10 10. The end and beginning
The Battlefield of a village is finally settling down. Near the Hokage's manor the sealing corps follow Toph to seal the ones she immobilizes. Toph gives a private assignment to one of her followers (as a noble she has a few), they began sealing all the of hollow's unique reishi they left behind.
Yami and the Ino-Shika-Cho team lead the forces against the biggest mob of remaining hollows. Many warriors were lost but the Hollows were finally being put down. Over with Fugaku and Hiruzen, they destroy the aduchas and several nearby gillian. Itachi and the third's Anbu protected the civillians getting them to safety. The property damage to the village is beyond severe, as whole districts and neighborhoods have been flattened.
Now the most important battle draws to a close. Kurama is showing his true power ripping a whole group of aduchas apart, roaring triumphantly for all the heavens to hear. Yoriichi is equally excited, he can feel that his strength just underwent a change not quantitative but qualitative. The two of them boasted to each other like old war buddies. Both exhausted, but in high spirits vanquishing hollows. Sadly, all good things must end as the fourth Hokage returns to the scene.
"Yoriichi it's time." Minato says sternly.
"Wai-wait Minato-senpai I think we can come to some sort of agreement about-" as he was speaking 'Pow' A sage eyed Minato chops Yoriichi on his neck. The one in front had always been a clone, he had arrived earlier but hid to see how they interact together. To be honest he was shocked at the nine Tails, or Kurama's behavior. He was just an angry old fox with too much power to be left alone.
Minato acted when he did because even his heart was starting to waver, it had to be difficult for a child such as Yo. Minato is the Hokage and the strength of the nine-tails was still needed for the village.
"I can only disappoint you Yo, and you too nine tails… I mean Kurama. I'm sorry." Minato says with a sad sigh. His clone performs a summoning and Kushina and Naruto appear along with an altar like platform. "Kushina, are you ready?"
"Is this your decision fourth hokage? Then I'll fight you with all of my strength! I will not go back!" Kurama declares preparing to swing his claw down on the three of them. However before he can reach them Kushina unleashes her adamantine chains to restrict it's movements "Damn you Kushina…" he growls struggling against her.
"I don't have much time left, let me seal him back into myself and the two of us die together." Kushina quickly volunteers to let the nine tails die with her to save her family and the village. "The nine tails will reincarnate eventually."
"No, we can't do that." Minato is forced to abandon the idea as it would upset the balance of power among the tailed beasts in the villages. They both knew what they would have to do, their child would have to become a jinchuriki. Planning to take half of the nine-tails with him and putting the other into Naruto he remembers something Yoriichi had said before.
"Naruto is going to be the child of prophecy you know. He's supposed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders." The boy declared matter of factly.
"How would you know?" Minato asks.
"I had a vison…" Yoriichi answers as if that should be common knowledge. "Still I'll do some of the lifting as his big brother."
"I can't trust in your faith in the nine tails just yet, but I will trust your faith in my son." Minato says with a new idea in mind.
"In the end you talk all this sophistry about peace, but it is only perpetration. All of you Hokage, you are hypocrisy incarnate. Even worse than Madara!" Kurama bellows out, but even this fake anger can't hide his disappointment.
He still fights the sealing but his strength is tapped out from tanking multiple cero for no reason, so he is easily hit with the sealing jutsu. Unlike canon Minato knew of the coming threats, as a precaution he took time to create a new seal so that he could give the entirety of the nine tails' chakra to Naruto if the need arose. The seal was made to split Kurama's yin chakra and yang chakra the yin would be sealed in Naruto as a jinjuriki and the rest would come at a later point hidden behind several complex seals. However, as it still used the reaper's power to do something so complex, the cost still had to be paid. The fourth hokage's life was forfeit for using that jutsu. Minato goes to Kushina's side after she withdraws her chains and the fox is sealed within Naruto.
"How is our son?" Kushina asks coughing blood as Minato puts the infant in her arms. The third hokage and about six of the fourth's personal Anbu arrive along with a few clan patriarchs. Danzo is nowhere to be found as he still is in hiding away somewhere.
"He's fine, he's strong and resilient just like you." Minato says playing in the woman's hair as he leans over mother and son. He can feel his life rapidly fading from his body, he's fully aware that these are his last moments.
They begins to give baby Naruto her farewell speech, unlike last time they're not impaled by Kurama's giant claw, just facing the curse of having a tailed beast removed. Kushina stops and looks up when they hear Yoriichi stir as he begins to wake up. Before then no one had noticed the boy lying there battered and bloody.
"Teacher no…" he says as he stumbles toward the dying couple with tears running down his face. Minato is alright but Kushina means a great deal to him. She is the closest he had to a mother in both lives. After being diagnosed as terminally ill when he was still in diapers his first mother just left him to die in the hospital. Then in this life his parents only loved each other, he and Beni were just afterthoughts. He talked of visiting her spirit but never really considered it, it was just boasting about his powers. Everyone here knows of the Master-disciple relationship the two of them shared was more like a mother and son.
Kushina notices Yoriichi's eyes spin wildly starting to change shape, as his chakra darken with every step. With the last of her strength Kushina tries to comfort him. "Little Yo, everything will be ok."
"How can it be ok? You're both still going to die! This wouldn't have happened if-"
Kushina stops him before he says something he'd regret. "Please Yo, I have one last thing I want to ask of you. Be a good big brother to Naruto for me." His teacher says rubbing his head, she was just then realizing how much this little brat really meant to her as she too was fighting back tears. "He'll need your help to grow into a splendid ninja, and person.
Yo became a mess right there. Tears stream from his eyes an expression of pure anguish distorting his face. Despite his efforts he couldn't save Kushina or Minato. The village actually took on more damage than it should have and Naruto would still be an orphan.
If he couldn't even do that with all of his absurd gifts could he avert any other coming tragedy? Could he stop the massacre? The akatuski? The Otsuski? Maybe if he cast aside everything in the pursuit of power, he could dictate the entire story himself.
As his mind sank deeper into his dark thoughts the air around him begins to shake, cracking the earth and snapping breaking trees. Thunder and lightning sound off from behind the storm clouds that just rolled in from nowhere. A great pressure bears down on the area around him, destroying things indiscriminately. His face a distorted mess as even his eyes start to fade to blank madness.
"Yo! Stop! I need you to be strong for me!" Kushina's voice snaps him from his trance, as suddenly as it started the environment calms and the storm leaves like it never happened. The surrounding Shinobi are utterly shocked, but Yo couldn't care less. All that mattered was in that moment was his teacher. Taking her hand, he infused natural energy from his sun breathing to no avail. He tried using all of the breathing techniques available to him but nothing worked, so much so the excessive natural energy started turning parts of his body to stone.
Seeing no change, he starts giving her his chakra en masse hoping for a change in her condition. He with no avail, he switches to reishi and gave abundantly as well. Kushina stops him for fear of hurting Naruto lying next to her with all that wild energy. Yoriichi was bleeding from his eyes and ears from the mental strain he was under while doing this. This only made him more distraught, as he didn't know what to do. "Please stop Yo…" Kushina pleads weakly to deaf ears. That's when he heard a voice in his head.
'We can't watch this anymore, this is sad and boring. Very unbecoming of one who would wield us… You do not yet deserve to hear our name, but We will help you this once. We can restore the lost vital energy, but since you're so pathetic that is all. The woman will live, but she'll never be as strong or tenacious as she once was." The voice explains trying to insult Yo as well, but he only heard Kushina would live.
"REALLY?!" Yoriichi says aloud in excitement. This is the first time he's heard the voice of his sword, it never even so much as murmured.
'Shut up! You're always yelling! Even your thoughts are loud! Now place your hand on the woman's head' the voice said. Yoriichi didn't need to be told twice he, doing as instructed he places his hand on her forehead. A voice not belonging to Yoriichi spoke in a light tone but a with a great regality.
"Hand of the King, Vital energy restoration." A green energy rushed from Yoriichi's hand into Kushina. Her body gets better at visible rate receiving a large surge of vital energy, that strong lifeforce of an Uzumaki along with the massive transplant she just recieved handled the rest. Yoriichi completely fainted mind, body, and chakra entirely spent. He's hanging on by a thread himself.
The power that Yoriichi just showed was horrifying. That voice that seemed to stand above all others left everyone one with shivers down their spines. Minato could only smile at him. From the very beginning he knew that Yoriichi was a one of a kind talent, but to watch the boy defy fate was truly a sight to behold.
With someone like Yoriichi leading the way, the village will be in good hands. He'd make for an excellent hokage. Most importantly Yo saved Kushina, so Naruto will have his mother with him as he grows up. Nothing could express the gratitutde he felt for that. A single tear escapes Minato's eye as he knows his time to part with his family has came. "Thank you," he says softly as his last breath escapes his body.
With the fouth hokage's passing, the battle assault on the leaf officially draws to a close. Hiruzen declares those last events an S class secret, as well as ensuring every effort to save Yoriichi is made. They'll decide what to do when he wakes up.
