"Do you think we can seal it inside him at this point?" A red haired woman shouted.
The situation was dire. The embodiment of destruction of the shinobi world, the nine tailed fox, had set its paws in the village hidden in the leaf. Fire and destruction was all an eye could see. In a situation where all hope was lost, the hero of the Hidden Leaf, the fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato had stepped in to control the havoc. His Jutsu were so feared that the average shinobi had started to look up to him as a god. A god of peace for his allies, and a god of destruction for his enemies. Even so, with all his feared and terrifying jutsu, here he stood, the nail of the nine tailed fox piercing his and his wife's body, the flashes of his happy life flashing in his mind as he prepared himself to bound his son's life to the soul of the Kyuubi and doom his life to uncertainty.
"I am not sure, Kushina. But, I at least have to try." The fourth hokage said, prepared to summon the death god. Everything was as it should be. Everything necessary for the ritual was present. There was the jailer, his son. The sacrifice, he himself. And the soon to be prisoner, the demonic fox... or was it?
"Kamui." A shout was heard inside of the barrier created by the fourth.
"No one should've been able to penetrate the barrier." Minato murmured, astonished. But, his astonishment was converted into outright joy when he saw the Kyuubi disappear in a swirl, and the joy into sheer fury as he realized that the deed doer was the same man who had kidnapped his son just a few minutes ago.
"YOU AGAIN?" Minato shouted, fighting the blood flowing out of his mouth. His beloved was already gone, bled to death. He, too, was on the verge of death. But, he could not let this man be with Naruto alone.
"Look at you. The feared fourth hokage, reduced to this. Were you really prepared to sacrifice your son for the village too?" The masked man questioned.
"I was prepared to do what was needed to be done." Minato hissed.
The masked man walked forward. Towards him? No, towards Naruto. He could not let this happen. His son was supposed to have a life, the child of prophecy he was supposed to be.
"Stay away from him." Minato hissed as he saw the masked man picking up his sleeping son.
"What's his name?" The masked man questioned, caressing the head of the child almost affectionately. "Ah, I already know. Naruto, was it not? I heard you shout it once or twice." He said, bending down to be eye to eye with the dying hokage. "Do not worry, he will be in good care. Take rest now." The masked man said, closing the fury filled eyes of the now dead hokage.
X-X
"The fox has disappeared, lord third!" A jonin shouted.
"Disappeared?" The third questioned, worry filling his old face.
"Yes. Lord fourth had teleported away with it to the outskirts. Now our sensors cannot sense the Kyuubi anymore." The jonin reported.
"Lead us to the sight." The third ordered and disappeared in a flicker.
X-X
"This is an interesting specimen you have brought." A voice echoed. The masked man had just entered a dark cave the the kid in his hand.
"Stop acting cliché, just come out." The masked man sighed, and on his call a plant like man, half white and half black, came out of the ceiling of the cave.
"As you say, Tobi." The white half grinned.
"Why have you brought a child here?" The black half asked.
"He is the son of the fourth. I thought he would be useful." Tobi replied as he proceeded to remove his bulky cloak.
"He is very special indeed." The white half said as it picked up the child.
"Special how?" Tobi questioned, almost uninterested in the conversation.
"A natural wood style user is quite a catch, wouldn't you say?" The white half said, a malicious grin adorning its face.
"Is that so?" Tobi questioned. Interested in the conversation all of a sudden. He had no reason to doubt the judgement of Zetsu. He had already proved that he was a sensor of the highest caliber. A natural wood style user would make collecting the tailed beasts considerably easier. All of a sudden, the boy had become a much more integral part of the plan.
"Indeed. Well, that can be dealt with later. Tell me, how is your eye holding up?" The black half questioned.
"I have noticed no deterioration in my sight since the fusion of Hashirama cells in my body. No pain either." Tobi replied.
"Well, we have good news upon good news stacked up, I suppose." The white and the black halves chorused.
"Indeed. And I hope we do not face any difficulties either. For now, take care of the child, I have some work to do." He said, preparing to disappear in a swirl. "His name is Naruto." he said before disappearing.
"Well, whatever you say." The white half said to nobody.
X-X
"Disappeared?! Do you even hear yourself, Hiruzen?" A bandaged old man shouted.
Back in the hidden leaf, after the mysterious disappearance of the nine tailed fox, the third had been reinstated as the hokage and was now responsible for all the mess that had been caused due to the disaster.
"I hear myself perfectly clear, Danzo. I am aware that this sounds atrocious but, if I knew anymore than I did, I would be the first one to share any information. Calm down and analyze the situation with a clear mind." The third stated.
"My apologies, but calming down is not an option. We are down our strongest hokage, we do not have a tailed beast let alone a jinchuriki, half of our shinobi forces are dead and a quarter injured. I do not know how you expect me to stay calm." Danzo said.
"Well, do we have any suggestions regarding the situation?" Hiruzen asked to the leaders that had assembled, ignoring Danzo for now.
"We need a more efficient academy system to produce more shinobi quickly." Shukaku Nara, the head of the Nara said.
"We need our Jonins to take more solo missions, we cannot look weak in such a dire situation." Shibi Aburame, the head of the Aburame clan said.
"Indeed." The hokage said, evaluating the pros and cons of what was being suggested. He was not sure how the Kyuubi had disappeared, but he was sure that a bigger game was being played. Only if he knew.