I don't own Naruto. An's at the bottem.

Ripples

It was a sunny day in Konohagakure no Sato and a boy with spikey, bright red hair and blue eyes was playing alone in the forest.

This boy was Naruto Uzumaki. Since the people at the orphanage weren't very nice to him he usually liked to be left alone. Sure he could just jump around and make a lot of noise so that people would look at him but there was this funny voice in the back of his head that told him not to. Granted he couldn't really hear the voice very well but he understood it was basically telling him drawing attention to himself would be a bad idea. It was pretty easy to avoid people because he could, in his own words, feel this weird feeling, where people were. Some people felt really big like the old man in the funny hat, who was nice to him, or that man with the white spikey hair who sometimes followed him around (when he asked the old man in the funny hat about him he said that the person was a friend of his parents and while he couldn't take care of him the man wanted to make sure he was safe.) but everyone felt different in some way. There were other people who followed him but once the man with the spikey white hair got to them they ether went away or disappeared... Thinking about it there weren't any other people who had as big a feeling as those two in the entire village and there was another person with a big feeling coming into the village…

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Kakashi Hatake couldn't help but smile as he saw his sensei's son scamper off into the foliage. The boy was just enough of both of them to be in his comfort level. If he was a carbon copy of ether sensei or Kushina-nee Kakashi didn't think that he could look at him without feeling the overwhelming guilt that anchored him to the memorial stone on a daily basis, it would be like reminding himself who he failed whenever he looked at the boy. Speaking of which, it was about that time of the day…

Creating a shadow clone to watch over his sensei's legacy the son of the White Fang shunshin'd to the memorial stone.

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Today was an important day. An ambassador from Kumogakure was in Konoha to try to negotiate a peace treaty but many of the upper level shinobi, including the Hokage, were wary of him. Many of them still remembered the failed kidnapping of Uzumaki Kushina many years ago and they wouldn't put it past Kumo to try it again especially with her orphaned son running around…(honestly who else in Konoha has that bright red hair?)

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-Night time just outside the Hyuga compound;

A figure darted out of the Hyuga compound carrying a black bag the size of a small child. Yasaka Hitori grinned, almost not believing how easy this was. While he was sent under the guise of negotiating a peace treaty his true purpose was to kidnap the Hyuga heiress for Kumo's bloodline program. While many people would think it was sickening to subject innocent young girls to such a thing Kumo didn't care as long as it got them more power. Pausing to catch his breath Yasaka caught a glimpse of bright red hair just before it disappeared into the bushes…

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Naruto was having fun playing in the forest just outside of the Hyuga compound when he felt that new signature that came into the village today. Oddly enough there was also a second much smaller signature with it. Deciding to check it out he hoped though the bushes until he saw the person carrying a child sized black bag. Figuring that the second signature was coming from that bag Naruto jumped off to warn the man with the spikey white hair. He was nearby…

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'Shit I can't let that brat warn the village's security!' Yasaka thought as he chased after our protagonist. Bursting into a clearing with an odd stone the Kumo Jonin managed to grab the child by the hem of his shirt.

Finally having caught up to the kid Yasaka finally got a good look at him and a feel of his chakra signature. 'Wait… bright red hair… massive chakra reserves for his age… holy shit! This kid is the last Uzumaki!' Grinning madly as he ignored the kids squirming he thought about what kind of reward he would get for this.

Like just about every other village Kumo heard about the Kyubi attack. After doing some digging it was revealed Kushina Uzumaki died but there were rumors of a kid with bright red hair with massive chakra reserves running around after the Kyubi attack. The civilians all thought it was the demon reborn but the people at Kumo knew better. While rare, bright red hair wasn't limited to only Uzumaki's but all those with the Uzumaki special chakra had bright red hair.

"This is perfect. When I take you and the Hyuga girl back to Kumo for their blood line program I'll be set for life!"

Slamming the still squirming kid on the ground Yasaka prepared to knock him out when he felt a prick on the back of his neck and then knew nothing but darkness.

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Kakashi sighed as he finished tying up the Kumo-nin who tried to kidnap the Hyuga heiress and his sensei's son. While the nin would have probably been caught and killed by Hiashi, who was just now arriving to retrieve Hinata, the fact that he chased after Naruto meant three things.

-First that Kumo knew Kushina-nee had a son with the Uzumaki bloodline.

-Two while the nin was chasing Naruto at the time his main target was the Hyuga Heiress.

-Three and most importantly Konoha now had a bargaining chip. If the nin had been killed, even though he was trying to kidnap the heiress the treaty still meant that Kumo would still been able to demand reparations. However since they had the man alive and caught him in the act of trying to kidnap the heirs of two clans (not that one of them knew that yet) there was nothing that Kumo could demand from a legal standpoint and Konoha now held all the cards.

Turning around at looking at the red haired boy clinging to his leg he slowly patted him on the head to calm him down.

"It's alright Naruto. The bad man can't hurt you now." While Naruto wasn't treated very well in the village nobody actually ever raised a hand against him, fearing the wrath of those who cared deeply for him due to the fact the they had connected the dots and figured out Naruto was Kushina and Minato's child. On that note with the attempted kidnapping one of the Major clans of Konoha could probably demand to adopt him under the pretense of protecting him from future kidnappings. Kakashi knew for a fact that the Uchiha clan was trying to adopt him due to Kushina and Mikoto being very close and Fugaku actually being Minato's cousin twice removed(a fact very few people knew. The only reason Kakashi knew is because Fugaku actually approached him to try to get his support to adopt Naruto, feeling he owed his distant cousin at least that. Kakashi himself couldn't adopt Naruto because he was only 16 and was in ANBU but he did give Fugaku his blessing even though it didn't really matter at the moment due to the civilian council trying to cock-block them at every turn.).

"Ok let's go to the Old Man now." Kakashi said taking Naruto's hand

"Ho-hold on." Naruto's voice came out sounding as if he hadn't used it in days, which was probably true considering how he was treated in the orphanage.

Timidly walking over to the girl hiding behind who Naruto assumed was her father he stuck his hand out.

"Hello… my name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"

Blushing from behind her father's legs Hinata stuck her hand out and grabbed Naruto's offered hand.

"M-my name i-is Hyuga Hinata. I-it's nice to me-meet you."

"It's nice to meet you to Hinata." Naruto said with a small smile before he walked over to Kakashi.

"Ok… uh?"

"Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi." Said the man with a smile. Most of his face was covered by a mask and his head-band so it came out as his eye looking like an upside down U.

"Ok Kakashi-niisan. I'm ready to go."

"Niisan?" Kakashi asked with a raised eye-brow

"Yeah the old man says your always looking after me. Like an older brother would."

"Heheh… ok then let's go otouto."

Grabbing Naruto's hand and the tied up Kumo Shinobi both Naruto and Kakashi disappeared in a Shunshin.

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In the Hokage's Tower;

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he remembered how he was appointed Hokage again. After the Kyubi attack and his successor's death he retook the mantel to help stabilize the leaf. Trying to honor the Yondaime's last wish for his son to be seen as a hero he told the village as his status as a jinchuriki. The reaction was split down the middle. While the civilians called for his head many of the more experienced ninja's remembered about Kushina and her status as a jinchuriki and coming to the conclusion that during child birth, Kushina died and the beast had to be sealed into her son (the bright red hair helped many realize that) when it was released. Recognizing the sacrifice Naruto's family was making (even if they didn't know who the dad was) the Jonin and Clan Heads were quick to rein in any and all bias towards Naruto. Since then there have been many attempts to adopt Naruto but the civilian council was being petty and denied any and all requests due to that Naruto was technically a civilian. The Sandaime still remembered when he first brought Naruto to the council and his one-time rival Danzo suggested that he be turned over to him and made a weapon all the Shinobi clan heads stone-walled him and poured enough Killing-Intent towards the civilian council that they could barely control their bowels much less open their mouths.

Thinking about his old teammate Hiruzen couldn't help but feel disappointed. Danzo had become such a short-sighted fool in his old age. Believing that the village was the metaphorical 'King' he would do anything to anyone in the name of the village. He had forgotten Hashirama and Tobirama-sensei's reason for building the village in the first place. To create an environment where children wouldn't have to go out into the battlefields and parents wouldn't have to visit said children's shallow graves.

The Third Fire Shadow was broken from his musings by a knock on the door. With a tired "Come in", he looked up at the door and saw Kakashi holding a tied up Kumo nin with a sharp look in his eye he gestured for him to close the door and explain.

"Around eight thirty at night Naruto came across this Kumo-nin holding a small child-sized bag outside of the Hyuga compound. Knowing he couldn't beat him by himself Naruto came to find me but was seen by the Kumo-nin who then proceeded to give chase. Naruto was able to reach the memorial stone before he was overtaken. Hiding just before he arrived I heard the Kumo-nin's intentions of taking both the Hyuga heiress and Naruto back to Kumo for their bloodline program. I then subdued him as Hiashi-sama arrived. I let him take the Hyuga Heiress back to their compound while I brought Naruto to my apartment. After that I came here to report to you sir."

Sarutobi sighed as he took out his pipe and lit it with a small Katon Jutsu. "Take him to Ibiki and call the council for a meeting."

Honestly it wasn't surprising. Once you've seen one warmonger you've seen them all and Sarutobi had to deal with one on an almost daily basis. Still it was somewhat disappointing that Kumo played down to their expectations (every Konoha ANBU was deployed, creating an impregnable barrier around Konoha. No one was getting out without them knowing.). At least he could use this. Now they had a bargaining chip against Kumo and he could use this to strong arm the council into letting a clan adopt Naruto.

Speaking of adoption he pulled out a stack of papers out from his desk drawer.

After the Kyubi attack and the matter of Naruto's adoption came up, Uchiha Fugaku was the first one to offer. Granted the civilian council immediately shot any and all attempts down, but Fugaku was stubborn and refused to give up. Every other week he received a request from the Uchiha clan to adopt one Uzumaki Naruto but the civilian council immediately shot it down every time. At first he was suspicious seeing as how it was an Uchiha (not that anyone besides himself and the Kyubi knew that) that was behind the Kyubi attack but after some digging he found the truth about Minato and Fugaku's relationship and decided to give him his support.

Smirking he began to fill out the paperwork to adopt one Uzumaki Naruto into the Uchiha clan. He had the civilian council's number this time.

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-Council chambers;

"So it looks like Kumo really did try to kidnap the brat."

That was the voice of the Jonin Commander Nara Shikaku. He had predicted that since Kumo had already tried to kidnap Naruto's mom, they would probably try to kidnap him too if given a chance.

"Yep but I hear he wasn't captured by the ANBU we have around the village." Said a cheerful heavy-set man named Akimitchi Choza.

"Apparently Kakashi was the one who took him down. We have him in Interrogation and Torture right now." Added Yamanaka Inoichi the last of the first generation Ino-Shika-Cho.

The door to the Council Chambers opened to reveal the Hokage and his two teammates Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Settling at their seats at the end of the council table the Sandaime cleared his throat.

"We are here today to discuss two things. First is Kumo's attempted kidnapping of two clan heirs and the adoption of Uzumaki Naruto."

"I thought we already made our point clear! That demon isn't going to be adopted!" Said cliché council member one.

"That's right and there is nothing you can do about it! " Screeched a pink haired bansh- er I mean cliché council member two.

"That's where you're wrong." Said Sarutobi with a grin that was positively victorious..

"But I will get to that. At 9 pm a Kumo-nin was apprehended trying to kidnap the heirs of two clans. The near extinct Uzumaki clan." *insert flinch for cliché civilian council*"and the Hyuga clan. Because of this I feel it is appropriate to leave him in the tender mercies of Ibiki."

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-In a deep dark torture cell;

Yasaka Hitori was waking up. He felt his arms and legs restrained and he couldn't see or feel his chakra.

"Hello Yasaka. Would you like to play a game?"

"Oh thank god. For a second I thought they gave me to that sadist Morino Ibiki. I swear that guy gets his jollies off of torturing people."

Yasaka's blindfold was then removed… to reveal the grinning face of Morino Ibiki.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO-"

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-In the Council Chambers;

"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" was heard all the way from the I&T department.

"Ahem… yes well as I was saying because of the negligence of the civilian council one of our bloodlines was almost stolen. There for I am forbidding the civilian council from interfering in any matters related to the Uzumaki heir Uzumaki Naruto."

"What! You can't do this!" Said cliché civilian council member number 3 as they were escorted out of the room by ANBU.

"Yes we can. Due to your bigotry you spit on the legacy of Uzu and in the process almost lost Konoha a powerful bloodline and our jinchuriki. While you might want to 'get rid of the demon' remember. In Kumo's hands that 'demon' might come back to exact vengeance." Homura said in a stoic tone.

"When Kumo learns that we have detained one of their head Jonin they will be out for blood. What I want are ideas that end in our benefit without war." Sarutobi said to bring the conversation back on track.

"Hiruzen you cannot be serious." Said Danzo as the one-eye'd warmonger monger'd for war. "They are obviously in the wrong here and since this is Kumo we are talking about they won't let it go unless we give them what they want or put their balls in a vice."

Taking a deep breath the Sandaime rubbed his forehead. "I know Danzo I know… I do have an idea that will in your own words 'put their balls in a vice' but I want to hear the other's suggestion so we don't have to resort to that."

Surprised that Sarutobi was still capable of thinking like that Danzo simply nodded and stepped back.

Some ideas were dribbled around but it seemed no one was able to agree to a realistic solution. Some wanted to simply execute the Kumo-nin while others wanted to release him as a show of peace. However in the end it seemed that Shikaku lived up to his position as Jonin Commander and took control of the situation.

"Hokage-sama if I may?"

"Yes Shikaku-san what is it?"

"What do you plan to do if Kumo doesn't accent to our demands? I think it would be best if we had an accurate idea of how much of a trump card we have on them."

Sighing Sarutobi lite his pipe and took a long drag before he blew out the smoke.

"The man we captured is as I said a Kumo Jonin but what I hadn't mentioned yet is that he is one of their Head Jonin. Right now he is down in I&T having very piece of information in his brain being extracted by Ibiki and an assistant. As it is we have access to all of Kumo's dirty dealings so to speak. Every record of every kidnapping failed or successful. Knowing Kumo and how hungrily they amass power we could probably convince both Iwa and Mizu to go to war with them. With Suna and us that would be four of the five great nations all attacking one place. They would be completely crushed. However that vacuum of power would lead to the balance of the Nations destabilizing. Everyone would be trying to get as much as they could from the remains and it would probably begin the next Great War. "

Silence echoed in the chambers. Right now they had the opportunity to destroy one of the Five Great Nations but it would be the start of the 4th Great Shinobi War.

"No… causing the destruction of a Nation for a simple kidnapping attempt would be too much. That is why I want to find some other solution. What we know is that Kumo won't give us their Jinchuriki or give us any of their bloodlines. What else can we ask for? Jutsus? Resources? Someone give me something."

"We could ask for training for our Jinchuriki." Danzo said.

Silence once again greeted the room. Not because of the words spoken but because of the speaker.

Within Konoha Danzo was a well-known warmonger the fact was that he and Sarutobi often bumped heads because of their respective views on what was best for the village. Danzo wanted war and Sarutobi wanted peace. The fact that DANZO was suggesting a viable alternative that didn't end in war was enough to shock everyone into silence.

"I know that most of you think of me as nothing but a deluded fool wanting war for no reason, but hear me out. At the moment we are weak from the Kyubi attack but we have never had a jinchuriki of the Kyubi actually use its power. However during the last war rumors sprung up about Kumo's 'perfect host'. If we were able to harness the raw power of the Kyubi then Konoha's position as the strongest ninja village would be cemented once again."

"… very well. I believe that is a good idea. At the moment the peace treaty, even if it was just a distraction, is technically making Kumo our ally if we decide to ratify it. However Naruto-kun will not start until he believes he is ready and reaches at least Chunin rank. All agreed?"

"Agreed." Chorused the room.

"Now onto the second order of business, as I said now that the civilian council is no longer involved in decisions pertaining to Naruto-kun he can now be adopted without them stonewalling us. Since Fugaku has been the most… vocal… about his wishes to adopt Naruto into the Uchiha clan I will let him. Unless there is any objections this meeting is abjured. I need to prepare for when Kumo learns about their Head Jonin being detained."

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-Kumogakure;

"DAMNIT" followed by the sound of a desk smashing through a wall was the screen in the Raikage's office.

It was supposed to be a simple kidnapping but the damned ambassador overstepped his boundaries and got caught.

Sighing A the Yondaime Raikage rubbed his forehead. Sarutobi held all the cards in this case and he could only send another ambassador to try to negotiate his head jonin's release…

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-in Kakashi's apartment;

One red haired blue eye's child slept in a dreamless sleep the events of the night finally catching up to him.

This was the scene Kakashi happened upon coming back to his apartment. Seeing his sensei's son… so innocent and naïve… it made him want to put each and every civilian council member's head on a pike. He had come to tell Naruto about his new family… but he could always tell him when it was finalized.

Tucking Naruto in Kakashi decided to go to the living room and catch up on his reading…

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When the Kumo ambassador came to Konoha, he was simply give a scroll and told to be on his way. When he asked what was in the scroll he was told that it was Konoha's demands and what they would do if said demands weren't met. Figuring it somewhat odd he decided to look in the scroll. Paling rapidly the ambassador made tracks back to Kumo…

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-Kumogakure;

"At least they aren't asking for anything to drastic…" A sighed in relief. With the dirt Konoha now had on Kumo they would be able to set the rest of the Great Shinobi Nations on them like wolves on a piece of meat. They really screwed the pooch on this one. Trying to kidnap not only the last of the Uzumaki clan but also the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, Kumo was lucky that Konoha didn't decide to just shoot first and questions later. On the bright side the alliance with Konoha would be smoothed over if Kumo agreed to this. It was a deal of mutual benefit for both sides but Konoha was still holding a metaphorical gun to Kumo's head in this one…

Grabbing a blank scroll the Yondaime Raikage wrote his response and prepared to send the scroll to Konoha. They might be able to get the Uzumaki bloodline just yet…

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-Konohagakure;

Sarutobi Hiruzen let the pipe drop out of his hand as he read Kumo's response to Konoha's demands. They had agreed of course but A had suggested something to further cement the relationship and eliminate any bad blood between their nations. An arranged marriage, but not just any arranged marriage.

An arranged marriage between Nii Yugito the Jinchuriki of the Nibi no Nekomanta and Uzumaki Naruto the Jinchuriki of the Kyubii no Yoko.

While it might end up giving Kumo the Uzumaki blood line, it would almost permanently tie together Kumo and Konoha.

Jinchuriki were inherently more loyal to each other due to the fact that just about every Jinchuriki grew up hated and scorned. If Yugito and Naruto ended up growing close enough and Kumo tried to break off the alliance Yugito would stay with Naruto rather than go back to Kumo, especially considering that she had no real connection to the Kage as most Jinchuriki did to secure their loyalty. The question is, however, if Yugito and Naruto would truly bond. Yugito was seven years old, a fresh Genin out of Kumo's academy even though she had been training with the Nibi's chakra her whole life. Naruto was three years old and not even aware of his burden. Sighing Hiruzen decided that once Naruto entered the academy he would tell him of Kurama the Kyubi. The academy would color Naruto's opinion of the old fox even though the attack years ago wasn't really his fault (not that anyone but him knew that). Not to mention how Naruto's parents probably asked Kurama to take care of their son. The reason the old fox hadn't made contact yet was probably due to how pumping enough of its chakra to forge a link to the boy would have killed him.

"All things considered this is alright for now… I hope Naruto can forgive me when he learns about this."

AN: Ok finished with chapter one. To be honest compared to the prologue I wrote this chapter seems kinda meh. I appreciate the warm reception for my first story but only one review? Cmon guys reviews are a writer's lifeblood… kind of… not really. I'm just writing for fun but reviewing helps me figure out ways to improve and make my stories more enjoyable for you-all. Anyway the next chapter is going to be Meeting the Uchihas and Kurama, then the massacre and after-math(will probably be a shorter chapter) then we get into canon cause right now I'm trying to show how the ripples are becoming waves. I'm going to put up a poll on my profile because I've been wrestling with the idea of giving Naruto Shisui's Sharingan and having it evolve into the Rinnegan. NO this will not be a god-like Naruto story. Naruto will only be able to use Shisui's Kotoamatsukami like once a month and then the other Mangekyou power(He will eventually be able to unlock another Mangekyou power more on that in the future because I do have an explanation so no spoilers) would be sealed until Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was usable again and the Rinnegan would come with major nerfs to (to give you a decent idea of how hard I'm going to nerf it Shinra Tensei will have a one minute 'cooldown' and he won't be able to hurl freakin boulders or destroy entire villages. I'm going to do stuff like that across the board he will get more powerful just not all at once in the beginning). I don't plan on ether of them being his main weapons so to speak. To give you an idea it's like a fire hose with 7 different modes. He will be adaptable and have a seemingly endless amount of power but he can only out-put a certain amount of power at a time. Also the pairings aren't set in stone yet. I might make it a harem (there will be no physical action until part 2) I might not but I will be planting flags everywhere (huehuehue)

Edit1:Made council meeting more 'professional'

Edit2: Ok for those that think that Sarutobi just married off Naruto to easily let me tell you why. The benefits far out weigh the costs and as Hokage Sarutobi still has to do whats best for Konoha due to how they are still weak from the Kyubi attack and this wasn't something that would really harm Naruto. Marrying Naruto would have givin Konoha a strong ally and if Kumo ever betrayed Konoha, if Naruto and Yugito had bonded enough, Yugito would side with Konoha. Also this is a political marriage in a universe were special powers are hereditary. If Yugito and Naruto didn't get along Naruto could just marry another woman because he is the last of his clan. Also there is a chance that i won't make this a harem. All because a girl has feelings for Naruto doesn't mean he has to reciprocate. As I said i could make this a single pairing, a harem or i could have him die or leave the elemental nations before he gets any action(I would make a crossover where he does if i did this. I like happy endings but i'm going to make the characters work for it).

Edit3: Its confirmed. It will be a sad ending with a crossover. So no harem for Naruto. Flags yes. Harem no.