Characters: Minato, Yondaime Kazekage
Summary: Two men who did what they thought they had to.
Pairings: None
Author's Note: Okay, I'm a little annoyed at both my "protagonists" at the moment; can you tell?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
There had always been those who justified terrible, even monstrous actions by saying that they had to do it, that they had no other choice but to seize upon the courage of action that they did. A man who did terrible things in the name of "I had no other choice" was a dime a dozen; he could be found anywhere.
There was little there to make the Yondaime Hokage and the Yondaime Kazekage any different from the rest; nothing, in fact.
They both condemned their sons to a life of Hell; their wives could see it. Uzumaki Kushina died wondering how her husband could be so selfish, unwilling to save her life and help seal the Kyuubi back into her if it meant they would be separated for eternity but more than willing to force that burden on their son, to keep them together. She died smiling to his face and cursing him to his heart, wanting nothing more to rip it out to see if it wasn't made of stone. Sabaku no Karura was more honest. She screamed and raged, and nothing sort of a chakra seal could keep her imprisoned in the Kazekage's compound. Only in death was she silenced; only in death was her voice snuffed out. She died with a sneer and a curse for Suna, for all those who failed to help her when she needed it most.
When staring down two monsters the Hokage more or less lost his mind. His village would be razed to the ground, her children slaughtered and devoured in black flame; he could see it reflected clearly in the mirror of his eyes before it ever happened.
The Kyuubi no Kitsune had to be sealed within a host. An infant, a strong newborn, would work best.
His eyes fell on Naruto.
While the Kyuubi had threatened Konohagakure with decimation, the Kazekage had no such excuse. The Shukaku curled in his ceramic teapot, occasionally raging against the walls but otherwise stayed dormant and contented itself with using the Third Eye to spy on the outside world and take delight in the suffering of man. To the eyes of most who would dare to look, Sunagakure was in no immediate danger. The war was over; the Five Nations were too weakened or divided to engage in warfare so soon.
But the Kazekage saw it differently. He saw Konoha stealing away the money and resources Suna so desperately needed, and where that would lead—in domination and desolation. He saw enemies in all places, vipers in the nest of the world, ready to strike his village. He saw Suna falling. And he saw the Shukaku locked away in its teapot, waiting to be allowed to wreak havoc on the world of man once more.
Suna had many newborns that would have served the Kazekage's purpose well. Any coat of flesh would have sufficed for the Shukaku's none-too-finicky tastes. But they weren't of his flesh and blood; they would not have obeyed his command from the start without question. A child of his flesh would obey the Kazekage's beck and call simply because he was "Father". Besides, how could he ask someone else to make such a sacrifice if he was not willing himself?
Two men did what they thought they had to, did what they believed to be absolutely necessary to protect the village they loved so much—the village they loved more than their families.
They did what they did claiming they had no other choice even though they knew that to be a lie. Hell was brought down on the heads of their sons as a result. Uzumaki Naruto was born innocent but did not stay that way for long; Sabaku no Gaara was damned from the womb.
The Hokage intended his son to be a hero to make up for putting a monster in his belly (as if anything could make up for that) and instead the boy was treated as the monster itself.
The Kazekage wanted his son to be a weapon, a super-soldier, and what he got instead was an ungovernable demon.
For every evil they did their children, they expected good to follow, and were surprised when it did not.
Perhaps if they had chosen differently, good would have come.