A/N: okay so i'm gonna be honest, i haven't written naruto fic since 2009 and i CANNOT BELIEVE i am writing naruto fic in this, the year 2017. but while i have been salty about Many Things in my time in naruto fandom (some of which are more recent than others *coughborutocough*), very few things make me more angry than the many ways in which LITERALLY EVERYONE in naruto's life has failed him. there are so many adults who could've stepped up and helped him, and none of them did. and that rage and frustration expressed itself as this fic, which all but flew out of my brain without my permission.

on a smilar note: i know this particular genre of fic is Super Overdone. trust me, i know, i have been reading this genre of naruto fic since i was 13, which is why i can say with absolute honesty that i am so sick of fics where naruto gets adopted/raised by someone and it totally changes his personality/skillset/etc. so there will be none of that here. tsunade's gonna raise this tiny ball of sunshine, and he's gonna be the same doofus with a huge heart and huger chakra reserves that he is in canon. he's not gonna be a medical ninja, and he's not gonna magically get fantastic chakra control or be good at being polite or have the mokuton, so if you're looking for that, this is not the fic for you.

however, if you're looking for fic where the sweetheart of a boy in canon who deserved unconditional love and support from parental figures actually GETS that, by all means, keep reading.

(title from the english translation of Cascade by UNLIMITS)

Sarutobi was at a loss. Minato, the young prodigy and war hero who had carried the mantle of Hokage for just a few short years, was dead. As was his equally young and beloved wife. And all that was left of their legacy was a squalling newborn child, with the mightiest of the Bijū sealed into him.

To make matters worse, the damage to the village was massive, as was the amount of casualties. Sarutobi knew that, at least for the time being, he'd have to step back into his role as Hokage, to mitigate the damage if nothing else. But he was old, and they'd have to find a replacement sooner or later—privately, he hoped it would be the former rather than the latter.

In the meantime, he had to do the immediate damage control, and find someone to take care of the infant he cradled in his arms. And he had to figure out what exactly he was going to do about that situation; it wouldn't do for the village to dishonor Minato and Kushina's legacy, but it would be a fine balancing act between honoring their wishes and keeping young Naruto safe.

At the very least, he had to have Jiraiya check Naruto's seal. Not to make sure it was functional—Sarutobi had the utmost confidence in Minato's abilities, especially considering he had studied fuinjutsu under Kushina's mother, Uzumaki Akane, one of the only surviving seal masters of the Uzumaki clan. Or at least, she had been—she and her husband had both been unfortunate casualties of the Third War.

He directed his gaze at a nearby ANBU guard. "Go to the communications corps and tell them to send their fastest messenger bird to Jiraiya. Tell him he must return to Konoha immediately."

He returned his gaze to the newborn in his arms, and sighed. He was much too old for this.

Jiraiya was not in a great mood, upon returning to Konoha. He'd been making great strides with his….research, with some particularly lovely ladies in Kanzashi Gai. His stamp card at the brothel was almost full, and by the time he got back, the promotion would be over. He'd even managed to drink enough that for a few days, the fact that both his teammates had abandoned the village they'd sworn to protect (granted, for very different reasons, but still) wasn't a constant ache in his ribcage. In fact, there had been an entire hour where he'd managed nearly to forget entirely!

But a summons from his sensei overrode almost anything else. Damn Sarutobi-sensei could just be assured he would be getting an earful from Jiraiya.

Then again…Jiraiya wouldn't be worth half his salt as a Spymaster if he hadn't heard the rumors coming out of Konoha. Talk had only started a day or two ago, but people were talking about some sort of monster attack. Word was that Minato had defeated it—which filled him with a warm glow of pride—but he figured there was no point in believing unsubstantiated rumors. After all, if it had been a big deal, Minato would have written him.

With that in mind, when he'd received his sensei's correspondence, he'd packed and started heading back for Konoha immediately, grumpiness notwithstanding.

It took him just under two days to arrive; when he finally did, the extent of the damage to the village stopped him in place. He gaped for a moment, heart sinking, and took off for the unblemished beacon of the Hokage tower at full speed.

When he arrived, the scene was. Not what he had expected.

For one thing, Sarutobi-sensei was behind the Hokage's desk, instead of Minato. For another, there was a baby in a crib in the corner. And lastly, the tiniest ANBU member he had ever seen was hovering protectively in front of the crib. Jiraiya noticed the silver hair peaking out over the top of the mask, and realized it must be Minato's prodigy brat.

"Sensei! The great Jiraiya has ARRIVED. And not that it's not great to see you, and I know you sent the messenger, but what exactly are you doing in my precious student's chair?"

The Sandaime took a deep drag from his pipe, and sighed heavily. "Jiraiya, my boy…you knew Kushina was pregnant, yes?"

Jiraiya pretended to think about it and stroked his chin. "Kushina…Kushina…..ah! Minato's lovely wife, right? Yes, I know all about it—they even made me godfather! Can you believe it? They're naming their son after the main character of my book."

Sarutobi-sensei smiled, though it looked as if it had taken him a great effort. "Jiraya, Kushina gave birth four days ago. And when she did, the kyūbi escaped—despite our precautions and Minato's efforts to maintain her seal. I suspect outside interference—especially as the ANBU guards I sent and…my dear Biwako…were all killed before the Kyūbi escaped. And I know I saw someone else there, but he left too quickly, and he was well shrouded in a black cloak and mask. Unfortunately, I have no physical evidence of any of this."

This new information, combined with the current circumstances of their conversation and the rumors he had heard, were coming together to paint a particularly unpleasant picture. "Sensei—"

The Sandaime put up a hand. "Let me finish first, please. The kyūbi went on a rampage within the walls of the village, but Minato-kun managed to draw it away. By the time I arrived, it was too late—Minato had erected a barrier, and had already performed the Shiki Fūin, to seal half of the kyūbi's chakra into himself. He and Kushina had both been impaled by one of the kyūbi's claws, seemingly in an attempt to prevent it from harming the third person there: their newborn son, Naruto."

Jiraiya's eyes bugged out, but he made a concerted effort to contain himself.

"Before the Shinigami claimed Minato's soul, he performed the Hakke Fūin, and sealed the remainder of its chakra into Naruto. By the time I was able to break through the barrier and reach them, both Minato and Kushina had passed on."

Jiraiya could feel himself shutting down. He couldn't process it. Minato had been the closest thing he had to a son, and a son should never die before his father. A student should never die before his teacher…

"And what about Naruto? I imagine that's him in that crib over there, unless you've somehow acquired a different baby that would need your personal care, along with that of Minato's prized student."

At the mention of Naruto, his ANBU guard shifted even closer to the baby, and Jiraiya was sure that underneath his ANBU mask and his facemask, his expression was as fiercely protective as his body language.

"Ahh…Naruto-chan's circumstances are complicated. The council cannot agree what to do with the boy, and it has been tremendously difficult just keeping him out of Danzo's hands. So until we can find a permanent guardian for him, I've been keeping him under my direct supervision at all times, and have had an around-the-clock protection detail on him as well."

Jiraiya held back a snarl. Minato's body was hardly cold yet, and those damned geezers were already squabbling over petty power struggles, as if Naruto wasn't the only thing left of him, as if he wasn't Minato's legacy…

He reined himself in. Raging about the council at Sarutobi-sensei wouldn't help anything. "So what did you need from me, Sensei?"

"Several things. For one, as you've said, you are Naruto's godfather. I have quite a lot of work to do in organizing rebuilding efforts and dealing with the council and civilians and the clan heads—I simply lack the time and ability to take care of Naruto on top of my other responsibilities. I need you to take care of him—at least for the next few weeks."

Jiraiya gulped. "Ah, Sensei, when Minato and Kushina made me godfather…I think they were hoping I'd take more of a teacher-role later on, once he's grown up a bit. I'm not great with babies."

Hiruzen leveled Jiraiya with an unamused look. "Whatever their hopes were, they've passed them on now. You do not have the luxury of swooping in later to teach him—he needs at least a temporary guardian right now, and there is no one but you who can do it!" He slammed his fist on the desk for good measure.

Jiraiya sighed. "I get it, Sensei, though I really don't think I'm the best one for this job…but what else did you need me to do? You said 'several things.'"

The Sandaime nodded. "Along those lines: while you are looking after young Naruto, and preferably sooner rather than later, please look over the seal Minato-kun used. I have complete faith in him, but nevertheless, I would rest easier knowing that everything went well and there are no faults with the seal."

Jiraiya smirked. "Seals? Now that I can do! I'll look over it as soon as I can. Anything else?"

Hiruzen stared at him, unfazed by Jiraiya's weak attempt at levity. "I have two missions for you: one short-term, and one long-term. In the short term, you must find Tsunade and convince her to come back to the village, even if only for long enough to heal the wounded from the attack. Our Medical Corps is doing the best it can, but without her, the death toll could still be incredibly high. Plus, she should be here for the funeral. She and Kushina were cousins, after all…"

"I understand. I'll see if I can track her down, but you know she won't want to come back to the village."

Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe, and exhaled a long slow stream of smoke. "I know. Do whatever it takes, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded resolutely. "I'll bring her back, Sensei."

Hiruzen gave Jiraiya an exhausted but genuine smile. He seemed so much older and more worn down than he had the last time Jiraiya had seen him. "I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that your other mission, once you have brought Tsunade home, is to go track down any information you can on the mysterious shinobi behind all of this."

Jiraiya gave his old teacher a humorless smile. "No need to ask me twice, Sensei."

"Good. Good. Now, I know you've only just arrived, but the sooner you leave, the sooner you'll find Tsunade, and the more lives we can save. I took the liberty of having Kakashi-kun prepare a go-bag for Naruto, with formula and diapers and the like." The Sandaime nodded to the ANBU guard, who sighed at having his identity revealed (despite how easily recognizable he'd been already), and removed his ANBU mask. He nodded politely at Jiraiya, although his gaze remained wary, and he continued to hover protectively over Naruto.

Jiraiya approached, and Kakashi stiffened slightly. "Minato-sensei put me in charge of protecting Kushina-san and Naruto as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Rest assured I will continue to protect Naruto. From anyone and anything." Kakashi didn't look like he wanted Jiraiya to rest assured. He looked like he would like nothing more than to be permitted to tell Jiraiya to fuck off.

Luckily, Jiraiya liked that kind of attitude. It made it so much fun to mess with the kid. Or at least, it would under normal circumstances. His heart wasn't much in it at the moment. For appearances' sake, though, he pasted a wide smile onto his face and ruffled Kakashi's hair, causing the fourteen-year-old boy to squawk with indignation.

Reaching into the crib and picking up baby Naruto, however, transformed the teasing expression into a much gentler one. Jiraiya was terrified of babies and No Good At Them besides (which Sarutobi-sensei really should've remembered, considering just how poorly the few babysitting D-ranks their team went on had gone), but baby Naruto already looked so much like Minato and Kushina, and as soon as Naruto blinked those huge blue eyes at him, he was a goner.

Naruto didn't even fuss as Jiraiya picked him up, merely blinking sleepily at Jiraiya, and then snuggling into his arms. The kid was so small, Jiraiya could almost lose him in the sleeves of his shirt. He poked Naruto's soft little cheek, and Naruto went wide-eyed, gurgling happily. Jiraiya couldn't have stopped the grin spreading across his face if the success of an S-ranked mission had been depending on it.

When he looked up, Kakashi had relaxed his stance slightly, and Sarutobi-sensei was smiling at him in that embarrassing "oh look at my precious student isn't he so cute? I'm so proud of him," way that had been making Jiraiya needlessly defensive about his manliness since he was twelve years old.

Jiraiya cleared his throat and tried to stand up taller. "Uh, anyway. That go bag? I need it, and should probably get going."

Kakashi nodded, and disappeared with a quick body flicker. He reappeared almost before Jiraiya could register his absence, carrying a duffel bag. Jiraiya took it and slung it over his shoulder, nodding at both Kakashi and the Sandaime.

"I'll be back with Tsunade as soon as I can." Jiraiya said, cradling Naruto in one arm and gripping the strap of the duffel where it rested on his shoulder with the other.

"Safe travels," Hiruzen said solemnly, "and come home quickly."

Kakashi bowed his head slightly at Jiraiya, and raised his hand slightly, like he'd been planning to wave at Naruto, but had aborted the gesture before he could lift his hand the whole way.

And with that, Jiraiya turned and jumped out the window, off to find his favorite wayward teammate.