"Reaper Death Seal?!"
Kushina's weakened body trembled. She had barely begun to feel relief after Obito was driven back—only to hear that name leave Minato's lips.
"You're going to use the Reaper Death Seal?!"
She didn't even register Minato's calm reasoning. All she knew was that her husband intended to use that forbidden jutsu—the one that demanded the user's own life. Her face paled instantly.
"Mm."
Minato nodded firmly, expression resolute.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Kushina grabbed his arm with both hands, shaking her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Minato, there has to be another way!"
"Use the Eight Trigrams Seal, please! I've already mastered the Adamantine Sealing Chains—with my strength, I can suppress the Nine-Tails!"
"There's no reason for you to use the Reaper Death Seal!"
The Reaper Death Seal—a forbidden sealing art passed down by the Uzumaki clan for generations—was a jutsu that demanded the caster's soul as its price.
According to the clan's records, it allowed one to make a pact with the Shinigami itself—offering one's own soul in exchange for sealing away an enemy's body, chakra, and even their spirit. A jutsu of terrifying power—and a certain death.
Because of that unmatched might, the technique had survived through the ages despite its cost.
After marrying Kushina, Minato had learned all of her sealing arts—this one included.
He had long understood his own shortcomings in sheer destructive power. A genius he might be, but he also knew there might one day come an enemy that Rasengan and Flying Thunder God alone could not defeat.
For that eventuality, he had chosen the Reaper Death Seal—a final, absolute trump card.
And now, he believed the moment to use it had arrived.
"Kushina, please… listen to me calmly."
"This isn't just about sealing the tailed beast. My goal is to make sure you and Naruto will one day have the chance to master its power."
"The Nine-Tails' chakra is too immense to control as a whole. But if I divide it into two halves, the seal will be easier to maintain, and the next jinchuriki will have the chance to harness its strength."
"Someone who can use that power properly will one day surpass me—and become a vital force protecting the village."
"For you, for Naruto, and for the village… my life is a small price to pay."
In just a few short minutes, Minato's decision had already hardened like steel. Kushina's pleas couldn't reach him.
Gentle as he was, when Namikaze Minato made a decision—nothing could sway him.
Kushina's tears wouldn't stop. She could see in his eyes that he had already chosen his fate.
And she knew—nothing she said could change it.
But before Minato could begin the hand signs, Hyuga Satoru suddenly spoke, his voice sharp with scorn.
"Pathetic. How pathetically weak, Fourth Hokage!"
Satoru stood within the Hyuga formation not far away. He had heard every word between Minato and Kushina.
And the more he listened, the more frustrated he became.
All the effort, all the preparation, all the information he had given—was it just to watch Minato throw his life away with that damned Reaper Death Seal?!
No—worse still, the tailed beast wouldn't even die. This would be a one-sided suicide!
He hadn't known Minato for long, but he hadn't expected Konoha's Yellow Flash to be such a soft-hearted, sentimental fool.
"Satoru?"
"When have I ever been weak?"
Minato froze mid-motion, turning at the unexpected accusation.
No one—ever—had called him that.
Not once in all these years. And certainly not when he was preparing to sacrifice himself for the village.
He wasn't arrogant, but he'd never imagined the word weak could apply to him.
"Abandoning your wife and child, choosing death because you can't face an uncertain future—is that bravery?" Satoru shot back without hesitation.
If he didn't slap some sense into this man now, this idiot who had once used Flying Thunder God to block the Nine-Tails' claws would really do it again!
"I'm doing this for—"
"For what?!" Satoru cut him off harshly.
"For yourself, aren't you?! You're doing this because it's easier—for you!"
"I know the Reaper Death Seal. The caster dies."
"But dying isn't bravery."
"It's cowardice. It means you don't trust Kushina-sensei's strength. You don't trust your own."
"I know sealing the Nine-Tails won't be easy. But isn't that exactly why everyone has to fight together?!"
"No seal is flawless. But so what?"
"Do you take the easy road just because it's the simple one?"
"And are you sure that 'easy' road isn't the dead end?"
"Even if you succeed—split the Nine-Tails and seal it—do you really think everything will be solved?"
"If you die, and that masked man attacks Konoha again, who'll stop him?"
"If other villages learn the Yellow Flash is dead, do you think they'll sit quietly?"
"You dying might make you feel at peace—but what about everyone you leave behind? What about their suffering?"
"Fourth Hokage—you're not just weak. You're selfish."
Satoru's words came rapid-fire, his voice rising with fury. He was practically pointing at Minato's nose as he shouted.
Even Hiashi, standing nearby, didn't manage to stop him. But as he thought about it—he found his son's words hard to refute.
In Hiashi's view, the situation hadn't yet reached the point of no return.
"Cloud's sealing techniques are far inferior to those of the Uzumaki."
"Their so-called 'Iron Wall Sealing' can't compare at all."
"Their Eight-Tails jinchuriki had problems for years—but what happened?"
"They still managed to create a perfect jinchuriki."
"If they can do it, why can't we?"
By now, Satoru didn't care about revealing more than he should. With his Hyuga lineage, he could always obscure the source of his information later.
What mattered now was stopping Minato from committing suicide.
And despite himself, Minato couldn't ignore those words.
He was surprised by Satoru's "knowledge," but what truly struck him was the reminder—
That Obito could attack again.
That the other villages might move once Konoha lost its protector.
His family and his village—those were what he cherished above all else.
Konoha's safety, to him, even outweighed his own life.
Minato fell silent, head lowered, mind racing through countless possible futures.
"Minato!"
"You can't leave Naruto without a father!"
"Let's overcome this first. Afterwards, we'll seek help—Jiraiya-sensei, Lord Third—we'll find a way!"
"Please… trust me. I'll suppress the Nine-Tails with all my strength. I won't let it destroy the village!"
Kushina's tearful plea was the final weight that tipped the scales.
Minato's expression softened at last. He knelt beside her, pulling her into his arms.
"Kushina…"
"I'm sorry. It's my fault—for making you and Naruto worry."
"I believe in you. I've always believed in you."
"Don't worry—I'll stay. I'll stay with you… with Naruto."
...
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