Prologue
Five years before the Kyuubi attacks the leaf.
Minato Namikaze gasped for breath slumping to the ground his body covered in lacerations and blood; clothing was scrap, his headband hanging in tatters. The reason for his appearance laid at his feet, a huge creature roughly seven and a half feet tall face like that of a crab. His glowing green blood pouring out of huge gaping wound that Minato delivered by Rasengan, after finally mastering his Hiraishin Jutsu. He tried to stand but slumped to the ground again in exhaustion, "Man that thing was tough," Minato muttered between gasped. The whole fight lasted several days, what made things worse at the start Minato had not been alone, he had two squads with him, intent on stopping a Rock Village supply train. They found the Rock supply base and put the Rock Shinobi to the sword sending the supplies to the Leaf village via Minato's toad summons. After that they had begun their trek home, when each and every one of them had been systematically hunted and killed.
The last three had been Minato himself, a Rei Hyuga, and Shisho Haruno(Sakura's Uncle) the three of them had made it into the Fire Country hoping whatever mystery ninja that was hunting them would stop, inside an hour they got their answer on many levels. The first thing was that the mystery hunter had not let up, the second was there was no way it wasn't any kind of Shinobi. The first reason was made clear when said hunter attacked Rei Hyuga, the second reason was made when Rei's chest had a huge chunk blasted out of her chest namely her heart and anything that resembled liquid had been cauterized. Minato and Shisho ran constantly scanning the trees for the killer. It was Shisho who finally spotted the killer using some sort of camouflage, while not perfect was extraordinary rendering it nearly invisible. The two tried their hardest to use every known technique to avoid and counterattack the thing but it simply saw through them. Minato struggling with the monster was knocked sailing over a nearby waterfall. As he fell he watched and heard Shisho's scream as the monster ran two of the most wicked looking knives through his comrade's chest then in a deft motion take his head clean off. Crashing into the water Minato struggled to the surface barely having any chakra left to use swam to the surface then to a muddy bank. It was lucky that he did if he risked the water walking he would have never discovered the secret to defeating this hunting monster. Crawling to the bank he took a deep breath slumped exhausted into the mud then he heard it the loud splash indicating the monster had dove in after him. Turning up crawling back ward until he came to a tree he looked into his kunai pouch and found only one of Hiraishin kunai highly ineffective weapon at this moment one he hadn't finished the jutsu and two the kunai wasn't really sharp. Bracing himself as the monster surfaced. He was shocked when the creature moved right past him as if he was blind to Minato's presence.
Waiting until he was sure the monster was gone he stood up and looked down at his appearance in confusion until it dawn on him. "He couldn't see me ," he whispered. Looking around the area he thought, he knew leaving the area would be pointless the monster seemed to track a trail that could be days old and follow it back to the source. He wasn't about to lead that thing back to the Leaf Village and back to Kushina. He took out his three pronged kunai and sighed, he needed to kill this creature using what he had learned somehow he been blinded by the mud which meant it was the key to leveling the playing field this creature had weaponry and some form of cloaking field that made the use of the surrounding area to make it almost invisible. To level the playing field even more Minato had to finish his Jutsu by the full moon in four days. By the end of the first day he manage to perform a partial Hiraishin, it took better part of two more days to master it, the rest of the afternoon on the third day and all day on the fourth Minato set various paper bombs, and other trap seals all throughout the area around the falls. This would be his final stand or it's that thing was his determination. That thing will not get back to the Leaf Village and Kushina. He stated using a fire jutsu mixed with a wind jutsu which made it big enough to be seen in a twenty mile radius. The hunter looked up and hissed quietly in shock that his quarry was alive.
The battle that happened had it been watch and documented would have guaranteed Minato the honor of being the world's top Ninja, The Legendary Sannin, the First Hokage, Madara Uchiha, and the Legendary Six Sage. These names would have been shadowed easily if there had been someone human to witness and document the battle. However there was a documentation of the battle from the trees surrounding the battle site the brethren of the monster. Minato using his Hiraishin would dart in and out of the field combining his new found knowledge of the monster to hide and strike essentially wearing the creature down with quick slashes with a crude kunai he made. However his strategy was halted when the creature anticipated his next move and cold cock him sending him flying back into the lake. Surfacing he was grabbed by the throat and was finally staring at his opponent, the monster had some sort of mask over its face. "What are you waiting for demon?" the creature simply dropped Minato to the ground limping a few feet away then turned back to him reaching up and slowly dismantled his strange chakra shooter casually discarding it to the ground. Then with a series of hissing tubes it detached a mask, from its face until that moment Minato had the wild idea this creature might have been maybe a rogue Mist Shinobi. But when the mask fell away from its face those ideas left him; the creature while overall humanoid in shape was not even remarkably human like in the face. Two dark brown eyes set underneath a hairless bold brow, a huge oval shaped forehead with a star like patterns adorn it, a faint lightning bolt scar adorn between his brows, tendril like dreads that made up its hair, but the final and most distinctive trait was its mouth. The mouth looked like pinchers of a crab clicking quietly gaging him. "What in the Elemental nations are you?" he asked.
With a loud roar the creature extended its arms wide unleashing the strange wrist knives stalking toward Minato. As the creature moved toward him Minato began summoning up his Rasengan, tossing his three pronged Kunai at the monster he used his Hiraishin Jutsu to flash right into the creature's unprotected center and shoved the Rasengan deep into the creature's chest and watched in fascination as the spinning ball of chakra ripped and tore into the skin, bones, blood, muscle, and organs before sending the creature crashing to the ground in a dying howl that seemed to echo to every corner of the Elemental Nations. Minato weakly staggered a moment gasping for air as the creature collapsed and didn't move. He quietly moved to the creature extending his hand again willing to put his lifeforce into another Rasengan if the first one hadn't killed it. After a long pause as if the world itself waited on the creature Minato finally collapsed in exhaustion. Just as he was about to relax finally several more of the creatures appeared, at first he feared that the creature had somehow managed a Shadow Clone or Blood Clone when he noted that several looked different from the first and one in particular looked older than the rest. Slowly standing up again he took a deep breath glaring defiantly at the elder, "Want to try your luck?"
The creature looked at him a moment then took off his mask and what appeared to look like a smile was upon the elder's face. "You are brave and a bit mad young human," the elder stated in a wet voice. "You have done something on this human colony that hasn't been done since the first human colony."
Minato looked utterly confused, "Colony what are you talking about?" he asked watching as two of the younger creatures made to remove the body.
"We have colonized many worlds like this one with the human race, yours is the only one that has not progressed in its technology, to be a seeding world," the elder replied. "I believe it's because of your constant wars for power and land that prevent it," the creature pause as one of the younger spoke in a series grunts and clicks. The elder then turned back to Minato, "You made up for your lack of technology by creating a spiritual ability to summon, lightning, fire, earth, water, and wind as weapons. But against the Hard meat you would be massacred, hence this cannot be used as a seeding world."
"Seeding world," Minato looked even more confused.
"It's nothing for you to be concerned with at this time," the elder explained. "By far you are the strongest this world has as of now," the elder rubbed its chin, "I'm called Darktooth in your dialect, I'm an elder of a race of warrior hunters, we had been hunting the bad blood for several cycles when we tracked him to this world. It was your fire signal that caught our attention and we stayed back to watch your battle."
"But not to interfere," Minato stated.
"It was against our honor code, if you had been killed we would have stepped in and taken him," Darktooth smiled again. "Seems in you beats the heart of our warriors, you fought him in a battle worthy of us, far more worthy than that of your kind only three of your kind had ever done so, a human female name Small Knife trained by my son, a century ago, another human female two centuries ago fought with a young blood to kill the hard meat that got free from their prison. The final human fought one our kind in the belly of one of our own ships and defeated him after this warrior killed two of his clan; he also inadvertently caused injury to a female."
Minato smiled faintly, "We prize our females very highly."
"As do we, the elder that flew with this hunter was appalled at his actions, thankfully the child and mother were not seriously injured," the elder sighed. "Still your females are unique," after a long pause the elder pulled something from his belt a cylinder of some kind with a red button on the top. "In praise of your actions I grant you this boon to commemorate your victory in battle, this is a signaling device. Use it and we will assist you in the future," Darktooth replied before walking away cloaking himself.
Minato finally moved after what felt like hours and began moving toward home pocketing his gift from the alien. It took a few weeks before he arrived in the Leaf Village when he checked in at the gate the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was present to greet him and they all looked horrified at his appearance. "Minato what happened?" Choza asked.
"You wouldn't believe it if I told you, heck I don't believe it and I was there," Minato chuckled weakly scratching the back of his head. "I need to make my report," he finally stated.
"Better hide, your troublesome woman has been asking for the Hokage to send out search parties for the last week, and she's been getting increasingly more violent," Shikaku replied looking bored.
"Is that what your calling your wife now, Nara?" Minato asked a smirk on his face.
"No, she's beyond troublesome," the Nara replied dryly.
Minato scratched at one of his injuries and winced at the dry flaking feel he was getting, "Maybe a bath and sometime with Kushina wouldn't be so bad, before making my report."
"Want an escort, at least to identify the body after she gets through with you," Nara asked a small smile on his face.
"No if it's that bad you wouldn't want to be in the line of fire," Minato chuckled again as he moved into the village saying hello periodically to people as he passed noting that many looked at him in worry, which was understandable he looked like he had been in a war. After walking several blocks he entered the Namikaze district of the village it was named after his family and he owned a simple home in the district that was all, the rest was apartments, stores, and the academy. He opened the front gate to his home and barely got three feet in when he was pounced on by arguably the most breathtaking woman in the entire village, she slam him down onto the ground glaring at him while tears were falling down her creamy white cheeks. He gently reached up and with his grimy hands wiped away some of those tears. "I'm sorry I worried you."
Kushina Uzumaki stared at him trying to keep her anger raging but seeing his warm smile, feeling his hands wiping her tears away feeling that he was relatively safe, only looking exhausted, dirty, and covered in lacerations, she sighed shifting herself bending down and kissing him with every ounce of passion she had store in her. "Big jerk, worrying me like that, not only me but Rin, Obito, and your Pervy sensei," she stated wincing at the taste of dirt in her mouth.
"I'm sorry again," Minato said sitting up. "Let me have a long hot shower check my injuries then you can have me anyway you want for rest of the day," he paused with a light pout. "What about Kakashi?"
Kushina giggled, "I can never really tell what he's thinking dear, he probably just as worried just never shows it." She slowly climbed off her husband and he slowly got up, the two moved into the house. During the shower however Kushina demanded that she check each injury herself to make sure they weren't infected. However after about a few moments checking over the injuries was the last thing on their minds.
A few hours of rest and conversations later Minato was standing before the third Hokage relating everything from their mission to the horrific battle with the alien hunter. When all was finished Minato produced the signaling device Darktooth had given him then placed it back in his pouch. "I know it's very hard to believe Lord Hokage but that is what happened," Minato stated.
"I believe you Minato, you have done many things but lying about something that happened during a mission has never been one of them," the Hokage smiled slightly he took a deep breath. "Must have been a fight for the ages," he stated looking up at the ceiling contemplating something. "Wish you had been here recently."
Minato blinked in confusion, "Sir?"
"Orochimaru was using our own people for some very immoral experimentation, several of them have been from the Uchiha clan," a pregnant pause ensued. "I've decided to name you as my successor. I should have seen Orochimaru's depravity a long time ago, his lust for power and his thirst to know every jutsu known to man. I was blinded by his natural talent; I pray no one else ever falls into that trap."
Minato smiled slightly, "Pervy-sensei never fell into that trap, treated me, Mitoko, and Choja equally."
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, "When did you start calling him that?"
"Kushina started calling him that after they were introduced, after he hugged her and copped a feel on her ass," Minato chuckled lightly. "She then proceeded to beat him within an inch of his life, calling him Pervy sage. I simply changed it to Pervy-sensei."
Sarutobi chuckled, "I fear the day you two have children, and I'm sure Jiraiya will dread it. A mixture of his favorite yet annoying student and the woman he married," clearing his throat. "Now on to more pressing and important business, after this last mission for you and your squad, you'll be confined to the village undergoing a long and subtle education on politics and Hokage duties."
"How long before this last mission do I have?" Minato asked.
"I'll give you a week, that should be long enough for the patrols to return from the front," Sarutobi looked at Minato eyes almost cold, "I want this mission to be last one, after you finish it, we'll broker the Rock Village for terms of peace."
Minato nodded and left with a salute, reaching the ground floor he pulled out the alien signaling device and gave it a frown. He wasn't sure if he should use it or not for this mission, shaking his head. This mission he was sure would be simplistic and he trusted his squad, Team Minato was the best kids since the Legendary Sannin, they'll get it done. He was reserving this special bit of help for something that would threaten his village far more than the Rock Village. With that he went home to spend his week with his wife and maybe taunt or prank his sensei.
Author's Note: This story follows the trend of Predators taking Naruto and raising him to become a hunter. This one will present a darker Naruto than ones I've done before; he will create a special summons similar to the ones used in Angel of Darkness fan fic.