Three Years Later

Plo Koon landed softly outside the walls of the Leaf Village, his Starship being sealed away by the attending Chunin. Grasping the scroll containing the ship with a nod of thanks, the Jedi began walking towards the large circular building with his former padawan Lissarkh close behind. The Trandoshan Knight looked around in awe at the people jumping around the roofs of the buildings, or along the sides of the massive village walls. She noticed the curious stares that the people gave her lizard like appearance while some greeted Master Plo Koon warmly.

Plo Koon stopped at the front desk of the large circular building, and began speaking with the red headed assistant to the Hokage, Kushina, who happened to be his very pregnant wife.

"Greetings Kushina. How are you and the baby doing?"

The bubbly redhead happily smiled at the alien and pulled him into a gentle hug before answering. "He's definitely ready to experience the world!" She noticed the young Trandoshan looking around the room behind Plo Koon, "Oh is that your podawan? I think that is what you told us…"

Plo Koon laughed softly at the mispronunciation. "That was my padawan, yes. Now she is full Jedi Knight. Lissarkh, come here please. Meet Kushina, a dear friend of mine."

The padawan walked forward, and stuck her claw out for a handshake. Kushina smiled and gently grasped the appendage before pulling the young one into a hug. "Congratulations and welcome to Shin'o. I've heard nothing but good things about you from Plo."

Lissarkh looked back at Plo Koon in shock as she slowly hugged the red headed woman back. Far too soon for the Trandoshan's liking the hug ended and the pregnant woman started to walk towards a set of stairs to their left. "Come on. Minato is free until the afternoon, where he has a meeting with the Civilian Board." Plo Koon followed the woman, noting that even pregnant her movements were catlike in their grace.

Within moments, the two Jedi found themselves in front of a seated blond man who was ignoring them in favor of the stacks of paperwork that were on the desk. After several moments of this, Kushina was visibly annoyed, with a twitching eyebrow. Plo Koon motioned for Lissarkh to join him in taking several steps back, just in time for Kushina to storm around the desk and slap the back of her husband's head.

"Don't ignore your pregnant wife! I swear that you care more for that paperwork than your lovely wife and future child!"

Minato, knowing the dangers of annoying his wife, swiftly apologized, "I'm sorry! I didn't hear you come in, and this mission report was very important. You know I love you and our baby, and nothing in this world is more important to me." Kushina, originally frowning, swiftly smiled in happiness as she pulled her husband to her chest.

"Good. I love you too. Now you have visitors, and a meeting in three hours." She said as she ended the hug, walking out of the room with a wave to the two Jedi.

"Sorry about that, my Kushina is a firecracker even when she isn't hormonal." Minato scratched his neck sheepishly. "How are you Plo? It's been a few months since we last saw you." The man stood from his desk and walked over to the Jedi Master, clasping his forearm in a warriors greeting.

"I am well Minato. Allow me to introduce my former Padawan Lissarkh. She just recently became a Knight." Minato turned towards the Trandoshan, who shuddered slightly at his look. The man was clearly dangerous, powerful and the Force danced around him like it was his friend. She had never experienced anything like it before.

"Congratulations. I have heard of how difficult it is to become a Knight, so well done." Minato smiled softly at the young woman before turning his full attention towards Plo Koon.

"I have something I wish to speak with you about though Plo. Can we?..." He gestured towards Lissarkh with his eyes.

"Is it a Jedi issue Minato? If so, I must insist she stay." Plo Koon stated, while Minato sighed.

"Okay. I suppose it won't hurt for her to know. We suspect Naruto to be born any moment now. But I have this sinking feeling in my chest, as if something is going to go wrong."

The two Jedi stood even straighter. Plo immediately asked a question. "What do you mean? Can you describe this feeling?"

"I don't know. It's more solid than a gut feeling of something wrong, yet I can't help but compare it towards that. You once said that I was very much tied to the Force, could it be a Force Vision?" Minato asked as he leaned against his desk.

"Master, if I may?" Lissarkh spoke up, her voice waspish. Upon the Jedi Master's nod, she continued. "I think that the Force may be warning you of some great disaster, but it could also be your instincts as a warrior being hampered by your… position."

Minato looked at the Trandoshan, his gaze calculating. "My position is not one on the front lines… you are correct. However, this is not my "instincts" dictating my choices. I am certain that something will happen soon, and the only major event in my life that matches is the birth of my son. I was serious when I said to my wife that there is nothing in this world I love more than her and him." The Trandoshan flinched as the Force around the man took a violent and malicious edge.

"Minato, she wasn't saying that as an insult. She was saying that it is possible that you are expecting something to go wrong as a natural response to the birth of your first child." Plo Koon quickly attempted to deescalate the situation. Minato nodded and bit his lip slightly.

"Plo, I have something I want you to do."

"What is it my friend." Plo asked, knowing that Minato wouldn't ask him to do anything that would violate his oath with the Jedi Order. The men knew each other much too well for such things.

Minato reached over his desk and pulled open a drawer. Grabbing a scroll, he shut the drawer and tossed the scroll to the Jedi Master.

"If Kushina and I… if the worst happens, that scroll allows you to take Naruto. Regardless of circumstance." Minato spoke softly as he looked at his friend's face.

Plo Koon was silent as he searched Minato's face for any form of deception. "Are you sure of this? He would be trained as a Jedi…"

Minato smirked smugly. "Read the scroll."

Plo Koon read the scroll swiftly, before softly chuckling shocking Lissarkh. Master Plo Koon rarely if ever chuckled, let alone by reading a scroll! Her questioning look was answered by her former master readily.

"Minato is one of the scariest minds I have ever come across in the entire galaxy. By accepting this, I am stating that I will take Naruto as a personal Apprentice, and it fulfills the Shin'o Accord requirement as well since personal Apprentices trained as Jedi are allowed to take the Knight's Trials."

Lissarkh growled softly at the mention of the Shin'o Accords. Taught as she was that all Force Sensitives should be taught the Jedi way, to be hamstrung by a piece of paper was irritating to the Trandoshan. "Master, I don't think you should accept that. The Council-"

"The Council's word is mine at the moment Lissarkh. Especially considering it shouldn't be an issue. I was planning on choosing Naruto anyway." Plo Koon's announcement shocked everyone in the room.

Lissarkh reacted first, snarling as she turned towards her former master fully. "Is that why you insisted I take the trials before we came here? So you could replace me with an infant?"

Minato coughed and interrupted. "No, that was by my request. I asked that he not bring any children to Shin'o."

"I am not a child!" Lissarkh spat, turning back towards Plo Koon. "I trained under you for the last three years and every time you came here, you left me behind. I only get to come with you when I become a Knight! Thinking it's a reward when you are actually merely showing me off to try to get them to choose you to be the master of the first Shinobi Jedi!"

"That is not the case at all Lissarkh. I had no intention of replacing you in any capacity, or to use you to ensure that I would be the Master chosen for that 'honor'." Plo Koon calmly replied as the knight fumed infront of him.

Minato again spoke up. "He's right. While the Shin'o Accords state that the Shinobi will choose the master that the future Jedi trains under, we had no intention of ever picking anyone other than Plo Koon."

Both Jedi looked on in various degrees of shock. While it was never stated directly, Plo Koon knew it was highly likely he would be chosen, if not one of the other high profile members of the Jedi Council. Easily receiving records for each of the Jedi Council Members, Minato was open about wanting to know about each potential master for his future shinobi. Lissarkh was shocked that the Shin'o people were so clear with their intent. Considering that she was briefed that each of them were masters of deception, such openness was a shock.

"Plo Koon's teaching style, combat style and approach match shinobi policy and intent well. Not to mention Plo Koon would allow the shinobi in question to train with chakra, which was something we require. However, Plo Koon would ensure complete mastery of the shinobi arts, while most other Jedi Masters would be content to let such a thing atrophy." Minato shrugged as he crossed his arms. "It was a no brainer who to pick when the stances of the other masters were known to us."

"Then why am I here master?" Lissarkh asked.

"To learn. As a Knight you know how to be a Jedi. As a Trandoshan, you know how to live. One of Minato's shinobi are going to show you how to fight." Minato nodded and snapped his fingers. In a blur, a shinobi wearing a mask shaped vaguely like a dog and gravity defying silver hair appeared. At Minato's command, the figure blurred out of sight, only to return several seconds later, and report that a Kurenai was at the training ground.

"Inu, escort the two Jedi to the training ground. Report back after the spar." With a word of assent, the dog masked shinobi bowed to the jedi and asked that they followed him. The two jedi left, noticing that the shinobi wave towards Kushina who smiled back in response.

Once outside, the shinobi paused, "Would you like to travel by rooftop?"

"Certainly. I am certain Lissarkh can keep up." Plo Koon agreed easily as the shinobi nodded. With a trio of leaps, two Force assisted, the group took to the rooftops, speeding swiftly towards the eastern section of the village. Lissarkh noticed that the shinobi were easily maintaining the speed, with no visible effort. Feeling outward,she noticed her former Master had submerged himself partially into the Force, matching the speed in that manner. Swiftly, she mimicked the action finding it easier to keep up.

"Good, you are still learning. This was something I was taught here. Instead of drawing on the Force constantly, which can be draining, I embrace it slightly. Here, the shinobi do the same thing subconsciously, allowing for reactions and actions that would put some jedi to shame." Plo Koon spoke as they ran, jumped and flipped through the village.

Within moments, the trio landed outside a small forested area and walked through the tree line. Just within the wood a clearing with a small creek appeared. The dog masked shinobi stated, "She is here. Find her if you wish to win."

Lissarkh nodded and drew her lightsaber. With a hiss, it snapped to being. As she took a step forward, Plo Koon said, "Make sure your lightsaber is on training mode. We don't want accidents." With a nod, she fiddled with the power variation knob on her saber turning the distinctive hum slightly lower in pitch.

She wielded her saber in a ready stance, prepared to deflect any fire sent her way. At least that was the plan. When she felt a burning cut appear on her thigh, she stumbled slightly, and twisted in an attempt to evade, as she felt a thump on her cheek. Looking around, she saw four pointed stars of metal, shuriken if she remembered correctly from her Jedi studies. Sinking slightly into the Force, she prepared her body to move in a moment and sensed around her for life. Swiftly she found a life form in the trees behind her, having just jumped there.

With a growl, she turned and attempted to use the Force to grab the shinobi. Only for her to grab nothing. Feeling a prickle of metal at her throat she froze.

"You lose."

Everything went black.


Plo Koon watched in amusement as his former Padawan was effortlessly ensnared in an illusion cast by the woman with tantalizing red eyes. Using a few hand gestures, as soon as Lissarkh entered the clearing, the woman had her. Disguising her presence with the first layer, then adding more layers to affect the various senses of the Trandoshan, she then used four shuriken to mask movement while testing the illusion. With a flick of the wrist, the stars slashed through the Jedi's thigh, drawing blood but missing anything vital. In a second the Chunin was on the Jedi, a solid punch staggering the Knight, moving the Knight further into the clearing, who then dodged another volley of shuriken. As the Force built up, the Chunin grabbed a kunai knife from a pouch and held it to the Jedi's throat from behind, releasing the illusions. Saying the Jedi lost, she then slammed the ring of the kunai into the alien's head as hard as she could, knocking the Trandoshan out.

"Interesting. You specialize in illusions?" Plo Koon asked as he stepped out of the trees.

Kurenai, the chunin, nodded. "Yes, I am Kurenai Yuhi Chunin of the Leaf. You are Master Plo Koon?"

"Yes. Tell me, why did you attack so suddenly?" Plo moved towards his former padawan checking her over for any injury.

"I was weary of the light sword. Close combat isn't something I excel at, and I was unsure of the strength of my opponent. I went all out from the beginning." Kurenai frowned as with a slight wave of his hand, Plo Koon healed the young Jedi Knight who swiftly woke up.

"Ugh… what happened?" Lissarkh shook her head to clear it when she was helped up by her former Master.

"You lost because you did not expect an attack while under an illusion." Plo Koon answered as the Knight straightened under her own power.

"Sorry, I didn't think an illusion like that would work. I also thought that you would focus more on the pain and break the illusion." Kurenai introduced herself with an outstretched hand.

"Trickery. That's all you shinobi can do is it?" Lissarkh hissed as she shook the shinobi's hand with her own.

Kunerai gained a predatory smile and started to squeeze the Trandoshan's hand as hard as she could. With a hiss, the Knight pulled her hand back, slicing through the flesh of Kurenai's palm with her claws in haste.

"If you wish to insult shinobi, please… by all means allow me to educate you." Kurenai spat as she sank into a fighting stance, her hands close together, ignoring the torn skin of her palm.

Plo Koon sighed and stepped back. "Fine, fight once more. Lissarkh, if you lose we are leaving."

With a cocky smirk, the Knight said,"I won't be losing master."

With a grunt, the Knight swung her lightsaber down, as if to cleave the shinobi in two. With a shuffle, the Chunin dodged to the left, making a swift hand sign right before being slashed by the saber.

In an explosion of leaves, the woman disintegrated, leaving the Knight shocked until she felt the Force quiver slightly. Rolling forward, trusting entirely on the Force, she dodged the fireball that scorched the grass she just stood on. Looking back, she saw Kurenai holding a handsign with her lower three fingers woven together while her pointer fingers rose to a triangle. Taking a deep breath, the chunin blew fire towards her.

Kurenai's eyes widened when the Jedi didn't move out of the way of the fireball she launched with Katon: Goukakyou. Cutting the jutsu short, she raced through more handsigns, knowing she would be too late to stop the attack, when an earthen wall rose up between the Jedi and the fire blast, with the dog masked Shinobi appearing atop the wall as it stopped the attack.

"This is over. Any further and someone could get hurt." It went unsaid that if it continued the only ones who would be hurt would be at his hands. Chunin and Jedi Knight understood immediately by the tightly clenched hands that the grey-haired masked shinobi held to his sides as he glared at both fighters.

"I agree. Do you understand yet Lissarkh? What does a loss like this teach you?" Plo Koon spoke to his former padawan softly.

"I shouldn't discount someone or something because I don't have a high opinion of them." Lissarkh spoke as she looked down at the grass under her feet.

"Exactly. In a fight, you cannot afford to underestimate your enemy. Kurenai opened the fight with her best moves the first time, and the second went for ferocious attack, to ensure you were on the back foot the entire time. In your Trial you demonstrated the same issue, and while you gained your Knighthood, you should never stop improving." The Jedi Master nodded toward Kurenai prompting the young Knight to walk towards the woman and extend a hand.

"I am sorry for treating you poorly."

"Apology accepted." Kurenai smiled brightly.


The next evening saw Plo Koon and Lissarkh standing on the roof of the circular building in the center of the village. Beside them was the Third Hokage of the Leaf village, Hiruzen Sarutobi. One of the most successful shinobi to ever live, Hiruzen was a favorite of Plo Koon. Calm, cool, calculating the shinobi known as the Professor for his knowledge of combat was great to talk to for the Jedi Master. Even now, the old man was making casual conversation with Lissarkh as the trio watched the sun set over the village.

"Oh? Your people enjoy hunting? That is interesting. Our clans here, especially the Uchiha have a rich history of hunting various animals. In fact, the Uchiha have a tradition where the clan heir hunts for a paw print from various ninja cats."

"Really? Why just a paw print?" Lissarkh asked curiously.

Hiruzen chuckled. "Well, shinobi felines are rather rare, and killing one would be a great shame. Another factor was negotiation according to the Uchiha." Lissarkh's eyes widened. "Oh yes, the Uchiha and the Shinobi Cat Clans met and decided that only paw prints would be hunted, as those were much more difficult to get, and they were renewable."

Lissarkh's frowned. "How did they communicate? I was unaware felines spoke."

Hiruzen smirked," Several things are possible when chakra or as you Jedi call it, the Force, is concerned."

Plo Koon cocked his head as a small ripple in the Force brushed his senses. "Something is wrong."

Hiruzen snapped towards him and was about to ask a clarification question when a shout of Kuchiyose sounded from the village walls. In a massive plume of smoke, and a wave of malice and dark intent, a gigantic orangish red Kitsune with nine sweeping tails appeared. With a furious roar, the fox blasted its way into the village.

"Plo Koon, Lissarkh, I must push it out of the village! I would like your help!" With a quick flourish Hiruzen was in a black battle garb, making hand signs. With a slap of his palm on the concrete roof, a staff appeared with golden tips.

With a synchronized hiss, the two Jedi drew and ignited their lightsabers. "We shall assist."

Plo Koon was horrified as he flung debris with the Force towards the beast. Every shinobi the village had was attacking the beast, yet nothing seemed to be affecting it. Plumes of fire, some so hot it was burning white, blasts of water that could create miniature seas, flashes of lightning that could fry flesh, and gigantic constructs of earth were mere hindrances to the beast. The only thing seeming to do any real damage was Hiruzen swinging his staff that for some reason could change length. Each hit staggering or forcing the nine-tailed fox back a single step, the Third Hokage kept fighting.

He kept fighting even as his shinobi died around him. With every attack, the Nine-Tailed Fox struck back either with a swipe of its many writhing tails or a stab from its razor-sharp claws. If surrounded, the fox blasted everything back with a roar full of power. Buildings fell, the roads erupted up and shinobi went flying with each roar. The burst of air from the beast's lungs was so forceful that even working together the two jedi couldn't curb it using the Force. However, luckily, the two jedi were making sure the beast didn't go forward swiftly, as anytime the beast tried to move forward by lifting a leg, they both threw debris at the limb until it fell again. Hiruzen, quickly catching on, would slap the beast again with his staff, forcing it on the back foot, and forcing it further from the village.

Eventually, trees took the place of buildings and dirt and stone took the place of the concrete of the roads. The fox,even as it was pushed back, grew even more furious and aggressive. Now, each swipe of the tails tore ravines into the earth, uprooted dozens of trees, and slaughtered anyone who came close. Each roar left craters in the fragile earth, and if a shinobi was present for the roar, they died due to the pressure. Plo Koon noticed some shinobi were dying by being close to the beast as the world seemed to press hard on their shoulders, even as he cut through a tree that was flung towards him and his former padawan. He risked a glance towards the young Knight.

Lissarkh was staggering. She had never fought something like this. No matter what she did, what she threw at the beast, it just didn't move. The most they did was healed in moments. Even her lightsaber, something that she had never seen fail to cut a material other than another lightsaber, failed to fell it. The more they fought the more hopeless it seemed. Yes they drove it back, but for how long? She looked to each side, flinching slightly at the dead or dying shinobi around her. Each was a warrior she was certain could have fought her to a standstill. Yet still they lay, dead as if they were mere twigs to the unending gale that was the beast in front of them.

With a snarl of frustration, she threw her lightsaber at the beast's chest as hard as she could, augmenting her body with the Force. With a swirling voom, the green blade twirled end over end and slammed into the chest of the beast, sinking to the hilt.

With a snarl, the beast faltered for a moment. For a shinobi like Hiruzen, a moment was all that was need. With a grunt of effort, Hiruzen slammed his staff into the pummel of the lightsaber, pushing the weapon all the way through the beast, where Plo Koon used the force to summon it to his hand. A cheer rose from the shinobi as the beast stumbled back, a hand going towards its chest. With a snap, focus came to the crimson eyes of the Fox as, with a hiss and rush of steam, the wound healed.

"All shinobi! Attack!" Hiruzen ordered.

But it was too late. In an instant the beast formed an orb of black energy in front of its gaping mouth, easily the size of a person, and fired. A shinobi, dressed in grey armor and wearing a bear mask jumped in front of Lissarkh, kicked her away before being engulfed in the blast. Plo acting without thinking caught his former padawan telekinetically.

Looking at the crater the blast did, Plo Koon knew they could not win this fight. He vocalized that when Hiruzen jumped beside him.

The old shinobi nodded grimly. "We are merely stalling for time. Minato is the only one who can handle this."

"Well I hope he hurries." Plo Koon mumbles as the two prepare to charge back into the fray.

His words seemingly prophetic, a giant plume of smoke appears above the Nine-Tails, showing a falling toad with a scar over its eye and a sword on its hip. "Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi!" With an earth-shattering impact, the toad slammed the beast to the ground, holding it there with its bulk and strength. Atop its head, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze stood, his signature white trench coat splattered with an obscene amount of blood, and the head of a shinobi wearing an orange swirling mask in hand. Minato takes a look at everyone around before tossing the head to Hiruzen. Attached to the mask, a simple note saying,"Unmask him privately."

"Hiruzen, take everyone back to the village. I'm going to seal it. Plo, come here please." With a leap the Jedi Master joined his friend as all the shinobi obeyed their Hokage.

"Minato! Hurry Up! Holding this thing down isn't goin' to last!" The giant toad under them grunted as the fox struggled to stand, each time receiving a blast of water from the toad forcing it back down.

"Plo, shoulder now please. I'm going to take us both to the sealing area. Kushina… and Naruto are there." With a flick of the wrist, a kunai streaked down, sliding into the flesh of the Nine-Tails and in a flash, the three were gone, leaving a Toad to vanish in smoke.

In an instant they were at another location, a clearing deep in the forests, Minato already in action as three copies of himself slammed the beast with orbs of blue swirling energy, forcing it down while yelling the name of the technique "Rasengan". Kushina, looking weak and frail clapped her hands together, making chains of golden energy erupt from her back wrapping around the beast and forcing it still. While all that occurred, Plo Koon only paid attention to the child in a crib adorned by candles and sitting in a complex glyph circle. The Force danced around the child as if it were joyous it was alive, travelled through the child and made him, if one could see the Force, glow like a star.

"He's the most Force attuned being I've ever seen…." Plo Koon spoke in rapturous awe even as Minato began explaining what he was about to do.

"I'll split it, and seal half into me, before sealing the rest into our son. You'll raise him Kushina."

In response the red-head merely shook her head and spat out blood, staining her chin. "N-no. I.. I won't make it. Seal it all into me, and let it rot with me."

"We don't have time to do that! We have to seal it now!" Minato grunted as his last clone, still holding down the beast with a rasengan, finally was destroyed.

"Don't split it. Seal it all into the boy." Plo Koon spoke for the first time since arriving near the child.

"We don't have time to do that, I'd have to add another layer…" Minato paused as Plo Koon stepped forward his lightsaber drawn.

"I will make that time then. Hurry." Breathing deeply, Plo Koon submerged himself in the Force, diving as deep as he could, and ran towards the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Damn it. Kushina, hold out as long as you can!" Minato bolted back to the altar and swiftly began transcribing another ring around the crib.

Plo Koon jumped up onto the chained fox's snarling snout, looked it in the eyes, and stabbed down with his saber, forcing the beast to cry out in agony. With a grunt of effort, Plo pulled the lightsaber free and darted forward, jumping over the top of the beast's head scoring a slight cut as he did so. With a vrmm the lightsaber lopped off the tip of the tail that lashed down towards him, the impact of the rest of the appendage still blasting him to the side of the beast. Reacting solely with the Force, Plo landed on one of the dozens of chains holding the beast down and ran back towards it, noticing that the tip of the tail he had just removed was already back as if it never happened.

With each movement that the Jedi Master did on the chains, Kushina coughed more blood. With every movement of the Fox in its struggles against the Jedi, Kushina coughed more. Soon, her vision was blurry, only able to see the vaguest of orange blurs being harassed by a blue moving blur. Slowly the chains started to disappear as Kushina weakened.

After what seemed like an eternity of combat yet was only a minute or two, the fox finally got a straight hit in on the Jedi Master. Flinging him away with a swipe of its tails, Plo Koon slammed into a tree, damping his impact at the last second with a telekinetic push. Standing wearily, holding his midsection and his lightsaber he assessed the situation. The beast was nearly freed from the chains and he was exhausted. Diving into the Force and engaging in combat was always extremely risky and draining, especially when no matter what he did, the Fox healed. Just as he was thinking of what to do, Minato yelled, "It's done!"

Turning swiftly, Minato's hands flew through sixteen hand seals faster than Plo Koon could recognize them. With a clap of his hands, he yelled out the name of the technique, "Shiki Fujin!" Plo watched as the air behind Minato seemed to form a shape of a humanoid with horns that Plo sensed as a void in the Force. With horror in his expression, he watched as the humanoid thing blasted an arm through the stomach of Minato, forming a line to the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Fox. I know you can see it. I know you can feel it. And I want you to know, I'm sorry. I don't have a choice. But, I do know that with this one… You will see things you have never seen before. Don't hate him for what I do. Please." Minato spoke before twisting his hands so they pointed down, still clapped together. "Fuin."

In a rush, the beast was sucked into the baby on the altar, through the body of Minato, each moment tearing through his body as if it were a drill. His teeth grit in agony, Minato never broke the handsign, and bore it as finally the last tip of the beast's tails fell through a hole in his stomach that healed in a rush of black light. Turning back he stumbled towards his son, the seal still being held.

"My boy… my baby boy. I'm so sorry. It wasn't the plan for this to happen." Looking back, he saw Kushina holding an arm out. A lone chain pulled the woman to the crib, its form flickering in and out of existence.

As she came level with the crib she leaned down and kissed the baby's forehead softly. "I love you. My little Naruto. Go out, and be the best you can. Never ever forget where you come from. Don't forget to eat your vegetables. Wash behind your ears. Find a- a person you can love with all your heart. Find a cause… something to fight for… Minato… I love y-" Kushina couldn't finish the sentence, falling lifelessly to the side of the crib as Minato wept, his hands still in the seal.

"Plo. Plo please hurry. I can't hold it much longer." The man's voice, normally solid and collected, now sounded broken and defeated. The Jedi rushed as fast as he could to his friend's side.

"Plo… Take him at 8 okay?... I want him to… to know the village he saved. I want him to grow up a little before seeing the stars. Please? Take care of him for me? I know… I know Jiraiya sensei will, but you… you are gonna be his Jedi Teacher…" Minato's tears fell onto his son's blanket, making the boy's face scrunch up in discomfort.

"Minato. You have my word. I will treat him as my own." Plo spoke softly and brushed the infant's hair. Minato nodded, and asked," Any last words my friend?"

Plo looked the man in the eyes and said," You were the best discovery I ever made as a Jedi. You and your people helped me through the toughest period in my life to date. For that I will never be able to repay you. Thank you for being my friend. May the Force be with you Minato."

Minato smiled, his tear stricken face lighting up. Before he grew serious once more. "In the Hokage's desk, top drawer right side, is a button. Press it and speak to what comes out. Say "Light flashes twice." It's my last gift to him. Give it when it's time. I love you Naruto."

Minato's hands separated, and his eyes went glassy. Catching him softly, Plo Koon laid him to rest with beside his wife, just as the Third Hokage walked into the clearing.

"Heroes. All of you. Thank you Master Jedi." Hiruzen spoke softly as he created two clones to carry the bodies of the Fourth and his Wife. The real shinobi picked up the babe, kicking the crib from the alter, nodding when it turned to ash.

"When did you arrive Hiruzen?" Plo Koon asked as they started the trek back to the Village.

"I arrived just as you engaged the beast. I tried to lend aid but a barrier prevented me. Minato noticed me and shook his head before… continuing his work." Hiruzen's voice broke as he spoke, tears sliding down his wizen face.

They travelled in silence until reaching the Leaf, where the village was already being repaired by shinobi waiting for further orders. Upon seeing the bodies of their Fourth and his Wife, a wave of despair rolled through the village. One that didn't ease even as the first light of a new dawn rose over the mountains.


Jutsu Dictionary: Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi- Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer. A-Rank. A technique that summons a toad below the user while the user is in the air, forcing the target to either be held down by the large toad, or be squashed.

AN: Two things. First the Jutsu library is just for techniques that have names, where the translation either matters or isn't really explained in the story. So you will not see the Rasengan or Chidori ever really in the library as they are clearly defined. Second,here is the introduction of the first major changes of both timelines. The largest for Naruto is the death of the Masked man who most know is Obito Uchiha, the Fourth's lost student. The thing is, in canon, Minato beat Obito and in this fic, due to training with the Jedi, cut of the head instead of going for only the rasengan and anti-contract seal. In canon, he flashes (teleports) fast enough that the kunai is caught in such a position that with a simple back handed swipe, the spine and the rasengan would hit in the same instant, which is what happens here. This is mainly because Plo Koon had experience with hard to kill opponents, and had shared those stories.

Also, next chapter drops the thursday after next. Probably around the same time. See Ya

Zero