Chapter 1
Konohahagakure no Sato, one of the five great shinobi villages, was in turmoil. The mightiest of the Bijuu had appeared on the horizon. The Kyuubi no Kitsune had it's mind set on destroying the village for reasons unknown to all present but itself. The villagers had panicked upon the arrival of the mythical beast—the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf were fighting a losing battle against the powerful youkai. Many shinobi lost their lives trying to hold back the legendary beast, in order to buy time for the arrival of the Yondaime Hokage, the fourth person to earn the title of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. It was indeed a tragic day.
The mighty demon fox plowed through the shinobi. They presented little hindrance to the kitsune because the pitiful ningen could not harm it. Whenever it was nicked the wound would be healed instantly. With a swipe of it's tail, the Kyuubi leveled a section of forest along with the many shinobi it sensed hiding there. The only person the Kyuubi's mind had registered as even a slight threat was the blond-haired ninja known as the Yondaime Hokage. When it saw the man form a sphere of revolving chakra in either hand, it acknowledged the man as highly skilled by ningen standards. But his jutsu was not much of a threat for the Kyuubi. It simply raised a barrier of youkai chakra around itself to repel the technique. The amount of chakra the man applied to his offensive move, slightly surprised the Kyuubi, but the chakra barrier did not give in to the small spheres of energy. But even the noticeably stronger man had left the battlefield and now the Kyuubi was left without a challenge. It perked up upon hearing that the worthy opponent was soon to return.
"Go call the Fourth Hokage. We can't hold the Nine-Tails back much longer!" one of the shinobi had yelled. The teenage prodigy, Hatake Kakashi, was hesitant to obey the order, but still left the battlefield after nodding to his comrade's request. He was already long gone when his comrade let out a shrill scream as the fangs of the Kyuubi came down upon him. The Kyuubi continued his bloody killing spree.
Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, was sitting in his office. Only a few people knew of his real name. Otherwise, he was referred to as the Yondaime or Hokage-Sama. A few hours prior, his son, Naruto had been born. Sadly, Naruto's mother died in childbirth. Then, the Kyuubi had attacked. Minato had no idea why the demon had attacked but he knew it was his duty to protect the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Minato had gone to fight the Kyuubi but found that, because of it's chakra barrier and amazing regeneration powers, it was impossible to defeat it using convectional methods. Currently, he had been trying to think up some strategy to defeat it. The only method he could use to defeat the Kyuubi would be the Shiki Fuin which would remove the soul from the Kyuubi upon making a contract with the Death God in which he would give his life for the services of the Shinigami.
'I would need to give my soul to the Shinigami to close the deal for sealing the Kyuubi. That's fine by me. However, I must place this burden on new-born child because it's chakra systems would not have been developed and it could adapt to the Youkai chakra. I'll have to seal it in Naruto then because it wouldn't do for me to ask someone else to sacrifice their child since I already have one of my own who meets the requirements. I'll use the Shiki Fuin in conjunction with Hakke no Fuin to seal the Kyuubi so it won't be able to escape and place the Shisho Fuin as well, giving Naruto a constant supply of the Kyuubi's chakra.'
The Yondaime started to draw the required seals on Naruto's stomach. When he finished the process of drawing the seals, Minato started to write a note on a large scroll for Naruto to read when he was older. He then proceeded to seal some of his most cherished items in his scroll. Some of the things the Yondaime left as inheritance in the scroll included his favorite cape, some scrolls containing seals and jutsus, and a bank card for his bank account. The Fourth then rolled up the scroll and sealed it shut with a blood seal.
Just as the Yondaime finished sealing his scroll, his predecessor walked into his office. Upon seeing the seals on Naruto's stomach, the retired Sandaime spoke up.
"Are you planning on using the Shiki Fuin?" Minato nodded, although if you looked closely you could see the sadness in his eyes. The Sandaime spoke again.
"You should let me seal the Kyuubi, Minato. The village prospers in your hands. You are still young while I am already old and my time to pass on is coming nearer." To the Sandaime's surprise, Minato shook his head left to right vigorously and when his eyes locked with the Yondaime's he saw a lot of determination in them.
"Sarutobi, as much I appreciate your concern, you have already retired from your career as Hokage. It isn't your obligation to protect the village anymore. It is my obligation because I am the current Hokage. Besides, at least I'll have died an honorable death, defeating the strongest of the Bijuu. I just want to ask you a favor before I go."
"Very well Minato, want do you want me to do?" the Sandaime asked with the sincerity of an old man in his voice.
"Could you give Naruto this scroll when he asks you about the Kyuubi? Don't tell any one of his heritage though, unless Naruto wants to reveal it. Also, as my last wish, I hope Naruto will be seen as a hero in Konoha for containing the burden of an ancient demon." The Sandaime sighed but nodded.
"I will do my best, Minato-kun." Sarutobi left the Hokage's office after claiming the scroll. Shortly after the Sandaime had left, the Yondaime's star pupil, Kakashi entered the room. Kakashi had clearly been running very fast to reach the Hokage Tower because he was panting from overexertion.
"Minato-Sensei! The Kyuubi is advancing quickly towards Konoha. We need your help a lot right now, it will reach here soon at it's current pace." Before Kakashi had even finished his statement, the Yondaime had already departed from his office, Naruto in his arms, and had arrived at the battlefield via his Hiraishin technique.
The Kyuubi was swiping away the weak ningen who dared stand in it's path. That was when it saw the Yondaime Hokage arrive on top of a large toad (Gamabunta), holding a small bundle in his arms. Kyuubi was excited that the most challenging ningen had come back. It's bloodlust rose as it heard the cries of hope from many of the shinobis.
"The Yondaime is finally here. We can't lose now!" With renewed vigor and confidence, the shinobi on the battle field fought harder than they ever had before. The Kyuubi had to resort to holding his shield up to get rid of all the pesky people who charged at it
The Kyuubi decided to get rid of the fat, ugly frog that called itself Gamabunta so it started to attack it. The toad dodged most of his paw swipes, but he managed to get a good hit on it's eye. The Kyuubi mentally admitted that this frog was a worthy adversary for him although it was sure it could beat it. The Kyuubi saw that the blond-haired ninja was performing a long string of hand seals at a very fast pace. However, the oversized kitsune was sure that it's chakra barrier could block any technique the ningen threw at him. However, it's over confidence was it's downfall.
The Yondaime finished his seals for his technique and a blinding flash of white light surged outwards from his body covering the battlefield. The Shinigami, the very embodiment of death, appeared behind the current Yondaime. Whatever the Kyuubi had expected, it certainly hadn't beren this. It thrashed wildly in primal fear of the entity that had appeared. However, it couldn't move. The spectral demon stuck his hand through it's summoner and pulled the Kyuubi's soul and chakra out of it's body. The Kyuubi felt like it was shrinking smaller and smaller until it seemed it would reach oblivion. Finally it's soul and chakra was pushed into the seal on the stomach of the crying child. The Kyuubi saw it's body perishing and heard Minato's last words before it was finally sealed: "Naruto. It is my dying wish that the village treat you as a hero. Please forgive me if they don't. Good luck, Son." With that the Yondaime collapsed off of his summon's head.
When Gamabunta saw his summoner fall from the top of his head, carrying the crying Naruto in his arms, he caught them in his tongue and placed them gently on the forest floor. Gamabunta was grievous at the loss of one of his favorite summoners. He departed in a cloud of smoke.
All the shinobi were were happy that the long battle was finally over. They ran over to the Yondaime to congratulate him on his victory. But when they saw he was lying dead on the forest floor their faces paled. The voice of Hatake Kakashi rang out.
"Why? Why must you leave us, Sensei?"
The Sandaime stood over all of Konoha from the Hokage Tower. He carried a small bundle in his arms as he waited for the rest of Konoha to arrive. At the base of the tower, a small crowd had begun to form. The Sandaime was feeling major guilt and regret at what he was about to do. But he had to do tell them didn't he. After all, it was the villagers' right to know. And Minato had also asked him to tell them about Naruto's tenant so that maybe they might accept him as a hero. But for some reason, Sandaime had a feeling that the villagers weren't going to do as such.
"As I'm sure many of you know, the Yondaime Hokage died last night. He already knew he would not come back from the battlefield alive. So he requested me to reinstate myself as Hokage and I accepted. Now I will tell you of the Yondaime's sacrifice. Last night, the Yondaime told me the only hope to defeat the Kyuubi would be to sacrifice his life to the Shinigami to seal the Kyuubi in a new-born child." The Sandaime stopped to catch his breath.
'I wonder if I am doing the right thing telling them. But then again, I've already told them most of it so I can't stop now. I'll give Naruto his mother's last name, 'Uzumaki'. Even though there are scarcely any shinobi who know of Minato-Kuns family name there are a few like Kakashi-Kun who do know. A new family name for Naruto-Kun will probably keep him safer from his father's enemies as well.' The Third Hokage continued his speech.
"The child he sealed it in was Uzumaki Naruto, this child in my arms. The Yondaime's last wish was that he be treated a hero who is keeping the Kyuubi back."
Before the Sandaime had even finished his speech, the people had started talking that the 'demon spawn' should be killed immediately because he took their beloved Kage's life. At the head of this discussion he could hear his successor's former pupil talk of ways to torture the 'Kyuubi no Gaki' who dared take the life of his Sensei. Sarutobi sighed.
'I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Were they even listening when I said that Minato-Kun wanted to have the village treat him as a hero. Kakashi-Kun, if your Sensei knew what you were saying he would be very disappointed in you.' Sarutobi coughed to get the attention of the citizens of Konoha.
"I have also made a law that no one here is to tell anyone else, not even their own children, about the secret of the Kyuubi being sealed in Uzumaki Naruto. Anyone who breaks the law will be accused of treason and will be executed. The law is now actively in effect." With that, the Sandaime turned heel, and went back into his office, a feeling of shame, for the reaction of the villagers hanging, over his head.