AN: Thanks for the 7 favs and 11 follows!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other characters, Masashi Kishimoto and studio pierrot does.
Chapter 2: Reminiscence of the Past
Uchiha Mikoto, mother of 3 children, Itachi, Kiyomi, and Sasuke. Needless to say, she loved all of them from the bottom of her heart. Thinking about her children she couldn't help but notice all of them were of 3 different spectrums.
Her eldest Itachi, in her opinion, was a bit too stoic at times but was very polite and a very capable ninja. He was the pride of her husband and to many members of the clan. Once in a generation prodigy, her eldest graduated at the age of 7. He was very observant and had the thought process of an adult. She too was proud of him but slightly unhappy that he didn't get to live his childhood to the fullest by graduating too early.
Kiyomi her lovely daughter. She looked a lot like herself with onyx eyes, almost a carbon copy of her mother's, and raven-coloured hair only difference being that there always was a strand of hair in the middle. She had her personality too, kind, caring, and loyal but dangerous when needed. She was soon to be 7 and already started academy a year ago. Mikoto was happy that she was not too good to shorten her childhood as she didn't want her daughter to be graduating early. Kiyomi would also be with her mother all the time when she could.
Sasuke her youngest was a playful child, but he did have his tints of pridefulness like his father. Sasuke would often seek the attention of his father, but the boy was always disappointed when his achievements were compared to his brother's. Instantaneously deflating his joy. Sasuke just wanted to be seen as Itachi's equal and trained for it. Even though he had this one-sided rivalry with his brother, Sasuke would always warm up to Itachi. Mikoto could say Sasuke looked up to Itachi the most in this world. He would be joining the academy in a year when he turns 6.
It was late evening by now when she had almost completed the preparation for dinner. Itachi still hadn't arrived back which was unusual. She decided to go and find him at his usual training place. She was about to leave when she heard. "I am home." Said Uchiha Fugaku, just arriving.
"Welcome." she said and suddenly her daughter too ran near the door and said, "Welcome home, tou-san."
With a smile, Fugaku said, "Thank you Kiyomi, how was your day?"
"It was normal, academy and usual stuff." said the girl in a bored tone.
As harsh he was on his sons, he was that much lenient on his daughter. Turning to his wife he asked, "You were going somewhere?"
"Yes, Itachi isn't home yet so I was going to find him."
"Kaa-chan can I too come with you."
"Hymn, okay but we might have to walk a lot, maybe."
"Okay." Replied Kiyomi. Turning to her husband she said, "Take care of Sasuke while I am gone, okay." An affirmative grunt was all she got which made her eyes twitch as the lack of a simple yes infuriated her a bit. The mother-daughter duo headed their way towards training ground 31 where Itachi and Shisui normally would train when they didn't have missions.
They arrived at the spot and her heart almost stopped at seeing a familiar golden mop of hair with 3 whisker marks on each cheek with her son and his best friend. Tears were threatening to fall from her onyx eyes. She had not seen him for a long time now but still remembered him and her bitter obligation as the Uchiha matriarch, that she couldn't associate with the jinchuuriki of the village due to damn politics.
She very well could guess his heritage to her 'late' friend, she would be calling herself a fool if she tried to deny it. She remembered the day which was 4 years ago when her husband had forcefully made her cut ties by putting politics and an unfair choice in between.
Flashback
"Why wouldn't you let me take care of him?" she said in an angry tone to her husband.
"I already said this you have a son of his age already."
"And I have told you that I can manage to take care of both of them."
There was total silence for a few moments. Fugaku then decided to tell the truth about why he was saying this, and said, "Okay now hear me straight. The real reason is that him being a jinchuuriki you cannot associate with him."
Mikoto's eyes had widened with anger her teeth were gritting now as she never thought her husband couldn't differentiate between a sealed kunai and the seal.
"Now before you get me wrong, I know the difference between a sealed kunai and the seal." He said as if reading her mind.
"Then why?" she asked in a low growl.
"Because you are the Uchiha matriarch, if you associate with the jinchuuriki, other clans will get the perception that we are trying to get him for the Uchihas...and there is already a lot of mistrust after the nine tails incident."
"But I can explain it to them. He needs this care. You can't just ask me to stop nurturing him and let some other grudgeful person raise the boy."
"I am sure Hokage-sama will find a good caretaker for him. You need not worry about it. Just do as I say."
"Please don't do this to him, don't do this to Me, He Has Become Like A Son To Me!" Yelled Mikoto unable to keep her voice down anymore.
At this Fugaku's eyes widened he didn't know his wife would go as far as considering the boy as her own son. He closed his eyes and calmed himself down. 'I need to take action immediately before they become even more close.' he thought.
"Uchiha Mikoto, I as the clan head forbid you from contacting our village's jinchuuriki. If not followed then you shall be banished from the clan. Away from your children." Said Fugaku in his commanding tone.
Mikoto's eyes widened and took a second to comprehend the sentence. She was infuriated to an unbelievable extent. "You Can't Do That To Me!" she yelled.
"But I already did. It won't take me long for the other elders of the Uchiha clan to agree with me."
The next thing he heard was the door of the room slam shut and saw many tears drop marks on the floor towards his bedroom. Though he hurt his wife, he didn't have much regret in his mind because for him the clan was above everything else. And now at the current weakened state of his clan, he had to keep it safe. The attack was especially heavy on them.
Flashback End
'Naruto...I missed you a lot.' she thought in her head while looking at the boy. But then some doubt started to creep into her brain. 'Should I be here? Should I allow Itachi to be near him as he too is part of the head house and the next head?'
She then looked at Naruto who looked happy in the given company and then remembered the look on his face which from the past years when she would look at him from afar. It clearly showed the loneliness, sorrow, and pain. But now he seemed happy and playful. Then she thought which she should have four years ago, 'Fuck politics.'
By now both the elder boys had sensed and recognised the newcomers. On the other hand, Naruto was terrified of the newcomers one of which who was an adult woman which was the cause of his nervous reaction. 'An-An adult. Shisui said no one used to come here. How did she get here? Hopefully, she doesn't act like the others towards me for being here. She is looking very strangely at me. It is not like the others but is spooky, to say the least.'
Terrified Naruto, hid behind Shisui, clutching to Shisui's leg. Shisui on the other hand was confused. 'Why is he acting like this? Is it because of the arrival of Mikoto-san?' His suspicion was confirmed when he saw Naruto not even trying to make eye contact with him and just looking nervously at the newcomer's direction with fear emitting from him.
Mikoto's heart was aching on seeing such kind of reaction from Naruto. Her hand was already at her chest near her heart trying to subdue the pain a bit. Kiyomi was on the other hand very confused about the situation. She took a good look at the blond boy and thought with a slight blush, 'He is cute…wait what am I thinking…Though why is he hiding behind Shisui.'
As a single tear shed down Mikoto's cheek and barely above whispers she said, "Naruto..."
Due to his good hearing, the blonde boy heard his name. Danger bells started to ring in Naruto's mind. 'Sh-She knows my name. This can't be good.' He now clenched harder to Shisui, almost sticking to the elder boy's leg. Shisui didn't react to the extra force in Naruto's hold, he just thought, 'I know Mikoto-san won't hurt Naruto for sure, she is not like the rest…But why is she on the verge of crying?'
Itachi too had similar thoughts, 'Kaa-san would never mean harm to anyone no matter what. I need to calm Naruto down...But why is she almost an instant away from bursting into streams of tears?'
By now Mikoto's eyes were blurred due to the accumulation of water just waiting to fall. She was about to say something, but Itachi spoke before she could. "Naruto this is my mother Uchiha Mikoto and that is my little sister Uchiha Kiyomi. You don't need to be afraid of them." At this, Naruto relaxed a bit, but again slight distress gripped him for another reason. 'Are they here to take Itachi-nii away like...all others?' Whenever Naruto seemed to have an interaction with a child of his age in the parks or anywhere always their parents would come and tell him to be away from their child and give the child also instructions to keep his distance.
Before anything else could happen Mikoto gathered the courage, took a deep breath, 3 and spoke in a very motherly manner, "Hello Naruto, how are you?"
"I am fine." said the now timid boy.
"Kaa-chan you know him?" asked Kiyomi out of pure curiosity.
"Yes, Kiyomi I used to take care of him when he was a little squishy baby." said the mother with a gentle smile remembering how baby Naruto used to look.
At this everyone's attention was gathered but most of Itachi. He had already finished connecting the dots. 'So that is why she was on the verge of tears due to seeing him after a long time. I never knew Naruto was that baby.' Itachi that day had just returned from the academy and had heard the quarrel between his parents. He never pried for information as he considered it a topic which he shouldn't ask his parents.
Now instead of fear, Naruto was confused, "Take care of me?" he asked.
"Well, yes, you couldn't by yourself take a bath, clean yourself, make yourself drink milk, eat baby food, and change your diapers, could you?" At this the girl giggled so did Shisui. While now Naruto was red due to feeling embarrassed being talked about his diaper and stuff.
Nevertheless, he said, "Thank you, for taking care of me when I was a baby." Pushing her luck Mikoto took a step forward and asked, "Naruto could you please come forward I would like to have a good look at the boy who used to trouble me a lot when he barely was able to form words." Naruto involuntarily went towards her. Mikoto kneeled at Naruto's height. She then cupped his cheeks and rubbed the whiskers a bit like she used to do when he was a baby. He purred.
At this, Kiyomi squealed, "Kawaii!" She too jumped in to rub Naruto's cheek. His whiskers were now attacked solely by the small hands of the girl and he tried to get away but tripped and the girl continued her ruthless attack, while he continued to purr as he couldn't contain the ticklish feeling.
All were seeing the playfulness of the kids with a smile. After a moment Mikoto giggled and said, "Kiyomi enough, don't trouble him too much. And we also have to go home now."
Kiyomi in a disappointed tone said, "Awww!", and reluctantly got up and went back.
Naruto still sitting on the ground panting a bit had his face completely red now due to the continuous ticklish feeling. Shisui went next to his little brother and in a teasing tone, he whispered, "Great job you squirt. You just got owned by a girl that you didn't even meet 3 minutes ago."
In a low tone all Naruto could say was, "Shut up!"
Mikoto again went back to Naruto who now looked at her with no fear in his heart. She kneeled, cupped Naruto's cheeks and patted his head a bit.
"Bye Naruto. We will meet again." She said with a gentle smile.
Naruto too had a small smile and a blush on his cheeks and said, "Ok oba-san, bye." At this, everyone smiled and Mikoto ruffled Naruto's hair.
"Come Naruto I will drop you to your apartment." Said Shisui.
"Okay, Shisui-nii. Bye, Itachi-nii." Itachi waved back and then both Naruto and Shisui, with Shisui carrying Naruto at his back went their way to Naruto's apartment.
Now only Itachi, Mikoto, and Kiyomi were left on the ground. Mikoto was now extremely happy after the meeting with Naruto and also because he considered Itachi as his big brother but then there was a small pouting girl. She made her displeasure known by saying, "He didn't say bye to me!" The other 2 only laughed at this.
After walking a while towards their home when Kiyomi was a bit ahead of them, Itachi asked, "Kaa-san, is Naruto Kushina oba-san's son?"
Mikoto didn't show but was shocked, how did Itachi guess? She knew even if she tried, she couldn't hide the truth from Itachi now. She decided to tell the truth, "Yes, how did you guess?"
"Well, he acts a lot like her but also like his father at times and he looks like an exact carbon copy of his father. If you take out the whiskers. Also, the fact that you used to take care of him was a hint."
"Yes, that is true…Don't reveal it ok. It has been hidden so that he would not be subjected to assassination attempts from the enemies of his father and the village. Only a handful of people know about it."
"Yes Kaa-san I understand. But do you think the boy if fixated on finding it out, will find it?"
Mikoto just said, "Yes that's true. He can find it out. I have no negation to it. But yes, he needs to be fixated after finding it. If not, it may be only revealed when destiny desires."
"Kiyomi," Mikoto called the girl. She arrived near her mother and Mikoto said, "Could you two do me a favor by keeping the meeting with Naruto a secret from your tou-san, please." Itachi just nodded fully understanding why she asked for this favor. Kiyomi was confused and asked, "Why?"
"Kiyomi please don't ask for an explanation now I will tell you all in time." Said Mikoto. Kiyomi obediently nodded.
They all went to their home and had dinner like any other day.
After dropping Naruto, Shisui headed toward the Hokage tower. He had some things to discuss. He had reached the tower and asked the secretary if the Hokage was available. She gave him the approval to go and meet the Sandaime.
Before knocking he took a deep breath, rubbed his forehead, and thought, 'Hope that I am not opening a mountain of trouble.'
Knock, knock.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, was an aged man, way past his prime and retirement age but was still going on for the betterment of his village. He was a disciple of both the previous Hokages, the Shodaime and the Nidame. He who be damn if he let anything happen to the place his masters created.
He at the moment was near the window of his office and was overlooking his village. He filled his pipe with tobacco and started to take in puffs of smoke. He knew that tobacco was bad for health. But what a shinobi usually did was always life-threatening. He was a shinobi who had witnessed all three great ninja wars. He knew how precious this peace was. Alas, most people didn't know how to respect it or acknowledge it. Sometimes the past does go to graves and is never remembered it seems. Some people forget to respect the humans who had put their lives on the line nor the human being the villager safe from an untameable beast now.
Some go as far as attacking one of the main persons who was keeping demons from running wild. Though he had made a law, to ensure that any harm to Naruto would be highly punishable. He couldn't make sure that everyone followed it all the time. This was partially because his main focus was on his old comrade and rival Danzo, a ninja displaying the opposite ideals as him.
Hiruzen would rather die than let the war hawk pull his crocked strings. The boy had suffered a lot which he shouldn't have and he didn't want to pile up more on Naruto's plate. Looking at the Hokage monument, a huge and magnificent mountain, baring the detailed structure of the village's Hokage faces. It had already been a few minutes past sunset. The lights placed near the monument plus the moon allowed anyone to still see the line of leaders the village had. First, he looked at both of his sensei, old memories flashing in his mind of his time with them were revived, 'Goofy, easy-going Hashirama-sensei, and then stern, dead serious Tobirama-sensei, the perfect duo, I guess. Any praise for the two feels less. They have put a lot into shaping me into the man I am now. Thank you to both of you.' He said in his mind.
He then saw his face. For him, it was the mark of his greatest accomplishment. He still remembered how abruptly he had to be made the Hokage. He wouldn't say the journey was easy, as his term was long and filled with errors. Next, he saw his 'late' successor. He was silent till now and still would be. But he just took out his pipe and placed it on his desk. He gritted his teeth slightly on remembering the night, which occurred 5 years ago.
Speaking to himself in his mind, 'Namikaze Minato, The Yellow Flash of the Leaf, hero of the Third Great Ninja War, Yondaime Hokage. The man who is faster than any being in existence...What you first did that night was honorable to the highest degree. Your next decision was sure the most irrational and worst decision I have ever heard and seen someone take. What was going on in your mind? How could you think in that way? It was unlike the thinking you usually do as if someone else was there and controlling your mind. I still question, was someone controlling your mind? It still puzzles me what the heck were you thinking? Was it really you thinking? Or not thinking at all…'
The old man's hands were now fisted and nails almost digging into his palm, thinking of the other participants in the decision. 'Hhhmmp, for that obnoxious decision you were supported…for fuck's sake…Well, everyone's time comes. Things will happen either in good or bad ways you will realize the unforgivable mistake and regret it Minato.'
A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts.
"Come in." said the Hokage. At this Shisui entered the office.
"Oh Shisui, hello how was your day with Naruto?" inquired the Hokage. "It was great. Kind of teased him a bit and trained him a little. It seems he is a natural at the skills to become a shinobi, and has loads of stamina, too much sometimes." Shisui said with a sweat drop remembering how the boy jumped around like having a high dose of caffeine in him. The Hokage chuckled and said, "Well that is all good and are you planning to teach him something?...I have no problem but just asking out of curiosity." 'But some bastards in council might have.' The last part was said in the head.
"Well, the answer is both yes and no. At the moment I am teaching him only Shurikenjutsu and after some time kenjutsu with a tanto mostly. I decided not to teach him ninjutsu until he is in the academy because if even by mistake, he does a flashy move in public and some stupid civilian or civil council member sees him, there will be attempts to interrupt his progress." explained Shisui. The Hokage had a smile at the level of thinking of Shisui, "Well thought of Shisui, I agree with you."
Shisui then proceeded to tell all about the day and also included the part of meeting with the Uchiha matriarch. The Hokage was a good listener and had a gentle smile when Shisui recited about his day. He was very happy that Naruto hadn't forgotten the meaning of a shinobi and about the will of fire which he had explained. Secondly, due to the reunion of Mikoto and Naruto, he could tell both of them needed it.
"Hokage-sama could please tell the Anbu to go now I want to ask something which might be sensitive information."
The Hokage contemplated a bit about the request a bit, then he signaled his personal Anbu guards hidden on the roof and behind spaces in the wall to leave. 'I have a feeling I know what he wants to ask,' thought the Sandaime, and already thinking what and how to answer. "Okay, Shisui they are gone now. Ask your query."
He bluntly asked, "Hokage-sama is Naruto son of the Yondamine?"
'Come on, right of the bat…No intro I guess or anything? Now the question is should I tell him?' Hiruzen thought before he decided to answer truthfully, "Yes Shisui he is. Though I have a pretty good guess how you found out I would still like to know it from your mouth."
"Hokage-sama, Naruto is an exact carbon copy of the Yondamine that was my source of the theory which you proved now."
The Hokage gave a half nod and said, "I revealed this to you because I know you have no ill feelings, and wouldn't matter if even, he wasn't I know you would treat him the same. Now not even by mistake this information should be spitted out by your mouth. I have hidden his identity to prevent assassination attempts and other complications. And before you ask, I will reveal it to Naruto when the time comes." Said the Hokage in a monotone, which indicated he was not gonna take any suggestion to do otherwise of what he had done and planned.
"Hai, Hokage-sama." obeyed Shisui.
"Hokage-sama, d-do...do you think he can awaken it?"
The Hokage was now in his serious thinking posture. Straight against the chair, his chin on of his palms, the other against the armrest, and eyes giving an intense stare to the questionnaire. In an intimidating tone, the old Hokage replied, "You certainly did your research, didn't you?"
"Ahhh…yes I did...I-I wanted to know more about Naruto's clan so there were some pages regards the connection of our clans." answered the boy now a bit nervous.
"Hymnnnnn, ok. Yes…he can awaken the sharingan as the Namikaze clan is the cousin clan of the Uchiha clan. He does have Uchiha blood if you want an extension. But for a Namikaze to awaken the sharingan he has to go through an extremely emotionally painful experience. I would rather not have Naruto awaken the sharingan as I don't want him to go through something more terrible. And the last record of a Namikaze unlocking sharingan is during the peak of the warring clan era. So, you can guess the amount of emotional trauma one must have to go through to awaken the sharingan." Said 'The Professor' fully displaying why he was called so.
Shisui nodded at this he too didn't wish Naruto to gain the sharingan if it meant going through an extremely traumatic incident. There was still a question he wanted to ask, "Can you also tell me why was he named Uzumaki? Due to being a jinchuuriki similar to the Shodai's wife, Mito Uzumaki? It's kind of ironic him having Uchiha blood and name of the Senju relatives." asked Shisui.
"Well, Shisui that is because he is also an Uzumaki." Said Hiruzen in a monotone.
At this Shisui's eyes widened, "Wait what he has both Senju and Uchiha blood..."
"Yes, one could say that he has them...I know now you will be thinking that his heritage is great. But it is only worth as much as a grain of salt to him. Heritage is nothing but history. I have no doubt Naruto will be a splendid ninja in the future, but not due to his lineage or what he contains. His main strength is his determination, and the tendency to get up every time he has fallen. As you said in your conversation about shinobi you had today, children of his age usually tend to forget things like what I said that night, months ago or not listen at all. He still remembers about being a shinobi, about the Will of Fire. I hope he will rise to a summit no one could have imagined." The old Hokage ended with a proud smile due to talking about the virtues of his surrogate grandson.
"I guess, he can." Said Shisui, who too had a smile at the praise of his otouto.
"Hokage-sama do you think I should introduce him to fuinjutsu?"
"Yes Shisui, why not? It will be a plus point for him and I have no doubt he will progress well at it. Wait here while I bring the level one of ten fuinjutsu books I have. Give it to him and either you or Naruto come for the next after finishing the current one."
The Hokage went to his library brought out a big book and handed it to Shisui. Bowing down Shisui said, "Hai Hokage-sama, and thank you for answering my queries. I will take my leave now."
"This information should not be spilled out Shisui, it will put Naruto in danger which neither of us want. Your mouth is to be shut."
"Hai Hokage-sama."
The Hokage nodded and gave his permission for Shisui's leave. As the door was shut his thoughts again shifted to the ones he was having before the meeting. 'I have no idea how will I break the truth to you Naruto. I am sorry for keeping a lot of things from you. But believe me when I say that I do what I think is good for you, though you deserve and all the right to know about your parents and…siblings. Ahhhhh...', rubbing his head Hiruzen thought about the day when Naruto was cursed for his life.
Flashback
"Sandaime-Sama the nine-tails has appeared and is attacking the village!" Said a stressed shinobi.
Alarmed Hiruzen started to gear up at an incredible pace but his thoughts were running faster. 'How in the fucking hell did the seal break when Minato is there.' He then completed his gear up and jumped to the nearest roof to look at the beast. He saw all around the older shinobi fighting the beast. The sheer ferocity the fox emitted was just unbelievable. 'And where the hell are you Minato? Damn, it is so big how did Hashirama-sensei defeat it and Uchiha Madara single-handedly? Konoha will be in shambles if the Kyuubi isn't stopped fast.'
He bit his thumb drawing out some blood. He went through a set of hand sighs and then said, "Kuchiyose no jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)."
Now by his side stood the king of monkey summons, Enma. Enma just looked at the situation in front of him, with a serious gaze and folded hands the summon said, "Quite a task we have here, don't we?"
Hiruzen just nodded. Enma knowing what to do, transformed into his adamantine staff form. Taking the now adamantine staff which had the ability to change its dimensions according to the chakra inflow he sent a large pulse of chakra to it. The staff both widened and extended. With great force, it hit the Kyuubi who almost tripped.
Elsewhere after finishing his fight with 'Uchiha Madara'. Namikaze Minato contemplating what to do next thought, 'I need to seal the kyuubi fast. Kushina will survive due to the longevity of the Uzumaki clan the removal of the tailed beast does not affect them for a long time. She can be with all of my children. I will have to use the…Shiki Fūjin (death reaper seal) to split the kyuubi's chakra'
"Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi noJutsu (Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique)", yelled Minato.
Suddenly the Forth Hokage was on a giant toad. And the toad fell on top of the kyuubi.
"Ooooi, Minato where the hell am I?", said Gamabunta, the boss toad summon.
"Roaaaaaaaaar", roared the Nine-tailed beast called Kyuubi.
"Minato is that the kyuubi!", exclaimed Gamabunta.
"Yes, Gamabunta that is the kyuubi. Please hold him down for a while I will bring my children to seal it again."
"Are you sure of using your children?"
"Yes, I cannot ask any other parent to give their child if I myself can't do it."
"Fine. Just hurry!"
Using the Hiraishin (Flying Raijin)in a flash the Yondamine reached the safe house where his wife and the triplets that had just been born 15 minutes earlier were there. His wife was resting with all the 3 newborns next to her with Menma and Mito near her chest while Naruto and Kushina were touching their foreheads.
The eldest was Menma, a boy with red hair like his mother and purple eyes too but his father's face. Next was Mito his daughter who too had red hair but blue eyes like her father. The youngest was Naruto, he was an exact carbon copy of his father and surprisingly had 3 pairs of whisker marks on his cheeks it looked cute on him thought his father.
Minato suddenly balled his fist thinking about the guts of Madara, 'The guts of that man to do this. First steals Naruto and holds a kunai and fucking asks me to be calm. Then sticks explosive tags in his towel, using it as a distraction and taking Kushina away to extract the kyuubi...Calm down, Minato we have more pressing problems to solve now and more trouble to clean up…' With a long sigh trying to prepare and convince himself he spoke to himself, 'Now I have to take them and seal the Kyuubi 'equally' in them so they will have the power to fight that man if he comes back again.'
Picking up Menma, Mito now Minato was taking Naruto from Kushina's clutches. Kushina stirred up when her arms felt empty. She saw her husband with all of her children.
"Minato what are you doing?" she asked incoherently.
"Kushina, I need to seal the Kyuubi back again." Said Minato sternly.
It took a moment for her to realize what he was about to do. "NO! Absolutely not, you won't be sealing the kyuubi into them…seal it back into me."
"Kushina understand please, they will need its strength to fight the masked man, he will be back. And if I seal it into you again you will die. Moreover, I will need to use the Shiki Fūjin." At this Kushina's eyes widened with horror.
"You will need to be there for them while I can't. Be strong. Take care of yourself and these three. This is goodbye Kushina. Bye love." He ended with a melancholic smile and flashed away to Gamabunta. Leaving his wife alone to shed a tear in silence.
"Aaaahhhh…Minato hurry up he is not a calm bastard." Yelled the toad boss while he struggled to keep the beast down.
"Get off me you fucking toad." cursed the fox monster.
Gamabunta finally got a good hold of his tanto and stabbed the Kyuubi down at its shoulder, pinning him down with the large blade. Minato entered with the children a second later both Jiraiya and Sandaime too arrived at the location.
"Minato what are your children doing here?" asked Jiraiya
"Minato are you sure you want to seal the kyuubi in your children?" asked Hiruzen who was able to deduce what was happening.
"Yes I am." replied the Yondamine, there was no turning back now.
"I won't be sealed away again…Aaahhhh", roared the kyuubi. After being feared of getting sealed away again with all his might tried to free himself and Gamabunta started to lose his hold. Everyone could only see this in horror. Suddenly golden chains appeared and started to hold the kyuubi down.
"KUSHINA!" Minato yelled in surprise. These chains were the adamantine chains of Kushina which had the strength to even capture and put the nine-tails still.
"The hell! Snap out of the shock and do the sealing fast I don't have much strength left." Yelled the woman who was now holding the Kyuubi down along with Gamabunta now.
"Minato hurry up now!" yelled the boss toad.
"KUSHINAAAAA!" Roared the nine tails now clamped down.
Minato went through many hand seals and yelled, "Fuin." He made a barrier seal around them so no one could interrupt the sealing. "Minato let me do the sealing you need to live to look after your children."
"No Sandaime-sama as the current Hokage it is my duty to do it." Said Minato.
Jiraiya was torn internally as he would either be losing his student or sensei. Before anyone could say anything, Minato moving his hands swiftly went through Snake, Boar, Ram, Rabbit, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, and Snake hand seals and ended with a 'CLAP'.
Behind him, mist starts to form, and eventually, it takes the form of Shinigami. It towered over the Fourth Hokage with his soul bonded near its stomach, it was a devilish figure with a knife in its mouth and a large tongue holding it. It slit open its stomach with the knife, making a pass way to capture the soul it was being offered.
"What is our wish mortal?" asked Shinigami.
"Shinigami-sama I wish for your help to split the kyuubi into 3 equally and seal it into all of my children here."
"As you wish. I will do it…"
The Shinigami was immediately transferred into his spiritual realm. It was a void. Complete darkness not a single ray of light. The Shinigami was confused about why he was called here. There were only a few times when the kami would call him for a discussion. And it was weird. As now Kami's voice rumbled across its void "Shinigami-dono…You are not to claim this man's soul."
"Why should I listen…This is not fair. You may distribute fate unevenly…But death is fair to all. He knew it well what would happen to him…" Retaliated the Shinigami.
"That is true…I the life giver and creator, have always been the beautiful lie while you, death have been the bitter truth…I have no intention of changing it…But I can see there are important branches of the timeline from here…And honestly, I want to see the most 'interesting' one play out." Echoed the voice of Kami.
"I am sure one life won't matter. Now shut your crap and let me do my work." said an irate Shinigami.
"Shinigami-dono…You must listen to the circumstances I want you to create. In my opinion, this must be done, it will be entertaining. Just hear me out. I don't know if it is right or wrong. The decision to execute it or not is yours. I wouldn't question what you decide." said Kami.
"Fine…Speak." said the Shinigami.
"As you wish. I will do it, but..."
The Shinigami proceeded with the splitting. All wanted to ask what was after 'but' didn't as no one dared to question the entity of death. The Shinigami did its part and the Kyuubi was split into 3 identical orbs that were now levitating at the same time as the nine tails disintegrating into them, Gamabunta too poofed back to the toad realm and Shinigami then said, "I have split the Kyuubi, mortal. The first one from right for the red-headed boy, the second for the girl, and the last for the blonde." Minato proceeded but sealed all with the 8 trigram seal.
He had a weary smile after the sealing was done. It was probably the last time he would be seeing his children. Before he could say any parting words the figure above him spoke. "The yin half of the kyuubi is sealed in the red-headed boy, yang half in the girl, and the consciousness of the beast 'currently' without any chakra of the Kyuubi is in the blonde."
Minato's eyes widened, "...but I said...?"
The Shinigami ignored the protest as it let the soul of Namikaze Minato back towards Minato instead of its stomach. Everyone where speechless at this action. In truth, the death god too had no idea why he agreed to go along with the idea and gave back the soul with a set of instructions to follow for the next few minutes. That's all, the gods had an unceremonious meeting to do something that would only be executed for a couple of minutes.
"Consider yourself lucky mortal as for the prophecy to complete things must occur and your death now can hinder it. But do not consider you have fooled or escaped death as eventually your soul will end up in my stomach." The supernatural being just thought, 'Live your life with me controlling one aspect of your decisions for a few years, mortal. Let's test how blindly people tend to follow the ones they believe in. Even when it is wrong, even if they don't want to, humans tend to follow their beacon with little to no doubt. For years you will not recognize yourself…That's the price for your life. Let's see how Kami's direction works…Foolish unfair deity.' With that, the image of Shinigami left.
Everyone let out a breath that they didn't know were holding. There was an eerie silence and no one was ready to break it. Minato getting the need to say something spoke first, but were they really his thoughts? He just said, "Jiraiya-sensei do you think it was talking about 'the child of prophecy'? Cause I think it was."
Jiraiya, thinking for quite a while. The child of prophecy was a thing he was kind of running after it for the whole of his life. Was this really true? Can peace be achieved? The Legendary Sanin then said, "I too am inclined to believe what you are saying."
"I believe one of Mito or Menma is the child of prophecy, there must be a reason why they received the chakra." Said Minato with a bit of pride that one of his children is 'the child of prophecy'.
'There has to be a reason why those two got the two parts of chakra. But the question is…Minato do you want to go all in or not?' Thought Jiraiya. He looked at his student's face, though it showed a lot of exhaustion and wariness it also showed determination and was ready to go all in. But the eyes, Jiraiya felt were a bit different. The same blue but the gaze was empty. He mused the dull eyes were due to the tough decision Minato would be taking. Jiraiya hummed a bit and then in a serious tone said, "I agree."
"Now, now both of you let's not jump to decisions right now.", said the Third Hokage having a feeling the discussion was not going to have a good outcome.
"No Sandaime-sama this decision has to happen now. According to the prophecy that child will bring peace to all of the elemental nations. It is important not only for the village but the whole world." said the Fourth Hokage.
"Minato what are you thinking?" asked Jiraiya. Though he had already guessed it.
"I think peace can only be achieved by something abrupt. These slow diplomacies have brought little to nothing. I think we should use this situation to our advantage. Fake my, Kushina's, Mito's, and Menma's death and go into hiding. So, I and Kushina can train them to the fullest to be prepared for anything. Then there will be two strong pillars withholding the peace for the whole world." said Minato.
"And What About Naruto?!" The Third Hokage asked outraged by the idea of abandoning a child.
"Sandaime-sama with Mito's and Menma's training we won't have the time for him it is important to focus on those two. Naruto may not take the excess attention on the other two well, I know it is wrong but they have the kyuubi's chakra and need to learn how to manifest it. They will get the extra attention due to the training they will go with. When I feel they are ready I will bring everyone back to Konoha and explain it. For now, Naruto would be better off without us. Moreover, he needs to be awa…" Minato tried to explain more but the two spirits in him were fighting in him to say the next words. And Hiruzen had just raised his hand to ask him to stop talking.
The third Hokage was almost shaking in rage on hearing his successor. 'This doesn't sound like you speaking…The voice and thought process is almost alienating to me…No matter what I can't allow this. Call me naïve for not thinking of the world but, my mind can never accept it.'
Before he could tell again his student, Jiraiya in a calm tone, though internally he too was having a repulsive feeling of what he was going to say, "Sensei I think Minato is right. I know the idea is very irrational but by going into hiding there won't be an assassination risk. And the training of those two is important, very important if we are right. We are talking about the fate of the world here. Sadly, sacrifices are needed to be made. Moreover, the bijuu's consciousness needs to be away from its chakra. We won't get a chance like this. jinchuurikis with just the power of chakra and nothing to hinder them. We have no idea how this splitting of consciousness works. It will be safe to keep him separated. A few moments ago, you too made this hypothesis, didn't you Minato?"
Minato just nodded.
The Third Hokage was releasing massive amounts of killing intent by now. The three newborns were crying now, but the loudest was Naruto as if knowing his parents were leaving him. Kushina went towards her children to calm them down. Her mind was in shambles one part was not ready to agree with her husband and the other was convinced that Minato could not be wrong, to this date he never was wrong. It was a reason why he was regarded as one of the greats. After calming Mito and Menma, she held Naruto close to her, trying to soothe her crying son.
"Kushina please explain to your husband what he is doing is idiotic. Don't curse the boy for the rest of his life!" Said Hiruzen, trying his last attempts.
She took a look at Hiruzen almost pleading then Minato and Jiraiya who too were looking in a pleading manner. In matters of majority, the Sandaime had already lost. Then she took a look at Naruto. She didn't know what to say. Tears started to flow out as she thought, 'Minato has always been right. And also, after peace. That masked man broke through today's defenses what's stopping him from doing it again…I...I guess for the greater...good…I hope in future you can forgive me Naru-chan.'
"If you two are sure of this...is for the greater good then...I will accept this bitter pill..." Minato and Jiraiya had a small smile due to Kushina's statement. On the other hand, Hiruzen was seething in rage at the statement. 'These imbeciles think they can direct a prophecy which one old senile toad, who according to this pervert can't remember anything half of the time...They have been so blinded by self-importance that they think they can only change the entire world. Are they so sure, that they are the epicenter of everything? By going into hiding and training and will achieve peace it seems...Great thinking.' raged the Sandaime internally.
"Fine…Get The Hell Out Of Here. I don't want to see your faces even for more than a second now. Namikaze Minato as you leave the village that means I am the Hokage right now. As The Hokage I Here by Sentence You and Kushina with Your Two Children Mito And Menma To Exile From Konoha until I Deem You Fit To Come Back Or until I Die." Declared the enraged Hokage, and with a glare that would stop your heartbeat.
"Exile?!" Exclaimed both Minato and Kushina.
"You heard it right you may go on your terms but will come back on my terms. AND don't dare to argue for leaving the village I can consider you as a traitor and execute you for it...But I want you to go and come back and see how wrong you are. After years I want you all to see you realize what you all said now was utter rubbish and what you have lost because of it…Remember a mistake purposely committed against a family is always unacceptable and unforgivable…You will remember my words then."
Everyone's eyes widened at hearing the usually peaceful, calm, and kind Sandaime was all out for war right now. Those 4 and the children were the only ones to hear these words as the protection barrier was still standing.
"Sensei come on don't do this to them. They are doing this for..." Jiraiya stopped when he was subjected to his sensei's cold glare. "Jiraiya shut up!...I can send you to also exile, but your spy network is needed and now more than ever."
Hiruzen went towards Kushina and took Naruto from her. There was some resistance but she had to give Naruto to him. "And you all are also forbidden to have any kind of contact with Naruto until I or he decides to be associated with you all." Said the old Hokage with the baby in his hands. Who somehow was quiet as if feeling the gravity of the situation.
By this time both the males were shocked as they had never seen this side of the man while Kushina was crying, not liking how she was leaving her son.
"Now Leave!" Yelled the old kage.
Flashback End
Hiruzen had his hands on his forehead whenever he thought about that day, he would get a headache. He re-lit his pipe to subdued his headache and started to puff the smoke.
After this whole fiasco in the barrier then Hiruzen arrived at the council for an urgent meeting. He had talked about the 'death' of the Forth Hokage and his family. It was then decided that Hiruzen would take back the mantle of the Hokage much to Danzo's dismay. Then came the part where he was practically forced by Danzo in front of everyone to tell the identity of the kyuubi's jinchuuriki. He reluctantly had to give the identity and remembered the pathetic remarks by the civilian council to kill the 'demon'. And then his theory which he was sure it was true hit his mind but needed some time for confirmation.
Flashback
"The Yondamine has sealed the kyuubi in an orphan named Naruto. I have decided to give him the surname Uzumaki to honor our fallen allies and the first jinchuuriki." said Hiruzen at the immediate meeting.
After this announcement, all hell broke loose on the civilian side of the council demanding the death of the demon, as revenge for the deaths of their loved ones. Hiruzen released a hell amount of killing intent that most of the clan heads also began to sweat. And then it hit him, 'Wait a minute…why the fuck did the Shinigami say 'currently without chakra'. Well, of course, a soul can always replenish its chakra. That means Naruto is the only true jinchuuriki of Kyuubi and will have both yin and yang chakra of it. It is just a matter of 10-11 years before the Kyuubi builds its chakra back to 100 percent. But is it a good thing or bad?' He then got out of his thoughts and made necessary laws as per him to safeguard Naruto.
Flashback End
But now whenever he used to think he always concluded he should have made better amendments but that day his mind was nowhere near a stable state. Nevertheless, the past can't be changed now, 'Naruto I know your life has been a rough ride and might even increase with time but I know you will pass every hurdle. Sorry that I can't do much.'
Looking back at his desk he saw the pile of paper that needed to be read and signed. His true enemy. With a long sigh he internally said, 'Now let's continue with our work...damn you, paperwork.'
AN: Yes, the part of Naruto with sharingan was is inspired from 'The Overlooked Prodigy'. I wanted Naruto to have the sharingan without him being Uchiha so yes, this was the best way which she/he figured out. So, a shout-out to Rookie 14(Author). Go check out the fanfic, it is great.
And I also wanted to see what I could do with an additional Uchiha so Kiyomi was introduced, lets see what the plot has for her. And pardon me but I have show Minato as bit of a retard for a while and Minato fans forgive me for that, I too like Minato, but for the premise of the story it was necessary for him to commit a brutal mistake.
