Konoha was in ruins. The rampage of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had resulted in devastation that was evident from the rubble prevalent in the village. The village had lost many of its ninja; in this one attack, they had lost more ninja than they had in the last shinobi world war. Chief among the losses was Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage. The Sandaime has found him lying in the mud, along with his wife, a deep stab present in their abdomens. They were shielding a blonde child, who had a seal written on his stomach. Sarutobi gently picked up Uzumaki Naruto, heir of the Yellow Flash, and had Inu pick up the corpses. He stopped by his house to clothe the child in warmer clothes. Then, he headed for the council meeting, which he knew would give him a headache.

When Sarutobi reached, he realised he was the last one to arrive. Unfortunately, the civilian council was present as well. Their leader was Yasha Haruno. The other members were largely merchants. The ninja council consisted of the clan heads, and the Sannin when they were there, as well as Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. Immediately, Nara Shikoku rose, and spoke, "Sandaime-sama, we request that you retake the position of Hokage. The old man had expected this. He was the only one with the experience necessary, and also the most powerful Konoha ninja besides Jiraiya. In his peripheral vision, he could see a frown mar Danzo's normally neutral face.

He sat down in the Hokage throne, and he muttered, "Report." Lazily, Shikaku, the Jonin Commander straightened himself, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "Troublesome". In a quiet voice (to minimise the energy he used), he addressed the council: "We have only lost jonin, because the genin and chunin were ordered to stay back. Nonetheless, we lost about 53 jonin, who died in combat. We have also lost about a thousand civilians. Thankfully, the Yondaime minimised the damage by teleporting away the beast."

"Thank you Shikaku. Now, Yasha, how much time will it take for the businesses to recover. Yasha cleared her throat, and stated, "Hokage-sama, I estimate it would take about four years, unless we have aid from the ninja. Could I request some D-rank missions to help rebuild the village?"/

"Granted." Yasha bowed in thanks. At that moment, Fugaku Uchiha asked the question Sarutobi had been dreading. "What happened to the beast?" The Hokage grimaced, and holding up Naruto, gestured to the seal on his stomach. "It got sealed away in this boy." Then, some random civilian yelled, "We must kill the child!"

Before the Sandaime could respond, Hyuga Hiashi replies coolly, "The beast will be released if the vessel is killed. Do not speak so blindly of things you are ignorant about." The civilian councillor looked abashed, but his ideas had clearly spread to many other civilians, who were muttering darkly to themselves. Then, Danzo made his presence known. "Why not weaponise the child?

"No!" the Sandaime nearly cried out, but he stopped when he saw Aburame Shibi about to speak. "If I may, Hokage-Sama?", he asked, always the polite one. Sarutobi gestured for him to continue. "Unfortunately, Danzo-san is correct. We are too weak from the attack. Iwa will no longer be afraid of us, because Yondaime-sama is dead. Other countries will try to take advantage of our weakness. We need to train Naruto-san from a young age, because a jinchuriki has the potential to be great."

Yasha interjected, "But, how can we just thrust a child so quickly into such a bloody business?"

Shikaku responded, "it sickens me as well. But Shibi is correct."

It made Hiruzen's heart sink. He knew that if both the Nara and Aburame heads were supporting weaponisation, it was the right decision. So, unwillingly, he agreed. Danzo stood up. "Well, just give me the child, and I will train him."

Hiruzen turned to his former friend, and with a fake smile, said, "Danzo, what made you think I will entrust the child to you. I need shinobi I can trust." Danzo's sputtering face was an image the Hokage would remember with tears of laughter, for the remainder of his life. After the chuckling had died down, and Danzo had finished glaring at his former friend, the Sandaime continued, "Once he turns four years old, we will begin his training. Inu will teach him ninjutsu, Gai will teach him taijutsu, and Shisui will teach him genjutsu. Until that time, Naruto will stay with me. Meeting adjourned".

As promised, Naruto's training began four years later. However, there was one thing wrong with his chakra. Somehow, he had low reserves, and they were only about the same level as a low jonin. It was a huge shock, because both his parents had massive reserves, and he had the Kyuubi inside him. As it turned out, his genes had mutated, and that resulted in lower reserves. Furthermore, the seal on his stomach was imperfect. It was completely secure, but it completely locked off the Kyuubi's chakra. The silver lining was excellent chakra control, for powerful genjutsu, and even layering them. He took to genjutsu, like a fish to water. In ninjutsu, he quickly learned some clone techniques, the body flicker, and the basic academy techniques. His affinities were a powerful wind and fire affinity, and a minor affinity for earth. Due to his small size, Gai focused on increasing his speed and strength, and taught him the evasive Uzuken style, which focused on flowing past attacks like water. Later, when he was larger, he would learn the offensive style. The same was true for kenjutsu. Naruto would have to grow more, before he could use an offensive style. To make his attacks more lethal, he learned to use poison. When Naruto turned five, he was introduced to a Itachi Uchiha. The Uchiha heiress taught him about stealth, and became somewhat of a role model for him. He began to emulate her mannerism. It made the Sandaime smile, to see the blonde child gravely refer to him as "Hokage-sama". When Naruto turned ten, the village leader decided to test him on his skills.