Chapter One

It was done. He had done it. His life was fading away and his wife was dead and his village was wrecked but damnit he had fucking done it! He had sealed the Kyuubi and he had sealed him good. That monstrosity was never getting out of his Reaper Death Seal. Not only that, the demon's potent chakra would be filtered into his son's coils, increasing Naruto's chakra capacity and boosting his already impressive healing rate and physical condition, courtesy of his late wife's Uzumaki bloodline limit, the Perfect Body Limit.

Thinking of his beautiful wife, Kushina, was enough to snuff out any positive emotions Minato had been feeling at the moment. He looked to her body, feet away from him and surrounded by her (and his) blood, oddly accentuating her tomato red locks. Tear tracks lined her cheeks, originating from her closed eyes, all but dry now in the cool October air. Her waist long hair fanning out around her prone body made her look like an angel.

An angel of sacrifice, perhaps.

Hadn't that been the goddamn story of his darling's life? Sacrificed by Uzu, to appease their allies. Sacrificed by Konoha to contain a taint she had no business being near. Sacrificed by a madman in his quest for destruction. And finally, sacrificing herself to see a beast she was made responsible for before her fifteenth birthday by some old geezers, sealed again.

Such is the life of a Jinchuriki some may say, but when you've been the husband and the father to such 'living sacrifices', such complacent sentimentalities are little better liked than pig's piss to your ears. His wife had been a 'Jinchuriki' and that didn't make him feel any better about her treatment. Minato doubted it'd helped Kushina out much either when she was alone and scared and so far away from home. And now, as his mother before him, Naruto would lead such a life. Such a lonely, lonely life. Was that what he was leaving for his son?

Sweet Jesus, his son! His baby fucking boy, would see a life of hardships worse than even his darling wife had ever had to face, especially considering that this time people had seen and heard and lost loved ones to the beast. With Kushina, it had been a cold secret hanging over her head, straining her friendships and keeping those who may have helped her when she was young and needed it away. With Naruto, he would be seen as a demon himself, and that was many times worse. The unfair, lonely life of his beloved would seem an oasis for such a cursed child, thirsting for love the way one would water in a desert. Because of the villagers. Because of that damn demon. Because of that Masked Man. Because of him.

He felt like puking. He just may have, had he eaten anything in the last day or so. Also, the lack of a fucking stomach may have had something to do with his inability to regurgitate. When the Kyuubi's claw had speared towards his baby boy, both he and Kushina had leapt, keeping a beast the size of a damn mountain at bay with will and grit and flesh and bone and oh god it hurt. Remembering the event seemed to clear away the fog of shock and adrenaline which had coated his mind, like a loving parent might a child, opening his mind to the pain and reminding him that he was a dead man walking.

His soul was slowly being drained into the belly of the Shinigami, and God if that prospect didn't scare the holy hell out of him now that the moment for heroics had passed and everything was still again. At the end of the day, he was just a man. He wasn't very complicated. He just wanted to make love to his wife and drink beer with his friends and hold his baby in his arms and keep his home safe. He didn't want to suffer; he had been a good man, damnit! He'd paid his taxes and fought for his country and had always tried to do the right thing! Did he deserve this? Was he being punished for all the lives he'd taken in the name of Konoha in the last war? Which way did his compass really point? Was he an evil man who'd managed to convince himself that the ends justified the means? Kill or be killed makes it ok to do it, right?

He didn't know. He wasn't positive. He thought he was a good person but could he honestly say one hundred percent? Nope. He had no damn idea. But, there's one thing he was sure of.

If he was going to suffer for eternity in the belly of the god of death, he'd be damned if the village he'd lived and killed and died for was going to treat his son poorly. Damned if Naruto was mistreated. Damned if Naruto was ignorant of the overwhelming love his mother and father had held for him. Damned if scum like Danzo got his filthy paws on Naruto.

He'd be GodDamned!

No. No, he couldn't die just yet. He only needed a little bit more but not yet damnit!

Pissing blood from his abdomen like a scared six year old would urine in his pants, he forced himself to walk forward, toward the lit torch that his village now resembled. He staggered and tripped and almost lost his balance. But with his son in his arms, he somehow found the strength to keep upright, heading for the village gates. He had a plan, but to put said plan into action he would need an audience. A big one.

Minato had accomplished many great feats in his life. When compared to single handedly winning a war and taming the perpetually rowdy Uzumaki Kushina, walking a mile is hardly worth noting. However, when Minato arrived at those big green gates, he'd never felt more accomplished in his life.

When the first shinobi standing vigil on top of the wall surrounding Konoha spotted the Yondaime, he almost fell off. After he'd righted himself, he immediately sprinted down the barrier and across the dirt path to the Hokage's side.

"Raido-kun..."

"Hokage-sama," the shinobi, now identified as Raido, gasped in excited breathlessness.

Before he could get any further Raido noticed both the child in his leader's arms and the yawning wound trying to pass as his midsection. His eyes widened in horror, and bringing shaking hands up to his mouth, he tried to speak.

Before Raido could get anything out, the Yondaime gave a small shake of his head, cutting him off. With one hand cradling his son, the other holding his gut, Minato took a second to center himself. Now, pale with blood-loss, Minato softly, wetly, whispered to his underling, "Open the gates for me will you, Raido-kun? Then, please gather as many people there as you can, including Sandaime-sama. Don't worry, the Kyuubi has been defeated. And don't worry about me either, Raido-kun. Just go, please."

For a moment, it seemed as if the shinobi would ignore his leader's words, either too stunned at the state of his commander to comprehend speech or perhaps contemplating disregarding the order and hauling the Yondaime off to the hospital. Then, however, he saw in his leader's eyes a need for compliance and understanding that made him pause. Without a word he nodded his head and took off, back up the great wall and immediately gave the order to open the gates to the ninja on the ground.

Whatever the chunin expected to see when they opened the doors they'd been guarding, it wasn't the Yondaime, child in hand, leaving a macabre trail in his wake, start to shuffle his way into the village.

Minato only made it over to a bench within a stones toss of the gate before he had to sit down, the leeching of his soul by the death god and of his blood by gravity finally catching up to him. Down but not out, Minato just focused on breathing as he await the gathering of his people. He had one last task to complete, and he'd see it done come hell or high water.

A crowd made up of both shinobi and civilians had begun to gather immediately, however it wasn't until ten minutes later that the Sandaime finally arrived and Minato determined enough people to be there for him to begin speaking.

"Thank you all for coming," he began quietly, and where there had been constant babbling and questions before, now only silence came from those present. "There's a lot that I want to say, and not a lot of time for me to say it, so please, hold your peace until I'm finished. There's someone I want you all to meet." Minato lifted his son a fraction, the baby capturing all present's attention easily with his wide, deep blue eyes, notable birthmarks on his cheeks, and soft tuft of golden hair atop his head. "This is my son. My sweet, sweet Naruto. My wife, Kushina Uzumaki, gave birth to him just tonight," Minato said with a fond smile directed at the babe in his arms.

The crowd was stunned. Hiruzen, the previous Hokage before Minato, at Minato's revealing of his child's identity to the public, everyone else at the baby's existence at all. There had been no word of Kushina's pregnancy, and through clever use of a powerful genjutsu, it had remained a secret even from those closest to the pair, save Minato's sensei and the Sandaime himself. Minato spoke again before anyone could get out the congratulations that were on the tip of their tongues.

"Please, wait until I'm finished. My wife was the container for the Kyuubi, and when she gave birth tonight, circumstances led to the release of the beast." Minato was ready for the shouts those in the crowd let out and quickly silenced them with a burst of killing intent, a technique that gives aggressive negative emotions perceptibility by others via chakra. He would have liked to break such news in a more delicate manner, hell he'd like not to tell such information to the public at all, but there was no time for delicacy and the situation demanded he tell. Glaring at the crowd for a second, Minato began again.

"The release of the beast was caused by an unknown man who attacked my wife at her weakest, just after child birth. It would not have escaped otherwise, and we took extensive precautions to try and prevent something like this from happening. We underestimated this 'Masked Man'. In order to defeat the Kyuubi, I used a technique that resealed it. Kushina was already dying because of her wounds and the Kyuubi's unsealing, and only an infant's body could handle the stress of the sealing. So…" Minato trailed off, a wince of pain entirely emotional stabbing him like the Kyuubi claw had an hour ago.

"I traded my soul for a favor from the shinigami, sealing the Kyuubi away forever into my son."

Complete silence met his declaration, jaws dropping and eyes widening everywhere. A few civilians fell back onto their rears, and one woman even fainted. She was luckily caught by a young man standing next to her, but no one could really blame her for her actions. The last few hours had been completely horrifying, with the demon's chakra thick in the air giving off a horrible feeling of hate, putting fear into the hearts of all. It had felt like many may imagine a rabbit feels, seconds before it is torn apart by hungry wolves. The revelations that the Yondaime had just laid at their feet overwhelming some was reasonable, all things considered.

Licking his lips to moisten them, Minato continued. "With my Reaper Death Seal, the Kyuubi is securely trapped in a cage constructed by a god in my son's soul."

Suddenly, the Yondaime got a deadly aura about him, leaving those perceptive enough to actively detect such things to lean back, while everyone else only felt a shard of apprehension and seriousness enter their hearts.

"Look at him. Look at him," Minato said, baring bloody teeth. "This is my son, you hear? My son. Do not confuse him for that monster that I just gave up my soul to seal. Never. The Kyuubi's power to the Shinigami's is like our power to the Kyuubi's. It. Can. Not. Get. Out. My beautiful boy is the only reason that you will see the sun rise tomorrow. He is why there is still a Konoha for us to return to at all. The only reason there are people to bury and mourn our dead."

Minato stopped and looked. Really looked at the people in the crowd at this point. He was happy to see that his words were having an impact on them. Well, as happy as he could feel now that the drain on his soul was almost complete. He was completely exhausted, but the villagers and shinobi alike both seemed to truly believe his words, and that was all he could hope for.

"My son will grow up without knowing the love of his mother or father. He will do this to keep all of you safe, and damnit, you will appreciate it. So please. Tell him. Te-tell him his mother loved him so overwhelmingly much that she gave her life protecting him. Tell him that I regret not being there for him like I want to, and that I'm only missing because I have to be, even though I'd much rather be with him. Tell him about us. Tell him about his burden, and about how he is loved regardless. Help him become the best shinobi he can be, the best man he can be. Please. My wife gave her life for you. I've given my soul for you. Please, damnit, please give him love and acceptance for us!"

Minato had tears in his eyes at this point, though they had yet to fall, unlike some in the crowd who had begun to cry at one point or another while he was talking. He curled up a little bit more around Naruto, trying to keep him warm, even though his own body felt like and ice cube. He could feel his life slipping away, now that he had said his piece, his determination to hang on had faded a little. As his eyes began to flutter shut, ever so slowly, the Sandaime rushed forward, calling his name. The only things he managed to get out before he finally succumbed to the darkness were a few murmurings about Kushina's body and how he wanted to be buried next to her. Finally, Minato Namikaze, beloved Hokage, husband, father, teacher, student, friend, and leader, slumped back against the bench. His chin lay on his chest, his eyes locked with his son's until the moment they closed, forever.