9 Ch 7. Kyuubi Pt. 1

Many months went by in the blink of an eye. Minato got even busier than before, being absent most of the time Izana would visit them.

Izana often visited Kushina, watching her belly getting bigger with each visit. Izana was hesistant the first time Kushina urged him to feel the babies kicks, only remaining in a daze when he did and felt the little feet press against his hands.

Izana would put his hands on Kushina's belly every now and then, feeling the child kicking against his hand, getting stronger the bigger her belly got.

However with each visit, Izana could also feel a different chakra seep out more and more.

[The seal is weakening. But it seems Kushina knows.]

Like Ryuujin said, Kushina seemed to know of her circumstances.

Her own chakra was mingling with the other chakra, forcing it back every time it came out. It was a sight to behold her chakra easily pushing the kyuubi's chakra down, as if she were rebuking an disobedient child.

"Are you alright nee-san? You look tired these days."

"Haha, I'll be fine once the child is born. He is as rambunctious as his dad, a little fighter that keeps me up all night."

Kushina just brushed it of, laughing as she seemed to imagine Minato as a rambunctious little kid.

"Let's go get something to eat Izana-kun. Let's go to Ichiraku!"

Kushina, set on going dragged Izana with her.

"But I thought pregnant woman weren't allowed to eat greasy food?"

Kushina looked away, not meeting his gaze, just a little bit guilty. Only a little though.

"Let's go, Let's go!"

She ignored Izana as she took a spot at the Ichiraku ramen shop.

"Boss, two bowls of a full course ramen please."

"Coming right up."

The man behind the counter, the owner of the shop called Teuchi, began to work and finished it within a few minutes. Sweat poured out from his forehead, yet he placed the food on the counter with a genuine happy face. It was always a delight to see customers happy with his food.

His face contorted a bit though, as the situation seemed to have changed a bit in the little time he was busy.

Within those few minutes, Kushina was getting a big lecture.

Minato, having just arrived, was lecturing Kushina about greasy food and pregnancy.

"But Minato, it's fine. The baby will be born soon, so it's alright to let loose a bit."

Kushina muttered, twiddling her thumbs as she looked at the mouthwatering food in front of her.

"No, it will have to wait after you give birth."

Minato was firm in this, asking the boss a less greasy menu for Kushina.

"Hey, Izana. I'm sorry to drag you into this."

"It's alright nii-san. I'm used to it."

Minato, smiling wryly, finished Kushina's previous order and dragged her away.

"Bye Izana, see you later with the baby."

Kushina waved Izana goodbye while being dragged away by Minato.

*

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It was later that night when the unexpected happened. Just outside of town, the kyuubi appeared. Its massive orange figure crushed the forest around it, animals fleeing from the former safe refuge they called home.

The nine tails of the kyuubi struck down irregularly, smashing the surroundings into nothing but debris.

The kyuubi roared in fury, its growls waking up the whole village. Lights were turned on as people rushed out of their houses and watched in terror at the appearance of the tailed beast right in front of them.

All around them, shinobi were rushing to the scene, ready to put down their lives to push the kyuubi back, at least far enough it wouldn't damage the village.

There was panic and chaos stirring, as all the shinobi capable of fighting were being dispatched by their clans and the hokage to stop the kyuubi's rampage.

When it all happened, Danzo unexpectedly came to visit the Uchiha residence.

He stepped in front of the readied Uchiha's, stopping them in their tracks. Fugaku stepped forward, questioning why Danzo was stopping them from helping.

"The villagers need to be protected. With the rest of the shinobi already dispatched, our forces have stretched too thin to protect all the civilians. I want the Uchiha clan to undertake this task."

Fugaku nodded at Danzo's words, understanding from what angle he was coming from. After accepting this task, Fugaku led Danzo out, turning his attention back to the Uchiha shinobi in front of him.

"All Uchiha, protect the villagers."

Having said his orders, the Uchiha departed from the residence, spreading all over the village to help anyone that needed their help, protecting them when deemed necessary.

Fugaku was about to leave too when he was stopped by Izana and Itachi.

"Be careful father." Itachi said, worried about his safety. It was dangerous, even more so when something unexpected had happened right in front of their village. Fugaku promised, saying words of his own to the two of them.

"Itachi, Izana. Take care of Sasuke and Mikoto. I leave their safety in your hands. Protect them well till I return."

They both nodded at Fugaku's words.

"Follow me."

Fugaku yelled as he departed with the few remaining shinobi at his side.

*

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Having felt an ominous feeling in the air, Ryuujin emerged from within Izana and forcefully took control. The feeling of suppression strong and stifling, making it seem as if the air was pushed from his lungs. Izana tried to shake off the unsettling feeling, something he hadn't felt before as this happened for the first time.

Izana didn't know why Ryuujin suddenly acted this way and tried to get some answers from him.

"What's wrong Ryuujin? Why are you acting like this?"

[We can't go towards the Kyuubi.]

Ryuujin had never sounded as distraught as he did now, worrying Izana even more than before. Something had to be going on here for Ryuujin to act this way.

"What is going on with you? You are acting strange."

Ryuujin became quiet for a short while, not answering the question immediately.

"Ryuujin. Tell me."

[The kyuubi is acting stranger than he normally does. Something is very wrong. We could be implicated in this, should we go there. And....]

Ryuujin seemed to calm down a bit, follwing his previous words up with another thing that would support his previous statement.

[If we get involved, other people will know that you are a Jinchuriki as well. There are forces at play here that control things from the shadows. I don't want you to be treated like a tool, don't even mention being used by the dark side of the village.]

It would definitely make life more difficult for them if their existence became known to others, especially since most if not all villages only used their Jinchuriki's as weapons for their wars. He had seen it happen before, he didn't want to be a part of it.

"What if they need help only we can provide them with? I need to help Minato-nii and Kushina-nee as much as we are capable of, even if it only is but a menial task. Something has obviously gone wrong!"

Izana said, becoming more worried by the second. He had felt the same sense of unease Ryuujin had previously spoken about. Ryuujin had most likely taken control before he could think of doing something stupid. Such as rushing towards the battlefield without a solid plan.

[We'll go as soon as it is safe for us to go.]

Ryuujin didn't say anything further to Izana, moving their body to follow Itachi, ready to get Sasuke and Mikoto towards the shelter.

"Itachi-kun."

Itachi looked at Izana, but noticed something was different about him. The change was minimal, but it was enough for Itachi to notice.

The usual black eyes had turned golden in colour with a reptile-like pupil. They lit up in the dark, much like the Sharingan did. The golden eyes focussed solely on Itachi, a shiver running down his back as it felt like he was being stared down by a predator.

"Izana? Are you alright?"

Even if something felt wrong, Itachi still asked.

Ryuujin chuckled approvingly, noticing the slight wary in Itachi's gaze.

"I'm not Izana, I'm Ryuujin. Make sure Izana stays here, he wants to help Minato. He wants to stupidly run into the battlefield without a plan. As I have no intention to remain constantly in control, it is up to you to keep him here. Please make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Itachi nodded at Ryuujin's words.

Ryuujin sighed as he gave back control to Izana. He hated to forcibly take control, but in this case he had to. For both his and Izana's sake.

Izana blinked slowly as his sight returned to normal, while immediately after he pleaded for Itachi to let him help Minato an Kushina, saying he could help, but was resolutely shot down.

"I won't let you go, I promised Ryuujin not to let you go." Itachi said, dead serious. It was nonsensical to even consider letting Izana go. They were too young and weak to even make a difference in this fight. They should leave this to the more experienced people.

Izana wanted to plead his case further, confident that he could convice them to let him go if he could substantiate his reasons, but was stopped by Mikoto.

"Calm down Izana and let them take care of it. Minato and Kushina are full fledged shinobi and they know what to do. Trust in them, like they trust us to be safe and out of harms way."

Though Izana didn't fully agree, he still sat down next to his aunt, hoping that Ryuujin would let him help them when he deemed it was safe.

*

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*

While Izana was patiently waiting at the Uchiha estate, Minato was desperately fighting a masked man, his only thoughts on his wife, son and the rampant Kyuubi.

Every attack Minato executed seemed to pass straight through the man in front of him, as the man tried his best to get Minato within his grasp. Chains would try to bind him, but he continued to escape with his Flying Raijin technique, which allowed him to move towards a marked location. Which was the kunai's he had marked and spread around his surroundings.

The two of them clashed, avoided and tried to catch the other, with little succes. When the masked man tried to grab Minato, he would just disappear towards another spot.

When Minato would attack the man, he would pass straight through.

This continued for a while, up to the point where Minato rushed towards the man, kunai in hand.

He quickly threw the kunai in the direction of the man's head. The kunai slipped through the man without any resistance, as Minato formed a Rasengan, ready to attack the man as he moved the mass of chakra forward.

The man wasn't perturbed, his hand reaching towards Minato, sure of his victory.

As the Rasengan came closer to the man, Minato waited for the perfect time.

The man had Minato in his grasp, his hand clenched forward, certain of his win.

That was until Minato's figure disappeared and the Rasengan Minato had in his hands crashed violently against his back. The kunai from before in Minato's hand.

"That was my Flying Raijin level 2."

Minato commented, as he burried the man deeper into the ground.

As the rasengan dissipated, a mark remained where Minato had landed his attack. Dust created by the attack hindered their view, as the masked man distanced himself from Minato, jumping towards higher ground from where he could spot his enemy easier.

The man painfully grasped his left arm, which was injured in the attack earlier.

The arm, was slowly falling apart, dripping on the ground as if it was made from mud.

Minato's figure finally came into view, as the masked man stared down on him.

"You got me. This is what is meant by elusive it seems. You truly are elusive, I shouldn't have let my guard down."

The masked man seemed less worried now that there was some distance. But he was sorely mistaken.

Minato, who had just been a couple of meter away was suddenly in front of him, his hand punching hard into the masked man's stomach.

Minato's other hand landed on the man's chest, as markings began to spread from the point of contact.

Seeing the markings, the masked man finally became angry.

"With this the kyuubi is no longer under your control."

A distant roar testified to that point, as the Kyuubi seemed to rampage a lot more, yet is was less concentrated at one point, showing it was no longer under the masked man's control.

With his control now gone, the masked man hurried away, his guard now raised for any sudden attacks Minato could launch against him.

"Injuring men and releasing the kyuubi from my control, you are worthy of your title, Fourth Hokage. But the kyuubi will be mine again, one day. I shall rule this world. There are plently of ways to achieve that."

The masked man seemed to be pulled into a single point of space, disappearing soon after, leaving Minato alone, who was now rushing towards a wide clearing after failling to sense the man's presence and chakra. He needed to seal the kyuubi again. To save Kushina and the village.