"Okay, I'm about to begin." Sasuke took out a sealing scroll and unfurled it, revealing Kushina Uzumaki's preserved skeletal remains.
Naruto fell silent at the sight of the skeleton, a nervous anticipation welling in his chest.
Even though he could communicate with his mother's chakra imprint, seeing others reunited with their mothers in the flesh made him quietly envious.
After unsealing the remains, Sasuke began channeling chakra into the specially marked kunai given to him by Minato. In less than a second, Minato Namikaze appeared via the Flying Thunder God Technique.
His eyes landed on Kushina's skeleton lying peacefully on a prepared bed, and for a moment, he stood frozen. Tears slid down his cheeks without a word.
Minato reached out and gently brushed Kushina's face. To his surprise, the remains weren't cold—they radiated a lifelike warmth.
"What should I do next?" Minato asked, turning to Sasuke with unwavering resolve.
He might've hesitated at first, but seeing Kushina like this, his heart had no doubts. He only wanted her to open her eyes again.
"Come with me to see Aunt Kushina. Once everything is in position, I'll signal for you to release the Eight Trigrams Seal," Sasuke said calmly.
Minato nodded without hesitation. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, entering the seal space where Kushina's chakra resided. Sasuke followed, and Naruto instinctively phased into the mental dimension as well.
Kushina was already waiting. As soon as she saw them, she stepped forward, bowing deeply to Sasuke.
"Thank you… I know no words of gratitude can match the depth of what you're doing, but if this really works, we'll owe you a debt we can never repay," she said, voice trembling with emotion.
Tears dropped to the floor of the seal space. Beside her, Minato and Naruto were already choking up.
"I feel the same," Minato added, wiping his eyes. "If Kushina really returns to life… our family will forever be in your debt. Ask us anything in the future—we'll do whatever it takes."
"You're putting a lot of pressure on me," Sasuke said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
"But don't worry. This method is solid. Even if it fails, there won't be any worsening consequences. I can guarantee that much," Sasuke reassured them.
"Alright, let's begin."
With that, Sasuke materialized a cord of blue spirit particles—reishi—woven tightly like a lifeline. He passed one end of it to Kushina.
"Aunt Kushina, no matter what happens, hold on to this rope. It's your tether to the world of the living," he instructed solemnly.
Kushina nodded firmly, gripping the spiritual cord.
Then Sasuke turned to Minato. "You can return now and begin unlocking the Eight Trigrams Seal."
Minato nodded and disappeared in a flash of yellow light. Sasuke's projection faded too, leaving Kushina and Naruto behind.
Outside, Minato formed a series of intricate hand seals and released the Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto's abdomen. Kushina's soul, glowing a soft red-orange, began to rise—still clutching the rope of spirit particles.
Sasuke immediately stabilized the rope with his own reishi flow, ensuring Kushina's soul wouldn't drift or disperse.
Then, carefully, he began releasing a controlled stream of his spiritual pressure—not from chakra, but from the refined spiritual energy he'd inherited after merging with his Zanpakutō. The pressure gently pushed Kushina's soul toward the prepared skeleton.
Too much reiryoku, and her soul might scatter. Too little, and it wouldn't take root.
Minato stood by tensely, eyes fixed on the glowing wisp of his wife's soul slowly approaching her restored body.
If anything went wrong, he was ready to reseal her within Naruto instantly. That assurance was why he'd dared agree in the first place—at worst, nothing would change.
Fortunately, the process proved smoother than expected. In under a minute, Kushina's soul slipped seamlessly into the body crafted for her.
Though Minato longed to speak, he remained silent, afraid of breaking Sasuke's concentration.
Sasuke noticed his tightly clenched fists and could barely keep from laughing.
"It's done," Sasuke finally said. The entire procedure had taken about three minutes—delicate, yes, but not complicated for someone like Sasuke, who had mastered both the subtleties of high-level Kido and advanced chakra control.
"When will Kushina wake up?" Minato asked, barely able to restrain himself.
Before Sasuke could reply, the woman on the bed stirred.
"…Minato… Naruto…" Kushina whispered hoarsely, opening her eyes.
Tears spilled freely as she slowly sat up, gazing at her husband and son with trembling hands.
Minato rushed to support her. Naruto hesitated, half-stepping forward, afraid of hurting her with his strength.
"She's much sturdier than before," Sasuke assured them, smiling faintly.
Using Hashirama's cells and Kushina's own DNA, the synthetic skeletal structure was actually stronger than her original body. Though she couldn't use Wood Release, her Uzumaki vitality and chakra chains—Chatonra—should remain intact.
Naruto couldn't resist anymore. He rushed forward and gently embraced her.
Kushina returned the hug, sobbing into his shoulder—just like she had the day he was born.
Minato's eyes welled up again, overwhelmed by the moment.
Sasuke stood in silence, moved by the reunion.
But beneath the warmth in his chest, there was a gnawing discomfort—guilt toward Sasuke.
Though he had always told himself he was changing the fate of the Uchiha, the truth remained—he had taken Sasuke's body while the latter was still an infant.
He kept telling himself they were one and the same, that their souls had merged long ago. He was Sasuke. Sasuke was him.
And perhaps, in his decisions and habits, he'd even begun to act like Sasuke would.
But whenever he entered his Zanpakutō's inner world, the image that appeared was always his original self. Never Sasuke's.
He had always avoided thinking about it—had rationalized it away.
Even now, he reassured himself: "Everything I've done was for his sake. If I hadn't intervened, Sasuke would never have changed anything."
But… was that really true? Was he truly Sasuke? If not—if Sasuke still existed apart from him—then did he deserve a reunion like this?
Or was he merely pretending?
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