Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden

Part I: The Prelude

Chapter One

During the era of war and unrest, our sealing jutsu abilities were greatly feared. So we were targeted and destroyed. The survivors fled and hid themselves throughout the other lands.

The Hidden Eddy Village.

The Uzumaki Clan.

§

She was exhausted.

Never had she run so far and so fast before, but she couldn't stop. There was no time to catch her breath and there was no time for her to try and rest. The only thing she could do was run—run as far as her weary feet could carry her; her life depended on it.

Voices screamed out through the still of the night as the young girl nearly tripped over herself. She quickly regained her footing and continued to sprint through the thick of the forest. A sharp pain shot through her cheek as a branch scratched her face, but she paid no attention to it as she pushed through the leaves and bushes. The night was young, and yet it had felt like years since the last time she had stopped to catch her breath. The one thing that still motivated her to keep going was the heavy footsteps behind her and the voices screaming at her.

She was terrified.

With the last burst of energy she had, the runaway pushed herself, jumping over a fallen tree and landing on her feet. She winced and cried out before she fell to her knees, her body reaching its limit. Her pants echoed in the night as she trembled, no longer having the strength to continue; this was it for her.

The voices began to crowd around her as her head hung low, her eyes squeezed shut. Laughter resonated through the broken silence as hands roughly grabbed her by her arms, dragging her through the dirt. Her head began to spin as the voices began to drift, darkness swallowing her whole.

*Fifteen Months Later*

"Hokage-sama, here is my report." A man in a porcelain dog mask stood before his leader, holding the scroll out to him. The Third Hokage nodded as he opened the scroll and read through the report quickly and efficiently.

He had sent four of his personal ANBU members to track the actions of a few, stray Iwagakure ninja that had been spotted just near the border of the land. Although their behavior had been innocent enough, with the war still raging on and with the shinobi being so close to their territory, Hiruzen had found it necessary to have at least someone watch the enemy carefully; he was tired of making mistakes.

As the leader of the leaf read through the report, his eyes widened as he stopped, re-reading a sentence that had caught his attention.

Secret weapon.

"What did you make of this weapon?"

"We could not see it directly, sir," the ANBU captain explained as he bowed his head in shame. "I'm afraid whatever they were carrying was concealed in a wooden barrel. It was sealed shut with a powerful jutsu as well. There was no time nor was there any way we could obtain it."

"And you are certain that it was some sort of weapon to be used against us?"

"That I am sure of." There was no doubt in the shinobi's mind; he had heard them talking about it.

This was dangerous. The Leaf Village was in no shape to undergo any type of attack, and his ninja were already weary from the constant battling. Things had been going relatively well after the Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed thoroughly by Minato's team, but it was no time to rejoice. Not when there was a secret that the Village Hidden in the Stones had.

"…Bring me Minato immediately."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

He had been extremely tired that night.

Minato rarely got any sleep these days, what, with the great war and the loss of his second team member, he was up to his knees with things to finish; he didn't have much time to grieve. He had woken up early that morning to fill out more paperwork about what had happened between the Kirigakure ninja and Rin. It had been a bit difficult for him to do at first, for Rin had been a kind-hearted young girl. He had admired her kindness and had really enjoyed her warm presence, and now? Now he was left with nothing but the memory.

And Kakashi had been plagued with nothing but nightmares.

Minato was still Kakashi's leader—even if it was now just a one-man team. He was still trying to figure out the best way to reach his student. He was unsure of how to go about it; he'd never been much of an overly emotional person. Even still, he wanted to help Kakashi, because with each passing day, he could see a darkness eating away at the young boy. He was only 10 years old, after all; no kid his age should live the life he had.

As the young man contemplated to himself, he walked into his home, stopping and smiling at the sight of his wife lying peacefully on the couch. He took a few moments to stare at her, drinking in the way her face seemed to glow in the moonlight and the way her hair fell over her shoulders; he had always loved that hair of hers.

"Kushina." Said woman grumbled as she rolled in the opposite direction of Minato, her husband chuckling as he gently grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her. "Kushina," he tried once more as the woman slowly began to emerge from her state of sleep. She blinked several times before she smiled up at the blond.

"Welcome home."

"Ah."

Helping her to her feet, Minato smiled as they began to walk over to the kitchen table, a plate of food wrapped up and waiting for the Yellow Flash. Kushina watched with a pleasant smile as the man across from her ate enthusiastically; it had been a long day with barely anything to eat.

"So—" Before the redheaded woman could ask Minato how his day was, a shadow appeared at their door, bowing out of respect. The pair blinked before Minato stood to his feet, wiping his lips.

"Captain."

"Minato-san." The masked man stepped out of the shadows as he stood tall, Minato nodding. "The Hokage would like to see you. It's of an urgent matter."

Without hesitation, the Yellow Flash nodded as he glanced at Kushina, who tried not to frown; whatever it was, it must have been serious. No longer feeling tired, the jonin turned to his wife, the ANBU captain gone within a blink of an eye. A smile etched itself across Minato's lips as Kushina returned the gesture with her own.

"I'll be back."

"Right." The jinchuriki watched as her husband grabbed his kunai pack, slipping his sandals on and disappearing. She stood in the wake of his departure, holding her hand to her chest as she frowned.

"Be careful."

§

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama."

"Ah, Minato." The aging man stood to his feet as his former student's student walked into his office with a serious expression on his face. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course, sir."

"I'm afraid I've received grave news from a team of scouts I sent out," Hiruzen began as he stared out the long window of his office with a grimace. "They have discovered that Iwagakure has gotten their hands on a secret weapon." That had surprised Minato.

"What type of weapon?"

"We are unsure. That is why I have called upon you." Turning to face the jonin, the Hokage held out a scroll to him. He watched carefully as the young man nodded, taking the scroll and opening it. Reading through silently, Minato glanced up at his leader, the man smiling to him.

"I have great faith that you will complete this mission without trouble."

"I will do my best, sir."

With a bow, Minato turned and walked out of the room, leaving Hiruzen to himself. The Hokage sighed as he took a seat at his desk, glancing at the door in which Minato had exited from.

This was his final test. Completely this would only assure Hiruzen that he was ready for the next stage in his life.

Yondaime.

§

The brisk, morning breeze blew past four ninja as they sat in the cover of a dank and dim cave. The sun began to rise from the horizon as a lone man sat by the dying fire, his eyes fluttering shut and then snapping open every few seconds.

"Oi, Takashi! What the hell kind of watch is that?" Said jonin jumped as he quickly rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes, his teammate glaring down at him with a displeased frown.

"I wasn't sleeping."

"Shut up." Taking a seat next to Takashi, Kenichi sighed as he rubbed his neck.

"How's the package?"

"Just the same as it was last night." The pair glanced over at the wooden barrel, not a peep coming from it. They smirked before they stood to their feet, Takashi walking over to the slumbering pair ninja.

"Hey. Get up. We've got to get moving." Kicking his teammate in the side, Takashi watched as the young woman groaned before swatting his foot away.

"Don't you know that's not how you treat a lady?"

"Where's this lady you speak of?" Kenichi called out from a distance as his teammate laughed, the woman slowly sitting up before she glared, punching Takashi in his knee.

"Ah—Keita!"

"That's what you get, bastard." Standing to her feet, Keita brushed the dirt from her red clothes, straightening out her forehead protector. She brushed her fingers through her dark purple hair before she smirked, walking over to the barrel and picking it up by the straps.

"Kisuke! Get your lazy ass up! It's your turn to carry this thing." The last member of the team glared as he stood up from his sleeping position; he was still fairly tired.

"I heard you, I heard you," he snapped in return as he stood to his feet.

As the youngest of the four reached for the barrel, they all stiffened, a kunai suddenly flying through the air. Just barely missing Kisuke's face, the tip of the weapon embedded itself into the dirt right beside the barrel. With wide eyes, the four turned to the entrance of the cave, a shadow standing before them.

"You're venturing close to the border, I see."

"Who the hell are you?" Keita shouted out as she quickly pulled out a sword from behind her back, the leader of the group quickly holding his arm out.

"Hold on, Keita," Kenichi said, surprising the young woman.

"What—"

"You!" Kenichi called out to the tall figure. "State your name."

"…Minato Namikaze." And that was when the color had drained from their faces.

News of the Yellow Flash had traveled quickly after the incident of Kannabi Bridge, and even before that time, he had been known all through the lands. He was renown for his speed and accuracy, and not many lived to tell the tale of their experience with the man. That was why Kenichi had taken charge; he had had a bad feeling in his gut from the get-go.

"We mean no trouble."

"Then what's this I hear about a secret weapon?" Kenichi's eyes widened as he stiffened, Minato narrowing his eyes at the ninja; so the truth had been discovered.

"Kenichi…" Takashi whispered apprehensively as said ninja gritted his teeth. He quickly let his hand fall to his side as he gave Keita a side glance. He nodded his head as the purple haired woman smirked, suddenly running forward with her sword ready.

"This blade will be the last thing you ever see!"

Minato could tell she was young; they were all young. Though he was young himself, these ninja couldn't be older than 16 or 17; that was far too young to die. Saying nothing, the Yellow Flash glanced at his kunai he had thrown before he disappeared before Keita's eyes. The woman stumbled a few steps but caught herself, blinking as she quickly turned around; he truly was a fast as the speed of light.

"Kisuke!" Said young man blinked before he quickly looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening with fear and awe as the leaf jonin stood behind him soundlessly. Before he could react, Minato used the bottom of his foot and kicked the boy back, Kisuke hitting the ground and coughing; that had been a bit painful.

Slipping his arms into the straps holding the barrel, Minato stared at the Iwagakure ninja with a gentle stare. They all hesitated as he smiled at them before nodding. And then, he disappeared once more, leaving the four shinobi in silence.

"…Kenichi?" Takashi muttered as the leader of the four trembled. He stared at the spot in which the Yellow Flash had been standing, as he narrowed his eyes; he had never planned to kill them in the first place.

"…Without that barrel, the war really is over," Kenichi said as he sighed, scratching the back of his head. For some reason, he couldn't seem to make himself feel more disappointed.

For losing to a man like Minato Namikaze didn't seem so bad.

§

Setting the wooden carrier on the ground carefully, Minato stared at it for a few seconds. He narrowed his bright blue eyes before he pulled out his kunai, digging the tip into the top of the barrel in order to wedge it open. He pushed for a few seconds before the top began to pop. Tucking his kunai back into his pouch, the blond began to tug the lid off with his hands before it came completely off with a squeak. Not wasting a single second, the jonin leaned over the barrel.

"Wh—What?" His eyes widened as he gapped, his breathing hitching.

Inside the barrel was a little girl.


Here is the first, official chapter! Just to clarify, just in case it is a bit confusing, the prologue is several years after this first chapter. This part of the story will be taking place before the Kyuubi attack and, obviously, during the time that Kakashi Gaiden takes place. I've look a lot into the timeline of the past and I've tried to make sure to keep everything in chronological order and to make everything as accurate as possible with the series itself. Of course, there may be changes that I make, putting a spin of my own, and hopefully you will all enjoy that!

Thank you to everyone who has decided to read this and give this story a chance. I'm not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully it will be soon! Thank you for reading, thank you for following and thank you for even favoriting :) I will make sure to work hard in order to meet and go beyond everyone's expectations. If you end up not enjoying this story, I'm sorry and I hope that you may end up liking it more in the future. And if not, I respect that! Thanks for giving this a try at all!

Reviews:

helenGet: Hello! Yes I will definitely be continuing! Not sure when I'll update next, but hopefully it will be soon. Thank you for reading! And thank you for taking the time to review! I hope you read more chapters and I hope you will enjoy them! I'll work my hardest! Thanks again.