Disclaimer: Here's the deal, you don't sue me on some mistaken belief that I own Naruto and I won't have to laugh at you as you make an idiot of yourself.

In the depths of Yomi the Shinigami sat on his obsidian black throne and thought about a serious manner. Earlier today he had been summoned by a mortal so that the Dead Demon Consuming Seal could be used to stop the Kyuubi from attacking the man's village. All and all a fairly simple task of a god of his stature and it was a great break from his usual monotony. However, things had not gone as the Shinigami had expected.

That heretic Minato Namikaze had dared to try and alter the Dead Demon Consuming Seal so that the Kyuubi would be sealed into his newborn son instead the Kyuubi being dragged into Yomi. For that crime the Shinigami had completely obliterated Minato's soul instead of sending the man's soul on to be reincarnated like he normally did for those who summoned him. What made the man's crime all the more unforgivable was the fact that the mortal had been afraid that he wouldn't be able to pull all of the Kyuubi's soul out of the demon's body to be devoured before his life gave out. If that mortal had read the contract that the Shinigami had created the man would have realized that after summoning the death god the mortal only directed who the Shinigami would take. The mortal's power did not enter into the equation because everything the Shinigami did was done under his own power.

Still, Minato's crime carried consequences beyond those that the destroyed man could answer for. Naruto Namikaze, for gods and goddess only called a mortal by their true name, had been exposed to a tremendous amount of the Shinigami's divine energy. In fact the little babe had been exposed to so much energy that had the Shinigami not acted the poor child would have died. Mortals might view death as a horrifying and uncaring end to life, but that is not the case. The Shinigami, as the god of death, is extremely fair and just as in death one cannot lie or deceive. Allowing a newborn to die before his time like that would have been crime against justice.

However, even though Naruto Namikaze's life had been saved the Shinigami was still left with quite the quandary. By saving Naruto's life the boy had became the Shinigami's responsibility according to the divine laws regarding divine/mortal interactions. For a few minutes the Shinigami just sat on his throne and thought about what he should do for the boy. The death god thought about giving boy a new bloodline limit like most other kami did for mortals that they were patrons of. Exactly what this bloodline would entail the Shinigami had no clue, but he knew that whatever he graced Naruto with it would be a bloodline that would show that Naruto was his ward.

All plans of that nature had to be put on hold when the Shinigami sensed a great danger towards his ward. Thanks to his divine abilities the lord of Yomi knew exactly what was threatening Naruto. It seemed that several members of Konoha's high council were demanding the newborn's death. Actually they were demanding the death of the 'Kyuubi' which they moronically believed was Naruto. This was something that the Shinigami wouldn't allow. It looked like he would have to show the stupid mortals their place.

In Konoha's council chambers all members of the council were assembled and a large group was demanding Naruto's death to slay the Kyuubi. Before Sarutobi could say anything in defense of Naruto the room became icy cold. Then everyone was hit by what felt like an ocean of killing intent that caused everyone to become weak in the knees. Only Naruto seemed immune to the cold and the killing intent as he softly coo. Finally everything was topped off by the Shinigami appearing in the center of the chamber in his grim glory.

The Shinigami looked at everyone in the chamber one by one and then he said, "Listen and listen well foolish mortals. Naruto Namikaze, son of Minato Namikaze your beloved Yondaime, who rests in his crib in this room does not carry the Kyuubi. As is stated in the ancient pact I have claimed the demon's soul as my own property. For his crime of attempting to alter the seal, your Yondaime's soul has been destroyed. So it shall be with any of you here in Konoha who try to attack the boy over events that happen tonight."

On seeing that the council members were starting to get over their shock the Shinigami continued, "So strange that you foolish mortals would attack a perfectly innocent boy because a demon attacked. If you truly wanted punish people connected with attack then look to the Uchiha. It was after all a member of their clan who tricked the Kyuubi into attacking your village." The Shinigami felt a twinge of retreat over revealing this fact as he was sure the foolish people of Konoha would probably try to kill every last Uchiha that they could given how their emotions were at the moment.

However, the Shinigami didn't feel too guilty over revealing this fact. The Sharingan, being the only bloodline given by a devil, was a mistake that the kami had allowed to exist on the earth for too long. Madara Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan and its 'eternal' form was proof enough that the clan needed to be wiped out. Besides even if the people of Konoha didn't kill every last Uchiha in the village in a fit of grief and rage it would only be a few years before the fates activated their plan to drive the clan to extinction.

The Shinigami then floated over to where Naruto was laying. Everyone watched in silent surprise as the Shinigami raised his hand over Naruto. To their surprise black lighting started crackle and strike the Shinigami's hand and Naruto. In a voice that terrified all of the onlookers the Shinigami then said, "Grow strong Naruto Namikaze. One day you shall be like a tiger amid a flock of sheep."

Turning to face Sarutobi the Shinigami said as a black sealed scroll appeared on the Hokage's desk, "Keep this safe for Naruto. When the boy activates my gift, that scroll will tell him how to use my gift. And if I was you mortal, I wouldn't attempt to open the scroll. I have set it so that if anyone other then Naruto opens the scroll that person will instantly drop dead." With that said the Shinigami disappeared leaving a shell shocked council behind him.

The quiet that been caused by the Shinigami's arrival was suddenly broken by one of the council members plunging a kunai into Fugaku Uchiha's throat and shouting, "Death to the Traitors!" Suddenly the highly charged emotions of almost everyone in the council chambers erupted into a bonfire of hatred with that act. Due to the Kyuubi's attack almost everyone in Konoha was suffering from grief and rage. This grief and rage caused the people of Konoha to turn on the closest target that they could: the Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi could hardly believe how things had gone and what was going on right now. Just minutes ago he had been using every ounce of his skill to keep the people from trying to kill Naruto. Now due to the Shinigami's unexpected visit he was sitting almost completely alone in Konoha's council chambers. Even inside the chambers Sarutobi could hear the sounds of the enraged shinobi and civilian mob heading towards the Uchiha sector with genocide on its mind. It torn at Sarutobi's heart to just sit there, but he knew that there was no way that he could hope to reason with that mob in its current state. All Sarutobi could do was pray that at least some of the Uchihas managed to escape the mob's clutches. For surely, Sarutobi reasoned, it was completely unacceptable to kill innocent people for the crimes of one person.

After letting out a sigh Sarutobi looked down at Naruto and the old leader couldn't help but be amazed that Naruto was able to remain calm throughout everything that had happened. Sarutobi then gently picked up Naruto's swaddled form and held the little boy close to his heart. Even with all that was going on, Sarutobi couldn't help being afraid for Naruto. The old leader's original plan of keeping Naruto safe from Minato's enemies by giving Naruto his mother's name of Uzumaki was now useless. Everyone in Konoha now knew, or would know by morning through the grapevine, that Naruto was Minato's son so not giving Naruto his proper last name to protect the boy was useless.

While slowly waving a finger in front of Naruto to amuse the little guy Sarutobi said, "Naruto Namikaze, Maelstrom Wind/Wave or Maelstrom Chaos. Given how your life has been so far little guy I don't think that there has ever been a more appropriately named child."

Six year old Naruto Namikaze was standing in the kitchen of his apartment preparing his lunch. Naruto had his own apartment due to a decision of Konoha's council and Naruto knew exactly why thanks to Grandpa Sarutobi. Many of the villagers hadn't liked the fact that the son of the Yondaime had been living in the orphanage. At the same time, a fight broke out every time someone tried to adopt Naruto because of various factions wanting the Yondaime's son living with a family that would raise him to support their stances. Finally when Naruto was 5 years old Sarutobi had managed to work out a compromise.

Thus Naruto lived alone in a fairly nice apartment with the matron of the orphanage visiting him two to three times a week to make sure that he was alright. Naruto was living in the apartment instead of the Namikaze estate because the apartment was more secure then the estate at the moment. Once Naruto show a predetermined level of skill he would be allowed to live in his clan's estate. Sarutobi's compromise got Naruto out of the orphanage which suited everyone and at the same time insured that Naruto wasn't forced into one faction or another. Keeping the Yondaime's son out of a rival faction's clutches was far preferable to all of the various factions then having Naruto raised by one faction or another.

Naruto hated the fact that everyone seemed to be so worried about his security, but he could understand why they were worried. One time when Sarutobi had brought Naruto to the Hokage's office Naruto had managed to glance at a document on Sarutobi's desk when Sarutobi had gone to the bathroom. Needless to say it had been quite a shock to Naruto back then when he found out that the document was a report on Iwa's 80th attempt on his life that had just been intercepted. When Sarutobi had returned from the bathroom he had to comfort a very distressed five year old.

Shaking his head, Naruto returned his focus to making his sandwich. Naruto knew that he would need to eat his meals if he was to grow big and strong so he could complete his goal in life. Naruto's goal was very simple and strait forward goal: surpass his father. He was tired of people of the village referring to him as 'the Yondaime's son' or 'Respectable Heir'. Also, Naruto had had it with Iwa constantly trying to kill because he was the son of Konoha's Yellow Flash. If people were going to so him respect or try to kill him, Naruto had vowed to himself, it because of what HE had done; not who his father was.

Just as Naruto was about to bite into his sandwich he heard a muffled sound coming from one of the walls. It sounded like someone had either fallen or dropped something heavy. Naruto instantly became alert and was afraid that the sound was coming from a would-be assassin. However, Naruto started to disregard the idea of an assassin when he remembered that the wall that the sound had come from was from one of adjoining apartments. Any person trying to assassinate him, or so Naruto reasoned, would just come in through the window or the front door since it would be quicker.

With his curiosity piqued, Naruto abandoned his untouched sandwich and headed over to the apartment where the sound had come from. Naruto's childish curiosity only increased when he got to the door of his neighboring apartment and found out that the door was unlocked. After gently pushing the door open Naruto walked into the apartment and then blinked. There was a girl sitting shocked on the apartment's kitchen floor covered in flour, milk, and eggs with a large bowel on the floor by her feet. Quickly Naruto called out in a sincere voice, "Hey there! Is there anything I can do to help?"

Koyuki Kazahana was not happy with how her 9 year old life was going at the moment. A month ago she had watched her own uncle killed her father and then witnessed her beloved home being torched as she was carried to safety. She was now an orphan with a bounty on her head, which oh by the way had been placed on her by her own uncle, and was living in a foreign country. In an attempt to brighten her mood Koyuki had tried to make a treat that her mother had always made for her. Tried was the important word since she was wearing the ingredients all over her.

Just when Koyuki thought that things couldn't get any worse she heard an innocent and concerned voice calling out to her. Instantly Koyuki whipped her head around and spotted Naruto standing in her apartment. She then said in a nervous manner, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

Naruto then cheerfully said, "Hello there. My name's Naruto Namikaze. I live in the apartment to the right of yours and I heard you fall down. Sorry, but I was worried you were hurt." When Naruto saw that Koyuki wasn't responding he said in a more concerned manner, "Are you okay?" Then Naruto stuck out his hand and said, "Let's be friends."

All Koyuki could do at the moment was blink her eyes in confusion. Here she was covered in cooking ingredients and this little boy was offering to be her friend? Koyuki then quickly realized that she couldn't ever really recall having a friend. Back in Snow Country her various play mates were too subservient to her to ever really be considered 'friends'. Giving Naruto a small smile, the first to adorn her face since her father's death, Koyuki said, "Sure Naruto. My name is Koyuki Kazahana." Maybe, Koyuki mused, all she really needed to cheer herself up was a friend.

Kumo's ambassador was standing on the roof of one of Konoha's many buildings looking towards the Hyuga Compound. The ambassador had been order by the Sandaime Raikage to steal one daughters of the main family so that Kumo could acquire the Byakugan bloodline. If the ambassador actually was the good little toady that the Raikage thought he was then he would be down trying to steal one of those girls. However, the ambassador had no intention to follow his order. It was plainly obvious that this mission was supposed to be a suicide run because there was no way that he could hope to get in, nab the kid, and get back to Kumo without getting captured and killed.

That, the ambassador thought with a sneer, was probably what the old bastard wanted in the first place. Have the ambassador killed by an enraged father and then as the 'injured' party demand the body of said father. Well, there was no way that the ambassador would allow himself to be sacrificed to help an old SOB hold on to power. To insure that the Raikage's plans wouldn't go as planed the ambassador had purposely left his orders in his vest pocket so that if he was killed the Raikage would be exposed for what he was. Also, the ambassador had no intention of completing his mission.

Stealthily sneaking away, the Kumo ninja headed off towards a specific apartment complex. Ever since he had gotten this mission the ambassador had known that the only way he could continue to live was to become a missing ninja. As he planed to join another village after this whole fiasco was over, the ambassador had decided to modify his mission. Instead of kidnapping a Hyuga, he was planning on going after the Namikaze. Konoha might keep the little prince under lock and key, but that was a lock that he could easily pick. Iwa would offer him a place of honor for bringing the Yellow Flash's child to them.

Naruto and Koyuki were both lying on Naruto's living room floor. Ever since the duo had met all those months ago they had been close friends. This wasn't very surprising since both of them could understand the situation that the other was in and they could relate to each other. Thanks to Naruto and his cheerful attitude, Koyuki was able to come out of her shell and pretty much return to the happy girl she used to be. Of course Koyuki wasn't carefree and naïve like she used to be before her father's death, but that was to be expected.

Right now the duo wasn't playing a game and instead they were studying. To be more specific Koyuki was studying and Naruto was helping her out by giving her review questions from her textbook. As the two of them had hung out together Koyuki slowly got the idea of becoming a ninja herself. So she got permission and started attending classes when the academy started in the fall. Naruto had wanted to join the academy as well, but he knew that he was still too young to join.

"What is the Shodai Hokage's actual name?"

"Hashirama Senju"

"How many official ninja ranks are there in Konoha?"

"5, Genin, Chunin, Special Jonin, Jonin, and Hokage"

"Why aren't hunter ninjas or ANBU considered to be a separate ninja rank?"

"Because they are jobs that ninja's hold and ninjas of all different ranks work perform those two jobs."

"The five main elements used in elemental jutsu are?"

"Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning"

"What is the lowest life form that a ninja can expect to encounter?"

"Fangirls/Fanboys, now stick to the questions that are in the textbook Naruto!"

This happy scene was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the front door being kicked opened. Both preteens turned their head and their eyes widened when they saw an unknown ninja standing in the doorway wearing a Kumo head protector. The foreign ninja looked at Naruto, then glanced at Koyuki, returned his gaze to Naruto, and started to chuckle. "Well, well, well," the ambassador said, "I came for the Flashes' brat and it seems I get a princess for a bonus."

Instantly Naruto pulled out a kunai while Koyuki pulled out the Kazahana family tanto. The sight of the duo preparing to defend themselves from the ninja just made their would-be kidnapper smile. Did these brats really think that they could hope to defend themselves against a fully trained ninja? In a 'who cares' manner the ambassador flung half a dozen shuriken at the duo. Neither Iwa nor Dotou cared if Naruto or Koyuki were brought in alive or dead.

Making a split second decision, Naruto tackled Koyuki and took the shuriken in his back. The Kumo ninja then grabbed Naruto lifted the boy into the air and the said, "So you would offer your own life to protect your comrade. A noble sentiment young Namikaze, you might have grown to be an excellent ninja. However, we shall now never know." With that said the Kumo ninja swung his other hand that was holding a kunai towards Naruto.

Just as Koyuki was about to stab the attacker in an attempt to free Naruto, she saw Naruto grab the hand with the kunai by the wrist. Koyuki watched as her and Naruto's attacker's face changed from mild surprise to horror. "W-what are you doing brat? Why can't I move my limbs?"

Naruto then called out in an angry voice, "I won't let you hurt my friend!" Koyuki, even though she mentally filed that comment of Naruto's away for later, was now focusing her eyes on Naruto's hand as he gripped his attacker's wrist. Naruto's hand started to glow with a grayish-black light that shocked Koyuki, but that wasn't the most surprising thing going on. When Koyuki turned to look at the attacker's she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man's face was rapidly aging like something out of a horror film. This scene ended when the now mummified attacker fell to the ground.

Sarutobi was sitting on a bench in Konoha's hospital with Koyuki resting her head on his lap. As Sarutobi was gently running his hand through Koyuki's hair in a soothing manner he heard the sound of a door opening up. He turned his head towards the door and saw the medic ninja standing there apparently waiting for permission to speak. In a tired voice the old Hokage softly said, "Report doctor."

The medic ninja then calmly said, "The Yondaime's son is in perfect health Lord Hokage. This is completely at odds with what Princess Kazahana stated when she was question. Also, it is even more puzzling because the Respectable Heir's shirt has six cuts in to that are freshly stained with his blood. I just don't know what to say Lord Hokage everything points the Yodaime's son being wounded, but he isn't."

After Sarutobi nodded his head to show that he understood the doctor continued on. "As confusing as the Respectable Heir's condition is, it isn't nearly as confusing as the attacker's corpse. Dental records and fingerprint records all stated that the attacker was Kumo's ambassador. But I don't have the corpse of a thirty year old ninja on my examination table; I have the corpse of a very old man who obviously died due to advanced age."

Naturally Sarutobi understood the medic ninja's confusion. There wasn't any kind of jutsu in existence that could do what apparently had happened. And even if such a jutsu existed, there was no way that Naruto could have gotten his hands on it. Suddenly Sarutobi remembered what the Shinigami had said almost seven years ago. Without realizing it Sarutobi whispered out loud, "He shall be like a tiger amid a flock of sheep." On seeing the perplexed look on the doctor's face Sarutobi quickly said, "Those were the words that the Shinigami used when he spoke about Naruto on that day."

Something in Sarutobi's mind suddenly clicked and he said, "Use the bloodline limit detection jutsu Naruto. The Shinigami said that he had given Naruto a gift. What if this 'gift' is actually a bloodline? That would explain how Naruto could do what he did." Immediately the doctor nodded her head and she left to go perform the test. After she left Sarutobi sighed and said, "I honestly don't know whether I want what happened to be a bloodline limit or something else."

Naruto sat at his desk in his repaired apartment and he was staring at the black sealed scroll on his desk. When he had woken up in the hospital he had been told that he had killed Kumo's ambassador. Even more shocking to Naruto was the fact that he had a bloodline limit and that he had used that limit to kill his attacker. At first Naruto had been worried about the political fallout over the ambassador's death. Even at his age Naruto was well aware of how dangerous political machinations could be.

Luckily for Naruto's peace of mind, Sarutobi had quickly explained what had happened. Apparently the Raikage had been aware of what exactly had happened that night and had sent a letter demanding the death of Hiashi Hyuga over the man killing Kumo's ambassador. That letter, along with the ambassador's recovered and indisputable orders had damned the Sandaime Raikage. In fact Sarutobi stated that the Sadaime Raikage had been deposed, blinded, and was now rotting in the Lightning Daimyo's dungeons.

After all of that had been cleared up, Sarutobi had handed Naruto the scroll currently sitting on Naruto's desk. All Sarutobi had said about the scroll was that it was left to Naruto by the Shinigami himself and that only Naruto could open the scroll. Needless to say, Naruto had been very surprised and even a bit frightened at the idea of the Shinigami leaving a message for him. Like all the other kids in the village Naruto knew that his father had summoned the Shinigami to take the Kyuubi to the afterlife. What if, Naruto wondered nervously, the Shinigami had demanded something from him as well for sealing the Kyuubi?

Regaining his courage, Naruto reached over, broke the seal on the scroll, and started to read it. The scroll was actually a letter to Naruto from the Shinigami himself and it said:

Naruto Namikaze,

I am the Shinigami and if you are reading this then that mortal leader of your village has given this scroll to you like I instructed. As you may or may not be aware, your father Minato Namikaze attempted to alter the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Kyuubi into you because of his mistaken belief that it was impossible to use my summoning to completely defeat the Kyuubi. Of course, I naturally collected the Kyuubi's soul and destroyed your father's soul for his heresy.

I do not tell you this mortal to make you angry at me, but rather I do this so that you might understand what is going on. Due to what happened on that night you are my ward under celestial law. This means that I am, at least in part, responsible for you and how your life goes. To handle this duty I have granted you a bloodline limit the likes of which haven't been seen in the mortal realm before.

Your bloodline makes you a hunter Naruto Namikaze. Your senses will be more advanced then other mortals, but not as advanced as some mortals who have bloodlines that deal with the senses. The art that mortals call Genjutsu will come naturally to you and your body will have superior healing abilities. I have crafted your superior senses, Genjutsu and healing abilities so that they complement the primary purpose of your bloodline.

The primary purpose of your bloodline is to extract and process the vitality of all living creatures. As your recent kill shows, you can use this ability to kill your enemies. With the refined vitality that you collect you will be able to increase your healing abilities exponentially, go without eating, and extend your mortal life-span. Also, I have given you and your descendents the ability to transfer vitality that you have processed to other mortals.

Even as young as you are Naruto Namikaze, you will be able to see the great power that I have granted to you. As I am an extremely powerful kami it is only fitting that a bloodline gifted by me be powerful as well. However know this mortal; I am always watching you and I will kill you if you abuse your bloodline. To insure that you know what abusing your bloodline is I will tell you this: the conscience is a divine gift given to all mortals who listen to it. Always remember your place mortal and make sure that your descendents know their place as well.

Naruto read and re-read that letter three times before he set it down on the desk. He then raised his hands and looked at them. They seemed to be perfectly normal hands which just didn't seem right to Naruto at moment. Surely hands that had such a dangerous power within them would look well, would look different then an ordinary seven year's hands. However, no matter how hard he looked Naruto couldn't find any signs on his hands that they had the power that he knew they had.

After a minute or so of looking at his hands, Naruto stopped looking at his hands and he went off to find a pair of gloves. Until he was confident that he wouldn't accidentally activate his bloodline's ability, Naruto swore, he would keep his hands covered. Naruto didn't like the idea of keeping his hands covered especially indoors and during the hot summer months that were going to start once winter was over. However, Naruto didn't like the idea of accidentally turning someone into a mummy even more.

Once he hand the gloves on, Naruto promised himself that he would talk to Grandpa Sarutobi in the morning. Maybe Grandpa Sarutobi would be able to get him some small animals like rabbits or cats to practice his bloodline on. Also Naruto promised himself that he would check up on Koyuki. Witnessing two assassination attempts couldn't be very good for her after all Naruto thought. Naruto would have gone and checked on his this very moment, but he knew that it was currently passed Koyuki's bedtime. Actually it was passed his bedtime as well Naruto realized and so he headed to his bathroom to get ready for bed.