Chapter 1

This work is inspired by 'The Prodigal Namikaze' by SoulReaperCrewe and IceQueen1717. If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend it even though it isn't finished, you can find it in my favourites. If you have read it, you'll see the odd similarity early on.

The Mysterious Boy

The evening had begun like any other, quiet and tranquil. For many in Konohagakure life had been quiet ever since the third Shinobi world war had ended a few years prior. It was October 10th and tonight would be a night that would live in infamy and tragedy. The civilians and Shinobi could only look on in horror as a monstrosity appeared out of nowhere and began to devastate their home. A monstrosity with nine tails.

The evacuations had begun immediately, the elderly and young rushed to the shelters. A great coloured barrier prevented the creature from encroaching further into the village. The frustration evident on the faces of a group of recently promoted Jōnin. Kurenai Yūhi, Maito Gai, Asuma Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake could only express their frustration at not being able to help. They'd been ordered to remain outside the barrier by the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had also charged them with the safe-keeping of a young boy.

Stood in front of Kurenai with her arms wrapped protectively around him was a young blonde haired boy still in his night clothes. He was the first born child and son of the Yondaime Hokage, his name was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. And just like the young Jōnin around him, he too was anxious. He had yet to see either of his parents and he was scared. It wasn't supposed to be like this, his fifth birthday was weeks away and he would soon have a little brother or sister to dote over but now there was a monster destroying everything it could. He couldn't hold his emotions back any longer as he began to cry.

Hearing the quiet sobs from the boy in her arms she held him closer. "Don't worry Naruto-chan, you're Tou-san and Kaa-chan will be fine," Kurenai reassured him, pushing down the very real fear and anxiety she herself was feeling.

Both of her parents were on the other side of the barrier too. Looking around, her eyes fell on a boy perhaps 12-13 years old, he too was crying. Another Jōnin had brought him here just before the barrier had gone up. She didn't know who he was but she couldn't miss the prominent horizontal scar he had across the bridge of his nose.

Another deafening roar yanked her attention back to the other side of the barrier.

Minato was having a terrible night, it was supposed to have been a happy one. His wife had gone into labour, they were both beside themselves with joy at welcoming a second child into their young family. Then everything had started to go downhill.

A mysterious figure with a mask that only revealed a single eye. He'd forced Minato to focus all his attention on getting his new-born son Rezano to safety, he was gone for just a few moments but it was long enough. By the time Minato had returned the figure had freed the Nine-tailed Fox.

And although he'd been able to wrest control of the Kyūbi away from the unknown figure it had meant the demon had wrought a terrible toll on the village.

The man with the mask had since disappeared leaving the blonde haired Hokage to combat the Fox alone. Thankfully he wasn't alone for long as he was reinforced by Hiruzen Sarutobi and two of his students Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya. Tsunade was in the village to help deliver Rezano just as she had for Naruto. And it was just sheer good fortune that Jiraiya happened to be in the village at the time.

And despite having just given birth and just having had the Nine tails drawn out of her Kushina was still standing and able to assist displaying the stamina only an Uzumaki possessed.

"Minato, I hope you have a plan," Hiruzen said landing next to the young man he'd picked to replace him as leader of Konoha, Kushina quickly appearing next to them both, her breathing laboured. "We have to seal it again, but we can't seal it within Kushina again, I fear it would kill her. Which leaves only one option," he finished sombrely.

He quickly vanished in a flash of yellow light before reappearing again with a small bundle in his arms, only a small face visible. Handing Rezano over to Hiruzen, "I've already placed one of my Kunai on the plateau behind the Hokage monument. Get everybody else there. I'll ensure our unwelcome guest is present."

With that, he shot towards the orange demon currently being distracted by Tsunade and Jiraiya. Appearing behind the foxes head they both quickly vanished. Hiruzen quickly brought the two Sannin up to speed. Tsunade carrying Kushina whilst also pouring chakra into her, her adamantine chains would be crucial in restraining the beast.

The four arrived on the plateau to find Minato dodging the foxes claws and tails, buying time. With the foxes back to them Kushina unleashed her adamantine chains across the demon's body driving it into the ground. Both Jiraiya and Tsunade bit into their thumbs before slamming their hands into the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Summoning Technique) from the great clouds of smoke appeared a massive toad and a slug. The great toad Gamabunta immediately threw himself on top of the Kyūbi aiming to keep it pinned to the ground.

"Katsuyu, place apart of yourself on Kushina, I'll channel my chakra into her through you. We need to maintain those chains" Tsunade ordered, the black lines across her face signifying she'd released her Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth). "Hai, Tsunade-sama," the great slug replied, a small part of her breaking away and headed towards the red-haired woman while the rest moved to help restrain the fox further.

Minato reappeared next to Hiruzen, taking his son into his arms while performing a series of hand seals, a small altar appearing next to him that he placed Rezano on top of. The fox tried to roar again but a large black pole in Hiruzen's hands came down hard atop the foxes head, its jaws slammed shut with a crack. With the fox restrained, Kushina, Hiruzen, Tsunade and Jiraiya each stood at 90° angles from one another forming a square around the fox. Realising their intentions to seal it away again the foxes thrashing only increased, its claws gouging chunks out of the ground.

The four now in position began weaving hand seals and a great net emerged above them as all four shouted "Kekkai Shihō Fūjin" (Four-Corner Sealing Barrier), together they began lowering it. Minato himself was still stood next to the altar, ready to perform the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style) the moment the net enclosed their orange foe.

The net got lower and lower but Minato was concerned, Kushina was fading fast. Having to maintain her chains and her corner of the seal was draining her chakra faster than Tsunade could replace it. With the chains weakening the fox began making headway in its desperate attempts to be free. It seemed like it would be only moments before Kushina's chains failed, the net now so close to entrapping the fox fully.

But then the fox stops thrashing, it was still. Utterly baffled, Minato followed its gaze and not ten feet from the foxes maw was a child. The child didn't look any older than Naruto Minato thought, he too was perplexed by the young boy's sudden appearance. But the child showed no fear as he stared down the most powerful of the Bijū. Sensing their opportunity Kushina withdrew her chakra chains as the net enclosed around the orange-furred creature as each of the four of them drove a Kunai into the ground completing the seal.

The next step now his responsibility as Minato spoke, "Hakke no Fūin Shiki". With his words, the fox quickly lost its physical form as it became a cloud of chakra that streamed into Rezano's stomach. Soon the seal was complete. The Uzumaki swirl with eight trigrams around it displayed on the child. "I'm sorry Rezano," he uttered as Kushina appeared by his side, picking up her child and holding him close. She was on the brink of collapse with almost no chakra left.

"Who's the kid?" Jiraiya asked pointing to the small boy that had stunned the Kyūbi. "I haven't the faintest idea Sensei, he just appeared and stared down the Kyūbi" Minato replied as Hiruzen knelt down in front of the mysterious child.

"And who might you be?" the elder Sarutobi asked. "Tri [1]," the child replied neutrally. "Where are your parents Tri?"
"I have none."
"Are you from the village?"
"I..I don't know." The confused look on the child's face had grown with each question. "Well Tri, why don't you come with us and we'll see if we can find your family," Hiruzen reassured him, he assumed the child was just confused and shocked by the night's events.

Taking the child's hand, he led him towards the others who themselves were preparing to get Kushina and Rezano to the hospital.

Konoha Hospital

Kushina was laying a hospital bed with Rezano in her arms. "She's utterly exhausted but bar the bumps and bruises, she's fine. Her Uzumaki heritage will see to her recovery." Tsunade declared much the assembled groups relief, having given Kushina a once over. "Thank you Tsunade," Minato said, his voice relieved. He had hiraishined all of them to the hospital, upon their arrival he'd broken the news to Hiruzen that he'd been unable to save his wife Biwako. Subsequently, he'd gone to find his son Asuma and Jiraiya had gone to retrieve Naruto.

Minato was looking at the young boy sat on another hospital bed. The child had half black, half red hair that reached down to his shoulder blades and was tied back in a manner similar to a Hyūga. He had a single red coloured bang framing the right-hand side of his face and a black bang on the left. His eyes were a deep green emerald surrounded by Onyx, he wore a simple black shirt and black pants with nothing on his feet.

"What shall we do with you, child," Minato mused. Tsunade appeared next to him. "I can take a blood sample to trace his family," the blonde Sannin suggested, Minato nodded in agreement. Tsunade knelt down in front of him, "I'm going to take a blood sample from you so we can find out who your family are, ok?"

"I understand," he acknowledged without a flicker of emotion.

Minato couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something different about the boy in front of him. Tsunade pushed a syringe into Tri's forearm, just below the elbow. The child didn't flinch in the slightest as the needlepoint broke through the skin. Pulling back her thumb Tsunade drew blood into the glass vial. Withdrawing the Syringe she replacing it with a piece of cotton wool, moving Tri's hand over to hold the wool in place while the small hole the needle made coagulated.

With her sample in hand, she left the room, heading for the hospital's personnel and birth records. The hospital was packed, dealing with the hundreds of injured, the dead were still being recovered and likely would be for days. Early estimates had put the total casualty count at several hundred, Shinobi and Civilian. Tsunade weaved her way through packed corridors, thankfully, she didn't have far to go before she reached her destination.

Opening the door to an empty room, she grabbed an identification scroll, opened it and dripped a few drops of blood onto it, revealing all the information the records had on the child called Tri. "What?" she said in confusion.

Naruto rushed down the hospital hallway, yanking the door open. "Kaa-chan? Tou-san?" he said, desperately searching for his parents. Jiraiya had already reassured him they were both ok but Naruto had to see them with his own eyes. The door now open he could see his Tou-san stood next to the bed his Kaa-chan was asleep on. He rushed towards his father who opened his arms picking his son up. "Don't worry Naruto-chan, your Kaa-chan will be fine, she's just really tired, so you need to be quiet so you don't wake her, okay?" Minato reassured his son. Naruto nodded in agreement, "Okay Tou-san," he replied as his eyes were drawn towards the small face poking out of a blanket in Kushina's arms.

"Naruto-chan, meet your brother Rezano." Gently placing his son down on the bed next to the two sleeping figures. Naruto placed a finger on his new brother's cheek, gently stroking it. "Hi Rezano-chan, I'm your Nii-chan," he said lovingly getting smiles from everyone in the room. He could see the blonde hairs on his head just like him and Tou-san, his eyes were a clear blue unlike his and Kaa-chan's violet, he also noticed the whisker-like marks on both cheeks.

"Is my Naru-chan introducing himself to my Rea-chan?" a weak female voice whispered. Naruto looked up from his brother to see his mother's eyes open lovingly looking over her two children's first interaction. "Kaa-chan!" he squeaked, just about remembering to be quiet lest he woke his new brother as he quickly wrapped his arms around his mother.

"I was so scared Kaa-chan," Naruto said into her neck, his emotions getting the better of him. "I know Naru-chan, but its ok." Naruto sat up again wiping away the stray tears, now with a determined look in his eyes. "I'll never let anyone hurt you again Kaa-chan, I'm going to become a strong Shinobi like Tou-san," he declared. Kushina smiled at her son, "I know you will Naru-chan."
Kushina's eyes were quickly drawn to the boy sat on the bed opposite, his chin supported by his hands as he stared at the floor.

"Minato, who is the child?" Kushina asked her husband, causing Naruto to spin around bringing the black and red haired child into view. "We don't know, all we do know is that his name is Tri, we found him on the plateau, he just appeared out of nowhere in front of the Kyūbi. Tsunade's currently looking through the records to find out who his family are." Minato explained.

"Tri," Kushina gently called, waking the boy from his daze as he looked over at her. Lifting an arm invitingly, "Can you come here for me please?" she asked. Without a word, Tri slipped down from the bed and walked over to her side. She looked deep into his Onyx and Emerald eyes, a smile appearing on her face, she felt a connection with this mysterious child.

The door opened again as Tsunade returned, a large scroll in his hand. "Were you able to find anything on the Gaki?" Jiraiya asked, earning him a glare from Tri, the debut of any emotion the child had displayed.

"Well, he doesn't like you does he Jiraiya," Tsunade noted. "As for who he is, I have no idea, he has no relatives on record. His blood did, however, reveal him to be an…"

"Uzumaki," Kushina said interrupting the Sannin. A Look of surprise spread across Tsunade's face, "Th..that's right, how did you know?" she asked, Kushina only smiled. "I just knew, the moment I looked into his eyes I knew he was an Uzumaki."

"The descendant of a survivor from Uzushiogakure?" Kakashi suggested. "Possibly, the remnants of the Uzumaki clan were scattered to the wind after Uzushiogakure fell," Tsunade replied. "It doesn't, however, explain the rest of his ancestry." Drawing more intrigued looks from across the room she turned the scroll around so they could see while she spoke. "He has Uchiha blood in him as well."

This revelation stunned the room, the Uchiha clan didn't let any of its descendants outside of the clan and breeding with others from outside of the clan was very rare. Terrified of the possibility of the Sharingan serving another. "That would explain the Onyx Sclera of his eyes and the black half of his hair. The red hair lends further credence to his Uzumaki ancestry too." Kakashi mused, looking closely at the child's facial features.

"Does this mean he could manifest the Sharingan?" Shizune wondered out loud. Tsunade shook her head, "No, I don't think so, whoever his Uchiha ancestor was, it was several generations ago."

"It nevertheless leaves us with the decision of what to do with him if we can't find any family," Minato added. "He stays with us," Kushina said softly taking one of Tri's hands in one of her own.

"Don't bother, put him in one of the villages orphanages, your attention should be on your actual children, especially after tonight," Jiraiya said, dismissing Kushina's declaration which earned him another glare, this time from the child and Kushina. "Thank you for your input Jiraiya," Kushina replied, "Now, Shut up," she bluntly finished.
Turning to her husband, "He stays with us Minato," she repeated. "Would we be able to split enough time between the three? We had trouble figuring out whether we would for two," He asked. "I can babysit both if need be," Shizune spoke up. She had already agreed to babysit Naruto when needed following the birth of Minato and Kushina's second child so her circumstances wouldn't change that much.

Minato mulled on the issue, 'This child intrigues me and I can't figure out why but..'. "Is this what you really want Kushina?" Minato asked, receiving a firm nod. "There's something about this child that calls to me, I don't know what. But he is the reason we all walked away tonight and since it seems he has no family, then by kami, I'll give him one."

"Tri, are you happy with this?" he asked the boy who still held Kushina's hand, this time he received a slow series of nods. "All right then," Minato said with an air of finality in his voice.

Despite giving birth, despite having a Bijuu drawn out of her, Kushina was able to go home the following evening, she was still exhausted but other than that was absolutely fine, the shallow cuts and bruises she'd accrued had already healed. She wasn't the only one who was tired. Naruto refused to go to sleep while his Kaa-chan was in the hospital, Minato had multiple shadow clones out in the village counting the cost. Tri had just stared off into space, barely moving a muscle. Rezano was perhaps the only one not ready to drop.

Minato opened the door to let everyone in. When he'd last shut this door 24 hours ago, it had been him, Kushina and Naruto that had left. Now on their return, there were five, not counting Shizune who'd very kindly offered to carry a dead on his feet Tri while Minato carried Naruto.

Everyone had just managed to make their way into the dining room when one of Minato's clones returned. He had dispatched it to get food since none of them was in a position, never mind the mood to actually cook anything. The clone deposited the food on the table, "Could you find out some clothes that will fit Tri," the original asked.

The meal that followed was one of the quietest the household had known. Barely a word was spoken before they all made their way to their beds. They put Naruto to bed first then put Rezano in his cot in the master bedroom. Finally, Kushina guided Tri to one of their spare bedrooms, thankfully their house had five bedrooms, so they weren't hurting for space. Minato's clone had found out some of the clothes that Naruto didn't often wear, if at all.

Opening the door to the plain room, furnished only with a bed, a closet, a small desk and set of drawers. Kushina sat him down on the edge of the bed before sitting next to him. Placing an arm around his shoulders, "This will be your room from now on okay?" She got a nod in reply. "You'll have to make do with some of Naruto's spare clothes for a few days until we get you some of your own, okay?" Another nod.

Kushina could see his face was beginning to contort, emotion desperately seeking release, he also started to shake. She held him closer before speaking softly into his ear. "I want you to get used to this room. Because I intend to keep you here with us. So from now on, I want you to think of me as your Kaa-chan, okay?"

That proved to be the breaking point as the emotionless mask shattered, the tears soon streaming down his face. It was through the tears she heard the first words he'd say to her, "Thank you... Kaa-chan" Barely more than a whisper and choked out through sobs, but she heard him all the same.

It took her nearly half an hour to bring his crying to an end. At the end of which he'd fallen asleep, with what energy she had left Kushina managed to get him onto the bed. She slowly crept out of the room and closed the door.

"And with your signatures added, it's official," Shizune cheered, double checking the document in her hands. Minato smiled, one hand on Naruto's head while he held Rezano in the other arm while Kushina was on the brink of bouncing off the walls in excitement as she wrapped Tri in a bear hug.

It had been nearly three months since the Kyūbi incident, most of the repairs to the village had been completed. It had been hectic in the Uzumaki Namikaze household. The arrival of a new-born and the taking in a third had proved exhausting for Minato and Kushina, but they'd loved it. They loved their two sons deeply but they had room for more. They had come to love having Tri with them. But no one had come forward to claim him.

Tri himself was a quandary, a polite and kind-hearted boy. It had taken a while to get him to emerge from his shell, but as the weeks went by he'd smiled often and spoke more. They'd discovered his intelligence, his extremely courteous temperament, his love for Ramen, he was an Uzumaki after all.

He and Naruto interacted as if they'd known each other for years, Naruto had treated him as if he were a brother.

And with the paperwork now signed, he was exactly that. Tri's full adoption was completed, it wasn't even a decision that had to think hard on. Naruto loved the prospect of another brother, Minato and Kushina had already come to regard him as a son in all but name. And now he would take the name that rightfully his. He was now Uzumaki Tri, the son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.

End Chapter

[1] - Tri's name is pronounced as 'Tree'.

And for those of you wondering, I've conveniently ignored that Jinchūriki's die when their Bijū is extracted as well as remove Minato's splitting of the Kyūbi into it's Yin and Yang halves through the Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) and instead seal the entire Kyūbi into Rezano.