Okay, a quick note before we begin. If you're not a fan of Naruto being super strong, turn back now. This story is not for you. Or, give it a try. Maybe you'll like it.

That said, ages will be slightly tweaked around a bit. For example, Itachi is 11 at the time of the Kyubi attack. I won't do that with too many characters, though. But the Genin exams will take place at age 14 instead of 12.

I don't own Naruto or anything else that may appear in this story.

Chapter One: A Time for Mourning

The battlefield was silent. There was a flash of light, and the beast vanished, and they cheered for their victory. Their leader turned to face them from atop the great toad, Gamabunta, a small sad smile on his face as he gazed down gently, almost lovingly, at the small bundle in his arms. Then he closed his eyes, and he fell from Gamabunta's head, and the cheering turned to shouts of concern. Gamabunta caught him as he fell, lowering him gently to the ground.

They surrounded their leader, looks of shock, fear, and pain upon their faces. One of them, a young boy in his teens with spiky silver hair, pushed to the front, his eyes widening as he saw the man on the ground. He ran forward, kneeling down. "Minato-Sensei! What happened? Are you alright?" the boy asked frantically. The man, called Minato, smiled up at the silver-haired youth, using his remaining strength to lift the bundle up towards the boy. "K-Kakashi-kun…watch over him. His name is Naruto." Minato said weakly. Kakashi accepted the bundle into his arms, and looking down at it, saw a small red haired child with three whisker-like markings on each cheek, sleeping peacefully. He looked back down at his sensei quizzically. "Sensei? Who is he?" Minato closed his eyes once more, a peaceful look overcoming him. "A hero." And with that, he lay still.

Kakashi's eyes widened once more. "S-Sensei?" he spoke quietly, as if frightened. He reached down with a shaking hand, shaking the man's shoulder. But he did not stir. "No," Kakashi whispered, tears springing to his eyes. "No! Sensei!" He collapsed, clinging to the corpse of the man he had loved like a father, and he wept. And the others who had gathered around felt his pain as well, for their leader had been loved by all. They grieved, not only for him, but also for their friends, family, and comrades that had died that night.

An elderly man made his way through the crowd, his sadness just as strong as those around him, and though he wished to grieve like the rest of them, he knew he had to be strong in front of them. There would be time later. This man was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, and Minato's predecessor.

He pushed through to the center of the crowd, and the sight that met his eyes saddened him further. Walking over to the distraught boy, Sarutobi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Kakashi turned to meet his gaze, eyes full of grief. "S-Sarutobi-sama…Sensei is…" Sarutobi nodded sadly. "I know. What of the child?"

Kakashi held the baby boy up slowly, tentatively, as if reluctant to let him out of his grasp. "Sarutobi-sama, who is he? Sensei didn't say. Just that he was a hero." Sarutobi stared down at the child, still sleeping soundly. "That is a question for another time." He answered. "Come." Kakashi nodded, and rose to his feet, wiping the tears from his cheeks. The two of them vanished in a shunshin.

They reappeared in the Hokage's office. Sarutobi snapped his fingers and an ANBU appeared in front of him. "Gather the villagers," Sarutobi said. "I have an announcement to make." The ANBU nodded, and shunshined away.

Twenty minutes later, Sarutobi and Kakashi stood on a balcony overlooking the crowded streets, the entire village gathered below them. The crowd fell silent as Sarutobi prepared to speak. "I am pleased to say that the Kyubi has been defeated." The crowd erupted in cheer, but Sarutobi held up a hand to silence them. "However, this victory has come at a great cost. Many of our shinobi have died this night, along with our beloved Yondaime Hokage, who sacrificed himself to defeat the demon." This was met with cries of disbelief and sadness. "But the Kyubi is not dead. Not even the Yondaime possessed the strength to kill it. Instead, he sealed it away, inside a newborn child, the very one I hold in my arms now." Sarutobi held the boy up so the crowd could see him. For a moment, there was no sound but the rain that had begun to fall.

Then the street below erupted into a cacophony of angry shouts.

"The Kyubi still lives!"

"Kill the demon!"

"Finish it off while it's weak!"

Sarutobi looked down in shame, turning around and walking back inside. "I expected better of you." he said sadly. Meanwhile, Kakashi was rooted to the spot, his eyes wide. 'No…it can't be true! The Kyubi's still alive, and sensei died for nothing!' His eyes filled with anger, and he jumped away over the rooftops, tears beginning to form once more.

Sarutobi considered going after him, but decided to leave him be for now. He looked down at the child in his arms and sighed. "Let's get you back to your mother." He shunshined to the hospital, and walked up to the receptionist. "Could you tell me which room Uzumaki Kushina is in, please?" The receptionist smiled. "Certainly, Sarutobi-sama. She's in room 302." Sarutobi thanked her and left. He made his way up to the third floor, and quickly found the right room.

As he entered the room, he quickly had to duck a flying bedpan. He looked up to see Kushina glaring at him from her bed. "You bastard! You actually told the whole village what Minato did? If he were here I'd wring both your necks!" Sarutobi looked down. "I apologize. I had no idea that they would react the way they did. I know you must be angry, but-"

"Angry?" Kushina interrupted. "I'm not angry. I was angry when Jiraiya used me in his smut. I was pissed when Minato told me what he planned on doing to Naruto-kun. No, I'm not angry. Right now, I AM FURIOUS!" She screamed.

"Please, Kushina. Try not to exert yourself." Sarutobi said worriedly. "Fuck you." Kushina growled. "Just give me my child and get the hell out." As soon as Kushina had the child in her arms, her eyes lit up, and her face became soft and gentle. She smiled. "My baby." She whispered, holding Naruto close to her. "My son. My Naruto."

As Sarutobi turned to leave, he heard Kushina begin to hum. It was a beautiful tune, haunting and yet happy at the same time. He left, content that Naruto was in good hands.

As he walked down the hallway, Sarutobi was approached by an ANBU, who gave a quick bow before saying, "The council has assembled and is awaiting you, Sarutobi-sama." Sarutobi nodded and shunshined away.

He reappeared outside the council chambers, and hearing shouting from inside, pushed open the doors. As he entered, everybody stopped talking and focused their attention on him. They were silent for a moment, before they all resumed talking at once. "Enough!" Sarutobi yelled. The room descended into silence once more.

"What is the cause of all this commotion?" Sarutobi asked. "Sarutobi-sama, the Kyubi must be destroyed!" shouted one of the civilians. There was a murmur of general agreement. Sarutobi sighed. "The Kyubi has been sealed away. There's nothing more we can do." "We have to kill the container!" Shouted someone else. Sarutobi glared. "You're talking about killing a child. I will not tolerate mention of such things. Do I make myself clear?"

Uchiha Fugaku looked calmly at Sarutobi. "With all due respect, Sarutobi, you are no longer Hokage. It does not matter what you will tolerate." Sarutobi smirked. "That's where you're wrong. It's village policy that if a Hokage dies without appointing a successor, his predecessor shall take his place, assuming his predecessor is still alive of course." Fugaku's eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Regardless, it is in the best interests of the village that the Kyubi be killed once and for all." Spoke Koharu, Sarutobi's former teammate.

"Enough of this foolishness!" exclaimed Shimura Danzo. Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. It was unusual for his old rival to lose his temper like this. "Yondaime-sama has given us a great weapon, and we must utilize it!" continued Danzo. "The container should be trained and used as a weapon for Konoha."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not. I will not have the boy raised as an emotionless tool. Besides, no one can do anything with him without the consent of his mother." Danzo cursed to himself, knowing that his plans had just taken a major blow.

"I am making a new law." Sarutobi stated. "Anyone who mentions the fact that the Kyubi is sealed inside Uzumaki Naruto will be executed immediately." One civilian stood up in outrage, shouting, "You can't do that! The demon brat-" He never finished his sentence as his head was separated from his body, courtesy of an ANBU who had appeared out of the shadows. The rest of the council looked on in shock. Sarutobi leveled a glare at all of them. "No exceptions." With that, he turned and left, striding out of the room and leaving the council stunned.

The reinstated Hokage smirked as he walked down the hallway. His smirk faded as his mind turned to the mountain of paperwork that would surely be waiting for him.

Secret Location

Two figures stood on a balcony at the top of a tower, watching the rain cascade over a large city. One, a man with red hair and gray, rippled eyes, and the other a blue-haired woman with a paper flower in her hair. They wore large black cloaks with red clouds on them.

A man approached them from behind, but they did not turn to meet him. The man spoke, "There has been a change of plans. We will have to move earlier than expected."

"So soon?" The red-haired man asked.

"Yes. The Kyubi is currently defenseless. We do not want to give it time to strengthen. I will retrieve it myself. You worry about the others." The other man replied.

The red-haired man nodded. "It will be done."

"Good." With that, the other man's presence faded away.

The woman looked at her companion. "Nagato, I don't trust him." She said.

"He is a means to an end, Konan. I will dispose of him when the time is right."

Konan looked worried. "Still, I feel as if something bad is coming."

Nagato smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Konan. After all, nothing can stand before the might of God."

Later

Ten figures were gathered in a large room. They all wore the same attire, black cloaks with red clouds, and wide, conical hats that obscured their faces. One of them, a man with spiky orange hair and many piercings spoke, "You all have new orders. We have decided to commence our plans immediately. Sasori and Orochimaru, you will retrieve the Ichibi and the Gobi. Kakuzu and Kaji, you will retrieve the Nibi and the Rokubi. Kisame and Teiji, you will retrieve the Nanabi and the Yonbi. Konan and I will handle the Hachibi and the Kyubi. You have your orders. Now go."

"Hai, Pein-sama." They said in unison. They each vanished, leaving Konan and the orange-haired man alone. 'And so it begins.' He thought to himself.

I need you guys to give me feedback on this one. I've tried to improve my writing over the last year, and I'm eager to see people's reactions.

If this chapter seems a little generic, rest assured that it is on purpose. I'm trying to be more subtle in my writing, starting things off slowly, taking my time to tell the story, and focusing more on the journey than the destination. Keep in mind that all of the questions this story will raise will be answered in time. I actually have a plan for the plot of this story, instead of just charging in blindly like with my other stories.

Don't Fear the Reaper,

Kumo no Shinigami