CH1 Prolouge

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Fire Shadow, a man well into his mid-life was sitting in the chair of his reinstated position as leader of the Village Hidden in the Leafs. He was clad in the traditional robes of the village leader, made from light fabrics but handing off him with the weight of chain mail. These robes felt so much heavier than even that now, with every passing second seeming to add new links of weight to them.

He had served his time as leader not so long ago, his position was in the hands of a new, better, younger, fitter and brighter leader only a few hours ago. The village had a new face to look upon to guide them into a better future, god knew this village needed it after everything it has endured throughout the years. A new idol to inspire hope and that is what they had with the Fourth Fire Shadow, but not anymore.

That bright fire was prematurely choked out this very night.

Hiruzen felt a strong breeze push past him, stealing him from his thoughts. He looked over to where the breeze came from and looked out to the west of the village through the huge, gaping, jagged hole in the side of the Hokage building. Through it, he looked into the night of the village, out to all the destruction left from the attack.

The sight made him sigh, the noise horse and heavy as he fell back into his seat. The chair was new and not the one he previously used, unlike the desk that had been here since the village was founded barely even 90 years ago.

So much had happened in such little time, his wife had left to go and deliver a baby, a very special baby. Then a few hours later, in the black of night it arrived, the Kyubbi, the Nine-Tailed Fox, the absolute embodiment of power and destruction. He had thought the fourth had it under control, that it couldn't get out not while he was there to contain it.

Seemed he was wrong, very wrong.

Hiruzen learned not an hour ago that ANBU found the midwives that were assigned to deliver the very special child, all of them dead, including his wife. Hearing that had immediately made the new widow want some privacy. Though in fact, he wasn't alone, it was funny really that the last baby his wife would help deliver would find it's way into his care.

He turned his gaze down to the child. Wrapped in white fabric, little chubby cheeks lined with a pair of evenly spaced out whisker marks, short tuffs of spiky blonde hair growing from its head along with closed eyes that hid big blue eyes from the world. He was certainly cute, so pure, so innocent which only made one fact harder to face.

A burden had been placed on this young child. The Nine-Tails was a fearsome creature, a force of nature and something unkillable for the fact after death it will eventually return. Knowing this the fourth made a choice and decided that it needed to be resealed away, if not it would have meant they end of the village. The process of sealing cost the Fourth his life, hence why Hiruzen was now leader yet again.

And of where the beast was now, it was in Hiruzen's arms, imprisoned within this little boy, inside a seal that the Fourth gave his life to craft.

Hiruzen looked at the time, the clock on the wall having barely scraped past destruction. He was due for a council meeting in a few minutes to decide the villages next actions against the after math of this enormous post-crisis. Hiruzen closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath, trying to dust off the Hokage inside him that was so eager to have gone into rest shortly after his passing of the mantel.

After a minute of doing this he stood up, the child began to stir "shhh, shhh little Naruto no need to wake up now" his words seemed to have worked magic because the now named Naruto did cease squirming. Hiruzen smiled in satisfaction.

The Third left his office for the council room.

Before the meeting he had an announcement to make and he wondered how it would go.

Awful! Absolutely awful! He silently cursed the Fourth for leaving him with such a request! Everyone was soaked in too much grief and heart break to deal with such news like this, but it was his last request so he had to fulfill it.

Next was the meeting, he wondered how that would go.

Surprisingly well! A little extra explanation here and there and people were willing to accept how things were with the boy and they could all move onto what had to be done with the village. Everyone didn't seem very up to the task of reinforcing the village but after a word on how this world will take advantage of any chip in their armor and the clarification that there where many in ours people seemed ready to get to work and push aside their grief for the time being. Hiruzen could only thank them for this.

After the meet concluded Hiruzen began making his exit, during the meetings plans had been arranged to have little Naruto sent off to an orphanage. One where the boy could have a normal childhood and choose weather or not he even wanted to become a Shinobi. Hiruzen had one in mind, a home run by an old retired Jonin who is aware of people in Naruto's shoes. The Third knew that she wouldn't treat him any different from the other children in her care.

As Hiruzen was making his way to the exit he stopped at sensing a familiar stare "what is it Danzo?"

From shadows that didn't exist stepped out a man of similar age to the Hokage, his face half covered in bandages, one arm cradled in a fabric arm sling, a cane in the other and an X scar on his chin. His face was unreadable, his thoughts hidden but his aura though gave away that whatever they were they couldn't be pleasant. Danzo looked at Hiruzen, then to the baby in his arms and pointed at with his cane "we wouldn't have a new container right now if it wasn't for the Uchiha".

Hiruzen said nothing to this.

But Danzo had plenty "Hiruzen you and me both know that the Kyubbi appearing in the middle of the village can only me one thing, another one of them has done it! Another one has figured out how to control the Kyubbi, just like Madara!"

Hiruzen fully turned to face his equal in age, a disapproving frown on his face "there is no proof to suggest that the Uchiha had anything to do with this attack!"

Danzo's grip on his cane tightened, the sound of wood being pressed could be heard "what more proof do we need, it was clearly summoned into the village, there is only one power that could subjugate it enough so that it could be summoned like a pet! Don't be a fool Hiruzen, if we don't do something it could happen again, we must deal with the-"

"Enough!" said the Third, cutting Danzo short, everything about him brimmed with irritation and annoyance even if the facts were there. But right now, he was tired and he needed time to think this all over, even if he didn't want to believe it for the safety of the village he may have to suspect that maybe the Uchiha did have something to do with this. But he will not do it with bias like Danzo would!

Danzo frowned at Hiruzen cutting him off like that.

Hiruzen breathed a sigh "we will discuss this tomorrow, Danzo, but not tonight, okay?"

The way the man looked at him with that one closed eye told Hiruzen that it was not! But he nodded anyway "very well, Hiruzen" and with that Danzo turned around and walked off "but we mustn't idle about for too long, or who knows what the Uchiha may pull next"

Hiruzen groaned at Danzo's paranoia, if you listened to it for too long it becomes infections. Hiruzen feared that it may already be doing that to him, given the fact that he was willing to discuss it with Danzo tomorrow.

Hiruzen began his trek back home to his clan compound uninterrupted for the most part, most people off taking care of whatever they needed to do in order to start getting back on their feet.

His clan compound, for the most part, escaped damage, the left half of the house was collapsed but the rest was fine. Hiruzen made his way up the stairs to his bedroom; sadly just his alone now and set up a crib pulled from storage. Before setting Naruto to rest, he decided he needed a nappy so removed his bundle wrapping.

It was there it could be seen, The Seal! The only thing between the village and the unlimited wrath of the Kyubbi

It looked like nothing but a fancy drawing on the belly of the little baby but to the eyes of Hiruzen the thing might as well have been all the worlds hardest puzzles, mixed with locks which needed keys that where insides the other safes in order to unlock, hidden behind a wall, that was surrounded by a cannel that you could only pass if you knew how to mix three dead languages together to make a single sentence. So yeah it was a piece of work, a master piece in the old man's option.

Its design just looked like some fancy drawing, a spiral in the center of the boy's belly encircled by scribbles, some lines going out in narrow lines. Though Hiruzen did find something wasn't their before in the original description of this seal. Nine magatamas laying perfectly spaced out between the spiral and the circling scribbles. Hiruzen wished that he could ask the Fourth about this, maybe he found away to improve on the initial design.

Hiruzen finished placing a nappy on Naruto and wrapped him back up and placed him in his crib, he was sure Naruto would be safe here, his room was lined with security seals all over. So Hiruzen left the baby to rest and now he could go and grief with his daughter over the death of his wife before work tomorrow; he would later send word to his son.

After Hiruzen left Naruto began to stir and was about to start crying out, but stopped when his young body felt a warm soothing sensation wash over him. Naruto's young body began to glow with a warm silver coloured aura that shrouded him from the neck down, this aura began to gain more motion like it was coming to life. The silver continued to change till it looked to take the form of what's seemed like a blanket made of chakra that flickered and moved smoothly like flames.

The young baby Naruto's attention was taken by the sound of a voice "Shhh calm down young child you are not alone I am here for you and will continue to be here for as long as I am needed, you and I will meet when it's time" spoke the voice which just seemed to sooth Naruto back off to sleep.

Inside Naruto mindscape

A shadowed figure stood on the surface of the shallow ankle deep water facing the mammoth tall gate, a slip of paper stuck to it saying 'Seal' in Kanji. Peering into the cage the massive sleeping form of the Yang half of the Nine-Tails could be seen, currently in hibernation after being ripped into two separate entities.

Turning away from the caged fox the figure began looking around his new home and sighed "it's may not be luxury but it's better that just floating about the place for all eternity" with that humoured thought done the figure clapped his hands together and gave them a little rub "well let see what I can do with this place huh" he spoke with a calm happy tone looking forward to doing some redecorating.

Who is this figure that has appeared in the seal of our young Naruto?

End of Chapter

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