Chapter 1: The Boy with Sunset Hair and Lavender Eyes.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto.

Inside the tallest building in Konoha, the Hokage Tower, an old man wearing white robes and a red hat, with the word "Fire" embedded on the front, sighed. Holding a pen in one hand and important paperwork in the other, the man carefully scanned the paper before writing his signature on the bottom. From time to time, the old man would glance at the door as if he was waiting for someone to enter.

Knock, knock!

Hearing the knock on the door, the old man smiled and placed down the paperwork he was holding, putting a paperweight on top to keep it from flying away. "Come in," the old man said, loud enough for the person on the other side to hear him.

Creaaak—

The door creaked as it opened, revealing a ninja wearing a cat-shaped mask. The ninja had brown hair and bronze skin. He originally had a fair complexion, but doing many missions under the sunlight made his skin tan like bronze. This ninja was part of the ANBU that the Hokage commands.

"Lord Hokage, here is the newborn you are looking for."

The ANBU knelt, carefully placing the baby he was holding on a wooden cradle prepared beforehand. After putting down the baby, the ANBU didn't spare it another glance, showing neither curiosity nor care. As an ANBU, he must not question or show interest in the Hokage's actions, requests, or orders. He should only obey the Hokage's will with unyielding loyalty and determination as that is his duty.

The old man glanced at the baby before waving his hand to dismiss the ANBU, "Good work. You may go."

"Understood, lord Hokage," after bowing to the old man, the Hokage, the ANBU left after carefully closing the door as to not disturb the sleeping baby.

As the ANBU ninja closed the door, Hiruzen's gaze lingered on the door before he released a long sigh. Then, his gaze shifted to the baby who was sleeping on the wooden cradle. The cradle had a white cushion and blankets in order to let the baby sleep comfortably. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Hiruzen's eyes wandered into the baby's hair.

The baby had a unique hair color. Each strand came out as golden yellow, but as it grew and aged, it turned into a deep crimson red. Looking at the baby's hair, it reminded Hiruzen of the sunset. It was a true beauty, but Hiruzen couldn't admire its beauty for long. It wasn't because he disliked the child, no. It was because this child is the jailer of the most powerful tailed beast in the world. This child… is the nine-tail's jinchuriki.

"Minato…"

Thinking about the child's father Namikaze Minato, the fourth Hokage, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel some regret. "Why did such a young, excellent ninja have to die so early?"

Although Hiruzen said that, he was fully aware of the fact that shinobi who lived into elderly were rare. Such feat is only possible with immense luck. No matter how powerful or skilled you are, if you aren't lucky enough, you will meet your death sooner rather than later.

Turning his gaze into the window, Hiruzen felt a headache brewing. As the Hokage, he had the power to decide this child's fate. But did he have the heart to do so? For the first time, Hiruzen wished that he was not the Hokage who gets to decide his people's fate.

As the jinchuriki of Konoha, Hiruzen had the responsibility to ensure that the child before him is capable of controlling the nine-tail's power. That way, he could become a deterrent against the other major ninja villages or a weapon for the village when the time comes. Yet, as a man who had children, Hiruzen found it hard to mold such a young child into the fate of a shinobi. He wished to give the child a normal and happy life, even though he knew it was nigh impossible.

"Sigh…"

Hiruzen found himself unable to make a decision for the first time. He became the Hokage at a young age and was very wise when he was at his peak, but now that he was old, he couldn't even make a simple decision regarding the village's strongest asset. Hashirama may have comforted him, but his sensei would definitely reprimand him.

"What to do… Should I give him to Danzo? Danzo had been searching for young talents lately, and his ROOT shinobi shows some potential…"

As he scratched his chin in search of enlightenment, a sudden knock at the door woke him up from his dark thoughts.

"Come in."

"Lord Hokage."

When the door opened, it revealed the silver-haired youth wearing a dog-shaped ANBU mask.

"Inu, what brought you here?"

Looking at the ninja who entered the office and knelt, Hiruzen felt his heart throbbing with guilt. Before this young ninja came in, he was considering the idea of giving the boy to Danzo. Now, thinking about it again, doing so was a terrible idea and doing so would betray Minato's trust in him.

'How could I forget about Danzo's wickedness?'

"Lord Hokage, I have a request."

"Hmm…"

'A request? That's rare…'

Normally, ANBU ninjas wouldn't dare make requests to their Hokage unless it was absolutely necessary. It was even more so for the ninja in front of him.

"Go on, let me hear your request."

"Lord Hokage, I wish to adopt sensei's— the fourth Hokage's son."

'Oh? The ever-so-serious Kakashi made a mistake? Is something going to happen today?'

After suppressing the smirk that threatened to emerge from his elderly face, Hiruzen weighed the request that Kakashi made while scolding himself internally.

'I'm getting too old for this. To think that I almost joked around at a time like this…'

"Inu, you know very well that your request is not possible."

'Although I wish I could make you his guardian…'

Hiruzen added on his mind but refrained from saying it to the young ANBU.

"But…" Kakashi started but was cut off by Hiruzen.

"If you are worried about the boy's safety, don't worry," Hiruzen smiled to comfort the young ninja, "I will make sure that the boy is well protected."

Hearing this, Kakashi stayed silent for a while. "Then, I thank the hokage for his benevolence," after saying so, he lowered his head to bow to the Hokage.

"Mn, you may leave," after watching Kakashi leave, Hiruzen glanced at the red-haired baby and his eyes widened.

"!"

Inside the cradle, pale lavender eyes stared right into his eyes, giving him shivers and goosebumps. It gave him the illusion that the boy was judging his every word, action, and thought, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

'What am I talking about? That is just a newborn child. I'm too tired… and too old for this shit.'

4 Years Later.

In one of Konoha's public playground, a tall sandcastle was erected. It was four feet tall, intricately designed with countless details. If you ignored the color of the sand and imagined that it was built with stone and wood instead, then the sandcastle would become a real, miniature castle.

This realistic castle was built by one child. A child with red hair and lavender eyes. Said child was currently sitting down on the sand, fiddling around with the plastic bucket he brought with him.

"Sigh…"

With a sigh, the boy threw the bucket away and it just so happened to hit the castle, making it crumble down. Looking at the scene, the boy scratched his head. He just finished building that tedious sandcastle, and it crumbled just like that?

"Tsk…"

The boy looked around, bored to death. There were no other children around him, but he was used to it. Every time he came to the playground, all the parents and children would run away in a rush. One time he asked why they would run away, but all he got were cold shoulders.

"Hmm? Who's that?"

The boy's eyes locked on one man standing idly by a closed shop. Looking closely, he realized that the man was a ninja. The ninja wore his forehead protector on his neck, his left hand was tucked on the pockets of his pants, and his right hand held a small book with weird symbols.

Suddenly, the ninja scowled and threw the book away. The book landed on a nearby light post, and the ninja walked away without turning back.

"Why did he throw it away?"

The boy asked, his curiosity peaking. Looking around, he realized that no one was around.

"He threw it away, so it won't be considered stealing if I picked it up, right?"

Convincing himself, the boy walked toward the book on his toes, hands tucked in his pockets as if he was leisurely strolling around. When he was close enough to the book, he knelt down and picked it up.

"Bark!"

Suddenly, a dog barked and the boy's soul leapt to the clouds before returning to his body. Gripping the book tightly with his hands, the boy ran as fast as he could and returned to his apartment. Closing the door behind him, the boy opened the book and began to read its contents.

"Wow! What's this? This is so cool! It's easy to understand too, why did that ninja throw it away?"

Confused, the boy closed the book and flipped it over and read the book's cover.

Tilting his head, the boy, Uzumaki Naruto, read the book's title aloud, "The Art of Fuinjutsu."