The Perfect Storm

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own anything else that may appear in this work of fiction.

Okay...so after much deliberation on my part, I have decided to Re-write this story. It will somewhat resemble what I had first written, but it will take a different turn from what I had originally planned.

So I apologize for the very long delay, and the sudden re-write, but it needed to be done.

Naruto will still have the 'Sharingan and the Shikotsumyaku' just to let people know I have not changed my mind on those bloodlines.

The story might start off a bit slower than the original as I have actually planned things for the this story and just saying this now, but you might recognize some moments in this chapter that appeared in the original story. Things will start off slowly in the first three chapters. just letting you know.

So I hope you like the new version of this story.

That's it for me...just felt I should get those things out of the way.

Chapter 1

Konohagakure No Sato: October 10th

Uzumaki Kushina; the Akai Chishio no Habanero, was known as many things not only throughout Konohagakure no Sato, the village she resided in, but throughout the Elemental Nations. To her enemies she was strong, dauntless, and unpredictable.

To those that know her personally she was all those things, and much more. She was stubborn when fixated on a purpose, impulsive when swayed by her emotions, and quick to lash out if anyone angered her.

Right now however, she was a few things; very hungry, very bored, and very pregnant.

"Ugh...I'm so bored, and hungry." thought one Uzumaki Kushina as she sighed and rubbed her big belly.

Kushina had been pregnant for the last nine months, and was hoping that today would be the day she would finally give birth, and start her own family. She already knew what sex the baby would be as she had been given that information on one of her daily check-ups.

It was going to be a boy.

She had been ecstatic when she had found out, and had to be restrained at the time from moving around so as to not unnecessarily injure herself or the baby. She had calmed down immediately when the threat of injury was brought up.

She would not take any risks with Naruto. That was the name that had been decided upon by herself, and her husband.

"Uzumaki Naruto...that has a nice ring to it. Then again, so does Namikaze Naruto." she thought absentminded, as she sounded out each name.

Namikaze...that was a name that was synonymous with one person; the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. While not many knew of it, the red-headed Uzumaki had indeed been in a secret relationship with the blonde Namikaze.

They had met only briefly in their academy days, and had not had much interaction with one another. However after Kushina had been kidnapped by Kumogakure, the blonde Namikaze had went, and had succeeded in his rescue. It was history after that.

They had been engaged a few years after the Third Shinobi World War(Daisanji Ninkai Taisen), and had married only shortly after she had found out she was pregnant.

'Grumble'

She had been brought out of her reminiscing moment by the gurgle of her stomach.

"Hehe...whoops, guess I forgot I was hungry. Well I guess I'm making a trip over to Ramen Ichiraku for some lunch." thought Kushina as she laughed at herself for forgetting.

As she was making her way down the street towards her destination, she kept passing various amounts of business's that were trying to sell their wares. None had really caught her attention as she was more focused on getting her stomach full until something caught her eye, she slowed her pace down enough to check out the store in question.

It was a clothing store, but for babies.

"I'll just take a quick peek inside." thought the Uzumaki, as she entered the store.

She entered the establishment and noticed that the place had a wide variety of different selections to chose from. She was just browsing through some clothes that were more to her liking as they were things she would wear if they made them a few sizes bigger.

She was brought out of her scrummaging as she saw something dark out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see what it was and noticed it wasn't a what, but a who. It was her best friend, Uchiha Mikoto.

Kushina had always had a friend/rival relationship with the woman as they had always competed with each-other. She was her best friend, but she was also the person she wanted to beat the most. As it was, Mikoto was ahead of her as she already had two children while she was going for her first.

"Hey there Mikoto-chan!" shouted Kushina, "Here buying some baby clothes for Sasuke-chan?" asked Kushina, as she made her way over to the woman.

The Uchiha woman had been startled when she heard her name shouted at her in a store and was about to scold whoever had done it. When she turned around and saw the strands of fiery red hair she already knew who it was.

"It's nice to see you to Kushina-chan." replied Mikoto, "And you shouldn't shout in a store as that is rude to the other patrons." scolded the Uchiha.

Kushina blushed crimson as she realized what she had done, and was now trying to shrink away from the eyes now staring at her.

"Oops...sorry about that." muttered Kushina embarrassed.

"It's fine Kushina, just be more aware of your surroundings and those that are in them." said the Uchiha, "And yes, I am here to buy some more clothes for little Sasuke." she answered.

While the two women were silently conversing with each-other completely unaware of the few women who were staring at them both. They couldn't help but stare enviously at both women as they were considered two of the most beautiful women in the whole village.

These two were the epitome of what the civilian and kunoichi were striving to be; beautiful but deadly. The Uchiha woman had fair-skin with long black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to frame her cheeks along with her onyx eyes. She roughly stood at 5ft 3in.

The Uzumaki stood just a bit taller than her counterpart at 5ft 4in with fair skin, but a slender yet feminine build. Violet eyes, and crimson red-hair framed her face giving her an exotic look that just personified her beauty.

"So what kind of clothes are you looking into?" asked Kushina.

"Hmm...I don't really know." confessed Mikoto. "I came to buy a few shirts for Sasuke, but I can't seem to make up my mind." said Mikoto, as she was torn between a blue shirt or a black one.

"Hehe, you should be more organized like me, Mikoto-chan." said the red-head smugly. "I already have baby clothes for Naru-chan all set up and ready to go." said Kushina with a confident smirk on her face believing she had outdone her rival.

Mikoto simply stared at her friend, and smiled at her ignorance and naive attitude.

"Kushina, let me give you a piece of advice from a mother who has experience in raising a child." said Mikoto, "New born children are always going to need things in quantity, even when you believe you have enough, it isn't." explained Mikoto, as she broke the news to her friend.

"..."

"..."

"O-of course I knew that, I-I was just testing you to see if you knew that." replied a stuttering, and embarrassed Kushina.

Mikoto smiled softly at her friend's flustered state, "So what are you in here to buy Kushina-chan?" asked Mikoto.

"Well I—."

'Grumble'

Her stomach gurgled yet again, clearly upset with not getting any food yet.

"..."

Kushina looked absolutely mortified while Mikoto was chuckling awkwardly.

"Quiet you!" thought Kushina silencing her stomach and praying it did not happen again.

"Um..." mumbled Mikoto.

"I-I was actually on my way to get some lunch before I stopped in here, would you care to join me?" quickly asked Kushina, as she wanted to leave the store so as to not attract any more attention.

"Lunch sounds great. Just give me a few seconds to buy these things, and then we'll head out." answered Mikoto, and went to buy her things.

xxx

Both women were making their way over to the ramen stand, and were a few feet away when two boys of the same age had stopped in front of them.

Kushina instantly recognized both boys as she used to take care of both of them when they were just a bit younger than what they are now. Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, she remembered when she had sent over the boy's birthday presents for their 5th birthday. She couldn't make it that day because of a day at the doctor for her pregnancy.

"Good afternoon Mikoto-sama, Kushina-sama." greeted the first boy with a goofy grin on his face.

The other boy was shaking his head in exasperation at his friends somewhat formal greeting. While still respectful, he did not believe it was enough. He lined up his feet, straightened his back, held up his chin looking them in the eye, and then bowed.

"Good afternoon Kushina-sama, and to you as well Kaa-sama." said the still bowing boy.

Kushina looked at both boys, and couldn't help but be amazed. They both hailed from the same clan, but they were both polar opposites of each-other. Both had jet black hair, onyx eyes, and fair skin. That was were the comparison's stopped though; Itachi was growing a ponytail while the front of his hair was well kept and framed his face. Shisui on the other hand had short, unkempt hair, along with a broad nose and some rather well defined eyelashes.

"So what are the two of you doing out here?" asked Mikoto, since neither had given a reason as to why they were there.

"We were actually looking for you and Sasuke." answered Itachi.

"Yeah, we came looking for you so we could play with Sasuke-chan...right, Itachi?" asks Shisui looking at his friend.

Itachi sighed while shaking his head when he heard the answer as to why they were really there. He could here the snickering coming from the two women in front of him, and sighed even louder when his mother told him that Sasuke was at home with his father. He noticed that the red-head had stopped, controlled herself and took a knee in front of them.

"Can I ask the both of you for a favor?" asks Kushina looking each both in their eyes.

Both gave her a nod, and she continued.

"You can both see that I'm going to have a baby, right?" she asks as both boys give her a nod. "I want you two to be big brothers to Naruto." she said.

"...I am afraid I don't follow?" questioned Itachi, as Shisui also looked rather confused as well.

"What I mean is for the both of you to look out for him, play with him when you can, beat up anyone who picks on him, like a big brother should. Naruto isn't going to be like Sasuke, who has you to watch over him Itachi. So would you both do me this favor?" asked Kushina, explaining herself.

Both boys were stunned speechless as they weren't expecting for her to ask them that. To be asked to be big brothers to another child, and one who's mother had looked after them or played with them when they were kids. They did not take long with their answers.

"I would like that very much, Kushina-sama." replied Itachi with a smile on his lips.

"Yosh! You can count on me as well Kushina-sama! I'll be the best big brother to Naruto-chan in the whole village! I'll protect him till the day I die!" shouted Shisui while grinning while Itachi nodded his head, for once agreeing with his friend.

Kushina had been a bit taken aback with his last statement, but smiled warmly at the boys, "Thank you Shisui-kun...Itachi-kun, I know I can count on the two of you." she said, and gave both boys a big warm hug.

Both boys had returned the hug. They finally broke free from each-other while helping Kushina get back on her feet, and said they would let both of them get on with their business. Both boys went back to the Uchiha compound.

With both boys gone the two ladies had resumed their walk once again. Mikoto noticed her friend squirming a bit as she walked, but said nothing about it.

"Um...Mikoto-chan?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"Um..."

"What is it Kushina-chan?"

"...Um?"

"SPIT IT OUT!" yelled Mikoto finally losing her patience.

"Is it going to hurt when I give birth?!" blurted out Kushina.

"..."

"..."

"Wha! Don't tell me that the Akai Chishio no Habanero is scared of childbirth. Especially when you've done the things you've done over the years?" teased the Uchiha.

"HEY! I was just asking a question, don't make fun of me and make me hit you, ttbane!" threatened Kushina while shaking her fist at her friend.

Mikoto completely ignored her friend's outburst and casual threat, "Hurt? Nooooo, of course it's not going to hurt, whatever gave you that idea." sarcastically answered Mikoto.

Kushina seemed to calm down a bit after hearing her friends answer as she trusted the woman next to her completely.

'GRUMBLE'

"..."

"..."

"W-well, were only a few feet away from the ramen stand." stuttered Mikoto caught off guard by the loud noise Kushina's stomach had made.

Kushina did not even bother to reply, and continued to try and shrink herself into her clothes to hide away from the stares. It seemed her stomach was fed up, and wanted to eat now.

Finally after what seemed like hours, they had finally arrived at their destination. They both took a seat at the stand, and were waiting to be helped.

"Kushina? What are you hoping Naruto turns out like?" Mikoto asked suddenly.

"Hmm..." Kushina hummed and answered, "I want him to be like me, a badass!" she responded.

Mikoto shook her head, and refrained from asking any more questions as they were going to place their orders.

Mikoto ordered one bowl of chicken ramen while Kushina ordered multiple bowls; five bowls of miso ramen, and five bowls of shio ramen. Both variates of ramen had things that would be suitable for a pregnant woman: chicken, vegetables, and fish.

Their orders had arrived a few minutes later, and they ate in silence. Once they had both finished they had each paid for their food and had left the stand. Both had things they had to take care of so they were each saying goodbye to the other.

'Splash'

Kushina's water had finally broken.

Silence...pure and utter silence throughout the entire street they were on.

"Oh shit!" were the thoughts of both women.

Kushina was starting to get extremely nervous, and began to panic. She barely heard her friend telling her to calm down until she passed out.

Mikoto saw her friend had barely heard her voice, and quickly reacted once she saw her friend falling face first into the ground. She managed to grab her in time.

xxx

...Konoha Hospital...

Kushina had finally been admitted into the hospital, and had thoroughly freaked out when she didn't know where she was. She had calmed down somewhat when she saw the hospital personnel, but began to freak out again when it finally hit her.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! I can't believe I'm finally going to have this baby." thought Kushina, as her heart was beating faster and faster.

She was brought out of her mini freakout when she heard footsteps directly outside of her room's door. The door opened, and two people walked in; she knew one person as they had interacted with each-other in the past couple of weeks, but she didn't know to much about the other person, all she had was a name.

Sarutobi Biwako, wife of Sarutobi Hiruzen the Sandaime Hokage, was one of the mid-wives that would help deliver the baby. The other was a woman named Taji, and all Kushina knew about the women was her name and occupation; ANBU.

"Hm?"

"Wait a minute here? One, two...two? Where the hell is she at?" thought Kushina with her anger starting to rise.

The third mid-wife that was going to help was none other than Senju Tsunade. Hailed as the greatest medical-nin of all time, a member of the Densetsu no Sannin, related to Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama, and she was incredibly late.

"Where the hell is Tsunade at?" shouted Kushina losing her cool.

"We don't know. We sent teams out to locate her and deliver a message asking her to be here for this. She finally replied after a few weeks saying she would be here as a favor to you Kushina." answered Biwako, explaining the situation with the missing Senju.

...Flashback...

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama! I have a letter from Konoha." said Shizune, the apprentice of Tsunade. Shizune was a fair-skinned women with a slender build along with black eyes and hair. She hands her master the letter and was going to leave for a moment.

The letter had only just reached the fingertips of Tsunade before it was sticking out of the trash. She was currently gambling and did not want to do read anything that pertained to Konoha.

"Tsunade-sama! Did you even read the letter? And what it pertained to?" questioned Shizune, hands on her hips.

"I didn't need to read it to know what it said or what they wanted?" answered Tsunade in a monotone voice as she stood up to leave as she had lost most of her money.

Senju Tsunade is a light skinned woman, brown eyes, and straight blonde hair that reached her waist and framed her face with two shoulder length bangs. She also had possibly the largest bust in the ninja world at 106cm, and has been hailed as the most beautiful kunoichi in the world.

Shizune shook her head in disappointment at her master's attitude, and proceeded to inform her of what the letter actually said. It was a request to help deliver the child of Uzumaki Kushina.

"That's it?" questioned Tsunade.

"Yes, that's it. At best, you'll be in the village for a couple of hours, and at worse a few days." answered Shizune.

Tsunade thought about it for a while and accepted the request. She would be there to help with the childbirth, as a favor to her distant Uzumaki relative.

It was decided, and they both prepared to travel back to Konoha.

...Flashback End...

xxx

That was a little over two weeks ago when they had received the reply, but the women had yet to show up, and Kushina was beginning her contractions.

Suddenly everyone felt a presence enter the room, and were immediately on guard. However Kushina smiled when she saw the yellow flash, already knowing who it was. The man in front of them was a fairly tall, fair-skinned man with bright blue eyes, and blonde spikey hair with two bangs framing his face. It was none other than Namikaze Minato; the Yondaime Hokage.

"Soooo..." dawdled Minato, "I heard you passed out when your water broke." Minato said grinning.

Kushina glared, and let out a growl at the man who was the father of her child. She could see him grinning like a madman, and was about to get up and stick her foot up his ass, but was stopped.

"As much as I would love to see you rip him a new one, don't you believe we should get things underway." stated Biwako as she stood in the middle of the two.

"And what of Tsunade?" questioned Minato.

"She has yet to arrive. So we will have to start without her." said Biwako as she heaved a sigh.

"Well, not much we can do about her now. Grab a hold of me, and we can get started at our new location." said Minato, as they were moving to a different location in order for Kushina to give birth.

The reason for this was because of the Bijū sealed within Kushina or more specifically the Kyūbi no Yōko. The seal placed on her would be weakest during childbirth as the energy needed to be redirected into something other than the child, and so as to not alert the villagers they were doing the delivery in a secret area that would mask any leaked chakra from the Bijū.

xxx

...Chamber of Sealing...

"AAAAHHHH!" screamed one Uzumaki Kushina.

"Remember your breathing exercises, and keep pushing. Your almost there Kushina-sama!" spoke Taji trying to calm the patient.

"I KNOW THAT! I SWEAR—AAHH—THAT IF I SEE MINATO'S FACE—AAHH—I'M GOING TO POUND IT IN FOR WHAT—AAHH—HE'S PUTTING ME THROUGH!".

Minato had been kicked out of the room because he had been freaking out, and had started pace back and forth. Plus he needed to keep an eye on the seal holding the Bijū in.

To hell with getting his face pounded in, he would be there for the birth of his son. It was one thing to pump himself up, but another thing entirely as he was not even in the room yet.

He opened the door to the room with the presence of a hardened warrior, and immediately withered under his wife's demonic glare. He was no sensor, but he could still feel an assortment of emotions rolling off of her. They were all directed at his person, and they mostly consisted of bodily harm.

"Now now Kushina, I'm sure it isn't that bad?"

Very poor choice of words.

"What did you just say?" asked Kushina in the calmest tone she had before the birthing had begun.

"I said—."

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID YOU IDIOT! YOU HAVE SOME—AAHH—NERVE SAYING THAT TO ME WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE PAIN I'M IN! DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU NAMIKAZE MINATO, FOR WHAT YOUR PUTTING ME THROUGH!"

He had no answer to her claims. He did not know the pain she was going though, he had assumed it hadn't hurt that much, but to damn him; wasn't that a bit much.

"I KNEW I SHOULD'VE CREATED A SEAL TO COUNTERACT THE PAIN—AAHH—THE DRUGS THE DOCTORS GAVE ME ARN'T ENOUGH! I WAS JUST SO HAPPY ABOUT HAVING A FAMILY THAT I FORGOT TO CREATE IT!"

"..."

He still didn't understand how any of this was fault. He may have been the one to knock her up, but that shouldn't have distracted her from making it. He was too busy with his own work to make one, so yep, it was definitely not his fault.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK! AND KEEP THOSE THOUGHTS TO YOURSELF!"

What in the name of Uchiha Madara, how had she known what he was thinking. Must be a latent ability of a pregnant women. To be able to discern their husbands thoughts.

"MINATO! MINATO! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO—AAHH—ME!?"

"...Yes."

"I SWEAR, IF YOU WERE THINKING—AAHH—SOMETHING IDIOTIC ABOUT ME—!" threatened Kushina with a balled up fist shaking at her husband.

"Um...no Kushi-chan, I wasn't thinking that at all."

My god, what willpower this women had. To give birth while berating and threatening him, that definitely had to be an Uzumaki thing. It felt like they had been speaking for hours, yet she had still not given birth.

"YOUR DOING IT—AAHH—AGAIN AREN'T YOU!?"

"..."

"MINATOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And there it was. With that scream alone, they all knew that the baby would be coming any second now.

Biwako kept telling her to push and push, to give it everything she had and then some. Her breathing had become heavier, and she was now taking a few seconds in-between each breath.

Minato had seen some stuff in his life, but this took the prize. What he had witnessed was a miracle given life. And that's when he heard it, the best sound he had ever heard in his life.

"WAAAAHHH WAAAAHHH WAAAAHHH!"

The sound of a baby crying, his baby. He too found himself shedding his own tears, he was now a father.

"Shh shh." said Taji soothingly, trying to calm the baby down. "Congratulations Kushina-sama, Minato-sama. You have a healthy baby boy."

Once both parents saw him, all they felt was love. Naruto, their son, had inherited the majority of Minato's blonde hair, but when they looked closer they could see little red wisps. He had also inherited his fathers strikingly blue eyes. However he looked more like his mother more than anything.

Taji then proceeded to give the baby to his mother. As if Naruto knew he was in loving hands, he stopped his crying, and looked up at his mother with his blue eyes, and gurgled.

"My baby, my precious baby boy." repeated Kushina as she was gently holding him in her arms.

"May I hold him Kushina?" asked Minato.

She actually seemed to think on it, and had wanted to outright refuse him, but had relented. "Of course, but be-careful with him. Support his head gently." instructed Kushina, as this information had been drilled into her by Biwako.

"Hey there little guy, I'm your daddy." softly spoke Minato.

He got a little baby yawn, it was just the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

"Excuse me Minato-sama, but may I have baby Naruto back for a few seconds. I need to measure his height and weight for his birth certificate." spoke Taji.

"Oh, right. Here you go." said Minato, handing over his son.

"Thanks, I'll be done in a few seconds."

'SQUELCH'

"WAAAAHHH!" cried baby Naruto, as someone different was holding him.

Both parents shot their heads to the sounds of their child, and the familiar sound of blood hitting the ground. They both froze at what they saw, a masked man holding their son with a kunai pointed at his neck along with two bodies behind the man. Taji and Biwako were dead.

Minato made to move, and beat the man with his superior speed, but the man threatened to kill the child before he could reach him. Then it happened.

It all happened with the span of a few seconds. One moment, Minato was standing next to his wife, but now he was holding his child in his hands. He quickly noticed the exploding tags attached to his son's blanket, took it off, and flashed away to his home to secure his son. He had left his wife alone.

xxx

...Kushina...

She was trying her hardest not to get teary eyed as her son had been taken away, but her anger took over for her, and was directed at the masked man.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" she yelled trying to sound intimidating.

"...To destroy Konoha."

"What! Why?"

"..."

"How...do you plan on doing...that?" Kushina said in-between breaths after the birth.

"Simple really...I'm going to rip the Kyūbi from your gut, and release him upon the village, thus destroying it."

Now Kushina was a bit frightened, and was about to speak before the man placed his hand on the seal that was on her belly.

"NO! WAI—!...AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The seal had pulsed for a brief second before a primal roar pierced the heavens, and shook the very earth itself.

'ROAR'

The Kyūbi no Yōko had been released from it's seal, and placed under the control of the masked man.

"You've done your part Uzumaki Kushina, now watch as I burn Konoha to the ground." said the masked man, and he disappeared. He assumed the women was going to die of blood-loss and shock from having the Bijū forcibly extracted.

A few seconds later Minato reappeared.

"—INA, KUSHINA!" yelled Minato as he reentered the sealing chamber.

Minato had arrived only to see wife breathing coming out heavy and hoarse. She was still alive and that's all that mattered right now. He noticed the man from before was gone, and was going to soon give chase as he already knew what was going on. The Bijū had been released from it's seal, as he could feel it's foul chakra.

He needed to hurry before the Bijū reached the village. He already knew what he was going to do, but he would ensure that they would never be alone in this world. He lightly touched his wife and disappeared in a yellow flash.

...Minato's Secret House...

Minato and Kushina had arrived at his secret safe house, located just behind the Hokage mountain. He placed his wife in a bed.

"Knowing her she's going to try and get up and fight with me." thought Minato with a sad smile, "That is not something I can allow to happen. One of us needs to guide our son, and that will be you, Kushina."

"Fūinjutsu: Ichimei Kekkei(Sealing Technique: Living Barrier)!"

He placed a few seals around her bed and sealed her within a barrier that was tied to his chakra, so when his ran out, then it would run out.

He looked at his wife one last time, and left to deal with the threat to his family and home.

xxx

...Kushina...

'GASP'

Kushina awoke with a gasp for air, and settled back down on her bed. She quickly took in a breath of air and calmed herself down. She opened her eyes, and was now confused as she did not recognize the place she had been placed in at first. She realized that she was in Minato's home when not staying in the Uzumaki compound.

She tenderly got up out of the bed, and searched around the home. Finding nothing of importance she ventured towards the door, and opened it to find herself outside. She looked around, and noticed that many things had been destroyed along with tree's being uprooted all around the area.

She suddenly froze as she saw something that is going to haunt her for the rest of her life, lying there on the floor just a few feet away from her was her husband with a gaping hole in the middle of his body. She saw this, and despite the pain she was feeling she rushed over to his downed form. She reached him, and began to shake him while tears were falling down her face.

She tried and tried, but realization hit her. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage was dead. As she was crying she managed to her a very faint sound off in the distance so she got herself up, and found her son in a basket crying. Her son was alive.

She quickly grabbed him, and started to cry along with him until she saw the seal that had faded from his little belly. Then everything hit her, she knew just what had happened.

Her husband had sealed the Bijū inside of their son. That was why he was dead as she knew he only knew of one way to seal the Kyūbi. He had used the Shiki Fūjin along with the Hakke no Fūin Shiki.

She looked at her son, and knew things would be difficult if news ever got out that he was the new Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko, and she assumed that was why she was alive so as to not only protect him, but guide him as well.

She then noticed two concealed letters; one for herself and Naruto, but before she could hope to read hers, someone called out to her.

She turned expecting one person, but was surprised when there were two. Sarutobi Hiruzen was striding over to her location while one of his student's trailed him. She would've thought it to be Jiraiya, but instead it was Senju Tsunade.

Finally getting over her mild surprise, she questioned why both teacher and student had arrived after the damage had finally been done. She heard their answers, but neither appeased her and she began to recount just what she could remember of the situation at their behest.

"Listen Kushina, I'm sorry for the loss of your husband, but I need to know what happened to the Bijū?" pressed Hiruzen, as he needed to know the situation in case it was still loose.

Kushina did not hesitate for one second before answering, "It was sealed by Minato. He sealed it inside of himself and took it with him into the belly of the Shinigami." lied Kushina.

Both were surprised, but none more that Hiruzen. He looked into the woman's eyes to see if he could find any deceit, but found none. He then looked to the child in her arms and saw nothing. No seal anywhere on the body nor where there any traces of the Bijū's influence.

"I see." said Hiruzen sighing at the whole situation, "What do you plan to do now?" he asked.

"I plan on raising my son to the best of my ability while leading him to greatness." stated Kushina with a conviction in her voice.

Hiruzen nodded at the women, and then asked her another question.

"What's the lad's name?" he questioned.

Kushina easily read between the lines, "His name is Uzumaki Naruto of the Uzumaki clan."

"I see. Will he ever take his father's name?"

"Perhaps. I will let him decide when he's older or if he finds out himself. Whichever comes first." answered Kushina, as she was now starting to feel the effects of the pain on her body.

"Listen Hiruzen, I'm taking my son home. We need to rest after the ordeal we have been put through today. If you need any more questions answered then you may ask me tomorrow." said Kushina, before gripping her child a bit tighter, and began walking back to her home.

She stopped half-way, "Tsunade?" asked Kushina in a tired voice.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you, come by the house tomorrow. I have something I need to ask you?"

"Just ask me now. I might only be in the village until tomorrow anyway." replied Tsunade, as she did not wish to see more blood and carnage.

Kushina stared at the women, and was trying to figure out if she was being serious or not. Would she really just leave when so many were injured and in need of her skills.

"Walk with me then?"

"Okay?" she said as she caught up with the redhead, "So what did you want to ask me?"

"I wanted to know if you were interested in becoming our family's personal doctor?" she asks suddenly.

"Why would I want to do that, I mean don't get me wrong. I consider you family regardless of how distant, but why would I want to stay in this village?" questioned Tsunade, surprised at the out of the blue offer.

"Well, you do kind of owe me for not being here on time. And had you been here, things might have been different." reasoned Kushina, while trying to guilt her into staying.

"Look, I'm sorry for your loss, but this village has taken too much from me, and I just can't stay here." answered Tsunade as truthfully as she could.

"Look, I don't care if you want to leave the village to go and do you own thing, but when I have need for you, I want you to be there. I will offer you and your apprentice a place to live while paying you for your services. How does that sound?"

"..." Tsunade bit her lip as she was seriously considering the offer. It would be nice for herself and her apprentice to finally settle down for a bit. Plus she could still leave and do her own thing or when she just didn't want to be in the village for a while.

"Deal." said Tsunade reaching to shake on it.

"Deal." replied Kushina doing the same thing, and shook hands.

They both walked back to the Uzumaki compound awaiting what was to come in the following years.

xxx

...Three Years Later...

Three years had come and gone since that fateful day three years ago. The village itself had undergone some changes since that day. New buildings had been built for the ones that had been destroyed, new procedures had been put in place in case of another disaster, and the naming of a Hokage.

Kushina remembered that day very well as she had been in the populace when it had been announced that Hiruzen Sarutobi would resume his duties as Hokage once more. She heard his explanation on just what had transpired that night, and how the Yondaime had sealed the beast within himself and taken it with him to the grave.

She of course took in all of the reactions the populace had, and most seemed to buy it, so that was at-least one thing she did not have to worry about. Nobody would suspect her son nor would she let them.

She had read the letter that had been addressed to herself all those years ago, and it gave her more information on just what had really happened. She had only known bit's and pieces, but now she knew it all.

Her husband had fought a man who he believed to be the legendary Uchiha Madara, as the man had shown he had a fully matured Sharingan. She had read on, and found out that he had only sealed half of the Bijū into her son. He sealed the Yin half of the fox into Naruto while sealing the Yang in himself.

He had also instructed her to begin his training as soon as she could. As there will be enemies who will seek to use or take the Bijū from him or in fact use him as a weapon.

She had also taken up a seat on the council as head of the Uzumaki Clan. She would need information on just what the most powerful people in the village were planning. However she would only take up that mantle until Naruto was old enough to look after himself.

Speaking of her son. She had to say that she was honestly surprised by her son, he was quiet most of the time and chose to focus his thinking on certain things. Granted he was just three years old, but it was still quite something to see.

He was always reading, and trying to learn new things while his idea of fun was solving some puzzles. She had been a bit concerned about him as she would have thought he would have been a regular ball of energy, like she was as a child. However the more she thought about it the less she worried, as his father was the same way.

The only real friends he had were people that were much older than him, she could name them on one hand. Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shizune. They were the only people who really knew who Naruto's father was.

She only really considered two people close to his age bracket. Uchiha Itachi & Shisui had taken her asking them for a favor very seriously. They would come over almost every other day to just hang out or play with Naruto. Naruto enjoyed their company very much.

She had tried to get Naruto to hang around people his own age, but things never seemed to click. Naruto would always say they were too stupid to understand some of the things he tried explaining to them.

However, regardless of how he acted to others his age or how he acted just around herself, she still loved him with all of her heart. She would begin his training soon as he will need to know how to protect himself.

xxx

...Three Years Later...

Three years had come and gone since Naruto had begun his training under various teachers. Some skills had taken him longer to master, but he had eventually gotten them down. He was currently awaiting for his next two sensei's.

He briefly thought back to his first lesson with his mother while he was waiting.

...Flashback...

"Okay Naruto, today I'm going to start your training. Now I want you to understand that this is going to be a lengthy process, and what you learn today needs to be practiced for the remainder of the year. Am I understood!?" said Kushina, with a sweet smile on her face.

"Y-yeah, understood Kaa-chan." replied the four year old.

"Good. Now I want you to take a seat on the ground, and cross your legs as well. I'm going to have you unlock your chakra." explained Kushina as she instructed him.

Naruto proceeded to follow her instructions and sat down on the ground while crossing his legs. He looked up to his mother further awaiting her orders.

"First off, answer me this. What is chakra?"

"Chakra is the moulding of the physical energy present in every cell of the body, and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience." stated Naruto, with pinpoint accuracy.

"Word for word from what you read huh?"

"Yep!" he replied with a smile.

"Alright, now I want you to close your eyes and focus deep within yourself." she said, watching him close his eyes and began to concentrate.

"Next," she continued, "Your going to feel an energy source within yourself flowing throughout your entire body. I want you to grab that energy, and bring it to the surface." she said, as she was patiently watching.

"..." confusion was written over Naruto's face.

Seeing the confused face on her son, she decided to find out what was wrong, "What's wrong Sochi? Can you not locate your chakra?" she asked.

"No...I found it, but it's strange?"

"What is?"

"There are two energies for me to grab. One is blue and warm, while the other is red and malicious." explained Naruto, not really knowing what was going on.

"..." Kushina froze when he mentioned the second type, and immediately knew what it was. She would need to tread carefully here.

"Naruto," she spoke softly, "I want you to grab the blue and warm feeling. Don't touch that other one, I will teach you about it, but not right now. Okay?" she spoke slowly.

"Okay. I'm going to grab the first one." he replied.

Kushina just watched as her son was concentrating, and saw a faint blueish outline on her son appear all around him, and knew he had done it.

"Congratulations Naruto, you've successfully unlocked your chakra." said Kushina, as she went up and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Kaa-chan."

"Your welcome. Would you like to take a break or do you wish to continue?" she asked already knowing his response.

"I can keep going." he replied with a fire in his eyes.

"Right, well know that you have your chakra unlocked we need to work on your control."

"Okay, what do I have to do?" questioned Naruto, looking at her.

"Well, first I'm going to place this leaf on your forehead and I want you to apply chakra to that leaf so it doesn't fall off."

"Okay, is that all I'm going to be doing today?" queried Naruto.

"Hmm.." she thought, "No, I am going to be teaching you how to handle and throw shuriken, kunai, ninja wire etc. That will be your training schedule until I say otherwise." she said in a tone that meant it was not up for debate.

"Fine..." he said sighing, "So I work on my chakra control, and practice with my shuriken and kunai." he said making sure he heard right.

"That's correct."

...Flashback End...

That had been his first year of training. Nothing but pure chakra control along with training in his ninja tools. It was only until the second year that things really began to take off for him.

...Flashback...

"Okay Naruto, I know you've been learning how to scout out an area, and track a person(s) from Kakashi. From what he's told me, you excel at the things most shinobi tend to neglect. I'm proud of you." said Kushina as she praised her son.

"Thank you Kaa-chan!" replied Naruto, giving her one of his rare smiles.

"Your welcome. Now I'm going to teach you some useful techniques." she said, as she could see him shaking with anticipation.

"Which ones?!"

"They are three basic techniques, but will be useful out in the field. They are the Henge, Kawarimi, and the Bunshin." she said, as she explained what each did.

"Wow." was all Naruto said, as he was left speechless at hearing what they did.

"Hehe...I knew you would be impressed." chuckled Kushina watching her son's reaction.

"When can I get started!?" he asked in anticipation.

"Soon, but there is one thing I want to tell you." said Kushina, rather seriously.

"What is it?"

"Along with your physical training and chakra control exercise's, these are the only things your going to be learning. I want you to have these mastered before we move on to something else." she said, as she explained that having something mastered could be the difference between living or dying.

"Now," she continued, "I'm just going to give you the specifics of what your physical training will work on: endurance, stamina, speed, pain tolerance, strength, power, flexibility, agility, coordination, balance, and accuracy." she listed off.

Once Naruto heard this he understood, and wanted to get his training underway.

...Flashback End...

xxx

"Oh Naruto, have you been waiting long?" asked one Uchiha Itachi in his Weasel mask

"No sensei. I was just thinking." he replied.

"Very well then. Let's wait until Dragon arrives before we begin." stated the older Uchiha.

"Okay."

Naruto knew that behind those Anbu masks were his two elder Uchiha friends. It was a very sad but interesting day that day, as he not only learned some vital information about himself, but one of his friends as well.

...Flashback...

"WHAT!?" shouted Naruto in compete disbelief.

"Yes. Myself along with Shisui have been accepted into the ranks of the ANBU. I just wanted to let you know that if we do not appear around regularly it is because we are on a mission, and not because we do not like you anymore." explained Itachi in a monotone voice.

However what he did not tell the young blonde before him was that both Shisui and himself have already been in the organization for a while now, and their next mission was regarding him. Many attempts had been made by outside forces on either his life or his mothers. While his mother could protect herself, he could not.

"Well...not yet anyways." thought Itachi.

Itachi along with Shisui had been assigned by the Hokage to watch over the boy at all times possible. They of course knew who the boy's father was as they needed to know such information, and understood why he needed a bit more protection.

"I see." replied Naruto, as he wrapped his head around the information he was just given, "Will you come to see me when you have time?" asked Naruto in a whisper.

"Of course. Well I really must get going, I just wished to relay our situation to you." said Itachi, as he made his way out, but not before greeting Naruto's mother, "Hello Kushina-sama."

"Hello Itachi-kun." replied Kushina as she watched the boy leave.

"Hello Kaa-chan." said a dejected Naruto.

"What's wrong Naruto?" she asked in a worried tone.

And so he began to explain what he had just been told, and she now understood why he was a bit depressed. She explained to him that if Itachi had not valued their friendship then he wouldn't have bothered to let him know. That made him feel a bit better, and got out of his mood.

"I see you are ready to train in the other things I have to teach you." stated Kushina, looking at Naruto.

Naruto nodded his head as the past year had seen him training in the specifics of Stealth and Infiltration. He had asked her how she knew such things, and she said she was once briefly part of the Anbu—until she got pregnant—and left it at that.

Those two things along with his physical training, and his new chakra control exercise, tree walking, had done wonders for him. He was wondering what she would teach him next.

"I'm going to teach you this technique I learned from one of my friends. It's called the Tōton Jutsu." she said.

"What does it do?"

"It renders the user invisible during combat." she explained.

"That sounds useful." replied Naruto thinking of such ways to use it.

"It is...Tōton Jutsu(Transparent Escape Technique)!"

And before his very eyes, his mother had vanished. He was about to call out to her, but something stopped him, and he forced himself to the ground. It was quick, but he felt the change in the air current after he had dropped.

"You have good instinct's Naruto. You dodged that strike well, but never stop moving!" she yelled.

Naruto heard her tone of voice, and immediately got himself up and put his defense. It had little effect as Kushina could easily bypass it. She knocked him around a few times, and let himself get back up again. She was impressed with his durability, but then again he was an Uzumaki.

"Shit!" cursed Naruto mentally. He needed to find out just where she was, but how?

Unbeknownst to the two Uzumaki that were fighting, but there were two people watching them. It was two ANBU that had been watching since the beginning. One had a weasel mask on while the other had a dragon mask.

"What do you think...Itachi." asked Dragon.

"How many times must I tell you...don't call me by my name." sighed Itachi shaking his head.

"Oops. I mean...what do you think...Weasel?" Dragon spoke the last few words in a serious tone.

"I think he needs to do something quick or he will continue to be punched and kicked by his mother." answered Weasel as they both returned to watching.

"Dammit...I need to do something...I know!" thought Naruto, as something came to him.

He rolled once again as he felt the current in the air shift, but this time while on the ground, he snatched up a handful of dirt. He quickly got up and readied himself when he felt the shift again, he threw the dirt.

"Hehe...nice try Naruto. Something like that will not work on an opponent who is much faster than you." she explained to him, as she rounded on him once again.

"Oof..." grunted Naruto as he focused his eyes as much as he could, hoping to find her.

"Might as well end this little demonstration." thought Kushina, but not before she could land one more hit.

She balled her fist up, and was about to bring it down on top of his head when something incredible happened. He caught it.

"What the hell!?" shouted Kushina in disbelief.

'Gasp!'

She couldn't believe it, but it couldn't be an illusion. Her son was looking at her not with his own eyes, but with the eyes of a different person. She was looking directly at a pair of Sharingan eyes.

"Bu—!" were the last words on her mouth before she received a kick directly to her stomach, knocking the air out of her as she fell to the ground.

...Weasel & Dragon...

They were both just as shocked as Kushina was. They couldn't believe that their friend had those eyes, it didn't make any sense. They needed more information before reporting this.

...Naruto & Kushina...

Naruto looked directly at the downed form of his mother, and quickly ran towards her to check on her.

"Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan! Are you okay? I'm sorry!" he repeated over and over again in worry.

"It's okay Naruto. I just need to catch my breath." she said never leaving his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I think we need to call Tsunade, and give you a check-up." she responded.

...Flashback End...

xxx

"Oh man, and what a check-up that was." thought Naruto, thinking back to that day.

After his check up had been finished, they had taken a blood sample. It was obvious he had Uchiha blood flowing through his veins, but who had he received it from. His mother? Or his father?

From what the results had said when Tsunade had gotten them back, Naruto was 33% Uchiha, 33% Kaguya, and 34% Uzumaki. Who knew.

...Flashback...

"Really!? Where did I get whose blood from?" asked Naruto, looking around the room.

"We would like to know that as well." thought both Itachi & Shisui, as they were hidden from view, still watching over Naruto.

"Well," started Tsunade, "You received your Uzumaki blood from your mother, but you also received your Kaguya blood from her as well." stated Tsunade.

Everybody was now looking at Kushina, waiting for an explanation. She told them that she was in fact half Kaguya on her mother's side.

"I see," said the busty Senju, "Well that answers that question. Which pretty much means you received your Uchiha blood from your father, and from what I've seen on the results, your actually related to someone from that clan." she said out loud.

"Who? Who is my father? And who am I related to?" Naruto asked in rapid succession.

Tsunade looked to Kushina before answering, and got a nod, "Your father is or was, Namikaze Minato or Uchiha Minato, the late Yondaime Hokage."

Shock, sadness, relief, anger, were the emotions that had been going on inside of Naruto when he finally got the news he had been waiting for.

"I see." he said.

"That's it? You see?" spoke Tsunade as she believed the boy would have an outburst.

"What else do you want me to say. I finally have the answer to who my father was, but I do need time to adjust to it." he explained looking directly at the woman.

Tsunade just nodded her head, and continued with her information, "Now as to who you are related to by way of your father. Your grandfather is Uchiha Kagami while his son Shisui would be your uncle." said Tsunade revealing the information.

'Gasp'

"What was that?" wondered Tsunade, as she thought she heard something.

"You need to control yourself, Dragon." signed Weasel using hand gestures.

"R-roger that." he signed back using the same gestures.

"Really!? I'm related to Shisui, that's so cool!" said Naruto, as he looked up to the older Uchiha boy.

"Naruto." spoke Kushina, getting his attention, "You can't tell anyone about this."

"I understand the consequences Kaa-chan. I may be young, but I'm not stupid." retorted Naruto, as he subtly activated his Dōjutsu.

He didn't know how or why, but he had very acute senses. He had only really used them on instinct when previously fighting his mother, but now he was doing it automatically. He had felt a shift in the air from somewhere in the room.

He dared not move his head lest he give himself away. He was quickly scanning the lower half of the room, and then proceeded to move higher up. There! He finally saw them, it was two, but they seemed to be listening in on the conversation while completely ignoring him.

"So he has the battle instinct's of the Kaguya, the body of an Uzumaki, and the Dōjutsu of the Uchiha. I must say, he has the makings of a great shinobi." stated Kushina, as everybody digested what she had just said.

It was a very scary prospect. Just the Sharingan alone can make an individual dangerous, but coupled along with the vitality, stamina, and humongous chakra reserves of the Uzumaki and you have the makings of a powerhouse. Then add in the aptitude for battle from the Kaguya clan and it just make the word powerhouse seem obsolete.

"You do indeed have the makings of something great Naruto-kun." spoke Shizune for the first time.

"Man, imagine if Naruto had the Shikotsumyaku." Kushina said to herself.

Everyone, but Naruto, shivered at that thought. While those present in the room had never fought an actual user of that bloodline, they were still positive they would come out victorious, they were just unsure of what shape they would come out in.

"That is indeed a scary thought." Itachi thought to himself, as he was so engrossed that he never saw the pair of blood red eyes staring straight at him.

Itachi was now in a dilemma, as he was sure his friend was in as well. What do they exactly do with this information. If he gave it to the Hokage, the man would have no choice but to share it with the rest of the clan heads.

While he was positive his father would not try anything being who the boy's mother was, but that did not mean others would not. Naruto's circumstances are too good to be true, and others would try to exploit the boy behind his mother's back.

That dreaded CRA came to Itachi's mind, and he actually allowed his emotions to overtake him for a brief second. He was disgusted with how they treat any who were the last of their clan. He did not want that for Naruto, as he was responsible—along with Shisui—for acting as older brothers and taking care of him in ways only they could.

If the information from this little meeting were to be exposed, it would set off a chain of events that would undoubtedly harm Naruto—and Konoha—in the short and long run. He did not want that, so for now...he would keep it to himself.

Itachi turned to Shisui and could see the emotions raging within the man's eyes. It seemed he was not the only one with some internal strife. He was going to signal him for them to leave and wait when they came out, but noticed something that momentarily stopped his breathing.

Two Sharingan eyes were staring directly at his position, and he knew they had been spotted. He noticed that Shisui had stiffened as he to saw the blood red eyes of their clan. Itachi briefly wondered if Naruto would reveal their locations.

"We made a rookie mistake." thought the fresh new ANBU shinobi as he was caught unaware.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the boy had stopped applying chakra to his eyes, and turned his head in the opposite direction. Before he left though, Naruto gave him one last 'look', and Itachi had received the message.

Itachi and Shisui disappeared immediately after that.

xxx

Both Uchiha were in and around the canopy that surrounded the Uzumaki compound, and were awaiting their visitor. They had been waiting since they had left the hospital which ended roughly thirty minutes ago.

They did not wait much long as Naruto appeared not a few yards away from the tree's that were hiding them.

"You two can come out now." called out Naruto.

The two seemed to hesitate at his casual demeanor as he called out to them. However, both knew they had to hear him out as he had not revealed them during the hospital visit. Neither doubted it would have looked bad on them—two Anbu spying on a kid and his mother—and even now it still looked bad as the boy's mother would not bother listening to either of them and take her own sons word over theirs.

"We need to tread carefully here." Itachi told himself as he and Shisui dropped down.

"Ah...there you are." said Naruto.

"So it would seem." replied Itachi trying to sound different, "What did you wish to discuss?" he asked.

"Hmm...I already who you two are...so can you take off your masks already?" stated Naruto.

"!" both men were shocked and had shown as much as their bodies went rigid.

"...And how do you know this?" asked Dragon.

"Simple really...who would the Hokage trust to keep an eye on me other than the two people who already know me and my habits—and two 'new' Anbu—isn't that right...Itachi, Shisui."

Itachi merely shook his head and let out a small sigh. It seemed his friend was very astute, he did not think the little knowledge he had given him earlier would come back to haunt him.

"You are correct. However I must ask you call us by our code names. You may call me Weasel."

"You sure are smart Naruto...isn't he Ita—I mean Weasel. By the way, you can call me Dragon."

"Noted. Now I have a favor to ask of you two, since you two are the only two Uchiha that I know." said Naruto as he could tell both men had a raised eyebrow behind their masks.

"And that is?" replied Itachi needing more information.

"I want you two to train me in mastering my Sharingan."

...Flashback End...

Naruto was smiling at those memories as he didn't think he could or ever would again surprise both Uchiha again. He had come to terms about that other piece of information regarding his father. He wasn't sure what to feel for the man. He held no hate for the man, but did not love him either, that's where his reasoning had led him.

On one hand the man had selflessly given his life for his village and understood his thinking at the time. However, he had left him without a father, a role model, a man to strive to emulate, and a friend. He had shed some tears for the man who was his father.

However that was where his feelings for the man stopped. He had no obligation to strive for, emulate, or surpass a dead man, and would instead strive to surpass his mother. He was brought out of his thoughts by a voice he recognized.

"Yo! Sorry I'm late. I forgot what time I was supposed to be here and overslept." said Dragon.

Both Naruto and Itachi could tell he was telling the truth if his bed head was any indication. Neither said anything and instead decided to ignore it for now.

"Right, well let's get this started. Naruto...welcome to Sharingan 101." informed Dragon trying to lighten the mood.

End of Chapter 1

AN:

Okay so the re-write of this story is underway. Sorry for taking for ever to update the this one, but I realized that the other story was written very poorly. It had no structure, and so I felt no obligation to it.

However, I had always kept thinking about it and began to tweak some ideas that I had planned for the original while implementing the new ones which gave me the fuel to write this story again.

So once again I apologize to those who were waiting for the other story. I just hope you can find it in you to give this one a chance the way you gave the other one a chance.

Moving on...

Okay...so in the other story, Naruto had met Kimimaro and Haku by the end of the first chapter. I will just say that one of the characters that was mentioned above will not be apart of the group this time around...maybe. Still deciding.

I already have Samui for the pairing, and am looking for one or possibly two more, making it a total of either two or three. Give me your suggestions!

I will just finish with this...things will be much different from the original. Anyways I hope you guys liked it.

Later...

R&R...