Scarlet flash

August 17th. Hidden Leaf. Hokage Residence.       Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village, one of the strongest shinobi alive today, was sitting in his modest office, sorting through endless piles of papers and documents. Despite the fact that he'd rather be around his pregnant wife right now, Minato wasn't complaining. It was a job that had to be done. Oh, and it was too late to complain - he had chosen this path for himself.       Thinking of his wife, Minato smiled involuntarily. Kushina, his beautiful, scarlet-haired wife was already eight months pregnant. Very soon they would be parents of twins. Yes, very soon he would be able to hold his daughter and his son in his arms. He suggested that they name their son Naruto, in honor of Jiraiya, which Kushina agreed to, but said she would name her daughter Naruto herself. Aimi was the name she had chosen to name her daughter after her mother, who had died with the Hidden Whirlpool.       The closer the day of delivery got, the more Minato began to worry. Kushina was a jinchūriki, and that made things more complicated. The seal would be weakened during childbirth, which could give the Fox a chance to break free, so Minato himself would have to restrain Kyuubi during the birth.       Shaking his head, Namikaze decided not to think about the bad, but to get back to work, for the sooner it was completed, the sooner he would get home to Kushina.       Taking a new stack of papers, the Hokage was about to get back to work when suddenly there was a knock at the door. A little surprised that he had a visitor at such a late hour, he immediately allowed him to enter.       The night visitor was Sarutobi Hiruzen, his predecessor as Hokage.       - I knew you were still here, Minato," the former Hokage began, smiling as he looked at the stacks of papers the blond had yet to examine, Sarutobi continued, "and you're doing a good job.       - If you had told me that the Hokage had so much work to do, I would never have agreed to take this position," the yellow-haired man said with a tired smile.       - That's why you didn't," Hiruzen smiled back, "The paperwork was killing me too, especially in the early years. It'll be easier from now on.       - Then let's hope I don't die under a mountain of paperwork for the next couple of years.       - I have a serious conversation to have with you," said the Third, pulling himself together in a flash.       - I'm listening to you," Minato said after he had activated the soundproof barrier in his office.       - This is about Kushina. As you know, the seal weakens greatly during childbirth," after Minato nodded, the old man continued. - You'll keep Liss in it throughout the birth, but we need to be prepared in case he can still break free of the seal.       Though Minato didn't like the direction this conversation had taken, he nodded. As Hokage, he must always put the safety and well-being of the village first, and the appearance of the Nine-tailed Fox Demon certainly didn't bode well for the village or its people.       - What do you suggest?       - If that happens, we'll have to seal him in your children.       - Why not seal it into me, for example, if that's what's going to happen? - Minato asked, knowing that a jinchuriki's life was no fairy tale and not wanting to doom anyone, especially his own children.       - You won't survive it. The best way to seal a tailed one is to seal it in a baby. Besides, your children will have Uzumaki blood in their veins. I don't have to tell you what this clan is known for in the first place. That's the reason why all of the Ninetails' jinchuriki were Uzumaki. The others are simply unable to contain its power within them. Before Uzumaki Mito sealed Fox into himself, they tried to seal him into one of the Senju. He didn't last a day, even though the Senju, though less so than the Uzumaki, were renowned for their endurance, and the fact that Mito, being a master of fuinjutsu, had placed a very powerful seal.       - It looks like we really have no choice," Minato forcedly agreed, knowing full well that Kushina was the only Uzumaki in the village, and thus there were no potential candidates for that role in the List.       - That wasn't all. Before Kyubey was extracted from Mito, she told me something else. Did you know that the scarlet-haired clan was known for being masters of fuinjutsu? - After waiting for Minato's nod, Hiruzen continued. - According to Mito, it was something like their Kekkei Genkai. A seal made by a member of this clan would be at least twice as strong as the same seal made by any other shinobi.       - Are you saying that my child might not be able to hold the Nine-Tails within him if it wasn't sealed within him by an Uzumaki? - Seeing Hiruzen's nod, the young Hokage hurriedly asked the next question. - Who sealed him in Kushina then? Mito was already dead by then, after all.       - Koushina was accompanied by two Uzumaki shinobi on her way from Whirlpool to Leaf. Since Whirlpool had already been destroyed by the time they arrived, I suggested they stay in the village. They agreed. One of them sealed Fox into Kushina.       - What happened to them?       - They're both dead. Died in World War III. They left no heirs.       - What do we do then? If Liss escapes, Kushina won't be able to reseal him into one of our children. There are no other Uzumaki in the village.       - There is one way. After the destruction of the Whirlpool, Mito realized that there would soon be no pure-blooded Uzumaki left in the world, so there would be no one left who could contain the power of the Fox, nor anyone who could successfully seal it. Therefore, in order to be able to seal Lisp in the future, she has developed a special technique. With this technique, we will be able to "split" the Nine-Tails. As you know, a Nine-Tail is, roughly speaking, a huge... let's say a "chunk" of chakra that's simply taken on the form of a certain beast. Like any chakra, tails are made up of Yin and Yang components. And with the Mito technique, one can "split" a biju into these two components, essentially creating two biju, each of which will be twice as weak. That way, even a seal that is not placed by Uzumaki will be able to contain their power.       - Is there any guarantee that my children will survive this?       - Whoever we seal the Yang half fox into will definitely survive it. Whoever the Yin half is sealed into is a bit more difficult. According to Mito, the Yin chakra of the tailed one is much more poisonous, so it will be much harder for the jinchuriki to adapt to it. A pureblood Uzumaki is quite capable of withstanding it, but a half-breed.... The result could be anything.       - And you want to put your children at risk? You want me to condemn them to the life of a jinchuriki? - Four asked grimly.       - I understand Minato, but you have no choice. Besides, that will only happen if Liss can break free of Kushina's seal.       - That's when the "last resort" usually comes," he said with a frown. - Four said glumly as he watched Hiruzen place the scroll in front of him.       - The technique of separating the Tailed One is very chakra-intensive," the old man replied to Minato's questioning look. - I'll probably pass out from chakra exhaustion after it, so if it comes to that, you'll have to do the sealing of the Fox. This scroll contains the technique that Mito once used to seal Kyuubi into herself.       Seeing that Minato had decided to study the scroll without delay, Hiruzen turned around, intending to leave the office. He was stopped on the threshold by the voice of the Fourth:       - Are you sure this is the only way out?       There was silence in the office. It was clear from the frown on Hiruzen's face that he was thinking about something. Something very important that he couldn't even keep his face straight. For a moment, Minato even had hope that he wouldn't have to place such a burden on his children's shoulders. Hope that he wouldn't have to put them at such risk. A hope that the Third had shattered with a single word.       - Yes.

***

October 10th. The fringes of the Hidden Leaf.       "After words like that, it's usually the 'last resort' that comes." - ran through Third's mind as he saw the powerful Fuin Fox immobilized in front of him.       This day would have been no different from any other day if it wasn't for one thing. Today was exactly the day of Uzumaki Kushina's childbirth. Since morning, the Third had sent his wife to take the scarlet-haired woman to a prearranged cave outside of the Leaf. It had been specially arranged just for this day. The area for a kilometer around it was packed with various barriers and traps, with twenty of the best ANBU patrolling the entire perimeter. Biwako and an elite Yiryonin ANBU are chosen to act as midwives, while Minato's job is to contain Fox.       That something had gone wrong became clear just after sunset when a furious roar sounded over the sleeping village. Right in the middle of the village, he appeared. The Nine-tailed Demon Fox.       With Enma's help and the support of Leaf's jonin, Hiruzen tried to contain it, but it was clear that it couldn't last much longer. At the moment when Kyuubi was about to finish everyone around him with the Tail Bomb Minato finally appeared. A moment later, the Fox disappears with him, and a terrifying explosion rattles northwest of the village. A moment more, Minato appears where Fox had just been, but this time with his children in his arms. A moment later, Third and Fourth appear in front of the immobilized Fox.       "Yeah, he's definitely faster than Teacher Tobirama," Hiruzen's thought occurred to himself.              - Minato! Are you okay?       - The chakra's almost gone. I won't be able to hold Fox for long. Divide his chakra," Four replied, dropping to his knee before summoning two altars and gently laying his children on them.       Hiruzen was instantly on top of the immobilized Nine-Tails' head, beginning to fold a long series of seals.       - The Art of Seals. Separation of the Tailed Beast! - Sarutobi shouted out, placing his palm on Fox's forehead.       The roar of the beast that followed was heard by probably the entire Fire Country. As soon as the white smoke from the technique cleared, both Hokage saw two Nine-tailed Foxes in front of them. Both were much smaller than before. The first, like before the separation, was bright orange in color. The second one's fur was now a dark scarlet color.       - We need to seal them. I'll seal the Yin half into my son! - shouted Minato as he began to fold the hand seals.       The third, not wanting to give the Foxes time to recover, began to create an identical series of seals.       - The Art of Seals. The Seal of the Eight Trigrams! - sounded almost simultaneously.       The bright orange Fox was immediately drawn into the seal on the girl's stomach, while the dark scarlet Fox was drawn into the seal of the boy, causing the children to cry.       - Wiping sweat from his forehead, Third, who was barely able to stand, said, as did Minato, who, despite his fatigue, kept looking at his children to make sure they were all right.       - Yeah, I guess so. It's time to go home," the blond man said, getting ready to take the children in his arms.       At that moment the crying baby stopped crying, his eyes began to glow a bright red light, and in a second he was enveloped in scarlet chakra. The light fuzz on his head, which had been yellow a second ago, began to turn the same color. Before Minato could do anything, the baby's body was completely covered in chakra, which began to bubble up as if boiling.       - Damn it! Third, what's going on?!