AN: Couldn't get this idea out of my head, so I've decided to post this to see the remarks on it. Yes, I'm still writing, for those wondering, I've been caught up with the real world lately which is taking up most of my time. Anyway, I plan on updating Monster of the Hidden Leaf V2 next after a reread and some revisions. Afterwards, it's full focus on Akuma no Senshi…it needs completed, but I will not rush perfection as the saying goes. Apologies for the long AN, but I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar: The Last Airbender nor am I doing this for profitable gain, all rights respectively go to their creators.
ITALICS – thinking
BOLD – jutsu/demon speak
Prologue
October 10th.
Night was fast approaching, shops were closing for the day, and the shinobi of Konoha went about their day like usual. In the Hokage Tower, a retired Hiruzen Sarutobi, the former Sandaime Hokage, smiled as he sat in the chair once again. It was a good feeling, but the elder Sarutobi knew that he was past his prime hence why he chose a young Minato Namikaze to take his place. Where was this young Hokage? Why, in a secret location with his son, a five year old Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, ready to see his sister come into the world.
October 10th. A day filled with peace, soon to become chaos due to one man's machinations.
"Push Kushina, she's almost there." Biwako Sarutobi, Hiruzen's wife said with a smile as she saw the crown.
"Push?!" The fiery tempered Uzumaki yelled as she crushed Minato's right hand whom was doing his best not to cry out in pain. "I've been doing so for the last hour, 'ttebane!"
"Calm down hime, "Minato said in a loving manner, "Such anger isn't healthy for the baby."
Kushina let out a frustrated growl as she pushed again, a crack echoing in the room as Minato's fingers were crushed further. Such pain was quickly overridden with joy as the cries of a newborn echoed in the small shed. As Biwako went to clean the baby off, Kushina let out a sigh of relief before looking tiredly at her smiling son.
"So, whatcha want to name him, my lil' fishcake?"
Naruto mumbled to himself at the nickname, one he loathed with a passion. His name meant Maelstrom, dammit, much like the whirlpools that used to protect Uzu. Nonetheless, Naruto smiled and quickly looked over at his sister and, upon seeing the tufts of red hair, could only think of one name.
"Mito, after my great grandmother!"
"A splendid name, don't you think Minato?"
Said person nodded with a smile, one which was erased when Biwako's screams of pain was heard followed by Mito's crying. To the Namikaze family's horror, there, in an orange masked man's arms, was their newborn; a kunai dangerously close to her throat.
"A precious life, don't you think Hokage-san?" The man tilted his head to the side, his evil smirk hidden beneath the mask, "I could easily slit her throat to end her incessant crying, but I have a much better idea…the Kyuubi, in exchange for what's in my hands."
Naruto was about to run up to try and free his sister, but Minato held him back.
"You should know the answer to that already." The kunai pressed into Mito's neck which made everyone tense up.
"Tick tock, I haven't much patience left." The evil grin never left the man's face.
That was until he was hit over the head with a bedpan courtesy of Biwako. Seeing an opportunity, Naruto broke from his father's hold and tackled the man at the knees which made him stumble and lose his hold on Mito. Minato quickly used his Hirashin to catch his newborn daughter, but it wasn't enough to save Naruto as the masked man's kunai sliced across his eyes.
"No!" Kushina and Minato yelled as Naruto was now the one being held hostage, his throat being held by a booted foot.
"Tsk, such a shame." The masked man shook his head, "If only you listened and agreed to my demands."
The man started to glow, and Minato knew of only one jutsu that did this; the Exploding Clone.
Acting quickly, he used Hirashin once again to grab everyone and teleport them to the hospital just before the shed exploded into splinters. Tsunade, who was walking down the hallway with a couple folders, screamed in fright and threw the folders upwards as Minato made his presence known.
"No time," Minato said as the papers fluttered to the floor, "Make sure they stay safe, I have a score to settle."
Tsunade dumbly nodded, but quickly went into doctor mode upon seeing Naruto holding his eyes and writhing around in pain as well as a seriously injured Biwako. As for Kushina and Mito, they were unconscious, most likely due to stress, exhaustion, and the teleportation; perhaps a combination of all three. As Tsunade had nurses and other doctors rush over to help, she could only think of two things.
Naruto's eyesight, and his future as a shinobi of Konoha.
Minato had teleported back to the place of the explosion where, not surprisingly, the man had stood in what looked like boredom.
"Mou, you take all my fun away." The man pouted beneath his mask, but it soon turned into one of glee, "Though now that you're here, the party can really get started!"
Minato braced himself as the man attacked, and when he got close, the taijutsu bout began. As the battle raged on, and upped in intensity, the people of Konoha had started to hear it. Five minutes had passed, the civilians were now in the shelters, and the shinobi were on standby to help their Kage if needed. For now, it didn't seem that way as Minato clearly had the upper hand if the masked man's injuries said anything.
"You may have wounded me greatly Hokage-san, you may have ruined all my plans, but that's not to say I didn't come empty handed." The orange masked man laughed insanely as he went through hand seals in a fast pace; too fast for Minato to stop them.
The hands hit the ground, a sealing matrix had spread out, and, in an enormous puff of smoke; something had appeared while roaring to the heavens. As it cleared, all shinobi had paled at just what this creature was.
The one-tailed beast, Shukaku.
"But how?!" Minato thought, "He should be secured in Suna…unless…."
"Your emotions cannot hide from me, Hokage-san!" The masked man took a pause to laugh, "I know your thoughts; thoughts of my plans, how I managed to do what I did, but like you told me…you should already know the answer to that."
It was then, that Minato saw a red glow in the only eyehole in the mask, one with a strange pattern; a pattern that only one such eye could have. The bijuu's eyes glazed over before dilating and reflecting that of the man's Sharingan.
"Forces of Konoha, prepare thyself for today will be a day unlike any we've faced before; a day in which we will prevail!" Minato yelled to everyone as his eyes narrowed in preparation for the battle ahead.
"Bold words, Hokage-san…but can you back them up?" The masked man looked up at Shukaku before uttering the words which would bring hell upon Konoha, "Sic 'em my pet!"
Back at the hospital, Tsunade had just finished up healing Naruto to the best of her abilities and couldn't be happier with the results. There was hope that he would see again as the damage to the eyeballs wasn't too severe, but Tsunade knew that time would tell the true story. Hope, however, was sadly lost for Hiruzen Sarutobi. Despite Tsunade's best efforts, the damage to Biwako was too severe and she had succumbed to her injuries.
Homura, Koharu, and Danzo had all paid a visit once they heard the news, followed by Jiraiya and Tsunade. For the elders and Danzo, they hadn't seen their friend this distraught since Tobirama gave his life in the Second Shinobi War. And they all knew, even the Sennnin, what happened when a shinobi felt this way. A roar in the distance followed by a sick, intense killing intent soon followed which made everyone grow pale in the face.
"So, the one-tailed beast has been released." Hiruzen mumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear it.
"But I thought that was secured in Suna?" Jiraiya asked, shock evident in his tone.
"Apparently, that's not the case anymore…" Tsunade replied, but stopped as she saw Hiruzen close Biwako's eyes then kiss her on the forehead.
Once he composed himself, Hiruzen looked at everyone in the room with a smile as he brought out his pipe.
"Although I'm Hokage no longer, I give these final decrees to all of you." Hiruzen said as he calmly packed his pipe and looked towards Danzo, "Danzo, keep the Roots strong so that the Great Tree can grow."
The Sandaime set his gaze on his advisers, "Koharu, Homura, aid the new generation in becoming the best Konoha has ever seen and keep Danzo in check."
And lastly to the Sennin, "To my students, I apologize for the many faults I've made in my day and I want you to take those failures to heart." The pipe was now in his mouth, ready to be lit, "Use them to guide Minato on his path to greatness. Lastly, tell my son that he was right all along."
Hiruzen walked slowly towards the door as he lit his pipe and puffed on it a few times, everyone moving out of the way for him. All of them knew that a decision like this was final, and that there wasn't any room to argue. As he opened the door and walked into the hallway, the Sandaime looked back at his wife and let a few tears roll down his face.
"Soon, my sweet Biwako, we will be together once again."
The door clicked closed, and it was then that everyone, even the usually emotionless Danzo, shed tears.
"We can't hold it off much longer, Sensei!" Kakashi yelled to Minato as he dodged another wave of sand. "Part of Konoha is destroyed, and who knows where that bastard in a mask went."
"I'm aware, Kakashi-san, and I have just the idea to get rid of this nuisance."
"Why am I sensing a 'but'?"
"That's 'cause there…hold on!" Minato replied, only to grab his student and use a quick shunshin to avoid being impaled by sand spikes.
"Kakashi, ANBU, you're in charge until I get back…I have a difficult decision to make."
They all nodded as they weren't one to question their Hokage's actions. And with that they quickly got to work in formulating a plan to get Shukaku off his feet. Although they lived in the Land of Fire, there was a few water users here which would help in slowing the behemoth down. As the multiple water jutsu rained down upon Shukaku, something appeared above the bijuu in a puff of smoke. Soon, Shukaku was flattened by a massive Toad courtesy of Jiraiya the Toad Sannin.
"Keep it up, it won't stay down for long!"
Jiraiya's words rang true as the sand started to float elsewhere and start to form up again. As one, the Konoha shinobi fought, but in their minds they hoped that Minato would get back soon with the solution they were looking for.
A yellow flash woke Kushina up, but the smile she had on seeing Minato was erased due to the expression on his face. She felt the aura outside, one all too familiar which meant only one thing.
"So, it's come to this then?"
"Hai, Kushi-chan, I'm afraid so." Minato replied as he walked to the crib where Mito was peacefully sleeping.
"You know I don't approve of this, right Minato-koi."
"And you know that it's the only thing we can do to ensure Konoha's safety."
The silence that followed spoke volumes, but as Minato was ready to take Mito, Naruto intervened.
"No, not my sister, take me instead." He said as he sat up in the bed he was laying in.
"N-Naruto!" Minato and Kushina were shocked.
"I'm blind, kaa-san, tou-san, I'm not fit to become a shinobi." Naruto rubbed the bandages over his eyes, "Let Mito have the dream I'll never have."
Minato and Kushina were crying at this point as they knew what the influx of chakra could do to Naruto. However, the wise words spoken by their five year old son somehow made sense. An explosion outside the gates shook the hospital which brought Minato and Kushina to reality.
"Fine son, but in order to do the sealing, I must give my own life."
Kushina was about to protest, but Hiruzen had overheard and made his presence known.
"No need Minato-san, for I have lost the light in my life, and my years are fading fast…I've not much longer in this world." Hiruzen let out a sad smile as he puffed on his pipe, "Allow me, as Mito deserves to grow up with both parents."
"Thank you, Ji-Ji." Naruto spoke for Minato.
"No, thank you, Naruto, for making such a selfless sacrifice, one beyond your years."
Another explosion outside the walls, this one closer than before, made it so there wasn't any time to argue. Before Minato teleported away with Naruto and Hiruzen in tow, Naruto looked at Kushina and mouthed 'I love you.' The events of the day was too much for Kushina, and she passed out with tears streaming down her face.
Jiraiya was pissed as nothing they tried had seemed to stop Shukaku's rampage. It was now to the point where the tailed beast could easily enter Konoha and wipe it out with one bijuudama. Luckily for Konoha, Minato arrived with others where he quickly placed his hands upon the bijuu and teleported farther outside Konoha. Although much cheers were had, many knew that something was going to take place, something that would change their lives forever.
"Sensei, I understand what you're going to do, but why are you here, Naruto?" The Toad Sage thought, but the answer quickly came to him.
With a gasp, Jiraiya shunshined to where Minato's chakra was; many, including Kakashi and the ANBU, were not far behind. As they arrived on site, however, they were blocked by a barrier. Now, they could only watch as Hiruzen, his summon Enma, and Minato's clones held off the beast while the real Minato was preparing Naruto for the transfer.
"Naruto…no, you'll die…" Jiraiya whispered as he pounded on the barrier in the hopes of gaining his attention.
Kakashi was about to do the same, but saw the bandages on Naruto's eyes. Being a surrogate brother to Naruto, he couldn't be more proud of the sacrifice he was about to make.
"Jiraiya-sama, have faith in Naruto-nii and your students sealing capabilities." Kakashi rested a comforting hand on the Sage's shoulder, "He's blind, and you know how people feel about such shinobi."
One of the ANBU winced behind his mask as he knew such a feeling, it was why he rose through the ranks quickly and got into ANBU as soon as possible. Being blind was a challenge, yes, but he knew that such a disadvantage could be overcome.
"Live, Naruto Namikaze, for I wish to be your mentor and watch you grow, much like the son I used to have."
"I can't hold this off for much longer Minato!" Hiruzen yelled as he went into Sage Mode and turned part of Shukaku into glass with a powerful fire jutsu.
"Almost done Sandaime-sama, just give me one more minute!" Minato replied as he finished the seals, occasionally looking into Naruto's bandaged eyes. "Regardless of the outcome, I couldn't be more proud of you, my son."
Naruto nodded and hugged his father once the seals were done.
"I'm ready, Sandaime-sama start the seals!"
Hiruzen nodded and made multiple shadow clones to cover his tactical retreat. As the hand seals were made, Hiruzen's Sage Mode had disappeared which made Enma reappear beside him.
"A noble sacrifice if I say so myself, Hiruzen." The monkey king said with a smile, "A legend you will become in the Monkey Realm, and don't worry, I will offer my services to Asuma and any generation of the Sarutobi family."
"Thank you Enma, it was an honor to be your summoner, and an honor to fight by your side." The last seal was completed, the Shinigami now hovering over Hiruzen in preparation, "Go now, we will meet again on the other side."
Enma nodded and dispelled just as the Shinigami asked what his bidding was. Hiruzen made his decree, one which the God of Death was all too eager to appease, though instead of sealing the Yang inside Hiruzen like he wanted, the Shinigami had other plans and decided to seal the whole bijuu into young Naruto. Knowing that the boy would die, the Shinigami ensured Naruto's survival and gave him a gift along the way; one that would take a lot of time and training to manifest fully.
As the Shinigami disappeared and a deceased Hiruzen Sarutobi fell to the ground below, Minato held onto his screaming son and did his best to apply the final seals. For Naruto, the pain he underwent was excruciating for his chakra network had shattered and reformed over and over again until finally his chakra coils and network was large enough to contain everything. Although this process only lasted a couple minutes on the outside, it felt like an eternity to Naruto. Once it was done, he breathed a sigh of relief before falling into a deep coma, one which Minato thought he'd never wake from.
It was October 10th, a day which started unassumingly, but ended with chaos. A date which would live forever in the minds of those who witnessed it. A date in which the Elemental Nations would start to change, not for the better, but for the worse.