[Kushina is the first heroine. If that bothers you, please feel free to leave.]
[Female Ninja Collection]
“Reaper Death Seal!”
After completing the hand seals, Minato Namikaze clapped his hands together.
Behind him, the phantom of a Shinigami slowly emerged, clutching a string of prayer beads while a dagger rested between its teeth.
In front of him, Uzumaki Kushina used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind the Nine-Tails tightly in place.
“Have faith in this child,” Minato said in a heavy voice, his eyes fixed on the raging beast.
“He is our son.”
“Seal!”
The Shinigami’s ghostly arm passed through Minato’s body and reached toward the restrained Nine-Tails.
At that exact moment, Minato caught sight of something unbelievable.
A white-haired young man in ragged clothing was hugging Kushina tightly from behind.
The shocking sight almost disrupted Minato’s Chakra, nearly causing the sealing technique to fail.
Kushina, who had been devastated by her husband’s decision to use such a suicidal jutsu, also sensed something strange behind her.
A cold presence wrapped around her.
A pair of arms slipped beneath her shoulders and embraced her body.
She was shocked, furious, and humiliated.
However, after the Nine-Tails had been extracted, she was already on the brink of death.
She was using the last remnants of her life force to maintain the Adamantine Sealing Chains and help Minato restrain the beast.
She no longer had the strength to resist.
Yet the mysterious figure only held her more tightly.
With Naruto just having been born, the hastily opened robe around her body had never been properly closed.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to do this.”
The white-haired youth, Sima Ming, apologized awkwardly as he leaned close enough for Kushina to hear.
To Kushina, however, it sounded like nothing more than a shameless excuse from someone taking advantage of her helpless state.
He claimed it wasn’t intentional, yet his grip continued to tighten.
She was no longer an innocent young girl.
She understood perfectly well what was happening.
Still, one thing puzzled her.
Why was the body behind her so cold?
Shouldn’t it have been warm…
or even burning hot?
Sima Ming hadn’t intended for any of this to happen.
He had once been an ordinary young man from Earth whose only notable trait was his good looks.
Then an overworked truck driver, desperate to meet his year-end quota, sent him straight into the world of Bleach, where he became a Substitute Soul Reaper.
Thanks to his knowledge of the story and a small amount of help from his system, he managed to survive Aizen’s betrayal and the invasion of Hueco Mundo.
However, when Yhwach launched his assault on Soul Society, Sima Ming was kicked squarely in the face by Meninas.
Before he could even process what had happened, Bambietta detonated her ability right beside him.
Just as he was about to be blown into a cloud of blood, his system exhausted every last bit of its remaining energy to teleport him away.
Unfortunately, the explosion distorted space itself, causing the teleportation to go completely off course.
When Sima Ming opened his eyes again, the familiar spiritual atmosphere of Soul Society was gone.
There was no trace of Hueco Mundo.
Nor was he in the Human World.
Holding the broken half of his Asauchi, he heard explosions and deafening roars echoing in the distance.
As he approached, he witnessed Kushina using her Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain the Nine-Tails.
Only then did he realize…
He had escaped from the world of Bleach and arrived in the Naruto world.
His first instinct was to save Minato Namikaze and Kushina.
First, because he had always pitied Naruto’s tragic fate.
Second, because he desperately needed a safe place to recover.
Without his Zanpakuto and suffering severe injuries, even an ordinary Chunin could probably kill him.
Saving the Fourth Hokage and his wife would earn him temporary protection within Konoha.
As for how to save them…
The solution was simple.
Although the early story claimed that a Jinchuriki would inevitably die after their Tailed Beast was extracted, anyone who had seen the entire series knew otherwise.
If the beast was sealed back into the Jinchuriki quickly enough, Kushina’s extraordinary Uzumaki vitality gave her a genuine chance of survival.
There was no need for Minato and the Nine-Tails to perish together.
Unfortunately, before Sima Ming could say a single word…
Minato had already activated the Reaper Death Seal.
The Yellow Flash truly lived up to his reputation.
He moved so quickly that no one had the chance to stop him.
Sima Ming had arrived directly from Soul Society, meaning he was still in his spiritual body.
The Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal was likewise a being that harvested souls.
The instant it appeared…
Its hollow gaze locked directly onto Sima Ming.
The overwhelming pressure terrified him even more than Captain Yamamoto’s furious reprimands.
Instinctively, he rushed toward Kushina.
By clinging to the aura of a living person, he hoped to conceal the presence of his own spiritual body.
That led to the exact scene Minato witnessed…
…and the uncomfortable situation Kushina found herself in.
“Who are you?” Kushina cried through ragged breaths.
“Get away from me… let go!”
If she still had the strength, she would have bound the man behind her with the Adamantine Sealing Chains and cut him into a thousand pieces.
But she couldn’t.
The moment she released the Nine-Tails, Minato’s sacrifice would become meaningless.
The Shinigami would never spare the caster simply because it failed to claim its intended target.
If they failed to seal the Nine-Tails now, Minato would die.
She would die.
Even newborn Naruto would not survive.
And Konoha itself would be destroyed.
“I’m sorry,” Sima Ming replied helplessly.
“Please bear with it just a little longer. Once that thing disappears, I’ll move away.”
He wasn’t having an easy time either.
Because Kushina was kneeling on the ground, he had accidentally slipped into an extremely awkward position.
Things were becoming increasingly difficult to control.
Before crossing worlds, he had devoted himself entirely to studying, hoping to enter a prestigious university, build a successful life, and marry a beautiful woman.
After arriving in Bleach, however, he quickly realized how merciless that world was.
He never dared to relax.
In less than two and a half years, he had risen from an ordinary human to the strength of a Soul Reaper Lieutenant.
Although he possessed a system, it was called Self-Reliance.
Apart from the Zanpakuto included in the beginner’s gift pack, everything else had to be purchased from the system shop.
Swordsmanship.
Hand-to-hand combat.
Flash Step.
Kidō.
Buying them merely taught him the basics.
Mastery still required endless practice.
Even his Spiritual Pressure had to be increased through his own hard work.
If the system hadn’t saved his life just moments ago, he would probably still be cursing it for being completely useless.
Kushina felt like crying.
Was this really something she could simply “endure”?
More importantly…
This strange man could actually see the Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal.
Normally, only the caster and the target of the technique could perceive it.
By now, Minato had finished sealing half of the Nine-Tails.
With little Chakra and life force remaining, he had no time to question the identity of the mysterious man behind his wife.
He shot Sima Ming an indignant glare before slamming his palm onto the ground.
A ritual altar appeared, along with the newborn Naruto lying upon it.
The next step was to seal the remaining half of the Nine-Tails into his son.
That way, after he and Kushina passed away, Naruto would be protected by the village.
It would also prevent the masked man from obtaining the Nine-Tails.
“Wait!” Sima Ming shouted urgently.
“I can save Kushina!”
“As long as you seal the Nine-Tails back into her body, her Uzumaki vitality, combined with my help, will allow her to survive!”
Kushina’s body trembled violently, causing Sima Ming to stiffen from the sudden movement.
Minato froze.
“…Impossible.”
His expression darkened.
“Once a Tailed Beast is extracted, the Jinchuriki is destined to die.”
If he hadn’t believed that to be absolute truth, he would never have accepted his wife’s fate.
Nor would he have chosen to sacrifice his own life with the Reaper Death Seal.