Disclaimer: Sarcasm: Yea I own Naruto. That's why I'm writing a Fanfic…_
THE UZUMAKI LEGACY
Prologue: The Aftermath
At this dark hour, the entire village weeps. Thousands of lives lost. Men, women, elderly, even children that once happily ran down the streets of Konoha without a care in the world, fell to their demise. Those who somehow managed to survive the onslaught considered themselves extremely lucky because the monster that suddenly appeared in the center of the village, was utterly merciless and unrelenting. All that was left to do now was mourn for the fallen and pick up the pieces of the broken Konoha. None realized this as quickly as the former Hokage who now kneeled, holding a deceased man in his arms. He knew all too well that a shinobi must never reveal his emotions. He has after all, preached and taught the same lesson to the younger citizens of the village. But even the great Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was forced to be a hypocrite as he shed tear after tear for not only the innocent villagers he couldn't protect, but his fallen blonde comrade he now held in his arms. He slowly stood with the man still in his arms. He heard the soft landing of someone who has arrived behind him.
"Lord Hokage! I…I'm here to report the village status!" panted a battle scared leaf shinobi.
"I see. You're here to deliver more bad news? There is no need to report anything to me. Concentrate instead on aiding your wounded comrades and fellow villagers, Kotetsu. I need to-" Sarutobi was interrupted by an unexpected sound coming from his right. If he was correct it was the sound of a baby crying. He turned his head and couldn't believe what he saw. "My God…Kotetsu! Take this body and bring him to the hospital. Tell them to prepare it for burial. Go now!"
"Yes Sir!" The man called Kotetsu responded. He moved to take the corpse out of Sarutobi's arms. That's when he realized exactly who he was now holding. "So it's true…he's dead…God help us all…" he whispered somberly before disappearing with the body of the Yondaime Hokage.
Sarutobi slowly walked over to the source of the crying. In the middle of the chaos that surrounded him, a young baby boy with blonde hair and whisker marks on his cheeks laid on the ground balling out of control. He was bundled in a white and red garment that Sarutobi soon realized to be the coat once worn by the deceased Yondaime. As the old man got closer to the wailing baby, he discovered something very interesting about the boy's stomach: on it sat a familiar, spiraling, black seal. The Sandaime knew he had seen the seal before but he just couldn't place his finger on where. He reached down to the baby and picked him up off the ground. The coat fell off leaving the boy naked. He held the mysterious newborn up high in front of him to examine his condition. Almost instantly, the baby stopped crying and opened his bright blue eyes to gaze down at the unexpected stranger. Sarutobi's own eyes widened with realization once he finally pieced together who he was holding and what was on his belly.
'Minato…' thought the man. 'Even in death you manage to astound me…'
"Naruto…" muttered another voice from behind him. Sarutobi turned to look at the newcomer. She seemed exhausted as she edged closer, holding onto fallen debris for support. Long scratches and large bruises littered her body. She seemed dazed, eye lids half closed, and her upper body hunched over. But what Sarutobi found surprising by the red haired woman, was her headband that she wore around her neck. Instead of seeing the familiar leaf symbol on it, the sandaime recognized the emblem of the Whirlpool village.
"You seem to be a kunoichi of the Whirlpool village. What on earth are you doing in Konoha at a time like this? Unless…!" Sarutobi's eyes narrowed in suspicion. For all he knew, this woman could be behind the demon attack that took place moments ago. He held the baby protectively and prepared for any sudden attack. He felt less threatened when the woman collapsed onto all fours.
"Your holding…my son!...Naruto!" were the woman's last words before she passed out from chakra exhaustion.
'Son?! Naruto?...whats next Minato?' Surprisingly fast for a man his age, Sarutobi quickly re-wrapped the baby in the Yondaime's trench coat, grabbed the woman by her waist with his free arm and took off.
Moments later, he landed in front of Konoha's main hospital. It was, as to be expected, very busy. Injured and dying shinobi and villagers alike were being rushed in by medical ninja for immediate treatment. Sarutobi got the attention of a young, female, medic-nin who ran up to him.
"Sandaime! Are you injured?"
"No Shizune, I'm fine don't worry about me. I need you to take care of this child and this woman. As soon as the woman is able to open her mouth, I want to be immediately notified. I have a lot of important matters to discuss with her. Do you understand?"
"Yes but this woman is from the Whirlpool village. What is she-"
"Don't ask questions! There is no time for that! Just do as I say and let me know when she recovers! I'll be in my office." Sarutobi usually wasn't so easy to anger. But more than half of his beloved village had been destroyed tonight and the youngest Hokage to ever protect Konoha is dead. Not to mention that the Yondaime was one of his closest friends and a rare genius of his time. The old man couldn't help but be a little upset. He turned to leave.
"Your office…with all due respect sir, don't you mean the Yondaime's office?"
Sarutobi flinched at these words. He thought about having the girl stripped of her rank as a medic-nin for disobeying him and wasting time while she had a possibly dying woman and a now crying baby in her hands. But he realized that the medic was unaware of exactly what state her village was in.
"Namikaze Minato, fourth Hokage of Konoha, has passed away. I am now the leader of this village. Now get to work. Many lives are depending on you." He said somberly with his back still turned. Then the reinstated Hokage disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
A/n: Thanks for reading. This is my third attempt at a Naruto Fanfic. Let me know what you think or else I won't update. Reviews give me the confidence to continue, just like any other writer.