Kushina lay weakly on the cold earth, her arms trembling as she clutched Naruto close to her chest. Obito's shadow loomed over her, his masked face unreadable, the cruel gleam in his eyes colder than the night that surrounded them. Behind him, Kurama towered, half-bound by the fading remnants of her chakra chains. The nine-tailed beast snarled, its burning eyes filled with hatred. Obito's voice sliced through her despair.
"You're pathetic."
Her throat was raw, her body drained, yet she forced words through the ache in her chest. "Why is this happening? First I lose my home, then my kin… and now my family too?" Tears blurred her vision as she lowered her gaze to Naruto. His small cries cut through her weakness. She whispered to him, voice breaking, "I promised to protect you… but how can I, like this?"
The sound of explosions and screaming rose from the heart of Konoha. Flames clawed into the night sky, alarm bells echoing across the village. Kushina closed her eyes, her heart twisting. "Minato… where are you? You said you'd protect me. Everything we built together, everything you promised… it's all gone." Naruto whimpered in her arms, and she pressed her face into his hair, clinging to his warmth as the last tether keeping her alive.
Far away, amid the chaos, Minato appeared in a flash of light. His sharp eyes scanned the devastation as Kurama, still under Obito's control, tore through the village with murderous fury. In an instant, Minato engaged the masked man. Steel met space, teleportation against warped dimensions. Their clash was swift and brutal, but Minato's resolve did not falter. At last, he broke Obito's control, severing the chains of Sharingan domination over Kurama. Obito retreated into the void, leaving Kurama unbound, roaring as it rampaged freely.
There was no choice left. Minato stood before the monstrous fox, his chakra blazing even as exhaustion began to creep into his limbs. Hands forming seals, he called upon the Shiki Fūjin. The spectral form of the Reaper manifested behind him, its dread presence looming larger than the beast itself. Kurama recoiled, its bellow rattling the earth.
"You Hokage are all the same!" the nine tales roared, its voice a tide of fury. "You have chained me, sealed me, used me like a weapon! You steal my freedom and call it duty. My existence is my torment!"
Minato's gaze hardened, his voice steady despite the weight pressing down on him. "I don't care about your complaints. Your power will protect my son. I will seal your Yin half inside me, and your Yang half inside Naruto. His generation will end this hatred."
The fox's tails lashed in rage as the Reaper's grip tightened, dragging the Yin half of Kurama's essence away. Kurama's scream tore the night as the sealing began. The beast fought with every fiber of its being, but Minato forced the jutsu through, his will unbending. Step by step, the monstrous chakra was ripped apart, half consumed by the Reaper, half prepared for a different fate.
When the final seal tightened, Minato staggered, his face pale, his breath unsteady. He reappeared before Kushina, his body drained, his expression heavy with the truth of what he had done. Kushina's eyes, red-rimmed from tears, narrowed as she held Naruto tighter against her chest.
"Why?" Her voice was sharp, shaking, filled with bitterness. "Everything you promised me—our child, our home, our family, this village—everything and everyone has betrayed me except Naruto. How could you let this happen, Minato? How could you let your family come to harm?"
His lips trembled before sound escaped. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sorry."
She shook her head, strands of red hair sticking to her damp cheeks. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Minato drew closer, his gaze soft but resolute. "We should die together."
Her eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"You're dying, Kushina," he said, voice low, final. "With the Reaper Death Seal cast, my death is certain. Kurama's Yin half will die with me… and the Yang half will be sealed into Naruto. The village will raise him."
Her breath hitched, her voice breaking into a whisper. "So you're dying right now, Minato?"
He nodded, his body already weakening. "Yes. I've bound Kurama's Yin half inside myself. Soon I'll pass on. But I need your strength, your life force, to help me seal the other half into Naruto."
Kushina's arms tightened protectively around her son. Her lips quivered, trembling as though the weight of the world pressed upon them. "And you want me to give the rest of my life for this?"
He met her eyes, unwavering. "Yes."
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