[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 48 Reality Hits Like a Tailed Beast Bomb

It was raining.

Because of course it was.

Because the universe loved to set the mood for major world events. And what was more ominous than a downpour on the night the literal chosen one was born?

Yeah. That’s right. The kid was finally here.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Or, at least, I was pretty sure that’s what his name would be. I mean, I knew that’s what it was supposed to be. But for all I knew, the butterfly effect had already kicked in, and Minato-sensei would suddenly decide, "Actually, let’s name him something completely different. Like Bob."

…God, I hoped that wasn’t the case.

The four of us—me, Genma, Shisui, and Tokuma—were stationed at an outpost, officially doing absolutely nothing.

See, we weren’t assigned to the immediate security detail. That was all Minato-sensei’s personal picks. We were on standby in case something went wrong.

Which meant waiting.

Which meant suffering.

"So," Shisui said, "do we think it’s a boy or a girl?"

I resisted the urge to say I already know, because technically, I didn’t.

After all, things could still change. For all I knew, this timeline’s version of Naruto could be Naruko.

"Boy," Genma said, flipping his senbon between his fingers.

"Girl," I said automatically, because I refused to take anything for granted.

"Boy," Tokuma muttered. "Also, why are we talking about this? We should be preparing."

"We are preparing," Genma argued. "This is called ‘morale-boosting conversation,’ Tokuma. You should try it sometime."

Tokuma gave him a deadpan look. "I would rather die."

Shisui grinned. "That’s the spirit!"

I sighed. "You guys are the worst."

Shisui clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Captain, I just think it’s nice that we’re here to witness the birth of the future."

Tokuma stared at him. "It’s a baby, not the second coming of the Sage of Six Paths."

Shisui shrugged. "Hey, you never know."

I scoffed.

There was no way this kid was going to be that important.

My thoughts dripping with sarcasm

Right? Haha

–

Hours passed.

It was sometime past midnight when we got the news.

Minato had done it. Kushina had given birth to a healthy baby boy.

Huh. Guess Genma and Tokuma were right.

I stretched, relieved that nothing had gone horribly wrong.

Maybe—just maybe—this would be one of those rare times where things actually went smoothly.

Then I felt it.

A wave of something surged through the air.

My entire body tensed. My instincts screamed.

And then—

The world exploded.

The ground shook. The air burned. The sky—once a peaceful night—was now painted in fire and chaos.

And above it all, looming like a nightmare made real—

The Nine-Tailed Fox.

Oh. Oh no.

The Kyuubi stood outside the village walls, its massive form blotting out the moonlight, eyes glowing with pure, unfiltered malice.

For a brief, blissful moment, I had let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, things would be different.

Obito hadn’t gone dark. The Uchiha weren’t being blamed for anything. Minato was still alive.

And yet, here we were.

It was happening.

"CAPTAIN!"

Shisui’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts just as another explosion rocked the village.

"Orders?!" Genma yelled over the roaring destruction.

I inhaled sharply, forcing my mind into mission mode.

"Konoha’s under attack. We move!" I barked. "Our job is evacuation and suppression—don’t engage recklessly!"

The others nodded, and we took off.

The village was a mess. Buildings were crumbling. Shinobi and civilians alike were running for their lives. And the Kyuubi?

It was swiping through Konoha’s defenses like they were made of paper.

We jumped onto the rooftops, scanning for civilians who needed help. Tokuma’s Byakugan was already active, locking onto distress points.

"South sector’s taking heavy damage!" Tokuma reported. "We need to get people out now!"

"On it!" Shisui took off in a blur.

"Tokuma, you lead the evacuation! Genma, you’re with me—take down as many falling structures as possible before they crush anyone!"

We moved without hesitation.

As we raced through the destruction, my mind was running a mile a minute.

Who did this?

If it wasn’t Obito, then who?

We barely had time to save two families from a collapsing building before I felt it.

A flicker of chakra. Not just any chakra—something cold, something wrong.

I spun around, eyes narrowing.

And then I saw him.

A masked figure standing atop a broken pillar, robes whipping in the wind, gazing down at the village with eerie stillness.

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

That mask—swirling orange patterns—was identical to Obito’s from my past life’s knowledge.

Except… Obito wasn’t evil.

So who was this guy?!

He turned his head slightly, as if sensing me. Then, in a blur, he disappeared into the night.

My stomach twisted.

Nothing about this felt right.

And somehow, I had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

We barely made it to the main square when another crack of chakra burst through the air.

In the distance, a golden flash cut through the battlefield.

Minato.

He was here. And he was moving like a lightning storm, clashing against the masked enemy in a high-speed battle that left afterimages in the night.

I wanted to help, I was sure we could easily defeat that guy.

But the Kyuubi was still tearing through the village.

Damn it.

"Captain!" Genma called, snapping my focus back. "More civilians are trapped to the east!"

I exhaled sharply.

Focus.

Minato-sensei could handle himself.

Our job was to keep the village alive.

I clenched my fists, pushing down the thousand questions raging in my head.

Whoever that masked guy is… he just made an enemy out of me.

Fire. Screams. Shadows leaping across rooftops.

Everywhere I turned, there was destruction. People were running for their lives, shinobi were engaging in battles they knew they couldn’t win, and the ground trembled with every movement of the Kyuubi.

This wasn’t just an attack.

This was a massacre waiting to happen.

And I couldn’t afford to stand still.

"Captain!" Tokuma landed beside me, his Byakugan scanning ahead. "There’s a group of civilians trapped under the old market district. The rubble’s blocking all the exits!"

"Shisui’s already clearing out the north sector," Genma added, flipping a senbon between his fingers, the only sign of his nerves. "I can handle getting people out of there."

I nodded. "Do it. Tokuma, help guide him—any structural weaknesses, call them out."

They vanished in a blur, leaving me alone on the crumbling rooftop.

I turned my gaze back toward the battlefield, my mind still whirling.

Minato was still clashing with the masked enemy, their battle shifting between flickers of space-time. But more importantly—

Kushina.

She was still alive, somewhere. And if this played out the way I feared…

I need to find her. Now.

I found her barely five minutes later, collapsed against a tree outside the village, weakened but still alive.

The Uzumaki sealing chains barely flickered around her body, her chakra almost completely drained. Blood ran down her arms from the Kyuubi’s extraction, but she was holding on.

Barely.

"Kakashi," she rasped, eyes barely open.

"Kushina," I knelt beside her. "Where’s—"

A sudden boom shook the forest.

I turned just in time to see Minato flashing in, holding a tiny bundle wrapped in cloth.

I froze.

Oh. Oh, damn.

It was him.

Naruto.

His cries pierced the night, oblivious to the chaos around him.

Minato landed beside us, his usual calm almost too forced.

"Kakashi," he said quickly, eyes sharp. "Take them."

I blinked. "What?"

"Take Kushina and Naruto," he repeated, already turning back toward the battle. "Get them as far from here as possible."

I hesitated for only a second before nodding.

I scooped Kushina into my arms, careful not to jostle the newborn. "Where—"

"Anywhere but here."

And then, in a flicker of light, he was gone.

I grit my teeth.

Right.

Time to run.

I have had many bad days in my life.

This one was quickly making the top three.

Kushina was barely conscious in my arms. Naruto was screaming, which—fair, given that he was literally born into a battlefield. And behind me?

The Kyuubi was moving.

Its massive claws swiped through trees like they were nothing, and I felt the air shift as one nearly took my head off.

"Oh, come on!" I hissed, kicking off a branch and landing on the next with a hard impact.

I was fast. But the Kyuubi was faster.

I need a distraction.

Or a miracle. A miracle would be really nice right now.

And that was when the entire sky lit up in golden chakra.

I twisted mid-air, my breath catching—

Minato.

He was at the Konoha shrine, hands clasped together, sealing formulas spreading in glowing arcs around him.

And for the first time that night—

I felt it.

Because I knew what this meant.

And I knew how this ended.

Even if I hated it.

The battle ended like it always would.

Minato's final gamble—the Reaper Death Seal.

I barely made it back in time to see it happen.

The masked enemy had already retreated. The Kyuubi, half-sealed and furious, was forced into its final act of defiance.

Its massive claw came down.

And Minato—that stupid, self-sacrificing, infuriating man—

Took the hit.

Straight through the stomach.

He didn’t even flinch. He just looked at Naruto one last time, his smile soft, and finished the jutsu.

The Kyuubi’s chakra split.

Half into Minato.

Half into Naruto.

And just like that—

The nightmare ended.

But I barely heard the rest.

Because all I could do was kneel there, gripping Minato’s still hand, as the village celebrated surviving.

And I hated it.

Because he was gone.

And there was nothing I could do to stop it.