A streak of chakra flickered in the night—Minato's hands moved in rapid succession as he neared the final seal of the Shiki Fūjin.
The grim silhouette of the Reaper had already begun to manifest behind him. The ritual was nearly complete.
But then—
Whump.
A burst of silent distortion rippled through the air.
Three figures appeared out of nowhere, stepping into the sealed space around Minato as if the barrier meant nothing.
The Fourth Hokage froze mid-seal.
His instincts screamed danger.
With barely a flicker of chakra, Minato vanished.
He reappeared beside Kushina, still holding baby Naruto tightly. His guard was up, golden hair glowing faintly in the moonlight, every muscle ready for battle.
His voice was sharp and commanding.
"Who are you?!"
He scanned them quickly. Three unfamiliar figures—none of them carried a visible headband, but two of them... looked strangely familiar.
And impossibly so.
His eyes locked onto the man standing tall in the center.
The long black hair. The armor. The presence.
Senju Hashirama.
Behind him—another unmistakable face. Stern, white-haired, with the intense eyes of a seasoned warrior.
Senju Tobirama.
Their likenesses were carved into the Hokage Rock. Statues. Legends. Dead men.
Minato blinked, stunned.
"No way…"
He muttered it out loud before he could stop himself.
Tobirama, as proud as ever, clicked his tongue. "Took you long enough. I'm carved into a damn mountain, and you still couldn't recognize me right away?"
Hashirama chuckled, unconcerned. "It's fine, Tobirama. We've been dead for decades. He probably thought we were hallucinations."
"I almost did," Minato admitted, eyes narrowing again. "So you're… really the First and Second Hokage?"
"Yes, we are," Hashirama said with a smile. "And this one—" he gestured toward the young man in a white shirt and casual jeans standing between them, "—is the one who brought us here."
Minato turned toward Kai, his eyes sharpening.
He didn't recognize him at all. But something about the man radiated calm authority. And those Rinnegan eyes…
Not fake.
Not genjutsu.
Real.
"…Who are you?"
"No one dangerous," Kai replied simply. "I'm just here to make sure you don't kill yourself unnecessarily."
Minato blinked. "What?"
"You were about to finish the Reaper Death Seal," Kai said plainly, nodding toward the ghostly shadow that was now beginning to fade behind Minato's back.
"You were going to die to seal half of the Nine-Tails inside yourself, then put the other half into Naruto, all to delay its resurrection and weaken its power."
Minato hesitated. "That was the plan. It's the only way to protect Konoha. And Kushina—she can't survive without the Nine-Tails."
"Wrong," Kai said.
Everyone turned to him.
Tobirama looked skeptical. "Wait. You're saying the Jinchūriki doesn't have to die if the Nine-Tails is resealed into them?"
"Correct."
Minato's brows furrowed. "But no one's ever survived that... Not any Jinchūriki I've heard of."
"Because no one has ever had the chance," Kai said. "But Uzumaki are different. Kushina's vitality is exceptional. As long as you reseal the Nine-Tails in time, she'll live."
"…You're sure?"
Kai simply looked at him with that calm, unwavering stare. "Yes."
Tobirama muttered, "That's technically... plausible. I mean, she's not dead yet."
Hashirama stepped forward, looking at Minato and Kushina both.
"If there's even a chance she can live... why throw your life away?"
Minato looked between them. He was torn—this wasn't how things were supposed to go.
He'd made peace with dying.
Kushina had made peace with dying.
And now these three were saying it was unnecessary?
Kushina stirred weakly on the ground. "Minato…"
He dropped to his knees beside her.
"You don't have to die," she whispered. "Please, don't leave Naruto alone…"
Her voice was shaking now. She wasn't afraid of dying.
But she was afraid of leaving Naruto without a father.
Minato took a deep breath.
And stood.
"Alright. Let's do it."
Hashirama didn't need a second invitation.
Clapping his hands together, he entered Sage Mode in an instant.
"Wood Release: True Binding Palm!"
Massive vines surged up from the earth, followed by two enormous wooden hands that clamped down around the weakened Nine-Tails.
The beast roared in rage, thrashing wildly—but then it caught sight of Hashirama.
The beast went still.
Its red eyes widened.
"…You."
Even the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the tailed beasts, knew better than to pick a fight with the God of Shinobi.
Hashirama smiled kindly. "Long time no see, Kurama."
The Nine-Tails twitched.
It struggled once more—just to save face.
But the vines held. The chakra-suppressing hands held.
It had no choice but to submit.
Hashirama made one final seal.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!"
Three enormous red torii gates dropped from the sky and pinned the Nine-Tails in place, its chakra sealed almost completely.
Kushina looked up at the sight with wide eyes.
"Did... did he just pin down the Nine-Tails without breaking a sweat?"
Minato swallowed hard. "Y-yeah. That's the First Hokage for you."
Hashirama turned toward them. "Minato, prepare the seal."
Minato immediately summoned the sealing altar and laid Kushina on it gently. Then he began drawing the Eight Trigrams Seal with precise, practiced hand movements.
He glanced at her.
"Are you ready?"
"I've always been ready," she whispered.
Not far away, Tobirama watched the process in silence.
He was stunned—not by the sealing itself, but by what it meant.
"So you're saying… all this time, we could have just sealed the tailed beast back into the Jinchūriki?"
Kai nodded. "As long as they're strong enough to endure it. That's the real limit."
Tobirama folded his arms, jaw tight. "I can't believe we never considered it. All the lives we thought were forfeit…"
Hashirama clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"You did your best with the knowledge you had."
"But still... we could've saved so many."
"And now, maybe you will," Kai said.
Back at the altar, the sealing began.
Minato placed his palm on Kushina's abdomen.
The Nine-Tails' chakra, compressed into a dense orb, hovered between his hands, glowing and volatile.
"Eight Trigrams Seal: Binding Formation!"
The chakra surged into Kushina's body.
Her form tensed—she cried out once, sharp and loud—and then went still.
Seconds passed.
Minato held his breath.
And then—
"…Minato?"
Her voice was weak.
But she was alive.
Minato's legs gave out. He dropped to his knees and pulled her into an embrace, tears spilling freely.
"You're okay... You're okay…"
Kushina smiled faintly. "I thought you were going to do something stupid again."
He laughed through the tears. "I almost did."
Naruto gurgled nearby, reaching a tiny hand toward his mother's hair.
Hashirama turned to Kai.
"Well done."
Kai just shook his head. "I didn't do anything. They did."
Later that night, the danger passed, and the Nine-Tails once again sealed.
Minato stood beside the newly reinforced barrier, watching over the village that still smoldered with ash and broken stone.
Kushina rested inside, Naruto in her arms.
Hashirama approached him quietly.
"You're a good Hokage."
Minato smiled sadly. "Thank you."
Tobirama gave a single nod of approval. "And a better user of Flying Thunder God than I ever was."
Minato blinked, shocked. "I—I learned it from your notes."
"Yeah," Tobirama said. "But you perfected it."
Kai finally spoke. "This was one future... But now, it's changed."
Minato looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see," Kai said. "But first... rest."