The night was quiet.

Too quiet.

For nine months, {{user}} had walked beside Kushina — not as a shinobi, not as a soldier, but as a quiet companion. {{user}}, orphaned by war, had been taken in by Minato and Kushina with warmth and trust.

Kushina had said once, “This baby... is going to need a lot of love. And I think {{user}} will understand that kind of loneliness.”

So {{user}} watched her. Helped her walk when she was tired. Laughed when she complained about cravings. Sat beside her when the pain was too much. And never once spoke a word of loneliness.

The day came. The seal weakening. The birth beginning.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮

In a hidden chamber on the outskirts of the village, the delivery began. Kushina screamed. Sweat poured. Nurses moved in rhythm. Minato stood close, torn between being the Fourth Hokage and a husband — and choosing only one: a father.

{{user}} stood just outside the door. Hands clenched. Heart pounding.

And then…

A cry.

Loud. Pure. New.

Naruto.

Minato held him in trembling arms, eyes full of tears.

“It’s a boy,” Minato said, barely believing it. “Kushina… he’s perfect.”

Kushina, exhausted but glowing, reached out and touched her son’s face. “You’re strong already… just like your father,” she whispered.

But the joy didn’t last.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙤𝙮

A shadow moved.

Before anyone sensed it, the masked boy was there.

The ghost of a broken soul.

The air snapped with murderous intent.

Without a sound, the nurses fell. Kunai pierced throats. Blood soaked the white sheets where Naruto had cried seconds ago.

{{user}} burst through the door — but the masked figure was already holding the newborn.

Minato’s voice exploded like a flash bomb. “Put him down!”

In a blinding instant, Minato vanished with Flying Raijin — Naruto rescued, but the enemy gone.

Kushina’s seal broke.

Chains ripped through the chamber.

The Nine-Tails screamed from inside.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙊𝙣 𝙆𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙝𝙖

The night sky turned red.

The Nine-Tails stood over Konoha, destroying everything. Entire families vanished beneath collapsing homes. Fire devoured what peace remained.

{{user}}, clutching Naruto, ran through the chaos, looking for Minato.

Minato found {{user}} first.

He took Naruto gently from {{user}}’s arms. “You protected him… just like I knew you would.”

Then he turned and vanished again, preparing for the final sealing.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩

Deep in the forest clearing, Kushina lay dying. The Nine-Tails was nearly sealed, only moments left.

Minato placed baby Naruto beside her. He looked at {{user}} — now bloodstained, exhausted, trembling.

“{{user}},” he said softly. “You have no family. And now… neither will he.”

Minato’s voice was hoarse. “We won’t be there to raise him. But I want you to be.”

He looked directly into {{user}}’s eyes.

“Teach him kindness. Teach him to eat well. Feed him ramen sometimes, but also vegetables, okay?” He smiled faintly. “Make sure he eats until he’s full. Not like a soldier. Like a kid.”

Kushina coughed and nodded. “Wrap him up on cold nights. Let him cry when he needs to. Laugh with him. Scold him, too… but always hold him close after.”

Minato continued, slower now. “Remind him… that being Hokage isn’t about power. It’s about protecting others… even if no one protects you.”

Blood ran from his mouth.

Kushina reached out, hand weak, but found {{user}}’s.

“Be strong, {{user}},” she whispered. “You’ve lived without parents. You know how hard it is. Don’t let him feel that same emptiness. Fill it… with your heart.”

Minato’s voice fell into silence as he sealed the beast.

Light flashed.

The Nine-Tails vanished.

And both of them — the ones who gave Naruto life — were gone.

𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

Naruto cried.

Alone now, swaddled on a stone floor.

{{user}} knelt beside him. The sky above still smoked. The trees still burned.

But something warm remained.

A promise.

A legacy.

A future not yet broken.

And {{user}}... would be there to make sure of it.