Minato with a Gacha

[Kushina's POV]

The moon hung low over Konoha, its pale light filtering through the cracks in the boarded-up windows of the abandoned safehouse. Kushina sat cross-legged on the cold floor, her back pressed against the damp stone wall. The scent of mildew and dried blood clung to the air, a far cry from the warmth of the home she'd once shared with Minato.

Her fingers traced the fresh scar on her collarbone—a jagged reminder of her battle with the imposter. Him. The man who wore her husband's face, who moved with his reflexes but lacked his soul. She'd pushed him to the brink, testing every ounce of his borrowed power, and what had she learned?

He was reckless. Desperate. Alive.

"You adapt. Maybe that's what Konoha needs now."

Her own words haunted her. Was she starting to believe the lie? Or was she simply too tired to keep fighting the truth? Minato was gone. This stranger, with his patchwork of powers and bleeding soul, was all that stood between Konoha and chaos.

A knock echoed through the room—three sharp raps, followed by two softer ones. The coded signal.

Kushina rose, her chains materializing in a ripple of crimson chakra. She yanked the door open, and the figure on the other side didn't flinch.

Danzo Shimura stood framed in the doorway, his lone eye glinting like a shard of obsidian. Behind him, the night seemed darker, as if the shadows themselves bent to his will.

"You're late," Kushina snapped, stepping aside to let him enter.

"Patience is a virtue, Lady Kushina," Danzo replied, his voice smooth as poisoned silk. He limped into the room, his cane tapping a rhythm that set her teeth on edge. "Though I suppose virtues were never your strong suit."

She slammed the door shut, sealing it with a pulse of Uzumaki fuinjutsu. The air hummed with suppressed energy. "Cut the crap, Danzo. Why summon me here? The council agreed to keep this quiet."

"Ah, but quiet is such a fragile thing." Danzo turned to face her, his gaze piercing. "Especially when the Hokage's corpse begins to twitch."

Kushina's chains lashed out, coiling around Danzo's throat before he could blink. He didn't struggle, didn't even breathe harder.

"Careful," she hissed, yanking him closer until their faces were inches apart. "You're talking about the Hokage."

"Is he?" Danzo's eye narrowed. "Or are you merely clinging to a shadow?"

Her grip tightened. The chains glowed hotter, searing his skin. "You think I don't know what he is? What you are? I've played your games longer than you've had that rotting arm of yours."

Danzo's lips twitched—the ghost of a smile. "Then you'll understand why I can't allow this farce to continue. The Shinigami's mark on him… it's spreading, isn't it?"

Kushina froze. How does he know? Even the imposter himself seem oblivious about the mark.

"You didn't think you could hide something so… primordial from me, did you?" Danzo's voice dropped to a whisper. "I've studied the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for decades. That creature isn't just wearing Minato's body—it's on a lease. And when the debt comes due, Konoha will pay the price."

She released him abruptly, her chains retracting. Danzo straightened his robes, unfazed, as tendrils of blackened flesh regenerated around his neck.

"What do you want?" she growled.

"The truth. And insurance." Danzo leaned heavily on his cane, his tone shifting to something almost pragmatic. "Hiruzen's sentimentality blinds him. He sees a tool to protect the village. I see a time bomb. The Shinigami doesn't forgive debts, Kushina. It collects."

A cold knot formed in her stomach. She'd seen the skeletal handprint on the imposter's ankle, felt its malevolence prickling her skin during their fight. But admitting that to Danzo…

"He's stronger than you think," she said finally. "He's survived this long."

"Survival isn't the same as control." Danzo reached into his robes, withdrawing a scroll etched with seals that made Kushina's blood run cold. "This is a binding contract. One that ensures when the Shinigami comes to collect his debt, the imposter can use a soul other himself as a trade .A soul for a soul, its just that the soul will be of an enemy."

She stared at the scroll, recognizing the jagged symbols of the Uzumaki's forbidden archives. "Where did you get this?"

"The same place I acquired many things." Danzo's eye gleamed. "Your clan's ruins have… untapped potential."

Bastard. Her chains flared again, but Danzo held up a hand.

"You need me, Kushina. Without this, the moment that thing dies, the Shinigami will devour every soul tied to Minato's chakra. Including Naruto's."

The chains faltered.

Naruto.

Her son's face flashed in her mind—bright, innocent, blissfully unaware of the specter hanging over his borrowed father. She'd promised real Minato she'd protect him. Promised herself she'd never let the village's darkness touch him.