Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or anything affiliated with. The rights to is belong solely to its respective owners.
Welcome, everyone. Here is the first chapter of the reboot to "A Shift In Tides". The events of it will be largely similar to the first few chapters of the original story, though there are some noticeable changes. (At least, I hope they're noticeable.) With that said, I hope you enjoy!
Summary: It's amazing how just one change can lead to unexpected consequences. Upon her sealing, Kaguya expelled her soul from her body and has been wandering the Elemental Nations. But on this night of the Kyuubi's sealing, she is sealed into the son of Orochimaru. What will this change lead to?
The Moon Shifts The Tides
Chapter 1: The Shingami's Will
Konohagakure No Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves
When someone hears that name, it has the ability to inspires various emotions. From blinding hatred from the members for the Hidden Stone Village, to jealousy over its various bloodlines and clans for the Hidden Cloud Village, to a desire to simply raze it to the ground from a certain Snake Sannin.
In this particular case, however, there was one person who was experiencing a very different set of emotions. That one person was a member of the village's own shinobi forces, the kunoichi known as Kushina Uzumaki. At that moment, said woman was cursing its leader, the Yondaime Hokage, to the deepest pit of Hell that existed for putting her through the level of agony she was currently experiencing.
"It's almost done, Kushi-chan! Just keep pushing!" he urged his wife.
"JUST KEEP PUHSING?! WHY DON'T YOU GIVE BRITHING A CHILD A FUCKING TRY AND SEE IF YOU CAN KEEP PUSHING, DATTEBANE?!" Kushina roared back. She also tightened her grip on Minato's hand to the point that he had to channel a current of chakra to it to keep it from breaking.
Indeed, Kushina was currently giving birth. When she and Minato had received word that they were going to have a child, they had both been over the moon over it. Minato had long since wanted a child, thanks in no small part to the fact that he had grown up as an orphan. And Kushina had also wanted her family to grow ever since her clan had been annihilated during the Second Shinobi War.
But, like always, one should be careful what they wished for. As it turned out, Kushina was giving birth to not just one child, but two. The situation was already precarious enough, as childbirth was one of the most dangerous time for a jinchuuriki like Kushina. But to give birth to twins at such a time, giving the Kyuubi sealed in her double the chance to break free and potentially kill her in the process? Not good.
Thankfully, the two remaining Sannin loyal to village, Jiraiya and Tsunade, were both in the secret cave with them. Jiraiya was there both because he had been named the children's godfather and to help make sure Kushina's seal remained intact. Tsunade had been temporarily and forcefully recalled to the village because her expertise in medicine was vital to making sure that both the Hokage's wife and their children were able to come out of this okay.
Refocusing on the task at hand, Minato frowned at his wife's yelling. Before he could stop himself, he commented "I don't really see how I could do that, dear."
Kushina's response to that, rather than yell some more, was to send a fist flying straight for his face. Minato reacted to the attack and, without thinking, substituted himself with the closest thing to him. Which, unfortunately, was Jiraiya.
The Toad Sage had just enough time to notice his new position before the blow struck, breaking his nose and sending him flying backwards through the air. He hit the wall of the cave hard enough that he actually crashed through it, creating a hole through which his legs could be seen. Jiraiya groaned. Why in the world did Senju and Uzumaki women have to hit so hard?
Minato refrained from sweat-dropping at the sight. 'Sorry sensei… But better you than me,' he thought, before focusing on his wife. And increasing the chakra output to his hand as her grip tightened further.
It was at that moment that Tsunade said "I can see the head! Come on, Kushina! Push!"
"I AM PUSHING! AAAH!" Kushina screamed. A few more minutes passed in this fashion, and soon the cave was filled the sounds of an infant crying. Tsunade held up a screaming baby boy in her arms, and already she could tell that this one was going to be as loud as his mother. Quickly, she created a chakra scalpel and used it to cut the umbilical cord before cleaning the baby.
Jiraiya was there, not a scratch on him despite being sent through a wall—he was the Gallant Jiraiya! Nothing could hurt him! —and she handed the baby of to him. "Now, just one more child. Don't rest now!" The second birthing was much easier than the first, and it was revealed to be a girl. She was cleaned and wrapped up in a bundle of red blankets, while the boy was wrapped in blue.
"Congratulations, you two. You are now officially parents," she announced. Both of them smiled widely, even if it was with no small amount of exhaustion in Kushina's case. They were each given one of their children, Minato holding their daughter while Kushina held their son. Both children had a set of whisker marks on their cheeks, while the boy had Kushina's face with Minato's hair color, and the girl was the reverse of that.
Jiraiya clapped Minato on the shoulder. "Congratulations, indeed, gaki. So, what are you going to name them?" he asked.
The two parents looked at each other for a moment, communicating without using words. As one, they both nodded before Minato looked at his former teacher. "Well, we had already decided that we would name our daughter Natsumi. But for our son… we've chosen to name him Naruto," he said.
Jiraiya's eyes went huge, instantly recognizing the name. After all, how could he not? It was the name of the main character of the first, and least popular, book he had ever written. "Minato, are you two sure about that?" he questioned.
"We're sure. In many way, sensei, you're like the father I never had, and Kushi-chan already sees you as a perverted father-in-law. It'd be an honor for our son to have that name," Minato said.
Jiraiya was speechless. Even for a battle-hardened veteran like him, the idea that he could be seen as a father still touched his heart. And for his prize pupil to actually care enough to name his son after the character of his first book… he didn't know what to say. Watching them, Tsunade and Kushina smiled. There had been a lot of ways that this night could have ended badly, but in the end it had all turned out for the best.
"How touching."
Or maybe it hadn't.
Everyone looked towards the cave entrance. Standing there, over the bodies of the ANBU who had been standing guard outside, was a man. He was dressed in a black cloak with the hood down, showing that he had black spiky hair. However, that was the extent that they were able to discern, since the rest of his face was covered with an orange spiral mask that possessed a single eye-hole.
Seeing the bodies, the shinobi were instantly on guard, ready to respond in case of an attack. "Who are you? How did you find this place?" Jiraiya demanded.
The figure chuckled. "My name? My name is Madara Uchiha. I'm here for the Kyuubi jinchuuriki," he said plainly.
All of their eyes widened momentarily. Madara Uchiha? But that was impossible. Madara had been dead for several decades now, ever since his fight with the Shodaime Hokage at the Valley of the End. Still, if this was Madara, that would explain why he had been able to defeat the ANBU without getting a scratch on him.
Minato handed Natsumi to Kushina before drawing his on his special kunai. "I don't care who you are. You're not getting your hands on my wife," he said firmly.
Even though the mask concealed it, they could tell that 'Madara' was amused, given how he chuckled out loud. "Is that so? And exactly how do you plan on stopping me?" he asked mockingly.
"Like this!" Tsunade said, and shot forward at a speed surpassing most Jonin. She gathered chakra in her fist before unleashing a right hook. If the blow connected, the force of it would be enough to reduce the man's head to paste several times over. And it would have… had she not passed right through him like he was a mirage. Tsunade blinked. "Huh?"
Jiraiya and Minato were shocked as well, having never seen such a technique before. That momentarily lapse lasted just long enough for him to shoot forward and hit the Sage with his own right hook, sending him several feet into the air. But then Minato appeared in front of him with his kunai in one hand and a Rasengan in the other. He swung both weapons at the enemy, only for them to pass right through as well.
'Madara' dodged an uppercut from Tsunade and rushed towards Kushina. She willed several of her chakra chains to sprout from her back and shoot forward, ready to bind or impale him. But he turned transparent again and avoided all of them, before solidifying long enough to snatch Natsumi from her arms.
"Natsumi!" Kushina called, trying to stand up. The other shinobi closed in on him, but then he pulled a kunai from the sleeve of his cloak and held it to the infant girl's neck. "One more step, and this child dies the day it was born," he ordered.
Minato, Tsunade and Jiraiya all froze at that, unwilling to get closer if it meant endangering the child. Natsumi started crying from her new position, but she was ignored. Beneath his mask, 'Madara' smiled. "Like I said, I'm here for the Kyuubi. Neither you or I gain anything from harming this child. But if I need to do it to make you cooperate, I will," he warned.
Tsunade glared at him. "If you harm one hair on that baby's head, I will make your life a living-" she began.
"Tsunade!" Minato cut her off, before holing up his hands. As much as he did want to just charge forward and rip his child from this man's, he knew that even his speed wouldn't enable him to do that without Natsumi getting hurt. "Okay, let's all just calm down. We can work this out peacefully," he said.
The masked man laughed. "I am completely calm, Hokage, but there's nothing to work out. You simply surrender the Kyuubi to me, or this child will die," he told them. For a moment, there was no response, and he sighed. "Very well," he said, before raising the kunai.
"Stop!" Kushina yelled, managing to get to her feet. 'Madara' paused, and Kushina hung her head. "Minato, hold Naruto," she said.
"Kushina, you can't-" he started, before she fixed him with a stare that would have rendered the Kyuubi itself stiff. "Take out son, Minato," she told him.
Minato was silent, before eventually nodding. The Sannin gritted their teeth in anger. They wanted to do something, anything, but they couldn't. As long as he was holding onto Natsumi, 'Madara' had them by the balls. As it was, Minato reached out and let his wife had him their son. "I'll come get you. I promise," he whispered.
Kushina nodded, and walked towards 'Madara'. Once she was within arm's reach, he put away the kunai and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You made the smart decision here, Leaf village. Here's your reward!" he called. He tossed Natsumi into the air and vanished in a strange swirl with Kushina.
"Natsumi!" the three ninja yelled. Minato leaped upwards and caught his daughter, holding both children close to his chest. In her father's arms, Natsumi stopped crying, trying to hold onto his with as much strength as her small hands would allow.
Minato landed on his feet. After making sure that his children were fine, he looked over at Tsunade and Jiraiya. "Alert the rest of the village about what's happened, and then go after that bastard. He'll die for what he's done tonight," he said, his voice colder than a Yuki clan's ice jutsu.
Both Sannin resisted the urge to shudder at his voice. Kind and merciful he could be, but Minato had grown to be a terrifying shinobi when needed. They nodded and ran out of the cave, while Minato concentrated and vanished in a flash of yellow.
He reappeared inside his and Kushina's apartment, inside the room prepared for the twins, and placed his newborn son and daughter in their cradle. "Wait here, Naruto, Natsumi. I'll go and get you kaa-chan back. I swear it," he said softly. The children didn't respond, probably already asleep, and he smiled. Gently patting them both on the head, he resumed his fighting demeanor and left in another flash.
'Madara' smirked as he gazed upon Kushina, whose limbs had been bound with chains to keep her from escaping. A paralysis seal also kept her from manifesting her chakra chains, as well as any other tricks she might have up her sleeves.
Still, that didn't stop her from struggling, and she glared at him hatefully. "What do you want the Kyuubi for?" she asked.
He chuckled. "It's actually very simple. Once I've extracted it from you, I'm going to use the Kyuubi to crush the Leaf Village," he stated. Kushina gasped, but he ignored her in favor of examining the seal on her stomach. "I see that Minato was able to incorporate his own Flying Thunder God seal into the pre-existing design. But now that he's occupied, he won't be able to stop me. At last," he said, before activating his Sharingan.
Within the seal, the Kyuubi groaned. It was very rarely that she had would have the chance to break free from her damned prison, and this had been her best chance. Kushina was giving birth, the seal was weakened, everything was perfect. But then that damned mate of hers and that toad-man had gone and made sure that the seal stay enforced. This was supposed to be the night it was freed from the seal! And it was ruined.
While the Tailed Beast was grumbling about its failed attempt at freedom, it suddenly sensed another presence in the seal. Looking forward, its eyes widened as it caught sight of a human with a Sharingan, and a very familiar source of chakra. "YOU!" it roared, struggling even harder so that it could tear the one human who had managed to subjugate it to shreds.
But then the Kyuubi made the mistake of looking at the Sharingan, and the tomoe of it began spinning. Slowly, its sighting stopped and the same set of tomoe appeared over its own eyes.
Now nearly ecstatic, 'Madara' spread his arms and called "Now, come forth, Kyuubi no Kitsune!"
"RAAARGH!" the Tailed Beast roared. The fox dissolved into a mass of pure chakra before bursting out of the seal. Kushina emitted a silent scream of agaony as the fox was ripped out of her. She could feel as every last bit of its chakra was forcibly pulled from her chakra network, burning her from the inside out as it went.
Once it was all out, the chakra reformed back into the Kyuubi, who released another roar to the heavens. 'Madara' watched, it before turning away. "Now, we head for the Leaf," he said, and bgean walking away.
Only to stop when Kushina said "W-Wait…" Looking back at her, he commented "The stamina of the Uzumaki never cease to amaze me. To have given birth not once but twice and then to have your Tailed Beast extracted immediately afterwards, yet you still cling on to life. Allow me to finally grant you some rest." He locked gazes with the Kyuubi again, before inkling his head towards the kunoichi.
Try as it might, the beast couldn't resist the command, and turned around. It raised its tails high into the air, before swinging them down to crush Kushina. She looked up and saw the tails coming towards her, faster than she would be able to dodge in her state. But just before they made impact, her vision was obscured by a flash of yellow light, and then she was no longer there.
"Hmph. 'Yellow Flash' indeed. But it's too late now," he said, and resumed his march towards the village.
Minato appeared on top of a nearby tree, Kushina in his arms. "Kushina, thank Kami I made it in time," he said, holding her close.
"Minato… Are the children safe?" she asked. When he nodded, she said "Take me to them, please."
He did, warping them to Naruto and Natsumi's room. After Minato helped her stand, she grabbed both of her children and held them close. "Natsumi… Naruto… It's all going to be okay. Kaa-chan's here, and she won't anyone harm you like that again," she whispered. In response to hearing her voice, the two children subconsciously snuggled deeper into her embrace, making her beam in happiness.
Minato smiled at the sight. If he had his way, they could have stayed just like this, happy and together, like any family should have been. But even now he could feel the chakra of the Kyuubi getting closer to the village, and there was no guess as to what would happen once it arrived. And so, he would have to break this moment up. "Kushina…" he began.
She looked back at him, her smile fading from the tone of his voice. "What is it?" she asked.
"Now that the Kyuubi has been freed, it has to be sealed again, you know that. But after everything you've been through tonight, not even you will be able to survive having it sealed into you again," he told her, causing her to nod. "Therefore, a new jinchuuriki has to be chosen. And for it to have the best chance of working, it has to be a newborn child, once who's chakra coils haven't had enough time to develop," he continued.
Kushina nodded again, before it clicked into place and her eyes went huge. "NO!" she yelled, backing away and holding Natsumi and Naruto even closer. "Minato, you are not going to make our children into jinchuuriki. You know what kind of life they'll have! A life of being hated, of not being understood. That's the life I had until I met you. And I will not let you subjugate our children to that!"
Minato sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not happy about this either, Kushina. But right now, there aren't any other newborns in the village that are young enough that we can be sure they'd survive the sealing. Our children are the village's only hope," he said.
Still she shook her head, and her yelling caused Naruto and Natsumi to begin crying. She quickly calmed them down, before looking at her husband. He added on "It'll be okay. I'll have to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—and you know the consequences of that—but there'll be Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sarutobi here to help keep them safe. And then there's you, the strongest and most determined woman I've ever met."
"…And there's no other way?" she asked.
"I wish there was, but no. The fox has too much chakra to seal into one infant, so I'll split it into its Yin and Yang halves and seal each half into one of them," he told her. Kushina was silent, looking down at her children. Not even a day old, and they were already being subjected to this? And on top of that, her husband, the man she had loved since the day he rescued her, would be sacrificing himself to see it done. But if it wasn't done, her home would be gone. She thought of her fellow comrades, as well as her own genin team. Anko, Yugao, Kurenai…
Eventually, Kushina sullenly nodded. "Alright, you win. But I'm not going to let you do this," she said. Minato was willing to accept that much, and wrapped his arms around her. He activated his jutsu again, and the Uzumaki-Namikaze family vanished.
Meanwhile, at the Valley of the End
A woman with black hair and brown eyes screamed as she finished giving birth to a child by herself. After finishing, she used a scalpel she had brought with her to cut the umbilical cord, and began redressing. She glared down at the crying infant, gritting her teeth with rage. The baby had pale skin and, upon opening its eyes, she could see that they were dark red in color. That skin color reminded her of that… that monster… that she had met nine months ago.
She had just been trying to help. The snake-like man was storing through her village, incensed about something, had she had offered him a drink to help him feel better. And this is what came of it.
She finished dressing and walked away, leaving her child on the ground next to the river. She would not have that spawn of her rape around her. As far as she was concerned, it would die here.
Near the edge of the shinobi forces...
Another member of the Leaf ninja fell to ground screaming in pain. Across his back, he could feel as set of slash marks, as if someone had cut him with a heated knife several times over. However, not only was there no injury behind him, but there was no one behind him either. At least, not to the naked eyes, there wasn't.
But if one had the ability to see her, they would have seen an adult woman grinning with her sharp nails extended. The woman was fairly tall in height and possessed pale grey skin, with white ahir that reached her ankles and white eyes. Her eyes brows were cut short and her lips were covered in black lipstick, the same color as her nails. She wore a formal transitional purple kimono, one with a column of black tomoe on the front and additional tomoe along the edges of her sleeves.
What truly stood out about her appearance, however, were the pair of brown horns jutting out of her head, as well as the third eyelid on her forehead, which would part vertically if it opened.
This woman was none other than Kaguya Otsutsuki, the princess and former head of the Otsutsuki clan. She was also the progenitor of chakra, in that she had been the first being to every possess it.
Kaguya reached out and swung again, catching another unsuspecting ninja on the side. Said ninja feel to the ground, wailing and writhing from nonexistent burns. She liked that she could do that. Even if she had been reduced to a lingering spirit—both her body and her chakra haven been sealed in the moon—she still possessed some abilities, and inflicting illusion on others was one of them.
She had also, to her pleasant surprise, been able to retain her ability to absorb the chakra of others, which suited her just fine. All chakra in existence was meant to be hers in the first place, and would have stayed that way of her two sons hadn't betrayed her.
Hearing a roar and sensing a spike in chakra, the spirit of Kaguya looked up and saw the Kyuubi was creating a Tailed Beast Ball, nearly saturating the air around it with chakra. She grinned. If she were able to get close enough to make contact with the beast, she could start gathering her chakra back to her faster than ever before. With the amount that the Nine-Tails had, she might even have enough power to manifest herself in physical form.
That would, in turn, enable to find the other Tailed Beasts much more quickly than she had been able these last few millennia. Soon enough, she'd be back at her full power, with no Hagoromo or Hamura around to stop her this time. With that in mind, she continued forward, cutting down any humans that got in her way.
In Konoha…
Minato and Kushina reappeared on top of the former's head on the Hokage Monument. From their new vantage point, they could look out and watch as the Kyuubi went on a rampage. The area around its feet was constantly lit up by small explosions, either from explosive notes or from any kind of Fire jutsu. But they did little more than simply annoy it.
What did catch its attention was their appearance, as it was able to sense both of their chakra even from this distance. The beast turned around before opening its mouth wide. Positive black chakra and negative white chakra gathered in an 8:2 ratio in the form of a large sphere. The sphere continued to grow in size, before the Kyuubi suddenly swallowed it.
For a moment, there was silence, before it roared and spat the Tailed Beast Ball at them, the attack growing several times larger at it flew towards them. Rather than panic, Minato went through a set of hand seals before holding up one of his kunai. "Not on my watch!" he called, and willed a massive sealing matrix to form in the air between them and the Tailed Beast Ball.
It stuck the sealing matrix and stopped, before the matrix slowly absorbed the orb until it vanished. Instantly, a massive explosion occurred about a mile away from the village, the result of the attack being transported away. Seeing what could only have been an example of their leader's jutsu, the remaining shinobi resumed fighting the Kyuubi with renewed valor.
Minato frowned. "Before I start the sealing, I'll need to let Sarutobi know what's going on," he said. But then he heard Kushina called "Minato, look out!" and turned to see her leap away from the masked man, who had appeared behind them. Without thinking, he lunged at him and attempted to slice through his neck. But like before, he passed right through him.
Allowing himself to solidify, 'Madara' said "You won't be sealing anything while I'm around." But then he was forced to move back as several of Kushina's chakra chains burst from the ground, each one of them tipped with its own kunai. He ducked and weaved around each of them, but the move distracted him long enough for Minato to get close enough to apply a contract seal to his chest before he could make himself intangible again.
'Madara's' eyes widened, before narrowing. "Are you still trying to wrest control of the Kyuubi from me?" he taunted.
Minato smirked. "Not anymore, I'm not. It's no longer yours to control!" he declared.
At that very moment, the tomoe around the Kyuubi's pupils faded away, and it blinked. 'What in the hell is…?' it thought, before it all came rushing back. That masked Uchiha interrupting its container's birthing, pulling it out of the seal, and then controlling its mind with that damnable Sharingan. And there was only one Uchiha that had ever been able to do that last part.
"MADARA!" it roared, trying to find the chakra signature of that should-be-dead bastard so it could kill him. But them the shinobi at its feet hit her with more various jutsu, reaching as high as halfway up its legs. Growling in annoyance, it swept its tails across the ground, kicking up several massive clouds of dust and clearing the around it of trees, buildings, and people.
But before it could focus on its new target, its path was blocked once again, this time by some sort of giant staff that hit it right in the side of the face. The staff quickly retracted, and the Kyuubi looked to see who had been responsible. It was the old man that it had sometimes seen around Kushina…didn't his name mean 'flying monkey' or something?
The old man was soon joined by a massive toad, atop of which was another old man with had long white hair and some sort of ridiculous outfit, and an equally large slug with a blonde woman on top of it.
The Kyuubi snarled, unleashing a wave of Killing Intent that caused every shinobi with a hundred-meter radius to faint from terror. Unfortunately, the two men and woman weathered the assault, and the monkey-man swung his staff at it again. The toad and its rider shot a combination of fire and oil, and the slug sprayed acid at it.
The staff was batted away with one of its tails, and the Kyuubi roared as it unleashed a chankra-enhanced shockwave. The wave sent the flaming oil and acid away to rain back down onto the Leaf shinobi, and it charge forward to get rid of these larger pests.
Meanwhile, the masked man backed away from the Hokage and his wife. "It seems you actually do deserve your title, Yondaime. Managing to not get killed by me, and even freeing the fox from my control… impressive. Someday, however, the Kyuubi will be mine, and both it and the world will bow to me. There are many ways to make that happen," he promised, before vanishing in another swirl.
Kushina stared where he had been. "Something tells me that he wasn't just boasting, dattebane," she said.
Minato nodded in agreement, before looking back at the village. "We can worry about him later. Right now, however, the Kyuubi comes first," he said. He warped the two of wo within arm's reach of the Kyuubi, and it reacted by trying to crush them. But then Minato reached and grabbed onto the fur of the beast, before it, he and his wife all vanished.
They reappeared in a filed not far from the cave where Kushina had given birth, and the Kyuubi wasted no time in attacking them. But Kushina, using what chakra she had left, created over a dozen chakra chains, which wrapped around each of the monster's tails and limbs several times over. The Kyuubi roared and writhed around, but Kushina tightened the chains and its fell to the ground.
Furthermore, she called "Adamantine Sealing Chains!" and five more shot into the ground, before bursting back out and creating a dome around the three of them. Minato left for an instant to grab Naruto and Natsumi, before returning just in time for Kushina to have finished a set of hand signs.
A large ceremonial throne appeared in a puff of smoke, and Minato placed their children on it. With that done, he went through his own set of hand-signs, and called "Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
A pillar of transparent smoke rose from his back, before it resolved into the shape of the Shinigami, the God of Death itself. It had the appearance of a vaguely humanoid being with long, shaggy white hair, red horns and purple skin, while it wore a long white kimono that was open at the chest. Taking it's blade out of its mouth, the god asked "Human, why have I been summoned?"
Minato gasped as he felt himself hit by a wave of pure dread and misery, no doubt coming from the god directly behind him. "Shinigami-sama, I wish to make a bargain with you. In exchange for my soul, I want you to split the Kyuubi no Kitsune in its Yin and Yang halves, and seal each half within one of these children," he managed to say.
The god raised an eyebrow. "You would sacrifice your soul just for that?" it asked. Normally, when someone did use this annoying summoning technique on it, that human would at least ask to take the soul of their enemy with them. Still, if it meant getting the chance to consume another, the Shinigami wasn't about to complain. "Very well. Your offering is accepted," it said.
Outside the barrier, Hiruzen and his two students had finally made it, but were stopped by the barrier. Jiraiya had arrived just in time to seal Minato go through the hand-signs, and grit his teeth. "Dammit; it's just as I thought. He's summoned the Shinigami to take care of the fox!" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and tried to Make a hole in the barrier, but not even her super strength left a mark.
Inside the barrier, the Shinigami turned to look at the struggling form of the Kyuubi. It was easy to see that the beast was not a willing participant in this ritual, but the god could honestly care less. Raising its knife above its head, it swung down and unleashed an arc of energy that shot forward, hitting the fox right between the eyes.
The Kyuubi howled in pain as the attack split its entire body in halves, before those two halves changed into two spate small versions of itself, one with black fur and the other with white fur. Before either half could attack, the Death God grabbed both of them by the neck and thrust them both at the infants on the throne.
The Yin half was sealed into Natsumi while the Yang half went into Naruto, and an Eight-Trigram Seal appeared on both of their abdomens. With that done, the Shinigami prepared to turn to Minato and receive its payment, when it suddenly sensed another soul not too far away. One that had just barely escaped its grasp many years ago.
Kaguya Otsutsuki.
The Shinigami grinned fiendishly. The fact that Kaguya had been able to cheat her way out of his reach by removing her soul from her body was never something he had been satisfied with. Claiming and devouring souls was his job, and anyone who instructed that was met with his wrath. Well, if she was so dead-set on remaining in this world, he knew of a good punishment for defying his will.
Reaching out with his right arm, the beads around it split apart before ten of them shot away from him, homing in on Kaguya's location. Once the beads reached it, they would bind her spirit and drag her back towards these children, sealing her into them along with the Kyuubi no Kitsune.
Turning back to Minato, he said "The deed is done, mortal. Do you have any final words?"
The blonde smiled and walked towards his children. "Naruto… Natsumi… I know things will be hard from here on out. Your mother had to deal with a lot of grief from being a jinchuuriki, and you'll likely face that as well. I'm sorry. But at least you'll have both her and each other to help you get through it. You may feel fear, or even hatred, but don't let it consume you. Instead, let it convince you to grow stronger."
Naruto, I want you to grow into a strong shinobi, and look out for your mother and sister while I'm not there. Natsumi, I want you to become a great kunoichi," he said, his lips quirking upwards. "Maybe you can even give me a grandchild or two to look upon from inside Shinigami-sama's stomach," he added. When he said that Minato felt a small burst of KI, and looked to see Kushina standing there with fire in her eyes.
"Minato…" she began.
Coughing in nervousness despite the situation, he said "Um, just joking! But in all seriousness, I want both of you to live happily, and become great examples of the Will of Fire." With that Minato leaned down and kissed each of his children on the forehead, eliciting a smile from either twin. He chuckled at the sight, and then turned to the love of his life. "Kushina-" he started, but then she cut him off by embracing him tightly.
Her hugged her back just with just as much strength, and leaned close to her ear. "Kushina, I honestly wish it didn't have to end like this. I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, with you and our children. But I can't. So, I want you to be as happy as you can once I'm gone. Can you do that for me?" he asked.
Kushina nodded, tears flowing down her face and into his vest. "I don't want you to go either. I know Naruto will want to know what his father was like, and so will Natsumi. But I'll remember everything so that I can tell them, and give them enough love for the both of us," she said.
He nodded, but couldn't resist adding one last joke. "Oh, and make sure Jiraiya-sensei doesn't influence them too badly," he remarked.
Kushina shook her head. "If that pervert plants even one thought in either of my babies' heads, I'll castrate him."
Minato chuckled, and pulled back enough for them to share one last kiss. They stayed together, refusing to let go until the need for air finally forced them to. Then Minato gave her one last peck on the lips before letting go. "I'm ready," he said.
The Shinigami nodded. "Then the contract is fulfilled," he said, reaching forward and ripping Minato's soul from his body before leaving the moral world.
The now-lifeless body crumbled to the ground, and Kushina quickly caught it and placed Minato head in her lap. Stroking his hair, that was when Kushina chose to finally begin crying. Minato Namikaze. The Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage, her husband and the love of her life. The man who had convinced her to love her red hair, the hair that bound them like the red thread of fate. Now he was gone.
She idly undid the barrier and dispersed her chakra chains. With the barrier no longer holding them back, Tsunade, Sarutobi and Jiraiya all rushed towards her.
"Kushina!" Tsunade called, the redhead looked up at them.
"You made it," she said simply.
Hiruzen nodded sadly. "Yes, and we saw everything. Your children are the new jinchuuriki, I presume?" he asked. When she nodded, he sighed. "I see. Since Minato named no successor to the Hokage position, I'll have to re-take it, at least for a while. If I do, no one will be able to harm either of your children or make them into weapons," he explained.
"Works for me. Here, I've got Minato. You get your kids," Jiraiya said, stepping closer. Kushina let him take Minato's body into his arms, and she picked up Naruto and Natsumi froze the throne. "Now, let's go home."
With Kaguya…
Kaguya flew through the air, moving at a faster speed than she had in a long time. And for good reason, too. She had sensed the presence of the Shinigami, and he briefly worried that he was here to finally consume her.
But instead, she had felt its presence right where that blonde-haired human had taken the Kyuubi, and panicked eve further. If the Death God ate or sealed the Kyuubi, her chances of absorbing its chakra were done for. She had been wandering the Elemental Nations before they were even called as such, and now was her chance to finally reclaim a real portion of her power. She would not let this chance slip from her fingers now!
But then she felt the presence of the Kyuubi actually split into two separate pieces, before both pieces vanished. And shortly after, the presences of the Death God and the human responsible for it left as well.
Kaguya screamed in rage. She had been right here! The Kyuubi was hers! And just as always, the cursed humans had ruined everything! She continued her flight forward, ready to at least kill whatever it was that the fox had been sealed into. At least then she could absorb it when it reformed, even if that took several years.
But her charge was halted by the appearance of ten rosary beads, which burst from the surrounding trees and stuck to her, leaving her paralyzed.
"What is this?!" she yelled, trying to rip the beads off her. But they didn't budge, and began moving back to where they came: the same spot where the Kyuubi had been split. Her eyes widened. The Shinigami must have noticed that she was here after all, and now it was going to seal her away.
"Never! I will never be subject to that fate again!" she called, and put all her power into removing the beads. But no matter how hard she tired, no matter how much of what chakra she had was used, it was all for nothing. But then an idea appeared in her head. She had no reason to believe it would work, but at this point she was willing to try anything.
Channeling chakra to her third eyes, she yelled "Amenominaka!" The eye opened, revealing itself to be a Rinne-Sharingan, and Kaguya disappeared, Shinigami beads and all.
She arrived in the middle of her core dimension, a mountainous region that was connected by her jutsu to several other dimensions, including the one containing the elemental nations. She smirked. The god's sealing spell was still active, but since she was no longer in the sam e dimension as the Kyuubi's new hosts, she couldn't be sealed in them. It had worked.
At least, it worked for a moment.
But then the beads began to glow, radiating divine energy, and she felt the same pull she always did when moving between dimensions. The mountain around her faded away, soon replaced by a large waterfall and two large stone statues.
Looking around, Kaguya didn't understand what had happened until she spotted an infant boy on the ground, one with pale skin and red eyes. That was when it clicked. By using her Amenominaka, she had been able to subvert the Shinigami's attempt to seal her into the Kyuubi's hosts. But since that had not undone the spell entirely, she was instead being sealed into the next closest infant available. This one.
"No!" she screamed, trying to shift to another realm again. But after having done so once already, she lacked the chakra to do so again. Were she at her full power it would have been easy. But right now, she was just a spirit, and that spell her doom.
The beads formed a ring of crackling energy that kept her locked in place, before they shot wards the infant one at a time. They hit the boy's body over his heart and left behind a black tattoo in the shape of a magatama, forming a complete circle of ten. When the last magatama formed, a colorless void formed in the center.
Kaguya could feel herself being dragged into the void, and she yelled "No! No, no, no, no, NOOO!" But it didn't matter, as the Shingami's power far exceeded her own in her state, and she was absorbed into the seal.
Within the seal, Kaguya was dropped in the middle of a dark forest filled with bamboo trees and a night sky with no moon. Looking around, she began to literally tremble with rage. All of her effort, all of her conniving, her dreams, her desire to end conflict in this world that was her nursery. It was all over.
Giving one last scream of rage, she flung her hands towards the sky and willed forth the last drags of her chakra. A Truth-Seeking Ball began to form, growing larger by the second and fueled by Kaguya's fury. Once she had put everything she had into it, she shot it into the sky, where it exploded in a blast that rivaled her Tenpachii ability. Wave after wave of raw energy was sent in all directions, carving deep trenches in the forest around her that composed the seal.
Outside of said seal, the infant was sleeping peacefully, not having recognized the sealing ritual as anything more than a series of bright lights.
When the explosions finally stopped, Kaguya panted and fell to her knees. It was over. She was trapped here, inside of a wailing human infant. The mother of all chakra, reduced to this. If she hadn't been so set on living, she would have been glad with dying right then and there.
After several hours of stewing in her own anger and grief, Kaguya finally composed herself enough to think rationally.
What to do now? Even if there was a way to kill this child from inside the seal, she couldn't do that. She had no doubt that the Shingami's spell had bound their spirits together. Which mean that, if this child died, so would she. Before she was sealed, she hadn't seen anyone else around, so it was probably safe to assume that this baby had been abandoned for whatever reason.
Which meant that, if she wanted to live, she'd have to raise this boy herself. Kaguya groaned at the thought. She had no desire to raise any more children. Hagoromo and Hamura had been enough, and they had tried to kill her. Granted, she had been trying to kill them too, and a lot of that had been her own fault, what with the messiah-complex and god-complex she had developed.
But the idea still left a bad taste in her mouth. Still, it didn't look like she had much choice. She's have to be a mother to this child, effectively adopting him.
Kaguya paused. Actually… that was something. If she did adopt this child as her own, then he would, technically speaking, be a member of the Otsutsuki Clan. Probably the only member besides herself, given how long it had been since Hagoromo and Hamura had lived, and the fact that their bloodline had been split down so many branches.
If she could raise this child, and she raised this boy to be a better son than her first two had been, then he would actually be the perfect person to help her complete her dream, and following that she could pass the mantle of Clan Head onto him. And the thought that her family and legacy would live on made her genuinely smile for the first time in centuries.
As Kaguya began to think this over, she quickly realized something. If he had been abandoned, this boy likely had no name. 'I suppose I'll have to name him too, then,' she thought.
Naturally, his family name would be the same as hers, but the first name posed a challenge. She refused to give him some stupid sort of name, like 'flower', 'rock' or 'fishcake'. It had to be something that suied him. Something that fitted this lost soul she had met in a valley… Kaguya stopped. A lout soul in the middle of a valley… A Soul of the Valley… Valley…
Kaguya smiled. "His name will be Deiru Otsutsuki," she said, her decision final.
And that's that. The first chapter of the reboot is now completed! Hope you guys enjoyed it, and know that there will be kore to come sooner or later.
Now, what changes have I made in this one compared to the old story? Kushina is still alive, yes. But now she is not the descendant of Mito and Madara, so neither she nor she children will have the Sharingan. Kaguya is also no longer possessing the body of a stray wolf either, an idea that I initially liked but slowly came to not like. And there will also be no harem this time around. I might pair Deiru or Naruto with more than one girl, but if so it's not going to exceed two or maybe three. Any further changes will be revealed as we go, so stay tuned!
Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)