A/N: As promised, this story has been remixed by yours truly. I had started up a bit of interest on it with my iPad while I was going from…was it Florence to Rome? I'm pretty sure it was Florence to Rome. I will not lie to you; there will be gender-benders, and Hinata will indeed be part of the harem (those of you who are NaruHina haters, please; no useless reviews). I don't intend for her to be all 'N-N-Naruto-kun' at all. Anyway, since this is the first chapter in this little venture, the number of reviews I get will determine if it's worth pursuing, so do read and review would you kindly?

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{Play: "Never Forget" by Martin O'Donnel, from "Halo 2"}

[Somewhere near Konohagakure no Sato]

Silence reigned as a lone figure walked through the woods alone, wearing flowing robes and a tall, pointed cap. Only the sound of crickets and cicadas chirping could be heard with each step taken. The iron grey beard, wrinkled complexion, and the fact that he was supporting himself on a long spear, gave the impression of a traveling wizard.

However, the most distinguishing feature of the old man was that he only had one eye that peeked out of long, disheveled hair. He seemed to be scanning the ground for something as he followed gigantic paw prints that only went on deeper into the woods. It wasn't too long ago since the battle with the maker of the paw prints had ended, and the old man could not help but to investigate the outcome of the fight. The Kyūbi no Yoko had rampaged through the village of Konohagakure no Sato not too long ago, taking the lives of many people.

The old man was not alone in his walk through the woods. Flanking him on both sides were a pair of large wolves. Each one with bright, greenish eyes that warned off threats with a piercing glare. Their only protection came in the form of a thick, metallic, indigo fur with a whitish-silver undercoat. They each stood at about the same size and muscle mass as a large pony, and their body proportions were such that they could fit an adult human's head in their mouths. From how much in sync their motions were, as well as how identical they appeared, it was more than obvious that they were twins born from the same litter.

Perched atop the old man's shoulders were a pair of ravens, slightly larger than the norm. Jet black feathers covered their bodies, and there was an intelligent look in their rust-colored eyes. Were it not for the moonlight reflecting off their feathers, they would have camouflaged well in the night sky. Overall, the ravens would have made for excellent spies.

The last thing following the old man was being led around by a set of leather reins; it was a mighty bronco that stood a little under seven feet tall from head to hoof. There was a majesty in his composure, as he took dignified steps on eight massive legs, clopping his steel-colored hooves on the floor. He was covered in a reddish brown coat pulled over no more than 300 pounds of highly dense and corded muscle.

After minutes of following the paw prints, the company of man and animals had found the end of the trail. They could tell this because the sound of a babe crying had marked the location of the two people he'd hoped to find. Lying face-down on top of each other was a man and a woman. The woman had claret hair that went past her waist, covering a body that the elder knew was recovering from childbirth. The man on the other hand, had short, sun-kissed hair that was tied behind his head in a ponytail. Both of them had a large, gaping hole in their abdomen.

The old man then turned his attention to the babe that had been crying his eyes out for a while now. He knew, from the similarities the boy shared with the dead man that this was the latter's son; and the appearance of the sealing array on his stomach made it clear that the boy was the damned fox's host. The old man could not help but gnash his teeth in frustration as he looked at the dead man. "I honestly have no idea whether I should be impressed or disappointed in you, my former Master. On the one hand, inefficient as your method was, I'm glad that my mentoring you in the art of seals in seems to have paid off; considering that you were able to seal the fox into your son. On the other, I am disappointed in you for orphaning your son at all, Minato; and now, because of your actions, I can't even collect your souls so that I could treat you and your lovely wife to that celebration for your love and bravery!"

After letting out a cathartic sigh, the old man calmed down. "It will cost me the rest of my Prana and my life, but I will give your son a gift." he said, rubbing his hands together, "In exchange, you and your wife will do everything in your power to support him from beyond the grave."

The old man reached into the seal array on the boy's stomach, a portal opening up over the seal. The hand disappeared into the portal, before pulling out an orange furred creature from within. It was a small fox, struggling to get out of the old man's grip. "Silence, Vixen!" he shouted, the fox beginning to tremble from the sudden outburst. He then turned his attention to the two wolves before tossing the fox to the ground. "Freki, Geri, make sure that little bitch doesn't escape. I'll get back to her soon enough."

Turning his attention back to the baby, the old man covered his hand in glowing runes that billowed in the air like the embers of a flame. Satisfied with the show of power, he then touched the boy on the seal array, forcing a bright light into his stomach. This would be done another five times, before he looked to the fox being menaced by the two large wolves. "And now for you, you hateful bitch." he said, reaching down to pick up the terrified fox by her hackles.

The fingers in old man's free hand had clenched into an open claw, creating more runes that orbited his entire arm, just as he placed it in front of the fox's face. A brilliant blue light had burned the air between his palm and fingers. As soon as he opened his fingers, the blue light was fired at the fox, knocking the vixen to the ground. She writhed in pain as muscles shifted around, giving a definitively humanoid shape. Orange fur receded to reveal olive-tanned skin on the soft, streamlined curves of a woman just shy of her thirties. Her body was athletically-built, with generous assets, and a firm ass that filled in all her curves well and added to the wild, vulpine charm of her foxy face. Her orange hair was short and spiky, like a wildfire that was swept back. She placed both hands on the ground to help herself back up. "You shall serve as the boy's first Valkyrie." declared the old man, causing the woman to look up at him with terror in her red eyes, "From this point on, you shall not leave the Reality Marble without permission. In addition to fighting for him, you are to collect the souls of warriors that have been slain in battle; starting with the ones who died fighting you. Serve him well, Kurama; you owe him at least that much, for he is your Master now."

With a snap of his fingers, the fox-woman Kurama vanished into thin air. The old man began to fade into nothingness, leaving his spear by the boy while the rest of his body had turned to dust. "Everyone, take good care of him, for he is your new master now." he said, standing back up to address the animals, "He shall be given all my skills at Rank E, but he must prove himself worthy of using my Noble Phantasms to the fullest. Bring him to the Well of Mimir when he is ready, for he shall be my reincarnation!"

The animals remained silent as they watched their master finally disappeared, his form having completely turned into dust. There would be no doubt about their loyalty, not when he had practically designated the boy to be his successor. The horse faded away into nothingness, waiting in the Reality Marble for his new master to be ready to call on his services. The wolves and ravens would make sure he grew up to be a worthy reincarnation of their master.

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[Play: "Grandma" by Okabe Keiichi, from "Nier"]

[Konohagakure Council Chambers, half an hour later]

It was honestly too loud at this hour, and Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that all too well. It'd been a good half hour since the Hokage had been found, along with the boy that had apparently been used to seal the fox away. He had called Jinya up to inspect the seal array on Minato's son. The results of the inspection had surprised the former Hokage, as Jinya said that the seal was indeed holding the fox, but it had been changed dramatically. In addition to keeping the Kyūbi no Yokō sealed in young Naruto, the array had been changed to not only separate his chakra coils from the fox's, but to allow the fox to go free with restrictions without killing him. Also, whatever was done to the array had caused Naruto to develop a third, more extensive, and complicated circulatory system that ran parallel to his chakra coils and transported an energy that he could not identify.

When explained about the boy's situation, the council chambers were filled with the sounds of people arguing about what to do with one Uzumaki Naruto. Half of the council was roaring for his death, while other half said to let him live (with a good amount of people in the latter category that had ulterior motives).

"Kill the demon-boy!"

"Are you crazy? Killing him will probably release the fox!"

"He should be adopted, and raised good and proper!"

"Our dead need to be avenged!"

Apparently, the animals that followed Naruto to the chambers didn't take kindly to the opinions of the people that called for the boy's blood. The large wolves protected Naruto closely; each one circling around his sleeping body, snarling and snapping at anyone that dared come too close. Meanwhile, the ravens flew overhead, prepared to dive down and peck some idiot to death if they got too close to the boy with ill intent.

Earlier, several people had been killed by the animals, trying to sneak in a chance to murder Naruto in his sleep. After Hiruzen had revealed Naruto's status as a Jinchūriki, the two wolves had worked as a team to rip out the throats of a good ten people that worked up the nerve to try and kill him. Even though they hadn't made any kills, the ravens blinded three others by pecking out their eyes, leaving them to suffer in pain. Some unfortunate victims of the ravens were fortunate enough to have been put out of their misery as the wolves snapped their necks and ate them. Since then, nobody dared to go near Naruto for fear of being savaged by the animals protecting him.

"Enough of this!" cried out Hiruzen, silencing everybody in the chambers. "We are here to decide what to do with Naruto. We all know who his parents were, and that the seal has been altered enough for us to know that it gives him the ability to release the Kyūbi as he sees fit. What I want to know is, what we should do with this knowledge? I will take every suggestion into consideration."

A woman with wild, disheveled black hair stood up. Her body was made up of nothing but lean muscle, and the two red fang tattoos on her cheeks had marked her as a member of the Inuzuka clan. "I say that he needs to be adopted." she said, a sort of motherly feeling to her tone, "If he's not raised properly, then I feel that he'll become a self-fulfilling prophecy that the idiots on this council have made."

"And who's to say your motives are any better?" countered a dignified man, his black haori with the red and white fan of the Uchiha clan embroidered on the back. "You just want to adopt the boy because he's that bastard Minato's son. I'm pretty sure that one day, you'll be like a bitch in heat; since you still obviously desire a man you could never have, why not have his son instead?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk about coveting, Fūgaku!" Tsume snapped back, "I've seen the way you looked at Kushina! Me, I at least know where to draw the line, and to keep my love for Minato-kun strictly professional so as not to destroy my own marriage, and out of respect for Kushina. But you, I'm guessing you only gave Mikoto-chan the two best nights of her life while fantasizing about our best friend!"

The accusation of infidelity did not sit well with the Uchiha patriarch. What was left of his dignified appearance began to melt ever so slightly as he got even angrier. "Shut up, Bitch!"

"What do you propose then, Fūgaku?" cut off Hiruzen, stopping the conversation from being led astray. If he'd let them continue on, their squabbling would have gone on to intolerable levels, and nothing would get done.

"I propose that we put the boy in the orphanage," began Fūgaku, "he must do everything for himself." As he spoke, a good number of the civilian council members grinned very sinisterly.

"And let him get beaten up by the civilian council?" challenged Tsume, "Are you that that stupid, Fūgaku? Have you missed what those crows and she-wolves just did to anyone that tried to kill the pup? If they're protecting him like he's their own offspring, and mobs are formed, the streets will be painted in their blood."

"Not to mention the mess that such a large loss of life will cause," added Aburame Shibi, pushing his sunglasses up, "with less people alive to do their jobs, the economic backlash will be great: the circulation of the village's money will begin to slow as prices skyrocket and people begin to buy less. With fewer people at work, we will have less exports for the world, and they shall begin to command unreasonable prices. Eventually, the Hokage would be forced to increase the price of missions, as well as our taxes, in an attempt to fix our financial crisis. After that, I won't say; it is neither a reassuring prospect, nor is it logical to scare the people in the chambers more than is necessary."

While few members of the Shinobi Council understood what Shibi was going on about (some, the greater part of the Council Chambers that did understand what he was saying was dead silent. The implications of what he said were horrifying enough, that the wealthier members of the council paled as they contemplated the consequences of their actions. "I'm not saying nobody is to help the boy, I just said that he must do everything himself," countered Fūgaku, regaining his composure after letting Shibi's words sink in, "he must prove himself to be a useful member of the community before anybody can help him."

"And how the hell is he supposed to learn how to do that without someone teaching him right from wrong?" shot back Tsume, "We still need to make sure he's raised right before we go on teaching him to be a 'useful member of the community.'" She then turned her attention back to the Hokage. "That's why I propose he should be adopted, so that he can learn to be part of the pack. If we just leave him in the orphanage, and word gets out about his tenant, I fear that they won't even bother to teach him anything."

"And just who do you have on mind that will take the little shit in? You? Your clan?" challenged Fūgaku, "If anything, I think it'll bring out the beast within. Besides, we all know your decision to have the brat adopted in the first place is anything but impartial. And when word gets out about the village being in shambles, combined with one of the clans taking him in, and we could very well be looking at an invasion force by our neighbors."

Everyone that supported Minato, and thus for Naruto to be adopted, could only grit their teeth in rage at Fūgaku's words. As much as they didn't want to admit it, his reasoning was sound: if word got out that Konoha was weak, even Iwa would jump at the chance for payback for what Minato did in the last war. And if they found out that Naruto was his son, the thought was just too horrifying.

"Then allow me to take the boy in," came the voice of an individual walking into the chambers. He was a bandaged, one-armed old man that supported his weight on a cane. The most distinguishing feature was that he had an x-shaped scar on his chin. "I can see to it that he is raised to be a fine shinobi."

"And risk him becoming another ROOT operative?! Are you insane Danzo?" shouted Hiruzen, "A Jinchūriki without emotions is far worse than a normal human without one! And considering the fact that we know very little about how the seal has been changed, that could be far more devastating than what had just happened tonight!"

"The boy's parentage needs to be kept a secret Hiruzen, of that we both know is true." answered Danzo, "I'm also sure that you and I both know that if he is adopted by any of the clans, it will draw unwanted attention to him. If I take him in however, I swear to you that it will be discreet; nobody will know of his parentage so long as he is under my protection. And if you so choose, you can bring in your own shinobi to keep an eye on him, with regular visits by Jinya to inspect the seal."

The deal sounded too good to be true, and Hiruzen knew full well there was a catch…there had to be. And yet, he had a feeling that he could not trust the orphanage with Naruto; for the short term, maybe, but a slip of the tongue was all it would take for his intentions to go to shit. But at the same time, he knew that having a Jinchūriki in his ROOT forces would be too good an opportunity to resist.

"I've heard enough," announced Hiruzen, "I will now announce my decision…"

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A/N: Is it evil of me to end the first chapter in a cliffhanger? Hopefully, this will bring interest…if it doesn't, then I suppose that's one less story for me to write. Be as constructive as you can, would you kindly?

Also, Naruto's already been set to be a RIDER-class Servant, but other Servants will choose people to reincarnate into. Who knows? Maybe I will have familiar Servants reincarnating into particular people…like a certain ARCHER that we all know and love reincarnating into someone that fits his skills and Noble Phantasm. Your opinions matter, so if you have ideas on which Servant will reincarnate into which Naruto-verse character, I'm all ears.

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