Chapter 253 The Nameless Blessing
"Haruko-neechan!!!"
Kushina's face was filled with terror, her wide eyes scanning Haruko up and down, utterly bewildered.
Haruko's entire body was soaked in blood, a stench that even her black ninja uniform couldn't conceal.
Thick blood even flowed from her tightly closed mouth, and her hands, which were wrapped with white thread, sank into her palms due to excessive force, oozing crimson blood.
The sharp claws, which had just come to a stop, were less than half a meter away from Kushina and Minato Namikaze, and the damp and thick smell of blood assaulted them directly.
Kushina's body trembled slightly as she looked at the scene before her, and two lines of tears slid down her cheeks.
Minato Namikaze, standing nearby, had no sound in his head; his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Seemingly awakened by Kushina's agonizing screams, the baby who had been sleeping soundly in the altar began to cry out, its deep, loud cry deafening.
Even Haruko, whose ears were ringing, subconsciously looked at him.
Seeing his adorable, healthy crying, Haruko couldn't help but tremble as she raised the corners of her blood-red lips.
She protected her.
Excessive blood loss began to cloud her consciousness. While she was still lucid, Haruko endured the pain and screamed at Minato Namikaze, "Quick—!"
Her voice struck Minato Namikaze like a blunt blow, who was unable to accept reality. He snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, and placed his hand on the child.
But his hands kept trembling, and his originally dry eyes became moist with each rapid opening and closing, blurring his vision. At this moment, his mind was so chaotic that he couldn't even fully mobilize his chakra.
No, he needs to calm down, he absolutely must calm down!
Minato Namikaze immediately reached out his right hand and grabbed his left wrist, which temporarily stopped the trembling.
"Eight Trigrams Seal!"
As the sealing process unfolded, the Nine-Tails, filled with resentment, was drawn into the seal.
At the same time, the chakra chains behind Haruko shattered, and she fell straight forward like a butterfly with broken wings, exhausted.
Kushina reacted quickly and reached out to catch her, but she herself had not yet recovered and was almost knocked down by the force of Haruko falling.
Without the Nine-Tailed Fox's sharp claws blocking the flow, the large hole in Haruko's stomach was even more gruesome, staining the lawn below a deep crimson.
Kushina couldn't bear to look at the horrific wound. She bit her lip tightly, but sobs still escaped her lips, and large tears dripped down, wetting Haruko's delicate face.
Feeling the burning heat on her face, Haruko's slightly vacant black eyes slowly turned upwards, and Kushina's tearful face came into view.
Haruko chuckled softly, gently comforting her, "If you keep crying... Kushina won't be pretty anymore..."
Her lips moved, and blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.
Hearing her gentle voice as always, Kushina could no longer hold back and burst into tears, hugging her shoulders tightly and crying so hard she could barely breathe.
"Haruko... Haruko-neechan! Haruko-neechan!"
The moment the seal was completely sealed, Minato Namikaze rushed to Haruko's other side to check on her condition.
The more you look at him, the colder Minato Namikaze's expression becomes.
Her injuries were too severe; her abdomen was completely ripped open, and her internal organs were gone. It could be said that even the most skilled medical expert among the Three Ninjas could not save her.
This means they could only watch helplessly as her life faded away.
"Damn it!"
Minato Namikaze raised his fist and slammed it hard into the ground, his bent back trembling slightly.
Self-reproach and anger completely overwhelmed Minato Namikaze. If only he had been more vigilant, more composed, and reacted faster...
"Watergate..."
Haruko turned her head and focused her gaze on him. "That masked man... is a member of the Uchiha clan who disappeared..."
“What…” Minato Namikaze looked up at her in disbelief.
Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions: worry about unfinished business, a plea for help that might lead to misunderstandings about the Uchiha clan, and above all, a deep trust in Minato Namikaze.
Having deciphered her meaning, Minato Namikaze nodded. "I understand. I'll investigate!"
His words were tinged with urgency; a man who had become a father was like an impetuous teenager in front of his former sister, with no trace of maturity or composure left.
The only thing Minato Namikaze could hold back was preventing his tears from falling.
But his expression, a mixture of laughter and barely concealed sorrow, was truly unsightly. Haruko looked at him vaguely, hoping that he could abandon his stubbornness and cry like Kushina, so that she could feel better watching him.
Looking at the two of them, Haruko didn't know what to say in the face of death so that they wouldn't feel regret.
The chaotic thinking brought on by weakness made time seem to stretch out frame by frame.
In the end, Haruko couldn't come up with anything. She felt that no matter what she said, there would be no lack of regrets, so she could only recite her expectations for the two of them.
"I look forward to...the day when the Uchiha completely trust Konoha..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Haruko's body emitted a white light and slowly turned into dust and dissipated into the air amidst their panicked and helpless expressions.
No! Don't!
Kushina reached out to grab the dissipating fragments, but couldn't grasp anything. The helplessness she felt made her cry out.
"Me! It should be me! I should be the one who sacrifices!"
Haruko, nestled in her arms, struggled to breathe, using her last strength to retort, "You are Naruto's parents...you must live..."
Before they could speak, Haruko turned her head slightly to look at the crying baby waving its arms and legs on the altar.
"Let me die as Illusionary Dust..."
"Don't... tell anyone..."
Gradually, she fell silent, and even her faint breathing stopped.
In their breathless, dazed state, Haruko's body completely transformed into drifting specks of white light, fluttering in the air, the butterfly chasing death disappearing forever from this world.
The child's cries grew louder and louder, as if trying to hold her back; the loud cries soared into the sky.
That final glance he gave Naruto was filled with an unspoken blessing—
Naruto must grow up healthy.
Naruto must be surrounded by happiness.
Naruto must be the happiest person in the world.
...
When Kushina, the wife of the Fourth Hokage, was giving birth, a masked man broke in, took the child hostage, and then stole half of the Nine-Tails' chakra that Kushina had released, attempting to use the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha.
Thanks to the desperate efforts of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the Anbu, the Nine-Tails was successfully kept outside the village and sealed a second time, preventing a major blow to Konoha.
The masked man is suspected to be a member of the Uchiha clan who went missing a few months ago. He escaped the scene when the Nine-Tails was sealed, and the Hokage is currently dispatching personnel to hunt him down.
In this Nine-Tailed Fox incident, the Dark Unit member Huan Chen sacrificed his life.
The day after the incident ended, the news spread throughout Konoha.
******
The list of recipients of gratitude as of July 4, 2024:
grateful--
A fat, silly goose, a dragon from the Western Ruins, and a crane tree (a gift to urge updates).
The star who works tirelessly, a thumbs up from Fox Spirit Matchmaker!
Mu Wangfu, who loves black rice fried rice, wrote this update from Passerby A, along with Sanhao Squirrel, Muxue Yuji, Pineapple Anxincao, ★★●, Lin Laoji, and Ayu Zhendi C, who contributed 3 units of love-fueled energy.
Grape stewed fish is incomprehensible; Crane Tree (gifted with love x2)
One bite of Su Nuo, Xiao Xingxing who loves to eat stir-fried duck with ginger, Wu Ziyun, False.Yu, Fusang Qin, Qi is not seven, saury doesn't like to eat fish, piano lacquer worker, 13 Xi 14, username 30239160, let's eat, the world's number one cool, the healing unicorn in the electric firelight, the love-powered unicorn.
Thank you for the gifts! The author is so touched! Minato and Kushina are crying their eyes out ε(＞＜)7з
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