The Hero of Konoha

[Trinity210]

So...like every other Naruto fan in existence, I've always wondered about what exactly happened during the battle with Kyuubi. How did the battle come about? What did all of our favorite characters do during the battle? Why was Naruto chosen to be the vessel for Kyuubi? Etc, etc, etc. Eventually, the wondering turned into imagining, and the imagining turned into writing. So here's a fanfic about what is possibly the most important battle in the history of Konoha. It's going to be pretty long, but the first chapter is relatively brief. Comments are welcome. Enjoy!

The Hero of Konoha

Chapter 1: A Difficult Assignment
The Yondaime Hokage sat behind the long table in the lobby where the shinobi teams waited to receive their assignments. He scanned the list of the day’s commissions. As usual, there was a mix of mission difficulties: many D-rank, a decent number of C-rank, a few B-rank, and two A-rank. He looked at the first A-rank mission on the list, and frowned. It was an exceptionally dangerous and difficult assignment, one that could have important consequences for the village. As such, he would have to assign Konoha’s best ANBU squad to take care of it. Without a doubt, that squad was the one led by his former pupil, Hatake Kakashi. Yondaime called for Kakashi’s team to come forward. Kakashi strolled over to the table, flanked by his three teammates.
“Kakashi-san, I have an important mission for your team. Yesterday, a youma was sighted in the wilderness near the Fire Country’s northern border. The witness said that the youma took the form of a nine-tailed fox. As you know, the kitsune youma are among the most powerful, and one with nine tails would be one of the most powerful of those. As you no doubt also know, some youma are benevolent, some don’t care about humans, some are well-meaning but mischievous, and some…”
“Some are downright evil,” Kakashi finished.
“Exactly. If that is the case with this one, we could have a major problem on our hands. Your mission is to observe this youma, see if it appears to be malevolent, and also note the direction in which it appears to be moving. If it heads into the territory of a country with which the Leaf is allied, we will of course warn them. If it enters the no-man’s land between the countries, we can ignore it. If it moves deeper into the Fire Country, we will have to decide how to deal with it.”
“What if it does appear to be malevolent? Should we engage it?”
“No. A youma like this is too powerful for one squad to take on alone. If it appears malevolent, report back here immediately and we will form a special force to deal with it.”
“Understood, Hokage-sama. We will depart at once.”
“First, because of the difficulty and danger of this mission, I want to assign an additional member to your team.” Yondaime gestured to one of his aides, who moved off through the crowd of shinobi. A moment later he returned, with a shinobi by his side. Kakshi recognized the shinobi at once. Like Kakashi, he was an ANBU captain. He was tall and slender, with brown hair and pupil-less lavender eyes. His forehead protector covered the cursed seal that Kakashi knew scarred his forehead. His name was Hyuuga Hizashi, and he was one of Leaf’s most powerful shinobi. Kakashi introduced Hizashi to the other three team members, then said, “Let’s head out.” Immediately, the team moved as one out of the lobby and towards the main gate of the village.
At the gate, Kakashi heard a cheery voice call, “Hey, Kakashi-san! What kind of mission do you have today?” Kakashi recognized the voice of the overly enthusiastic Maito Gai instantly. Turning to face the green-clad jounin sensei, Kakashi said, “We’re on a special mission to investigate a youma that has entered the Fire Country’s territory.”
Gai’s normally cheerful expression turned serious. “A youma, eh? Those can be dangerous—be careful on this mission. After all, you have to come back in good enough shape for our tenth match!” Gai adopted his “nice-guy pose,” causing the three genin behind him to roll their eyes. “My genin and I are going on a mission too. I bet we’ll get back to Konoha before you do. If I’m wrong, I’ll do 10 laps around Konoha on my hands!” More eye-rolling from the genin. Kakashi chuckled.
Gai’s team left through the main gate and headed south. Kakashi took his team and they quickly began moving north. A nine-tailed fox…this could be trouble. I can see why Yondaime-sama assigned Hizashi-san to our team. With his Byakugan, he can spot the youma from far away and allow us to observe it from a distance. I just hope it isn’t hostile. If it is…it could require most of Leaf’s forces to deal with something like that.


I'm not sure why it didn't indent the paragraphs...oh well. Anyway, more to come later!

[Trinity210]

Here comes the second chapter. Once again, comments are much appreciated.

Chapter 2: The Kyuubi Appears
Kakashi and his team approached the region of the forest where the youma had been seen. Hizashi took the lead, scanning ahead with his Byakugan. Soon, it became clear where the youma had passed by, because the trees had been knocked over, even the thickest trunks broken. Great gouges had been carved into the ground. “This thing must be gigantic,” one of the ANBU breathed.
After a while, Hizashi abruptly called for the team to halt. “It’s about a quarter-mile away,” he said.
“What is it doing?” Kakashi asked.
“It’s drinking from a river. It’s huge—taller than any building in Konoha, with legs as thick as tree trunks. And the person who saw it before was right: it does have nine tails.”
“What is its demeanor? Does it seem like it would be hostile to humans?”
“I don’t know—wait. There’s someone approaching from the other side of the river.”
“Shinobi?”
“No, he looks like a fisherman. Probably from one of the remote villages at the edge of the forest, near the border with the Wind Country. He’s still deep in the trees, so he hasn’t noticed the fox yet, but I think it’s picked up his scent.”
“Is there any way we can get to him to warn him?”
“If we go directly across the fox’s path, it’ll notice us. And going around will take too long. We can’t get to him before he gets to the fox.”
“What’s happening now?”
“The fisherman has exited the trees into a large clearing on the other side of the river. He’s seen the fox. He looks frightened. He’s backing off slowly. The fox is approaching him. It looks…it looks the way a predator looks when it’s stalking prey.”
Not a good sign, Kakashi thought. “Does he have any chance of being able to get away?”
“No. A shinobi might be able to outrun something like that, but not a civilian. The man has turned and is running full speed for the forest, but the fox is pursuing him.” Hizashi flinched, then turned back to the group. “He’s dead.”
No negotiation, no warning to leave its territory. The motive wasn’t self-defense, because that fisherman couldn’t possibly pose a threat to a youma. It killed him simply because it could. “We have to report back to the village that it is hostile. Is it moving at all?”
“Yes, it’s—Kakashi-san, it’s headed towards us!”
“Damn! Alright, retreat towards the east.”
“Sir,” one of the ANBU spoke up, “Konoha is to the south.”
“I know,” replied Kakashi. “I don’t want to lead it back to Konoha. If we can outrun it, we’ll return to the village. If not…we’ll have to fight it. We cannot lead it back to the village without giving Konoha time to prepare.” Kakashi took off, moving quickly and silently through the forest. The rest of the team followed, with Hizashi bringing up the rear, keeping an eye on the fox.
Frantically, the team hurried through the forest, trying to leave no trail for the fox to follow. After a while, Hizashi reported, “Kakashi-san, the fox seems to be falling behind.”
“Good.” A few minutes later, Hizashi confirmed that they had indeed outrun the youma. “Let’s head back to Konoha, as fast as we can.” We have to deal with this thing fast. If it stumbles across a civilian town, they won’t stand a chance.

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And now for the third chapter...hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 3: Trouble on the Horizon
Kakashi and his team landed, out of breath, outside the main gate of Konoha. As he ran through the gate, Kakashi heard a familiar cheery voice. “Hey, Kakashi-san! We made it back before you! I don’t have to do any laps around Konoha!”
“Gai-san, I’m sorry to be rude, but I don’t have time to chat now. I need to see Yondaime-sama, immediately.”
“The youma?”
Kakashi nodded. “It’s hostile.”
Gai frowned. “Many of the teams are out on missions and won’t return until tonight or tomorrow.”
“I know.”
Kakashi hurried to Yondaime’s home in the center of the village. He pounded on the door of Yondaime’s office, and one of the aides answered it. “I need to speak to Yondaime-sama right now. It’s urgent.” The aide quickly ushered Kakashi into Yondaime’s office.
“Kakashi-san, welcome back. What happened?”
“Hokage-sama, it appears that the youma is indeed hostile. We saw it kill a civilian in an unprovoked attack. It has headed deeper into the Fire Country’s territory.”
Yondaime sat down in his chair, looking tired. “Many of our teams are outside the village on missions, but we can’t afford to wait on this. I’ll assemble a group to go after the youma. All five of you will be part of it. Come with me and we can gather the others.”
As the group prepared to leave, the aide Kakashi had spoken to before burst through the doorway. “Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama’s team has returned early from their mission. They have spotted a nine-tailed fox heading towards the village.”
“What?!” Kakashi exclaimed. “We made sure to outrun it before coming back so that we wouldn’t lead it to the village. How did it find its way here?”
“It must have been our scent,” Hizashi said. “When it saw it couldn’t catch up to us, it simply slowed down and followed our scent.”
“How far away is the fox? How long will it be before it gets here?” asked Yondaime.
“Tsunade-sama said that it would likely be at the village in ten hours,” answered the aide.
Yondaime swore under his breath. “Gather everyone of chuunin rank and above. Have the genin escort the civilians to the emergency shelter. Send messages to our allies the Sand and Cloud. Tell everyone to prepare for an attack on the village.”

[Trinity210]

And now, the action begins...

Chapter 4: The Battle Begins
The next few hours were full of frantic activity, as everyone in the village prepared for battle. Messages came from the Sand and Cloud villages, saying they were sending shinobi to Konoha’s aid, but neither delegation would arrive for at least 24 hours. The Hyuugas stood watch on the walls all around Konoha, keeping a lookout for the fox. The shinobi were being divided into battalions and given orders as to how to contribute to the upcoming fight. Tsunade was dividing up the medical corps, sending a few specialists in medical ninjutsu to each shinobi battalion. Yondaime was in conference with Sandaime, Jirayia, Orochimaru, and one of the tactical geniuses of the Nara clan, devising a battle strategy. Meanwhile, the genin were shepherding the civilians towards the emergency shelter built into the mountain behind the Hokage monument.
As the sun set, one of the Hyuugas called out, “I can see the fox! It’s approaching rapidly from the northwest.” Soon after, the rest of them could see it too: a huge, reddish fox with nine giant tails writhing behind it. It swept the tails to one side, demolishing a stand of ancient trees. Its eyes glowed red with an evil chakra, and it bared its long, sharp teeth in a terrifying growl.
“Advance battalions, attack!” called Yondaime, and several groups of ninjas moved forward to engage the youma. Cries of “Grand Fireball no Justu!” went up from all sides as the ninjas encircled the fox and surrounded it with fire. The fox cried out in pain and whipped its tail over the heads of the ninjas, crashing into the wall and taking down one of the guard towers. “Naras, hold it still!” cried Yondaime. Members of the Nara clan now joined the ranks of the shinobi encircling the fox. “Shadow Bind no Jutsu!” they called, uniting their individual powers to hold the gargantuan fox in place. It howled in rage and thrashed its head back and forth, trying to break free.
“Main battalions, attack!” The other shinobi took advantage of the fox’s immobility, and moved forward to fight it. Several members of the Akimichi clan enlarged themselves, bringing their enhanced strength to bear against the fox. Gai charged up to the fox, yelling, “Initial Lotus!” He leapt high into the air and aimed a powerful kick at the fox’s side. Yondaime heard the thunderous sound of one of the fox’s massive ribs cracking under the impact. The shinobi surrounding the fox cheered. Surely, such a severe injury would impede the fox’s ability to fight.
But then, a low, deep sound came from the fox. It was a sound that sent a chill down the spine of everyone who heard it—it was unearthly, and deeply evil. The fox was laughing. “Do you truly think such puny beings as yourselves can fight me?” it boomed. “I am Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Kitsune Youma. Even other demons run in fear from me. What do you think you can do against me?” As it spoke, red chakra flowed over the side of its body where Gai had kicked it. One of the Hyuugas, who stood next to Yondaime, gasped.
“Its chakra is regenerating its wounds, healing the burns from the Grand Fireballs and mending its broken rib!” he told Yondaime.
Yondaime nodded. “It has the highest level of chakra of any living being. This is not entirely unexpected. But there is a limit to how much anything can regenerate. And we have more powerful weapons as well.”
Kyuubi let out an enraged howl, and with a burst of chakra that knocked some of the nearby ninjas to the ground, it broke free of the Shadow Bind. It swept its tails in a circle around itself, throwing the ninjas who had surrounded it through the air. Yondaime saw a blur move past him as Tsunade rushed to tend to the wounded. Then, he saw a lone figure walk calmly out of the gates of Konoha and into the open space that surrounded Kyuubi. The figure was tall, slim, and carried itself proudly.
Kyuubi laughed at the approaching shinobi. “What, is this all Konoha has to send against me? One old woman?” Indeed, the person approaching Kyuubi was old. She was a special jounin, due to retire in less than a year. Her hair, which once had been jet black, was now white as snow. A web of wrinkles covered her face, and there were deep lines under her eyes. That she was fighting at all was a testimony to the desperation of this battle. Yet she stood before Kyuubi without an ounce of fear. She carried a katana, but it was held loosely at her side. Still, despite her age, Yondaime knew that she was a formidable opponent. She knew secrets that had been lost for centuries, and that she alone possessed.
Is it possible that she really could kill it?
“Kyuubi,” she said. “You are right that I am old. But it is not wise to judge an opponent based on his appearance alone.”
Kyuubi laughed again. “Any damage you do to me, I can heal.”
“Any damage I do to your body you can heal, correct. But damage to the mind is much harder to cope with.” As she spoke, the woman raised her head to meet Kyuubi’s gaze with her own. Despite her obvious old age, her eyes were vibrant—and they were blood-red. “Mangekyou sharingan!”



More to come later...hope you all are enjoying it!

[Trinity210]

Chapter 5: Yondaime's Decision

All of the ninjas surrounding Kyuubi covered their ears as the youma began to shriek in agony. The old woman held its gaze unflinchingly, while the monster thrashed its tails and tried desperately to escape the illusion in which she had placed it. Even Yondaime, who had seen many horrible things in battles, shivered. The mangekyou sharingan was a forgotten secret of the Uchiha clan—one that, in Yondaime’s opinion, would have been best left forgotten. Yet now that terrible secret may save this village, he thought.
But suddenly, it was the old woman who cried out, and Kyuubi smiled, though all of its muscles were still tensed in pain. “Did you truly think you could overpower one such as me?” It lashed out with a paw, and Yondaime saw right away that the woman, exhausted from the amount of chakra she had used with her technique, would not be able to dodge the blow. She was thrown back into the wall surrounding the village, and slumped to the ground, clearly dead. However, her sacrifice had not been in vain: Kyuubi was breathing hard, teeth gritted against the lingering pain—breaking free of the genjutsu had taken a lot of chakra, and he could not heal the damage the old woman had done to him.
Yondaime felt a grim smile spreading across his face. Now, while Kyuubi was weakened, it was time to show Konoha’s trump card. “Sannin and Sandaime, attack!” he called, and four blurs moved across the battlefield towards Kyuubi.
Tsunade was the first to reach the youma. She formed chakra scalpels around her hands and slashed at the back of one of Kyuubi’s legs, trying to cut the Achilles tendon. Orochimaru, the most talented of the Sannin, brought his hands together in a dizzying flurry of seals. Suddenly, thick vines emerged from the ground, winding around Kyuubi’s legs and holding him in place. Kyuubi tore at them, but for each one he pulled away, two more took its place. Then, Orochimaru tipped back his head, and a bulge appeared in his throat. A huge, perfectly forged sword raised itself out of his mouth, and he gripped its hilt. The legendary sword of Kusanagi could cut through anything, and would create wounds that even the youma could not heal. Orochimaru ran up on top of one of the vines, and as it lifted him into the air, he stabbed Kyuubi in the side with the sword.
Jiraiya kept his distance from Kyuubi, summoning Gamabunta instead of directly attacking the youma. Yondaime felt his heart swell with pride as he saw Jiraiya standing atop the massive frog. Jiraiya had been troublesome as a young boy, getting into trouble and seeming to care more about peeping at girls than about becoming a strong shinobi. But it had become increasingly clear over the past few years that Jiraiya was an exceptional ninja, one who possessed great skill and courage.
Gamabunta glared at the carnage that surrounded Kyuubi, and pulled out his sword—which happened to have a blade the size of the average tree. Gamabunta charged towards Kyuubi, and Jirayia took the opportunity to charge up a Rasengan. Jirayia’s and Gamabunta’s attacks hit Kyuubi at the same time, and it took the full brunt of them, as Orochimaru’s vines still prevented it from moving.
Sandaime stood behind the Kyuubi, taking advantage of its distraction to perform Earth Cannon no Jutsu. A shape formed out of mud emerged from the ground. It looked like the head of a dragon, and its eyes glowed with a dull yellow chakra. It opened its mouth wide, and shot projectiles of hard, packed earth at Kyuubi. Sandaime then used a fire jutsu to light the projectiles on fire, so that they would do even more damage.
Heartened by the appearance of the village’s heroes, the other shinobi moved in to resume the attack. Hiashi and Hizashi took up positions on either side of the massive fox. “Divination Field: 256 Strikes!” they yelled in unison, and began launching a dizzying array of blows at the Kyuubi, forcing chakra into its body with each hit. Gai concentrated intently, and a rush of chakra surrounded him as he opened the first 6 gates that would allow him to surpass his body’s normal limits. With a Secondary Lotus, he caused the Kyuubi’s left front leg to buckle. A dark swarm of bugs moved up Kyuubi’s back legs, devouring its chakra as the Aburame clan joined the fight.
For a few minutes, Yondaime dared to hope that the battle might be won. All of Konoha’s shinobi were fighting bravely, demonstrating the power and courage that made Konoha the most powerful of the shinobi villages. But it was clear that the shinobi were tiring. They had been fighting for hours—much longer than any shinobi battle typically lasted—and they were having to use their most powerful techniques, which drained a great deal of chakra. Even the Sannin were beginning to show the strain—especially Tsunade, who had used much of her chakra healing the wounded.
Kyuubi seemed to sense that his attackers were tiring, and he redoubled his efforts to destroy them. His supernatural red chakra flowed over the wounds on his body, healing them (though not as quickly as before, Yondaime noted). With a monstrous effort, he broke through the vines that held his legs in place, and turned to face the shinobi who had been gathering behind him. He swiped at the group of Aburames with one massive paw, scattering them, and at the same time released a burst of chakra that sent their bugs flying off of him. He lunged towards Sandaime, trying to catch the greatest of the Konoha shinobi in his jaws, but Sandaime dodged gracefully. Undeterred, Kyuubi smashed a paw down on the Earth Cannon, demolishing it. Then he caught sight of Gai crouched on the ground, breathing heavily, clearly exhausted by the aftermath of opening 6 gates. With an evil grin, Kyuubi bolted towards the man who had inflicted two serious injuries on him. Gai pulled himself to his feet, trying to get out of the way, but it was clear that he was not going to make it. Suddenly, a figure dashed across the battlefield towards Gai. With one hand he lifted Gai over his shoulder, and with the other (which seemed to be filled with lightning) he swiped at the paw that was coming towards him. Kyuubi recoiled from the blow, giving Kakashi just enough time to leap to safety with Gai. “I think that counts as a win for me,” he said with a grin as he set Gai down in front of a squad of medical nins, then leapt back into the fray.
Yondaime felt Sandaime alight beside him on Gamabunta’s back. “The battle is not going well,” Sandaime said gravely.
Yondaime nodded reluctantly. “Everyone is fighting their hardest, but that beast simply has too much chakra. The regeneration ability makes it even harder. It has weakened, but…I do not believe it has weakened enough for us to defeat it.”
“Can we at least hold it off long enough for the reinforcements from Sand and Cloud to arrive?”
Yondaime shook his head. “As time goes on, our people will get more and more tired, and more will be wounded. If we do not defeat it soon, we will not be able to at all.”
Sandaime said nothing, but Yondaime knew what he was thinking. There was a way to defeat Kyuubi, but the price was incalculable. Yondaime had developed the kinjutsu only as a last resort, to be used when all hope was lost, and defeat would mean the destruction of Konoha. They were in just such a situation now, but Yondaime could not bring himself to admit that he had no other option.
“Yondaime,” Sandaime said gently, “if you do not do this, all that you and I have worked for will fall. The village founded by Nidaime and Shodaime will be destroyed, and all the sacrifices made by our shinobi today will be in vain.”
“But who can I ask to do this? A youma of this power could never merge with an adult, someone whose identity has already been established. For the melding to occur, the recipient must be a child, the younger the better. Who would you have me ask to make this sacrifice? Iruka, Anko, Itachi, Mizuki? They have not even graduated from the academy yet—they have not truly made the commitment to be shinobi, to give their lives for this village if necessary.”
“Yet all of them would gladly do it if it was the only way to save their families and friends. Yondaime—you developed that technique hoping that it would never have to be used, but knowing that it might be. The stakes could never possibly be higher than what they are today.”
Yondaime nodded. “I know, but…I cannot ask any of the others to bear this burden. If a child must carry the weight of this sacrifice, it can only be my own. The merging can be done in a way that will give the child great strength, and…he will need it to survive as an orphan, and as a shinobi.”
Sandaime sighed sadly, for a moment looking as old as he actually was. It had only been a few weeks since Yondaime’s wife had died giving birth to her only child. Although Yondaime put on a brave face as he went about the village doing his duties as Hokage, Sandaime knew that the loss had taken a great toll on him. What allowed him to get through the grief was the knowledge that he had a beautiful, healthy son. Now, he knew that that son would have to bear two great burdens: he would be an orphan, and he would carry within him the soul of a monster that had almost destroyed his village. But Yondaime was right—the burden was so great that he could not ask any other child of the village to bear it. Yet he could not bear it himself, for the intimate melding between the chakra system of the beast to be sealed and the one who would contain it required a young person who was still developing and changing—only a child’s body and mind could adapt to and survive the merging with another soul. He put a supportive hand on Yondaime’s shoulder. “I will command our troops until you return.” He surveyed the battlefield, and saw that the tide was continuing to turn in the Kyuubi’s favor. “Hurry.” Yondaime nodded wordlessly, and disappeared into the night.

[Trinity210]

Chapter 6: Uzumaki Naruto

Yondaime approached the entrance to the emergency shelter. It appeared to the naked eye to be only a blank wall of rock, due to the genjutsu that hid the entrance. Yondaime walked through the “wall,” and appeared in a dimly lit tunnel that wound into the side of the mountain on which the Hokage Monument was carved. Deep inside the mountain, the tunnel widened out into a huge cavern that was large enough to hold all the civilians of Konoha.
The room was full of people, all of whom looked frightened. Many were children or elderly persons, but there were quite a few adults as well—in addition to its shinobi, Konoha housed many civilians who ran the various businesses that supplied the shinobi with food, clothing, and other daily needs. There were also civilian relatives of the shinobi, as well as a representative of the Fire Country’s feudal lords. This representative approached Yondaime as soon as he entered the cavern. “What has happened? Is the battle over?” he asked.
Yondaime shook his head, and spoke to the man in a low voice. “I believe I can defeat the youma, but I require something which is here.”
The representative seemed puzzled. “I am sorry, Yondaime-sama, but all of us have given any weapons we possessed to the shinobi. None of us have anything more that could be useful for the battle.”
“Nevertheless, there is something here that I need. I must retrieve it and return to the battle.” He paused. “I must tell you that it is likely I will have to give my own life to save this village. I would like it to be held as a last request that Sandaime resume his post as Hokage of the village.”
The representative nodded. “As representative of the feudal lords, I sit on the committee that chooses the next Hokage when one retires or…” He swallowed hard. “I will honor your request, assuming Sandaime is willing.”
“Thank you. Please, look after the civilians here. You are looked up to as the representative of the Fire Country’s government. You must provide them with strength to get through this night.”
“Hai, Yondaime-sama!”
As Yondaime walked to the back of the shelter, he was careful to look at each and every face, aware that this would be the last time he would see any of them. He felt tears come to his eyes as he saw that every face lit up with hope when it saw him. These people draw so much strength from me. They trust me to protect them from danger, and to lead them wisely. I must not fail them!
At the very back of the cavern, a small area was screened off. One of the women of a prominent shinobi family had had a child only the day before, and in the screened-off area, a midwife named Oruku Kuchikyo was caring for the newborn, as well as for Yondaime’s own son. The presence of the other infant was evident from his earsplitting wails.
Yondaime pushed back the screen and stepped inside the private area. Kuchikyo sat in a chair, cradling a baby in each arm. One was a few weeks old, and well on his way to becoming the spitting image of his father. He had a mass of blond hair and bright, inquisitive blue eyes. His face lit up when he saw Yondaime, and he began waving his arms in the Hokage’s direction. The other child was very different in appearance, with jet-black hair and eyes. Kuchikyo gave Yondaime a tired look—apparently, the infant had been crying for quite some time.
“I see the newest member of the Uchiha clan is making his existence known to, oh, everyone in a fifty-mile radius,” said Yondaime.
Kuchikyo chuckled. “Amazing, isn’t it? Even at this grim time, with so many lives being lost, a new life is entering the world. How are things going outside, Susani-sama?” Most people referred to Yondaime by his title, but Kuchikyo could get away with calling him by his first name, as she was the midwife who had delivered him.
Yondaime sighed. “We have lost many good people today, Kuchikyo-chan. I think we may have a chance to win the battle, but…what will be required of me…”
Kuchikyo stood, and walked over to Yondaime. She was a short, stout woman whose head only reached Yondaime’s chest. But she had the same look of hard-earned wisdom in her eyes that Yondaime saw whenever he looked at Sandaime. She placed Yondaime’s son in his arms. “Would you like to spend a few moments with your son, Susani?”
Yondaime nodded, and Kuchikyo left the screened area, still carrying the Uchiha child. Yondaime looked down at the smiling baby in his arms. “I wish I could be a father to you, Naruto. I wish I could guide you as you grow up, watch you become a man in your own right. I wish I could be there to see you enter the Academy, to see you graduate, to see you promoted, to see your wedding, to hold my grandchildren the way I’m holding you now. I wish I could watch you grow into a strong ninja, the way my father watched me grow. But…everything I’ve ever worked for is in jeopardy, and if I don’t do this, you and all the other people here will die. You are going to have to bear a great burden, and I will not be there to help you carry it. But you must always remember: here in the village of Konoha, no one is truly alone. If you find a precious person, and live to protect and care for that person, you will find in that bond the strength to overcome every adversity. To me, every citizen of this village is a precious person, and that is why I am going to do this—to protect those who are precious to me. And Naruto,” Yondaime bent down and whispered the last words into Naruto’s ear, “You are a precious person to me.”
Kuchikyo returned at that moment, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Susani-sama, but I have to try and get this child to sleep. No one else here will be able to sleep until he quiets down.”
Yondaime nodded his understanding, then turned to leave. “Hey, Susani-sama,” came Kuchikyo’s voice from behind him. “Shouldn’t you leave Naruto-kun with me?”
Yondaime tried to think of an answer. Only Sandaime knew what his plan was—no one else even knew of the kinjutsu he had developed. Those on the battlefield would not be able to avoid seeing it, he knew, but he wanted to restrict the knowledge to the minimum number of people possible. Such a technique could be easily misused, and besides, if people knew how different Naruto-kun would be after the merging, there was no telling how they would treat him. Yondaime debated whether to tell Kuchikyo the truth or try to make her believe he simply wanted more time alone with his son before the end. However, before he had made a decision, the screen was pushed aside once again and a small face peered around it. A narrow face and deep black eyes were framed by long black hair tied back in a ponytail. The young boy’s eyes widened as he saw Yondaime.
“Y-Yondaime-sama,” he said nervously, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask Kuchikyo-chan if I can see my baby brother.”
Kuchikyo smiled warmly. “I don’t see why not—it’s not as though he’s sleeping.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve never seen a noisier child in all my life.”
The young boy ran over to Kuchikyo, who bent down to show him the infant. The baby immediately stopped crying—then promptly reached out a tiny hand, grabbed his brother’s long hair, and pulled as hard as he could. The subsequent commotion (“Ow, Sasuke-kun, that HURTS!”) distracted Kuchikyo and gave Yondaime an opportunity to leave without being noticed by her, Naruto still cradled in his arms.

[Trinity210]

Chapter 7: Iruka and Mizuki

As Yondaime made his way out of the shelter, two young children watched him from an alcove. Both were students at the Academy, and they had been best friends since before their Academy days. One had shoulder-length grayish hair, while the other had brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail and a kind, open face.
“What is Yondaime-sama doing here? Do you think the fighting is over?” asked the brown-haired one, whose name was Iruka.
The other boy, whose name was Mizuki, replied, “I don’t know. Why would he come here in the middle of the battle? And what’s that bundle he’s carrying?”
Iruka shifted his weight nervously. “I wish I knew what was going on with Mom and Dad. If the fighting’s over, shouldn’t Yondaime-sama have told us who…who survived and…who didn’t?”
“I wish I knew what was happening with my family too. Most of them are out there fighting.” Mizuki craned his neck to maintain his view of Yondaime’s receding back. “He really should have told us what’s going on. Why else would he come here?”
“Maybe he only told the grownups?”
“But then they would have come to find us and tell us about our parents. Damn! It wouldn’t be so bad if I just knew, one way or the other. Even if…even if it was something bad, that’s better than not knowing at all.”
Iruka nodded in agreement. He looked thoughtful for a few moments, then said, “Mizuki-san, can you use Henge no Jutsu?”
Mizuki scoffed. “Of course, any baka can use Henge. Why?”
“If we made ourselves look like…like mice or something, we might be able to sneak out and see what’s going on.”
“Are you insane?! What if the fight’s still going on? We’d get stuck in the middle of it, and there’s no way in hell we can actually fight.”
“I’m not saying we should go all the way down to where the fight is. If we just go out on the stairs up the mountain, we should be high up enough to see what’s going on.”
Mizuki silently considered this, then said, “We’ll be in a hell of a lot of trouble if we get caught. Doing something like that in the middle of an emergency, we might even be expelled from the Academy.”
Iruka glared at his friend defiantly. “Maybe so, but I think finding out if our parents are alive or dead is worth it!”
Mizuki looked surprised at Iruka’s determination. He swallowed hard, then nodded. “OK.” He clapped his hands together, forming the first seal he had ever learned. “Henge no Jutsu!” Iruka followed suit, and a moment later, two small grey mice skittered across the floor of the shelter towards the entrance.
Iruka and Mizuki followed Yondaime out of the shelter, getting through the door just as it clanked shut behind him. They stopped on the ledge, looking down the long flight of stairs that led to the ground. They were high enough to see all of Konoha.
“Look!” Mizuki whispered, pointing with his tiny front paw. Looking in the direction of Mizuki’s gesture, Iruka saw a colossal red fox with nine tails looming over the walls of the village. Its tails thrashed, its mouth roared, and the shinobi who darted around it seemed tiny in comparison.
“I can’t tell who any of the shinobi fighting it are from here,” said Iruka. He thought for a moment. “I’m going down the stairs a little.”
“Iruka-san, don’t…” But Iruka was already five steps below Mizuki. Mizuki sighed, then followed.
About halfway down the stairs, Iruka stopped. “I can see them better now. Look, there’s some of Itachi-san’s family, and Kurenai-sensei…”
Mizuki nodded. “I can see Ibiki-sensei, and Kakashi. Iruka—hey, Iruka! Isn’t that your dad there?”
Iruka squinted. His father was indeed visible, standing on the ground near Kakashi. As Iruka watched, he formed a rapid series of seals. Iruka couldn’t hear him shout, “Quicksand no Jutsu!” over Kyuubi’s roars and the shouts of the other shinobi, but he could see the ground beneath Kyuubi’s feet turning to liquid. Kyuubi began sinking into the ground, and roared in rage. Nearby, Iruka saw his mother throwing kunais at the Kyuubi. To anyone else, the use of such tiny weapons against such a huge monster would have seemed ludicrous. But Iruka knew that his mother was an expert maker of poisons, and that she coated both her kunai and her katana with them. The poison she typically used drained the victim of his chakra, and indeed Iruka could see the Kyuubi’s red chakra dimming around the places where his mother’s kunai had hit.
Just then, Kyuubi arched its back and, with a monumental effort, pulled itself free of Iruka’s father’s quicksand. It bounded forward, and brought a gargantuan paw slamming down on the wall that surrounded the village. The shinobi who had been manning the wall and using ranged jutsus against Kyuubi went flying, and a huge section of the wall crumbled. Kyuubi leaped forward through the breach in the walls and began destroying the buildings nearby. Iruka heard screams of fear and saw a group of people within the village walls running frantically away from Kyuubi. Iruka realized that they were medical nins who had brought their patients within the safety of the walls for treatment. Most of them were helping their patients along, and some were even carrying patients who were too injured to walk. One of the nins who was bringing up the rear threw a few smoke bombs directly at Kyuubi, buying the group time to get to the foot of the stairs on which Mizuki and Iruka were standing. The shinobi who had been gathered outside the walls quickly moved to Kyuubi’s new location, preventing him from pursuing the fleeing medical nins.
Iruka looked down at the Kyuubi, which towered over the buildings around it. Its chakra was so great that its entire body seemed to burn with a red flame. It grinned as it demolished several buildings with a single sweep of its tails, and its eyes were filled with a terrible bloodlust and undirected rage. Iruka shivered, more scared than he had ever been in his life, and felt his concentration on the Henge no Jutsu waver. Suddenly, he was back in his normal form, as was Mizuki, who stood beside him pale and sweating. The leader of the group of medical nins was only a few steps below them, and Iruka recognized her as Shizune, an apprentice of the Sannin Tsunade. She carried the unconscious form of Hyuuga Hiashi over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw the two small boys standing on the steps above her. “What the hell are you doing here?! You should be in the shelter!”
Mizuki gulped. “W-we were worried about our parents…we wanted to see if they were ok…” he said sheepishly.
“So you decided to do something that could get you killed? Come inside, NOW!” Shizune grabbed Mizuki by the scruff of his neck and dragged him up the stairs after her. One of the other nins, someone whom Iruka did not know, did the same to him. Iruka struggled, looking back over his shoulder. He caught a brief glimpse of his parents rejoining the fight against Kyuubi, then felt himself being pushed through the doors of the shelter—running headfirst into Kuchikyo.
“Shizune-chan!” the midwife exclaimed breathlessly. “Where is Yondaime-sama?”
“Fighting most likely, why?”
“He was here earlier, visiting his son—and when he left, he took Naruto-kun with him!”
“WHAT?!”
Kuchikyo nodded. “He wanted to see his son because, well…he was afraid that he wouldn’t survive this fight. Of course, I let him see Naruto-kun while I showed Sasuke-kun to his brother. But when I looked up, Yondaime-sama and Naruto-kun were both gone. Everyone has been searching the shelter for Naruto-kun, but he’s not here. The only place he could be is with Yondaime-sama. And Naruto-kun’s not the only one missing—Mizuki-kun and Iruka-kun are gone too.”
“Iruka-kun and Mizuki-kun did something foolish, but they are both ok.” Shizune glared at Iruka and Mizuki. “Did either of you see where Yondaime-sama took Naruto-kun?”
“Well,” said Iruka tentatively, “we followed Yondaime-sama out of the shelter. He went down the stairs to the main village. He was carrying something, but neither of us saw what it was.”
Shizune and Kuchikyo both looked worried. “Why would Yondaime-sama have taken Naruto-kun out of the shelter? He would never endanger a child of this village, least of all his own son!” said Shizune.
Kuchikyo bowed her head. “Shizune-san, this is my fault. I allowed myself to be distracted, and wasn’t paying attention to Naruto-kun as I should have been.”
Shizune shook her head. “No, Kuchikyo-chan, it is not your fault. Yondaime-sama would have found a way to get Naruto-kun out even if you had noticed his intentions.”
At that moment, two small figures pushed their way past the adult women and ran up to Iruka and Mizuki. One was Uchiha Itachi, and the other was a dark-haired, bright-eyed girl named Anko. “Iruka-san, Mizuki-san, what happened? No one could find you! Are you all right?” inquired Anko anxiously.
“We’re both ok—we wanted to see if we could get a look at our parents. We were worried about them,” Iruka explained.
“And—are they ok?” asked Anko.
Mizuki nodded. “Yes, our parents are still fighting. Itachi-san, your father and your cousin Shisui-san were there too.” He turned to Anko. “We didn’t see anyone from your family, but we were kind of far away…they were probably just somewhere where we couldn’t see them.”
Shizune tried to shoo the children back inside, but before she could, Gai, who was leaning on crutches with his arms and legs bandaged, pointed towards the battle. “LOOK!”
Everyone present looked in the direction Gai was pointing, and gasped in amazement. Yondaime was standing atop Gamabunta, and even from this distance, his powerful voice was clearly audible. “Kyuubi! You have troubled this village enough! From this day forward, you will be unable to harm anyone!”

[Trinity210]

Chapter 8: The Hero of Konoha

Yondaime stood on Gamabunta’s back, holding Naruto in his arms. Miraculously, Naruto was still asleep, despite the commotion going on all around them. Yondaime thought back to the day he had become Hokage, and remembered the oath he had taken:
“I, Uzumaki Susani, accept the privileges and responsibilities of the Hokage name. I will strive always to protect Konohagakure from harm, and will defend it against all enemies. From this day forward, I will devote my body, heart, mind, and soul to the defense of this place. I will carry the dreams of Shodaime, Nidaime, and Sandaime into the future. Beginning today, I am more than simply a shinobi, more than simply the man known as Uzumaki Susani. Beginning today, I am the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Beginning today, I will serve and protect this village and its people with my life.”
He had always known that he might be required to give his life to defend Konoha. Every shinobi lived with that knowledge every day of their lives. Shodaime and Nidaime had both died in battle, protecting the village from dangerous enemies. Sandaime had risked his life for the village numerous times, and it was only through Tsunade’s medical skill that he was still alive. And on this day, many had given their lives for Konohagakure—Rin (a medical specialist who had trained under Tsunade), Kakashi’s parents, the grandmother of the young Uchiha brothers Yondaime had seen earlier, Iruka’s parents just a few minutes ago, and many others. But Yondaime was burdened with the additional knowledge that it was not only his life he was sacrificing. Naruto would live, but he would have a monster sealed inside him. He would always be different from the other children in the village, and would not know why. One day, he would learn of the vast power that he could call upon, but there would be risks. The power of a youma was nothing to sneeze at, and some youma that were sealed could influence their hosts. There was also the possibility that evil men might covet the power the young boy held inside himself, and seek to steal it for themselves. The decision to do this was not one that Yondaime had made lightly. Yet there seemed no other way to save the village from destruction.
Yondaime raised his head and looked into Kyuubi’s glowing red eyes. “Kyuubi!” he thundered. “You have troubled this village enough! From this day forward, you will be unable to harm anyone!”
Kyuubi laughed. “You are so arrogant, to think that you can possibly defeat me! How can you stop me from doing whatever I want to do, Susani-kun?”
Yondaime bent down and placed Naruto on Gamabunta’s back. Kneeling down beside his son, he formed a long and complex series of seals, so fast that no one—not even Kakashi or the Uchihas with their Sharingan—could follow the movements. Then he bit his thumb, releashing a small amount of blood. He lifted his thumb to his forehead, and wrote the kanji “Sacrifice” there. Then he placed the thumb on Naruto’s forehead and wrote the kanji “Vessel.” Then he stood. “I am the Yondaime Hokage, Uzumaki Susani! I call on the Death God to honor our contract and appear here!”
All those watching gasped and took a step back. Even Kyuubi’s eyes widened in fear. “You fool! The Death God honors no one!”
“You are wrong,” said Yondaime calmly. “I have signed a contract with him, and by the laws that bind all the gods, he must honor it.”
It was a warm summer night, but now the air grew cold and a chilling wind blew. A cloud covered the moon, and everyone present felt the sense of an immense chakra gathering. At Gamabunta’s feet, Kakashi stood with Hyuuga Hizashi and Uchiha Shisui. Suddenly, Shisui and Hizashi both cried out in fear and took a step back, bumping into Gamabunta’s mountainous foot. “What is it?” asked Kakashi.
“Yondaime succeeded in summoning the Death God,” Hizashi breathed, pointing at a spot in the air above Kyuubi.
“You can see it?” Kakashi asked in amazement. According to the old legends, the Death God was invisible to all but those who were about to be taken by him.
Hizashi responded, “Not precisely, but I can see the pattern of his chakra. It’s immense. Compared to the Death God, Kyuubi’s chakra is pathetically weak.”
Kakashi tried to wrap his mind around this. A chakra so powerful that it made Kyuubi seem weak by comparison? “Is that also what you see?” he asked Shisui.
Shisui seemed even more shaken than Hizashi. When he spoke, Kakashi could tell that he was so scared that he had to force himself to talk. “The…the Sharingan can see through all illusions…I can see through the genjutsu that the Death God uses to cloak himself from the sight of ordinary men. It is…the most…terrible thing I have ever seen.” He turned to face Kakashi. “Please, Kakashi-san, don’t look at it.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to—my chakra is too low to use the Sharingan again. But…why has Yondaime summoned the Death God? Does he intend to ask it to fight the Kyuubi?”
Hizashi spoke thoughtfully. “According to legend, a powerful enough shinobi can sign a contract with the Death God, asking him to take an enemy before the person’s natural time. But, to do so, the summoner must give up his life as well.”
“You mean, Yondaime-sama…?” Kakashi realized what Hizashi was implying. Hizashi nodded, and bowed his head. “But what about Naruto-kun? Why did Yondaime-sama bring him here?”
Shisui sighed. “Kyuubi is an extremely powerful youma. It may be that even the Death God cannot kill him without the consent of the other deities, but can only seal him into a mortal form.”
Kakashi gave Shisui a startled look. “Then Yondaime-sama is going to sacrifice his life to seal Kyuubi within Naruto-kun? How will Naruto-kun survive that kind of trauma?”
“A child’s personality and chakra have not solidified into their permanent form yet,” explained Hizashi. “He may be able to adapt to the addition of Kyuubi’s will and chakra much more easily than an adult could.”
“And will Kyuubi affect his personality at all? Will he become as evil as Kyuubi is?”
“No. Some sealing techniques allow the sealed being to have influence over the host, but others act more like a prison, keeping the sealed spirit contained without allowing it to control the host’s body or mind. Yondaime-sama would never use a technique that would allow Kyuubi to corrupt an innocent child,” said Hizashi.
“And what will happen to Yondaime-sama?”
Shisui and Hizashi gave each other a meaningful look. Neither of them spoke for several seconds, then Shisui said hesitantly, “In the original form of the legend, the sealer and the sealed are locked together within the Death God’s being, fighting an eternal struggle. But in this case, Kyuubi is going into Naruto-kun, not the Death God. So it’s possible that Yondaime-sama’s spirit will also be sealed within Naruto-kun. Or Yondaime-sama alone may become part of the Death God. Or Yondaime-sama may simply continue on to the next world as all souls do. It’s impossible to say.”
Together, the three men watched as Yondaime stood proudly before Kyuubi. Of them, only Shisui saw the Death God hovering over Kyuubi. It was, as he had said, a terrible thing to behold: the Death God’s mouth was full of dagger-sharp teeth, in which he clutched a long knife. Horns sprung from under his white hair, and his features were twisted and demonic. He reached out a hand with long, gnarled fingernails and touched Yondaime’s stomach. When he drew his hand back, he held a blue, glowing form within it that conformed to the shape of Yondaime’s body. He pulled Yondaime’s soul out of his body, then used the knife in his teeth to slice it free. Tears trickled down the faces of all those watching as Yondaime’s body crumpled to the ground.
The Death God then turned to Kyuubi, Yondaime’s soul clutched in one hand. With the other, he reached out and encircled Kyuubi’s throat. Kyuubi thrashed and dug his claws into the ground, but he could not resist as the Death God relentlessly pulled him forward, towards the fallen form of Yondaime. As he did so, Kyuubi’s form dissipated, until there was only a shapeless mass of red chakra being forced into the body of the baby who lay on Gamabunta’s back. When almost all of it was inside, the last tendril curled itself around the Death God’s wrist and squeezed, trying to force the deity to relinquish his grip. The Death God’s other hand spasmed open, releasing Yondaime’s soul, and came down to slam the last of Kyuubi into Naruto’s body. The distinctive mark of a seal formed on Naruto’s stomach, forever imprisoning the Kyuubi within him. The Death God reached upward, grasping for Yondaime’s soul, but it was floating out of reach, moving ever higher into the sky above the village. Shisui saw the glowing form receding into the distance, and called out, “YONDAIME-SAMA!” But there was no response—Uzumaki Susani was dead, and his soul had gone on to a place that no living man could guess at.


There's just one more chapter to come. I hope you all are enjoying the story!

[Trinity210]

Well, here's the last (and longest) chapter. I definitely enjoyed writing the story--I got to fit most of my favorite characters into it, and writing the four children was especially fun. Comments are welcome, and I'll be interested to see if the show ever reveals all the details of what actually did happen that day.

Chapter 9: The Secret

Early the next morning, the teams from Sand and Cloud arrived at Konoha. Both teams consisted of several ANBU squads, as well as a number of elite jounin. All were dismayed to learn that they had arrived too late, for Yondaime had been greatly admired by the allies of the Leaf. After greeting the teams, Sandaime was approached by the representative from the Fire Country’s feudal lords. “Sandaime-sama,” he said, “I spoke to Yondaime-sama earlier, and he expressed a wish that you should reclaim the position of Hokage if he did not survive the battle. I…think he knew that such an outcome was likely. I promised him that I would see to it that this was done. If you are willing, the village needs your help to survive the losses it has suffered and to rebuild.”
Sandaime nodded. “If that was the wish of Yondaime-sama, and if it is supported by the people of the Fire Country, I will take up the position of Hokage again.”
“Thank you, Sandaime-sama. I have sent a message to the feudal lords telling them of the events that have occurred. I am sure they will all want to come to the village to pay their respects to Yondaime-sama.”
“Before that, there is something else that must be done. If you please, I could use your help…”
“Anything I can do to help the village recover, I will do gladly, Sandaime-sama.”
“Please gather all the adults of the village, as well as the children Iruka, Mizuki, Anko, and Itachi. There is an important matter to be discussed that concerns all of them. You should come to the meeting as well…I suspect that you will want to tell the feudal lords what is discussed there.”
“I will make the preparations at once, Sandaime-sama.”
A few hours later, the adults of the village, plus the four children whom Sandaime had named, gathered in the village’s meeting hall. Sandaime walked up to the front of the room, and looked at the gathered crowd. He saw sadness and pain on every face—there was no one who had not lost someone close to them in the battle with Kyuubi, and everyone mourned the death of Yondaime. Iruka, Sandaime noticed, seemed particularly upset. He was very pale, and tears were coursing down his face. This was no surprise—both of Iruka’s parents had been killed late in the attack. He stood beside Mizuki, flanked by Mizuki’s parents. One of the most solemn duties Sandaime held in the aftermath of the battle was finding homes for the children who had been orphaned. Mizuki’s parents had immediately volunteered to take Iruka in, as Mizuki and Iruka had been like brothers since they were small. After a few minutes, Anko and Itachi both left their parents’ side and went over to stand beside Iruka. Sandaime nodded approvingly. The bonds of friendship will be a great help to young Iruka as he copes with his grief. It truly is the bonds we form with others that make us strong. Of all Susani’s virtues, the bonds he formed with everyone in this village was the greatest.
“People of Konoha,” Sandaime began. “Today is a sad day for all of us. We have defeated the most powerful enemy we have ever faced, but at an incalculable cost. Those of you who were present on the battlefield know how this victory was achieved. However, there are many of you here who did not witness that event, and I have gathered all of you together to tell you what happened.” The people began whispering among themselves. Some had already heard the story of Yondaime’s sacrifice; others had not, and were wondering what Sandaime was going to tell them. “Yondaime-sama sacrificed his life to defeat Kyuubi, but even such a powerful ninja as he could not kill a youma of that level. All he could do was to permanently seal it inside a mortal body so that it would no longer be free to do harm.” This got everyone’s attention. “The merging of one soul into a body not its own is a traumatic process for both the sealed soul and the host body. Only a child can withstand having such a powerful being sealed into himself. Yondaime-sama could not ask any child but his own to carry such a burden, and so it was his own son, Uzumaki Naruto, into whom he decided to seal Kyuubi.” The crowd fell silent, everyone turning to stare at the tiny baby Kuchikyo held in her arms.
Sandaime continued, “The first question that must be resolved is who will raise Uzumaki Naruto. As you all know, Yondaime-sama had no living relatives. Therefore, I must ask one of you to take this child into your home to be raised as your son.”
Immediately, Kuchikyo stepped forward. “I will raise Uzumaki Naruto,” she said.
Sandaime looked around at the crowd to see if anyone had any objections to this. No one did. Sandaime knew that raising Naruto would be difficult—the sealing had made him fundamentally different from any other child. But Kuchikyo had a great deal of experience with children, and had raised two other orphaned children in the past. She was probably the best equipped to deal with the task of raising such a unique child. “Your willingness to do this is appreciated by all in the village,” he told Kuchikyo. “From this day forward, let Uzumaki Naruto be known as the adopted son of Oruku Kuchikyo.” He paused. “Now…” Sandaime stopped speaking as Hyuuga Hiashi stepped forward from the crowd. Like Gai, he was heavily bandaged and leaning on crutches.
“Sandaime-sama,” he began, “There is a vital question that must be asked. This child, Uzumaki Naruto, has the Kyuubi sealed inside him. But how much of Kyuubi’s will remains intact? Even if Kyuubi cannot physically escape, what is the chance that he will corrupt Naruto, and make him as evil as Kyuubi himself was?” The murmuring of the other citizens indicated that they too had been wondering about this.
“Yondaime-sama sealed Kyuubi into Naruto in such a way that his chakra will give Naruto increased strength. Yet it is only the physical, not the spiritual, aspect of the chakra that is accessible to Naruto in this way. Kyuubi’s will and personality are completely submerged, and will have no influence on Naruto-kun’s development.”
Now the leader of the Uchiha clan stepped forward. “Forgive me Sandaime-sama, but this has never been attempted before. Can you be absolutely sure that Naruto will pose no threat to the village as he grows older?”
Sandaime fixed the Uchiha with an icy gaze. “Yondaime-sama designed the sealing jutsu in such a way that it would make the vessel stronger, but not influence his mind. I trust Yondaime-sama’s judgement and his ability to develop the jutsu correctly.”
The Uchiha and Hiashi both fell silent and stepped back into the crowd, neither one wanting to imply that they did not trust Yondaime’s abilities. Then, Gai stepped forward.
“Did Yondaime-sama say what will happen to the seal when Naruto-kun eventually dies? No one can live forever, and if Naruto-kun becomes a shinobi, his chances of dying young will be increased. Will the seal break when the vessel dies? Was Yondaime-sama only able to earn us a temporary reprieve from Kyuubi?”
Sandaime shook his head. “That is the true genius of the jutsu developed by Yondaime-sama. Over time, the physical chakra of Kyuubi will mix with Naruto-kun’s own, becoming more intimately entwined with his own chakra system. As I said before, this will increase Naruto-kun’s strength. But it will also insure that Kyuubi dies when Naruto-kun does. Although their minds are separate, their bodies are effectively one, and neither will be able to survive without the other.” He looked around. “Now, if there are no more questions, there is one other matter that must be resolved. It would have been Yondaime-sama’s wish that Naruto-kun live as normal a life as possible. The knowledge of what he carries within him would be confusing and frightening to a young child. He might not understand what I have just told you—that he and the Kyuubi are separate beings though they share the same body, that having Kyuubi within him does not make him evil. The misplaced guilt and shame could be too much for a child to cope with. Therefore, no one must tell Naruto-kun that he carries Kyuubi inside him. Do you all understand?” All of them nodded, even Kuchikyo, who ordinarily would not have allowed even a Hokage to interfere with how she raised her children.
“Even more importantly,” continued Sandaime, “it is essential for Naruto-kun’s well-being that he is treated like any other child. Four of our children already know of how Naruto-kun helped Yondaime-sama to save this village; as they witnessed the event, that cannot be avoided. But the other children must not know. They must not be told that Naruto-kun is any different from them. Do all of you understand that?” This time, Sandaime’s proclamation was not greeted with unanimous nods, but with muttering and discussion among the shinobi. No one stepped forward to object, though. Sandaime assumed that this represented reluctant acceptance, until Iruka stepped forward. He swallowed hard, then said nervously, “Sandaime-sama, please excuse me for being rude, but…are you asking us to lie to our friends?”
Sandaime turned to look down at the young boy, who stepped back as though afraid he was about to be reprimanded. Just then, Anko took a deep breath and stepped up next to Iruka. “Sandaime-sama, in the Academy we learned Shinobi Saying #42: ‘A shinobi wins by deceiving his enemies, but you must always be truthful with your allies. Withholding information from a comrade can lead to his death and the failure of your mission.’ Isn’t lying to our comrades a violation of the shinobi way?”
As Sandaime opened his mouth to reply, Itachi also stepped forward. “Sandaime-sama, my father always says that our clan must stick together and be unified. How can we do that if we keep secrets from each other? Someday, Sasuke-kun might ask me about what happened here today—should I lie to my own brother?”
Mizuki now stepped forward as well. “Sandaime-sama, Yondaime-sama gave his life to seal Kyuubi within Naruto-kun. If we lie about that, or keep it secret from the others, isn’t that a slight to his memory?”
To the children’s surprise, Sandaime did not reprimand them, but instead smiled slightly. He knew that many of the adults had misgivings about his edict, but did not wish to question the great Sandaime. Only the children had the courage to speak their minds and voice the objections that many of the others felt as well. Sure enough, now that they had spoken, several of the adults stepped forward. Among them was Uchiha Shisui, who could not quite conceal a proud smile as he glanced at Itachi. “Sandaime-sama, these children are right. Asking us to keep this secret from the young people in our own families would break the unity of the clan. This is even more serious for the Hyuugas, because their branch family is honor-bound not to lie or withhold information from the head family. Eventually a clan heir will be born to Hiashi-san, and for Hizashi-san to conceal this event from that person would break an oath that his family members have taken for hundreds of years.”
Gai had also stepped forward. “What Anko-kun said is also true. This is the most significant event that has happened in decades. For some of the villagers to know of it and others not to represents a division of the village. Plus, the power that Naruto-kun contains could make him a target of evildoers who want that power for themselves. If the villagers do not know of his condition, they will be unable to properly protect him.”
Sandaime had seen many of the villagers nodding as Shisui and Gai spoke. Clearly, many shared their concerns. “All of you have brought up valid points. However, I truly believe that keeping this event secret is in Naruto-kun’s best interest. If the children know how Naruto-kun has been changed, they will treat him differently. They may shun him because they do not yet have the wisdom to understand that having the Kyuubi inside him does not automatically make him evil. As for Gai-san’s concern, the more people who know this secret, the more likely it is that someone will find out who shouldn’t. Secrecy may be the best guard for Naruto-kun until he is old enough to protect himself. Shisui-san, Gai-san…I understand that you are worried about dividing the village or your clans with this secret. But, as I have explained, this is truly for the best. And I remind you that it is only temporary—one day, Naruto-kun will be old enough to understand what has happened here, and at that time there will no longer be a need for secrecy.” Sandaime approached the children and knelt down so that his face was level with theirs. “It is clear to me that although you are young, you already understand much about the way of the shinobi and of Konoha. Under ordinary circumstances, I would never ask you to lie or keep secrets from your friends or your younger siblings. But these are not ordinary circumstances. If Yondaime-sama’s son is to have any chance of having a normal life, he must not know that he is any different from any other child, and he must be treated just as any other child would be. That is what Yondaime-sama would have wanted. It is also what we must do to fulfill our duties as caretakers for this child whom Yondaime-sama entrusted to us.” He stood and faced the entire community once more. “I accept full responsibility for the consequences of this decision. If there is any dishonor that arises from keeping this secret, let it fall on my head and not yours.”
At this, all the villagers nodded and murmured their assent. Sandaime knew that he had convinced them of the necessity of this course of action. Even the four children were nodding solemnly. Slowly, the villagers began to file out, heading back to their individual homes. Iruka walked out with Mizuki’s family, and Anko and Itachi rejoined their own clans. Finally, only Sandaime, Kuchikyo, and Naruto remained in the meeting hall.
“I wish Naruto-kun could have known what great shinobi his parents were,” said Kuchikyo sadly.
“Yes, they were both among the best we had in this village. And as Hokage, Yondaime-sama’s skill surpassed my own, and surpassed even that of Shodaime and Nidaime.”
“I’m worried about him…this village has many children who have lost their parents in one battle or another, but Naruto-kun has the added burden of being different from everyone else. Someday he will have to be told, or will find out on his own, and I wonder how it will affect him to discover that he carries the soul of a monster in his body.”
Sandaime put a hand on Kuchikyo’s shoulder. “Yondaime-sama once told me, ‘The true struggle of any shinobi’s life is not with enemies from other clans or villages, but with the demons that reside in his own heart. Only through facing the difficulties in our pasts and fighting the weaknesses we harbor can we become truly strong.’ Naruto-kun will have to struggle to come to terms with who he is, but when he does, he will gain an understanding of himself that all the training in the world cannot impart. It will make him more than just a great shinobi—it will make him a great man.” With those parting words, he turned and walked out of the meeting hall.
Kuchikyo smiled to herself. As always, Sandaime’s wisdom had put her fears to rest. She carried Naruto-kun out of the meeting hall and into the sunshine. She turned towards the Hokage monument and bowed her head in the direction of the carving of Yondaime. Then she turned away and continued on to her home. On the way, she talked to Naruto, pointing out the features of the village. “Over there is the Ichiraku ramen shop—I eat there a lot. And down that street is the Shinobi Academy—you might be going there someday. You see, Naruto-kun? This is your home. This is Konohagakure, the Hidden Village of the Leaf. And you, Naruto-kun, are the son of its greatest hero.”

[narutoIZZAbest]

wow, really great story! very creative ;)

[Hokage1991]

Thats great!

[the_emerald_king_of_fat]

You make the Kyuubi a lot weaker than I believe he is...

In Tailed-beasts legend, it was stated that the Kyuubi did not weaken in a battle, no matter how long the battle kept on going. It was believed that he fought the Yamata no Orochi (eight-tailed snake) for a hundred years, and that during all that time, the Yamata no Orochi was (slowly but assuredly) weakening and the Kyuubi simply continued to fight without even being slowed the slightest bit down because of chakra exhasution or fatigue...

So I can't really see how the Konoha shinobi would manage to weaken him (hell, even hurt him) in a mere hours when a battle with a fellow tailed beast that lasted for a hundred years left the Kyuubi completely unscatted and still good to go for another century (or twelve)...

Anyways, here is the link to tailed beast legend if you want to read it:
http://forum.narutochaos.com/showthread.php?t=11372&highlight=tailed+beasts

(Good fanfiction by the way)