Choice
To prevent Naruto from becoming the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Miyuki Uzumaki made a desperate decision. She resolved to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal herself, intending to seal the entire Nine-Tails into her own body.
Minato Namikaze, shocked, tried to stop her. "You can't—your body won't withstand it!"
Miyuki's eyes were resolute.
"I have to, even if I can't. I will seal all of the Nine-Tails into myself before I die, and at least buy you time to find another candidate. But Minato—" her voice cracked, "don't let it be Naruto.
You have your Ninja Way. I thought I had none, but after Naruto was born, I realized I do. Naruto is my Ninja Way. I am his mother—and my way is to protect him! I don't want him burdened with this. I just want him to grow up happy and carefree."
Minato's heart clenched. He was Hokage, carrying the weight of Konoha, but in that moment, he felt unworthy of Naruto and of Miyuki.
From the sidelines, Chi Yu pressed his forehead, feeling a headache build. He hadn't expected the night to take this turn. Originally, it should have been Minato who performed the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Yet now, Miyuki had stepped forward, driven by a mother's resolve.
Chi Yu understood her. Unlike Kushina, who was raised in Konoha, Miyuki had no attachment to the village. She despised it, and she could not accept Minato's choice to sacrifice their child for Konoha's sake.
"Seriously…" Chi Yu muttered. "No other way? A promise is a promise."
He flickered forward with the Body Flicker Technique and appeared outside the barrier surrounding the battlefield.
"Eye Technique—Myriad Rejections!"
His left Mangekyō Sharingan flared, unraveling the barrier. In the instant Miyuki began weaving hand seals for the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Chi Yu grabbed her wrist, his chakra disrupting hers. The summoning of the Shinigami collapsed.
Miyuki's chains shattered, the Nine-Tails roared free, and Minato's own sealing jutsu faltered. Miyuki crumpled, nearly unconscious, drained by the abrupt backlash.
Outside, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other shinobi felt the Nine-Tails' chakra surge again. Their relief turned to tension as Chi Yu's presence became unmistakable.
But before they could intervene, Chi Yu split into four clones, who took up cardinal positions. Together they formed the Four Violet Flames Formation. A rectangular barrier of purple fire rose up, blazing, then darkened to opaque, cutting off Hiruzen's line of sight.
One ANBU tested the wall and was instantly scorched. Only a quick Water Release saved him from severe burns.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "He intends to deal with the Nine-Tails alone, together with Minato and the others?"
Inside, Minato lit up at Chi Yu's arrival. "Chi Yu! Quickly, suppress the Nine-Tails—we can't let it break free and destroy Konoha!"
But Chi Yu's gaze was cold. "Your wife is giving up her life for her child, and all you think about is the village. Not a single word of concern for her? Minato Namikaze—you're a scoundrel."
The Hokage froze. His eyes fell on Miyuki, slumped and clutching Naruto protectively, tears spilling down her cheeks.
The Nine-Tails, blinded by rage, lunged with a massive claw at Chi Yu.
In response, Chi Yu's body transformed—horns sprouting, scales spreading, green senjutsu chakra radiating from him. Sage Mode.
He slammed his hands into the ground.
"Sage Art—Inorganic Reanimation!"
The earth itself surged alive, rocks wrapping around the Nine-Tails, binding its limbs and muffling its roars.
"A beast is a beast—so easily blinded by anger."
Chi Yu blurred with the Body Flicker, appearing above the Nine-Tails, and struck down with monstrous force. Empowered by Sage Chakra, his punch cracked the ground and smashed the fox's head into the dirt.
Minato's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Chi Yu to master Sage Mode. Minato himself had trained at Mount Myōboku but rarely relied on Sage Art chakra—it took too long to gather, and his fighting style demanded speed.
The Nine-Tails struggled, chakra swirling into a Tailed Beast Ball—only for Chi Yu's Mangekyō genjutsu to seize its mind. The fox froze, trapped in illusion.
Chi Yu landed beside Minato and Miyuki, his gaze falling on Naruto.
"This is it," Chi Yu said flatly. "Someone here must become the Nine-Tails' vessel. Miyuki, Minato, or Naruto.
But listen closely, Hokage. Miyuki's life force is critically drained from having the Nine-Tails extracted and from overusing the sealing chains. She can hold only half the beast at best.
Naruto has just been born—an infant can only withstand half as well.
And you, Minato—you won't survive sealing it all. So… decide. How will you divide the Nine-Tails?"
The Fourth Hokage froze, caught between duty and love.
Chi Yu's eyes mocked him. If it were him and Kushina, Chi Yu would bear the burden together with her. But Minato was different. Minato's loyalty was to Konoha first.
Finally, Minato spoke the words Chi Yu expected.
"Miyuki… and Naruto. I believe in Jiraiya-sensei's prophecy. Naruto will be the Child of Prophecy, the one to save the shinobi world."
Miyuki's eyes went cold and empty, staring at Minato with a gaze devoid of life. She clutched Naruto tighter, unwilling to let him go.
Guilt tore at Minato, but still he stepped forward. He reached for Naruto. When Miyuki resisted, he forcibly used a binding jutsu to restrain her trembling arms—and pulled his son from her grasp.
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