Chapter 3
Minato was feeling pretty good. He just finished a training session, and he knew that his skill was getting better.
As he was coming home though, his mood darkened. He could tell something was wrong; he sensed an evil presence…
Oh no! His thoughts screamed.
He ran inside, throwing open the front door. He immediately heard a racket coming from his bedroom, and his heart sank.
"Kushina!" He yelled, running faster.
He entered the bedroom, and his first thought was: Please let her be okay!
Kushina was lying on the floor, blood matting the hair on the back of her head. He checked her pulse and breathing, and, thank the gods, she was alive, simply unconscious.
Then his eyes widened. Why wasn't Naruto crying?
Minato checked the crib, and to his utter horror, discovered that the crib was empty. His son was gone.
Just then, something emerged from the bedroom wall, something resembling a plant with wide pincers but also bearing humanoid features.
"Looking for something?" The creature taunted, and held Naruto in its outstretched hands.
Rage almost overtook Minato's nerves of steel. He was consumed with the desire to kill this creature for even so much as laying a finger on his son, and he was forced to use all of his willpower to stay calm.
"I'll give you one chance and one chance only." Stated the enraged father. "Give me back my son and I'll make sure to end your life quickly." At this time, any normal human would have died of fear while under Minato's gaze.
But this thing only laughed. "I like you, you're hilarious."
Then it withdrew back into the wall, inciting a scream of protest from Minato.
This thing will wish it had taken my offer. He swore to himself.
Minato was angry, but not concerned. He had placed a Thunder God seal on his son the previous day, and so he was comfortable in the knowledge that he could go wherever his son was. In fact, when Minato realized he could perform the Flying Thunder God technique, he had gone all around Konoha and placed seals in important places, such as the Leaf Hospital, where he now transported his wife.
The startled medic that Minato had appeared in front of managed to not pass out in fright. "Please take good care of her." He said, depositing his wife into the arms of the doctor. Then he was gone.
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Zetsu resurfaced somewhere in the Konoha Great Forest, his jaw-like appendages splitting apart. He was going insane; (well, more insane than he already was) the stupid baby had been wailing the entire trip, and the sound of its crying had made Zetsu want to kill himself. He had no choice but to resurface and let the child get some air, otherwise Madara would have been very unhappy.
Unfortunately the baby had kept crying, and crying, and crying….
Zetsu held the child out at arm's length, not wanting to get too close to its blubbering form. Then, he saw a flash of yellow and before he could blink, he was on the ground and the baby was gone from his grasp. He coughed, and the yellow shape disappeared again, only to reappear seconds later.
Zetsu got up. "Namikaze…" He grunted.
"You have no idea how angry I am right now." Minato seethed. "You should have surrendered while I was willing to give mercy."
"Somehow I'm not concerned." Zetsu chuckled. "After all, you're not fully recovered. You're probably actually really weak. I don't think you'll pose much of a threat. By the way, my name is Zetsu; Madara says hello." He charged Minato, forming hand seals rapidly.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist Smash!" A wall of stone formed around its fist, and it lashed out, pummeling Minato, sending him flying. He collided with a tree and slumped downwards.
"Earth Style: Stone Spear!" A spear of rock flew into Minato's right shoulder, drawing from him a gasp of pain.
"See, you're already down. You're supposed to have been a Hokage?" Zetsu started laughing uncontrollably.
Minato pulled the rock spear from his shoulder and threw it down. He dipped his fingers in his blood and slammed his hand down. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A black toad with red stripes appeared, waiting for Minato's order. It was about the size of a large dog; its red markings pulsed to the beat of its heart.
"Gamakibi, I need help!" Minato exclaimed.
The toad sprang into action, spitting a green liquid at Zetsu. The plant-like creature dodged, and the liquid hit a nearby tree, melting it in half.
Minato fled, leaving the toad to fight Zetsu.
What am I going to do? He thought, as blood dripped down his shoulder.
It came to him. Kyuubi! Give me your chakra! He commanded mentally.
The Kyuubi roared in protest, but Minato's desperation fueled the power of his will, and the Nine-tails had no choice but to lend Minato his energy.
Minato's blue eyes closed, and when they opened, they were red slits; the eyes of a monster. His teeth lengthened, as did his fingernails, becoming claws. His wounds clouded with red chakra and steamed, healing themselves.
With a feral growl, he dashed back towards the fighting, just as a tree collapsed and Gamakibi came flying through the air, landing hard before poofing away.
Zetsu came up out of the ground. "You left a toad to fight me?" He mocked.
Minato let his rage break loose. He ran at Zetsu, forming a Rasengan in his right hand.
"Rasengan!" He screamed, his right hand colliding with Zetsu's chest.
Zetsu grabbed Minato's hand, but the spiral sphere of chakra was already tearing into him.
Minato had just enough time to feel victorious before the Zetsu in front of him crumbled into dirt.
The real Zetsu popped up behind him.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist Smash!" The attack was headed for the back of Minato's head.
But Minato wasn't there. Had placed a Thunder God seal on Zetsu the first time he had attacked him with the "Rock Fist Smash" jutsu.
Zetsu froze in terror as the Kyuubi enhanced Minato slammed two perfectly formed Rasengans into his unguarded back.
"Ack!" Was all he managed to say before the energy spheres demolished his spinal column and shredded his internal organs, silencing him.
The lifeless corpse dropped face-down to the forest floor.
Minato huffed, his muscles burning. But, at the same time, the adrenaline coursing through his body was exhilarating.
You're welcome. They Kyuubi spoke up. Your damaged chakra pathways wouldn't even have been able to mold a Rasengan if it hadn't been for me.
Remind me to thank you later Minato replied.
As he sank to the ground, the Kyuubi's characteristics faded until Minato looked like himself again; that's when the body started moving.
Zetsu was splitting in half, the black side pushing the white side away from itself. Before Minato's eyes, the black Zetsu stood on its feet and stretched luxuriously.
"Well, that was fun, although my white side was never any good at fighting. I knew I shouldn't have let it take control. Anyway, you ready for the real fight?" The black half turned to Minato, inquiring.
Minato swallowed. "H-how?"
Zetsu attacked then, crushing the ground in front of Minato as he dodged. Zetsu pressed the attack, using Earth Style to shake the ground, causing Minato to stumble backwards.
Just as Zetsu was about to deliver a devastating punch, the Kyuubi's shroud enveloped Minato and his visage transformed. Minato sent out a fist of chakra, hitting Zetsu below the collarbone and sending him reeling back.
Minato made a hand seal. "Fire Style: Exploding Dart Jutsu!" Minato spit out fiery arrows that homed in on Zetsu and detonated, the concussive force ruffling Minato's blonde hair.
Minato didn't let up. "Wind Style: Seething Breeze Jutsu!" He sucked in, and then blew out a powerful windstorm laced with senbon.
There was a small dust cloud, but when it cleared, Zetsu was nowhere to be found.
Minato heard a cracking sound from beneath him, and sidestepped two black hands that erupted from the ground. Minato saw hand seals being rapidly formed, and then the ground around the hands caved in on itself and spread, sucking everything down with it. Minato was dragged downward, but he used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport away from the rapidly expanding hole.
Zetsu flew up from the ground, attacking again. "Earth Style: Twin Rock Fist Smash!" Both of his hands were enormous and covered in hardened stone.
Minato blocked the attack by sending up two chakra hands that caught Zetsu's fists in midair. Meanwhile, Minato's own hands were forming seals. "Wind Style: Whirlwind Breath!" A vortex of air captured Zetsu, spinning, spinning, spinning him.
To follow it up, Minato jumped into the air and formed a Rasengan. He drew back his hand and was about to slam it home, when the air warped and contorted, and Madara Uchiha appeared, brandishing a mask with flames on it.
Minato growled in fury and tried hitting him with the Rasengan, but, as always, Madara avoided the attack with his Space-time ninjutsu.
"Zetsu may have lost this fight, but I won't let you kill him yet. We'll be back." Madara stared at Minato, before grabbing Black Zetsu, retrieving the dead White Zetsu and then vanishing in another spinning contortion of the air.
Minato bit back a cry of frustration. He had been so close! Madara, his most hated enemy, had been within arm's length. Minato could have ended the evil Uchiha, but his nemesis had gotten away, further empowering Minato's anger.
"Arrgghhh!" He screamed at the top if his lungs, sending out a huge shockwave of chakra that toppled ancient, deep-rooted trees like they were twigs. The birds left their nests in panic, and the deer ran away as if the whole forest was on fire. Even the wind seemed to cease for a minute, as if it too was afraid of the blonde jinchuriki.
Exhausted, and inwardly embarrassed for letting his emotions get the better of him, he dropped the Kyuubi shroud. There was nothing that he could do about Madara for now.
However, Minato had a family to check up on, and so he teleported back to the Leaf Hospital.
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Kushina was awake and very, very mad.
The last thing she remembered was that…thing coming out form the wall and attacking her, and then blackness. But she did recall that Naruto had been crying, and she could do nothing about it. When she had first woken up, finding herself in the hospital, and Naruto missing, she had marched out of bed and demanded to see her child. Nurses had at first gone to restrain her, but they soon fled in fear from her scathing words and brutal fists. Doctors avoided her gaze, and retreated from her presence until, finally, an administrator had calmed her down and taken her to Naruto's room. Kushina had held back tears as she saw her son sleeping peacefully, not a mark on his tiny body. But her thoughts still swam in confusion. Where was Minato?
That's when he materialized out of nowhere, so smoothly that not even a speck of dust was disturbed. Minato swept up his wife in a tender embrace, and, for once, he was the one hurting her. She smacked him on the arm and asked him where he had been.
"I was fighting the thing that knocked you out." Minato replied, rubbing his arm. She was as strong as she had always been, and her blows hurt. Minato told her all about Zetsu, and how he had kidnapped Naruto. He also told her about Madara coming and saving Zetsu from the last, fatal Rasengan.
"Madara is behind all this?" Kushina shook her head, her hair sashaying back and forth. "I don't understand. I thought you killed him?"
"I thought so too; apparently he survived somehow. But if he even comes close to you again-"
"Don't say things like that." Kushina interrupted. "He's afraid of you, Minato. You beat him once and you can beat him again. Why do you think he sent that Zetsu thing after us anyway? It's because he was too weak to do it himself; so don't worry, we'll be fine. I don't want you looking over your shoulder every five seconds."
"I guess you're right." Minato said, although he still harbored his doubts.
"I am right." Kushina insisted.
"Okay, okay, you're right."
Kushina narrowed her eyes. "Are you giving me backtalk Minato?" She asked, tilting her head.
Minato swallowed, playing along. "No, not at all. Never."
"Just now I'm pretty sure I heard some backtalk."
"You must have heard wrong then. Maybe it was the wind?" Minato suggested.
"I don't think it was the wind. I think it was you."
"You're mistaken, babe. Are you feeling alright? Maybe you're hallucinating?
"I am not hallucinating, Minato Namikaze. If I ever hear that tone of voice again…"
"What tone of voice?" Minato asked exasperatedly.
"The one that you just used!
"I don't know what you're talking about. Nurse!" Minato called. "Nurse! My wife needs help! She's hearing things, and-"
Kushina slapped a palm to his mouth. "I'm going to hurt you, Minato Namikaze."
Minato laughed, but it sounded weird coming behind Kushina's hand.
"You think I'm joking?" Kushina asked.
Minato kept laughing.