Minato did not understand what Makoto meant and asked in confusion, "A real and a fake jinchūriki?"
Makoto nodded. "Yes, a real and a fake jinchūriki. We seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto and make him the true jinchūriki, but only the three of us will know about this."
"Outwardly, Kushina-senpai will still remain the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Even if someone in the shinobi world secretly sets their sights on the tailed beasts, it won't be easy for them to succeed. Kushina-senpai herself has the strength to protect herself, unlike Naruto, who needs time to grow."
Kushina immediately expressed her agreement. "This is a pretty good plan."
Minato voiced his doubts. "It will be very hard to hide this from anyone who deliberately investigates, won't it?"
"Of course it can't be completely hidden. But ordinary sensory ninja cannot distinguish a jinchūriki, and the Byakugan is also forbidden from being casually activated inside the village. The only summoning contract that could affect the Nine-Tails has already been dissolved by you. So it can still confuse outsiders for quite a long time."
"What we are trying to gain is precisely this time. That way, Naruto can be protected to the greatest extent possible and allowed to grow up smoothly. That will be enough."
"Minato, let's do it the way Makoto suggested. At least if I stand at the front, Naruto won't have to bear so many strange looks in the future."
"Alright. Then we'll begin the sealing now."
Minato did not hesitate. He immediately formed hand seals and summoned an altar. Taking Naruto from Kushina's arms, he gently placed him on the altar.
Then his hands rapidly formed seals.
Fūinjutsu: Eight Trigrams Seal!
Two Four Symbols Seals nested together in opposite orientations formed the unique Eight Trigrams Seal of the shinobi world. Twisting sealing runes spread across Naruto's abdomen.
The moment the sealing technique took shape, it began frantically pulling the Nine-Tails—trapped by Makoto and Kushina—into the sealing space.
It had to be said that sealing techniques were the greatest bug in the shinobi world. Even something as powerful as the Nine-Tails, once trapped and made the target of a sealing technique, was powerless to resist.
As a large amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra poured into Naruto's body, the two of them gradually loosened their suppression of it.
At the final moment, the Adamantine Sealing Chains binding the Nine-Tails' mouth were released, and it finally regained the ability to speak. It roared madly while loudly hurling insults to vent its fury.
"You two bastards—and that hateful brat! I'll kill you! This old man will definitely come out and kill you!"
The poor big fox could only vent by shouting empty threats—truly impotent rage.
Once the sealing was completed, little Naruto felt uncomfortable and began crying while flailing his arms and legs.
Kushina quickly picked him up from the altar, heart aching, and tried her best to soothe him.
Minato checked the seal and let out a sigh of relief. It looked fairly stable. The situation he had been worried about had not appeared.
Makoto also let out a sigh of relief. In the original timeline, Naruto had only half of the Yang Nine-Tails sealed inside him, but now he had become the jinchūriki of the complete Nine-Tails.
Fortunately, aside from having Uzumaki blood, he was also the reincarnation of Asura's chakra, so even the entire Nine-Tails could be suppressed with ease.
The reason Minato of the original timeline had chosen that option was not because he did not want to seal the whole Nine-Tails, but because he had no choice. The Shinigami summoned by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was not going to work for free. If the Nine-Tails had not been split into two, the Shinigami would have taken the entire Nine-Tails away together with Minato in one package.
Minato formed hand seals and created a shadow clone. "Kushina, I'll take Naruto home first. We can't let anyone discover that he's here."
Although Kushina was very reluctant, she still let go and handed Naruto over to Minato, watching them disappear before her eyes.
Konoha's support ninja were blocked outside by the huge Adamantine Sealing Chains barrier. The place Makoto had chosen was a forest dense with trees, so they could only see the Nine-Tails' massive figure. They could neither see nor hear what was happening in the middle of the forest.
Makoto had kept his Sage Mode perception active the entire time, closely monitoring the movements around them to prevent any White Zetsu from coming to spy.
Ever since he had become able to enter Sage Mode, he had occasionally sensed those things both inside and outside Konoha, but had always pretended not to notice.
As for Black Zetsu, that fellow should be busy saving Obito's life at this moment.
Feeling the residual Nine-Tails chakra surging within the barrier, Makoto said, "Kushina-senpai, please follow my instructions, form the hand seals, and circulate your chakra."
Kushina did not hesitate and immediately did as she was told. As she completed the hand seals, the yin–yang pattern of the Two Forms Seal on her lower abdomen began to rotate. The Nine-Tails' chakra within the barrier seemed to be drawn toward it, separating into two streams—one darker and one lighter—that surged into the two nodes of the seal.
When it was about enough, Makoto said, "That's enough."
At his words, Kushina ended her control. The seal stopped rotating and no longer absorbed the Nine-Tails chakra.
She did not quite understand. "Makoto, what's the use of absorbing this chakra? Won't it affect the seal?"
"The dispersed chakra does not contain much of the Nine-Tails' main consciousness. As long as you do not absorb a large amount, it will not affect the sealing effect."
"As for its use—remember the hand seal sequence just now. If you form the seals in reverse, you can release this chakra as a simple means of attack. That way, to outsiders, you will be the true Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
Minato sighed in admiration. "Makoto, you've thought this through very thoroughly."
"When you put on an act, of course you have to see it through to the end."
After Kushina memorized the method to control the Two Forms Seal, her thoughts flew back home. "Minato, I'm going to withdraw the barrier."
"Wait, Kushina. Let's wait a little longer. There are some things I want to ask Makoto."
...
Outside the barrier, the Third Hokage was anxiously waiting for developments together with many Konoha ninja.
When he saw the enormous Nine-Tails gradually shrinking as it was sealed, he finally let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that Minato had finally resolved this trouble.
The other Konoha ninja felt the same. If it had not been for protecting Konoha, no one wanted to fight the Nine-Tails. The brief rampage it had caused inside the village earlier had already left a shadow of fear in many people's hearts.
Jirō and Yūya were the same, but aside from that, they were even more worried about Makoto's safety, wishing they could rush inside immediately to check on the situation.
But although the Nine-Tails had disappeared, the barrier set up by the Adamantine Sealing Chains still stood firm and solid, blocking anyone from approaching.
Inside the barrier, the altar had already vanished.
Minato looked somewhat exhausted. He sat on the ground without caring about appearances and asked, "Makoto, I've already held my own child in my arms, and the Nine-Tails problem has also been resolved. So it's time for you to say what your suggestion is."
This was a topic from a few nights earlier, when he had sought out Makoto for a chat.
"Minato-senpai, becoming Hokage is the dream of every child in the village, but for the vast majority of people, it is only a dream. You are different—you realized that dream."
"So after you took the seat of Hokage, compared with the dream you once had, what differences are there between the two?"
"A difference, huh." Minato recalled his former thoughts. "I dreamed of becoming Hokage, protecting the companions in the village, and leading Konoha to become stronger."
"I accomplished the first half—I protected the village during the war. But as for the second half… I feel that the village does not seem to actually be under my leadership."
"The village's main authority is still in the hands of the Third and several others. Unimportant matters can be carried out according to your ideas, but any change involving the village's power structure will be regarded as an extreme idea and will not be permitted, right?"
"Makoto, you really are a straightforward guy. But you're right—that's exactly how things are."
Minato loved his wife very much, so he never spoke about work troubles at home, lest Kushina become unhappy.
He was truly a warmhearted man. Otherwise, at such a young age, he would never have made Kushina so completely infatuated that she firmly decided she would marry no one but him.
After hearing their conversation, Kushina felt that her man had been bullied. "Hmph. Minato, why didn't you say so earlier? That old fellow, the Third—I should've burned his house down with one fire so he'd stop refusing to retire properly and constantly making trouble for you."
"Ahahaha, Kushina, things aren't that simple. Let's hear Makoto's suggestion first."
Makoto continued giving his advice bluntly. "The core of the Third's power, aside from himself, consists of Shimura Danzō as his assistant, and the advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu."
"Minato-senpai, if you want to become a Hokage who truly holds power, you must dismantle their alliance. It would be best to start with Danzō. That man has the most problems attached to him. We can gather evidence and remove him first."
"Then use him as the breakthrough point to extend the fire to the two advisors and force them into retirement. At that point, only the Third will remain. He will naturally see the situation clearly and withdraw accordingly."
Minato thought about it. With the ANBU forces currently cultivated by Gekkō Kumomi, together with Higashino Makoto and himself, it might indeed be possible to do it.
But he did not want to proceed that way. That would essentially amount to a different kind of coup. If handled poorly, it could turn into a civil conflict within Konoha, and that was not something he wanted to see.
Why would the Hokage rebel?
"Makoto, they have devoted their entire lives to Konoha. They are our role models. Your suggestion is too radical."
"Minato-senpai, struggles for power have always been like this—there is no room for sentiment. Besides, we would use lawful and legitimate means. We wouldn't resort to assassination. How is that radical?"
Minato shook his head. Makoto's suggestion simply did not suit his character. "Do you have any better suggestions?"
Makoto thought for a moment and asked, "Minato-senpai, between your family and the village, which one is more important in your heart?"
If it had been before, Minato might have said they were equally important. But after tonight, when his wife had almost died, something in him had changed.
"Perhaps I really am not a qualified Hokage. In my heart, Kushina and Naruto are a little more important."
Makoto was not surprised. "Since that's how you feel, then retreat in order to advance. Step down from the Hokage position for now and go home to accompany your wife and child."
"Retreat in order to advance? What do you mean?"
The thick-skinned Kushina was already dizzy. Retreat in order to advance—what kind of thing was that? What exactly were they talking about?
Makoto explained, "Since you're unwilling to confront the Third and the others directly, and you also don't want to remain Hokage while accomplishing nothing, then simply take advantage of today's incident. Use recovering from injuries as a reason to temporarily withdraw and take a step back for the Third to see."
Following Makoto's reasoning, Minato said, "Use this method to express a protest to the Third?"
"Yes. If he truly has Konoha's interests at heart, then while exercising the Hokage's authority in your place, he should resolve the problems left over from his own tenure and return to you a Hokage's seat without restraints. That way he can also step down with dignity."
Kushina asked, "What if that old man doesn't do what you said, Makoto? Wouldn't Minato end up losing the Hokage position?"
"It doesn't matter. If he doesn't want dignity for himself, then we'll help him obtain it."
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