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"I won't accept it...NO!!!", Nine Tails roared.
Nine Tails evolved into its chakra cloak state under the seal's influence. Its chakra forcibly being taken into the seal. Yet, as the seal's influence reached the final tail, an explosion resounded.
*Booooomm!!!!*
...
...
A deafening blast followed the beast's roar, hurling Minato and Kushina through the air. The beast sealing was completed up to the eighth tail and absorbed in Naruto's seal. Minato hurriedly grabbed Naruto's cradle as he was thrown off-kilter into the air, closed Naruto's seal, and then, with a desperate urgency, flung the cradle towards Hiruzen. The Death Demon sealed Minato's soul as the last dredges of strength left Minato's body. The Demon disappeared into thin air.
"Look up, Hiruzen! Catch it!" Enma's voice rang out amidst the chaos.
Hiruzen lunged forward, catching the cradle just in time, his arms cradling the crying child protectively. In a swift motion, he summoned forth an "Earth Style: Mud Wall," layers of solid protection rising around him and the ANBU squad. The first barrier shattered under the force of the blast, followed by the second and third, but Hiruzen held firm, as he shielded Naruto from harm. Hiruzen was about to cast another jutsu but stopped as he noticed the end of the blast.
Hiruzen handed Naruto's cradle to the other ANBU. He jumped to the top of the last layer of the wall and observed the epicentre. Amidst the smoke and dust, he could see a small version of NineTails, a size comparable to a tree at most. Illusory but still very much real. Minato and Kushina had been flung far away in the woods.
He charged towards Minato and Kushina to secure their bodies.
----------------------------
Zetsu had stealthily crept near the blast zone and was observing the formation of the final tail of Nine-tails into becoming its smaller version.
"We should separate. This is a prime opportunity to get ahold of Nine-Tails CHakra." Black zetsu spoke in a rasp, disturbing voice.
"I think we should retreat. Leaf ANBUs are heading here, And if the Third Hokage joins, our existence will no longer be a secret", white zetsu tried to reason.
"I will act swiftly. Besides, the Third Hokage is currently occupied elsewhere,""
With their course decided, the verdant plant-like entity started to separate in a bizarre and grotesque display. A sickening tearing sound was produced as white and black parts of the body separated. The separated parts started to regrow their own uncompleted sides.
As Black Zetsu advanced towards the smaller form of Nine-Tails, the creature turned its gaze towards the approaching adversary, a mischievous smirk playing across its chibi features. Just as Black Zetsu lunged forward, claws poised to strike, the illusory form of the Nine-Tails began to dissipate like dust scattered by the wind.
Black zetsu struck, but hit nothing as the Nine-Tails had completely disappeared. It cursed at its futile attempt and at the ANBUs that were approaching, already noticing the creature's silhouette in the area.
With a sense of urgency, Black Zetsu swiftly made his escape, vanishing into the cover of the forest.
Unaware of the situation, the white half asked, "I warned you of your failure."
"Quiet"
"Nine-Tails had its own plan", it murmured.
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The air was thick with smoke and dust, the acrid scent of burnt earth mingling with the metallic tang of blood. Hiruzen arrived at the spot where Minato and Kushina had fallen. Their bodies lay scattered amidst the debris, their forms battered and broken by the force of the blast.
Both of them had already passed on to the afterlife. Hiruzen approached them, his mood solemn over the repercussions. His heart heavy with sorrow, he knelt beside Minato and Kushina, their lifeless bodies a stark reminder of the price paid for the village's safety.
Today's event had been disastrous for the Hidden Leaf. It lost its young Fourth Hokage, a ninja beyond S-tier, a young hero and a genius who was only observed once in a hundred years. It lost its Jinchuriki, the last link to the storied Uzumaki clan. Now there existed no Uzumaki in the Leaf village.
Hiruzen surveyed the carnage around him, the enormity of the loss hit him like a physical blow. Hundreds of ninjas including ANBUs, jounins, chunins, genins were killed. Civilian tallies had not even been completely counted as of yet. The village had paid a heavy price this day, not just in terms of the lives lost but also in the shattered sense of security that had once enveloped the Hidden Leaf.
Yet there were new threats on the horizon. Hiruzen sighed at the monumental loss of life.
A Shinobi is someone who endures.
He had heard this phrase from his sensei, Lord Second, Tobirama Senju. But he never knew the actual extent to which this quote applied. Were those who had fallen, who had given everything in the defense of their village, any less deserving of the title of shinobi? Were they to be deemed unworthy simply because they could endure no more, their spirits extinguished by the cruel hand of fate?
With these remnant thoughts, he picked up the bodies of the fallen heroes and headed towards the ANBU. Naruto stopped crying as soon as Hiruzen held him in his hands. He looked at the legacy of the Fourth Hokage and turned towards the direction of Hidden Leaf.
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It was midnight, the reverberations and tremors from the assault of the Nine Tails had ceased ever since the beast had been driven out of the village. The area around the Hyuga shelter had quietened, with only the sounds from the hustle and bustle in the makeshift hospital in the hall.
Shin cast his gaze over the exhausted orphanage people, Dai slept on the ground in the corner of the hall, fatigued due to the day's events. All of the children were currently passed out asleep, tears all spent. Only Emi remained awake, helping the medical nin with their work and taking care of the injured citizens from a place, where she could easily kept an eye on the orphanage people.
Shin looked over the temporary morgue area. There were hundreds of dead people, placed on the ground. He made his way towards one of the bodies among the children, belonging to Kirimoto. A faint smile still graced the young face. "I owe my life to you... Thankyou, Kiri", Shin murmured softly as he looked at the child. He was even younger than his own little brother in the previous world.
Frustration gnawed at him as he clenched his fist, overwhelmed by his sense of powerlessness to protect those around him. Despite his efforts to manipulate events and ensure their safety, they had still been caught in the destructive rampage. Even with knowledge of the future, it seemed futile.
"Ya Allah, What am I supposed to do... Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un". (Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we return), he whispered, seeking solace in the words of prayer.
He moved his gaze towards thousands of bodies piled up. With each new addition to the pile, there were new cries of pain and sorrow over the loss.
"Mom...Dad... wake up... please wake up", a child cried near the body of his father. As his gaze shifted towards the child, the stark reality of the devastation became all the more poignant. The boy, with tear-streaked cheeks and eyes clouded with grief, stood beside the lifeless form of his father. Shin recognized him as Iruka, Naruto's future sensei—now orphaned and grieving beside his fallen parents.
A surge of empathy welled up within Shin. He willed himself forward and put his hand on the bawling kid, "Don't cry, it's going to be okay. "
Iruka lifted his tear-streaked face, revealing a younger child beside him. "Your parents wouldn't want you to be sad," Shin spoke gently, his heart heavy with shared sorrow.
Iruka rejected Shin's hand that was on his shoulder. "Get lost!. What do you know about it..."
Shin didn't gave a response. Iruka turned his head away and spoke amidst crying softly, "I didn't need them to die, I wanted them to live. But...."
"Why did you leave me?. Mom, Dad... They—They died trying to fight the Nine-Tails", Iruka shouted.
Tears started to well up in Shin's eyes, as he started feeling Iruka's pain. All of the feeling of loss transferred to his soul. He felt like crying just like Iruka. He stopped himself and spoke, "They died trying to save you... you should know that your parents sacrificed themselves so that you and thousands more could live", Shin consoled Iruka while trying to control his own emotions. Iruka's head bowed slightly in acknowledgment, though his tears continued to fall unabated.
The nine-year old passed out near his father's body after whimpering for a few more moments.
Shin headed back to the central hall and informed a medical nin about Iruka and headed towards a secluded corner. On the way, he felt multiple eyes watching him as he felt a multitude of emotions—sadness, regret, melancholy, pain. Some feelings seemed familiar, while others felt foreign, unsettling him.
He had to walk quite a while when he finally reached a suitable place in the corner of the morgue. There were almost no people here as the area was almost filled. Only a medical nin on duty, some distance away. He sat down and started practicing the leaf concentration. He found some peace in his mind. Finally free from the intrusive emotions, he assessed his current condition. His body was in a weakened state due to the loss of vitality, as Nine-Tails mentioned, being a side effect of staying in the Tail Beast Psyche plane for such a long time.
Practicing Leaf Concentration exercise, he pondered over his current situation. He seemed to have two different innate powers within himself. 'I have some healing power. But I dont know how exactly to use it. It activated on its own when my soul got injured. Is there a way to control this power', he asked himself.
'I don't know if these powers originally existed in the previous host or is it due to me being isekai'd. Anyway, First one is some type of healing ability while the other...' Shin scratched his head amidst the chakra exercise. ' sensing others' emotions. An empath, perhaps. However, I don't have any control over any of these abilities.'
He remembered his previous experiences throughout the year. After he was discharged from the hospital, there were many times when he could sense others' emotions or certain feelings. Even on the night of the kidnappings in the orphanage, he could feel dread overcoming him, as if he could feel the malevolent intent on the air. Whether it was a henchmen or Orochimaru himself, it didn't matter. He could sense it.
"The power must have awakened fully, from passive to active when I was with the Nine-Tails". Shin surmised and then made plans, 'My next focus should be to develop these powers along with chakra control and nature release.', Shin decided on his future path. 'Though I should experiment with it when there are few people around. With this many people, I feel my mind is going to be overloaded with emotions unless I keep practicing Leaf Concentration.'
*Booooom!*
A huge blast resounded, the sound coming from a distant place. Shin looked towards the east and pondered while some of the ninjas in the hospital ran towards the location to check out the situation.
'Is it over?. Hmm, Its good that the Nine-Tails is finally sealed. Although I do find his situation heartbreaking. Its not good to have interactions with Kurama at this moment.'
"I must get stronger, fast. This world itself demands it and my circumstances deem it necessary for my survival".
He looked over the area where the kids from the orphanage, and Dai lay asleep. His expression hardened as he mumbled softly, "and for these people".
In the next moment, his body started to glow in a dim light of orange hue, disturbing him from his concentration.
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Author's Notes:
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