"Huff… huff… huff…"
Namikaze Minato panted heavily, his face drenched in sweat as fatigue crept into every fiber of his being.
He suspected the Akimichi clan's emergency combat pill was taking its toll—its stimulant effect fading, leaving his body aching and overexerted.
These side effects wouldn't kill him, but with the sealing not yet complete, they were dangerous.
And unlike in the original Uzumaki sealing rituals, Minato had to take on the entire process himself.
Normally, Kushina—being an Uzumaki—would have sealed Kurama back into herself. But the damage she had sustained after childbirth, and the Nine-Tails being extracted, made that impossible.
Fortunately, thanks to Uchiha Kai and Fugaku restraining the Nine-Tails with their Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo, the beast had been pacified long enough for Minato to act.
He had performed the Shiki Fūjin once already, splitting the Nine-Tails into Yin and Yang halves.
Now, his plan was coming to fruition—Yang Kurama into Naruto, Yin Kurama into himself.
"Even with that suppression… splitting the chakra and sealing it into two people still costs too much chakra."
Minato glanced toward Kushina. Though barely conscious, she clutched her chest, still linked to the sealing altar via her chakra chains, ready to support their son in this final moment.
Fugaku's face was pale, Mangekyō bleeding slightly, while Kai's Susanoo flickered with instability. They were at their limits.
"I have to hurry."
Minato brought his hands together. Time for the second seal.
He focused his gaze on Naruto, still crying on the altar.
"Hang in there, my son."
He formed the sealing hand signs, and then placed his palm on Naruto's belly.
"Eight Trigrams Seal (Hakke no Fūin Shiki)!"
Chakra surged from his palm as a seal spread across Naruto's abdomen in symmetrical black ink patterns. The Yang half of Kurama, howling in defiance, was forcibly compressed into pure chakra and pulled into Naruto's small body.
"Now… for the key."
Still panting, Minato summoned a puff of smoke. A strange-looking, cross-legged toad with a scroll-stomach appeared.
"G-Gerotora," Minato breathed. "Take… the key to this seal. Store it at Mount Myōboku."
The scroll-toad's eyes widened at the devastation.
"Minato! What happened?! That's the Nine-Tails! And… is that the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
Minato shook his head weakly. "No time. I'll explain everything later… just… take the key."
The toad nodded solemnly and absorbed the sealing key into his scroll-body. Then, with a flash, he vanished.
Minato turned back to Naruto and pressed his fingers gently to the baby's cheek.
"Kushina… I'm sorry. I couldn't save you from this fate," he whispered. "But I'll be there for him… even if only in spirit."
With that, he prepared to use the Shiki Fūjin one final time—to seal Kurama's Yin half into himself.
But just before he did—
Elsewhere… within Uchiha Kai's Genjutsu:
"You... what nonsense are you talking about!?"
Uchiha Obito's voice trembled, his face contorted in disbelief.
Uchiha Kai stood silently, arms folded, calm and unbothered.
"Why would I lie to you, Obito?" Kai asked coolly. "What value do you have to me that would make deception necessary?"
Obito staggered back, eyes flickering. He wanted to dismiss it as a trick—but somewhere deep inside, Rin's memory screamed at him.
Kai didn't wait for his emotional guard to recover. With a flick of his Mangekyō, the Genjutsu deepened.
Obito suddenly found himself inside Kai's memories—from Kei confronting him in the forest, to recovering Rin's body, to experiments in a dimly lit laboratory.
And there—he saw it.
Rin… her corpse… being studied.
Aya Hyuga at Kai's side, dissecting chakra flow patterns.
"Rin was forced back to Konoha, Obito. A curse mark from the Mist ensured she would be used as a living bomb."
Kai's voice echoed through the illusion. "She chose to die by Kakashi's hand, not because she gave up—but because she chose the village over herself."
Obito collapsed to his knees.
"I... no... I..."
"You believed she died for no reason. You blamed the world. But she made a choice. And you spat on it."
Silence.
Then Obito whispered, "Kill me. I deserve it."
But Kai stepped forward, expression unreadable.
"No. I'll find out what you're planning. You're not done yet, Obito."
Back in Konoha, Morning
The village was scarred. Rubble and smoke lined the streets. Families cried. Shinobi mourned.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in the Hokage building, grim-faced. His wife had perished. His eyes burned with grief and suspicion.
He had heard the worst: that Uchiha Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō. That he and Uchiha Kai suppressed the Nine-Tails alongside the Fourth.
This was dangerous. Very dangerous.
And then—Kakashi appeared before him, donning an ANBU mask.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi bowed. "Please wait. The Fourth Hokage is inside. He said no one may enter."
"Even me?"
"Yes, Lord Third."
"Who is he speaking with?"
"Only one person." Kakashi's voice was calm. "The Minister of Security—Uchiha Kai."
Inside the Office
"Kai-kun… is what you said true?"
Minato leaned weakly on his desk, face pale.
"Yes," Uchiha Kai replied calmly. "And I've said it several times now. You need rest. The Nine-Tails' Yin chakra inside you is not gentle."
Minato looked unsure. "But the village…"
"Leave it to the Security and Administrative Departments. Shikaku Nara is already managing logistics. I've ordered medical relief teams. We have everything in place."
Minato looked down at his hands, trembling slightly.
"We survived… somehow."
Kai nodded.
"More than survived. We turned the tide. The Uchiha clan stood side by side with the Hokage. And that will not be forgotten."
"And Obito?" Minato asked quietly.
"I left a Genjutsu on him," Kai said. "He'll feed us information—slowly. But enough. He was taken by someone else… someone we'll need to track. An organization obsessed with the tailed beasts."
Minato stood up shakily.
"I'll rest. But I'll be back."
Kai smirked. "Good. I'll inform Kushina. She'd kill you if you collapsed now."
Later, Outside
Uchiha Kai walked through the rebuilding village.
Civilians wept, but they worked. Children cried, but they were carried on strong backs.
Unlike the war zones he had seen—lifeless, hopeless—Konoha still had light.
Hope.
And so he walked, not as an avenger, not as an Uchiha haunted by the past.
But as a shinobi who had helped forge a future.
One where the story would be different.