So, this is a concept for a story I really liked. Pretty much, a much more positive childhood for Naruto, because people accept him since they all know his heritage and Kushina was just like him. However, both parents are dead. No one, that I have seen, has tried this combination. I hoped I pulled it off well. I am particularly proud of two scenes I handled in this chapter. One was my closing line in Sarutobi's speech about containers, one of the best damn lines I have ever written, and my handling of Sarutobi's thoughts on his wife demise by the hands of Tobi (I say Tobi, since there is a lot of confusion over the subject) I don't know how often this will be updated, or any pairings, but I hope you enjoy and review.
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An eerie silence fell over the Hidden Leaf Village as the word spread that the Hokage was going to make a speech. The shinobi of the village, the ones who were not in the hospital tending to their wounds from the Kyuubi's assault, were now busy rounding up the scared villagers who had gone into hiding when reports of the Kyuubi were in the area came to pass. Other shinobi were retrieving the civilians who had made it to the designated bunkers, meant for their protection in events such as this. They were all congregating near the Hokage Tower, waiting to hear their beloved Yondaime speak.
Rumors had begun to spread about how the Kyuubi had been defeated by the hands of the Yondaime, and wild speculation began to spread throughout the crowd. A few big rumors were popular, and each were, at the least, interesting. The first popular rumor, stemming from the civilians, is that the Yondaime used the jutsu that earned him the name "the Yellow Flash" and had hit the demon so many times from so many different directions that it had been defeated. All the shinobi knew this was false, or else their numbers would have overwhelmed the beast. The second rumor came from the tide of relief forces and shinobi not out on the battleground, which presumed that the Hokage used his great jutsu, the Rasengan, and tore the Kyuubi to pieces bit by bit. The third rumor came from those near the battlefield, and saw the great toad Gamabunta be summoned. It combined the first two, and made the story that, while Gamabunta went hand to hand with the demon, the Yondaime used his Flying Thunder God Jutsu to get at the demon's head, and used his mighty Rasengan to destroy the demon's brains, killing him. The shinobi were not so sure of that, because even the mighty Rasengan didn't seem like it could hurt the Kyuubi so much.
However, the final rumor, started by none other than a broken Hatake Kakashi himself, had begun to become rampant and fill the minds of the crowd. He claimed his sensei summoned Gamabunta to hold off the Kyuubi long enough to use fuinjutsu to destroy the beast, but at the cost of his own life. This theory was the one that scared the people most, as it meant they lost their great leader, and no one had a clue on who could lead them as Hokage.
Two other points of topic became widely discussed. The first was theories about where the Kyuubi came from. No one had the slightest clue, as it hadn't been seen in nearly a century. The main theory that Iwagakure, mad at how the Yondaime had destroyed their forces in the Third Shinobi World War, had somehow managed to unleash the demon onto Konoha. A secondary theory was that Orochimaru, who had turned traitor after his non-nomination for the spot of Yondaime Hokage, had managed to unleash the beast on Konoha to kill the Yondaime and his old sensei so he could take over. This fear was forcefully alleviated by the shinobi, who made it a point that Orochimaru, no matter how strong by himself, would ever take Konoha. A few minor rumors of "accidentally awakening the beast's nest" or "punishment by Kami for some sin or another" were out there, but most gravitated to the first theory.
This led to fears about a fourth world war. Many people, shinobi especially, were just coming to terms with the third, and if a new one was started so soon, it would be chaos. With the rumor Kakashi has spread, about the demise of the hero of the Third Shinobi World War, it would mean almost certain defeat this time around. Shinobis tried to calm these fears with varying degrees of success, from areas of calm to hysterical patches in the crowd..
The final question on everyone's lips was what had happened with the Yondaime's wife, Uzumaki Kushina. It was a fact that she was overdue to deliver on her child, she having been pregnant for ten months, and the stress of this event would no doubt force the woman into labor. Many people wondered if she was okay, if the child was alright, if they survived or were victims of the Kyuubi. They wondered if, the Hatake story was true, how would Kushina cope with the tragedy. What if she had lost her son? What if Kushina was lost, and the child alright? These many things were spinning through the heads of Konoha, and words were eagerly waited for by upper authorities.
Finally, a figure began to walk from the Hokage Tower, holding within it a blue bundle. Many questions wanted to be asked by the crowd, but instead they waited in heightened anticipation. Finally, the figure became clear. It was one that almost everyone was familiar with, the Hokage walking out. But not the Yondaime, as hoped, but the Sandaime, his predecessor. He wore his old Hokage robes, which seemingly proved Kakashi's tale, but people prayed for this to be wrong. The Sandaime cleared his throat, and addressed the anxious mob.
"My people of Konohagakure, I bring you tragic news. My successor, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, died during his battle with the Kyuubi." Beneath him crying broke out, as shinobi and civilians alike began to grieve for a man that many had met and loved was dead.
"Because of this fact, and he named no successor to his title, it is with a heavy head I must resume my position of Hokage for this village."
Finally, a loud enough person clearly yelled out. "And of the Kyuubi? What of the Kyuubi?"
The Sandaime let out a heavy sigh. "The Kyuubi was defeated." Minor cheering broke out by those who were happy for the safety of the village and not dampened by the loss of their Hokage.
Another cry broke out, a village gossip who felt the need to know. "And how? How did he kill it?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was at a standstill. Here he stood, in front of much of Konoha, with a blue bundle in his arms, with no clear direction of what to tell them. He had a plan, a plan of action that he felt was best for the safety of the village and for the blue bundle, but he failed to follow through. He had faith in his people, not nearly as much faith as his successor did, but a great amount of faith, but it was not enough. For the last few years, he had not simply stayed in the village as a retired painter, though it was his dream, but he rather was a traveling ambassador to the many villages in the realm. And through these travels, he saw a simple truth. A simple truth that sickened him. And as much as he wanted to what was the best for the blue bundle big scale, failing him here could be a much worse fate.
"I am afraid you misunderstand me, mam. I did not say he killed it, I merely said he defeated it." A collective sound of confusion went through the crowd, as Sarutobi took a big breath. "Before I tell you how he defeated the demon, I would like for you to know where the demon came from before he assaulted this great village." The interest was perked by many of the individuals, as no one wished for the theory that had been popular.
"The demon that attacked our village today escaped from one Uzumaki Kushina." Confusion spread through the crowd as many thought they had misheard him. They thought he had said that it came from their beloved Yondaime's wife.
"Could you please repeat that, Hokage-sama?" A person's question rung out, voicing the desire of many present.
"I said, the Kyuubi that assaulted our village tonight came from Uzumaki Kushina." This confirmation shocked the crowd, as many cries were heard denouncing this thought. One older ladies words rung out clearest of them all.
"Impossible. She was a bit of a hellraiser, but she was a good child. And that good child by no means was the Kyuubi!"
Sarutobi smiled at that. "You are indeed right, Toho-san. Kushina-chan was no Kyuubi. She was, however, the person that contained him." Even more confusion spread throughout the crowd as this statement puzzled many.
Sarutobi did not wait for the cries before he began to explain. " The Kyuubi no Yoko, along with the other eight tailed Bjuu's of this realm, cannot be killed by any conventional means. They are entities of pure chakra, and thus cannot be destroyed. So, in order to stop the rampaging of these demons, we are forced to seal them. Some can be sealed in simple objects, but most must be sealed inside of human beings. The Kyuubi, as the most powerful of these demons, is an example of this. These people who hold these demons back are our only hopes of stopping the demons from destroying everything we hold dear. They are heroes to all of us, as they are the dams that prevent damnation from reaching us."
The crowd was greatly intrigued by this fact, that there were those who lived their lives to protect them from those demons. They were hushed, waiting to hear more about the subject. Except for one perceptive Nara clansmen, who spoke up. "Well, what went wrong? Why was the Kyuubi released?"
Sarutobi sighed. "There is one major flaw with a women containing a Bjuu. When she is giving birth, the seal that is used to keep the demon is at its weakest, and the demon can escape. Tonight was the night that Kushina-chan was to give birth to her and the late Yondaime's child. Every precaution was made to ensure that nothing went wro-ng." Suddenly, he began to choke up, his eyes growing wet, much to the concerns of the crowd. He solidered on. "B-but it f-failed. An int-truder came in and killed the m-midwives. W-which…. W-w-which…w-w-which, " Sarutobi took a huge gulp, "which included my Biwako-hime." With that, he gripped the rail in front of him and let the tears fall. He cried for a few minutes, as the shinobi began to grieve for their reinstated Hokage. Some of the villagers were confused, until it was revealed to them that Biwako was the Sandaime's wife of many years and they grieved with him.
Sarutobi had not meant to break down. He honestly didn't. He had been waiting for this whole mess to be over to grieve, to cry, but he could not wait. His tears fell as he though about the many wonderful years they had been together, their two sons, and how had had promised her that, after she midwifed for Kushina, he was going to take on a beautiful cruise away from it all and finally enjoy their retirement. He was sad that he could not fufill that promise, and was sad he had lost his true love in this world. After a few minutes of tears following and silent sobs, Sarutobi composed himself long enough to finish explaining everything.
"The intruder kidnapped the child, and Minato fought him off. However, this was a diversion for the man's true goals. He used his power to release and somehow control the Kyuubi, and he ordered it to attack Konoha. Minato defeated him, and went off to defeat the Kyuubi. Kushina was gravely injured in the process, and thus unable to be used as a vessel for the Kyuubi. Unable to use her, Minato decided to use his son for the process. "A collective gasp rang out, even by Kakashi Hatake, who was unaware of this fact. "But he put no ordinary seal on it. From what I learned by studying it, he used a seal that will, over time , convert the Kyuubi's chakra into his son's chakra stream, slowly killing off the Kyuubi from existence. But to use this seal, he had to use a special seal, one that required the sacrifice his soul to Shinagami. He managed to do so with the distraction from Gamabunta, and brought down the Kyuubi. That was how he defeated it."
A silence hung over the crowd, taking in everything, unsure of what to say. Eventually, a shinobi ask, "Is Kushina okay?" This was a giant hope of many, that Kushina was alive to help guide her child in protecting them from the Kyuubi."
Sarutobi shook his head. "Her injuries were too great."
Silence reenveloped the crowd, except for one voice. "And their son? The one who hold the Kyuubi? The one who will kill it? Is he okay?"
Sarutobi began to get emotional again, happy that the villagers were different, that his explanation had worked. He nodded his head, smiling. He slowly took one hand and unwrapped the top of the blue bundle. Out popped a baby with yellow hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his cheeks. He slowly revealed him to the crowd, taking in the sight of this beautiful child, who was looking wildly from place to place, unsure of anything. He looks at Sarutobi holding him and coos, much to the delight of the crowd. Again, showing the baby's face to the crowd, the Sandaime proudly announces.
"I would like for you to meet the Yondaime's legacy and son, the child who protects us from the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Naruto!"