Chapter Eight.

Naruto Uzumaki - Part 1.

(How it began.)

5th of June 1904 Land of Fire, Hokage's Office:

We begin our story with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who we find within his office with fifteen other people, about to start a meeting, when he shivered as if someone walked over his grave. It was like an omen of impending doom was to come. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was something he wouldn't like at the end of the day.

"Are you okay Hiruzen?" Koharu Utatane asked with a whisper. Whilst she might not agree with his decisions most of the time as the Hokage, but that didn't mean he didn't have good instincts when it comes to battle, should he be forced into a battle that is. Also, he had a kind of six sense for danger, could sense it before it happens.

"It's nothing," the Third Hokage told the Elder, but she gave him a look that she didn't believe him, "ok I don't think it anything to worry about. At least for now, but we should have the ANBU watch the borders of the Land of Fire for a while just in case."

Koharu nodded at this, she just hoped that the Third Hokage was wrong about this, as they were only recovering from the Nine Tail attack. In the last four years, it changed a lot in the village, to start off with Hiruzen Sarutobi was reinstated as the Third Hokage, as the Feudal Lord believed that there was no one better for the title than Hiruzen, not even Danzō Shimura. And seeing that the Feudal Lord had the final say who was the Hokage, there was nothing Danzō could do about it.

The next big change was that for the first time since the Village was created, a civilian, no six civilians were part of the council. As much as they hated to do so, they had to allow them on. Not because of fear of a civil war, will that might be part of it, but the main reason was that they needed the money. When they tried to put the prices up for their jobs, they got less and fewer jobs coming in. And those that they did get, the ninja that were doing the job were unhappy in getting less money seeing that the council was taking more percentiles of the pay.

So, in the end, they had to ask some of the civilians who were rich or had their own business for the money, and for that money, the civilians wanted to be part of the council. If they couldn't be part of it, then they wouldn't give the Village any money, and without the money, the village couldn't be fixed. So the Third Hokage was forced to allow the civilians to be part of the council, and allow them to have a say as to what happens in the village - but only the civilian side of it.

The civilians came from farmers to wealthy merchants/businessmen, there were four males and two females: the females were Ute Oroshi who was the wife of the top carpenters in the village, and Megumi Yahano who was a wife to the main farmer in the village. As for the males, they were Rega Yogachi who ran the top blacksmith in town, the very one that all the Clans went to get their weapons and armour from. Nobu Tamichi and Arata Takamichi were two of the best traders within the village and was able to get anything the village needs, and lastly, there was Genzai Morimoto.

Genzai was a fifty-year-old plump man, with greying balding black hair and dark-coloured eyes. He had sideburns that connected to his moustache, beard, and eyebrows. He could be often seen wearing a black kimono; a light blue kamishimo worn over the kimono; and a black hakama, a trouser-like split skirt. On his fight, he was wearing wooden geta. He ran the bank within the village and was normally the mouthpiece of the civilians unless the others had something to add, or disagree with the man, which was not often. As he held their money, and they didn't want to risk upsetting him.

To balance it out, where there were six civilians on the council, they needed two other Clan Heads, so they picked Inuzuka Clan and Nara Clan. Now whilst the civilians had some say in the council, and a vote, they only have a say what happens with the civilians. But very little in how the shinobi side was ran.

The next big change was with the Uchiha Clan, not long after the Nine-Tails, they were ordered to move to the outskirts of the village. Fugaku Uchiha tried to protest about this, seeing that it was too far from the village centre, and wouldn't be able to react fast enough to emergencies. But this was put down to that the ANBU could deal with such emergencies. The Third Hokage instead of backing Lord Uchiha, but Danzō who was making the change to the layout of the village of the attack, informed Fugaku where Danzō had a good spot nearby for a new and better grounds for training the new police force members.

This caused many problems and mistrust between the Uchiha Clan and the rest of the villagers. As because they weren't there to help to fight the Nine-Tails, the villagers believed that they were behind the attack. Life for the Clan become difficult over the years, with people not trusting them, those who went to the Academy were picked on. And the villagers would whisper behind their backs, whenever they passed them by.

On a personal note with the Uchiha, Hiruzen had problems with Mikoto Uchiha, who wanted to adopt Naruto, but he was turning her down. As whilst the investigation showed that no one else in the Uchiha Clan was behind the attack, it didn't mean that there wasn't someone else, it just meant they were good at hiding themselves. As a ninja, they were taught to hide in plain sight, and so a good shinobi or kunoichi could hide themselves and not get caught in such as investigation. And so had to keep turning Mikoto down about Naruto's adoption. Not only was their fear that there might be someone in the Clan who knew what Naruto was, and tried to use him.

The Hokage feared that should they find out what Naruto was, they would use him for the rumoured coup d'éta they were considering to do. As over the last four years, the rest of the villagers thought that they were the reason that Kyūbi attacked the Leaf Village all those years ago. And because of that, people looked down upon them, mistrusting them, fearing them and making the Clans difficult.

But then a week ago, it all changed, all the hate and anger as to what happened four years ago, was hurled onto one person, a child who couldn't defend against the onslaught: Naruto Uzumaki. It would seem that somehow, the news that Kyūbi was sealed within the four-year-old.

There was some talks about how the villagers and some of the shinobi and kunoichi wanted to kill the young boy, as they saw him as Kyūbi reborn. So they believed that before he could regain his full power, Naruto should be killed. Others wanted to place seals on him to control him and keep him weak, something the old man was in two minds about. And finally, the caretaker of the orphanage that Naruto was in wanted to kick the young child out, not caring what the hell happened to him.

The only reason none of this happened was that of the Third Hokage had two ANBU that he trusted keeping an eye on the child, and they made the right kind of threats to stop any of this. In fact, this meeting was about Naruto, and what to do next. So the Third Hokage opened the meeting by saying, "Now you know all why we're here for, Naruto Uzumaki and how everyone in the village found out that the Nine-Tails was sealed within the boy."

"So it is true, he is the Nine-Tails." Megumi called out.

"No, he has the Tailed Beast sealed within him, he is not Kyūbi itself." Hiruzen told the female civilian, "Now tell me who told you and the other villagers about Naruto?"

"We don't know Lord Hokage," Genzai informed the Hokage, "we like the rest of the village got leaflets about it through our doors one night, informing us about it all. It had documents with the Hokage Seal on them, confirming the information."

"So we have a traitor in the council." the Third Hokage said darkly to them, as he looked at the Clan Heads and the Elders, as they were the only ones knew about Naruto until now. He gave Danzō an extra dark look, as he was the sort of person who would do such a thing for his own gains, he couldn't prove it and so didn't say anything.

"That could be true," Danzō acknowledged, "but at the same time though, we could have a spy who got the information about Uzumaki. We all know that there are those who wanted to learn about what happened to learn what happened when Lord Fourth defeated the Nine-Tails, so this could have been an attempt to find out. Remember, we are a village of shinobi and kunoichi, it would have been a matter of time before one of them would find out the truth about that night."

As much as the Third Hokage hated to admit it, but there were many who wanted to learn what really happened that night, so they would want to learn more. And once they did, they would either use it one way or another, they were just lucky that whoever it was only told the village. Hiruzen just hoped that they would leave that like that, and not tell anyone outside the village about this. But still, looking around before setting eyes on Danzō, "Now whilst I have no proof that anyone in this council is behind the outing of Naruto's status, but should I ever find out it was one of you, by the time I finish with you, you'll be wishing for death."

Everyone got the message, even Danzō who was behind the whole thing, and knew that for near future, they had to keep a low profile. But what he did was for the Greater Good of the Village, whilst he might not like or nor trusted the Uchiha, they were part of the Village. One of the strongest Clans that he has, and had plans for them, and he didn't want to kill them unless he had no other options. So when he heard about they were considering a coup d'éta, Danzō knew he had to do something.

So he leaked out that Naruto had the Tailed Beast in him so that the village would put their hate and anger onto someone else, in this case, Naruto. As it was better to hate and be angry at one person than a whole Clan, Danzō hoped that this would calm things down and would stop the coup d'éta. Even if it cost the childhood of one boy, for the Greater Good of the village and his plans, it would be done. But now that the Hokage was keeping his eye on him, he would have to a low profile for a while, until he knew it was safe to act again.

"So what is going to happen to the boy?" asked Genzai, "Some would want him dead, even my friends here, as they fear him to be the Nine-Tails reborn. If not kill him, then at the very least keep him weak, so he won't pose a risk." At this, the other five civilians nodded at this and acknowledging that Genzai was right about what he said. However, Genzai went on to add his thoughts, "I on the other hand, like maybe a few other people, believe that we should train him, and use him to protect the village. Like all ninja, like my grandson is being trained to do."

"We do nothing," the Third Hokage told them all firmly, "when Minato sealed the Tailed Beast within the young boy, with his dying breath, he sent me a telepathic message telling me that he wants the boy to lead a normal life. That's what I'm going to do, falling the dying wish of our Fourth Hokage, allowing the young boy to lead a normal life. Should he want to become a shinobi, he'll join and train at the Academy with the rest of the children of his age, and when I believe he is ready, I'll inform him about the Tailed Beast and train him." What he didn't say to them nor admit to himself, he too feared about making the boy too strong in case the Kyūbi took over the boy and use him.

"You're being foolish Lord Hokage," Genzai told the leader of their village, shocking those there, as they didn't believe he would say such a thing, "I know what Uzumaki is now: a Jinchūriki."

"How do you know that name?" asked a shock Hokage.

"My family had dealings with them in the past and documented it so that my family knew what we're dealing with should in future we run into one again." Genzai informed them all, shocking those there, "And whilst I might have some misgivings about them myself, I know you're making a mistake in thinking that the boy will lead a normal life. Now that everyone knows that he has the Tailed Beast within him, most will treat him with suspicion and paranoia, thinking that the Nine-Tails would one day escape or control the boy. So they want to see him dead or kept weak, or they'll be others who'll want to use him as a weapon. The boy won't have a normal life, no matter what you or the Fourth Hokage wants, he won't have a normal childhood. So it would be better if you train him when he is old enough, that way you can at least give him some kind of normal life instead of none at all."

"That may be the case, and we might need a Jinchūriki," acknowledged Hiruzen, "but as long as the other nations know we have one, we don't have to worry about them. As they won't want to risk us using sending our Jinchūriki into the fight. So unless we have to, we give the boy a normal life."

"And what if that fails and we need him beforehand?" asked the banker.

"We'll cross that path when we cross it." the Third Hokage informed them, but the ninja side of the council and Genzai were unhappy about this. As they didn't agree with the way the Hokage was dealing with Naruto, they believe that he should be trained when he was old enough and give him a normal life that they can. "So for the protection of the village and Naruto, from this day forth, it'll be against the law to talk about the being in Naruto. Should you do so, punishment is either lifetime in jail time or death, depending who they tell."

Apart for most of the civilians, and Danzō, the rest of the council were happy about this. More so as to what he said next, "And anyone who hurts or tries to kill the boy, their punishment is a lifetime in jail or death, depending on what they do." But then the Hokage said something that they didn't like, "I'm also making it law that no one is allowed to teach Naruto anything unless I say so until he joins the Academy. He can teach himself and go to the basic clubs in the villages for civilians, but no shinobi training."

"With due respect Lord Hokage, but I think you are being foolish," Genzai told the Hokage, "as you are relying on the belief that people will put their hate, distrust and fear behind them and treat the boy the way you want. Humans aren't like that, they normally fear and hate what they don't understand. Even I fear a Jinchūriki, but at least I understand that they are a necessary evil to keep the Tailed Beast from going on a rampage, but there aren't many like me out there."

"Which is why the law I'm putting them in place, to keep them from doing anything to really hurt the young boy." the elderly Hokage told Genzai, and he believed in the Will of Fire within the village. That they'll overcome their hate for the Nine-Tails and treat Naruto the way he and Minato wanted for the boy in the first place.

"But what about training," began Genzai, "the boy will need to learn to control the power sooner than later, as it could be harder as he gets older. So…"

"As I said before until he joins the Academy, Naruto will be leading a normal life as much as possible." Hiruzen told them firmly, "It was the dying wish of the Fourth Hokage, so I'll do whatever I can do to make sure it is fulfilled. I'll only train Naruto before he joins the Academy if there's no other option but to do so."

This made the civilians who feared and hated Naruto because of the Nine-Tails in him happy, while the rest of them just shook their head in disbelief. They could understand that the late Fourth Hokage and the Third Hokage wanted Naruto to have a normal life, however, they knew that in reality that wasn't possible. But they knew that there was nothing they could do about it, but hope for the best.

Then wanting to finish this, the Third Hokage said, "Now if there's nothing else, I'll call this meeting to an end. I'll inform the rest of the village about the new law within the next few days."

They knew that the Hokage wasn't moving on this and was ending the meeting to stop them from saying anything else. But there was something that they wanted to know about, about some strange chakra creatures that begin to appear over the last few years. These strange creatures were elemental flying beetles, and they were much bigger than normal beetles, and when defeated, they left behind elemental chakra essences for a short while, something that has never happened before.

So Tsume Inuzuka remembered these creatures, and that the Hokage was going to look into this, she asked, "Lord Hokage, about these chakra beetles that have been appearing around the Elemental Nations, were you able to find anything about them?"

Here the Third Hokage appearance darkened at the mention of those beetles, and they knew that whatever the news was, wasn't good, and they were right. As the elder man looked much older than ever as he said darkly, "Yes I have, I was told this by the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire, this was something that was kept from everyone until it was needed. It would seem that the appearance of these beetles, were a sign of a great evil that has appeared."

"What great evil?" asked Arata.

"The only name we have for it is the Overlord," Hiruzen informed them all, "this Overlord is meant to be the ruler of all evil and would one day take over the world. The appearance of these beetles means that this Overlord has appeared. These beetles are just a warning that the Overlord has appeared though, it doesn't mean that he is a real threat to us at the moment, just that he is out there somewhere. Finding a way to build up his power, and to find a few things that were taken from the last Overlord before he or she can carry their plan to rule the world though."

"What is this Overlord looking for?" Danzō asked with interest.

"I cannot say," the Hokage told them, "the Feudal Lord has forbidden me from telling anyone about them. As it is feared that should others learn about them, the Overlord could take the info from the person and get the items. This is something the Feudal Lords from the Five Great Nations don't want others to know about, as if the Overlord finds out, and could find and correct them, it would mean the start of the end for us all."

What the Hokage couldn't tell them was that there was a hidden cavern somewhere within the Great FIve Nations, for the Land of Fire, it was under their Hidden Village, that held something called a Hive, and the village meant to protect it and keep it out of the hands of others. Before the Hidden Villages were created, they hid these Hives where they could to keep them away from the Overlord.

But when the Great Five Nations got their Hidden Villages over fifty years, the Feudal Lords decided it was best that they hid the Hives in these nations. The reason was that not only were they the strongest at the time, but they were the largest, so they could hide the Hives anywhere.

The location of each of the Hives was passed down to each of the Feudal Lords of the nation they lived in and no one else, out of fear that people might use it for evil. The only time the leaders of the village of their nation would be allowed to know about the Hives, was when there were signs that the Overlord had reappeared. But the leaders wouldn't allow to tell the ninja of their village about it unless they knew for sure that the Overlord was after them.

"What does this got to do with the other Great Nations?" asked Homura.

"The items that the Overlord are looking for are somewhere in the Five Great Nations," explained the Third Hokage, "and other than the Feudal Lords, the only ones who know about where they are, are the leaders of the Hidden Villages of the Five Great Nations. But we can't tell anyone else about where they are, in the effort of making it harder for the Overlord to find them."

As they hated not knowing, those in the room thought it was better this way. As if this Overlord was as bad as the Hokage feared he was, they didn't want to make things easy for him to take over the world. But as they thought about it, and how these beetles seemed to appear after the attack on their village a few years ago, Hiashi Hyūga asked, "Is it possible that this has to do something with the man that released the Nine-Tails four years ago?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Hiruzen admitted with a sigh, "it is highly possible, but without more information, I cannot say."

"So what do we do now?" asked Fugaku.

"For now just keep an eye out for signs for more of these chakra creatures," Hiruzen informed him, "as from what I have been told, these chakra beetles were just the start. They were a sign of things to come, that things haven't been seen for over a hundred years, and have forgotten by most, would reappear. But it won't only be chakra creatures that'll have chakra essence appear when they die, but normal creatures, even humans over time."

This shocked the counsellors, they didn't expect this and wondered what it meant for them and why this Overlord would appear now. "Do the Feudal Lords know why this Overlord has appeared now?" asked Ute.

"Sadly no," the Third Hokage informed her, "they just appear every so often to try and take over the world. Those no timeline or reason for them to appear, just that the chakra beetles to show that the new Overlord appeared. It can take a few years to decades for the Overlord to come out into the open. And we don't know why." This bothered them deeply, as none of them could predict what would happen next or why. Then the Hokage went on to say, "I want you all to keep your ears open, and if you hear anything let me know. So if you got nothing else to ask, you may leave."

At that moment, they didn't know what to ask, as they just found out that a great evil has appeared somewhere in their world, and they don't know who it was. So they can't ask what to do other than what to do next, which was just keep an ear out and report anything that they learned. And from there, they can decide what to do next. So all of the counsellors left the Hokage's office other than the elders.

To be Continued!

Author's Note - PLEASE READ TO THE END: Here ends the next chapter of The Ninja Overlord, hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll take a few minutes to leave some feedback to what you thought of it.