Forget it. Whatever choice Minato makes inside that barrier, no one outside can change it.
I might as well use this chance to study the so-called Shinigami....Can I pierce the barrier?
Soul Perception.
Gen activated his Spiritual Transformation technique, probing toward the entity within the Uzumaki seal. The barrier shut him out completely. As expected, this was the pinnacle of Uzumaki fūinjutsu. Even soul perception couldn't reach through.
Still… Gen's instincts told him the 'god of death' wasn't truly divine. If it were a genuine deity, equal to those of legend, how could Orochimaru have found ways to manipulate it decades later?
This was no omnipotent god. It felt mechanical, bound to a program. Powerful, yes—but limited.
Inside the barrier, Minato spoke softly with Kushina, her tears staining the air between them. Then he moved.
The Shinigami's arm plunged through Minato's soul, then his stomach, unraveling into a pale-violet tendril etched with runes. It snaked forward, latching onto the Kyuubi's body, and tore free half of its chakra and soul with ruthless efficiency.
Clean. Precise. Far sharper than when Hiruzen had once used the same jutsu. Minato's mastery of sealing and his youth made the difference.
The tendril curled back, embedding that stolen half into Kushina's body.
Gen allowed himself a thin smile. As he hoped, Minato refused to let Kushina die.
Fate had shifted, if only slightly. Minato would perish, but Kushina would endure. His efforts had not been wasted.
The Kyuubi, diminished and weakened, shrank to three-quarters of its size. But instead of submitting, it lashed out. With a roar, its claw arced toward Minato, Kushina, and the infant Naruto, seeking to crush them before the seal could close.
If it could kill them, it might yet escape, regain the lost half of its soul, and return to full strength.
The claw descended with unstoppable speed. Minato was too drained to shield them. The barrier prevented outside aid. For a heartbeat, it seemed inevitable.
But Kushina, reinvigorated by half the beast sealed within her, tightened her golden chains. With a thunderous snap, they yanked the Kyuubi backward. Its massive claw slammed into the ground, shattering stone, but the family remained untouched.
Another chain lashed through the air, binding the beast's arm.
"Damn you, Minato! Damn you, Kushina!" the fox snarled.
The couple ignored it. Together, they sealed the other half of the Nine-Tails into Naruto's body, Kushina as the public Jinchūriki, Naruto as the hidden one.
If one vessel fell, hope would not.
And with Kushina alive, Minato believed Naruto could be taught to master the fox's power.
When the sealing ended, the Shinigami claimed its due. Minato's soul was torn free, devoured, and the god vanished into the void.
As his consciousness unraveled, Minato's last thought was of the mysterious scroll he'd received the night before.
I don't know who you are… but thank you. You gave me the chance to save Kushina. To leave without regret.
His eyes closed. His body slumped forward.
Kushina caught him, sobbing as she cradled his still-warm form. Naruto slept peacefully beside them, untouched by the chaos around him.
When the barrier dissolved, the shinobi surged inside.
They froze at the sight; the Fourth Hokage lifeless, Kushina clutching him, the infant silent.
Fugaku's face twisted in grief. His tears were not only for Minato himself, but for the uncertain path that awaited the Uchiha now that their Hokage-ally was gone.
Shisui wept openly, mourning his teacher without calculation.
Even Hiruzen's weathered face faltered, though he quickly masked it, lifting the sleeping Naruto into his arms.
The village would survive. But the cost was bitter.
Back in Konoha, the night was spent tending to the wounded and the homeless.
Shinobi collapsed from exhaustion, civilians were sheltered, rubble cleared.
Gen endured the night without rest. He thought of pretending to collapse, but even he wasn't shameless enough to fake it before Konoha's medics.
By dawn, he returned to the Uchiha compound. Their district lay in ruins—three-quarters destroyed by the Kyuubi's rampage. The survivors staggered home to what little remained.
But Gen's own house, built apart from the main blocks, stood almost intact. Relief flickered through him. Repairs could wait. For now, survival was enough.
He washed, collapsed into bed, and slept through the day. The cries of his clan, the sounds of ruin being cleared, did not wake him. His people obeyed orders and left him undisturbed.
When he finally rose, it was night again. Hunger drove him to the kitchen. He cooked a meal worthy of reward, four meats and a rich broth. then settled with the stolen scroll his shadow clone had copied.
The first jutsu written upon it: the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The page was dense, runes packed tightly in intricate spirals.
Gen's Sharingan spun, hungry to consume every detail.