Vindictus

Challenge Fic: From Kyubi16 by Samurai86

In and alternate dimension, Naruto Uzumaki was a different man. When he was born his mother furiously disagreed with her husband to seal the nine-tailed fox within their child and went so far as to threaten to divorce and leave him. Minato, with a heavy heart, snatched the child from her arms and went to confront the demon already close to his precious village. However on the way Uzumaki clan retainers who went to Konoha to be godfathers/godmothers of the child intercepted him and took back the child, sealing the fate of Konoha.

Kushina herself escaped with assistance from other clan members and spent a month recovering once they arrived in the Kingdom of Whirlpool where she was the princess. Her father the king was enraged that his son-in-law would sacrifice his grandson and cut off all ties with Konoha, though it was pointless because with nothing to perform the sealing with Minato was killed by the enraged bijuu and Konoha was reduced to ash. After that the beast mysteriously disappeared and had not been seen since.

Naruto had grown up within the protective and caring arms of his mother who fiercely protected him from any harm, he was however trained by the best of whirlpool shinobi and samurai and even some nuke-nin that turned friendly like Momochi Zabuza. Throughout the years he had matured and grown into a powerful A-class shinobi and, acting on the wishes of his mother who was now queen, led an invasion force into mist country to support the rebelling bloodline clans. Already worn down by the long civil war the Mizukage was defeated but the shinobi of Kiri had shown their utter ferocity and skill, often inflicting heavy casualties in engagements. Even though the country was finally re-united and sworn to be permanent allies with Whirlpool Kushina wanted more, and Naruto was more than happy to grant his mothers wishes.

"Conquer me another country son and I will kiss you on the cheek" She would say to motivate him, though really all she needed to do was tell him. He was as loyal as a dog.

He would smile, kiss his mothers hand and say, "For you mother, I will conquer an empire"

The challenge

The challenge is to forge the first Empire of the shinobi nations!

Naruto is blindly loyal to his mother, going even past obsession. She is his goddess and any wish she makes, no matter how small or big he will put all his heart and will to. This will play an important part, you can either make Kushina evil and manipulative and power hungry or kind and caring and the reason she wants to conquer are to bring peace within the shinobi nations.

There are Konoha survivors who utterly hate Kushina for condemning their village and home, use them as you wish. Payed assassins or major commanders of forces that fight against Whirlpool, it's up to you.

Naruto can be cool and collected or fiery and loud; as long as he is obsessively loyal to his mother it does not matter.

For the pairings I really don't want yaoi, though I'm not going to stop you from making it im not reading it. Harem or even incest is acceptable.

OC's are a must since you need to involve Naruto's teachers and friends as well as enemies.

The Akatsuki, bijuu and the Jinchuriki will have to play some part, what that is il leave up to you.

Ratings would be T-M. Gore and lemons are acceptable but not necessary, but id love you if you did...

(A/N: From now on, I'll only be posting the challenge part. Read at Kyubi16's page or on the first chapter for more info on the challenge)

Also, slight amendment to the challenge. Instead of the Kingdom of Whirlpool, I think a matriarch might make for more… interesting ideas. Evil chuckle…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other crossovers I may put into this work of fiction. Another author made the challenge, and I am merely answering the call.

PS. In this fic and most other fics with foreign languages, I won't be using the foreign name, unless its' for something important (Goddess, God, important artifact, etc). Instead, I'll just use the English version. If anyone wishes to translate the technique for me, I'll happily credit the person and give him or her a big piece of candy from my candy factory (We're out of liquorice).

Read and Review

Prologue – Revenge is a bitch!

It was a fine night in Konohakagure no Sato, the Hidden Village of the Leaves (Konoha for short). The air was crisp and the trees were blowing from the slight breeze. Everything was perfect, except for the fact that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was attacking the village.

Yes, the Kyuubi, a giant red fox with nine tails. They say the demon can break a mountain and cause natural disasters with one swipe of one of the tails. Such exaggerations are bound to be explored, but no one in their right mind would wish to ascertain the truth.

No one knew why the Kyuubi decided to make a trip down to the village this night. Of course, given how rare an occurrence of a demon lord actually was, no one can get inside of its' head.

All that matters is the Kyuubi is right at the villages' doorstep, ready to destroy it. Fortunately for the civilians, the village was a shinobi village, warriors of different attributes and talents. Many shinobi in the village fought to protect their loved ones from the massive beast.

For each attack the shinobi forces unleashed, the monster would swipe one of its' massive tails, nullifying the attempts and injuring the forces. Some would be found dead from the fall, but few were able to return with their allies. The fox howled with glee as it continued to fight the insects.

Away from the massacre, a plan was being hatched to stop the ferocious beast. The leader of Konoha, the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was a seal master. He knew about the location of the Kyuubi earlier, but figured, as long as it didn't bother the village, there would be no need to bother it.

He had the month to develop a method to seal the Kyuubi, should it ever decide to attack. The unfortunate aspect is that such a plan was that it required a live baby. He theorized, the chakra coils of the baby had just started developing, and the introduction of such a large amount of foreign chakra wouldn't poison the baby, thus keeping it alive and healthy. Over time, the foxs' chakra and the babies chakra would meld into one, effectively destroying the fox, but still keeping the jailor safe.

There happened to be such a baby tonight. It happened to be his baby, the newly christened Namikaze Naruto. He had planned on using the baby to seal the Kyuubi, but one thing got in his way… his wife.

Earlier the same day…

Scouts placed around the supposed lair had noted strange behavior within. Just to be sure, one of them went in the cave to see if the beast was still sleeping. After quite a few minutes, the other scout got worried and sent a messenger hawk back to the village before wandering into the cave.

About midday, the Hokage was hard at work. "Damn paperwork. I swear, this must be the bane of Kages' everywhere." He went back to work, when the door opened revealing his wife, Uzumaki Kushina.

She had long and flowing fiery red hair. She wore a long black tank top that used to cover her stomach, but is now too big. Her gold eyes met the Yondaimes' blue eyes. "Hey there, stranger. I haven't seen you all day."

He walked up to her and gave her a big hug, "Sorry, it's been a busy day, paper work and all that. So, how are you feeling today, kaa-san?" He grinned as she smiled.

The mother bit was an inside joke between the two. Minato, witnessing the 'miracle' of birth for the first time, and being an orphan, had no real mother of his own.

"I feel fine, and Naruto-kun is also doing fine. You should take a break one day and see your son, Hokage-sama." She left as he went back to work.

A bit later, the messenger hawk had arrived, crashing into the office at breakneck speed. "What the deuce?" He went to check up on the bird, noticing the scroll. His eyes slowly widened as he read the letter. "Damn it, why now?"

He pocketed the letter and sent the bird to the aviary. Back at the desk, he was deep in thought, about all the consequences of his decision. "If I were to seal the Kyuubi within Naruto, he would have a difficult life. He would be teased, mocked and abused in many different ways, but he would have Kushina there to help him." The realization dawned on him. "Damn, if I were to go through with this plan, I would have to ask her permission." He kicked the desk, hard, spraining his foot.

With Kushina and Naruto…

Kushina was watching Naruto sleep. "Naruto-kun, you're like a little angel." She smiled as she picked him up into her warm embrace. "I promise, I'm not going to let anything happen to you." She kissed his forehead, and started to gently rock him. She gently sang a foreign song to him, "I hope you grow strong, my little warrior. Grow strong for me, please."

Back with Minato…

He had his head down, deep in thought. "If I didn't seal the Kyuubi, all of my precious people would be dead. Gramps, Kushina-chan, Naruto-kun, all up in flames." He raised his arms in agony, "What cruel deed did I do to deserve this fate?"

After the shout, he continued to mope, thinking things through, trying to connect all the puzzle pieces together. He looked at his hat and his coat. "The Hokage, is just a title, but the meaning is much more. I must sacrifice the good of the few, for the good of the many. My family may suffer, but its' my job as a protector." Just then, a crow flew onto the windowsill. "This crow must belong to Kushina-chan." The crow perched onto his arm and squawked into his ear. The disorienting sound caused him to fall over, forcing the crow to fly away.

As he lay on the ground, images of the future battle were planted into his mind. The battle torn village, filled with burning villagers, wildlife, and destroyed buildings. The living ninja were few, and the dead piled up as the few living were still trying to stop the beast. The beast then howled into the moon, and summoned up a large flame to destroy everything else.

In another area, Minato saw himself opposite of Kushina. He had scars all over his face, as the woman he loved was completely fine, with a red jacket, a black decorated top, a red hat, and a rose tattoo on her face. "Kushina-chan, what are you doing? Why didn't you give Naruto to me? We could have stopped this insanity!"

She gave him a maniacal laugh. "You would sacrifice your own son for the good of the village? I thought you were more than that, Minato-kun? You preach about family, yet you would give up your own to save some strangers you barely know." She spat out the last part.

Her shining golden eyes met his calm blue eyes. "She's right. I do talk about family and I don't have any of my own. Is it worth the trouble of sacrificing my own for people I do not know." He slapped himself. "Get that out of your mind! The villagers have treated you with kindness and showed you what a family is worth. They are practically your family, while Kushina is a girl you fell in love with a year ago from a foreign village. What's more important, the people you live with or a foreigner?"

Minato straightened himself, "My previous action may not have been for the good of everyone, but these people are my family. They took me in, and raised me as if I was their own. I was born an orphan, and all these people feel like relatives in some way. Even if I haven't committed to memory all of their names, the feelings are still the same."

She was angered by his response, "If that's how you want it, don't complain when you die!" She pulled out a kunai and leapt at the man she once loved. He had also pulled out a kunai and started to attack her.

It was a battle for the ages. Kunai met kunai, as both ninja tried to strike at the vulnerable places. There would be a block for each hit. The fierceness of the battle whipped up winds, as both coated figures danced a dance of death. Eventually, the two sped up, creating deadly winds, causing small cuts in the ground and whatever was there at the time.

"Kushina, do you think you can match my speed?" She laughed at the question, "Match it? I can go much faster!" She grinned while speeding up. He grimaced at the speed, while trying to block each hit, taking out another kunai, while she only had one. "Damn Kushina, where have you been hiding this power?"

She grinned widely, showing her flashing golden eyes, "Mother said to never show my full potential in front of the foreign ones. Your council would have me mate with several other men to give the Spiral to future Konoha shinobi." She put her hand to her mouth, "Whoops, shouldn't have let that slip."

He raised his eyes, "You have a kekai genkai? Why didn't our bloodline test show it?" He felt sad that they didn't share all their secrets.

"Didn't I already tell you? I've seen how the council, including that snake bastard Danzo treat people with kekai genkai. He uses them to create children, and sends those children to be trained to get rid of their emotions, and use them as tools. I'm sure you're aware of the existence of the Foundation." She grabbed another kunai and did another barrage of attacks.

Minato tried to dodge and block the flurry, but had many new scars upon his body. She returned across the battlefield as he fell upon his knees, clutching at the bloodied scars. She had a look of despair on her face, "If you had a massive power behind you, and your captors gave you a chance for freedom if you gave them power, what would you do?"

His eyes opened widely, thinking of any answers he could find. "I would not give them my power. I would rather die!" She shook her head.

In an instant, she disappeared and held a large sword to his neck, "What have I told you about lying to me, Minato-sama? You cannot lie with this blade at your neck. Now, tell me the truth of your actions."

With the blade at his neck, he sang like a bird. The truth was he would give up his power to save the people he called his family. Satisfied with the answer, she withdrew the blade, but stayed behind him. She whispered, "Do you understand what I must do?"

He had a shaking suspicion that he would soon find out. She whistled loudly and pushed him. When he landed, he was face to face with the monster fox. "What? How did it get here so fast? Kushina, did you call it?"

She nodded and grinned, "At birth, girls in the Hidden Whirlpool Kingdom are sent along with our crow familiars to capture a ferocious beast. As the princess, I had higher expectations. Luckily, a boy close to my age had helped me locate the beast. He helped hypnotize it as I captured it with my crow." A rather large crow perched on her shoulder cried out,

Minato, terrified of the forces both in front and behind him, steeled his resolve and threw a kunai at the woman he loved. At that point, she could have easily dodged it, but she chose not to. In his horror, she fell and the crow flew away, and the blood spewed everywhere. It, however, turned out to be a trick of the light.

He yelled loudly, "You're not the woman I married. You are a monster!" He felt a pain in his legs as he noticed the Kyuubi start biting them. He shouted loudly as the blood transferred to his feet.

She simply said nothing as she turned to her animal form, a crow, as she flew away.

Out of his premonition, he woke up, sweating up a storm. "Damn, what was that? Was it a dream, or a prediction of the future?" He looked around for the crow, but it was nowhere to be seen. "Damn crow." He would proceed with the plan, regardless of consequences.

Later that night…

Minato had approached his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, with the plan to seal the fox into their son. "Please, we need to do this to save everyone."

She held their child closer to her body, "Minato-kun, you know how a jinchuuriki lives. I don't want him to have a horrible life!"

"Please, Kushina-chan, you must reconsider! The people in this village are like a family to me. I don't want to see them dead." His sad eyes met her fierce eyes.

"I told you, I'm not going to give him up! If you were to go, the council would install a puppet leader and use our son as a weapon! I've heard stories of this being done in the Mist and the Cloud. So for, Konoha is the only village that doesn't have an official jinchuuriki." She held the boy closer to her chest, for fear of her husband seizing him.

He looked to his feet before continuing, "I've got it. I'll talk to old man Sarutobi before sealing the beast. That way, he'll go back to being Hokage again."

She shook her head, "What can he do? Sure, he can stop the villagers for a little bit. The fact that I'm the Yondaime's wife might help, but it's human nature to fear what they don't understand. Face it, most of the people in this village will treat him like scum."

He looked at her vehemently, "What do you suggest I do? Leave everyone here to die?"

She had a scared look and set Naruto down, "I don't want you to leave everyone to die, but just think of another way. I'm just saying, you're the Hokage. If you can't find a solution, no one else can." She went to hug her husband, and he went to.

They embraced, as the man she loved stabbed her in the back. As she slowly fell, she silently asked him, "Why?"

He had a look of disdain on his face, "I have to act as a protector. The lives of the many outweigh the life of one." He kissed her forehead as he took away their child from her grip.

Lying on the floor, in a pool of her own blood, Kushina lifted her shirt to reveal the seal on her stomach. She pressed it gently, and as it started to flash, "Damn you Minato. I hope you get yours." She started to fade away into shadows, as the shadows slowly traveled out of the room, following the blond Hokage.

With Minato…

The blond leader was dashing towards the outer gates as fast as he could. "I'm going to hell for this, but, by the time I see you there, Kushina, I hope you forgive me." He increased in speed, using a shortcut through the forest.

As he neared the battlefield, he sensed foreign presences around him. "Damn it, Whirlpool ninja and samurai, along with him." A man landed from the tree he stood on earlier. He had spiked crimson hair, with a scowl on his face. He wore a long dark blue coat. The coattails flew in the wind as he spoke, "So Minato, why isn't my sister wrapped around you like usual?"

He looked to his side, "We had a little disagreement. She's back at Konoha, calming down. I decided to take a walk before speaking to her again." He held onto the baby more tightly, hoping his brother-in-law wouldn't suspect anything.

He shrugged, "I was just wondering if you knew what happened to her, since she pressed her seal to call for help. Luckily we were stopping by to congratulate the lovely couple." He spat out the end as if it were poison.

He grimaced, "Well, if you won't be needing anything else…" He was stopped, as her brother appeared in front of him, grinning widely.

His cold silver eyes met cool blue eyes, "You've got something important in there. Something important to little sis; something I intend to get back." He withdrew a long sword from his sheathe. "This isn't as good as the Fragarach sis has, but it's more than enough to beat you." He leapt to slash at the man.

Reacting just in time, he placed the baby down, and took out a kunai and blocked the slash. "Kaito, you're insane. You were almost going to harm Naruto."

He grinned, "You and I both know that Naruto would have been fine. You're my enemy and all of my attacks hit their mark." He whistled, and the kunoichi from Whirlpool landed to grab the honorable grandson. "Take him back to Whirlpool, and try to find Kushina while you're at it."

He looked around as the Whirlpool forces grabbed the baby from the ground and left in a defensive formation. He was about make his move, but Kaito quickly ran up to slash him again. He dodged, only to be met by a flurry.

Dodging the attacks, "Why are you doing this? I mean, I know you hate me, but why must you take your hatred out on the villagers?"

He smiled a toothy smile. "I'm not big on foreigners, especially one who deflowers my precious sister." He notices the Hokage reach his hand in his pocket, "I know all about your precious Hiraishin technique. I see that what I've heard is true. It doesn't work well in one on one situations or against people who know all about the technique."

"How much did she tell you?"

He grinned madly, "Oh, just about everything, including your techniques, namely the Rasengan technique, which sounds quite nice. Allow me to demonstrate." He withdrew his sword and held up his fist. He took out his hand and shaped a mass of energy into a sphere. The sphere grew wider as the wind around the sphere started to gather more closely.

Minato's eyes bulged out, "How did you add nature manipulation to the Rasengan? It's still in developmental stages!"

He chuckled, "A dead man doesn't need any answers. All you must know is… the north winds have decided your death is now." He charged at him, intending to kill him the same way he nearly killed his sister.

Struggling to move, Minato tossed a Hiraishin kunai in a random direction. He vanished somewhere, but it was too late, as Kaito was right behind him, jamming the shredding wind sphere through his back.

"Damn, I was too weak. Now the Kyuubi will destroy the village." He slowly fell into unconsciousness.

Later…

When Minato woke up, he felt himself tied to a wooden cross. He looked around to see he was on the Hokage Mountains, where he could see the battlefield where the Kyuubi was.

"It looks like the bastard finally woke up." He looked to see Kaito above him, with wings. "How are you doing, scum?"

"Why am I here? I thought you killed me?"

His eyes flashed, "My servants and I thought it would be better for the one you loved try to kill you?" He pointed to the face of the Fourth Hokage. Standing on the face was Kushina, dressed in the same garbs during his dream.

He was flabbergasted, "Kushina, why? I thought you loved me?"

She smiled, "I used to love you, but you changed, so I don't love you anymore. Oh, by the way, the Kyuubi disappeared long after you tried to kill me." She took out her long sword from Minatos' dream. She cut him with the sword, releasing large amounts of blood.

As he finally started to fall silent, he heard her whisper, "Don't worry Minato, I'll take care of Naruto for the both of us."

Kushina, Kaito, their vassals, one whom was holding Naruto, all left the battle-scarred village for the Whirlpool. She seemed to mouth something before she left, but Minato was too weak to understand. Up next was the cold loneliness of death.

End

Well, what did you all think? Please leave a review.

I've made very small changes and added a bit, but most of it is still the same. I hope you all like it.