While the way that chakra works hasn't been spelled out for us, I feel like chakra has to have some part of the soul or something in it. It is a physical thing we know, you can transfer your chakra to other people, you can give someone else your chakra and exchange your life for theirs, and it can be actually sealed away.
If your chakra is expendible because it just grows back then why would minato need to seal half of kuramas chakra and fight with it for all eternity. Why not give him a technique or weapon that can take away enough chakra that baby naruto could handle it? I think it was an actual part of Kurama that he can't get back unless the seal is undone.
I too, think that chakra has a character. Both the Kyuubi (when he identified Sasuke's chakra as similar to Madara's and filled with hatred) and Karin (who identified both Sasuke's changed chakra and Naruto's chakra
colour) have proven this to be right.
But I think that Chiyo losing her life had nothing to do with chakra carrying a part of the soul.
The life transferring jutsu took the casters' life and transferred it to the one the jutsu was being casted on. But it took a huge amount of chakra to perform and Chiyo was already poisoned, chakra depleted and pretty old. Otherwise, seeing that Naruto gave his chakra to Gaara too, I doubt that means that Naruto lost a part of his chakra permanently in the process. :shrug:
それにもう一つ…
オレに封印する九尾は半分だけ…
これだけの力は物理的に封印しき れ ない…
そして戦略的にもできない…
君を道連れにした九尾の封印は
復活まで人柱力が不在となって
尾獣バランスが崩れてダメだ
屍鬼封尽ならオレと一緒に
九尾を半分だけ永久に封印できる
だから九尾のもう半分は…
The above is the original Japanese text.
It's been pretty accurately translated, but there are a couple of off bits.
Minato's words are precisely;
And finally... I'll seal half of the Kyuubi's power. It's full power can't physically be sealed. Plus, strategically, it can't be done.
If it would be revived without a Jinchuuriki, the tailed beasts would be off balance. Using Shiki Fuujin, I can permanently seal half of the Kyuubi's power, so the other half of the Kyuubi (can be sealed in Naruto, in the next panel)...
In the Japanese text, he never says that he'll permanently seal half of the fox itself. He says he'll seal it's 力 (chikara), power.
Plus, the problem with the translation is that instead of
strategically, they've used
conceptually.
What Minato originally meant, was that sealing the Kyuubi completely would throw the villages' off balance.
I truly don't know why Minato resorted to using Shiki Fuujin, but I bet that was the most logical thing to do at that time. How else could he weaken the fox enough to be able to seal it into an infant Naruto in his already battle battered state?
But, as I already stated, this is only the way I interpret the happenings. I could be way, way off the mark too.
I guess we'll never know until Kishi decides to reveal these stuff. :shrug:
