A/N: So... this is my first Naruto fanfic. I've been away from the fanfic world for quite some time, and I figured I'd be back big time starting with one of my favorite manga/anime sagas of all time. One thing about Naruto that is different from many others of its kind is that Kishimoto, even though being able to create a dense and great story, he didn't exactly have the patience to develop on the background of many aspects of the general story. Of course Naruto is nowhere close to something as The Lord of the Rings, of Chronicles of Narnia, but it doesn't hurt, right? The good thing about this is that fans from all over the world have the almighty opportunity to display their imagination and talents as storytellers to create their own backgrounds and try to make their own great Naruto story. And since I'm willing to create my own story, I couldn't let this opportunity pass up.
To keep a few things in perspective, this is just a prologue that explains a bit of the story behind the reason Naruto is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. The story, aside from a few lines, and specially the ending, of my own making, are exactly as portrayed in the manga and the anime (episodes 247~249 of the Shippuuden saga), so it you don't feel like it, you can just go to the next chapter already. But of course, if you feel like it, read it, and then tell me what you think of my writing skills. Besides, there are a few extras in the ending that will be the main ingredient for my own take in the story, so you might not want to skip these just yet.
With that said, let's get this show on the road. I'm SamHetfield, and welcome to my fanfic: The Orange Hokage! Have fun! ^_^
The Orange Hokage
Prologue: The Will of Fire
October 10th, somewhere in the borders of Konoha
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH! THAT HURT, -TEBANEEEEE!". This loud scream could be heard from far away. It was a good thing Uzimaki Kushina, the one who screamed, was not in Konoha, but in a cave nearby guarded by three ANBU chosen by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the former Sandaime Hokage himself, struggling during her childbirth. The Sandaime's wife, Biwako, and a female ANBU medic by the name of Taji were helping Kushina give birth, while Kushina's husband, Namikaze Minato, otherwise known as "The Yellow Flash", and also the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, was using his knowledge of the Uzumaki's fuuinjutsu (Sealing Jutsu) to prevent the Kyuubi no Yoko to come out of Kushina's body. You see, Kushina was the Kyuubi's second Jinchuuriki, the first being Uzumaki Mito, her grandmother's relative and wife to Senju Hashirama, the founder of Konoha and the Shodaime Hokage (but that's a story for another time). Right now, the seal used to guard the Kyuubi inside Kushina was weakened because of her pregnancy. During childbirth, the Kyuubi would definitely try to force its way out of Kushina, hence the reason of Minato being there: to stop the Kyuubi.
"Are you sure she's alright? I've never seen her with so much pain before", said Minato. "Don't you worry about her", said Biwako. "She's fine. You just keep dealing with the Kyuubi's seal!". Kushina kept screaming in pain, and Minato, as her husband, was obviously worried. "But she..." "You are the Yondaime Hokage, so act like a Hokage already!" responded Biwako. "Any man would've already died with these contractions. But women are strong!" Both Kushina and Minato could feel the Kyuubi trying to weaken the seal even more and break free. "Ugh... This thing is really strong... Please, hang on, Kushina", thought Minato. "Please, hang on, Naruto!" said him out loud, worried about their son. Meanwhile, a cloaked and masked man single-handily killed the three ANBU guards and looked at the entrance of the cave, while walking towards the wall and passing through it, like a ghost.
"I can see the head. You're almost there, Kushina!", said Biwako. "Hang on, Kushina", said Taji. Kushina was screaming and moaning in pain more and more, while the Kyuubi was getting closer to break free. "Come out, Naruto! And you just stay there, Kyuubi!" said Minato, struggling against the mighty Bijuu. Until... a baby started crying. Naruto was finally born. "Hot water, quick!", said Biwako. At this moment, Kushina stopped screaming and started panting heavily, while dropping a few tears, of both pain, relieve and utter bliss. Minato gazed in wonder to the new face. "It's born!". The baby was crying on the top of his lungs, as a result of the pain of the first breaths of life he was taking. Minato also cried, but just like Kushina, he was crying for joy. "I can't believe I'm becoming a father today!", said while wiping off a few tears, with an ear-to-ear smile.
"It's a healthy baby boy", said Biwako, while walking with Naruto towards Kushina. Minato wanted to hold him, but Biwako stopped him. "Don't! The mother gets to see him first". She approached Kushina and put the crybaby beside her. Kushina looked at her son in wonder. "Naruto... I'm so happy can finally see you". "You two will have plenty of time later. Hush it now, little one", said Biwako, taking Naruto to the end of the room to put him in a proper place to rest. Minato approached Kushina and picked her warm hand. It was sweating, due to her hard work. "How are you feeling now, Kushina?", he asked. "I feel fine now, Minato", answered Kushina, smiling at him. Minato could only smile back at his wife. "Thank you for this wonderful gift... ... Yosh!" said him, fisting his palm, as he was preparing himself. "I know you just got out of labor, but I'm going to reinforce the seal and stop the Kyuubi from trying to get out!" He was about to perform the reforging of the seal, when Naruto started crying, while the other two women screamed and fell dead on the floor. "Biwako-sama! Taji!" was all Minato could say.
"Yondaime Hokage Minato, get away from the Jinchuuriki", said the masked cloaked man, holding Naruto with one hand and threatening his life with the other. "Otherwise, this child's new-found life will be lost in just a few moments". Minato wondered who this man was and how in the world did he pass through the barriers. Suddenly, Kushina started moaning in agony, while the seal was getting weaker, since Minato didn't reinforce it. "Kushina!" shouted Minato. "Damn it! Kyuubi's seal...", he thought. "Get away from the Jinchuuriki. You don't care about having your newborn child killed this instant, do you?", said the masked figure, wielding a kunai ready to kill the baby. "Wait! Calm down!", said Minato, not calm at all. The mysterious figure just answered "Say for yourself, Minato. I'm as calm as one can be". In this moment, he threw Naruto up high. Kushina gasped in horror, yelling "NARUTO!". The cloaked man jumped, ready to kill the child, when Minato reacted. In a blink of an eye, Minato was in the corner of a wall, holding Naruto in his arms. The masked man could only fall on his feet, while he said: "You really hold up to your name, "Yellow Flash"... but what are you going to do about THIS?", while making half a ram seal, activating a few explosive tags stuck in Naruto's blanket. Kushina noticed the blanket quickly catching on fire and only had time to shout "Minato! Naruto!" before they disappeared in mid-air.
Minato, on the other hand, had time to listen to his wife shouting, teleport to a warehouse, get rid of the blanket and jumping out of the now crumbled in pieces warehouse. Naruto was crying in his arms, but didn't seem to be hurt in any way. Minato sighed relieved. "Thank goodness you're safe, Naruto". Minato noticed a stack of wood stuck on his leg, and he quickly removed it, hurting just a little. "I had to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu to make out of this", thought Minato. "But because of that, I had to separate myself from Kushina, who happens to be that man's target. I must hurry". By the time he had these thoughts and threw the piece of wood he held to the ground, he already used the Hiraishin once more, this time arriving in a house, which probably belonged to him and Kushina, and now Naruto. Minato put the now sleeping Naruto inside a large cradle and whispered at his ear. "I managed to save you. Now you stay here, son, while I'll go save your mother".
Meanwhile, Kushina was being held by chains made of writings of her seal, and too weak to move because of the labor she's just been through. "What... do you... want?" asked her, panting heavily, to the masked man. He answered "I'll remove the Kyuubi from you, and with it, I'll destroy Konoha". Kushina could only flinch slightly to his answer. "What?" "Minato's Shunshin no Jutsu allows him to move instantly from one place to the other, teleporting between his marking. I'm sure that he put a marking in you as well, so he could protect you. However, I managed to separate you. Not only that, due to your labor, the seal holding the Kyuubi is weaker than ever", said the masked man. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this?". In a short moment, Kyuubi's seal started to be ripped apart, and Kushina was surrounded by a red cloak of chakra. On the inside, Kyuubi was getting rid of its chains, and it's sharp iris was altered to a round iris with three commas surrounding it, resembling the masked man's weird eye pattern. The masked man was making half a ram seal for concentration, and then he said: "Now... be free... KYUUBI!". The red chakra took the Fox's format and started leaving Kushina's body and forming a physical body of its own. Kyuubi spread its tails and gave a loud roar, announcing it's "freedom". In reality, the demon was just as imprisoned as before, only now it was in a physical form. Kushina's remaining red chakra teared itself apart and left her body falling to the ground.
The masked man looked at the demon and stayed calm and collected as he turned on his back and said: "Great. Now I'm going straight to Konoha". As soon as he started walking, he heard a faint voice saying "Wait". He stayed his feet and looked at Kushina, surprisingly alive, even though the Bijuu just left her body in a brutal way. "The Uzumaki clan is truly amazing indeed. To be alive even after having your Bijuu extracted...", said him. In this moment, the Kyuubi glared at Kushina, with its new eye pattern, as it was being controlled. And in fact, it was. "You were the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. Now, I will use it to kill you". The Kyuubi, then, slammed its fist to the ground where Kushina was standing. There was nothing left but crumbles. Suddenly, in the top of a nearby tree, Minato appeared holding Kushina in his arms. He made it just in time. "And so, a little flash of hope appeared... But it's too late now", said the masked man, looking at Minato, emotionless. Kushina was weak and panting as strongly as she could. Despite being exhausted, she still had the strength to ask "Minato... is Naruto okay?" "Yes, he's safe now", answered Minato. Kushina was relieved. "Thank you... ... Listen, Minato. You need to stop that man and the Kyuubi right now. He's going straight to Konoha intending to destroy it". Minato glanced at the masked man with a really menacing killing intent before Hiraishing his way out of the field. The masked man just said, calm as ever: "He took off again. Well, never-mind. I'm going to Konoha now".
Minato and Kushina arrived the their house. Kushina could only whisper "Why?", as Minato carried her close to the cradle where Naruto was sleeping. "It's alright now", said Minato. "Just stay with Naruto for now". Kushina was put beside Naruto, who was sleeping peacefully. She could only look at him and slowly embracing his small body close to her, as she was close to crying, fearing for his life. "Naruto..." was all she could whisper to her newborn son. Minato looked at them with sadness in his eyes and anger in his closed fists. He almost let the ones he loved die, and he could not forgive that masked man. He quickly opened his drawer and picked his white cloak. On the back, the words "Yondaime Hokage" were written in strong red, and the bottom part of the cloak had red fire drawn in it. Kushina looked at her husband and whispered "Minato... thank you. Be careful, okay?". Minato nodded and Hiraishin'd towards Konoha saying "I'll be right back".
Meanwhile, in Konohagakure no Sato...
The streets were bright, even at nighttime, and the people were cheerful all around the village. You could see children playing in their houses, young couples hanging out on the streets, adults having fun in the night pubs and shinobis practicing in the after-hours. Nothing seemed to be wrong at the village founded 88 years ago by Senju Hashirama, the Shodaime Hokage. But there was still something in the air. Something dark and cold. Like the calm breeze before the storm. Then it came. The masked man appeared in a calm street, formed the seals and activated the KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU! Before anyone noticed, a large puff of cloud came forth, backing off a few people and tearing apart a few debris, due to the strength of the explosion. Some people who were knocked off started raising. The voices were already being heard around Konoha. "What was that?" "Where did this puff come from?" "Did someone use a Kuchiyose?" could be heard everywhere. As the puff of could started to disappear, a huge figure could be seen and a growl could be heard. A random man noticed the figure moving, its red eyes shining in the mist, and also saw a few tails waving around. "Is that... No... It can't possibly be...", said him, stunned. When the puff of cloud cleared off, the figure could be clearly seen from anywhere in the village. The man just had time to yell out loud "KYUUBI!" before he paralyzed in fear again. People started running in panic, fearing and screaming for their lives. The masked man raised his head and commanded "Now, go forth Kyuubi! Raze Konoha to the ground!" The Kyuubi could do nothing but obey, while it started tearing off buildings with a wave of its claws and tails, and even its loud roar. People were being torn apart and killed, and in a few seconds, a whole district was left in crumbles.
Meanwhile, an ANBU-nin arrived at Sarutobi's house and gave his report. "Sandaime Hokage-sama, it's an emergency! The Kyuubi... The Kyuubi just appeared from nowhere inside Konoha ans it's tearing the village apart!" "I'm aware of that. I'll do what I can to stop it!", responded the Sandaime, getting his battle gear ready. "You go ahead and rescue and evacuate the civilians!" "Yes Sir!", answered the ANBU-nin before taking off. Hiruzen was lost at his thoughts. "Kushina's seal teared apart? Despite every precaution, we still failed...? ... ... Biwako...". However, these answers would have to be put aside. The Sandaime rushed to the attack site, where the Kyuubi was razing everything to the ground. Many shinobis were attacking the Fox from every corner, with all assets, jutsus and weapons available. But it was futile, because they couldn't even scratch the Bijuu, while it raised its fists and tails to kill all ninjas nearby. "It's too powerful!", said one. "It can't be defeated!", said another. A third shinobi said: "It's not about defeating the Kyuubi. We can only distract it so the civilians can evacuat-" but he was interrupted by Kyuubi's giant fist smashing the three shinobis.
In this very moment, standing above his statue in the Hokage monument, was Minato, his eyes fixed on the Kyuubi and Konoha. His thought was just one: "As the Hokage, I'll gladly give my life to protect my friends, my family and my village. Because that is my one and only task. I won't let you do as you please anymore!" The Kyuubi, then, gazed its eyes on the Hokage monument and started preparing for an all-out attack. "So it noticed me", said Minato, preparing a few hand seals. "You will not go further!" By the time we prepared the seals, the Kyuubi let out its Bijuudama towards Minato, who in the same second stopped the chakra sphere, and absorbed it with the Jikuukan Kekkai. The next moment, there was a huge explosion a number of miles away from the village. "It's really that powerful...?" Minato thought. "I have to be careful where I land the next one." Inside Konoha, Sarutobi yelled "Okay, now it's our time to hold the Kyuubi back! GO!". Minato was standing at the shinobis fighting, while preparing to leave the Monument and report to Hiruzen-sama, when suddenly the masked man appeared before him. Before he noticed, he tried to land the kunai in the man's head, just to go right through it, like a ghost. Suddenly, the masked man grabbed Minato's hand. "I'm your opponent now... and it's over for you!", said him, performing a strange jutsu that was trying to suck Minato in some sort of alternate dimension. He would have been successful if it wasn't for Minato's Hiraishin. "He's gone again. He's really fast", said the man to himself. "Next time he won't be so lucky. The moment I touch him, he's finished".
Minato arrived in the crumbles of the warehouse he first Hiraishin'd with Naruto. He fell on his side doing that, while thinking to himself. "My attack went right through him, yet he materialized himself after that to grab me... What sort of jutsu was that?" The moment he was done thinking, the masked man teleported himself and was standing before Minato. "I won't let you escape", said the masked man. His mask was being kissed by the moonlight, so his eye could be clearly seen. It was a Sharingan. Minato went back into thinking. "He teleported himself? Is that how he reached Kushina so quickly...?" then he started tying the knots one after another. "He killed 3 ANBU members chosen by Sandaime-sama himself, went right through a high-level barrier, and knew about the conditions of the Kyuubi's seal during childbirth... Not only that, he broke the seal, tamed the Kyuubi and also went in and out of the Konoha barrier without being detected once... I know only one shinobi in the world capable of knowing all he knows and doing all he did..." Then Minato broke the silence. "Are you... Uchiha Madara?" The masked man took of his hood, showing a bit of his short hair. "No, that's impossible.", said Minato. "He died a long time ago."
"Well... I wouldn't be so sure about that", said the masked man. Minato kept going. "Right now, I don't care anymore about who you are. But I do want to know what is your goal with Konoha." The masked man raised his head to glance at the moon and answered "You may say it's mere vagary, or that I planned it all, or that I'm aiming for war, or that I'm aiming for peace.", said him, while he picked a couple of chains and locked them in his arms, as an ensnaring and strangling weapon. "Whatever the reason is, he's not just anyone", thought Minato. "He's able to control the Kyuubi, and his teleportation technique surpasses mine and Nidaime-sama's. And his ideals are dangerous. I need to deal with him now, or the Kyuubi will be a smaller thing to handle than him." Seeing "Uchiha Madara" getting ready to attack, Minato thinks a bit more. "If I make my way to Konoha now, he will follow me and the battlefield will become even more chaotic. If he has something to do with Madara, I know he will not be able to hold the Kyuubi much longer. I have to leave Konoha in the hands of Sandaime-sama. As for me...", as he handles his tri-pronged kunai in a ready stance, "I have to deal with him here and now!" The masked man takes a step back and says "Now that I have the Kyuubi under my control... You don't have any hope!" The two shinobis jump at each other.
Minato puts his kunai in front of him in an attempt to stab the masked man, but once again he just passes through him like a ghost. The next moment, the masked man uses his chain to try to ensnare Minato, but the Yondaime easily escapes using the Hiraishin. Putting some distance between them, Minato goes back into thinking. "His body... My physical attacks don't seem to do anything against him, but he materializes himself in order to attack me. It looks like I can only damage him if we both attack at the same time." While Minato kept thinking, the masked man prepared himself for another attack. "It might be dangerous when he attacks me, though. And considering the fact that the Kyuubi's Kuchiyose will be over soon, I don't think he wants this battle to go any longer either. The one who attacks a millisecond faster... wins this battle!", these were Minato's last thoughts, as they charged against each other again. This time, Minato threw the kunai against the masked man, passing right through it again. The masked man was also getting ready to grab Minato's arm and suck him to wherever he was attempting to before. Every single fraction of second mattered and no mistakes were allowed. In the exact millisecond the kunai went through the masked man's head, Minato had a full-powered Rasengan ready. The masked man was a just few millimeters close to grabbing Minato's arm. "It's over", he said. In the blink of an eye, Minato Hiraishin'd himself right above the masked man, and slammed him with the Rasengan, creating a huge crater on the ground.
"Dammit! He teleported himself to the kunai he just threw!", thought the masked man. "That was my Hiraishin no Jutsu – Level 2", said Minato, placing a strange mark on the spot he attack with the Rasengan. All that was left of the attack was a few rock piles and a cloud of dust. The masked man jumped away from the crater and stepped on a column of earth, panting in exhaustion. His left arm was heavily damaged, to the point his hand was falling off, like a leper. He looked as Minato raised from the ground, without a single scratch. "Yeah, you got me", said the masked man. "I know a good dodge when I see one. I should have never left my guard op-" before he finished talking, Minato appeared in front of him instantly, stabbing him in the gut. "Hiraishin no Jutsu...", he though. "I see... he placed a seal on me, somewhere!". Suddenly, a circle of seals appeared on top of his cloak. The masked man gasped. "Keiyaku Fuuin?", he though again. "He intents to break my control over the Kyuubi!". "Yes", said Minato, like he was reading his mind. "With this jutsu, the Kyuubi will no longer be yours to control." Minato completed the jutsu and the Kyuubi was set free. One could see Kyuubi's eye turning from a Sharingan-like pattern to the cat-eye pattern. As the Kyuubi awakened, the Bijuu started wreaking more havoc through the village. Sarutobi called a few ANBU shinobis to trace their strategy. "We need to stop the Kyuubi to increase the damage of the village. Let's force its way out of Konoha!" "Yes, sir!", said the group. "While I prepare my jutsu, you will distract the Fox. But me some time, and don't stop attacking!", said Hiruzen. "Yes, sir! C'mon, let's go!", said one of the shinobis. They all advanced towards the Kyuubi, throwing all sorts of weapons and using the most advanced jutsus possible. Meanwhile, Hiruzen bit his finger to draw some blood and made a few hand signs. "Ninpou: Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forth, Enma, King of Monkeys!" a large pile of cloud appeared, and from it, came a large monkey warrior, with a Konoha hitai-ate. "Kyuubi, huh... So the seal was broken?, asked Enma. "Yes", answered Sarutobi. "And we will push it away from Konoha with the Adamantine Nyoi!" "Got it! Henge!", said Enma, transforming itself in a large bo-staff. Sarutobi then aimed the staff and the Kyuubi. "Extend!". The staff started extending itself until it hit the Kyuubi with a very heavy impact that pushed for a long distance. "Okay, I make the Kyuubi leave the village! Now keep attacking and don't stop!", shouted Hiruzen, making a large number of shinobis attack the Kyuubi, while he was lost in his thoughts. "Minato... where are you?"
Meanwhile, the masked man jumped on the branch of a tree, while his limbs were still rotting to the ground. "You make justice to your title, Yondaime Hokage", said him. "You were able to hurt me and set the Kyuubi free. My congratulations. However, one day the Kyuubi will be mine again. I'm going to rule the world... and there are many ways to reach my goal", said him while disappearing from Minato's sight. Minato looked as the man vanished and thought to himself "This feeling and his tone... he's not kidding..." Now he was set off to stop the Kyuubi, which was killing many shinobis. He Hiraishin'd to the Hokage Monument, and saw the Kyuubi preparing another Bijuudama, while the other shinobis were too weakened to dodge it, least of all stop it. "Oh no", thought him. He made the hand signs for the Kuchiyose no Jutsu and just as the Kyuubi was almost dome preparing the attack, Gamabunta, the Boss of the Toads of Mt. Myoboku, was summoned right above the Bijuu, landing on top of it and preventing the attack. Minato remembered that the masked man wanted the Kyuubi at any cost, so he thought through what he'd have to do to stop the Fox and the masked man. "Kushina... please forgive me". He looked at Gamabunta and said: "Please, hold the Kyuubi just a bit longer! I need to focus a lot of chakra to teleport something this big!". Gamabunta replied "I don't know, kid... This is gonna be tough, even for me!". Kyuubi was preparing for another Bijuudama, which no one could avoid being hit. The Bijuu was already charging the blast when suddenly it disappeared. The Hiraishin was successful. Suddenly a huge explosion was seen far away. "Over there! Let's move!", said Hiruzen.
The Kyuubi was on the floor, with a huge cleared field in front of it, showing the destruction left by its attack. In a moment, Minato appeared again, carrying Kushina and Naruto. Minato looked tired and about to faint due to chakra exhaustion. But he was persistent. "I need to put a barrier seal right away!", he said. "But my chakra reserves..." "Don't worry, Minato. I can take it", said Kushina, who was having internal bleeding. She was about to die due to the fact she had her Bijuu extracted and her chakra coils were heavily damaged. She forced her last bits of strength to extract many golden sealing chains, that surrounded a large area and rendered the Kyuubi motionless. Kushina started coughing blood, and because of the noise, Naruto woke up and started crying. "I woke you up, didn't I? So sorry, Naruto", said her, panting heavily." "Kushina...", said Minato, with sadness in his eyes. Kushina looked at Minato and, very weakened, said to him: "I'll die here... and take the Kyuubi... with me. That way... we can delay... its resurrection. With my remaining chakra... I'm gonna save everyone... Thank you so much... for everything you did to me..." Minato flinched as he listened to her words. He bit his lips, made up his mind, and answered: "Kushina... Thanks to you, I was able to become the Yondaime Hokage. Thanks to you, I became a man. And the father of this child that I'm holding! And still..." "Minato...", rebutted Kushina. "Don't look at me... like that... I'm happy... that you loved me... And today... it's this child's birth day. And I can already tell... that our lives as a family... the three of us together... would be priceless... " At this point, Minato was already crying. "If there is one thing... that I truly regret...", said Kushina "is not being able to see... my dear Naruto growing... If only I could be able to..."
"Kushina...", said Minato. "you don't need to die with the Kyuubi. Save whatever little amount of chakra you have...for your reunion with Naruto". These words made Kushina widen her eyes and look at Minato, surprised at him. "I'm sealing you inside Naruto with the bit of chakra I still have... as a part of the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki. And with that, I'll be taking the Kyuubi with me with the only Fuuinjutsu I can perform since I'm not its Jinchuuriki... the Shiki Fuujin." Kushina knew where this was heading to. "But Minato, those who use this jutsu end up..." "But there is one more thing. I'll only be able to seal half of Kyuubi's chakra within me. It's physically impossible to seal such a large amount of chakra like that. And it's not strategically wise. If you die with the Kyuubi here, there won't be a Jinchuuriki able to contain it when it resurrects, and the balance of the Bijuus will be disrupted. Half of Kyuubi's chakra will be sealed within me forever with the Shiki Fuujin. And the other half..." at this moment, Minato reminds his conversation with his master Jiraiya, about the "Child of the Prophecy", who is to appear at a time of chaos to bring peace to the world, and looks at his son, a new-born, ready to rest this fate in his little shoulders. "...will be sealed within Naruto as part of the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki!" Hearing this, Kushina gasped. "I know what you want to say. But don't forget Jiraiya-sensei's words about what calamities with befall the world in the future. Tonight two things were clear to me: First is that the masked man who attacked you is a messenger of destruction. And second is that the only one with the power to stand against him is this child! … This child, whose godfather is Jiraiya-sensei, will open the path to light as Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. I'm not sure why, but I'm convinced with that." "But, Minato...", said Kushina, watching as Minato put Naruto on the ground.
Sarutobi arrived at the scene, and saw Minato performing many hand signs. "Shiki Fuujin!" With that, Minato summoned the Shinigami, that was standing behind Minato, holding a dagger in the mouth and a rosary in the left arm, and there were spiritual candles lit surrounding Minato's soul. Minato looked at Naruto, and said with conviction: "Let's deposit our trust and our future within this child. After all, he is our son!" "Those hand signs... It can't be... Shiki Fuujin!", said Hiruzen, who could only stand and watch the scene. Minato looked at Kushina and said to her: "When I'm finished, I'm sealing your chakra within Naruto. When the time comes for him to control Kyuubi's powers as a true Jinchuuriki, I want you to help him". Kushina started crying as she said: "This... this is our son! That's exactly why I don't want him to bear such a burden! And why use the Shiki Fuujin? All of this so I could meet my grown-up son for just a little while... You don't need to die! I want you to be with him, and look after him...Why do this? To maintain the balance of the Bijuus? To protect the village, and the country? Why must Naruto be sacrificed as well?! Why must you sacrifice yourself for me?!" She was looking at Minato with anger and sadness in her eyes, and hopefully waiting for his answer. "To abandon your country and village...", said Minato. "Such acts are just as bad as abandoning your child. You of all people should know how, since your homeland was destroyed, that those who don't have a homeland have a life full of suffering. And you should also now that our family is... a family of true ninjas!" Minato looked at Kushina, as she looked at him knowing that he meant. "And finally, even if I did live, I wouldn't stand a chance against you; Even if you have little time to talk with him, it's your responsibility as a mother to tell him things only you could be able to tell him and I couldn't. Remember that I'm not doing that just for you, but also for Naruto.", said Minato, picking Naruto and holding him in his arms. "And as his father, I consider a duty and an honor to sacrifice my own life for his sake."
Hiruzen approached the barrier and tried to trespass it, but with no avail. "What is this, Sandaime-sama?", asked one of the Jounins following Sarutobi. "Damn it", said Sarutobi. "This barrier meant to lock the Kyuubi also prevents anyone from entering it. They intent to take care of the Kyuubi by themselves... This is not good." Suddenly, the Shinigami raised its arm and trespassed Yondaime's soul, and them made its way to the Kyuubi, with the intention of grabbing half of the Bijuu's chakra and sealing it inside Minato. "Damn you, Yondaime Hokage!", said the Kyuubi. "Fuuin!" Then a massive fox-shaped amount of chakra made its way inside Minato's stomach, forming a seal and leaving a few burns. "Damn... I'm losing my senses already...", thought Minato. "I knew I would seal a huge amount of chakra, but this is way beyond my expectations..." Kushina's chains started to weaken, as the Kyuubi also became weakened. "So this is the Shiki Fuujin... he really meant to use it...", said Sarutobi, as he watched the scene. One of the Jounins noticed the Kyuubi still moving. "How is the Kyuubi still able to move?", said him. "It's a bit smaller, but it looks like the seal was not completed. What does this mean...?" Then, Minato summoned some sort of ritualistic cradle. "Excellent. Now it's time for the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki!", said him, picking Naruto and putting him on the cradle. "I'm going to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto" "What is he trying to do now...?", thought the Kyuubi. "Can it be... the Ritual Altar? He intents to seal me again... and inside this puny baby?!" As the altar was ready, Kushina started coughing more blood and panting more heavily. She was not going to last for long. "Kushina! Are you alright?", shouted Minato, rushing to her. In this moment, the Kyuubi saw its chance to kill the baby and prevent another sealing. But he didn't count on both Kushina and Minato standing on the way, being impaled by the Bijuu's giant claw, preventing it from reaching their son.
"I just... told you...", said Minato, coughing blood. "that... this is my duty... as his father..." "I know...", said Kushina. "but I am... his mother, so... this is my duty, too...". Hiruzen and the other Jounins following him could only watch, unable to do a thing to help. Sarutobi noticed the altar, and looking closely, he noticed something else. "Is that... a baby?", said him. The other Jounin noticed. "Yes, it is. They're protecting him!" The Kyuubi was motionless, since the chains were trapping it again. "Damn you two...!" thought the Bijuu. "This is... the first time I lose... a discussion with you... Minato.", said Kushina. "Okay... I understand that... you really are set... on doing this..." "Thank you, Kushina", answered him. Minato picked a small amount of blood dripping from his mouth, made a few hand signs and performed a Kuchiyose no Jutsu, summoning a strange toad with a twisted belly, as it was compressed. The toad freaked out when he realized where it was. "OH MY GOD, THE KYUUBI! And the Yondaime too?! What's the meaning of this?!" "Gerotora," said Minato. "I want you to keep safe the key of the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki lock. And then, take it to Jiraiya-sensei and store yourself within him, understand?" Hiruzen listened to Minato and finally realized. "Now I see... Minato intent to save Konoha by making his son a Jinchuuriki and keeping the key in safe hands!" Gerotora extended his belly to reveal the giant scroll contained within him, holding the formula of the seal and the key lock. "You have my word, Yondaime. I will keep the key safe with me. And I''ll be sure to deliver that one other thing too. I will be leaving now!", said Gerotora, placing his hands together and disappearing in a puff of cloud. "That should be enough for now...", said Minato. He noticed as the Shinigami was already hungering for Minato's soul. "Kushina, my time is up. I'm going to start the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki now. I'm putting some of my chakra as well inside Naruto for security measures. It will be long until we can see him again. I already have a few things arranged, but he might want to say a few things in person and now is the time." "Okay, then...", said Kushina. She took a deep breath and started saying her final words to her beloved son.
"Naruto... Don't be a stubborn boy, okay? Eat healthy, nutritious food... and make profit of your sleep-time... Don't forget to take showers... and keep yourself warm... whenever you need to. And as I mentioned... if you want to make profit... of your sleep-time... don't stay up until late... and make friends... You don't need a whole lot of them... Just a handful should be enough... if you can manage... to find friends... in who you will really trust. Don't repeat my mistakes... study a lot and learn and practice as many ninjutsus as you can. Remember that... everyone is different... and people have good and bad characteristics... so don't be upset... if you can't work something out... When you go to the academy... please respect your senseis and senpais. Oh, and another really important thing... it's about the Three Taboos of the ninja. First, be careful with your money loans and borrowings... save your money from the missions for the important things in life... Second, no drinking until you're 20... and drinking too much will ruin your health, so be moderate... And last, but not least, are women. Since I'm a woman, I can't really say much on the matter, but... Don't you ever forget that this world... is made of both men and women... So it's just natural that one day... you will be interested in girls... but please don't go for the bad ones. Find someone like your mother... And about the Three Taboos... be careful with Jiraiya-sensei, okay, tebane?" Minato couldn't help but smile at this statement. Kushina started panting heavily and crying "Naruto... from now on... your life... will be full of pain... and suffering... always be true to yourself... have many dreams... and make them come true...! And there's so much... so much... and so much much more I wanted to tell you if I had the time...! And I wanted to spend... just a little more time... with you... I love you! I love you so much... Minato, sorry for using so much of your time...*sob*" "No, that's okay...", said Minato. "Naruto... what I wanted to say to you as your father is... that... well... it's basically the same things your paranoid mother said..."
"Hakke no Fuuin Shiki..."
Sometime later, in the outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato...
Sarutobi Hiruzen was not crying. Being as experienced as he is, he didn't shed any tears. But his heart was as heavy as a stone, as he was heading towards his beloved village, along with a number of shinobis behind, all of them physically and emotionally broken, since they stood up to the Kyuubi, but little could do to save their beloved Hokage. Ahead of him, four ninjas were carrying the covered bodies of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, Hiruzen's successor of the Will of Fire that protected Konoha every day, and Uzumaki Kushina, his beloved wife. Just a handful of people knew they were married, being them Hiruzen himself, Hatake Kakashi, one of Minato's students, Jiraiya, his teacher, and a select number of friends. And even a smaller number of people were aware of Kushina being pregnant, and even less people knew who the father was. The civilians and the majority of shinobis just assumed she took a important role in helping Minato killing the Kyuubi (the fact that the Bijuu was sealed inside their baby, Naruto, was to be concealed for now, while the fact that he was the Yondaime's son was to be concealed for Kami-knows-how-long), so she was praised as one of the main protagonists of this fateful evening as the bodies passed through the main gates, receiving cheers, but also tears. Hiruzen carried in his arms Minato's great legacy, which went by the name of Naruto.
As he arrived home, he put Naruto in an old cradle. It was the same cradle used for his 2 sons, Shurato and Asuma (A/N: Asuma's brother - which would be Konohamaru's father - never had a name, so I'm just putting the name of an old anime character just for the heck of it :P). He then went to his office desk, sat on his chair and began collecting the thoughts and reminiscences of what was probably the longest night of his life, being the second longest the night he found out the location of Orochimaru's old laboratory, the same night he tried but couldn't kill him, out of pity for his beloved genius student. As he collected the thoughts, he reminded of what he lost that night. Many civilians and shinobis, years of economy, history and legacy of old buildings, stores and libraries, his wife Biwako, his successor the Yondaime and also Minato's wife, Kushina... he lost many precious things and people. But he also gained two things. The first being Yondaime's legacy, the baby who was sleeping in the old cradle. The second, although with a heavy heart, was the fact that he was to be, once again, placed as the Sandaime Hokage of his village. He gained the opportunity to set right many wrongdoings of his life and the lives of the people who lived in Konoha. He, as a member of a older generation than the current, would have the chance to pass on the Will of Fire not to one or two, but to three different generations of shinobis. Konoha's inhabitants would strengthen their bonds for years to come, and times of peace would overcome the previous years of war and pain.
He looked at the newborn Jinchuuriki and couldn't help thinking of the suffering that kid would go through in his life. Hiruzen knew how hard and lonely was the life of a Jinchuuriki. Being hated by its own people, with no family or friends, he knew Naruto's life would be harsh and painful. The worst of all is that he could offer little to no help despite being about to be reinstated as the Hokage, since he knew even though his law would be absolute, people would obey on their heads and mouths but disobey in their hearts, and do what they could to make Naruto's life as horrible as possible. He thought people would go as far as trying to kill the boy, blinded by their hate, hoping they'd take down the Kyuubi along. Sarutobi knew he'd have to place ANBU members to protect Naruto from harm, or from fleeing. As he was lost in his thoughts, a puff of cloud formed behind him. He turned around surprised, fearing for the worst, until he saw it was Gerotora, the toad responsible for guarding the key to Naruto's Hakke no Fuuin Shiki.
"Oh, it's just you Gerotora", said Hiruzen, relieved. "Don't scare me like that, I'm getting too old for this sort of thing". "My apologies, Sandaime-sama", said Gerotora "but Minato-sama wanted me to hand these to you." Gerotora then opened his mouth and took from his tongue three scrolls. "What are these?", asked Sarutobi. "I have no idea", said Gerotora. "I know for sure that this one", as he pointed to the black one "is for you, and you should ready as soon as I make my leave." "Okay, then. I will see what it holds", said Hiruzen. "Thank you, Gerotora." "You're welcome, Sandaime-sama. I'll be leaving, then.", said Gerotora, as he went back to Mt. Myoboku. Hiruzen opened the black scroll and read through its contents. His eyes widened more and more as he kept reading. Apparently, Minato thought about everything beforehand, and this was Hiruzen's trump card for dealing with whatever hardships Naruto would face on his life. He could only smile as he though "Excellent. This should make things easier for little Naruto. Don't worry, Minato, your wish will be granted. I swear on my life and the Will of Fire!"
A/N: So, yeah... Hiruzen received three scrolls, and apparently he is going to use them to help Naruto through his hardships of life as a Jinchuuriki. Will he be successful? What about the obvious council meeting regarding the child's future? What is Yondaime's wish? What sort of events will be turned out by these three scrolls? Find out on the next chapter. Thank you for reading it, and please review. I'll gladly accept suggestions as I go on through the story, and answer questions in the author's note if at all possible. Any grammatical errors will be revised if you guys point it out, since English is not my mother language. Thanks again for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day/afternoon/evening/whatever-dimensional-pattern -you-are-facing-now. Bye! ^_^
