Naruto Columns
07/21/2023
[Minato Column 3] The Tale of Minato's Love: Naruto's Birth
This column series will look back on the life and adventures of Minato Namikaze to celebrate the publication of Masashi Kishimoto's new one-shot manga, Naruto: The Whorl Within the Spiral, available in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 33!
Today's article is the third of the series, and will cover the day Minato and Kushina's son, Naruto, was born!
Today's article is the third of the series, and will cover the day Minato and Kushina's son, Naruto, was born!
October 10th
Kushina and Minato prepare for the due date, October 10th. Since Tailed Beasts' seals are weakest during labor, a barrier is created outside the village as a safe place for Kushina to give birth.
Kushina endures the pain of labor while suppressing the Nine Tails.
Minato stays by her side, giving his all to support her.
Finally, the couple's happiest moment arrives!
Minato stays by her side, giving his all to support her.
Finally, the couple's happiest moment arrives!
But that moment is fated to be all too brief.
A masked man attacks.
The disaster continues to unfold as the Nine Tails is pulled from Kushina and moves to attack the village.
Full of Love, Even in Death
Minato successfully fends off the masked man, and teleports the Nine Tails away from Konoha. However, it is already too late for Kushina, whose life is steadily fading due to the removal of her Tailed Beast...
"KUSHINA... YOU'RE THE ONE...
...WHO MADE ME THE FOURTH HOKAGE!
WHO MADE ME YOUR MAN!!
AND MADE ME THIS CHILD'S FATHER!!"
Her final moments approaching, Kushina expresses her one regret: "I wish I could have seen Naruto...grown up..."
Hearing this, Minato sets forth his plan.
Hearing this, Minato sets forth his plan.
He will activate the Reaper Death Seal—a jutsu that takes the user's life upon completion—and seal half of the Nine Tails' chakra inside himself, then seal the remainder inside the newborn Naruto along with some of his own and Kushina's chakra.
Minato chooses to sacrifice himself, passing the role of "savior" to Naruto, along with the love he and Kushina share for their child.
"I WILL DIE FOR MY SON...
...IT IS MY DUTY AS HIS FATHER."
After listening to Kushina spill her heart out to Naruto, fitting all the motherly advice she can into what little time they have, Minato puts his own thoughts into a single sentence:
"MY WORDS TO YOU AS YOUR FATHER...
...IS DITTO YOUR LOQUACIOUS MOTHER...I GUESS..."
And with that, his life comes to an end.
"MY WORDS TO YOU AS YOUR FATHER...
...IS DITTO YOUR LOQUACIOUS MOTHER...I GUESS..."
And with that, his life comes to an end.
Transcending Time Itself to Deliver Words of Love
About 16 years later, Kushina is briefly reunited with Naruto thanks to her chakra sealed inside him. She tells him about herself and Minato...
...of the immeasurable love they hold for their son.
...of the immeasurable love they hold for their son.
Strengthened by the knowledge of how much his parents loved him, Naruto shoulders the role of "savior" entrusted to him by his father, along with the role of Jinchuriki he inherited from his mother, and sets out for the battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
That's all for this time!
Check back tomorrow (7/22 JST) for part four, which will cover how the jutsu Minato developed was passed down!
That's all for this time!
Check back tomorrow (7/22 JST) for part four, which will cover how the jutsu Minato developed was passed down!
Article and Composition: Yuichi Ohba (Caramel mama)
Naruto: The Whorl Within the Spiral by Masashi Kishimoto Now Available in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 33!
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