Hello everyone. Thanks to those who've followed and favorited; I didn't expect much from the first chapter, but that was more than expected! I'll be writing as inspiration strikes me, and I hope that my inspiration can be translated into a good story. I'm definitely not opposed to editing my chapters, so any feedback is welcome, good or bad. I'd also like to inform you guys a bit of what I think the canon is like, so you can understand my changes a bit more.
Canon: Naruto and folks graduated around age 12 and a half, and by the Sasuke retrieval arc, about 8 months had passed since graduation, making them all 13. I also believe the 3rd Shinobi War ended about 2.5 years before the Kyuubi attack, and the Yondaime came into office about 1.5 years before the Kyuubi attack. If someone has proof or reasoning otherwise, feel free to review or PM me!
Also, a response to my first review for this story! Written by a guest, so I shall respond in this heading.
Guest: I'm glad you enjoy the pace so far, and I'll try to update often enough. I don't plan on doing it less than twice a month, but probably more when I'm inspired.
In my story, I have a council in Konoha. It is comprised of the clan heads, Danzo (who represented the non-clan shinobi populace), and one civilian to represent them. It would be wrong to have civilians living in a place and unable to influence it. Mirroring the shinobi council is a civilian council, covering things like taxes, approving festivals and taking care of real estate, boring things like that. There's one retired shinobi on it, Homura, Hiruzen's old teammate. During the Kyuubi attack, he aided in the fighting, losing an arm in the process - at least, in my story.
Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto or have any influence on Kishimoto. If I did, Team Gai would all be pretty fast, since we all know how motivated Gai is about his students and training.
One Year Before The Kyuubi Attack
Jiraiya guffawed as Minato covered his face to hide the blush coming up. "Sensei," Minato sputtered, "I do not need Hiraishin seals in the women's bathhouses!" They were sitting on top of the face newly carved into the Hokage Mountain. It was early in the morning, since Jiraiya had to leave before noon if he wanted to meet his latest contact concerning Orochimaru's whereabouts. The October-born mist above the village didn't make it any less beautiful, and in fact, they had chosen this spot because of how the sun's rays were casting pink and orange hues through the sky, which they could see for miles from on top of the mountain.
"I know you, Minato! You can't pretend you haven't thought of doing that with Kushina," Jiraiya stated. Out of a sudden feeling of self preservation, he didn't say the rest out loud. I know I would with Tsunade, he thought, not wanting to risk the buxom blonde hearing about it from Minato later. Just as his fantasy was starting to take hold, though, Minato tapped him on the arm, his face suddenly serious. He wanted to ask Jiraiya something, knowing that the man had trained under the Sandaime.
"Jiraiya... How am I going to be a good Hokage? I might have destroyed a good chunk of Iwa's army, but that's only got them hating us more. We're uneasy with almost all the Great Hidden Villages, and even with the Hiraishin, I couldn't keep my students safe; much less a whole village." He stared into Jiraiya's eyes, and Jiraiya could see the pure care and concern he held for the village. He gave Minato a grin, remembering the old Toad's prophecy. He had faith in his student.
"I know you, Minato. When you set your eyes on something, you make it happen. And you care about this village more than anyone else I know. As my sensei would say, your Will of Fire is strong; you can do it," Jiraiya ended, not a doubt in his mind about his student's ability. Minato saw that in him, and began to relax. "Plus," the Toad Sage added with a chuckle, "Maybe everyone'll learn the Hiraishin from you! We'd all be yellow flashes - and what I could do with it..."
As Jiraiya's eyes glazed over in his fantasy, something about his words clicked in Minato's head. His lips curved into his signature confident smirk, and he stood up, taking one last look at this visage of his beloved village. He laid a hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, snapping him out of it - it was such a great life he had planned out with the Hiraishin. Grumbling, he glanced up at Minato. "You've given me a great idea, sensei, as always." As soon as his hand left Jiraiya's shoulder, he disappeared, a yellow flash the only signal to Jiraiya that his student hadn't vanished into thin air.
"And you interrupted my time switching between bathhouses in three different villages," Jiraiya grumbled some more, getting up. He grew a smile, though; every time Minato got that look about him, something great resulted.
Four Months Before The Kyuubi Attack
The women cracked their knuckles, glaring at Jiraiya. He'd been a menace for years, and they were not afraid of his Sannin status. He gulped, holding his hands up in surrender. The women began marching towards him, slowly. And then - "GET HIM!" a purple haired woman in the front shouted. The apocalypse began. Jiraiya, though, was prepared. He brought his hands together, and flashed through five seals. Ram. Boar. Ox. Dog. Snake. He closed his eyes and concentrated on a piece of broken fence-post he had seen on the ground on the way there.
Just as the first fist made contact, his body puffed into smoke, making them suddenly stop; was it poison? They scrambled back, suddenly fearing what the Sannin had in store.
When the smoke disappeared, all they saw was a piece of broken wood. "Is it a Henge?", one of the kunoichi asked. Knowing Henges could dispel when someone shot chakra through it, a braver kunoichi approached and did just that. With her foot. Violently.
The wood clattered against the wall of the bathhouse, and they blinked in confusion. Had he just... disappeared? Their awe for the Sannin's prowess increa-
"YAHOO!" Jiraiya yelled, "HE FINISHED IT!", they suddenly heard from across the street. Several of them adopted angry faces yet again and the kunoichi of the group, as well as the braver civilian women, climbed over the walls and began tracking down their prey. "Ow, owowowOW! Not my preciouuuuussss!" his voice suddenly got a lot higher, and the sounds of fists pounding into human flesh echoed on the streets. Needless to say, the bathhouses had less traffic that day.
"... and the seal takes care of most of the intricacies of the jutsu, which makes it possible for even Academy Students to learn. It takes five seals and not much more chakra than a Henge, usually." He took in a small breath, before continuing. "The amount of chakra necessary depends on how much chakra the object you are switching with has. If you simply switch with some air, then the chakra used is comparable to keeping up a Henge for a minute, though that takes a good amount of control. It's easier to switch with solid objects, like a rock, though it takes more chakra. The seal makes sure the user isn't going to switch with something rooted to the ground, because that would take too much force to uproot the object, and therefore, chakra. If a ninja tries to switch with a building, for example, it isn't going to work." He glanced at the faces of the council, trying to gauge their feelings.
Shikaku spoke up first. "What's to prevent others from reverse engineering the seal, if a Konoha-nin is captured?" Minato nodded, thankful Shikaku brought that up. Both he and Shikaku were new to their respective positions, but Minato had quickly learned that the Nara's advice and caution was always to be heeded.
"Let me show you. Come on in, Jiraiya," the Fourth Hokage spoke, and through the doors sauntered Jiraiya in all his Toad Sage glory. He was looking no worse for wear after the beating yesterday. Knowing this was an important day for Minato, he had made sure he didn't sustain actual damage - but damn, he would have sworn those women were Tsunade-reincarnates. "Show them your Kawarimi seal." Glad to do so, he pulled off his vest and part of his shirt kimono, turning around to reveal the upper left portion of his back. There was...
"There's nothing there," Inoichi Yamanaka noted, wondering what their new Hokage was up to.
They couldn't see it, but Jiraiya grinned. Minato let his smirk slip on. "That's the beauty of it, and something I needed Jiraiya's help for. The beauty of the seal is that it gathers a tiny bit of natural energy from the surroundings, and uses it to hide the seal physically. And because it's using natural energy to do so, doujutsu will have a hard time penetrating it. Care to confirm?" He glanced in between Hiashi and Fugaku, whom both activated their respective doujutsu.
Fugaku widened his eyes, but Hiashi's mask did not slip. He did, however, speak.
"There is enough to see some sort of seal there, but the seal itself appears to be blocked from close inspection." He shut off his Byakugan, a little unsettled at how there seemed to be one more thing to one-up the Byakugan. His only comfort was that Fugaku seemed to have the same trouble, a scowl forming on his face. However, they both had too much respect for Minato to actually dislike him for it. The opposite; it only confirmed how much of a genius he was, inventing something that would make sure Konoha ninja would be better protected from every imaginable threat. Creating a version of the Hiraishin that anyone could use, and making sure there was a system in place to prevent enemies from getting their hands on the technique...
Shikaku nodded his head. "That is all I needed to see. I approve," he said, before slouching down as much as he could while still being respectable. He figured the Yondaime had already convinced most of the others of his point; it would take a while to institute the change in the curriculum, and before that, all the teachers and experienced ninja were expected to have a handle on the jutsu, that way the new generation would be able to have some help. There were some factors untouched, but Shikaku figured Fugaku would bring them up. The Uchihas, after all, were Konoha's main police force.
As the discussion on how to begin implementing this continued, Minato allowed himself a rare feeling of pride. He had done something that he was sure couldn't go wrong. The only possible way to break the seal and uncover its inner workings would be if someone had both a mastery of Senjutsu and seals greater than Minato and Jiraiya's combined knowledge. There couldn't possibly be anyone out there like that.
Fugaku finally brought up the point Shikaku expected him to. "What about defectors? Even if they cannot share the seal's secrets, surely, if this jutsu is as powerful as you claim, it will be all the easier for criminals to infiltrate." In response, Minato bit his finger, flashing through a series of seals, and slammed his hand onto the ground. A scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. Once it faded, the group saw a scroll. Right now, it only one one name: Jiraiya's.
Jiraiya grinned, opening his mouth. "The Kawarimi technique also draws from elements of summoning techniques. As such, we could make it so that only those whose names, signed in blood, on this or the other scrolls Minato created can use the technique. It's unlike actual summoning contracts in that the summoner's signature permanently ties them with the summons. For this, the signature is easily removed, and once it is, no more Kawarimi!" Minato let the doujutsu wielders inspect the scroll; they were of a very suspicious sort, but so far he had been able to make it through the council meetings. He didn't have Hiruzen's long political history with all the clans, which he was grateful for. He had started his tenure with respect from them, which had made things go all the more easily.
He knew of changes he wanted to make, though, which would certainly make enemies. The Hyuuga curse seal, for one. Hiruzen was adamant he not get involved in clan affairs; it wasn't in the Hokage's power. But he'd promised one of his dear friends, Hizashi, that he would get rid of the curse seal even if it cost him his life. He just couldn't stand the situation; and he had never backed down on one of his promises.
Later that night, as he lay in bed with Kushina, he reflected on his life. He knew it was going to be hard from there on out, but... This was the only way he saw of being a good Kage. Inspiring his people to get along, and accept and understand each other fully. It was reminiscent of Jiraiya's dream of world peace. I believe it can happen, Jiraiya had said all those years ago. People understanding each other. Forgiving each other for their mistakes, moving on, and embracing the fact that we're in this huge world together. Embracing how in our hearts, we're all the same, we all have grief, love, hate, loneliness... I still believe it can happen, Minato, after being through a Great Shinobi War. If that couldn't break my belief, then I don't think anything will. And that just has to be a sign that it can happen. Minato mentally agreed with his teacher, and felt an inner peace. He didn't know if he could make it happen for the world; but maybe, just maybe, he could change Konoha for the better.
I'll try my best.
Jiraiya cried on the ground where Minato, his prized student and great friend, had been buried after the attack. He stayed like that awhile. Eventually, his aching heart convinced him to shakily stand up. "I'll help you keep Konoha safe, Minato..." And though it was hard, he knew he had to go on. "I knew you believed in my dream; so I have to keep believing, too. I - I know it's only going to happen if we - if we keep believing."
He had lost his love, his best friend, and his student, amongst other great comrades. But he would not lose his spirit, nor his dream.
Only the council, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had been told of Naruto's condition as a container. The Sandaime stared at the council; he doubted Jiraiya or Kakashi had forsaken his trust. He had hoped the council would at least mention the fact that civilians were beginning to hear of Naruto's condition. That hadn't happened yet, as though the topic was being danced around. He was so tired of this game. He had enjoyed almost two whole years of retired life with his wife before she had been taken from him by the Kyuubi, and it hadn't been nearly enough. He held onto those memories; some of the best he had had.
He suddenly stood up. He interrupted talk of a potential trade route with Suna with a strong voice. "I believe this has gone on long enough." At their stares, he continued, this time a hard look coming into his eyes. Shikaku didn't dare say it, but he knew what was coming. Troublesome. "When the village starts knowing, suddenly, who our local Jinchuuriki is, how long do you figure it takes for other villages to find out? To rally their forces, and take advantage of our village weakened by the very beast whose container was leaked by a council member? Kumo already has two Jinchuuriki - obtaining a third would give them the power to do whatever they wished. And yet..." His killing intent spiked, "A traitor among us decides to leak S-class secrets regardless!" The civilian member shrunk back, terrified eyes belying his lack of resistance to killing intent. He shook, and Hiruzen turned his eyes on him.
With the killing intent focused on him, there was no way he could keep it in. "I-I'm..." the man said, his black locks draping and sticking to his suddenly sticky forehead. Hiruzen's glare forced the words out of him, as though it would be worse to lie than admit it. "I did it."
The Sandaime stood on a podium, his haggard face letting the people of Konoha know they weren't the only ones that had been through a lot. "My dear people of Konoha," he began, his voice projected with a special Fuuton technique, "These are perilous times. As we recover, we are at our most vulnerable. And yet there is an emergency rising, an emergency that could draw enemy villages to us and destroy us for what we have." He certainly had their attention now.
"An S-rank secret has been leaked by one of our own. I cannot punish everyone it has been leaked to, for they did not know; but this secret must stay secret to Konoha, never to be shared. Anyone caught sharing this will be punished by death, as our traitor shall be. This secret, for those who now know, concerns the status of the Kyuubi," he said. He knew it was vague; but there had to be a public announcement, and there also had to be no one else who knew the truth. He didn't see any other way to mitigate the damage, and if he waited any longer, the whole village would know; and then Iwa, or Kiri, or Kumo would know.
"You may know that ANBU shadow the streets, as do the Konoha Police Force. I would like to remind you all that this village means everything to me; and I will make sure it is protected. Do not share this secret," he drew in a breath and closed his eyes, glad it was almost over. "And let us pay our respects to Rock Tajiro, who lost his wife to the Kyuubi and decided that the best course of action was to become a traitor. But I also lost my wife to the Kyuubi; yet I did not lose my loyalty and love for Konoha." His heart ached at bringing her loss up, especially in front of his village; but he felt it would be best to share his feelings. As Jiraiya would say, If they know you feel like they do, they're bound to understand. The Sandaime hoped his student knew more than he did. "Let this be a lesson for us all," he ended, and left the podium. The angry whispers followed him as he made his way through the crowd; it was sad to acknowledge, but he knew there would be at least a few more that would risk spreading the secret.
He hated the death all around him; but if he had to cauterize this wound in Konoha with fire, he would.
In an orphanage still standing from the attack, a baby, only a year old, began crying. His black eyes squinted shut, he didn't see the caretaker standing over him, but calmed as she picked him up and held a bottle to his mouth. As she fed him, she remembered what the doctor had said about his chakra. "You're a weird one, little guy," the woman said, tickling his bushy eyebrows. The babe started giggling, prompting a smile. After a while of this cute exchange, the caretaker sighed, setting him back down. She couldn't spend all her time with him, after all. Her eyes hardened. No, she even had to take care of that... demon in the room next door.
During the night, a blonde newborn began crying. No one came to his aid.
As always, feel free to criticize. I don't have a beta reader, so mistakes or tips would be great. I'm very glad I'm doing third person now, it comes easier to me.