Namikaze Minato was a very straightforward person. He protected what was his. And as the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, this village was his. Suffice it to say that he was not very happy when he found out that a man, pretending to be his father had taken control of the Kyuubi no Yoko, after ripping it out of HIS wife no less, and was now using it to destroy his village. He flashed to the top of Gamabunta's head, holding his dear son, who while only an hour old was to become a human sacrifice. Imagine his surprise to see a figure sitting on top of the Kyuubi's head. He observed the man from a distance, while the man calmed the great beast down. He threw a tri-pronged kunai towards the Kyuubi's head, and the man caught it. He seemed in no way surprised when Minato flashed over to him.

"Who are you?" asked Minato carefully. The figured bowed his head in mock sadness.

"So now you don't remember me, sochi (son)?" asked the figure.

"T-tou-san (father)?" asked Minato, shaken to his very core.

"

"Why yes, yes I am." The figure raised his head and flipped his waist-length hair out of his eyes, that menacing three-tomoed glare softened by fatherly affection. Uchiha Madara regarded the figure of his son with pride, happy at the man his very own son had become.

"I know what you plan to do Minato. I do not approve of you sacrificing your life, however I know that it is for the best. So I have come to assist you. My grandson shall not be weak. He will uphold the Uchiha name with pride, unlike those pitiful fools that reside in the Leaf Village now." He took a moment to sneer into the general direction of the distant Uchiha compound. "So here," he handed his son a slightly modified version of the seal Minato had prepared. "Use this instead."

Minato took a moment to regard the seal. "Ah! You are a genius father!"

The Kyuubi had been so silent that the men had forgotten about him. But now he chose to speak his mind. "Well? What are your plans regarding your kit?"

"My original plan was to give my life to seal you inside of my son, Kyuubi-san. My life is still forfeit, however now your Yin chakra and I will no longer go to the Shinigami. I am ashamed to say that I thought you were attacking of your own volition, however this is not the case. So I am trusting you to take care of my son. Chances are I will drop immediately from chakra exhaustion, but you and the abilities of my father will be sealed inside of my son. I will also seal part of my own chakra inside of him, so that I may speak with him, just once." Minato explained.

"I give you my word. I will do my best to raise the kit. However, you do realize that my new container most likely would be treated poorly? Sadly, most jinchuuriki are." Kyuubi stated.

"I hope to see my village rise above this." Minato said.

"But you know they won't. I wouldn't have left if they did." Said Madara.

"Well, let us hope for the best. Fuin : Akuma no kyūshū. (Seal: Demon Absorption). Fuin : Ishiki kyūshū (Seal: Consciousness Absorption). Hakke no Fūin Shiki. (8 Trigrams Sealing Style)." Minato smiled sadly as his father and the Nine-Tails were drawn into his sons' stomach. A moment later, a seal matrix appeared on his son's stomach and Minato dropped to his knees. He simply smiled at his son and keeled over. A moment later, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, came and picked up the small baby. The baby looked up and gurgled. Then, suddenly, the electric blue shade that his eyes eyes held at the time of his birth faded until they became a dull black, and his blond hair suddenly boasted several pitch black streaks.

A hand gripped the old Kage's ankle. The face of Namikaze Minato smiled up at the elder man.

"His name," the dying man whispered and closed his eyes. "Is to be… Na- *cough* Namikaze Naruto." Minato breathed his last and passed.

"A shame" croaked out Gamabunta, a tear tracing its way down his cheek. "He was such a hero. Alas, the good die young. I shall return to my kingdom now." He poofed away.

Jiraiya appeared in a poof of smoke and immediately saw the body of his student.

"So he went through with it, huh?" said Jiraiya. Hiruzen nodded in affirmation.

"He is your godson, you know."

"I do."

"Will you take him?"

"Old man, if I was going to take the kid, I would've taken the position of Hokage too. You know that my spy network is of vital importance to the village."

"You would rather him be in some orphanage?"

"Now that isn't fair. You know that I want the best for him. And going with me, is definitely not the best for him."

The Hokage grimaced. He had a meeting to attend.

(The council chamber, the next afternoon)

There was a clamoring about the council chamber. Mostly on the civilian side. They were of course calling for the death of the demon that was responsible for the destruction of most of their village. The door burst open and the Hokage strode wearily into the room, holding a small bundle.

"The council is now in session." called the Kage.

"I move that we execute the demon!" shrilled Haruno Asahana. The damn demon had stepped right onto the Konoha Mercentile, for goodness sakes! She wanted some compensation.

"What demon? He was successfully sealed inside of a newborn baby, as the Yondaime planned." explained the Kage. The shinobi side nodded, pleased that the Kyuubi was sealed. They knew the difference between the kunai and the scroll. Unfortunately, the civilian side did not.

"Kill him! The demon will simply possess him from the inside!" exclaimed one.

"To death with it! It is a monster!" shouted another.

"SILENCE!" roared Hiruzen. "Now, does anyone wish to take responsibility for young Naruto?"

"The Uchiha clan offers its services." Uchiha Fugaku offered. He had been a teammate of the Yondaime, and would gladly take care of his child.

"If the Uchiha clan takes him, they will mold him into a weapon! The Hyuuga clan opposes the motion." Hyuuga Hiashi stated flatly. Fugaku scowled. He had no such intentions.

"Anyone else?" the Hokage asked, slightly annoyed.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Very well." the Hokage sighed. "He shall be signed into the orphanage under the name Namikaze Naruto."

The Uchiha clan head cast his eyes down with some slight sadness. Fugaku was one of the few who knew the truth about Minato's heritage, and could have taught him how to utilize his doujutsu. But the damned Hyuuga! He was just upset that the Sandaime passed up him and Orochimaru to be the Yondaime. He silently swore that he would look out for his friend's son.

"Dismissed." The Kage knew that he just had a bad feeling about this.