Naruto: Uchiha’s Blood Curse

The night sky was torn apart by the roars of the Nine-Tailed Fox as he thrashed against his gigantic chains. Konoha was in grave danger if this beast got through the other shinobis.

"Mahito, how did you—?"

"I didn't know, no need to ask," Mahito interrupted her twin brother while biting her nail. "Just a gut feeling that I shouldn't sleep early tonight. I didn't expect to see anything like this here. This was a battle out of our range."

Her eyes flashed red, activating her Sharingan before she glanced at Itachi, who followed her example. "Don't even try attacking that fox."

Itachi's lips tightened, but he didn't say anything to oppose his sister because he also realized that if they recklessly tried attacking that monster, they'd be as good as dead.

"What should we do then?" he asked her instead while scanning their surroundings.

Mahito stood frozen as she saw her dear auntie, Kushina, in the middle of the forest—which was very close to where the Nine-Tailed Fox thrashed around—and she appeared to have just given birth.

'What's going on? Why is she there?'

Itachi also noticed and immediately frowned. Kushina stood in the center of all the mess. Her red hair was fluttering with the winds from the attacks and destruction around her. At the same time, she held a small blond-haired baby in her arms.

"Itachi," Mahito whispered as she took out her kunai, "details are unknown, dangers are unknown, but the danger is beyond an S-grade mission. We can't let Auntie face this in her current condition."

"Stay close," he warned. "We're going to take this unidentified mission."

The twins leapt forward. At the same time, a sword of lightning was heading straight for Kushina's back. With swift movements, she appeared under the forearm of the attacker and kicked him away.

"Ugh."

Mahito heard the attacker's groan. 'He's a male.'

"Why are you here?!" Kushina shouted at them. She was struggling to maintain her seal arrangements, but the kids' appearance shocked her. "It's too dangerous. Go back!"

Mahito gritted her teeth as she blocked another attack. "You need us, Auntie! Just focus on the sealing!"

Kushina bit her lip and nodded. The sweat dripping off her temples was an evident sign—she needed help. Her hands moved faster as she grabbed a few more seals while performing several hand signs.

"Just promise me you two will leave if your life is at risk."

Mahito and Itachi scoffed in response and continued to protect her.

On the other side of the battlefield, things weren't easy either. The Nine-Tails swiped his massive claws at the shinobis that tried restricting his movement, his mouth opening as he roared loudly.

"Minato-sama, we can't hold on for so long!"

"That's fine," the Fourth Hokage assured his team. "The village will be alright. We just need to hold on for a short amount of time."

Minato disappeared and reappeared in various locations, rescuing anyone who was in grave danger while inflicting as much damage as possible on the Nine-Tails.

'We can do it.'

'We can survive!'

'We'll defeat this monster.'

With his presence alone, the shinobis gritted their teeth and pushed themselves more. With the Fourth Hokage by their side, they believed they could protect the village and seal this monster.

On the other hand, Mahito was internally screaming. The enemy was deeply hidden and only appeared to attack, which forced them to stay in a passive position.

Offense was the greatest defense.

The enemy surely knew that phrase and guarded against it. The situation was only worsening as Itachi's and Mahito's chakra dwindled.

'Dammit. The excessive usage of the Sharingan is making my chakra deplete faster than it should.'

Mahito could only stop activating her Sharingan. She blinked, her red irises turning into golden ones as she stood closer to Kushina.

'If worse came to worse, I'd use my body as a shield.'

Kushina realized her intention and kindly tried to urge her to leave. "It's helpless. My body is too weak to hold it," she muttered.

The words hit Mahito harshly. If Kushina couldn't seal that gigantic fox, the whole village would die. Itachi knew that as well. He clenched his fist around his kunai before offering an unbelievable solution.

"You don't have to. Just seal it into the baby. We'll cover you."

Kushina's eyes widened. "But—"

"No time to argue!" Itachi snapped, his usually calm demeanor cracking under the pressure. "The baby can hold it, right? He's your son and Minato-sama's!"

"Please, do that," Mahito urged as well. Her face twisted as she looked at the little baby. Her stomach churned at the thought of using the little baby to save themselves, but the situation was helpless.

Kushina hesitated. She realized how bad it was to carry the Nine-Tails inside your body. The grudge and hatred would be directed at you—the innocent jinchuriki—and the suffering wouldn't be little.

"I promise we all will protect the baby."

Hearing Mahito's earnest pleading, Kushina could only agree. She changed the hand signs she had been performing earlier and started the sealing process again.

Minutes felt like hours.

Mahito's vision blurred as she blocked another attack. The enemy was getting faster and faster. Her Sharingan flickered whenever she felt danger, but she couldn't block all the attacks that way.

She groaned as the sword pierced through her thigh; a sharp pain shot through her.

Itachi noticed immediately. "Mahito! Are you—"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, though her trembling hands betrayed her. "Watch your back!"

He barely had time to dodge as a kunai flew past him, grazing his shoulder. He growled in frustration but didn't allow himself to be distracted anymore.

Thankfully, their battle was finally coming to an end.

"Seal!"

With a last sign, Kushina completed the seal. The Nine-Tails let out an earth-shaking roar before turning into a ball of chakra and being absorbed into the little baby's body.

"It's done…" The red-haired woman dropped to her knees in front of her child, tears of relief streaming down her face.

Itachi finally relaxed and fell next to her. His tired body gave out, and he passed out. But Mahito was different. The greatest danger, in her opinion, wasn't the Nine-Tails; it was the unknown man who had been attacking them the whole time!

Her worries soon proved to be justified.

Before anyone could react, a shadowy figure appeared behind Kushina. This was the first time the attacker showed himself fully.

A man wearing a long black cloak with red cloud designs, a mask with one opening for his eye, and that eye—

"Watch out!"

Mahito cried out once she saw that eye. Her body moved subconsciously, and she barely managed to move Kushina out of the way. Her Sharingan flared and activated forcefully, causing her to cry bloody tears.

But she didn't dare to deactivate it.

Why? Because the attacker had the Sharingan, too!

Her battered body ached, but she forced herself to attack vigorously. She ignored the burning sensation and finally engaged in a fight with this mysterious attacker.

"You're good, but too young."

The man seemed to purr that before breaking all of her defenses and stabbing her through her stomach.

"Mahito!" Kushina's voice was filled with horror as she caught the young girl—and at the same time, a yellow flash appeared next to her, and she heard her husband's voice.

"Rasengan!"

"Too late."

Unfortunately, the attacker was only injured, but he disappeared into thin air. Kushina couldn't care about him anymore. She looked at the Uchiha twins, who were bleeding under her, and she immediately ordered Minato.

"Quickly, bring the medical-nins!"