The Void
A single man sat watching the world he left so many years ago. He had hope that things would turn out for the better. Hope that his actions were the right one's but as time went on it became clear how wrong he was. He had watched the reincarnations of his children leading armies to kill each other time and time again.
He had hoped when the most recent incarnations had come together to build a home and bring an end to the constant war driven by the clan system that things would be better. But in the end the decision of those that came before him drove the two apart and to the moment he saw now.
Hashirama Senju stood tall over his opponent. His dark red layered Armor hung off of him in tatters. The high collar was sheared off and his clothes underneath were ripped, cut and burned. He had the blade of his opponent's scythe sticking out of his side.
Madara Uchiha was in no better shape. He was lying prone, clothes and armor in tatters with his dark hair burned and matted to his body with blood. His eyes were still burning the crimson of his sharingan, but with his chakra fading it wouldn't last. He had Hashirama's sword and double ended glaive sticking from his back.
The father of the two souls watched their final battle in what would come to be known as the Valley of the End. The man watched as the incarnation of Indra laid on the ground dead or dying and Asura's incarnation limped away muttering apologies with tearful eyes.
So many times this happened and The watcher was tired of it. It was time for change. He would have to interfere just this once to truly bring change to this cursed world. He breathed a new life into Madara, not enough for him to fight, but enough to survive for now.
He would heal with time; he just needed a little bit of help.
The watcher's eyes moved away from the scene and found Hashirama limping home. This battle had harmed him in more ways than he could know at the moment. His chakra network was damaged severely, and he only had a few years left as a ninja and a couple more after of life.
He was an important part of this as well. The sage hated interfering with the free will of men, but at this rate the world would end with the next incarnation of his sons.
He needed someone else involved, someone impartial to his son's petty squabbles. He needed the incarnations to be as powerful as possible. It was necessary for what's to come. The world must know peace, even if he couldn't see it directly.
Forty Eight Years Later
Kushina Uzumaki was giving birth to her first child. In the room with her was Biwako Sarutobi and her apprentice Taji. So far everything was going well, except for the fact that her husband wasn't here.
"Where is Minato?" She nearly screamed.
Biwako gripped her hand. "He was called into a council meeting at the wrong time. He'll be here soon." Biwako assured her. Kushina cried in pain as her contractions got worse. "Alright breath and push Kushina. Little Naruto wants out and nothing is stopping him now."
She did as she was told and just when she started Minato flashed into the room. "Sorry I'm late, things got a bit heated between Fugaku and Danzo." He called on his way over. He moved next to the bed and gripped his wife's hand placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.
"It's good you decided to finally show up." Kushina sassed him before letting out a scream of pain. Minato chuckled and comforted her as she gave birth to their son.
He watched on as Biwako washed their child with care, and wrapped him up so he could be held. He looked toward his wife with a warm smile until a cold laugh pulled his attention back toward the wash basin. There was a thud as Biwako hit the ground unconscious.
"Hello Minato." A voice from his right called. He shifted his gaze and his eyes fell on a figure in dark red robes and a mask covering everything but his eyes. Minato was careful as he gripped one of his kunai tightly. He would have to be careful.
"Well then I suppose we can make this transaction simple. I'll give you back your child if you release the Kyuubi for me." Minato looked down at his wife and she frowned at him.
"If I refuse." He responded and The masked man chuckled. In an instant he tossed Naruto into the air and readied a kunai to throw.
Minato reacted and intercepted the weapon with one of his own. He used Hiraishin to flash over to his son and Catch him before throwing his kunai toward his wife. It stuck into the bed frame next to her head and he flashed away again.
Namikaze Compound Safe Room
Minato placed Naruto in the crib he had prepared and flashed back to Kushina's side.
Back With Kushina
Minato arrived and kicked the masked man clear from his wife. "You're too late Minato, I've already won." The blonde looked back and saw that the Kyuubi's seal was missing.
The masked man disappeared in a swirl coming from his eye. "Kushina, are you okay?" Minato called in a panic.
"I-I'm fine Minato. Is Naruto Safe?" He nodded. "Good, whoever the hell that was took the Kyuubi. We need to get back into the village and prepare for the worst." Minato lifted her out of bed and disappeared.
Namikaze Compound Safe Room
Minato was about to lay Kushina in bed when the masked figure from before appeared again. "Oh c'mon man, do you have a bone to pick with me or something." Minato groaned.
"Well not really, but I just thought you'd want to know a few things. First thing: You won't be able to seal the Kyuubi back into your wife; it would undoubtedly kill her. Second, I released the kyuubi in the village. Lastly Fuck you." The masked man flipped Minato and Kushina the bird and started to swirl away.
He wasn't fast enough. Minato blurred over and punched the man square in the chest. He gripped his wrist and used Hiraishin to pull the man out of the village into the woods. "Wow you're really rude, I mean flipping me off in front of my wife. I'll be sure to pay you back for that in a moment."
The masked man Chuckled. "Well then let's get this over with. Might as well kill you while I have the ch-" In an instant Minato was next to him with a fist cocked back. The masked man Ducked under the fist and aimed a kick at the blonde.
Minato flashed away before reappearing and dropping a kick onto his opponent. It landed and the man bounced off the ground with a thud. Minato prepared another kick that passed right through the masked man.
"Oh, that was pretty cool, mask-kun wanna tell me how you did it?" Minato heard a snarl in reply and Mask-kun charged, releasing chains from his sleeves as he moved.
The battle was fierce...ly one sided. Minato wasn't the Yondaime Hokage for no reason. Each move he made was deliberate and vicious. A well placed kick, a perfectly timed jab, even his use of hiraishin all came together to completely out class the masked nin.
On occasion one of Minato's attack's would pass through his opponent, but it didn't matter much. It was like he was fighting an inexperienced child. Minato slid under a swing of the chains and when they impacted a tree and split it in half. It was clear they weren't normal. He flipped backwards and threw one of his kunai at Mask-kun.
Mask-kun in all of his confidence just let the weapon pass through him. Minato smirked and used Hiraishin. In an instant the yellow flash had a rasengan ready to end this, but something stayed his hand. A mere moment of hesitation had given Mask-kun all the time he needed to escape and left Minato curious.
His chakra signature felt familiar.
Hidden Leaf Village
Minato arrived on the battlefield to find Kushina standing on top of the hokage monument holding their son and controlling the chakra chains that were currently binding the Kyuubi. "You can take a breather, you just gave birth to our child." Minato teased.
The red head gave him a deadpan look, but she was clearly trying to hide her smile. She took a deep breath and looked down at their son. "It has to be him." Minato nodded. "D-do you think he'll be fine without us?" She asked, tears prickling in her eyes.
Minato walked over and kissed her head. "Well there is another option here…" Kushina turned to her husband quickly. "I can split and implant the Kyuubi's chakra between the three of us. We only need a portion, just enough to let us connect to him through the kyuubi. Whoever attacked today wants to weaken the village so we'll have to make them believe they did. Naruto will still be alone in the village, but we can still help him grow and love him."
He had been thinking of reworking the kyuubi's seal for a while now. There were certain things that could have been changed for the host as well as the fox. Just because the nine tails had to be sealed doesn't mean he has to be completely uncomfortable.
Suddenly a voice they never expected spoke to them. "Will you two hurry the hell up. Whoever that masked bastard is, just tried to summon me away." The Kyuubi called. Their eyes shot over to the fox. His mouth wasn't moving but they could hear him.
"Dammit humans, get your shit in gear and end this. I refuse to be controlled by another pair of those damn sharingan. I'd rather be sealed." Minato actually chuckled.
"Damn, who knew the fox wasn't a complete asshole. Were you being controlled this entire time?" The blonde asked the fox.
"I hold no love for you humans, but I wouldn't try to wipe out a village for no good reason. I'm old and tired, just make sure I have room to stretch and nap inside of the seal and I'll be fine." The Kyuubi called out.
Kushina and Minato shared a look and nodded. They had to at least get the fox someplace he couldn't be summoned. "Okay I'm gonna take us all to the sealing room under our home. The time space seals down there should keep fur face down there.":
"Just because your wife is holding me down doesn't mean I can't flatten you!" The fox called with a menacing flick of his tail.
"Okay fine, lighten up why don't you, it won't kill you." Minato Pouted. With a flare of chakra Kushina, The fox, and himself flashed away. When they arrived in the sealing room Minato fell to one knee. "Shit that took a lot out of me. Okay let's make this quick. Kushina, grab that sealing scroll I've been working on. Look it over while I get the supplies. If you can see anything that needs improvements, plan for them now."
She ran off and did as she was told while the nine tailed fox watched them work. "Kami Minato, how the hell did you even think this up. This is a functioning two way chakra seal. This could give the container the ability to let the tailed beast roam free at will." Kyuubi's ears perked up at that.
"Well that's the point. Trapping the fox for the rest of his life serves no purpose. Eventually he'll escape and he will probably be pretty pissed about his treatment. Might as well give him a chance to enjoy himself." Minato glanced at the fox only to receive a huff in response.
"Well so far it looks good, but the chakra flow rate should be tweaked. Other than that it's perfect." She got to work on the changes and Minato went over to draw the seal array over her chakra network. When he was done she did his. Kushina held Naruto as they began working on him.
"Okay Kyuubi. I know we really haven't spoken much or even gotten along, but Please keep him safe. He'll treat you better than I could have, I'll make sure of it. He'll make a good partner and he'll treat you as an equal." Kushina promised.
"You can't know that yet, but if you are right. If he treats me well, I'll help him as best I can." Kyuubi responded.
"Well then, It's about time we get this over with." Minato called out and slammed his hands down onto the ground. A sealing array spread over the floor until everyone was on top of it. "Seal!" The kyuubi became pure chakra and split into three parts two much smaller than the third. A moment later the chakra took hold in its hosts and settled. Leaving Minato and Kushina with Whisker marks. Naruto on the other hand got the whisker marks as well as sharper teeth, slightly pointed ears, a red orange hue to the tips of his hair and fingernails that came to a point.
"Well shit, Maybe we should have thought over the consequences of the chakra seal a bit more…" Minato deadpanned.
"Look, it's too late now. We need to get Sarutobi and Kakashi here soon. If anyone, those two have to know what happened here." Minato nodded and flared his chakra to signal his location to the third and his student.
Sarutobi and Kakashi arrived on scene and saw them together looking down at their son. "What the hell is going on here Minato, how did the fox escape?" Sarutobi demanded.
"Pregnancy weakened the seal, someone found my location and freed the tailed beast from me while I was too weak to stop him. Too late to change that now, so listen up. They targeted us specifically, they want us weak for some reason so we'll let them believe we are. Me and Minato are leaving the village, the official story is that we died today." Kushina explained.
"We're leaving Naruto in the village he's in your care, though we do still have a link to him. We have enemies that would do anything to see him dead. If my heritage became common knowledge it would only get worse. He's going to come to you and ask for the truth, He'll tell you exactly when he's ready. Please do your best by him, we can't be there for him right now so we're relying on you." Minato continued.
"I'm sorry to hand you back the hat so soon Old man, but the paperwork is killer on the wrists. Kakashi, stop living in the past. You didn't fail your team and you didn't fail me. You did all you could and you've suffered enough." The two men nodded.
"Sensei, I'll make sure he becomes a ninja you'll be proud of." Kakashi promised.
"As will I Minato, just be sure to write on occasion. I know how scatterbrained you two can get when you are alone together." Kushina at least had the decency to blush. Minato on the other hand just put on a sly grin.
"Yeah yeah, old timer. I'll make sure to write every chance I get. Last thing though, there's a scroll in the desk at the office with Naruto's name on it. When you tell him everything, give it to him. He's going to need it." Together Minato and Kushina disappeared in a yellow flash.
In a single night the Hidden leaf "lost" its hokage and an S-class ninja. To the rest of the world it would seem like a while until they recovered.
Four Years Later
Naruto Uzumaki was running. This wasn't an unusual occurrence, whether it be running from angry villagers, or Anbu after one of his pranks he was often running. He was really good at it actually. He was faster than any of the civilians and a good amount of the genin in the village.
This was different though. The sun wasn't out and there was no one to witness the heinous things this mob had planned. He was used to this. The cold looks, the harsh words, the throw objects and rejection as a whole. Still this was an attempt at lynching.
It was his birthday, and his first one without the little protection the orphanage provided. He was thrown out months ago and before today he felt better off. Now that the Kyuubi brat didn't have a place to hide, the villagers who held a grudge against him for no reason sought his end.
Still he was having fun taunting the crowd of mostly civilians while keeping just in front of them. He was leading them around by the nose using his knowledge of the village's alleys and shortcuts to his advantage.
The blonde cut down an alley and slid through a hole in the fence. He broke back into a run after flipping his pursuers the bird. He was in the clear now and more than having fun until he felt something dark approaching him quickly. He turned just in time to catch a kunai in his forearm.
He howled in pain and rolled under the next few that came his way. He jumped clear and caught eyes with the three chunin chasing him now. His eyes widened as one was making hand seals. "Katon: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Small fireballs flew through the air along with a sizable amount of ninja tools.
The blonde felt a tug at the back of his head, a draw on his chakra reserves. His eyes began to burn and he could feel the tears running down his face. He took a breath that he thought might be his last until the world slowed. He could count each and every attack that was heading his way and could guess the trajectories.
He could escape, but it wouldn't be unharmed. There was a gap in the attacks, just enough for him to squeeze through, but he would be close enough to two fireballs to get burned. He crouched low and launched himself forward. The closer he got the clearer his opening was.
He jumped and tucked his arms and legs in close. He felt the fireballs get close enough to burn and tried to ignore the pain. Mid-air he grabbed one of the kunai and deflected a kunai that hid in the shadow of another one. He landed into a roll as his leg buckled.
He dragged himself to his feet and glanced at the stunned ninja trying to kill him. The leader shook out of his stupor first and rallied the other two. "What the hell are you doing? Kill him!" He ordered.
Naruto pulled himself to his feet and ran into the darkness. There was very little safety to be found nearby. Still he went to the area he was calling home. He stayed out of sight and rushed to the only safety he had.
The Forest Of Death Minutes Later
Naruto finally made it to the small cave he'd been living in for the last few months. He still had grip on his kunai as he tucked into his safe haven and rested to heal his wounds. He was growing tired, but he needed to stay alert for a little while longer. There was always the chance that he was followed and he had to react fast or he would die.
Unfortunately he couldn't stay awake longer as he was dragged into his own mind. Little did he know someone was gathering outside of the cave plotting his end.
In Naruto's Mindscape
The blonde child found himself in an unfamiliar setting. It seemed like an aqueduct or a sewer or some sort. The fact that he was sitting in water that came up to his ankles reinforced that idea. He stood up and looked himself over only to find himself completely healed.
Naruto felt drawn further into the structure and only stopped when he was standing in front of a massive gate blocking off an area of darkness. Leaning against that gate was a blonde man wearing a long white coat that ended in flames at the end. He had brilliant blue eyes that matched his own.
"Hi Naruto." He spoke softly. The younger blonde looked at the man strangely.
"I don't think hi is going to cut it there. How about you tell me where I am, why I'm here and who you are." Naruto replied.
The Stranger grinned despite himself. "Well I'm Minato Namikaze, your father. This is your mindscape, and you're here because you seem to have tapped into much more of your own chakra and the fox's than you should be able to." Naruto took a step back and really looked at the man in front of him. Sure they had the same colored hair and eyes, but the Yamanaka clan also had blonde hair and the power to enter minds. What sold it to him was the warm smile on his face.
It was so much like his own it scared him. It wasn't the fake one he put on as he walked through the village. It was really a truly genuine smile that he reserved only for those few people who treated him like a person.
"You really are my dad… but you're the fourth hokage… t-that means you were the one to kill the kyuubi. Oh my god my dad is so cool!" Minato sat back and watched as his son gushed over all of his accomplishments until a booming voice silenced him.
"Who said this welp killed me?" A pair of glowing red eyes called from the cage Minato leaned against.
"Well hey grumpy pants, did you miss me." Minato teased. The eyes drew closer until a massive red fox showed his face.
"You didn't even capture me, Kushina did that. What exactly did you do again?" The massive fox taunted.
Minato cried anime tears. "Hey no need to kick me over my lowest moments fox. Look Naruto, I sealed this big ugly fur ball inside you so you could be strong and protect the village while I'm away. Though I wasn't exactly expecting you to tap into fur face's chakra this early, seriously what the hell happened in the village... Look I'm getting sidetracked and there's a lot we need to cover." Naruto stopped staring at the fox and fixated on his father.
"You need to know more about me if you hope to know why things happened the way they did. Not only was I the fourth Hokage, I personally led the quick reaction force of the hidden leaf during the third shinobi war. It's probably what caused the man to attack the village and free the fox."
"It's also why no one can know of your parentage. Your mother and I were both strong and well wanted throughout all of the other hidden villages. You must err on the side of caution. From here on forward me and your mother will do our best to guide you from our end." Minato continued.
"First thing first I need to see how your chakra flows into your system. I won't be able to change anything, but I hope fur face can give you a hand with that. Flow chakra through your entire body, from the tips of your toes through the top of your head." Naruto concentrated until he felt the familiar flow of chakra into his body. He looked at his father only to see a surprised expression on his face.
"Naruto, your eyes…" Minato choked out. He wasn't wrong to be concerned. Naruto looked down at the reflective pool of water to look at his eyes. They were a deeper blue now, almost a royal Azure color. Swirling around the pupil was two tomoe in each eye. "I...I don't even know how that's possible. You shouldn't have the sharingan and I'm sure the sharingan has always been red. I'm gonna have to do some research on my end."
"Dad, Is everything alright?" Minato nodded.
"Yeah, You're just more special than I thought you were." The world around them distorted just barely. "Okay Naruto, you're waking up soon and fur face here still needs to talk to you. This won't be the last time you see me and hopefully soon you'll meet your mom too. Be safe and treat the furball fairly. He gets moody if you don't."
The fox growled and tried to smash the man with a tail. "Oh speaking of, go to Sarutobi and tell him we've spoken, show him your eyes too. He'll give you what I left to you. Hide your strength, only show it in times of need. The fewer connections that can be made between you and I the better. There's Only one thing left to tell you now." Minato paused and smiled wide.
"I love you son." Minato's eyes flashed bright red for a moment and he was gone. The connection had been severed.
Naruto had held back his tears this long, but now his father was gone. He broke down under the watchful eye of the Nine tailed fox. "I love you too dad. I promise I'll Make you proud." He looked up at the fox and The demon nearly recoiled.
"Okay fox, we should probably talk."
To Be Continued...