Chapter 1: Divine Intervention

Minato grit his teeth, his piercing blue eyes reflecting the burning buildings around him. His face sporting a deep frown. In an instant he had a tri-pronged kunai in his right hand, and in the next instant he was gone from where he stood. Dust settling back on the ground being the only indication that he had even been there.

*Elsewhere*

Sarutobi Hiruzen gasped for breath, and leapt away from a monstrous claw that swiped at him. His eyes narrowed as he felt the air breeze past his face, he was getting too old for this shit.

"HOLD THE LINE ANBU! WE MUST HOLD UNTIL THE HOKAGE CAN REACH US!" Hiruzen yelled, enhancing his voice with a wind jutsu.

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off as a massive influx of malevolent chakra seeped into the atmosphere. Hiruzen's eyes widened as he looked at what he would describe as his nightmare. He shuddered as he saw a giant ball of dark looking chakra forming between the jaws of the Kyuubi, who had been released through an accident about an hour ago during the birth of the Fourth Hokage's son. Narrowing his eyes, Hiruzen began to form handsigns for his most durable defensive jutsu even though he was sure it would do nothing to halt the attack of such a beast.

Some of the ANBU around Hiruzen had crumbled to their knees, their eyes wide and their hope crushed as their families, and perhaps their whole village were about to be erased from existence. As the giant ball was released from the maw of the giant fox, a deathly silence filled the air. People all over the village could only stare helplessly at what was obviously a devastating attack. Seconds felt like hours as the ball travelled through the air, until it was suspended.

"Wha-?" a random ANBU beside Hiruzen questioned before being cut off.

"MINATO IS HERE! THE FOURTH HOKAGE HAS COME TO OUR AID!" Hiruzen shouted, hoping to instill a bit of bravery in the shinobi.

Cheers erupted all around as a seal seemed to come out of nowhere in front of the giant attack. As quickly as it seemed their lives were about to end, the attack ceased to exist, it was simply gone. Soon enough so was the Kyuubi. Teleported away by Minato to avoid further damage to the village.

"Kakashi! You're in charge! Evacuate the area and get some shinobi to start putting out the fires! Jiraya! Tsunade! Orochimaru! With me!" Hiruzen barked, as he and his students took off in the direction of the malevolent chakra.

*Namikaze Home*

"Shhhh, little Naru-kun." Kushina Uzumaki cooed, rocking her newborn son back and forth to get him to settle down.

Kushina was worried to say the least, a masked man had appeared out of nowhere after Naruto was born and had taken her hostage. Her seal was already weakened due to childbirth and the man was able to free the Kyuubi. Somehow controlling it and setting its sights on Konoha. Minato had arrived and teleported her home to be with Naruto while he went to deal with the threat. She had been rocking her baby ever since, waiting with baited breath for the arrival of her husband and the all clear. She knew it was a tall order, and she wished to be fighting with her husband but her child needed her here.

All of a sudden, a bright light flashed and Minato appeared in the room stumbling and obviously a little worse for wear. Kushina jumped up and ran to her husband with her baby. Minato could hardly find it in himself to look Kushina in the eyes when he told her about what he had to do.

"Kushi-chan, I have to use the Reaper seal. Naruto has to be the one. I wouldn't be much of a Hokage if I forced this burden onto another. He will still have you, his beautiful mother." Minato explained in a tired tone, his voice cracking at the thought of having to leave his family so soon.

"Minato there has to be another way, he needs his father. Our people need their Hokage!" Kushina argued, her voice rising as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"It's the only way, even if there was another. We don't have time to search for another answer. It's too late for that." muttered the young Hokage.

"I'm coming as well then, I will be beside you until the end." Kushina left no room for arguing as Minato just sighed and nodded before flashing all three of them back to where he had left the beast with Hiruzen and the Sanin.

As soon as they appeared in the clearing, Minato looked at the faces of his crying wife, and his sleeping son. He pulled both of them into a hug and kissed Kushina deeply.

"I love you." He whispered to them both, as he turned away from his family and approached the giant fox.

Kushina crumpled to her knees, sobs wracking her body as she watched the man she loved walk to his death. In that moment she prayed, she begged for Kami to save her young family. She begged for Minato's life. She could not bear to watch her husband die, so as soon as the image of the Shinigami appeared, she closed her eyes.

As Minato felt the hand of the Shinigami reach through him, he let a lone tear escape his eye. He thought of all the things he would miss. Naruto's first words, his first steps, his first day at the academy. All of these scenes and more played out in his mind as he felt his heartbeat slow. He swore he could feel a warm presence blanket the clearing as the Shinigami withdrew his hand from his chest. His eyes began to shut as he slumped to the ground below him, a smile on his face.

"Your soul is not forfeit... It seems Kami has other plans in mind." Shinigami said with a growl, retreating to the underworld with his stomach full with half a Kyuubi soul inside it.

XxXxXxXxX

"-really shouldn't be alive. Based on that seal, he should be dead. It's a seal that tampers with the natural order of things, so in essence something must be given as an offering in exchange." a voice said confusedly in a hushed tone.

"He's waking up! Quickly! Get Tsunade!" Another voice gasped.

Minato opened his eyes as he heard the distinct sound of shuffling feet. His eyes stared up at a white roof, as he also heard the sounds of machines beeping around him. He tried to sit up but a sharp pain all over his body made his decide otherwise.

"Minato-kun? How are you feeling?" His eyes widened and his chest tightened at the sound of her voice.

"Kushina?" He called out weakly, as he turned his head towards where her voice had come from.

He was met with lips crashing into his own, and locks of red hair obscuring his vision. He allowed himself to cry as she pulled away. His wife sobbed into his chest. He had lived, and the Shinigami's words ran through his mind. His thought's were halted however, as the sound of footsteps approached the room, along with the sound of... Giggling? Minato's eyes snapped to the door as Jiraya, Hiruzen, and Tsunade stepped into the room. Tsunade quickly made her way over to Minato, but his eyes were fixed onto the blond baby that Hiruzen was holding.

"Naruto." Minato whispered, his heart warmed immediately as he locked eyes with the giggling baby.

Kushina had laid down beside Minato and Hiruzen gently handed Naruto over to his mother. She held him close to Minato and began stroking the boys cheek.

"He looks just like you, and I know he will become a great man just like you are." Kushina whispered, as baby Naruto put his hand out to reach for his father.

Minato weakly pulled his hand up to meet his son's hand. Ignoring the pain, he just reveled in the moment. He had lived, and he would be there for his family. He just smiled, as he and Kushina cradled Naruto. Jiraya pulled out a camera and captured the wholesome family moment. A picture that would stay on the Hokage's desk until the day Minato was no longer wore the robes.

XxXxXxX

*Eight Years Later*

Minato sighed as he looked at the photo on his desk. It had been exactly eight years since that photo had been taken. A lot had happened in the years that came. He had been in a coma for two weeks after the Kyuubi attacked. Shortly after that, he had returned to his seat behind the Hokage's desk. Minato was not one to brag but he did think he was a good Hokage. He had thwarted a kidnapping attempt on the Hyuuga Princess, and fearing the wrath of the Yellow Flash, Kumo had bowed their heads and offered some lightning jutsu to Konoha as a truce. He had only accepted when the next in line Raikage "A" had taken the mantle and offered a more personal jutsu to Konoha. That bit of information had not been released to the public, but only to the Shinobi Clan Heads. On another occasion he had made peace with the Uchiha before any kind of conflict could arise. He had his young ANBU member Itachi to thank for that. Fugaku Uchiha had been satisfied with Minato's decision to make the Uchiha Clan head an advisor of his, allowing the Uchiha to have their voices heard. Minato didn't mind as Fugaku was an exceptional shinobi himself, and offered many good points on troubling matters.

Minato was pulled from his thoughts as the doors to his office shot open, and a little blond blur shot into his arms.

"Otou-san! Guess what! Guess what Kaa-san helped me do!" called a child's voice as Naruto bounced on his toes in excitement.

"Mah mah, Naruto-kun. You shouldn't just barge into the Hokage's office unannounced." said a lazy voice from the door.

"Sorry I couldn't stop him in time, sensei. He's very fast when he wants to be." the young masked man continued as he rubbed the back of his head with an eye smile showing under his spiky silver hair.

"It's fine Kakashi, I needed a break anyways. Let's all go for lunch and you can tell me what you learned then, okay?" Minato waved off Kakashi's apology before he patted his son's head.

Naruto pouted for half a second before he agreed and dashed out of the Hokage's office, yelling something about slow older brothers.

"He really is attached to you Kakashi." the blond Hokage mused with a smile as he watched his son disappear down the hall.

"I see him as my little brother as well. You two and Kushina are the only family I have left." Kakashi said with a sad smile, thinking about his teammates and father.

"You will always be a part of our family Kakashi." Minato smiled at him as he patted the younger man's shoulder before teleporting them to the Namikaze household.

"-so I just focused real hard on my chakra and then BAM! They came out and started destroying the dummies and it was so cool!" Naruto explained to his family at the table, while waving his arms around for added effect.

Kushina just giggled as Naruto retold his version of how he unlocked his bloodline, the Chakra Chains. Minato's eyes showed surprise and amusement at how gifted yet innocent his child was. Kakashi just sat with an eye smile as he listened to Naruto tell his story.

Life was good in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and it was refreshing to see a child still with his innocence again after the Third War. This is what they fought for. This is what they had killed for. This is what they had died for, and Konoha would not squander the sacrifices made in its name. Minato would lead them to peace.

As Naruto rambled on about nothing in particular, a toad poofed into existence and croaked to get Minato's attention. The blond Hokage walked to the toad and took the scroll that it offered him. Unfurling the scroll, he began to read until he froze.

'The Akatsuki are moving.'

XxXxXxX

Notes: Yo, I just thought about this idea today, kind of had inspiration to start something new. Took some time off from writing but hopefully I'm back. I don't know if I'll return to my other stories but I'm hoping to start writing chapter two of this one right after I post this chap. Hopefully it does well and Ill release the second chapter as soon as I can finish it. If you like the idea, and want to see where this story goes, consider reviewing?

I know its a short chapter, but I really just wanted to kick things off.

Anyways, until next time :)

Wonderouzzz