagers gradually returned to their homes.
After some thought, Seimei pushed open his gate and stepped out of his house.
As he walked, he observed the state of the village.
Sure, this time, with Zetsu's involvement, the chaos had spread pretty far. But compared to the Nine-Tails incident from his memories, things were much better.
No matter how many rogue ninja caused trouble, their strength had limits, and the Leaf ninja were there to counter them. The damage wasn't too bad.
The Nine-Tails, though? One casual swipe from that beast could level buildings.
That meant way more casualties.
In another timeline, the Nine-Tails had rampaged for a long time before Minato Namikaze, finally free to act, teleported it outside the village.
During that chaos, countless Leaf ninja and villagers had died.
But this time?
The Nine-Tails had barely gotten started before Seimei suppressed and sealed it. The destruction was nowhere near as bad as in that other timeline, especially when it came to losses among the village's elite ninja.
And then there was Minato Namikaze himself—the key figure whose survival had already changed the course of ninja history.
Standing on the street, Seimei glanced at the brightly lit Hokage Building in the distance. He shook his head and decided not to get any closer.
Looking around, he found an empty corner and used the Earth Release: Earth Vein Dragon Technique to slip underground, carving out a small hollow.
Sitting cross-legged in the hollow, Seimei formed hand seals and activated the Spirit Transformation Technique.
In an instant, his soul, wrapped in chakra, left his body, his senses amplified dramatically.
Closing his eyes, Seimei focused, trying to pinpoint the Nine-Tails' location.
He'd briefly considered leaving a Flying Thunder God mark on the Nine-Tails he'd handed back to the village for constant tracking.
But after some thought, he'd dropped the idea.
It didn't take much to realize Minato, who also knew the Flying Thunder God Technique, would thoroughly inspect the Nine-Tails before using it. He'd likely spot any mark Seimei left.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Seimei had scrapped the plan.
With the Spirit Transformation Technique, he wasn't worried about losing track of the Nine-Tails anyway.
Sure enough, in just a few moments, he locked onto its current location.
"The hospital?" Seimei murmured, opening his eyes.
He released the Spirit Transformation Technique, his soul returning to his body.
Using the Earth Vein Dragon Technique again, he surfaced, activated Ama no Uki, and headed straight for the Hidden Leaf Hospital.
---
Meanwhile, at the Hidden Leaf Hospital…
In a spacious underground chamber, Kushina Uzumaki lay in the center.
Beneath her was an intricate array of sealing formulas.
These weren't just any seals—they were part of the setup for the A-rank medical ninjutsu, the Healing Resurrection Technique.
Around the seal array, eight Leaf medical ninja in white uniforms stood, hands pressed to the seals. They carefully channeled chakra into the array, adjusting the balance of chakra and cells in Kushina's body to keep her alive as long as possible.
In the center of the array, Kushina trembled faintly, a sign she was still holding on.
This was the scene Seimei walked into.
He couldn't help but marvel—Kushina was a true Uzumaki. Her life force was unreal! It had been two or three hours since the Nine-Tails was extracted from her. Most people would've been long gone by now.
But Kushina? With the Healing Resurrection Technique sustaining her, Seimei sensed she could last at least another four or five hours. With some extra measures, maybe even longer.
Shaking his head, Seimei pushed those thoughts aside and turned his attention to a group approaching the room.
Among them were Minato Namikaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Uchiha Shisui, who'd helped "reclaim" the Nine-Tails.
They gathered before the seal array, looking at Kushina in the center, each with their own expression.
Hiruzen's brow was furrowed, lost in thought. Koharu's lips moved as if she wanted to say something. Homura stayed stern as ever, while Minato was oddly calm.
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen spoke up, trying to persuade Minato again. "Minato, are you sure about this? Becoming a jinchuriki a second time—there's no precedent for it. If something goes wrong, Kushina could die on the spot. Jiraiya's already gone to find Tsunade. If we wait—"
Before he could finish, Minato raised a hand, cutting him off. "Lord Third, we don't have time."
That one sentence silenced them all.
He was right—time was the issue.
Sure, with the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato could bring someone back to the village in an instant.
But finding Tsunade? That would take time.
And Kushina didn't have that long.
Minato's plan was simple: instead of waiting and watching his wife die, he'd take the chance while her life force was still strong and make her a jinchuriki again.
Seeing the resolve in Minato's eyes, Hiruzen and the others knew further argument was pointless.
They were still worried—if the experiment failed, the Nine-Tails could die with Kushina, costing the village a major asset.
But Minato was the Hokage now. They couldn't stop him from trying to save his wife.
Besides, the plan wasn't without a shot at success.
---