Chapter 7
The beginning of all troubles and the birth of a new hero
Kushina, walking into the bunker, saw Minato, Aunt Kaname, and the five medics being led by Biwako. It began quietly and peacefully. Minato was giving signs of support and giving orders to his Anbu, Kaname was getting everything ready for the resealing ritual, and Biwako was preparing the honey supplies. Looking at it, Kushina was confident that everything would go right.
The first contractions started and everyone got into their seats. Screams would be audible, but the barrier handled it. A seal began to form on Kushina's stomach. Kaname shouted to Biwako.
- Biwako, hurry up, or if both the baby and Kyuubi come out of Kushina, she'll die.
- It's not up to me, Kushina, push harder. Well done, the head's out, now you've got to work harder.
The baby was coming out with difficulty. But towards the end, when he came out, Kaname pulled out Kyubey, who was chained with chakra chains in a stone sphere. At this point, Anbu from Root with the call sign Rat killed several Anbu and beckoned to Toby. The baby was handed to Kushina to imprint, and the medics and Biwako stepped back to the edge so as not to interfere with the sealing. Minato placed the child on the altar and heard a woman's screams and when he looked around he saw a man at the top of the wall wearing a spiral mask with black tongues of flame, he was holding Biwako with a kunai at his throat. And he raised his voice.
- Everyone step away from the orb, or I don't think the Third's going to give you a hard time if I kill her.
And Minato thought about how he had gotten through the barrier and killed almost all of the Anbu. Wait, why didn't he kill the last one? This was the question he wondered about what to do in this situation. So I decided to stall for time for a while.
- Calm down, what do you want? - And all he heard in response was:
- I'm not the only one who needs it, Minato! - With those words, he slit her throat and threw her off the wall. Minato, hoping to save her, moved with lightning to her and back to his family. But then the masked man pointed his finger at the sphere and everyone saw a loaded bomb of tails there. He had already realized that it was too late and they hadn't had time to seal Kyubey when he was in the sphere. And Bivac was beyond saving. Not thinking long about how this technique would rip, he picked up his family and moved to the house on the outskirts of Konoha that they had in reserve in case of emergencies. When the four of them showed up at the house, Minato put Kushina in the bedroom with the baby and asked Kaname to be on standby.
Meanwhile in Konoha.
Fugaku, feeling a strange heaviness in the air, immediately realized what was wrong and gave his men the order to evacuate. The people were bewildered and started snapping at each other, saying, "How dare they without a warrant, we won't go! Fugaku walked toward where the bunker was. But a few jumps later he spotted a cloaked shinobi folding his summoning seals, and as this stranger lowered his hand to the ground there was a pop, raising a tall column of smoke, out of it came Kyuubi in all his glory and began to rampage. But when Fugaku saw the sharingans in his eyes, he told everyone to leave this sector.
Itachi, seeing the destruction, took Miroku in his arms and Sasuke went on to the others who were running towards the evacuation mountain. On the way, seeing his acquaintance Izumi frozen with fear, he told her to take Miroku in her arms and run after him.
His longtime rival, Danzo, walked into the Hokage residence where the Third was sitting.
- Hiruzen, we have to do something about it.
- I know! We need to call the Uchichi to help us get the demon out of the village.
- Or they will take control of this beast themselves and use it for their own needs. Kyubey had a sharingan visible in his eyes, so the Uchiha are the last people I'd turn to. - Hiruzen, sighing heavily, agreed and went to restrain the monster. Danzo, meanwhile, went to Fugaku to give his orders:
- Fugaku, I order you and your men to evacuate the civilians.
- Danzo, I don't take orders from you, and besides, Minato asked me to evacuate if anything went wrong, and he asked me to restrain Kyuubi until he was sealed. Here's the order form.
As soon as Fugaku poked him with that form, Danzo tore it up in a burst of anger at his plan cracking at the seams. With a little of his anger subsiding, he turned to him.
- If you do not follow my orders, it will be considered treason and you will be executed!
- Danzo, you're the one who'll be executed for defying orders!
- You'll regret this, Fugaku, mark my words.
- Danzo-san. Don't interfere with my duty to protect the village!
Danzo, gritting his teeth, walked out of there and ordered his men to give as much notice as possible. And Fugaku jumped onto a tree branch and turned on the MSH. He spent a long time trying to defeat the other's control, until he realized that it was much harder to subdue summoned beasts than normal ones, and rushed to Minato's side.
The house is on the outskirts.
In this house, Kushina was lying on a bed, cuddling her newborn son. Next to her, Aunt Kaname was treating her for her weakening after childbirth. The first to break the silence was Kushina.
- He's so small and defenseless, do Minato and I really have to put such a burden on him, dattebane...
- Kushina, we've talked about this. Right now, if you don't seal the nine-tailed man into it, the entire village will be destroyed.
- Auntie Kaname, I...
- Don't talk, you need to be strong.
- I'm sorry, Naruto.
Naruto immediately roared after another mayhem, and Kushina immediately began to calm him down. But remembering the rattle they had used to soothe Miroku, she asked her aunt to get it from the closet. When he calmed down, Kaname said.
-He looks so much like Minato...-With those words, they continued to sit in silence and gain strength.
Meanwhile, Minato stood on the Fourth's head and started looking around: lots of destruction, hundreds dead. Fugaku lands next to him.
- Minato, I've failed, I need to break the summoning seal, and only then can I hold him off with my MSH.
- It's bad... How about an evacuation?
- My men evacuated almost everyone.
- At least there's something to be happy about. Tell you what, take a few of the guys and try to hold Kyubey back with the Third while I deal with whoever attacked us, he'll probably get in my way when I seal Kyubey up.
- Okay...
- Also, don't be a hero, Mikoto won't forgive me if she remains a widow. - To this, Fugaku only waved it away sluggishly. But then Kyuubi turned his head in their direction and began to gather concentrated bijudama and pointed it at them. Minato immediately continued: - Go to the Third, I'll handle it...
- Good luck, Minato! - After he left, Minato folded the seal creating a spatial barrier that swallowed the bijuudama flying at him and moved him away from Konoha. As soon as the explosion went off, he felt a presence behind him and immediately aimed his kunai at his head, which immediately went through him. And the enemy immediately grabbed with the words, "You're not leaving, Fourth," and immediately began sucking Minato into the vortex of space. Minato, meanwhile, had just gone flight of the thunder god. At the same time, he moved behind the masked man.
As Minato was transported to one of the training grounds, he began to think about a strategy against this shinobi. And when the masked man emerged from the vortex, a cat-and-mouse battle ensued, as the two were as fast as each other. Toby got sick of it all and put on chains. As his opponent prepared to fight, Minato decided to get him talking.
- Who are you, because only one person could freely control Kyuubi with MSH. Are you really Madara?
- Who knows... - And with those words, Tobi rushed at Minato with his palms open to grab him. And Minato himself threw a kunai at his head, preparing a rasengan in his hand. As the kunai passed completely through him, and Toby himself almost touched his opponent. To Minato simply moved with the flight of a thunder god to the kunai and put a rasengan into his right shoulder blade.
- You're really fast... Yellow lightning... - And at that moment, Minato's cotton touches Tobi's stomach and breaks the seal that supports the contract to summon Kyuubi. Minato, stepping back, only now noticed that the masked man's right hand didn't belong to him, but he didn't particularly point it out, just asked a question:
- Why would you want to destroy the village?
- It's not just my whim!
- Then...
Toby with a wave of his hand continued:
- The reasons are as unimportant as my motives, it's all for the good of the village... - And immediately disappeared, leaving his hand on the ground.
Minato, sealing his opponent's hand in a scroll, pondered on where he might have heard that phrase.
Chaos continued in the village, Kyubey raging at full speed. The Uchiha and the others poured fire on the demon, and the Third pushed the demon out of the village with his staff. As Fugaku jumped onto the wall, Minato moved over to him.
- Fugaku, you can start the conscription seal on him. - The Uchiha began to restrain the nine-tailed man with the help of the MSH, even though he spent almost all of his chakra on it and Kyuubi was paralyzed.
- Minato, I won't be able to hold him for long.
Minato summoned the boss Toad Gamabuntu, who jumped on Kyubey's head. And Minato himself, bouncing towards them, spatial barrier moved to Kushina and Kaname. The rest of the group smelled an explosion on the outskirts of Konoha and rushed there.
Kushina, upon seeing her husband and Kyubey handing the infant into Kaname's arms, immediately chained Kyubey's chakra and put up a barrier. Minato himself, from having spent most of his chakra on moving this demon, crouched down on his knees. The first to raise her voice was Kaname:
- Minato, Kushina needs to seal Kyuubi! - With those words, she summoned the ritual altar. Kyubey came to shock at the fact that he was about to be sealed into an infant, and with a wild roar, pulled his paw out of the chakra chains and stabbed a claw into Kaname's back. Minato and Kushina who saw this simply couldn't make it in time. But the Uzumaki clan wasn't considered the toughest for nothing. Even with her body stabbed through, she could breathe, and her blood from Kyubey's paw fell onto the infant.
The newlyweds ran up to her to pull that claw out, but a wave of her hand stopped them and she turned to her niece.
- Kushina, when you were sent from Uzushio to Konoha to be a jinchuriki, I tried my best to help you with support. Our home was destroyed, but thanks to this young man," she pointed her hand at Minato, "you have found your new home. I'm happy you two were able to find each other. You have children born and you can continue your lineage. That thought gives me joy that I can die in peace...
Kaname began forming signs to summon Shinigami. And she continued:
- This method will help completely seal Kyubey into Naruto, but I need help. Minato, help for the concentration seal, and Kushina, continue to hold the barrier.
All this the newlyweds did without question. As the sealing light faded, Kaname fell dead in Minato's arms. This whole scene was observed by the Third with Fugaku and a few jonin with Anbu. A sepulchral silence formed. Minato and Kushina couldn't get their heads around the fact that the dearest person in their lives was now lying dead in their arms. They reminisced about how she raised them, scolded them, cooked their meals, washed their clothes, coached them, basically replaced their own mothers. The first to break the silence was the cry of a small infant, whose cheeks were burning and the burn left three mustache-like scars. A couple saw this and just stared through it, not even paying attention to the screams. The barrier automatically slept and several people walked into the clearing. The third, seeing their reaction to the child, simply wrote it off as shock and the loss of a loved one. Hiruzen took the infant in his arms, wrapping him in a blanket, and walked over to his parents.
- What did you name the baby?
Minato was the first to regain his senses and barely managed to squeak Naruto's name. And they didn't even pick up the baby. Hiruzen only hummed, giving himself a note to talk to them after they came to their senses. Minato took Kaname-san's body in his arms and walked towards Konoha together with Kushina.
Hiruzen, along with the newborn baby who had a mop of white hair, walked leisurely. When Naruto started sobbing, Hiruzen decided to tickle his nose. And Naruto responded by grabbing Third's finger and started nibbling on it with his gums. With only a hum, Hiruzen realized he needed to eat. Leaving Naruto in the newborn ward, the old man went to the residence. Kushina was told not to make any sudden movements until her chakra was restored, for she had lost a lot of chakra to childbirth, restraining the nine-tailed man with chains, and the barrier. And Minato, after going through a few examinations, getting his thoughts and himself in order, went to the residence.
Hokage Residence.
All the elite jonin, clan heads, elders, danzos, and the third and fourth Hokage were gathered here in the residence. Hiruzen, seeing some stiffness in the gathering, began:
- So here we are, to begin with, to calculate the extent of the devastation, post a report!
The Hokage's secretary picked up the report and voiced it:
- Half the village destroyed, one hundred and fifty-eight of the civilian dead, of whom twenty-two were children and infants, thirty of them old men, and the rest middle-aged. Among the military, twenty-four genin, twelve chunin, and two jonin were killed. Some clans are destroyed and will have to be rebuilt. And the wounded are with the doctors.
Hiruzen continued again:
- Well, we'll plan the arrangement of further working life a little later. The main thing now is to see off the deceased and help the underprivileged. Further on this incident... Do we know the mastermind behind this attack?
Here Minato perked up and gave his side of the story:
- Gentlemen, I fought him, but identity unknown. He wears a mask, has teleportation abilities, even faster than mine. And most importantly, he has a sharingan in his right eye, possibly a second one, but he didn't show it.
Danzo came to life and began his tirade:
- One of the Uchiha? Though what's so surprising, the descendants of the traitor Madara, you can't expect anything from them.
Here Fugaku fumed, but without showing any sign of doing so, he added.
- You're one to talk! After all, you did nothing to save our people today, you didn't even send your dogs, and I had two good fighters die defending the village. Besides, you even interfered with the Hokage's orders...
And then an argument started between them, and Hiruzen harangued them both by immediately asking a question.
- Danzo, why did you stop Fugaku from apprehending Nine-Tails, why did you disobey Minato's orders, for what reason, and what did you want to accomplish by doing so?
And in return, he got his age-old mantra:
- Reasons don't matter and neither do motives, it's all for the good of the village.
Minato felt an electric shock after those words, and a mosaic began to form in his head. And Danzo himself retreated to his base so as not to continue this discussion. And Hiruzen made the following argument.
- So lastly, let's talk about how no one should know who the jinchuriki is and as soon as he gets better, he should be returned to his family.
Minato retorted sharply to that effect:
-No! -I can't accept that a nine-tailed man will be around my family and I can't put them in danger! Suna sealed a one-tailed into a baby and now he's unstable! After these words all opened their mouths, but did not argue because the arguments were too strong. Hiruzen alone was seething inside at the fact that the newborn child had been abandoned by his own father. But asked a question.
-And how do you envision this child's life, you yourself will be on Hokage duty all the time, and your wife and daughter won't be able to get near him.
-Kushina and I have been preparing for this since before he was born and even talked about it!
-But where will he live if not with you and who will look after him? Are you going to give him to some clan or family? After this question, a big argument began about the fact that no clan should be allowed to strengthen and that no one should influence the jinchuriki, sometimes it almost came to fights, but when everyone was more or less calmed down, the counselor Homura Mitokado proposed a plan.
-I suggest that after a year of sick nursery school, I give him to an orphanage and when he turns seven, I give him to the academy. And when Naruto becomes a chunin, you can tell about his parents. Be that as it may, no one should teach the jinchuriki, for he is the weapon of the village and he is the guarantor against enemy pleasantries to the village.
Everyone agreed, but only Hiruzen gritted his teeth and thought to himself that Minato wouldn't regret his decision. But here was the Fourth's next statement that made the old man simply walk out of the office.
-No, this jinchuriki is no longer my son and he must not find out who his parents are. If even the jinchuriki wondered about his parents. His father died defending Konoha from the Kyuubi, and his mother died in childbirth. And Minato's own son died, unable to withstand the nine-tailed man's blast. And they decided not to even release the last name. That was the end of it. When everyone started to leave Minato asked Fugaku to stay behind.
-Fugaku, I have some leads on our enemy.
-I'm listening!
-After our fight, he left his severed hand. I didn't want to say because there is a traitor among our high officials!
-I even suspect you probably do, too-
-Yes, among my Anbu, who were killed to get into the bunker, there was found an Anbu who disappeared and he was the only survivor, and when I dug up a file on him, there is no past, no relatives and in general a dark person...
-Familiar characteristics, but it can hardly be given as dirt on Danzo. Judging by their nature, they leave no trace. And I don't think a severed arm is gonna tell us much. At least tell me if this hand is right or left.
-Right.
-Uh, interesting. Very interesting!
-Fugaku, don't drag this out!
-Danzo keeps hiding his hand and what you said about his right eye.
-You think it's him? But he was always with you and even conflicted with you...
-The shadow clone.
-What?
-What's the technique that helps you be in two places at once?
-Hmm, but still, we don't have proof- So we're going to have to be sure.
-Minato, what was he trying to accomplish?
-Who does he hate the most?
-Me?
-Deeper
-Uchihi?
-How many people have seen the sharingan in Kyubey's eyes?
-Anybody.
-Well, here's the big picture. You've been discredited by him, the citizens will fear and hate you, your people will revolt. But I'm gonna be forced into a Danzo-style "radical" chokehold.
-What an old bastard, and there's nothing you can do about it.
-You need to warn your trusted men, and I'll start digging into Danzo myself. And you can plug in, too, but don't be a fanatic, or that old geezer might slip away.
-Great plan! By the way, Minato!
-Hmm?
-Sorry you had to do that to your son. But I hope he grows up to be an excellent shinobi worthy of you.
-Go...
-By the way, let Miroku stay with us a little longer, you and Kushina need to get ready, and Itachi and Mikoto are only too happy to look after her.
-Thank you, buddy! And hugged his old friend.
Minato was left in silence after this conversation to think things over.
Danzo's office in the Root Cellars.
In this office, flyers were scattered, all the furniture was blown to splinters, and the elements of wind were used on the walls. The perpetrator of this mayhem was sitting on the floor and drilling one spot with his eye. After calming down a bit, he called out to Ferret and Rat.
-The ferret!
-Yes, Danzo-sama?
-I ordered you to keep an eye on everything that happens. Why did I only find out at the meeting that that bastard Tobi had been discovered by the Hokage himself?
-I'm sorry Danzo-sama, but they were moving so fast I couldn't keep up.
Snap and Danzo punctures Ferret's head with a wind fist.
-Rat!
-Yes, Danzo-sama?
-Why didn't you warn me that the situation was out of control?
-You ordered me to stay out of sight.
Crackle and break in half with the wind technique.
-Gopher!
-Danzo herself?
-We may be exposed, so don't hang around and sit tight, tell everyone. That Tobi betrayed us, we'll have to hold off on the Uchiha for now. That blond asshole beat me, but that's okay, he won't be Hokage for long. Find me Kakashi, have him come to me and we'll work through him.
-Yes!
-And, uh, clean up this place.
-I'm listening.
Kushina's hospital room
Kushina sat there with her eyes downcast, thinking of the fact that their beloved Aunt Kaname was gone, she had given her life to protect Konoha. But even such thoughts did not mitigate the bitterness of the loss. When Minato walked in, the man simply walked up behind her and hugged her. Kushina cried even more from those touches, hugging back. When the tense atmosphere subsided, it was Minato who broke the silence first.
-Kushina, Miroku will stay with the Uchichi for a while longer. So we need to come to our senses as soon as possible.
-Yes, you're right, I'm allowed to go to the cemetery for tomorrow...
-Kushina, I understand your pain. She was like a mother to me, too. But with her sacrifice, she gave not only us but our children a chance.
-Our baby!
-What?
-We only have one child now. How long will it be before this demon warps the mind of our second child. After all, as she said that in Suna, the one-tailed jinchuriki started acting like a monster. So, I've already come to terms with the loss of our son.
-Kushina, but? And immediately he stammered, for Kushina was right, for the child's mind was so elastic that it could be bent at will. But he still had to say what he'd been thinking about for the two hours he'd been sitting in his office.
-Kushina, however we need to see Naruto one last time.
-Good. Through force she agreed.
Here they are walking down the hallway and they see a bunch of injured people who are down on their luck and as they went up to the infant room, they looked at their baby, started to boil a little inside. Kushina was the first one who couldn't stand it, she jabbed at her husband's chest and began to speak angrily.
- Why? Why was he born to us? Why are we being punished like this? If he hadn't been born, all these people would be alive. Kaname-san would still be alive. And now everyone is suffering because of his birth!
Minato only lowered his gaze at that, he was starting to think about it himself. After all, if it wasn't for his birth, we wouldn't have to go through all of this.
-Kushin, at the meeting, it was decided to put him in a nursery, then an orphanage, and then he'll begin his shinobi path.
-I see...
Minato decided to get his wife out of there, as she was starting to boil at the sight of her son by the minute.
The next day they held a funeral for everyone who died that night. The Namikaze family mourned their aunt. The Sarutobi family mourned Biwako's death. And others whose relatives and friends have died.