Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1

The sun had just set down. The sky was a majestic orange. The day seemed peaceful to all but one. An orange-clad five year old child was running away from a mob consisting of civilians and shinobi. He turned to hide in an alley, only to find it was a dead end. His back against the wall, he could hear the laughter and shouts of the mob. Today was his birthday, and he would get his 'present' as always. On 10th October every year, a celebration was held in honor of the Yondaime Hokage defeating the Kyubi at the cost of his life.

"There is the demon boy."

"Kill him."

"Stab him."

"Burn him."

These were only some of the shouts that reached his ears. The mob slowly inched their way towards the boy. His face showed despair and agony – there was nothing he could do. His pleadings would infuriate the mob even further. Suddenly, black flames consumed the mob. They were to flee, put it out by water and other means, but none seemed to work. Soon, a tall man made his way towards the boy. His hair reached his waist, and it was white. He seemed quite old, but the aura around him made him seem very powerful.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" This was the question the man asked the orange-clad boy.

The boy's throat refused to cooperate. Therefore, he could just nod dumbly. In the whole village, there were only a few who seemed to have no ill will towards him. There was Hokage-jiji, Teuchi and Ayame. He was especially wary of strange men who would show kindness only to stab him in the back.

"Do you wish to become Hokage? Do you wish to surpass all the other Hokages? Do you wish to protect your precious people? Do you wish to defend yourselves against these mobs, when I am no longer there to save you?"

The last statement seemed to catch his attention. This man, whoever he might have been, had killed the mob just to save him. Naruto thought that he could trust this man. He was still dumbstruck and could only utter one word – "Yes."

The old man seemed to be satisfied. "Then I'll train you for the next seven years. That's around how much time I have on this planet. I'd come to realize my past deeds and would like to rectify them by passing my legacy on to you. When I am done, you will be on the way to be the strongest man ever in the world, even stronger than me. So, do you accept to come with me?" Naruto was about to respond when he was cut off, "If you come with me, you don't have to worry about you not being here. I'll take care that nobody finds out."

Naruto thought for a while. He had just been enrolled in the academy earlier than usual at jiji's request. Even then, the instructors would just tell him to stand outside the class. No one was interested in teaching him. Nobody wanted to be his friend. If not for all his wounds healing magically, he would have died at a much younger age. All things considered, no one had ever proposed to do such things for him as this man proposed. Not even jiji. He supposed he could take up his training after all. He was tired of wearing his idiotic, goofy mask over his mature and intelligent self. With an excited face and one of his rare true smiles, he said, "Yes, I'll do it. I'll do everything it takes to be the greatest Hokage ever."

The man smiled. At last, he could rectify his mistakes. His life had been full of miseries. Fighting his best friend to the death; passing on his evil plans to one who was too late to stop now, he could do just one thing – make sure the Child of Prophecy was as strong as he could be. With a curt nod, he held the boy's hand and disappeared in a burst of flames, after lifting the genjutsu that nothing was wrong in the alley. Soon the Hokage and the ANBU arrived at the scenes. They were shocked. The bodies were charred beyond recognition. Nobody could think what could have caused this.

At Madara's secret hideout

They reappeared in a dimly-lit hall, where there was a big statue with 10 eyes. Naruto stared wide-mouthed at the statue. He then moved on to see the other things in the room. There were doors on all the sides. There was a pool at one end. There were small plants on the other side.

Meanwhile, the old man was talking to a plant-like creature, "Zetsu, I need you to send a white Zetsu on the disguise of Naruto, and to continue with his 'mask' at the academy and in front of everyone. We have taken note of his activities, and you know when to do what. Fail for the first two years. Pass only on the third try. I want everybody to underestimate him. Then no one will know what hit them."

Zetsu was a unique ….. creature. One part of it, the white one, smiled, while the black part kept a stoic face. "Yes master, it shall be done." "You don't need to worry. I'll take care of it. " It then disappeared below the ground.

The man turned to Naruto, "Naruto, I'm Madara Uchiha." Naruto's eyes were wide with awe and suspicion. "Before you say something, yes, I know I should have died long ago. But this statue keeps me alive. But it shall only be so for another seven years. In that time, I shall train you in all arts of the shinobi world. You are to find your calling yourself in the world. I'll just help you on the way." He paused to let the boy digest what he said and was about to say. "Naruto, do you know who your parents are?"

Though mature, Naruto always wanted to know who his parents were. He always thought he looked like the Yondaime. But the Yondaime couldn't be his father, could he? He just shook his head.

Madara sighed and then continued, "Your father was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, one of the finest shinobi to emerge after me and Hashirama. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the sole princess of Uzukashire, and a fine kunoichi."

Naruto had his suspicions. He had read of the Uzumaki clan and its destruction. He had read of Yondaime's deeds. But he had never really thought he was related to them. His eyes formed tears at the corners of his eyes. He went on saying "thank you" to Madara.

Madara was flustered, yet happy at seeing the child. He regained control and continued, "I'm sure you have read of the Yondaime killing the Kyubi." Naruto gave a nod. So he continued, "But this is no the truth. One of my former …. apprentices controlled the Kyubi and ordered it to attack Konoha. The Yondaime defeated Obito, for so was his name, and ended up sealing the Kyubi. A demon can't be killed, so it has to be sealed. He couldn't ask for anyone else's child if he couldn't sacrifice his own. Therefore he sealed the Kyubi within you." All of Naruto's happiness seemed to vanish, replaced by overwhelming despair. "Don't get me wrong. You are NOT the demon. In fact, you are holding back the demon. If not for you, the entire world may have been destroyed. Your father could trust no one but you with his responsibility." Some of Naruto's vigor seemed to return. "We'll begin training from tomorrow. I'll show you your new clothes, and your room for the next seven years."

At the Hokage office

The Sandaime was at a loss as to what could have happened. The meeting with the elders was another headache. What he wouldn't give for someone else to take up his job. He wished Naruto would grow up soon.