Chương 139: The Night of the Nine-Tails, Part IV

The Sage of the Six Paths was a father of shifting favors. When he cleaved the Ten-Tails into nine distinct entities, he bestowed a unique significance upon Kurama. This distinction wasn't merely a matter of chakra volume—though the Nine-Tails possessed it in spades—but a fundamental difference in essence. The beasts from the One-Tail to the Eight-Tails each manifested specific elemental affinities and diverse abilities akin to advanced Kekkei Genkai. The Nine-Tails, however, stood apart.

Its near-infinite reservoir of chakra was structurally closer to the source itself: a miniature Ten-Tails. This reality was mirrored in the unique "Avatar Mode" its hosts could achieve, a far cry from the conventional transformations of other Jinchuriki. Such overwhelming power made the beast notoriously difficult to bind. While other villages could find suitable candidates with relative ease, the requirements for a Nine-Tails host were excruciatingly narrow.

To date, Konoha had only ever trusted the Uzumaki lineage. The resilience required to house the Fox was so high that any other clan risked a total collapse, potentially resulting in the death of both host and beast. And while a Tailed Beast would eventually reform, the intervening years would leave the village vulnerable—a power vacuum they could ill afford in an age where "Gods of Shinobi" no longer walked the earth.

With the Uzumaki clan scattered to the winds of history, only two candidates remained on the field: the pure-blooded Kushina and the newborn, mixed-blood Naruto. The infant had inherited his father's shock of blonde hair rather than the signature crimson of his mother's kin. Yet, the three elite ninja present could sense it—the boy's cells hummed with a staggering vitality. Despite his appearance, his constitution was pure Uzumaki.

It was a quirk of shinobi genetics; traits often skipped a generation or manifested in ways that defied visual logic. As the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze was cornered by an impossible choice. His wife or his son—one of them had to become the vessel. There was no time for a wider search. The Council of Elders, led by the Third, would never sanction a delay, and Konoha couldn't survive the risk of a botched sealing. Kushina knew the stakes better than anyone.

"Minato," she said, her voice strengthening with resolve, "seal it back inside me." Minato looked at her, his heart heavy. He turned to Zhen.

"Zhen, can we perform a full seal while maintaining your Duality Seal?"

"No," Zhen answered firmly.

"The Duality Seal wasn't designed for a Bijuu. The moment the Nine-Tails enters that space, its turbulent chakra will tear the equilibrium apart. The seal would shatter instantly."

"Then release it," Kushina urged.

"The only reason I need the Duality Seal is because the Fox was pulled out. If you put him back where he belongs, my body will stabilize on its own, won't it?" This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Minato shook his head.

"There is no precedent for a host surviving an extraction and a re-sealing in such quick succession. I won't gamble with your life like that."

"We have to try, Minato! If it fails, we'll find another way."

"It's too dangerous, Kushina. If the re-sealing fails, you'll endure the trauma of extraction twice in one night. Your body is already at its limit. If Zhen's seal breaks and the new one doesn't hold... you'll die. Do you really want to leave Naruto and me alone?" Zhen remained silent, his mind racing through his own meta-knowledge. He recalled a future where a dying Naruto survived a similar ordeal, but that involved a cooperative Fox and the direct intervention of Hagoromo Otsutsuki—the Sage himself.

Here, the variables were different. Kurama wasn't a partner; he was a caged god looking for a throat to rip out. Furthermore, Zhen wasn't sure if the "miracle" of that future was a byproduct of the Yin-Yang balance or divine intervention. As a traveler, he knew the secrets, but he wasn't a deity; he couldn't afford to be wrong when a life was on the line. He couldn't support Kushina's plan. If they failed, the timeline would simply snap back to its original, tragic trajectory.

"Then what?" Kushina's voice trembled.

"Minato, you can't mean to put this burden on Naruto." Minato was silent. The realization struck Kushina like a cold wave.

"Minato... you've seen what my life was like. You know the weight of the Fox. Do you really want our son to grow up in that shadow? To be feared? To be a weapon before he can even crawl?"

"Kushina, look at the world today," Minato explained, his voice tight but resolute.

"The peace we fought for is a glass floor. The man who attacked you tonight—he called himself Madara Uchiha. Whether he lied or not, he represents a level of threat we haven't accounted for. We need the Fox's power. And Naruto... Naruto will need it to survive the storms coming for him."

"But he's just a baby..." Kushina's protest died in her throat. She pulled Naruto closer, shielding him with her body. She knew her husband was right. The world was darker than they had dared to admit, and today was the proof. Even with Zhen's new seal offering her a future, the maternal instinct to spare her child from the life of a Jinchuriki was a physical ache.

"Then let it be me," Minato said suddenly.

"With my current mastery, I should be able to suppress the Fox."

"No, Minato," Kushina countered.

"You don't have the Uzumaki constitution. The Fox's spite will erode your chakra within years. You are the Hokage; the village cannot lose you."

"Time's up," Zhen interjected.

"Seal it in me. My body can handle the strain." Kushina looked at her student. Over the past six months, she had sensed the anomaly in Zhen's biology—a physical presence that rivaled the legendary clans. She had even had Minato check the Dongye family tree, only to find a line of unremarkable civilians. Zhen was simply a freak of nature, a talent born once in a century. Physically, Zhen was the perfect candidate. He was far better suited than Minato.

But Kushina and Minato were cut from the same cloth: they were good people. To cast the shadow of a demon onto their student—the boy they had mentored and grown to love—felt like a betrayal of everything they stood for. They could not be that selfish.

"No," Kushina said, her decision final.

"It will be Naruto. It will be hard, and he will face trials I wouldn't wish on anyone. But the Fox is a power. Minato is right—Naruto will need it. I believe he will grow into a man who can master that hatred." Minato placed a hand on the infant's head.

"I believe in him, too." Zhen didn't push. He knew these two; their nobility was as much a part of them as their breathing. But he wasn't finished.

"If that's the final word," Zhen said, "then let's pull a sleight of hand. Let's create a decoy. Only the three of us are within this barrier. The village saw the Fox, but they didn't see the seal. I have an idea."