"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" An out-of-breath Chunin burst into the Hokage's office, nearly bringing the ANBU down upon him.
"What is it, son? What happened?" Sarutobi stood from behind his desk and walked over to where the Chunin was doubled over, trying to catch his breath.
"Refugees...refugees approached the gates! They say they are from an Iwa prison camp!" The Chunin straightened up, pointing in the direction of Konoha's gates.
"Where are they now? How many?"
"A woman and a child. I told one of the othe chunin to escort them to the hospital. They looked...they looked pretty bad, Hokage-sama," The Chunin reported.
Sarutobi looked at the two ANBU in the room, "Takata, Sanjin, head to the hospital and safeguard the refugees until I arrive. Son, did they tell you who they were?"
The Chunin looked the Hokage in the eye then, "The woman claimed they were members of the Uzumaki clan."
Sarutobi froze, then disappeared without a word.
Sarutobi stormed through the halls of the hospital, grabbing the nearest medical nin, "Where were the refugees taken?"
"D-Down the hall, Hokage-sama!" The frightened medic pointed down the hall to the left. The Hokage was instantly down the hall, looking through the window of an intensive care room at a severly injured woman who lay on the bed, wearing metal collar with a few chain links dangling over her throat. Around her bruised and bleeding wrists were manacles. Sitting in a chair next to her bed was a child no more than seven years old, and definately not in as bad a condition as his mother, but in such a beaten state that raised Sarutobi's blood to a boil.
A doctor emerged from the room, a sad look in her eyes, "Hokage-sama."
"How are they?" Sarutobi asked without looking away from the window.
"The mother will not survive the night. The boy...he won't respond to us at all. He'll recover, physically, but mentally...I'm not too sure," The medic nin said softly.
"I see. Can I speak with her?" Sarutobi looked over at the medic nin now and was surprised to see that the doctor was tearing up.
"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama. If you need anything, if they need anything, I'll be at the nurses' station," The medic said as she walked down the corridor.
Sarutobi walked into the room then and saw the woman's head turn slightly as she tried to focus on him through swollen eyes.
"Who...who's there?" The woman's hoarse voice gripped Sarutobi's heart painfully.
"I am Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konoha," Sarutobi said, stopping when he was standing next to the boy's chair.
"I thought...I thought Minato was the...was the Hokage...what happened?"
"Minato passed away some time ago, madam. He sacrificed himself to save this village," Sarutobi said softly.
"What of...what of my sister? What of...Kushina?" The woman was on the verge of tears now.
"She too is gone. She died in childbirth the same day Minato died. I'm sorry," Sarutobi said. He felt tears welling in his own eyes as he saw tears trail down the woman's bruised cheeks.
"Then we...we are the last...please, H-Hokage-sama...please take care of my boy," The woman paused to take a breath," he was born...in the prison camp. His name is...Uzumaki Kenshin..."
"I swear I will do what I can for your son, but what is your name?" Sarutobi asked, grasping the woman's reaching hand lightly. He held her hand until he felt it go slack. He hit the nurses' call button, shouting for a doctor as the boy began to wail loudly. The two ANBU who were standing guard would hear that sorrowful wail in their dreams for many nights to come.
Several days later, Sarutobi stood with the young Kenshin in his office as an ANBU escorted the young Naruto into the room.
"What is this about, old man?" Naruto, at six years old, asked as he crossed his arms.
"Naruto, I would like to introduce you to your cousin. Kenshin, this is your cousin Naruto. He and his mother escaped from a prison camp two weeks ago, so be nice to him, Naruto," Sarutobi said softly. Naruto could only gape at the boy who was standing next to the Hokage.
"He's my cousin? I have a family? Where's his mom?" Naruto asked. He saw the boy, Kenshin, flinch and wondered if that was the right thing to say.
Sarutobi shook his head sadly, "Naruto, Kenshin's mother passed away a few days ago. The two of you are the last of the Uzumaki clan."
"Really? What happens now?" Naruto asked, his hope at having a proper family crushed.
"Well, the two of you will be living together now, for one. Once the two of you are eight years old, you'll enter the Academy together," Sarutobi said.
Naruto looked a little disturbed, yet hopeful at the same time, "Will people treat him badly for being around me?"
Sarutobi sighed, "Most likely. That just means you have to look out for each other now."
Naruto nodded, "I understand. Hey, Kenshin! Come on, cousin, let's get going so I can show you around. Then I'll take you home!"
Kenshin nodded slowly as he and Naruto left the office.
Once they were gone, Sarutobi cast a look at the ANBU that could cut steel, "I want you to make sure none of the adults bother those two boys, understand?"
"Hokage-sama, we can't change how they feel," Sanjin said softly.
"Just make sure that no one touches either of them! If harm comes to either of them, I will see the perpetrators suffer severly," Sarutobi roared.
"Understood, Hokage-sama," Takata said, silently swearing to look out for the two Uzumakis, even if one was the Kyuubi's jailer.
A/N: Hey guys and gals. I can't seem to focus on much these days. I've got two stories In-Progress right now, and here I go writin another one! If you're wondering about the title, Vitharr means "Forest Warrior" in Old Norse. I got the idea for this story from reading some of Lord of the Land of Fire's stories. I recommend you read "That Look" and "A Mother's Love: Fire and Blood." Both are very good. Long too, and I really enjoyed reading them. I know this chapter is kinda short, but I want to get some feedback before I continue running with this story. I'd like to see some reviews, and if you don't, I hope you ninja readers enjoyed this chapter!