Hey, boy and girls! And Asexual members of the community, or whatever the hell you identify as. I don't know, I don't care, I just want you to know that I am glad you have taken an interest in Legacy of the Namikaze!

Just as a forewarning, I have the entirety of the story planned out ahead of time, so suggestions will be mostly ignored. I know exactly how this story will go, unlike Kishimoto when he started the story. No continuity errors in this story, thank you very much.

A few things -

-The ENTIRETY of the Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto, not half the chakra. Never liked that idea.

- Im not going to paint a happy story of Naruto's childhood in this story. In my opinion, that is what makes naruto who he is, and what makes him one of my favorite characters of all time.

- Naruto is, in my opinion, actually a very smart person who has been hindered by his upbringing. That will be rectified in this story, so I don't think I'm making Naruto too OOC by making him smart.

- Kakashi will be OOC because I think hes a lot nicer than the Anime portrayed him as.

- I have never read the Manga, just watched the Anime, so if there are things I miss due to mistranslation please feel free to tell me.

Other than that, please enjoy the story, and dont forget to review at the end if you enjoyed!

Seven year old Uzumaki Naruto was not having a pleasant day. Although, saying that he was not having a good day would be like saying that jumping in a lake would get your damp, or that the villagers of Konoha didn't like him that much.

In other words, an understatement.

If he were any other child, this day would be one of his happiest all year long. It was his birthday today - October tenth. For some of the other children who shared his birthday, it was even better - today was the day of the annual Kyuubi Festival. A festival and a birthday on the same day would make any normal child look forward to this day.

Naruto was not a normal child.

Where most people his age would have looked towards this day on the calendar with excitement, he counted down the days with dread. Most kids looked forward to the celebrations and carnival games, the occasional shinobi using low-rank ninjutsu in place of fireworks, the food, and generally just the happy atmosphere of the town as they celebrated their victory over the Kyuubi that had nearly destroyed their village, and mourned the lost Yondaime Hokage as he wished he would be with one of his last acts as leader of the village: With festival and fanfare.

Naruto, however, was forced to endure the results of people ignoring the other of the Yondaime's dying wishes. Of course, Naruto didn't know this. He didn't know why he was chased, or beaten, or ridiculed or any of the other hundreds of things that happened to him on a near-daily basis. He didn't know of the demons continued existence, or how it was sealed deep inside of him in layers of complex Fuuinjutsu.

He just knew that today was October 10th, he had turned seven years old, and he needed to get to the Hokage tower before the sun set fully or he would suffer one of the worst beatings he had ever had in his short life.

Unfortunately, that was saying something, as he had been beaten many times before.

The younger townsfolk, having no idea of the secret that dwelled in the dark corners of their elders minds, were still enjoying the festival. Most of the townsfolk were still enjoying it, in fact. However, a few dozen - among them a couple of low-rank or retired ninja - had since decided to start one of their less cheerful annual activities. Demon-brat hunting.

Naruto's sandaled feet pounded the dirt roads, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he stumbled on his feet, turning a corner. The Hokage tower, only a few blocks away, seemed to taunt him from this distance. The streets were mostly empty, save the few people who watched him with either an angry glare or an indifferent gaze, not bothering to do anything but judge him as he ran by.

Well, them and the mob of over fifty angry people chasing behind him.

Can't forget his adoring fans, after all.

Naruto had just started at the ninja Academy this year, so he hadn't learned much about being a ninja other than basic history knowledge(Boring) and the ninja codes of conduct(important, but also boring). Which was a shame - Naruto really wished he had the ninja power to teleport - he had no idea what a Shushin was at age seven - or even the ability to throw a few kunai to scare the people away. Most of them were civilians, after all, and had no idea how to fight against a trained ninja, or even a second-year academy student. And Konoha Shinobi weren't allowed to attack other village Shinobi outside of spars or training. So if he had any idea how to fight back at all, he would be safe.

But he didn't, so he wasn't, and so he ran. Ran to the only place he knew he would be safe - the office of Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage - or Hokage-jiji, as he called him. Jiji had been one of his only supporters, along with Ayame and Teuchi, the owners of Ichiraku's Ramen. Ichiraku's was closed though, and he doubted that his two favorite chefs could protect him from a horde of angry people. So Jiji it was.

He was nearly a block away from the tower when about a dozen of the mob members that had split off earlier ran in front of him, bursting from a side alley and cutting off his escape, menacing grins on their faces. Cursing, he ran the only way he could - to the left, into an alley he knew was a dead end. There was a fire escape he could climb up, if he could only reach it in time-

Except, to his growing horror, the ladder was pulled up by a single chunin who had been standing there for that exact purpose. They had planned this from the start, forcing him into an empty alley where he couldn't escape, and no one could come to his rescue without going through the mob.

He ran past the ladder, ignoring the jeers from the teen atop the fire escape as he did so. He reached the brick wall, briefly considering trying to scale it, but groaned internally as he saw that someone had filled in the old brick wall recently, replacing the chipped, easy-access handholds with smooth caulking. Someone had clearly put a lot of thought into tonight's activities.

He growled under his breath, anger mixing in with the fear he felt. Clenching his fists, he slowly turned to glare up at the villagers, who matched his glare with their own sneers.

One of the more vocal members of the crowd laughed, slapping a wooden board into his hand as he did so. "What are you going to do, brat? Fight us all off? Newsflash: There's over fifty of us and only one of you, demon. There's no way you can take down one of us, much less all of us." Naruto knew this was true, but he didn't back down. Clad in only his sandals, a white t-shirt and blue shorts, he was ready to do his damndest to take down this mob or go down trying.

"No, he probably won't be able to for another year or so. But I can right now - if you'd like to try your luck, that is." A voice spoke from behind the boy, raspy with age, a edge of quiet humor underlaid beneath a whole lot of anger. Naruto knew that voice. Turning, he saw his favorite old man, clad in his robes and the distinctive hat all members of his position were known for. The crowd stopped, a few of them trembling in fear. None of them had even noticed the man's arrival until he spoke - sans the shinobi of the crowd, who had left the second they felt his chakra presence approaching.

"Hokage-Jiji! You came!" He cried, turning to hug the old man.

The members of the mob took this as their cue to leave, a couple stuttering out fearful apologies, while most simply fled immediately. A few of the more drunken ones briefly considered pressing the attack, but a quick burst from Sarutobi sent them fleeing as well.

Now standing in a mostly empty alley, Sarutobi returned the hug, patting the blonde child on the head and smiling down at him. Inwardly, however, he was seething with anger. He may not have recognized most of the villagers, but he made a point of memorizing the chakra signatures of each of his ninja, and they would be reprimanded.

Harshly.

The Hokage was broken from his thoughts on how to punish his shinobi when he felt Naruto's embrace tighten, and the front of his robes grow damp as the young boys hug turned into a tearful embrace.

"It's ok, Naruto. You're safe now. No one will hurt you when I'm here." He said - not without a small trace of guilt. If he had only enforced the rules better, or made sure he had assigned an ANBU escort for the day, or adopted the boy himself as he so wanted to -

"No, Jiji. I'm not." Was the muffled reply from the boy he considered his grandson. Teary blue eyes, lined with a weariness no child should have ever known, stared back up at him sadly. "As cool and powerful as you may be, the second I leave your sight they'll be back. Same as every year." Naruto pulled back from the hug, looking back down at the ground sadly, wiping tears off from his face as he did so.

Sarutobi sighed, wishing he could do something, anything to help the boy. He knew that it was unreasonable to want to have a guard stationed to watch one boy every day of the year with his limited resources, and adopting the boy would put him in danger - people would use Naruto as a way to get back at the Hokage if they knew just how close they were. Telling the boy why people hated him would only make him angry at him for not telling him sooner, and telling the town of his heritage would put him in more danger than adopting him...

If only there was a way to keep the boy safe - or even a way to teach him to protect himself!

He nearly slapped his own face as he remembered just exactly who the boys parents were, and what they were renowned for. He was an Uzumaki, for kami-sama's sake...

Sarutobi looked down at the blonde. He did start at the Academy a few months ago, and if his clan still existed, he would no doubt be learning this as a clan art.

"Naruto... let's go to my office for a bit. I have a present for you, as well as something I'd like to teach you." The boy looked up at him, surprised - he rarely got gifts. And something to teach him?

Naruto quickly forgot the early events of the day, running past Sarutobi, tugging on his hand as he went, causing the only man to stumble. "Lets go lets go lets go!" He repeated, pulling the Hokage as he went. "What are you gonna teach me? Is it a secret ninja art? Like, shooting fireballs and stuff? Oh, or maybe how to teleport like you did earlier!" He rambled on, exasperating - but not surprising him in the slightest. Naruto had a tendency towards mood swings that matched his attention span.

"Not fireballs or teleportation. And that wasn't teleportation, it was a Shunshin no jutsu(Body Flicker Technique). The shinobi who casts it sacrifices the ability to see his surroundings for the skill to move at extreme speeds towards his target destination, appearing as if he had... teleported..." He said, slowly stopping as he realized Naruto's eyes had glazed over. "But yes, I'll teach you a secret ninja art."

Naruto gasped, eyes wide, and Sarutobi chuckled as he continued. "Tell me, Naruto, what do you know about Fuuinjutsu?"

The Hokage's office was nearly empty, with most of the staff having left early or even having the day off. Naruto followed the elderly man as he walked up the stairs of the tower, nearly bouncing on his heels. He was going to learn super cool secret ninja stuff! And from what Hokage-jiji had told him, it would be stuff like exploding tags, or gravity seals, or how to make his own locks to protect his apartment - something he would use as soon as possible.

The Hokage reached the large door to his own office, and pressed a hand to the intricate seal, pushing a small amount of chakra into it. The energy glowed a bright blue, tracing down the thick, interlocking lines that made up the seal, covering it in its entirety. When the whole seal was lit, he stopped pushing chakra into it, and the seal turned dark again. With a soft click, the door unlocked and pushed open. Naruto, who had watched the whole scene in awe, whispered quietly. "Am... Am I going to learn how to do that?" It wasn't the first time he had seen Jiji open the locks to his office, but it was the first time he had any idea what the seal was or how it was made. So this was Fuuinjutsu?

Sarutobi just smiled down at the boy, before pushing the door open and walking in. He flicked a switch on the wall, and the lights came on - a startling contrast to the mysticism of the seal on his door and the anti-climactic ease of modern technology. He walked to his desk, taking a seat, as Naruto quietly sat in a chair across from him.

The Hokage settled into his chair, filling and lighting his pipe, before taking a long drag on the tobacco within. Blowing a small stream of smoke to the side, he turned and looked at Naruto with some amusement as the boy fidgeted in his chair, obviously impatient.

"Tell me, Naruto. What do you know about the Uzumaki?" He began, discreetly activating the privacy seals on his office. He didn't know exactly how tonight would go, but he had an inkling that Naruto might learn some secrets that should be kept a little tighter than usual. When he saw the blonde boy start at the mention of his clan name, then sheepishly shrug, Sarutobi nodded. About as much as he expect him to then.

"The Uzumaki were a small clan, barely numbering into a thousand at the time of their downfall twenty-three years ago." He said, tapping his fingers on his desk. "Despite their size, however, they were well known and extremely powerful - not to mention incredibly dangerous to fight in any circumstance. They had a couple of unique bloodlines, foremost among them being extremely large and highly developed chakra networks, as well as the ability to condense and compound their chakra into such a high density that it took physical form..." Noting that Naruto, who had been listening with rapt attention, was now starting to lose focus, he sighed and decided to simplify. "They could summon chains of chakra out of their bodies and use them in battle."

Naruto's eyes lit up in awe, and Sarutobi sighed inwardly. And I expect him to master Fuuinjutsu, with that attention span? Carrying on, he continued. "But, above that, they were well known for one thing above all - The Uzumaki were complete masters of the art of Fuuinjutsu. As a matter of fact, their home - the Land of Whirlpools - was so heavily fortified with Fuuinjutsu that they managed to hold off an invading force over fifty times their size for almost a year before falling. And even when they did fall, their enemies suffered a loss of twenty shinobi to every member of the clan that fell."

"You see, the Uzumaki were extremely powerful, and had made quite a few enemies by the time the third shinobi war began. Among them was the entirety of Iwagakure, and dozens of smaller villages. So when the war was reaching its end, Iwa and their allies took this as their chance to attack the weakened clan, hoping to surprise them and overwhelm them quickly. Suffice to say, that didn't work, as the ambush quickly turned into a siege that lasted almost a year, before finally falling. A few people managed to escape the invasion, however..."

Seeing he had Naruto hanging off his words again, he smiled inwardly before taking another puff of his pipe, extending his suspense until he was visibly squirming in his seat.

"Well, Jiji? What happened next?" Sarutobi hid a grin as the boy's impatience got the better of him.

"Well, we offered them safety here in Konoha, but only three or four took up the offer. One of them was Uzumaki Kushina, wife of the Yondaime Hokage. They lived with us for a long while, before the Kyuubi attacked." Naruto's eyes widened, as he realized what he was implying.

"Jiji... was... were my parents..?" He asked softly, and Sarutobi winced.

"Your mother was a refugee Uzumaki, yes." he said softly, knowing exactly where this was going. "And yes, Naruto, I know who your parents were. And they asked that you not know who they were until you were old enough to inherit your legacy and be able to protect yourself with it - because they both had made many enemies, and knew that leaving you parentless with a legacy like theirs would put you in so much danger." Sarutobi closed his eyes, considering. Too late to back out now. And he's ready to know - or, at least, he's old enough to handle it. Coming to a conclusion, he opened a drawer on the bottom of his desk, pulling out a couple of small, leather-bound notebooks. One was a faded yellow, with a seal inscribed on it - a decorative form of the Hiraishin, although Naruto wouldn't know that. The other was a deep blue, sealed with silver chains and the Uzumaki clan whirlpool emblazoned on the front.

Sarutobi handed the yellow one to him, and Naruto tried to open it, excited. The leather-bound cover didn't even budge, refusing to open, and Naruto looked up at the Sandaime, puzzled. "Why won't it open? And whose is it, anyway?" he asked.

"Its sealed with a blood seal, Naruto. I cannot even open it. Only someone who is directly related to the owner of the journal can open it, and it requires a drop of their blood on the seal on front to do so."

Naruto looked at him, still confused, then came to a realization and went to bite his thumb with his sharper-than-normal canines. Wincing slightly as he did so, Naruto didn't even register the fact that Sarutobi hadn't even answered his other question. Smearing his blood covered thumb on the seal, it began to glow a bright yellow, before incredibly intricate lines were traced over the cover of the book. Naruto and Sarutobi watched in awe as the lines grew thicker and more defined, before the boy yelped as the cover forced itself open from between his hands.

It fell to the floor, pages turning by themselves, until it seemingly opened to the middle of the book by itself. A large seal was emblazoned there, covering both pages, and said seal began to glow a bright blue. The seal faded as the energy from the book lifted it self off of the pages, blinding both the boy and the elderly man, as they covered their eyes and looked away.

When they looked back, they weren't alone in the room.

A tall man with bright, yellow hair - much like Naruto's - stood there, where the book had been a second prior. The hair was long and spiked, with two long strands hanging on the sides of his face, framing a lightly tanned face, with deep blue eyes and a smirk. He wore a green vest over a blue, long sleeved shirt, and blue pants. All in all, he didn't look all that remarkable compared to some of the other ninja Naruto had seen.

To Sarutobi, however, it was as if a ghost itself had appeared before him - which one had. The Hokage reached out a trembling hand, afraid to say anything, as if merely speaking would prove this to be just a dream.

"Kami-sama..." The man began, stretching. "Seven years in a book will give you such a crink in the neck." Sarutobi knew that voice, as well as the smirk and the mischievous glint in the man's eye as he spoke.

"Mi...Minato?" he whispered, and the blonde man smiled, a familiar smirk on a so painfully familiar face. Sarutobi felt a single tear trace its way down his wrinkled face, and the pipe fell from his mouth, forgotten.

"Good to see you, Sarutobi." The blonde man replied, and Sarutobi knew it could be none other.

"J-Jiji, who is that?" A younger voice mumbled, and Minato looked down from his predecessor and successors face to the smaller blond head that peaked around from behind the red and white robes that Sarutobi wore. His face grew sad and his smile faded to a solemn frown as he saw the dirty clothes and clear, gaunt hunger on the boys face, as well as the eyes that were far too old for a boy his age to have.

Minato had seen eyes like those only a few times, on the faces of shinobi and civilians that had survived the war. They were the eyes of someone who had lost everything they had ever had and suffered far more than any human ever should. The eyes of someone who only lived because they had nothing better to do than try, because they had given up trying to make things better and just hoped for things to change. The eyes of an orphan, the eyes of someone who was drowning in loneliness.

And, most sadly, the eyes of his son.

Minato felt a single tear of his own trace down his face, before falling off his chin and fading back into chakra. He crouched on the ground, kneeling, meeting the boys sad eyes with his own. He held his arms out, then felt anger and sorrow churn within him as Naruto flinched back at the sudden movement, hiding back behind Sarutobi. He looked up at the old man with clear begging in his eyes.

Sarutobi spoke slowly, still not believing that he wasn't hallucinating. "This... This is Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the name of his hero, and he shyly ducked his head.

"Hello, Namikaze-Sama." He whispered, and Minato shook his head.

"Please. I have a title so much more important than that I'd like you to call me, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, shamefaced. "Sorry, Hokage-Sama." Minato chuckled darkly.

"No, Naruto. Much more important than that." Seeing the confused look the boy sent him, he held his arms out again. "Tou-San." Naruto started, visibly, and then dawning joy showed on his face. "I'm your father, Naruto. And I'm so, so sorry for not being here when you needed me most. I've failed you, and for that, I'm -" he was cut off as a small body impacted him, slamming into his body and wrapping its arms around him.

"P-papa." Naruto stuttered, and Minato felt the tears come in earnest as he returned the embrace. "Papa!" He shouted from between his tears, and they simply held each other and cried for a while.

Sarutobi was crying as well, but not wanting to intrude, despite the fact that he was witnessing the impossible. Minato was dead. He had watched him die. But here he was, seeing something that he never would have dreamed had happened in his wildest moments of imagination.

When Minato finally stood, looking at Sarutobi, he smiled again, wiping tears from his face. Naruto clung to his leg, still sniffling, and he patted his hair softly. Both of the elder men felt the strain on their hearts as Naruto looked up, eyes closed, grinning in his signature smile. Minato nearly began crying again, before he cleared his throat.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time, Naruto." he began, and the boy took a step back, scared. "Im not leaving you, I promise. But I can't maintain this form for too long. The death god doesn't like people who cheat on his deals." Naruto was confused, but Sarutobi started in realization.

"You mad bastard... you sealed part of your soul in the book." He whispered softly, and Minato grinned at him.

"That is what they called me, isn't it? Besides the Yellow Flash. 'Minato, the crazy bastard.' Has a nice ring to it." He sighed, before his face took a more serious cast. "Yes. The night the Kyuubi attacked, I knew I wouldn't be coming back, so I sealed three parts of my soul into my journal, as well as a rather large part of my chakra I had stored away for years. I originally planned to use that chakra as a backup measure for a technique I had been planning to use, but..." he shrugged. "I figured that using it for this would be much better." He looked down at Naruto, smiling again as he rested his hand on the boy's head. "Damn if I wasn't right."

He continued on. "I only have a few moments left, so here goes. Naruto... As much as I would love to remain with you forever, I need you to realize something." The boy looked up at him, and he continued sadly. "I'm gone, Naruto. What you're talking to now is merely a fragment of who i was, given physical form with a large amount of my energy. Within three minutes, this part of my soul will be gone, sucked into the belly of the Shinigami. Sarutobi will explain more once I'm done. Two more fragments of my soul remain, and I want you to only summon them on very specific occasions. Once when you graduate the Academy and make Genin- because no son of me and Kushina could ever be anything but a Shinobi - and once more when you are ready to reveal your heritage to the world, when you make Jonin. Do you understand, Naruto?" He asked his son, and the boy nodded sadly.

"That doesn't mean, however, that you'll only hear from me twice. All you have to do is push some chakra into the book and write a question, and I can write an answer back. Neat, huh?" Naruto nodded, excitedly, but then grew forelorn as he realized something.

"I... can't read, Otou-san. They won't teach me at the school." Minato's hand clenched as he looked up at Sarutobi, and the elderly man met his angry gaze with a shocked one of his own.

"I knew that he wasn't treated well... but I had no idea the neglect went this deep..." the Sandaime Hokage whispered angrily. "They will be punished, Minato. I swear it."

The tall blonde nodded, and the other two started as the realized he was starting to fade. "Teach him, Sarutobi. You teach him how to talk to me... And I'll teach him the rest." He cocked his head, starting at the older man, and then smiled. "Naruto, when you summon me next time, make sure it's in front of your Jounin-Sensei." Sarutobi looked at him, confused, then smiled, understanding, when Minato covered his left eye with one hand. Yes, Kakashi would be his Jounin-Sensei. He chuckled inwardly as he thought of the man's reaction when he saw Minato again.

Naruto felt the pressure of his father's hand on his head lessen, and looked up sadly as the man continued fading. They could now see right through the man, and he could no longer affect the physical world. "One last thing, Naruto. The happiest day of my life was that day I learned I was having a son, who would carry on the clan I was born into, as well as the one I had married into. Your mother would be so proud to see how strong you've gotten." He crouched down, looking Naruto in the eyes.

"I will always be proud of you, Naruto. All the things I have ever done in my life, and you are my greatest achievement. Never forget that." He pressed his lips to the boy's forehead, as his cheeks were becoming stained with tears again. "I will always love you, Naruto. Grow strong, and carry on your name."

Soon, the man faded completely, leaving just a transparent outline. "You will always be worthy of carrying on your family name. You are my son, and I couldn't be prouder to call you that."

He faded away completely, leaving a yellow, leather bound book on the ground where he been moments prior. "You are my legacy, son." His voice whispered, and then there was nothing.

Where the symbol of the Hiraishin had been a few minutes before, were a few Kanji emboldened over the Namikaze clan symbol.

They read, simply, "Legacy of the Namikaze."

Greetings, friendos. The name is Xander, and this will be my first Naruto Fanfiction. I hope you all enjoyed the heavily emotional first chapter.

Not gonna lie, I cried a little while writing this. You do not know what weird looks are until you have seen people staring at you while you sit in a starbucks cafe, crying quietly as you type on a laptop. Curse me and my sensitive, emotional side. I JUST WANT TO BE MANLY.

Oh well, my pain is your gain. Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review! Like, seriously. Reviews are the fuel upon which my muse subsists on.

Next chapter should be up soonish. Because I'm super excited to write this.

C'iao!