Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto the owner is Masashi Kishimoto.
Summary[One-shot Minato's life in the shinigami's stomach.
AN: My first fanfic so please flame whatever is flammable.
Life in the shinigami's stomach was, in a way, exactly how Minato expected it to be and at the same time very different. He had guessed that it was a living hell but that was a severe understatement and in the shinigami's stomach underestimates could get you killed. To say he was surprised the first time he died in his eternal prison was a like saying you would only get some scratches if you rode on a unicycle blindfolded across a busy highway, another understatement.
A searing pain was the first thing he felt soon followed by every bone in his body slowly being broken and to top it all off he would relive every single horrible experience he had ever gone through which only grew as his time in the shinigami increased. After the mental exhaustion from going through all of his unpleasant experiences and the physical exhaustion from the pain his body went through he would be thrown into some sort of bonfire and ironically burn to life from there. The only way he was able to keep his sanity was with the knowledge that death couldn't be invincible, at least he hoped, so there must be a way out and when he found it he would stronger than ever.
He would constantly clash with his family who would persistently blame him for making his own son's life a living hell which after finally realizing that they weren't his precious people and, no matter what his conscience told him, killing them would soon be followed by the monstrous Kyuubi attacking and torturing his son inside of the his mind scape where his son's lungs would go numb from the screams and pleas for help that Minato could only fulfill by killing the Kyuubi which was impossibly foolish to try without other worldly powers or by committing suicide and going back to fighting his family where he at least stood a chance despite the mental conditions it put him in. Numerous times had he tried to subdue the terrible beast and numerous times he had failed. But the worst part was that what he was seeing could in fact be the reality that he is currently powerless to stop, though this would just strengthen his resolve to rid himself of his current existence and save his son from whatever pain he would be going through and then finally finding his wife in the spiritual plain and spending the rest of their existences together, but even with these cheerful thoughts he couldn't stop the guilt and pain from slowly eating away at his sanity and his will to protect his precious people weakening along with it.
Currently, he was going through the second stage of life in the death god's stomach. The Kyuubi was slowly but steadily ripping out any non-vital organs his son still had and was about to make his way to the vital organs.
"Help! Save me! Why, why can't you protect your own son," said his crying and screaming son to him. He could feel the Kyuubi's jaws rip through Naruto's voice box so that his screams of agony came out as nothing more than displaced air. He could taste the metallic coppery taste of blood as if he were the executioner himself. But the worst part was whenever he would see through the Kyuubi's eyes and feel as if it wasn't the Kyuubi's but his own paws covered in his son's blood. It was horrible yet at the same time disgustingly pleasing as the Kyuubi's emotions flowed through him. The guilt and pain was driving him insane and, like a wounded animal, he desperately held onto his sanity in a deadlock.
Naruto's eyes began to become glassy but the Kyuubi or rather Minato as he felt it would have none of that. Using his red chakra he began to heal Naruto slowly reforming his organs while sending his malicious chakra to Naruto's nerves in order to induce even more pain upon the youth.
Minato's lips began to move while a voice that was not his own spoke in a cruel and insane manner, "Don't think your getting out of this so easily like you always do gaki, I'd say we have about…," and evil smirk formed on the Kyuubi's fanged face, "a year to spend some quality time together." That remark sent fury into Minato's veins as his steadily decreasing will to protect his precious people became stronger than he had felt when he saved his village. He would never want his son to go through this again for a single second, let alone a whole year. Regaining his ninja instincts from what felt like a hundred years break the yellow flash began to attack the Kyuubi from behind while it was still preoccupied with healing Naruto's wounds. Seeing a spot that wasn't surrounded in the Kyuubi's tainted chakra shield Minato charged up his famed rasengan and ran up the Kyuubi's hind leg to his target
He then dug into the Kyuubi's skin with the rasengan, made a cross shaped seal and loudly shouted with a determination and conviction that he hadn't felt in years, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly hundreds of blond Yondaimes puffed into existence and as one burst the Kyuubi's body and then disappeared as suddenly as they came in a large puff of smoke. Minato knew that his idea would have never worked had it been the real Kyuubi but a lot of the adrenaline and conviction had made him ignore that face and made him try it against even those odds. As the smoke dissipated Minato found himself in front of a surprised shinigami sitting on a large thrown that looked to be suited especially for the shinigami's size. Even when Minato stood as tall as he could he could only come up to death's ankles which suddenly and humorously reminded him of his childhood stature. The room they were in was completely covered in shadows except for two torches on the left and right side of the shinigami that hovered in midair and gave light to the shinigami, his thrown, and the blond but seemed to be unable to penetrate the infinite darkness of the room no matter how hard it tried.
It was then a booming and commanding voice came from the shinigami, "It would appear that you have passed the second stage. So mortal how does it feel?"
The Yondaime stood rigid and at attention from the sound of his voice and spoke out in a soft and barely audible whisper due to his fear of the imposing being, "Good, Shinigami-sama."
The shinigami laughed ominously before speaking, "The first person in thousand years to defeat their second stage with their sanity still intact and all they have to say for it is 'good.' You mortals are so interesting. You have passed my trials and for that you will have your life back. Be grateful mortal, time in here is slower than on the physical plain. What was a century here was only ten years in reality."
"Are you se-," asked the shell-shocked fourth Hokage before he was sucked into a spiraling white hole in the center of the room that had somehow felt like it had been there the whole time. Soon the Yondaime felt as though there was a soft pillow under his head in a familiar never ending darkness.
After the shock from his meeting with death Minato began wondering where he was. Feeling around the cold space he felt a hard wooden feeling that wood most likely belong to a coffin in his situation. Smiling lightly Minato began sending chakra to his left hand in the form of a spiraling sphere.