Ninja Academy.
This morning's session at the academy was free practice, with each student focusing on improving their personal weaknesses.
Inside the classroom, Minato sat uneasily at his desk. Although Kushina's absence from school seemed strange to him, for some reason, he had started feeling an intense sense of anxiety creeping over him.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a growling sound rang out in his ears.
He glanced around instantly, but everything seemed perfectly fine. Outside the window, students could faintly be seen practicing taijutsu.
A strange sensation filled his entire body. Minato abruptly turned toward one direction and instinctively cried out almost without thinking.
"Kushina!"
Whoosh!
He shot out the window like a golden streak.
Outside, a student practicing taijutsu blinked in shock at the spot where Minato had vanished.
"Where did the person sitting there go?"
...
Minato jumped over the high walls of the ninja academy and rushed crazily toward Konoha's center. Normally polite and gentle, he now barreled through crowds along the way without even trying to dodge them.
But he was too fast; passersby barely caught a glimpse of a streak of light as they were brushed aside.
"Roar!"
"The Fourth Hokage..."
The deep growl sounded again in his ears, but this time it was no longer vague—it was clearly audible.
"The Fourth Hokage!!?"
For a moment, Minato felt confused. At present in Konoha, the title of Hokage had only passed down to the Third. Where did this Fourth Hokage come from?
Yet he had no time to think further because it felt like a voice was telling him that something unbearable was happening to Kushina.
Minato was approaching Mito's residence at high speed. However, when he was only a few streets away from his destination and took a shortcut by entering an alley, something suddenly seemed to surge up inside his mind.
"Ahh!"
Almost instantly, he lost control of his body and collapsed onto the ground. Even his cry became nothing more than a hoarse growl.
It felt like he had lost all vitality, and his eyelids became heavier and heavier.
"Kushina..."
At his very last conscious moment, her name echoed silently in his heart, though he couldn't utter a single word aloud.
...
[Four Symbols Seal!]
Inside the house, an extremely dazzling white light flashed.
The pressure previously experienced by Sakumo and others due to Nine-Tails' chakra resistance vanished instantly.
Chakra chains rooted around the house stopped trembling.
In that brilliant glow, faint black patterns could be seen spreading outward, flowing entirely toward the space directly in front of Mito.
Buzz.
When the radiant light gradually dissipated, Mito—exhausted of all strength—collapsed backward onto the bed behind her.
"Mito-sama!"
Without even checking how Kushina's seal had been affected, The Third Hokage quickly dashed forward beside the bed. You had to admit—the Uzumaki clan's vitality was incredible. Even after losing the Tailed Beast and nearly draining her last ounce of strength, she still clung feebly to life instead of dying completely.
Danzo remained indifferent, eyeing Kushina cautiously. No one could guarantee that Kushina was completely safe at this moment.
Kushina also shut her eyes tightly due to the intense light. When she felt the light fade away, she slowly opened them.
She sat up from the sealing platform, stunned for a full three seconds before carefully shifting her gaze toward her abdomen, where a complete Four Symbols Seal had formed.
Kushina herself possessed sensing abilities, yet within her perception, there no longer seemed to be any trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"Are you okay?"
Sakumo stepped closer and gave her shoulder a gentle pat. Only then did Kushina snap out of her shock.
She got up quickly and murmured, "I'm fine."
"Splish-splash!"
At that moment, both the sealing barrier covering the entire room and the sealing platform vanished simultaneously.
"The Four Symbols Seal has just been completed. Plus, we heavily suppressed the Nine-Tails' power earlier, so temporarily, you won't be able to sense it," came Mito's weakened voice. Kushina turned around and immediately rushed over.
Mito's body leaned heavily against the edge of the bed, her breathing growing heavier by the second.
In Kushina's perception, Mito's chakra was rapidly fading—just like the chakra seal she had once performed.
The chakra was fading fast. Once it faded away entirely, that would mean Mito's life had come to an end.
Kushina hated this ability—the way it let her feel someone's life slowly slipping away. Yet Mito had never taught her how to control her sensing techniques.
"I'm truly sorry... taking such liberties with you, forcing you to carry such a heavy fate. This should've been our responsibility."
It looked like Mito was pouring every last bit of her strength into apologizing to Kushina.
Before deciding to perform the sealing ritual, Kushina had known absolutely nothing about it.
I gave you far too little time...
Tears welled up in Kushina's eyes as she shook her head. "No, you and the First Hokage have given everything—your lives—for this village. It is precisely because of that sacrifice that I have found happiness today, and met Minato..."
"I wasn't born in Konoha, but the very first day I arrived here, I decided to call this place my home. That's why my dream is…to become Konoha's first female Hokage."
"Hokage, huh?" Mito murmured softly after hearing Kushina speak. She turned toward the Third Hokage beside her and said, "Sarutobi, did you hear that? This child's dream?"
"The First Hokage's Will of Fire will live on, continuing to protect the village," the Third replied emotionally.
They had treated Kushina merely as the host of the Nine-Tails.
Yet this girl bore them no resentment whatsoever.
"In that case, I'll leave both the village and Kushina to you—and that fine young man, Minato. Please…protect them well."
With a smile lingering on her face, Mito spoke these final words. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until she could no longer hear the voices of anyone surrounding her.
Her vision remained clear. Before her stood a figure—tall, graceful, with a cascade of long black hair trailing behind, as if he had been waiting for her all along.
He seemed to have been waiting there for a long time. When he finally turned around, the regal air about him melted away, giving way to an awkwardly endearing look as he scratched his head.
Seeing him like this, Mito couldn't help but laugh until tears streamed down her face.
No one would've imagined that Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and the revered God of Ninja, could act so utterly undignified.
And she no longer looked old. A soft breeze stirred her flowing red hair, and her eyes—like pools of autumn water—glimmered with tears.
She, too, had waited far too long for this moment.
"Hashirama... I'm here..."
Mito Uzumaki smiled and sprinted toward him, her heart full.
The end of life didn't mean the end of their fate together.
Rather, it was the continuation of their bond—a chance to once again find solace in each other's arms in another world...
...
...
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>