Leaning Too Deep

"Normal Speech"

'Inside Thought'

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Love is sacrifice.

-David Oyelowo

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October 10th Kyuubi Attack

A pair of the black-ink-sealing chain was spreading out from Kushina's body. Each of the seals was binding both of Kushina's hands widely to the pillars on her side automatically. The pull of the sealing made Kushina regained her consciousness right away. Her half-open eyelids took her surrounding vividly.

Kushina, for once, never felt this helpless since the kidnapping that Kumogakure did to her. Forcefully bound and rendered helplessly, waiting for someone to rescue her. Kushina already tried to push her opened-sealing with her chakra, but quickly realized how futile it was when a sharp pain lanced through her head and colorful spots flashed in front of her eyes. It felt like her whole beaten, and every movement caused some of Kushina's muscle or bone to ache. She was the definition of a damsel in distress now.

'Is my tenant that famous to the point this lunatic come after me?' grunted Kushina.

Sometimes, Kushina wondered that either her life was 'fortunate' or bad things seemed had things for Kushina since there had always something happened to her or her loved ones. In the end, it was not dying that scared Kushina but her loved ones in pain.

'Well, I need to get out first.'

Kushina looked up to examine her kidnapper. She gathered the rest of her strength to ask the obvious question.

"Just," said Kushina shaky. "What do you want?"

Kushina had already several possible answers to her question in her mind. Plus, asking her kidnapper about his true aim would not hurt anyone - besides her, right?

The said man just looked at her hostage in a demeaning way. He was weighing his options either answered the question or just ignored it. After all, his captive was already on the brink of death, at least, he could humor her a bit.

"I'm going to pull the Kyuubi out of you." The man stated the obvious. "And destroy Konohagakure."

"Wh-what?" Kushina swallowed the dreading feeling in her gut.

Even when she already predicted the answer, it still felt so different hearing it straight from your kidnapper. And it clearly said without remorse too.

"Minato's Teleportation Jutsu allows him to move instantly between locations marked with Jutsu formulas," continued the man. "He even marked your sealing formula with it too, to protect you."

Kushina looked the man wearily. She tried to speculate how long had the man planned this attack. And Kushina did not want to know the answer. Considering, he knew the additional seal from Minato in her original Kyuubi's seal.

"However, I managed to put a distance between you." The man raised his remaining hand to make the one-handed seal. "Don't you want to know how long I've waited for this moment?"

Kushina gulped her saliva. She swore. She did not need or want to hear the details of her kidnapper anymore. She stared directly into the eye hole of her kidnapper's mask, trying to figure out her kidnapper's identity. It was a wrong move from Kushina's side, and Kushina's kidnapper took it as an opportunity to launch his attack.

Kushina's tenant, the Kyuubi, also stared at the man's sight. The Kyuubi held the fear and anger when it realized its mistake. Somehow, it found itself look at the same eye that controlled its so long times ago. The same eye that made itself felt so much humiliation.

'This man-' the line of Kyuubi's thought cut out when the Kyuubi felt had lost its control over its own body. The three tomoe that spinning in the Kyuubi's red-eyed could already be one of the proofs.

In the next minute, Kushina felt fiery burst pulsated from her stomach, intensifying with every ounce of red chakra that seeped out from her own body. The pain was so much that Kushina's pupil rolled to the back of her eyes. And the force nearly made her came into the sweet oblivion.

"Now." the man raised his voice. "Come out, Kyuubi!"

Within seconds, a blob of black-purple chakra burst out of Kushina's opened-seal. From the blob grew limbs until looked like sort of giant fox with a terrifying roar.

The giant fox came out from its glory and lashing its massive tails around. The deafening sounds of its roar were splitting the silence of the night. Almost as soon as the monster came out, the once pale night sky was now shielded by a dense of malicious chakra that would suffocate any single living things in its vicinity.

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Minato immediately transported himself inside of Kushina's delivery room, to find Jiraiya and Tsunade held his children securely. With one swift glance, Minato deduced about the lack of his wife whereabouts in this place.

"Jiraiya-sensei! Tsunade-sama!" Minato's voice made Jiraiya and Tsunade went out from whatever reverie they had before. "Where is Kushina-chan?"

The said man and woman startled at the new voice. Considering what had happened to them, they did not let their guard down for the second time.

"What did you say about the Tale of Utterly Gutsy Ninja book?" Jiraiya pulled out his kunai to defend the baby that he held. Jiraiya was sure if this man were the real Minato, this man would know the answer.

"The book is almost like an autobiography," answered Minato automatically. "The main character never gave up and just like you, Sensei."

Jiraiya nodded his head to Tsunade. Confirming the man in front of him was the real Minato, not some imposter.

"Thank goodness! I thought you're an imposter," huffed Jiraiya.

"Kushina abducted by a Venus man look like when we off guard."

"We're sorry, Minato," continued Tsunade. "We let our guard down when your imposter entered this room leisurely. We thought he was the real you."

Minato gritted his teeth while relaxed his stiff fists. All of his precautions were useless and his plans ruined. Those men were not only could use unfamiliar Teleportation Jutsu, but one of them could also transform into him flawlessly.

'The masked man distracted me so his partners could enter this room effortlessly. I played all of this time,' surmised Minato.

Those men would be the danger for his family and his beloved village if they did not stop immediately. And those men made Minato livid, for sure.

Minato examined the babies that carried both by Jiraiya and Tsunade. The proof of Minato and Kushina love. The joy of their life. And he could not imagine if he let his children grow up motherless.

Minato gave a sign to Jiraiya and Tsunade to hold his shoulder. In a second, they vanished from the delivery room and appeared again in one of Minato's safe house.

"Hime, please protect Michiko and Naruto." Jiraiya gave the baby to Tsunade.

"Michiko, Naruto, please wait for a while. I have to go and save your mother," promised Minato.

Tsunade laid both of the babies in the existed bed in the room and murmured something to calm down the babies. Minato took a last glance at his children, carving all of their features to his memory. The tingling sensation from his additional seal on Kushina made him went back to the reality.

"Jiraiya-sensei, come on!" Jiraiya put his hand on Minato's shoulder. Minato transported themselves to wherever his seal directed them.

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Kushina's lifeline ripped out forcefully. The intensity of pain would make Kushina passed out if she were not an Uzumaki. The fall to the ground was not registered in Kushina's mind anymore, considering she was already too numb to feel it. The red chakra that surrounded her also vanished.

"Good." The masked man walked away from his captive. "Now, I'll go straight to Konohagakure."

"Hold it!" Kushina propped her hands to stand up, but her limbs against her. Kushina winced on the ground and glared at the masked man fiercely.

"Ma, Uzumaki Kunoichi is honestly amazing," praised the masked man.

"You don't die right away after the Bijuu extracted." The masked man looked at Kushina detachedly. For once, Kushina felt that her life flashed before her eyes.

"How about this?" said the masked man with an ominous voice. "I'll use this thing to kill you."

The giant-beast swished one of its claw hand to decapitate its former Jinchuriki. Though, if you looked at the beast carefully, it tried to hold its action.

'Michiko, Naruto, your mother might not come home tonight.' Kushina closed her eyes, accepting her fate. 'Minato, you better take care of them seriously.'

Extremely robust claw of the beast landed on the ground with a loud boom. Such action positively crushed anything below the attack into a grain of dust. Though, a yellow-blur flashed before the paw of the beast landed on the ground.

Across of the ground, the Yellow Flash of Konoha arrived to save Kushina before the paw of the beast grained her to dust. Away from the monster, Minato carried Kushina bridal style tightly.

'I'm sorry, Kushina. I was too late.' Minato examined Kushina.

"Yellow Flash of Konoha, you're just as quick as the rumor said," the masked man focused all of his attention fully to Minato. "But, you're not as punctual as your records said."

Minato ignored the remarked and carefully looked at his wife condition. Her face was so pale, and the bags under her eyes also indicated how worse was Kushina's mental state.

"Are-" Kushina tried to focus her eyesight. "-they okay?"

"Yes, they're fine," assured Minato. "They're in a safe place for now."

"Thank goodness." Kushina felt so relieved this time. "Minato, you must stop that man! He's heading to Konohagakure."

Minato looked at his behind and glared viciously at the man, killing intent was almost comparable to the Kyuubi's. However, the masked man did not recoil at all at the wave of killing intent.

Abruptly, fists coated with chakra aimed at the masked man from his behind. The strike just passed through the masked man along with the body of his attacker, Jiraiya.

'My aim passed through his body,' warned Jiraiya's mind. Soon, Jiraiya stirred his body into defensive form and jumped away from the man.

Minato transported behind Jiraiya and gave Kushina to Jiraiya gently.

"Jiraiya-sensei." Minato watched Kushina's helpless figure in Jiraiya's strong arms. "Take care of Kushina and prepare the sealing now."

The masked man knew that he had no chance to fight both men after the wound that he got. Furthermore, his partners were already in Konohagakure, waiting for the release of Kyuubi.

"You're too late Minato. Kyuubi is-" the sentence halted when Minato's special kunai cut through the man's head. "Mine."

The masked man had forcefully immaterialized his body to avoid the incoming attack. The minus of his ability that he must solidify for a few seconds before using it again.

'Minato would transport behind me,' thought the masked man.

The masked man swung his remaining hand to his behind, ready to catch the Yellow Flash of Konoha that he predicted would appear behind him. After the kunai passed him, his body immediately became solid. And, the man he was waiting for didn't come out from his behind, but in front of him with his palm thrust to the masked man c.h.e.s.t.

'Contract seal! He marked my body somewhere.' The horror plastered on the masked man mind. 'He didn't intend to get rid of me. He wants to separate the Kyuubi from me.'

"With this, the Kyuubi no longer belongs to you," declared Minato.

Minato had planned this move at the last minute. He would feign his real attack with his kunai and transported himself to the seal on the masked man body as the anchor.

After successfully getting Kyuubi out of control, the eyes of Kyuubi went back to the usual cat-slit pupil. The giant beast was also slowly regained its consciousness.

"After all of this, I must hand it to The Fourth," spoke the masked man with a distasteful tone. "You wounded me and managed to sever my ties with the Kyuubi."

The masked man leaped away from Minato, preparing his escape.

"Kyuubi will be my plaything again, and I'm going to take over the world," threatened the masked man. "And there are so many ways to go about doing that."

The masked man vanished into the swirl of air, successfully made his escape.

'That tone.' Minato stared into thin air. 'He was not joking around.'

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The Venus-fly-trap man emerged out from The Fourth Hokage's sculpture head. He already waited for his partner to join him, but until now, there was no sign of his partner. A few seconds later, the other Venus-fly-trap man partner emerged behind him and gave him a pointed look.

''The plan has failed.''

The message was clear for both of them.

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