Everyone watching the diary was shaken.
Unlike before, they now fully understood what the Dead Demon Consuming Seal truly was. After reading Kaede Kitahara's entries, they knew it was a terrifying jutsu that demanded one's life in exchange.
And Namikaze Minato had chosen to trade his life to seal the Nine-Tails.
Only now did those who knew him best, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hatake Kakashi, finally understand why, even with Flying Thunder God in his arsenal, the Fourth Hokage and his wife had both died that night.
If they had followed Uzumaki Kushina's plan, she alone would have perished. Her death would have taken the Nine-Tails with her. Its eventual revival would have been years, perhaps decades, away.
But that would have left Konoha without deterrence.
Every village possessed Kage Level fighters. Many of them were Jinchuriki.
Yet a Jinchuriki and an ordinary Kage Level shinobi were not the same.
A Kage Level shinobi had limits. Minato himself was proof of that. No matter how brilliant he was, he could not exceed that ceiling.
A Tailed Beast Jinchuriki was different.
Once unsealed, their power was catastrophic.
The Nine-Tails had already demonstrated that.
Without another Tailed Beast to counterbalance it, if an enemy unleashed theirs on the battlefield, there would be no answer. Techniques meant for human opponents were almost useless against a Tailed Beast.
In private duels, the gap between a Kage Level shinobi and a Tailed Beast might be debatable.
On the battlefield, in a village-scale war, several Kage Level fighters combined still could not replace the deterrence of a Tailed Beast.
For Konoha, the Fourth Hokage was invaluable.
But if forced to choose between the Hokage and a Jinchuriki, most would choose the Jinchuriki.
From the moment the Nine-Tails broke free of its seal, the outcome had already narrowed. Only now were many beginning to grasp that truth.
"Seal it inside Naruto. Use the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style."
"I know what you're going to say," Minato replied calmly. "Jiraiya-sensei once spoke of a world-changing force, and the disasters that would follow it. Tonight, I've confirmed two things. The masked man who attacked you will bring chaos. And the one who will stop him is this child."
"He bears the name given by Jiraiya-sensei. As a Jinchuriki, he will carve out the future."
At that moment, the Third Hokage arrived and witnessed Minato erecting the barrier and performing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Behind Minato, the Shinigami appeared.
"Believe in him," Minato said steadily. "He's our son. After the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is complete, I'll seal your Chakra into Naruto. When he tries to control the Nine-Tails one day, I hope you'll help him."
"He's our son. That's exactly why I don't want him carrying such a burden."
Kushina's voice trembled.
"And why use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal? Just so I can see Naruto when he's grown up? Just for that brief moment, you're giving your life?"
"I want you to protect him. To watch him grow. Why does it have to be for balance between Tailed Beasts, for the country, for the village? Why must Naruto become a sacrifice? Why must you become one for me?"
She knew better than anyone what it meant to be a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
She had been isolated as a child. Monitored. Her friendships carefully controlled.
Becoming the Nine-Tails' vessel meant losing countless things.
"Abandoning the country, abandoning the village, is no different from abandoning our child," Minato said, his eyes firm. "You of all people know what it's like to lose a homeland. The life of someone from a destroyed nation is harsh beyond words."
"And we are shinobi."
He took a slow breath.
"I couldn't defeat you while alive. You may have only had a short time as a mother, but what you can give Naruto is something I can never replace. That's a mother's role."
"It's not only for you. It's for Naruto."
"As his father, giving my life for my son is the least I can do."
The weight of those words pressed heavily on everyone watching.
Uchiha Sasuke lowered his head, tears slipping down his face.
So this was Naruto's parents.
He had grown up an orphan, yet it was never because they didn't love him.
They had entrusted him with their hopes.
In Kaede Kitahara's diary, he had already seen the Third Hokage die protecting the village months later.
Now he watched the Fourth Hokage and his wife die for the same reason.
For the first time, Sasuke understood what it truly cost to become Hokage.
Not just your own life.
Your wife.
Your newborn son.
Everything.
He had grown up hearing whispers about the Demon Fox sealed inside Uzumaki Naruto. People called him the reincarnation of the Demon Fox. His pranks only reinforced their prejudice.
But seeing this, Sasuke finally understood.
Naruto was not some reincarnated monster.
He was a child born with his parents' hopes on his shoulders.
His parents were heroes who saved Konoha.
And the one who destroyed their family, who brought such devastation upon the village, had been an Uchiha.
Sasuke had already sensed that the Uchiha Clan's fate was tangled with the village's decisions. He had felt resentment.
But watching two generations of Hokage die protecting Konoha left his emotions in turmoil.
The village they protected had included the Uchiha Clan.
He remembered the earlier scene of five-year-old Uchiha Itachi holding him gently as a newborn.
The word Hokage felt unbearably heavy.
From this point on, he could no longer bring himself to call Naruto "dead last."
Instead, a quiet guilt settled in his chest.
Naruto was a hero.
A child who carried a monster to protect the village.
In the projection, Minato finished speaking, and the Shinigami behind him moved.
Through Minato's body, half of the Nine-Tails' soul was sealed into him.
Even half was crushing.
Minato's breathing grew labored. His limbs went numb.
The remaining half of the Nine-Tails still loomed, massive and furious.
"Damn you, Fourth Hokage!" the Nine-Tails roared.
Minato summoned the ritual altar and gently placed Uzumaki Naruto upon it.
The remaining half of the Nine-Tails finally understood.
"A ritual altar? You're sealing me again? Into that brat?"
At that moment, Kushina coughed violently.
Her control over the Adamantine Sealing Chains weakened for a split second.
The Nine-Tails seized the opening.
Its enormous claw shot down toward the altar.
Blood sprayed into the air.
At the final moment, Minato and Kushina threw themselves forward.
Their bodies blocked the claw.
The strike pierced straight through them.
"I told you," Minato gasped, "this is what a father can do."
"Then as a mother," Kushina replied faintly, "it's only right I do the same."
"You…!"
The Nine-Tails howled in fury.
That had been its final chance.
Minato quickly summoned Gerotora from Mount Myoboku and entrusted him with the key to the seal, ordering him to deliver it to Jiraiya.
In the distance, the Shinigami prepared to claim Minato's life.
"Our time is almost up," Minato said quietly to his wife. "It's about time to activate the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. I'll seal as much Chakra as I can into Naruto. We'll be apart for a while. If there's anything you want to say, say it now."
Kushina understood.
This was the last chance.
"Naruto, don't be picky with food. Eat well every day and grow strong. Take hot baths, don't stay up too late, and make sure you get enough sleep."
"Make friends. You don't need many. Just a few you can truly trust."
"I wasn't very good at studying, but you should work hard and learn your ninjutsu properly. Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not. Even if you struggle, don't lose heart."
"Respect your teachers and your senpai."
"And there's something important about the three ninja taboos."
"First, don't borrow money carelessly. Save your mission pay. Don't drink until you're twenty. Too much alcohol is bad for you."
"As for the third taboo… women…"
She let out a weak laugh.
"I'm a woman, so I don't quite get that one."
"But someday you'll be interested in girls. Just don't get tangled up with strange ones. Find someone wonderful, like your mom."
"Oh, and speaking of that, you should probably watch out for Jiraiya-sensei."
"Naruto, no matter how painful or lonely things get, keep moving forward at your own pace. Hold onto your dreams and make them real."
"Believe in yourself."
"There's so much more I want to tell you. So much more I want to do with you."
"I'm sorry, Minato. I've been the only one talking."
"It's fine," Minato said softly. "What Dad wants to say is the same as your talkative mom."
"Eight Trigrams Sealing Style."
He formed the final seals.
The light of the sealing jutsu flared.
And the projection ended.