It was a peaceful afternoon in Konoha.
The kind of soft calm that only comes after a storm has passed and the village breathes together as one.
Inside the modest home of the Fourth Hokage, warm sunlight streamed through rice-paper windows and washed gently over the tatami floor. In her arms, Uzumaki Kushina cradled her infant son, Naruto, who had just fallen asleep after a hearty feeding.
Her gaze was tender, overflowing with the quiet joy only new mothers knew. Her red hair shimmered in the light as she rocked gently, humming a lullaby her mother used to sing back in the days before the Whirlpool Country was erased from the map.
These past few weeks had been, without exaggeration, the happiest of her life.
Naruto was healthy. He slept soundly, fed eagerly, and smiled at her with such sweetness that it melted the exhaustion out of her bones. Even Minato—once constantly buried under paperwork and missions—had finally put aside his Hokage duties, if only temporarily. He was with her every day now, morning to night, helping her care for Naruto, laughing by her side, catching the diapers when she missed the bucket.
The only downside?
They couldn't leave the house. Not yet.
The village thought they were injured. Dead, even.
But if that was the price to pay for safety, so be it.
To Kushina, this was bliss. A simple, warm, unshakeable happiness. The life she had dreamed of during sleepless nights as an orphan in exile.
She looked down at her son's small face.
If things had turned out differently—if the Nine-Tails had killed her, if Minato hadn't made that final gamble—Naruto would've grown up an orphan. Hated, feared, with no one to hold him during storms or patch the knees he scraped.
And yet, here they were. All alive.
Safe.
"Minato," she asked quietly, "how are things outside?"
Across the room, Minato was sweating bullets as he wrung out a cloth diaper. His usually flawless posture was slightly crooked from kneeling too long, his hair was sticking up in the back, and his hands had calluses from scrubbing.
He gave a sheepish smile.
"Still a mess," he admitted, "but we're rebuilding. Most of the civilians have been resettled, and the construction corps are repairing the central district. Everyone's pulling together."
Kushina's smile faltered slightly. "There must've been… a lot of casualties."
Minato paused, then nodded.
"Too many."
She bowed her head. "If I hadn't—if the Nine-Tails hadn't broken out of me, if I'd just—"
"Stop."
Minato crossed the room in three steps and knelt beside her.
He gently reached for her hand, threading his fingers through hers.
"This wasn't your fault. You didn't ask to be a Jinchūriki. You didn't ask for someone to manipulate the seal. If anything, I failed. I should've protected you both better."
"But the village—"
"The village is strong. We'll rebuild. What matters is that you and Naruto are here. Alive. With me."
Their eyes met.
"Minato…"
"Kushina…"
They leaned in, breaths mingling—
Knock knock knock!
The sudden sound at the door shattered the moment like a dropped plate.
Minato snapped upright, quickly drying his hands and adjusting his collar. Kushina jumped up, swaddled Naruto, and ducked back into the bedroom, feigning fatigue.
They moved like a trained team—like two elite shinobi used to vanishing at a moment's notice.
When Minato finally opened the door, he blinked in surprise.
"...Teacher?"
Standing there in the hallway, travel-worn and still catching his breath, was none other than Jiraiya of the Sannin.
"Minato!"
"Master Jiraiya—?!"
They stared at each other for a beat, then Jiraiya pulled him into a crushing hug.
"You're alive!"
Minato laughed, stunned. "Barely."
"And Kushina? The baby?"
"They're okay. Come in. Quickly."
Minato glanced left and right, then pulled Jiraiya into the entryway, sealing the barrier behind him.
Jiraiya's expression was serious.
"I came as soon as I heard. I was halfway through writing my next novel when news came through—Konoha was attacked and the Nine-Tails was released. People saying you and Kushina were—"
"We're okay," Minato said gently.
Jiraiya let out a breath, shoulders finally relaxing.
"I haven't even touched a bathhouse in two weeks."
"That bad?"
Jiraiya raised a brow. "Do you know what I gave up to get here?"
Minato chuckled, genuinely touched.
"Minato!" Kushina emerged, still holding the baby. "You didn't tell me it was sensei!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Kushina!"
She grinned. "Long time no see, you old perv."
"Still got the sharp tongue, huh? I missed you too."
Then his gaze fell to Naruto.
He stepped forward, slowly.
"So this… this is him?"
He crouched beside the child, awe creeping into his voice.
"This little guy… Naruto."
Naruto stirred, yawned, then turned his head and nuzzled into his mother's chest.
"He's got your eyes," Jiraiya said softly. "But that hair… He's definitely yours, Minato."
"I was hoping for red," Kushina pouted.
"No way," Minato grinned. "He's gonna be Konoha's next Yellow Flash."
"Yeah? Then he better learn Rasengan in his sleep."
The room erupted in laughter, and for a moment, the atmosphere lightened.
They sat, and Kushina brewed tea while the men talked.
But the smiles faded when business returned.
"The attacker," Jiraiya asked quietly. "Who was it?"
Minato's face hardened.
"Someone wielding the Sharingan. They controlled the Nine-Tails as if it were a mere puppet and wore a mask."
"Impossible. That sounds like an Uchi—"
"Obito."
The name stopped Jiraiya cold.
"Obito?" he echoed. "The Obito that you trained? Minato, he's dead. We saw the rubble."
"I know. But the chakra signature, the moves, the voice—everything matched."
Jiraiya's face darkened.
Minato recounted everything—the masked attacker, the rescue by Kai, the return of Hashirama and Tobirama, the threads leading to the Akatsuki, and the looming presence of Uchiha Madara.
Jiraiya sat, clearly overwhelmed. "You met the First and Second Hokage... and some Sage who hops between timelines?"
"His name is Kai. He always called himself The Wandering Sage," Minato replied.
"You realize how insane that sounds, right?" Jiraiya pressed.
"I do," Minato admitted. "But I saw it all with my own eyes."
"And you trust him?"
Minato hesitated for a moment. "Yes. He saved us."
"But you don't know what his real objective is, do you?" Jiraiya observed.
Minato's silence was proof enough. Jiraiya leaned forward, his expression grave.
"You temporarily gave up the Hokage title, let Danzo seize power, all so you could bait Kumogakure into striking… and start a war?"
Minato nodded.
"Then what?"
"I win that war, expose Danzo's corruption, and return power to someone the village actually trusts."
"And all this is based on the assumption that Kai is telling the truth."
Minato hesitated.
Jiraiya sighed.
"I'm not saying don't trust him. I'm saying—be careful."
"There's no war without casualties. You start something with Kumogakure now, and people will die. Again."
"I know."
"Konoha's just starting to recover. Do you want another mass grave out back?"
Minato lowered his gaze. "No."
"I'm grateful he saved you. I really am. But you've seen what war costs."
"I'll be cautious."
"You better be."
Minato exhaled, eyes distant.
Kushina reentered, placing the tea on the table.
"I'll give you two some space."
She smiled, then turned to the kitchen.
Jiraiya leaned forward again.
"What do you really know about Madara?"
"Only that Kai insists he's alive."
"And that Obito is working for him?"
"That's the theory."
"Well, I'd like a little more than theories before we send thousands to die."
Minato nodded slowly.
Then—
CRASH!
The sound of shattering porcelain rang from the kitchen.
"Kushina!"
Minato was gone in a blur of yellow light.
He found her collapsed beside the counter, clutching her abdomen, face contorted in pain.
"Kushina! What's happening?!"
Her eyes snapped open.
"It's Madara—!"
Her voice trembled, cracking.
"He's trying to summon the Nine-Tails!"
"What—?!"
"The seal is stable, but… but I heard it! The Nine-Tails… it told me! He's calling it—he's trying to reach it!"
The room froze.
Jiraiya's expression turned to ice.
And Minato's eyes went wide with horror.
"It's Uchiha Madara! He's summoning the Nine-Tails! The Nine-Tails told me!"Kushina gritted her teeth in pain.
Faced with Madara's summons, the sealed Nine-Tails immediately cooperated from the bottom of its heart and told Kushina the truth.
Listen to this.
Minato was shocked:!!!∑(?Д?ノ)ノ
Jiraiya was also confused: 0ДQ!