I do not own the story or characters in Naruto but I'd love to have the fortune that comes with it.

"Speech"

'Thought'

PROLOGUE: TWO SHADOWS

The moon up high in the sky radiated its silver glow on the sea of trees that surrounded the ninja village of Konoha. What many people would have considered a beautiful night was currently something that was placed somewhere at the bottom of their list of priorities as thoughts of evacuation and safety filled their minds as they ran around panicking, heading to the closest emergency zone.

However, at one secluded and shadowy spot up on Hokage mountain, a man in his thick dark cloak sat watching the chaos taking place before him. He was waiting for something. This position gave him the perfect view over the events that were taking place just outside the village.

He was about to take a sip from the cup in his hand when something else grabbed his attention. It was a man's shadow. It suddenly appeared to his right and if he didn't know any better he would have killed the source of the silhouette the moment it appeared.

"Did you give it to him yet?" inquired the shadow's owner as he himself stepped into view.

Not answering immediately, the cloaked man drank from the cup in his right hand as the inquirer walked towards him.

"Well?" said the man still demanding an answer.

The other end of the conversation smiled as something in the distance gained his attention.

"See for yourself," said the cloaked man as he gestured to one particular part of Konoha's forest.

The other individual shifted his gaze towards that area and saw smoke erupt throughout the forest.

A gigantic toad leaped out of that smoke screen and crashed into the demon that shared a small portion of its history with Konoha.

Offering his companion a bottle of sake, the cloaked man said, "Have a drink."

"Thanks," he replied as he gulped down the alcohol before throwing it aside. He then held out an open palm to the person at the other end of the conversation. "Hand me another one."

"Here you go," complied the cloaked man as he handed over another sake bottle.

"Hn," said the man as he downed another bottle of sake. "Where did you get this from? Tastes familiar."

"Oh, I stole it from one of your people. Top class Uchiha-brewed sake."

"I see… pass me another one."

"Sure, it'll be fun to see you suffering from a Biju-sized hangover," said the cloaked man as he passed another bottle to his friend. Just as the bottle reached the open palm everything went silent.

Both men knew what this meant.

"He's quick…"

"He wouldn't have that name if he wasn't.

Obviously it wasn't a consequence of hearing impairment. It was the consequence of their actions.

Another one of the Tailed Beasts was about to be sealed.

Time seemingly stood still for everyone as a giant a ball of red hot fire got sucked into a small silhouette on top of the giant toad. The redness of the sight slowly dissipated into the small silhouette until it completely disappeared.

"Well then, we better get going. We have potential recruits waiting for us in the country of rain," said the man who still held the unopened sake bottle in his right hand. He started to stand up but his companion pulled him down by the shoulder.

"Before that, a toast," said the cloaked man holding an opened sake bottle in his other hand. His companion looked at him with undecipherable expression.

"To what?"

A smirk could be seen under his companion's hood.

"To that guy, of course. It's not everyday someone dies saving their home."

"Hn," grunted the man. "Fine."

Both men then lifted up the bottle in their hands towards the one in the other's hand.

"To Minato-san. May his face be on these walls the next time I come to visit."

Finishing up the sake in their hands, they stood up and threw their bottles off the mountain.

"Let's go."

11th May 2008 EDIT

Decided to rework the chapters so that the wording is more fluid and some events a bit more realistic. Overall there are no major changes to the story, just minute detail to tie in story events better with everything. I'll make a real update by next week if my schedule finally frees up. Here's hoping it will.