After sickness then fanfiction breaking - we finally have the next chapter!

Yup, I had tis ready for Tuesday, but that was not to be. I could not login to fanfiction to aswer comments nor post stories. I couldn't even review stuff! It was terrible, but it was fixed last night and now I can post. YAY!

I don't really wanna chat for long, so let's get into it!

THE WILL OF FIRE

PART ONE

Chapter 34 - Wounds

It drove him crazy to let Orochimaru go. Despite how much Minato wanted to punish him; he other, more pressing concerns. Orochimaru had left plenty of test subjects that needed medical care. One of which was his son. That angered Minato further. He used my son as a test subject! Minato wanted to kill him. He pushed that thought aside. For now, he had to concentrate on helping his victims.

He headed back towards his wife and son. They needed him now. He had already failed his son twice now, he was not going to do it again. Minato was worried about what the Snake had done to him. He knew it was bad but he didn't know exactly how bad it was. He was worried sick about his little boy. He had to get back to him and help him. Naruto and the other children were what mattered right now.

Minato dispatched some of his ANBU to the hospital to summon as many Medical Ninjas as possible then guide them here. He sent a couple more to find Orochimaru's trail. While Minato doubted that they would find him he had to try. He couldn't let the bastard get away that easily.

Another was sent to fetch Lord Third. Rat was dispatched to find him. Hiruzen needed to see this. Besides, Minato needed his help. He couldn't do this all on his own. There were too many victims and too many responsibilities to uphold for him to handle this on his own. It was true that Shadow Clones could be useful, but he could only create three or four at the most. That may not be enough. It would also push him to exhaustion faster. Helping no one in this matter. No, Minato needed as much help as he could get.

It didn't take him long to get back to his family. When he saw them again his heart stopped. Kushina cradled Naruto in her arms. He had lost conscious in the short time that Minato had been away. Sweat poured from him as he tried to fight off whatever Orochimaru had done to him. Even in this state Minato could see the pain that tormented his son. Orochimaru, I will kill you for this. He thought as he knelt down by his side.

He started to inspect his son more closely. His son had a high fever and his pulse was thready. Naruto was barely breathing. Minato noticed something on his neck. There were two puncture marks near a cursemark. Anger flared inside Minato. Orochimaru! His mind screamed. He had slapped a cursemark on his son. Minato didn't know the purpose of the seal, but he knew that he had to seal it away as soon as possible. That was if Naruto had any chance. But Minato couldn't begin to seal it away until the boy the was stabilized. As is, he wouldn't survive any attempt at sealing it away.

Minato closed his eyes. He tried to shut out the feelings of regret and frustration flowing over him. He failed to protect his son and now Naruto paid dearly for that mistake. Naruto would continue to pay for a long time. Since Minato suspected that he could not remove it. All the ways that he thought of removing it would potentially kill Naruto in the process. He couldn't think of a way do it without seriously harming him right now. There might be some options when he got older, but Naruto wasn't strong enough to even attempt them. He would surely die if he did. The best that he could do was to seal it away. At least for now.

He felt a familiar presence behind him. Lord Third had finally arrived. Minato knew that he should rise and address the former Hokage but he couldn't tear himself away. He was too lost in pain and anger. It wasn't just any child it was his. The little boy that he promised to protect no matter what. The little boy that he just failed yet again. Forgive me Naruto . . .

Lord Third had placed his hand on his shoulder. Hiruzen understood Minato's pain. He understood that Minato needed some time alone with his family. So, he left without saying a word and took over the investigation.

Shortly after a medical ninja appeared. Minato watched as she worked to stabilize the boy. Once he was stabile, she recommended that he be moved to the hospital. That way he could be monitored through out the night. She wanted to make sure that the fever broke and the boy regain consciousness. Then and only then would she allow any efforts to seal the cursemark left by Orochimaru. Something Minato had already decided to do. He would not proceed until Naruto was ready. He just had to hope that Naruto could hang on long enough for his father to seal it away.

It was only after Naruto went to the hospital that Minato was able to break away. He began to assist Lord Third in the efforts to help the remaining children and investigating Orochimaru's crimes. While they worked, neither spoke about the things that plagued their minds: Hiruzen was tortured by the crimes of his student. Minato was worried sick about his only child. Both were raw and emotional as they tried to assess the full scope of the tragedy. There were so many victims and so much to go through that a man could lose his mind.

One of Minato's chief goals was to find information on the cursemark that Orochimaru had placed on his son. He doubted that the man left a blueprint behind, but any notes or theories would be helpful in his efforts. He worked far into the night. He managed to find notes on the cursemark and how it worked. It was not complete, but it gave him a better picture on how to stop it. Sadly, Minato's theory about removing it proved accurate. He could not remove or completely seal the thing away without causing great harm to Naruto. Minato refused to be the one to condemn his son to death. It remained a strong possibility if he attempted to remove it.

Instead, Minato would be would create an seal around it. It would help protect his son's mind and keep the thing from taking over. Sadly, it wouldn't prevent all accidental activations of the thing. Meaning that Naruto would have to learn how to control his emotions. A task that would be truly difficult for him. He was too much like his mother for his own good. Minato didn't like it, but at moment he didn't see any better options.

So, Minato returned to his office. He needed to be alone to perfect the design. He used his clones to help him speed up the time it would take to come up with it. For it had to be sealed up before it could do too much damage. It had to be in place before it destroyed Naruto's mind. He hated seeing his son like this. He felt helpless. That feeling drove him to work even harder. He would have the best seal possible before Naruto woke up! He had to. It was the only way that he could think of to atone for his failure.

Of course, he could not ignore his duty to watch over his son as Naruto fought for his life. He had to be there to protect and encourage him to keep fighting. And if the worst should happen then he would be there for him in his final moments. It was not something that he wanted to think of but it was very real possibility. Minato needed to be there. It was his duty as his father. This was something he had to do himself. Not even a clone would do. He had to be there for his son in person. So he returned to his boy's side as soon as he could.

While Minato watched over his son his clones worked to complete the design in time. Time was running out. His son needed that blasted thing sealed up properly as soon as possible! They would work while he sat and waited. The clones could come up with a design far faster than he could. They would pour over Orochimaru's work, go over effects the it was having on Naruto, then work and re-work the design until it was right. As soon as any clone had a breakthrough of any kind it would dispel to pass that knowledge along. It was exhausting constantly creating and dispelling clones but it was worth it if he came up a solution.

After working all night long and most of the following day, the clones had managed to come up with a solution. It was far from perfect, but it would hold. That was enough for now. They dispelled all at once to signal it's completion. As their memories flooded back to Minato he remembered the hours upon hours of hours of painstaking work. He remembered the countless ways he could seal the blasted thing. He remembered the all ways that it could go wrong. The seal's design had be as close to perfect as possible. After all it would affect the rest of his son's life. Minato had to get it right.

The seal was designed to not completely seal up the thing. That was not wise. Instead, it was designed to allow the toxic energy to slowly leak into his system. That way it could mix with his chakra and become part of him. Naruto's body could then better suppress the evil energy. It would still affect him, but it would a lot longer to twist his mind the way it would now. Hopefully, by then he will be able to resist the effects of the cursemark.

Minato would also seal some of his chakra in there. It would act as a safety valve. As soon as the thing broke free of it's bonds it would activate and force it back. It would only last a few times, but it should be enough. Naruto should have gained enough control by then. He didn't know for sure but it was the best that he could come up with. There were far too many unknowns to be completely sure. He just had to make his best guess and hope for the best. Minato really didn't know what the future would bring, but it had to be better than this. So, he went on as if it would.

The fatigue from clones was eating away at him. While they provided the design far faster than he could have done otherwise, it was risky. Along with the memories came the fatigue. Each clones hours of no sleep, worry, and study added to his exhaustion. Once you added nearly two days of no rest he was at the tipping point.

Yet, he refused to rest. He had to keep going for his son's sake. He had to be there for him. He had to make it right. It was his duty as husband and father. He would help his son heal. As soon as the doctors cleared him, Minato would start the sealing. It was his best shot at a normal life. Minato was ready to begin. All he needed now was for his son to open his eyes . . .

Wow, that is really sad chapter. It reminds me on how much I stressed poor Minato all the time. It gets better in part two (just because he is not the main character) but in the mean time his life just sucks. What will happen next? Stick around to find out!