Welcome to my first story so far. I know my English literally sucks so I'm in really need for a beta reader who is able to make a readable story out of my ideas. So far I really thin i don't own Naruto and if I do, nobody would ever read that, that's for sure. but ih you're interested in this story, then don't hesitate, write me what you find good and what not and I will try to take that into account.
The Butterfly Effect
In the world of Shinobis, there are many fights between ninja of different ranks, from a common brawl between Genin which last mere seconds to a battle of Jounin which can last hours and could change entire landscapes, but the sight before one Sarutobi Hiruzen, the resigned Third Hokage was nothing he has ever seen in his entire life, and trust me, he has seen many battles. For a Shinobi who lived through three great wars there was rarely something that could surprise one.
But the battlefield that his chosen successor left behind wasn't something normal. But for one Minato Namikaze there wasn't many things that would count as normal. Dozen of Kunais laid scattered over the landscape, large craters are the only indication for the destructive power of the Jutsus who were used here, in the middle of the area was one especially large crater, generated by the trademark Jutsu of his now dead successor, who was laid out with so many other brave soldiers who died on this 10 October for the sake of Konoha.
As he stood there, silently making prayers for all these souls to find rest in the afterlife, The God of Shinobi investigated this large hole in the hope to find information about the assailant who was responsible for all of this. So you can imagine his surprise as he could see a corpse lying in the middle, a broken mask right beside him.
So at least, the man responsible, for many people known as Tobi or Uchiha Madara, laid dead in the middle of the battlefield, a Kunai deep imbedded in his skull, killed by the one who gave his soul to protect the citizens of Konoha and his newborn son. Before the Hokage left the place he ignited the body with one of his fire Jutsus, the charred bones as well as the ash was everything that remained. Nobody could have known that this change in event will lead to the birth of a new legend.
Jiraiya of the Sannin was not one for holding strong attachments. He never got himself to settle down and live a normal life, marrying and having children wasn't something on his priority list. Quite the opposite was the fact, always traveling the world and being a famous pervert or "Super-pervert" wasn't really something that draw women towards him. But seeing the corpses of his former pupil and his wife who he both considered as his own Children was all that it took to broke the proud man. He let himself go for a few moments, crying and weeping for his most prized student and the girl he loved like his own daughter as he created a few clones who made preparations to seal both of them in scrolls to transport them to the village to give them a proper burial. A few clones were already in motion, having sealed the dead bodies of the ANBU who laid in front of the chamber as well as the wife of his Sensei.
He was taken out of his thoughts as a high pitched noise could be heard where the two bodies laid. In a blink of a second Jiraiya was kneed right beside them, carefully picking up a small bundle. He vanished in a quick Shunshin, letting the clones finishing the sealing.
Hatake Kakashi was no ordinary ninja, quite in fact he was hailed as a prodigy, graduating at age 5 and promoted to Chunin not a year later under the command of one Minato Namikaze. Nobody could deny the fact that he was a shining example of the ideal Shinobi. But for himself his life was hardly ideal, the suicide of his father left him alone and totally devoted to the village codex his father blatantly disregarded for the sake of his teammates. The Third Shinobi War was the breaking point, his best friend died to protect him, he couldn't keep his promise as his second teammate was killed in an ambush and now the man that was like a surrogate father for him died to protect his life and the life of everyone else. So he stood right before the memorial stone, silently promising Obito and Rin that this was the last time that a person Hatake Kakashi cherished would die when he can avoid it.
"So at least he could kill the assailant? Was it someone we know?" Jiraiya sat in one of the chairs in the Hokage office. He could remember the day when Minato was elected and almost instantly wanted to resign as he saw the giant stack of paperwork that awaited him. He silently cradled the small child in his arms, always checking if he was okay.
"I lived through three wars and I know every Shinobi in this village, I can say with utmost confidence that this person was not one of our." Sarutobi sat silently for a time, smoking his pipe. His eyes scanned slowly across the room looking right at the picture of Minato on the wall and then at the small child right in Jiraiya's arm. He looked just like his father, aside from the whisker marks on his cheeks.
"You know that the council will have an explanation what happened to the Kyubi." The worried look on the Sannins face clearly evident to the old Hokage. He could also see the sheer determination in his Student's eyes that he will fight tooth and nails for this child.
"I will take care of the council. He said, puffing absently on his pipe. "We have to decide what we should do with their child"
"Naruto" the hermit muttered, remembering the day when his parents told him from their decision.
"So they named him after your first book? Maelstrom, quite a fitting name for him don't you think?"
"Yeah, they really loved the book, too bad it didn't sell."
"I quite enjoyed it too but"I have to say I liked your new book even more," Sarutobi pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise and tapped the cover."You keep a copy with you?" asked Jiraiya with a perverted gaze. The Third Hokage coughed and tried to hide the blush that covered his cheeks.
"So back to the topic, the best for little Naruto here would be if we put him into the orphanage and enlist him at the academy at age 6. So he can make friends with his peers." the old Hokage stated, slowly puffing his pipe.
"Are you crazy? After this evening they will hate his guts, regardless of Minatos wish to see him as a hero, you know how people can be, they will not see him as who he is, only as a scapegoat to vent out their frustration." In all the time he couldn't remember to see Jiraiya so distressed and furious. This brought a smile to the third's face.
"Exactly" responded a new voice. "That's the reason why I have to object as well Hiruzen."
A dangerous aura was emitted by the sage and his face darkened as his eyes felt on the newcomer in the room. Shimura Danzo. The old war-hawk closed the door and stepped through the room, the bandages all visible to everyone else.
"So the bastard made his entrance, do I see some new wounds you old fart?" He hated his guts, he simply did since the first time his Sensei introduced him to his student's and Jiraiya made sure that he knew that, every time.
"What do you want Danzo?" Hiruzen asked, trying to defuse the tension in the room. Unfortunately was that totally impossible.
"You know what I want, this Monster can not roam freely. We have to use him as what he is meant to be." As soon as this words left his mouth he was pushed back by a furious Jiraiya, holding a Kunai right at his jugular, ready to end his life.
"Give me one reason, please only on to end your miserable life. Because if you come even one foot near my Godson, I swear to you I will find you and you will die a very painful death, that's what I can promise you." the wicked smile that the Sannin wore never left his face.
"That's enough Jiraiya." the firm voice of the Hokage left no room for an argument. The old man felt in his knees, violently coughing before he stood up and left the room, not before issuing a warning.
"Think about it Hiruzen, all the possibilities, if Iwa and Kumo know what we have, they..." That was all he could bring up before he was interrupted.
"That will not happen. As of now I will declare Naruto's status an SS-class secret, everyone, regardless of Shinobi or citizen will be pubic executed.
"You have no right, only the Hokage can dictate such a law."
"As of now I will enact my authority as former Hokage, stated by the Nidaime Hokage right before his death. And now leave this office adviser." he ordered, signaling the ANBU to escort the old war-hawk out of the office.
"How can you tolerate him? He is against you since the day you were elected Sensei."
"What do you want me to do? Put him in jail? I have no evidence that he didn't disband ROOT like I ordered him. And the position of elder is not chosen by me." Sarutobi sank deep in his chair, absently refilling his pipe. "I would have never thought that you would be so protective over little Naruto here" he silently mentioned.
"I promised him, I promised Minato to take care of him, and I won't break this promise. And I think I know exactly how to do that" the Sannin smirked, remembering the evening where Minato and Kushina talked to him about his duties as the Godfather of Naruto.
"Then enlighten me my student, what do you have in mind?"
"So let me get this straight. You intend to track down your old teammate, convince her to come back and to let her raise young Naruto? Are you insane? She will never come back, especially not for a little baby she has never seen before" the old Hokage interrupted Jiraiyas explanation as he searched for his pipe which he lost as his student told him of, in his opinion, totally stupid idea.
"You're right Sensei, she wouldn't do that for a baby she has never seen before, but you know, Naruto is special. As Minato named me the Godfather of little Naruto here, Kushina did the same with Tsunade, she won't abandon him, not if she knows that he is alive." Jiraiya exclaimed, trying to convince the old man. His plan was simple, he would left early in the morning to track Tsunade, tell her what happened and have her come back to raise Naruto. A simple plan. And a promising too. He know how to push her buttons and bring her back, even if she has declared to abandon this village which took her little brother and lover.
"I didn't know, Minato never told me. And you are sure you can convince her?" Hiruzen was skeptical, it sounds too good to be true, but he would have faith in Jiraiyas plan, it was better than his own and he was sure that Danzo couldn't get his hands on him when Tsunade would raise him.
"Fine, then go my student, I will send a monkey summon every week to let you be informed what happened so far." he told Jiraiya who sat on the window frame, ready to leave immediately.
"I will see you in a few weeks old man, and please take care of Naruto in the meantime." There was no answer for him as he disappeared in a Shunshin to track his lost teammate.
Two weeks have passed since Jiraiyas search have begun and he slowly had been able to pinpoint her location to a small city right inside of Fire Country. Tanzaku-gai was a small city, famous for his gambling halls as well for the not so serious establishments which resides here. Quickly summoning a few toads which should track her down, he booked himself a hotel room. As he made himself comfortable on his futon, he unsealed the message scroll he got from one of the monkey summons this morning and read through it.
Almost two weeks have passed since the fateful encounter with the Kyubi as another council meeting took place. And like the 12 meetings before this one, the reason was the tiny baby which slept at the hospital, guarded by one silver haired teen who only left the place to eat and to sleep. So far he prevented 34 assassination attempts on him, 23 of them were civilians, 7 Genin and 4 Chunin. So far everyone of them was quickly neutralized and sent to Ibiki before they were publicly executed. After that, the attacks on the child ceased. The message was clear: don't fuck with the Hokage.
"You must see reason Hokage-sama, this child is the devil incarnated, if we didn't kill it, it will be the end of us all!" One of the civilian councilors shouted, trying to convince the leader of the village that this child has to be killed. So far the council was divided, whereas most of the Shinobi councilors know the difference between a scroll and the content which was sealed inside it and the scroll itself. Most of the civilian councilors feared him for the power he possessed.
"Quiet, all of you!" The killing intend which flooded the chamber was so intense, a few of of the civilians passed out, lying on the floor, drooling. "This gone far enough, I won't hear another word about it, this child will be treated like everyone else, the next one who will waste my time with one of this requests will be accused of treason!" He lit his pipe as a few ANBU brought the blacked out councilors to their houses.
"So far the reparation of the village is right in schedule, the fire lord sent us his best workers and an additional fund which will cover all our expenses. We will be back at our strength in a few months. Until the I reassigned all our forces to show strength to our neighbors. Genin will take C-rank missions, Chunin Teams will take the B and low A rank missions and the Jonin will take the remaining A-rank missions. The stacks of D-rank missions will be done by our academy-students. I have to recall the "Old Fireblade" and let them take the S-rank missions." he told the council. The Old Fireblade was a special branch in the military of Konoha. Konohas military structure consists of three branches. The Shinobi Corps, the Medic Corps and the ANBU. In peacetime there is a Shinobi roster which ensure that every Shinobi could recover before he would be assigned to a new mission.
In wartime, such a roster didn't exist. The Shinobi Corps will be divided in 8 Divisions, each consisted of 25 Platoons, every platoon is consisted of 100 Shinobis. That means that Konoha is able to send 20000 Shinobis into battle. The "Old Fireblade" is a special branch in the Shinobi Corps, it consisted of the Clan Heads of every Clan in Konoha. By leading a clan, every Clan head excepted of his duty for the village and can fully concentrate on leading his people. If they are called into service, the clan will be managed by the elders.
"Troublesome, the Nara Clan will support your decision Hokage-sama" Shikaku Nara replied. As the Jonin Commander he was responsible for the Shinobi roster and advised the Hokage to take the step in order to fulfill the incoming mission requests.
So far every clan offered his support to the Hokage, even the Hyuga and Uchiha clan gave the support, albeit reluctantly.
"Then brief your clan, await further orders from the Jonin Commander. I will adjourn this meeting."
Sarutobi told them, silently thinking about his pipe and a fine sip of sake when he wrote the letter for Jiraiya to tell him what happened.
One of his toads appeared inside his room as he closed the scroll, indicating that he found Tsunade. Jiraiya hopped onto his feet, jumping out of the window and followed the direction in which the toad headed. As they landed right before a bar he knew that this wouldn't been a good conversation. Hopefully his godson will repay him someday. If he ever lived through this.
"So they're really dead. What a tragedy. I knew little Kushina since the day she arrived the village. Tsunade muttered. She was not as drunk as the old pervert feared but the death oh her former apprentice took her really bad. Minato got the bastard at least, but to seal him again he had to offer his soul. There was no other way."
"And who is the poor soul? A no named orphan I guess?"
"No, only an Uzumaki can contain the beast, you know that." he said in a somber mood, ordering a flask of sake.
"Yeah, but I really hoped they wouldn't have done that. He will be an outcast there, now that everyone knew."
"I know, that's the reason why I'm here, you have to come back Tsunade-hime. You could raise him, like you promised Kushina."
"You promised too, why wouldn't you raise him?" I won't go back, not after everyone I cared for died."
"I would, but he need a maternal touch in his life. At least look at him. Make sure is is healthy. He is my godson too."
"I won't live in this godforsaken place. And I will not raise him there." She declared firmly, making her decision clear. Even Jiraiya knew that she can't be swain when she has set her mind.
"I have to talk to Sensei about that. SO you will at least make sure he is okay? He said, inwardly resigning.
"No you misunderstand me, I will gladly raise him, but not in Konoha."
That was not something Jiraiya would have thought of. He was sure she would put a fight but to agree that fast, that was not the Tsunade he know.
"Why the sudden change in mind?"
"they're all dead everyone... the least I can do is to make sure that he is raised properly" she admitted between sobs. To lose her, after losing Nawaki and Dan was a huge blow.
"You will not raise him alone, I will tag along, like I said, he is my godson too."
"And your spy network?"
"Don't worry, I will do my work with messenger toads, they're quite reliable the little ones"
"Fine, but if you corrupt him I will personally end you, is that clear?"She said, hoping that her glare was enough to made her point.
"H... Hai Tsunade-hime" was all he could stutter as she glared at him.
"Wonderful" She exclaimed. "Come on Shizune, we have to pack. We can't wait little Naruto any longer can we?" As they left the bar, letting Jiraiya paying her debt.
I try to upload as much as I can, this was the hardest part so far, especially since I can't really decide how long every chapter should be. So hopefully you will see a chapter soon, if i find a suitable beta reader here.