CHAPTER 1 – Beginnings

When the dust finally settled on the night of October 10th, Sarutobi Hiruzen's world was thrown into chaos.

In the span of that one night, he lost his wife, his village lay in ruins, and his successor and the jinchūriki of Konohagakure lay dead, having given their lives to re-seal the Kyūbi no Yōko into their newborn son.

There was no time for the Sandaime Hokage to mourn his losses or lose himself in the sorrow that threatened to overwhelm him. Though the village had suffered catastrophic damage, life had to go on. If not for the civilians and remaining shinobi, but to maintain the illusion of power. If Konoha were to give even the slightest hint of weakness to the enemies lurking outside her great walls and borders, the delicate balance of power forged in the fires of the Third Shinobi War would come crashing down. And with it, Konoha itself.

No, there was no time to waste on mourning. When Sarutobi walked into the Hokage's office and sat behind the very desk he had hoped never to have to sit behind when he first retired, he laid a hand on the ceremonial hat and robes of office that laid neatly folded in front of him. As there had been no immediate successor named by the Yondaime before his and his wife's untimely death, it fell upon the old man's shoulders to retake the position and begin rebuilding anew. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he once more took up the mantle of Hokage.

The first weeks back in power were a blur of paperwork and accounting. Nearly half of his beloved village was destroyed and temporary housing for the displaced citizens was overwhelmed by the strain. A full third of the shinobi forces had laid down their lives to defend the village and desperately stall for the time the Yondaime Hokage needed to deal with the beast, while almost 25% of the civilian populace suffered casualties in the panic and destruction that ensued.

It was thus of the utmost importance to recall all non-vital shinobi from abroad in order to shore up the village's defense and aid in reconstruction. While Konoha's forces had been dealt a massive blow to its manpower, its policy of quality over quantity and emphasis on teamwork would have to be more important than ever. Mission output had to increase by at least 33% as the village worked to prove it had not been affected by the Kyūbi attack as foreign espionage had expected, as well as generate the funds for reconstruction.

Finally, the question of what to do with Uzumaki Naruto, the new jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, had to be settled. While his father Namikaze Minato wished for him to be recognized as the village's savior, Sarutobi knew it was too soon for the recovering village to see him as anything but the Kyūbi made human flesh. Thus, he had decreed Naruto's status as jinchūriki an S-ranked secret and forbid any of the survivors of the attack from disclosing the information. The people were understandably outraged and terrified of the attack that had come out of nowhere, the most powerful of the Nine cutting an indiscriminate swath of destruction in a time of peace. They were out for blood, looking for someone to blame, but Minato's sacrifice had denied them their revenge. Sarutobi's decree was a stopgap measure to be sure, but better that than potential rioting and calls for the child's execution.

He knew that the presence of a jinchūriki was one of a shinobi village's most powerful weapons and deterrents to war. Uzumaki Kushina, the boy's own mother, had been a powerful kunoichi in her own right, wielding the fuinjutsu and Kongō Fūsa (1) kekkei genkai of her clan with deadly grace and power. With her natural ability on top of the power of the Kyūbi sealed inside her, Kushina proudly used her Bingo Book status as an S-ranked kunoichi to defend the village and dissuade foreign attack.

Hiruzen knew that the influence and political might he wielded as one of the Three Pillars (2) could only last so long before the next generation of powerful shinobi came into their own. Until then, he had to lay the foundation for the next generation to thrive and develop. Naruto would have to be the lynch pin of his generation, Hiruzen owed it to his parents to make the most of their sacrifice. Although Kushina left specific instructions to bring the boy to the Uzumaki Temple on the outskirts of the village when he was old enough to join the shinobi forces, he would supplement the boy's training with his own. There would be no doubt Naruto would live up to his potential and surpass his parents, the village's future depended on it.

He would have to enlist the help of his old friend Shimura Danzō for his training. The two of them had a rocky relationship over the course of his term in office as Hokage over ideological differences. Hiruzen kept tabs on Danzō's activities, knowing full well about the development of the ROOT program and the various clandestine activities even the ANBU could not carry out. For all his faults, Danzō was a true patriot – a man that acted in the best interests of the village. He had a certain gift for training young prodigies and turning them into the excellent shinobi their potential indicated they would be, something that would be absolutely necessary if he wanted Naruto to grow strong enough to protect himself let alone the village. With the village in the most dire straits of his illustrious history, perhaps it was time to bury the hatchet.

"Hiruzen, my old friend. Despite recent events, it is good to catch up with you." Danzō said, sipping on his tea. The bandaged old man wore simple black and white robes that hid the various scars and war wounds he had collected over the course of his ninja career. The years had not been kind to him, but he too had been forged in the crucible of war. Danzō was not Hiruzen's biggest rival within the village for no reason, and his mind and skills remained ever sharp even in his old age.

The two most powerful men in Konoha sat in the Hokage's office, ostensibly on a social call over tea. But they both knew how to play the game and knowing each other far better than arguably any other, expecting nothing less than a battle of wits to get what they wanted.

"I'm glad you found time in your busy schedule for a cup of tea with an old man like me, Danzō." Hiruzen chuckled, sipping on his own. He decided to throw the opening salvo. "Tell me, how is your garden doing lately? I hope the attack hasn't done anything to ruin your years of hard work."

Danzō's eyes narrowed imperceptibly at the thinly veiled allusion to his ROOT forces. Typical Hiruzen, going straight for the point. He had never been much for the subtleties of the game, preferring bolder but no less effective tactics even in his old age. "Fairly well. Though the attack did damage a fair portion of the garden, I find my plants doing better than ever. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that allowed me to clear it of the weeds inhibiting its growth."

"Good to hear, my friend." Hiruzen smirked into his cup.

"What of you, Hiruzen? How fares your... new pet?" An odd choice of words to be sure, but Danzō knew how greatly the Hokage valued his shinobi forces. Danzō thought him the weaker for it, indicative of his inability to make the tough decisions.

"I thought you'd never ask, Danzō. Actually, it's exactly why I've invited you here today."

Danzō raised an eyebrow and peered impassively at the old Sarutobi. "I see you've decided to cut straight to the point, as impatient as ever."

"You and I both know all too well that I was never one for mincing words." Hiruzen chuckled. "Especially in these dire times. The village has been greatly weakened, and I don't think I need to remind you of the enemies that lurk on our doorstep as we speak."

"Indeed. The blow to not only the ninja forces and infrastructure but also the death of our Kage and jinchūriki in the same night would cripple any lesser village. I won't let that happen to us."

"Indeed, and neither will I. I know you're aware of the boy's heritage, of the dormant potential sleeping within him."

Danzō scoffed. "Son of one of the finest ninja our village has produced in generations and an Uzumaki jinchūriki, exposed to the Kyūbi chakra from conception, and the Kyūbi itself sealed into him. Only a fool would be blind to not see the power waiting to be tapped there, Hiruzen."

"I would have him be a worthy successor to the Will of Fire, Danzō. The boy is destined for greatness, I can feel it deep in these old bones of mine. To that end, I need your help, old friend."

Even Danzō could not rein in the surprise he felt, legendary calm all but thrown out of the window in shock. "Oh?"

Hiruzen smiled ruefully. "I know the two of us have rarely seen eye to eye over the years, but the one thing the both of us can agree on is the safety and prosperity of Konoha. I want you to work with me to train the boy. Together, we will forge him into the blade Konoha needs."

"I thought you detested my methods? Yet you would willingly give him into my hands to turn into a human weapon?"

"Naruto needs to be more than a weapon, my friend. We will groom him to be the next Hokage, and for that, he needs his humanity and his empathy just as much as he needs his jutsu."

"You seem to have a great deal of faith in a baby not even a month old, Hiruzen."

"You said it yourself, Danzō. With the sheer amount of potential at his fingertips, the boy can be no less. He will usher in a new age of greatness for Konoha, we will make him into the strongest."

Danzō narrowed his eyes at the Hokage, not quite believing in his grandiose vision just yet. "If, and that is a very large if, I were to agree to this plan of yours, how do you propose we go about that?"

Hiruzen's smile grew slightly larger and he grinned internally. He had Danzō's full attention now, and he knew the grizzled old war hawk was on the verge of agreement. "We will train the boy in everything we know. The ROOT program will give him the skills he needs to fight, and I will groom him in the art of statecraft. He will walk in the light even as his hands are steeped in the darkness of our profession, he will be our greatest legacy."

"I still think you're getting on in your old age, Hiruzen." Danzō stood, walking over to the window overlooking the village. "But if this plan of yours works... Then his will be a legacy that will lead us into the greatness Konoha deserves."

The old war hawk turned to look his friend in the eye with a smirk. "I can't exactly let you do it on your own, you're sure to muck it up somehow and get the boy killed before his time."

Joining Danzō by the window with a smirk of his own, the Sarutobi elder pulled out his pipe and lit it with a burst of chakra manipulation. As much as Danzō liked to deny it, the Will of Fire burned just as strongly in him as it ever did in his youth. Tobirama-sensei would have been proud.

When Naruto turned 7, Hiruzen and Danzō took him to the Uzumaki Clan Temple on the outskirts of the village on Kushina's strict orders. Before she died, she had left detailed instructions to preserve her Uzumaki heritage for Naruto to someday rebuild the clan. Chief among these were to bring her son to the temple in order to receive the legacy of her people.

"Ne, Danzō-ji-sama, why are we going so far from the village so early today? The sun's barely out!" Naruto practically vibrated with the youthful enthusiasm all young children seemed to possess, smiling brightly at the old war hawk as the trio leapt through the forest canopy surrounding Konoha. Clad in a simple white shirt with a red spiral on the right breast and navy blue shorts rather than his usual shinobi gear, Naruto was excited to be outside of the ANBU compound for the first time in a long while.

"Are we going to do more ninjutsu training or something?"

Danzō resisted the urge to palm his face with exasperation, shooting a glance at Hiruzen with a silent plea to do something. As much as he had grown to love the young boy and all his flaws, Naruto remained stubbornly energetic and exuberant despite his best efforts to teach him the stoic reserve he thought a true shinobi should have instead. Instead, Naruto seemed to take great pleasure at flaunting propriety, preferring to referring to the two of them with casual fondness instead of the formalities their stations deserved.

Hiruzen chuckled, taking pity on his friend. "Naruto-kun, we're going to a temple on the outskirts of the village. It belonged to your people, the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto landed on a tree branch and froze, eyes widening in shock as the two old men stopped beside him. "No way... I thought you said the Uzumaki all perished in the Second Shinobi War and that my mother was the last of her people! How could we have a whole temple outside Konoha?"

"Before the destruction of Uzushiogakure, the Uzumaki clan were close allies of Konoha. They built this temple here as a sign of friendship."

"That's incredible! And we're going to explore it? This is the best day ever!" Naruto threw himself at Hiruzen and Danzō, sweeping them up into his tiny embrace.

The old Hokage ruffled his hair with a smile with Danzō throwing in an awkward pat on the boy's back. "Let's get going, Naruto-kun. Today is a big day after all, and I need to get back to the village before long."

Making quick time, they reached the temple grounds as the sun fully rose into the morning sky. The structure had been left untended after the Fall of Uzu and had since fallen into disrepair. Despite that, it still retained a quiet splendor of its own even as the great spiral of the Uzumaki clan stood in front of the entrance. Like a silent colossus, it stood in the clearing resisting the passage of time, a forgotten testament to the splendor of the Uzumaki. Naruto was struck with awe, gazing with a rare somber sadness awe at his clansmen's ruined temple.

Hiruzen led the way inside, heading to the center of the temple where a huge wall stood behind an elaborate raised dais. Hanging beneath three connected Uzumaki clan spirals were several masks, under all of which were ornate black flames. Each mask bore the likeness of a snarling oni except two that hung above the rest. On the right hung the black mask of the dread Shinigami, the God of Death and the Underworld. On the left hung a red tengu mask inlaid with black, white, and gold trim.

Naruto took a hesitant step forward, curiosity overtaking his momentary shock at the awe-inspiring sight. "Hokage-ji-sama, Danzō-ji-sama, what are those masks?"

"Those masks are a part of the legacy of your people, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said. "Mito-sama, an Uzumaki and Hashirama-sama's wife, told me once that the masks were the symbols of the protectors of the clan, used in ceremonies to give thanks to the spirits who first gave chakra to the human race."

"Wow..." Naruto could only whisper with reverence at finally being able to take in a piece of his clan history. The Hokage had done his best to give him a normal childhood, but the combination of his ninja training with the lingering hatred of the villagers toward the container of the Kyūbi had all but taken it from him. He didn't resent the two men for it, but some nights he laid awake at night wondering about how his parents and clansmen were in life.

"Your mother left me very specific instructions to bring you here, Naruto-kun. She wanted you to see this, and to put on the Shinigami mask as all main branch Uzumaki were when they were ready enough to join the ranks of their shinobi forces."

Naruto snapped his head around so fast, Danzō swore he got whiplash and a crick in his own neck just from watching. "W-wait, y-you really think I'm ready to join the shinobi forces?"

"We've taught you all you know, and we've seen your struggles and triumphs ever since you were old enough to grip your own kunai. You've grown into a powerful young ninja powerful enough to give even a chūnin pause. I would say you're more than ready." Danzō said, impassively on the outside but filled with a rare pride he hadn't felt in a long time.

"However, that doesn't mean your training ends here. I want you to experience a normal childhood, and you won't get that in the field." Hiruzen chimed in. "You're old enough now to join the Academy, where you'll be able to grow up around your peers and officially join the shinobi forces upon graduation."

Naruto's face glowed with a happiness and excitement that nearly brought tears to the old Hokage's eyes. "You mean I'll finally be able to make friends my own age? Don't get me wrong - Kakashi-nii, Itachi-nii, Yūgao-nee, and the other ANBU are really cool but... I'll really have friends who're just as old as I am?"

Danzō nodded with a slight frown. "I don't exactly agree with Hiruzen on this, but he thinks it'll be good for you to be around your peers for a change."

The Sarutobi chuckled to himself as he playfully ruffled his surrogate grandson's blond spiky hair. "At any rate, you'll be able to meet new people and experience new things." He took a look into Naruto's eyes, and seeing the unspoken fear there, continued on. "And don't worry about what they'll think. They'll form their own opinions or they'll change their minds about you."

"No apprentice of mine is going to be bothered by a bunch of wet behind the ears brats, either." Danzō chimed in gruffly.

Naruto swallowed the tears that threatened to well up behind his eyes with a wide grin. "Thanks, Danzō-ji-sama, Hokage-ji-sama." he said simply.

Danzō coughed into his fist, clearly uncomfortable with the display of emotions. "Hiruzen, we should hurry up here. We've both got other things to do today."

"Ah yes," the wizened Hokage said, smiling at Danzō's uncharacteristically unsubtle prodding. "Naruto-kun, your mother also asked that I give you a chance to put on the Shinigami mask as well. I'm told it's a part of the rite of passage for main branch Uzumaki shinobi."

At his urging, Naruto approached the dais. Frowning at how high the mask was for his short body, Naruto brought his hands together in a cross shaped hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried.

A solid clone of himself softly appeared next to him in a small poof of smoke, the tightly controlled execution a testament to his hard-earned chakra control and mastery of the jutsu. The clone crouched down and the original Naruto climbed onto its shoulders. When the clone straightened up, Naruto found himself just high enough to grab the mask. As he grasped it to pull it off the peg, the mask was surrounded by a ring of intricate seals that glowed into existence. He marveled at the complexity of the array, not quite fluent enough to fully analyze it but knowing enough to identify the security and blood-recognition core seals. Naruto tried to tug the mask off, but it remained fixed to the wall.

The seals flashed once and faded, causing Naruto and his clone to stumble back as the resistance holding the mask in place disappeared. He hopped off the clone's shoulder, dispelling it as he looked at the Shinigami's eerie snarl immortalized in the mask. A slight chill ran down his spine at the sight of it up close. Hands trembling slightly with excitement, he shook his head to get rid of the nerves and quietly placed the mask over his face.

When nothing seemed to be happening, he turned around to face his two mentors with a slightly puzzled shrug. "Is something supposed to happen now or did I mess up the rit—" The mask flashed with an ominous light, eye and mouth holes glowing like a beacon as Naruto was interrupted mid-sentence. He clutched at his face with a sudden yell of terror and pain. His body rose up, floating into the air.

"Hiruzen, what's happening?" Danzō yelled. He surged forward to help Naruto, only to stopped with an arm across his chest.

"No, don't touch him! It's too dangerous!" Hiruzen shouted back. The two could only watch helplessly as Naruto grasped at the mask. With one last anguished scream, Naruto threw his head back and the mask filled the room with a blinding light. They instinctively covered their eyes, and as the light faded, Naruto collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

(1) Kongō Fūsa – lit. Adamantine Sealing Chains, the name of the chakra chains Kushina could manifest. In this story, I have made this an official kekkei genkai of the Uzumaki for obvious reasons.

(2) The Three Pillars of the Shinobi World – the informal name of the three shinobi bogeymen that lived far beyond the average life expectancy of their profession by the mix of experience, frightening power, and cunning needed to survive that long. Consisting of Hiruzen the Professor (also known as the God of Shinobi), Ōnoki of Both Scales, and Hanzō the Salamander, these three are acknowledged by most as the three most powerful in the Elemental Nations.

And that's chapter 1, folks! I did my best to avoid info dumping, nobody likes a story full of lengthy descriptions of unimportant stuff. If you couldn't tell by the lack of sentence variety, this is my first real attempt at a fanfic, so any feedback regarding style and content would be greatly appreciated.

Some notes about the universe of this story I should get out of the way:

I've skipped over Naruto's training period (from "very young" to about 7 years old at the start of the story) under Hiruzen and Danzō in order to speed along the story. We all get tired of lengthy descriptions of how Naruto learned x jutsu or y fighting style, so I didn't bother. We'll touch on important parts of it throughout the story as showing is more interesting than just telling, but I will say that he isn't blatantly OP because of it... Yet. (heh)

Some more acute readers will notice parallels with this chapter's ending with a certain science-fiction game's central plot device. Do leave a comment if you get it, but if you didn't... Trust that I will elaborate further.

I realize that Danzō might seem out of character, but I believe that's due to the fanon conception of him as a ruthless, scheming bastard. While he does admittedly do some despicable things throughout the course of canon, I've always interpreted him as a pragmatic patriot at heart. Everything he does is for the good of Konoha, and his various power plays are motivated not by a selfish desire to rule, but because he genuinely believes he would be the best leader for Konoha. With this in mind, I believe Hiruzen's renewed friendship and cooperation with him would make Danzō a more agreeable person with the worst of his excesses tempered by Hiruzen's ideals. Not to mention how the working together like a married old couple to raise Naruto (you are now shipping HiruZō OTP) would change him. I think Naruto would naturally use his Talk no Jutsu personality-changing abilities to make him a better guy. At any rate, Hiruzen and Danzō are character foils to each other, and I'll do my best to explore this a little more than the average fanfic. Feel free to disagree in a review or something, but that's what I'm rolling with in this story.

Apologies for the lengthy author's note! Read and Review please, lemme know your thoughts!