Naruto Namikaze
Author's Note:
Advised to read.
This will probably be the longest Author's Note of the entire story, seeing as how it has basic important information for the entirety of the story, from the reader standpoint anyway, as well as my own for that matter.
This being my first full-fledged adaptation of the Naruto series, I thought it best to do so, appropriately and deserving of such a great series, both cannon and fanon. So I will do my best to make this the absolute most perfect piece of literature, aside from my poor grammar, as possible. This including, but not limited to accepting any help at all from reviewers, other Authors, anything I can to make this everything it could be.
Some major points I think worth mentioning, this will not in any way, shape, or form, have an all-powerful Naruto, hell, due to some of the circumstances that may change due to certain events he may not even be the most powerful for a very long time due to the lack of necessity for him to be.
Pairings, literally the only reason I mention this is because I would like people to know what they are getting into before having vested interests in characters only to have them paired with someone they may dislike. Naruto however will not be mentioned because I have not decided his pairing yet, as it's not been written, I would like this story to be ever evolving, it's likely he'll go on several dates, and date, several kunoichi maybe even civilians. It will obviously be an important part of the story but it will not be what the story is about, but for those of you who want the romance it will be here!
The only locked romances are KakashiXAnko, IrukaXAyame, AsumaXKurenai.
Bashing, I do not condone it nor do I practice it, characters will be written how they are portrayed and others will act accordingly to that portrayal, so do not expect random asshattery.
Posting Schedules this chapter being the prologue will likely be a bit shorter than most chapters likely ending around three thousand maybe five thousand words. And the second posting which will be the official first chapter may come pretty quickly after as I've already got much of it thought out, however due to wanting to see the first thoughts of my story and advice I could get it may be a few days before it is posted.
Disclaimer: Almost forgot to add this lol. I do not own any of the characters mentioned within the writing of this story other then those created by my own hand.
Prologue
"The fire's shadow illuminates the village"
Twelve years ago, the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by the Nine Tailed Fox, but this was not an act, caused by the Nine Tailed Fox. No, it was an attack conspired by someone far more dangerous a man in a spiral mask with only one eye hole. An eye which held none other than the powerful Sharingan, a doujutsu, many claim to be the strongest over its predecessor the Byakugan.
The night sky despite the previous events of what could only be described as catastrophic seemed to have settled into a silent wisp with cold air occasionally flowing through the trees. The moon was full with what felt like an ominous presence exuding from it, as if it was hypnotic in a way. Strangely amidst all of this calm beauty there was an evil presence that seemed to taint the very air, though it was not able to do much, as its entire body was held tightly down to the rocks surrounding it. What held this malevolent creature down was the very being that had been doing the same for the previous twenty plus years. However this time it was being physically forced into a form of near complete stillness, thanks to chains of pure chakra wrapping him around into the very earth below him.
Not far from this beast was a man, whose calm exasperated breath wheezed as sweat and blood dripped from a furrowed brow down to the bloodied body of a beautiful Red Headed woman, whose arms held a small bundle. The moon far above seemed to flash as if releasing its hold over something and its glow had now been able to illuminate both her and the bundle wrapped in her arms. In that bundle came the cry of a small infant whiskered at his cheeks and blonde hair spiking off his head. The exasperated breath had wheezed once more before he finished his jutsu, tearfully, as he watched in blurred vision as his love's eyes continued to fade, causing him to crash down upon his knees, in front of her.
Punching the ground in desperation, the blonde felt like he failed his thousands of hours training, wasted, his title of Hokage no longer holding the meaning it once held to him without that one person he had to protect over all others. The self-loathing thoughts continued to run through his mind until he was suddenly shocked back into reality by a simple touch, his eyes shot open to see the center of his thoughts, "Kushina…I.."
His words deflated as his eyes met hers again, though almost hollow looking he could only stare as she gave him a smile that nearly convinced him that everything was okay, in a situation that said otherwise. "Minato…" she struggled as she lifted her right hand up to cup the blonde's cheek, "You'll be fine, I love you both, you and Naruto." With whatever strength she had left she moved over to move the whiskered infant, Naruto into her arms once last time as she continued to smile, both at Minato and the baby in her arms, who after seeing her smile had stopped his crying and looked content.
Minato looked as though he was about to say something else before he was interrupted by the completion of his summoning's appearance, a grim sight indeed. The Shinigami, whose stoic face moved only in the way one would from taking a small breath, continued to stare at the blonde haired man, as its appearance became complete. Reaching to his waist he withdrew a large dagger and held it firmly while still facing the bodies of Minato, and his family, while the Kyuubi still held down further away still looked on now in confusion, having been released from his hold.
Pulling the soul from the now fading Kushina, the Shinigami's dagger tore through the light blue essence of her life essentially ending her continued life, save for a few last thoughts. Kushina's head now began falling backwards to the cold ground below, caught by Minato at the last moment just before it would touch the ground. Her face seemed to have been caught in a final thought that made her happy, as Minato noticed that she was still smiling, and it still made him feel better despite the events that transpired. With that he uttered a single sentence as he felt the Kyuubi far behind him start to feel the effects of half his chakra returning to Kushina as the other half began to fade and transfer to the baby, Naruto.
"You truly are the most amazing woman, I could have ever met, I love you Kushina-chan." He smiled to himself, and gave a look to his son Naruto, as he picked the two up within his arms, holding them both tightly; noticing that the seal on Naruto began to sear signaling it finished the transfer of the Kyuubi's chakra to his body. Turning to look he noticed the last of the Kyuubi's physical manifestation disappear, allowing Minato a sigh of relief. Whereas Minato was completely out of chakra he began the solemn walk back to Konoha, where he was sure to be bombarded with questions, most of which he assumed would be about the results of his battle with the nine tailed beast.
His mind was wrecked with several possibilities for his answers, though his personal choice every time he thought about it, was to come out and say that he sealed the beast in Naruto to save the village, not just from the destruction of the beast, but also the masked man. Though it was perfectly sound, and he knew several who would look at his son, as well as him as heroes, but he'd be a fool to not admit that several people in the village, especially civilians would see his son as the beast itself. They would likely see him as a hypocrite as well for not condoning other villages use of making Jinchuuriki's only to turn around and make his own son one.
Again, he was in agony over the choices presented in front of him, he'd been thinking about it for the last hour now, as he finally neared the village. Now entering where he'd guessed the ANBU patrols would be leaping through the tired Hokage had still not decided yet, and had come no closer to a better solution either, "I need to speak to Sarutobi-san."
It was only moments later when he had finally encountered the first team of reconnaissance ANBU, and they were quick to engage the Hokage, the one in front was the one to speak out, "Hokage-sama, is it…?" For fear of the worst he'd left out the end part of the sentence so as to not get his hopes up too much, though he'd continued to scan the features of the blonde in front of him watching for a hint.
Minato could only sigh and give a small smile which would do the job, "Yes, the Kyuubi is, taken care of." He'd figure that was a good enough answer for the moment especially until he'd decided on a decision, which brought him back to the current situation, "I need the Sandaime, immediately, have him meet me at the Hokage tower." His face had turned dead series at the start of his commands, causing the ANBU in front of him to react with haste quickly using shunshin to complete the task.
Feeling a bit of chakra return to him, Minato did the same he knew it would be a little while before they would be able to find Sarutobi to begin with, and he wanted the time alone. After a few quick jumps using his shunshin he simply climbed through his window softly laying Kushina down on the nearby couch, and placing Naruto still in his bundle wrapped in her arms. By some cruel irony he was able to have his whole family in the Hokage office, though not completely whole, his insides still burning at his failure. After a few unadulterated thoughts of violence towards a certain masked man, he was once again brought out of his tortured mind, to have a sullen Sandaime walk into his office, alone thankfully.
"Minato-kun, is everything alright?" The third with his usual feelings displayed first, had wanted to check on him before beginning talk of rebuilding. A gesture which was moot once, Hiruzen, turned to see the unnaturally still form of Kushina battered and laid as though she were a precious breakable.
"I'm sorry Sarutobi-san, though I do not believe the attack completely the foot of the Kyuubi, there was another I believe who he fault should lie with!" Minato's voice showed a rare ferocity, that conflicted with his normal calm nature, but given the circumstances it was well justified. However the revelation that another may be responsible for the atrocities that were caused by the Nine Tails was enough to shock Sarutobi into continued silence as he waited more information.
"A man, with a spiraled wooden mask, a single eye hole carved into the mask, is the one responsible for the Kyuubi's attack." Noticing the confusion on Sarutobi's face, Minato continued, "This man was skilled beyond any I've ever faced, though what was most curious was his Sharingan eye!" Despite the added detail, he noticed that his predecessor's worried look only seemed more pained which made his next bit of information more troubling, "And I believe it to be none other than Madara Uchiha."
Before Sarutobi could ask more however, he was waved off by Minato, "We have time before he'll be a worry again however, which leads to the next mountain of bad news." Minato's voiced seemed to have dimmed with each passing word, as he moved over to his wife's body holding his son's. Affectionately brushing a loose strand of hair of her ear, with a slight smile trying to adorn his face, he spoke bluntly, "Due to the threat of Madara Uchiha, I sealed the Nine Tails, in the one place I knew that he would have the most trouble getting." With that he lightly rubbed his son's stomach adding a bit of chakra causing the seal to flash before disappearing slowly after.
Minato could literally feel the absence of air within the Sandaime, as he was forced to take in the massive load of information. The threat of Madara Uchiha was one thing, being that he was one of the most powerful shinobi of all time, let alone his odd obsession with the Nine Tails. More troubling was his ability to apparently control the Nine Tails while it was of physical form, partly explaining why Minato sealed the beast in his only son. Which was equally headache worthy was the fact they know had to make a decision on little Naruto's life which could potential change his entire life.
Sarutobi's first thought was to let all Jounin know and just have them treat Naruto as anyone else, however, being in a Shinobi village, information like that could be worth a lot for anyone willing to part with the secret. Worse yet, should someone accidentally blab to a villager nothing short of a mob would follow, even then! What about shinobi who'd lost friends or family would they be able to stand the boy?
Finally only one option could be viable, "We tell no one, other than a very select few, and when I say few, I mean you, myself, Jiraiya, and whomever you may deem worthy of the knowledge." Sarutobi with all of his wisdom, and the knowledge bestowed on him from his teachers, the first two Hokages, could think of no better way, then allowing Naruto to hide in plain sight. "You sealed the Nine Tails once more into Kushina as she passed temporarily causing the beast to be unable to attain physical form, giving us time, and a buffer away from Madara, as well as no reason for anyone to look into Naruto.
Minato, allowed the side of his lip to turn upward in a tiny smile of relief, as the plan was well conceived, and likely something he would have eventually thought of given a clear head. "I think he should know, after he graduates the Academy, that way he'll know to be in control of his feelings." Minato sighed a bit as he planned ahead too much even for his own liking some times, "And should he need it, training in controlling the beast."
Sarutobi simply nodded in agreement, "Yes, and should the masked man you believe to be Madara Uchiha ever find out about Naruto it would be good for him to have at least some training underway so that he could better protect himself. Hopefully in a way that will not draw too much attention to him in that light however. " Sighing the old man, had placed a hand on the side of his face somewhat in despair, as it seemed that the new generations always seemed to reap the mistakes of the generation before them and so on.
Sarutobi walked over towards Minato who was still leaning against the couch with his wife and son obviously exhausted, nearing unconsciousness. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Minato barely turned seeing the caring eyes that Sarutobi had always shared with everyone who was a part of the village, and it seemed to sooth him if even for a moment.
"Minato-kun, I am sorry, please rest." His voice though gravelly in nature, seemed to relax the younger Hokage, and caused him to acknowledge the request with a nod. Without another word the Sandiame quickly vanished from sight with a light swoosh like sound leaving the tired man to have some peace on a day that would try to see him far from it.
In one of the few times in his still young life, Minato was unsure of what he really should do next, and for once instead of carefully thinking it out, he simply did what would give him at least some comfort. Bending over once more he placed a careful kiss upon the forehead of his dear Kushina, and only with great reluctance removed Naruto from her arms and into his. Walking over to the other side of the room he swiftly removed a pillow from a nearby chair and tossed it to the corner he was heading for. After having done so, Minato allowed himself to slide down the wall and propped himself somewhat against the people getting as comfortable as he could and allowed himself to doze back into unconsciousness.
Author's Note: This is the completed prologue, first run, it is possible I may have missed a few things, especially grammar related things, however with no beta, I make due I suppose. Any questions will be answered swiftly and detailed. While I will never hold out for reviews, I would appreciate them for a few reasons, one it allows people to see the story, and should you think it worth other people's time. Two it helps me know what I did well, wrong, or if you think something could make it better and more enjoyable to read!