AN: New chapter.

He had thought his plan was perfect.

Once he had uncovered the hidden Uzumaki Clan Mask Storage Temple, it had all come together too quickly for him to consider anything else.

He had already theorized the only thing that could bind a monster to the world, allow it to corrupt Kushina with no one the wiser: The Blood Binding Technique. As a child, Kushina had been blind to the consequences of the technique. She had allowed the monster that had tricked her to bind itself to her.

He would use the Hidden Leaf Elders, shatter whatever defenses Kushina had left on the scroll, and hand control of that monster over to them. Their self-serving nature would see everything torn apart.

Danzo Shimura. Hiruzen Sarutobi. Homura Mitokado. Koharu Utatane. They were all hungry for power. All too blind when he had offered them a chance to hold the same power as Kushina did over that monster.

With everything they would do, how they would use her monster, Kushina would have no choice but to destroy the contract to end the chaos and the monster would be gone.

Yahiko couldn't stop him. Konan couldn't stop him. Kushina was out of the village.

He had thought his plan was perfect. Like a fool.

"How could I be so stupid?" Nagato cursed his own blindness, fury in his Rinnegan even as he worked quickly to call on the powers of the Deva Path. "Almighty Push." The repulsive force emerged from him a moment before a three-pronged kunai would have passed through the air next to him. The blonde that made to grab the redhead had one of the rare moments where he was the slower one.

He was propelled back through the air the moment his hand touched the barrier the Uzumaki deployed at the near same time as he called upon the powers of the Rinnegan.

Kushina was still inside the temple even if he was thrown back through the doors before they slammed shut.

"What the hell?" Minato recovered in time to reorient himself, land on his feet instead of skipping across the ground. He watched as crimson chains wrapped around the temple, as it sealed itself off from the rest of the world. He drew the kunai driven into the ground out, had used it to bring a swift halt to his slide.

The Fourth Hokage rose back to his feet and allowed himself a moment to take in the last chaotic sixty seconds.

One minute ago…

"Now that was fun." Kushina smiled as she tied her towel back around her chest. Minato couldn't believe his wife, had the decency to blush at what they had just done while she only exuded pure satisfaction.

"You could at least pretend to be embarrassed. We almost got caught." Minato's words only earned a look from the redhead.

"Was I the only one yelling?" Seeing her husband, the idolized and feared Fourth Hokage, so embarrassed was enough to make Kushina laugh. "Oh don't act like you didn't love it."

"I mean…" Minato's blush deepened. "You were…And I…"

"Oh? I can still leave you at a loss for words?" Kushina's hand played with her towel. "Maybe you're ready for a second round?"

"A-Are you serious?" The blonde's answer came in the form of a seductive smile from Kushina.

"If you are." Just as she was about to make good on her words, a jolt ripped through her. Violet eyes widened and every ounce of teasing energy left her.

Minato was instantly on guard, crossed the floor of the bath to be at Kushina's side in the blink of an eye. "What's wrong?"

"An idiot is messing with my stuff." Kushina grabbed her husband's hand, the surprise in her violet eyes already giving way to anger. "You ready?"

All Minato did was stop by their room to grab a kunai.

"Let's go." Kushina took them away.

Present…

Minato couldn't help the grimace at the fact they had come to the Uzumaki Clan Mask Storage Temple of all places.

"Nagato." Even if he hadn't seen him, hadn't been repelled by whatever barrier he created, it wouldn't have taken much to figure out the identity of the one behind this mess. He knew the barrier Kushina had placed over the temple after her contract with Jade, knew it took an Uzumaki's knowledge to unravel it and not be detected. Of the scattered clan, Nagato was the only member he knew of with the skill, and the misguided belief, to pull it off without instantly alerting Kushina to the attempt.

'So he's after Jade.' He looked down to his hand, winced at the burn on it now. 'And I'm not getting by the barrier he put up anytime soon.' He glanced to the temple, now enshrouded in red chains. 'But I can feel Kushina's Chakra in that one.' It was another security measure she must've put in place.

The only question was what exactly it did?

He was unfamiliar with nearly everything about the Uzumaki Clan Mask Storage Temple. Kushina wasn't very talkative when it came to it, why the Uzumaki Clan had even moved it to the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf. It was a blind spot he had accepted at the time.

He finally spared a glance to the other occupants of the clearing, at the fact none of them had recovered in time to land on their feet.

"Why am I not surprised." His words drew their eyes to him at last.

Even in just a towel wrapped around his waist, with no weapon minus a single kunai, his glare was enough to make them all look away.

Shame. Frustration. Disbelief. He didn't care what they felt.

They had crossed the line.

They had endangered the entire village and didn't even realize it.

"Let's see. Collaborating with foreign Shinobi, going against my direct orders, risking the safety of the village, and that's just what I can name off the top of my head. Let's just throw an even dozen more crimes in once I get some time to think it over. And you waited for me to leave to put your plan in action?" His blue eyes were furious as he looked at the bodies scattered around the clearing. "And you chose to work with Nagato of all people? The man who has enough reason to hate you four as much as anyone, to want to see our village burn if he could get the chance?"

"And all over trying to control Jade." Minato could perfectly understand Jade's dislike of the Hidden Leaf Elders in this moment. Not even at the fact they planned this but that it was such an awful plan, that it could so easily blow up in their faces and none of them seemed to realize it.

They thought only they knew the right course.

They thought he had known nothing about their constant scheming.

He had. He had let them behave as they did because he thought he needed their advice, that they would act for the benefit of the village instead of just themselves. Clearly, he had made a mistake. He should have never let things get this far.

The Fourth Hokage made a decision he should've made years ago.

"All four of you should consider yourselves fired. Be lucky I don't throw you into prison. Now get out of my sight."

He turned his eyes back to the temple.

'Kushina…Please, be safe.'

AN: 2/2 chapters for this update. Vacation officially interrupted.

Review/PM if you want.

Peace.