Chapter One

Minato smiled warmly down at Kushina as she gripped his hand tightly. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

Kushina cursed loudly. "This is all your fault," she said. "I'm never getting pregnant again."

Minato chuckled and was about to say something when he heard a sudden muffled groan. "I'll be back soon," he told his wife and the midwives with her. Speedily, he left the room.

He frowned when he saw all the guards posted outside on the floor, dead. And they we're all ANBU. His well-honed shinobi instincts screamed at him to dodge and he did just that, not even looking back to see what prompted it.

As soon as he was certain he was safe, he looked back. A man hovered in the air just short of where he had been standing. He wore a black cloak and his face was hidden by an orange spiral mask with only one eye hole. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Minato demanded.

"I am Tobi, and as for why I'm here... Well, you'll soon find out," the masked man said.

"Tobi? What kind of name... Whatever! I'm not letting you get away," Minato said. He reached a hand into his cloak and when he whipped it out, a tri-pronged kunai was sent towards Tobi.

"That wouldn't work," Tobi said.

He didn't make an attempt to dodge. The kunai phased through him, almost as if he wasn't there.

'GenjutsuBunshin?' Minato thought. 'No, that can't be. He talked. So why did it pass through him? It could be..."

Minato frowned before he disappeared in a flash of yellow light. He reappeared behind Tobi, a glowing blue orb of pure energy in his hand.

He stuck his hand, complete with energy ball, into Tobi's intangible body. Not a clone, then. That meant his theory was correct.

"Space-time ninjutsu, huh? Intangibility. You transferred your body to another dimension and you can't be harmed while most of your body is there, " Minato deduced. "I've been working on something like that. From what I know, your intangibility can't last long. What's the limit? Two, five minutes?"

"You really are a genius. But what prevents me from moving?" Tobi said as he floated back from Minato.

"We're at a stalemate, then. This couldn't possibly be what you wanted. Unless you're trying to... delay me, " Minato's eyes widened and he ran back into the room.

The midwives and nurses were all dead. 'Oh no, I shouldn't have left them...'. A second Tobi- It had to be a clone this time. Water clone? Earth clone? Unless he was from, Kami forbid it, Konoha and it was a shadow clone- was standing over Kushina. He slammed a hand onto Kushina's stomach, twisted it- Oh, Kami, he's after the blasted fox. He's going to release it. Oh no, Kushina- and in a burst of red bijuu chakra, the Nine-Tailed fox in all his glory appeared once again in full view of Konoha. Well, first he had to smash out of the building, which wasn't really a problem.

Kushina started to fall as the ground gave way and the bed fell through the destroyed building. Minato flashed to her by way of a Flying Thunder God seal. He held her to his body and flashed to the Konoha Hospital. It was on the other side of the village so hopefully, she would...

"Hokage-sama, what's going on? The Kyuubi is outside... " a nurse said when he appeared but he interrupted.

"Take this woman and make sure she delivers safely. I'll take care of the Kyuubi," he said.

He'd be damned if some masked bastard and an old overpowered fox was going to ruin his son's birth. He didn't let himself dwell on the fact that Kushina was going to die as he flashed to his office. A group of ninja were waiting there, even the ANBU- Are they fools? They're supposed to be protecting the village. Do they need my orders for something as simple as that?- and he growled in irritation at seeing them.

"Hokage-sama, the village is under attack-""The Kyuubi-""It's destroying the-"

"Then distract it till I get there," the Fourth said with irritation.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," they chorused and left.

Minato swept the pile of experimental seals away from his desk- Oh, that's my flight seal. And I was almost done with it- and took out the Forbidden Techniques Scroll. He laid it out on the desk and...

He felt a presence in the room and looked up. The masked man, Tobi, stood there, leaning against tthe wall.

"You!" Minato hissed. "I'm going to kill you,"

"No, you're not. I just came to say goodbye," the masked man said. Minato could almost hear the hatred, hidden under a thin veneer of smugness. "I hope you enjoy my little gift-" he gestured out the window to where the Kyuubi was rampaging, a group of enlarged Akimichis trying to subdue it- "or maybe, not so little. But it's the thought that counts, eh?"

Minato's fists clenched in anger. This man, with his stupid fake name, had infiltrated his village, released the Kyuubi on the village, dooming his wife to death and here he was, making jokes.

"You bastard!"

The masked man waved and ran, phasing through the wall. Minato smashed a Rasengan through the wall and chased after him.

They ran across roofs, like some crazy parkour race, and soon Minato was chasing him out of the village. He had clocked his intangibility to be around three minutes and Tobi had an assortment of injuries that Minato had given him.

Suddenly, Tobi stopped. "Well, this has been fun. I'll see you later." His body twisted in on itself and he disappeared.

He had... vanished? If he had been able to do that from the start, why had he led him on that chase? To keep him from taking care of the Kyuubi, of course. Minato scowled. He was almost out of chakra. The sealing would be a close thing.

He flashed back to the Hokage Tower and looked through the Forbidden Technique Scroll. The Shiki Fuiin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal). A dangerous technique. If everything went right he wouldn't need it. A bitter smile crossed his face. When had anything gone right that day?

He flashed outside. His ninja were attacking the Kyuubi with all they had but even that wasn't enough. It was a force of nature, after all. A being made totally out of chakra and malevolence. The death toll kept climbing.

He attempted to flash the Kyuubi out of the village but it was too big and it wouldn't fucking hold still. "Move back, everyone, "he yelled. His ninja obeyed. He went through seals and slammed a palm on the floor. A massive cloud of smoke almost equaling the Kyuubi in size appeared.

It cleared to reveal a giant toad, wearing a large coat, with a pipe in it's mouth and a giant sword. One look around and the toad's eyes narrowed.

"Summons are not meant to fight bijuu, Minato. You'll owe me big for this, "the toad said.

"I don't need you to fight it. Just hold it still, Gamabunta, "Minato answered.

Gamabunta snorted. "Easier said than done, "he said.

His cheeks briefly puffed out and he fired balls of water at the giant nine-tailed fox. "Water Style: Water Bullet."

The fox's tails slapped away the water projectiles, causing them to burst in midair. Gamabunta took the opportunity to get in close and slammed into the Kyuubi. "Now, Minato."

Minato didn't waste a minute. The drain on his chakra was massive but he telepirted himself, Gamabunta and the Kyuubi to the outskirts of the village.

He flashed himself away moments after and reappeared at the hospital, beside Kushina. Kushina's eyes were closed and her breath came in soft gasps. If she hadn't been an Uzumaki, she would have been dead- Don't think about it. She would die soon. Oh, quit it. You have a job to do- but she had gotten a tailed beast ripped forcefully out of her and delivered a baby. Kami, he loved how strong she was. He walked to the nearby crib and looked into it.

A newborn slept there. Blonde spiky hair and blue eyes like him and Kushina's facial structure. The whiskers must have been the Kyuubi's influence, though. "I'm sorry, Naruto, Kushina."

He flashed back to where he had left Gamabunta and the Kyuubi but even as he did so he felt something was wrong. Someone hitched a ride. Kushina? Dammit, she doesn't have to be here. And then he appeared. Kushina was gripping his arm.

"Let... me fight too," she said, although she looked exhausted. "For Naruto."

Minato nodded.

He surveyed the site. In the brief time he had been gone, Gamabunta and the Kyuubi had completely leveled the surrounding forest.

"Prepare the fox, I'll ready the seal."

Kushina nodded and concentrated. Chains of pure glowing chakra burst out of her stomach and sped towards the Kyuubi. They surrounded him and held him in place.

Gamabunta retreated, looking relieved and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Kushina, I can't seal the whole beast in Naruto, he's too young for that. "

"You can't mean... the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?" Kushina asked.

"It has to be."

"But... Naruto, he'll be alone. You don't have to die. Stay alive for me and for our son... "

"We'll trust the village to take care of him... And he needs to learn how to use the fox's chakra. You saw that masked man. I have a feeling he'll be back. We'll be protecting both Naruto and the village," he slammed his hands together in an handseal. "Shiki Fuiin."

The Shinigami appeared in all his glory behind him. "Let's do this."

The Shinigami's arm extended and caught hold of the Kyuubi. With his knife, he cut the Kyuubi's soul into two, Yin and Yang. Then it withdrew the Yin half into Minato's body. Minato gasped at the feeling of the foreign demon chakra in his body.

He felt his body going numb all over. He turned to Kushina. He summoned a small shrine with a bed in the middle. Then he placed Naruto on it.

He stared to go through the necessary hand signs for the Eight Trigrams Seal.

The Nine-Tailed Fox, although weakened from his separation and a bit crazy from the masked man's control, knew what was going to happen. 'Not again,' he growled inwardly. With as much strength as he could muster, he raised a paw. Then he sent a claw racing at the newborn, intending to kill him before it could happen.

Minato and Kushina dived into the way and the Kyuubi's claw pushed through the two of them. Naruto laid there, safe and unaware. Minato continued the sealing sequence, adding some of his and Kushina's chakra, and finally placed a palm on Naruto's stomach. In a last-ditch effort to stop the sealing, the Kyuubi twisted his claw in their stomachs.

The intense pain did not derail Minato from his sealing but it caused a hand to twitch an inch away from it's original space. Minato noticed but he couldn't change anything. He was out of chakra and he could feel the pull of the Shinigami on his soul.

He and Kushina said their last words to the awake and wailing baby.

-o-o-o-

Hiruzen Sarutobi was an old man and he felt every bit his age as he took Naruto away from the site of his parents' death.

He was going to have to step in as Homage again. He wondered how the Kyuubi had escaped but with Minato and Kushina dead, they would probably never know.

He entered the Hokage Office, sans a wall, and sat behind the desk. Minato's- no, his- ANBU commander came in.

"I want a complete damage report. Also, send for the council, "he requested. "The members still alive, at least. " He needed to inform them of Minato's sacrifice. Although, hmmm, he didn't have to tell them the newly made jinchuuriki was Minato's son. There was Iwa to consider, after all and he also didn't want anyone to pamper the boy. HHis status as the village's saviour would be enough for the village to fawn over him. Best not to add anything else.

He glanced at the sleeping boy. "Naruto Namikaze, you will now be known as Naruto Uzumaki."

-o-o-o-

Nearly eight years later

Naruto Uzumaki was excited. He was finally entering the Ninja Academy. Soon, he'd become Hokage and then, everyone in the village would respect him. They wouldn't be able to ignore him and he'd be the best in nja in the village. But first, the Academy. He wondered what jutsu be would learn that day.

In the next hour, he sat in a chair near the front of the class. The teacher, a man named Isado Matatsu, was tall and thin. His hair was an unremarkable brown colour- maybe he could prank him by painting his hair pink- and his eyes were grey.

"The first thing you need to learn about as aspiring ninja is chakra," Isado-sensei started. "Chakra is a very important thing for ninja. It forms the basis of all ninja arts, even taijutsu which is hand-to-hand combat.

"You are going to learn how to access your chakra. The easiest method for this is meditation... "

Isado-sensei took them outside to a small courtyard with cushions on the floor. "You are going to meditate here and try to access your chakra. Remember what I told you, you should reach into your gut for it. Do not worry if you don't get it on your first try. Most students never do."

Naruto was not going to be most students. He was determined to get it on his first try. At first nothing seemed to happen and Naruto briefly wondered whether Isado-sensei had been wrong but he smothered the thought. He had found his chakra. It was strange though. There was a blue chakra and then there was another red?, no, purple chakra. Yes, purple chakra with streaks of red in it. Isado-sensei hadn't said anything about that.

Or had he? He said chakra was made up of physical and spiritual energy so maybe the blue and purple chakra were those. Which was which, though? It didn't matter. He would take the purple chakra and mix it with the blue one. Just like Isado-sensei said about physical and spiritual energy mixing. He was going to be the first to access his chakra, dattebayo. And then, the Hokage title.

-o-o-o-

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was sitting in his office doing paperwork. He briefly thought about earlier that morning when he had enrolled Naruto into the Academy. The boy had been so happy, Hiruzen was almost guilty.

The boy had not been seen as a hero as he expected. It was the opposite. It was all he could do to keep him from being murdered or mobbed.

The boy had very few happy moments. Hiruzen blamed himself. He had gotten many chances to tell Naruto about his parents, perhaps even reveal it to the village but he had never done it. He was an old coward. But he would do the best he could to help Naruto along on his dream to become Hokage.

Suddenly, he stiffened as he felt chakra he had not felt in eight years. Demon chakra. True, it was somewhat diluted but there was no mistaking it. 'Naruto!'he thought in panic.

He dashed outside the Hokage Office with speed that could be attributed to a man half his age.

The Academy. He entered the courtyard Naruto was in and saw the boy, sitting in a maelstrom of purple and red chakra. 'Oh no.'

-o-o-o-

A/N: And that's my new story. Well, not really mine. The whole idea and chapter was Ficmac's. I'm just going to continue it. I'd appreciate reviews. I hope you all like it.