That is a ....?

"All the shinobis below the Jonin level are commanded to secure civilians?"

Ryu nodded thoughtfully and looked at his unconscious wife. Their child was still sleeping peacefully even under all the explosions.

Truly a bold character!

Even now, Ryu prided himself over the fact that his son will most likely grow into a fearless shinobi.

But he was helpless at this moment. He could only place his wife and son under the care of a medical ninja and went away to help civilians reach the bunker safely.

***

"There he is!"

A burly shinobi dressed in green flak jacket shouted. His eyes were red as three black tomoes rotated around his pupils.

"Go!"

Three men immediately chased the dark figure around the streets of the village. They passed many ruined houses.

Suddenly, one if their eyes shrunk into the size of a needle.

"Wait! He can protect against Sharingan. He is probably a clone!"

The other two immediately stopped and threw Kunais and Shurikens.

The dark figure did not even dodge as it was hit by the blade weapons and exploded into white smoke.

"Damnit! Who is this guy?"

They all had a headache.

"We are retreating and substituting the Hyuugas. The matter of searching for the culprit is handed over to them by Lord Third!"

A shinobi quickly came by and announced the new change.

***

"Defending against the Sharingan isn't hard. Madara has researched a lot of seals. But he didn't have any proficiency in defending against the Byakugan! You need to leave now!"

A whisper spoke to the black-robed, masked man.

"Yeah, I know. But before I leave, I need to attack one last time!"

The masked man was already near the residence of the Fourth Hokage. But he did not attack directly and looked at a certain pale-skinned shinobi.

"It's time to break free from your restraints, Orochimaru!"

***

Seven hours had already passed and the shinobis patrolling the region could already see the rising sun in all its glory.

"Lord Third, we didn't find any trace of the culprit. It is also suggested that Sharingan is useless against this enemy."

A shinobi in a cat's mask and grey, cut-sleeves battle uniform spoke out. A blade was placed behind his back and a red tattoo could be seen on his shoulder.

"The Hyuuga clan and Yamanaka Clan have also failed to find any clue regarding the enemy."

Hiruzen had a headache.

The location where Kushina was going to have her child was top-secret and yet, the news was still leaked somehow.

"Sigh, all Anbu, except those who are performing their lifelong spy missions will report to me. I want to clean the system once again."

"Yes!"

The masked man kneeled on one knee.

"What about the response from Root?"

Hiruzen asked suddenly.

"They haven't expressed any thoughts on your request."

"Sigh, such a wonderful organisation, if utilised for the personal gains will end up a disease for the village."

Hiruzen sighed and felt complicated. He thought of the leader of the Root and shook his head.

"Prepare for the 4 Unified Village Meeting. I need all of the heads of every single clans and organisation in this meeting. Any delay or absence will give them the title of the traitor and the village will use its full force to exterminate culprit organisation."

"Ah?"

The masked man was slightly stunned.

He was the Third Hokage's confidant and he knew that this old man was very kind regarding the matters of the village. After all, if the Third Hokage had decided to abolish all the corruption and evil of the Village, there wouldn't be any organisations like Root.

Hiruzen didn't mind his subordinate and started to walk towards Minato's house.

Before he went inside, he looked at his most talented student, Orochimaru, one last time.

"I am sorry for being weak!"

Hiruzen said in his heart and walked inside Minato's house.

***

"Sigh, such a sacrifice will affect your strength. We can't let this news spread."

Hiruzen was sitting in front of Minato as he looked at Minato's left calf.

It was completely purple and a rotting smell emerged from the injury.

"It doesn't matter. At least, I was able to save Naruto and Kushina. The Kyuubi is sealed once again and the seal has been improved and strengthened."

Minato shook his head as he played with his newborn son, Naruto and looked at his wife sleeping on the bed with a peaceful expression.

"But it's a shame that you couldn't keep track of the culprit."

The third Hokage shook his head and looked a little gloomy.

"The enemy is proficient on Fūinjutsu and was able to remove my Flying Thunder God Inscriptions within a matter of minutes."

Minato also felt a little uncomfortable. After all, the enemy was in the dark and his family was in the light.

"I think that his true objective was Kyuubi. Oh, on that matter, did you find the source of that earthquake?"

Minato asked suddenly.

"No, it's completely natural."

Hiruzen replied with a frown.

"Natural? Even with Earth Element Barriers?"

Minato felt weird, too.

"I have called for a village meeting. I know this is your right, but I need to have this one time."

Hiruzen suddenly spoke out.

Minato thought for a while and nodded.

"Right, we need to hold a celebration for your son. This way, those two worthless students of mine will also return. I will ask Tsunade to look at your leg. Till then, try to hide it."

Hiruzen smiled as he looked at Naruto with a kind face.

Minato nodded with a smile.

"Of course, we will hold the celebration tomorrow. After all, this little guy should see a cleaner village."

Minato sighed and nodded. He wouldn't stop Hiruzen from cleaning this mess. After all, he was one of the reasons that the village was so corrupted.

"Anyway, every fight provides an opportunity to improve. Me and Kushina have earned a lot. She was able to reduce the pressure of Kyuubi and also have our son as emotional support to conquer the tailed-beast."

"Whereas, I have also gained half of Kyuubi's chakra. If the information of the clan record is correct, then this chakra should birth another Kyuubi."

"But the chakra itself has consciousness and will try to corrupt the newborn tailed-beast."

"So, I have two main priorities, the first is to take care of Kushina and help her use the tailed-beast transformation, second, I need to try to dissolve the negative emotions of the Chakra to form a completely obedient Tailed-beast."

Thinking till here, Minato's eyes turned dangerous.

"Next time, I will have enough trump cards to kill him."

This world was filled with conspiracies and hypocrisies. Only real strength is the truth in this world.

Minato knew this clearly.

In this dark and cold world, his heart was the residence of a fire that filled him with hope and courage.

Unlike Hiruzen, Minato's heart was ignited by the love of his wife and his responsibility towards his son.

After Hiruzen left, Minato stood on one leg and hopped towards Kushina.

He lovingly placed Naruto in his crib and touched Kushina's forehead.

"Next time, I won't let you go through this pain."

He smiled and laid beside her.

He was too tired and he felt that leaving things to the old man could bring him a nice change of pace.

***

As the aftermath of the attack was being digested, a pair of eyes opened in a dark location.

His small mouth was sucking on something soft as he felt refreshed.

'Hmm? This is a nipple?'