Disclaimer: I don't own Naurto. Please attach to all further chapters.
I threw my long spiky blond hair back over my shoulders, the red tips flashed across my vision as I focused on the Kyubi no Kitsune. Three to four hundred meters tall, a few hundred in length and nine tails that writhed in the darkness. The whole animal was surrounded by a dark ethereal fire crackling under the full moon. Nine Tails had large burning red eyes with sharply silted pupils. Not to mention the soft pointed ears; long snoot; and a soft shiny coat. I had to admit it did look extremely cute. Granted I was unable to feel the dark malice that I was sure the mid ranking demon fox was giving off.
I myself was sitting on top of the large rock face that formed the backbone of the leaf village. Hidden village, I corrected my self. It contained a few sizable commercial districts, several markets, and a few parks. Massive walls loomed around it to cover the large housing developments in a protective embrace. Leaf village was nestled against the massive mountain formation; etched with large faces of hokages past range behind me.
It certainty had seen better days.
Leaf shinobi had fortified themselves in broken impromptu lines to defend the sprawling village they called home. I felt kinda of bad for them, I knew from experiences what home was worth. The lack of one made me want to reach out, to tear the demon fox to prices. I wouldn't of course but I wanted to give into the impulse. Besides I was waiting for the hokages to arrive.
The Third had arrive on the front lines seconds ago. The Fourth Hokage was to arrive, and would do so upon the largest and strongest of the toad summons. He would execute a complex set of hand seals and forge a link to the Shinigami. It was the only thing that the leaf could hope to work.
The Fourth Hokage was indeed on time, and stood majestically on top of an old ugly toad. Seriously, that toad was ugly compared to my coy orange fox. Dark reddish skin and all those warts hidden by the blue coat, he even carried what appeared to be a large tanto. Don't even get me started on how that scar splayed across his eyes made his complexion look marred and hideous. He looked haggard and war worn, even if he was just barley pushing past two hundred and fifty meters tall.
I noticed for the first time at this point just how much me and Minato looked alike. Though he was decked out in his full ninja regaila, and I adornd with the railaments of the fox god. Dark black pants and shirts ending in a crimson orange Fire. The tradtional cloth tie a deep burgundy red and silver braided coil that knotted and served as a weapon belt for my Fox Blood. A plain black, non embellished unbelted robe, embroidered with a large sandy red fox tail that ran from hip to hem, slung over my shoulders and fell open across my form It hid my ninjato. A silver chain hung from neck that held a fox tail pendent rested just under my collarbone. The ensemble was fairy common god hand wear; granted as long as it was laden with the symbols and icons of the God we served it was common. Our eyes matched, a deep shade of blue that boarder incandescents. My face wasn't as jagged as his, more rounded, and it was adorn with a set whiskers on each side of my nose. His golden locks were longer, just as unruly, and jutted outward that fell to the middle of his back. My blond locks turned a sunset orange to a brilliant red that stopped just before the middle of my shoulder blades.
The fourth had started his seals and I could feel the Great Seals slide, part and unwind like clockwork, the meta-physical runes grinded and turned, unwound themselves as the conciseness of the death god him self pierced his way through web of gates that were now visible to my sapphire eyes. The pale spectral ghost materialized behind the Fourth Hokage. My queue to begin. I bounded off the stone monument into the night air, unusually hot and stifling; fell freely from the rock face. I landed on the top of the dark red wood of the administrative building. The air whooshed out ward at my sudden halt. No time to admire my impressive fall. I bounded freely from roof to roof; blocks vanished beneath me as I slipped through the heavy air.
The distance faded to nothing and landed just behind the large heinous toad. None of the ever alert shinobi even noticed my passing, nor did they see the network of runes etched in the night sky where the stars should be. I vaulted, clearing the toad, repulsed that I would have to even come in contact with the slimy icky amphibian. My Innocent's Chain appeared in my hand.
"I can see some sort of creature, Sarutobi; this must be the god of death. It looks like its going to-" The fear was evidant his body shook and his voice trembeld. Unfortunetly what ever the god of death was going to do, it was sadly not going to finish.
My chain snaked out wrapping around the Death god. It was nothing more than a chain of small water droplets, tears of those who achieved redemption. They glistened, small stars brilliantly splayed out against the back of the toads navy blue jacket. The same stars slithered through the cloudy smoke that had taken the shape of the death god, and the large runes burned, searing the night sky.
He howled in pain he could not feel. Ignored cries only I could hear dripped of sheathing fury. I didn't watch the clock work of the great seals reach down like a tornado; latching on to and impaling the shinigami. The cacophony of visuals behind me was ignored as the Fox Blood slid from its sheath.
It hurt to think of how many time I ended a human life this way. It hurt worse to know that this way left the most people alive. Even now, as the shinigami was dragged, tooth and nail into the endless heavens, I buried just under half a meter of god steel into the summoner's rib cage.
I hated to kill good men. Loathed it and despised it with a fury and distain that few pacifists could match. I didn't have time to ponder; The Third Hokage would respond as quickly as a ninja was capable. My hand, covered in the blond ninja's blood, painted the frogs back as the Fourths body inched downward collapsing into a boneless heap.
Energy and will, a considerable portion of my strength and might funneled into the circle I had drawn upon the summons's back. The necklace appeared; the bars of the new cage materialized and wound themselves around the large cuddly fox. A brilliant explosion with the flair of a supernova blinded the entire village. It was child's play to focus threw the pale greens and searing blues to the small streak that jetted into the night sky deeper into the Village of the leaf. The Nine tailed demon fox trapped in the trinket therefore, owned by me. I replaced my small slightly curved blade into its sheath.
I traced the pendent as it whisked through the air at startling speed. The pendent wrought of silver in the shape of nine bushy tails that I spent more than a year and a half crafting. I forgot to place the recall spell in the damn thing? All those nights I spent gouging and engraving the smallest details in the fur of the tails, even changing the pattern to reflect the color change on the tip of a fox tail, and I couldn't even remember to add a simple basic recovery spell?
To say I was floored was an understatement.
* * *
The explosion was brilliant and defining. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Standing upon the summons of the fourth hokage, the robes of office that signified me as the third hokage whipped around in the wall of force that had been generated in the massive blast. All the techniques I knew raced furiously through my mind, and to my surprise it was a new one. I knew my appointed replacement was incredible, but to destroy the dreaded demon by channeling the soul of a god? I turned to see why Minato had stopped, I assumed he had been to focused on what he was trying to accomplish.
The sight of his vacant eyes would never leave me. His blood flowed freely from him as his lifeless face grew ridged, etched with fearful determination. His classy altered robes of office stained a deep coppery red as the crumpled heap that had been a son to me laid motionless on the back of the enormous toad.
A form shimmered into existences, his profile almost had me cry out in shock. He looked so much like the fourth hokage, a bit shorter, but the eyes were almost exact copies of glass ones at my feet. The blood had been moved, a large circle intricately crafted of the darkening liquid, the same deep crimson that dripped off his hand.
A long time ago, I would have opted to let the man explain himself. That time ended a few moments ago. In this time, I embraced the harsh hatred and fury.
* * *
I didn't even notice that I let all the charms and covers that I had up to pull this whole thing off unnoticed fade away. Not a wise choice in the presences of one of the leafs greatest shinobi. It wasn't until the kunai was racing towards me that I even remembered what I was doing. I didn't have any time to deal with angry ninja so I denied him battle, using my great speed dodge his impromptu attack and to traverse after the necklace that I had so foolishly lost. If no one came in contact with it, the amulet was still defined as mine. The majority of Konoha had evacuated, my demon falling into a lesser traveld district.
None of the twelve hundred contangacy plans I had made took this into acount. The most feared demon known to these human mortals landed in the hands of a small roseate child. She was being caried by her mother, the father attmpting to lead them to safty had stoped when the small neckless land in thire child's arm. The mother held the child with both arms. She cluched the babe in panic as she tride to observe what had potintaly harmed here precious angel. The father reached out about to pluck the amulet from the babes hand.
"Cease!" I barked out. Both parnts eyes snaped to me in the wake of my screech. Great im panicing now. High pitched tones, frantic sound and a flurry of movement betrayed the outward calm and infallibility I was suppose to have. I came into the light of the darkened vacant street. The hard packed dirt ground was littered with debris from damaged weapons to shattered wood and newsprint. The only unbroken lamp hung over the small family. I stepped forward as I drew up to my full height. My attire, unstained from the blood I had previously spilt clung to me, showing the lean taunt muscle that I possessed. I didn't have brood shoulders and my stature wasn't that great I stood barley taller than the mother. I refused to let that fact slow me down. I let the confidence I certainty didn't fell roll off me in great waves, and projected my voice to sound strong deep, and filled with authority.
"If you take that from your child, I doubt very much any of you will live." The mother returned her attention to her child and the tailed pendent that the baby held. The fathers hand had froze in mid grab. He eyed me warily as he slowly retraced his hand. Dark narrow green eyes on a long face looked well on the man that stood taller than me. I glanced at the mother. She was tall for a woman. Long skinny arms and legs gave her a wispy wiry look. The child was asleep curled up around a small chain necklace that held the Kyubi no kitsune. Hard to believe that the small girl wrapped in a pale pink blanket could sleep holding onto an angry demon.
"Even I can not simply relive her of it. I wouldn't expect to live long myself, but I am willing to barter for the babble." If no one else shows up I can make this work. I can get my demon. I can-.
"I don't see you living much longer." I let a ninja sneak up on me? Sure enough the old man had a kunai man placed in the perfect spot to execute me the same way I murdered the fourth.
"Hey, nice to see you old man!" Way to loud and I couldn't even sound menacing. Time to change tactics.
"Care to inform me why the fourth Hokage had to die?" The thirds voice was shaper than kunai and twice as dangerous.
* * *
"The pendent your daughter caries holds the fox that just vanished. Trade ya for it." His voice washed over me, I couldn't tell you what it sounded like. It was a smooth wave of sound and as slick as oil. The revered hokage stood behind what I had mistook for the fourth. My wife stood to my left, carrying our relatively new born child. She was a few months old and ever the sweet temperamental baby. So much like her mother I was told.
"Any thing at all, money to power, a life time supply of ramen, heck I could even worship the ground you walk on if it will trade me the fox." He flashed a wining smile and I found myself intrigued by his words. Something just screamed salesman and I fell for it like an idiot. I think it might have been that he remind me so much of the fourth.
The hokage stood beside the fox like blond just as I stood beside my wife. Some where in the back of my mind something didn't seem right.
"Please, I just want to help." I expelled my breath extravagantly. Something made want to offer my life for the shinny pendent that my daughter was clutching. I pondered as my my wife beat me to any offers I could make.
"Help her." She softly whispered beside me. "Save Sakura, make it so she won't die. Make the fox go away." In a way it made sense, I was a father. I should be willing to do what ever it took to keep her safe. My wife was a wiry thing and she seemed to be pleading. I guess that shiny thing was harmful. "Please" she continued. " Worship her if thats what it takes but save her."
The blond man spoke so fast with the largest of grins I had ever seen. "A hundred years. I will give Sakura a hundred years. You will not ever have to worry for your child; it will be my life before hers." He paused to step forward. He turned and glanced at my village leader, a wining endorsement for this ninja if I saw one. "Mind backing off Hokage? I need to greet my charge." He went on a bit more but my wife started to sway. I tuned out whatever the young ninja was saying in order to check on my wife.
* * *
Sarutobihad been quiet during the entire exchange. His pursuit of knowledge and hope to garner details, that would help him battle a man who could kill the fourth Hokage, cost him the chance to stop me. He evaluated me, still wondering where the child that he had intend to seal had vanished to.
"I give you, as proxy of Sakura, my word as the god hand of Sasarius that I will uphold my side of our bargain." The third hesitated, despite being a warrior of stealth and deception, he held honor very highly. "Twelve years, I need twelve years to make sure I can protect your daughter." I stepped forward and gently took the child from her mother's arms. I grasped the pendent from baby, noting the dazed look on the mother. Words settled around me. I was bound to the child. I would protect the child from even the master I served. The mother was lost, to much for her to deal with and she simply fainted. Her husband managed to catch her and struggled to hold his wife. Inspecting the child. I turned and offered the child to the old man. "Keep her safe for me I have much to do." He took the child from me. She received her father's eyes and light pink locks from her mother. She would probably grow up to be cuter than the nine tails.
Pendent in hand, objective completed, I gated out. Leaving the fire country behind, I looked back through the smoke and devastation the nine tails had caused to the small child in Sarutobi protoctive embrace. I smiled softly at the bundel as I returned to the den of my master. He would be angry to lose me for a hundrend years, but I had the demon he wanted. Before proceding to meet the Fox god, I spoke to the child that couldn't understand or hear the words I was speaking.
"I, Uzimaki Naruto, will make sure your safe. Belive it." It was soft and certain, filled with the resolve that every promise should hold Maybe I should of checked to make sure I all the details right. Some how though i felt this could work to my advantage. Still, I had twelve years to set myself up to gaurd this Sakura.
