Konohagakure
The demon fox raged through the Village of the Leaf Ninja of the Fire Nation. Roaring in pain and outrage, the Kyūbi no Kitsune decimated the Leaf ninja defense force. Taller than the tallest trees, its nails and claws ground the pitiful humans, as easily as a human could an ant. It never bothered to even try eating those it killed, since even a handful of these insignificant creatures would be nothing more than a palette cleanser.
That was just the physical immensity of the Fox spirit, its spiritual power, or chakra of the same creature was even greater. A flick of even one of its tails sent whirlwinds straight toward the people that protected this village. Minuscule exhales sent spheres of super-heated plasma into a different crowd.
The ninja of Konoha fought valiantly, while fear did assault their hearts, courage drove them onward, to whatever fate decided. Among the ninja of the Hidden Leaf, a couple, a fair-skinned red-headed woman, with violet eyes, and a blonde-haired man with blue pupil less eyes, and their midwife, a tall, voluptuous blonde woman, were just welcoming their son into this world.
The new mother's weakened condition had allowed the akuma no kitsune, to escape from within her. The husband and their midwife, were able to repel the beast, and protect his wife and child from the initial attack. As the kage of the village, Namikaze Minato, a powerful shinobi and Senju Tsunade, one of the legendary sen'nin, the most respected isha-nin in the Five Great Nations, were able to hold the creature at bay, until the defense forces could arrive, within seconds of spotting the creature.
"Kushina-chan, how are you feeling," Tsunade-hime asked, after returning from the initial assault?
Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina lifted her head up weakly, her son calmly nursing from her breast, smiled serenely, despite the battle raging just a couple of miles away. "I feel like, I just went through your survival training all over again, sensei. Only ten times worse.
Lady Tsunade barked out a laugh, as they looked tenderly upon the new arrival. The boy was average size for a baby, with a fuzz of blonde-hair on his crown. His ears were slightly pointed, and he had three whisker-like birthmarks on both cheeks. When they were opened he, like his mother had the most beautiful, violet eyes, with vertical pupils, like a cat or fox. The sounds of fighting were heard in the distance, and seemed to be dwindling.
Several minutes later a squad of jonin, led by Jiraiya of the sen'nin came shuffling in, Tsunade-hime gazed up at her husband, and seeing the look in his eyes. The same look he had the night, they lost their youngest on a mission. Oh no, the slug princess thought, not Minato. Kushina began to tremble, she knew that if Jiraiya were here instead of her husband, then the worst has happened. Kushina hugged her son to her chest, and began weeping silently, rocking back and forth. Jiraiya walked over, knelt next to the new mother, and newer widow, with a weak little smile, he said, "I am so sorry, Kushina-chan, we all did everything we cou…" he trailed off unable to face the woman he loved, as much as his own daughters. Tsunade's hand on his back gave strength to her husband.
"Tell me how it happened, Jiji," Kushina Uzumaki implored. "I will tell Naruto about his father, about Minato's sacrifice."
Jiraiya began to speak, "Ku-chan, your husband, was the most selfless man, I have ever met, and it was an honor and a privilege being his sensei." He eyed her and grinned weakly, "If he weren't already taken, I would have no issue if he were to become my son-in-law…"
Minato stood looking up at the giant fox, as the rest of the Leaf ninja put their lives on the line to protect their home. He realized, there was only one way to end the Bijuu's assault. He bellowed to me, "Jiraiya-sensei, please summon Gamabunta, I need him to hold the Kyūbi in place for a few seconds."
I stared into the eyes of my son in all but name, and witnessed the resolve in Minato's eyes, I nodded. I bit my right thumb, and yelled, "Summoning Jutsu" a huge puff of smoke cleared, revealing the largest toad many had ever seen. He was red on top, with a beige underbelly, but what would have caught most people's attention, if they were not preoccupied with fighting the fox, the toad was wearing a giant kimono jacket, and carrying a massive tanto. Gamabunta noticed the rampaging Bijuu, and knew why he was summoned. Giving a massive hop, he landed on the fox' back. Now, a ten-ton toad landing on your back would hurt anybody, it certainly shook the Kyūbi.
As soon as I began the summoning, Minato began flashing hand signs, and chanting. Then he shouted, while slamming his hands into the ground, "Fuinjutsu: Shiki Fujin" and immediately the Shinigami, with pale, white flesh and long hair, appeared, with a knife clamped in its jaws. Removing the knife from its maw, and opening its own belly, chains shot out and wrapped themselves around the kitsune, another set shot out impaling Minato, the caster. Gamabunta jumped away, lest he share their fate. They were the chains of death, while bijuu have an extremely long lifespan they are not immortal, and like all mortal creatures must surrender to Death's embrace. The Fox resisted, what sentient creature wouldn't, it almost escaped Death's grasp, but Gamabunta stepped forward, and punched it in the face. The punch left it dazed, and no longer able to resist, it was dragged into the gaping black hole.
"As you know Kushina, since it was invented by the Uzumaki clan, this sealing jutsu demands a heavy price; the life of the caster. As soon as the monster fox was pulled into the Shinigami, the life of your husband was the price for the sealing," Jiraiya concluded his tale, then pulled Kushina into him, hugging her while she cried.
Suddenly as if sensing his mother's distress, her baby boy began crying, which snapped her out of her sorrow. As much as she wanted to wallow in her grief, Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina, Kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, clan leader of the House Uzumaki, known as Akai Shi (Red Death) in the bingo book, did not have time to let grief consume her. She had a legacy to pass on, a memory to give to her son, the son of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato would grow up not knowing his father, but would know of him. She gathered her baby, and rocked him until he went back to sleep.
Tsunade knelt next to Kushina, smoothing her hair back, "Did you and Minato-kun, decide on names for the boy?"
The new mother nodded, and lifted the boy, "meet Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto," and lifting her son, "and I expect great things from him."
Ramble On…
Kushina was the last Jinchuriki of the Nine-tailed Fox, she was pregnant with Naruto when it broke loose, as she went into labor. In a since Kurama and Naruto were brothers, and there appear to have been a few genetic alterations made to her son by the Kyubi's imprisonment. For example, Naruto's senses have been amplified to those of a fox. The slightly pointed ears have allowed him to hear a pin drop in another room, his vertical eyes give him excellent night vision, and while the whisker marks look like birthmarks, they are quite sensitive. That along with his ears, allow him to sense the difference in air pressure, and locate unseen obstacles even when he cannot see them. These three senses coupled with a fox's keen sense of smell, combine to make Naruto as at home at night, in the dark, or in low visibility as he is in the daylight, or on a clear day. Unlike most children, Naruto was never afraid of the dark, and had an excellent sense of direction.
Times were tough for the Uzumaki, the first three years after the attack, but with help from, the Senju, the Inuzuka, Hyuga Hitomi and Uchiha Mikoto, things did not stay bleak for long. Naruto would stay with one of these four clans, when Kushina was on missions, always B or above. The Inuzuka actually helped Naruto learn to use his senses, since they had similar issues with their own enhanced senses. Because of her determination, to never leave her son an orphan, Kushina, became especially ruthless, and brutal, and her reputation increased in the bingo book with the shinobi villages, rising from 'approach with caution' to 'flee on site'. Among her more famous battles, those involving the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were her most significant accomplishments, she fought and defeated all seven, killing six, and destroying all but three of their weapons, she brought Kiba-ken back as a souvenir, allowed Kubikiribōchō to be kept by its owner, and mailed Hiramekarei back to Kirigakure.
Other than missions, her greatest joy in life was raising, and training her son. Naruto who was a happy, but stubborn child. Much like his mother, according to her friends, but I don't see it. She never found more peace, and tranquility than watching him take his first steps; holding his first kunai; practicing the first kata of the Uzumaki taijutsu: Kyokutan'na ken (Extreme Fist); or Namikaze taijutsu: Anaake tsume (Drilling claw), and Uzumaki kenjutsu: Whirlpool Sword. She was proud to call him an Uzumaki, because Naruto was strong, but also intelligent and thoughtful. She realized early on he had an eidetic memory, and a cunning mind, she nurtured those skills.
Kushina would take Naruto with her, when she trained, and he would watch her movements. One day when he was three, she was training the basic kata of Kyokutan'na, he stood up and began imitating her almost perfectly, with only a wobble here and there. She was unaware of this, until she turned during a movement, and just stopped. She watched him, my little boy is going to be a great ninja, dattebane, she thought as tears began welling up in her eyes. That was the day Naruto, began training to be a ninja.
Three years later, Naruto reached for his twin wakizashi, both sheathed at his left hip, one along his leg, the other posterior to the first blade, and parallel to his hips, his eyes narrowed as he assessed his opponent. He charged her at an oblique angle, the first blade cleared the scabbard, in an underhanded draw, when within ten feet of his opponent, producing a reverse slash intending to cut her thigh. Naruto's second blade came free, simultaneously in an angled overhand slash, fully intended to disembowel his opponent. His opponent reacted with lightning fast reflexes by twisting her thigh out of the way, and back stepped bringing her sword smashing into the back of Naruto's adding energy to his swing, causing him to lose balance.
The first attack is always a feint, quoted one of his friend's parents. Accepting the extra energy, and adding some of his own, Naruto spun around to take a swipe at his opponent's feet. She hopped back just out of his range, bringing her sword, a full-bladed O-katana, down swiftly, to slice him down the middle. Naruto was nobody's fool even as a six-year old one day before joining the academy, he knew that blocking someone with her strength would be futile, and a useless waste of energy. He launched forward into a run, he moved faster than even he believed possible, he parried the slash to the side using his swords, running along the length of hers, causing a small spark. Swiftly the red-headed woman enveloped the blades, and disarmed her son, sending his weapons and her own flying, out of the ring.
Naruto grabbed her hand and moving below her center of gravity, and using her forearm as a lever, elbow as a fulcrum applied force to it and flipped her into the air. Kushina followed the angular momentum landing on her feet, before spinning to deliver a powerful punch to her son's face. Naruto spun around, avoiding the blow by spinning counterclockwise, delivering a powerful kick to her knee, which Kushina deflected by bringing her shin up.
What followed were a powerful series of blows, kicks, throws and counter throws, that left a cloud of dust billowing through the still air, obscuring everything surrounding them. When the dust finally settled, we see Kushina holding her son from behind, with a kunai at his throat. Both, wearing grim expressions, when suddenly, Kushina grinned and clamped her mouth on his neck giving him a very blatant hickey. Naruto laughed, and said, "okasan, stooop, that tickles," he squirmed.
Kushina laughed with him, letting him go, "That was for doing such a good job this morning, you held me off even when I was using 25% of my fighting strength."
Naruto turned around and threw his arms around her neck, and planting an innocent kiss on his mother's lips, which she returned gently, "That's because I want to make you and oto-sama in Heaven, proud and be a strong ninja like my okasan."
Kushina smiled hugging her son, "I am already proud of you, my musuko-kun, and remember strength, true strength comes from a strong character, and strong mind, none of those can be gained without hard-work and tenacity, do you understand?"
Little Naruto piped up saying, "Hai, okasan."
Kushina smiled and kissed him again before standing up, "That's my musuko-kun," she said while pulling him to his feet. "You have an hour of shuriken/ kunai practice, then I want you to get started on your chores."
Kushina Uzumaki made her way inside to start breakfast for her and Naruto. She could hear the loud 'THUNK' into the targets as her musuko-kun practiced the Uzumaki nindō. She could not have been prouder of her son. Today he had begun to test her with his fighting prowess, and for a six-year-old that was genius level. It was true she was only using a quarter of her skill, yet that was enough to subdue any chunin level ninja. It had been a purely physical challenge today, no ninjutsu, chi or even chakra enhancement was allowed by either of them. Still for him to manage to hold her off at six, even if she did eventually overcome him, was breathtaking for a mother, and promising as an Uzumaki.
The Uzumaki are a powerful clan, often called Bijuu without tails, because of their massive chakra coils. They were naturally talented in fuinjutsu and kenjutsu, able to read and understand seals with no instruction, and pick up sword techniques after a single demonstration. Of course, a true Uzumaki did not let their natural talents go to their head. They may be able to read and figure out seals instinctively, but still needed to start training at the beginner level. True Uzumaki also trained like dogs in kenjutsu and taijutsu to be considered true masters by other Uzumaki. Kushina Uzumaki would do her best to instill the concept of hard-work and persistence over talent and privilege, that many of the Clans of Konohagakure espoused.
Another name many people associate with Uzumaki is 'Immortals' because of their long life, many reaching their 200th birthday, attributed because of an incredible life force, they called chi. The Uzumaki kekkei genkai, Kikko, is the ability to harness and manipulate chi. They are extremely resistant to diseases and most poisons, with godly endurance, they could bounce back from injuries that would leave most people crippled. All of that was without training of any kind in Kikko. A master of Kikko, may use chi to make organ functions more efficient and resilient, enhancing their healing abilities so well they can regenerate missing limbs or organs, even brain cells can heal.
Naruto finished his training and his morning chores before entering the kitchen and washing his hands. He had a basket full of eggs, and some vegetables from the garden. "Here, okasan, I get these from the chickens, and the veggies looked ripe."
Kushina smiled, "Arigato, musuko-kun that saves me a little time today." She looked at her son appraisingly, "Are you ready to start school tomorrow?"
Naruto smiled back, "Your welcome," then nodded his head excitedly, "I am totally ready, dattebayo, it'll be interesting to compare myself to other kids and see how I measure up."
His mother just grinned before admonishing him, "Remember it's not a competition, the other students you'll be competing against, once you graduate, could very well wind up on your team, 'ttebayo."
Her son nodded his head, "I know, okasan, but healthy competition weeds out the lazy, because those same students could end up on my team and get me killed."
Kushina was silent as she listened to her six-year-old's reasoning. What he said was true, there were many cases where a genin team would die, because it's members wound up skating through the academy. Whether they attended for glory, power, or were fan girls for certain clans. Which was why a few jonin began implementing their own tests to determine, if they were truly ready to be shinobi. "That's true, musuko-kun, a healthy rivalry may be a good way, to screen out those attending for the wrong reasons. Just don't forget, that after all is said and done, we're all members of the same village."
Some nights, mother and son usually like to practice sensory training, playing tag as well as, hide & seek in the dark. These games trained both of them to use senses other than sight, such as Naruto's fox senses and Kushina's Sensory abilities, and trained them in stealth. They decided to skip such training tonight, since Naruto would be starting at the Ninja Academy in the morning. As Kushina tucked her greatest treasure into bed that night, she suddenly felt tears welling up inside her. You would be so proud of him Minato-kun, he is a good, strong boy, and an even greater son. She leaned down to kiss her already sleeping son on the forehead. She gave him one last look of love, before darkening the room and leaving.
