I.

Today, August 25th of the 460th Ninja Year, a strange phenomenon happened within the village of Konohagakure no Sato. It wasn't particularly flashy or attention drawing, but the stir of chakra that had randomly gathered was suspicious. It was eight years after the attack of the Nine-Tails, and yet a familiar spike of its foul chakra had been detected. Many ninja thought the beast had found its way out of its current vessel but when said boy was checked up on, he was fine.

The third Hokage ordered a team of ANBU to investigate the oddity of this spike and what they reported back or rather brought back, made the old man nearly have a heart attack. He nearly choked on his pipe when he saw what his ninja returned with, his eyes wide with sudden disbelief.

At first he thought it was his surrogate grandson, Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. But, upon closer inspection, it wasn't the boy at all. (Despite said individual had been checked up on earlier. The kid was prone to pranking, so the Third didn't quite rule it out) This child had the same unruly blond locks that entertained Naruto's dome, a much paler skin complexion and the deepest set of blue eyes that matched the aforementioned boy's as well. The child was covered by a secured blanket that one of his ANBU apparently provided for him. Nothing else was underneath, except the flesh, the older man assumed. What was unsettling was the familiar whisker marks that were upon this child's cheeks.

Another round of visual inspection and Hiruzen found what he was looking for. The boy's shape of eyes were a tad narrower than his surrogate grandson's, and his untamed blond hair had slight bangs framing his face. He knew only one individual with this appearance, including at this age, and could only speculate. It was worth a try.

"Minato."

As expected, the child looked up and faced the third Hokage. His face ran through different set of emotions all at once and the boy clutched his blanket like a life line. To be fair, the boy had no idea what was going on or why he was here. This old man, the Hokage of this village, addressed him as if he had known him, but he'd never seen this man ever in his life. After all, he was an orphan.

"H-hai?" He managed to reply, a bit too timidly for Hiruzen's liking. The old kage sighed to himself; he remembered the first time the small blond was invited to the village during the beginning of the second shinobi war. A war orphan from a small, peasant family from Wave Country. The shy, timid Minato then was afraid of the then recently instated Third Hokage and stuttered somewhat bashfully. Hiruzen had been a rather intimidating individual and to this day, he still lived up to his reputation. After all, he was considered the god of Shinobi. To the elder Sarutobi, this was playing out rather similarly to the first time he met the child many years before.

Knowing the blond was staring at him and fidgeting uncomfortably, Hiruzen smiled. It was best to not scare the young Yondaime any further. After all, he still needed to find out if this was actually Minato himself or a possible spy, or whatever happened to the man. "Are you hungry?"

The child seemed to think about that and then shook his head. Though his stomach betrayed him by growling loudly. The Third chuckled as Minato blushed in embarrassment. "Don't worry, m'boy. We'll get you something to eat and some clothes. Could you tell me what your favorite food is or what you would like to have?" He was hoping to bait the child, testing to see if this was a spy or not. Not many folk knew of Minato's childhood; only his sensei, Jiraiya, Kushina, his wife, Kakashi, one of his former students, and himself. If the boy spoke of something he wasn't sure his late successor liked, as a child this age, then he would be an unfortunate suspect.

"Um..." Minato bashfully twiddled his index fingers, looking away from the Kage (who noted that it was familiar gesture), "C-can I have some chicken noodles?" Apparently, he didn't know that ramen was the same as he spoke of. Hiruzen noted down every reaction Minato did, putting it aside for future information. His expression also softened a bit. It appears this child had the same taste as the aforementioned, but he couldn't get his hopes up too soon.

"Very well, we will get you some." The Hokage said, getting Minato's attention. As much as the old man missed those eyes of determination of his late successor, and wished that this child was possibly him, Hiruzen couldn't rule out him being an infiltrator. Who knows, they might be trying to get close to Naruto. Motioning for more ANBU to bring clothes for the child and the 'chicken noodles'. He gave the boy a warm smile and the child slowly reciprocated it. He only hoped to Kami that his suspicions were wrong and that his heart was right.

A few hours later, Minato, clothes and fed, fell asleep on the sofa in the Hokage's office. Hiruzen had waited until the child felt "safe" and fell asleep to begin his minor interrogation. Said interrogation included a Yamanaka to enter the boy's mind and seek out any information that might lead them to believing he was a spy or was actually the Yondaime in a kid body. Secretly, he was hoping it would be the latter. He'd thought the child was under a genjutsu to hide his identity, but it didn't dispel when he tried. The Third also thought it was a solid henge, but that was proven incorrect as well. Another possibility was that the boy's hair was naturally blond, but the eyes were holding contact lenses.

The boy didn't have them. So, his eyes were naturally blue then, he deduced. The next thing he did was to see if those 'whisker marks' on his cheeks were real or simply painted on to gain further entry into the village. After all, their resident Jinchuriki had these same birth marks. Fortunately and unfortunately, the markings didn't so much as wipe away when Hiruzen attempted to wash them off with warm water. They were simply apart of his face like Naruto's were. Strange, but it helped further his suspicions that the kid was Minato.

A reborn Minato, in a nutshell. There was only one way to find out for sure. A knock came to his office's door, and the Third undid the privacy seals and unlocked the door to let in the man he sent an ANBU to fetch for him.

"Santa Yamanaka, thank you for taking your time out of your busy schedule for this meeting," Hiruzen said as the other man bowed respectfully. He had been called by the Hokage not too long ago. A messenger ANBU, in fact, delivered the message to him of his summons to the Hokage's office. He was to examine a child for the possibility of being a spy or sleeper agent, and if there were any information about an infiltration mission assigned to this boy.

"No problem, Hokage-sama, it's a pleasure to assist," Santa replied, then shifted his eyes to the sleeping blond. A blond eyebrow rose slowly at the sight of the child, slightly confused. "Sir? Am I to examine Naruto-san?"

"No, it is not Naruto." And he was glad Santa didn't discriminate against said boy either. "What I am about to tell you should never leave this office." He started in a grave, serious tone. The auburn haired Yamanaka noticed the Hokage's tone and nodded, giving his silent promise. "This boy is believed to be Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime."

Santa took a sharp intake of breath, his eyes lightly widening. This...this child was, no, is the Yondaime?! He couldn't believe it! "I understand what you may be thinking but there's some doubt in my mind that leads me to believe it. However, I cannot rule out that this boy may be a possible spy to infiltrate Konoha."

"I-I see. You would like for me to enter his mind and seek out any clues for both reasons."

"That is correct." Please let it be you, Minato. Hiruzen thought wistfully.

"Very well, Hokage-sama." Santa replied and began weaving the signs for the Mind Walking technique. He placed his hand on the boy's head, closed his eyes and initiated the jutsu. The elder Sarutobi watched with interest and hope.

Inside the boy's mind, Santa reviewed the child's memories and found nothing suspicious. The boy was from around Wave Country, however, it seemed he barely remembers his parents. He faintly recalled them being pronounced dead during the Second Shinobi War. After that, it was all a massive blur of voices, colors and the like. There was one section of his memories that seemed to "cut off" abruptly and then fade out. It was almost as if the boy never had any other memories after that.

So, it ruled out he wasn't a spy. Nothing was tampered in the mind in any way. No memory erasing seals that he could find, and Santa searched everywhere. Now, the Yamanaka needed proof that the boy was the Yondaime and anything that would hint to anything the famed Yellow Flash had done would be immediate. Santa searched for some time and spotted that the young Minato had subconscious visions of a girl with red hair and indigo colored eyes. The mind walker instantly recognized her as Kushina Uzumaki. Santa smiled fondly: there was no more reason to disapprove this kid wasn't the Yondaime. How he reverted to a child was beyond him. He couldn't find any reason why.

Satisfied, Santa was about to leave when a low, growl surfaced out of nowhere. Curious, the Yamanaka decided to explore it before exiting and releasing the jutsu. He walked around for what seemed to be a few minutes when he came across some part of the mindscape that looked like it was built around an oceanic view. It seemed peaceful enough; there were even the sounds of the waves, too. The ground crunched below him like the white sand found at a beach, however there wasn't a specific smell. Just simply sounds that were familiar to an ocean setting.

But, it didn't look like anything out of the usual. This meant young Minato had a quite positive outlook in his life. Or, his innocence blocked him from the horrors of his previous life and earlier memories. And, wherever that growl came from, it wasn't here...

"Get out." A deep, low and growling snarl sounded, jolting the Yamanaka into a defensive position. Was that voice one of the boy's mental defense mechanisms?

"Where are you? Who are you? Show yourself!" Santa demanded. The voice chuckled rather darkly before replying.

"Demanding something of me when you are the one interfering in someone else's personal space," the tone was oozing sarcasm and annoyance simultaneously. Santa still remained in position, causing the deep voice to sign. Soon enough, an enormous cage, made out of stone to match the oceanic scenery the mindscape made it to be appeared. Santa whipped around and saw the cage and the gates that stretched far and wide. Just as the Mind walker was to dismiss it, large, ruby eyes with a cat-like slit in both pupils gazed upon him.

Sharp, enormous teeth grinned maliciously at him as if he were next supper's menu. Then, it happened; a huge paw shot out from behind the shut gate and attempted to smash him. Santa gasped and jumped back, priding himself on his great reflexes. But it was still a close call...

"You wanted me to show you who I am... Well here I am," the monstrous voice laughed. Its entire form became known slowly; it was a gigantic fox with dark red fur, those crimson eyes, the long ears and nine, behemoth tails waving behind the beast lazily. The chakra that emitted from it was dark and sinister, just as so when it attacked eight years ago. Santa froze and nearly gaped at the sight of the Nine-Tails here, in this boy's mindscape! How was this possible? The beast was sealed within Naruto Uzumaki! The fox snickered at him, amused by something.

"Your expression tells me you are wondering why there must be a second presence of my being, existing in this child, when the other is sealed into another brat." When the Kyubi didn't get a response, he simply continued. While he wanted to tease the interfering human, that was not to be. There was information he needed to relay, and having someone on the outside knowing it would be helpful in the long run.

"For your information and curiosity, I was split asunder, my Yin chakra sealed into the Yondaime Hokage when he used that stupid Dead Demon Consuming Seal. The Yang chakra was sealed within the brat, his and my former container's son. Normally, this part of me wouldn't have a consciousness; only my Yang would have this ability. However, being in close proximity of my Yang half, despite its apparent distance in this stupid village, has allowed me a self consciousness and awareness, a mind of my own if you will." The Kyubi grinned as the man apparently put together the explanation. Good. He did not want to repeat himself.

"...So, we have two Kyubi Jinchuriki in the village, essentially," Santa summarized, paling.

"Quite. Do not ask me how the insufferable Yondaime has de-aged and lost many memories. I do not have those answers." Kyubi replied, then narrowed his eyes at the Yamanaka. "Now that you know I exist, and this has been confirmed your precious former hokage is alive, begone!" With that, the Yin Kyubi forced the man out of his host's mind. The last thing Santa saw was the glare of the fox's red eyes.

When he was gone, the Kyubi sighed. It had been a chore and half to recall even a fraction of the lost memories to retell the cause of why this portion of his chakra had a self aware existence without the Yang portion. To be honest, his own memories were rattled up; it felt he lost 50 or so years worth of memories while his host lost 20 odd something. He was angry his freedom was denied to him but he if he had to choose of the lesser evils, he rather be sealed again than be in control of that damned Uchiha that forced him out of Kushina's seal.

Recalling some of the fragmented memories of the young Minato's previous life, he was the one responsible for releasing him of the Uchiha's control from the genjutsu. In essence, Minato saved his sanity and him from being controlled (again). That in itself earned the Kyubi's respect.

For Minato's seal, which is similar, if not identical to Naruto's, was designed to only leak chakra when his Yang half was tapped into by the other boy. If it never happened, Minato wouldn't ever receive the Yin's portion. However, Kyubi knew he could send out small doses of the chakra into the boy's coils to expand his reserves and them and to get them familiarized. And one way to do that was to make the boy aware of his presence. Should be easy to do, since Minato is not an Uzumaki; his body, while it can contain the potent chakra influx, was not suited to properly handle it. Kyubi would rather not have an insufferable, failure of an excuse for a host! That simply wouldn't do. The boy needed to exercise and use his chakra in order for his body to readily adapt to it.

Also, according to the old Minato's memory of that masked man, he would be returning someday to take the Nine-Tails and his plans would come into fruition. Heavens forbid the Kyubi would want a weak vessel, even if he hated the person's guts, up against a powerful foe like that one. He needed to start making plans, and one of those plans were contacting his Yang counterpart and getting him to agree to training their respective hosts.

"For now, I will be attempting to contact my vessel. I must wait until he is alone and unoccupied with any tasks..." Kyubi said to himself as he lied down similarly to how a persona does. Having opposable thumbs (and finger-like claws) was great for him. He could stand and sit up like a person and yet having the flexibility to lie down like a canine. Smugly, he prided himself on being flexible. Lying his head on his arms, the Yin Kyubi closed his large eyes and sighed.

'Soon Minato, you and I will have a chat...'

II.

When Santa was forced back into his body, he gasped and had a look of pure horror and shock on his face. Hiruzen immediately rounded on him with a stern expression. "Report," he said, not missing a beat. Santa shook out of his shock and turned to his Hokage.

"S-sir, this boy is, without a doubt Minato Namikaze," the Yamanaka informed. Hiruzen's face lightened up and his body relaxed some. His silent prayer had been answered. "While much of his memories appeared to wiped out and fragmented, he has several recaps of a young Kushina Uzumaki. That is proof enough that he is the Yondaime. Unfortunately, I could not find the cause of his...shrinkage or reason of said memory loss." The Third sighed but it'd have to do. It was a shame; the same man that had given his and his wife's lives as well as sacrificing their son to save the village would lose those precious memories of his beloved family and friends. Hiruzen knew if he told Kakashi of this, he would be devastated even further.

'But it might spark hope into him, knowing his sensei lives, yet not the same... He might take further incentive to quit beating himself up.' Hiruzen thought. Breaking from those thoughts, the elder Sarutobi had his gaze on the Yamanaka. "I see, it appears Minato-kun will have to undergo a surname change in order to hide him from his enemies." His next sentence would forever change one blond's life forever. "He will be known as Minato Uzumaki, the lost twin Brother to Naruto Uzumaki. Both born on October 10th."

"Yes, sir," Santa said respectfully, "however, Hokage-sama, there is more." He was dreading this. The Sandaime simply raised an eyebrow, silently gesturing the auburn haired mind walker to continue. Santa took a small breath and said, "while I looked further into the child's mind, I encountered...something odd. Hokage-sama, I am not so sure how, but young Minato has the Kyubi sealed in him as well." This took the surprise out of Hiruzen and multiplied it. The Third stared at Santa, almost in disbelief, but he knew questioning a talented Yamanaka's skill wasn't wise. What they see were never fabricated, but was it possible...?

"How?" The Sandaime asked, curious and worried for the young Yondaime's health. His question left out many words however; "how was the Kyubi within him" was one of those unasked questions. Santa frowned further and recounted the Kyubi's own words to his village leader. Hiruzen remained silent throughout the whole explanation, but now it made sense. When Kushina and Minato had fallen dead, there was a rather intricate seal over both Naruto's belly and Minato's chest, before it vanished. Hiruzen stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and the sleeping child and decided to check. This would be the ultimate proof that the boy was really Minato. After all, he was slightly expecting it...

Lifting his shirt up to expose his chest, the Sandaime channeled just a little bit of chakra and waited for a while. He didn't wait for any longer than five seconds as the reaction was nearly instantaneous. A spiraling black marking that detailed the telltale signs of a seal for users of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was evidently there, in the center of Minato's chest. Just like it was when he had died. Granted, the swirl was going in the opposite direction of Naruto's but it was practically identical. There was no doubt about it now. This kid...

Hiruzen let a small, genuine smile and rolled the shirt back down. "Welcome home, Minato..." he whispered. He turned to Santa and his expression returned to its neutral frown. "Thank you for your assistance again, Santa. You will be compensated for this. However, whatever we have spoken of here never leaves this room. I will see if I can add Minato into the village without a fuss."

"Yes sir. But, the council will more or less notice his uncanny resemblance to Naruto should he be seen in the village proper. Wouldn't they want to know where he came from?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Of course. I already have a plan set, and will put it in motion. Unfortunately, I will have to reveal to them that young Minato is also the Kyubi Jinchuriki, the second one." It would be inevitable; someone would find out should an Uchiha or Hyuga use their respective dojutsu to 'see' the chakra of the demon within him. He would also have to explain why Minato was kept 'secret' or any of the like from the village when he should have been presented at the first meeting after the conclusion of the Kyubi's attack. Sighing at the amount of paperwork that would soon come to attack him later, the Sandaime dismissed Santa Yamanaka and disabled the privacy seals.

He smiled down at Minato's sleeping form before heading to his desk, sitting down in the rather comfortable chair and rereading the report his ANBU had written up before entering with the young blond.

Incident Report

Cause of disruptive and foul chakra source found.

Confirmed Kyubi chakra.

Unknown child found beside the Yondaime's grave. Sex, male. Height, approx. 46 in. Weight, approx. 50 lbs. Hair, blond. Eye, blue. Found unclothed and fainted. Cause: moderate chakra exhaustion. Situation resolved on scene. Age, unknown. Estimated 7-8 years. Odd seal detected and found on child's chest. Unknown affiliation.

Important: child bears striking resemblance to late Yondaime Hokage and Naruto Uzumaki. Child is detected to have contact with the Kyubi's chakra and sensory abilities; bears marks on face. Blood test on scene confirms relation to aforementioned individuals. Yondaime's body remains safe and intact.

III.

Hiruzen lit his pipe as he read further on the report. One of the personnel went into a rather detailed explanation of their timely arrival at the Fourth Hokage's grave site. Was it strange to find a boy that looked identical to his late successor at the same location where he was buried? Yes, it was. The Sandaime prided himself as being known as the 'Professor' and he took that title well. For whatever reason, someone higher up in the heavens must have redeemed Minato's soul to return to the living realm. However, it couldn't return to its old body, so a new one must have to been formed to house it. As for the missing and fragmented memories of both Minato and the Kyubi, well, perhaps the gods wanted the man-turned-boy to live a new life without the pain of loss. A fresh start. Perhaps, this way, he can get to know his son. This was more or less Hiruzen's personal theory. The real story, he would never know it.

The only thing was Kushina's lack of, or inability, to return. Did they not deem her innocent or reliable to this? She deserved a second chance as well. To see her son grow up and cater to him lovingly. The Third sighed; it wasn't his place to say what the gods could and could not do. Divine intervention or not, Minato was here and he would need to be reintroduced into the village. He only hoped the council and villagers wouldn't see the 'twin' of Naruto Uzumaki as some demon.

Somewhere deep down, he knew he was lying to himself though.

'Minato, I'm so sorry. I failed you and Kushina... But perhaps this time, it can be remedied. Perhaps, with you here like this Minato, you can give your son even more hope.'

IV.

Hiruzen didn't immediately call the council meeting yet. He wanted to spend time with young Minato a little more and get him acquainted with the village. The child spent a few days in the office, out of sight, out of mind and only interacted with the Hokage. However, now, today was a Thursday, and the blond needed to see the village sights. As they were, Minato held onto his hand like a lifeline and the notion gave Hiruzen memories of when Naruto would do the same thing when he was a bit younger. The thought caused the Hokage to smile. The villagers that saw them gave them curious looks, most likely because 'Naruto' wasn't wearing orange. People greeted them politely when they bypassed and Minato only looked at them when they stared at him. Hiruzen noted most were trying to keep the disgusted looks and glares to themselves and only forced a smile to appear on their faces.

In the guise of going to the park, they also had gone shopping; Hiruzen wanted Minato to have the same start as Naruto and that would require him to live in an apartment and attend the academy as soon as possible. Of course, Minato got to choose what he liked and it wasn't surprising the boy had chosen similar furniture he had originally when he was much older. They purchased a twin sized bed ("the bed with the dark blue color is cool, Hokage sir!"), a two-seated sofa ("look at that cream one, Hokage sir! It's really nice."), a medium sized dresser ("I think this mahogany looking one would be nice."), and many others. He even picked out clothes that suited him ("I really like this white jacket. Can I get it?") and supplies he'll need for class ("Wow, look at these pencils!"). Once these were purchased, he had ANBU pick them up and deliver them to the assigned apartment for Minato. Whether it was on purpose or not, Hiruzen had the blond in the apartment room adjacent from Naruto's, as if he were anticipating their meeting very soon.

All in all, it was a relatively nice day. Minato found the nearest playground very exciting. Unbeknown to him, Academy students were there as the class lecture was over and they were spending time playing. Minato spotted them and like any innocent child, approached the children that were currently playing four-square.

"Hi! I'm Minato, may I play with you?" he asked them politely while smiling brightly. The kids all stopped playing and blinked. They looked over the other boy, taking in his appearance. Blond hair, blue eyes, whisker marks. Weren't they not supposed to play with this kid? Their parents had told them not to play with a boy that looked like him because he was dangerous and a 'demon'. Not seeing the Hokage in the area, the kids all frowned and stepped away from Minato.

"Sorry, but we're not supposed to play with you," one of the girls in the group said sadly. This practically dumbfounded Minato as his smile faded, replaced with a frown of his own. However, he was more confused than sad.

"Why not? I just got here and you all were having so much fun. I just want to play."

One of the boys shook his head. "My mom and dad told me to stay away from you if you were ever nearby. We can't play with you because you're a monster."

"...Huh? M-monster?" Minato looked down at his small hands, then back to the kids. "But, I'm not a monster. I look just like you guys."

"Nope. Mommy and daddy says you're a monster and we're not allowed to play with you. So just go away, okay?!" Another girl said rather loudly. The group of kids then turned and hurried away to play somewhere else. Minato just stared at their retreating backs in utter disbelief. His heart beat accelerated in anticipation. Maybe they were just joking and would come back, he thought and hoped. But no, those kids didn't come back at all. They didn't turn around and apologize. When they rounded the corner of the gates of the park, the kids all took turns to look at him one more time before racing off. Their words hurt him, cut him like a knife does wood. Minato didn't know when he started, but his vision blurred and tears were already rolling down his face. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and allowed them to fall to the ground before his feet.

He was hurt emotionally and it wasn't a good feeling. Why didn't those kids want to play with him? Why did they call him a monster? He wasn't a monster, was he?

Hiruzen had watched the interaction, hoping it wouldn't turn out like a repeat of Naruto's various encounters. Perhaps it was too much hoping that backfired. The other children already labeled Minato as Naruto and shoved his invitation away like it was fire. He frowned and wished to do something but forcing children to play with the boy was unfortunately one of those things he couldn't magically do. He stood up from his seated position and walked up to the child, placing his hand on Minato's left shoulder. From his point of view, the Third knew Minato was trying to stop himself from sobbing out his sorrows right then and there. The shaking of his shoulders was that much evidence.

"...A-am I a monster, H-hokage sir...?" the child sniffled out, trying his best to remain in control of his emotions (and failing rather epically). Hiruzen didn't have much of an answer for him. No, he wasn't a monster but he currently housed a demon that could be classified as a monster, much like his unknown son. It seems both father and child would be suffering loneliness. Being shunned for what they contained. He hadn't even met the council yet about Minato's appearance in the village, and yet he was being associated with someone else. In another time, if Minato had carried his memories over, he'd be both appalled, angered and saddened all at once. The boy had undergone similar when he first arrived to Konoha those many years ago as a war orphan.

He was slightly shunned because of his bright colored hair and eyes, which was a rare treat in the village. Adding to that, he wasn't originally from Konoha so he was considered an 'outsider' for a very long time. During that, Minato was a very timid, quiet child until he attended the academy and learned of the past Hokages, their tales and what it meant to be a shinobi. He was still quiet, but he took in the villagers' stares with stride, eventually winning their approval of him. Being taught by Jiraiya of the Sannin (later) was a bonus tacked onto his ninja résumé.

But here, in this new body of his, as a child once more, he was no one 'special'. Hiruzen wanted both him and Naruto to show everyone they were worth more than shunned orphans. Or in Minato's case, a person set aside from his son.

"No Minato, you aren't a monster." He answered the boy tenderly. The third hokage was dreading the next question he knew he would be asked. The same one Naruto would ask all the time when he experienced the same words.

"But why? Why did they call me one if I'm not one?" the blond tried to reel in his feelings, tried to stop his tears, but they kept falling. "I-I'm not a monster... I didn't do anything but ask them to play."

"Jiji, I didn't do anything to them. Why do they call me a monster and a demon?"

Hiruzen replayed a very similar response Naruto told him around two years ago. He turned Minato around, knelt down and hugged the child. Minato stopped trying to hold the dam together and leaned into the elder man, body shaking with sorrow. There wasn't much Hiruzen could do but whisper encouraging messages into his former successor's ear, trying to calm him down. But if he was still very much like his older self, then perhaps his originally achieved goal could be used to push him towards hope like Naruto.

"Minato, do you know who I am?" The Sandaime asked the boy gently. He was met with large, blue eyes, swollen just a little from crying into his shoulder.

"You're the Hokage for this village," he replied (more like squeaked out).

"Yes Minato. But, do you know what it means to be Hokage of this village?"

The child rubbed at his eyes, clearing the tears that were currently on their way down his cheeks. He looked at the old man and responded with a reply the elder Sarutobi hadn't heard in a long time.

"It means to protect this village at all costs, even with your life."

"As the Yondaime Hokage, I will protect this village at all costs, even if I must sacrifice my own life."

The Sandaime blinked but then smiled down at the boy, ruffling his hair affectionately. It seemed, perhaps some of those fragmented memories were shining through. "That's exactly right, Minato. It also means you mustn't let others' opinion of you get you down. You should vow to protect everyone that lives here, even if they do not like you. Becoming Hokage means you've already acquired the acknowledgment of the village. Never think becoming Hokage is to be recognized or acknowledged. A Kage must also inspire hope into their people and the ninja that serve them. They earn the respect and the respect is given and look underneath the underneath."

Minato absorbed the information like a wet sponge does water, his eyes widening at the explanation the Sandaime was giving him. He never thought about a position like the Hokage seat. He didn't understand why the old man was telling him this but maybe he was trying to inspire hope into him? After all, he was the Hokage, and he did say that in his small speech. 'A Kage mus also inspire hope into their people'. Slowly, he began to understand what the Third was telling him. He needs to stay hopeful and to ignore the judgmental voices of those that do him injustice. Perhaps, not in those exact words, but closely enough that an eight-year-old like him can understand.

"...I... I understand Hokage sir. I have to be hopeful. I can't let what other people say hurt me." He said, gaining a resolve. 'But it doesn't mean I have to like it. I have this feeling it'll only go on starting from today. I just have to endure it.' Minato added in thought. "I... I want to be a ninja. How can I be a ninja under you, Hokage-sama?"

And this, is the response Hiruzen couldn't wait to reply to with a grin on his face.

"Very soon, Minato. In fact, there's an academy here for children your age to begin their ninja career."

"Can I go there? I-I want to learn," Minato gave him the irresistible Puppy Eyes Jutsu that all children apparently acquire somehow. He then added politely, "Please." Hiruzen wasn't going to say no to his query, and that was the reason why he purchased the classroom supplies. He would have eventually enrolled Minato into the academy, but not until he found him mentally ready. It seems he'd do it much sooner than expected and that lit up the Third's eyes. Ruffling Minato's hair again, the Sandaime stood up and nodded.

"Of course you can go. I will enroll you when I get back to my office. For now, I'm going to show you where you'll be living from now on." The smile that appeared on the former Yondaime's face was worth the situation that led up to this very moment.

V.

Entering the apartment that was right across from Naruto's, the Sandaime introduced Minato to his new living quarters. To throw off any suspicion, he had asked the landlord to assign this apartment to Minato. Until the boy graduated into a genin team (again), he would be living off the orphanage expenses much like his son was. A supplied check would come in every month and the orphanage funds would take care of the apartment's monthly rent as well. He gave Minato an educated rundown of his apartment; it only had one room suited for the boy, a kitchenette, a small living space where the TV would go. The ANBU had set up the apartment with the purchased furniture and styled it in a way Hiruzen knew the former Minato would like. It was no surprise the younger version approved of it as well. He explained where the pots and pans were (via labels), how to operate the microwave (with a few demonstrations), how to follow the box dinner instructions, and turning on his shower head for showering, amongst others too.

"Now then, Minato. As you'll be living on your own, there are some ground rules I want you to follow in addition to the rules the landlord gave you earlier." The boy tilted his head, prompting the Hokage to continue. "First, I want you to make sure you save some money. Put some aside, perhaps 5 ryo a month after spending it on things you need. Second, do not let in any strangers you aren't sure of. Don't stay out too late and don't go to bed late, either." He stressed this one to make sure the boy understood gravely. There had been an accident on Naruto's part and that led to him being harmed by the intruder. Hiruzen would not like a repeat that situation. "Third, I want you to make sure you clean your apartment when it's dirty. It's your big boy responsibility to make sure it's clean. You don't want me to come over and it's messy, do you?"

Minato shook his head. He'd be certain nothing in his sight was dirty. He liked to be clean and his apartment would reflect that. Nodding in approval, Hiruzen continued with laying out the rest of the rules. "Fourth, when you enter your classroom next week, be courteous to your classmates and listen to your teacher. Do your homework and do your best on your tests. If you are unsure of something, always ask your teacher. There can never be too many questions and you must be certain of every answer you receive." When he received a slow nod from the blond, he went on once more. "Finally, try to make friends. I understand it will be hard, but don't worry Minato. There will be people here in this village that will accept you and become your friends. Don't ever give up, understand?"

The boy frowned at the idea of making friends. He had tried already, but he was shunned. However, remembering what the old man said and what he told himself about enduring it, he would try it again. There had to be somebody out there that would like to be his friend. He nodded again, remembering each rule the Hokage laid out to him, coding it to his memory. "Yes sir. I understand."

"Good. Now, here's the key to your apartment and the spare. Don't lose them, or it'll cost money to replace them. Take good care of them."

"I will." Minato managed a small smile.

"I know you will. Now then, I have to return to my office and finish that paperwork," Hiruzen chuckled but then cursed as he knew there was probably a giant mountain full of them, just waiting for him to arrive. Minato saw the old man's expression change from a smile to a light scowl and laughed a little. The Sandaime hated paperwork, that much the boy knew when he stayed in his office for the first few days since he was taken there. He was told that people in higher up positions always had to fill out paperwork and Minato was sure being Hokage wasn't all that and a bag of chips. Still, it was something to aspire to be, a nice long term goal to have. Perhaps one day, he'd like to be Hokage. Right now, his goal was to become a ninja.

"Okay, Hokage sir. Good luck with that 'bane of existence'." Minato laughed again.

Hiruzen shook his head but bid the boy good bye for now. Internally, he was glaring at the former Yondaime, telling himself it was his fault for dying and leaving him with the bane of all Kage's existence. If anything could defeat a Kage, it was paperwork. He left the apartment to resign to his fate and shunshinned back into his office.

When the old man left, Minato's smile never left his face. He went to his kitchenette and climbed the step stool he and the Sandaime purchased today. He fetched a box dinner with the label "Beef and beef rice" on it. He glanced at the digital clock on the microwave, noticing the time was 5:28 in the evening. Well, that'd be about time to make dinner. Minato turned the box dinner over and read the instructions. Good thing they had small pictures on it because some of the words were too long to understand for him. He set that aside and stepped down off the stool to get under a cabinet where a few pans and pots were located. He took out a skillet, as the picture detailed, then into another cabinet to get his new measuring cup.

Reading carefully, he saw that he needed to fill the measuring cup to the 2 line with water, then pour it into the skillet. After that, he had to open the box dinner and extract the rice and beef from it, pouring it in. Next, he had to fill the measuring cup to the 1 line with milk, add one tablespoon of butter, and then extract the packet that contained the beef mixture. Following the steps took a little over ten minutes for Minato, as he didn't know that 'tbsp' in the directions meant 'tablespoon' at first. He was about to turn on the stove when he remembered the Hokage telling him to never use it until he was much older.

'Then how am I going to eat this? I need to use the stove to have it cooked.' the boy thought with a light pout. 'Hm, there has to be a way to get this heated up.' Minato pondered for a few seconds before grabbing the empty box dinner and looking over the instructions again. Now that he did a double take, there were instructions on how to make the dinner using the microwave. Albeit, it was underneath the directions for the stove's use. Grumbling but humming in satisfaction, Minato read them and then took out a plastic container from another cabinet. With a big spoon in hand, he scooped up the uncooked dinner in the skillet and dumped it into the plastic container. He was as careful as possible, but still spilled a little on his new kitchen floor. Oh well, he'd get that up later.

Once that was done, he put a paper towel over the top of the container and placed it into the microwave, setting it to eleven minutes as the box stated it would take as long to cook. He watched with mild interest the spinning bowl in the microwave and its sound, but that got boring after two minutes of staring nonstop. He needed to do something while it was warming up. Almost instantly, he remembered the spill he made and went to clean it up, which didn't take but half a second. Minato glanced at his soon-to-be dinner and only had about nine more minutes to go. 'What else can I do that will take a long time? Oh, maybe I should clean myself up. Then I can get to bed early. The Hokage said I shouldn't stay up late.'

Nodding to himself, Minato walked out of the kitchenette and into his small bedroom. There were two hall closets, both with closed doors. One contained cleaning supplies and the other housed a small cabinet where extra blankets, toiletries and towels were placed. Taking a blue towel and matching wash cloth, Minato stepped into the restroom, turned the light on and proceeded to turn on the water towards warm, as he was shown by the Hokage earlier. While waiting, Minato turned to the mirror to his right and looked at his reflection. He rose an eyebrow at the whisker like marks on his cheeks. Was that perhaps dirt? Kind of weird to be dirt there and like that. He pressed his hand against his face, but the marks didn't leave any imprint or anything like that. It was as if someone drew on his face because where they were located on his cheek, it was still soft like the rest of his skin. Weird.

Checking the water, Minato hummed in satisfaction again when it became warm and decided to get in the shower and wash up. Maybe the marks would come off if he scrubbed them off. 'That should do the trick.' He thought with a grin on his face.

VI.

After showering, Minato looked in the mirror again and was flabbergasted that the marks were still there! He had made sure to wash his face three times before stepping out. Maybe...maybe these marks were glued to his face? Or were they just apart of him like some birth mark? 'That's really weird. I think I should ask the Hokage tomorrow about it. He knows everything after all.' Nodding mentally at his plan for the next day, Minato dried off and dressed into his new pajamas; they were a simple cream color with red stripes running along the edges. They were made from soft fleece, as he had been told previously. Heading for the kitchen area again, he noticed the microwave was beeping, signaling his food was ready!

In response, his stomach growled a bit and he hurriedly took it out, being careful of course because it was still a tad hot. It must have been done a few minutes ago, he reasoned. With a smaller bowl and spoon ready, Minato scooped out an appropriate amount and then covered the rest with a lid. After getting a cup of orange juice prepared at the small table set up near the kitchen, he said a quiet "Itadakimasu" to himself before breaking his chopsticks and eating the beefy flavored rice. While it was just something out of a box, it was really good. Maybe because he followed the instructions right. Well, maybe it could be better. It tasted a little odd, but it still had its beef flavor. 'Maybe I added too much butter? Or maybe a little too much milk or water? I'll have to try again next time. But, first time is still OK, haha.' He thought to himself as he finished his meal and juice.

Using the step stool again, Minato placed his bowl in the sink and washed out his bowl and cup. He threw the old chopsticks away in the trash bin, cleaned up any area that needed it and placed his leftovers in the fridge. When that was all done and taken care of, the time read 6:06 in the evening. In his mind, he had time before he would go to bed. Minato turned out the light in the kitchen area and headed for the small bookcase that his medium sized TV set was upon. He pulled out a couple books; some he spotted in the bookstore today that looked really interesting and some the Sandaime thought he would find interesting. One book was titled Mathematics for Beginners!; another was titled Konohagakure no Sato – The History Behind the Village. Those two were textbooks he'd need for his class next week, so he set those aside for later.

The other books the Sandaime purchased for him really opened his eyes. One was titled The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi and the other was titled Fūinjutsu – Beginner's Level. The other couple of books were texts on Fūinjutsu as well; in fact, they were a three-part series written by a person called Ashina Uzumaki. Hm, wasn't that art really hard to do? But for some reason, it screamed at Minato. Why'd the Hokage get these for him? Now that he thought about it, he saw the old man's eye twinkle when he spotted Minato staring at these particular books in the bookstore. He wasn't expecting the old man to buy them. 'Maybe he thought I was curious about them?' Minato thought and decided to read the first book just to see for himself.

He'd get to that other book, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, later. Right now, he had his attention on the book about sealing.

As expected, the art was a scarce, if not lost, technique in the ninja world. The book even said so. Whoever this Ashina person was, they definitely had some insight on the art. The beginning was mostly about theories of sealing, what one could do with the art, and how one goes about to create a formula for the jutsu itself. Of course, it incorporated various Kanji, and mathematical excerpts as well as the user having swift, neat handwriting and brush strokes. It also required special sealing paper for beginners being introduced into the art itself. Minato honestly couldn't put the book down after the third chapter because it fascinated him greatly. He was captivated by it, even though it was very complex and challenging. Deep down, he felt he had read this particular book, probably once upon a time. He had no idea when that was but chalked it up to his love for reading. He probably had read this book once before but couldn't recall when.

His blue eyes glanced at the alarm clock on his desk next to his bed and gasped when the time read 11:48! "Oh wow, that late already? I guess time flies when you're having a lot of fun!" He laughed to himself. Fingering where he left off, he thumbed through the book's pages, counting the upcoming chapters he'd yet to read. 'Mm, just six more to go then I'll be done with it. Maybe I should try it out and see what happens. After all, why would the Hokage buy these for me if I wouldn't try out what I read?' Theorizing that, Minato smiled, placed a make shift bookmark on his current page, turned his light off and fell asleep with a wide grin on his face. He would make the best of his stay in Konohagakure. It was the very least he could do for the kind old man and a service to his own goals, too. He wished himself pleasant dreams and snuggled into his pillow, with his awesome Fūinjutsu book beside him like a teddy bear.

Deep within the seal, the Kyubi perked one of his eyes open and grinned. Now that the brat was sleep, he could pull him into his mindscape. But a small amount of revenge wouldn't hurt him too much. It would be his punishment for his former self taking his freedom away right when he had it on that fateful night. 'Finally, Minato. You will come to me tonight, whether you like it or not.'

VII.

Unfortunately, Minato's dreams were far from pleasant. They were filled with destruction and terror and it was a nightmare. His dream started out with him talking to a stubborn girl with beautiful red hair and violet eyes. She called him 'flaky' and 'girly' and shouted that she would become the first female Hokage. Despite her loud demeanor, she was very pretty to Minato and he wished he was by her side. And low and behold, he was! Well, if that was him without the weird whisker marks on his face, then yeah! Everywhere she went, he would be a few steps behind her, peering at her from behind a building. He was curious about her and admired her from afar.

Then, his dream changed into him marrying that pretty girl, but she was all grown up and so was he. They were both really happy in the dream-marriage. Minato admitted that even though the wedding wasn't huge and only a few select people were there (people he'd sworn he'd never seen before but seemed familiar enough) it was very vibrant and lively. His dream self enjoyed the occasion, and the cake looked mighty delicious. A man with long white hair was there, and the old man was there too, albeit, he didn't look as old as he was now. There were some people with dark colored hair and a small toddler in the dark-haired woman's arms. There was also a woman with indigo colored hair and lavender-hue white eyes with no pupils in them (how queer!) and a man with brown hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing traditional kimono with the same eye color, except without the lavender hue to them. Three teenagers were in there; one with the same dark hair as the first three but his was a bit spiky. He was also wearing dark blue and orange in his kimono and funny looking goggles on his head. Next to him was a girl with short brown hair and purple markings on her face. Her eyes were a few shades darker than her hair and she was dressed up in a pretty kimono herself. The last person in attendance to the dream marriage was a boy with silver hair and a face mask on. He looked really bored but underneath that interior, he seemed a bit happy.

Aside from the old man Hokage, Minato had not a clue who those other people were. Even if they were very familiar to him. He'd just never seen them before.

After that happy image, that's when things started getting dark. The scene then clouded and 'shattered' like glass, leaving Minato to 'fall' into the nothingness of an abyss. The next thing he saw was a blood red eye, with a cat-like slit as its pupil, glaring death at him. It drove fear into his heart and the boy felt he was going to be crushed by the monster. It was huge, no, huge wasn't the word. GINORMOUS was the word he was looking for! It had long rabbit like ears but were shaped more like fox ears at the edges. It's body mass was definitely the biggest, and its fur was a dark orange color that it looked red. If that wasn't enough, its razor sharp teeth were bigger than five of him standing on top of one another like a totem pole. It had large hand-shaped paws and massive nine tails waving behind it. They were strong enough to level a mountain without so much as tiny push. It created devastation, one after the other, with each tail that slammed into the ground, and its terrifying roar brought a disturbing chill to Minato.

He was afraid but at the same time, he couldn't be afraid. Something in him told him he had to face that monster down and die for two precious people. It was the girl with long red hair and a baby that looked exactly like him. But, the dream began to distort and crumble, but the large fox thing with nine tails continued to roar and snarl, instilling even more fear into him. He wasn't even an inch's worth of salt compared to that monstrosity. Why was he dreaming of this?!

"...to... come...t...me."

The boy froze. What was that? Whose voice was that? It wasn't his own, it was far too deep. Was it calling him? He frantically looked around but everything in his dream was still shattering. He saw fires and explosions. He heard people, villagers of Konoha, now that he recognized it, screaming for help. He saw ninja try and take down the beast but they were no match. The monster took them all out with a wave of its tails or its paws.

"M...to..."

The voice again.

"...Min...to!"

There it was again. Was it getting closer? Or louder? It was too jumbled up. Why did it sound so far away?

"M...ato!"

It tried again but no use. He couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, and the cries of the people made it hard to concentrate. He knew it was just a dream, but it felt so real and scary. He had shed tears when his eyes landed on the enormous beast. He felt like he was going to die. Then the people needlessly sacrificing themselves to defeat it but nothing worked against it. Every technique they used had no effect. It didn't matter anyway. Minato closed his eyes in the dream, huddling into a terrified, fetal position. He sobbed to himself. He wanted this to stop. He wanted the people to stop screaming, for the fox monster to go away, for the old man to help him. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

"Min...o!"

Please. Please stop. Make it stop. I want to go home. Please, please!

"MI...TO!"

Someone, help me. Stop it. Stop this monster. It's scary. There's fire everywhere! Help!

VIII.

"MINATO!"

The boy jerked awake, rising up with eyes wide, sweat beating down his face mixing with his tears that spilled from his eyes. He looked around and noticed he was in his bed in his new apartment room. His window's blinds were open, letting in the moonlight. Minato's heartbeat raced once again and he did his best to calm down. 'J-Just a dream. A bad, bad dream.' He told himself repeatedly. He wiped the tears and sweat from his face and jumped out of the bed and into his restroom. He turned the facet on and splashed cold water into his face before drying it. When he looked into the mirror again, he looked like a mess. He was really tired and it didn't help it was nearing four in the morning. Whatever that dream's message was, he didn't get it. It scared him shitless (not the word he was currently thinking of though but close) and it sparked a silence that he was all too familiar with.

Minato frowned, wondering why he had such a dream (and in such heavy, graphic detail). Knowing he wouldn't get any answers, he decided to head back to bed. He was tired, and simultaneously afraid to go back to sleep. Maybe he could lay awake until he would see the Sandaime. Turning off the restroom light, the blond climbed into bed and lied there for what seemed to be a few minutes before his eyes betrayed him and slid closed.

His dream this time lacked the disaster as the first one and now it looked more like an ocean scenery than anything else. He could hear the sound of the waves and the crunching of the sand beneath his feet. He could even feel it too and it was very soft. The new dream's image caused him to smile; at least there wasn't any huge fox monster in this one. Just him and this beach place. It was really peaceful and calming. If this wasn't a dream, Minato would have loved to stay here forever in complete bliss and harmony.

"...This way..."

Well, the peace didn't last for very long. He jumped, startled at the return of that voice from the last dream! Panicking, his blue eyes darted to and fro, in every direction possible in search of the owner. But, there was nobody but him, the waves and the sand. A deep chuckle rumbled everywhere, like if it were bouncing off echoing walls and surrounding him. Like surround sound headphones.

"Follow the sound of my voice, boy." That didn't sound very friendly. But, he was a child and children were very often curious creatures. He slowly and surely took careful steps forward, trying to pinpoint the voice's location. When he drifted too far, the voice would bark at him and tell him to turn back and try again. It was frustrating that he couldn't find wherever it was coming from and the frustration turned into full blown determination. Soon, he came upon a large room that resembled a cavern of sorts, but the oceanic view and sand were still visible and beneath his feet. Minato glanced up at the intricate design of what looked like a gigantic jail cell, with stone bars blocking whatever was on the other side from coming out. There bars were held together, like a gate, and the lock to it was some sort of whirlpool designed seal.

Fascinated, Minato stepped forward, staring up at the seal, marveling its intricacy and delicate diagram. The more he stared at it, the more he drew upon a possible conclusion that it had to be the result of a fūinjutsu technique. For whatever reason, it felt that way, and he would trust his gut instinct.

His admiration for the possible sealing art became the last thing on his mind when his blue eyes caught sight of a very familiar pair of crimson eyes, with a cat-like slit running across for the pupil. The enormous, white teeth that accompanied it just brought upon the fear of his previous dream to light. Minato stood shell shocked, frozen in his fear, staring wide eyed and bottom lip quivering at the sight of the monster in this dream. The lighting in this place was lacking, but when it brightened up, there, clear as day, was the same monster fox that was attacking that village from his nightmare!

The former Yondaime fell to his rear and stared as the behemoth of fur stood on its haunches, glaring down at him like he was some useless piece of meat. Well, that's probably what he was to it. He was like an ant compared to this beast! Minato couldn't say anything, wouldn't dare to say anything because holy mother of Kami it's that monster! The beast eyed him before grinning once again and lied down on its arms. From behind the bars, its large nose poked out and barely touched the boy's soles before he attempted to scramble backwards.

And, to no avail. The monster anticipated this and swiped down on him, shooting out his closest, available forepaw—arm?—and caged the tiny boy, pinning him down with only one claw. Minato struggled, tears rolling down his eyes. Oh gods, was he going to die in this dream? Why couldn't things be more simpler!?

"As amusing as it is to see you squirming in fright, calm down you brat!" the monster fox barked, instilling even more fear into the boy. Thinking it wise to obey, the blond stopped his useless struggling and stayed completely still. He even stopped breathing, in fear he would feel this monster's wrath if he so much as sniffled. Noticing this as well, the Kyubi growled but didn't reprimand the child. After all, this was his mindscape and he could do pretty much whatever the hell he wanted. Even stopping himself from breathing; it didn't affect him on the outside anyway. "Now that I have your undivided attention, there are some things you should know. And no, one of them does not involve having you on the menu, brat." The Kyubi began, answering the unasked but silently asked question on the boy's mind. "As fun as that would be, I cannot do so at the moment."

A tiny sigh of relief left the child but he remained statue still, staring at the monster fox with terror clearly evident in his eyes. The Nine-Tails ignored the look and spoke again. "Listen up brat because I will only say this once. You know me as the 'Monster Fox' that has appeared in your latest dream. In essence that is true; what you had dreamed of was no dream. It was a memory. I will not go any further than that as I have no recollection of why you envisioned such." That was partially a lie. He had something to do with it, as an act of vengeance for imprisoning him; he used a fragment of the boy's older memories as an adult and amplified the intensity a little. He found delight in scaring and scarring the mini Yondaime, but it appeared the boy's emotional pain was taking its own toll on him, so he ceased the devastation by calling out to him instead. It had broken the dream's image, but still left the child terrified. He needed to remedy that or else it would affect him more than he liked.

"However, the 'Monster Fox' isn't who I am. As you will incorrectly learn when you get to that school of yours soon, I am and will be referred to as the Kyubi no Kitsune, or the Kyubi no Yoko, a demon fox that wrecked havoc on your uninteresting village eight years ago." The boy's eyes widened and the Kyubi took that as incentive to go on. "To be honest, I was not myself when I attacked. I was controlled by a masked man who has a dojutsu, the Sharingan, to control me. When I was freed from his control, I still acted on my bloodlust and attacked the village anyhow. I was still in a state of a 'mindless animal' as what you humans say."

The child stared at him from shock to sympathy in less than a few seconds once the information settled in his mind. The fox thing was forced to attack Konoha? How dreadful. As for the Kyubi, this was where he had to alter his story a little. He needed to go by what the old man Hokage told that Yamanaka fool a few days ago. The old man hadn't yet told the young boy he was the 'brother' of his counterpart's host, and probably wouldn't for some time. He guessed he wanted the boys to meet on their own time. Continuing on, the Kyubi spoke again. "The Fourth Hokage of this village, whom you share you name with, was called Minato Namikaze. Using an Uzumaki sealing technique called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, fought me and split my being in half, in two parts. You will learn soon that everyone and everything has chakra, including beings such as myself. We all have Yin and Yang, the spiritual and physical manifestation of chakra. With the seal in tact, he tore my Yin portion and sealed it within you, young Minato. The Yang portion was sealed within another boy at the time, who looks very identical to you. Using this jutsu cost him his life, however." At this revelation, Minato's eyes grew even wider (if possible). He didn't know how to feel about this. The old man spoke of his late successor, the Yondaime Hokage, with pride and sorrow. He told him that he died valiantly to protect the village eight years ago but never really elaborated. Now, at least he knew the truth. The Kyubi let the information sink before getting onto why he called the fleshbag down in the seal in the first place.

"Minato, you and that other boy must come together and train using my chakra. It's potent and lethal, but the masked man that controlled me those years ago had promised to return to take me away. I rather not become a mindless animal again under his control. And I definitely do not need two untrained hairless apes being weak. Both of my Jinchūriki will be strong and talented!" the Nine-Tails huffed, glaring at nothing in particular. While he didn't like partnering up with the very man—boy—that got him into this very same situation, it was for the best. Recalling the Old Man Sage's words to him before his death...perhaps he could start to change himself and attitude now that later. Holding a grudge won't change this world for the better.

For what seemed to be an eternity later, the blond finally spoke up.

"...Use your chakra? Wouldn't that be...bad?"

The Kyubi shook his head. "Not unless I'm giving you strong portions of it. Your body needs to adjust further to my potent chakra, train with it daily for your body to familiarize with it or you could, for a lack of better terms, implode from over-usage without the proper training." Minato gulped and crudely imagined himself 'asploding' from using the Kyubi's chakra without training with it. It wasn't a very nice image though. Frowning and pushing his index fingers together (like a certain Hyūga), the former Fourth Hokage side glanced the demon fox in front of him.

"...So, if me and this other boy train using your chakra... we can become stronger and eventually fight that man that who is after you?"

Kyubi nodded. "Precisely." He then tilted his head, amazed the boy was taking this information rather well for an eight year old. Then again, perhaps subconsciously, his older self's persona or emotions were calming him. Perhaps, also subconsciously, he already knew this? It was hard to tell, what with all the fragmented memories floating about. It didn't help that he himself had a difficult time recalling events, too.

Minato stopped pushing his fingers together and said nothing for awhile. Kyubi wondered what he was pondering about until the blond glanced his way again and placed one of his tiny hands on the claw that held him down. "Okay, I'll help you. I'll find that other boy somehow and get him to help. If he has your, um other half, then he would know about it too, right?"

"No. I would wager he knows nothing of his burden. If you plan to tell him, which you should, then do so in private. We do not need anyone suspicious knowing what we do and interrupting our chances of getting stronger."

That seemed...logical in Minato's eyes. For some reason, he knew that was reasonable. But the back of his mind, he was wondering why he was going along with all this insanity. Was it because he was a child? He was very curious, and somewhere deep down, he felt he could trust the Kyubi. He didn't seem so bad, unlike in the terrible dream he had earlier. Though, this talk sounded like something grown-ups would know but he was understanding it just fine. Was he just that much further ahead? A weight lifted from his body and Minato looked up to see that the Kyubi stopped pinning him down with his claw-hand. The blond stood up and sighed in relief. He felt rather trapped that way.

"All right. That's fair, Kyubi sir."

'Huh, I like his politeness much better than his older, adult self. I might like this kid.' The Nine-Tails thought before settling a softer gaze on the child. "Now, Minato Uzumaki, if you have any questions, ask now. You do need to sleep, and staying in your mindscape is leaving your body temporarily awake, but not yet awake. It's in a state of half-sleep, if you want to call it that. You may not get a chance to ask them again. " That last tidbit was a little lie again, but he didn't need to know that.

Minato innocently tilted his head, wondering what to ask. He had a dozen, gazillion questions to ask, and the Sandaime did say that there was no such thing as too many questions. He vaguely wondered if those same principles applied here. However, none of the ones he wanted to really ask came to mind, so the second most important question popped up instead and the boy smiled when he glanced at the dark-red furred fox. "Okay, I have one question. Can you answer back with the real answer?" He asked, hopeful.

"It depends on the question, brat." The Kyubi huffed.

"...Okay." The question wasn't so bad. After all, maybe the fox sealed inside him could be one of those people that would become precious to him. Someone who he could eventually call a friend. One way to do that, was to ask them for one thing that gave everyone an individual meaning.

"What's your name? What can I call you besides 'Kyubi'?"

The fox's eyes widened in disbelief. No one had ever asked for his name. They only referred to him as "Kyubi", which was a title and not a name. Seriously, it was the number of tails he had. How unoriginal. The chakra beast grinned a little and replied.

"It's Kurama, kid."