Ten days left turned into seven. Seven into three. And then, before I could blink, the night arrived.
Konoha was quiet at first. Too quiet.
I had been pacing outside the Namikaze home when the air shifted—chakra pressure slamming down across the village like a storm. My Sharingan spun instantly. The malice was unmistakable. Ancient. Vast. Hungry.
The Nine-Tails.
The fox's roar shook the heavens, tearing through the night sky as flames and rubble lit Konoha like hellfire. Screams echoed. Shinobi poured into the streets. And in the heart of it all, Kushina clutched her belly, pale and trembling, while Minato's jaw tightened like steel.
The timeline I knew had arrived.
"Stay here," Minato ordered, already preparing seals. His eyes burned with determination, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"You'll die if you go," I said flatly.
He gave me a small smile, one that infuriated me with how calm it was. "If that's the price to protect this village… then it's one I'll pay."
Kushina's hand shot out, grabbing his sleeve, tears brimming in her eyes. "Minato…"
I looked at both of them—their warmth, their foolishness, their love—and felt something snap inside me.
No. Not them. Not like this.
"Enough."
They blinked at the steel in my voice. I didn't ask permission. I didn't explain. My hands were already glowing with black veins, my demonic power wrapping around them both.
"Akari—wait—!" Minato struggled, but Kushina gasped as my essence seeped into her, into him, rewriting, remaking.
Their screams were muffled, not of pain, but of transformation. Their vitality surged, their chakra stretched, their bodies shifting to carry my curse. Their flesh adapted. Their cells learned. Their eyes widened as the fire of death snuffed out… replaced by something eternal.
They were mine now. Not corpses. Not puppets. But living, breathing, unaging. Converted.
Kushina fell into silence, trembling. Minato stared at his hands, then at me.
"You… what have you done?"
I didn't flinch. "I saved you. Both of you. The world doesn't need to know. To them—you died tonight. But to me, you'll live. And you'll hide. Until the time is right."
Kushina's lips trembled, her eyes glistening with tears. Then, slowly, she smiled. A fragile, bittersweet smile. "So… we get to stay… with Naruto?"
My throat tightened. "Not openly. The world has to believe in the orphaned boy. But you'll be here, hidden. Watching. Waiting. When the time comes, you'll step back into his life."
Minato's eyes softened with understanding. For the first time, the Hokage looked vulnerable. "You're rewriting fate itself…"
I smirked faintly. "Someone had to."
The battle raged outside. The fox roared. The village burned.
And at the last moment, I took Naruto into my arms, stepping out into the chaos. Everyone saw me—Akari, Kushina's little sister—cradling the child as Minato and Kushina vanished into myth.
The illusion was perfect. The story was set.
The Fourth Hokage and his wife, the heroes who died protecting their son.
And me?
I was the shadow guardian. The aunt. The one who raised Naruto when the village turned its back.
But deep inside, I laughed. Because unlike the original tale… this Naruto wouldn't walk the path alone.
Not this time.