A/N: Whazzup everyone, this is the first chapter of my secondary project i will be working on. It may take a little bit more for a new chapter to come out compared to my other story, but if it is well received then i will make it my main story. I already got a scene on my mind that i can´t wait to write, but it will happen after the timeskip so i got lots of work before getting there...
Disclaimer: I don´t own Naruto or any of its characters, and this is a work of pure fiction.
Chapter 1 Epiphany
Naruto just couldn´t believe it, he had just been saved of a certain death by his rival and teammate Sasuke Uchiha. The same Sasuke Uchiha that used to mock him during his academy years, the same Sasuke Uchiha that he always strove to beat, the Sasuke Uchiha that was slowly opening up to his teammate and almost could be called his friend.
The blonde boy dropped to his knees and reached for his teammate´s cold body "Why?" said Naruto in a breeze like whisper.
"Is this your first time losing someone precious to you?" Asked the masked shinobi that was fighting the leaf gennin, he was wearing a green turtleneck sweater and a split skirt also green that reached down to his knees. On the outside of that, he wore a green blue short kimono with white edges, and around his waist a green brown obi, in the same fabric as his sweater, with a fringed trail. His usually long black hair was tied into a white bun and his fingernails and toenails were painted in blue green color.
Naruto ignored the masked shinobi and kept holding Sasuke. "Why do I have to be so weak?" mumbled Naruto, his hands trembling lightly and tightened his grip on the Uchiha. 'It´s all my fault, if I just wasn´t so stupid I could have helped Sasuke from the outside of this cursed dome of ice mirrors'
Team 7 had come to the lands of the waves to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna so he could complete his bridge, but since the beginning things weren´t looking good for the Leaf´s team. Apparently the client had lied about the dangers of the mission, after all a team formed of freshly graduated gennin wasn´t ready to fight against missing-nins, especially the likes of meizu and gozu, the demon brothers, and Zabuza Momochi, one of the legendary seven swordsmen of the mist.
The team formed by Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and leaded by the copy-nin hatake kakashi, had barely survived their first encounter against zabuza, saved only because of the ingenious plan Naruto and Sasuke came with that allowed them to free their sensei and gain the upper hand against the missing-nin, but before they could finish Zabuza off, a hunter-nin from kirigakure came and apparently claimed Zabuza´s life with three senbons piercing his neck. Konoha´s team harmed and exhausted, let the hunter-nin take Zabuzas´s corpse away thinking he had actually killed the demon of the mist. Oh how wrong they were.
Now one week later, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura comes face to face once again with the demon of the mist and his accomplice, the fake hunter-nin Haku who are ready to complete their mission and kill the bridge builder.
Now you must be asking who would hire several missing-nins just to kill one old bridge builder, well Gato would.
Gato is a rich business man who came to wave with the purpose of slowly conquer it so he could use it for all of his evil business. He isolated Wave from the other countries and used fear to control it easier and now a drunken old man is trying to build a bridge so Wave´s economy could return to normal and fight off Gato… Now Gato can´t have that, can he?
For the people of wave the bridge is their last hope of freedom, but for gato it is a nuisance to his plans, therefor he came with the perfect solution: 'the bridge builder has to die'
With that in mind Zabuza charged at Kakashi while Sasuke measured himself against Haku and Sakura protected Tazuna. That's how the battle in the misty bridge started.
'And then I came here so full of myself after saving tazuna´s family for some wannabe samurais, actually thinking I could be of some help …'
(-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)
Immediately after getting to the bridge Naruto headed towards where Sasuke was and Naruto being the naïve child that he was, entered Haku´s strongest technique created with his bloodline the Hyōton: Makyō Hyōshō (ice release: demonic ice mirrors)
Naruto and Sasuke had to evade numerous ice senbons throw to them while trying to perform a counter attack, but all of their efforts were useless because of haku´s ability to move from one mirror to another at great speed.
Eventually the injuries they sustained plus having to keep on evading the senbons got the leaf gennin exhausted, but then a ray of hope appeared when Sasuke unlocked the Uchiha Kekkei genkai, the Sharingan.
With his newly acquired Sharingan, Sasuke found evading the attacks of the ice user very easy, but lamentably that wasn´t the case for Naruto. Haku getting irritated, decided to eliminate the slower enemy first and fired a volley of ice senbons towards Naruto who found evading them impossible.
The young Uzumaki closed his eyes in resignation of his proximal death and prepared himself to become a human pincushion, but the pain never came.
Opening his eyes he saw that in fact he was still alive, but then he saw the unexpected, Sasuke´s unmoving body lay there in the cold floor with senbons sticking out of every visible part of of his chest and back… Sasuke had just taken the hit for him.
"Fuck, why do I have to be so weak?" Once more the blond haired boy asked himself now slightly louder than the first time.
"People tend to become strong when they have someone precious to protect" calmly replied the Masked missing-nin.
Releasing his hold on Sasuke, Naruto slowly started getting up "Damnit Sasuke-teme, up until the bitter end you had to act like a showoff and remind me that I'm the dobe of the class" Said Naruto, his voice gradually getting louder.
Around Naruto a burst of red chakra started forming making Haku very nervous, finally the blond´s eyes focused on the Masked boy and snarled "you…I´LL KILL YOU!"
In another burst of red chakra Naruto disappeared from his previous spot and appeared just in front of Haku throwing a punch so strong that destroyed the mirror Haku was in along with shattering his mask.
Flying several meters away from the enraged blonde, Haku hit the floor so hard that he rolled for a couple of meters more before finally come to a halt.
'What power, and that chakra, it feels so…malicious, is he really the same kind boy I met yesterday?' Thought Haku while trying to regain his composure. After the punch connected all of the others mirrors were destroyed as well, providing Haku a clear view of the boy that had just sent him flying with just a punch.
Naruto Uzumaki just stood there, the red chakra twirling violently around him, unknown to Haku of what was happening in said blonde´s head.
(-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)
Opening up his eyes after feeling something wet hit his forehead, he found himself in a place he had never been before, the dark ceiling, the floor with ankle deep water and the tubes hanging to the walls randomly accused the place to be some kind of sewer.
'What´s going on? Just now I was fighting with that masked shinobi. How did I get myself into a sewer?' Pondered Naruto while standing up in wobbly legs. Suddenly he heard a loud 'thump!' coming from just ahead of him, wanting to investigate Naruto walked forward trying to find the source of the noise.
Soon enough the young Jinchūriki found himself in front of the massive gates of a kind of cage with a little paper seal in the middle, feeling nervous Naruto asked in a shaky voice to the darkness of the cage "Is someone in there?"
For a moment there was silence, then the voice of what seemed to be of a young adult rang from inside the cage "Naruto, is that you?".
Naruto's eyes suddenly turned sharp as he stared into the cage" Kyubi is that you?"
The voice pondered for a moment before responding "Not exactly Naruto-kun, wait let me show you what I mean"
From the shadowy deeps of the cage appeared a tall human silhouette revealing bright blue eyes and spiky blond hair with jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face.
"Now do you know who I am Naruto?" Asked the man garbed in a standard Konoha-nin uniform with two bands each on both of his sleeves, a flak jacket and a hitai-ate framing his forehead.
Naruto hesitated for a moment before answering "No, but you look kindof familiar…"
The tall figure sweat dropped and turned around showing his back to the confused gennin. Said gennin focused on the man´s short-sleeved long white coat, decorated by flames on the edges, and then saw the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" written vertically down the back.
Naruto´s face took a look of understanding and pointed a finger to the man coated in white "You're the fourth Hokage!" Exclaimed the blond boy.
The so called fourth Hokage let a soft smile frame his face "That's right Naruto; see you can be really smart when you focus."
The blond haired kid smiled sheeply and scratched the back of his head "Thanks I guess, but what are you doing in there Hokage-sama?" Naruto´s tone was relaxed and carried a slight tint of mistrust in it, something the fourth did not fail to recognize.
The Hokage sighted" Naruto, the night the kyubi came to our village I did my best to beat him, but in the end I wasn´t able to rival the biju´s power so I had to use my last resource and seal It inside of you."
The blonde jinchūriki gripped his fists so hard that his knuckles became white, he wanted to ask the Hokage why did he chose him to carry such a burden, but decided against it and stayed quiet.
The blond Hokage took a deep breath and resumed his explanation "The seal I used is called the Shiki Fūjin (Death demon consuming seal) my plan consisted in sealing the demon fox inside of you, but the fox´s chakra was so great that I found it impossible to do so, that is why I opted to seal only half of its chakra inside of you and the other half inside of the stomach of the shinigami."
Konoha's Kiiroi Senkō (yellow flash) waited for a minute to allow Naruto absorb all of the information. "That´s fine and all, but still it doesn´t explains how did you ended up in here!" Replied a hasty Uzumaki craving for answers.
"The only thing I can think of that can answer your question is that the shinigami took pity on my soul and sealed me inside of you along with half of the fox´s chakra instead of eating my soul"
The orange clad boy nodded but still had suspicions 'If he really is the fourth, where is the fox?' thought Naruto, but before he could voice his concern the Hokage beat him to it.
"You must be thinking where the fox is, right?" At Naruto´s startled nod, he continued "You see, when I was sealed in you alongside the fox I was able to suppress the weakened fox with my willpower and eventually absorbed his conscience, that means the fox is no more and I have its chakra, pretty convenient huh?"
Naruto stood there letting the information sink in, everything this man said made sense to him and didn´t look to be lying. He was convinced, the man in front of him was the one who sealed the kyubi or now more like it´s chakra inside of him. He only had one more question.
"Why?" Naruto asked the same question he did on the bridge, but now it was directed to someone and with a different purpose. "What the hell did I ever do to you?" Growled out the blonde haired kid, "Why did you use the seal on me? You made my life a living hell for all that is worth!" Screamed Naruto, his whisker marks getting darker and his now slitted red eyes gave him a more feral look.
"I'm sorry Naruto, I'm really sorry" Of all the things that could have happened Naruto never expected to see the fourth Hokage, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō, the man who single-handily defeated an army of shinobi from iwagakure, on his knees, with his forehead touching the dirty sewer floor begging for forgiveness. "For 12 years I've been thinking what could I say to you after I finally get meet you again, but this is all I could think of. I, Namikaze Minato beg you Naruto to forgive your fool of a father."
The young gennin was flabbergasted to say the least, had this man actually called himself what he thinks he heard? "Fa-father?" Stumbling over his words he had to confirm what he heard was right. "A- are you really my father?"
Minato stood up and gave Naruto a small smile "Yes Naruto, I am your father" as soon as those words left his mouth he found himself enveloped in a hug by none other than his blond haired son, although surprised, Minato didn´t hesitated in wrapping his arms around his so long forsaken son.
And so, forgetting about time, with arms wrapped around each other across the bars that separated them, father and son finally reunited after 12 years of loneliness in a hug.
Slowly separating from each other arms Minato spoke up "Naruto I promise you that I will make it up to you, although I can´t do much in here I can train you if you want to and aid you with the kyubi's chakra when you need it.
Naruto nodded and asked something that has been bugging him for a while "Dad, who was my mother?" The Hokage replied with a smile on his chiseled face "My boy of course I will tell you about your mother, but not now, as soon as you return to Konoha I will tell you. Naruto hear me and hear me well" Naruto Uzumaki couldn´t help but flinch at how commanding his voice sounded, was this the voice of a serious and powerful Hokage?
"I want you to understand something my son, the leaf village has disregarded my wish of you being treated as a hero, I saw how they treat you and I feel disgusted about it. Even if you weren´t my son they shouldn´t be treating you the way they are" Minato took a deep breath and continued "The leaf is full of ignorant and stupid people, I'm sure there´s also kindness in there, but that´s only true to a small portion. Not only they have mistreated you, but you are also being used, Hiruzen Sarutobi is scared of you, he wants you to be loyal to the leaf that´s why he filled your mind with all of that Hokage crap."
Naruto visible flinched at his father´s harsh words; he could feel the hate in them, but couldn´t help but mentally nod to all of what his dad had told him. Since his childhood the third Hokage had told him not to hate the villagers for treating him the way he was treated, Sarutobi made sure to show the little boy how he always got respect for being the Hokage, he wanted the boy to aim at being Hokage, because that was the best way he could make sure the kyubi jinchūriki stayed loyal to the leaf.
'Ji-ji was just using me; he only did care for me because he didn't want his precious village in any danger…'
Slowly the naïve mind of the 12 years old Naruto began to open up to the real world, he had been with his eyes closed for far too long, wanting to believe in Konoha as the good guys. 'There are no good or bad guys in this world, there´s only the weak and the strong people.' Thought Naruto feeling a little depressed.
Minato saw the change in Naruto's behavior and got worried. "Hey son, don´t worry, even if the world turns against you, I will always be at your side" Minato assured his son with a big smile splattered on his face.
The blond boy smiled 'That´s right, I'm not alone anymore' Naruto didn´t feel depressed anymore, but now a consuming rage was growing inside of him "Konohagakure no sato . That place has only given me pain and hate; I refuse to call that village my home any longer!"
The fourth put a hand on the short boy´s shoulder and said "You are correct, that place has wronged us for far too long and someday it will pay, but right now I think it is time for you to return to the bridge, you have work to do my son." Finished Minato with a grin adorning his lips.
"All right dad, but before I go there´s something I need to know…¿what would happen If I take the seal off?"
Minato´s grin instantly fell and told Naruto in a serious tone "Naruto, you must never and I repeat, never take the seal off, because if you do so, indeed I will be free, but it would also kill you, so I forbid you from even thinking about it."
Naruto shrugged, he knew it wouldn´t be so simple, but maybe he could find a way to release his dad without having to die. "I understand father, after all I don´t want to be grounded or something" finished Naruto with a small laugh, still getting used to the feeling of having a father.
"All right dad I will be off" Said Naruto as he started to leave.
"Be careful my son" responded Minato who could see a smile on Naruto's face before he disappeared from his mindscape.
As soon as Naruto exited his minscape, the light started fading away from the sewer and Minato slowly walked backwards into the darkness of the cage.
"Yes, go Naruto, make daddy proud" Said Namikaze Minato opening his now red and slitted eyes.
Once Minato was totally engulfed by the shadows the only remain of his presence was the deep, guttural chuckle that echoed the sewer´s walls.
(-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)
E/N OK here is the first chapter, i want to know what everyone thinks about this minato and if ya want to you can suggest pairings, although im leaning for a Harem.