Senju and Uchiha: The Forest and the Flame

For the first time, again... I don't own Naruto. How you perceive this notice... is up to you.

Just a reminder to those who refused to read my summary, this is Naruto x fem!Sasuke. NOT YAOI. Never Yaoi...

Welcome, one and all to my second story. This story is going to be an AU story, I guess you could say... but not exactly. It's set in the same universe, but the story changes rather drastically because of this first chapter and one tiny event I changed that will be referenced later.

WARNING: I'm just going to note it down here, if I could add 'Drama' to the category I would... since this is going to be a drama-ridden story. The Senju and Uchiha were not meant to get along... just warning y'all before you complain.

That's all I have to say, please enjoy...

Prologue Arc

Chapter 0/Prologue: Before it all Began

-Start-

This is the tale of two clans, one that searches for peace and stability and another that is destined to fall to hatred and seeks out power and war. These clans are the Senju and Uchiha clans, the eternal rivals, descendants of the greatest Shinobi in existence. This tale will show the most recent cycle in their long war... and it all starts with a birth.

They say that birth is a wonderful thing; that it is the beginning of a new tale in the book of life, but how true is this notion? The truth was that a birth could be the most tragic event of a person's life, whether it be because the mother dies during childbirth or... something else...

This birth was something else.

Minato Namikaze – more commonly known as the 'Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage' or the 'Yellow Flash' – was a smart and very powerful man. His wife, Kushina Uzumaki – also known by the title 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero' – was a great Shinobi in her own right, being the descendant of one of the more powerful clans in history. It was not publicly known that these two were a couple, for their child's safety.

Yes, the two were expecting a child and Kushina was well into her pregnancy. It was October 10th when the baby was finally ready to be born and Minato – as Hokage – was forced to have Kushina bear her child far outside the city for safety reasons. These reasons were simple, Kushina was not only his wife and her life could easily be put at risk if his enemies were to learn of the pregnancy... but she was also the Kyūbi (Nine-Tails) Jinchūriki.

It wasn't publicly known that she was a Jinchūriki either, since Konoha – under the rule of the Sandaime (Third) and later the Yondaime Hokage – wasn't one of the villages that thought of their Jinchūriki as mere Shinobi instruments; as tools to be used to better their military standing. In hindsight, that was foolish since the Kyūbi was the strongest Bijū by a large margin... but no matter.

They were already aware that the child was a boy, and they knew they were going to name him Naruto. It wasn't a normal name, being influenced by a novel written by Jiraiya of the Sannin, but it fit the bill quite nicely so the happy parents were adamant that they use it.

Minato went ahead of Kushina to prepare the birthing area which was a notable distance away from Konoha which wasn't really good considering Kushina was nine months pregnant, but alas sacrifices (and mistakes) were made. Biwako Sarutobi – the wife of Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Sandaime – was escorting our red haired soon-to-be mother to the birthing area.

The two parents were still pretty young, in their early to mid twenties at maximum. It was rather a shock when Minato was appointed Hokage so early in his life, but his skill made him deserving of such things. He was also very clever and perceptive, unlike his wife who was wild and emotional... a person who's anger was feared across the village.

Kushina was just about the last Uzumaki left alive to the knowledge of the public, and very few even remembered who the Uzumaki Clan were. Due to this, she secretly hoped that he would inherit the clan's signature red hair, so that he could carry on their legacy and hopeful help bring the clan back to glory once more.

That was all conjecture, however and Kushina in quite the rush. She wouldn't publicly state it, but she was fearful of childbirth since it was notoriously painful. That didn't dampen her excitement though, since she probably couldn't have been more ecstatic.

She then noticed her best friend, Mikoto Uchiha on the way past. Despite the average attitude of the Uchiha Clan – which was overconfidence and 'coolness' – Mikoto and Kushina got along well, but the two hadn't seen each other since a little time before Mikoto gave birth to her second child.

"Oh my, was it a girl?" Kushina asked with enthusiasm, the baby in her friend's arms getting her even more excited. Mikoto smiled genuinely at the question as she looked down at the child.

"Yes, it's a girl" Mikoto replied with a small chuckle at her friend's attitude. Kushina lowered herself closer to the baby's face before closing her eyes with a bright smile.

"Oh she's so cute! What's her name?" The red head questioned, using a silly tone while looking right at the little girl's face. Mikoto looked down at the baby again as it was brought up.

"It's Satsuki." The Uchiha woman answered warmly, as Biwako came over with a puzzled look on her face – not that Kushina noticed, too taken with the child.

"That's an unusual name." The older woman stated inquisitively, obviously prodding for the reason for the name. Mikoto tilted her head slightly with an even face.

"We were originally expecting a boy, so we were planning the name to be Sasuke, after Sasuke Sarutobi... but when we learned we were having a girl, we changed the name but kept it similar." She answered plainly, obviously not that enthusiastic about having to explain the name of her child to the woman.

"Well, maybe it'll grant the child some luck in her future." Biwako stated wisely, as Mikoto flashed her a small smile of gratitude. It then occurred to Mikoto that she may have overlooked something.

"You'll be giving birth soon too, right Kushina?" The raven haired woman said, as Kushina hummed in acknowledgement. "...you should pick a name in advance." She advised kindly, but Kushina just raised a finger with a large smile.

"I already have, his name will be Naruto..." Kushina said warmly, before lightly ruffling Satsuki's head. "You'll be classmates Satsuki-chan, so I hope you get along." She stated, making the other two women smile at her. Kushina then leaned close to Mikoto before placing her hand to the side of her mouth – facing Biwako – to stop the other woman hearing her.

"By the way, does it really hurt?" The red-head whispered gravely, with a clearly unenthusiastic look on her face. Mikoto smiled somewhat nervously, finding her friend's worry somewhat ridiculous.

"So there is something that scares you, Kushina! I'm surprised!" Mikoto retorted jokingly, before Kushina was dragged away by Biwako against her will. Mikoto smiled while looking down at her daughter, with one last thought running through her mind.

'I hope they do get along.'

-At the Birthing Site-

Naturally Kushina was dreading the actual act of giving birth, but that still didn't exactly prepare her for the event...

"It hurts Dattebane!" She exclaimed in pain as the birth neared, with Minato being stood over her ensuring her seal didn't break while Biwako and the other mid-wives were working on... well, the birth itself.

"I've never seen Kushina-chan in so much pain..." Minato said worriedly, since he was naturally concerned for the woman that he loved being in what seemed like agony. "...is she... all right?" He said nervously, making Biwako glare at him.

"She's all right! Never mind that, just stay focused on the Kyūbi's seal!" The woman ordered. Despite the fact that Minato was the Hokage nobody bothered to tell her off, so she was obviously in charge of the situation.

"But... she's..." The blond man started somewhat meekly, making Biwako glare at him once more.

"You are the Yondaime Hokage! Act like it!" She ordered and – again – received no repercussion from the action, before looking back to Kushina's crotch... for medical reasons. "...A man would've dropped dead from such pain long ago... but women are strong!" She asserted confidently, having experienced it herself.

While Minato's hands were firmly placed upon Kushina's stomach – where her seal was located – he couldn't help but notice the... lack of resistance from the Kyūbi. Apparently a female Jinchūriki's seal was meant to weaken during childbirth, but very little weakening was actually happening. In fact, the beast's chakra seemed almost... calm.

'What's going on?' Minato thought to himself with furrowed brows. '...I was told that the seal was meant to be weakening a lot right now, to the point where it would break if I wasn't stabilizing it... but nothing is happening...' He continued, trying to discern exactly what was going on.

There were a few reasons for a Bijū to be unresponsive in situations like this, one of them being Kushina's chakra on its own. Her chakra chains were fully capable of stopping the Kyūbi in its tracks, while other things like the Mokuton (Wood Release) or Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye) were capable of fully subduing one. There were probably other methods, but he wasn't aware of them.

So the real question in mind is what exactly was causing the Kyūbi to be so unresponsive right now? It couldn't be Kushina, since her chakra was too... unfocused at the moment and he doubted it was the Sharingan or the Mokuton since there were no Uchiha Clan members present and the Mokuton hadn't been seen since the Shodaime (First) Hokage.

'It's not important right now... this is a blessing if anything! Just hang in there, Kushina-chan.' The man thought to himself as he looked over at Biwako and Kushina before finally settling on her stomach. "...hang in there, Naruto!" He seemingly ordered, though it was more for his own and Kushina's benefit than for Naruto.

Minato wasn't nearly as strained as Kushina was, since her seal seemed to be handled by whatever strange force was suppressing the Kyūbi. He vaguely picked up Biwako mentioning the head was out, so he shook his head as Kushina let out another pained cry, before a distinctly child-like cry filled his ears.

He widened his eyes as the cries continued, as Kushina quickly took a few breaths of relief that the birth was over as a tear rolled from her eye in joy that Naruto – her son – was now born. Minato then let out a laugh of joy as he wiped his own eyes with his sleeve, exclaiming that his son was now born. Biwako quickly chastised him – for seemingly the hundredth time that day – for attempting to see the child before Kushina.

As the child was brought before her, she saw several distinct traits about him. Despite just being born he had a noteworthy level of hair on his head, all of it red to her liking (not that she'd tell Minato that) and 3 black, whisker-like marks on each cheek. He also had very bright, blue eyes like his father... so they each had something reflected in the child.

"Hey Naruto..." Kushina said a little weakly, but with no small measure of affection. "...I finally get to see you." She stated happily, before Biwako raised the baby boy back up so she could carry him off, saying that they could see him later... but Kushina didn't really hear any of it, too overjoyed that her child was now with them, that she had a baby of her own... it was a riveting thought.

While things were happening around her, Minato placed his hand upon her own while flashing her a concerned but very appreciative smile.

"Are you alright, Kushina?" Her lover asked, as she gave a convincing yes. "...Kushina I... thank you." He added affectionately, as Kushina took on a look of appreciation and adoration. It was always so comforting to know Minato appreciated her and her efforts so much.

Sadly the moment was ruined as a loud scream echoed from the side, as the two looked to see Biwako and the other mid-wife fall to the ground while a man with a yellow mask, decorated with a black flame pattern, held Naruto in a very threatening pose.

"Yondaime Hokage. Step away from the Jinchūiki..." The man ordered, as Minato and Kushina inwardly had a heart attack. "...or this child will die in its first hour of life." He continued, as Minato forced himself to relax for Naruto's sake. This really wasn't a good situation for anyone involved... especially not the mid-wives.

The first few thoughts raging in Minato's sharp mind were how the man managed to get past their defences, who he was and why he wanted Kushina as a Jinchūiki... and on this day of all days. It was far too suspicious that anyone could know that she was a Jinchūiki, that this was her delivery day and that they'd be here of all places. Who could he be?

As Minato looked over at Kushina – seeing that she was still mostly fine – the man pulled out a Kunai and held it uncomfortably close to Naruto, making Minato and Kushina panic... as their first reaction anyway.

"Wait a second! Just calm down!" Minato urged, not being able to think remotely straight in this situation. His newborn son was being threatened with death by a man who had the advantage in all aspects... there was little deducing to be done, this wasn't good.

"I am as calm as the ocean on a fair day... you on the other hand..." The masked man stated, as he threw Naruto up into the air before jumping after him intending to kill him.

"NARUTO!" Kushina shouted in panic, not being able to do anything since she was significantly weakened after delivering a child in the last 10 minutes.

Minato then quickly sped past and grabbed Naruto before coming to a stop, while Kushina let out a sigh of relief. The masked man let out a small chuckle as paper bombs flickered to life on Naruto's wrapping.

"Minato!" Kushina shouted, as he noticed the bombs on the wrapping and promptly threw it away before disappearing in a yellow flash. Kushina resorted to a mixture of glaring and cowering in return to the masked man's presence in the room... alone with her. She had heard what he said, and it certainly couldn't be good news if he was after her because she was a Jinchūiki.

The man casually stared at her for a few seconds before walking towards her at a rather agonizing pace. Kushina wasn't sure if she was refusing or simply too concerned to speak, since her mind was hardly on a steady level at the moment.

The man then grabbed her arm, before seemingly coming to a surprised stop as though he saw something he didn't expect. He let out a rather furious sounding growl before turning to Kushina, a fully matured Sharingan spinning in the singular hole of his mask. Kushina gulped instinctively, but noticed there was no incoming Genjutsu... the tomoe shapes seemed to be spinning out of rage alone.

"Why isn't your seal damaged?!" The man shouted at her, as she recoiled in a mixture of surprise and worry. She was very surprised that her seal wasn't damaged, at least not to a degree this man deemed 'acceptable'. She was worried that he seemed ready to kill her in the next few moments if something didn't happen to his benefit.

The man obviously took Kushina's silence as an act of defiance, since he growled once more before grabbing her and seemingly absorbing her into his eye. Minato was busy ensuring Naruto's safety, hiding him away in their residence, so he could not help out for the moment. All Kushina knew, was that this probably wasn't going to end well.

Another unimpressive location is where the man reappeared, before unceremoniously releasing and dropping Kushina to the ground. It wasn't that the location wasn't nice, it was just unimportant and seemingly useless in the grand scheme of things. When the man began to raise Kushina's top, she began to get a very uncomfortable image... but quickly noticed that he stopped once her seal was easily visible.

"What are you... doing?" Kushina asked with noticeable difficulty. Generally after childbirth a mother was expected to rest, but she was doing the opposite. It wasn't exactly good for her body. The man let out a snort of derision before replying.

"Since your seal is somehow in one piece... I'll need to change my plans." The man replied, obviously unhappy with the surprise that Kushina wasn't going to be easy prey after her birthing for whatever twisted plan he had with the Kyūbi.

The man placed a hand atop her seal and placed the other in a one-handed seal. Kushina could feel the seal reacting quite violently to the invading technique or chakra, since she began to feel the Kyūbi growing very restless within her. It wasn't often that she'd have to deal with the Kyūbi since she did a rather good job suppressing it on her own, but there were exceptions to that theme.

'Yes, that's it...' The man thought with sick satisfaction as the seal began to become damaged; the stability and longevity of the sealing matrix lessening as the moments rolled by.

"What do you want with the Kyūbi?!" Kushina shouted with both anger and agony, she was not very adapted to the chakra of the Kyūbi since she rarely had it invade her chakra system so this new influx of the beast's chakra was causing her significant pain.

"I'm going to release it... and use it to destroy Konoha." He replied darkly, as his singular Sharingan seemed to glow menacingly in response to the statement. Kushina couldn't believe what she was hearing, such a specific plan would've taken a lot of planning... simply discovering her identity as the Kyūbi Jinchūriki would've been hard enough.

"What?!" She replied in shock, in disbelief that this lone man was plotting to destroy a whole village single handedly. She had to admit that – in theory – the Uchiha were perfect for such a task since a subjugated Kyūbi would be an undeniable asset, but it seemed ludicrous for him to get away with it.

The man made no obvious response to her shocked and angered statement, too busy continuing to degrade her seal so that he could accomplish his maniacal plan.

"Minato's teleporation technique is quite fearsome... allowing him to move between any location bearing his seal formula. He even placed one on the Kyūbi's seal... for your protection." The man stated for no obviously reason, bringing it up out of the blue. 'For that reason... I need to hurry...' He thought. He wasn't stupid, he knew Minato could stop his plans if the man really tried, but he was confident he could get away with it if-

His thoughts were cut off as he felt a presence behind him, before a Kunai literally went through his face. He then jumped to the side to see Minato standing over Kushina with a mixture of bewilderment and seriousness. It couldn't be easy to accept that someone could become fully intangible.

"Trust you to interfere, Minato... though I suppose you aren't feared as the Yellow Flash for nothing..." The man stated with obvious irritation, his plan steadily falling apart. If the seal had been weakened like he'd been sure of, then this wouldn't be happening! He'd managed to manually weaken it to an irreparable point, but not enough that the Kyūbi would be released anytime soon.

Minato simply took to glaring at the man while Kushina lay on the floor, still exhausted. She was beginning to feel some strength return to her body though, and decided that it would be a good idea to wait for a moment to retreat or something... else. Minato would undoubtedly take it upon himself to defeat this masked man, so that wasn't exactly a huge problem... but they had no idea the true strength he possessed... and how could he become intangible? Certainly such a thing was impossible!

Suddenly and without pause, the man dashed at Minato with surprising speed. Minato threw one of his signature three-pronged Kunai at the man and it once again went straight through him. Pulling out another one, Minato stabbed at the man and went through him. The man then grabbed Minato and began sucking him into some sort of vortex in his eye. Minato's eyes widened before he teleported to the Kunai he threw through him at the beginning, as the man turned to face him.

'He can make himself completely intangible when I strike, and yet he becomes physical to strike back. He's also capable of absorbing someone... or sending them somewhere through contact... who is he?' Minato thought to himself as the man let out a small laugh. Kushina had moved a small distance away to avoid being caught in the crossfire, but was feeling the damage on the seal.

"You're quick, Yondaime... a more elusive foe probably does not exist." The man said, as he dropped a chain out of his sleeve before attaching it to each of his wrists via small bracelet like sections on each end of the chain. Minato stared at the man closely, looking for any obvious weaknesses as the man pulled down his hood.

"Why are you here? What do you want with the Kyūbi?" Minato asked, his stance becoming more serious as he prepared for another attack. The man was obviously sure he could do something to the beast to make it follow him and he was an Uchiha, which could only mean...

"I wish to use it to destroy Konoha... I guess you could say I simply want the village gone." He replied vaguely, his Sharingan once again simply staring right at Minato while it began to shine darkly.

"As Hokage, I can't allow that." Minato said confidently as the man dashed at him again, this time accompanied by the chain flailing in a seemingly useless fashion behind him. Minato threw another Kunai at the man as he formed a Rasengan in his hand. The man reached out at the same time and was just about to make contact as he seemed to eye smile. 'I win...' He thought, before Minato disappeared.

He then felt a powerful blow slam into the back of him which caused him to fall the ground as the earth shook from the force and damage. He let out a grunt of pain as Minato jumped back, before he stood up, one of his arms melting from the damage into a white gooey substance.

'He used that Kunai to teleport behind me... damn you Minato...' The man seethed in his mind as he realised his plan had little chance of success at this point. He growled angrily as Minato seemed to stand victoriously.

"Your plans end here... face it, you've lost." Minato said with certainty, as the masked man growled at him but remained otherwise still. Letting out a sigh, he locked eyes with the blond man.

"You win this time Minato... but the Kyūbi WILL be mine, there are plenty of ways for me to do so." He said, before he began to absorb himself into his own eye which was an unusual sight. He then felt a surge of pain and the absorption stopped prematurely. He looked down to see a distinct golden chain impaled through his chest.

"N-no! I forgot... about her...!" The man shouted, as he dropped to his knees. Kushina walked out into the clearing slowly as she retracted her chain back into nothingness. Minato promptly walked up to the masked man before stopping and staring the man in the eye as he fell to the ground, dead.

"Nice work, Kushina-chan." Minato said warmly, though the situation had him worried more than a few times. Fortunately he was the strongest person in Konoha – or maybe second strongest, since the Sandaime wasn't known as the God of Shinobi for nothing – so the man wasn't able to succeed in his crazed plan.

He bent down to take off the man's mask and when he did, he couldn't help but notice the man was familiar to him. He didn't know many Uchiha clan members personally, especially none with one side of their face significantly scarred... it was strangely familiar to the tale Kakashi told him of how his Uchiha student died...

"Obito?!" Minato exclaimed in shock as he looked down at the very familiar face of his once thought dead student. It was undeniable, if Kakashi was to be believed his body was completely crushed on one side, and on that side was the arm that fell apart and the same side where his remaining Sharingan eye was located. It was simply too similar to disclaim.

Kushina looked on sadly as her husband looked at his fallen student. The death of Obito – and later Rin – had hit him far harder than he'd let on publicly. He was a strong Shinobi who was in charge of his emotions, so he could keep them hidden if necessary... but seeing his student trying to do something like this was a hard pill to swallow.

Minato looked down with a said frown after he got over the initial shock. How his old student not only survived but became the man in front of him was beyond his imagination... why wouldn't he have returned to the village? Why did he seek its destruction? So many thoughts and possibilities that would now never be explained...

"Minato-kun..." Kushina said quietly, not sure how he felt. What she wanted to say was important though, and it couldn't wait. When he turned his attention to her she knew that he had remembered what had just happened.

"Kushina-chan! Are you alright? Did he... do anything?" Minato asked quickly and concernedly, making Kushina feel the need to laugh at his overprotective attitude. She didn't laugh though, since Obito did do something quite bad...

"I'm fine... for now. He damaged my seal, I don't think it can be repaired." She said with fear in her tone. It wasn't common knowledge, but most Jinchūriki knew the fate that preceded them if their Bijū were to be released or extracted from within them. Minato looked on with shock as he registered what the problem was.

"Then... what do we-" Minato started, unsure what needed to be done in this situation. Kushina smiled unconvincingly as she covered his mouth with one of her hands to cut him off mid-sentence.

"I'll probably need to transfer the Kyūbi to someone else." The red-haired woman said strongly, but she certainly wasn't feeling confident about it. She didn't wish to die; to leave her son without a mother... there was the possibility she could live due to her Uzumaki heritage, assuming she received proper medical care, but there was the undeniable possibility that transferring the Kyūbi would kill her.

"Are you... sure about this?" The blond man asked neutrally, trying not to let his emotions rage free since he was all but certain he'd become very illogical and try to talk her out of it, which would be a terrible idea since she'd end up dying when the Kyūbi broke free anyway.

"It's the only option, if I don't transfer it the Kyūbi will be released. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but eventually." Kushina stated surely, since it was unavoidable. Minato couldn't help but nod at her logic, finding it a little funny that she was acting the most level-headed of the two of them.

"But who would you transfer it into?" Minato asked, unsure of who they could use. "...the only person I can think of... is... is..." He continued, before realising that the only readily available and suitable candidate would be...

"Naruto..." Kushina muttered lowly.

A thick silence is what invaded the atmosphere after the proclamation, since the two parents were faced with the almost impossible action of turning their own flesh and blood child into the container of a dangerous monster. It was certainly not an action either of them would've liked to choose. Minato looked at Obito one last time before shaking his head.

"Then I guess that's the answer..." He replied, while the two of them had the decency to look remorseful of the action they were about to take. Minato just prayed to Kami that Kushina would survive. Grabbing a hold of Kushina, they both disappeared in a yellow flash.

-Minato and Kushina's Home-

Minato and Kushina appeared a split second later at their home, greeted with the sound of a crying child. They both felt joy surge within them as they heard it, despite their situation. They'd both been so ecstatic to know that they would become parents, it was just the best thing that could've happened to them... and for it all to be potentially ruined was heartbreaking.

Looking over at Kushina, Minato could tell she wasn't at 100%, but she was obviously trying to downplay it to not appear weak. She was a self reliant person, for the most part... always being tough and actually quite dominant, which was part of the reason people could be so afraid of inciting her anger. That didn't mean that Minato let her get away with foolishness though.

"If you're not fit to do this, we can wait a little while... your chances are frightening enough as it is." The blond said comfortingly, not wanting Kushina to risk her life more than she already was. She gave him a small smile before shaking her head, obviously not willing to follow that course of action.

"I don't know if I can wait... I don't exactly know how damaged my seal is, since Obito didn't do it in a very skilled way." Kushina replied, her knowledge of Fūinjutsu coming in handy since she could tell straight away that Obito was just doing the best that he could to damage the seal without any sort of method.

Minato ran a hand through his hair in annoyance, it was hard for him to be angry at Obito since he had no idea what the boy had been through since his 'death'... but he did attempt to kill both Kushina and Naruto, so he definitely wasn't just going to ignore it.

Wordlessly accepting her logic he walked over to the bed that Naruto was currently in with her at his side, before Kushina scooped him up and a small tear silently fell down her cheek. She would absolutely hate herself if she died transferring the Kyūbi into him, since not only would she be burdening him – for his whole life, for that matter – but also ridding him of his mother.

Minato gave himself a few second to breath before summoning a small sealing altar, while Kushina placed him down atop it. He then used the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style) to create a powerful sealing matrix for the Kyūbi to be sealed into. For the moment, the seal remained empty... but that would all be rectified shortly.

"We should go to the hospital for this." Minato said, his tone not giving her much room for argument. The logic wasn't exactly difficult to perceive, since a hospital would have an abundance of medic-nin that could stand in waiting for Kushina to transfer the Kyūbi before moving in to attempt to stabilize her.

"OK... let's go." Kushina replied quietly, looking terrified at having to face her own mortality. There was a reason Jinchūriki were carefully selected, because they were not intended to be switched until their lives were over.

Once more, the duo disappeared in a yellow flash, a crying red haired baby along with them.

-At the Hospital-

Minato was an intelligent and predictive person, which was why he had market all important locations in Konoha with his Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) seals. Now was one of the few times he actually used them, since daily life seemed awfully dull when you could get your daily tasks done in a quarter of the time.

The two appeared a brisk walk away from the hospital and quickly made their way to it, Kushina carrying Naruto and Minato ensuring she didn't push herself too much. Once arriving inside they quickly became the centre of attention, with everyone looking on with obvious shock at the child in their possession.

"Are they together?"

"Hokage-sama has a child?!"

"I bet he's just helping her out!"

"He's so hot!"

Many comments like these – and many others – were quickly shot around the room as Minato looked on with a mixture of embarrassment and slight annoyance at their very nosy attitudes. It could be forgiven, since he was – by all accounts – a very popular Hokage and leader to the village.

Ignoring most of the attention they were getting, the two walked up to the front desk like anybody else – breaking the receptionist out of her reverie. She quickly straightened out her stance to a rather laughable proportion, but Minato wasn't planning on laughing anytime soon.

"I'm going to need a few highly experienced medic-nin and a private room, quickly if you don't mind." Minato said with authority but also respectfully, in a way that didn't seem to fit the village leader while talking to a mere hospital staff member. She nodded rigidly before speaking.

"O-of course, Hokage-sama!" The receptionist said, as she walked off before ushering them to follow her. After a small walk – and up a few flights of stairs – they arrived at a secretive room, which was at the end of a hall and was quite out of the way. She lead them in before dashing off to find a few staff members.

Minato then lay Kushina down to a bed, giving her the most convincing smile he could before the requested medic-nin arrived. Minato let out a cough before straightening out, getting into what he liked to call 'Hokage mode'.

"I bet you're all wondering what I called you here for..." Minato started, earning a few nods and a yes or two. "...what I'm about to say will not leave this room, understood?" He continued, as they all nodded once more, realising that this was far more important than they were led to believe.

"Alright... Kushina here is the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, but her seal was damaged earlier today after an incident with my son's birth..." He started, earning a few gasps as he mentioned his son, which could only have meant she was also the mother. The fact that she was a Jinchūriki was probably the least shocking thing he said. "...therefore, she needs to transfer it to another person... who will be my son. The transference could kill her... so I need you all to do your best to keep her alive. Are you all capable of doing this?" Minato continued, finishing with a serious question.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" They all chorused together confidently, secretly easing Minato's nerves quite a bit. He walked to Kushina's side before placing his hand on her own to comfort her. She nodded at him, before placing her own hand on Naruto's stomach – where the seal was placed – before a red mass erupted from her hand and was slowly drained into him.

She quickly felt weakened by the action, as Minato took Naruto off her and directed the medical staff to move on her while he watched with an even face. It wasn't that he wasn't worried, it was quite the opposite, but he knew if he showed his feelings he may cry in front of numerous people... which wasn't good as the Hokage.

As a non medic-nin he had no clue how things were going, but based simply off the rather frantic running around the doctors and whatnot were doing he could tell that this wasn't a simple procedure and it wasn't exactly going well. As if he could sense what was going on, Naruto began to cry while Minato attempted to soothe him.

At some point, Kushina had lost consciousness and the medic-nin began working at a much faster pace and as the minutes turned to hours, Minato wasn't sure what to think. When all the medics came to a sudden stop, all looking tired but otherwise fine, he felt like things might have worked out.

"She's stable... Hokage...sama." One of the medics breathed out tiredly, as a large smile broke out across Minato's face before he walked over and placed Naruto at Kushina's side, knowing that having him with her would probably benefit her in some small way.

"Thank you all... so much." Minato said joyously, as they all smiled at the gratitude and joy in his voice. "...can anyone report her condition?" He added, now acting far more seriously. One of the medics cleared his throat as the attention shifted to him.

"She's undergone a lot of stress... and her chakra system is badly damaged by the removal of the Kyūbi... besides that, she should be fine. We repaired the chakra network as much as possible, but she may not be capable of Shinobi duties for a while. We recommend she not perform any strenuous activity." The man said professionally, as Minato nodded at the analysis. It was comforting to know she didn't have any long term side effects, and not being able to do Shinobi related duties wasn't so bad since she would need to look after Naruto anyway... not that he wouldn't help, it was just that he had Hokage related duties.

"Thank you. You're all dismissed, I'm very grateful for your efforts..." Minato said, before remembering something. "...but remember: none of this leaves this room... not the exact details anyway, you can make a sort of alibi; tell people Kushina was experiencing post-birth issues." He added, as they all nodded before making their way out, though many shot another look at Naruto and let out an aww.

Once they were all gone, Minato let out a long breath and collapsed into a seat beside the bed. It had been a long day, but they'd all made it... and now they were a family.

Life... was looking good.

-End-

Yep, Naruto is now a red-head. Why? 'Cause he should be, that's why! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go pout about the lack of logic in regards to certain features of the Naruto universe...

Hope you guys enjoyed it, all the key features were explored. The 'strange' suppression of the Kyūbi, Sasuke being a girl, Naruto being a red-head and Obito being... dead. Huh, that rhymed... in a very morbid way. I realise Obito's death may seem... rushed, but it was a necessary evil.

I hope you all enjoyed the first (technically not the first, but whatever) chapter of 'Senju and Uchiha: The Forest and the Flame' because I'm looking forward to writing this story! It's gonna be wild!

Right! Tell me if there are any glaring issues, I'm open to criticisms here guys (assuming they're constructive). I ask that you all please remember to review/favourite/follow (or maybe all three ;3) and have a great day!

For the first time, again...

LiamMorg. Out.

Ja Ne!