Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Kishimoto

Chapter 1

A feminine figure quickly glanced up at the position of the sun. It was getting late. Her face was blank as she calculated the time. She realized that she had to increase her pace, or face her master's displeasure. Gathering her chakra, she prepared to form hand seals, when her concentration was broken by a high pitched cry from the bundle in her arms.

She glanced down to see bright blue eyes looking up at her inquisitively. The slightest hint of a smile tugged on the edges of her lips as she wiped the trail of spittle from the baby's chin with the cloth that she had wrapped him just minutes earlier. She took in his face, noting every detail. The woman's eyes rested on the prominent black whisker marks that decorated the baby boy's cheeks, evidence of the recent sealing.

In her arms she held what appeared to be just a baby, but it was actually the jailer for the most powerful entity in existence, the Kyuubi. When the demonic fox had attacked Konoha, the Yondaime Hokage had given up his life to vanquish the horrendous manifestation of youki, but even he could not truly kill it. The Savior of the Leaf's only apparent option was to use his impressive skill to seal the beast away, and into the body of a newborn baby, by making a deal with the Shinigami, at the cost of his own soul.

He did, and she knew it. The black clad woman had snuck into the city during the midst of the chaos of the attack, and had watched the entire affair under the cover of an invisibility justu. There was no need to even suppress her chakra, as it could hardly be noticed amidst the demon's oppressive aura.

Mere moments after she had seen the hokage fall, she had sent a large chakra-controlled origami bird to swipe the baby away from its resting place atop the massive toad-summon Gamabunta. From there, it was just the easy task of staying out of the frantic ANBU's path, as she made her way to Ame.

Cut short from her musings by another cry, she reminded herself of the task at hand. To bring the container to Leader-sama. The woman collected herself, and pulled the fabric down over the baby's head, attempting to cover it's ridiculously easy to spot blonde hair. With a quick string of one handed seals, she muttered, "Concealment technique", and the woman melted into her surroundings. Focusing chakra into her legs, she was soon moving through the canopy at near impossible speeds.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious. No, he told himself. He was beyond furious. He gazed at his crippled village from the hokage tower, overlooking his few remaining ninja as they scurried about, surveying the damages and utilizing the Hyuuga's famed bloodline to locate survivors amidst the rubble, and surrounding forests. Taking a puff on his pipe to calm his nerves, the reinstated hokage sharply turned away from the balcony, and strode over to his desk.

The Sandaime was angry, because of the most recent ANBU report. It read off the damages, the vast casualty list, but what really infuriated him was the passage at the bottom, a short summary of the immediate aftermath of the 4th's battle with the accursed demon fox. It briefly mentioned that a near death ninja had witnessed what looked to be a white bird -undoubtably a summon of some sort- had almost instantly stolen the infant used in the sealing, and had flown off into the forest. ANBU confirmed that they could not locate the new jinchuriki.

Leaning over his desk, the veteran ninja analyzed the situation. The Fourth was dead, they had lost the Fourth's legacy, Konoha was in great danger of invasion, it's economy was in ruin, countless shinobi had been lost, and he had been forced to retake the mantle of hokage, much to his disliking.

The elder shinobi sat down, refilled his pipe, and inhaled deeply, reveling in the momentary distraction it provided. After a long moment, he opened his eyes to see his last loyal student leaning against the far wall, with a look of outrage that was new to Hiruzen.

"Where is Naruto? WHERE is my godson?" The toad sage demanded in a tone that left no room for other concerns.

"Jiraiya..." the Professor said lamely as he pulled his hat down to cover his shame. "Naruto, has been taken, by an unknown enemy."

"WHAT? DAMNIT OLD MAN! He is my godson, I should have been here from the start to protect him! He is the son of the fourth for Christ's sake! How could you let this happen?" The super-pervert exclaimed, no longer against the wall, but leaning over Sarutobi's desk.

"As sad and difficult as it may be, we must accept that he is gone. We cannot afford to use resources on anything other than bouncing back from this catastrophe. I'm sorry Jiraiya, but I order you to not pursue this mystery thief. Stay here, the risk of invasion is far too great, we need you here. Our enemies could take advantage of our newfound weakness at any time." The aged ninja said wisely.

A look of sheer surprise and disgust crossed over the sannin's face. He snorted, then said, "The Sensei I know wouldn't have given up this easily. I'm going to go track him down, don't try and stop me, you'd only make my opinion of this village even lower."

The Sandaime shot up from his seat, but Jiraiya had already disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The old man's muscles tensed, and he knocked over the tall stack of papers in a rare show of emotion. Realizing what he'd done, his shoulders slumped, and he wearily sat down. For a minute or two he sat there, loathing his old age. Suddenly he jerked forward, brought his hands to his mouth, and started hacking violently. After the coughing fit was over, he brought his hands down from his face and realized that they were coated in crimson.

At that moment, Sarutobi was filled with regret and self pity. He quickly wiped the blood from his hands onto a napkin, then incinerated it was a hasty fire jutsu.

Several Days Later

The black cloud woman was jumping from tree to tree at a breakneck pace. She had recently encountered a small toad-summon scout that had dispersed before she could properly put it under a genjutsu, so she knew that it must have reported back to its master, Jiraiya. It was paramount that she not be captured, and that she succeed in her mission.

From the corner of her eye she spotted a balled-up fist poking out of the cloth. She smiled. The woman had actually bonded with the baby over the course of the last few days, and she didnt want to be separated from him. All the more reason to hurry, she thought.

She jumped out from the trees and into a large clearing, where a massive toad-summon sat, with Jiraiya mounted on its back. Looking at her.

A/N- Please review, it really makes all the difference. Pairings are undecided, I'll put up a poll later. Also, I will try to start making the chapters longer.