In his bed, a young blonde haired child tossed and turned in his sleep, fending off the nightmares that plagued his mind. The dreams were of lives that were not his own. Sometimes, he was a prodigy, praised for his skill and abilities that were comparable to his father's own. Other times, he was a ridiculed child, looked down on by others for not having the same talent as his brother. The memories tore at the young child, no older than five, the stress they put on his mind was agonizing, as if the memories were warring with each other in an attempt to gain dominance, an attempt to make this body their host, and their host alone. To one of the beings trying to inhabit the body, it was far from ideal, but with the war that was raging on across the planet, there was a low birth rate, with little to no Uchiha baby's being born at this time. That, along with his previous host's body having died a little over five years ago, left this boy, an indirect descendant that came from his brother's line, his only available host. Unfortunately, it was also the only host available for his brother to inhabit as well…
Since the time of the boys birth, the two brothers rivalry has been at its peak, with the one that gained dominance of this body being the only one whose ideals would make it to the new age, the one whose beliefs will be able to shape the world into their idea of peace.
However, around two months ago, the fight shifted into the younger brothers favor when a young Uchiha child was born. The older brother could feel his chakra being pulled from the blonde's body, trying to make its way to the newly born Uchiha, and he welcomed it. Unfortunately for the older brother, his chakra was now attached to his brothers, meaning neither of them could leave the boys body without both of them being pulled into separate hosts. In other words, he was stuck. Unless a new body was born that would pull at his brother's chakra, both of them were stuck together, constantly battling for dominance of their host's chakra network.
Fortunately, on the night of October 3rd, the older brother would get his wish. On that night, Kazuto Uzumaki was born...
Hidden Cave- 10 miles outside of Konoha
"Uwaaahhh!"
"Congratulations Kushina, it's a boy!" An old woman, Biwako Sarutobi, congratulated the exhausted Uzumaki as she worked on cleaning the newborn baby. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her mouth, her body tensing before a cold blade slice through her throat, ending her life and her scream before she even knew what happened. Her body soon hit the ground soundlessly, her murderer having made sure of it.
Chuckling, a masked man caught the falling body of the baby that the woman previously held. The man, inspecting the baby for a moment, took in how disgustingly the boy resembled the fourth Hokage, the baby's father. Yellow hair sat atop his head, with bright blue orbs hovering below. Change the face and get rid of the whiskers and you would have a clone of what the man could only assume the Hokage looked like as a baby. Stopping himself from observing the boy, the man decided to make himself known and start his plan.
"Step away from the Jinchuuriki now, 4th Hokage, or your son dies at the ripe old age of one minute." He stated somewhat smugly, already knowing he had the man cornered.
Startled, the Hokage quickly turned his attention away from repairing his wife's seal, not expecting someone to have been able to have gotten passed the ANBU he had stationed at the entrance, and especially so soundlessly…
A widening of his eyes and stepping slightly forward were the only reactions the masked man got before the Hokage began frantically talking.
"Hang on! Let's not do something so drastic that we'll regret!" Minato said desperately, trying to diffuse the situation and preserve his families lives.
"Tick Tock, Hokage." And with that, the masked man tossed the baby into the air and brought his kunai up to end the boy's life. Of course, the entire conversation was a game, an effort by each party to buy time. Minato, the Hokage, already knew he had little chance of talking the man out of it, the masked man was strong enough to soundlessly kill all the elite ANBU without alerting him of a struggle, he was obviously skilled, and a shinobi doesn't get as strong as he was without resolve. And likewise, the masked man could have easily ended the baby's life without tossing him in the air, a move that gave the Hokage time to rescue his son and vanish with him, intending on bringing him to safety. The masked man smirked, all was going according to plan…
And now, the Jinchuuriki, Kushina, in her weakened state and without protection, could not defend herself from him and keep him from unleashing the Kyuubi.
"Perfect." The masked man, and Kushina, vanished without a trace.
Minato's and Kushina's house- During Birth
Naruto Namikaze, son of Minato and Kushina, suddenly tensed and cried out as he released an enormous blast of chakra, the very same chakra that plagued him since birth. He cried out in agony, being forced awake by the immense pain he was suffering as chakra was forced from his body, feeling as if he were being torn in two! The pain he felt could only be compared to when a Jinchuuriki had their Tailed Beast forcibly extracted from them, before the pain just suddenly disappeared, along with the chakra around him, dissipating into the air, well on it's way to new hosts.
Taking deep breaths, Naruto lied in bed for a few minutes, working hard to forget the agonizing sensation he had just experienced as he tried to calm his heart. Shortly after collecting himself, he leaned forward and sighed, happy the hell he experienced was over, before finally taking note of all the scream he was hearing, howling winds and sudden explosions could be heard, along with the noise that came with civilian and shinobi alike banging at his door, begging to be let into the safety of his home. Naruto, confused, wondered why so many people would try to get into his house, unaware of the powerful seals crafted onto it that prevented most attacks and stopped unwanted entrances, making it one of the most ideal places to be during this attack. Many of the poor souls outside sought refuge in his home, aware of the protection it could offer in these harsh times, wanting desperately to save their own lives.
Leaping from his bed, Naruto ran from his room and down the stairs, careful not to trip down the narrow path as he made his way to his front door. Arriving shortly with no trouble, he took a breather before collecting himself and opening the door slightly.
"It's open! Open! We're saved!" the cries of the villagers rang painfully in Naruto's ears, he was soon forced out of the doorway as they forced the door open all the way and streamed in, relieved that they were safe from the terror taking place outside. Naruto, curious as he was, glanced out the doorway, only to freeze in horror at the sight of a massive fox with nine large swinging tails, and it was staring right at him!
Villagers, rushing out of the (not really) safety of their homes, gathered to watch what was likely their last moments in the world of the living, as in that moment, the Kyuubi open its mouth wide. Slowly but surely, they could only watch in horror as the Kyuubi drew on its massive reserves of power, already forming what was commonly referred to as a 'Tailed Beast Ball'. Dark purple in color, an orb of energy appeared in the Kyuubi's mouth as it seemed to draw in the energy from the air around it, soon growing to a size that wasn't far off from the size of its head.
Outside his home, Naruto had his eyes widen an unbelievable degree, understanding the consequences of the Tailed Beasts action, even at the age of 5, he could clearly see that an attack like that would result in the deaths of not just him, but the people around him as well. Time slowed to a snails crawl, he could feel his heartbeat accelerating at unimaginable levels, feel as his lungs decided they couldn't get enough oxygen. He felt fear, the primal fear for his life that many had felt before him, he feared for himself, but he also feared for his parents-
'Where were his parents?!' He realized, somewhat numbly, that his parents weren't in his house when he woke up, and if he couldn't see them anywhere out here… then that means…
Fire rained, the village was set alight with destructive jutsus, all in the hopes of stopping this monster from firing it's only known jutsu, alas, it was too late, as it aimed at the Hokage monument… and fired! The attack sped off in an amazing show of speed, ready to do all it knew how to do, destroy!
'They were dead…' Naruto finished in his head. No! He couldn't accept it! They were alright! His dad was the freaking Hokage, he couldn't die that easily, and neither would he! Suddenly, his head shot up and he glared heatedly at the Kyuubi, knowing in his heart that it was this beings fault, his village was suffering because of this monster. He hated it, he wanted it to suffer. He couldn't let himself die here, what would his parents say when they joined them in the afterlife, he would've been a disgrace to their legacy…
The Kyuubi's attack traveled through the air, moving at unimaginable speed, destroying everything in its path as it neared its destination.
Naruto felt himself snap as a sudden pain flared in his body, something in him definitely felt wrong. His chakra, which had always felt too dense and uncontrollable, shot up to amazing heights as something seemed to finally click, his chakra feeling like it was finally settling in place after a long time, and it felt powerful. It burned within him, waiting for his command, ready to do anything that was asked of it by its master.
Naruto, unaware of the true reasons for the sudden change in his chakra, assumed it to have been the result of his stress and desire to live that caused the changes he was experiencing, but that was partially correct. The true reasons were much more than that, something that would have him leave his mark on the world. Unfortunately, for it will have severe repercussions, the presence of the two chakras that inhabited his body was not without consequences. The remnants of the brother's chakra, along with the chakra he had unknowingly inherited from exposure to the Kyuubi in the womb, had mixed, but most importantly, merged with his own chakra, strengthening it and changing it, making it more than the sum of its parts. It had truly become his chakra, something unique to him and him alone, not the average stuff you find in any other shinobi.
His eyes burned as he watched the attack neared, ready to end the lives of him and the people around him, but he would not die today, he wouldn't let something like this stop him, he can't die here, he won't accept it! Tensing, an overwhelming sensation overcame his body as he instinctively brought his hand up, his newly rippled eyes shined silver with power as he performed a technique that was unknown to him, right in front of a crowd of shinobi and villagers ready to meet their end.
"Preta Path!" He shouted, his body straining itself as the overwhelming energy of the Tailed Beast Bomb was absorbed into his very being. Those around him watched in shock as the massive ball of energy stopped in front of the boy. before it suddenly seemed to flow into his body before disappearing entirely.
The absorption lasted a whole five minutes, and in the end he was battered and bruised with multiple wounds showing on his skin, blood leaking from his nose and mouth and he even collapsed from exhaustion, but to the people that witnessed him, the feat he had accomplished, they couldn't think of a more godly image at that moment.
Hokage Office- Early Morning
Hiruzen sighed, sadness showing as a tear made its way down his face, as he looked out at the village from his window and saw the destruction the Kyuubi made in its attack.
"Minato… You idiot…" The words escaped his mouth before he even knew he had spoken them, but looking at the sleeping baby in his hands, he couldn't help but feel that those words were appropriate in this situation. The baby in his arms, Kazuto, gurgled and giggled up at Hiruzen, joy in his eyes, it's mind not capable of comprehending the death of his parents, not understanding what their deaths and his Jinchuuriki status would mean for him. He had no way of knowing that his only protection right now was him, and that he didn't think he could protect him, not in the way that mattered.
Kazuto wasn't even a full day old and the villagers were already calling out for his blood. Hiruzen didn't know how, but the information had gotten out that the boy was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and instead of the villagers praising the boy for saving them, they mocked and hated him, not believing him to be strong enough to contain the Kyuubi, believing it would corrupt his mind and he'll let it out. They fear that if they get too lax, too comfortable around him, they'll drop their guards and the Kyuubi will strike at that moment, and so, they pushed him away.
It was foolish, but he could understand. There have been many, in the time of Jinchuurikis existence, who have fallen to the influence of a Tailed Beast, but those had been ones with defective seals! Not ones that were powered by the Shinigami himself!
Taking a few breaths, Hiruzen calmed himself, it wouldn't do the village, or Kazuto, any good getting angry. He needed to be rational at this time, he could be angry later, but now, he had some affairs to get in order.
"So it's true…" The broken voice of his last loyal student muttered from the corner of the room, hidden in the shadows, likely so nobody would be able to see the tears streaming down his face. It was all for naught, however, the quivering in his voice gave away the sadness he felt. His student, his family, was dead. And what did Minato get for his sacrifice? One son was persecuted and hated, while the other was in a coma, suffering from chakra overload, something they didn't even think was possible, especially not in someone so young. Though, he mused bitterly, the boy was being praised as a God by some of the civilians and villagers that saw what happened last night. Somehow, against all odds, a five-year-old had managed to stop an attack from a tailed beast.
"Jiraiya, we need to talk," Hiruzen said seriously, they had more important things to be talking about, they couldn't waste time going over the obvious. Jiraiya, meeting his gaze and mimicking his expression, gestured for him to continue.
"It's… about Naruto." He started. At the confused look Jiraiya gave him, he continued.
"Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri have already gotten their hands on information of Minato's demise and have started mobilizing squads of ninja around the edges their borders. It seems they've taken this chance to spread their borders. Along with that, they somehow have knowledge on how Naruto, his son, was somehow capable of stopping an attack by the Kyuubi. They're worried, I can tell that much. While news of Minato's death is welcomed by them, they fear a second coming in the form of Naruto."
Jiraiya sat and digested the information for a while, but it wasn't too surprising, the actions were understandable, while the village was weak, it was prime time for other villages to press in and take over more land while Konoha didn't have the time or the forces available to defend it. But the troubling news was with Naruto, surely they would grow overconfident, they'll eventually make a move against him, and they might succeed… But that didn't explain why he wanted to talk to him about Naruto, unless…
"I can't take Naruto with me, Old Man. As skilled as he apparently is, he is still just a child. He won't be able to avoid catching people's attention as I run my network, and if someone sees a blonde kid with me, they'll put two and two together…" Jiraiya stopped, realizing they were only talking about Naruto, there weren't any mentions of the baby in Hiruzen's hands, a baby he knew was his students.
Seeing his gaze, Hiruzen looked away, ashamed of what he was going to do.
"Knowledge of Kazuto's birth parents is an S-rank secret, I'm sorry Jiraiya, but for the safety of this boy, you can't interact with him, at all. At least, not until he's ready." As the words left his mouth, he knew he had upset Jiraiya.
"What?! Then what's going to happen to him? Where will he go?!"
"The same place he would even if he did know his parents, the orphanage. Naruto is already too well known, I, at least, can protect Kazuto by keeping his parents a secret, even if it is from himself. Unfortunately, Naruto doesn't have that luxury, not with him being so well known."
"*Sigh* Alright, I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Just know, one day I will spend time with my godson, even if it's twenty years from now. I made a promise to Minato and I intend to keep it." With that said, they continued on their conversation until Jiraiya brought up something that was bothering him.
"So, how did the kid do it?" He bluntly asked.
"How did who do what?
"Quit the crap, sensei. How did Naruto stop an attack from the Kyuubi? I know Kage level shinobi that couldn't do that, so how'd the kid do it?
"I'm… not entirely sure. What we've gathered from the shinobi near Naruto when it happened, he somehow managed to absorb the chakra from the attack." Hiruzen spoke, confusion and wonder in his voice.
"That's impossible! There's no technique, jutsu or otherwise, that can absorb that much chakra. The only thing even remotely close would be sealing it!"
"I understand how hard it is to believe, trust me, but so far, Naruto hasn't shown any sign of possessing any seals on his body. The best I can guess is that exposure to the Kyuubi while in the womb, has somehow given him an… 'affinity' to the Kyuubi's chakra." He explained, not entirely sure his answer was correct.
"*Sigh* I can't believe it. So, what's going to happen to him? I can't take him, he can't stay here, Kakashi's too young and unstable right now, and I don't want to just leave him in some small village with a fake name, all alone with no way of contacting us…"
"I don't know, Jiraiya, I don't know." A heavy sigh rested in his throat, and he was tempted to let it out, but before he could, the door opened and an old man stepped in…
"I… might have a solution." The deep and rough voice of Danzo Shimura announced as he limped his way in, a frown set on his face.
Jiraiya practically growled while Hiruzen showed his displeasure by allowing a frown of his own to appear on his face.
"Whatever it is, you can take it and shove it up your ass, Danzo. We're not letting you turn Naruto into a mindless slave!" Spat Jiraiya, his eyes conveying a promise of torture if he so much as touched Naruto.
"Danzo… While I appreciate the company, I'm sure you can see I was discussing important business with Jiraiya here. If you could just come back later, I'm sure I can make time to catch up with you…"
"Stop. Sarutobi, just stop. I know what you think of me, and I know what you think of my methods, but everything I do is for the sake of our village. If killing your emotions or sacrificing a few lives will get the mission done, I'll do it, but there is one thing you can't deny, I will do anything to protect my village. If that means doing things your way, I'm sure we can find a compromise…"
Staring at Danzo for a moment, seeing the look in his eyes, the absolute seriousness he saw, made Hiruzen want to at least hear what he wanted to say.
"...Go on." He finally said after a while.
"You can't be serious, Hiruzen! He'll turn Naruto into an emotionless tool!" Jiraiya exclaimed in disbelief, not believing what he was hearing.
"Be quiet Jiraiya, the grown-ups are talking." The Third Hokage waved Jiraiya off dismissively.
"Continue." He urged as Jiraiya wept in the corner, crying anime-style.
"Now, as I was saying. As much as I dislike Minato and his way of doing things, he inspired fear in the hearts of Konoha's enemies, and his death has left many of the more… ambitious enemies to start picking holes in our borders. My ROOT have already captured three spies trying to infiltrate Konoha Hospital, more specifically, room B-35." He paused his explanation, deciding to let that information sink in.
"But that's…" Jiraiya started, comprehension starting to appear on his face.
"Naruto's room." Hiruzen finished grimly. Danzo gave a short nod before continuing.
"That's correct. Now, upon interrogation, I've learned that the main objective of the spies was to gather information on Konoha's defenses, with a secondary mission of observing Naruto Namikaze. If the boy was deemed to have been useful for their village, he would have been captured and readied for immediate relocation to Iwa, and if he was deemed useless, he was slated for immediate termination." Danzo, the great master of dramatics, once more paused.
"Those bastards!" Jiraiya screamed, foam practically forming at his mouth. Hiruzen himself felt Jiraiya's rage as well, but he limited himself to only narrowing his eyes, a dangerous look his enemies witnessed shortly before their lives were taken.
"After milking all the information that I could, I learned that the boy is a high priority target for both Iwa and Kiri, with an assassin after assassin to be sent if the spies were not to make it home, the potential he's shown at just five years old making other Kage paranoid. Now, while this normally wouldn't be a problem, Konoha has been drastically weakened in the wake of this attack. We're down a Kage and around 13,000 shinobi and 5,000 civilians, not to mention that many of the more influential and well-off civilian families moving away, we're severely lacking in funds, now that many of the high payers have left."
Hiruzen and Jiraiya nodded, well aware of the deaths, but the lack of funds was news to them. They simply didn't have the time to go over that information yet.
"How does this concern your solution to Naruto?" Jiraiya questioned, now curious to what the man had to say.
"Naruto, while in this village, is too much of a liability. He'll only cost the village money and men as they defend him, but we can't just hand him over to be executed, that'll only show that Konoha is weak and vulnerable if we rolled over to their demands, it will also cause the ire of his newly found worshipers."
As much as they hated to admit it, they could see that Danzo had a point, Naruto was taking up too many resources. They simply didn't have a way to provide all his needs.
"That being said, Naruto is too much of an asset for the village to just throw away. I propose we announce his death to the villagers using the excuse that his body wasn't able to handle the amount of chakra it had absorbed-."
"What good will that do? Sure, it'll work for a time, but eventually, someone would see Naruto on the streets and learn the truth, what then?" Jiraiya questioned, already poking holes in Danzo's logic.
"As. I. Was. Saying before I was interrupted. Naruto, he has shown potential of reaching his father's level, if not higher, in skill and ability. That is evident by the events yesterday. My solution is that we train him, we give him the tools that he needs to help defend Konoha and secure our place at the top. I already have a group of my most talented ROOT on standby, ready to transport Naruto to one of our secret hideouts. We will then begin to train him for what's to come, I'm sure you can tell a war is inevitable. We need to prepare." Danzo finished, letting his plan sink into the minds of the men in front of him.
Hiruzen stroked his goatee in thought, the plan was better than anything he could think of, except he felt he should add his own voice in the plan as well.
"This plan of yours has… merits, but I'm not comfortable in having you and your men train Naruto by yourselves. I will allow this plan, on the condition that only ONE of your ROOT goes with Naruto, another will be one of my shinobi of my own choosing will accompany the two and aid in his training while also reporting directly to me, and lastly, I won't have Naruto be crammed up in an old building. One of the most secure places on the planet, Uzushio, is hidden well enough, has enough space, and only Naruto and Tsunade can access it, it should be perfect for this purpose." Hiruzen stated.
Jiraiya thought it over, it wasn't ideal, but it was an idea that gave the most of what can be gotten to all of the parties involved. He agreed with Hiruzen's decision, now all that was left was Danzo.
After a full minute of thinking it over, Danzo finally nodded his head, agreeing with the plan.
"Okay, it's a deal."
Just to let you guys know, Itachi is 6 at this time, not 4. Kyuubi fight happens almost the same as in canon, with a few twists I'll elaborate on later.