Kakashi was the one who found the lab, smelling blood and chemicals.
Oji-sama was the one who destroyed in, a wave of fire that burned everything to the ground, raging like it had a mind of its own.
Minato wondered if the island, had it been any other, would have vanished into the sea that day.
Oji-sama then took them home, landing just outside the gates to the utter shock of the gate guards before vanishing into a swirl of wind.
"I'll see you on October tenth, Minato-kun." The god promised. "Be well."
Minato wondered what he meant by that. What was happening October 10th? He pondered it for several days, going through records and political reports amd even consulting the head priestess at the Three Dragons shrine in Konoha. (He was a bit of a celebrity to them at the moment. To be honest, they liked talking to anyone who had spoken to a dragon.)
It wasn't until Kushina got back from the hospital, a scroll in hand detailing what her visit to the OB/GYN had discovered.
And then he remembered.
"Kushina! Start a countdown. October tenth!"
"What's that day?"
"That's the day we meet Naruto!"
—--------
Oji-sama waved his hand and the Kyuubi went flying as solid chakra bitch slapped him across the face.
Kushina trembled in his grasp, sweat caking her clothes to her skin as fuinjutsu trailed up and down her body, remnants of a now empty seal.
He had nearly been too late, arriving to meet the newest Uzumaki just as they were attacked and Kushina kidnapped.
Oji-sama placed a hand on her abdomen as the Kyuubi righted himself, channeling golden chakra into her, healing the wounds from labor along with the strain her chakra system had just endured during the extraction.
Kushina looked up at him with bleary eyes, but she either recognized him or was too exhausted to fight someone not an active threat.
In that moment Minato appeared in a flash of yellow, the tinkling of the Other behind him.
"Kushina!" He called.
"Down here!" Oji-sama called, gathering Kushina in his arms and leaping from the pit he had found her in.
Minato appeared next to them, taking Kushina from the dragpn.
"Minato?" Kushina said softly. "Naruto? Where is he? That man-"
"Safe." Minato said just as the Kyubi roared, paw raised to smash all three of them.
"I said fuck off!" Oji-sama shouted, shoving the bijuu several miles away with a massive burst of wind, flattening several miles of trees in the process. The only safe place in the area was right behind him, where the two parents were.
"Go. I will handle Kurama." Oji-sama ordered. "You're both injured. Go! Protect your kid!"
Minato looked between the dragon and the bijuu, and vanished.
Oji-sama cracked his knuckles. "Come on, Kurama. Show me what you got."
—-----------
Kurama was sealed. They had no choice, gripped by madness that he was. They made a choice between putting off Kurama's freedom in exchange for saving the lives of the entire Leaf villiage.
But the price was great.
Minato stood broken, face blank and eyes dull, a sobbing child in his arms, their belly painted with a seal reinforced by sacrifice.
The village was safe. The only deaths were the ANBU team who had been guarding Kushina, the two medic-nin assisting the birth, Biwako Sarutobi, the midwife, and the Last Uzumaki Princess.
Sharringon was gone, hunting the Uchiha who brought this tragedy down, the only one with the ability to track him. He had arrived to late to stop the tragedy in its tracks, flying as fast as he could but still arriving as Kushina fell.
Ayako was gone too, in the ruins of Uzu, mourning the loss of its last true born citizen. Oji-sama wondered who was taking Kushina's death harder, her husband or her grandmother?
That left Oji-sama, waiting for Minato to be alone, so he could meet his nephew.
It took hours, the Yondaime Hokage handling paperwork and issuing orders to start emergency relief and rebuilding efforts even as he refused to put Naruto down, even just in the bassinet next to the desk.
Oji-sama sighed, and sat down in the chair in front of Minato's desk, giving up on getting a private audience.
A flurry of kunai flew at him, thrown from various ANBU, Minato flying back, curled protectively over his son.
The kunai stopped inches from the dragon's skin, dropping to the floor in a clatter of metal. "Sorry." Oji-sama said, not moving from his seat.
Minato's eyes widened and he bowed, still clutching Naruto close. "I'm so sorry, Oji-sama."
At his name the guards' chakra spiked with awe and fear.
"It's okay. I can come back later."
Minato's blinked, before hurrying around the desk. "No, no. I'm sorry. I should have expected you sooner. This is Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki."
The blonde lowered his arms, tensing slightly when Oji-sama raised his arms to take his son from him.
Oji-sama smiled and lowered his arms, not willing to push on the issue.
Naruto was small, as all Uzumaki children tended to be, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. Three whisker like scars adorned his cheeks, remnants from being exposed to Kyuubi's chakra during Kushina's pregnancy.
Oji-sama smiled gently, a tear running down his cheek. "You are going to do amazing things, Naruto-kun." He murmured.
Minato smiled too, taking a moment to revel in the fact he was a dad.
"I can watch him for a bit. Nowhere is safer than with me." Oji-sama offered. "You need to sleep."
Minato balked, but nodded, carefully handing the infant to the dragon.
"I'll stay right here." Oji-sama promised and Minato nodded, pulling out a futon from under his desk and collapsing on it.
He was asleep within moments.
Oji-sama adjusted his grip, humming softly to the sleeping Uzumaki.
"Welcome back, sibling."
YOU ARE READING
The Sleeping God
FanfictionPercy had never thought Zeus could hate him this much. Luckily, Athena had a plan. He should have remembered where Annabeth gotten her planning skills from.
