Prologue
Konoha, the day the Nine-Tails attacked
The village was in flames. It was a scene of mass panic. As the smoke from burning buildings permeated the air with a foul stench, people screamed and ran for their lives. Shadows were flickering through the darkness, heading for a figure that towered over the village. Among them was a man with bright, spiky yellow hair, who disappeared with a yellow flash. As the man reappeared and headed for the battlefield, an old man suddenly appeared beside him. The man turned to him, and asked him, "Minato, what do you plan to do about the Kyuubi? You can't just rush in there without a plan. I know you wouldn't do such a thing, but still, what are you going to do?" The man with the yellow hair replied, "Hai, Sarutobi-sensei, but we need to get there quickly." As the two leapt off of another branch, they were suddenly joined by a man with white, spiky hair, tied in a long braid. "Well, Minato, are you going to use that jutsu?" "Only if I absolutely must.", replied Minato. "By the way, Minato, where's Kushina?" Minato had no answer to that, and simply stared ahead, saying, "She's safe." However, while he said this, he thought to himself "Who the heck was that masked ninja? He almost killed Naruto and Kushina! I hope. . . ." His thoughts were interrupted when Sarutobi suddenly shouted "Enough talk, we're here!"
Smoke engulfed the area. It was very hard to breathe, and Minato, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi all fell to the ground, coughing, though Sarutobi was hit the hardest, as he was the oldest of the trio. They eventually rose, and staggered on through the smoke and fog. As they walked, they could hear sounds of screaming, and the ground was red-hot. The stench of death and flames pervaded the air, and it was impossible to see a thing. The fog suddenly cleared, and they could see the feared beast, the Nine-Tailed Fox! Minato's wife Kushina was laying on the ground in front of the beast, barely alive, and struggling to live.
The Fox roared, and swung its' tail, crushing a whole district, and deafening several ninja and civilians. It then stomped forward, crushing many buildings and ninja under its' feet. As it moved, the Fourth Hokage, who was Minato, leaped in front of the beast. He saved his wife, and teleported out of the area. A masked ninja watching the scene saw them go. "It's too late. You may be a small flash of hope, but you'll never stop me".
Kushina was still alive, though barely, and she asked Minato, "Where's Naruto? Is he safe?" Minato replied, "He's fine. I hid him in a safe location" Kushina heaved a sigh of relief "Thank God!" She then choked out a few words "Minato, stop him..." Minato looked at his wife sadly, and then took her to Naruto. He then left her with Naruto... and went to fight the Nine-Tails.
As he fought, he realized that there was only one thing that he could do. He went back, and brought Kushina and his son, Naruto, to the Nine-Tails' location. Kushina asked him "Why have you brought us here?" "A thought then occurred to her. "You're. . . you're not going to use the Dead Demon Seal on him, are you? You can't! He's our son, you can't sacrifice him!" Minato turned to her and said "You know that we are a family of shinobi! We have to save the village! You saw your village fall apart, so you should know the pain of growing up without a home." Kushina argued "But you don't need to die to save the village!" Minato then replied "There are things that need to be said, and only you can say them. You are the mother, after all." Minato then told her "I'm going to perform the seal now! If you want to say anything to Naruto, this is your last chance!"
Kushina looked at Naruto, and said "There's so much I want to say to you. . . . . . . . and so little time. So, I'll say the most important things. Don't fall into bad habits. Go to bed early, and take a bath everyday! Don't be a fussy eater, and grow to become a big boy! Make friends, study your ninjutsu, and listen to your teachers at the Academy! And remember, you must always avoid the three vices of shinobi, money, drink, and women! Save what you earn, and don't drink until you're 20. Even then, don't drink too much or you'll ruin your body! And as for women. . . . . . . I know that you'll want a girlfriend someday, but try not to pick a weird one, try to find someone like your mother." "And the fourth warning: Watch out for Jiraiya-sensei!", said Minato. "Naruto. . . . . . you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering, so remember who you are! Find your own dream. . . . . . . . and don't stop trying until it comes true!",said Kushina. Minato then said, "Listen to your motor-mouth mother, Naruto." He then performed the seal "Eight Trigrams Seal!"