I'm Minato

In the heart of the Shinobi World, deep within the Land of Fire, lay the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Once a sanctuary of peace, it was now a landscape of chaos. The streets, once bustling with the joyful sounds of daily life, were now filled with screams of pain and despair. Fires raged uncontrollably, casting a hellish glow over the village.

In the midst of this pandemonium, far in the distance a colossal figure towered over a destroyed forest—the Nine-Tailed Fox. The beast's immense form was being held at bay by golden chains, the Adamantium Sealing Chains.

At the origin of these chains stood a red-haired kunoichi, her face pale and determined, despite the agony she endured. Kushina Uzumaki, her body currently being impaled by Kurama's massive claw, strained to keep the beast at bay.

Behind her, a blond-haired shinobi, equally pale and resolute, stood in the same situation as her. This was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.

Both shinobi, despite their grievous wounds, had only one concern—their newly born child, Naruto. Minato and Kushina's eyes, filled with both pain and love, remained fixed on their son, who lay crying in the cradle of a protective barrier nearby.

'What is this... feeling?' Minato thought, struggling to maintain his focus, 'Am I... already out of time? I should have much more energy than this.'

But instead of the cold embrace of death, Minato felt a surge of energy, a merging of his consciousness with something—or someone—else. Memories that were not his own began to flood his mind, overlapping with his own.

'Who... am I?' he wondered, feeling an odd sense of duality. 'I am Minato Namikaze... but also... someone else?'

As the final moments of their sacrifice approached, Minato's eyes widened at the large claw stabbing through his chest, as if he hadn't noticed before, 'Fuck! Your telling me I was reborn as Minato Namikaze when he's at death's fucking door!? What the hell are the chances!?'

His eyes darted around in a panic, he had just woken up to being the Fourth Hokage, but it seemed to be at the worst time.

'Tsk! Like hell I'm gonna die as soon as I got a second chance!'

Despite the previous Minato being at peace at dying with his wife, the current him had different plans.

'I need to calm down and think of a plan...' His once racing heart began to relax as he focused his mind.

Quickly, he recounted the situation from his newfound memories.

Someone wearing a mask had attacked them while Kushina was giving birth.

The masked man had released the Nine Tails upon the village. But the current Minato knew very well that this man wasn't simply a rogue ninja, but rather his student Obito Uchiha in disguise.

After a series of intense battles, they had managed to separate the Nine Tails from the village and into the nearby forest. Kushina had restrained its movements with her adamantine sealing chains, and the previous Minato had already used the Reaper Death Seal to split the fox in two, sealing half of it within himself.

And planning to seal the other half into their newborn son, Naruto, to prepare him for the future hardships and battles.

'This situation is far from good.' Minato thought, annoyed. Nevertheless, a plan began to form in his mind as a glint of coldness entered his eyes.

'First things first,' he thought, circulating his chakra to slow his death, 'I need to ensure I can live, but without harming Naruto and Kushina. I also need to deal with the Nine-Tails, but I can't just seal it back into Kushina. The village would be highly prone to an attack if it was known that their tailed beast died since at this point, her vitality factor has been completely drained and death is inevitable.'

But after a few moments of thinking, his plan became fully realized.

A gentle smile then appeared on Minato's blood-stricken face as he turned to his wife, "I have another plan." He said softly.

Kushina, weak and exhausted, glanced back at him, confusion evident in her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Just keep the Nine-Tails contained," Minato reassured her. "I'll be right back."

Without another word, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished from the spot.

He reappeared at a distant, broken-down compound on the outskirts of the Leaf Village.

A gaping hole through his chest and his vision blurring, he pressed on, his chakra nearly depleted. Minato knew this place well—it was the Uzumaki Temple, and it held something he needed.

Staggering inside, he quickly located a wall of masks. His eyes scanned over them until he locked onto a specific one. Grabbing it, he vanished once again, reappearing beside Kushina who was still being impaled.

Her eyes widened as she recognized the mask, 'The Death Reaper Mask? The only reason he'd need that is to break the sealing jutsu, but he just did it to himself. So why would he want to release it?' Confusion clouded her mind, but Minato had no time to explain.

"S-Sorry, h-honey, just give me a few more seconds." Minato said, his voice trembling as he continued to stagger.

With renewed resolve, he dashed toward a familiar figure in the distance—the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been unable to assist them due to the barrier he had placed earlier to contain the Nine-Tails.

Making a gap in the barrier, Minato approached Hiruzen, who looked at him with shock and concern, "Minato, what are you doing?!"

"No time to explain, Lord Third," Minato replied, struggling to stay upright. "I-I need your help to save my family and the village."

Hiruzen nodded, understanding the urgency in his voice, "What do you need me to do?"

Minato quickly explained, "I need to seal the Nine-Tails in you... But don't worry, I have a method to extract it while keeping you alive, so this is only a temporary containment."

Hiruzen seemed stunned by his statement, "Even if I were to agree, my current body can't handle it."

Minato shook his head, "Perhaps if it were the entire tailed beast, but I'm only going to seal half of it in you."

Hiruzen was hesitant, wondering about the safety of his life, before simply nodding in agreement, "Indeed, if it's only half, I could probably manage with my sealing knowledge. Alright, I understand. Let's commence the transfer process."

Normally, Minato would have conserved his energy and kept the beast sealed within himself, but one of his concerns was protecting Naruto's childhood. By making the Hokage a Jinchuuriki, the focus would shift away from Naruto, especially if no one knew the true host of the Nine-Tails.

Hiruzen understood Minato's reasoning. Without hesitation, he raised his shirt, exposing his abdomen.

Minato donned the Death Reaper Mask, the eerie visage bringing an almost palpable chill to the air. With grim determination, the spirit gutted itself across the stomach, effectively causing the same wound on Minato, as a searing pain caused his vision to blur even more.

Dizzy but resolute, he felt the tug on his soul by the Death Reaper dissipate, freeing him and the Nine-Tails from its grasp. He nearly stumbled backward but managed to steady himself.

The two Jonin behind Hiruzen were shocked, their concern evident as they moved to help, "Lord Fourth, are you okay?" One of them asked, worry etched on their face.

Minato raised a trembling hand, indicating he was fine. His already pale expression worsened as blood continued to flow out from his injury, nevertheless he pressed his fingers against Hiruzen's stomach.

Eight Trigrams Seal!

His chakra flared, a small shrine illuminated by torches appeared around them, signifying the activation of the powerful sealing jutsu.

"Stay with me, Lord Third," Minato muttered, his voice strained but steady, "This will be over soon."

Hiruzen, gritting his teeth against the burning sensation of the vast energy transferring into him, nodded in understanding.

The process felt like an eternity, but finally, Minato felt the clump of energy leave his body and enter the Third Hokage's.

Hiruzen grimaced but managed to contain the power within, "It's done," Minato said, his voice barely above a whisper. He took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, "I have one more request."

"Anything." Hiruzen replied, his voice calm despite the immense energy coursing through him.

Minato then explained, "Leave living bodies of enemy shinobi next to my corpse, make sure their in physical contact with me. They must also be strong bodies."

Hiruzen furrowed his brows at the odd request but agreed, realizing Minato had little time, "Understood."

Once confirmed, Minato borrowed some chakra from him and dashed back toward the impaled Kushina. His resolve strengthened, he quickly performed the Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto, ensuring that the remaining half of the Nine-Tails would be sealed within his child.

RAAAAA!

"YOU BASTARD!!! DAMN YOU 4TH HOKAGE!!!"

The enormous fox screamed in fury as he was slowly being pulled into the seal on Naruto's stomach. He couldn't even resist because of Kushina's chains continuing to restrict his movements.

As Minato injected chakra into his newborn baby, he simply ignored the furious fox, and glanced at his wife, her pale face reflecting a mix of pain and grit, "Kushina, you have to trust that this will protect Naruto." He said, his voice hopeful despite the chaos around them.

Kushina nodded weakly, her eyes filled with tears but also with unwavering love and hope for their son, "I believe in you, Minato."

As he was completing the final touches to the seal and the Nine-Tails was almost fully contained, his legs suddenly gave in, and he fell to his knees.

'Not good! I'm running lower on chakra than I thought!'

He couldn't resist as he slowly collapsed face forward, his eyes coming to a close.

Minato reached out to Naruto, his hand trembling and his vision shaky, but it seemed to no avail, as he continued to fall.

"Minato! You need to stay awake!" In the background, he could hear the frantic shouts of Kushina.

However, before he could hit the ground, Hiruzen caught him around the shoulder, "Leave the rest to me. I'll be sure to seal the Nine-Tails within your child as you wish." He assured, his voice firm and resolute.

Minato couldn't respond, his body growing increasingly limp.

Yet, with a last surge of willpower, he began forming one-handed jutsu signs, 'P-Please work, because if this doesn't, I really will die...' He thought desperately.

Once finishing the one-handed jutsu signs, his eyes closed. His heart rate slowed, and his body went fully limp against Hiruzen.

The 3rd Hokage grimaced, feeling the full weight of Minato's body. Determination etched on his face, he turned his glare towards the Nine-Tails, focusing on finishing the seal.

With swift and precise movements, he completed the sealing process. The powerful chakra of the Nine-Tails was successfully transferred into the newborn Naruto.

As the sealing was completed, everything went black for Minato, his life seemingly coming to an end.

Or not...

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Thought this would be an interesting story!