AN: After re-reading some of the Ciaphas Cain novels and Accidental Hero of the Galaxy by Random Equinox on , I was inspired to continue this story. I cleaned up and expanded the prologue and I'll start writing the next part soon. I hope you'll enjoy this story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This story is written with no profit in mind. I make no money from it.
This story was inspired by an idea from Guardian Box on the Space Battles forums and the Ciaphas Cain novels written by Sandy Mitchell, which I do not own either.
The Hero of Konoha
Book I:
The Reluctant Hero
=RH=
Prologue
Warning! This is S-Class classified document!
Reading this document without first receiving the proper authorization, will result in handing you to the tender mercies of the T&I department of Konoha.
Warning! This is S-Class classified document!
"There are many stories pertaining Naruto Uzumaki, who we now all know as Naruto Namikaze. There are many accounts of his adventures from the time he graduated from Konoha's Shinobi Academy until the end of the Fourth Shinobi war. For anyone familiar with the world we live in, it won't be a surprise that most of those... stories are at best em-blemished and many had become outright legends, even if they possess a kernel of truth.
The purpose of this and subsequent documents I will be submitting to the Hokage for approval before sending them to the heads of the Shinobi Alliance, will be to set the record straight.
I believe that I would be able to do so thanks to a simple fact that I discovered just a few days ago.
Naruto Namikaze kept a journal of a kind, which gives us a frank insight to his character and various exploits as a Shinobi of Konoha. After I made the Hokage aware of the existence of these memoirs, he issued directive 781-5A, declaring that an edited history of Naruto's adventures should be made available to the people of the Elemental Countries. In the same time, a classified account of his actions would be distributed to the leaders of the Shinobi Alliance, containing everything that isn't deemed fit for civilian consumption. As anyone cleared to read the journals I will be editing, most of Naruto Namikaze's missions are actually either classified or contain elements that are.
As we all know, by now Naruto's life has become more or less a legend, so much so that even experienced Shinobi would be hard pressed to distinguish fact from fiction. We all should be thankful to the Toad Sannin Jiraya, because it was under his influence during a three years long training trip that Naruto Namikaze started writting these journals. If I'm to make a guess, the Sannin who was an accomplished and famous writer in his own right, wanted his god son to follow in his footsteps as far as writing is concerned. It's thanks to that man, that we now possess a mostly accurate account of Naruto's experiences as a Shinobi.
It is fortunate, that Namikaze continued to keep journals even after his training trips was over. He kept doing so up until the end of the Fourth Shinobi war, something I'm confident that future historians would be thankful for.
Further, as the current ANBU Commander of Konoha, I have access not only to all classified documents my village have pertaining Naruto, but many archive documents from the Shinobi Alliance. Thanks to that wellspring of information I will be able to flesh up the journals with information that Namikaze either didn't possess at the time or even never received at a later date, making it impossible for him to add it to his account.
Now, before I start with the first edited journal of Naruto Namikaze, I should warn any prospective readers of these documents that they contain some rather disturbing and frank admissions on his part. By his own words, he wasn't the fearless hero who not only Konoha, but the whole Elemental Nations know and love. While I believe that Naruto has been overly harsh towards himself in his journals, something that persists through his account of events up until the war ended, I will leave you to make your own conclusions after you've read this autobiography of sorts.
After this overly long introduction, it's time to start the story.
Naruto's legend began more than a thirty years ago, during one of Konoha's darker hours. It was during an accident that threatened to start another war, at a time our illustrious village hadn't have the opportunity to recover from the last major conflict and the disastrous Kyuubi attack.
However, in order for you to understand how he became the boy who we see portrayed there, I first must explain a few events that happened right after the Demon Fox's rampage started..."
ANBU Commander: Name Redacted
The night of Kyuubi's attack
Konoha
Minato Namikaze glared at the man wearing an orange mask, whose figure was hidden by a black cloak embroidered with pink clouds(1). That bastard had nearly killed his newborn son, before going on to release the Nine Tails from the weakened seal on his the Hokage's wife(2). Even now, as the two men were staring at each other, ready to clash again, the Demon was rampaging on the outskirts of Konoha.
Over there, Sarutobi, the former Hokage, was leading the Hidden Village's shinobi in a desperate struggle to slow down the orange force of nature, while the civilians were being evacuated. It would be a futile effort for far too many men, women and children, that much Minato knew and it was all this bastard's fault.
That night, the Fourth Fire Shadow was about to show why he was one of the most feared Shinobi in the history of the Elemental Nations(3). His actions would cement his legend, making him even more revered by the future generations.
Yet, that was something that never crossed his mind.
He was a husband trying to save his wife. A farther fighting for the life of his newborn son. A Hokage, determined to protect his people.
That masked bastard was standing in his way.
They were on a small clearing in the forest surrounding Konoha. It was a peaceful place, lit up by the rays of the full moon.
"Konoha will burn, and there is nothing you could do to stop it!" Taunted the masked man.
He didn't really expect to rile up his target with those words. It was a mere distraction after all. Besides, mere words meant nothing, after he had tried and almost succeeded in murdering the Namikaze's family.
The man, who lately used the name Tobi, distorted, vanishing from his side of the clearing and appeared behind Minato without a sound. Despite that, the Hokage somehow sensed him and ducked. A blue sphere of spinning Chakra appeared in the Fire Shadow's right hand and he shoved it in the chest of his nemesis.
However, the masked man became intangible and the attack passed harmlessly through him. Tobi chuckled and tried to shove a kunai in Minato's outstretched hand. The Hokage became a yellow blur, moving faster than a mortal man could react. He appeared behind the masked man and struck him with another spinning sphere.
"Rassengan!" Minato put forth all his fury and frustration as he roared the name of his technique. Minato finally nailed the bastard, sending him spinning into a nearby tree.
However the attack wasn't as damaging as he expected. Usually, one of his Rassengans was enough to tear a man's torso to bits sending blood and chunks of shattered bone flying everywhere. He had done so to hundreds of Iwa Shinobi in the wast war as he singlehandledly destroyed an army in the span of mere hours.
Yet, the masked man simply grunted and vanished only to blink into existence to Namikaze's right. Tobi sent a torrent of flames at the Hokage, who used Hirashin to dodge and counterattack again. Two Rassengans struck the man who unleashed hell upon Konoha.
The spinning balls of Chakra shredded Tobi's cloak and bit into the flesh below. Skin and a layers of muscle were ground away, before the masked man could disappear again.
Tobi appeared on the far end of the clearing and fell to his knees.
"I'll give you that, you wounded me." The assassin grunted in pain. "My connection with Kyuubi is severed. Yet, you've won nothing, Namikaze! The fox will be my plaything again. Have fun trying to stop Kyuubi. I'll take over the world and there are so many ways to achieve that..." Tobi smirked and vanished, leaving Minato alone in the demolished clearing.
=RH=
Minato appeared in the safe house where he had brought his wife and son after the initial attack. A nearly delirious Kushina was clutching the newborn baby to her chest. He gave a pained smile to the most precious people in his life. It was a broken, fleeting thing. Even here, the sounds of battle and Kyuubi's blood curling roars could be easily heard. Could be felt as the structure trembled from the sheer volume of the sound.
One of the most powerful men in the Elemental Nations was out of acceptable alternatives. Even someone with his power, backed up by the best Shinobi of Konoha, couldn't stop the Nine Tailed Fox in a stand up battle. The Ninjas were successful in only slowing down the demonic force of nature. Every single moment that they bought for the civilians to evacuate were bought at the price of broken and maimed Shinobi.
There was only one way to end the madness. Kyuubi had to be sealed… and only a newborn's Chakra coils could survive the ordeal(4).
Minato looked at his son. Two tiny blue eyes, mirror image of his own, looked back and the baby smiled at him. At that moment, the Hokage hated his tittle and the responsibility that came with it with an almost unrivaled passion.
There was only one answer. For him, his village, for his people.
Jinchuriki. The power of human sacrifice. His son, Naruto Namikaze was the best one for a thankless job. The Uzumaki blood in his baby's veins was a vital ingredient in ensuring that the seal holding the fox would preserve until the boy lived his natural life.
There was one more reason. As a Hokage, Minato couldn't ask someone else to sacrifice his child. He simply wasn't that kind of man, something he never though he would hate.
"I'm sorry." he muttered.
Minato kissed his son on the forehead, before taking him in his arms, preparing to Hirashin in the midst of battle.
"I'm coming with you, love." muttered Kushina.
While he had been staring at his son, she had become more lucid.
"You know what I have to do." he whispered.
The former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi nodded grimly.
Minato handled her their son, before gently wrapping his hands around them and vanishing in a yellow flash.
=RH=
The Fourth appeared amidst the flames of hell. Alone. He was surrounded by demolished building and a roaring inferno. All around them could be seen pieces of mutilated bodies, shinobi and civilian alike.
In front of him, he could see the Nine Tails, laying waste to his village. He bit his thumb and started making hand-seals.
"Kuchioyse no Jutsu!"he shouted when the last one was finished.
A huge smoke explosion occurred under his feet, and the Fourth found himself high in the air. He was standing on the head of a giant toad.
The boss summon took a moment to look over the surrounding area.
"Minato-kun, you are giving me a tall order, my friend." grumbled Gamabunta. His eyes were fixed on the fox.
"It can't be helped, I'm afraid."
"You are going to seal him, aren't you? You know the consequences, kid." muttered the boss.
"I know. Let's ride together one last time, Bunta."
The toad gathered it's Chakra and leaped at the monster rampaging through Konoha's outskirts.
Minute later, Sarutobi, who was leading the village's defense, saw his successor committing another impossible feat. Minato teleported the Kyuubi kilometers away.
=RH=
Sarutobi shunshined to a large clearing where he found the Nine Tails and the Namikaze family. The sight almost stopped his old heart. He saw Minato and Kushina pierced by a meters long, blood stained claw. They were between the fox and their child, trying to protect the newborn.
Naruto was placed on a small altar, which was surrounded by a circle of candles. Kyuubi's claw was hanging centimeters from his face.
Minato sensed his old mentor's presence and glanced his way.
"Old man... I would ask... a boon from you. I want our… son to be seen... as the hero he... is for protecting Konoha from the... bastard fox..." the Hokage's words were interrupted by a coughing fits.
Hiruzen could see the blood leaking from his successor's mouth.
"He will be. I swear to it!" declared the man known as the God of Shinobi.
"Thank you, Hiruzen..." whispered Kushina.
"Eight Point Sealing…"
A wave of soft, yet blinding light descended upon the clearing. Some undetermined time later, when Sarutobi could see again, Kyuubi was gone. Minato and Kushina were slumped next to the crying form of their son, laying still in death.
All Hiruzen wanted to do at that moment was to scream at the heavens, cursing both gods and demons alike for the injustice of it all(5).
=RH=
A week later
Council Chamber
Konoha
The reinstated Sandaime Hokage looked around. In the sealed chamber were gathered Konoha's clan leaders as well as the three people who were helping him to put the village back together: Danzo, Homura and Kohaku.
After the attack ended, Konoha had been gripped by a wave of grim uncertainty. When all was said and done, thousands of civilians were dead as well as hundreds of shinobi. Ever more were wounded, many of them crippled for life in either body, mind or both. The citizens and many Shinobi were angry, and afraid. They wanted answers and that was the point of this meeting. To decide what was to be revealed.
In another time, perhaps in another world, Hiruzen might have made a different decision. He was an old man, weary from wearing the Hokage's hat for so long. After all he had retired for a reason. So it wasn't unconscionable that he might have left the village politics dictate his choice.
However, he was Shinobi no Kami! The Will of Fire was still burning brightly within his heart, no matter how much it bled for his people. He made a promise to Minato, who he saw as his own son. One he was going to keep, and damn the politics to hell!
"Silence!" Sarutobi's voice snapped like a whip.
The bickering of the clan heads and his advisers halted, like it was cut down with a blade.
They either knew or suspected what Minato had done. All of them were aware that something like the Kyuubi, couldn't be killed. It had to be either "destroyed", dispersing it to only form few years later. The alternative was sealing and nothing stronger than the three tails could be ever trapped into a simple object.
"A week ago, Minato faced the Kyuubi." Hiruzen took a deep breath. "He sealed it into a newborn boy."
The room exploded with excited whispers. They still had a Jinchuriki. The balance of power was still in Konoha's favor despite the grievous losses. So they were relatively safe.
"What I am about to tell you, is an S-class secret. If any of you so much thinks of whispering about it outside this chamber, his life is forfeit!" the declaration was backed up by a wave of killing intent, which was almost as potent as Kyuubi's.
The third Hokage had their undivided attention.
"Minato sealed the fox in his newborn son."
It was almost amusing to watch their reaction. Some were relieved, other incredulous. Few had calculating expressions on their faces.
"What is to happen to the boy?" asked Hiashi Hyūga.
"His true heritage must remain a secret. If the outside world is to know who his father was, we would be neck deep with assassins within a week. That said…" Sarutobi trailed off. He knew that his next words would contradict his previous statement, yet in the end he had to do what was good for Konoha. The other Shinobi villages needed to know that the Leaf still possessed the ultimate weapon, even if it was sealed within a babe… even if it made Naruto a target(6).
Probably in a war with Iwa within a month, remained unsaid.
They all were keenly aware of the possible repercussions. After the devastation wrought by the Kyuubi, Konoha was in no position to wage another full scale war.
"I am going to announce that Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Minato wanted for his son to be seen as the hero he is for protecting this village every day of his life and in Kami's name he will be!" Hiruzen's voice thundered within the chamber. "I am aware how most of the Jinchuriki are treated within the other Shinobi villages." His eyes blazed with power. "This is something that won't happen in Konoha. I would prefer to keep that fact a secret too, however our people need the reassurance and hope that this news would bring. Naruto will be a target, that much is inevitable. Just not as much as if his parentage becomes known. He is to be protected at all times until the boy becomes a Shinobi of Konoha."
The famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio, who had faced the Kyuubi, nodded in support. They were well aware of the difference between a kunai and the scroll in which it was sealed. Even more importantly, their faith in the abilities of the Fourth was unshakable.
"How do you propose to do that, Hokage-sama?" asked Fugaku Uchiha.
=RH=
Noon
Next day
Konoha
All able bodied citizens of the Leaf were gathered around the Hokage tower. On top of it, they could see Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, who ruled again. He was flanked by Konoha's clan leaders and two squads of ANBU. More special forces operatives were spread through the crowds, ready to intervene if things went out of hand.
"Citizens of Konoha, hear me!" The Hokage's voice thundered over the village.
Tens of thousands listened, hanging on to his words.
"A week ago, we suffered a calamity that would have all but destroyed lesser people. Thousands of our brothers and sisters are dead, wounded or still missing. Yet we will prevail! Today we stand as one people. Unbowed. Unbroken." Hiruzen too a deep breath. "All because of two sacrifices. Minato Namikaze, our beloved Fourth Hokage, gave his life to defeat the Kyuubi."
The crowds cheered, chanting Minato's name.
"However, even his strength was not enough to vanquish such a beast."
Hundreds of gasps could be heard. Cries of protest and fear.
"No mortal man could truly kill a being such as the Kyuubi. It is a malevolent mass of Chakra, which if destroyed would only reform few years later and attack again..." before the crowd could start panicking at his revelation, Hiruzen roared. "FEAR NOT, people of Konoha! Minato Namikaze ensured that the Kyuubi won't trouble us again. You all know that he was a seal master without equal." Sarutobi paused, waiting for his people to comprehend what he was telling them.
"Minato did the best thing that a mortal in his position could do. It was a great, yet terrible achievement, which required another sacrifice. He sealed the Kyuubi within a newborn babe. A child whose parents were murdered by the Nine Tails. A Jinchuriki, the power of human sacrifice." Hiruzen's voice dropped to near a whisper.
Nevertheless he was heard by everyone thanks to a sound enhancing Jutsu.
"Today, I present you with another hero. One that is as great as our Fourth Hokage!"
Tsume Inuzuka, who had been holding Naruto stepped forward and careful handled the baby to Sarutobi. He took the boy and smiled gently at him.
"This is Naruto Uzumaki! The hero who will protect us from the Kyuubi for the rest of his life! He was chosen by Minato Namikaze himself to carry an incredible burden, the safety of every one of us! I have faith in this boy. The assembled clans of Konoha believe in him. The Shinobi of the Leaf village are behind him."
Sarutobi looked over the crowds, who had fallen silent. The Hokage prayed that he wasn't making a terrible mistake.
"What say you, citizens of Konoha? Do you believe in the power of the Fourth? He made sure that this boy is the jailor of Kyuubi, with a seal that will not break! "
The slowly, ponderously they started chanting Minato's name once again. Hiruzen raised a hand, silencing them.
"What say you, to the Hero protecting us all?" he asked and raised Naruto for all to see. "What say you to Naruto Uzumaki?"
This time the crowds exploded, shouting the name of the Fourth, but it was soon engulfed by ecstatic screams of "Uzumaki!"
For first time since the attack, a genuine smile graced Hiruzen's lips. He was proud of his people. The Will of Fire was still strong in Konoha.
And so, without even knowing it, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi, changed the future of the Elemental Nations forever(7).
1. As we all know nowadays, that was the standard uniform of the Akatsuki. While no one at the time was aware of it, Kyuubi's attack upon Konoha was simply a heralds of things to come.
2. At the time only a select few close friends of Minato Namikaze were aware of his relationship with Kushina Uzumaki, his wife. Thanks to that fact, Naruto was able to wear his mother's name for years without raising additional suspicion.
3. Even now, decades after his death, Minato Namikaze is still held up as one of the most brilliant and dangerous Shinobi to ever live by both allies and enemies.
4. Before the Fourth Shinobi war and its aftermath, knowledge about Junjuriki, and what entailed into their creation was usually at least an A ranked secret among the Shinobi villages, often S. However in practice, many high ranking Shinobi were aware of the main points of the procedures if not the details.
5. The information contained in this segment of the journal was recovered by Naruto after he met a Chakra construct containing pieces of his parents souls and their memories within the seal containing the Kyuubi. The very fact that such a fact was possible in the first place is a testament that Minato Namikaze was a Seal Master who hasn't been rivaled up to this day.
6. This was one of the most controversial decision that Hiruzen Sarutobi ever made in his long career. Many believe that it would have been better if he had hidden the fact that Naruto was a Junjuriki, passed on announcing the baby boy as a hero. While there are many valid arguments for keeping not only why, but what Naruto was a secret too, they miss two very important points. The Hokage probably correctly believed that Konoha needed to know that they were protected from the Kyuubi. Further, they needed a good news, even something better, a hero to unite behind in their dark hour and so, baby Naruto was used as a symbol. Further, revealing his status as a Junjuriki, while made him a target, was useful for Konoha. His very existence was a deterrent! In those times it wasn't hard to believe that if Konoha faced military defeat if attacked in her time of weakness, Naruto might be successfully smuggled near hostile Hidden Village and the Fox released as an act of mutual annihilation.
7. And thus, the Legend of Naruto Uzumaki was born. While there are many speculations about what would have happened if the Hokage had chosen another course of actions, we'll never know how things would have gone. Yet there are a few facts we can be certain of. Naruto Uzumaki would have had a rather different childhood, growing up to be a different person. In his own words, he might have been someone very different if it wasn't for a combination of how he was raised and a certain tragic even the was a part of as a child. Without those two constant, we would have know a very different Naruto, one who might not have left such a profound mark on our world.
Konoha ANBU Commander: Name Redacted
Warning! This is S-Class classified document!
Reading this document without first receiving the proper authorization, will result in handing you to the tender mercies of the T&I department of Konoha.
Warning! This is S-Class classified document!
AN: Any idea how to keep endnote formating when uploading the chapters here?