The man endured the searing pain of the flames and tried to activate Kamui to escape once more—
only to discover that his chakra had been completely locked down.
The chakra that had once flowed smoothly through his pathways now lay stagnant, like dead water.
"Reaper Death Seal!"
Kyusei roared, gripping the man's shoulders with everything he had left.
A transparent, claw-like hand burst straight through Kyusei's abdomen and seized the man's soul!
"W–What is this?!"
The man stared in disbelief at the towering Shinigami phantom looming behind Kyusei.
"Come to hell with me."
Kyusei's eyes were filled with naked killing intent.
As his soul was forcibly torn from his body bit by bit, the man instantly understood—
once it was fully extracted, death was inevitable.
But his chakra was sealed tight. No matter how he struggled, it was useless.
And worse still—
Namikaze Kaoru stood nearby, watching like a hawk.
There was no way forward.
No path back.
A true dead end.
"Seal!"
The moment the man's soul was completely torn free, Kyusei decisively commanded the Shinigami to strike.
One clean slash—
The connection between body and soul was severed forever.
The man's spirit vanished into the Shinigami's grasp.
Kyusei released his hold and collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.
The lifeless body before him crashed to the ground like a collapsing mountain.
His face had gone deathly pale.
"…Kaoru… Kaoru…"
At the edge of death, Kyusei called out his wife's name.
"I'm here. I'm here."
Kaoru rushed forward, catching him as he fell and cradling him in her arms.
At some point, the golden-haired woman could no longer suppress her grief. Tears streamed freely down her face, large droplets splashing onto Kyusei's cheeks.
Kyusei gathered the last remnants of his chakra into a tiny black sphere and pressed it into Kaoru's palm.
"This… is my final chakra."
"Give it to our child."
"I'm sorry… in the very end… I couldn't even leave time for you…"
He looked at her with deep apology as darkness swallowed his vision. His body could no longer withstand the cascade of damage.
All he could feel—
were Kaoru's cold tears falling onto his face.
—First Parallel World—
Kyusei felt dazed.
Watching that final scene, seeing Kaoru break down in tears, a deep ache welled up in his chest.
"…Kaoru."
Standing beside her now, Kyusei unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand.
Kaoru looked at the boy with the same heart-wrenching tenderness. Kyusei had burned his life away for her.
The thought that this boy might one day leave her, separated forever by life and death, filled her with fear.
Silence hung heavy—until a voice broke it.
"Then… what about Mom?"
Naruko asked softly, looking at the adult Kyusei.
"Hmph. That woman used the Reaper Death Seal too—dragged me into the Shinigami's belly along with you."
"And she split me into Yin and Yang halves."
The Nine-Tails spoke with clear resentment.
In truth, Kaoru had already been at her limit.
Fresh from childbirth, she had forced herself into battle. That relentless sequence of Flying Thunder God maneuvers against the scarred man had drained her completely.
Then Kyusei died.
Grief extinguished her will to live.
Chakra was the union of physical and spiritual energy—
her body was failing, and her heart no longer wished to survive.
So she used the Reaper Death Seal, split the Nine-Tails in two, sealed the Yang Nine-Tails into Naruko with an Eight Trigrams Seal—
and followed her husband into death with the Yin Nine-Tails.
That was why the Nine-Tails had completely lost it.
The Sharingan's control had already been broken with the enemy's death—
yet that insane woman still sliced him in half.
Which was why he never cooperated with Naruko.
Sometimes, he even deliberately caused trouble.
Kyusei clenched Kaoru's hand tightly, his expression dark and unreadable.
The enemy had wielded Yin–Yang Release.
He had even been able to summon the Nine-Tails.
That meant—
There was almost no doubt.
Uchiha Madara.
And if it was Madara—
Then there was no way the man didn't possess that technique.
Izanagi.
The forbidden jutsu that rewrites unfavorable reality into illusion.
One eye was Obito's Kamui.
The other was a standard three-tomoe Sharingan.
That eye alone would have been enough to activate Izanagi and escape death.
Just like Madara himself had done against Hashirama.
Just like how he had somehow survived even after being examined by Tobirama.
Absurd.
Completely absurd.
"What's wrong?"
"Scared?"
The adult Kyusei raised an eyebrow at him provocatively.
"Hah. Who do you think I am?"
"Now that I know an enemy like that exists, why would I fear him?"
"And you—getting your Nine-Tails ripped out in a single move?"
"Embarrassing."
Kyusei shot back mercilessly.
"You little—!"
A vein popped on the adult Kyusei's forehead. He looked like he wanted to argue, but in the end, he only sighed.
He glanced at his younger self, then at Kaoru.
"…Fine."
"Just protect Kaoru properly this time."
"Don't let her suffer."
Kyusei met his gaze without hesitation.
"Of course."
"I'm not you."
"I'm one of a kind."
"I won't walk the same road."
His words carried a double meaning.
He wasn't the same man.
He had advantages no one else did.
He had met forty-year-old Uzumaki Kushina—the strongest counterpart yet.
Four Symbols Seal.
Reaper Death Seal variants.
Self-Curse Binding Seal.
She had handed him a mountain of sealing techniques—each meticulously annotated.
Most importantly—
Kushina had developed an extension of Adamantine Sealing Chains, a technique resembling Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki's Wave God.
Kinshiki had nearly fought adult Sasuke to a standstill.
…Alright, maybe still a bit weaker.
"If you're that confident," the adult Kyusei said with a wry smile, "then I'll believe in you."
He turned to his daughter.
"Naruko… I'm sorry. I need to conserve my chakra."
"We'll meet again."
He gently stroked her golden hair.
Naruko silently watched her father dissolve into countless motes of light.
One thought echoed in her mind—
Mom and Dad were true love…
But why does it feel like I was picked up off the street?
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