"What do mean they have him?" the Raikage yelled over the table.

Jiraiya and the Kazekage had returned to the Tanzuka village to find it destroyed, but a large camp several miles outside the village hosted the remnants of the allied forces. The battle at the village lasted roughly the same amount of time, but they had been dealt much worse damage and suffered a lot more causalities. The remaining forces' leaders surrounded the table in the large tent posted in the center of the camp. All the Kages, aside from Mei, were there, as well as Jiraiya, Shikaku, Yamato, and Gaara (B had excused himself moments before).

Minato was laid out on a cot in the back of the tent, receiving medical attention from Tsunade and Sakura, although he had yet to awaken. Jiraiya had already been seen and was the only one sitting now, while everyone else was standing around the small table.

"Exactly what I mean," the Kazekage tried to reason; "he gave himself up to them, and Pein used the Rinnegan power to force Jiraiya and me out of the tower."

"Did the boy now know his importance to this war?" Onoki asked.

"He did," Rasa nodded.

"He has never been one to place his own life higher than others," Gaara mentioned.

"Gaara is right," Jiraiya added, "but we explained that he, along with the Hokage, needed to get out of there as quickly as possible, and if it came down to do it, he should have just left us there."

"At the time, there was nothing we could do," Rasa slammed his fist on the table, "Goddammit! It is my fault. I was with the boy; I should have stopped him."

"No, it's mine," Shikaku said, "I shouldn't have let him go in the first place. I should have come up with a better plan than this!"

"There is no point in figuring out whose fault it is," Tsunade called from Minato's bedside, "What we need to do now is get him out of there before the extraction begins, and preferably before Minato wakes up."

"She is right," Onoki nodded, "no sense in arguing; we must move forward."

"The extraction does not take place in Ame," Shikaku thought out loud, "We know that."

"There is one problem, though," Gaara stepped in.

"What is that?" Rasa flicked his eyes to his son.

"Naruto no longer has a seal holding the Kyuubi back," Gaara explained.

"What does that have to do with it?" Onoki asked.

"If the seal isn't sealed, so to speak, that means they don't have to go through the extraction process," the Raikage explained, knowing little about B's seal or lack of one.

Gaara continued, "One of the abilities of the Rinnegan is sucking out the chakra from people, correct? Then all they have to do is use that ability on him, and the Kyuubi's chakra is gone."

"For fucks sake," Shikaku dropped his head, "if I had known that it was that easy for them to remove the Kyuubi, I definitely would not have allowed him to go!"

"Why didn't anyone inform us of this before we made the plan?" the Raikage asked.

"Naruto specially asked us to keep it a secret," Gaara shrugged.

"Dammit, Naruto!" Shikaku cursed, "why?"

"Because he didn't want you all to know that he had control of the Kyuubi," Yamato explained, "I don't know his reasoning, but that is just what he asked of us."

"We'll that may be what gets him killed!" Jiraiya yelled.

"We can't let him die," Gaara whispered when everything quieted down.

"He is strong," Jiraiya shook his head, "he won't die so easily, but we'll need to get him as fast as we can."

"You are right. The more we sit here and argue, the more time we waste," Shikaku sighed and sat down in the chair behind him, lacing his hands together in front of his face, "between those of us who were here, we were able to take down three of the Pein bodies, and even though each body had a different power, I'm fairly certain that we'd be able to take down the other three."

"How do we get to the other three?" the Raikage thought aloud, "I doubt we are going to be able to march right in there and start a fight."

"No, but there might be another way," Shikaku shook his head, trying to think, "Jiraiya. The three of you were able to get in. How?"

"Well, we were a small group, so we just snuck in basically," Jiraiya shrugged, "it's like they weren't expecting us at first, so the entrance wasn't heavily guarded, but I doubt that will be the case this time around."

"No, they won't leave themselves unprotected like that again," Rasa shook his head.

"There is always the chance that Pein doesn't know about Naruto's seal or the lack of one," Gaara offered.

"If that is the case, then they will have to travel to the same location that they've used for the extraction before," Shikaku nodded, "but if that's not the case, then we will need to go to them."

"How can we find out?" Jiraiya asked no one in particular.

"I'm not sure," Shikaku shook his head.

"Is there a chance that Naruto will fight back?" Yamato asked.

"He will try," Jiraiya gave him a sad smile, then glanced over to his other student, "but after what they did to Minato, I highly doubt that the kid will get much chance to."

"You are right. We can't count on Naruto fighting back at the moment. Plus, even if he tried to, he's not nearly strong enough to take on Pein alone," Rasa reasoned.

"I don't know, in some ways, Naruto is stronger than Minato," Jiraiya shrugged, "but you are right, we can't count on that."

"Does Naruto have the key to his seal?" Shikaku asked.

"He does," Yamato nodded.

"If there were a way we can contact Naruto and tell him to close the seal, then that would force Pein to take Naruto to the sealing location," Shikaku thought out loud, "and when they leave the Ame, that is when we will strike."

"But how can we contact him? I doubt he is still wearing the headset device," Gaara asked.

"Let me see if Inochi can reestablish the link with him," Shikaku stated.

Inochi…

"Shikaku?"

Can you reach Naruto for me?

"I… I just finished speaking with him…"

You have?

"Ah, and he's got a plan."

It was really cold in here, Naruto remarked to himself. He had always been unusually warm to the touch, but felt chilled to the bone in the small, damp room. Ironically, his father had been kept in the room that he had just about destroyed right next to his. All he could think at the moment was that he was glad he wasn't chained to the ceiling. After Pein had left, Konan had released him and taken him to the room in which he now resided.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since he last saw his father for only a few short seconds during their rescue. As far as he knew, his father was safe. He was probably receiving medical attention from Tsunade at this very moment. Although he was in a horrible situation at the moment, he couldn't help but feel relieved that his father wasn't any longer in the hands of Pein, even if he currently was.

He knew that everyone, including his father, would rather it be the other way around, but Naruto had never been selfish, so he wouldn't feel guilty about trading places.

The only thing he felt guilty for was the look of betrayal that laced both the Kazekage's face and Jiraiya's as he agreed on the trade with Pein. He knew that he went back on his word to the Kazekage, but at the time, it was the only way for them and his father to get out safely. Plus, Jiraiya and his father needed medical attention, and that couldn't wait.

Naruto's mind kept flashing to those few short minutes, but his decisions at that moment would affect not only his entire life- no matter how short it was now- but the entire war. He might have just signed off on all his friends' deaths. That thought only made the guilt he felt in his stomach tighten his hold.

Sighing, he tried to distract himself by thinking of a plan to escape.

If he was right, then Shikaku would be trying to devise a plan as well. Naruto tried to clear his head like he had seen the Nara do plenty of times before. He tried to think about what Shikaku would come up with. If they couldn't talk to each other, their best course of action would be to devise a similar plan so they wouldn't be working against each other.

What would Shikaku do?

He would protect the Kyuubi. That was his number one priority, and they just happen to coincide with keeping Naruto alive.

Pein could suck out the chakra, but did that mean he could suck out the Kyuubi's chakra from him? Even if he could, what would Pein do with it once he removed it? But he couldn't take that chance. He needed to force Pein to attempt to extract the Kyuubi. There had been reports that it takes a few days to extract to be complete, especially for the tailed-beasts with more tails, which would give the Allied forces time to get to him.

Kurama.

I know what you are planning, kit.

Kit?

The fox hesitated before replying.

It's a baby fox.

Naruto smiled at the cute nickname that Kurama had taken to call him.

Awe. Naruto taunted his new friend.

Shut up.

Anyways… Naruto started before he was cut off.

I know. I can kind of hear your thoughts.

That's kind of creepy, ya know.

Ignoring this, Kurama just continued.

I know you want to temporarily close the seal to force Pein to attempt an extraction rather than just sucking my chakra out.

Yes, that way, the Allied forces have more time and opportunity to get to me.

Don't you think that Pein has considered this?

I do, and I think I can convince Pein that the forces won't try anything.

Do tell.

Most likely, Pein will try to ward off any attacks on the caravan that will transport us to the extraction site. To do this, he will probably send a decoy first, so I will just need to warn them that it wasn't our party, so to speak.

I see, but what happens if they knock you out for transport? How will you tell Shikaku which is the decoy?

Crap… I didn't think of that.

Figures… I will tell them.

You?

Yes, I can see everything you can, even when asleep.

What really? Well, that will come in handy on missions.

Naruto, pay attention.

Right, but how are you going to contact them?

Let me worry about that.

Alright.

You just need to contact Inochi and tell him your plan.

Can I? Even with these restraints?

Humph, do you think that these restraints could hold back my chakra?

I guess not.

Pein doesn't think you can access my chakra, which was his mistake.

Kurama?

Yeah?

Are you alright? I mean, with the resealing?

As long as you are planning to open it back up, then sure, kit. What other choice do we have?

Naruto internally nodded to his new companion. He knew, as well as the fox, that when the time was right, he would reopen the seal.

He took a deep breath and repeated the same process of stretching out his chakra, searching for the blonde mind-user. Each time he did this, it got easier and easier to find people.

Inochi?

Naruto!

I need you to relay a message to Shikaku, my father, and the others.

What is it?

I have a plan to escape, so to speak.

Go ahead.

Shikaku glanced up at those around the table after speaking with the Yamanaka. Those around him watched him with mixed expressions, waiting for him to explain his conversation.

"Inochi spoke to Naruto," Shikaku started off, and he noticed that almost everyone seemed to relax visibly; maybe it was the news that Naruto wasn't dead yet that calmed their nerves, "and it seems that Naruto came up with the same plan that I did, however, his is slightly different."

"How so?" Rasa asked.

"Naruto is going to re-seal the Kyuubi for now, but he believes that once he receives the signal from us when he is outside Ame, he can unseal the beast without Pein noticing," Shikaku explained, "so when we ambush them, he will be able to fight with all his power. Plus, he believes that the Kyuubi's chakra mixed with his own can break through the chakra suppressants he is currently wielding."

"Very good," Jiraiya nodded, "but just one thing."

"What's that?"

"Won't they know we will try to ambush them during the transfer?" Jiraiya asked.

"It seems likely they will try to do something to prevent us from taking Naruto back," Gaara added.

"Naruto has thought of that and told Inochi that he is taking care of it," Shikaku shrugged, "I wasn't sure what to make of it."

"It means Naruto is bound to do something stupid and reckless," Sakura called from the corner.

"That's probably true," Jiraiya said, "but the boy may surprise you."

"Either way, Naruto requested that Inochi keep an open link between them so he can immediately contact him, as well that once Naruto closes the seal, then he won't be able to contact us like he has in the past. He will have to rely on Inoichi for that," Shikaku continued his explanation, "Naruto will try to keep us updated on any of Pein's movements for now."

"Does he have an idea of when the transfer will occur?" the Raikage spoke for the first time in a while.

"Soon. Within the next day or two," Shikaku nodded.

"Then we should go get prepared," the Raikage nodded, "if that is all?"

"Ah, that should be it," the Nara replied, "I will let you know if something is new or changes. We should all go get some rest."

"You are right," Jiraiya nodded, "all we can do now is wait."

His head was spinning. His world was dark, but Minato subconsciously knew he was unconscious. He willed himself to wake, but it was useless. He would have to wait until his body recovered enough for him to wake.

…with that venom, you would have died in days…

Pein's words played over and over in his head, but the last thing that Minato remembered was his son's face bursting through the door of his cell in Pein's tower.

Naruto.

Was his son safe?

Minato truly didn't care much about the Kyuubi at the moment; his son was his first priority contrary to most in the Allied forces, but Naruto's safety included the Kyuubi's.

As he sat in the darkness, Minato almost felt helpless. It was an odd feeling, knowing that he was unconscious and that when he woke, he probably wouldn't remember anything from that moment. However, even knowing that, he couldn't help but worry and try to find ways to fix this situation. That was just who he was. That was just how his Hokage brain worked.

Minato tried to distract himself by going through his favorite memories of his son, Jiraiya, and even his own genin team, but none would come to mind, aside from one particular one that wasn't of his son.

It was of Kushina.

When he heard the news of Kushina's abduction, his heart sank. She had already been gone a while and was probably almost out of the fire country. He knew the Jiraiya-sensei would be angry with him for going after her, but he didn't care. She was way too precious to him even to consider not attempting to find her.

He ran. He was fast, and he knew that he might be able to catch up with them, but he wasn't sure how to find them. He was a sensor but not nearly as good as most, still, he might be able to get a general direction at least. He stretched out his chakra, hoping to locate that very special chakra that she processed. His heart leaped in his chest when he found it. It wasn't a pinpoint position but more of a general direction. However, it was start.

He found a way to sneak off from his genin team to go on pursuit. He had a feeling that Jiraiya already knew his plan, and he found it odd (and slightly reassuring) that the white-haired man wasn't trying to stop him. He shook his head; he wouldn't worry about that now.

He was hoping through the trees, heading in the general direction of the aura, when something caught his eye. He hesitated before stopping, but something in his heart told him too. It glimmered off the moonlight, giving it an almost glowing sensation. When he landed in the very shallow path and picked it up, he knew what it was immediately because he had come to love the place where it came from.

It was a single strand of red hair.

He glanced around and noticed that there were other pieces. He reached out and grabbed a couple, then found a few more a little way down the path. Then it hit him.

She was leaving a trail!

He knew she was smart, and he couldn't help but love her even more.

Minato flew off toward the trail and continued to follow it until he felt a sudden burst of chakra. He was close enough to feel them.

With this, Minato put all his energy into his speed. He needed to get to her as fast as possible.

When he reached them, he flew through the trees and jumped at the first one in the front. After knocking him out, he went to the second one and did the same. By this time, the third one was ready to fight, but Minato was ahead of him. Coming at him from behind, he landed a blow on the back of his head, knocking him out cold as well. Minato mentioned to himself that these Kumo shinobi weren't very strong.

Minato glanced over to Kushina and noticed that she was still walking. He could tell that she was exhausted both physically and mentally. He hopped down from the tree in front of her.

"Are you alright?" He heard himself ask.

She came to a halt at the sound of his voice and looked up at him. At that moment, the clouds above him parted, and moonlighted the area around them.

"I came to save you," he smiled at her.

After realizing who he was, she gave him a weary expression that turned into a small smile. Then, not a moment later, her exhaustion hit her, causing her to fall, but Minato was slightly faster. He reached her just in time, catching her. She lifted her head as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You'll be alright now," he said, smiling once more.

He slid his arms around her torso and under her knees, lifting her up in a bridal style.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kushina protested with her voice, but she didn't struggle.

Minato ignored her protests as he managed to pull out a kunai and slice the ropes that bound her wrists. After stashing it away, he took off in the air with her. He could tell she was watching him intently, but he just focused on where he was going. She glanced down at his hand and noticed the red strands that he still held.

"That's…" she started.

"Your hair is beautiful, so I noticed right away," Minato explained, still hopping from tree to tree.

She looked at him slightly shocked, and he smiled at this. Then she turned away, but he could tell she was blushing slightly, "But you've always ignored me."

"Because I know that you're strong…" Minato smiled.

She looked up at him again.

"…in body and in spirit," he continued.

Minato landed in a small clearing to look at her and talk to her directly, "But this is a fight between two villages. It's different from your other fights, so…"

"So?" she repeated, urging him to continue.

Minato gave her a slightly bigger smile before continuing, "I didn't want to lose you."

Kushina's eyes widened briefly before turning a little sad, "even if I am an outsider?"

This statement shocked him for a minute, even if he didn't show it. How could she think that?

"Why do you say that? You live in the Hidden Leaf Village, so you are one of us."

After that moment, their lives became one. She fell in love with him, and he could only love her more. Neither of them knew at the time that their lives would change forever after that. They would have a son whom they would love more than each other.

For years, Kushina often referred to her hair as their red string of fate, and she couldn't have been more right.

Naruto was trying to get some rest when the door of his cell slammed open to reveal the orange-haired man named Pein and Konan. Naruto stood up off the bed and pushed himself back against the wall as Pein made his way over to him.

"Your father lied to me," Pein stated.

He was angry.

Naruto didn't reply but only stared at those strange purple eyes.

"I had given him my word that I would not harm you until the time of the extraction; that was before I knew that he had lied," Pein continued, "Did you know that several of my men perished at that village and that I lost three of my bodies?"

Again, Naruto was silent, as Pein's words got deeper and deeper with anger.

"I think you knew," Pein's eyes narrowed, but his voice stayed steady, "I think this might have been your plan so that you could retrieve your father."

Naruto took in a sharp breath.

"I don't know how you did it. I don't know how you contacted Minato," Pein thought for a moment, "that was until I felt a certain chakra spreading thin through my tower a little earlier. At first, I couldn't place it, but then it hit me."

Naruto had been trained to hide all emotion from his gaze, but all that training left him at the moment, and his eyes were filled with shock, unease, and anger.

"That strange chakra that I felt," Pein smiled, "Was the Kyuubi's."

Naruto swallowed hard. He knew what was coming.

"You have access to the fox's chakra," Pein shook his head in a mock impression, "I never thought a Jinchuuriki would have free access to their tailed beasts chakra like that, but you do."

Naruto internally thanked the fox for having him redo the seal earlier, so now Pein would either think that he was wrong or torture him like he did Minato to get him to release the seal.

For a moment time, it seemed like time stood still as Naruto waited for what Pein would do next, but then Naruto felt a large fist collide with his stomach that made him double over in pain.

"You bastard," Pein gritted through his teeth as he realized the seal had been replaced.

Naruto collapsed on the ground. He couldn't understand why a simple punch in his gut had hurt so much, and then he remembered how much Sakura's and Tsunade's punches hurt. It was chakra-infused to make the impact harder.

"You will die soon," Pein stated, "The Kyuubi will be extracted from you, and you will die."

Naruto only grunted in pain as he tried to push himself off the ground.

Pein stepped on his back to push him back down, then he leaned down and stabbed a long black, pole-like object through one of his hands, causing him to cry out in pain, "But before you die, you will learn what true pain feels like."

He pulled out another black rod and shoved it through Naruto's other hand, causing the young blonde to cry again, "I will be back soon."

And then he was gone.

Naruto was left alone with only the pain in his stomach and the rods in his hands as a reminder of what was to come.

It had grown quiet in the tent. It had been a long day for all of them, and they needed to rest for what had come in a few days. Everyone started to stretch and file out of the cramped tent, but before anyone had left, they heard a small squeaky voice followed by a louder one.

"Hokage-sama!"

"Minato!"

When Jiraiya looked back at the sound of Tsunade's voice, he noticed that Minato was attempting to climb out of the bed that they had placed him in. However, Tsunade and Sakura had quite a hold on him, and in his damaged state, he could do little to overpower them.

"Hokage-sama! You shouldn't move yet!" Sakura tried to reason, while Tsunade was a bit more forceful.

"Lay down, Minato!"

Minato's eyes dashed from Jiraiya to Rasa repeatedly until it seemed that Minato finally got his voice to work.

"Where… is my son?"