__________ POV Narration __________

Minato gulped as he hoped for the best inwardly.

He could only hope that the newcomer would first focus on the two unmarked Shinobi and that they'd be able to use that chance to escape.

Minato trusted his speed at the end of the day, he knew that he could probably get away while carrying Kushina if given the chance.

Kushina, who was currently in Minato's arms, felt her back get colder with sweat as she watched the creepy figure of the man behind them.

But strangely enough, it also gave her a safe feeling. She couldn't feel any bad intentions from him.

Kurama, the 9-Tailed Fox within her watched the scene through her eyes.

Its interest was immediately piqued.

'That thing... Did Father Hagoromo create more brothers?!? No, he has long since departed this world... It can't be...'

The gigantic orange fox could only watch the scene with wide red eyes.

He couldn't speak through Kushina, hell the little girl couldn't even hear him. The seal that was placed on her was far stronger than even that which had been placed on Mito Uzumaki, her predecessor.

All Kurama could do was watch without being able to do anything.

He assumed the Shinobi kidnapping his host was planning to try and use its power in some ways.

The Tailed Beast planned to happily assist them! The second they so much as gave him an inch of leeway, he would take control of his host and blow up their flimsy village to bits...

He didn't care about his new host's life, all he cared about was not being used by humans once more.

But it seemed like such a thing wouldn't even be needed.

Instead, something even more troublesome had popped up.

The humanoid monster Kurama was looking at now was the source of that trouble.

The Tailed Beast's mind reeled as it tried to remember its father's teachings.

'A natural Tailed Beast... Father feared such a thing would happen in the future...'

Kurama had been the one to remember most of his father's teachings. He was also the strongest among his brothers and sisters, he was the big brother of the group, and he knew he had a mission...

'I need to kill this thing before it grows even more... But how?'

The 9-Tails could do nothing but release a low growl that no one besides itself could hear. It remained gagged and bound inside the body of a child. So it was forced to watch as the situation unfolded.

Minato opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't even find the words as he looked at the Shinobi that threatened his and Kushina's life.

They were nothing more than twisted broken dolls on the ground.

Both Genin had barely even managed to notice after it had happened. But both of the Shinobi were pancaked into the ground, their limbs bent and broken unnaturally.

Their weapons were also crushed and tossed to the side unceremoniously.

'Two fully-fledged Jonin or Anbu died instantly...'

Minato wasn't exactly sure of their rankings, but he knew that they were above Chunin. If they weren't he would've been able to deal with them by himself.

They were trained shinobi, all 4 of them. Minato had struggled to even take down two of them.

But the man that towered over him seemed to be on a completely different playing field when compared to a normal shinobi.

Kushina was also petrified, she looked at the blood of her captors pooling on the ground, filling up the small craters that their bodies being flung into the ground had created.

After that, she looked at Minato, only for her eyes to widen at the resolute look on his face.

She had always seen him as a pushover, unreliable, girly even. She never expected him to come to save her that in itself was shocking to her.

But seeing that resolute look in his eye, even when faced with what was essentially their certain death, just moved her in the right way.

That led to her grabbing tightly onto Minato's shirt, doing her best to cling to the slight feeling of protection he was providing even in the middle of that dread.

She turned her head to look at the creepy man that had killed her kidnappers.

"W-who are you? Are you going to kill us as well?"

It sounded dejected, she had clearly given up to some extent, either that or she was hoping to somehow distract the monster while Minato looked for a way out for them.

But it was at that moment that the feeling of dread completely vanished.

The man appeared in front of them, crouched down, his mouth curled up into a warm smile, and the crushing atmosphere from before was completely crushed.

Minato's eyes widened once more, shocked by the contrast as he then felt a large hand landing on his head, he was so shocked that he didn't even get to do anything.

"You did good kid..." The Gruff Man's voice had a kind cadence to it, completely unrecognisable to the youngsters.

They barely had the time to process the situation, and it was already flipped on its head.

"To answer your questions..." The strange man then looked at Kushina, giving her yet another warm smile.

"I won't harm either of you. Kushina and Minato, was it?"

The two couldn't help but nod almost on cue.

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"Well, first off, Minato. As I've said, you did well pursuing the kidnappers on your own. You made some mistakes, but the fact that there were so few of them despite your age means your talent is among the best I've ever seen..."

The young boy blinked a few times when hearing the stranger's praise. It was just as unexpected as the first one. But this time he managed to calm down.

"Thank you, sir!" He thanked the stranger with a resolute gaze, as one would their superior. Minato couldn't really help it, although kind, the strange man just had an authoritative demeanour, that coupled with his strength? It made it impossible for Minato not to treat him as an impromptu drill instructor.

Kushina also noticed that which led to her giving her saviour/colleague an odd look.

"What's your name?" The little girl looked up at their scary saviour with a confused gaze. She was hoping to maybe recognize his name.

"My name is Ken... I have another title, which I'm sure you'll learn. It's nice to finally meet you, however, Kushina. Kazue, your big Brother, spoke very highly of you."

At that point, Kushina was also starting to feel better, she immediately felt her bindings give way, the rope being ripped apart in an instant as she and Minato were both yanked to their feet.

"No need to sit down while talking." The kind man spoke to them as he crossed his arms behind his back.

"Y-you know my brother? How is he? I've not received many letters from them lately..." Kushina immediately became excited.

It was more than clear that they were no longer in danger. In Kushina's mind, they were the furthest from that as they could be.

The man had not only untied her, he had killed the kidnappers that remained, he had acted with nothing but kindness towards them, and he also seemed to know her family.

Minato also seemed to have similar thoughts, his fists clenched as he pondered on the day he would be able to grow as strong as Ken.

"Your brother is fine. He is actually my teacher in Fuinjutsu, quite a talented individual."

Kushina's eyes seemed to shine when she heard that.

Talking about home was her one escape from her bullying. She didn't resent her father for sending her there, she knew their situation.

Even now, things weren't entirely safe for the Uzumaki, which was why she wasn't called back home yet. Or so she figured out.

She had no way of knowing what agreement her Family and Konha had reached.

It was impossible for the Leaf to let her go, however, as she had become the Jinchurki of their tailed beast around the time the Uzumaki Clan was already faced with destruction.

Now? It was impossible for Kushina to fully return to Uzushigakure. No one would bar her from visiting her home, of course. The two Leaf and Whirlpool were still allies.

But she'd most likely end up married to someone in Konoha to strengthen her bonds to the city.

It would likely be attempted in a manipulative way as well, not some forced arranged marriage. Hidden Villages just had that way of doing things.

Her father almost certainly knew that, so the relationships between the Leaf and the Whirlpool were bound to become a bit more strained in the future.

Ken was well aware of those things. Kazue hadn't been quite upfront about the situation, but the Blind Monster was easily able to pick up on some things.

"A-are you here to bring me back to the Uzumaki Clan?" The Little Girl seemed excited at the prospect, the Assassin did notice the little girl giving Minato a sideways glance, and he could feel some disappointment from Minato as well.

'Ah, to be young and in love again...' The Assassin pondered like an old man, which he technically wasn't that far off from. But it wasn't like he had ever been in love.

Brushing off that thought, the Assassin decided to finally respond and kill the suspense.

"Oh, no such thing. I was just passing by and happened to notice the whole thing. I was tracking all of you down and decided to intervene."

Kushina seemed to immediately deflate at Ken's answer. Her disappointment could be felt even by Minato, who patted her back, giving her a warm smile.

Ken thought he'd feel some excitement or relief from the boy, but it seemed that he was actually feeling sad for her too.

'Damn... This kid really is honest, huh?'

It was almost as if he didn't have a bad bone in his body.

Killing one of the kidnappers did indicate he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, but his innocence seemed to be untainted by that action.

'Well, I doubt he'd be that broken up killing someone to save his sweetheart anyway... He's also a shinobi at the end of the day... But he also seems like a good person.'

As the assassin was pondering that, he felt the two of them hugging, Minato giving Kushina a few warm pats on the back.

'Ah... To be young again...'

The assassin just sighed as he coughed into his hand, breaking the two of them out of their immersions.

They broke their hug, but neither seemed to feel disappointed about it, they just seemed embarrassed.

"S-sorry for that! I was just hoping- It doesn't matter anymore... Thank you, sir Ken!" The little long-haired girl bowed her head to the assassin.

She was embarrassed at having floundered about like that in front of her saviour. Well, saviours, Minato was also there.

And he was sweet enough to comfort her...

But she'd have to think more about that later. She couldn't be rude to the person that helped both of them out.

"It's fine, Kazue did tell me you were an emotional girl, and that you put on a strong face... He did also mention he'd come to visit you sooner or later."

Minato raised an eyebrow at the first part, before smiling once more and looking at Kushina with a bit of affection. He likely had figured that much out by himself already.

Kushina seemed to be a bit stunted by hearing Ken air out her dirty laundry in front of Minato. But she couldn't help but smile when hearing the second part.

Her brother was someone she hadn't gotten to spend much time with, he was always out on missions. But she knew him, and she remembered the few sweet moments they had fondly.

He was one of the few family members she had left, and she wanted to meet him more, speak to him more.

When she learned that her village was likely going to be exterminated, she entered a rather severe bout of depression.

That coupled with people picking on her for her hair colour led to her lashing out and beating bullies left and right.

The fact that her home had survived had mellowed her out a bit, but she was still beating bullies left and right, frustrated with homesickness.

But it was only a matter of time before she grew up a bit more and was able to visit on her own. And the fact that her brother would visit her just warmed her heart further.

"From your reaction... I think I'll tell him to visit you sooner rather than later..."

The assassin smiled warmly once more, this time patting the girl's head.

Kushina was taken aback at first, much like Minato, but that hand simply gave her a feeling of safety. The man in front of them simply had no ulterior motives. Either that or he was the best actor to ever exist.

This was why Minato didn't feel jealous at all when looking at the scene. He simply felt a strange warmth.

But that warmth was soon interrupted, the atmosphere around them turning a lot colder.

Ken's hand fell to the side, as his head angled towards the woods.

"You can all come out now... Not like you weaklings will ever be able to hide from me..."

Both Minato and Kushina were shocked to hear that change in tone. It was as if they were looking at a completely different person.

From caring and warm, to callous, cold, distant. It further highlighted the contrast they had felt before.

'Ken really isn't a simple person, huh...'

Both Minato and Kushina couldn't help but think that.

Then the worst-case scenario happened...

More and more masked men appeared to surround them from all around the forest in front of them, advancing in a half-circle formation.

There were easily 30 people there, which only spelt out trouble...

Kushina gulped as her hands trembled a bit. Minato clenched his fists and grit his teeth, hoping for the best.

"What are you all up to? Are you working with the kidnappers?" Ken asked as he crossed his arms.

He asked a question with a rather obvious answer, his tone was cold and nonchalant.

His forward and confident nature did manage to inspire trust in Kushina and Minato, who had almost forgotten that he had turned the last two Shinobi to mush before they even had the chance to blink.

Still, they were dealing with a lot more shinobi now, and they had no reason to believe they'd be any weaker...

"Sir... I doubt they're willing to talk things out at this point." Minato took out a Kunai as he prepared to help.

Kushina's hands trembled a bit, but she also took one of Minato's kunai and prepared to do her best.

But they were stopped when Ken raised his hand towards them. Waving them off unceremoniously.

"Don't bother children... Let the adults handle such bloody matters..."

To others, it may have sounded a bit demeaning. But to Kushina and Minato? It just made them feel safe.

But they were the only ones in that forest that felt safe, besides Ken, of course.

"In all honesty, I didn't want to dirty my hands further... Not today... But I don't really seem to have much choice, now do I?"

The unmasked assassin stepped forward, towards the people that were coming out of the woods. They stood still, a few even taking a step back when observing Ken.

But not one of them spoke out, which Ken found weird. There was usually a leader for such operations, but all of them were quiet...

To that, the Blind Monster could only sigh.

"Too brooding and mysterious to make any sounds huh?

That's fine. You'll be screaming in pain soon..."