I don't own Naruto. Happy?
For Those I'll Live For
Prologue
Its night and the air is still, but eerie. The nine-tails fox, with its sharp teeth and claws, is bringing mass destruction upon Konoha, knocking aside ninja like ants. On a faraway rooftop stands the Third and Fourth Hokages, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and baby Naruto.
The group is huddled around the small child while they try to come to a decision about the dilemma at hand: Sealing the nine-tails into Naruto.
The Third speaks up. "Are you sure, Minato? I can do the sealing. I don't have many years left, you know!"
"Minato, the Third has a point," Kakashi agrees, wiping dirt off his knees as he stands up. "The village needs you."
Minato shakes his blonde head and looks at his blonde, blue-eyed child. "No. I've made up my mind. I just need all of you to buy me the time it takes to prepare things."
Jiraiya, the toad sage, places his large hand on Minato's shoulder reassuringly. "You're set in stone about this, aren't you?"
"Yes." Minato's voice is solidified with his decision.
Jiraiya closes his eyes and nods in understanding, his long hair blowing in the slight wind. "Alright. We will buy you the time you need, kid." He messes up Minato's already messy hair before they all disappear in a swirl of leaves, leaving the father and son alone.
"I'm sorry, Son. But how can I ask someone else to make a sacrifice that I wasn't very willing to make?" Minato watches at his son sadly.
Naruto stares at him silently, eyes wide and intelligent, taking in the world.
"Heh. Even as a baby, I can sense that you are strong-willed. I hope that, someday, you will be able to forgive me for what is about to happen." He smiles sadly at his beautiful baby boy.
He holds Naruto and the blonde duo disappears in a swirl of leaves.
The Fourth walks past the village walls with baby Naruto in his arms and summons Gamabunta. The humungous red toad was bigger than any building that was in Konoha.
Gamabunta speaks with a deep, raspy voice. "So, you're going to do it…?" His vest was blowing in the wind and he had his pipe ready for smoking.
Minato nods. "Yes. I have no other choice."
Gamabunta lights his pipe and nods towards the little one. "Is that him?"
"Yeah. He's a big guy, isn't he?"
Instead of admiring the mini blonde further, they both look off into the distance at the Nine-tails, which continued with no signs of fatigue that usually accompanied battles. It was almost midnight and the destruction had started hours ago. The forces were dwindling and the city becoming more and more broken. It seemed as if half of the village had already been destroyed in such a short time.
"This is going to be one for the history books," the large toad says, a slight bit of sadness, excitement, and fear in his voice becoming apparent.
Minato shakes his head. "Nah."
He pulls the pipe out of his mouth. "What do you mean?"
"This battle won't be something for history to remember. This will be the start of a new legend, one that this little one will be a piece of. Isn't that right, Naruto?" He looks at the toad with a twinge of sadness. "I just hope that all will learn to forgive what is to happen and grieve for the lost peacefully."
The Fourth continues to seal the nine-tailed fox into Naruto. It was a defeating, hour-long ceremony that literally drains the life from the sealer. Gamabunta carries the two, the Third, and Kakashi on his back. Minato lies next to his son, coughing up more and more blood as each minute passed. Kakashi and the Third sit next to the boys, unable to help much.
Minato turns toward his son. "Naruto, you should be seen as a hero in the village, though I fear there will be those who do not see you that way," he brushes his son's check softly. "You are the one who holds the demon back every day."
Kakashi looks sadly at the Fourth, his Sharingan and mouth uncovered for the battle. "Minato, your time in this world is not much longer… I will miss you, sensei." The silver-haired junin takes his mentor's hand in his own for a few minutes before letting it go.
"I will too, Minato," the Third says and smiles sadly. "You've cursed me to all that darned paperwork again." He slaps his predecessor's shoulder so lightly, that it could have been a feather brushing against it.
Minato laughs lightly, with as much soul a dying man could. "Funny as always, Sarutobi. Kakashi. I'll miss you too, you scarecrow."
Kakashi and Sarutobi laugh sadly at his attempt to keep the air light, despite the impending death awaiting him.
Minato reaches in his pocket, pulling out a necklace, and pulls a kunai out of his pouch. He runs the necklace through a hole at the bottom of his Hiraishin kunai and slowly reaches over to put the necklace around Naruto's neck.
He smiles at his baby boy. "So that, one day, you will figure out how to use it, and become Konoha's second yellow flash." He pets his child's blonde hair, slowly moving towards his cheek. "May it protect you when you need it most."
With those last words, the Fourth's hand slides from his son's face and whatever life that he had clung to had been drained from him. Tears flow from not only the tiny blonde's eyes, but also those of the Third and Kakashi, their cries matching in their intensity.
An hour later, a council meeting is held with all of Konoha's clans and civilians that had survived the attack in attendance. Almost all of those that had come were screaming for the death of the child held in the Third's arms.
"Enough! We must raise him and find a way for him to lead a happy life," the Third tells the crowd.
A middle-class civilian stands up and shouts rudely at the Third. "It's the nine-tails reborn! We should kill it now before it can escape!"
All those that had called for his death cheer for the idea.
"NO! This boy is to be seen as a hero! Or is there some of you who doubt the Fourth's skill as a seal master?"
There isn't so much as a cough or sneeze as the room was emptied of the shouts and cheers from before.
He asks the question, though he already knows what answers the others will supply him with. "Now. How will the boy be raised?"
The citizens answer his question quickly. "Make him and orphan!"
The Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, stands up and volunteers. "We Uchiha will take the boy in!"
"No," Sarutobi says sternly, quieting the entire room. "He will be placed into the orphanage until he is five years of age, then he can pick if he wants to be put into a clan. Whichever clan he will be placed will be up to him to choose."
The room begins to fill with whispers and quiets down once everybody agrees with the arrangement.
"Then the meeting is dismissed!"
Everybody exits the room quickly, leaving the Third alone with baby Naruto.
"I hope you will be accepted, my boy, but only time will tell of what is held in your future." Sarutobi walks out of the empty room with the child in hand.
Please review! Any comments are very much appreciated! We hope you continue to read