Hello everyone. I would like to give a small thank you for reading this story. This is my first attempt at writing my own fanfiction, so do expect mistakes in grammar and plot holes. If you see any of them, please notify me and I'll fix it as soon as possible. This is the fruits of my labour, and unlike what the bulk of this chapter will tell you, it will be Naruto-centric; even though I think I went overboard on the prologue. Thanks for taking the time to read this pseudo-warning and I hope you enjoy this story.
Kakashi was tired.
Not as in "I need to sleep" tired.
But as in "Why does this shit always happen to me?" tired.
He was so tired, that he wasn't even reading the little orange book that was taking up a pocket in his Jounin vest.
It was blasphemy, and Kakashi knew it.
Kakashi's train of thought was derailed as a kunai whizzed by his ear, nearly taking a chuck of it with the projectile. 'Gotta be more careful Kakashi!' the masked ninja berated himself. 'I just need to find some cover and get away from these guys' Kakashi 's mind was running a mile a minute and he was having trouble keeping up with it. "What was so important about this little guy that those people chased after him for? It's not like they weren't beating the shit outta him." Kakashi studied the small boy in his arms, noting how his clothes were together by a thread, how his entire wardrobe was orange - Orange!- and the multitude of patches that ran along the torn fabric. Finding a possible place to lose his pursuers, Kakashi's mind focused on the mission that the Hokage had given him.
He thought it was going to be a simple mission "Get into the town of Takiyama and assassinate the mayor." The wrinkled bag of flesh - The Hokage - had said. He made it sound so easy, but alas, Kakashi was in no place to think of how this simple B-rank mission - He was late for all the S and A-rank missions - had suddenly turned into a SS-rank mission, all because of a little boy. All he was trying to do was to make sure the small boy and he could get to safety. Ducking into a side alley, he set the small boy down and started the seals for the Summoning Jutsu. The poof of smoke that was customary for such a jutsu faded away and small pug, about 14 inches tall appeared. "Now what do you want with a cute puppy like me Kakashi?" The animal asked. This was one of the special abilities of the nindog summoning contract; they could speak in human tongue. "I want to know if anyone is around us and if there are, you know what to do." Kakashi spat out, almost out of breath from the amount of running he had just done. I'm getting too old for this shit.' was the thought on Kakashi's mind until he caught the finite movement of the young boy's eyelids. "Well at least you're ok; I thought you were dead or something!" Kakashi chirped happily, somehow curving his eye to make a 'U' shape.
There were some theories on how Kakashi did this; some people thought it was a genjutsu; other's thought it was because that was the only part of his face that could actually show emotion, and still others thought it was because his right eye was the only humane part of his body left.
But if you asked him how he did it; he would simply make his patented 'Eye-Smile' and tell you he did it because he could.
"Where am I?" The young boy asked. His disheveled hair almost matched the state Kakashi's was in.
Almost.
"Well, you just so happen to be in Takiyama, on the outskirts of the Tanuki Desert and the border-town for Konoha and Iwa." Kakashi replied, gauging his reaction, and soon afterwards wish he hadn't; as soon as he mentioned Konoha and Iwa, the kid's head whipped around so quickly you could hear the snap. Well, that had to hurt' Kakashi winced, but decided he needed answers, and this boy was going to give them to him. "Hey boy, what's your name?" The masked shinobi inquired. The kid looked up at him, as if debating with himself as to whether or not Kakashi was to be trusted. I promise you, I'm trustworthy." The shinobi prodded, knowing there was not much time until either those pursuers caught up to him, or Pakkun - The little pug - caught something. As if making the decision that Kakashi could be trusted, words were uttered that changed the ninja world forever.
"My name used to be Naze Tobayame; Iwa chunnin - He noticed the tensing of the strange masked ninja - But now I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, missing-nin."
(A/N: This is what originally got me interested in the whole "What if Naruto somehow lived in Iwa?" line of thought. This has no relevance to the story, but I'm keeping it here as a memento to my brain. Furthermore, since this is an edit of the story there will be pieces missing, so re-reading is imperative, as I have taken some things out and added some things in.)
I don t own Naruto or any characters from the series.
Naruto of Iwa: The Beginning - Chapter 1 Title: It all begins
-Konohagakure-
"Damn, man. Did you really have to create me just to do your paperwork? I mean, I understand why you summoned me, I really do… But what makes you think I don't hate this heresy (One) just as much as you do!"
A young slender man with hair the colour of sunshine looked to his seeming carbon copy. "I don't care if you hate it just as much as I do, you'll do that damn paperwork so I can finish this seal. As you know, the converter seal has to be juxtaposed to the reverse-dampening seal to augment the effect of the control matrix; otherwise it would just blow up as soon as I used it. Not to mention the auto-corrective output control seal that has to be used to alter the null seal to make sure that the damn fox doesn't get out. And then you have the-"
"Fine! I get it! Just get back to work, or nothing's going to be done."
"Glad that you see it my way... For once."
"There would be a problem if I didn't; we are the same person after all."
The man on the floor, obviously concentrating on the seal in front of him, barked out a laugh. "Ain't that the truth?"
The clone knew why the man on the floor was making such a seal. Their wife, as weird as that sounded to the clone, could experience some complications while giving birth to their baby, and that would most assuredly be bad. The men understood the importance of being prepared in such a situation, however morbid it seemed.
About the time that the banter stopped, a loud banging could be heard from the door to the room they were in. "Come in." The man on the floor ordered. In came a young man, with a stack of papers in his hands, which was topped by an envelope.
"Uhh, Hokage-sama, these are for you."
Placing the stack down on the neatly organized wooden desk, the young man saluted. "You may leave, Osaku-san." The clone at the table said. After the man exited the room, the man on floor stood up, stretching from side to side, loosening his undoubtedly stiff muscles. He sent a look to the clone, which looked at the man apprehensively.
"Hey, when do we clones get to order people around, huh?" Looking down at the seal he just finished, the man sighed.
"I'm going to get some lunch, I'll be back later. If anyone comes in, you're the Hokage, got it?"
"Yessir!"
With a flash of yellow, the man was gone.
-Ichiraku's Ramen Emporium-
"Hey there, Minato! The usual right?" Ever vigilant for his second best customer and fellow ninja, Teuchi smiled largely. He knew ever since the Academy that Minato had been something special, no matter how bitter he was about it when he was still a fresh chunin instructor. He even remembered getting beaten a few times by the man in front of him when he wasn't even a teenager.
"Yes, Teuchi- Sensei! And could you get one to go as well? Kushi will probably smell the ramen off of me and pout that I didn't get her any when I check up on her." Teuchi laughed heartily, his mirth spreading to Minato who started chuckling as well.
"Well, when you say one…"
"I mean ten, yes. You would think she would crave weird things, but noooo, all she wants is ramen. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to come here every day. No offense, but having ramen for a meal out of two every day can start to become… redundant."
Teuchi looked back from his pots. "None taken, I sometimes get tired of making the stuff."
Teuchi set a bowl of ramen in front of Minato. "You know, when you two have your kid, if it's anything like both of you, I'm going to die a very rich man."
They both chuckled at the joke. "If I had my way, this would be a maybe once a week thing, but we both know that Kushi and the baby would sneak in some whether I wanted them to or not." Teuchi looked at Minato for a moment then put a finger up to his mouth, causing Minato to give him a sour look.
"You wouldn't even tell your Hokage what his wife was doing to make her and our child smell like ramen?" Seeing the chef shake his head, Minato sighed and dropped his head onto the counter. "What would get you to tell me?" He looked up only to see Teuchi placing another bowl of ramen in front of him. 'Oh.' "I get it, you sly dog you. By the way, how're things with little Ayame and Setsuka?"
Teuchi looked up from the ramen he was cooking for the people who had wondered in seeing their Hokage. "Ayame's doing fine, she a bundle of energy no doubt, but Setsuka's done well in making sure she doesn't cause too much havoc, but Setsuka's been feeling faint as of late, we're worried she might be coming down with something."
Minato looked thoughtful for a moment "I hope she starts feeling better soon. Are you almost done with Kushi's order?" He got a harsh glare from Teuchi 'Oh right, we're secretly dating' "Not that I'm going to see her or anything, it's just that she comes around the same time I do and-"
"Stop Minato. Stop. I got the order right here. I hear she's busy right now, so I'll just leave it in the back when she gets here in five minutes…"
Minato nodded his head and dumped a slightly larger-than-it-should-have-been bundle of bills. "Thanks Teuchi-Sensei. You're a lifesaver." He turned to start walking, but stopped after a few steps. "Hey Teuchi? I heard some talk recently that you've been trying out making different food items…Is this true?"
Teuchi nodded his head. "I've been trying to make Yakisoba and Gyouza, but my recipes aren't coming out how I thought they would, so I'm still in the development stage. Why?"
Minato only chuckled "Gyouza are my favorite food Sensei, I might come here more often if you started selling them!" Minato started to walk off, making a lazy circle to the back where he was handed the order Teuchi had boxed up for him. He couldn't help but notice how Teuchi had a far-off look in his eyes, where he could vaguely see the sign of money rolling on a wheel.
With another flash of yellow, Minato was gone.
XxX
"Miiiinaaaaatooooo…"
"Yes, honey, I have the ramen right here!"
"Oh good, but I wasn't mad about that. Is it normal to have water running down your leg when you're pregnant?"
"How would I know…? SHIT! Honey! Grab anything you wanna take with you! I think it's time!"
"This soon? Tsunade said that it would be at least a few more days!"
"Well it's not, have you had cramping in your groin area?"
"I wouldn't call it cramping, but it's pretty unpleasant, why?"
"Because we're leaving."
"Waaaahh!"
Another flash of yellow.
Neither of them noticed the small moth disappear in a puff of smoke as they left.
XxX
There are many myths surrounding the geology of the Land of Fire, and many of them have some semblance of truth. For instance, the grove that Minato had taken Kushina to that was on the Northern border of the Land of Fire was said to be the Senju's ancestral stomping grounds, long before the times in which Ninja clans vied for dominance.
While the legends surrounding these lands brought a great deal of traffic in the form of tourism, the small part of the large forest that Minato had to was nigh untouchable. Minato himself had only stumbled upon this place by accident some years ago, on his quest to find a place to train alone. He only recently remembered about this place when the need for such a secluded area was prominent.
"Okay, honey. I'm going to get Tsunade to help us out, okay? I'll be back faster than you can say "If you don't get back here in five minutes I'll kick your ass all the way the Suna!" And then he was gone. Kushina sat there, in the middle of the small clearing.
It was a few moments until she heard some rustling in the bushes surrounding the area. Perking up, she grabbed the senbon that she used to keep her hair in place. "Show yourself!"
"Oh, you seem feisty, just like the information said… But I wonder…. Is it because of your tenant?" The voice which was distinctly male seemed to be coming from everywhere, unsettling Kushina. Directly in front of her, however, a small vortex of…. She supposed it was some foreign energy source, since she couldn't sense any chakra from it began to appear, and after another moment, a tall man in a black cloak and a mask was in front of her. Wasting no time, Kushina threw the senbon at the man, watching in awe and horror as it passed right through him.
"You know a lot… Too bad you'll die here."
"Do you truly believe you can defeat me? I'm many leagues above of you in skill girl, as you can see."
Kushina smirked "It's not about what abilities you have; it's about what you can do with them." Kushina sent her killing intent full blast at the man, but if it had any affect, she didn't see it. Immediately after using her killing intent, chains burst from the ground and surrounded the cloaked man, crushing him into oblivion. The man soon turned into a log, which was crushed into small chips.
"Whoa, that was scary. I think you might've actually hurt me if you hit with that. But I'm not here for you; I'm here for your tenant." Kushina whipped around to face the man. 'How did he get behind me?' Unfortunately, the man seemed to be finishing up a chain of hand signs, and he shoved a slightly glowing fist into Kushina's stomach.
-Kushina's Mindscape-
'What? Why are we here?' Kushina looked around. Surrounding her was the large forest that she knew the Kyuubi liked to inhabit. 'Where's that man?' Looking around the clearing that she was in, she saw nothing.
"Of course you don't see me, why would I want you to? Now where's that infernal beast…"
"Whatever you're doing, it won't work! There's no way the Kyuubi can escape this seal!"
"Of course little girl, I know that. This is why you're going to destroy the seal for me." The forests around Kushina started to shake and rumble, and she knew that only meant one thing.
"Ahhh, so you've returned… No doubt in need of my assistance hmm? Wait… Something's different about you." The temperature surrounding the Kyuubi dropped dozens of degrees. "Uchiha." The amount of malice and hatred in that single word disturbed Kushina, she had never seen the Kyuubi this angry before. Directly in front of Kushina, the masked man appeared.
"Kyuubi, we meet again. How about we actually destroy what we were supposed to destroy…unlike last time. Now, to get you out of this blasted seal." Within moments a large temple door appeared, easily dwarfing the Kyuubi in size. All along this door were runes inscribed onto the surface. About six feet above the bottom of the door however, was a small latch. The man walked up to the latched, and grabbed it, only to be blasted away several feet.
"Seems I can't do it myself. Girl, you know what to do."
Kushina started to walk forward. "What are you doing to me, you monster!" The man started to laugh.
"Ha! Foolish girl, thinking that I'm the monster here! I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart. The world has gotten too peaceful, so peaceful that childhood ideals hold more value that cold hard facts. Tell me girl, do you know who I am?
Kushina, still walking forward, took a small moment to assess her situation. "I need to break whatever this man has put on me… Kyuubi said he was an Uchiha. Maybe this is a genjutsu!" Channeling chakra throughout her body, Kushina pulsed the chakra gathered outward, trying to break the supposed genjutsu. She stopped for a moment, only to begin walking towards the door again after a minute or so.
"Try harder, little girl. It isn't so easy to break a true Uchiha's genjutsu." Kushina's looked around for a moment trying to figure out a way to defeat this man, when she laid her eyes on the Kyuubi, who had so far been silent. 'Kyuubi! I need some of your chakra! Quickly! We mustn't let this man do what he wants!"
The Kyuubi looked down at the woman who yelled his name. He had been far too lost in thought when he saw those eyes again. The eyes he loathed with all of his being. They were too powerful for mere mortals, who wouldn't understand their significance. Looking from the woman to that man, the Kyuubi spoke.
"No."
"Hah! Evidently, this fox already knows to obey his masters! I see you've learned since the last time we were near each other." The Kyuubi did nothing but growl, baring his teeth angrily at the cloaked man.
Kushina was stunned. "WHY?" Still she walked forward, and after a few moments and no reply, she grabbed the latch and pulled. There was a sucking sound for a few seconds until both the Kyuubi and Kushina fell to the ground. The masked man walked over to the Kyuubi, who was eyeing him with hatred even Kushina had never seen from the beast.
"I must thank you girl, if you weren't so unsure of yourself, this would've been much more difficult to do. I might've actually had to beat you down first; break your spirit. But no matter, what's done is done. Now-" The masked man jumped onto the Kyuubi's foreleg and ran up it until he reached the head. "-I think it's time for a little destruction, don't you… Kyuubi?" He began a long series of seals, and time seemed to slow down for Kushina, until everything went white and a roar ripped through the silence.
"Thank you, little girl. When I'm finished with what I want to do, I'll build a monument in your name as the 'bringer of peace'." And with that final comment, the masked man disappeared in a swirl of that same weird energy.
"Honey, I'm back, and I brought along Tsunade and Shizune. Hope you didn't-SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Minato was next to his wife in less than a blink, cradling her in his arms. Tsunade took just half a second longer, but as soon as she knelt down, her hands were covered in green chakra in the middle of a diagnostic jutsu. "Her heart rates through the roof…her blood pressure's spiking… her body has gone into an emergency state and it's starting to squeeze out the baby before its ready. It seems she fell unconscious from whatever caused this, but she's already at seven centimeters. I'll try my best, but there's a possibility she…" Tsunade looked away. "She might not make it."
Looking back up at Minato, Tsunade got her answer. "Shizune, I need you to-" She was cut short by the noise of an explosion. Then it hit. That chakra, she had never felt anything like it. It was taking more focus than she had on reserve to even think among this mess of evil intent. Minato seemed to be faring only slightly better. After a few moments, they both got used to the feeling, and perked up. Minato stood up.
"Look after Kushi for me." In a flash of yellow he was gone.
XxX
Minato feared the worst 'What if it was the Kyuubi?' Looking up from his position, he noticed that something was off. Very off.
"How did you get out here…?"
XxX
It was a peaceful afternoon in Konohagakure, the peddler and merchants on the streets were selling their wares, and the shoppers were haggling for prices. Off-duty ninja were doing various deeds as well, effectively blending into the populace, but they were distinguishable by the headband they wore at all times.
Around four in the afternoon a large shadow took over most of Konoha. Those who were aware that it was nowhere near dusk looked up.
"Kyu…Kyuu.. KYUUBI!"
Everyone froze.
Rising higher than the Hokage's monument itself, the Kyuubi gazed at its surroundings, before bringing up one of its massive paws and crashing it down upon the gate that reached to its knees. The gate buckled for a split-second, bending under the intense pressure it was experiencing, before a crack sounded throughout the area.
The noise swept throughout Konoha, sending shivers up everyone's spine. Then It hit. Many civilians fainted or even died on the spot from the intense pressure that suddenly welled up in their chests. The ninja, especially those who were acquainted with bloodlust, held a much better reaction, although they too were stunned for many moments.
"I can finally destroy this inept village-!" Kyuubi only managed a small sentence before he felt something snap. His head lowered for a few moments, and when he looked back up, his regular blood red slitted eyes were replaced with the tomoe of the sharingan. He took another look at his surroundings before he began to indiscriminately destroy everything in front of him, taking down swaths of building with each swipe of his paws.
Many of the ninja stood their ground, their loyalty to the village overriding their survival instincts, and as they sent out their jutsus hoping to slow the beast down, were destroyed along with the buildings. Many ninja had gathered together to form platoons, and they had a decent success rate considering that they had managed to keep the beast from coming too far into the village, stopping it at the market district. Just when things looked too bleak, the ninja who had survived for the few minutes the beast had appeared for were welcomed to a rare sight.
"We mustn't let the Kyuubi reach further into the village! We shall stop it here with our will of fire! If we unite, even the Kyuubi will not prevail!" Followed by a contingent of ANBU, the Sandaime Hokage appeared at the frontline of battle.
"Lord Hokage, we need a plan! We cannot hope to destroy this beast with pure force!"
The Sandaime looked at the man who spoke; when he saw his face he remembered a name "Izu, go find Nara Shikaku, and tell him to activate battle plan K-2." Izu's face contorted into confusion, but he saluted anyway, and by the next moment, he was gone.
The Sandaime looked back up at the Kyuubi, who had just finished tearing through one of the high-rise apartment complexes that had been built for the more wealthy citizens of Konoha. Looking up at the sky, which was black with smoke from the still young fires, the Sandaime yelled to the heavens "ATTACK!"
XxX
Nara Shikaku was a smart man by any means. He was even considered a genius among his clansmen, whose average IQ was 176. With the brainpower he possessed, it was simple deduction to know what the Hokage wanted from him. Turning to Izu, the messenger, he spoke his command. "I need you to tell Chouza Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka to meet me at the Hokage's tower in two minutes. You can find them in the village bunker helping civilians from their clan get to safety." Shikaku then started on his way to the tower. "I hope the Yondaime knows what he's doing. Now, how to stall the Kyuubi…"
Two minutes later, all three men were at the tower, one of them was holding a scroll. "You sure I just place it on his head? Won't it fall off or anything?"
"No, it won't fall off Inoichi, just put it on the Sandaime's head, and then get to us. We'll need you for the group assault." With those words, the three men sped off, two in one direction and the last in another.
"Say, Shikaku, are you sure this'll work? I mean, I like the plan and all, but what if the Kyuubi's a more proficient grappler than what he appears to be?"
"Don't worry Chouza, that's where I come in. You get the first hit in by surprise, and then I'll help you with the rest okay?"
"Fine Shika."
It took the pair a few moments until they came upon the scene that surprised them. It seemed that the Sandaime wanted to have a little fun in the latter half of his life, if the amount of fireballs he was hurling at the Kyuubi accounted for anything. Shunshin over to the former Hokage, the duo bowed.
"Lord Hokage, I have a plan. How many Nara do you think are here?"
The Sandaime took only a split-second to answer. " Approximately 43, give or take two every time the damn Kyuubi swipes its paws. Whatever you want to do, go do it quickly!"
Nodding, Chouza dashed onto the ground before the Kyuubi. Running towards the beast, he began a series of hand seals. Without even saying its name, the man grew in size until he was on par with the Kyuubi itself. Kyuubi, despite seeing this trick several times before, was not prepared for the speed or rate at which the man grew, and was tossed hundreds of feet backwards as Chouza body checked the nine-tailed fox back to the outer wall of the village.
"Shika! I think it's time for you to do whatever it is you thought of!" The gargantuan man stood at the ready, knowing full well that he had gained the beasts ire. It did not take long for the fox to dash back at the Akimichi, who dodged it adroitly, despite his size.
"Don't worry buddy, I only need a minute or two until I have everything I need. Think you can hold up?" Shikaku yelled back at his friend.
Chouza smiled "Of course I do." The Kyuubi turned on its heel and rushed Chouza again, but this time he was ready for a counterattack. Ducking underneath the initial swipe of the fox's paw, Chouza hefted the Kyuubi onto his shoulder and threw. The Kyuubi blocked out the sun for a moment, drenching everyone in shade as they looked at what was the de facto natural disaster being thrown. Chouza did not go unharmed however, he was grasping his right shoulder, where one of the Kyuubi's tails had nicked a shallow gash. "Shit, that smarts. I might have to ramp this up." Grabbing a small pouch from his pocket while the fox was still skidding across the ground, he popped out a small yellow ball. 'This increases my chakra output by five times, I shouldn't need much more than that for a distraction.' Swallowing the pill, a small set of wings, comparable to what can be seen on a mantis appeared. Chouza then charged towards the still recovering Kyuubi. When he was approximately a hundred feet away from the beast, Chouza jumped into the air, and positioned his body towards the Kyuubi, his elbow leading the dive. Kyuubi had no time to react as the Akimichi once again body checked the fox, but this time the fox howled in what seemed to be pain, until Chouza skidded back a few dozen feet. Kyuubi seemed unfazed however, and continued rushing towards the biggest threat.
"Chouza, get ready!" Chouza knew exactly who that was. 'Finally Inoichi, you decide to help out'
'It's not my fault I can't leap the village if I wanted to.'
'Anyway, get what you need done, I'll make sure he doesn't get too far away.'
'That's what we Nara are for Chouza. I took the liberty of grabbing a few of your clansmen for a little "shock and awe" let's say. On my mark, ready? MARK!'
Kyuubi was sure that he should've been closer to the man in front of him, but it didn't seem he was moving. Looking down, the fox noticed that shadows were entwined around his limbs and tails. Following the shadow trail granted the Kyuubi with a very ominous sight; nearly two dozen men nearly the same size as Chouza were charging at him, and he couldn't get away. When they were within his tails range, he tried in vain to swipe them away, but those damn shadows were holding him back. When they got within range of his paws, he knew that he would legitimately feel pain in a few moments. The fact that knew it was coming didn't help as he felt the shadows release him at a point where he couldn't react in time to stop them from attacking. The first man gave the Kyuubi an uppercut that dazed the fox, while a second one swept his legs from under him. In the span of a second, the Kyuubi had been hit easily a few dozen times. They were not finished however, as nine of them grabbed one of his tail and threw him nearly thirty feet into the air, where the largest of them all, Chouza was waiting. Kyuubi tried to swipe at the man with his tails and paws, but the Akimichi grabbed Kyuubi at the base of his tails, where he could only do superficial damage at most. With a great heave and a shout of "TAKE THIS!" The Kyuubi was thrown to the ground with unparalleled force. The ground shook for nearly a minute as the dust settled.
While a bit shaken and definitely smarting, the Kyuubi was still fine. He was about to show these worthless mortals why you don't mess with superior beings when he felt him. He couldn't see him, but he could feel him. The man he was supposed to annihilate before all others. Using the dust to his advantage, the Kyuubi began to gather chakra in front of his snout. After a few moments, he compressed the chakra and ate it. Keeping it in his throat, he roared. The ball of super-dense chakra sped towards where he felt the man was, but he didn't hear the accompanied cacophony of an explosion until several seconds later.
After the dust cleared, he noticed that all the large men had retreated, obviously due to the concentration of chakra. Looking to where the destruction should be, he saw nothing. There was nothing to even denote that the Kyuubi had just set a tailed beast bomb in that direction.
XxX
"How did you get out here…?" Minato was confused, but he could think later. Right now, he needed to save his village. He noticed that the Kyuubi was doing something that required a lot of chakra. Looking through his kunai, he settled for the right distance. "One kilometer should be right. Now then Kyuubi, what do you have in store?" Setting the tri-pronged kunai in front of him, he channeled chakra into the seal paper wrapped around it. He didn't have to wait long for a ball of super-condensed chakra the size of the academy to come barreling towards him. Minato's face was stone, but his mind was surprised at just how much chakra that one ball possessed. 'Unbelievable… The Kyuubi truly is Annihilation Incarnate.' The great ball came closer and closer to the Hokage's monument and the Hokage on it, but Minato did not move.
Just before it seemed everything would be lost, both the mountain and the Yondaime, the ball stopped. Just stopped. It was quickly surrounded by strands of blue runes that continually leeched chakra through a small hole in front of Minato. After a few seconds, the entire ball had been leeched, and even though he couldn't see it, Minato knew that a kilometer behind him, the ball had appeared and sped off into the forest. The explosion a second or so afterward only confirmed his thoughts. Grabbing the scroll on the ground and stuffing it into his pocket, Minato grabbed some more kunai. "I think we should get some alone time, right Kyuubi?"
"Oh no, I think we should have some alone time, Yondaime Hokage." Minato swiftly turned around, and felt a hand grip his shoulder. "You're my opponent Yondaime Hokage, and you've already lost." A vortex of strange energy began pulling Minato in, but Minato quickly focused on one of the chakra markers he left particularly far away from the village and in an instant, he was gone. "Hmm… This might be interesting."
XxX
In the Land of Forests, a large man, easily reaching over six feet tall, with white hair was drinking tea in one of tea shops along the border with the Land of Fire. Setting his teacup down, he stared off into space. "I wonder what Minato's doing..." He looked back down to grab his teacup and noticed that it was cracked. Being a superstitious person, Jiraiya was worried. Putting down a small wad of bills, he rushed off in the direction he knew Konoha to be.
XxX
"Uhn…" Minato rolled across the ground of his personal training area. He was given it when he gained the status of Hokage, which seemed like forever ago, but he was sure it had only been a few years at the most. 'That's definitely space-time jutsu he's using. I have to be careful.' Minato stood up, and faced where he knew the fox was at the moment.
"I suggest you focus entirely on one thing, Yondaime Hokage. It may be fatal otherwise." Turning around Minato threw a regular kunai at the source of the voice, which caught it between his fingers. "That was my freebie, now I won't hesitate to kill you if you slip up." Minato readied himself, waiting for the attack, but it seemed that his opponent was doing the same.
As though on cue, they both charged at each other, intending on fatal blows. The masked man drew chains from his sleeves as he dashed forward, intending on ripping the Yondaime apart. Minato drew another tri-pronged kunai from his pouch, and threw it at the man. Minato smiled slightly as he noticed the masked man keep charging forward, and by the next moment, Minato had a Rasengan in his hand, ready to use it to protect his village. The cloaked figure noticed, and barked out a laugh while he was dashing forwards.
"That won't work on me, Yondaime Hokage-" The kunai slipped through the man mask, and exited without leaving a hole. "I am invici-gurk!" With a flash of yellow, Minato had teleported to a spot slightly above the kunai and thrusted the spiraling sphere into the masked man, crushing him into the ground. When the dust settled the moment after, the masked man was nowhere to be seen. There was a lull in action and Minato took this moment to sneak a glance back at his village.
"The fox is certainly causing more destruction than last time I summoned it. The Kyuubi's a work of art, isn't it? Such a beautiful creature, but it's also the ultimate apocalypse. Such irony." The man appeared on the other side of the clearing and laughed. Something clicked in Minato's head after that sentence though. 'He has the Sharingan, he knows time-space jutsu, and not only does he know about the Kyuubi, but he said he's summoned it before…'
"Are you Uchiha Madara?"
The man only laughed again. "You can call me that…Yes, I'm Uchiha Madara." Minato smiled.
"Great, I've been meaning to go all out on somebody for a while now."
What followed next what a taijutsu extraordinaire's wet dream (Two). Minato dashed forwards, stopping right before he was in Madara's range, and turned on his heel, performing a roundhouse kick, which Madara blacked easily with a reinforced forearm. Madara then retaliated by grabbing the leg that he had blocked and spun Minato around, throwing him to the other side of the clearing. Minato rolled several times before coming to a standing position. Madara pushed his advantage, kneeing the Hokage in the chest as he rose up to meet him, flinging him back even further. Minato soon turned into a log, and Madara had to flip backwards over the blonde man who had appeared behind him. "A smokeless Kawarimi…good." Madara had no more time to speak however as Minato began an offensive. He would turn one way, only to jerk back and land a hit on the masked man. Madara was finding it very annoying on getting a proper counter to the man's jerky movements. However, Madara did not need to rely on countering, he could simply make Minato's attacks phase out of him, making it seem as if the fists and other various appendages were simply going through him instead of hitting him. "You're… Pretty hard to… Hit." Minato was breathing somewhat heavily, that last portion of the fight took quite a bit of stamina to do, and he wasn't exactly warmed up, either.
They both stood at opposite ends of the clearing, and with the cue of a bird flying off into the distance, they charged each other. There were no dirty tricks or tactical maneuvres; both men grappled on to the other and pushed off, sliding across the ground several feet. Both Minato and Madara seemed worse for wear, but Minato was definitely sporting more wounds than Madara. Minato threw two more tri-pronged kunai at Madara, but they were off-center; Madara didn't even have to move to dodge them.
"It's seems you're a little punch drunk, Yondaime. Those were poor tosses, even for an academy student."
"They were right on point."
"Then you're obviously more injured then-!" Madara turned his head around, and instead of there being two kunai, there was one, and another Minato had appeared. Minato currently had his hand in Madara's back, where many kanji began to form, and then two large kanji appeared; one for "Tether" and another for "Break". "N-No… A contract breaking seal!" "And a little something to keep you from using that space-time jutsu of yours!" The clone chirped happily. Madara turned back to the original Minato.
"When?" This time Minato laughed. "That clone? He's been around for hours. I think he just noticed something was wrong." Madara stood stock still. "We'll see each other soon… Minato Namikaze." Madara took advantage of the slight shock that Minato received from the man knowing his name to kick his leg out faster than the eye could blink, effectively dispelling the clone and then sunk into the ground. Minato rushed over to the descending ninja, intent on kicking the head clean off of his shoulders. As soon as he was close, Minato kicked out, but he only met air, causing him to over-extend and end up in a heap on the ground. "Ow… I think I might've pulled something there." He stood up, brushing the dust and dirt off of his clothes.
"Well, time for the finale."
XxX
The Kyuubi looked back at the gathering of the insolent little maggots who- the fox experienced that same feeling again, and this time, his eyes returned to their normal slitted form. Forgetting for a second where exactly he was, Kyuubi sniffed around. It smelt like trees, which could only mean one thing: Konohagakure; Kushina's home. He roared into the air so harshly that it shook trees for dozens of meters around. "FINALLY, I'M FREE TO TURN YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC VILLAGE INTO DUST UZUMAKI! SUFFER LIKE I HAVE!" And with a great heave, the Kyuubi charged forward, but this time he was much faster. He was so fast that most of the ninja present were taken by surprise, and they paid the price with their lives. The Akimichis who were previously pummeling the Kyuubi were grabbed by much more agile tails and thrown hundreds of feet away. Chouza responded quickly enough to dodge the tail the tried to grab him, only to get the sharp end of a paw that dug into his already wounded shoulder.
"If we have anything left, we should do it now!" Chouza then started to grapple with the Kyuubi again, but this time it was much easier to tell that the Kyuubi had the advantage.
'Okay, I'll contact everyone and tell them to ready their strongest jutsu, and then attack on Hokage's mark.'
'Inoichi, thanks, I'll try to keep this damn thing… uhn… busy while you get…Gah...set up.'
Chouza was able to keep a hold on the Kyuubi for several more seconds until the fox used its tails to wrap around the man and throw him into the forest surrounding them. By luck, there was another Akimichi in that area that was able to catch him, but only barely. Chouza stood up and quickly yelled out to his clansmen. "All at once! Go!" With a yell, all of the remaining Akimichis charged towards the Kyuubi, who managed to sidestep and few and cut another one or two down. It was a valiant but futile effort as the Kyuubi was thrown to the ground in a cloud of dust and debris. They were able to keep the fox like this for almost minute, which was enough time for whatever Inoichi had planned as he contacted his old friend.
'Chouza, when I tell you, yell out to your clansmen to make the Kyuubi stand up.' Switching to another target, Inoichi started another conversation. 'Lord Hokage, you may start at any time.'
'Thank you Inoichi...' Activating the only jutsu he knew would work with this mental connection (3), he made his order. 'NINJA OF KONOHA! GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!' Inoichi quickly changed his target again. 'MARK!'
Chouza knew a signal when he heard one. "Everyone, bring the Kyuubi to bear, let's show this bastard fox what he gets for messing with us!" The other Akimichis didn't need to be told twice as they all brought the Kyuubi to its hind legs just as what seemed like thousands of jutsu flooding the field of vision before them. Dragons of every element along with fireballs coalesced into a veritable wall of death. Waiting until the last possible moment, the Akimichis finally let go of the nine-tails. The Justus hit.
They hit hard.
The Kyuubi took the brunt of the attack, rearing his head as he roared as he was thrown back by the sheer force of the combined jutsus. He wasn't out of the woods yet, because as he was being thrown back, he looked into the sky to see that something large was blocking out the sun. He soon knew very well what it was as Gamabunta, the largest and most powerful toad summon, drop kicked the Kyuubi into the ground. Grabbing the fox's head with his webbed feet, Gamabunta spoke. "Do what you need to, Minato! I can't keep him here like this forever." With a flash, Minato appeared on the Kyuubi's head, and then began gathering chakra. A faint yellow glow surrounded him and the next second neither he nor the Kyuubi were anywhere to be seen.
XxX
"It's a boy." Tsunade looked down at the new mother. Kushina was pale, too pale. "Kushina, you want to hold him?" Bringing the newborn to its mother, she stepped back as Kushina took the boy in her arms.
"A…Boy huh? Then he will be called Naruto, just like planned. Aren't you a little cutie, Naruto?" Kushina started to rub the child's cheeks, which had whisker marks on it which the infant seemed to react with giggles whenever her fingers brushed over them. After this tender moment, Kushina started to cough harshly, droplets of blood splattering the ground and Naruto's face. A flash of yellow from her peripheral drew her attention from her child. Turning her head, she stared into the delphinium blue eyes of the man she loved. "Minato…It's a boy. Naruto's a good name for a boy."
Minato smiled. "Honey, I need Naruto for a moment." He reached for the child, but met some resistance from Kushina. "Honey! You know what needs to be done. I made a seal for this specific purpose, you know that!" Kushina just shook her head. Behind him, looming in the distance what the gargantuan shape of the Kyuubi, the fox's red fur a contrast to the deep green surrounding them.
"I won't let you make Naruto live the same life I did! I won't! I won't! I…" Kushina began sobbing. "Not anymore, I don't anyone to live the life I did, no one more than my son." Kushina tried to stand up, but her shaky legs couldn't support her, and she began to fall, but Minato caught her and laid her down. Kushina could see that the Kyuubi had finally gained some spatial awareness and was looking at them. Kushina looked down at her child, her tears falling onto the infant's face and mixing with the blood. "…Be safe Naruto, eat your vegetables, treat your friends safely and serve them loyally, and meet a really nice girl and have cute Uzumaki children... I love you, son."
She fell asleep on the spot.
Tsunade ran over, intent on checking Kushina while Minato grabbed the child. They glanced at each other, their eyes locking for a moment, and in that moment, Minato realized what he was just about to do. Looking at Tsunade, he spoke. "If I don't make it, tell Lord Sandaime that I wish my child be known as a hero, for being the one to contain the Kyuubi." Tsunade looked at him warily, before nodding. Minato stood up, his child in his arms, and turned around to face the Kyuubi.
"Let's finish this."
"MINATO!"
With a flash of yellow, Minato appeared on the Kyuubi's head. Securing his position by sticking with chakra, he started to reach into his cloak. He pulled out a scroll approximately a foot in length. Unfurling the scroll, he cut the first two feet off, and then placed it over his child. Focusing some chakra into the paper, he watched as kanji spread across Naruto's body, all the while his son was shivering as though he was really cold. After a few moments the kanji stopped and Naruto was covered head to toe in small kanji in directional lines surrounding a larger kanji for "Contain" which was adjacent to the kanji for each element in a pentagonal pattern. Unraveling the scroll further, he proceeded to cut off another ten feet of the scroll, and began to start a long series of seals, his child still in his arms.
Kyuubi however, was trashing about, hoping to get Minato to stumble or fall so that he could attack him without worry of self-injury. When he figured out that that didn't work, he began to run towards the nearest source of water he knew of. The Valley of The End.
Minato noticed that they were leaving the general area that Konoha was in, but he didn't have much time or focus to question it. After about two minutes of forming seals, he was finished with the jutsu. Looking around him, he was surprised to see that they at the Valley of the End.
"A fitting end for you Kyuubi. The last time you are sealed is at the same place you were first sealed."
The Kyuubi heard this and stopped his movements. "You intend to seal me? You know that I'll just escape, no seal mortal kind has ever made could contain me!" After he finished speaking though, the temperature around them dropped several dozen degrees. Kyuubi himself had never felt like this, and for all intents and purposes, he was starting to get nervous. He started to run towards the lake he remembered being around here somewhere when he noticed he couldn't move. Then something started to pull. He looked up to see what was happening, only to come across a sight he wished he would never see again. The Shinigami. "YOU FOOL! MINATO, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? HE'LL TAKE BOTH OF US!" He heard Minato laugh weakly on top of his head.
"Who said he was taking you? You'll have… To live one… Last life…" Minato coughed harshly as the Shinigami sent his other hand to where the Kyuubi knew Minato to be, and a small burst of light came forth from above the Kyuubi's head. "Kyuubi... Treat my son well, and if he needs it, teach him the way of the ninja-"
The Kyuubi had no time to respond as a great light surrounded the three of them. It was gone as quickly as it came, and all that was left, was a small crying infant in the arms of his father.
XxX
Hiruzen Sarutobi may have been past his prime, but when he saw the smoke-filled sky with bright, white light he knew something was off. Pinpointing the source of the light, he signaled the ANBU around him to follow.
Nearly half an hour later, Hiruzen came across a sight he had never at any point of his relatively brief retirement had thought could happen. There, on the bank at the mouth of the waterfall of the Valley of the End (4) was the body of the Yondaime Hokage, and what seemed to be a dead baby. Walking over to the pair, Hiruzen knelt down to examine Minato's corpse. Checking for a pulse gave him the answer he dreaded. Next he picked up the baby who was in the Fourth's arms. It started to squirm, surprising Hiruzen, but he quickly made the connection. "So... You're a boy, and if I remember correctly, they planned on Naruto being your name if you were a boy. So…" Hiruzen looked around at the overthrown trees and boulders that the Kyuubi had managed to dislodge in his brief visit here. "Allow me to welcome you to the world of shinobi, Naruto."
XxX
Another half an hour signaled the return of the Third Hokage, complete with a body bag for the Yondaime, and the infant Naruto in his arms. As he made his way to the morgue to drop off the body (5), he noticed that repairs had already begun in the parts hit softest by the Kyuubi, which weren't many, but it was a good sign meaning that the Kyuubi didn't have much time to rampage. Strangely enough, most of those who were helping out were Uchiha. He hadn't seen many of them at the site of the attack. He would have to ask Fugaku what happened next time they met at council. Turning the corner to the street that the morgue was on, which happily enough wasn't touched by the Kyuubi, he bumped into someone he hadn't seen in years.
"Sarutobi-sensei, fancy meeting you here." She adjusted her head to see what was behind him. It took a moment, but she understood. Hiruzen could see what was about to happen, he grabbed a hold of Tsunade and shunshined them both to his office. Letting go of her, he quickly shunshined back just as he heard a shout of "Hey sensei-!"
When Hiruzen returned, he continued walking as if nothing happened. The ANBU merely followed after, like the trained beasts they were meant to emulate.
After he finished his business of making sure that the Yondaime's body was cremated and stored in the secret vault underneath the morgue, he returned to his office through the use of another shunshin, intent on soothing his student before getting to the inevitable council meetings that would no doubt be knocking on his door.
"We both loved like them children, and sometimes this happens, the best we can do is to remember them Hime. Remember them at their best and their worst; they wouldn't want it any other way." Jiraiya, while not the smoothest of talkers, had seemingly been able to calm Tsunade down without him interfering. 'Unlike when they were on a team together…'
"Jiraiya, I see you decided to come back to Konoha. I suspect you have your reasons?"
The white haired man nodded, and swept his arm across the room."These are my reasons old man… The worst came to be, didn't it?" At the Sandaime's silent nod, Jiraiya continued. "Let me see the child." From the shadows of the room, an ANBU agent appeared, holding a small bundle of cloth in his hands which everyone recognized. "So Minato really had to use the Shiki Fuin, huh?" Taking the child into his arms, he channeled a minute amount of chakra into Naruto, noting how the seal appeared. Over the next hour Jiraiya proceeded to check the seal to the best of his ability, making sure as to not disrupt the seal in any way.
"Minato was always the perfectionist; there's nothing wrong with it from what I could tell, but I'll be coming by every few years or so to make adjustments and such when they are needed. Now… If this is it, there are places we need to be." Smiling at the confused heads that looked at him, he continued. "Sandaime here has to go to a meeting, and you Tsunade have to get to the hospital." When Tsunade asked him where he was going to be, Jiraiya smiled wryly. "Doing some research of course!"
XxX
HIruzen sighed for what seemed like the tenth time that minute. He looked across to room to the platform on which to Advisor of the Mercantile Business League was currently relaying the gains and losses of the last fiscal quarter. He knew that this was just formality; he didn't have time to run the ins and outs of Konoha's business when he was Hokage, and what with the destruction that the Kyuubi caused, he most definitely wouldn't be able to do so this time. So, while he waited until the moment when the meeting finally came to the elephant in the room, the Sandaime could do nothing but watch as the monotonous meeting continued on.
"Hokage-sama… Hokage-sama… Hiruzen!" Hiruzen woke up with a start, to see that both of his advisors and former teammate were at his sides, obviously trying to wake him up. He looked to his right to see Koratsu bending near his head. The Hokage straightened out in his chair.
"Ahem… Thank you for waking me, I assume that everything that has been so far will be on a report that I will receive soon?" Seeing a nod from the scribe that they had hired for these meetings, Hiruzen continued. "Now, I'm sure you woke me up so we can discuss the real issue here. A damage report please." At this, the Advisor of the Mercantile Business League stood up.
"Lord Hokage, we have experienced acute destruction of both wares and stores to sell them. The current figure-"
"Not those figures, we can fiddle with them later. I mean people, what are the numbers?" At this, the lead doctor of the Konoha Hospital stood up. Pushing his glasses up so that they were high set against his eyes which were surrounded by dark chestnut hair, he started. \
"Sir, we have just started collecting the dead, but the figures are around three thousand and rising, this including both ninja and civilian forces. Ninja deaths total at about eight hundred, the rest are civilian. I'll update you with any new information as I get it." The man sat down, his report finished. "Thank you Yakushi-dono. Now, since those matters are done with, are there any other matters that the Ninja or Civilian council would like to propose?" Hiruzen knew exactly what he had just started, and was intent on making some things very clear.
The instant the words left his mouth, people stood up. There was some shuffling and fumbling, but eventually one man was left standing. This man, the right side of his body ravaged by war, asked the million dollar question. "Hokage-sama, I would like to inquire about the missed presence of our current Hokage, and also question the appearance and subsequent disappearance of the Kyuubi No Kitsune."
Danzo Homura. Ever since Hiruzen had gotten the title of Sandaime by the Nidaime during the Second Ninja War, Danzo had seen to it to be a nuisance that Hiruzen just couldn't get rid of. "Regarding both of your questions, I must politely request that the ambassadors for the civilian council leave, on the ground of these issues being strictly military". Of course, as Hiruzen had expected, several representative for the civilian council stood to state their denial. While Hiruzen may have been a peace loving man at one point, the recent events brought out a part of the man that even the Sandaime himself hadn't seen for decades. Deciding to make sure everyone knew what 'strictly military' meant, he slammed his palm upon the table he was resting at before any of the representatives could get going.
"As I said… honourable council members… This meeting is now only for the ninja council and the military affairs units. Now, before I make you… Leave." Disturbed by the finality in his voice, the deviant council members left the room in a group. Hiruzen missed the smirk that graced Danzo's face. Turning back to the now silenced room, Hiruzen continued. "I must get your agreement to never speak of what we will discuss in this room, as it is considered double S-classed secrets." This stunned the still silent ninja council; even Danzo had his eyebrows raised. Eventually everyone agreed.
Resting his interlocked hands on the table, Hiruzen started. "The Yondaime Hokage… Is dead." All of the present shinobi had their own reactions. The youngest clan leaders, the current Ino-Shika-Cho combo all gasped. Tsume Inuzuka cupped her mouth in her hands, while Hiashi Hyuuga and Fugaku Uchiha both lowered their heads, while Danzo and Shibi Aburame simply raised their eyebrows.
"He died in battle against the Kyuubi No Kitsune at the Valley of the End, ironically enough. He has appeared to have succeeded in capturing the Kyuubi, and containing it. He ensured that our village had minimal infrastructure loss due to the attack and I will be holding the family funeral for him in two days' time. Since he considered all of you his friends, the clan leaders may come. The village funeral will be held in a week… Which leads me to the next subject."
At this point nobody spoke, the events of the day and this recent news had muted them. Seeing that nobody would speak up, Hiruzen spoke. "I assume that you all are wondering the same thing. 'How did he contain the Kyuubi?' I have come to find out that he sealed it… into a child." Hiruzen gauged the council's reactions, which were severely dulled due to the obvious stress they were going through. "That child, the child that not only contains the Kyuubi No Youko, but also the blood of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, is none other than their son… Uzumaki Naruto."
XxX
"Hmm… Once again, it seems I am sealed. Perhaps the seal won't hold and I will get to destroy the village that has caged me for so long. I did see that the seal I was going into was not finished… No, a man such as he wouldn't be so sloppy. So it seems I'm stuck here for a while. Perhaps this is my fate, to be sealed. I grow tired of this damned darkness!"
Lights flooded the scene, and within a colossal cage, stood the Kyuubi No Kitsune.
"Maybe I should go about things differently this time… Yes, that seems appropriate. I do sense chaos on the horizon, perhaps helping my jailor out may allow me to be in the midst of it. But I will not give it to him easily, he must earn it. I am Kurama, the Kyuubi No Kitsune, and I am nothing if not a trickster."
XxX
The funeral was a small affair, containing only Jiraiya, Kakashi Tsunade, Hiruzen and the clan heads, minus Hiashi and Fugaku. Many of the attendees cried, man and woman, nobody more than Tsunade. A few hours after the ceremony, Jiraiya ran off, and he wasn't seen until the time of the village wide funeral.
The village wide funeral brought together the many inhabitants of the city, as they all grieved, not necessarily for the Yondaime, but for all they have lost. 'He serves as the beacon towards which they all migrate… Minato was a special man, to even in death take on the emotions of so many people.' Looking down at the bundle in his arms, who had finally calmed down after days on end of crying, and stood up. He walked over to the casket that held the body double and paid his respect for the second time that week. After dropping off his offering to the dead, which was a small white lotus that was only found in the forests surrounding Konoha, he turned to look at the crowds. The small murmuring that was constantly traveling the crowds dissipated as people realized that their Hokage was making an announcement.
Looking at the crowds, he began. "Friends… Today is a day of mourning, but we must not dwell on the dead. We must remember them, not only at their best, but at their worst. Their highs, theirs lows, and how you were there for them all. That familiarity, the kinship that we so cherish, that's what we must remember them for. Each man and woman that we loved left a legacy… Including the Yondaime. His legacy continues through you, all who remember him, and through his actions. Tell me, how do you think Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi?"
The first response he received was from a small child, who yelled out "He killed it with his awesome jutsu, right?" After a small fit of chuckles from the older people of the crowd, the Sandaime continued. "Yes, and no… See, he did defeat the Kyuubi with a powerful and terrifying jutsu, but he couldn't kill it; nobody can kill a bijuu such as the Kyuubi. So he did the next best thing… He contained it, but that leads to problems all by itself. To contain a bijuu, a very strong container is needed, and the Kyuubi is the most powerful of these beings, so the most powerful of containers must be used. For that purpose, he used a child." He had to hush the crowd as murmurs sprang up. "But he was working on a clock, since the child could at oldest, be only a week old for the chakra pathways to be flexible enough to adapt to the fox's chakra. For this purpose, he chose a child that had, coincidentally, been born a week ago on the day the Kyuubi No Youko attacked. For you see, this child… Minato wanted him to be seen as the savior of our village, and that's what he truly is, the jailor of the most powerful bijuu in existence." The reactions he got were nearly divided; the ninja who knew about sealing –which was nearly all of them- understood just what kind of prodigy the Yondaime was with them, and they believed in his skill to keep the bijuu at bay. The civilians however, were of no such quality, and they had immediate and severe reactions.
"Let's kill the demon!"
"We need to keep it locked up in a cage, away from everything!"
"Let's breed it with the kunoichi force, to make powerful ninja!"
That was not to say that there weren't more understanding civilians, of which there were also many. But they simply didn't have the kind of reactions that garnered such attention. Hiruzen sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "WE WILL DO NO SUCH THING!" He shouted, sending chakra to his mouth to increase the volume "I have given you one chance already, and you shoved right back in my face. From now on, nobody in this village is legally able to speak about the Kyuubi under punishment of execution; any and all cases will be swift. This is your second chance, use it wisely."
XxX
October 10th, 5 years after the rampage of the Kyuubi - affectionately called "The Beast" by the population of Konohagakure - the Sandaime Hokage, rather gruff looking for a man of age 70, sat in his office, currently active in an epic duel splayed across his desk that no Kage has ever won: Paperwork. Sighing, the Hokage spun in his comfortable chair - it had lower back support - to face the obscenely large window that displayed a view of the village of Konohagakure; The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sighing again, the Hokage had a maudlin thought ' Minato, you were such a young Hokage, and you had so much going for you, but The Beast came and ripped that from your grasp. I only hope I can fill in this position for at least a few more years, Kami knows I'm getting too old for this shit.'
The opening and slamming of the door to the Sandaime's office broke his thought when he heard a child's voice yell "Hey Old Man! I was bored so I decided to come see you!"
Thanking the gods that could hear him for this gift, the Sandaime smiled. "Naruto, you're just a big ball of sunshine aren't you?" Hugging the small bundle of perpetual motion, he could hear Naruto's muffled reply of 'Yep!' and laughed lightly. Whenever the old man of a Hokage had thought about it, Naruto was like a grandson to him, but to the rest of the village he was "Prank Master Naruto; the destroyer of pride, dignity, and stuffy boring people!"
Of course, he was only five years old, so the pranks that he could pull were pretty much harmless. Things such as tying peoples shoelaces together was a common sight to see, as well as the whole "You dropped your pocket" shindig, the young blonde even once led a squad of ANBU into a trap where he tripped over a wire and pretended to be hurt, only for the ANBU who captured him to be sprayed with…'What was it Hiruzen? He called it "Essence of Skunk" right?' this is from a five year old boy of all things, and that filled the venerable Hokage with both mirth and bittersweet pride.
Speaking of the villagers, they were rather mild today, as it was the day that The Beast was defeated and the Yondaime Hokage died. But this day was truly for mourning, as many of the villagers had family members that had died in the attack of The Beast. He remembered the final totals of the dead 'Over two thousand shinobi had died, and nearly quadruple that in civilian deaths… No wonder the reports say that we won't be back to the average population until fifteen years from now.' It was ironic really, that the people the Yondaime sought to have Naruto be seen as a hero, treated him like dirt, made him the butt end of jokes, ignored him most of the time, kicked him out of stores rather frequently, and occasionally beat him, mostly by drunk villagers. All of these discrepancies against the boy had their own punishment, most of which was a fine that was paid to Naruto's trust fund, a few months in jail - He couldn't push for more because they were talking about "The Beast" - and the punishment for the beatings was death. The Sandaime might have been a peace loving man, but no one in his village would dare hurt the boy for fear of the repercussions of said act, and those who did, were never heard of again.
"So Naruto, how has your day been so far?" the kind old man asked after releasing said boy from the hug.
The young boy put his small arms behind his head, and made a smile akin to one a fox may make. "It's been great, Jiji! Nobody has spit on me, or glared at me, or called me names! In fact, they all smiled at me today!" The small boy blurted out in a breath.
This got the old man thinking. 'Why are they so nice to Naruto? Usually they act indifferent if nothing else but to act nicely, let alone on the day that The Beast attacked?' It wasn't that the villagers never treated Naruto nicely; it was just that October 10th was a sort of anathema to the young boy; in fact, Naruto was almost never seen on October 10th. He then realized just how far his village has fallen to the point that it was uncommon for them to be nice to a person spoke poorly of them all, not to mention the leader of the village, the Hokage himself.
"Hey Naruto, why are you here anyway? You usually stay in your apartment today and think of new pranks." The kind old man asked the orange-clad boy.
Taking a deep breath, said boy answered with his patented -Yes, patented, it's Patent No. 8857634- enthusiasm "Well Jiji, it's just that today was so nice out and everyone was being so nice to me and they actually let me into the stores and let me buy stuff and said that they hoped to see me again! But it was strange, this one old man smiled at me weird and said 'I hope they kill you tonight demon' but he was talking to a demon statue so I didn't think anything of it, it was just funny." Naruto inhaled sharply, that was a lot to say in one breath!
Feeling strange in the following silence, Naruto looked up at the Hokage, who stood stock still, almost as if he saw a ghost. "Hey Jiji, you ok?"
Getting no response, the young boy decided to leave the office and go to the paint store. There was going to be some Hyuuga's yelling about 'neon green underwear' in the city tonight!
XxX
After thinking over what Naruto had said, the Hokage had come to a conclusion: There was going to be an assassination attempt on Naruto today.
'The question is how do we stop it?' The old man was sure that he was going to have a heart attack soon.
There were several legends surrounding the old man known as the Sandaime Hokage; such as he was the one who single-handedly destroyed a supply bridge in the second ninja war, and that he had taught the sensei of the Yondaime Hokage, one of the greatest ninja to ever live, and that he had also found out the meaning of life. All of these legends were true, but he was being trounced by himself due to a simple threat, one that he wasn't sure was going to happen or not. Cursing his foggy mind, the Sandaime started thinking on the issue this brought to the village.
'There always were people who wanted the worst for the boy, but let's just post an ANBU to guard the boy tonight rather than the standard jounin, best to be safe than sorry.' "Speaking of which, I need to talk to Danzo about some things, might as well invite him over for some drinks."
He would soon be very sorry.
-That Night-
A young boy of 5 was walking towards his apartment, which happened to be in the seediest slums of Konoha, a place not for women and children, but the young child traveled through it. It was almost as if the thugs and drunks were avoiding him. Walking up the ramp to his apartment, the young boy fumbled with his keys. Continuing this pattern for several seconds, Naruto finally unlocked to door to his apartment, and walked into the small 350 square ft. studio. Turning on the light switch -and jumping for joy to find that it did indeed still worked- the young boy yawned and started towards the bathroom, intending to take a bath and go to sleep.
-Outside Naruto's Apartment-
If one were to take a long look at the tree outside of Naruto's apartment, they would not find anything out of place, but if one were to take a very long look at the tree outside Naruto's apartment, one would see two things: A dark brown blob and a black blob with a mask stabbing each other with a kunai, and the dark brown blob disappearing in a cloud of smoke and earth. But nobody took a very long look at the tree outside of Naruto's apartment, and thus, nobody saw the ANBU that the Sandaime Hokage assigned to protect Naruto that night, die.
-Inside Naruto's Apartment-
In the small bathroom that was connected to the kitchen inside Naruto's apartment, the young boy was taking a warm bath, which was strange because warm water was a luxury in the apartment complex the small boy lived in. Enjoying the feeling of the warm liquid covering his body, Naruto didn't notice the small creak of the door as it opened, revealing a dark brown silhouette, vaguely human in shape and form. But the young boy had not lived for the last five years off of charity and luxuries, so he had a developed a sixth sense of sorts, one that alerted him to any possible dangers around him. Sensing that he was indeed not alone, Naruto slowly got up and grabbed his towel. After drying off, he got on his pajamas; a small pair of fox slippers, a panda eye cover, and an orange and brown smock. Almost expecting to be beaten at any time in the near future, the young boy moved slowly and deliberately, scanning over the areas he would be walking into thrice before taking a step. After several minutes of continuing in this pattern, Naruto was sufficiently calm and relaxed, so he decided to get to bed.
Stalking the unsuspecting boy, the dark brown humanoid flicked its wrist, a glint of metal symbolizing a kunai, the only thing that was noticeable from this act. Taking a few more steps, the humanoid raised its arm in preparation to strike. As if sensing the immediate danger, Naruto jumped out of bed, spun on his heels and slammed his assailants kneecap, bending it inwards. The sharp intake of breath that followed was the only reaction to Naruto's action, and then the small boys mind faded into darkness.
-At the main gate of Konoha-
At the main gates that entered into Konoha, there was a mandatory guard of two chunnin at all times. This went back to the times of the Shodaime, were invasion was possible at any time, and one chunnin was too risky in the fact that any ninja worth their salt could take one out. Therefore two chunnin were put as guards in the hopes that if something did happen, one of the chunnin would alert the village while the other chunnin delayed the invading force. This tactic had helped many times in the recent past, but there was a flaw with this idea: Genjutsu. If the two chunnin on guard were susceptible to genjutsu, it was possible to bypass them.
"Hey Itsumo, did you hear anything?" the unnamed guard asked the other while chewing on a senbon.
"Nope, can't say I did, Genma." The guard known as Itsumo replied.
These two chunnin were almost always the guards assigned the main gate due to their special abilities and the compatibility of them. Genma had a summoning contract with shellfish, and his personal summon was a larch conch snail, and they had worked out a deal that Genma would be able to use the snail as a mace as long as Genma never ate seafood. It just so happened to be that Genma was allergic to seafood, so the deal went very well. Itsumo, while not having a summoning contract, had several skills that helped cover up Genma's weaknesses; such as fuinjutsu and long range attacks, and Genma covered Itsumo's short range deficiencies very well.
Needless to say, they worked well together.
Until you put ladies into the situation.
Hearing footsteps in the distance both chunnin perked up. "State your business and how long you'll be gone." They both said, almost robotically.
A feminine voice responded with "Well, I'll be gone for a very long time, and my business is to get my jollies before I leave." Confused with what the lady had said, both of the very gullible chunnin looked up and promptly passed out from blood loss from their nasal cavities.
-The outskirts of Konoha-
"That was too easy." A large man chuckled, a small package in his arm's grasp. Taking off with a push against the tree the man was perched in; he didn't notice the package slip, letting sun-kissed blonde hair show through the wrapping. Nor did he notice the blood red eyes following him as he made his escape into the night.
XxX
"The ninja has taken the demon-boy, Danzo-sama"
"We will let him be, I have no use for the boy, even if I did get my hands on him. He is too protected, the Sandaime saw to that."
"But what about the plan?"
"The plan will continue as it always has, this makes no difference. Now get out of my sight."
There was silence as Danzo sat in the headquarters of ROOT. "Speak of the devil…"
"…And he shall appear, old friend. I think it's time we talk."
XxX
"The ninja has taken Naruto, Hokage-sama"
Outside, the Hokage wore a mask of slight grief at what had transpired, but inside, the Hokage was absolutely furious. If one were to akin his fury with something, the most accurate assumption would be the hate that the ninja of Konohagakure felt towards The Beast as it attacked the village.
"This is disheartening. I want at least three squadrons of ANBU searching for him in the next thirty seconds, do you understand? Now GO!"
(1): FOR THE EMPEROR!
(2): YOOOUUUUTTTHHHHH!
(3): I don't know the name of the technique that allows someone to do that, so it shall be nameless.
(4): He is lying at the top of the waterfall, to clear any confusion.
(5): I would assume that such a valuable body would be disposed of properly instead of paraded around for a funeral.
Author's note:
This is my first story, and I may not be able to update consistently due to the requirement of other things in my life that have an admittedly more important role, such as schoolwork and any family events and etc. I am planning on making this an epic length story, how long it will take to become one is anyone's guess. I plan on this being a story where Naruto is actually intelligent, and that he becomes as powerful as he should be. This will NOT be a super-powered Naruto fic; I am simply making him as strong as he should be. This is also a story that takes place in an alternate reality. I say alternate reality because an alternate universe denotes different people and different actions, whereas alternate reality denotes the same people, but different actions. My story will focus on the consequences of the line of thinking "What if Naruto was stolen by another village?" And it seemed fitting that Iwa would be the country to take Naruto, thus the title Naruto of Iwa.
Have a nice day.
