Pain is unbearable, but neither Kushina nor Minato falter. Blood flows abundantly from their wounds, but they maintain their position, staring at Kyûbi with unwavering determination.
Before Minato begins the final sealing, he turns to Kushina.
"Kushina... tell him what you want him to know. These are your last moments."
Kushina, despite the pain, manages to smile weakly at Naruto.
"Naruto... my little one. Don't be sad. We love you, and your father loves you too. We will always be with you. Never let hatred or pain divert you from your path. Find friends, love them with all your heart, and become a good person."
Minato, tears in his eyes, completes the necessary mudras to activate the Eight Trigrams Seal. An intense light envelops Naruto, and all of Kyûbi's chakra is sealed within him.
Minato suddenly invokes Gerotora, the small frog tasked with keeping the seal's key.
"Gerotora," he says in a hoarse voice, "take this key and give it to Jiraiya-sensei. It will be necessary for Naruto to control Kyûbi's power one day."
Gerotora hesitates for a moment, visibly moved. "Minato... are you sure you want to make your son a jinchūriki?"
"I don't have time nor a choice," Minato replies, his eyes shining with determination. "The future of the village depends on it."
As the ritual nears its end and Minato takes his last breath, an immense crash resounds. A massive form falls from the sky, raising a cloud of dust and debris that darkens the battlefield.
Kushina, in her final moments, raises her head, her eyes wide with shock. A familiar silhouette slowly emerges from the dust, an imposing aura surrounding it.
"Shikai...?" she murmurs, her lips trembling with disbelief.
***
A Few Hours Earlier
Obito, guided by his instinct, lets go of the young Nara's body and steps back, creating some distance. The air seems to fill with intense pressure as the scroll disappears in a dark smoky haze. The lifeless body of Shikai lies among the rubble, twisting with muscular spasms, veins appearing all over his body. The pressure is so unbearable that Obito collapses to his knees, unable to withstand the power emanating from this body.
"What's happening?!" he exclaims, his voice trembling.
His silhouette is enveloped by a miasma sphere as he struggles to stand, his bones cracking in an unsettling manner. Fear is etched on his face, sweat beading on his masked forehead.
And then, suddenly, the miasma disappears, revealing a new silhouette.
Obito's POV:
I had already sensed that there was something strange about him. But now...
'How should I interpret this?' I swallow, sweat beading under my mask. 'I was only intimidating a kid stupid enough to show his special technique right away. So why am I seeing... a monster?'
As I stare at him, the fear I thought I had forgotten since Rin's death resurfaces. The creature that has just appeared has black skin, an imposing stature, towering over two meters. His hands end in clawed fingers, and his long white hair is tipped with jet-black points. Three curved black protuberances adorn his forehead. On his body, the Yang Stigma, located at the fifth cervical vertebra, shines with a golden glow, just like the Yin Stigma on his thoracic vertebrae. The other stigmas remain dull.
He looks at his right hand, which has just regenerated, a wide and sinister smile on his lips, revealing sharp canines.
*Mouhahaaa*
He laughs like a madman, his laughter echoing in the night air.
"Shibai Otsutsuki. I'm back, you traitor. You think you can offer me to the Shinju tree to achieve divinity. Ha ha. And I'm sure you think I'm dead, don't you, you coward? Know that the great Dekamoshi has returned!"
'Huh? Dekamoshi what?'
"In a less powerful form, I might add..." He continues talking to himself, as if completely ignoring my existence.
"I took a risk by reincarnating in this weak body, without any of the seals complete. But in the end, it was a good idea... You can rest in peace, Matsuya, your sacrifice will not be in vain."
I can't understand what he's talking about, but he seems both happy and angry at something or someone. Maybe Shibai? Anyway, I must find a way to escape. I know this information will be valuable to Madara and our future plans. But first, I must gauge his power level.
I prepare to disappear into the Kamui dimension, intending to surprise him from behind. But he tilts his head back in an impossibly human twist, his abyssal black eyes fixing me with an icy intensity.
"What? - Can he see me in the Kamui dimension?"
His night-black eyes pierce me, and his voice resonates in my head.
"You think you can escape, insect?"
*Shinjutsu: Hiraishin*
His claws seem to tear through space, and before I can move, he grabs my face.
"Ahhh!"
His strength is so colossal that my mask shatters under his grip, and his claws penetrate my face.
"Who are you again?"
He looks at me with disdain, as if I were worthless trash.
"Ah, yes. That Uchiha waste... "
He brutally throws me to the ground and turns away, his feet leaving the ground.
"Get out! And crawl out of the village, you don't need your feet anyway."
"Huh?"
Darkness-made hands emerge and seize my legs, crushing my bones while keeping my muscles intact, without any apparent injury.
*Ahhhhhhh*
"But how... " I clench my teeth, trying to contain the unbearable pain.
Paying me no attention, he disappears into the night sky, leaving me alone, injured, and helpless.
End of POV
The creature, who seems to have a connection with the Otsutsuki god, looks down, the Biju Stigma at the center of his chest glowing with an orange light as he greedily observes Kyûbi's residual chakra.
As Minato takes his last breath, the creature descends with a crash onto the battlefield, the dust spreading around him. He is crouched in the middle of a crater, watching Kushina die.
"Shikai?" she murmurs, her voice weak and trembling.
The creature, aside from its non-human attributes like the horns, strangely resembles a more mature and beautiful version of Shikai.
"You will be useful in the future."
*Shinjutsu: Mystic Palm*
As Kushina falls into eternal sleep, a green and golden aura wraps around her body. Not only does her pain disappear, but she also rejuvenates, as if she were only 16 years old.
*Gurgle*
The silhouette spits blood, its weakened body unable to withstand the power it has unleashed.
"It seems I've pushed this body to its limit, I really need to find my body at its peak..."
The silhouette collapses, the miasma leaving its body, leaving the fragile silhouette of Shikai in a crater of blood.
Hiruzen and the experienced ninjas finally arrive on the scene.
"Quickly check the condition of the Yondaime and his wife."
Then he approaches the almost unrecognizable corpse.
"It's... That kid... He really stood up to Madara. The will of fire burned intensely within him."
Hiruzen shakes his head, a sad smile on his face.
That's when Kakashi, closer by, sees Shikai's chest slowly rise.
"The Yondaime's disciple is still alive. Quickly, a medic!"