This is my first Naruto story in many years. Now, I do expect some flames and negative reviews, but please make them to where I can learn from my mistakes. I'm not perfect, nor am I a professional writer. I do this for fun. Now, this is a story I came up with when watching Naruto Shippuden. I thought "Hmm, how did Ashura go from having no strength, to suddenly being able to take on a Perfect Susanoo"It definitely wasn't purely friendship, I'll tell you that much.
And I was also wondering why Naruto barely seemed to get any inheritance from Ashura until the sage granted him the truth-seeking balls. ANYWAYS, no more ranting. I hope you enjoy the story. I've changed a few things which will be further fleshed out through the rest of the story (such as the history of the ninja and the fact that there aren't any freaking aliens in this story)
Enjoy
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"Isn't he cute?"
A blonde haired man sat down silently on a hospital bed, a permanent smile etched onto his face. The great fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, looked down at his son for the first time and he couldn't help but be filled with joy.
"He has your hair… But, both of our eyes?." Kushina acknowledges as she sat up and smiled down at their baby. True to her words, the baby in Minato's arms had a small mop of blonde hair sitting on his head, and although his eyes were barely open, they could see that one eye was a sea of blue and the other violet.
"Our little Naruto…" Minato chuckled, as he turned to hand the baby Naruto over to his wife, who kindly took him into her arms and snuggled him. In an instant, the infant fell back to sleep, his crying stopped. Kushina rocked him in her arms, a satisfied look plastered across her face.
"I'd tell you to rest, but you're too stubborn. You did just give birth ya' know.." Tsunade, the legendary Sannin and the cousin of Kushina Uzumaki remarked, as she stood on the side of the room, along with Jiraiya and Biwako Sarutobi, the third Hokage's wife. Next to them both, a beautiful woman with black hair smiled down at her best friend, with her own child in her arms.
"All Uzumaki are stubborn. It runs in their blood. But still, when I gave birth to Itachi and Sasuke, I was out for at least a few hours." Mikoto Uchiha chuckled, as she rocked the sleeping Sasuke in her arms. The young Uchiha baby wiggled in his sleep, before melting into his mother's touch.
"The seal is secure. We don't have to worry about the Kyuubi escaping." Jiraiya confirmed for them, causing them all to breathe a sigh of relief. Even though Minato could handle keeping the seal in check on his own, Jiraiya decided the help out anyways, just in case. You can never be too careful when dealing with a Jinchuriki seal.
When they had found out that Kushina was pregnant, it was an incredibly joyous occasion. However, there was always the overhanging threat of the seal weakening and releasing the fox. So for the past 9 months, Minato prepared in every form that he could to prepare for the birth of his son and to contain the fox. Minato looked down at his family and couldn't be more confident that all of his efforts were well worth it.
"Are you ready to welcome our little ball of sunshine home?" Minato asked his wife. She smiled and offered him her hand, which he took gladly. However, Kushina stopped and looked around the room at her friends, a hint of uncertainty on her face.
"I can't leave these guys to clean up everything. I can stay and he-" Kushina was cut off by a loud clap from Tsunade, which drew all of the attention to her.
"Don't be ridiculous, Kushina-Chan. Go home. Rest and enjoy your family." Tsunade said confidently as wrapped her arm around Jiraiya's back and smiled widely. "We're more than happy to have been a part of this. Now, enjoy your baby!"
Kushina smiled and a few tears pricked the corner of her eyes. 'Wow, what would I do without all of you guys.' Kushina waved and Minato gave a thumbs up before they all vanished in a ball of yellow light.
"That child is really going to be something else." Biwako sighed as she started to clean up around the room. "And with the best parent's he could ever ask for."
Tsunade and Jiraiya simply smiled and helped clean up around the room. But it was obvious that they all shared the same opinion.
Mikoto said her goodbyes and began to head back to the Uchiha compound with Sasuke. As she walked back to the village, she couldn't help but to stop and look up at the full moon above her head. The village was quiet and peaceful.
And that was how it stayed.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
"Quiet down everyone."
As soon as the Hokage spoke, the entire assembly of clans and council members hushed down. Minato stood up from his seat, a kind smile on his face. The rest of the council stood up and bowed to him, before taking their seats. Minato looked over the entire body of people and analyzed what he saw.
The Aburame clan leader sat in silence, as always, and he kept his head low. Next to him sat Choza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka. All very powerful men in their own respects, and although they weren't known as the strongest clan in the village, they weren't very far behind the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans.
Speaking of them, the next people that the Hokage noticed was Fugaku Uchiha sitting down with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Minato sighed and shook his head at his old friend behavior. They'd always been close friends, but Fugaku couldn't seem to let go of his pride and arrogance. No matter what, he always believed that the Uchiha clan were superior to everyone and everything.
Minato shook his head and turned his eyes next to the Inuzuka and Hyuga clans. The Hyuga clan were probably just as arrogant as the Uchiha, but Minato narrowed his eyes when he saw two Hyuuga bodyguards standing behind Hiashi. 'How strange..' He decided to brush it off for another time.
Finally, Minato's eyes fell upon the Senju, Sarutobi, and Uzumaki clan, who all sat together. Kushina sat in the Uzumaki position, while baby Naruto sat in her arms, wiggling around. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the great professor and third Hokage sat next to Kushina, and Tsunade sat on the other side of Kushina.
There was also the three old council members that peered on from their seats silently and deviously. Minato silently smiled at them, although inside he prepared himself for what he was about to do.
Somehow, all eyes trailed and ended up on Kushina. More specifically, the little ball of life that she held in her arms. The majority of people's eyes widened to proportional sizes. Minato chuckled at this. He'd made sure to keep the people that knew to a bare minimum. Only the people that were present at the birth knew, and only they found out a few weeks before it was supposed to happen. Minato figured that the fewer people knew, the less likely it would get out to someone who would want to cause his family hard.
"H-Hokage-Sama, what is this?" Danzo was the first person to respond, his emotions calm and cold as always. Minato sat back and was about to respond but before he could, Tsume Inuzuka, leader of the Inuzuka clan, spoke up for him.
"What does it look like? Uzumaki-Chan has given birth to a pup." Tsume said obviously, as she looked over at the baby with wonder in her eyes. She sniffed the air a few times and sighed. "It even smells like them."
"When were you going to tell us? This is an incredible revelation which would mean the revival of the Uzumaki clan!" Koharu almost shouted, which prompted a harsh eye from Minato, which quickly shut him up.
"It simply didn't concern you. But if you want to know, I always planned to tell you about it now. I just prolonged the reveal because of the uncertain possibility of the information spilling. We all know how Iwagakure would have reacted to the news that the Yellow Flash's wife was expecting." Minato explained casually.
Several heads around the room began to nod in agreement with Minato, and they all were still marveling at the baby. The room fell into silence once again for a moment, before Shibi Aburame spoke up.
"His chakra is… Special." Shibi Aburame told the rest of the room, as two of his bugs retreated from on Naruto's body. Minato shrugged it off as Naruto receiving Kushina's special Uzumaki chakra, not giving it a second thought.
"Then what do you plan now that the baby is born?" The elderly woman, Homura Mitokado, asked Minato, her voice croaking. "Surely we can't protect it now that he's born."
"You mean he." Minato corrects, his tone becoming dangerous. The elder frowned and sat back in her chair. "But in a way you are correct. We can no longer hide his existence. Surely they will try to assassinate or kidnap him, but if we're already looking out for it, it won't be a problem. This is not just for my son, but for all of the newly born clan heirs."
They all listened to this silently and they all took it in. Shikaku sighed and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.
"But that isn't all you called us for, is it Hokage-Sama?" He asked, into which Minato nodded his head. Everyone in the room turned their attention back to their leader, who cleared his throat and stood up.
"Starting today, I am choosing new advisors," Minato revealed confidently. Danzo's eyes widened in shock, and so did the other two elders, and they opened their mouth to protest. However, Minato raised his hand to shush them.
"My decision is final. You three, although useful to the third Hokage, are no longer useful advisors to me. You guys were useful during the war, but now we are living in more peaceful times."
The clan leaders seemed to mumble in agreement with him, but it was obvious that the elders were furious. Danzo could be seen growling, yet he stayed silent. Quite on the contrary, the other two stood up and slammed their fists on the table.
"What are you talking about?! We'll always have useful advice on how to benefit Konoha. Rethink this ridiculous decision, boy!" Koharu hissed in anger. Not a moment later, the room became thick and unbreathable. All of the clan heads tensed and sweat began to formulate on their head.
"You seem to mistake your place, Koharu-San," Minato replied slowly, his eyes piercing into Koharu. The elderly man gasped and visibly quaked, the killer intent directed directly at him. His mouth was left open in a gasp, but no more came out.
"Take a seat," Minato suggested firmly, the killer intent vanishing from the room in an instant. Everyone relaxed and the two elders sat down in their seats, not a further word coming out of their mouths.
"And further, the branch of Anbu known as Root is being disbanded as of tonight," Minato revealed finally, which prompted an enraged glare from Danzo.
"That is a most unwise decision, Hokage-Sama. Root is key in keeping Konoha safe. If they vanish, Konoha will be more vulnerable to attacks." Danzo tried to argue, spitting out his words as if it was poison. Minato shook his head and frowned at the war hawk.
"The decision is final, Danzo. Root is unnecessary for the future of Konoha. We can't be a village of paranoia, striking out at whatever little threats we see. That will only increase the cycle of hatred around the Elemental Nations. We will put an end to that hatred to prolong this peace for as long as we can." Minato said firmly, into which many there agreed to.
"I call for a vote," Koharu suggested, putting his hand up. Everyone looked at him, and then at Minato, who began to chuckle. Soon the chuckling turned into full-blown laughter.
"You really seem to forget that the Hokage is the supreme leader of the Village. The Hokage always gets the final say in any matter." Minato reminded them, as he wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "There is no voting system in this government. If I ask your opinion, or if I ask for a vote, then it will be done. However, don't think for a second that you can weasel your way around my decision. This is MY village."
Minato waved his hand and three of his ANBU jumped from the shadows, behind the three elders. They seemed shocked and looked at Minato for an explanation.
"You are no longer apart of the council. You are dismissed indefinitely." Minato waved them off. Soon enough all of the previous advisors were out of the room, and Minato stood up and smiled, finally free of the strenuous part of the entire meeting.
"Wow, I've been waiting for that for a long time," Shikaku said from his seat, a pleasant smile on his face. Everyone in the room was aware of the corruption that Root brought to Konoha, and that the old crows were always spouting out advice that could potentially put Konoha in another war. 'Good thing I bothered to get out of bed for this..'
"Now, for the appointment of my next advisors," Minato said with a grin, as he stood up and looked across the group. He had already decided on this a long time ago but was unsure of how they'd take the news.
"Shikaku Nara and Fugaku Uchiha."
Shikaku almost choked on air, his closed eyes suddenly becoming the size of plates. He definitely wasn't expecting this. 'How troublesome.' Shikaku thought as he face-palmed himself.
Fugaku Uchiha seemed to be the most shocked out of the entire group, his mouth left agape like a fish. No previous Hokage has ever had an Uchiha in a high position, and Fugaku had begun to believe that they didn't trust the clan. However, this was obviously proven false by this sudden revelation.
'An advisor to the Hokage? Minato...' Fugaku began to rethink everything and stayed in silence.
"Hokage-Sama! Are you sure about this?" Shikaku blubbered out, still shocked by the news. Minato nodded and turned his back to the group.
"I've thought it over quite a few times. For one, you Shikaku, we all know you're incredibly intelligent. Possibly the smartest and most strategic in the room. After all, it was you that helped me form the strategy to take out the Iwa army." Minato explained to the group.
Shikaku took a deep breath and stopped to compose himself. A ghost of a smile crossed his face as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes again. 'Finally, the Nara clan is getting some recognition.'
"Hokage-Sama. Not that I am complaining, but why me?" Fugaku asked, finally speaking for the first time the entire meeting. All eyes turned to the Fourth Hokage, most with similar questions in their head. Minato turned back and looked at the Uchiha leader, a smile still on his face.
"The Uchiha clan was a very important factor in the creation of Konoha. It unnerved me when I realized that not a single Uchiha member, despite their history and knowledge, has been in a position such as this." Minato revealed to Fugaku. "Plus, I trust you."
Those last words caused Fugaku to smile subconsciously, and he closed his eyes in acceptance. 'This will be a turning point for the Uchiha clan. No more will we tiptoe around being fully dedicated to serving Konoha.' Fugaku decided.
"Do you guys accept this?" Minato asked hopefully.
"Yes, Hokage-Sama."
"How troublesome… It would be stupid for me to not accept..."
Minato nodded and looked over the clan heads of his village. They would be able to work together for a new future. No longer would they be subject to the cycle of hatred and war. He would make sure of this, even if it meant his life.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.X..x.X.x.X.X.x.X
"Papa…"
The young blonde child giggled and caused many in the area to jump up and down in happiness. Kushina, Minato and a now four-year-old Naruto strolled through the streets of Konoha casually. Many of the villagers and young ninja were starstruck, their eyes latched onto the back of their mightyHokage. A huge crowd of girls with hearts in their eyes followed them squealing for Minato. That was quickly stopped by Kushina's death glare and waving red hair.
"Papa!" The young Naruto called again, as he crawled up Minato's body and onto his back. Minato chuckled and held onto his son's legs to make sure that he wouldn't fall. Minato looked up at his son and smiled, wondering where the time went.
In the past four years, Naruto had grown just as a normal child would. The small mop of blonde hair grew quickly and although it wasn't as much as Minato's, it fit perfectly on Naruto's frame. Surprisingly, the tips of his hair began to fade into orange, and at the very end, they were a crimson red.
Another interesting thing that developed since Naruto was born was two whisker marks on each cheek. Kushina has chalked it up as a birthmark from being the son of the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, and Minato couldn't think of another reason for them. Despite that, he'd grown normally. Albeit a little bit more advanced than the other kids his age.
"Minato, did you send out the invitations to Naruto's birthday party?" Kushina asked her husband, who smiled and nodded, as he took Kushina's hand in his own. With his free arm, he held onto Naruto.
"Yes, everyone said that they would come," Minato told his wife as they strolled into the Namikaze estate. The freshly cut grass swayed in the breeze and the pink sakura trees that decorated the gate arched over them.
Naruto climbed back down from his father's back and began to jump up and down in excitement, his hands balled up and a huge smile on his face. He ran ahead of his parents and the grass and trees began to sway towards him, before falling back to their natural state. Before he reached the door, he turned back around and ran back to his parents.
"Is Sasuke-Kun coming?!" Naruto asked hopefully, his pleading multi-colored eyes sparkling. Kushina reached out and ruffled his hair, into which he frowned and scrambled to get away from her messing up his hair.
"Yes, Sasuke-Kun will be her-"
"And Ino-Chan?!"
"Ye-"
"And Kiba-Kun, and Choji-Kun, and Shino-San, an-"
"Yes, yes, Naruto-Chan! All of your friends will be here. Every single one of them!" Kushina interrupted him kindly. The young clan heir hopped up and down in excitement before he ran back to the door and into the house. By the time Kushina and Minato made it to the front door, Naruto was long gone, probably getting ready for his party.
"Kizura-Chan said that she would be coming with Karin," Kushina told Minato, who replied by smiling and hugging his wife tightly. For the past few years, Minato had begun to hear reports of Uzumaki's scattered around the Elemental Nations; some living peacefully. Others, not so peacefully.
They'd all been scattered after their village was destroyed, it seemed, and although some of them didn't accept the offer to go to Konoha and have a better life, some did. When he found Kizura, she was pregnant and living in an abandoned village near the Wave Country. He and Kushina brought her back to Konoha and officially made the Uzumaki clan a part of Konoha, now that Kushina was a part of the Namikaze clan.
After that, many members of the Uzumaki clans around the elemental nations began to filter back to Konoha, and Minato didn't feel so bad about the fact that Konoha didn't get there in time to save their hidden village. Unfortunately, some of the Uzumaki still held resentment to Konoha for not backing them up; only taking Minato's offer to stay in Konoha because it was the safest place for them to be.
At the current time, there were only just over 20 other Uzumaki in the village.
"That sounds wonderful," Minato replied before they turned to see the messy house around them…
"Now how are we going to clean up before everyone arrives?" Minato asks with a sweatdrop. Kushina chuckled and winked at her husband, before forming the seal for the Kage Bunshin, summoning 20 clones. They immediately began running around the house, cleaning every inch of it as quickly as they could.
"Now that's a useful party trick."
A few hours later the first guests arrived. First the Uchiha clan, the Nara clan, and then the rest of the clan heads. As soon as Naruto saw his friends, it was as if he forgot his parents even existed. At the moment all of the kids were running around playing 'ninja' outside, while the adults sat inside chatting.
"Thank you for inviting all of us, Kushina-Chan. Hokage-Sama." Mikoto said kindly, as she politely bowed to Kushina and Minato, who waved her off with a smile. "Little Sasuke really does enjoy playing with Naruto."
"Ahah, it's not a problem! You should have seen Naruto's face when he heard that all of his friends were going to be here." Kushina said with a smile, giving her best friend a thumbs up.
"Hey Itachi-San, wouldn't you prefer to be out there with the other kids?" Minato asked the silent son of Fugaku, who stood silently at the other side of the room eating a slice of cake.
"They're playing Ninja Tag; it would simply be too easy for me." Itachi shrugged and took another piece of cake into his mouth.
Minato examined the silent boy and nodded his head, acknowledging the boy's outstanding skill. He was only 9 but had made Genin at the age of 7. Frankly, Minato was quite sure that the boy was well above Chunnin. However, his sensei wasn't comfortable with making a child a Chunnin and sending them out to their deaths, so he never submitted him to the Chunnin exams.
"Speaking of things being easy, I heard your latest C Rank mission went smoothly. Good job." Minato praised him, only receiving a nod from Itachi.
"Nothing at that level will prove to be difficult for me or my team," Itachi said truthfully, and Minato knew it. Fugaku stood off to the side, listening to the conversation and smirking.
"Whoa, you're definitely a prodigy of your generation. You'll grow to be an incredible ninja." Minato said with a smile on his face, and reached out and patted Itachi's shoulder. This seemed to remind Itachi of something because he looked up and swallowed the piece of cake in his mouth.
"You know, speaking of prodigies. I've noticed that Narut-"
"No more talking about work at our son's birthday party!" Kushina interrupted, harshly patting Minato on the back and causing him to chuckle nervously.
"Gotta listen to my wife. Sorry, Itachi-San. We can continue this conversation next time." Minato laughed as he was dragged away by Kushina.
"It's time to open the presents!" Kushina announced to the group of adults. They all then went out to retrieve the kids, who reluctantly stopped their game to go back inside.
Naruto and Sasuke came back in last, both sporting dusty and damaged clothes. Kushina scolded Naruto about ruining his fresh new clothes, while Naruto countered that they were just playing; and that he had plenty of other clothes.
Soon enough, everyone was gathered together in the resting quarters of the Namikaze household, either sitting or standing around a kneeling Naruto. Around him were many presents, and almost as soon as he saw them, he began to tear them open.
First, he opened the gift from the Aburame clan. Inside, there was what looked like an orange translucent rock, with a weird looking bug on the inside of it. Naruto looked at the bug with interest, before he moved onto his next gift.
The Akimichi clan had provided the food for the evening, but still, Choji brought his own separate gift; a coupon for a year of ramen from Ichiraku Ramen. This almost brought Naruto to tears of happiness, causing almost all of the guest to laugh.
Next, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Biwako offered Naruto some scrolls on unlocking chakra. Naruto took them and excitedly pocketed the scrolls, but then turned to Hiruzen.
"Hey, Jiji! Were these for unlocking chakra?" Naruto asked as he fiddled with the last scroll in his hand.
"Yes. Every great ninja has to start out somewhere. And Chakra is the greatest weapon of a ninja." The ex-Hokage told him, a warm smile on his face. However, Naruto frowned in response, which confused him.
"What's the matter, Naruto-Chan?"
"It's just that, Itachi-San and Tou-san say that I already unlocked my chakra," Naruto reveals to the room as if it wasn't anything special. Some of the room raised their eyes in interest, not having seen something this advanced from a child at such a young age… Except maybe Itachi and Kakashi. But even then, it was extremely rare.
"Oh? Well, I guess I'll have to give you something more advanced next time." Hiruzen responded with a hearty chuckle, having not expected the surprise. He sat back in his chair and took out his smoker, but before he could light it, a certain blonde haired woman snatched it from his hand.
"Smoke isn't good for the kids, sensei," Tsunade remarked as she proceeded to pocket the device. Hiruzen sighed in defeat and went back to viewing the gift opening.
From the Yamanaka clan, he received a bunch of flowers, which Kushina took off his hands and put it in a vase. The Nara clan gave him a Shoji board. And from the Inuzuka clan, some face paint.
Next came a young, and very late, Kakashi. Before anyone could complain about his tardiness, Kakashi handed Naruto a white blade and Shushined away. Naruto wasn't complaining, however, and he quickly clipped the blade to his pants.
"You're going to really need to fix your students problem with lateness… It's becoming less humorous as time passes." Fugaku stated, into which Minato awkwardly rubbed the back of his own head.
Next gift that Naruto found in his pile of presents was an extremely basic scroll on sealing. Kizura sat down next to Kushina; her daughter Karin clinging onto her mother shyly. Kizura smiled as Naruto happily took the scroll put it in his, almost full, pockets.
Naruto then proceeded to open up the present from Tsunade, who gave him a scroll for a little healing Jutsu that required barely any Chakra to perform. She was one of the ones that knew that Naruto's had unlocked his chakra beforehand, and was able to adjust accordingly.
Similarly, Jiraiya as informed by Minato, so when he handed Naruto a scroll on chakra control, Naruto was ecstatic. If it wasn't for the rest of the gifts lying around, Naruto would have most definitely started studying it on the spot. However, when he noticed the huge smile on Sasuke's face, he jumped up to see what his best friend had got for him.
To Naruto's delight, Sasuke had bought him the latest, and coolest, ninja tag equipment. Naruto proceeded to hug Sasuke the tightest that he'd ever hug him before. Sasuke winced but smiled in the embrace, accepting the act of affection from his friend. By the time Naruto let go of him, Sasuke had no more air left in his body and had to take a moment to get his breath back.
"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" Naruto bounced around the room, and soon went back to Sasuke in an attempt to hug him again. However, before he could get to Sasuke, Itachi kneeled in the way, causing Naruto to almost run into him.
"Hey, Itachi-San! Did you see what Sasuke-Kun got for me?!" Naruto asked with glee, now looking up at Itachi. Itachi smiled back down at the blonde and reached into his pouch, pulling out a small book on tree walking.
"This is my gift to you, Naruto-Kun. I'll be on many missions from now on, so I won't be able to teach you myself. But I'm sure you'll be able to get it on your own." Itachi said kindly. Naruto looked at the book with even more amazement, and instead of putting it in his pocket, he put it in between his arms and went to look for anymore presents.
When he didn't find anymore he was still bouncing on his heels and turned around to all of the guests. He took a deep breath and bowed respectfully to all of the guests.
"Thank you all for the gifts. I'll make sure to take care of all of them as best as I can."
Kushina and Minato put their arms around each other and proudly looked down at their son. 'Looks like teaching him manors actually paid off,' Kushina thought. They both looked at each other and Kushina nervously rubbed the back of her head.
"Naruto, there's one more present left, from us," Kushina tells him, into which all of the occupants in the room lean in, not sure where this was going.
"What is it?" Naruto asked as he turned to his parents in confusion.
"Well… We… I…" Kushina fumbled with her words, not sure how Naruto would react. After a few seconds of scrambling for words, she sighed and put her hand in a hand seal.
"I'll just show you... KAI!"
And with that, the simple Genjutsu that Kushina put on herself came undone. Naruto's, and everyone in the rooms, eyes suddenly sprung open and they all gasped. Not much changed, except the prominent fact that Kushina's once flat-stomach, was now large and swollen. Naruto stood in shock, not moving from his spot.
Kushina nervously chuckled and looked around the room, seeing many shocked faces. She'd kept this secret from everyone, except Minato of course, for the same reason that she kept it a secret last time. Baby Arashi wasn't due for another month, but she'd managed to keep everyone in the dark up until now. Thankfully she trusted everyone in the room, or else she would have waited until the very last few days like the last time.
Out of everyone, Kushina was worried about Naruto's reaction the most. Although he'd always been good with other kids, she was unsure how he'd react to not being the complete center of attention all the time.
"D-Does that mean… That I'll have a baby brother or sister?" Naruto stuttered out, his face still portraying a look of complete shock. Kushina nodded her head slowly in response, trying to read what Naruto was thinking.
"Yes! But don't worry, we'll still love you bo-"
Kushina's rambling was stopped by Naruto running over to her and hugging her stomach tight against his body. His eyes were shut as he cuddled both her and the unborn baby, a look of happiness crossing his face.
"This is the best present that I could have asked for. I can't wait!"
Minato and Kushina shared a happy glance at each other before they all embraced in a family huddle. The rest of the room smiled at the family of three, soon to be four, and silently wished the best for them.
The party continued from there, and not long after, the kids tired themselves out. After Naruto was carried to bed by his mother, everyone else filled out. Soon enough, the only people left were Jiraya, Tsunade, Fugaku, Shikaku, and the Namikaze parents.
"I'll be going to rest now. Thank you again so much for coming. Naruto definitely enjoyed seeing you guys. He doesn't exactly understand how long you two will be gone this time around…" Kushina said kindly, referring to Tsunade and Jiraiya. The two Sanin simply smiled in response and bowed to Kushina in respect.
"It was a pleasure, Kushina-Chan. It's been lovely watching him grow so far." Tsunade says truthfully to her cousin. "I wish you'd told me about the unborn baby, I would have probably stayed for longer. But now it's too late. I am your primary doctor, after all."
"Yeah, sorry about that, hehe," Kushina said with a smile, one hand already on the banister heading upstairs. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to have some of the Uzumaki healers there with me at the time. They do have incredible healing abilities."
"Yeah, I guess that will have to do. I wish I could have been there to see my second godchild be born. But it's fine. When I come back he'll be about the age Naruto is now, I think."
Tsunade hugged her cousin for the last time before Kushina finished her goodbyes and went up the stairs to her bedroom. Fugaku and Nara stood in silence in the entrance way of the home; waiting for the last remaining Sanin to leave.
"I guess this is a goodbye to you too, Minato-San," Tsunade said. Minato nodded and smiled at his head medic. All of a sudden, Tsunade punched Minato at the top of his head, causing a small coco to pop up and him to sweatdrop.
"If you treat Kushina-Chan in any kind of unkind way, I'll kill you, you hear me?!" Tsunade yelled at the Hokage. Minato sighed and with fake anime-tears in his eyes, he waved both of his hands frantically.
"I'll treat her well, I promise!" Minato said frantically until Tsunade simmered down a little bit. Tsunade crossed her arms across her chest and with a steeled face, she nodded.
"Good. In that case, I'll be going." Tsunade said her goodbyes and turned to the exit. Before she could get out of the door, however, she turned to look at Jiraiya.
"And you better not get into any more trouble! You got that?!" Tsunade commanded Jiraiya, who sheepishly nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"With enemy ninjas, sure. But I'm not sure about the ladies. I still got books to write!" Jiraiya chuckled perversely, causing Tsunade to shake her head and chuckle. In a way, she was glad that he didn't change at all. She didn't even want to think about her other teammate… Her heart was still sore from that betrayal.
"Goodbye, pervert," Tsunade said before she closed the door behind her and disappeared into the night. The room fell into silence once again, before Jiraiya turned to face his student, who waited for him with open arms.
"I'd offer to sit and have a drink with, but I have some important Hokage-things to deal with after this," Minato told his teacher, waving his hands over to point at his two advisors. Jiraiya waved his hand in dismissal and patted his student on the shoulder.
"It's fine, this party was more than enough. And it's not like I'll be gone forever. I'll be back around the same time as Tsunade-Hime. Don't even make a big deal about it." Jiraiya said nonchalantly, despite the huge grin on his face.
He'd enjoyed watching his student grow and wouldn't trade it for the world. He still believed Minato to be the savior from the prophecy, and it seemed as though the world was heading for a more peaceful time. Only time would tell.
"I'll see you around then. Sensei." Minato said with conviction, offering his hand to his master. Jiraiya firmly gripped Minato's open palm, and shook it, before he turned and left the house.
Minato sighed and turned to his two advisors, who were still silently waiting for him. All three of them walked out of the living area and to the fireplace. Once there, Minato reached down and pulled up a fake log, which then opened up a secret room. They all entered, and the door closed behind them.
Once inside, the torches around the room lit up immediately, revealing three seats and a roundtable. The room seemed to be made of some sort of metal, which looked highly durable. Minato had built this addition to the house not long after he came Hokage, thinking that it would come in handy eventually.
Once they were all settled into their seats, Fugaku cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I noticed that the lack of the Hyuuga clan," Fugaku said with his arms crossed over his chest.
"They've been more secluded and secretive ever since Kumo tried to kidnap Hinata. I haven't seen Hiashi much since." Minato revealed to Fugaku, who simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Hmph…"
"And what about the hunt for Orochimaru? How is that turning out?" Shikaku joined in, as he slowly stroked his beard.
"Slow. The small groups I sent out always seem to get wiped out or find that he's already evacuated from the base. On the last run, however, I tagged along with them and we managed to rescue quite a lot of his prisoners. We found many of an unnamed clan, who seem to have the ability to draw on the natural chakra in the earth. He was using them to further develop mastering the Curse Seal…" Minato revealed to them, into which they shook their head in disgust.
"And what of the unnamed clan?" Fugaku asked with interest.
"They are constantly absorbing natural chakra without a filter, and because of that, they have periods of insanity in which they become extremely violent. For this reason, they've decided that they'll be apart of Konoha, but will live away from the main village in their own little village not far from here."
Shikaku and Fugaku simply nodded in agreement with Fugaku's actions. Minato crossed his arms and then turned to Fugaku, who pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Minato.
"This has the content of the tablet of the Uchiha. I was finally able to write the content down and decipher most of its meaning. It holds the history of the Shinobi world and the origin of Chakra." Fugaku said seriously. Minato took the scroll with a serious expression, having not expected that much.
"It appears that there was a tree called the God Tree a thousand years ago. To stop an upcoming war, one of the queens of the land consumed the fruit of this tree and became imbued with chakra. She ruled over the land but soon enough, the power began to corrupt her and the tree happened to be sentient. It took over her body and formed a monster… The first Bijuu…" Fugaku revealed seriously. The two other men sat closer, intent on remembering this important information.
"Only one? But there are nine now?" Shikaku questioned the Uchiha.
"The current 9 Bijuu were all formed from this one incredibly powerful Bijuu. This one was known as the Juubi, the ten tailed Bijuu…" Fugaku said, which caused the two men to gasp in shock. "Fortunately, the woman had two children who had incredible power inherited from their mother. And with their combined strength, they managed to seal their mother away in an incredible technique called the Chibaku Tensei. And then they split their mother into 9 different forms; the nine Bijuu," Fugaku explained finally.
"Why didn't they just seal the rest of the Bijuu away?" Shikaku asked the knowledgable Uchiha.
"It appears that they were once good, and were intended to be the protectors of humankind."
"Well, something clearly went wrong somewhere down the line." Minato sighed in clear exhaustion, the whole revelation completely blowing him away. They fell back in silence for a few moments to take it all in.
Minato thought about it for a moment and began to draw conclusions in his head. He knew the nature of mankind and knew that they probably began to view the beasts as monsters not long after they were split from the 10 tails. That was probably the reason the beasts turned on humanity. But even if the Beasts were redeemable, Minato couldn't think of a way to communicate with them and reason with them…
"What of the two children? I assume they had kids and their descendants eventually became the Shinobi people?" Shikaku said, which snapped Minato out of his thoughts.
"Yes. The only clans I have pinpointed as being direct descendants of the Sage and his brother is the Hyuuga clan, Uchiha clan, Senju clan, and the Uzumaki clan, but I'm sure that there are more." Fugaku reported before sitting back.
"Thank you, Fugaku-San. You and the Uchiha's help has been incredible in helping Konoha grow." Minato thanked him, into which Fugaku simply nodded and put his hands on the desk.
"Now, let's move on…."
Fated Day
"What the hell happened out there?!"
The chaos in the council room was immense, and no one could hear each other over the others yelling. The village had just been thrown into a state of panic and could have been very easily annihilated. Fortunately, it wasn't, but for a reason that no one could yet understand. It wasn't making any sense.
"The Kyuubi! How did the monster escape?!"
"Where did it go?!"
"Where's the Yondaime?!"
"BE SILENT!"
The entire room quickly fell quickly into silence as the head of the Uchiha clan's voice overpowered them all. All eyes turned to the dark haired man, who had one hand covering a bloodied eye. The man had a look of pure anger on his face, but if one looked close enough, they'd be able to see the sadness laced behind it.
"What happened, Uchiha-San? Where's Minato?" Hiruzen asked as calmly as he could. Merely an hour ago they were out on the front line defending Konoha against the fearsome tailed beast, and the Yondaime appeared and seemed to vanish with the beast. Neither he or the beast had made an appearance since then.
"The Yondaime is dead…"
The room fell into complete silence once again. The realization hit them all like a ton of bricks, and it started to come together now. Not a single word escaped anyone's mouths until Fugaku spoke again.
"The Yondaime and his wife were expecting a child tonight. However, just after Uzumaki-Sama gave birth to their second child, a masked man appeared and after taking the baby hostage, he unsealed the Kyuubi." Fugaku told them all, a frown appearing on his face. "The Yondaime and I tried to stop him, but he utilized some sort of space-time Jutsu and escaped. "
Everyone stayed silent, still shocked at the sudden revelation. Everyone in the room knew that they hadn't leaked the information, so how had an enemy ninja so powerful have figured it out?
"When we arrived back in Konoha, we worked immediately to get the Bijuu out of the village. I put the beast under a Genjutsu so that the Yondaime could get the Kyuubi out of range of the village." Fugaku said, and many looked at his closed left eye, which he had covered. "And once they were out of range… Minato sacrificed his life to seal the Bijuu into his newborn son…"
The room stayed in silence yet again, unsure how to process this information. Yesterday everything was going perfectly. And now the world was turned completely upside down. Even down to the end, the Yondaime sacrificed everything for the village. Even his own life. Only a few more questions lingered on everyone's minds.
"What happened to Kushina? And the kids? Where are they now?" Kizuma Uzumaki asked from her seat. Tears pricked the side of her eyes, and her beautiful face was twisted into one of pure sadness. Her heart was breaking, and she wouldn't be able to handle it if the woman she had become so close to was gone too…
"Kushina… They couldn't save her completely, but they saved her from death." Fugaku said, causing Kizuma to gasp in relief. "Some of the Uzumaki medics were with her at the time and managed to keep her from death. She is in a coma. Right now it is unsure if she'll recover."
"And what about Naruto? And the Jinchuriki?" Hiruzen spoke up once again, into which Fugaku sighed and dropped his head to look at the ground.
"Naruto witnessed the entire thing… From the removal of the Kyuubi from his mother to the death of his father..."
The entire room gasped in shock, all of them knowing how such a traumatizing event could affect a child. His entire life was uprooted in what probably seemed like an instant. Kizura stood up and headed for the door as fast as she could, only stopping to turn to Fugaku with tear filled eyes.
"Where are they?"
"At the Uzumaki clan compound."
When Kizura found them, she could barely catch her breath. Just the sight of the boys almost ripped her heart out.
The young Jinchuriki was crying his eyes out, his voice louder then any other baby cry Kizura had heard in her entire life. From what she could see from the door, he had straight, blood red hair, just like his mother. His little hair looked frazzled and he had three whisker marks on each cheek. He was wrapped in a white blanket, which was covered in spots of blood.
The most heart-wrenching sight was of Naruto, though. He was clutching his brother as tightly as he could to his chest, to what looked to be an uncomfortable degree. His eyes were wide open, his face overwritten with terror and sadness. Tears streamed down his cheeks and over his bloodied face. Even when she entered the room, the older boy didn't even seem to notice her. Rather, he kept cradling his brother in his arms; chanting the same words over and over.
"Don't worry Arashi-Chan… You'll be alright… Big brother is here for you… You'll be okay..."
He continued until they both fell into a deep sleep.
Hope you enjoyed! This was really just the prologue chapter, the story will actually begin next chapter. Don't want to spoil too much so I'll keep my mouth shut, but things will be slightly different. As you can see, the Uchiha clan isn't against Konoha, and Konoha isn't afraid of the Uchiha. The Kyuubi wasn't Genjutsu hacked by the attacker (who most likely isn't Obito in my story). You'll find out who replaces Minato as Hokage next chapter, and also what becomes of Naruto and his brother.