Chapter one of my rewrite. I hope you like this

XXX-Naruto-xxx

His skin burned like an inferno, it stung like a million needles each digging forcefully into his chest. The pain, the pain was excruciating. An unfathomable racking pain that surged its way into the depths of his soul, which seared its way into his memory in such a manner that he knew he would never forget. His eyes trailed weakly to his opponent, the man in was in just as bad, if not a worse state as himself.

He laughed, for the briefest of moments his cracked and broken voice came rasping out.

"Never…never have I ever hated someone." The nature of the words startled him, the honesty in those words… "But you. I hate you."

"You…" Madara rasped out in response. The man laid on the floor, his mismatched eyes watching the blond with daft attention. He tried to move, to will his body to act; nothing, his body wouldn't obey, he couldn't move. "How will you do that when you can't move? When you're as ruined as me. Don't you see….this world…it's doomed. What happens when you die, when I'm gone?"

"I'll kill, no. I'll erase you from this world. Wipe every trace of you from existence."

"I'll tell you what will happen boy! Death, destruction. Domination and oppression, madness….There are no longer nine Bijuu. Just the Juubi and two Jinchuuriki…What do you think will happen when you die? When the nations realize that there's now just one monster. One beast who could allow them to dominate their neighbors? Death!"

Slowly Naruto struggled to his feet, he screamed in torment. His wounds gushing open and spilling the red ichor of his blood onto the floor. Fierce blue eyes gazed about the battle field.

Death.

All this death. All because of one man. He moved, each step a practice in absolute torment. A momentary act in pure absolute Pain. Red tinted blond hair swayed in the wind. Blue eyes, rich pools of cobalt locked on Naruto.

"You know nothing. These people fought to stop you, they fought…for a reason. To protect those they loved."

"They fought because they had no other option. Because the enemy of their enemy was their friend. When I'm gone- the enemy that hold their attention- when you're gone," Madara laughed his voice a thick coarse sound, he stopped as a thick bloody cough racked his chest. "They'll have no hero, no one to hold their feeble alliance together. They'll fall on each other like wolves. The weak will fall, and the strong will become the oppressors and monsters they always wish they could be."

"You keep on acting like I'm going somewhere…."

All Naruto got in response was another bloody laugh.

"I'm the one standing."

Another laugh. This one more maniacal than the last. Madara's sharingan twisted, his stolen rinnengan blared. The skies twisted open, buckled beneath the weight of the world. Before Naruto could act his world went black.

"I may die, but this world, this world will never see you again."

xxx-Minato-xxx

The clock behind his wall ticked slowly, too slowly, Namikaze Minato decided. Time was too slow, the seconds too long, the minutes an eternity, and the hours…the horrid hours never came to an end. He read through another paper. This one dealing with the nature of the village's water supply.

Who cared if the acetone levels were up point two percent? Why did they need his permission to change the reservoir filters? Why wasn't there some superfluous department to handle something as simple as this? He sighed in annoyance.

He swiveled in his chair. His sky blue eyes, deep azure pools that they were, watched his village with contentment. The boredom still gnawed at him, it ate at him constantly, and it was there, always there. After nearly sixteen years doing it he still hadn't come to terms with it. How had the Sandaime lasted more than forty years on this job?

"I wish there was something to break the monotony of this."

He stared out, watched, and waited. He sighed in frustration when nothing at all happened. He could hear the light chuckles of his ANBU. They were used to this by now. It was almost a daily ritual.

"Fuck." He could feel the amusement of his ANBU even from his chair.

Peace was all and good, but kami damn it, why did it have to be so boring?

He didn't know what he had expected. Life didn't work that way, even for ninja and Kage. The mundaneness of existence was ever present and unchanging. The sameness of life…he sighed in frustration once more. He swirled around in his chair with a gusto.

He read another paper. The resupply department needed his signature on the ordering of ten thousand Kunia from the land of Iron. He read through it, made sure he agreed with the terms, then signed it off.

"Rat."

The anbu dropped before him without a word.

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"Please bring me a cup of tea, Rat, extra sugar, I'll need it if I want to have any hope of staying awake today."

"Of course Hokage-…"

A bright white light bloomed into existence. It shone like a second sun, hung for seemingly an eternity, a second blue white star casting its pale light all over the visage of his village. His body was moving even before he had processed what he'd just seen.

Rat stood was at his side. Without as much as a word he leapt from his office to investigate the vibrant light source. Then suddenly, the wind whistled by, and the eastern portion of his village was shredded. Gale force winds birthed into existence, and a sound like a million thunder claps roared at the same time. Homes and stores were leveled in an instant, civilians were thrown off their feet and cast away like leaves in the wayward wind. Anything not nailed down was sent airborne.

He watched in slight bemusement as his ANBU were thrown back from the force of the winds.

He frowned though as the winds started to settle, and he witnessed the destruction they'd brought with them. The damage was grotesque, building cleaved in two, the roads ripped to shreds, already he could hear the cries and pleas of help from his people. More anbu teams were gathering around him, he smirked. They were fast, faster than they'd been during the last emergency drill, good.

Good, indeed.

Wolf was one of the first to reach him. He turned to the massive man. Wolf towered over him like a mountain at over seven feet tall, and with shoulders befitting a man of his size. He was a beast, a brute of pure muscle. Yet beneath that insane size was a keen intelligence that had made him declare the man an ANBU captain.

"I've got a squad trying to find those beneath rubble already Hokage-sama."

He nodded in response, "Come with me wolf, request squads one and three follow me us at twenty meters, have squad four stationed in the eastern quarter with one of my seals in case I need to return here quickly."

The man bowed, then disappeared in a blur.

Minato closed his eyes for a moment, then with a start, he beamed off towards the source of the light. The entire eastern quarter was coated in the chakra of whoever had done this. But it got more concentrated the closer to the chunin training grounds he approached.

He slung his body forward, pumped chakra to his legs, and pushed himself to go as fast as he could. He covered the five miles between where he was and the outer edges of the eastern quarter in a minute and a half. He slowed down when he felt wolf's familiar prescience pull up slightly behind him.

"It is done, Hokage-sama."

"Then let's go."

Minato whistled as they entered training ground nine. The air was laced with chakra, it was so palpable, so thick and potent that in some areas it was visible to the naked eye do to sheer concentration. He shuddered. Chunin training ground nine was a wooded place. Thick trees grown by the hands of the Shodaime Hokage himself hundreds of years before marred the place. Thick trees that had stood over a hundred feet tall, their trunks like red-brown monoliths, unmoving and unchanging. He'd seen a-rank fire techniques smash against those tree, seen b ranked windstorms strip the bark from them only for it to regrow back weeks later.

Those tree had been used as targets and training posts by various ninja for over a hundred years…and yet they endured. Yet they stood unchanged. Now…now they were felled. Chopped to pieces, their bare stumps exposed. Some pulled entirely from the ground, taking with them a handful of other massive tree. Their massive roots were intertwines like a rats nest.

As he approached the center the chakra got thicker. A miasma of energy floating free in the air. A crater, a deep-nearly thirty feet deep in fact- circular hole fifteen feet across. He peered down into it, just as he reached the edges of the crater Wolf landed next to him.

"Is that what I think it is wolf?"

"It's a body Hokage-sama."

"I'm going to investigate." He prepared himself to leap, but Wolf was faster and his massive palm, the size of Minato's chest, stopped him.

"Allow me Hokage-sama. It could be a trap."

It very well could be, but Minato was a Kage for god's sake, he could take care of himself, more than that in fact. Nearly…well nearly twenty five years before at the siege of Oromia's valley he'd slain more than a thousand men, five regiments of ninja by himself in less than a second. The bodies were still there-bleached white bones by now-at least those they couldn't recognize. He grimaced at that memory, needless bloodshed that had been.

"I can take care of myself Wolf."

"That may be so Hokage-sama, but it's still my job to protect you, I shall investigate."

Before he could argue, wolf leapt down into the pit. His massive form landed with a loud thud, and dark dust rose up and settled on the ground. He watched as wolf approached cautiously, then he grabbed the young blond laying in the bottom of the crater. With a heave, wolf had the blond boy over his shoulder. His unconscious form limping over the giants massive shoulders. In the noonday sun of Konoha his blond locks were like liquid gold. He wore an orange jacket, hued a dark umber from blood, black flames licked at its edges. It reminded him of his own ware.

As wolf brought the unconscious boy…no…the man, his jaw was too strong, his face too lean, to be considered a boy. The unconscious man Minato finally noticed the slowly dripping droplets of red trailing down his face.

"He's alive Hokage-sama…I don't know how. His right arm is ruined, the ulna and radius are absolutely crushed, his chests damn near caved in as well. His hips shattered." Wolf pointed to the jagged fragments of bone sticking through both the boy's arms and his hips. "The internal hemorrhaging has to be insane…and the pool of blood down there…in all truths the lad should be dead Hokage-sama. It's only his massive reserves keeping him alive right now…

Minato frowned. So much chakra…it was unimaginable.

"Take him to the tower, place him in MS-4 and call in the medic-nin. See what they can do for him, have that room locked down and a guard squad placed around the cell…." He was contemplative for a moment.

"I want Giraffe, Willow, Scarecrow, and Bear guarding him. Place Rose as his medic."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

He was contemplative for a moment. His blue eyes watching the blond haired boy with fascination. He heard a sickening click, the noise of bone meeting bone, and flesh cleaving in town. He watched as bone seemed to retract back into skin, clack into its proper position and mend itself.

Wolf spoke what was on his mind.

"The actual fuck?"

Minato laughed and Wolf seemed to catch himself. "Excuse my language Hokage-sama."

"No, I quite agree with your sentiments Wolf." He stopped for a moment to think. "Make sure he's heavily sedated at all times, doubly so in fact…that's a rather potent healing factor to snap a bone back into place. Insure Rose is never alone with him, I want Giraffe and Willow with her constantly."

Wolf nodded, held onto the boy, and disappeared in a blur of blinding speed.

xxx-Naruto-xxx

"Love lost is the worst love of all." His voice came out in a quiver.

He looked up. His sorrow deep and agonizing, his eyes a myriad pool of many colors. Red, purple, gold and blue dancing and moving, swirling in unpredictable patterns. Flashing in and out of existence like a flame.

Her father looked at him, his own sorrow deep. They stood together over the grave, frowns on their face, the loss palpable to both of them. One losing a daughter…the other a lover, a companion…a wife.

"Naruto-kun…she'll want you to be strong."

"Its…it's..." He stopped talking and sighed. It was too hard to explain to Inochi…Another loss, another failure…

His life seemed to be filled with them lately.

xxx-Inochi-xxx

"Do you think you can do it?" He bowed deep, his platinum blond hair glistening in the deep orange hue that was cast by the sun.

"I can."

"Good," Minato stood up, pushing his wheeled office chair behind him as he stood. "Follow me then."

Inochi did. It wasn't every day that one got called by the blond haired Kage.

Over the near two decades of rule Inochi had had sparse conversation with the man in a non-professional setting. Despite his warming personality, and his overt charm, Minato was a private man, spending what little free time afforded him with his two daughters and wife. While it wasn't rare to see the man walking through the village, and having small conversations with its populace. What was rare was seeing him do so without at least one of his daughters, or his wife in tow.

"Hokage-sama…if I may ask? What's so special about this boy that you need my help?"

The hokage looked back at him and smiled. "He's heavily sedated, and freeing him from that state would be counter intuitive, he's proved to be rather capable at resisting the drugs, and our own chakra restriction seals make normal interrogation quite impossible."

"Ahh..."

"Don't worry about it."

They walked down the tower, then they crossed the thick inches steel door that marked the entrance into the Maximum Security facilities beneath the tower. An ANBU guard stationed at the door moved to the left, pressed his palm against the door, and flashed his chakra. The four inches of solid steel slid open, and the Hokage walked through. Inochi followed, and nodded at the masked guard. He got no response.

They walked for some time, about ten minute going down an ever downward spiral of stairs. Every twenty feet or so a sold six inch steel door stood. Inochi shuddered. The place was cold, and sparsely illuminated by the hard, harsh blue-green glare of chakra suppressing seals. The air was damn, and harsh on the lungs…He frowned. Then, suddenly they stopped and the Hokage pressed his hand onto the cold hard door. Seal script light up, and it slid to the right.

"Were here." Minato entered and Inochi followed without a word.

He looked around the cell. It was well light, with a heartbeat monitor in the corner beeping in a steady rhythm. A large IV bag was feeding a saline and glucose drip slowly into both of the boy's arms.

Said boy lay unconscious, his blond hair splayed wildly on the bed. He was naked from the chest up, and large bandages were wrapped around most of his upper body. Some were red, and the room smelt with the rich, sweet, copper scent of blood. Three deep scars were on either side of his cheek…much like both of Hokage-sama's daughter.

He looked up at his blond Kage, and reading his mind the man responded.

"I'm quite aware of the resemblance to both myself, and the rest of my family Inochi. You can see why I asked you personally for this favor…"

"It will be a pleasure, Hokage-sama."

Inochi ran through the hand signs for his family's classic ninjutsu, finished and placed his hand on the head of the unnamed boy.

The world shifted. A deep unseeing black consumed him, and suddenly he felt the cold drip of water falling onto his head. Felt his body slink deep into a cold, slimy water. It chilled him to the bones. He gasped, his body flashing upward and his eyes snapping open.

He looked around, and froze in place. Massive bars, truly gargantuan constructs that seemed to go on upwards for an eternity, splayed open. Behind them, eyes impossibly large watched him. Pools of deep, insidious red, and an omnipotent ever-present feeling of oppression, pressed down on his mind. His breath hitched in his chest, and he felt bile rise up in his throat.

He flailed back and stared in silenced awe. A massive paw reached past gargantuan gates, and slammed down in front of his body.

"Please…do stay. Why go through all that trouble, only to leave so soon?" Dark insidious laughter followed.

He forced himself to look past the paws…Past the large than life maw, and the razor sharp teeth. Past the Massive paw, or perhaps hand, that had nearly crushed him to death. Towards the mass of twitching flicking tails…nine of them. Which should have been impossible. That Bijju, it was known, was sealed within Kushina-sama. He realized he'd tried to cancel his technique without him even knowing it. It had just…happened.

"You came to look at the boys mind correct?"

He said nothing.

"You can talk, can't you ningen?"

"Y…yes."

It grinned an insidious smile. "Well?"

"Yes..."

The massive paw lifted up. Rancid vile chakra funneled into it, and it sliced across the water. The water boiled and hissed in protest. A pungent smell filled his nose, and he realized, with some horror, that it was blood. He was standing atop a small lake made entirely of blood. The fox seemed to read his mind and grin.

"Go down. Hold your breath ningen, take a deep, long breath, and go down. You'll resurface soon, and there you'll find his memories."

"What? Why are you-"

"Go." It was a command.

He went.

Xxx-Inochi and Naruto-xxx

The pool of blood was hot around his body, and the deeper he went the more vicious it got. It seemed endless, and his lungs seemed to burn in his chest. He thought of turning around, of going the way he came…but which was that? A thought slipped through his mind, what if he died here? What is….then suddenly, he was free.

He gasped as he resurfaced, then suddenly, he gasped once more.

"This...this is impossible." Most people's mind-spaces were small things. A room or a building. A small clearing and woods. Mind-spaces were developed based on the depths of a person's experience, the amount of chakra they had, and how strong their imagination was. This place…this place was an entire other world.

Mind spaces couldn't be this large. They shouldn't be this large. Mind spaces weren't supposed to be an endless primordial forest. They weren't supposed to have tree so large their canopy disappeared past a dense fog of clouds. They weren't supposed to have high suns hanging overhead. He swam to shore, cutting through the red pool with ease. Then hauling himself out of the water and taking a deep breath he sighed.

"I doubt Hokage-sama will believe this."

He took a second to look around once more. A canopy of flowers laid upon the forest floor. The distant chirping of birds could be heard overhead. A falcon called somewhere off in the distance.

"I should start look around. I'll need to find where he stores his memories." He got up. He heard a crunch beneath his feet. He picked his foot up in dismay. Destroying things in someone's mind scape was dangerous for both parties.

"What in the hell?"

The world shifted. He was himself, and suddenly no longer himself. Watching through the eyes of the blond before him. A man stood opposite him, his hair a deep rust orange, twin pools of rippled purple stared back at him. Devastation surrounded him. Konoha...a whisper of a voice called out to him.

It shifted again. He was moving, clearing the distance at impossible speed, chakra building in his hand, then suddenly, he shifted, but still his punch landed his mark. The man went flying.

"That's…" Splitting ones memories around ones mindscape was a Yamanaka clan secret how did some unknown factor know something like that? He frowned as he realized the danger he'd now be faced with. He'd have to find the root of the mindscape…likely meaning he'd have to find the boy himself.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

The falcon cried again, and from the forest came a large orange fox. Its eyes were a deep, sky blue. They seemed endless. It seemed old, and a large scar left no fur on most of its upper abdomen, where its chest should be. An inner representation of one's self. The mind displayed itself as it viewed itself, apparently the boy, somewhere deep within himself was a scared, sly fox.

"Are you the boy?"

The fox said nothing, but instead turned around. It looked back at him expectantly.

"Okay ill follow you."

They walked deeper into the forest, and the light seemed to fade. Soon, he could barely see, just the lumbering orange mass, and the tall foreboding tree that reached up grasping and gripping at the sky. Finally they stopped before what seemed to be the source of the forest. A massive tree. Twelve times larger than any other. It bark was stained a deep red blood, and black flecks littered its bark.

This was the root. When using Yamanaka mind splitting techniques you needed a base, a hold to keep your mind together. A root memory to tie all the others together. It would normally be impossible to find without the persons help. This meant that the boy wanted him to see his memories….but why?

He touched it and his view shifted.

Platinum blond hair spilled into his hands. Soft lips pressed against his. Teal eyes stared at him, and he felt pure joy and love overflow him. Her naked body pressed against his.

"You're a hero Naruto-kun…but you don't have to bottle everything up."

He felt himself, but not himself, it was…Naruto…yes. It was Naruto laughing.

"I'm not bottling up anything Ino-chan." He felt himself smiling. "I'm fine."

His daughter…his Ino. They'd been lovers.

"Whatever hero-boy." She kissed him again. Soft lips pressing against his flesh again.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She called back, before pulling him close and pressing her body against his. So soft, so warm. Lovely.

The world shifted for Inochi once more. It was himself now, he was staring at himself. At a graveyard, or a makeshift one. Shallow graves. Above them the sky hung overhead.

"I'm sorry." Naruto's voice called out. It was filled with sorrow, with pain.

"Naruto, Stop. I don't blame you. She loved you, and I know she died loving you. She thought she could save you…I'd do the same thing for her mother. You couldn't protect her forever, I couldn't either. We both knew that…she made her own choice. We have to respect her memory."

"I'll kill him. I'll end this tonight."

A third shift. A third memory. Inochi felt like recoiling. Like escaping, but he couldn't. He tried to move but his body wouldn't respond. All he could do was watch. Watch memories fly by as he experienced them. See the life of someone he didn't even know. Someone who loved…

His body moved, surged with potent energy. He crossed miles in minutes, careened across a continent in a mad rage. He roared, in anger, in grief. Trees were felled in his grief. Hot searing tears dripped down Naruto's face. Then, he spotted him. Madara. In dark red armor, the man's-

The word came to Incochi. Rinnegan. The rinnengan. The eyes of the sage of six paths. Madara's rinnegan blared. And he was blown from his feet. Sent careening away. His body like a stone skipping across the water's surface. He recovered, and careened once more toward the madman. The murderer.

"Rasenshuriken!" The technique was birthed in an instant. A living mass of Nature chakra, his own, and the Kyuubi's evil potent energy. It went soaring, raging in defiance of its creature.

The memory cut short…then a lifetime flashed before Inochi's eyes.

Xxx-Minato-xxX

As Minato read dossier written by Inochi he couldn't help but scowl in distaste. The blood reports had also come back, and they'd proven to as conclusive as he'd thought they'd be.

"Rat" The anbu dropped before minato.

"Rat. Get me the elder council, and Inochi-san as well. Bring a tea set on your return. Honey and sugar in different saucers as well."

"As you wish Hokage-sama."

A cluster fuck. That was the only word he could use to describe this situation. He was at a tenuous turn point, a decision had to be made soon, and he had a feeling he'd be facing the consequence be they good or bad. He twisted in his chair, and looked over the visage of his village. It had been over a month since Naruto's arrival, and the village had already started the reconstruction process of the Easter quarter. Luckily no lives had been lost, though homes and businesses were destroyed and the long term economic impact was yet to be seen…

"Hokage-sama. The elder council and Inochi-san is here."

"Please send them."

The wooden doors to his office slid open. The elderly forms of the council walked in. In the lead, the last Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen followed by Homura and Koharu. He smiled at Minato. Then following after them, walked in the awkward form of Inochi. He seemed out of place in the room filled with legends. Inochi himself was a ninja of reputable reputation, but…in comparison to the people in this room? He was a fickle candle before luminous suns.

"Please be seated."

Each of them took a seat, and Mintao took a seat as well. His hand flashed into a seal, and the room glowed a bright blue for a few seconds.

"Everyone here has read the dossier on Uzumaki Naruto. Correct?"

A resounding Chorus of "Hai." Was their response.

"Then let this meeting begin. I've called you all here to answer the question as to what should be done with Uzumaki Naruto, as he's called. Normally I'd make decide this myself, but a number of factors complicate this. For instance the nature of his appearance is in and of itself a problem, the fact that he hold a version of the Kyuubi no kitsune is another. Take in the fact that my limited number of viable paths of actions will require quit the bit of effort to execute and…well… "

Sarutobi stood up. "I think it best we integrate him into the Shinobi population. He's skilled, from what Inochi-san has reported, his chakra reserves are large and he is loyal to Konoha."

"That seems a little rash doesn't it Hiruzen?" All eyes turned to Homura.

"We're making rather large assumptions. The first being that's the evidence provided is enough to believe in this convoluted idea of dimension hopping. The second that he's sane enough to be a viable part of our shinobi forces. Lastly we're ignoring the question of his loyalty, and his loyalty, if we are to believe this report would be to his konoha. His Konoha differed greatly from ours."

"Homura-san there is more than enough evidence to support the idea he's from another world. You've read the dossier, but," Minato stood, grabbed the results of the DNA test, then tossed it on the table. The various council members read it, then it was placed simply back on the table. "That could not have been included in the dossier as the blood tests arrived this morning. As you can see a fifty percent math to both me and my wife. Supporting Inochi-sans report as him being a child of Kushina-chan and I."

He reached into his pocket and released a scroll. "These items were found on his persons when we recovered his unconscious form."

He released the seal and four items appeared on the table. A ninja I.D. card, a black and scared Haitai, an orange and black vest, and finally a necklace with a set of rings and a half shattered crystal. In the midday both the crystal and the rings glowed with an eerie sheen.

"Is that?" The third looked at the necklace with a keen eye.

"Yes, it is. When we found it I sent a ANBU squad to find Tsunade-sama. They returned sometime last week, she still has her grandfather's necklace. There's only one other in the elemental nations and it's locked up firmly within the vault beneath the Hokage tower." Minato sat down once more. "Not only that but the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune has been sensed within the boy. As were all well aware, that should be impossible as my wife is currently the container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune and has been for most of her life."

Koharu chose then to speak up. "Agh. So assuming the boy is what we think he is, what then? Like Koharu says. How can we trust him? Let alone know that's he's sane. We all read the same thing." He grabbed a copy of the dossier and tossed it onto the table. "A suicidal charge at a clearly superior enemy is far from the panicle of logical thought."

"If I may speak?" Inochi called out.

"Proceed Inochi-san."

"Thanks you Hokage-sama. Before I speak I should make it clear that Uzumaki Naruto was married to my daughter, and as a result my perception might be slightly skewed. It's impossible to avoid completely and influence like that, so I wish to make it clear beforehand."

"We've taken note of it, Inochi-san please proceed." It was the third speaking.

"I experienced the full brunt of Uzumaki Naruto's life. The dossier I wrote on it and my own psychological interpretations is but a brief summary. He's sane, and as trustworthy a shinobi as can come. More than once did he not only place his life on the line to protect his allies, but also complete his mission for the good of the village. His version of Konoha at least. Often times against impossible odds. For instance he took on and defeated the Hachibi Jinchuuriki in his first chunnin exams…"

Homaru spoke up once more. "Yes he's loyal to a Konoha, but could he be loyal to this Konoha should be out question. And if not how do we dispose of him?"

Minato spoke up. "Killing him is out of the question. We have no clue how his seal works, and the Kyuubi sealed with him seems to like or at least get along with him. We could be releasing a natural disaster upon ourselves. Neither can we keep him forever sedated. The sedatives we use on him are a private supply provided by the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan via the Aburame clan. We have about another two weeks supply before we run out."

"So then…there's only one option." It was Kohara again.

"No." Minato said. "We could lock his chakra away, place him further in the tower, and keep him there for the rest of his life. But I doubt that would work. He does host a bijju after all…and attempting to imprison him seems counter-intuitive. An angry Jinchuuriki calling on the power of his demon in an attempt to escape the tower is hardly a situation that could be allowed to happen within the village."

Hamaru sighed. "Then it's decided."

"It's the best option by far."

xxx-Naruto-xxx

A listless world of black. He free floated in a pool, a swirling river of weightlessness, and sheer good, enjoyable memories. Of loving, and laughing, and enjoying the few happy times he'd had in his life. He knew this feeling…he'd been drugged. How long…? He fought through the blackness…forced weight back into the world. Escaped the good times, and the laughing times, and the love. He forced himself back into harsh reality...because what else was there to do?

Live life.

That's all he could do, because he wasn't desperate enough, or strong enough, or a sick combination of the two, to end it all.

Live life.

With all its pains.

Live life.

So he opened his eyes. Felt the pall on his muscles, and sluggishly opened his eyes. Twin pools of blue were watching him. Golden hair in a face far older than he remembered from a time far gone. He tried to grasp at the face in his mind. To put a name to it…but it was there, then gone. Somewhere…somewhere….

"Hello Naruto-kun…" The voice seemed hesitant.

"Welcome to a new world." He laughed in response. Then, suddenly he could place a name to the face.

"Namikaze Minato." Then it was too much and he fell back to the weightlessness.

XXX-Authors Notice-xxx

So….this chapter is 5.5k words. Long….it was going to be longer but I decided against it. I hope you like it. I think this was the right place for me to end it. Some parts drag on a little longer than I'd like. But in all, I think this first chapter is far better than the first chapter of "Other Worlds."