In the brightly lit cave, where two brand-new leavea had just sprouted, a moment of peace was shared.
"Well done, Kushina. Our job is done. You can rest now." Biwako said warmly.
"Minato, please stop fussing over the baby and let him sleep. Newborns need a lot of rest."
Minato, who had been cradling Naruto proudly and showing him off to Kushina with a stupid smile, blinked and woke up from his childish moment to his usual savvy state. Embarrassed, he gently handed Naruto back to the young girl, watching at the side laughing silently.
"Ahh, right, Madam Sarutobi. Sorry. I'll get started. Come on, Kushina, let's reseal the Nine Tails for one last time, and then, we can finally go home."
The young midwife couldn't help but smirk at the rare sight of her idol acting like an overexcited father. To hide her grin, she turned away and walked toward the table near the cave entrance, Naruto held gently in her arms, to grab a milk bottle prepared before for the hungry child in her arm.
But before she reached her goal, a figure appeared before her, blocking her pass.
Confused, she looked up to see who it was, but before she could react, a kunai plunged into her heart, then pulled out silently before she could scream, letting the blood flow down on the blanket covering the child in her arms.
Another hand also reached out and snatched Naruto from her grasp, before she collapsed to the ground. She watched the only eye exposed under the red light and watched silently as her life fade away and she fell to the ground. She collapsed simple and fast while her world faded to pure black.
Thud.
The dull sound of her body hitting the ground made everyone turn sharply.
When their eyes landed on the bloody scene, a masked figure holding Naruto, kunai pressed against the infant's cheek, their hearts clenched in horror.
"Taji!! Who are you?!"
Biwako, seeing her apprentice falling to the ground and the child being held by the stranger, grabbed the other child tighter and screamed!
"Put Naruto down, NOW!"
Kushina, still in pain, struggled to stand while shouting to the man threatening her family. Her child was in danger, and she was ready to risk everything, even of it meant enduring the pain of her body.
But the masked figure ignored them completely. His one visible eye was locked on Minato from the beginning, the man who silently had took a Kunai and was staring at him with pure cautious.
"Fourth Hokage," he said coldly, "if you don't want your child's first hour to be his last, step away from the Nine Tails' jinchūriki."
Behind Minato, Biwako Sarutobi backed away slowly and sneakily, shielding the other newborn, Menma while making a hand sign behind the child's body and hidden from everyone, activating a hidden seal they'd prepared in secret with her husband, a last-resort alert to put the village on wartime readiness. It would inform her husband and Konoha's forces that something had gone horribly wrong.
Minato stood tense, mind racing. He needed to protect Naruto. Kushina. And the other child. But the masked intruder wasn't going to let him think for long.
"Hmph. You asked for it."
Suddenly, the masked man hurled Naruto toward the ceiling with terrifying speed.
Minato's heart stopped. If Naruto hit the stone ceiling, he'd die.
In a flash, Minato vanished and reappeared mid-air, catching Naruto just in time. He twisted his body to shield the infant and absorb the momentum as his feet slammed into the cave wall. Ready to follow the action to save his wife but...
Hiss...
A sound he knew all too well.
"Explosion tags!!"
Without a second thought, Minato reached into the towel, grabbed Naruto directly, and activated his Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting them far from the cave into the wilderness.
The moment they landed, he cast the towel aside and teleported back.
He had to get back. Kushina. Menma. Everyone was still inside.
But when he returned, the cave was almost empty.
The bed was vacant.
Blood trickled down Biwako's side as she leaned weakly against the wall, still cradling Menma.
Minato rushed to her side.
"Lady Biwako! Are you okay? Is the baby alright? Where's Kushina?!"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lifted Menma up to show him she had protected the child with care, calming the nerves Minato a little.
Minato took his second son into his arms. He also quickly checked the bare Naruto, thankfully unharmed, and then Menma. Both were alive and fine. Well, if you ignore the Menma's angry face and Naruto's loud cries.
On the other hand Biwako start treating her wounds with shaky hands, stoping the bleeding. She glanced toward the motionless body of her pupil near the entrance, eyes full of sorrow.
"Don't worry about me. I'm not dying today," she said faintly. "Listen carefully, Minato. Take the kids to one of your hidden safe houses. Keep them warm. Don't let them catch cold."
She paused to catch her breath, then continued, more urgently.
"Then go after Kushina. He's coming for the Nine Tails inside her. If he manages to extract it... with her Uzumaki bloodline, you'll have about thirty minutes to seal it back. No more."
Minato's jaw clenched. He nodded.
"Also, my kunai and senbon went through him, but his attacks hit me. I think he can become intangible at will. Be careful."
She leaned her head back against the wall, exhausted but still vigilant, leaving the last Intel she could grab at that short moment to Minato.
"I triggered the alert seal. The village knows. You don't need to waste time warning them. Just promise me..."
She smiled weakly.
"Promise me I'll see you at the twins' physical exam tomorrow... not on a hospital bed or a cemetery."
Minato's expression softened.
"If I can't handle this with details and hope you've given me... then I don't deserve to be the Fourth Hokage."
With a final nod, he vanished.
Biwako watched him disappear, then slowly turned her gaze toward the body of her apprentice.
"Alas... this is a ninja's fate. Dying unexpectedly. I hope you rest well... in your next life my child..."
---
Meanwhile, moments earlier in the village...
In a small room filled with scrolls and documents, an old man, known as ninjutsu professor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, raised his head sharply, eyes narrowing in the direction of the cave.
"So it's gone wrong after all those preparations..."
Sighing, he set aside the scroll and began changing into combat gear.
"Let's hope this doesn't spiral out of control."
He called to the guard outside, issuing rapid commands that activated Konoha's long-dormant war protocols.
Ninja falcons took flight across the village, carrying urgent alerts.
Sirens blared. Warnings spread like wildfire.
Konoha shifted into wartime readiness, a level of alert even higher than when war had reached their gates.
Ninja swarmed the streets, everyone doing what they should. Jōnins secured key points, chūnins activated barriers, genins evacuated civilians, medical teams mobilized and defense units deployed at every important node of the village.
Everyone moved like clockwork, a thousand gears turning together, ready to face any kind of storm.
---
Minutes passed as people were trying hard to push the villagers to the safe places.
Suddenly, in the heart of the village, a masked figure in a black cloak appeared. No noise. No chakra spike. He walked silently through the busiest street like a ghost, something that would not be noticed by anyone.
But tonight, Konoha's sensor teams were sharp and highly alart. On a rooftop nearby, a jōnin turned sharply toward the figure.
"Unfamiliar chakra invation, an intruder!"
In seconds, ten elite jōnin appeared, surrounding the masked man.
"Identify yourself and state your purpose. Cooperate, or we won't be gentle!"
The masked figure tilted his head.
"So they somehow managed to alert you after all. Not that it will change anything..."
He chuckled.
"You're all just insects in my way."
The dry words, sounded from a deep throat and wounded beast, made the ninja present flinch.
"What did you say?!"
They raised their weapons, ready to attack but before they could react, the man raised his hands to form seals.
Knowing that what was coming the jōnin didn't wait and shoot as many simple jutsu the could as they had been preparing them since spotting the stranger.
"Fire!"
A barrage of jutsu exploded in every direction, engulfing the masked figure in a massive explosion.
BOOM!!
Civilians in the far screamed and ran, guided by police and emergency teams, toward the shelters.
On the rooftop, a jōnin turned to a Hyūga ninja beside him with an asking eyes.
"Did we get him?"
"Hard to tell."
the Hyūga frowned while the veins next to his eyes became even more obvious and bulging.
"There's too much chakra interference. I can't see.."
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Fall back! now!"
"SUMMONING JUTSU!"
---