More detailed AN: at the bottom.

Would like to thank LogicalPremise, Shezza, Kenchi, Gallyrat, LD1449, JB Macleod for inspiring me with their Naruto works (check them out, they're really good). I would also like to thank TA and Progman for telling me to write the story I want to write even if it took me a while to get off my ass and do it. Follow and Review Review Review! I wanna get better at this so feedback isn't just appreciated, it's encouraged!

Smoke, fire, the smell of death, all three rose up above the village hidden in the leaves. Just hours before the strongest shinobi force in the elemental nations stood against the most powerful entity in existence. Blazing fur the color of fire, 9 sprawling tails, gaping maw. The Kyuubi no Kitsune had shattered the walls, crumbled the streets, and burned the homes of Konoha. In the aftermath of the destruction, the village higher ups meet in the true hidden village. Deep beneath the mountain of the Hokage, that was carved with the faces of the village leaders, behind ANBU guards, security seals, and traps lay meeting rooms, training centers, prison cells, barracks, and the nerve center. Administrative and data entry personnel raced through and past desks and cubicles with ringing phones. In the center a massive 3D construction of the elemental nations sat surrounded by Senior Jonin. Fuin seals lit, darkened, and relit again showcasing the latest intelligence of force deployment. Worryingly, the forces colored yellow and blue began to show the early signs of mobilization. Lightning and Water smelled blood, it would only be a matter of time until the world was once again at war.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was tired as he walked into the center of the center. The reason for his tiredness was myriad. Partially it was due to leading the village forces against the Kyuubi. Surely his old bones protested using the Sage's adamantium staff to push the beast out of the village. Enma would require healing in the Jigokudani springs for weeks before being summoned again. Perhaps the main reason for his tiredness was just his age. Hiruzen had been around before there even were hidden villages. He had watched his grandfather join with Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, trained under the first two to have held the title of "Fire Shadow", and led the village himself through 2 world wars. He always thought by this time he would be retired, playing with his own grandchildren and relaxing with calligraphy and other calming passions. Maybe due to one student leaving the village a broken woman, and another becoming mad with forbidden knowledge and lust for power. Hiruzen loved all his students dearly, a weakness Danzo ribbed at during their numerous spats. There is also of course the tiredness that comes from outliving those you love. On this night Hiruzen had lost his wife Biwako, his successor and his wife, and hundreds more shinobi and civilians of the village he loved and protected. Sarutobi Hiruzen was tired, yes, but a Shinobi endures'.

Clan heads, ANBU Captains, and Advisors stood to attention as he entered. Many sported patched wounds and signs of battle themselves.

"You may be seated. Let's get the hard part over with. Danzo, how many did we lose?"

The scarred Black Ops commander scratched the x shaped scar on his chin.

"37 Genin, 258 Chunin, 217 Jonin, and 311 ANBU Shinobi dead. Over 1,000 shinobi were wounded, many contaminated by Yokai and will need to be sealed to prevent mutation. Civilian deaths are still being counted. The killing intent of the beast stopped many infants and seniors' hearts. I recommend Jiraiya and the Senju leave us to help the sealing Corp, and you Hiru should immediately go to retrieve Tsunade."

Hiruzen turned his head to his student and nodded. The Toad Sage immediately body-flickered out of the room. Hiruzen knows Jiraiya, knows how much he's hurting at the loss of his student. Having a task to complete will help him more than being around for what's to come. The current Senju clan head, a white haired woman with red face markings and the mokuton known as Mitsurin, went without protest as well. Her clan's bloodline would be invaluable in cleaning up the mutagenic chakra.

"Now onto village repairs. Choza you and your clan are the most proficient in earth techniques. Please clear the rubble away starting at the main wall breaches. Feel free to use the expansion techniques if you have the chakra for it. Hiashi, your clan has the most market connections, you have a blank check to secure as much relief supplies as possible. Too much of our reserve stock was destroyed in the attack. I also need your half of the police to double watch for infiltration. We haven't had the time to plug holes in our defenses. As for the other half…"

He turned to face the Uchiha clan head. It was not the normal attendee for village meetings. Uchiha Karasuke had died on the frontlines, Hiruzen had seen him go down. In his place was the man's younger brother. Wicked Eye Fugaku was a talented shinobi feared internationally. While a contender for the position of Fourth Hokage it was clear his work on clan matters, particularly their half of the Military Police, would be his focus. Obviously he never thought it would be to this level.

"Danzo, what are the reports on the international response?"

The old Warhawk stood, looking out through the window overlooking the nerve center's map of the world. More and more yellow and blue lights flicked on and began moving. As did the red lights of Iwa. Curiously the initial deployment had Earth forces moving more so to counter an invasion by Lightning. To the veteran Danzo's eyes it was easy to see why. The red and green Forces of Earth and Fire were heavily outnumbered by the combined Water and Lightning armies.

"This attack is far too big for us to ever hope to hide it. Even now we're seeing Lightning and Water begin to move. A and Yagura didn't get hit nearly as hard as us and Onoki in the last war. Conventionally… things look grim. It's not been long since the third war, the Daimyo will have to mobilize his armies again soon."

He turned to Fugaku, and Hiruzen picked up on that thought.

"There will be civil unrest across the country when the recruiters call. We must ensure the Fire Daimyo's army stands with us and the Fire Shogunate if we are to hold our lands. The Hyuuga police will hold on to the village, the Uchiha will be deployed to secure the country. Can we count on you, Fugaku?"

The Uchiha Head steeled his resolve and spoke plainly.

"While I never hoped to be sitting here I knew it was always possible. I've worked all my life to be fit for the position as head of the Leaf Police. This body needn't worry, the Uchiha will have our army ready."

Danzo answered as he turned to face the table.

"Very good, and perhaps you could answer this. Why did the Kyuubi have a sharingan emblazoned in its eyes as it attacked the village? We're all familiar with your clan's relationship with the beast in question, as are we the security that surrounded its previous container. Usually you wouldn't have known, but of course your wife Mikoto, such good friends with Kushina and often visiting. Probably mentioned it while doing the dishes right?"

"If you're going to insinuate something Danzo then do it."

"Everything fell right in your lap for you. A dead Hokage with you as a serious candidate to succeed him. A vacant clan head chair with you in line by blood…"

At this Fugaku's eyes sprang to the blood read sharingan. He stood and slammed his hands on the table, leaving burned wood from a flare of fire chakra. Hiruzen and the rest watched with narrowed eyes. This was a moment of crossroads, one the great enemy hoped to sow the seed of distrust and later spill blood upon the village streets. The choice of whether to go down that path or not was strictly now with Fugaku.

"My brother, who I loved dearly, is dead. As are my cousins Karunai, Hikaru, niece Kagane, Elders Kagami and Hiriku, my clan has remained loyal to the leaf, even when the greatest shinobi in our history Madara turned against it! We stayed loyal when the second Hokage flaunted his distrust of us openly, we have not always been happy but we have never been disloyal."

He turns and faces Inoichi, head of the Yammanaka clan known for their mind techniques. No secret could escape from a master of the mind.

"The Uchiha Clan under Fugaku has nothing to hide. If you do not believe me, there is a simple solution."

Fugaku has chosen the path leading to a more United and strong village.

At this point, Lord Third finally intervenes, the will of fire blazing in his voice.

"That will not be necessary. Danzo you old cripple, apologize to the head of the Uchiha Clan at once."

The old cripple bows. "My apologies for the necessity of my outburst. We are shinobi, we are in the world of paranoia and conspiracy. Everyone of us is put through similar scrutiny when joining this body"

Fugaku turns his questioning glare to the Third Hokage who has a grim smile.

"Had you reacted differently Fugaku, you would have been suspect. I would have sent you on your mission and continued the briefing without you. Kept you out of the loop on many things. Usually these tests happen more gradually and with less personal accusations. We cannot afford the time that would take at this juncture."

Fugaku visually calms down, returning to his seat with a succinct tone.

"I understand Hokage-Sama, please continue."

"In addition to the Uchiha Police, I would ask of you Hatake Yoru to lead as many fit from your clan besides Dog, as I have need of him, alongside as many ANBU as we can spare to the border regions with Lightning and Water. If they do invade, we cannot allow them to enter unbloodied."

The silver haired masked woman nods. "The blade of the Hatake is shortened tonight, but remains sharp. Your will Hokage-Sama."

"Now before you go to your duties, we have one last matter to discuss."

The door opens, and in steps an ANBU operative with a Dog mask. In his arms sits a sleeping infant boy, chubby cheeks and a tuft of blond hair peeking out of the swaddling cloth.

Inoichi is the first to speak.

"Is that?"

Shikaku Nara, ever perceptive, says what everyone's thinking.

"The son of Minato lives, which is good, but still troublesome for us. His parents are gone, I would also guess that he's the container for the nine tails so slipping him in with the many new orphans is asking for trouble. He will one day be a powerful shinobi, and if his existence were to leak our enemies would stop at nothing to kill him while he's young."

Danzo outlines the best course of action.

"Konoha has never trained a jinchuuriki before. Mito and Kushina merely contained the beast, they never used its chakra. Nor were their seals made to allow them. Jiraya and the sealing masters already inspected and made sure of the seal's functionality. Minato truly was a once in a millennia genius to create that while bleeding out. Regardless, he will need to be placed with a clan that can give him a good shinobi upbringing. Our investigations into the other Jinchuuriki show that the best ones all have normal, controlled emotions. The more traumatized the host, the less stable they are, the more yokai leaks, the more friendly shinobi die. Hiruzen will take him out of the village away from our enemy's eyes to retrieve Tsunade. She will be able to alter his appearance with medical jutsu. Now the question is, who's clan do we decide to model him after?"

Hiruzen then picks up. The third Hokage has the best relationship with all the clans. Over his tenure he has shown a level of trustworthiness unheard of in the shinobi world, to the point that he was taught all clan techniques that didn't require a bloodline. He has never broken his vows of not teaching them himself, and remains the most respected shinobi in the village. As he speaks, the clan heads listen.

"An obvious choice would be the Uchiha. With Fugaku's permission we could implant sharingan eyes which would greatly aid the boy in controlling the power of his Biju. Let alone the General combat ability this would give. He's young enough to where his body would adapt to the eyes allowing him full control, he would be able to turn them off and on. Not that the chakra drain would be felt, even now he has more chakra then many in this room. Mikoto was chosen as the godmother, and with how you and her have done with Itachi and little Sasuke, I know he would grow up loved in your clan Fugaku. But the Hyuuga would also be a good option. Their clan culture and discipline would help with his emotional control, a boon for any shinobi double so for a Jinchuuriki. We could do the same eye transplant with some of the recent casualties, even if it would be much weaker. I believe the older Ryoken style of expelling chakra blades in the taijutsu strikes would be exceedingly deadly combined with Yokai. Of course we would barely need to alter his appearance to fit into the Yammanaka clan, their master of psychology would be even better for his emotional upbringing, and mindwalks are necessary if he's to train his Jinchuuriki abilities in any way. There is just one problem."

The baby boy started to wake and coo, as Hiruzen playfully rubbed his cheeks.

"No amount of medical chakra will hide these marks. Any passing agent of our enemies who sees them would know immediately. We cannot hide the boy in the mountain forever, he would not be stable. There's only one clan culture where we could get away with hiding the boy's face. One that has produced many of our best shinobi. Indeed many of our ANBU hail from this clan, descendants of the Uchiha, Senju, and Inuzuka. Ones who truly understand the meaning of Shinobi."

Everyone looks at Hatake Yoru, specifically the mask she's wearing. "If it is the Hokage's will, my clan would be proud to take in the young one. In fact I know just who to have care for him"

Hiruzen smiles and turns to Dog. "Would you do the honor of raising him Kakashi?"

"There would be no greater honor than raising Minato-Sensei's son Hokage-Sama."

"Then it is settled. Hatake Naruto shall enter the record. Ensure there is a proper paper trail Danzo. Now everyone you are dismissed. Attend to your duties."

Fugaku was internally a mess. Trained for this position yes, but he never thought he would inherit it. To lose his brother and go through the Hokage council's test on the same night was taxing. He walked into the clan compound, standing on the front porch of his home were his wife and two sons. He greeted Mikoto with a kiss while rubbing Itachi's head.

"So is Kushina..?"

"I'm sorry dear she didn't make it, but her son still lives. In the care of the Hatake clan."

"The Hatake makes good shinobi but I'm supposed to be his Godmother…"

They step into the house and Fugaku looks at Itachi.

"Wait for me in my study son, I have some things to talk to you about."

"Yes father."

He then turns back to his wife waiting for Itachi to leave.

"There's a complication that makes them the only real choice. He's taken up Kushina's old job. He will forever bear a fox's whisker marks on his cheeks. The Hatake mask will keep this hidden from our enemies."

Mikoto sits on a floor cushion, Fugaku joins her.

"Why did this happen."

"I don't know dear, not even the village intelligence knows anything, and that worries me. But I did talk to Yoru and Kakashi after the meeting. Kakashi will have ANBU duties and is just a young man, of course the Hatake clan has plenty of retired kunoichi to help out but they wouldn't be opposed to you checking in and helping Kakashi with him. Yoru also agrees that he will spend time with the other clan heirs, outside the norm but he is important. I'm sure he and Sasuke will be friends like you and Kushina, me and Minato."

"I've been so caught up in my own grief, I forgot you lost two brothers tonight Fugaku."

She wraps her arms around her husband and he returns the embrace.

"I truly wish I could remain in your arms for a fortnight, but a shinobi must endure. I've been ordered to lead the Uchiha police across the country to quell unrest from the next mobilization draft. We'll be leaving at first light."

She leans away and looks up at him.

"Then you better go talk to Itachi and wash up. You actually fought the thing, I just ran to the bunkers and I'm dead tired, you must be ready to collapse to sleep."

"Well dear you did give birth just recently it's only natural for you to lose your edge."

His voice is outlined with a playful tone, his wife returns his jibe with a playful smack.

"Just wait for Sasuke here to start eating solid food, then the Raven in the Grass will be thrilled to remind you of her presence." She leaves with a chaste kiss into their bedroom, while Fugaku enters his Study. Itachi sits on his knees in front of the traditional table. Shelves showcasing trophies, scrolls, and books from a life of shinobi service surround the room.

"I wasn't much older than you when my father gave me this talk, Itachi. His father gave it to him, as did his, and his, and so on and so forth. Do you know what this is about?"

Fugaku sits across from his son.

"The responsibility of leadership."

"Very good son. I know you never expected to be in this position, your cousin Kagane and Uncle Karasuke were our mainline. How many Uchiha are in the clan Itachi?"

"229 Father."

It was 322 yesterday.

"They look at us now. As we looked at our family just hours ago. We must not make our decisions based on what is good for us, but what is good for our clan, and the leaf. Your uncle understood that, it's why he led our clan forward instead of back to defend the bunkers as is the protocol during an invasion. Why do you think that is?"

"Well.. this wasn't really an invasion by a hostile army. This was a monster, it couldn't be out flanked or ambushed, it was the opposite of what we shinobi are expected to face. There are no vitals to strike, no quick death we could give it like invading shinobi. If we had stayed back while everyone else went forward, the people would hate us."

"You truly do understand. That is the dilemma we are faced with as leaders. 93 lives spent to ensure the honor and status of the clan. We have always been under scrutiny since the betrayal of Madara, because of the curse of our greatest strength."

Fugaku closed his eyes, and opened them to reveal the sharingan. His son did the same.

"I see you've awakened it, congratulations Itachi."

"You always told me the downsides to these eyes, I never knew truly what that meant but now I do. I see the tails wiping out city blocks, the panicked people fleeing to safety, bloodied bodies, corpses, so many dead, not just people but the alley cats and dogs, birds falling out of the sky looks of horror-"

Fugaku places both arms on his son's shoulders. Grounding him.

"Breath Itachi, breathe. I know, that is our curse. We grow stronger from the trauma we face, and we can never forget it. I awakened mine on my first mission, bandit extermination. I killed without much trouble but then we found the captives. What they had done to those men and women, it is still haunting but I do not let it rule me. These eyes remember everything they see, so look upon things you love. Take snapshots of your friends, your family, whenever I start to lose myself I remember marrying your mother, holding you and Sasuke, it's a balancing act Itachi."

He wraps his arms around his son.

"I'll start with this memory father, then I'll hold Sasuke, and I will become a shinobi that makes you proud."

"I look forward to seeing that myself Son."

Mikoto looked at her husband and son through the door, her own sharingan imprinting the memory forever. She had lost her sister tonight, but she will always remember her love of life, and continue to live as she would want her to.

Shizune was relieved as the unlikely party of Kage, Sannin, ANBU and her traveled back to Konoha. She didn't entirely hear what the Hokage had said to her master, but he had been her Sensei longer than Shizune had been alive. He knows her well, and just what to say to bring her home. Hopefully this would be the first step of her healing. They had stopped at a safe house to conduct an appearance alteration of the most adorable baby boy Shizune had ever even seen! Chubby little cheeks and coos, the most stunning blue eyes and a cute tuft of blonde hair. She had to hold him! Walking up to the ANBU carrying him, she slipped an arm around the young man her age and gave her most winning smile.

"Hey Kakashi."

"Shizune it's Dog when I'm in mask…"

"You're always in Mask Kashi."

"Not the norm- what do you want."

"Let me hold the baby please!"

"What? Oh yeah sure."

Releasing a squee of happiness, Shizune took the boy in her arms. Cradling him just right, the baby gave off a smile and some adorable noises as Shizune rubbed his nose with her own.

"I almost feel like it's a crime to alter his looks with your appearance Kakashi."

"What's wrong with how I look?"

With a mischievous smirk and teasing tone, Shizune answered him.

"Oh nothing, just no color. Dulled hair, dark eyes, just look at those sapphires!"

"I'll have you know I was the heartthrob of all the girls in the academy."

"Oh I know, I was there remember. It was mostly the skill and the mystery of the mask. I doubt your all that under there."

"Wanna bet?"

"You know what, I do."

With even more mischievousness and flirtatious tone.

"What clan courting rituals do I have to do to catch a glimpse at the mysterious hidden face of the bachelor known as Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi then turns the tables on her, allowing his voice to go into its own flirtatious tone.

"Oh you don't see until the wedding night, where we go to our ancestral clan forest alone. We trace our roots to the Senju and Inuzuka, so we get very connected to nature. Animal skin cloaks and a smile as we run through the woods, do you think you'd rather have a bear or wolf fur cloak?"

Shizune now blushing and looking properly out-teased decided to focus on Naruto more. Hiruzen and Tsunade walked up to the duo.

"Enjoying the little Gaki Shizune?"

"Shishou he's not a gaki, he's adorable!"

"Just wait till he starts crying, you sweet summer child.."

Hiruzen sported a grin of his own as he spoke.

"I actually hoped you'd like him Shizune, you and your master will be mainly running the medical program in Konoha but I'd like you to spend extra time with little Naruto. As a Jinchuuriki his health concerns are paramount, I'd feel better if a medic-nin as skilled as yourself would spend more time with him, and Kakashi could use some instruction on childcare."

"Of course Hokage-Sama, I'd love to!"

"That's good to hear, let's prepare for the alteration Tsunade."

Kakashi as they left got a teasing smile behind his mask.

"Well looks like we'll be spending more time together, taking care of an orphan baby no less. There actually is an old courting tradition that begins just like thi-"

Shizune still blushing poked him with a finger and a zap of lightning chakra. When Kakashi attempted to steady his footing his arm shot upward. She had rewired his nervous system.

"How long does this last…?"

"Until me and Naruto don't find it funny."

"I apologize, please undo it!"

His flailing caused baby Naruto to do the baby version of guffaw.

"Sorry no can do, he's still laughing." Shizune said in between chuckling.

Excerpt from the Traveler's Guide to the Elemental Nations 5th Edition.

Chapter 6 Sage Wilds

The world as we know it is vast and mysterious. There is evidence of greatly advanced civilizations that came before the Rabbit Goddess and the Sage who had no knowledge or use of chakra. Therefore it is thought that there was no such thing as "Sage Wilds". In between the pockets of civilization that makes up the elemental nations lies vast hostile wildernesses that are centers of nature chakra. Nature chakra, unlike regular chakra, is not easy for trained humans to use, in fact only those who have access to the oldest summoning contracts can even begin the process. Nature chakra is similar to demon chakra, or Yokai in Old Tongue, in that it is mutagenic. Unlike Yokai it is however not corruptive, nor does it affect humans in such a negative light. Many of the shinobi clans came from those who lived in the Sage Wilds, their physical capabilities enhanced by living life immersed in Nature Chakra. It isn't just people who see growth spurts, wildlife including flora and fauna also grow larger, and predators become more aggressive. It is a harsh and violent life in these wilds, and their existence makes travel across the elemental nations extremely difficult. When it isn't the wildlife, its bandits. Bandits are usually made up of AWOL soldiers, rogue shinobi, and mad men. They live as they please, launching raids on caravans and settlements before disappearing into the wilderness. Bandit cleansing missions are the most common taken by the shinobi villages, which means the powers that be are not interested in a permanent solution, it's simply too profitable to give up. Other then bandits there are entire shinobi clans who resisted the village system and continue to operate out of their compounds in the wilds, as well as various safe houses and bases for shinobi black ops units. For travel the various armies of the Daimyos and Shoguns run scheduled caravans, outside of that you'll want to hire at least a C Rank shinobi team to protect yourself. Of course with new technology being unveiled from shinobi archaeotech expeditions everyday, it won't be long until you can travel the entire continent of Nanmen by railed carriage…

Authors Note: Let's Try This Again

Greetings readers, I'm throwing my hat in the ring of giant AU Naruto fanfictions that beat canon like I'm a Samoan kickboxer and it's a jackass that flirted with my girlfriend in front of me. That is to say, broken ribs at the least. Naruto is great, I love its beginning and the world it shows but then it goes and goes and forgets what it set out to be and you take a microscope to it and you see that it just doesn't make any fucking sense. I'm one of those assholes critiquing the plot of a movie and trying to guess what happens as I watch it, which is why I look for more detailed worldbuilding and realism in the AUs I enjoy. This is a big one. You noticed things like the Senju are still around, which is something others have done. Particularly Gallyrat who wrote Shinobi: Team 7 and Born Weapons. Both of which are the pinnacle of what I'm trying to do and even unfinished will probably still be better then my drivel. What I haven't seen done is Fugaku not being an asshole. It's an overarching theme of mine to make my takes on the characters less traumatic. I want to highlight that shinobi are not normal. Shinobi parents get their kids a rabbit as a pet then have them kill it, skin it, and eat it. They still love their kids but they teach them how to best kill a man with improvised weapons and how to use a technique to burn them alive. You know, normal parenting stuff right? The Naruto world is on its own a crapsack world filled with traumatic backstories and angst. The main characters here have somewhat better beginnings, and this is intentional. Now Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are going to be monsters. They will be very strong shinobi without a doubt and they will need that strength because Orochimaru is out there and I'm not having him play second fiddle to no moon goddess or purple eyed emo clown.I want this story to realistically look at how one can bring peace to a world as war torn as this one. This isn't gonna be a feel good talk no jutsu process where Naruto wins everyone's hearts with his blunt honesty. It's gonna be bloody and I'm not sure handing the world over to veteran black ops killers is the best way to do it. We'll see! There will be romance, Kakashi and Shizune are the only pairing i'll confirm here, so look for more! If you could please write a review to help me get better I would be very appreciative. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for growing up during the 4th world war arc! Also known as the War is Hell Arc, or the Holy Shit Hiruzen just threw A into a Table Arc, or OMG Itachi is going ham on the two tails Jinchuuriki! Or, I'll shut up now. Peace.