Naruto:
Illusion
Chapter 1
Hope
By SAMFU
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Hey, this is just kinda out there. Had some free time and this thought popped up... No guarantees that this is going to stay up or even go past chapter one. Put up a beta profile thing, just want to read more stories. I type when I can't find anything to read... Somebody should make some fanfiction for Terry Goodkind's series, it is amazing.
"Means talking"
'Thinking'
'Inner voice or demon'
"Summon or demonspeaking"
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I barely own my Forza Motorsport 2 profile, it got banned... along with roughly three hundred other people. Enjoy
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Uzumaki Naruto was currently in the hospital. In a crib... why? Why not? He's only two days old, where did you expect him to be? In the field using kage bunshin outnumbering some enemy shinobi? Nope, he's here, and he's sleeping. He is also attached to wires and cords and those are attached to monitors. He is also a special case.
Yet, you see, he isn't the only one with a special case. Over fifty percent of the current overcrowded population residing in the hospital are here due to an attack on the village of a monstrous scale. You see you are probably thinking, Kyuubi no Youko has just been sealed into the boy and this is a typical fan... I mean story. Nope. Wasn't Kyuubi; twas the Gobi no Houkou. Many of the civilians thought the beast to be the Kyuubi but were unable to accurately depict it due to a few reasons.
Reason number one; both the Kyuubi and the Gobi are similar in appearance. Large, fuzzy, destructive, long tails, destructive. Reason two; it was dark, new moon, pitch black dark. Reason three... most firsthand witnesses are dead... pity.
Anyway, here we are. In the hospital. With baby Naru-chan... who's we you ask? Why, the present forms are Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Kushina, Hyuuga Hiashi, the Gama Sennin and of course Sandaime. Uzumaki Kushina was in a bed next to the young baby and was running her fingers over the side of his face.
"So..." the silence was broken by the cyclops Hatake. "What now...?" He asks with a solemn tone. This is enough to bring everyone out of their musings and into a new state of mind. Indeed, what now. A good sized piece of the village was in shambles and a small fraction of the ninja force is dead with roughly half injured. Oh, there was the civilian thing too...
"Well, one thing is for sure... I suppose I have to come out of retirement..." Sarutobi sighs as he thinks about the immense amounts of paperwork he might have to go through... unless..
"Well, we could try to find a replacement Hokage, you would only have to work for a little while Sensei..." Jiraiya speaks up now. He is silently concocting a plan to take on Minato's son as a student.
"Yes, we could try that Jiraiya-sama, but who can we choose from? Tsunade-sama is hardly trackable and we haven't heard from her in a while, you have your spy network to keep up with, and most others do not possess the qualities for the job..." Hiashi remarks with a frown thinking of those who could be Hokage but cannot.
"Well, until we can find some sort of a solution, I will go back into office to fill in. Can't have the work piling up for the poor sap who takes office..." the aged Hokage says."Now what about Naruto-kun here? What shall we do about him?"
A forboding silence crawls in as ideas and possibilites make entrances into the minds of all present, most are not the brightest but a few are. Thoughts of how the villagers will react to a jinchuuriki and the loss of Yondaime. The son of Minato... savior to all, burden to himself.
"I... would like to see my son treated right,just as Minato-kun would... no matter the cost. We should tell the villagers the truth; let us not hide anything from them. This is the child of Namikaze Minato, let it be known. He is a savior... If the villagers cannot accept this then I would like Jiraiya-sama to take Naru-kun and raise him..." Kushina speaks for the first time in a few hours.
What she has too say is astounding, she would give up raising her own son so that he may be safe and raised well... such an act is unconditional love. This though, brings mixed reactions to the occupants of the room. Jiraiya is touched as is the Hokage, Kakashi is alarmed and Hiashi is contemplating what this means. Kakashi wanted to help raise the young son of his sensei...
"Kushina... if if comes down to it... I would be deeply honored to raise your son. It means that my respect for the villagers would go down... alot... to think that... that..." Jiraiya is unable to finish his train of thought as thoughts of his students sacrifice surface.
"...That those who were saved by sacrifice would not honor a dead man's wish? That they would bring dishonour to his name and blood?" Hiashi is enraged at the very thought of such treachery, but calms down thinking about the child before him. "Yes... I doubt I would have any form of respect left to those who would dare such a thing..."
"Then it is settled, we shall-" Sandaime is cut off as a wide-eyed Kakashi voices his thoughts.
"You can't take him away if the villagers are blind! This is his home! His father was raised here, they'll see! You can't do it just because some villagers don't accept him for who heis! It won't be right..." Kakashi says in a fit of emotions not usually shown by the jounin.
Suprisingly, it is Hiashi who comforts the boy, "It's alright, but think about it for a second Kakashi-san..." He says as he lays a hand on the lad's shoulder. "Would you really want Naruto's life to be endangered just to be raised in his home? Think of his life, think of the scorn he might recieve. That's to say if the villagers don't accept the boy. If they do then everything will be even better than before... we have Kushina-san alive who happens to be a skilled medic, we have Jiraiya-sama here, and most importantly... we have the future, Minato's blood runs in this boy here. He is our hope..." Hiashi says with a burning, passionate look in his eyes.
Throughout his little speech, everyone is moved. Kushina is brought to silent tears and Kakashi's mind clears a little and his thoughts are less fuzzy. Like a fog lifting, he sees realization.
Naruto's eyes open to the sight of a group of very protective people all smiling down on him and, though he can't comprehend why, smiles back. Hope is within the boy.
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The next day, everyone gathers in the small plaza outside the Hokage tower to see what news he has. Word has spread and the Sandaime is back in office... but he has good news so everyone gathers at the time the tower usually opens up at.
Inside the Hokage's private office, last nights company is present and baby Naruto is on the table asleep in a baby blue blanket. The mood is somber; things could go bad or good. Either way, they steel their resolve and head to the balcony. Kakashi looks to Kushina, in a wheelchair from her recent childbirth, and recieves a nod. He picks up the bundle and opens the door for everyone to go outside.
The low voices fall to whispered conversation and eventually all fall silent before the small group of powerful people.
"People of Konohagakure! Hear our voices, for we have come to a decision. We shall not feed you lies and will tell you the truth, but think about these words we are about to say to you. We ask you not to act on impulse, consider what we say," the Gama Sennin opens up to the crowd.
If possible, the crowd grows to an even more rapt attention. So far it doesn't sound like good news, but they are interested by what these people have to say. They are, after all, their leaders.
"Two nights ago, the Gobi no Houkou came to our village; he brought with him the ferrocity that is known to be him. The elements he is said to control were fierce and destoryed much of ourbeloved village. However, who are we to sit back and watch this demon destroy those who we care for and love?" Sarutobi asked smiling out to all those gathered before him.
"Earlier that day, the child of our Yondaime was born to Kushina here," Hiashi indicates Kushina and Kakashi looks to Hiashi and Kushina. They give a nod to him.
"Though the Fourth died saving our village, the true hero is this boy here. Yondaime-sama sealed the Gobi into this boy so that you all would be safe from it. Naruto here, Minato-sama's son, will suffer having the Gobi in his body for the rest of his life. He is the living prison for the demon. But... none-the-less, he is still the Yodaime-sama's son," Kakashi said raising the boy up for everyone to see him.
The crowd is still quiet and then all of a sudden a light applause begins to form. It starts in the back, then slowly gains power and like a wave, is roaring and rushing to the front. The occupants of the balcony smile and Kakashi hands the boy to his mother who coddles him and silently thanks Kami for giving them this much.
Today is a new day, there is hope. The blood of their hero is alive in the form of a new hero and everyone is filled with a sense of pride. Except for the blood red eyes of the Uchiha clan as Fugaku leaves the plaza...
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Well, that's chapter one. Not to much but I think it's okay. Let me know what you think. Like I said, I have no idea where this is going to end up. Hope it doesn't end up like my first one... ha ha. Thanks, SAMFU