Hello everyone! This is my first ever Naruto story and while I have always wanted to make one I've always felt...daunted about posting it seeing some of the communities' pressure on authors (be it feedback or whatnot) This is not a complete AU of the original Canon but it WILL get increasingly AU as it goes on. Another note is that I will likely not address on a lot of the filler from the anime as I only watched Part One's anime and read Part Two's manga (only watched the tail end and Kakashi's background on the anime) so keep that in mind for the parts of the story of where I follow closely (if not identical) to canon early on. I hope you enjoy!
Summary: Having survived the sealing of the Kyūbi into his newborn Son. Minato takes up the role of a single parent to raise his son while trying to mediate his roles as a father and that of a Hokage for a village in trying times.
Paring: Naruto X Anko
Changing of the Legends
Chapter 1: Prologue
Minato woke with a start; a gasp escaping him as he jerked up in the hospital bed. A mistake it would seem as immediately he started coughing violently. He covered his mouth briefly until the fit ceased lowering to see a small amount of blood covering his palm. Immediately confusion set in, 'where…where am I?'
The last thing he remembered was being impaled by the Kyūbi's claw followed by Kushina, each saying their parting words to their son. Kushina, knowing she would eventually die due to the Kyūbi being release following Naruto's birth, used the Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) to both seal half the Kyūbi in herself before dying and the other inside Naruto.
He had thought he would have died. He was suffering severe Chakra exhaustion and was also impaled. He should have died; any other would have.
"Yondaime-sama! You're awake!" A female exclaimed causing the blonde Hokage to turn to see a nurse standing in the door way to his room. A look of elation showed on the woman's face before it turned to a frown. "You shouldn't be moving already. You're lucky as it is to be alive."
Despite the nurse's protest, Minato couldn't rest until he knew what happened. "W…what happened?" He barely spoke the words his voice was so raspy.
"That's something to ask the Sandaime, he alone knows what happened. I shall inform him that you have regained consciousness." It was almost rehearsed, the way she spoke before she turned and walked out.
"Wait, what about my son?" Sadly, his voice was still too weak to be heard, leaving Minato to be disappointed and left anxious to learn of the whereabouts of his son.
A few moments passed, an eternity it felt like to the young Hokage, yearning to see both the Third and his son. Thankfully it wasn't much longer that he heard the fatherly voice reach his ears.
"Thank the Gods, we thought you'd never wake." Hiruzen commented walking into the room followed by the same nurse from earlier. "You've been unconscious for several days now. How do you feel?"
"I'll feel better knowing where my son is." Minato answered, though he knew physically he still felt very much weak as his weakened voice and coughing fit showed.
Hiruzen nodded in understanding before turning to the nurse that entered the room with him. It hadn't occurred to Minato before but he didn't get a good look at the nurse when she walked in with the Third but it appeared she purposely was trying to obscure something from his view. His internal query was answered when Hiruzen turned around revealing a baby boy in his arms.
Minato's eyes lit up in recognition before a soft smile showed on his face. He instinctively raised his arms, hoping the gesture would be obvious. The Third complied, walking to the Yondaime's bedside before passing the young Naruto to the man's arms.
Minato felt his hands shake slightly as he took his newborn son in his hands. He was so delicate that Minato thought he was holding onto glass that threatened to shatter given the wrong touch. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he held the sleeping bundle in his arms; both from the overwhelming joy of his song being alive but also at the sadness it brought him. Kushina was dead and his newborn son was now a Jinchūriki and likely to be the object of the village's hatred for the majority of his life.
Minato in that moment vowed to make his child's life as happy and comfortable as he could. There was no way to force people to like the boy, but he could coerce them into treating him fairly, regardless of their personal disdain.
"Sensei!" A loud voice rang breaking Minato from his stupor. In all his contemplation he hadn't realized that the Sandaime and Nurse had left his room, in their place he saw a young man, no older than 14 rush into the room. He had black spiky hair, the standard uniform of a Chūnin though disregarded the vest and had the signature forehead protector that stretched to cover his left eye. His only revealed eye was black and only prominently was surrounded by prominent facial scarring on the right side of his face. "Are you okay!?"
Minato didn't get a chance to respond, though he was suddenly frightened and hoped to not awaken his son. "Obito, no need to yell." A calm voice called out, before the source revealed itself.
"Kakashi. Obito. It's good to see you two are well." Minato felt relieved knowing his students were okay following the attack. Kakashi was in his off-duty uniform from the Anbu but like Obito had his forehead protector covering his left eye, courtesy of covering his ever active Sharingan.
"We were sectioned off from the attack by the older ninja." Obito explained, though annoyance laced his words.
Kakashi gave a lazy glance to his teammate and sighed, but he understood the Uchiha's desire. "As they should have." Minato answered, his face stern, "The younger generation must be protected for the Leaf to continue on. It's our duty."
The seriousness in Minato's face was broken when the baby Naruto awoke due to the commotion and started wailing. Mortification showed in his face as he didn't know what to do with a crying baby. He turned to the two-young shinobi and mouthed the words 'help me' only to receive an eye smile from Kakashi and a mischievous grin from Obito before both of them disappeared.
Three Years Later, Age 3
It had been hard adjusting at first. He was near clueless as to how properly care for a baby; Kushina was the one who had all the plans for it, becoming very motherly in their adulthood. Thankfully for nearly the first year following Naruto's birth Hiruzen had stepped in again as Hokage so that he could take care of his child. In addition, it seemed he was not alone, regularly Obito would come by to play with the child as best he could, usually dragging Kakashi with him when their time off duty aligned. An added bonus, which Minato had not expected was to see, was Mikoto Uchiha who visited him in the following weeks after his release from the hospital. He knew she and Kushina were good friends, but he didn't expect her to offer to take care of Naruto in the times where he couldn't; but she also gave him advice and tips on how to take care of the infant.
Now that Naruto was three he seemed much more easier to care for; at least in some aspects. In other aspects he seemed a mirror of his mother in that he was a little bundle of energy who was outspoken. It was quite clear as Naruto aged that he and Obito were going to get along great with their respective personalities. It was a double win in that he would have someone who he could get along great with and that it would give added healing to the trauma Obito went through following Rin's death by Kakashi's hand. It was a miracle that Obito forgave Kakashi. Both were traumatized by the incident. Kakashi was put into the Anbu while Obito took extended leave of duty following his surprisingly survival and return to Konoha by staying with Minato and Kushina for a time.
"Tou-san! Am I staying with Sasuke today?!" The three-year-old Naruto asked his father excitedly. It always brought a smile to his face when he saw how hyperactive his son at the prospect of staying with Mikoto and Fugaku with their children Itachi and Sasuke. It was heartwarming, but it also struck him with a slight pang of sadness how busy his duties as Hokage left him with little time to spend time with his son. It was alleviating that Mikoto treated Naruto as one of her own and while Fugaku was apprehensive at first, understandable to a degree as he was the head of the Uchiha Clan, but he warmed up to the boy after a while.
"Of course Naruto-kun. That is, unless you want to stay with Sandaime-sama that is." He had barely finished his sentence when he already saw Naruto shaking his head furiously at the prospect. The only time Naruto held an interest in spending time with Hiruzen was if Naruto could try to get the Third to teach him something from his vast arsenal of Jutsu. Unfortunately, both Hiruzen and himself agreed that Naruto should wait a while longer before he began training to be a ninja. He was raised so close to war, the 2nd Great Shinobi War had just ended but the tensions were still high, so he didn't get to stay a child for long. He wanted Naruto to enjoy his youth while he could. That's not to say he didn't encourage the three-year-old to stay active as many times the two of them would "race" to the Uchiha Compound and occasionally he would see Naruto and Sasuke "play fighting"; though he noticed that despite it being 'play' he could see both of the boys incorporating elements of Uchiha Taijutsu.
A knock alerted Minato's attention to the door as he stood up from the table where he sat across from Naruto who was finishing his breakfast. He reached the door and opened it revealing someone who Minato knew all-too-well. "Jiraya-sensei? This is unexpected, but welcome! I thought you were still out of the village managing your spy network."
The white-haired man gave a wide grin, his eyes closing as a result, "Well, I couldn't possibly stay away from the two people that are basically my son and grandson for long, now could I?!" He leaned to the side to see past his former student to see the three-year-old still at the table. "Naruto-kun, how have you been?"
Naruto's bright blue eyes seemed to grow brighter at the sight of Jiraya, "Oji-san!" with but a moment, the small boy dashed towards the door, weaving around Minato and jumped into the arms of the Toad Sannin. The white-haired man comically grumbled slightly at what Naruto called him, 'Middle age…I'm only 41. I'm still young.'
"I was about to take Naruto to the Uchiha Compound to spend the day with Sasuke and his family before heading to the Tower. Unless you wish to watch over Naruto for the day?" A warm smile showed on Minato's face seeing Jiraya interact with the blonde boy.
Jiraya put Naruto down before he thought about it for a second, "How about it Naruto, want to spend the day with me? We can get some Ramen!"
That seemed to be all the convincing that Naruto needed before he declared his answer. "Of course!" Then Naruto turned to his father "Tou-san, do you want to join us later if you can?"
A slight grin tugged at Minato's lips, "I might be able to sneak away for a bite to eat. I make no promises though. I should be going though, I'll let Mikoto know that you'll be watching over Naruto for the day." With that said he gave a short wave to the duo before he disappeared in a flash of yellow.
"Alright Naruto, let's start our little adventure!" Jiraya stated with a slight exaggeration on being excited, mostly for Naruto's benefit. He picked the young boy up and set him on his shoulders before the two ran off for the day.
Two Years Later, Age 5
"Tou-san, are you sure it's okay for us to leave the village like this?" A now five-year-old Naruto asked curiously as he and his father walked past the main gates to Konoha. Largely in the past two years life was quite blissful for the young blonde. He was at times sad at not having a mother, but the void was more than filled in by the additions of Jiraya as well as Mikoto and her family being his life. Even better when only a few months before did both Minato and Jiraya start introducing light training to get Naruto ready for when he entered the Academy in a year; introducing the idea of Naruto starting to mold Chakra and gaining control of it. He was a fast learner, even if complicated explanations went above him. Thankfully Jiraya who was similar in his youth, was able to simplify the explanation to a degree Naruto would understand easily.
"It'll be fine. The Sandaime agreed to take over temporarily so we could have a little vacation just outside the village; think of it as a small camping trip." Minato answered. In addition to this small reprieve from the endless work that came from being Hokage, Minato wanted to introduce Naruto the Tree Climbing Exercise. Not so much to make sure Naruto mastered it before they were done but to give him a goal to aspire to when he or Jiraya were unavailable to teach him themselves. The reprieve itself was especially hard when the Council had learned that Minato planned to take his son with him. They were furious as the idea of the Kyūbi container leaving the confines of the village and fought vehemently against Hiruzen and Minato. It was only by Minato slowly losing his patience did he coerce the Council into letting him take his son; though it helped when he said he would make sure nothing would endanger him. He was hardly infallible, but he was still slightly miffed at their lack of trust in his capabilities.
They came to a small clearing, nothing especially notable about it but Minato decided it a good spot as any. They were a short distance away from the village so if something should arise they could return quickly; though Minato himself would return instantly due to his Hiraishin. It was evening when they arrived, having set out later in the day after Minato thankfully finished his important duties as Hokage early; Hiruzen opted to take care of the less important tasks in the morning.
"Naruto, we'll set up our little camp here for the time being and get some rest. In the morning, I have a new exercise I'd like to introduce you to, but primarily this will be a time to relax, just the two of us for the next several days." Naruto's smile widened at the prospect of both a new exercise and spending more time with his father, though if he was honest he wanted to start learning some of the Jutsu his father knew; though he knew he would have to get better Chakra control before then. He watched with curiosity as he saw Minato pull out a scroll from his Jōnin before laying it onto the ground unravelling it. Quickly a tent, large enough to comfortably hold four people 'poofed' into existence. "Now, while I finished some of the finishing touches here, Naruto, go and collect some sizable rocks, there should be a river nearby, for a campfire."
Naruto gave a salute and ran off. He didn't know much of the geography nearby, so he could only guess that he would have to get his lay of the land and find it on his own. Several minutes into his little adventure he was starting to get slightly frustrated. "Agh! I can't seem to find a river anywhere, if only tou-san gave me a general idea!" He searched for another minute until he swore he heard a feminine yelp.
His head perked up at the sound and he turned to the direction he thought he heard the sound come from, 'What was that? I swore I heard a girl.' He listened again for a moment trying to discern if he had heard something or if he was just imagining things. The answer was both yes and no. He didn't hear the feminine voice, but he could hear a small group shouting. He took off in a light jog towards the source, hoping that nothing bad was going on.
"Get back here you snake whore!" A very prominent male voice caught Naruto attention. He was close but he didn't want to be detected just yet, so he slowed his jog carefully sneaking behind trees. He quickly heard the sounds of hurried footsteps as he saw a young girl run just past him before tripping. She had dark-ish violet hair that was styled in a short spiky fanned ponytail, and worse a brown-red t-shirt, white shorts complete with fishnet leggings. She looked behind her and caught sight of him her gaze widening slightly with a mix of anger and fear; she was being chased.
Cautiously the young girl cautiously crawled back, ready to get back to her feet and continue her escape. Naruto did his best to ease her fear, a soft smile showing on his face. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
A snarl, "Say that to them!" She got to her feet and stepped back seeing the small group of people heading right at her having heard her outburst.
"She's over here!" Naruto glared slightly in the direction of the voices, 'so they have been chasing her? What for?' he stepped out of the tree standing in front of the violet haired woman trying to look as imposing as he could for a five-year-old boy who stood quite shorter than the girl. "Hey brat, get out of the way, this girl needs to be punished."
"Yeah? What for?!" Naruto spat.
"She was a whore for Orochimaru!" A voice from the rear end of the crowd shouted in response. Naruto heard that name before from Jiraya and knew he had left the village but he didn't know much else.
"Hey, I think I recognize him. Yeah. That's the Yondaime's boy." The group of people fanned out slightly to get a look at Naruto, some of them appearing hesitant, some indifferent, while some only grew upset.
"Oh yeah? That means he's the Kyūbi brat. You made a big mistake getting in our way kid. I don't care whose son you claim to be, you killed our families years ago." A man pushed his way to the forefront, a big more muscular man. He cracked his knuckles with a sinister grin showing as he slowly walked to the young boy.
Naruto for his part backed up in slight fear. He had seen some of the looks he'd gotten from the villagers, but he'd never had any of them threaten him. The bigger man reared his fist back making Naruto close his eyes not wanting to see it coming.
It never came, instead, through closed eye lids, he saw light. He opened his eyes to see Minato had appeared and caught the arm of the man with a glare in his eyes that he'd never seen before. "Must I even ask what you were about to do to my son?"
"Y-Y-Yondaime-sama…We…we were…-"
"You were about to strike out at both my son and this girl without any provocation and that there is a big mistake." Despite only narrowing his eyes, the killer intent he was releasing made several members of the small mob to tremble in fear. "Leave now or I will not be as merciful as this time."
It took little time at all for the mob to disperse, many running away in fear of provoking Konoha's Yellow Flash, others had simply fainted from the intensity of the Hokage's glare. When he decided those who could flee were gone, Minato turned his gaze to Naruto. A stern look in his eyes, "That was very foolish of you Naruto," Slowly a smile graced his lips and his gaze softened, "but that was also very brave. Not many would openly risk their wellbeing for a complete stranger; especially given your age."
"I couldn't stand by knowing that someone was getting hurt and chased when I could possibly help." Naruto responded fiercely, a strong gaze showing on his boyish face. It was a moment of pride for Minato right there. He turned his view to the young girl who stared in awe at him.
"Y-Yondaime-sama! Thank you for stopping them." The girl frantically spoke before bowing.
Minato sheepishly scratched his head at the formality of the girl, "It was no problem. You can just call me Minato."
"I'm…Anko. Anko Mitarashi." The girl identified as Anko gave her if only out of respect to the duo who potentially saved her from another beating.
Minato eyed the young woman; her clothes were slightly torn in some areas while missing complete sections of fabric in others. She had clearly got without a change of clothes for a short while and the acclamation of bruises and small cuts suggested her being chased and likely beaten by the villagers wasn't a one-time thing. "Why were they chasing you?"
The girl shuffled her feet slightly, "They were chasing me because I was briefly being taught by Orochimaru. I'm not out of the Academy but he was grooming me to be his apprentice and so taught me several of his Jutsu. When he became a missing-nin, several of the villagers took out their anger on me. First it was the hateful glares followed by several stores refusing me service until it escalated to them setting my apartment on fire."
Minato gave a curt nod at the information, it would explain the small house fire that started several days ago that effectively burned everything within. 'From what it appears, she also has no parents, likely due to the Kyubi attack, and now she's homeless.'
"Tou-san, what will happen to her?" Naruto asked, a sad look showing in his eyes.
"We can take her back to the village, but in the end it's likely she'll be given a different apartment to live in for the time being."
"But won't the very same thing happen again!? Couldn't she stay with us for the time being?" Naruto's question stuck to him. He was technically right in that the villagers who hated the young girl could and likely would set the place aflame again, but should she stay with them, they would not dare tread close to her; especially should he teach her to defend herself better while she finishes the Academy."
"I suppose she could, but that's entirely up to her. I won't force it if she doesn't want to."
A bright smile enveloped the five-year old's face as he turned the young girl. "Anko-chan, do you want to stay with us?
Anko was stunned at the offer, these two were strangers to her and yet they just offered her to live with them. Sure, she knew the Yondaime by reputation, but personally he was just as much a stranger to her as the blonde boy. It was a very tempting offer. She would have a roof over her head that doubled as a deterrent to those who would seek to make her life miserable. A small grin played at her lips, "S-sure. Thank you Minato-sama." She gave a bow again.
Minato gave a weak laugh, "Please, just Minato is fine. Alright lets get back to our little campsite."
"Alright Naruto-kun, you stay here with Anko, I'll go and collect the necessities for a fire. I shall be back in a few minutes." Minato gave little time for the duo to process the request before he disappeared in a flash, leaving Anko in slight awe at seeing it firsthand.
"Tou-san always does that, he finds it amusing to hear of everyone's reactions to it. I'm Naruto by the way! Naruto Namikaze!" He pumped a fist out giving a toothy smile towards the violet haired girl.
A evil grin showed on the young girls face before she started laughing. "You're named after a Ramen topping!"
Naruto balked at the statement before he retorted comically yelling "Yeah well yours is the same about Dango!"
Anko gave a cheeky grin, finding nothing wrong with it. "Yeah? So? Dango is the best in world!"
"No it isn't! Ramen is the best food in the world, even Tou-san would agree!
"Ooh so your dad also happens to think the same as you when it comes to Ramen," Anko teased, singsonging it slightly, "I bet he just agrees with you so you don't get upset."
"Now, now, this is no time for fighting." Minato stated, appearing right behind Anko, a small smile on his face. In fact, he had been there for a short minute, gauging to see how the two would react to one another. Naruto may have been a kind soul to convince him to let Anko stay with them, but it would do little good if the two were seemingly at each other's' throats. Thankfully it would seem the young girl had quickly taken a liking to teasing young Naruto. "For the record Anko, I do very much like Ramen."
"See!? Take that Anko-chan!" Naruto cheered as his father supported him.
A grin showed on the older blonde's face, "However Naruto, I also quite like Dango too. It makes a very good dessert; I dare say it's quite close to Ramen."
"Take that fish-boy!" Any joy in Naruto's reaction was taken aback when his father 'betrayed' him in favor of Anko who had, to add further insult, even gave him what would likely be his nickname for her.
Minato smiled at the sight, though he remembered something he had wanted to do upon taking Anko back to the campsite, "Naruto-kun, please get a small fire going while I tend to some of these wounds on Anko here." Naruto obediently obeyed as he got up from the ground to go to where Minato had appeared and grabbed some of the bigger rocks and arranged them to form a wider circle; allowing him to place various pieces of wood in a cone like shape with the peak upwards.
Minato on his end reached into his pouch which he carried just in case, pulling out a gauze roll and some ointment. He motioned for the girl to hold out her arm as he placed the ointment on every bruise and cut he found, holding firmly when she winced from the pain on the bigger wounds. Only on the largest of the cuts did he actually use the gauze to wrap around it, so it wouldn't get infected. In thankfully little time at all did Minto find himself satisfied, making certain that nothing on her was threatening in anyway. It was later in the night, it would take a short time to get to the Village, and the hospital was all but closed for the night. He would be sure to run her by the hospital immediately the next morning to get a checkup on her; making doubly sure to stick around incase prejudice for the girl also ran in the staff.
A small sound of a rock striking flint reached his ears and he turned to see Naruto successfully send sparks to the small pile of wood and make some embers form before he blew on them to jumpstart the fire. Within a few short minutes a sizeable fire was ablaze infront of them.
"We'll return to the village in the morning, so we can get you checked out Anko, just to make doubly sure nothing is wrong then we'll head back out here. I'd figure I'll have you join in on what I'll teach Naruto if you're willing."
Anko gave a nod of appreciation. The Academy wasn't teaching her much in the way of practical skills, some very…very basic Taijutsu at most which could barely pass for street brawling at times. It was of little use for someone like her against a fully-grown adult who towered over her. If she was taught by Konoha's Yellow Flash, then maybe she could defend herself properly; if not get a small amount of revenge when she surprises those who treated her poorly by showing she could defend herself.
A sharp pain erupted on back side of her neck, to the left, causing the young girl to gasp; immediately bring his hand to clutch. Minato was immediately to her aid as he tenderly tried to get the girl to move her hand to see the source of her pain; reluctantly the young girl complied, and she removed her hand.
On the back of her neck Minato saw a seal resembling three tomoe; almost reminding him of a fully matured Sharingan. It was glowing ominously a dull mix of red and orange; as if trying to activate though it seemed to held back; if only barely. "Anko-san, do you know who put this mark on you?"
The violet haired girl gritted her teeth through the pain, "That…damn…Snake bastard…Orochimaru!"
Immediately Minato was both surprised but also not. Even before his recent defection his 'experiments' were becoming increasingly vile and immoral. He had hoped that the Sandaime would have taken the matters into his own hands, the Sannin once being his student but it seemed memories of a happier time caused a lapse in the Sandaime's judgement and allowed Orochimaru to escape. Minato wasn't sure he could blame him, he don't think he could so easily raise his blade against his own student or his own son either; Hokage or not. "I see, Naruto, grab my bag and grab me a brush and some ink."
Naruto ran into the small tent the duo had set up and came back immediately with the supplies. "Alright Anko, I'm going to make a temporary suppression seal on this. It should halt the activation of this mark on it's own. It should hold off until Jiraya-sensei and I can get a better look at this." Minato inwardly thanked that the toad sage was still in the village conducting 'research', it would make the sealing process easier and while he was quite adept at Fūinjutsu himself, Jiraya was his equal in most aspects, maybe more so due to his overall experience and creativity with it.
He opened the small container of ink and dipped his brush into it before bringing it up to Anko's neck, make sure to hold the fabric of her shirt away so as to not get in the way. It was a crude seal; both in it's writing and function, but it would do the job in the meantime. Jiraya had more experience in Orochimaru's seals while he had very little. There were likely to be contingencies or traps in the seals and he didn't want to risk anything.
"Okay, now I would recommend grasping onto something, this will hurt." He set the brush and the ink container aside, extending his left arm around to allow the girl to grasp at it; resting his right hand over her mark. He didn't give a warning, instead using surprise to allow the pain to not quite register as he sent his chakra into the suppression seal. It was only a short yell of pain before unconsciousness overtook her; causing her to fall limp. "There, that should hold for a bit." He picked the girl up and brought her to the inside of the tent and laid her down on his sleeping bag. "Alright Naruto, you should probably get some sleep as well, we'll have to head back to the village in the morning. I'll sleep out here for the night."
Naruto gave a nod and retreated into the tent to his own sleeping bag, leaving Minato to his thoughts as he stared into the blazing campfire.
The medical checkup, thankfully went smoothly. Any injuries the young girl suffered were nicely patched up by the Yondaime. The only thing required was a bit of cleaning to some of the scrapes to rid the risk of infection. Unfortunately, it was as Minato suspected, some animosity ran in the hospital staff and he correctly assumed it was only due to his overseeing Anko's checkup that she was even admitted or properly taken care of at all.
"Did someone call for the one and only amazing Toad Sage Jiraya!?"
Minato and Anko watched some amusement, and for Minato, embarrassment as his teacher flew through the window only to stumble and fall flat on his face only to 'gracefully' recover, acting as if nothing happened; disregarding the slightly bleeding nose.
"Yes, Jiraya-sensei. I found Anko last night being chased by a group of villagers and upon repelling them and checking Anko's wounds I found one of Orochimaru's Juinjutsus on her." Any form of playfulness in Jiraya disappeared immediately as the look of a fully focused killer showed. The topic of Orochimaru was a subject that Jiraya did not take lightly unless it was spoken of a time when the two were friends and teammates.
"I see, let me take a look real quick." He motioned for Anko to show him the mark and gazed as the young girl stretched the collar of her shirt to show him. "Ah, it's one of his Curse Seals. He left behind a surprising amount of his research notes. Well I guess it's not surprising since he was 'caught' and had to make a hasty escape. The idea behind it is to increase the user's abilities but in turn take on a hefty risk, from the notes left behind it had a one-in-ten chance of surviving it. You must be that survivor. Anyways the risk is that the mark in question releases chakra into your system that enhances your abilities; the problem with that is that since it's not your own chakra it's not adapted to your chakra type which can very much damage your chakra pathways. In addition to Orochimaru being the manipulative person he is, I wouldn't put it past him to find a way to tweak the seal to increase his influence over the recipient with each consecutive use."
"Could it also be used for spying purposes?"
Jiraya took his gaze off the seal, putting a hand to his chin to think. "Hmmm, it's very possible, but it's hard to tell in what way could he spy. Sound? Visual? It's hard to say. Orochimaru dove into his research after the war and specifically studied Fūinjutsu and I dare say he's likely better than both of us in some respects. The risk of trying to remove it from young Anko here could be too high. At best we can seal it away; at least until we further understand it."
"I can take care of that much myself I think, provided I study it a bit. I figured your opinion would be very much valuable before I took action." Jiraya nodded at the statement.
"Alright. I'll be in the village for a few more days, the Sandaime requested my aid about a rising situation with the Uchiha and a possible solution. Call on me should you need me." With nothing but a curt nod from the blonde, the Sannin disappeared in a small gust of leaves.
"Alright then," Minato turned to the the young girl, "As I said last night, you can stay with Naruto and I, though you'll have to briefly share a room with Naruto, so I can set up a room for you. You can stay as long as you like, so don't worry about becoming a burden." A warm smile showed on the man's face only to be startled when he felt arms wrapped around his torso. 'Looks like the family grew just a little bit bigger.'
When the duo reached the Uchiha compound, Minato and Anko found Naruto with Itachi and Sasuke practicing with shuriken and kunai. Itachi, being the prodigy hit perfectly dead center of the round targets just a few meters away. Naruto and Sasuke were not perfect, though their aim was far off; with Naruto being slightly more accurate.
"Ah, Yondaime-sama" A woman greeted as she bowed, Minato recognized her immediately as the two young Uchiha boy's mother, Mikoto. She had many times looked after Naruto as if he was one of her own; a act that Minato couldn't begin to repay. "Are you here to pick up Naruto-kun?"
"Ah, yes. I have some news I wish to inform him on as well. Oh and you can just call me Minato, you were almost like a sister to Kushina, you're basically family to me." Minato replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head towards the end.
"I might just do that, but no promises." A sly smile on the Uchiha mother's face showed before she walked back into the house.
"Hey Naruto!" Minato called, catching the attention of the trio, he saw Itachi give a bow and greeted him as formally as he always did, Sasuke did something similar but more casual, but Naruto just ran over excitedly. "I have some news, as of today, Anko will be staying with us for the foreseeable future." He gestures to Anko who was besides him, taking notice of Naruto's face brightening. "Grab your things and we can head home and we'll try to salvage what remains of my time off."
The young boy ran off, allowing Sasuke to show him to his things. As the door was about to close behind them it stopped and opened again revealing the Uchiha Patriarch, Fugaku. "Yondaime-sama, Mikoto informed me that you were here."
"Ah, Fugaku-san, how are things." The older man gave a ghost of a smile for appearance sake, though it didn't last.
"As well as they can be…may we have a word?" Minato nodded, gesturing Anko to wait there before he walked to the older man. "Itachi, you come too."
The trio didn't walk far, just out of earshot from Anko and any passerby. "The rest of the clan is getting restless, Yondaime-sama. You're attempts to reintegrate the Uchiha into the rest of the Village only delayed the inevitable and lowered some of the numbers. Too many of them still feel isolated from the village in spite of their own choosing of remaining in the Compound. At this rate, civil war will break out."
Minato narrowed his gaze at this piece of news, against his and the Sandaime's knowledge the Uchiha were slowly but surely being oppressed by some of the local populace and he personally would bet the Danzo had a hand in it. It was definitely an Uchiha that controlled the Nine Tails that night, but that was no right to oppress the whole clan especially the women and children who didn't become Ninja.
Itachi gave a gesture as if to say he was to add something, "I overheard Danzo and the Sandaime talking while I was on duty with the Anbu recently. He talks of disposing of the entire clan to avoid a Coup D'état."
'I didn't think the situation was deteriorating such that Danzo is already taking actions without consulting me first.' This was bad. He'd have to take action or else the Leaf Village would lose one of it's most powerful clans. "What does the Clan 'plan' to do with this action? Do you know who or who isn't involved?
A solemn nod. "At first everyone wanted to simply dispatch the leadership of the village, the Council in particular, and you Yondaime-sama, to take over the village. Now it seems more and more are in talks of just a village wide massacre in their 'attempt' to take the village over; no regards to innocent bystanders. As for who…well it's easier to say that Myself, Mikoto, Itachi here, your student Obito and Shisui are not in the talks. Everyone else it would be best to assume that they are a part of the coup." Minato processed the information given. He had no grudge against the Uchiha having the privilege of working with some of it's members, though if worse comes to worse, he would have to lay aside his own feelings and protect his village. "Yondaime-sama, I also fear we are past quelling the rebellion; it's too ingrained into many."
"How long do we have?"
"Within a year, that's a best-case scenario." Fugaku answered grimly. "I'll do my best to delay them as best we can, but we need to decide on what to do…and soon."
Minato gave a nod, gesturing that he would think on the issue in the meantime. He turned to walk back towards Anko who now stood with Naruto awaiting eagerly to head back home to prepare to continue their small camping trip. He would have his hands full in the meantime.
One Year Later, Age 7
"Naruto, should you really be focused on training so much? You've only been in the Academy for a few months!" Anko hollered at Naruto who was running up and down the tree that was just behind their house. After the little camping trip Naruto rarely saw much of his father due to his duties and rather being burdened by loneliness, he took to begin training to be as strong as he could. Obito eagerly agreed, wanting the young Namikaze to rival Itachi's younger brother in the academy while both Kakashi and Jiraya stated while they agree Naruto should begin light training, the extent of learning the Tree Running Exercise was a bit much for his age in times of peace. Minato on that matter, when he had heard just gave a shaky laugh but ultimately let Naruto choose how hard he wanted to train; so long as he didn't hurt himself and had a form of supervision under the more intense training exercises.
The young girl, with aid from Minato where he could, followed by his two students flourished in the Academy herself quickly replacing the general hate of her being a 'snake whore' to the fear of her being a 'snake mistress'. Of course, some still insulted her when they thought she couldn't hear, but none could physically abuse her like before. From a few scrolls that Orochimaru had left her back when she was still apprenticed to him in addition to some notes on the less sinister Justus Jiraya had found, Anko learned may techniques that combined with her affinity to snakes and even got the summoning contract with them. She was just mere days from her graduation into a Genin.
But Anko, what else am I supposed to do?! The academy isn't teaching my anything new it's all just basic exercises that I've long since learned to do!" Naruto called back as he stopped at the top of the tree, standing upside down on a branch looking down at the violet haired girl.
A grin showed on the girl's face, "Oh really? Then come down here and perform a henge into Kakashi."
Naruto jumped down from the tree, landing softly on his feet. He immediately performed the hand signs and a poof of smoke surrounded him briefly to show a perfect henge of Kakashi, clad in his full Anbu uniform, minus his Anbu mask. Anko raised an eyebrow somewhat impressed though given Naruto's prankster nature, it wasn't exactly unexpected. "Alright, that was the easy part. For my graduation we're required to know the Bunshin (Clone Technique), I want you to make a clone as it may show up on your exam as well.
Naruto ended the henge, reverting to his 7-year-old self. He briefly watched Anko make the sign, look on as an illusionary clone appeared right next to her. "As you know, the regular Bunshin is intangible and is incapable of attacking but used in the correct circumstances, it can be really effective. Now your turn."
Immediately Naruto brought his hands together, focusing his chakra before activating the technique. A plume of smoke and Naruto eagerly looked to his right, only to look in slight horror to see a discolored clone of himself sprawled comically on the ground. Anko on the other hand just laughed. She had never seen the Clone Technique fail like that before and of course it would be to the boy who had amongst the largest Chakra reserves in the village.
"Ah, I see my cute little 'student' is doing some training." A lazy voice commented as Kakashi appeared in front of the duo, clad in his off-duty Anbu uniform. "Is there something you need help with Naruto?
The slight sourness of Naruto's mood at failing the technique so miserably disappeared when he heard the offer. "Yeah! Can you help me determine how much chakra I'm using? I'm trying to learn to properly do the Bunshin. I watched Anko do it and I thought I had the right amount of Chakra, but it just failed."
Kakashi nodded, having seen the failed clone as he was about to make his presence known. "Well…not everyone succeeds the technique on their first try." He commended, omitting that he himself succeeded doing the technique on his first try back during his time in the Academy. "This is better suited to a Hyūga, but I can try." Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan, "Alright, perform the technique again." Naruto obeyed, repeating the exact same steps he did last time. The result ended up the same as another discolored dead clone appeared at Naruto's feet. "You're putting way too much Chakra into the technique, Naruto, try decreasing the amount of Chakra you're using."
Naruto sweat dropped slightly, 'I was using as little as I could.' Still, Kakashi had been a good teacher thus far and he would try again. This time he did his best to draw on as little chakra as possible and activated the technique. To his anger the results were the same.
Kakashi gazed on with his Sharingan, the amount of Chakra was only slightly smaller, but was still way too much for the technique. 'Normally if one mastered the Tree Climbing Exercise the Bunshin should be child's play.' Kakashi thought to himself, unsure of the problem. Then it hit him. "I may know your problem, Naruto, and I'm afraid it's not one that you can fix; at least, not by using the normal Clone Technique" A frown, followed by a look of depression flashed on Naruto's face. If he couldn't perform the Bunshin, he would never be able to become a Ninja. Kakashi caught onto his train of thought and spoke up. "It's of no fault of yours Naruto. Your Chakra reserves are simply too high, in lack of a better term. We both know the main reason to that. However, I do know a possible alternative…" Naruto's face lit up in excitement while Anko was catching on to what Kakashi was alluding to, "…however, I must ask the Yondaime first. He would likely murder me if I taught his son a B-rank Jutsu without his permission." Kakashi mumbled the last part to himself.
Naruto's mood dimmed at the addition of Kakashi getting permission to teach him a technique but overall, he was still happy that all hope was not lost. Anko on the other hand was looking forward to at least being there for Kakashi teaching him, so when she had enough Chakra she herself could perform the technique.
An Anbu jumped down, one with black hair that framed his face, causing the trio to turn to the man, "Hatake-san, the Yondaime demands your presence. You two are not to attend." The trio immediately recognized the voice, though usage of an Anbu's name while on duty was forbidden. Kakashi gave a nod while Naruto and Anko grumbled slightly at being left out.
"I'll be right there." The weasel masked Anbu disappeared in a whirl of leaves leaving Kakashi to turn to the duo. "Well, if it makes you feel any better I can ask the Yondaime while I'm there about teaching you that technique. Just be patient, in the meantime." He walked to a small stream just nearby, making sure that the two could see him. Here's another training exercise for you if you're feeling restless. Gather Chakra at your feet, just like the Tree Climbing Exercise, but slight more controlled. Too much and you'll repel yourself off the water, too little and you sink." The off-duty Anbu explained as he walked across the surface of the water. With the demonstration and explanation done, he eye smiled and waved goodbye before disappearing himself.
Minato watched as Kakashi appeared before him, clad in his full Anbu gear, Dog mask on and all. "You called, Yondaime-sama?"
A nod, "Yes, Dog." He looked to the group that were in the room. In front of him, minus Kakashi were Itachi, clad in his Weasel mask and Anbu uniform, Shisui, currently in his civilian clothing, Fugaku in his Police Uniform, Shikaku, Danzo, Homura, Koharu, and of course, the Sandaime.
"Yondaime-Sama, are you sure it's wise to allow so many other's to be privy to this information? It would allow a bigger risk of a breach in information." Danzo asked, questioning the logic in allowing so many other than the Kages and the Council to be known to the information to be shared.
"Itachi, Fugaku, and Shisui are the reason why this village still stands, and I trust Kakashi and Shikaku with my life. They will not let what is told in this room to leave." Minato answered tensely, no hint of his polite kind attitude at the moment. "Ever since the night of the Kyūbi, seven years ago, I gave my accounts of learning that the beast was controlled by an Uchiha…or rather a Sharingan user. Ever since then the Uchiha have been under constant and unfair scrutiny; being forced outside the village on top of that. I tried my best to reintegrate the Uchiha back into the village with some success but as of a year ago, Itachi and Fugaku informed me that a Coup D'état was in the works. Thankfully, due to their efforts they quelled some of the numbers, but the end result was inevitable, We have reason to believe the rebellion will occur soon."
"We must exterminate the Uchiha as soon as possible so as to not incite a civil war inside Konoha. If that happens other nations will see that as an opportunity to strike and we could very well be plunged into another Shinobi World War." Danzo added, causing Kakashi and Shikaku, who were less informed of the situation to ponder the information given.
Minato nodded to the Elder, "However, it's not as cut and dry as that. It can't be seen as us ordering the execution of one of our most powerful Clans. A sacrifice must be made…" The words almost made Minato sick as he spoke them. This was so far from what he wanted…what he tried to do.
The room was heavy, even the cold-natured Danzo expressed a degree of sympathy for the unfortunate Ninja who would be selected for such a mission. "Publicly…you will be branded a Missing-Nin and put in the Bingo Book as an S-Class Criminal. There…your next assignment begins."
A small gust of wind went through the room as Jiraya appeared at the window, closing it behind him as he jumped in, his face also looking grim. "I've learned of a…group of individuals. They call themselves the Akatsuki. All S-Class Criminals. Lately they've become more active around the Shinobi Nations; they only taken on mercenary work thus far and even then, typically don't cause collateral damage, but my spies report they have an interest in the Jinchūriki. For what end, we don't know, but I can bet amassing all of the Tailed Beast can't be good for anyone…or everyone."
"As Jiraya-sensei said, your assignment thereafter will be to infiltrate this group, thereby also solidifying your status as a criminal, and monitor this organization and slowly hamper their progress to this goal but also keep them from moving against Konoha." Minato explained, pausing to let the information sink into the Ninja before. "If…if there's any volunteers, I'd rather not force this mission on anyone."
Silence echoed through the room and no one could be blamed. Three of the individual may be tasked with exterminating their family while the rest had friends in the clan. It was a hard decision. A hand rose from the Anbu with the Weasel mask. "I will volunteer for the mission."
"No, you will not." Fugaku spoke, glancing at his son with a look that showed he was not to be argued with. "Itachi, you've become a splendid ninja and I am proud of all tht you've done and that you'd go so far to protect the village makes me more so, but leave this to me." The normally stern father gave a rare smile before he turned to the Hokage, a frown gracing his features once again. "I will personally oversee this mission. I only ask that amongst the Uchiha present that my wife and youngest son be spared. They have had no part in this coup. Obito Uchiha will be spared as well for as by all right's he's not an Uchiha for not affiliating himself with the clan for many years now."
Itachi made a gesture to protest as did Shisui but a glare from the Uchiha Patriarch killed the idea. "This is not something to be negotiated, Fugaku." Danzo spoke harshly, a slight snarl gracing his lips.
"It's either that or you have a rebellion on your hands. I'll not allow such a mission to taint the hearts and ruin the futures of these ninja; especially my son." Fugaku retorted, Danzo backed down slightly, turning to Minato who only nodded to the older Uchiha.
"That is acceptable. Everyone but Fugaku is dismissed." Minato spoke, as all but the Uchiha were left. "You can start the mission at any time, to give yourself time to prepare. And…I'm sorry for this, Fugaku-san."
"As am I Yondaime-sama, I should have taken action sooner but when I finally saw the issue it was already too late. May I count on your aid with my family once I'm gone?"
Minato gave a sad smile, "You have my word."
"Thank you. One last thing, under false pretenses invite my family over for dinner like you used to and that will be the time." Fugaku requested, only seeing the Hokage nod before he turned and walk out the door.
Minato gave a tired sigh. How did this get so bad? "I know you're there, Kakashi-san." The twenty-one-year-old Anbu Captain appeared suddenly, though his mask was removed now. He tried to have a happier look in his single eye but given the gravity of the situation it just didn't work. "I suppose you need something."
Kakashi gave a weak eye smile, "Well…"
Fugaku gave a sigh, trying to reign in the conflicting emotions he felt as he left the Hokage Tower. It would be interesting, he would go from the Leader of the Uchiha Clan to the guy who will quite nearly drove the whole clan Extinct.
"Father…" Itachi was in front of him, a sad gaze in his onyx eyes.
"My decision is final, Itachi, as a parent it's our responsibility to bear the burden so our children don't have to. Head on home and inform Mikoto to start dinner, I want to make a few more good memories." Itachi stood still but eventually gave a light bow before sprinting off towards the Uchiha Compound.
Okay this ends part of the Prologue! I do hope that you enjoyed it! So I can make things clear here are some key points I'm going for in this story.
Anko is 4 years older than Naruto, Orochimaru left when Naruto was 5, This is not going to be an OP!Naruto story or one with a bloodline. To a degree he will be more powerful, afterall he has had the presense of Jiraya, Obito, Kakashi, Minato, and Sasuke's family to help him in one instance or another, but he at most he'll be similar to Sasuke's standing in canon being better than everyone else but not such that he's able to take on Chuunin or Jounin on the get go. Also, It is said that Kushina was a friend of Mikoto and I felt it fitting that she would be willing to assist in Minato raising Naruto when he or Jiraya couldn't.
Also, Obito in this story is the same up until Kakashi killed Rin, similar to Canon he awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan and killed the Mist Ninja but unlike Canon chose not to return to Madara (Think of it when Juubi Obito reminisced on if he instead returned to Konoha) As such he'll be similar how he was before in Kakashi Gaiden but also calmer like in Part 2.
Now a question for you, Should I keep the Honorifics? On one hand I find their usage nice but on the other it can get confusing on which usage is always correct (even though I have a list of them written down with their meaning and usage) so as such, my using them is hit or miss. If you don't let me know and I'll readjust the chapter to remove them and replace them with the appropriate titles (I'm used to sub and reading the Manga, so the English usage of say "Lord Third" is odd to use for me)
Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and by thus are enjoying the story so far. Next chapter will end the prologue (ideally) and start into the main story. For now the whole POV will alternate between Minato and Naruto, but will remain shifted on Minato initially before focusing more on Naruto as he gets older. Anyways, if you liked the story feel free to favorite and leave a review. If you have questions or suggestions or overall critique leave that in the review or shoot them my way in a PM. I'll be sure to answer it. Have a good one!