This story will replace Lives of the Many, Promises to Keep. Why, one might ask? Uhh… that didn't turn out the best. It was harder and harder to follow my original plan without making it like… I don't know… too long? It probably would have had to be cut into too many pieces for me to count, and, welp… it sucked to say the least. Before any hate rolls in from the following story, including the rolling "kill yourself" 's that will inevitably come. I tried. It just wasn't gonna happen, and I don't want a story I had no more interest in writing to deter me from writing something else. Rather, I'm going to create a clean slate. This is the start of a more recent idea, not one from however many years ago. The original dialogue and part-take of the character description will be OOC for two reasons that are important to keep in mind.

1- It will allow the story to flourish, as per the title. That and, the end goal will become a lot clearer than the previous attempt at a longer fic.

2—It won't become a jumbled mess in the future, because I know exactly where I want to go, but rather would like to leave an open mind to current and future events on how they would go. That and, if anything gets too cheesy in the future, I'll likely scrap it and restart my idea over from the last chapter following on. This is to help with the constant writer's block that plagues me from writing too quickly, as some might have seen.

One last thing before I get started. I have no idea if even a shred of this will be original, given how vast the amount of fics there are containing this, but I hope it is one of the better ones in the end.

"Normal Speaking/Story Dialogue" – In Regular Print

"Thoughts, Emphasis, Shouting" – In Italics

"Kyuubi/Tailed Beast/Distorted Chatter" In Bold

"Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/Kyuubi Thought (In same section of dialogue)" In Bold Italics

Disclaimer - I own nothing, obviously. I don't get a dime for this, obviously. Oh, and, meow... I guess...

It was yet another beautiful day in Konohagakure, one that, despite the daily errands of ninja flying across the village in a frenzy to get to their stations. Why, one might ask?

The birth of none other than Madara and Hashirama's son. Madara had always been the one wearing the pants in the relationship- her husband had been too passive and kind to a fault to really cause her any harm, including the time during their intimate moments. But still a faint trace of mind had come across to her aged form, for she had been probably one of the oldest to give birth in quite a while during the times of peace that had ensued after the first of the Great Shinobi Wars. Even the thought of the meaningless conflict had made her spite most of the world for it, the same thoughts shared by their Uzumaki allies who had taken to hermit on their island, only coming out in once in a while to grant peace treaties between the other villages. As the strongest of all, they were expected to lead the pack, no matter how stagnant they might be. All is good… but…

Madara mused on the petty differences that had caused the first war, the first being the amount of jinchuuriki allowed to the stone, and how many tails' worth they had, as well as the rival power of ninja that could manipulate sand within Suna, a new and upcoming village despite the strife that had come along in the past that had dissuaded them from growing any larger. That and, there was a problem with other villages whenever two strong ninja had children, more importantly, when she and her husband, Hashirama, had just had their own, despite the threats put upon by Iwa and the one of the other stronger hidden villages, Kumo. No doubt if they found out we had a son, our village would be caught in conflict. I don't doubt that they figured something was up when I didn't appear at this year's meeting at Ame. Kami bless us if we can't keep our innocent child a secret…

"Mada-chan." Looking up from the baby in her arms, suckling at her breast, she smiled. His voice had always been soothing in the worst of times… such a prospect was expected from a natural born leader. And lover… she mused.

"Yes, dear?"

"You know what must happen if our child is to live even a somewhat normal life." She knew this was going to happen, and, with a grunt of pain left over from her very recent birthing of her child, she stood on shaky legs, only being caught by her husband. We waited until our sixties to give this child breath… poor thing.

"I know… Hashi-kun… it's just that I wish we could have spent more time with our poor child before all of this happened. From the death of your brother, Tobirama, to the new title given to his student Hiru-kun, I don't know what to do. I want to love and nurse my child here, to w-watch him f-flourish and grow… to see him become a f-fi-fine young man." Tears poured out of her eyes, down the still reminiscently beautiful face she held, aged like a fine wine, as her husband used to say. She broke down, trying to give her young one the attention and affection that she could with all her heart, desperately wishing the best for her only child.

"If only Mito-chan didn't die so early on, that we wouldn't have had to have that poor fox sealed into that gem… and then you came to me. I cannot for the life of me, find why this world had to be so cruel. I'm angry… Hashi-kun. I hate this world so much… all that it took and it continues to keep taking!" Kissing her forehead, he wept as well, grief had stricken the pair- how could it not? They had worked so hard to build peace, enough that it had cost the life of her husband's first wife, and now the life of his son from the family they built.

"I know, Mada-chan. I know how you feel. But all is not lost. If it means that our lineage can continue through him, for his blood and the Will of Fire to be passed down, we must. We must spare more families from enduring the same pain we have, if we must. If that means he must have a hard life, then it must happen, but it is for the best. I will have Ren and Kagura look out for him, but nobody must know that he comes from us. I will not let him suffer, Mada-chan. You have my word. He will be taken care of in the orphanage by the retired shinobi that have taken to making it a hospice for orphans. He will live on." She nuzzled into his arms, wailing loudly. Her only son would grow up without knowing his true parents. I just wish that I could say I love him, just once for him to understand.

Wiping away her tears, she could feel her eyes burning, and her heart yearned for something more than just distant relation. She had given him her son, and with a nod, he disappeared with a whisk of air, leaves falling to the floor as her son left her eyes. A fleeting thought tousled with her feelings, playing at her heart strings, making her regret even wider to fill the hole that had come into her heart. Minato-kun… be safe…

Kyuubi Rampage- Konohagakure no Sato

"Men, continue firing at the Kyuubi! Use any means necessary to take it down! Now!" The leader of the supposed shinobi shouted, getting the attention of the men and women, all dressed in typical shinobi garb ranging from Chuunin to Anbu. From Byakugan to Sharingan, it didn't matter. The mighty beast had continued to rampage on, catching the attention of a rather old, but not ancient woman housed in the Hokage mansion. Her eyes were special, the Magekyou had long since formed and evolved into the Rinnegan, but not without the help of tragedy to part her during the First Shinobi War. This fighting must cease.

In a flash, her son, yet clueless to his heritage, came before her. He never came to her unless it was a favor, or if it was to spend time with her- much obliged by her age-addled mind. Wearily standing with the help of her cane, she knew that age had caught up to her. I wonder if I could somehow grow younger. In my glory days, I could have very easily stopped this Bijuu from tearing our village apart. She cursed her old age, a thorn in her side ever since it had begun to take a toll on her rapidly decreasing health.

"I trust you need me for some plan. Is it my eyes, Minato-kun?" Nodding, he solemnly vowed to make it up to the elderly matriarch of the Uchiha. She probably knows what I'm going to do… Kami have mercy on my son…

His golden hair swayed in the wind of the outside world, and his solemn stature could only mean one thing.

"Yes… I need you to control this monster before it destroys the village… and then…" Should I risk not telling her?

"And then you plan to seal it inside your son. Is that correct? You do know what the means, right?" Nodding, he grasped her hand, whisked away in a flash of yellow reminiscent of his hair. Again, this vile world takes the life of my son… where is it headed now?

Sealing Site – Border of Konohagakure no Sato

They had hastily appeared in a rather flashy appearance, surrounded by Anbu and, much to her surprise, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. He was probably one of the only people she had told of her relation to the younger Kage. Now in his thirties, it hadn't been a surprise to say that he had been the youngest Hokage to reach the seat- her husband, Hashirama, had been thirty-five. A true prodigy in every sense of the word. But, alas, as the Kyuubi, as far as she could tell was trapped in an Uchiha's mind control, but she knew not of who it was. Though a few names did come to mind.

The great tailed beast had made much headway to their location, Kushina and Minato had stood side by side, watching and waiting as thundered to their position from a distraction- a well-placed Rasengan in Minato's part. Trepidation continued to come from their bodies- There was nobody to stop the angered beast in its tracks. It continued, roaring and the like, a deep snarl coming from its maw as it thrust its claws- nothing but malice coming in behind its strike in intent to kill the small child which, it assumed, was meant to trap him once again.

The claws continued to whine and part the air, coming close and closer, until golden chains had come to stop it in its tracks. It struggled, however, to contain the beast for long- they had to start the sealing ritual.

"Kushina… I know you just gave birth to our son… but the sacrifice must be made. I need to seal him away!" An angered tic came across her head, but she knew the reasons that he had done what he had set out to do. If he tried to seal it back into me… I would die from chakra overload. He escaped once, damaging my chakra coils… but… if he tried entering me again, I would die for sure this time.

"I know, Minato! Don't make this harder than it already is!" She gasped in horror as several of her chains broke, even then, with Madara attempting to enter its mind, proving her efforts futile. She grasped her cane in near crushing force. I won't let his family die, not like this!

"Minato, Kushina, get back! Now!" They didn't listen, instead throwing themselves before their child, blood erupting in fountains as the claw tore its way into their bodies. She only successfully countered part of the force of the claw- it proved futile once more when he had broken through the barrier she had set in hopes of stopping the rabid beast. Even then, the left-over chains wrapping around its form held it in place along with their sunken bodies. N-Not again.

She could only sit in silence, eyes wide and mood fouled as she witnessed the sealing. He hadn't bothered to think of what might happen if he sealed the entire Bijuu into the body of the young one. He had done it regardless- there was no time, no other way to do so.

Thunder and lightning. Rain and sleet. In a downpour that left the muddy ground gleaming… nothing could stop her heart from shattering by the sound of the poor child, wailing, crying as his parents struggled to spit out their last goodbye to their son as they left the world- never to return. I would use Rinne Rebirth… but I am far too weak now… my body would surely break before its completion, and their wounds prove too grievous even for me. Kuso… kuso!

Throwing away her cane, she stumbled as fast as her wiry muscles would take her, stopping before the child to take it into her arms as she panted, her breath having already been taken away by the gruesome scene. Tears dripped away as she looked at the long dead bodies of the boy's parents… of her only son. It was a sad truth in this world, that many ninja did not live long, for tragedy had a way of striking suddenly, and death will part even the strongest of marriages out of spite for a new beginning. Downtrodden, grief-stricken, heartbroken. To think that, the strongest Hokage since Hashirama could not even seal the beast, it was both a testament and a sad factor that had played out before her. Either way he would have died. I knew something would happen, but again, I was too far, too late to do anything once again.

Nursing the small baby in her arms, she smiled in melancholy as he twiddled with her long, lustrous, yet silver hair- another testament to her age that had yet to be absolved. A seal… wait… no…

She slammed her fist against the stone table, crushing it under her fist as her eyes glowered with nothing but the same pain that had cost her a life with her little boy. No more.

"I will not let this happen again. This has gone far too long, and I won't stand for this anymore. Hiruzen!" He had appeared before her, kneeling- unfitting of the man who had been the successor of the title "God of Shinobi."

"Whatever you need, I will give to you. I think it's time that I took up the mantle of Hokage once more, for the sake of your grandson, Madara."

"Agreed. I will protect my baby grandson at all costs. Now tell me this… where the hell were your students when we needed them?!" He looked away in shame. Tsunade had left the village in search of self-acceptance, and Jiraiya? He'd done well enough to look into a mercenary group called the Akatsuki. Both of them knew what it had cost them for their mistakes.

"Nowhere near here… and I can't say sorry enough, no matter how much it won't cut it. I understand your reasons for grief and anger. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to raze this village to the ground in anger. But, for the sake of your son, we must do something about this situation." Resisting the urge to kill the man she had once helped to call little brother, she sighed, letting her age get the better of her as she gave up her resentment. It's not worth the world for my anger… yet I can feel it burning inside me. Hashi-kun, you knew that my will was not as strong as your own, yet you had faith in me. I can't- I won't let this village burn in recompense for all our mistakes. Change is coming.

"I will not let you take him away from me, nor will he grow up under another man or woman's eye. He is mine to keep, for he is the only thing holding my lineage together."

"But, isn't that dangerous? You and Minato have both made fierce enemies who will stop at nothing to hunt him down! This isn't the life they would have wanted-" Opening her Rinnegan, she flared her chakra, forcing him to take a step back. Any emotion she had went into her display of power, for her great reserve had not been lost on her by the sentience of old age.

"Do not even mention them in my presence, Hiruzen. He will stay with me, with a loving family no matter what cost. He will certainly grow stronger, and with the genes he has from our families, I imagine that he will be that Child of Prophecy that Jiraiya was always talking about. I am proud, but I will also stand by my beliefs. This hatred, this war… it will not infect the life of my grandson over my dead body." Do not mistake my anger for hatred, Hiruzen. I only want what's best for him, and him alone. I would break to my hatred if I were to see another one of my children suffer…

Looking back at him, she sighed again. It looks as if we will both need Tsunade and Jiraiya's expertise.

"One last thing. Sign the papers and allow me to adopt him. After that, send word for both Tsunade and Jiraiya- tell them it is of utmost importance. They will want to hear this.: Nodding, he vanished in a swirl of leaves, allowing her for the first time to truly study the infant within her arms. He had small tufts of hair, dark, almost unnoticeably red at the tips, yet it was as clear as day that he had inherited the Uchiha blood, the rest of the mop atop his head was too dark for black to describe the color. Like the maelstrom that hides beneath, you are a child who will know what it means to lead. One day, I know you will turn into something great, by my honor as an Uchiha.

That does it for the prologue, so, do not fret at all, this will not be abandoned or stalled for good reason. But, I cannot promise a stable upload schedule. One-shots and other happenings will come in between, so keep an eye out for those as well if you follow them. Also, I want you all to keep in mind, all negativity will be ignored. I don't care about your opinions unless they help. Furthermore, if you don't like the way this is going already, you can certainly leave without flaming the story. Nobody wants to hear the shit you put out if you're one of those people.

Anyways, on a more positive note, let me know what pairing you want me to do next! I've got a whole list of them to do, and not time to do it. So, lemme get to work so you can all start reading some of my ideas in the series of one-shots that I've been releasing.