This is my first fanfic ever!
Please read and review! Reviews and critiques are MUCH appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If that wasn't obvious enough...
"Yondaime-sama", the panting ninja said quickly, between large gasps for air. The Hokage looked at the man, with a sense of dread flooding through him. The messenger ninja collapsed into one of the many chairs in the hospital room.
"The… the Kyuubi has managed to reach… the outskirts of the forest just beyond the village."
Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, stomped his foot on the ground in frustration.
"Already? I assumed you could have at least stalled until the reinforcements from Suna had arrived…"
"Yondaime-sama… unless we find some way, the Kyuubi will reach the village within the hour …" The messenger nin shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
The Hokage bit his lip, considering his options.
"Go back onto the field", the Hokage began, and then hesitated, as if he was deep in thought and trying to come up with a solution to a hard problem.
After a moment of thought, he looked up again, making eye contact with the ninja; a fiery determination in his cool, sapphire eyes. "…and tell them that the Yondaime is on his way."
"Aye, sir." The messenger said, quickly jumping into a salute. He then made some quick hand seals, and he shushined out of the area. Minato looked over, a little sadly, at his wife, Kushina, who was just through childbirth and was cradling their newborn son, Naruto.
"Hokage-sama, can we speak to you?" the medic nin asked softly.
The Yondaime looked at him, his head tilted slightly, showing clearly his confusion. After a small pause, the medic nin continued "…outside?", gesturing to the hallways right outside of the room.
In the hallways, the medic nin turned slightly. After making sure that no one was listening, they made eye contact.
"It isn't likely she's going to survive childbirth." The medic nin spoke in a soft and gentle, yet careful voice, as if he was afraid that the wrong usage of words; that even the wrong tone could cause the Yondaime to go berserk on his ass.
The Yondaime froze. To him, suddenly everything seemed to go in slow motion. Minato, lost in his thoughts, stopped paying attention to the outside world. He tried to act strong, brave, like a shinobi should. He tried to act as if it was a minor blow he would get over. But he couldn't. The medic nin, understanding, put his hand on the Yondaime's shoulder comfortingly. Minato sat his shaking body down, and he sobbed gently.
Minato walked slowly over to her side, and gently pried Naruto, their son, away from Kushina, whose eyes widened in realization.
"Don't tell me you're going to use that…" she muttered, her green eyes suddenly looking worried.
"There's no other way." Minato stated firmly. Kushina's emotions suddenly took a turn for the worse as her fears were confirmed.
"There has to be another way…", Kushina said, almost pleading for him and Naruto to stay with her.
Minato shook his head. He gazed longingly at her, as if his only desire would be just to stay with her at the time. But as he looked in the doorway, he saw shinobi loyal to Konoha being dragged about in stretchers and wheelchairs, and he remembered his duty to the village as the Yondaime, the Hokage.
He gave his wife an apologetic look, and then he looked downwards, and he shushined away.
On the battlefield, an immense, pure evil, red chakra was being emitted. The force was tremendous. The killer intent being shot out from the being in the middle, the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox, was enough to make most people piss their pants.
But Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime, was not like most people. Determined, he leapt forward through the forest, landing on thick branch after another. When he finally reached the center of the forest, where the Kyuubi had reached after creating a giant, blazing trail of fire and destruction, the Yondaime quickly got out a bunch of scrolls which each had intricately made seals, and placed his child in the center.
Calling out to his subordinates, he shouted, "Can you at least stall it for a couple minutes?" The remaining forces of Konoha, looked backwards, seeing the Yondaime preparing something, nodded, and continued the fight with increased vigor, hope evident in every attempt they made to stop the Kyuubi.
Finally, after the preparations were completed, the Hokage stepped back to look over his work. He bit his thumb hard enough to make it bleed, made a couple of hand seals, and smashed an open palm on the ground, yelling "SUMMONING JUTSU!"
Smoke erupted, and once it cleared, there was Gamabunta, king of the frogs, and on top of his head, was Minato.
"Hey there, Gamabunta." Minato greeted, his face giving off his trademark grin.
"Woow…", Gamabunta groaned, looking at the Kyuubi with disgust. "You sure do know how to find trouble, don't you."
"Anyways, I called you here because I need your help. Could you try and hold him still for about 15 seconds?"
"Sure thing, boss."
Latching onto the Kyuubi, Gamabunta pinned it down. But it was clear that he was barely doing so; and that at any moment, the fox could break free. Not wasting any moments, Minato launched forward, made a string of hand seals, and put his hands on the forehead of the beast, and yelled.
SEALING JUTSU!
A giant flash of light quickly engulfed the battlefield, and then dissipated just as quickly. Suddenly, the shinobi of Konoha realized. The Kyuubi was gone!
They began to cheer in triumph and victory, praising the gods above that they had the Hokage.
The Yondaime ambled weakly over to his child, who was starting to cry in pain as his soul was suddenly merged with the Kyuubi's. The Yondaime knew his time was up. This was the end for him. But at least he had succeeded as Yondaime. He had saved the village.
Tears came to his eyes as he gazed at his son. How Naruto resembled him. Bright blue eyes like the ocean. Shockingly blonde hair. His trademark grin plastered over his son's face. The tears began to fall uncontrollably as Minato realized he would never be there to see his son grow up. That he wouldn't be there when his son became a genin, or when he became a chuunin or a jounin. He wouldn't be there to see if his son ever became Hokage, or surpassed him. He wouldn't be there on his wedding day; or to wipe away the tears off his face when he was down, or to praise him when he did something admirable.
"I love you… my son…" the Yondaime muttered. The Sandaime had come over, and was holding the Yondaime up, giving him physical support. The Yondaime said softly, "I want my son to be treated like a hero, for being the one who contains the Kyuubi. For being the one who was and will always be the one who was strong enough to suppress the Kyuubi within him."
The Sandaime nodded solemnly, tears coming to his own eyes.
The Yondaime suddenly lurched forward, slumped down, and fell on the ground. The Sandaime began to cry, regretting that he himself wasn't the one to seal the monster. And the baby, Naruto, suddenly realizing the graveness of the situation, gave an earsplitting cry that could be heard all over Konoha.