I smiled as my son's smiling face faded from my vision, at least the last thing I see would be my son happy. My vision turned black and I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper, but then I slowly started to be lifted up. Then I stopped, I opened my eyes. I was surrounded by the night sky, I saw something move beside me, I jerked back preparing to defend myself. The figure walked closer to me, the moon light lit up her face, and I could see her red hair flowing down to her back.

"Kushina!" I shouted out in shock. I quickly went closer to her, and checked her injuries, except there weren't any.

"M-Minato? But how? We died! You should've been sealed into Naruto until he goes to eight tails!" Kushina panicked worried the seal didn't work and Naruto would have no one to help him.

"You are here because I brought you here." A soft voice said from behind them. They quickly turned around to see a young woman with long straight black hair. (Like Dark from Cardcaptor Sakura)

"Why did you bring us here? Who are you?" I asked as I cautiously took a small step in front of Kushina.

"My name is Serenity; I am the god and guardian of death. I brought you here because my sister; Aurora the god and guardian of life, and I believe that you are worthy enough of a chance. A chance that very few are presented with, a chance even fewer are able to fully receive."

"May I ask what this chance you speak of is?" Kushina asked politely. The god smiled softly at her show of respect.

"It is a chance to return to the lives you once had." Kushina and I looked at her, unable to believe what we were hearing. There was actually a chance for us to return to Naruto and have the life we had dreamed of. "But though my sister and I believe you are worthy, we are forbidden to return a life for it will disrupt the balance."

"What do we have to do?" I looked straight at her, determined to return to my son.

"You must complete a quest in the world of the elemental gods. On this quest you will have to collect ten elemental objects, five of these objects are staffs, and the other five are jewels. The jewels are kept and protected by the elemental god that created them. To gain possession of this jewel, you will have to meet with the god and pass the trials they command you to do. Once you have passed their trial they will then give you the jewel and the location of their elemental staff. But on this quest you will not have your shinobi abilities, and both the elemental gods and I are forbidden to help you anymore than required. You will have to rely on your own human abilities and gain information through the people of this world."

Kunshina and I nodded in understanding, then without another word she sent us to the world of the elemental gods.

~*~*~16 years later~*~*~

Hizuren (the third hokage), Jiraya and Tsunade stood on top of the hokage monuments, their expressions angered but their eyes filled with sorrow as tears fell endlessly from their eyes.

They were staring at the villagers preparing for their evening celebrations; celebrating the death of the demon child. They clenched their fists in anger, blood oozing out from their hands.

"Once again on this night they will make more sins by celebrating their gravest sin known." Jiraya said angrily.

"For how long will they celebrate their crime 12 years ago?" Hizuren asked to no one.

They looked down remembering the night they had failed Minato and Kushina.

(Flashback)

Hizuren and Kakashi, along with some other jounins and ANBUs (Kurenei, Asuma, Anko, Itachi, Uzuki Yuuago) followed the eagle as fast as they can to the underground training grounds (I don't know if there are any underground training grounds in konoha but just pretend that there were).

In the middle of the grounds they found Naruto badly injured, his injuries from the past couldn't even compare to his injuries now. Hizuren hastily picked him up carefully and they quickly brought him to the Tsunade's house so she could heal him. On the way Kakashi and Kurenei kept trying to wake him up but it didn't work.

When they arrived Tsunade looked in shock at the boy they were carrying. She quickly told them to place him carefully on the table. A small tear fell from her eye while she tried to stay strong as she examined him and checked his vitals.

"Judging from his injuries, I would say that they had beaten and drowned him in water twice, before they covered him in oil and burned him alive." Tsunade carefully leaned her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. She could hear his heart beats grow more faintly before it stopped.

Her eyes widen once she heard it stop, she lifted up her head as her tears fell endlessly from her eyes. Her knees buckled as shock of losing another precious person flowed through her mind.

Kakashi, Hizuren and the others all cried silently except for Kurenei as she cried onto Asuma's chest. He patted her head comfortingly but couldn't stop his body shaking from the anger he was holding back.

"What did he ever do to them? They will pay for what they've done!" Tsunade shouted as she quickly ran angrily out the door. All of them rushed after her, leaving Naruto alone.

When they came back his body was nowhere to be found.

The next day Jiraya came back to the village after going out to buy his present for Naruto. Jiraya was about to tear at the villagers, when he remembered that his pupil had sacrificed his life to save the village.

(Flash back)

Tsunade cursed remembering her failure to the young boy she had promised to always protect.

"I don't see the point of making me hokage if I can't even stop this village from destroying itself!" she looked back up at the villagers, disgust shown on her face.

"There's nothing you can do, Tsunade. No matter what, those stupid heartless old goats will never change the condition." Jiraya said glaring in front of him.

"Gomen Tsunade, if I hadn't stepped down, you wouldn't be in this position."

"I don't blame you, besides it was Jiraya and I who convinced you to step down. The duty of hokage is too stressful for someone your age. Anyway the one I'm angry at are those old advisors and Danzo. For Danzo to step down from his candidate position, I was forbidden to interfere with the celebrations on this day." Tsunade sighed.

"Tsunade, I will be taking my usual day leave for today. If you need me I'll be in the town north of the village." Hizuren informed Tsunade as he disappeared.

"I need to complete some more paperwork."

"I'll accompany you, and then I'll have to leave the village to search for some more information on Ochimaru." Tsunade nodded as she and Jiraya made their way to the hokage tower.

Unknown to them, that two familiar figures had just arrived at konoha's gates.

"Kushina I think it's better if we disguise ourselves so we don't attract any unnecessary attention." Kushina nodded then they both made a hand sign and transformed themselves.

Minato disguised himself as a young male adult with black hair and blue eyes. Kushina disguised herself as a young female adult with cropped brown hair and green eyes.

They made their way to the hokage office, not noticing the addition on the hokage monument. They knocked on the door, while Jiraya was giving his opinion to Tsunade about one of the new genin team reports.

"Enter!" she shouted so that the person could hear her from the other side. Minato and Kushina entered, still wearing their disguises.

Jiraya looked at them strangely, feeling a sense of familiarity from the two strangers.

"May I ask who you are and why are you here?" Tsunade said politely.

"I never expected for you to return, let alone become the next hokage, Tsunade-hime." Minato smiled at her, they both undid their jutsu. Jiraya and Tsunade looked at them in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing. "It just goes to show, how much things can change overtime."

"M-Minato." Jiraya stuttered out.

"K-Kushina." She stuttered out almost at the same time as Jiraya. Kushina smiled at her and bowed.

"It's been a long time, Tsunade- sama."

Tsunade and Jiraya grabbed them in a bone crushing hug, tears streaming down their faces,

"Baka! Don't you know it's bad to make the elderly cry too much?" Jiraya shouted at Minato, him still in the hug.

"Haha, really I didn't know that, gomen." Minato smiled and patted his back comfortingly.

"He just made that up, but don't you dare to ever do that again." Minato and Kushina chuckled at their sensei s. Tsunade and Jiraya finally let them go.

"So where's Naruto?" Kushina smiled at them, they looked at each other, pained.

"Why don't you meet with Hizuren- sensei first." Minato and Kushina felt confused but were too tired to argue.

After they had their little reunion, Kushina asked them again. Hizuren took a glance at Jiraya and Tsunade. He looked down; a tear fell from his eye. After a few minutes of silence, he turned around facing the open window.

"Follow me." He said as he leaped out of the window. They followed him outside of Konoha, to the middle of the north western forest. They stood in front of a tree, Hizuren placed his right hand on the tree and made a hand seal.

"Kai!" he shouted, then a seal appeared out of the smoke. "Hold on to me." They did as he said, as he made some hand seals, then touched the seal.

When they opened their eyes, they stood in front of a grave on top of a snowy mountain. On the grave it had engraved writing,

'Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze,

Died at four years old.'

(I know they don't really put down the age, but I couldn't be bothered looking up the year)

Word engraved concrete surrounded the grave, telling the story of his short life. Kushina cried reading the name on the grave, she leaned her head on Minato's chest and sobbed loudly.

"We believe that he had deserved so much better than to be buried in the grounds of the people that killed him. We buried him here because he always said to us how much he loved the snow as much as the moon." Hizuren said sadly, Minato turned to him while still comforting Kushina.

"The villagers did this to him? Why? What did he ever do to them!" Kushina shouted at Hizuren.

"What happened to our son?" Minato said trying to control his anger.

"On this grave it will tell you everything you need to know. From the day he was born to the day he died." He replied. They read the engraved words, their faces turned from pained to angered.

"By the time we had finished mourning him, there was no more trace of them." Minato and Kushina broke down on the ground mourning their son. Minato kept beating the snow covered ground, and cursed himself for doing this to his son.

They return to the village, without a single word to each other. Minato couldn't completely blame the villagers, because he believed that if he hadn't sealed the fox, this wouldn't have happened.

After a month Minato re- announced himself as hokage, but was still unable to interfere with the death celebrations.

~*~*~ Two months later ~*~*~

Minato was in his office with Kushina helping him sort out his paperwork. There was a knock on the door.

"Enter." Minato shouted, Hizuren entered the room. "Sensei, what's wrong? By the way Happy Birthday." (Idk what he calls the third so I just used sensei)

"Thank you, now I would like you and Kushina to follow me, there is something I have to show you."

They followed him to the top of the hokage monument.

"On Naruto's first birthday, I gave him a young baby eagle. We named him Hinazuto (for any of yous who didn't notice it's a combination of Hizuren and Naruto). We raised and trained Hinazuto, and every year on his birthday I would send a handmade present to Naruto using Hinazuto. And every year Naruto would do the same, after the incident I felt certain that wouldn't happen again." Minato and Kushina looked at him confused at where he was going with this.

"But it did, when Tsunade announce him to us, dead. She was about to rampage in the village, we had all come out to stop her, leaving Naruto alone for only a few hours. When we came back his body had disappeared, we tried to find him but we would always reach a dead end." He was about to continue until he heard the cry of an eagle. They turned to see the bird drop something to Hizuren and land on his shoulder.

They looked at the item, it was a wrapped box with a card stuck to it, saying; Happy Birthday! Hizuren opened the box, inside it had a silver ring with a red jewel in the middle of it. Engraved on the ring said 'Will of Fire'.

Hizuren showed it to Minato and Kushina, a tear fell from her eyes from happiness, that there might be a possibility that her child was alive.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Kushina asked Hizuren.

"I didn't want you to get your hopes up, just after you found out his death. And all of our best tracking team and specialist couldn't find him."

"Why don't you use the bird to find him?" Minato asked, looking at the bird glare at him, when he tried to pet him.

"Hinazuto will only answer to me and Naruto, even though he has a loyalty to me, his first loyalty belongs to Naruto. No matter what he will never lead nor help us find Naruto, if he has commanded him not to." Minato nodded in understanding.

Authors note:

Hey guys this is my first fanfic and I would really appreciate it if you would give me your opinions on the story thus far.

If it's something harsh or strict, please go easy on me

JoJo8