Moments before the village came under attack, Minato teleported to a safe house at the edge of Konoha with his newborn twins.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
Naruto was screaming, voice hoarse with panic—traumatized from two sudden Flying Thunder God jumps. His tiny fists clenched, his face red and scrunched.
Next to him, the red-haired baby was the complete opposite. He sat silently, unmoving, his wide, empty eyes staring into space. Still as stone on a riverbed.
They couldn't have been more different. If the situation weren't so dire, Minato might've smiled.
But there was no time for amusement.
He gently laid them side by side on the bed and quickly began preparing—securing his gear, retrieving kunai, adjusting the Hokage cloak. He needed to return. Kushina, the village, everything was at stake.
He expected Naruto to keep crying—maybe even start again as he left.
But just as he tightened his cloak, the crying stopped.
Alarmed, Minato rushed back to check on them—and paused.
Menma, the red-haired twin, was holding Naruto's hand. And somehow, Naruto had quieted.
Still staring blankly into nothing, Menma's tiny hand curled gently around his brother's.
Minato's chest tightened.
Even now... they were already connected.
"Naruto... Menma... rest for a while," he whispered. "I'll go save your mother. Then we'll all be together again."
He leaned in, kissed both their foreheads, and marked their wrists with Flying Thunder God seals. After one last glance at the two small lives he cherished more than anything, he vanished in a flash of golden light.
---
Back in the cave—seconds earlier...
After Minato teleported away, Kushina was left behind.
Alone. Weak. But still standing.
Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself in front of Lady Biwako, who was holding Menma tightly.
Then the masked man moved.
Without hesitation, he strode forward—and passed straight through Kushina like mist.
"Wha—?!"
The sensation made her stomach turn. She twisted to strike, but it was too late.
He was already at Biwako.
"No!!"
With surgical precision, the masked man stabbed her. She gasped, staggering back—yet even as she fell, she didn't release Menma, her arms shielding him until the last moment.
"Menma!!"
Kushina's fury exploded. She threw a punch with everything she had, her pain fueling her strength.
It passed through him.
Empty air.
"You—!"
She barely had time to react before he appeared behind her. His arms wrapped around her torso—cold, firm.
"Got you."
Then the world twisted.
Space distorted. The air folded inward.
Teleportation.
---
They reappeared in a dark forest clearing—distant and cold. Kushina staggered, disoriented—but not for long.
She turned and struck.
BAM!
Her fist landed square in his chest, sending him flying through trees. He hit the ground with a thud, cloak flaring, but rose quickly.
Kushina dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. Her body screamed in protest, every inch of it still torn from labor—but she didn't stop.
She couldn't.
Not when Menma was still behind. Alone.
The masked man stood from the dust.
"Impressive," he said calmly, brushing himself off.
"To think you still have this much strength after giving birth to twins... but it doesn't matter. You're going to die here."
He began forming hand seals, fast and practiced.
Kushina, realizing the danger, moved to interrupt—but her vision blurred. A ripple in reality hit her eyes.
Sharingan.
An illusion gripped her mind like a chain. She fought it—fiercely. She was a jinchūriki. She was Uzumaki.
And she broke it.
But it was already too late.
She was suspended mid-air, trapped in a network of glowing red seals.
And she recognized them.
All of them.
Her stomach twisted.
"Who are you?!" she demanded.
"What do you want with the Nine Tails?! You can't control him! You can't even seal him! And how—how do you know today was the day I'd give birth?! How do you know the seal's weakness?!"
Each question sharpened with terror and truth.
But the masked man said nothing.
He simply finished the last hand seal, and coldly muttered:
"I don't need control. I don't need power."
His eyes glinted.
"All I need is destruction. Chaos. Grief. I want this village to burn."
Then he extended his hand.
"Unseal."
---
The seal on her stomach turned pitch black.
Chakra began to pour out, thick and slow—like oil in water. Dense, living, terrifying.
It swelled, faster and faster, until it burst into a massive sphere, then took shape.
A head.
Limbs.
Tails—nine of them.
The Nine Tails stood free.
The air vibrated around it. Even the chakra in the atmosphere seemed to bow.
It stretched its massive form, limbs crackling, tails twisting—then roared into the sky, announcing its freedom with thunder.
Then, it looked down.
At her.
She had imprisoned him. Shamed him.
And yet, even with all that resentment, there was something else—something bitter and old. A bond. Twisted, but real.
He didn't want to kill her.
But freedom was more important.
He turned, preparing to flee—
Then he saw them.
The eyes.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
Those cursed eyes. Descendants of Indra. The roots of his torment since the days of the Sage of Six Paths.
He snarled.
He would crush him—destroy the man who dared to control him.
But a single glance was enough.
The genjutsu took hold.
The Nine Tails froze—his will stolen.
The masked man walked forward, now guiding the beast like a puppet.
He looked up at Kushina, still barely alive.
"Even after losing your tailed beast... you're still alive. Impressive."
He gestured.
"Then let it be the one to end your pain."
The beast raised a claw.
It came down.
But before it landed—a golden flash lit the air.
Minato.
He teleported in, grabbing Kushina just in time. The claw struck empty ground.
---
High in the trees, Minato held Kushina close as she gasped in relief.
"Minato…"
"I'm here."
He brushed back her damp red hair.
"You're safe now. Rest."
She grabbed his sleeve weakly.
"He's… going to attack the village…"
"I know."
His voice was calm, but his gaze burned with cold fury.
Far below, the masked man scoffed.
"So the Fourth Hokage finally shows up. Too late, though. You can't change anything!"
Minato's expression didn't change.
"We'll see."
In the next second, he vanished.
"Hah! Choosing her over the village?! You do have a heart after all."
The masked man turned toward the beast.
"Come. Let's bring hell to this maggot nest, Nine Tails!"
In a blur, both man and beast disappeared into the darkness.
---
Minato reappeared at the safe house.
He gently laid Kushina beside their sleeping sons and poured her a warm cup of medicinal solution, helping her drink it slowly.
She grimaced but drank.
Then she looked up at him.
"Minato... you should've fought him. You had the chance."
He didn't hesitate.
"And leave you behind? Knowing you were still in danger?"
Her lips trembled.
"But... you're the Hokage."
"And I'm also your husband. And their father."
They looked at the twins—still fast asleep, still holding hands.
Minato smiled softly.
"I can save you, Kushina. I'll seal the Nine Tails again. The four of us will be together. Just believe in me. One more time."
She met his gaze—and saw the same eyes that had always held their future.
And she believed.
"Okay," she whispered. "I believe in you."
She inhaled, then grit her teeth.
"Give me the black medicine."
Minato blinked—then grinned.
"There's my Kushina."
He grabbed the medicine, but as he did, his gaze shifted to Menma.
He smirked.
"Hey... since we named one Naruto, how about we name this one Hatsuka Daikon? Red Radish! Big, red, juicy—"
Kushina rolled her eyes.
"Dream on. His name is Menma. Got it? M-E-N-M-A."
"Yes, ma'am! It's a great name. Looks like you, named by me—perfect combo."
He raised his hands in mock surrender as he turned to the Flying Thunder God kunai.
It was time to fight.
Menma, meanwhile, was frowning in his sleep, clearly irritated by Naruto—who was now nibbling on his fingers again.
Kushina let out a tired breath, heart full.
She would recover. She had to.
She wanted to see them grow.
A breeze blew past her, brushing her temple.
Minato was gone.
Gone to keep his promise.
---