Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and anyone else who legally owns naruto. This is not for profit… so ya. Don't sue me. I'm just a poor undergraduate who's living off of craft dinner and wieners.
Synopsis: AU. Different events leads Naruto to not be on team 7. Instead, a 12 year old Yamato, Sakura, and Sasuke along with Kakashi are its members. This is their story.
Namikaze Minato glared down at the report, willing its letters to rearrange themselves into something that didn't say what it was currently stating. The report itself was standard, written in the curt but detailed military fashion of the Anbu. What it reported however, was enough to make most men despair.
The Kyuubi no Yoko had appeared. The Nine tailed Fox demon had been spotted within the borders of the fire country and was approaching Konohagakure at an alarming rate. According to the report, the village had a window of two days at most to prepare before the demon made it. It gave too little time for an evacuation, so they had no choice but to make their stand.
Messengers had already been sent to warn the Fire lord, while the word had gone out for all Konoha shinobi on missions to return immediately. Minato knew however that most would not make it back on time. Higher ranked missions usually took place far away from konoha, and many shinobi would probably only receive the order after the attack had already taken place. The only ones who could return on time would be the genin teams and the younger chunin still doing C ranked missions. Minato hated that. He and the council were putting Konoha's youngest and newest generation of Ninja into a danger not seen since the wars. He would rather have had at least the genin moved to the rear in support roles, but as oath sworn Konoha shinobi, they were duty bound to serve and protect their home village. Besides, Minato knew that they would need all their strength to stop the Kyuubi, and as Hokage, he couldn't let his personal beliefs get in the way of Konoha's safety.
Minato stood up and walked away from his desk and over to the window. The day was quite a contrast to his dark mood. Sunny and without a cloud in the sky, he looked down at the courtyard below to see his wife, Kushina, and their one and half year old son, Naruto playing, and for a time, the dark thoughts of a moment ago were banished from his mind as he looked down at his wife and son. Kushina too, knew what was coming, but she could still put on a happy face and play with their son. Naruto, with his shock of red hair, and looking like he had inherited most of his mothers looks, was laughing joyfully has his mother blew a raspberry into his stomach. He reluctantly turned away from that scene, and exited his study.
He moved towards his library, in search of a solution to the demon that threatened to destroy everything he cared about: his home, his friends, his wife, and his son.
It was much later into the night when he discovered a possible way of defeating the demon. Of course, his wife would kill him first if she knew what he was contemplating. He still needed a child for it to all work. He would have volunteered Naruto in a heartbeat, but he was too old by now, his chakra coils already beginning to set. No, he needed a younger child, one who's body could still adapt to the inhuman chakra that the demon possessed. He originally considered using an orphan, but quickly realized that the child would be ostracized by the villagers, who despite his hopes, he knew would not accept the child. No, he needed a child with parents (who would hopefully survive the kyuubi's attack), but that left him a greater dilemma. What kind of parents would willingly let their child become the container of a demon as vicious and cruel as the kyuubi no Yoko. He needed help.
It was midnight by the time he reached Sarutobi's home. The old man was quick to wake. Minato doubted anyone could sleep soundly in such troubled times. Before sitting down to talk, the Sandaime made a pot of tea. He sat down across from Minato, and placed a cup in front of Minato on the small table that lay between them while holding onto his own cup. "It'll calm your nerves." He nodded towards the cup.
Minato picked it up saying thanks. "No problem." Said Sarutobi, "Is this about the Kyuubi?"
Minato nodded, "I believe I have found a way to defeat the beast."
"Then why not bring it up in tomorrows council."
"Because I do not want the council to know." Minato took a long sip from his tea. "If they knew, they'd try to prevent it. You see, I have discovered that a sealing technique, that with a bit of alteration, can seal the demon within the body of a young infant."
"How young?" asked Sarutobi.
"Less than one years old, and younger the better." Replied the Yondaime. "After that, the charka coils become unable to cope with the Demons Chakra. If Naruto was just a bit younger, I would volunteer him, but he's well passed a safe age."
Sarutobi did not like where this was going. "What do you want me to do?" He asked the question, but he already knew what the answer was.
"I need you," Minato struggled to say it, "to find a family that is willing to let their child become the container of the demon. I need to finish altering the seal, and deal with the council. You're the only one I can trust right now. Kakashi is out on an A ranked mission, and Jiraiya won't be back for another day. You must be discreet, no one must know what I am going to attempt." Sarutobi nodded and finished off his tea with gulp and reached for the pot to pour himself a new one. "Thank you a lot. I've got to be off. The seal is tricky and will take some time to alter." They shook hands and Minato made to leave.
"Could you turn off the lights as you leave." Minato smiled, and left, turning off the lights, leaving Sarutobi in darkness.
Sarutobi sat in his chair, contemplating on what to do. He at first thought of trying to get a child of a ninja family to be the container. However, the more he thought it over, the more it seemed like a bad idea. Though many prominent ninja families had had kids recently, clan politics were volatile. Clans were always jockeying for positions within the council, especially the Uchiha and the Hyuuga clans. Though the Hyuuga clan was not as bad a power player as the Uchiha, the Hyuuga did practice the cursed seal and Sarutobi did not want to risk having that archaic holdover placed upon an innocent child. None of the lesser clans could be trusted either. Many might try to use the child to marry into the more powerful clans. No, a civilian family was needed, though that did not rule out the child becoming a ninja. 'This is going to be a long night he thought.'
Even far away, the explosions and screams were audible. Sarutobi did his best to ignore it and focus on the task at hand. Haruno Ryouga and Haruno Akane, on the other hand, were finding it obviously quite difficult to do so. "So our baby girl wont be affected in anyway. I mean not physically or mentally, right?" The man was obviously quite unsettled. The Kyuubi's attack had begun only hours ago, and the death tolls were already catastrophic.
"Yes. She'll be fine, and it'll put an end to the kyuubi's attack. Your daughter will be a hero, Haruno-san." Sarutobi responded. Things were getting desperate. He could feel the kyuubi approaching.
"No one will know right?" stammered his wife, her hand, resting on her husbands shoulder, visibly tightened. Sarutobi shrugged.
"If that is what you wish, it'll be so." This was actually how Sarutobi had hoped it would turn out.
"It is."
"Then we are agreed. Your family shall be compensated, and no one shall know what Sakura shall contain. You have my word as a Sarutobi, and as a Hokage of Konoha." The cloth merchants, seemingly mollified by his oath, were still unwilling to give up their newborn daughter. A particularly large explosion helped Sarutobi impart upon them the urgency of the situation. "Please," he pleaded, "time is of the essence."
Akane Haruno placed her daughter into the aged hands of the Sandaime and he sighed in relief.
The dead were everywhere, the empty eyes stared blankly into oblivion. That was, if there was enough of the bodies to still have eyes. Blood also seemed to be in a not so short supply, the trees and earth were covered in it, to say nothing of the corpses. 'So many dead,' thought Jiraiya. The one pair of bodies he could not bare to look at lay away from the carnage, placed side by side. They had been moved from where they had previously met their final breath. Jiraiya had not seen who had moved the bodies, as he had been occupied in smuggling away the Haruno child back to her parents without anyone knowing had not been hard. Their relief at getting their daughter back unharmed was almost beyond description.
Choking back his grief, he approached the two bodies. Kushina and Minato lay lifeless, their eyes closed. Both of their faces were relatively unmarked, and Minato totally so, he being the victim of having his soul ripped from his body. Kushina was another matter, though someone had had the decency to place a blanket over the lower half of her body, which had been crushed by the Kyuubi. From what he knew, she had died relatively early in the battle. Kushina had always believed of being at the front of things. Staring at them, tears came unbidden to his eyes as he thought of Naruto, playing with his mother and father. The mother and father who'd he'd never be able to see or play with again. He crouched down, and put their hands together. Life was never fair. Why did the young have to die while their elders continued to live on. No doubt in his mind, this thought was probably being echoed throughout the village. He turned away from the bodies, wiped his tears, and walked away from the battlefield. He had a meeting with his Sensei.
It wasn't until the next day that he was able to get a meeting with Sarutobi, who had been quickly re-instated as Hokage. He entered the office that had so recently been his students, and once again felt sadness well up. He pushed it away. Now was not the time for grieving, now was the time to really get a handle on things. He plopped himself down into one of the comfy armchairs that lay next to the expansive window overlooking what remained of Konoha. The Sandaime remained at his desk. "So what's the deal?" he asked.
"With what?" was Sarutobi's weary reply.
"With everything." Jiraiya gazed out the window.
"According to official history, as of today, the Yondaime was able to defeat the Kyuubi no Yoko, and save the village."
"What about the child?" prompted Jiraiya.
"Nothing has been said of Haruno Sakura, and the only ones who know what really happened are in this room, or taking care of her. If all goes well, no one else shall ever know, and we will go with this information to our graves."
Jiraiya still had quite a few more questions. "What of Naruto then?"
"Namikaze Naruto's name has been legally changed to Uzumaki Naruto. You of all people should know how many enemies his father left behind. Very few people knew they had a son, and this should hopefully mislead them." Jiraiya agreed.
"But who will take care of him then?" he asked.
"Aren't you his Godfather."
Jiraiya shook his head. "Yes, but you know I'm not responsible to raise a child." He thought the point moot, but Sarutobi decided to argue the point.
"Jiraiya, he's your students son. Minato was practically a son to you, so that basically makes him your grandson. Besides, Minato was a great judge of character, and he wouldn't make you Naruto's godfather without reason." Jiraiya knew he had a point, but he doubted Minato had planned to die with so young.
Despite his initial refusal, the battle was already being fought between the 'adopt your godson' and 'I'm not responsible enough' inside his head. He also knew that whichever option he chose, he would be hitting the bars hard tonight, probably along with every other person in Konoha.
Two Years Later
Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, and all around patriarch of his clan, sat in his desk, glaring at his paperwork, and if someone didn't know better, they'd almost say he was pouting. He of course had reasons to glare at it. It was his granddaughter's birthday, and yet here he was…stuck. He sighed, reached over to the pile, which he admitted was a lot smaller than it usually was, and started signing and stamping. He was just finishing up reading through the last paper, when a knock came at the door and his secretary Ukyo poked her head through the door.
"Hokage-sama, Morino Ibiki is here to see you. He doesn't have an appointment though, and since it is little Nabiki's birthday, I was going to tell him to come back tomorrow. But he insisted that it was important, so I …" She really did look flustered. Ibiki must have been quite insistent.
"Thank you Ukyo, but you can tell Ibiki to come inside." Ukyo bowed quickly and exited, closing the door. It did not stay closed for long though, as Ibiki came striding through the door.
"Hokage-sama," he bowed and Sarutobi nodded, "something has come with the reconstruction."
Sarutobi looked outside the large window at Konoha, the Kyuubi's attack had happened two years ago, so most of the reconstruction was complete. That did not mean it was finished however, and there was still a number of unfinished buildings with scaffolds surroundings them. "What kind of something?"
"Construction workers excavating one of the ruined buildings at the edge of town found something underground. They reported to the police, who then in turn reported it to us. We believe it to be one of Orochimaru's labs."
Sarutobi's face visibly darkened as he thought of his power mad student. "What did you find?"
"A child, sir." Ibiki replied.
"How old?"
"About two years old, he was kept in stasis by some jutsu until the workers broke down the wall. We've already secured the area, and retrieved all the equipment and notes. From what we can decipher, this child is…" he trailed off.
"Well," prodded Sarutobi," the child is what?"
"A clone, sir. Or at least, close enough of one to be the same."
"A clone of who?"
"The First sir, and there's a high probability that he has inherited the Shodaime's mokuton abilities."
Sarutobi gave a sigh that would make any Nara jealous 'just when things seemed to be getting easier' he thought, 'the Kamis went and dropped this one on me.'
"Where is the child now?" he asked.
"We've moved the child and all the workers involved to depot 14." All according to protocol, they had done it by the book. Suspects, hostages, or even people to be guarded were kept in secure depots, not Anbu Headquarters. Due to security issues only the Anbu, the Hokage, and certain council members knew where it was located. Whoever said that being a shinobi wasn't dirty business, they were full of it. A lot of dark secrets were kept in the archives beneath Anbu HQ, secrets that no one who valued peace wanted to get out.
"Good, make the workers swear an oath to secrecy, and please implore upon them the consequences of a loose mouth." Sarutobi had always wondered how many people had died because of one too many bottles of alcohol and too loose a mouth. Wars had started over less that much was sure. "Put the boy up for adoption as well. Dismissed." Sarutobi continued with his paperwork, intent on finishing it in the next ten minutes. He was already late enough for his granddaughters birthday.
When Ibiki did not move, Sarutobi was forced to look up again. "Sir," he ventured, "some of the men have been saying the boy should be put into Root." Sarutobi visibly grimaced. Root was the creation of Danzo, his one time adversary for the position of being the third Hokage, and all around philosophical opposite. While Sarutobi was no pacifist, he was considered a dove by shinobi standards; Danzo on the other hand, was a hawk through and through. Unfortunately, he had enough friends on the council to continue his project of turning orphans into living weapons, and he was not sure he'd be able to block any motion put forth by Danzo in the council to put the boy in Root's hands. Which meant only one thing, he'd have to make a pre-emptive strike. If he could get someone to adopt the boy before the next meeting, the boy would no longer be without legal guardians, removing him as a possible candidate for Root. The next meeting he knew, was the next day. This probably meant an all nighter for sure.
"Let me see the boy." He ordered.
To the outside world, Depot 14 was an abandoned warehouse near the power plants. Once entering it however, the Sandaime was able to see reinforced doors, charka absorbants, and they had to pass through ten feet off concrete with reinforced steel on the inside and outside to get into the depot proper. It was a moderately small depot by Konoha standards, but it suited the current needs perfectly. They entered a large room, where he found most of the workers huddled in groups, except for the few playing with the toddler, who was laughing uproariously. As they entered the room, the conversation died down as most recognized the Hokage. He explained to them all that they needed to know, and that what they saw must never be spoken of again.
When he was finished explaining, he and Ibiki walked over to the child, and the group of men surrounding him. While they walked over, Ibiki again brought up the child's fate. "So, what do plan to do with the boy, sir?"
"I plan to find him a loving family, and the sooner the better." It was only by chance that one of the workers heard him. As they approached the group surrounding the boy, one of them broke away.
"Lord Hokage, I'm sorry for listening, but I heard that your looking for a family for the kid, is that right?" said the man nervously. "Anyway, it just so happens that my wife and I haven't been able to have kids, and the doctor just confirmed it, so we were considering adoption." An explosion of hope occurred within Sarutobi. He might not have to do any searching at all and still be able to make to the birthday party, while keeping the Shodaime's clone out of the reach of Root. "Well, uh…" he stammered, "what I'm asking is if it's okay if me and the misses adopt the little tike." Sarutobi smiled. This was perfect. There would have to be a background check of course, but that was the jurisdiction of child services, not that of the villages military leader.
"Of course you can." Sarutobi smiled and was pleased to see the worker grin as well. He motioned towards a surprised Ibiki. "This man here will escort you and the child to child services to get all the needed paper work." He shook the man's hand, and sped off out of the depot, towards little Nabiki's birthday. It only occurred to him once he got there that he'd forgotten to ask the man's name. No matter though, he'd find out eventually.
The next day he learned that the man's family name was Yamato, and he and his wife had named the boy Tenzo.
Well there you have it. I've made Sakura a jinchuuriki, de-aged Yamato, and slighty aged Naruto. Also, I've given him his mothers look, not his father's, like in the show and manga. That's why this is a World of Difference. But anywho, I need reviews, because they sustain me. So even if you don't like the story, please review, and if you like it, also review. I like constructive criticism.
REVIEW MY STORY PLEASE.