Prologue: Nine Tailed Fox

Many years ago, in the land of the ninjas, nine different tailed beasts were formed. Of these beasts, the nine tailed fox was known to be the strongest. His feelings of anger and hatred fueled him to needlessly attack villages in wild rampage. One such attack happened on the night of a certain boy's birth…

"Kushina! Hang in there! I'm going to save Naruto and the village! I promise!" A young man with spiky yellow hair and vibrant blue eyes rushed to lay his wife down beside their newborn baby before teleporting away.

"Minato! Wa–" But he was gone before the young red-haired girl could protest. Kushina could only hope that her husband wouldn't go overboard. Naruto would need someone to take care of him after all, and Kushina knew there was no way she would make it through the night. She was brought out of her own thoughts by the sound of a baby crying.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I know you need your mother too; but, unfortunately, I won't be able to be there for you. Your dad will take good care of you, and he'll make sure you become a good ninja one day, ya know." Kushina smiled weakly as she stroked his cheek. "Just promise me you'll do well in school, and you won't be too girl crazy. Oh! And make sure you eat well!" Tears streamed down her face. "I love you, Naruto.." She kissed his forehead before falling asleep.

After what seemed like forever, Kushina was awakened by Minato frantically teleporting back into the room. "Kushina! I'm sorry, but I need to bring you and Naruto elsewhere." He gingerly picked up his wife and child before teleporting to a clearing in the forest. As soon as they landed, the nine tails let out a roar before he noticed them and started heading their way.

"Minato!" Kushina exclaimed, "I'm going to have to seal the nine tails back inside of me if I ever want Naruto to have a normal life, ya know!"

"It won't work, Kushina! You're too weak!" Minato cried out. "We have to seal the beast inside of Naruto!" Minato made a few hand signs before summoning an altar and placing baby Naruto on top of it. "I'm sorry, Naruto. This is a big responsibility that I'm giving you, but it's what's best for both you and the village." Tears streamed down Minato's face.

"But Naruto is way too small for you to seal all of the nine tails away inside of him!" Kushina shouted. "What would we do with the rest?!"

"I guess I'll have to seal the other half inside of me, using the reaper death seal!" Just as Minato was about to make the signs, he was cut off by a frantic voice that came from the trees.

"Sensei?!" A white haired boy with a mask emerged from the shadows. "What are you doing?!"

It was at that moment that Minato got an idea. "Kakashi!" Minato smiled. "You're just in time! I need to ask you for a favor…"

*Twelve Years Later*

Kakashi lay in bed after waking up from a long, restless night. Ever since that fateful day, he had been haunted by the sight of Minato being stabbed by the nine tails and the sound of his final words. "Please take care of Naruto for me.. He'll be just as special as you one day.. Make sure the village knows that you and Naruto are both heroes…"

"Big Brother, Kashi!" A loud voice rang out through the apartment, freeing him from his thoughts. "Wake up! It's exam day at the academy, and I don't want to be late!" A young boy with spiky yellow hair, vibrant blue eyes, and whisker marks on his cheeks burst into the room with a bang.

Kakashi sighed. He had tried breaking Naruto's habit of calling him "Kashi" when he was younger. Unfortunately, Naruto was a stubborn child; and, once he gave someone a nickname, there was no way you could convince him to call them anything else. "Naruto, you know that you don't need me to get out of bed in order for you to make it to school in time, right?" Despite his protest, Kakashi still rolled out of bed before pulling his mask up and heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Normally that's true; but today is a special day, so I need to spend time with my big bro beforehand." Naruto grinned as he watched over Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi smiled to himself as he scrambled eggs and fried up some bacon. He was uncertain if he was up to the task when Minato Sensei asked him to take care of Naruto, but he was glad that he had. He and Naruto had a special bond that never would have happened if Kakashi had shied away from the challenge.

"Well?" Naruto prodded. "Aren't you supposed to give me some wise advice and encouragement since you're my guardian?"

Kakashi chuckled as he handed Naruto a plate of eggs and bacon and headed over to the table. "Am I? Hasn't all of the advice and training that I've given you through the years been enough?"

As they sat down to eat their food, Naruto suddenly got a serious look on his face. "Of course it is! I guess I'm just a little nervous… I don't wanna mess this up.. I wonder what this day was like for my parents. I bet they were so excited!" He paused for a moment as he seemed to contemplate something. "Do you think they'd be proud of me, Kashi?"

Kakashi set his chopsticks down before looking Naruto in the eye. "Naruto, you have worked really hard at school. You've made a few good friends, and you always keep your word. Of course your parents would be very proud of you, and so am I! Now, hurry up and eat! Sasuke and Shikamaru should be here to walk with you soon, and you know they don't like waiting around."

Sasuke and Shikamaru were Naruto's closest friends.. Kakashi didn't want Naruto to be lonely so he got the three of them together for their first playdate when they were toddlers, and the three boys have been inseparable ever since. Of course, that wasn't always a good thing since the boys were known around the village as "the three gremlins" due to their habit of playing pranks on the townsfolk; but Kakashi knew that the three boys helped each other to grow stronger and would continue to help each other for years to come.

As if on cue, a pebble hit their window; and a voice called out, "Come on, Naruto! Don't make us late this time!"

Naruto scarfed down the rest of his eggs before giving a thumbs up to Kakashi and saying, "Today is the first step towards my goal of becoming an even better Hokage than my dad, believe it!" Then he jumped out the window.

"Why don't those boys ever use the door like normal people?" Kakashi groaned as he cleared off the table. He knew that Naruto was right though. One day, Naruto would become Hokage; and maybe, just maybe, he could use his persuasive personality to bring peace to the ninja world…