Summary: Minato was dead, his wife was dead, and the Kyuubi sealed inside his son. He didn't know that the gods had other plans for him, or that he had no choice in the matter.

Minato opened his eyes slowly and saw nothing but black. Even as he sat up, he couldn't tell if he was sitting on nothingness, or floating in air. I suppose this is what it's like to be dead. Ha! All those people who said there was a heaven can kiss my ass now.

His small amusement was short lived as an odd presence made itself known to him. He could feel it on the edges of his mind, and it simply hovered there. Growing annoyed, he was about to yell out to it, when a booming voice echoed around him.

"Namikaze Minato, why are you here?"

"I, uh…I'm dead?" he answered stupidly. Well, why else would he be here?

"You are dead before your time. Explain yourself."

Oh. Well, that was news to him. "Well, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, and I was forced to barter with the Shinigami in order to stop it. I sealed the yang chakra inside my son, Naruto, and the Shinigami took my soul, and the yin chakra was sealed inside me."

That was the short explanation, but he didn't really feel like explaining how his wife was the previous container of the Kyuubi, and how Uchiha Madara had extracted it right after she gave birth. How she had died...

"It is decided." The booming voice startled him enough that he jumped. "The humans need you. You will be returned as the twin of your son. No one will be able to determine that you were once father and son. Your return as his twin will go all the way to the cellular level. Now leave."

"Wait! What about the yin chakra of the Kyuubi?"

"Like your son, your chakra and the yin chakra of the Kyuubi are now intertwined. We are forced to send it back along with you. NOW LEAVE!"

"WAIT!"

He screamed it, and felt what seemed like hesitation on the part of the voice, so he hurried on. "Wait. What about the deal I made with the Shinigami? And why would I be sent back as Naruto's twin instead of an adult body?"

There was a hum in the air and he could only assume that the voice was speaking to someone, or something else.

"We can tell you little. The former Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi offered her soul instead of yours, so the deal is still valid. You are being sent back as a baby, and your sons twin, because that is the only way we can erase your memories. You do not need to know more than that. Be content with the knowledge that you and your son are going to change the shinobi world for the better. Now, have we answered all your questions?"

He thought about it, and smiled sadly. "Can I say goodbye to Kushina?"

There was another pause, and he held his breath, hoping. "While we sympathize, you cannot speak to her directly. However, she wishes us to convey her love, and to tell you that you better protect your new twin or she will haunt you."

He laughed quietly, sadly. He was trying very hard to cover the aching void in his heart, knowing that he would never see his wife again. "Yea, that sounds like her. Will…will you tell her that I love her, and I'm sorry things turned out this way? Oh…and I do have a single request." The voice hummed in question. He knew he was smiling, and it wasn't very nice. "Do not let me forget about Madara."

"There are no worries there. We cannot let you retain your previous memories of him, but we are allowed to tell you that he will play a major role in your new life. He has lived far longer then he should have, and destroying him is the entire reason you are being sent back. Your son would have died, even with the Kyuubi, if he were alone. Also…as a present if you will, we talked with the Kyuubi. She understands what is going on, and has agreed to assist you and your new brother in any way she can.

"We will tell you one last thing. Since your souls and chakra are bound together, the Kyuubi will return as twins as well. Now, you must go back Namikaze Minato. Good luck."

Between one blink and the next, he found himself screaming his lungs out, waving chubby, pink appendages in the air. Another scream joined his, and he turned his head curiously to see what it was. Lying next to him on the cold, wet grass, was another baby. Two nearly identical pairs of blue eyes met, one bright, electric blue, the other icier, and the screaming stopped. They were still staring at each other when the newly reinstated Sarutobi Hiruzen dropped by them, and lifted the two boys up with wonder in his eyes.

"But I thought Kushina only had one…" he mused to himself. He couldn't even check it, because everyone that had been present at the birth was dead.

"Hokage-sama, are those…?"

Hiruzen looked over his shoulder at the collection of ANBU, and nodded. "Yes, these are Minato's children, the Namikaze twins. Do any of you have a blanket?"

One with the horse mask on stepped forward, pulling out a thin travel blanket from a pouch under their robes. While wrapping the two still staring boys in it, he wondered. Should I give them Kushina's last name? Namikaze is not very popular right now…but I don't want to keep the boys from their birthright. And the one is going to have Minato's name anyway, since they thought they were only having one. Namikaze Minato and Naruto…I like it. Giving them Kushina's last name would be just as bad considering she was from Uzushio(Whirlpool). Ugh, either last name is going to be a beacon for enemies!

He growled to himself as he hopped onto a branch, flying through the trees on his way to the Hokage tower.

Screw the enemies. These boys are heroes, since it looks like Minato sealed some of the Kyuubi in each of them. Oh no, he hadn't missed the stark black seals on both stomachs. I will make sure they are protected, no matter what. They deserve to have his last name. Sorry Kushina.

He winced as he landed on the ledge of one of the window, stepping gingerly down. He was too old to be Hokage again, but he didn't have a choice at the moment. With the boys safely in his arms, he flared his chakra, a silent signal that he was ready for people to meet with him. The first came in a blur of white and red. His former student looked at him, and then the children resting in his arms.

"Minato…" he whispered hoarsely, and Hiruzen felt the tears choke in his throat as he nodded.

"He's gone, but apparently Kushina had twins. Jiraiya, meet your godsons, Minato and Naruto."

Their eyes widened in surprise as the babies, no more than a few hours old, looked at the Hokage as their names were said, and then to the white haired man. Instantly, they both started babbling and held out their chubby hands to the man. With a sniff and his eyes full of tears, Jiraiya tenderly took the twins, laughing softly as they both tried to grab his hair.

"They look just like him sensei," Jiraiya muttered, his grief lifting a little when Naruto – the one with the bright, bright blue eyes – giggled happily.

"I have a mission for you Jiraiya," Hiruzen said, and the Sannin looked at him, slightly startled by the serious tone.

"Anything, Hokage-sama," he said with a slight bow.

"I need you to protect them. Originally, I was going to give them Kushina's last name, but I find I cannot go through with it. Minato and Naruto will have the Namikaze last name, and if it is known that you are their guardian, I believe it will give them the protection they need until they can handle themselves."

"But, sensei, what about my network?"

Hiruzen smirked and grabbed his pipe, putting it to his lips and lighting it with a small flame off the tip of his finger. His eyes were twinkling sadistically as he looked at his former student through the smoke. Even in the midst of all the sorrow that had gone on, one of his favorite pastimes was to tease his former student. "I am sure that you will be able to think of something, Jiraiya. Minato made you their godfather after all."

Jiraiya stared at his sensei with a slack jaw. "But, but…what about my research? What about my books?" He groaned at another thought. "What about my saké and women?"

"You'll just have to find a way to make do." Hiruzen's smirk deepened as he took a deep drag of his pipe. "Of course, if you want help, you are more than welcome to stay here."

Jiraiya paled at the thought. He loved Konoha, and most of the people here, but he would go crazy if he was stuck here for longer than a month. He went crazy if he was stuck anywhere longer than a month. He looked down at the two infants, and when their big blue eyes stared so trustingly at him, he knew he was a goner.

"Alright alright! I'll stay for a few months, but only until I figure out how to do this baby thing!"