Author Notes: This is my first time writing a fanfiction so I'm not really sure if my writing is any good. I want to make this chapter as accurate as possible to the canon storyline, so if you see any inaccuracy like if a character's personality is off or whatnot, then please leave a review so I could improve it or explain why I made that choice. Anyway, this story is inspired by The Amagi. Of course, the storyline wouldn't be a carbon copy of what they have in the video because that would be plagiarism. Enjoy!
It was a chilling night in Konohagakure. The village was quiet, with only the sound of footsteps of the sparse mob can be heard. Inhabitants were settling in their homes, having quality times with their family. A son-father duo was sitting on the open wooden porch, admiring the shining stars of the dark blue sky with a round marble colored moon hovering over their heads. Then suddenly, out of the (dark) blue, a comic with a bright blue and long curved tail was spotted flying through the starry sky.
"Oh, another falling star!" The boy cried out as he pointed his index finger forward and above his head, toward the falling object, until it abruptly disappears a second later.
After the father observed the sky, he turned it to the right, jerking downward to meet his son before asking. "Did you make your wish this time?"
The boy frustratingly replied as he turned to his left to meet his father directly. "Dang it, I forgot!"
In another part of the village, another duo is spotted walking together. On one side, there was a youthful man, donning a black bowl-style hair with leaf green jumper with bright orange striped leg warmers, which barely reach above his knees. His Konoha hitai-ate with red band cloth can be seen around his waist. And his upper arms were bandaged, except for his fingertips. On the other side, a man with left slanting silver pointy hair, fully geared with typical Anbu armor, but minus the Anbu mask. His black mask covers his bottom part of the face up until the bridge of the nose. His headband, however, was donned on his forehead, but it was covering his left eye.
"Why don't we just do rock paper scissors again tonight?" Kakashi asked, his hands in his pocket and eyes jaded and closed. He had hoped his friend and rival had dropped the competition so he could have time to relax. But alas, Kami seems to want more entertainment from them.
Guy, as youthful as if there was not tomorrow, eagerly answered back, his elbows on his sides, shooting his front arms forward, hands furiously balled with indomitable determination, with eyebrows pointing downward, radiating as much competitive vibe as possible. "Not that again! Think of something more exciting!"
"How can you call yourself my rival?" Kakashi answered back as he opened his eyes half of the way. "We had to get up early tomorrow. So, let's pass for tonight." He eyes-smiled back, trying his best to slip away from Guy's relentless request. But he knew Guy better than that. Guy then proceeded to tirade Kakashi about how Kakashi is trying to get away from him by using missions as an excuse and how Guy needs someone to release all of his youthful spirit.
Kakashi then proceeded to let Guy's words flow through his ears.
"Are you listening to me?" Guy slides in front of Kakashi, leaving some dust cloud on the ground, and questioned him through his gritted teeth upon realizing his lack of attention.
Kakashi turned his head to his right shoulder, eyes glaring behind his back as he sensed something… malicious. "Say, Guy… Do you sense anything weird? There's been a chill in the air." Kakashi asked as he hardened his face, turning on his serious attitude.
"It's your attitude that's causing it! We're only young once!" Guy answered with a pissed voice, his arms and upper bodies flinging around like a raging fire. Seriously, where is the flame of youth in him?
In the Uchiha compound, Itachi was sitting on the wooden porch, looking at the full moon. In his arms was an adorable baby Sasuke who has cute red cheek, cocooned with a thick, white blanket. They had been sitting for maybe an hour by now, bathing themselves on the soft wind and calm surrounding. But this was soon to change.
"What is this feeling?" Itachi asked himself, arching his eyebrows. 'kaa-san and oto-san, why are you out at time like this?' Then, baby Sasuke bursts out a cry.
"Don't cry, Sasuke-chan, big brother is here to protect you." Itachi told Sasuke in a soothing tone, then he gently rocks the baby back and forth. However, the mysterious feeling was bothering him…
In the center of the village, a spiral appears out of thin air and a masked one-eyed man with black robe and hood concealing his entire body materializes out of it. His Sharingan is active and bears three tomoes. He had landed in a narrow alleyway. While on his one knee crouching position, he turned his head to his sides to map out his surrounding before he raised his right hand up, with his palm facing outward, and slam it onto the street.
"Summoning Jutsu!" He shouted, as a complex circular seal formula propagated out of his right palm, onto the street and up the wall of the alleyway.
A messenger hawk was soaring through the night sky. It had taken off from a desert and is looking for a particular landmark in the land of trees. From its memory, the landmark is a very red hill (Hokage Tower), and its surrounding has noises made by two-legged creatures. While on route, a threatening vibe hits him in the face. It slowed down a little bit, but then dismissed the feeling as it couldn't help but think about the treats it will get when it reaches the destination. After soaring for some time, it saw a non-forest landmark (Hidden Leaf). As it flies closer, the landmark grows in size. Just as it crosses the ring-like mountain (the wall of the village), a white plume of smoke appears, accompanying with it a deafening sound. As the smoke dissipates, an orange fox appears, as big as a mountain. When it realizes how screwed it was, the hawk made a sharp U-turn and got the hell out of there.
In the world of shinobi, there are nine different bijuu. Each bijuu has a specific amount of tail, ranging from one to nine. However, the most important characteristic among all of them is their mind-blogging chakra. Their chakra capacity is comparable to a bottomless well. Therefore, each Tailed Beast by itself is as powerful as a natural disaster. And when a disaster hits a village, things are not going to be pretty.
The Kyuubi, one of the nine bijuu, is now sitting in the middle of the village, ready to let loose upon the order of the masked man. The order came the following seconds upon being summoned. The mighty beast let out a roar that would give lions a run for their money. The wind was so strong that it was like using a Futon jutsu on an ant. Civilians and trash cans got blown away alike. After it bellowed all air and some anger from its body, it moved onto clawing the buildings. Every time it sees a building, that building is no more. Brave shinobis risked their life to keep the Will of Fire burning, perishes. As lives were ended, the rampage continues.
A blonde man teleported onto the head of the Fourth Hokage. He himself adorns a white Hokage Cloak and was looking toward the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi, in turn, looked back at him.
"So, you have taken notice on me." His hands were hanging on his sides. He let out a calm, but analytical countenance as the beast was preparing the Tailed Beast Ball with the power of thousands of exploding tags, enough to blow up the entire village.
Gazing at the Kyuubi preparation, he responded with serpent, horse, rat, and ram. When the dark purple-ish ball was released, it flew straight at Minato, leaving a straight and narrow, but yet steep crater. Then, when it was right in front of the Hokage Faces, it halted mid-air. Seals expanded outward and painted on the monument. Then, the purple orb slowly sinks forward and into the mountain, until it was enveloped completely. A flash of light far away from Konoha was seen as it temporarily lightens up the sky, followed with the sound and the shockwave.
"The jutsu stopped the Nine Tails' attack must be the Teleportation Barrier!" Choza Akimichi remarked.
"It's Minato?" Shikaku Nara incredulously asked, but in the back of his mind, he knew there was only one person could have performed that technique.
In another part of the village, the Sandaime was standing in front of his force, in full battle armor. Once he saw his leader in action, he decided to order his men forward. "All right! We're going too!"
Back to the Hokage Monument. Minato was contemplating on his next move. 'Right, I need to report this to Lord Third.' Then suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him and proceeded to stab the attacker with a backward spinning attack, only for his kunai to faze through the attacker as if it was a genjutsu. After his attack went through the masked man head, he quickly grabs Minato's wrist and brought his face closer to Minato. Suddenly, a windy vortex starts to swirl around the masked cyclops, sucking the Hokage in. At the last millisecond, however, Minato hiraishined away, leaving the masked man empty-handed.
"He flew away. He's fast." The mask man stated to no one in particular, taking a short pause.
"Next time, I'll get him faster." The masked man commented. He then made a one-handed ram seal before disappearing.
With all the crap happening tonight, the Third Hokage was relieved to find the beast's eyes turning back to its slitted red eyes instead of a Sharingan ones. Previously, while standing on the roof a house, looking at the center of the village, Sarutobi has saw a dot standing on the Yondaime's hair which he assumed to be Minato. But then, he saw a second dot behind Minato before their two chakra signatures disappear. Then, a minute later, the Kyuubi's eyes reverted to normal. From his battle experience, he concluded that the mysterious cloaked Uchiha must have been controlling the Tailed Beast and Minato has neutralized him. 'Looks like you have beaten the black cloaked man, Minato-kun.' Hiruzen cheered himself up, lifting the edge his lip slightly up before lowering it back. 'But the Nine Tails, however, still needs to be addressed.'
"You must avoid damage to the village! Chase the Nine Tails out of the village walls!" Hiruzen ordered a small mob of men behind him.
"Yes sir!" The elite group of shinobi chorused while kneeing to the Hokage.
"Buy me time so that I can execute my jutsu! Do not slow down the attack!" Hiruzen told the shinobis.
"Right! Let's go!" The leader of the group, being closest to the Hokage, responded to the order. Then, on cue, they all jumped away.
Biting his thumb to draw blood, Sarutobi executed a series of hand sign. Boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram, then he shouted, "Ninja Art: Summoning!" He slammed his palm onto the roof of the building, and a well-dressed monkey appears, standing in front of him. On his forehead was the Hidden Leaf hitai-ate.
"The Nine Tailed huh. So, the seal was broken." The monkey king Emma rhetorically asked, arms crossed on his chest. His legs are wide to his shoulder length. His knees were slightly bended, keeping himself nimble for the imminent battle. However, Sarutobi had something else in mind.
"We're going to chase it out of the village with the Adamantine Nyoi!" Sarutobi told Emma.
"Got it!" Emma replied, before a plume of smoke takes his place. A black, wide cylindrical staff with silver tips soared upward. As it was falling, Sarutobi grabbed it out of the air and held it with his right armpit. He aimed one of staff end at the Kyuubi.
"Let's go, Emma!" Sarutobi shouted.
Suddenly, a single eye on the opposite end of the staff opens to look at Sarutobi before replying, "Right!"
Then, the staff proceeds to prolongated itself to extreme length, straight at the Kyuubi. Upon making contact on the beast's abdomen, it continues to stretch forward and slowly push the Kyuubi back. The Nine Tails fox furiously stood its ground instead of slapping the staff away from its body, for its pride couldn't handle the fact that such a mighty being like itself was losing ground to an annoying ape, holding a small and unnaturally long toothpick.
'I will not lose to those puny meat-bones! I will show them what I am truly made of!' The Kyuubi told itself. But alas, it was still slowly pushed out until it reaches the forest outside of the village parameter. Upon leaving the village, swarms of humans leaped at it. Then, it proceeds to squash the assaulting shinobis, who were laying down their life for other future leaves to prosper.
'Where are you, Minato-kun?' Hiruzen spoke within his mind as he the staff returned to normal while witnessing the countless heroic sacrifices, in the name of the Village. By now, the Yellow Flash should have flashed back into the village to aid the resistance. Yet, no trace of him was reported.
On the top of the Sandaime sculpture, a blonde man with white cloak appears out of thin air. He looked upon the village, only to see the Kyuubi forming yet again another giant dark purple ball. He considered sealing the Tailed Beast Ball again, but decided against it as repeating moves will make him too predictable. Instead, he executed a Summoning Jutsu. Biting his thumb to draw some blood, he went through a series of hand sign: boar, dog, monkey, bird, and ram. Then, he slammed his hand onto the ground.
"I must say, I have not taken a stroll for much too long now." A white-bellied, brown frog with wrinkled skin that spoke of age remarked as the elderly frog lightly hopped. He also wears himself a necklace with a toad's village symbol, "oil".
Gamabunta lets out a small chuckle, "You're right. It had been ages since I saw you take a hop. Also, I heard that doing some light exercise is good for your health, according to the human scientists." The towering red frog replied. He wears a blue happi vest with the kanji "ebi" on the back.
"I suppose you are right, Gamabunta." The Great Toad Sage replied.
The two hopped for some time in silence for a short while. The calm breezing wind in conjunction with the soothing insect ambient make for a relaxing experience.
"Great Sage, have you had any vision lately?" Gamabunta breaks the silence.
"Speaking of visions, I think I might have something of interest." Gamamaru replied as he had an epiphany. Old age, he supposes.
"What is it?" Gamabunta was immediately hooked. They never have dreams, but when they do, it ends up being true.
"In my vision, I saw…" Gamamaru was cut off as a white plume of smoke erupts from Gamabunta, only to replace with empty space.
"What was I saying previously?" He asked himself. He really hates his memory and old age.
'At time like this!?' Gamabunta was furious as he was soaring down from the heaven. It wasn't every day that you have a world-changing prophecy. Then, he looked down to his landing area. 'The Nine Tails huh? Now that is understandable.' He thought as he squatted on the fox with a loud "THUMP". Maybe he could use some patience and ask the Old Sage again after this battle.
"What do you plan?" He asked Minato, who was perking on his head.
"Hold down the Nine Tails for just a while!" Minato shouted back. He really didn't want to execute his plan, but he can't let the masked man rule the world. He knew that the man was definitely up to no good.
"That's going to be tough, even for me! Gamabunta replied with slight desperation. Being a mighty sage as he is, he doesn't let his ego cloud his judgement.
"In order to transport something this big, I'll need just as much chakra!" Minato told his companion as he charges his chakra.
Meanwhile, while being pinned down, the Kyuubi kept on charging the Tailed Beast Ball. Upon completion, he ate the ball with his maw and vomited a powerful beam of chakra. Except that he couldn't spew it because a pair of hands were even looping his mouth tight. 'Curse you, you overgrown amphibian!'
"Hurry up Minato! I cannot keep the lit shut forever!" Gamabunta shouted back, letting out even more desperation than last time. He wishes that he had brought his tanto. He could have cleaved the Nine Tails in half ten times by now.
"I'm almost there!" Minato shouted back. He nearly has enough chakra to teleport the Kyuubi, his wife, and Naruto, place a barrier, summons the Shinigami, seal the bijuu into him and Naruto, and maybe fend of the masked man's reinforcement if he brought any. Then, he jumped down from Gamabunta and teleported the Kyuubi away. Another explosion and a blinding flash of light emerges nearby before dying out.
"Looks like I am done here." Gamabunta remarked. A plume of smoke replaces his place.
In a remote part of the forest, there was a Kyuubi, and an unhappy family reunion.
"I need to put up a barrier right now." Minato said through his labored breathes as he twitches his face and shuts his left eye in exhaustion. He didn't expect the teleportation to put such a toll on him. But fortunately, he still had enough chakra to follow through with his plan.
"I can still do it, Minato." Kushina replied to her husband. Even though she's half dead, her Uzumaki life force is nothing to joke about. Then, golden chakra chains emerge through her back, chaining the beast to its spot. She coughs out more blood.
"Kushina!" Minato shouted. This was not how he envisioned their marriage to be. Then, Naruto started whining.
"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, Naruto." Kushina told Naruto with the little energy left she could muster.
'I need to act now!' Minato thought. He makes serpent, boar, ram, hare, dog, rat, bird, horse, and serpant. "Reaper of Death Seal!" Minato acclaimed, clapping his hands together. White transparent smoke rises up as it was released from his back. Then, smoke then materialize into the Shinigami himself. On his left hand, he is holding a bonk beaded bracelet, and on his mouth, he holds a short tanto sword. Inside his body was Minato's soul in a crucified pose.
"What are you doing Minato?" Kushina cried out in horror. The Reaper of Death Seal is a technique where the summoner summons the Shinigami to capture a being's soul, but at the cost of the summoner's life.
"Kushina, I know you won't like this, but the Kyuubi needs to be sealed in order to keep the balance of power. Since our Naruto is still too young, he can only handle half of its chakra. Therefore, I'll seal the other half into me." Minato analytically replied.
"But Naruto is our child! How can you do such thing to him? He'll be orphaned!" Kushina cried out with all of her mixed up emotions.
"I know it's a hard choice, Kushina. But I have a feeling the masked man will need to be dealt with, or the world will be doomed. And the person who can do this, is the Child of The Prophecy, Naruto!"
"But is it-" Kushina coughed out more blood, "necessary? Why all the sacrifice?"
There was a short pause as Minato collected his words. "To forsake one's nation, and one's village is the same as forsaking one's child. As a parent, I'm ready to lay down my life to protect them all!" Minato replied assertively, then soften up.
"Don't worry, I will seal some of our chakra so we can reunite and help him in the future, especially when he is trying to control the Kyuubi."
Kushina wasn't entirely convinced, but it could be because of her motherly nature to always want to be near her child clouding her judgement. Minato got a point. What good will her child be if that scheming masked man destroy the world? So, she gave in to Minato. Just this one time.
"Are you couple done? I did not sign up to watch some family drama. Summoner, let's get to business." The Shinigami impatiently told them. He disliked lesser creatures summoning him. He only came down for the deaths and sufferings.
"Hai! I want to seal half of the Kyuubi chakra into me." Minato replied.
"The Yin or the Yang?"
"Any!"
Then, the Shinigami raises his hand and impales Minato's soul in the back and through the chest. His hand continues to prolongate, proceeding to spiritually stab through the other physical Minato. But the hand wasn't done as it continues to stretch itself to grab the Kyuubi Yang chakra.
"Damn you, Fourth Hokage!" The Kyuubi muttered loudly through its sharp teeth.
"Seal!" Minato shouted. Suddenly, the Shinigami's hand abbreviated, pulling the Yang half out and into Minato. A seal appeared on his chest to contain the new tenant of the Hokage.
'My body is getting numb." The Hokage told himself as he twitches his face. Being a jinchuuriki is really taking a toll on his body. It felt like he just ran a shinobi marathon. But he persevered.
"Alright, next is the Eight Signed Seal." Minato stated as he grabs hold of his son and summoned a stoned octagon floor with a lit candle on each respective corner, with baby-sized bed in the middle of the shape.
"I will seal the Nine Tails into Naruto." Minato said as he walked up to the bed and delicately placed Naruto on the bed.
'The Ritual Altar? Does he intend to seal me again?' The Kyuubi panicked. The last thing he wants was being imprisoned in that damn place again.
Then, Kushina started breathing more heavily than she was already doing, nearly falling face first onto the ground, which Minato catches attention of.
"Kushina, are you alright?" Minato turned around and started running to his wife. Upon seeing Minato's blunder, the Kyuubi immediately capitalized on the opening and made a decisive stab to the baby with its claw.
The Sandaime, alongside with his remaining elite, hand-picked shinobis, Shunshined toward the commotion. Seeing the couple ragged state, Hiruzen attempted to enter, only to hit an invisible force field which rippled when he contacted it.
"It's no good. I can't go further than this point because of the barrier that put up to keep the Nine Tails from escaping! Those two are planning to take care of the Nine Tails themselves!" He informed his company.
'I hope you know what you are doing, Minato-kun.' The Sandaime prayed to the hero as they were forced to watch their leader and his spouse fight against the fox. The action continued as Minato's chest was suddenly smoked, ripping a clean hole through his cloth and revealing his skin. Then, a seal appears, and the Kyuubi shrunk in size. Because of this, the chain loosened, allowing the Kyuubi to move with greater freedom. But the worse thing to ever happen, was when the enraged Kyuubi attacked the child. It was a scene that would give them nightmares for days to come, no matter how combat hardened. They watched in horror as the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero were stabbed through the back as they acted as a shield to protect their child. Their blood splashes out of their body and their feet slide through a fair distance of sod, halting right at the baby and saving it from sudden death. It was a romantic ending, if anyone cared about it.
"I said this was the father's duty!" Minato half-heartedly scolded his wife.
"Then all the more, since I'm his mother!"
"I guess this is it. Good luck, Naruto…" Minato faltered. He putted up a smile, at the face of Death.
"I nearly forgot (pant), we need to put our chakra into the seal…" A sudden realization hits him. How could he abandon their child like that?
"You're right." Kushina replied upon making the same realization.
Minato made a one-handed ram seal and place his right hand on Kushina's back as she channels their chakra into the seal. With his goal done, he closed his eyes. Both his adrenaline, and his life force, extinguish.
When the Kyuubi got sucked into the baby, the couple collapse. The outside party then rushed in. Hiruzen went for the baby to make sure the new Jinchuuriki was safe. He was relieved to find the baby not dead. But it was a different story for the two adults.
"Lord Fourth!" A man kneed to the ground to bring himself closer to the motionless body. No response.
"Lady Kushina!" A kunochi grabbed Kushina's shoulder and lifted her to a sitting position. There was no response too as the kunochi shook the woman. But then, she opens her eyes.
"Take her to Leaf Hospital immediately! Summon the medical ninja." Hiruzen hastily ordered, trying to salvage the situation.
"Lord Third…" She paused to collect her breathe, "please take care of the child."
"Of course, you don't need to worry." Hiruzen assured Kushina. He wants the woman to rest in peace.
Mustering all her remaining strength, she finally said. "His name is… Naruto. Minato and I picked it from Jiraiya Sensei's novel."
"Naruto, you say?" Hiruzen was surprised.
"Fine, I take full responsibility. So, for the child's sake, you must rest!" Then, he was shocked again to see Kushina's life also extinguishing. Two bright, promising leaves have fell from the tree, never to be seen again.
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the reading. If you're wondering why I omitted the Minato vs Obito fight, well, it is because I think that I am still not experienced enough to accurately describe the scene. In the future, when my writing skill improves, I might come back to this chapter to write that scene. Anyway, thanks for reading! Peace out.