The Kyuubi felt something towards this Minato Namikaze, his human host; something akin to grudging respect. True, the human had opposed the fox when he was forced to attack Konoha, and had inadvertently led to his sealing, but still… he had only been protecting his village, just like the Kyuubi would have protected his own family, if he had one.

And the way Minato had so valiantly fought against his foe Zetsu, while still being weak, was admirable.

The Kyuubi had never felt anything but hatred toward his human vessels, because of their pettiness and weak wills, but this human was different. In a way, the Kyuubi feared him, for he was able to take the Kyuubi's chakra by force of will alone, a feat that none had ever done before in the Kyuubi's entire existence. Minato was fearless and strong, intelligent and unafraid of his faults.

The Kyuubi had been imprisoned in multiple humans, but this one promised to be the most interesting by far…

Maybe I will learn to like this one thought the Nine-tailed demon fox.

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(1 WEEK LATER…)

After the attack by Zetsu, Minato had been very cautious. He stuck close to Naruto and Kushina, never leaving their side. He felt very protective of his family, and didn't want them being watched by some random ANBU squad, although he did request that ANBU monitor his house.

If anyone attacked his family again though…His fists clenched painfully.

Minato did however, report to Sakumo Hatake about the attack and about Madara being behind it. Obviously there was no proof, and Sakumo could not start an investigation based solely on someone's words, even if that someone was Minato Namikaze.

But Minato was content with the ANBU protection, even though he would have preferred the whole Konoha police force backing him up.

Speaking of the Police Force though, Minato and Kushina had been invited to spend dinner at the Uchiha compound with Fugaku and his wife Mikoto. Minato and Kushina were good friends with the Uchiha couple, and so dinners were frequent. Little Itachi Uchiha had even started calling Minato "Uncle".

Minato especially loved the Uchihas, because they were there for Kushina when he had been in a coma and unable to move; they had helped his wife however they could, and for that, they were in Minato's eternal debt.

"Hey, Kushina?" Minato called.

"Yes, husband?" The reply came from somewhere within the house.

"You remembered that were going to Fugaku and Mikoto's tonight right?

Minato heard a whispered curse. "What's that?" Minato asked loudly.

"I said of course I remembered!" Kushina yelled back.

Minato chuckled. "So, then you remembered that were leaving in a half-hour too?"

Minato heard another curse, louder this time. Kushina came from the bedroom, carrying Naruto. "Can you hold him for a bit? I have to get ready." She shoved the baby into Minato's arms without waiting for his response.

Minato made baby sounds to Naruto while letting the infant play around with his hands, letting the boy grasp them in his tiny fists. Minato watched the child erupt into giggles, his toothless mouth trying hard to form a smile.

He heard Kushina throwing around her clothes, deciding on what to wear. No doubt she felt like all her clothes smelt like baby, which they most likely did.

"It's just the Uchiha's house honey, not the Annual Hokage Banquet." Said Minato, though he knew the response he would get:

"Yeah, well, I'm sure Mikoto enjoys a guest that smells like baby vomit." Quipped Kushina.

"Hey, I'm sure she smells like it too, because she has baby Sasuke to deal with." Minato said, probably tempting his wife's wrath.

Minato entered their bedroom, and saw what Kushina was wearing. He smiled. "You look beautiful Kushina." He declared, totally sincere. Kushina's style had always been plain, but that didn't change the fact that she always looked good no matter what. Now, she wore a blue blouse with simple khaki shorts and blue sandals. Her gorgeous red hair cascaded down her back, ending at waist level. She also wore a silver bracelet that Minato had bought for her on her left wrist.

Minato went up and hugged her. "Doesn't smell like baby vomit to me." He said, earning a smack in the arm and a deadly glare.

"That's not even the slightest bit funny." She said, and frowned.

He grabbed her chin. "Come on, babe, turn that frown upside down."

Her scowl deepened. "I'll turn your brain upside down if you don't quit." She warned.

"You already turned my world upside down when you came into my life." He said in a flat deadpan, perfectly aware of the corniness of that statement.

She rolled her eyes and snorted, but a flash of a smile caught Minato's eye. "Let's go, loser." She said, grabbing Minato's left arm above the elbow.

The happy couple walked out the front door, Minato still holding Naruto.

"You sure you're ready now? There's no turning back." He said ominously.

Kushina only sighed. "I wonder how Fugaku treats his wife?" She asked with an innocent tone.

"That's low." Replied Minato, laughing.

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Minato and Kushina had a great time at the Uchiha's house. Kushina had immediately gone to Mikoto, and the two had talked about their husbands and their children. Kushina talked about how loud Naruto always was, to which Mikoto replied that Sasuke was a quiet baby. They continued their wives talk for the majority of the night.

Minato, on the other hand, had spent his time with Fugaku and young Itachi, talking to the boy about the Ninja Academy, which he would be attending soon. Minato had even had a shuriken throwing contest with Itachi, and, of course, Minato had purposely lost. Fugaku, who had simply watched, said, "See, Itachi, you're so strong that you can beat a Hokage."

Itachi couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

After the sun fell, and everyone had finished dinner, Minato and Kushina said their thanks and goodbyes and left, truly appreciative of their friendship with the Uchihas.

"It's a good thing that I remembered we were supposed to come here tonight" Commented Kushina.

Minato rolled his eyes, a movement hidden by the encroaching darkness. "Yeah, what would I do without you? I would have felt so embarrassed if I had forgotten."

"Well, hey, what are wives for? There's no need to thank me that profusely."

"Oh, is that what I was doing?"

"I believe so." Kushina nodded her head.

"You know, I should thank you properly, but in order to do that, I need both hands free." He outstretched his arms. "Here, hold Naruto for me for a bit."

Kushina hid her hands under her armpits. "Actually, I changed my mind; you don't need to thank me."

Minato smiled. "I thought so."

"Well, I know you just love your son so much that you never want to let go, right? So I figured I'd just spare you the emotional distress of being parted with your flesh and blood. And, I also know that you love your son so much that you want to put him to bed when we get home." Kushina hid a grin.

Minato chuckled. "You're good." He said.

"Thank you." Came the cheery response.

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Madara's wicked smile was hidden beneath his mask.

His anger at losing the white half of Zetsu to Minato Namikaze had been fierce, but he took his loss without an outward show of force. The white half had been invaluable, as it was made up entirely of the First Hokage's cells, and those cells had been extremely difficult to obtain and stabilize in a sustainable life form; and so, Madara had lost years of research and experimentation in a single day.

He had worked hard the last week since losing however, repairing the surviving black half of Zetsu and increasing its battle potential. While not nearly as important as White Zetsu, Black Zetsu was still a valuable asset, so Madara strove to keep it alive. Black Zetsu had simply been a host organism with compatible and similar cells to that of the White Zetsu, allowing the white Zetsu to survive, and since White Zetsu had been killed by Minato, the black half was dying without something to be its host.

But Madara had found a solution. By modifying Black Zetsu's cells, he had allowed the creature to take a new being as host. In fact, it was a human replacement host with particularly powerful genes and instinctual strength. He had spliced the human successfully with Black Zetsu, and the two separate beings were now one, whole creature.

At first, Madara had been worried, because the human had undergone sever medical treatment and repair, and so Madara hadn't been sure if Black Zetsu would accept the human transplant. But everything had gone smoothly, and the new, improved Zetsu stood before him.

"What would you like to be called?" Madara asked, testing the creature's sentience. He wanted to see if, like the original Zetsu, each half had an individual personality, or if one side had taken over the personality of the other side.

After hearing Zetsu's reply, he chuckled darkly. "So you're the dominant personality, huh?"

Madara was very pleased, although this new being would have to rest and get accustomed to itself, a process that could take weeks or months. Even so, he was happy with the results, and was willing to wait.

His smile grew impossibly wider.

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(3 MONTHS LATER…)

Minato had fully recovered in the months since Zetsu's attack, a feat that amazed some and stunned others.

When the Kyuubi's enormous chakra had first entered Minato's body, it had disrupted his entire nervous system, and had devastated his chakra pathways, otherwise known as tenketsus. Minato's body had responded defensively towards the alien chakra, closing off the tenketsus to prevent the Kyuubi's chakra from escaping and reforming. If his body hand shut down the way it did, the Kyuubi would have simply exploded out of his body and would have taken its visible form once again, negating the last act of the Third Hokage. Minato would have died, and the Third's sacrifice would have been for nothing. In foresight, Minato realized that his coma had been a necessary evil.

But now, after extensive training, his tenketsu were open and working, and his chakra control was now just as perfect as it had been before the Kyuubi's attack. His muscles were no longer atrophied, and all his former strength and jutsus had returned. He was the legendary "Yellow Flash" once more.

One thing Minato had taken up was sparring with Rin and Kakashi at the Training Field. The pair was actually very strong together; Kakashi played the aggressor and Rin played the part of support, striking at Minato while Kakashi was distracting him. They had even mastered a collaboration jutsu that combined the power of lightning and water.

On sparring days, Minato had had no choice but to relive the past, the memories of his genin training days coming back vividly. Kakashi had really changed since those days, becoming wiser and definitely more down to earth; the boy had always been proud, viewing others weaker than him as pitiful. When Obito had died, something in him had broken, and he lost his air of superiority, realizing that someone like humble Obito was just as good as he was. In fact, Obito had saved his life, even though Kakashi had always treated the Uchiha with scorn and contempt.

Rin had also grown, losing her shallowness and coming to respect life for its deeper value. She recognized that she had made things harder on Obito, making him strive for her when her heart wasn't for him. She regretted her actions, but chose to move on and learn from her mistakes instead of living with guilt and remorse. She had become a more powerful medical shinobi, and had trained her natural affinity, water, until she was capable of forming water jutsus in even the driest conditions.

Kakashi had also advanced his jutsus and had improved his control over his sharingan. He was already a jonin, but to go even further in the ranks, he had applied to ANBU and was hoping for a positive response. His intelligence knew no bounds, and .he had a natural knack for improvising in tough situations. Plus, his sharingan and its copying abilities made him a true threat and a valuable resource to Konoha and its future.

In Minato's own family, everything was doing well. Naruto was doing better in the crying department-thankfully. He was still a lively child though, often waking Minato in the night for what seemed no good reason. Maybe the baby was subconsciously getting satisfaction from destroying his parents sleep patterns. Kushina was doing…well, Kushina.

Sakumo Hatake had taken the office of Hokage seamlessly. While in the beginning there had been the occasional villager who protested his appointment, Konoha as a whole loved their Hokage. Sakumo was fair, wise, and he listened to any problem, no matter how small. He was humble, often being seen simply walking the streets, getting to know the people in which his choices made such huge impacts on. Minato was so happy that he had chosen Sakumo, and so were the people of Konoha.

The ninja world was, surprisingly, at peace. Sakumo had established great relationships with the Hidden Cloud, the Hidden Stone, and the Hidden Sand. The ninja villages enjoyed trading and the benefits of a world without conflict. Caravans didn't have to worry about bandits, because each village's police force made every trade route safe and secure; this encouraged immigration and even more trading.

However, there was one village which had secluded itself and preferred to remain in isolation: the Village Hidden in the Mist. Many attempts at contact were made, but the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist forbid any outsiders or foreigners in his village. Ambassadors of peace were met with hostility and violence. And so, Sakumo and the other Kages had ceased to send messengers, leaving Hidden Mist alone to itself. The Hokage did leave plenty of ANBU spies in the village though, to monitor the Mizukage's activities, and the reports he was getting did not make him happy.

According to ANBU, the Mizukage was a cruel, malicious leader with ruthless dictatorship, whose methods were strange and inhumane; rumors of bloodline purges, wholesale slaughter of families and children, and brutal training regimens for Academy students, involving a final test that involved murdering your classmates in a test of strength. ANBU had substantiated some of these rumors with eyewitness accounts. Sakumo was horrified that the Hidden Mist was so violent, but yet, he did not want to start a war over it, and so he did not make any move toward the Hidden Mist.

If only the Hokage knew…