The years passed by quickly. The men kept their pact to meet every Friday at the warehouse, luckily for them it seemed nobody could be bothered to tear down the old district and rebuild.
After spending a few years cracking down and really trying to decrypt the demon book, Minato found out that the book was more a history book catering to information about where demon energy comes from. Turns out there seemed to be nine different demon spirits and they all were supposed to resemble some type of animal. In the beginning one humongous mass of energy that was said to have created the world.
The mass of energy known as 'Divinity' used its energy to create a group of living, breathing, physical beings. There were two groups forming, the Hagoromo and the Kaguya. Both groups had unimaginable powers but that wasn't enough for the Kaguya group who began to grow rapidly greedier as each century passed.
Out to seek only power, the Kaguya group set about a process of harvesting Divinity's powers for their own twisted means. The Hagoromo group possessed the very first descendant of Divinity's power, the reason the group was called Hagoromo was because that was his name and now, he was set out to put a stop to the endless greed created by his own sister, Kaguya.
Being the stronger of the two, Hagoromo partitioned Divinity before Kaguya could lead her group to successfully steal the power for themselves. Creating nine new energy sources that all gradually increased in strength, one having the lowest amount of energy, all the way up to the ninth which had the most energy of all.
Hiding the energy across the world was extremely vital to Hagoromos plan, he couldn't allow Kaguya's group to locate it. Scouring the world, he finally came up with a strategy: humans may be greedy, but the animals of this world were pure, he would bestow the gift of this energy upon nine different creatures.
A racoon the Ichibi, a puma the Nibi, a turtle the Sanbi, a gorilla the Yonbi, a horse the Gobi, a slug the Rokubi, a beadle the Shichibi, an octopus the Hachibi and finally the cleverest of them all was a fox the Kyuubi.
Centuries passed and all was going as planned, but all good things must come to an end. The energy had started to merge with the animal's natural spirit causing the energy to only multiply in strength. The constant twisting and contorting of power resonating in each creature was becoming far too much to bear, their bodies were giving out, they were dying.
Each piece of the nine was far too powerful to place within any living creature to date, it would take very special beings to be able to withstand the seal, let alone live a life with such insurmountable energy. The creatures' souls had become a permanent part of the energy so they would live on forever through the energy, even after their bodies cease and decay.
Using his very own energy, Hagoromo was finally able to create a world for just the creature's energy to live on in. He had worked in a doorway that would allow each of the animal spirits to come and go from this world to theirs as they pleased. Now that the energy had living thinking spirits controlling themselves, he felt less anxious about Kaguya's followers capturing and harnessing the energy for themselves. All these years, and many generations of humans later and they were still searching for this power.
Time just kept ticking onwards and with every year Kaguya was getting closer and closer to obtaining the energy. The day had come when she witnessed one of these animal energy spirits slip through the doorway from this world to their own. Using her energy, she was able to surmount a way to access their world and capture their energy, only problem was she herself couldn't do it. Hagoromo had worked into its creation neither she nor him could enter or gain access to their world.
At the very end of the book of Divinity it talks about a final battle between Hagoromo and Kaguya where he was successful in striking her down ending her rein of terror.
Turns out she had figured out that humans could call forth the animal spirits that harboured the mass amounts of energy. She was quite pleased to find out that her brother had accidently made the previously distributed energy even greater with the help of the bound animals' souls that now have become one with the energy.
Sacrifice after sacrifice, she subjected her followers to deadly, excruciating trials to open the door and call forth the energy from their plain of existence. No human nor animal had been able to withstand the sealing of the mighty spirits. Kaguya's followers were blind to her greed and continued to follow her.
After years of getting nowhere, and thousands of human lives being destroyed as sacrifices, humans began to refer to these mighty spirits as 'demons' because nothing that could explode a healthy man in his prime was anything but a creature of pure evil and destruction. However, humans being humans, their greed kept them going back for more. To have even a sliver of a chance at wielding unconquerable power was more than enough for them to throw their lives away.
The truth was, there was not a creature born that was strong enough to withstand the amount of energy that even the weakest of the spirits gave off. Hagoromo worked in two ways for the spirits to be called forth.
One way is using his descendants DNA a ritual could be used to create a temporary holding barrier to house and contain the might energy. This had its own problems though, being siblings Kaguya shares the same energy as Hagoromo, so her descendants also share DNA with him. The holding barrier would seal and strip the spirit of using its energy of its own free will, binding their free will to that of the descendant who summoned and bound them. The spirits are forced to remain in the barrier until it is broken. The only way for the barrier to be broken is by expelling huge amounts of energy which can only be done if the descendant requests the use of their power.
The second way is each animal spirit being called forth by the birth of their jinchūriki. All previous binds would be immediately severed, and the spirit would be sealed into their other half where they will lay dormant until the jinchūriki is strong enough to wield their power and remove the seal binding them for eternity with no worry of being ripped away or used by anyone ever again.
What even Hagoromo didn't know was that only children born from a mix of his and his sister's descendants could one day be capable of such a feat. The pairing of two opposing sides reuniting the original power used to create Hagoromo the light and Kaguya the dark was needed to create a jinchūriki.
The men were at their weekly meeting and Minato was excited to tell them about finally finishing the decryption. After explaining everything he possibly could they all just stared at him.
"Holy shit after all that slacking, pretty boy finally, did it?" Iishi asks sarcastically with the biggest smirk on his face.
"I thought we went over this Iishi, it wasn't as simple as just reading it" Minato says while letting out an exasperated sigh.
"So, you're telling us there's Eight other spirits out there?" Dosu asked, looking somewhat concerned.
"According to the book, though, if you guys could hear the Kyuubi you guys would agree that he is most definitely a demon at least in my opinion" says Minato while shrugging.
"Yeah, that's not really reassuring, is it really that bad?" asks Dosu.
"Short answer, yes. It even refers to itself as a demon, plus look at the state I'm in after talking to it every week" states Minato.
"Speaking of, are you going to ask it about the book?" Nadire asks.
"Yeah, I'm curious as to what It has to say about the book. We've never discussed it in all these years" says Minato enthusiastically.
"I don't know why you're so excited to have your brains scorched" jokes Nadire.
"This has been a long road and it feels like I've achieved a life goal or something" chuckles Minato.
"Whatever you say boss" teases Nadire.
"Plush, ever since I married Kushina the pain somehow doesn't seem as bad for some reason" says Minato.
Nadire tenses a bit then puts on a fake smile that no one catches then asks with sarcasm "power of love huh?"
Minato responds by playfully punching him in his left shoulder and saying, "don't be jealous I found someone before you."
"Would you two get a room already?" Gengko asks mumbling just loud enough for him and Iishi to hear.
Iishi looks at him with a wicked smirk and says, "I think this may be the first thing you've said that I can agree too."
Leaning over and raising his left eyebrow at the exchange between the two, Ryuki says "This sure has turned into an interesting night."
"One thing is for sure; Friday nights are never dull," says Raiga.
"Touché" is all Ryuki says in response.
"Alright guys, we should probably get this meeting started" Says Minato while gesturing for everyone to take their seats.
"Yes officer" Nadire teases.
Minato looks over and glares at him.
Still laughing Nadire adds "sorry I couldn't resist. Honestly though congrats, we're all proud of you!"
The group smiles at Minato while simultaneously nodding their heads as if to say, 'yes we are all proud.'
Softly smiling Minato adds "Thanks guys, that means a lot. Anyways I'm going to start, I've been anxious about tonight ever since finishing that book."
Reaching into the pocket of his shin length white and red cloak he grasps the crystal making sure not to remove it from his pocket. Closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths in and out trying to prepare himself for the on slot of pain that's about to consume him, he enters his mind.
"Alright, demon speak!" he yells.
The familiar bellow of manic laughter shakes his inner mind causing him to feel as if his brain was going to burst out of his eye sockets.
"My, my, you sure have gotten bold haven't you Minato?" Kyuubi snorts.
"Oh, I amuse you do I?" Minato asks angrily while clutching his skull.
"Let's not beat around the bush, I know you've finished reading our book of origins" snarls Kyuubi.
"Book of origins?" questions Minato.
"Yes, you didn't really think it was called the demon summoning or Divinity book, did you?" Kyuubi asks.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. Anyways back on task!" Minato shouts.
"Heh, these years sure have made you angry, I wonder what your little group would think of you if they found out their leader was using the power behind their backs. Speaking of, I trust you have kept up your end of the bargain?" asks Kyuubi with a mixture of laughing and growling.
"They don't need to know about that!" yells Minato.
"Whatever floats your boat. Now did you hold up your end of the bargain?" asks the Kyuubi.
"Yes," mumbles Minato.
"Well?" asks the Kyuubi who was quickly losing its patience.
"Not here, but on another continent, there have been similarities which lead me to believe that at least a couple of you are out there" Minato says in almost a whisper.
Nothing but the sound of Minato's breathing can be heard echoing his mind, feeling uneasy about the sudden silence of the demon Minato asks "After understanding the book, it's them, isn't it? The other demons, they're who you were asking me to look for."
'I was right, the time must be drawing close, but what's the next move' the Kyuubi thinks to itself.
Snarling at the useless ape the Kyuubi says "What it is or isn't doesn't concern you, I will hold up my end. What is it you want?"
A little perturbed about the recent interaction Minato says "my wife, she can't bear children. She wants nothing more than to be a mother and I can't stand seeing her so broken. I couldn't care less about the messy burdens, but it's all she's ever wanted is a family of her own. If having a child of her own is what will truly make her happy then I will do anything in my power to make that happen."
'So, the worthless ape that doesn't even like kids wants his wife to breed huh?' the Kyuubi ponders to himself.
"Your wife, what is her last name?" asks the Kyuubi.
As threatening as he could muster up, Minato asks "WHY?"
"I suggest you watch your tone with me, I'm the one who chooses how much power I put out on each use. Granting you the power for something like this I could easily shatter what remains of that crystal, and I doubt your precious Kushina would be happy raising a child on her own. Though if she knew the real you that might be a different story wouldn't it, Minato?" Kyuubi asks while laughing manically.
"Okay fine, you win. Her last name is Uzumaki" says Minato.
'Wait Namikaze and Uzumaki, can it be? Old man is my time finally upon us?' the Kyuubi frantically asks himself.
Speaking quiet and calmly, the Kyuubi says "I'll do it with minimal power. Don't get me wrong I want nothing more than to see your body slowly explode on a cellular level, but I am a creature of principle which is more than I can say for the lot of you. In exchange for the information, you have provided for me, I will help you."
"Really?" Minato yells excitedly.
"Yes, you'll need to drug your wife though, we can't have her knowing about our little deal now, can we? Being Mr. crooked cop I'm sure you're not opposed to it, not like it would be your first time... After she is unconscious you'll access my power the same way you've done before" says the Kyuubi.
"Of course! I just want her to be happy" he says.
"Just one thing, seeing as I'll be monitoring the power to use the least amount necessary, this won't make her pregnant automatically. You'll still need to breed her and even then, it could take a few years for a change to happen. It all depends on how damaged her womb is. But regardless, if you keep breeding her, she will eventually bear children" states the Kyuubi.
"That's fine!" Minato joyfully shouts.
"Alright, now go!" the Kyuubi bellows out.
'I wonder' is the last thought the Kyuubi has before receding back into its slumber.
Toppling over and gasping for breath, Minato comes too while clutching his head trying to will the lingering pain that pulsates through his skull. By the time he finally regains his senses he realises it's no longer light outside, The group is only being illuminated by a small kerosene lantern.
"How long was I out for?" Minato quietly asks.
"Two hours," Nadire says, sounding a bit concerned.
"That long huh?" Minato responds sheepishly.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Nadire couldn't wait any longer to ask "Mhm. So, what did it say?"
Sighing heavily after remembering his conversation with the Kyuubi , Minato says "It said it's all true, there really are eight more of them out there somewhere."
For the first time in years, the group was silent. All of them were staring at him wide eyed like they all wanted to inquire further but neither knew how. Nothing to be heard but the steady breathing of eight men until Minato spoke up "well I guess we should head out, I don't know about your partners, but Kushina worries when I'm late."
Bidding farewell to each other with promises of seeing each other next Friday, they all went their separate ways. Minato pulls into his driveway to see the light to the house already off.
"She must already be in bed" he mumbles to himself.
Exiting his car and locking it behind him he makes his way towards his front door. Pulling out his keys and searching for the correct one, he slides the key into the lock, twisting it clockwise then twisting it back counter clockwise to the upright position. Pulling the key out of the opened lock he opens the door turning on the hall light and removing his shoes.
'With her being in bed this should be easier to pass off as a dream' he thinks to himself.
Walking towards the basement door he slowly makes his way down the stairs. Opening his secret locker hidden in a cut out under the stairs he digs out his chloroform and rag, along with a black ski mask, a tight black turtleneck, a pair of tight fitting black slacks and combat boots.
Not taking any chances, Minato changes into his blackout gear just in case Kushina should happen to wake up. Sneaking up the basement stairs, walking around the climb the stairs leading to the second floor, he quietly sneaks down the hall till he reaches the master bedroom. Listening through the door for any signs of disturbance he hears nothing but silence.
Taking that as a sign his wife's sleeping, he takes the rag and bottle of chloroform out of his pockets. Thoroughly saturating the rag, he closes the bottle and places it back in his pocket.
Cracking open their bedroom door he tests his luck by whispering "Kushina, you awake?"
Getting no response, he walks over to the left side of the bed and places the rag over top of Kushina's mouth and nose. Upon placing the rag over her mouth and nose her eyes shot open with a look of panic in them. Minato applied pressure to ensure she couldn't move her head. Before she could reach up to grab Minato's arms she was out.
With an exasperated sigh he leans over, lifting his mask off to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"I'm sorry my love, but I love you too much to let you suffer" he whispers.
Pulling the blankets off her, he places the crystal below her belly button leaving his right hand resting on top of the crystal he goes into his mind and says "mighty Kyuubi give me your power!"
It had been five years since that night, Minato lines of right and wrong were becoming more and more blurred as the years passed. Sometimes he wondered how his life got here. It wasn't just him either, it was everyone in Crimson Lotus, hell he just finished cleaning up and helping Nadire cover his tracks so his precinct wouldn't connect him to the recent acts against Kara Inc. He was impersonating someone from human resources to acquire information on a few people within the company. For what reason a doctor would need that information he wasn't sure, but that was one thing about Crimson Lotus, they always helped each other with no questions asked.
Sitting at his desk in the precinct, Minato gets brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door "come in" he says.
The door opens to reveal a short, petite woman with purple hair pulled up into a donut shaped bun. She had emerald, green eyes and tanned skin. She was wearing a black pencil skirt with a white silk button up and black leather pumps. "Sir, your wife is at the front desk, she says she needs to speak to you and I wasn't sure if you were here, should I send her through?" asks Cheryl, the receptionist.
"Please send her through, thanks Cheryl" he says with a smile.
'Hmm wonder what brings her here, she never bails on class.' Minato thought to himself.
The door opens and in walks a short, thin woman with beautiful fiery red hair, ivory skin and dazzling ocean blue eyes. She wore a white cotton button up shirt with a pale green overall style dress. Her look gave away the fact that she was a kindergarten teacher.
"Hey love!" She greets him excitedly.
"Hello, my lovely wife, not that I'm not thrilled to see you but what are you doing here? Is something wrong? You never bail on your kids" he asks, mumbling out in a panic.
Chuckling at her husbands' adorable antics, she says "Minato, stop worrying. I just got back from the doctors and needed to tell you something."
His face drops, his skin turns a ghostly white "what's wrong he asks?"
Looking Minato in the eyes and smiling, she says "nothing, I'm seven weeks pregnant."