Prelude
"Kushina!" The commanding yell by Minato Namikaze quickly drew the attention of his wife, Kushina Namikaze. "Bring me Naruto!" Minato yelled over the noise of the Kyuubi going on a rampage behind them.
At other times Kushina would be thinking of what Minato would be planning, but at this moment, she didn't see her lover, but the fourth Hokage who was in the midst of defending his village.
"Kushina, I need you to stay calm." He said. "I think I can end this right now and prevent the Kyuubi from taking any more lives."
As he finished, his gaze slowly lowered toward his little fishcake. Just born a couple of hours prior, he now had to take on a burden that would alter his life forever. He took in a deep breath and looked back at Kushina.
"I'm going to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto, and I need your sealing prowess to do it now."
Kushina had thought that by being a jinchuuriki she had steeled herself from all scenarios. But sealing the Kyuubi into her child using the Shiki Fujin? Never.
As precious seconds went by, she felt something running down her face, and then another, and another coming soon after. Soon her vision started to get watery. She was starting to cry.
Fighting through the tears she pleaded to Minato "No. I can't let you take away Naruto's future!" And at this point, she was almost begging him to keep Naruto away from the sealing. "I want him to live a life that I never had. I don't want him to lose his family, and I don't want him to live a life without knowing the touch of his mother, or the voice of his father." She quickly wiped some tears off her face. "Please..."
Minato's heart tore at the sight of the love of his life crying, but in his mind, he made an oath, one that he had intended to keep. "Kushina, we both know that if we don't seal the Kyuubi soon, there will be no life for him to have. And not even him. Think of the Shinobi clans and the people whose family members they'll lose. And what of the civilians if we leave them under the wrath of the Kyuubi? What happens to their lives?" He gestured back towards the fighting area as the shinobi of Konoha were attempting to hold off the Kyuubi to give Minato and the civilian population more time.
"I know you don't want this, and I don't want it either. But I can't just think of our lives when thousands of others are at stake!" Minato lowered himself to Kushina. The fighting, the burning, and the dying, all becoming background noise. "Please. Let him live a life knowing that he saved the ones living around him. He'll be seen as a savior, and I'll make sure his life won't be the one that you say it will." He whispered.
A couple more seconds passed. The tears flowing down Kushina's face only grew in number, and Minato also looked as though his own tears were starting to arise. How Naruto kept quiet at this time was unknown, but Kushina's resolve had finally strengthened "I'll help you Mina-kun." She whispered "We'll seal the Kyuubi into Naruto. But not for the village's sake, but for Naruto."
Minato held a small smile on his face as Kushina agreed with him. "We need to go now." He said.
They quickly started to head toward the field to end the Kyuubi's rampage. "Kushina, can I trust you to fend off the Kyuubi for as long as you can while I draw the seal on Naruto?" He asked. "No doubt the Kyuubi will realize that it's going to be sealed again soon and will try to come for Naruto."
"Of course." She yelled back. In a few moments, she caught up to Minato with Naruto, and dropped him off, and just before leaving, she gave a kiss to Minato, and another to Naruto.
"I know I may never be in your life ever again and you might never remember who I am, but please know that mom will always love you. Don't let anyone say otherwise." She whispered into the still-sleeping Naruto's ear. Knowing what must be done, she left a bit of her chakra in Naruto, and with one last gaze at both male Namikaze, she headed towards the Kyuubi.
During this time, Minato was busy writing up two scrolls. One with everything he thought needed for whoever became the next hokage to properly take care of Naruto. The other was a personal letter to Naruto when he got older. And with a finishing touch, Minato sealed the scroll and then turned his attention to Naruto. He already made up his mind on using the Shiki Fujin, he now only needed to put it down. After what felt like hours, Minato was able to make a seal for Naruto. "Kushina! Lead it here!" He yelled without realizing that while getting Kushina's attention, also drew the attention of the Kyuubi to Minato, and it didn't take long for the Kyuubi to recognize the seal on the child next to him. Fearing being sealed once again, the Kyuubi rushed towards Naruto with a desire to kill. Kushina tried to stop it with her Adamantine chains, only to get pulled toward Minato and Naruto. As the Kyuubi got close enough, it lashed out its arm to kill the child with its claws.
At this moment, whether it was an act of Kami trying to save a child or it was the scream of both Minato and Kushina, woke little Naruto from his slumber to go straight into a crying fit, the Kyuubi hesitated for a second. This single second gave time for Minato to activate the seal and for Kushina to defend Minato and Naruto with her chains. Once this second passed, the Kyuubi impaled the two elder Namikaze and only a second later, the seal started to absorb the Kyuubi as a whole.
The roaring by the Kyuubi during the sealing was said to be heard throughout the fire nation.
"Mina-kun?" Kushina asked with only her Uzumaki genes keeping her from instantly dying. "Yes, Kushi-chan?" Minato replied.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
And with that. Kushina Namikaze was dead.
Tears were flowing from Minato's eyes, but he knew that he had a job to do. And as quick as the sealing happened, the third hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi shunshined onto the scene. In a brief moment of quiet Minato looked at the elder former hokage. Minato only had a few moments left provided by the small amount of chakra Kushina left him.
"Hiruzen." He choked out. "That boy over there is my legacy. My child. Naruto Namikaze." He looked over and saw that Naruto had calmed back down, and was peacefully sleeping, unknowing of his parents' demise.
Hiruzen was in shock. While he knew that Minato was in a relationship. He didn't think that he had a child with Kushina just yet. "I've left you two scrolls to take care of him. One for you, and also my and Kushina's will are in there. The other, I wish to leave for you to eventually give to Jiraya so he can give it to Naruto once he believes it's ready." Minato once again spoke.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be the Hokage you wanted me to be, old man…"
"Stop talking Minato, it's not too late for you, we can heal you back up. I promise" Hiruzen replied.
"Hah. If only that were true." Minato said as his eyes were losing color and his skin turning pale. "I only wish that I could've been the parent that I was always missing in my own life."
"I'm so sorry Naruto."
"I'm sorry…"
Only a few moments after his wife. Minato Namikaze died from blood loss.
Hiruzen. A man who seemed to have lost everything, had come to a conclusion. He'll come out of retirement to take care of the child and to carry on the Will of Fire. He quickly took the two scrolls left on the floor and went over to Naruto. Hiruzen paused to look at the seal on Naruto's stomach, only to close his eyes and wish the elder Namikazes peace. He grabbed Naruto and shunshined back into the Hokage's office.
He had a lot of work to do.