CHAPTER UPDATED ON 16/02/2020.

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TheWateringWizard : Thanks and it definitely is going to be Naruhina. I will never write a non-Naruhina fic. EVER.

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"Speaking"

"YELLING"

"Bijuu/Summon speaking/ YELLING"

'Thinking'

'Bijuu/Summon Thinking'

Now before we start let's do the usual routine, Naruto franchise, unfortunately, does not belong to me. Kishimoto-sensei has the rights to it.

Chapter 3: The Offer

Next-Day: Hokage's Office

The room was quiet. The only occupants in it were an old man in his late 50's and two infants sleeping in their shared crib after their usual hyperactive performance of crying. The old man sighed, he could clearly see their mother in them, even this early in their infanthood. They were definitely going to cause too much trouble in their future, he could just see it. And if the one he selected to be their caretaker accepted the responsibility then the destruction of half of Konoha was inevitable.

As if on cue, the door to his office almost broke out of its hinges with a loud bang. The reason behind it also seemed obviously furious. The old Hokage, however, wasn't surprised, as if he was expecting something like this happening since long.

In strode a beautiful but definitely deadly, if the condition of the door was anything to go by, woman and stood, glaring at the old man. The woman was tall with pale white skin, brown eyes and blonde hair that was done in two pigtails. A violet diamond-shaped marking on her forehead. A crystal necklace around her neck. She wore a grass-green Haori with a kanji for gamble written on the back. Underneath was a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish obi that matched her pants.

"How could you threaten to label me as a missing-nin like that, old man? What was so damn important? You know I want nothing to do with this village anymore and absolutely didn't want to come back." The woman practically yelled at him.

The still calm old man gave a small sigh but answered with a look which held great authority over the women, "Tsunade, you are still a Shinobi of Konoha. I've allowed you to move freely anywhere only because of your status. Do not think you're not bound by duty to Konoha anymore."

The woman now known as Tsunade recoiled at that but calmed herself down, enough to further listen to what the old man had to say.

Said old man, after seeing that she wasn't going to interrupt, continued, "As you might have noticed, the village has suffered greatly at the hands of Kyuubi. Adding Minato's as well as Kushina's death, the village is in a dire situation."

Tsunade's face took on a sorrowful expression after confirming the death of her teammate's prized student. She left Konoha shortly after he was born and so was not in the village during his reign as a Hokage. Nevertheless, Tsunade cared about him a lot. Though this fact was not known by many due to there being only a handful of people to have seen them together. So naturally, his death affected her greatly. To her, it was just another reason to stay away from the village.

Minato's wife though, she knew not only as his girlfriend at that time but also as a clan women from a cousin clan and the one who carried the same burden as her own grandmother. She held a high view of Kushina both as a Shinobi and as a person. Not to mention she was also jealous of those beautiful long red locks she had, just like her grandmother. When she heard the news about their wedding, she wanted to come back and congratulate them. But she stopped herself, not wanting to relive the bitter memories that the village always brought her. At least that was what she told others.

And that was not a lie either. Even now, when she passed through those gates, she felt pangs of pain on remembering the losses she suffered. But her old sensei forced her hand this time. She figured it had to be something of great importance for him to threaten her to label as a missing-nin. Also, she didn't want to fight hordes of shinobis out to get her head, even if she could take most of them on easily. She had enough problems with loan sharks.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a wail of crying from the side of the room. Her gaze shifted from the ground to the crib, which she admitted -to herself- to have noticed just now. Not knowing why there was a crib in Hokage's office, she walked up to it anyway to check on the crying baby. She came to an abrupt stop after taking in the sight of a suspiciously familiar blond blob of hair sticking out of the blanket. But was even more surprised to see not one but two of those blobs inside the crib, obviously attached to the two babies, one of which was crying without paying any attention to their new audience and another doing the exact opposite of his twin and almost scrutinizing his observer with his own blue gaze.

Tsunade's breath got caught in her throat when she looked at the boy's ocean blue eyes that were boring into her own with an expression akin to something like 'Who the hell are you?' look, even though it should have been an impossible feat for someone only a day old. Tsunade finally got her senses back and took the one crying – which she somehow knew was a girl – and started to calm her down. Surprisingly not much effort was needed as the baby immediately stopped crying after being scooped up by someone she clearly didn't recognise and stared at the person with the same blue and curious eyes as her brother.

Tsunade shifted her attention from the now silent but very much awake Namiko back towards her sensei, "Who are these two bundles of joy, sensei? Cleary neither of your sons are old enough to have babies, so they probably are not your grandchildren."

The old Hokage having witnessed the whole scene between three blonds answered his student calmly, "No they are not. They are Naruto and Namiko Uzumaki." The Third hoped that his student will be able to connect the dots and if her wide eyes were any indication, she did.

"Y-you d-d-don't mean. T-they are M-Minato and Kushina's..." She stammered out in shock. Just how much time did she spend outside Konoha? She looked at the baby girl she was still holding, which was now trying to take a look at her. Trying being the keyword, as her unnaturally big parts of female anatomy were blocking her view. Those two pair of mounds on her chest were almost bigger than the whole baby girl itself! Sweatdropping at the infant's predicament, she lifted her a little higher to look at the cute face of the baby. And cursed her lack of attention again, as even a shinobi of her calibre, a Sannin, overlooked the cute whisker marks that adorned the baby girl's cheeks. Turning to check on the girl's twin brother, she saw the same whisker marks making them the most adorable and cute babies she had ever seen, even more so than her own brother. 'Even more than him...' She thought in sad nostalgia. And disappointment.

"Indeed. But that is not all. Minato used two forbidden Fuuinjustu techniques to seal half of the Kyuubi into each of them, making them both Jinchuurikis of the Kyuubi, just like their mother and your grandmother." Her sensei informed further.

She looked at her sensei wide-eyed before moving that surprised expression on the baby girl in her arms, who was trying to reach her face with her small arms. Dipping her face down, she allowed the little girl to touch her face which made the smaller blonde girl giggle. Though how their own father was able to burden them this much in their first hour out in the living world, was a question that was going through her mind.

"I know what's on your mind but Minato had no choice. It was either the village or his family. As a Hokage, he chose the village first. But Kushina was able to tell me how proud he was of his children at the time." The Third Hokage answered her unasked question.

"So, these two are royalty in the village just like I was, huh," Tsunade said without looking away from the twin blue orbs staring at her.

"No."

That answer caught her off guard again and she turned her attention back to her sensei with confusion etched on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"I do not intend to reveal their parentage to the village." The Third answered his student sadly.

Tsunade just tilted her head, "Why? After having their parents taken from them they certainly deserve it."

"Their parents, especially Minato had enemies. I don't want them to come and try to erase his last remaining essence. The village has suffered great losses and I am afraid I will not be able to keep them safe at this point in time." The Hokage answered frankly.

"As much of a flimsy reason that is, I can understand that." Tsunade agreed. But the Hokage wasn't done, "And I know the villagers will just spoil them if they knew who they were and if they can look past their status of Jinchuuriki."

That made Tsunade uncomfortable. Though she didn't know the exactly of the ideas the villagers had, she knew how most Jinchuurikis were treated by the villagers in different villages. Outcasts will be the kindest word.

"That is why I've called you here Tsunade. I want you to become their caretaker or if possible their mother-figure and raise them with a proper balance in their life." And just like that Hiruzen dropped the bomb on her.

The Slug Sannin just looked at her sensei, mouth agape. Surely he didn't think she'd accept, right?

"Have you gone senile old man? What makes you think I will want to raise two brats? What balance are you talking about? If you don't want them to be spoiled then just don't declare their parentage, I don't care. But what does that have to do with me?" She asked, anger visible on the outside. Inside though, it was fear. Nervousness. It will give two more ways for this village to hurt her.

"It's not only the balance Tsunade. The civilian council has already shown signs of distrust and fear. I have already had quite a few people suggesting to execute them. I am afraid they have already made enemies inside the village. I passed a law to keep their status as Jinchuurikis a secret but I doubt the civilians will abide by it and with me now being the Hokage I cannot take care of both of them, especially without my wife." The Third explained a bit desperately, "They need protection Tsunade but most of all they need the love of a mother to overcome the hatred they are likely to experience from the villagers and the Kyuubi. I am also willing to accept your idea of medical training. Though including one medic in each team will be difficult for the time being but after some time and better training in medical ninjutsu, it should be possible."

Tsunade looked a bit conflicted. Even though she loathed the bitter memories in this village, she also knew that everything her sensei said was true. She could bet that her sensei's old teammate, that old warmonger, would have suggested something along the lines of training the Jinchuurikis as a weapon. Looking at the -surprisingly still quiet- baby she was holding, she couldn't deny that she didn't want anything to happen to them after unknowingly going through everything they have till now. Looking across the room towards its last occupant, she saw another still surprisingly quiet baby boy looking back at her with a questioning gaze. How a day-old boy managed that, even her vast medical knowledge couldn't comprehend, but he just was or she must have imagined it due to her train of thoughts.

She didn't hate the twins. Actually, she found them quite cute. But their appearance caused some past memories to resurface. Memories that brought a deeply buried feeling of guilt and shame back up. It was something she regretted even now. Especially now.

"Bribing me with my own idea won't work, Sarutobi-sensei." She said calmly without making eye contact with him.

"I admit what I'm suggesting can be called bribery. But the offer is sincere and it will help you, the twins and the village as a whole. Seeing as you are the best medic in the world, it is a given that you be the head of the medical training program." The Third suggested trying to get any form of positive response from his student.

"I stopped using medical ninjutsu." The worlds greatest medic argued.

"That didn't stop you from teaching your apprentice." The Hokage shot back without missing a beat.

That surprised Tsunade. She looked at her sensei with the same surprised expression.

"What? How do you think Kitsune was able to find you that fast? He may be an excellent tracker but I've kept eye on you ever since you left, Tsunade. Don't think I don't know what you have been up to till now. I already lost a student in Orochimaru, Jiraiya is needed for his spy network. I was not about to lose my third student. I initially thought you would come back on your own sooner or later, but it seemed I was wrong in my assumption, so I had to keep tabs on you even without your knowledge. Not even Jiraiya knows anything about this. That's why I sent an ANBU instead of letting Jiraiya find you, which would have taken longer." Hiruzen explained.

Tsunade wanted to be angry at being spied on but realised it was her own actions that led to it. She also knew it was not the time to think about how she was not able to sense anyone spying on her. Standing up and moving towards the crib, she set the twin girl down beside her brother and tucked her in, "I have to think about it." Was the only thing she said before she started to leave the office.

"It's your choice Tsunade but please think wisely and quickly as these two aren't safe even now and if there is no answer from you I have to hand them over to the orphanage even if I don't want to." The elderly Hokage told her.

Tsunade just nodded and left the room to visit her old ancestral home after a long time, surprisingly without making a detour to grab some sake.

"I just hope you make the right choice, my student. Both for your and their sake." The Third spoke to no one although some sound did come from the crib.

Later the same day

There was a knock on Hokage's office door. After a quiet 'Enter' from the Hokage, the door opened to reveal a man with dark spiky hair tied in a ponytail, which made his head look like a pineapple, two scars on the right side of his face and a goatee.

"Ah, Shikaku-san, what can I do for you?", The Hokage asked. 'Though I may have some idea.'

"Lord Hokage, I have come to put forth some of my observations during the council meeting yesterday." said the now introduced Nara Clan Head and Jounin Commander Shikaku Nara.

"While I know it is too troublesome, I think you actually may have an idea of who their parents are." The clan head borderline accused while pointing at the twins in the crib.

The Hokage narrowed his eyes at the Jounin commander before a subtle smirk formed on his face, "And why would you think that, Shikaku-san?"

"Troublesome. We have done enough missions together for me to know he would not force something like that on some random orphaned twins. And very few parents will be willing to offer their newborn children, especially in those chaotic times. Him being the parent saves him from that. Though I imagine convincing Kushina was probably a lot harder of a job if she was not already dead by that time. And that blond hair and those blue eyes are a dead giveaway of who they truly are, even without the other points." The Nara explained with a lazy tone as if he wasn't interested in the matter at all, even though he was the one who brought it up.

The Hokage was not surprised. While the Nara clan was known to birth tactical geniuses like him, Shikaku was uniquely sharper than the whole clan. Additionally, Shikaku was one of Minato's close friend and knew Minato more personally. He wouldn't be surprised if Shikaku was also aware of Kushina's status as a Jinchuuriki. "Indeed Shikaku-san. You are as sharp as ever. That means you should also know, why I want to keep it a secret."

The Nara clan head nodded, "Though I want to know why you didn't ask for anyone of us to adopt them. As troublesome as it is, I know Yoshino would want to." Shikaku asked his leader.

"Even if I asked something like that, the rest of the council would not allow it to pass, saying that it would give too much power to a single clan." The Hokage explained.

Shikaku just sighed and muttered his signature phrase again.

A second knock interrupted them both and again after an 'Enter' from the Hokage, the door opened to the sight of a tall man with long brown hair and in traditional Japanese robes. But the distinguishing feature on this man would be his purely white eyes.

"Greetings Hokage-sama." Greeted the man with a slight bow.

"Welcome, Hiashi-san. How may I help you? Something tells me you are here for the same purpose as Shikaku-san here." The Hokage asked.

Hiashi Hyuuga raised his head and looked at Shikaku, then at the Hokage and lastly laid his eyes on the sleeping twins.

After closing the door the Hyuuga clan head walked next to his fellow clan head, "Shikaku-san, I presume you are also here to inquire about little Naruto-san and Namiko-san's parentage."

"Indeed", The Nara clan head answered.

"What are your observations Hiashi-san, if I may ask?" The elderly Hokage inquired.

"Looking at their facial features and hair colour, I concluded that they are not just random twins that the Fourth Hokage happened to acquire and seal the Kyuubi in. Also, there wasn't any need to look for twins to seal the Kyuubi in. And the chance of him knowing exactly which family had gotten a set of twins that very day is close to none. There are a lot of holes in the explanation of all things that happened that day, all of which can only be answered with the word: Coincidence. And it would have to be a really big one. And we all know that if coincidences are happening repeatedly, they aren't coincidence anymore." Hiashi elaborated never deviating from the stoic expression that was expected of a Hyuuga.

"Indeed, you are right in your assumptions. Both of you. And I believe you also know the reasons, I have not revealed that particular piece of information and I shall ask you to do the same and keep it a secret from not only others but from the children in question as well if you have any further acquaintance." The Hokage almost ordered the last part.

"I also think you should know that the council will not allow any of the major clans to adopt them because of their status as a Jinchuuriki. But I do ask you to treat them as you will treat any other normal child. I want them to have a childhood like any other child their age should have. Though if you want to tell your wives about this, you can and Shikaku-san, you may inform this to the Akimichi and Yamanaka clan heads too if you want but make sure it doesn't get past them." The Third Hokage explained.

"Hai. Will do, Hokage-sama." Shikaku said.

"If you don't mind Hokage-sama, I want to inquire about their caretaker or their means of upbringing." The Hyuuga patriarch inquired.

"It shall be revealed after the person has accepted the responsibility. If they don't, then I shall look for other means for their upbringing. Do not fear." Hiruzen assured.

"Very well. I shall take my leave then." The Hyuuga head said bowing to his leader and turned to leave.

"I shall leave as well, Hokage-sama." Shikaku mimicked the gesture and followed the Hyuuga clan head.

"With how much you two look like your parents, I don't know how long I will be able to keep this a secret." The Hokage said with a sigh.

Apparently, he didn't know the high level of incompetence the villagers of his own village possessed to look past their fears.

Uchiha Clan Head Home

Fugaku Uchiha, Clan Head to one of the founding clans of Konoha, The Uchiha Clan, just finished explaining the situation to his wife. He, just like Shikaku and Hiashi, was able to figure out the true identity of the twins. He was also able to realize the reason for hiding the fact. He knew many in his clan would want to adopt, not just the children of Hokage, but the Jinchuurikis of Kyuubi. The fact that there were two of them would be like icing on a cake. But he didn't want that. Minato as a Hokage was an impartial leader. He respected him for that as much as for his fighting prowess. But more importantly, Kushina was a dear friend to his wife. And like any normal man, he was afraid to upset his wife.

The Uchiha clan matriarch wanted nothing more than to adopt the twins. But she knew it would be more dangerous for them. Mikoto Uchiha may be a housewife now, but she was also a proud and strong Kunoichi before she settled down to become a mother. She understood her husband's take on the issue of their adoption. Jinchuurikis were generally treated as weapons of war. She did not wish something like that on her friend's children. She just hoped she got a chance to meet them. They would make very good friends for her little Sasuke.

OMAKE 2

Fugaku was livid. Actually, he was just jealous. But he was an Uchiha, Uchihas don't get jealous. So instead, he was livid. Livid because a potentially strong weapon slipped from his hands. He didn't know where the Kyuubi came from, but he did know about Jinchuurikis. He knew the tailed beasts could be sealed in human vessels. Such a vessel would have served as a great weapon for the Uchiha. Even if there came no opportunity to use it, it would have been a great show of strength. But he was not good at Fuuinjutsu. No one in Uchiha clan was. Sharingan could copy hand seals as well as the way the chakra was moulded inside the body during a jutsu. But Fuuinjutsu was different, apart from moulding chakra in a particular way inside the body, it also utilised different pattern inked on a paper to do it. The Sharingan couldn't copy that.

But what the Sharingan could do, is see chakra. Maybe not at the same level of Byakugan - though neither Fugaku nor any other Uchiha will ever admit it - it could still see it. And he saw. A huge amount of chakra, abundantly flowing in the air. The residual chakra left after the Kyuubi's appearance a day before. A particular trail of chakra, he saw, was considerably thick and seemed to be originating from somewhere, unlike the fiscal wisps of chakra freely flying around. He followed that trail which led him to a suspiciously familiar-looking reddish-orange thing. He inspected it a little harder, putting some strain on his eyes before he realised what it was. Somehow, during the battle on the previous day, a part of Kyuubi was cut. This was Kyuubi's flesh. A maniacal grin formed on his face. He brought out a sealing scroll and sealed the flesh into it. That was a basic skill taught to everyone and as a Jounin, it was a must to know.

He watched as red wisps of chakra flowed here and there amongst the regular blue in the chakra coils of his youngest son. Feeding Itachi a part of Kyuubi's flesh was impossible. That child had a perception of a veteran ninja somehow. Putting a part of flesh in Sasuke's milk and letting it absorb the chakra was easier. Sasuke being younger also had more chance of accepting the foreign chakra. It had been two days since he got it. Till now Sasuke had taken at least three doses of chakra bearing milk and there were no signs of damage.

Suddenly Sasuke's eyes flew open but immediately closed after his body started convulsing. He started crying loudly causing his mother to rush towards his crib from the kitchen. She rushed past the shocked form of Fugaku and tried to calm her baby. But as soon as she touched him, she retracted her hand. Her fingers were burnt. Not normal burns but chakra burns. She turned towards her husband only to see him gawking at her son, Sharingan blazing.

Sasuke started to convulse even more while skin started to peel off from his fingertips. His mother watched him, crying helplessly, not being able to touch him. She activated her Sharingan to find the cause of the problem. She found it. Red chakra was trying to come out of his body from every Chakra point. By now both his arms had lost their skin along with his legs. Only his torso and head were still safe.

Fugaku watched as his son was being killed because of the red chakra. He was trying to think of something to save his son, but he wasn't able to come up with anything.

Slowly but surely Sasuke succumbed to the effects of Kyuubi's chakra. After being probed by Mikoto, Fugaku accepted the blame of trying to make Sasuke into a Jinchuuriki. To stop anyone from trying it again, the information was never let out.

In another part of the village, ANBU and other shinobis along with some civilians were still looking for something to salvage from the rubble of what were houses before the Kyuubi incident. One such ANBU came across something shiny. It was reflecting the sunlight directly onto his eyes. On further inspection, he found it to be a nameplate of a house. Specifically the house he was standing before. The house looked like something had slammed right in the middle of it, somehow leaving the sides almost intact. The nameplate being on the side survived the destruction. Many houses behind this one were met with the same fate. The ANBU realised what had slammed into them. One of Kyuubi's tails. Everything below it was probably squashed. He called some other ANBU to help pick the rubble up. While the nameplate may tell who the house belonged to, it won't tell if the owner or the family in it survived or not.

A few weeks later Fugaku was found dead right on a newly made grave for Sasuke, killer unknown. At the same time, a document was prepared to show the number of people who died in the Kyuubi incident, Shinobi or otherwise. Turns out the family that the aforementioned house belonged to was indeed dead, squashed to death. The nameplate only said one word. Haruno.

Because of it being in a very small amount, the chakra burnt itself up while coming out of Sasuke. But even that small amount was potent enough to be sensed outside the clan compound. The chakra sensed outside the Uchiha compound raised the villagers' suspicions even more. When the time came to carry out the coup de' tat, Itachi had no reason to spare anyone during his mission to erase his clan, except for Mikoto. Now without a clan, she was able to adopt Naruto and Namiko to continue what she couldn't with Sasuke.

AN:

That's the third chapter.

This one's omake was really long, I admit. But it served more purposes than just being fun. It cleared some facts about the abilities of Sharingan, which may not have been known to readers who may not have read or watched Naruto. Though the feeding Kyuubi's flesh part did happen in the anime but one was a filler and the other case was...odd. I don't know how Kinkaku or Ginkaku survived. It was said it was because they probably were descendants of Hagoromo. Also, I know the way Sakura died is similar to the first time but I actually didn't add it at first. But since I did say I would we killing Sasuke AND Sakura, I had to think of something. So I added that minor part.

Again the "Minato's Personality was...yada yada" is kind of cliche. But that's how it is. I don't think anyone from the adult generation in Naruto was unaware of who Naruto's parents were. Heck, even Onoki (Third Tsuchikage) and A (Fourth Raikage) knew about it. So I had that scene with the Hokage made up. Naruto's life will be A LOT different in this fic. But I won't tell just now. Just wait and read.

The honorifics I used during Hiruzen's conversation with the clan heads were strictly because it was a formal conversation. I am not going to always use honorifics.

Hope you guys liked it. Till the next one. Tschüss.