CHAPTER TEN

PART 1: KYUUBI STRIKES

"That kid needs to come out already," Fugaku shouted. "I'll take him out myself if I have to!" The Uchiha had once again become the victim of yet another one of Kushina's pranks. When he had walked into the bathroom that morning for a shower, he was surprised to see the bathtub overflowing with baby octopi. The worst part was that they were still alive, and he could not just throw them away.

Kakashi had somehow managed to get rid of his red hair, although it remained pink for about four days. The pink haired Hatake had also woken up on an inflatable mattress floating in the Naka River.

Minato had to stop relying on Kushina to cook meals, and had to cook for himself even if what he made was not always edible, in that case he would just go out to eat. His wife had stopped pranking him, but he still had to deal with large amounts of paperwork and the complaining villagers – shinobi included.

Itachi had become a perfect little angel after Kushina had told him if he were bad then someone would take his baby brother and little sister away forever. The redhead also told him that if he ate the seeds from inside fruit they would grow in his stomach.

Mikoto took all her best friend's pranks with grace. She did not mind that she was missing all her bras, or that all her dresses and skirts had gotten shorter. Fugaku and many of the men in the village did not seem to mind either. Though she did mind when Kushina kept kidnapping her daughter.

"Mommy whewe's Aunty Kushina and Minato-sensei," Kim asked her mother for what was the millionth time that day. To be honest Mikoto was starting to become worried, but tried her best to hide it so as not to scare her children. The last time she had seen her red haired best friend was that morning when she had gone into the market with Sasuke. Kushina had a brief conversation with her before walking off with Biwako – the Sandaime's wife. Fugaku had informed her that Minato was missing as well, and that the Sandaime had taken over in his absence. The Uchiha woman knew that Kushina was due soon and hoped that nothing had gone wrong with the baby.

"She's with your Uncle Minato sweetheart," Mikoto told her two year old gently. She pulled the blanket over her daughter's small form. "It's time for your afternoon nap. You'll see Aunty Kushina and Uncle Minato later, alright."

"Okay mommy," Kimi said as she rolled onto her side. She snuggled deeper into her mattress as she watched her mother walk out of the room and closing the door behind her. When she heard her mother's footsteps fade away she whispered, "Blaze awe you still awake?"

"We're gonna go look for Minato and Kushina," Blaze asked, although it was more of a statement since he already knew the answer.

"Yup," the dark haired girl confirmed popping the P. She slid out of her bed quietly careful not to make any noise when her feet touched the ground. Her feet softly padded across the hardwood flooring as she walked moved around her room. She changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of red cotton shorts and a plain black T-shirt that lacked the red and white Uchiha crest on the back. She pulled out an extra pair of ninja sandals out of her closet and went to sit on her windowsill to put them on. "Weady yet?"

"Been ready," the little black kitten informed, "Land on the pads of your feet and not your heels."

"Okay," Kimi said as she slowly pulled open the window and slid out. She landed in a soft crouch after momentarily losing her balance. Blaze landed beside her without any problem. "Show off."

"Be silent and run on the pads of your feet like me, and stay out of sight," the kitten stated. With that, the duo ran through the Uchiha District in the direction of the main gate. The two made it to the gate with only one bump in the road. A couple and their son had caught them, but they completely ignored them once they saw who it was. Kimi sighed at her clansmen's behavior. She really did not know what she did to offend them, but she was going to prove that she belonged. After passing the couple, the duo ran straight towards the main gate, and slipped out of the district. She took the road that would lead her to the main road of Konoha.

During her search for Kushina and Minato, Kimi had walked by a park. She stopped by the fence to look at all the other kids playing on the playground equipment. She was shocked when a little girl about the same age as her older brother ran up to her with a smile on her face. All the other kids from the clan always picked on her or just completely ignored her, but they never really approached her. Kimi had no clue on what she should do, so she just stood there slightly shaking.

"Come play with me," the brown haired girl said with a smile. For a moment, Kimi had thought it was Rin, but then she remembered that the markings on Rin's face had looked like purple rectangles. The markings on the brown haired girl's face were red-ish purple and were shaped like upside down triangles. "Hey are you okay?"

Kimi was scared of what the older girl might do to her, and she missed Rin more than anything in the world. She did not know what to do. Her body was frozen and she could not get it to respond to her mental commands. She did the only thing she could and that was to start crying.

"Don't cry," the older girl said in shock. "I just wanted to play. The boy said I couldn't play with them since I'm a girl, but now that you're here we can play together." She grabbed Kimi by the hand. "Let's go get ice cream. My mommy said that ice cream makes everything better. That and cake!"

The young Uchiha was confused. Why was this strange girl being so nice to her? Why didn't she treat her like all the other kids did? Quietly she asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Why wouldn't I be nice to you," the girl retorted giving her a bewildered look. "Are there other kids bullying you?" She gave a horrified face. "Don't worry, I'm nice to everyone I meet, so unless you're mean to me then I'll be nice to you. But you look like you're really nice. So now we can go play!" With that short explanation, the brown haired girl pulled the smaller girl by the wrist and pulled her into the park.

Blaze followed after the two girls and jumped into a tree to keep a better watch on the small Uchiha. He would have stayed in the tree keeping watch on his friend, but her caught sight of a few butterflies.

The dark haired two year old soon lost herself as she played with the older brown haired girl, and forgot that she was supposed to be looking for the red haired Jinchuriki and the blonde haired Hokage. Together the two girls took a stand against the group of boys who refused to let them get on the swings.

"Hey kid what's your name," the brown haired girl asked as she swung back and forth on the wooden swing.

"I'm Kimi," the little girl chirped as she swung her legs back and forth trying, and failing, to swing herself. "What about you?"

"I'm Hana," the older girl replied. "I'm from the Inuzuka clan. We specialize in collab-colla- uh… we do cool jutsu with our ninken. I have three ninken, the Haimaru Triplets, they're at home though. All the members of my clan have these fang markings on their cheeks." She pointed a finger at the said markings. "When I graduate from the Academy I want to be a veterinarian. I like helping animals. Are you gonna go to the Academy? What do you want to do when you graduate from the Academy? Are you a civilian or do you come from a clan like me?"

Kimi stared at the girl with wide eyes as she tried to comprehend the onslaught of questions. "Uh, I want to be a medic-nin like Win-shishou, but I want to be able to fight an' do cool jutsu like my daddy an' mommy an' Kashi-kun an' Mina-sensei an' Aunty Kushina an' Shisui-nii-chan."

"You know you talk a lot for a two year old," Hana commented. "So what clan are you from?"

"Uh," the girl paused not knowing what to do. After the most recent clan meeting, it had been decided that the girl would be allowed to use the clan name and wear the clan symbol, but she could not tell of her relation to the main family. Fugaku and Mikoto had vehemently protested, but it was only the five of them – Fugaku, Mikoto, Itachi, Shisui, and Kagami – against the rest of the clan. "I'm fwom the Uchiha Clan."

"Really," Hana exclaimed. "Wow! When we're older, I want to fight you. I bet you're going to be awesome! But I heard that the girls don't awaken the Sharingan, and if they do it's extremely rare."

"Hana-chan," a voice shouted. "We're leaving already!"

"Well looks like I gotta go now. Bye Kim-chan. Maybe we can play again tomorrow." Kimi watched as the older girl ran in the direction of her mother, and gave a sigh.

"She smells like a dog," Blaze commented as he walked up to the Uchiha who was still attempting to swing. "Kinda like that masked freak you have a crush on."

"Kashi-kun is not a fweak," the Uchiha girl shouted indignantly.

"You don't deny that you have a crush on him," the black cat commented.

"H-He's my fwiend," she stuttered as her face began to take on a red hue. The kitten sat down beside her and gave her a blank stare. Kimi glared at the kitten but it came out as more of a pout. When the cat began to laugh at her, she stepped on his tail until he cried Uncle.

After lifting her foot off Blaze's tail, she looked up at the sky. The sky was a mix of oranges, pinks, and purples. From where she was standing, she could see the sun going down behind the Hokage Monument. Her eyes landed on the fourth head with the spiky head of hair and she smiled. She remembered what she had wanted to do before getting distracted by her new friend. Quickly making her way out of the park, she finally began her search for Kushina and Minato. She knew the best place to look for Minato was in his office, and wherever Minato was, Kushina was. With that in mind, she and her cat made their way towards the back of the village.

XxX

In small building located a great distance away from the Hidden Leaf Village, Kushina lay on a table panting, trying to catch her breath. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, and her chin. With one final push, the cry of an infant sounded throughout the room. Breathing hard, she began to open her violet eyes. When the sound of a baby crying reached her ears, her eyes widened and began to water.

Minato stood off to the side wearing a what only can be described as a stupid look on his face. His blue eyes were wide with wonder as he stared at his wife's sweaty and tired face. Even if she was covered in sweat and, her hair was in a disarray, she stilled looked beautiful.

"You did it," he whispered in awe, his eyes shining in the light the torches provided. His mouth was stretched into a wide smile as he started to laugh causing his shoulders to shake. He rubbed away the tears that threatened to spill out with the sleeve of his blue long-sleeved shirt. His eyes snapped open as he exclaimed, "I'm a father now!"

"It's a healthy baby boy," a woman's voice announced. The voice belonged to Biwako Sarutobi, the wife of the Sandaime Hokage. Her long brown hair was worn in a ponytail. She wore a smile on her slightly aged face as she looked down at the bundled baby held in her arms. Standing behind Biwako was a tall woman dressed in a medic's uniform named Taiji.

"Naruto," the blonde Hokage called out as the Sandaime's wife walked towards his wife. He wanted to get a look at his newly born son.

"No touching," the brown haired woman snapped at Minato as he was about to lift his son out of her arms. The blonde man froze with a look of shock on his face with his mouth hanging open. Biwako gave him a stern look. "The first face he should see is his mother's!" With that said, she walked passed him leaving him saddened and frowning looking like a scolded child and towards the redhead. The woman reached the edge of the table where Kushina rested, and held out the baby boy for her to see.

"Naruto," the tired red haired woman whispered, "It's nice to meet you." The baby was crying exposing his gummy mouth. He had a head full of blonde hair the same color as Minato's. Kushina was certain that if he opened his eyes, she would be met with eyes as blue as the ocean. His cheeks were a rosy color, and had three little whisker-like marks on either cheek. Tear fell freely from the woman's eyes as she took in the sight of her son for the first time. She could not believe that the baby boy in front of her face was her own, that he was the product of hers and Minato's love. She never knew she could meet someone for the first and know in an instant that she loved him and would do or give anything for him.

"You should get some rest now," Biwako stated as she lifted up the baby and made her way towards the back of the room to get him cleaned off.

"Kushina, are you okay," Minato asked as he placed a hand over hers.

"Yeah," she replied softly.

"Thank you," he whispered to her. His eyes were once again filling up with tears as he softly smiled down at her.

"Minato," his wife whispered to him as she returned his smile with one of her own. Their eyes met, and all the emotions they were feeling seemed to pass onto the other.

"All right," Minato shouted as he punched a fist into his palm. "It'll be hard since you just gave birth, but I'll do my best to completely suppress the Kyuubi!" He placed his right hand directly on top of the seal that held back the Nine Tailed Fox. Just as he was about to redo the seal, he was interrupted by two screams. His head snapped to the back of the room in time to see the two women fall to the ground. "Biwako-sama! Taiji!"

"Yondaime Hokage Minato, step away from the Jinchuriki," a raspy voice ordered. Minato and Kushina's heads snapped in the direction the voice had come from. Minato had turned his whole body around while Kushina was only able to turn her head. Their eyes widened when they saw the cloaked man holding their son letting out gasps of surprise. They could not see the man's face due to the mask he was wearing. "Otherwise, this boy's life will have lasted less than one minute."

How did he get past the barrier, Minato thought as he glared coldly at the masked man. Who the hell is he? He shifted into a battle stance only to be side tracked when his wife screamed in pain. "Kushina!" He could see how the seal began to loosen and spread over her body causing her to convulse. The Kyuubi's seal is still weak.

"I told you to step away from the Jinchuriki," the masked man warned as he pulled out a kunai from his sleeve and held it up to the baby's face as Naruto continued to cry. "Don't you care about your child?"

"Wait! Just calm down," Minato shouted starting to panic.

"Heed your own words Minato," the masked man chided. "I'm as calm as can be." He then tossed the bundled baby up in the air.

"Naruto," Kushina screamed in fear as she watched her son be thrown up. She saw the masked man jump up after him with his kunai raised to strike. Before the man could reach Naruto, Minato sprang into action and caught the infant using his chakra to stick to the wall.

"You really are the Yellow Flash," the masked man commented as he landed on his feet. "But what about this?" He raised his hand in a seal, and set off the paper bombs attached to the blanket that was wrapped around the baby.

Minato's eyes widened as he felt the sparks from the paper bombs on his hand. He faintly heard his wife shout his and his son's name in fear. Right before the bombs could go off he jumped off the wall and quickly pulled the orange blanket away from his son while teleporting them to a different location. As he landed on his feet in a crouch, he threw the blanket behind him and jumped out of the building just as the paper bombs exploded. He flipped himself midair so that he would land on his backside and not crush Naruto beneath him. Naruto continued to cry as he looked him over and sighed in relief saying, "Good, Naruto's not hurt." He looked at his ankle where a piece of wood had gotten stuck. "I had to resort to my Hiraishin no Jutsu already."

He's after Kushina, he thought as he pulled the piece of wood out of his ankle. He succeeded in separating us. He flicked the piece of wood away. I have to hurry. Before the wood could hit the ground, he was gone only to reappear in a room.

XxX

Elsewhere, at what seemed to be a beach, the masked man restrained Kushina by her wrists. Her head hung as the final seal was in place. Sweat dripped down her face as she stared at the masked man. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm going to extract the Kyuubi from you, and destroy Konoha," he simply said to her, causing her eyes to widen.

"What," she whispered.

"Minato's Hiraishin allows him to teleport between locations where he had placed seal markers," the man stated as he eyed the seal on Kushina's stomach. "It also appears that he placed on of those markers on your seal. He is constantly protecting you, but I have separated you two now. Moreover, the Kyuubi's seal has weakened after you gave birth." He narrowed his eye as he whispered, "I have long awaited this moment."

XxX

Back in the room, Minato laid the baby down on the bed and covered him with the white blanket. "You'll be safe here. I'll be back soon, Naruto." He got a serious look on his face as he said, "I have to go save your mother now.

XxX

The masked man entered Kushina's mindscape and came face to face with the Kyuubi. Using his Sharingan, he began to undo the chains that held the fox in place. Kushina's mouth was open wide in a silent scream and her eyes had rolled to the back of her head. Her body was covered in a red orange glow from the Kyuubi's chakra. The seal on her midsection turned from a pitch black a purple color.

"Now come out, Kyuubi," the masked man commanded as he released the seal. The Kyuubi's chakra poured out of the seal, and started to take form before the Nine Tailed Fox took form. The fox let out a deafening roar into the night.

The seal disappeared completely from the Uzumaki's body as the last of the demon's chakra was pulled out, and she collapsed on the rock where she had been standing.

"Excellent," the man stated as the fox roared. "Now it's time to face Konohagakure."

"Wait," Kushina called out to him as she lifted her head up. The masked man did not bother to turn and face her.

"The Uzumaki clan really is something," he commented as he paused in his steps. "You're still alive, even after the Bijuu has been extracted." The Kyuubi growled. "You were the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki." He turned his head slightly to face her. "It's only fitting that I kill you with it." With that, the Kyuubi brought his hand down on top of Kushina.

Just before the Kyuubi made contact with the redhead, the blonde haired Hokage used his Hiraishin to get to her in time and teleported them to the top of a nearby tree.

"You really do move like a flash," the man muttered, "But this time, you're too late."

"Minato," Kushina breathed. "Naruto… Is Naruto safe?"

"Yes he's safe," Minato replied with a smile. "I left him in a safe place."

"Thank goodness," she cried. She looked up at him with an expression of anger on her face, although it was slightly muted due to her exhaustion. "Minato, you must stop that man and the Kyuubi, right now. They're heading for Konoha."

Minato turned his head to give the masked man his most deadly glare before he teleported them away to the same room where he had left Naruto.

"Why," Kushina questioned.

"Don't worry about that. Just stay by Naruto," Minato ordered gently as he placed her on the bed beside the sleeping baby boy. Minato watched as Kushina hugged their child close to her body and whispered his name. He clenched his fists at his sides in anger. He knew what had just happened had been a possibility, but he never imagined it would actually happen. He pulled open his closet and started to put on his ninja gear.

"Thank you Minato, go after them" Kushina said to him as he slipped his arm through the sleeves of his white short sleeved haori.

"I'll be back soon."

XxX

The sun had completely set and had been replaced by the moon by the time little Kimi had made it to a short distance away from the Hokage's Tower. She was walking down the main road. A gust of wind blew against her face causing her to shiver. Her stomach started to feel as if it was preforming acrobatics. She looked down to where her companion stood. Blaze continued on walking unaware of what she had felt. Maybe she had just imagined it all, but that sick feeling would not leave her stomach.

She looked around her to see if someone else had felt the sense of foreboding. There was no such luck. The other villagers carried on like they would normally do. People were walking in and out of stores and restaurants. She even saw a man helping another who seemed to intoxicated to walk. Other children were running around playing games. She even saw a few ninja wandering around. Maybe Kakashi was somewhere in the crowd. She could never be too sure. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so what did she have a feeling of dread? Was it because her parents couldn't find her? Was it that when they did find her she would be in trouble? No, it couldn't be because of that. She was always getting into trouble and she knew the feeling that she got before she would be punished well. What she was feeling was something else entirely.

A flash of white caught her attention.

"Can't we just stick to Rock-Paper-Scissors tonight," the flash of white said to the green thing. She was soon able to make out the flash of white to be Kakashi and the green thing to be his friend Gai.

"Again? Can't you think of a more passionate duel," the spandex wearing teen exclaimed with his fists clenched in front of him. From where she was standing, Kimi could see small green flames burning in his dark eyes and shivered. "And I call you my rival," Gai shouted in outrage.

Kim let out a few giggles at Kakashi's exasperated look. "We have an early morning tomorrow, so let's pass on it the rivalry match for tonight." She saw him give one of his eyes smiles and blushed. She kicked Blaze into a trashcan when she heard him snickering at her reaction. The kitten let out a shriek as he collided with the metal can. He shot a glare at his partner-in-crime.

"Don't use our mission as an excuse," the green bean yelled in anger. "I don't know what to do with all this passionate energy overflowing from within me! It's time to focus on our training like we used to! All that good work will accumulate and lead to our success in future missions!" By that point in his speech Gai was pointing at something Kimi nor Kakashi could see. As the bushy eyebrow teen continued talking, Kakashi had stopped walking.

The young Uchiha giggled nervously. Kakashi most likely caught her. As she was about to walked out towards the white haired teen, Gai ran back in front of Kakashi.

"Are you even listening to me," the teen with the bowl hair cut shouted.

"Hold on Gai," the Hatake said as he turned his head to the side. She knew at that moment that Kakashi had caught her. "Do you feel like something's off? It feels like there's a chill in the air."

He felt it too, Kimi thought.

"Yeah, It's your attitude," Gai yelled making a scene, although no one really paid him any attention. "Our springtime of youth only comes once!"

XxX

Over at the Uchiha District Itachi sat outside on the back porch holding Sasuke in his lap. The five-year-old Uchiha stared up that the moon with critical eyes. His eyes narrowed.

"What's this feeling," he questioned. Sasuke began to cry. "There, there," he soothed the baby in his arms.

I don't like this feeling. Why did mom and dad have to go out now? Where did Imouto go? I hope she's at least with Kakashi. I know that members of the clan take turns watching after her, but they won't really do anything to protect her. Not like Kakashi would.

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, Imouto wherever you are," Itachi spoke to the baby. "No matter what, your big brother's here to protect you."

XxX

Kimi was about to make her way towards Kakashi and his strange friend when a loud roar sounded throughout the village. From above she could see a large cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, her eyed widened in horror. Her entire body began to tremble as she took in the sight of the Nine Tailed Fox. She had never seen something so menacing before. Even from where she stood, she could feel the large amounts of hatred rolling off the fox in waves. She saw the fox raise one of its paws and smash it into a building.

Villagers ran away from the Kyuubi as the Shinobi ran towards it. She was frozen on the spot and got trampled by the stampede of people trying to flee the scene. She rolled over onto her side and hid in an abandoned stall. Tears were falling down her face. She wanted nothing more than to run to her parents but they were not around. She wanted to be at home with her brothers. Kakashi was the closest refuge she could seek, but she could not get her body to move. When she opened her moth to call out to Kakashi all that would come out were gasps.

"Listen up, Kyuubi," the green bean shouted at the monster. "All of my boiling energy is about to break free!"

"Don't just rush in Gai," Kakashi warned as he glared at the beast.

"Come, I'll be your opponent," Gai screamed while striking a pose on one leg.

Is this what it means to be a ninja? I don't wan'na be a ninja no more! I wan'na go home! She looked up at the fox. But didn't Aunty Kushina say that this thing was inside of her? Why is it out here? What about Naruto-kun? I have to find them. I have to be strong like Nii-san and Kakashi-kun! I can't run away! With her resolve strengthened the two-year-old Uchiha stood up and ran through the stall towards the Kyuubi while trying her best to remain unseen.

"Wait," she heard a voice shout. She stopped, but the order was not directed at her. It was directed at Kakashi and Gai. "Go to the guardroom, now! It's an order from the Sandaime!" With that said, Kakashi and Gai ran to their designated area.

Kakashi stopped having sensed a familiar chakra signature but was pulled onwards by Gai. He did not have time to think before they were running at full speed. He could not figure out who the chakra belonged to.

All around the village Shinobi were ushering the civilians to safety as they prepared to take on the Kyuubi. Kimi could see ninja jumping up and down trying to distract the beast. They threw every kind of weapon she could think of, but they did nothing to deter tailed beast and only served to aggravate him more than he already was. The beast lashed out at the Shinobi leaving trails of fire in his wake.

Tears ran down her face and she had no idea what she could do to help out, but she still ran onwards. She wanted to protect the village in any way she could just like the other ninja. She was completely unaware of the fact that her eyes were glowing red with a single red tome spinning madly. She was fast approaching the area of the village where Kyuubi stood.

A warm feeling fluttered through her chest, and she turned her head to face the Hokage Monument. She could just make out a figure standing on top of the Yondaime's head. Minato-sensei! As it would turn out, someone else had spotted Minato. That someone turned out to be the Kyuubi. Kimi saw the giant fox open its mouth wide as if he were going to scream, but he didn't. Instead, a dark purple ball similar to Minato's Rasengan started to take form. The Kyuubi released the ball and it went straight through the village. When it reached the Hokage Monument it slowed down and then disappeared only to reappear somewhere in the distance.

XxX

"How do I tell Sandaime everything that's transpired," Minato whispered to himself from atop his statue. Just as he said that, he felt a presence behind him and struck with a three-pronged kunai. He aimed for the masked man's head, but his kunai slipped right through, and the man caught his arm in a vice-like grip.

"I'm your opponent, and you've lost," the masked man stated. The masked man then activated a jutsu that started to suck Minato in, but Minato was faster and teleported away. "He's fast enough to fly away. I'll have to trap him faster next time, the moment we meet." The masked man made a hand seal.

Minato had teleported to the same building he had when teleporting Naruto away, landing on his stomach. He started to get up. My attack slipped through him, but her was able to rematerialize and pulled me in. What kind of jutsu was that? He looked up with a gasp as he sensed a chakra signature. The masked man swirled into existence.

"You're not getting away," the masked man said chuckling.

He can use space-time Ninjutsu as well? Was that how he was able to get Kushina and disappear so quickly? The blonde Hokage stood up, pulling his kunai out of the ground. He stood directly in front of the masked man. He took out the ANBU under the Sandaime's command, slipped past the barrier, and knew the Kyuubi's seal would weaken during childbirth. He removed the Kyuubi's seal and tamed it. The image of another ninja popped into his mind. Not to mention he moved in and out of Konoha undetected. There is only one Shinobi I know who can do all that. Looking directly at the masked man he asked, "Are you Uchiha Madara?" The man pulled down the hood of his cloak. "That's impossible. He's dead."

"Are you so sure about that," the masked man questioned cocking his head to the side.

"It doesn't matter who you are," Minato stated with a hard glare. "Why are you targeting Konoha?"

"You could say I did it on a whim," the masked man replied tilting his head back, "Or that I planned it, or that I seek war, or that I seek peace."

Minato shifted into a battle stance when he heard the chains fall from the others man's hands. He lifted his kunai in front of himself. It does not matter who he is. He not the usual opponent. He can control the Kyuubi, and his space-time jutsu is greater than mine or the Nidaime's. He also has dangerous plans. If I don't take care of him here, he'll cause even more destruction than the Kyuubi! He watched as the masked man placed shackles onto his wrists. If I head back to the village, he'll just follow me. Just like Madara, he shouldn't be able to hold the Kyuubi for too long. I have to take him down here!

"Now that I've released the Kyuubi your village is doomed," the masked man said in what seemed to be an arrogant tone before he charged at Minato.

Minato ran at him with his kunai poised to strike, but when he reached the masked man, he went straight through him and ended up getting caught by the other man's chains. Before the masked man could move the blonde teleported away. In his mind he began to work out the finer details of his opponent's jutsu. He deduced that in order for him to land an hit he would have to strike at the same time as the other man. The blonde then jumped to his feet and charged at the masked man. He threw his kunai and it slipped through the other man's head. When the masked man made a grab for him he formed a Rasengan and teleported to his kunai. Once he was over the masked man, he slammed the larger-than-normal Rasengan down on his opponent creating a crater. He then placed a seal on the man's exposed skin on his back.

The masked man jumped out of the ruble and took to higher ground. He clutched his injured left arm panting hard as his left hand fell away. From his vantage point he could see Minato through the dust. "I see you got me. No wonder they call you a phantom-" Before he could continue, Minato was in front of him and stabbed him with a kunai. "Hiraishin no Jutsu?" I see. He must have marked me! He felt a pressure on his chest, and looked down to see a seal. "A contract seal? You're trying to server my control over the Kyuubi?"

"The Kyuubi is no longer under your command," Minato informed the masked man.

XxX

Kimi gasped in shock from where she hid behind a tree. She knew for a second that she had seen the Sharingan form within the Kyuubi's eyes before it faded away leaving red slits for pupils. She would recognize her clan's Kekkei Genkai anywhere. When the Kyuubi's changed back to normal he seemed to be angrier than ever as he began a rampage through the village. He sent Shinobi and civilian alike flying through the air. Screams of terror could be heard from all directions. The young Uchiha rethought her plan as the chaos worsened, and decided to run away from the monster fox. She ran towards the outskirts of the village, which turned out to be a bad idea seeing as the ninja were trying to drive out the Kyuubi. She was starting to panic. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her legs hurt from running. She wished she had gone with Kakashi when she had the chance.

XxX

"Listen up," a man called to the group of young Shinobi assembled. "Your generation is to stay away from the Kyuubi."

"What do you mean," a girl with wavy brown hair and red eyes questioned.

"This is not a way between villages," the same man stated. "it is our own calamity. You have no need to risk your lives for this."

"You can't tell us what to do," the same girl shouted in outrage.

"Stand down Kurenai," a teen standing beside her whispered, though she ignored him.

"You are all Shinobi, like me. We do not normally live long lives. But you, as my daughter," he looked down at the girl named Kurenai, "Must pass on the Will of Fire onto my grandchild!" The girl's eyes softened a bit. "At least promise your father that. I have faith in you."

"Kim," Kakashi shouted suddenly causing everyone within the clearing to look at him strangely. His eyes were wide with unadulterated fear and he was visibly shaking.

"Secret," Gai asked confused. "What secret?"

"Not kimi, Kim," Kakashi stressed. His legs were tensing in preparation to take off. "She's a weird two year old who has a strange fascination with me."

"Geez, Kakashi don't you think she's a little too young," Asuma commented but he was silenced by a glare from the Hatake.

"Wait you mean that annoying little girl that's always tailing after you," Genma questioned as he pulled the senbon out of his mouth. "Isn't that kid from the Uchiha clan or something?" Everyone listened in on the conversation in interest. Gossip about the Uchiha clan was rare and hard to come by.

"I sensed her chakra right as the Kyuubi attacked," Kakashi said. "She was running-"

"See, the girl probably got to safety," someone commented.

"-In the wrong direction," Kakashi finished causing most to gasp. "You guys don't know Kimi. She's always doing something stupid, and with most of the clan hating her she'll do anything to prove herself worthy." He looked at Kurenai's father. "You have to let me go look for her."

"I can't do that," the man said. "These are the Sandaime's orders." That answer did not sit well with Kakashi. The teen grabbed the man by the front of his vest.

"Kakashi man chill-"

"That is not very youthful-"

"I'm an ANBU. I can die today, tomorrow, next week, or sometime after next month," Kakashi growled. "Let me out of this barrier." He dropped the man when he gave the signal for him to be let out of the barrier, and then ran full speed out into the village in search of a troublemaking three-year-old.

XxX

Kimi's heart as it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. She had somehow ended up on the other side of the Kyuubi, the farthest away from the village. The hatred flowing of the Nine Tails was nothing like what she had felt when she was a safe distance away. In that moment, she made a promise to herself. If she survived, she will never let hatred become such a big part of her life. She knew that feeling hate was inevitable in order to protect love, but she would never let it consume her.

The Kyuubi took a step back. He was getting closer to where she was hiding. She would not allow herself to be afraid anymore. She turned on her heel and ran from the Kyuubi. She had not traveled more than six feet, when a giant toad appeared and landed on top of the Kyuubi. The force from the hit caused the ground to shake, and the little girl to lose her balance. From where she sat, not even a foot away from the Kyuubi, she could make out the distinctive form of Namikaze Minato standing on the head of the giant toad. She knew that with Minato there, he would take down the Kyuubi, but she needed to vacate the area. She stood up but the ground shook and she clutched onto the giant fox's fur.

She felt a strange sensation and closed her eyes. When she opened her ebony orbs, she realized she was in a different location.

"I need to put a barrier up," Minato said from the front of the fox. Kim let go of the fox when she heard his voice. She tripped and fell under some broken boards when she tried to walk in his direction.

"I can still do it Minato," Kushina informed her husband, her breathing ragged. Golden chakra chains appeared and restrained the Nine Tailed Fox.

Kimi was stuck. She could not move due to the boards lying on top of her small form. She could not talk due to the crushing weight making it hard to breathe. She turned her head to the side, and was able to see Minato and Kushina with baby Naruto. She smiled through the pain and gave a silent laugh. She was only two years old, what exactly did she expect to do. Save the village from the Kyuubi by herself when she had only just started ninja training.

She looked at the family of three and listened in on their conversation. She really could not hear much, but she got the gist of it. Her Aunty Kushina and Uncle Minato were going to die in order to save the village and protect Naruto.

Minato worked to seal the Yang half of the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto. It was when he moved to seal the Yin half within himself that something strange happen, although he never noticed it. Kimi's Sharingan had evolved from having only one tomo to two. Her Sharingan began to spin wildly when Minato began to seal the Yang half within himself. There was a bright flash of light and Minato and Kushina along with the Yin half of the Kyuubi were gone.

Kimi lost consciousness as Naruto began to cry.