The sky darkened, thundering like an angry beast as lighting climbed through the clouds. Rain hammering the world below as a child started running home. He was small and thin like he had skipped several meals, sunny blond hair along with bright blue eyes. A glint of fear glowing within them as he started running, after all bad things, very bad things happened when it was dark out.

Usually he was home hiding in his apartment by now, but he had ended up talking to the Ichiraku's and lost track of time. His white shirt now soaked with rain as he ran through a muddy puddle further wetting his small feet. The jury rigged straps holding his tattered blue sandals on snapped, however the blonde kept running not even noticing as they were lodged into the mud making shlunking sound as they sunk deeper into the gunk.

He could hear the shouts, the shouts calling for him with glowing orange torches and freshly sharpened pitch forks. The blond wasn't an idiot-no matter what the villagers chose to believe- no for a four year old he was rather average in intellect. He knew that should they catch him they would hurt him, he didn't know why they wanted to hurt him, but he knew they would.

As a four year old he didn't really understand the concept of death. If he did he would have understood that this time they weren't looking to hurt him this time, no this time they were going for broke. This time the villager were aiming to kill. Armed with kunai they had managed to weasel out of a weapon merchant from cloud country, they would make it look like a another village had done the deed.

Anyone who heard their sadistic calls for the child would have been able to see this. That was the reason they had chased the child into the alleys, no one went inside besides runaways and criminals-people who would never rat them out since it would mean putting themselves in the spotlight as well.

The whiskered blonde rushed past a corner, raindrops pounding on his back. A sense of hope filled him as a ghost of smile formed on his face. It was only one block to his apartment, he could make It! It was only just a bit further…

Only for fear to grip his heart as a hand snaked around his neck and held his mouth shut just as he was about to scream. The world blurred as his head was slammed into the wall of the alley, the sickening crack of the four year old's head banging against the wall lost easily to the snap of thunder. Lightning screamed as it struck the ground in some far off place as he was pulled away Unable to resist as he was dragged back into the alleys- deeper and deeper- the muddy ground scraping harshly against his unprotected feet.

By the time the blond could make out his surrounding, a bunch of people were crowding all around him like he was some sort of circus attraction. He tried to sit up only to find he had been bound to some sort of table. It was only then did the boy register the fact their was a roof above him. A whisper to the side caught his attention, as he focused on it.

"Don't be so anxious it's healing factor will be failing any minute now, then we can get this nightmare over with." He didn't catch the rest of the conversation as they seemed to realize he was awake. The crowds quiet observation quickly became loud jeering sadism as they yelled for his death. A man walked up to him apparently not apart of the crowd as he took out a strange looking knife that he'd seen ninja use before. He grabbed his right hand as trailed the blade over his wrist, leaving a small cut across his arm.

Ruby liquid leaking out from his skin as the man stared at the cut, as if waiting for something. Minutes had crawled by when the man let out a twisted smile. He took the knife and… stabbed the blondes belly. Pain lanced through him a silent scream breaking out of his mouth as malicious energy rushed through his body, before he was knocked unconscious.

Unknown to the boy a corrosive red mist oozed out from the wound on his stomach, strange tribal marks started glowing around revealing the seal of the nine tailed fox. The originally black marks turned orange as one of the closer villager looked at the seal.

Gasping the villager realized, the knife was going straight through the kanji for seal.

Naruto Uzumaki was floating? His eyes opening slowly he gave the world around him a glance. He was tired, very tired even opening his eyes was a struggle, as he observed that he was in some sort of sewer with gigantic gate in front of him. It was a shiny bronze gate with a single circular lock with the word seal in the middle… cracked in half.

Big red slitted eyes filled with the echoes of dead men, slid open on the other side of the gate as it slinked out from within the shadows. Revealing it to be a gigantic fox with rustic orange fur, as it sat languidly in front of the gate, giving him a tired glance as it rested on it's haunches, raising a paw as if to give him a wave. Blood red eyes glowed ominously as they trailed his form blood lust trickling from the beasts body, the vulpine character seemingly wearing it like a freshly woven coat.

"Bye kid, it was... nice knowing you I suppose." the fox paused "Now, it seems I have a village to play with..." the fox said, though it seemed to be talking to itself rather than the blond. The blonde struggled as he only managed a drowsy complaint.

"Don't hurt Ayame-nee-san, or Teuchi-san they're nice…" Memories of warm smiles, and yummy food on cold night flooded his mind. "So nice..." The fox gave a half hearted chuckle that shook the room, as the child spoke listlessly "Sure kid, I'll see you in the next life." it said as the world went black once more the blond floating in an abyss of nothingness.

Little did the blonde know Konoha would nothing but a crater by the end of the day, the only two known survivors from the ordeal walking away from what was once there home, as they trudged away with nothing but a ramen cart and a hope to see their best customer once more. Even as a lucky few managed to crawl out from the wreckage, with skin soon to show the scars.

A little girl watch these events noting an errant flash of light disappearing into the fabric of time itself. She gave a giggle as she played with her pink hair. "This is going to be so much fun!" She yelled out into the blank space she inhabited. Roars of anger Answering her call, Whispers of annoyance, calls of boredom, and sighs of resignation mixed within the wave of hatred.

The girl payed no attention as she smiled cheerfully, content to watch this… story? Legend? no... this Epic unfold.

The sun blanketed the hospital room, a set of cheerful yellow flowers set in a phase on the counter next to the blonde as rested. Seeming resting peacefully as his chest rose and fell with each breath. No one would have ever guessed the child was in a coma, and they most certainly never would have guest what left the four year old in such a state.

Well someone could have guessed the blond was in a car accident, which did account for his physical state. But they never would have guessed the miracle that was his spiritual state. They never would have guessed the sunny blond they knew and loved had been saved by himself, by a little sliver of silver light that had slipped through time itself.

They would have never guessed that one Titanic fox with fur the color of rust, was quite serious when he said he would see the child in his next life.

Ichirou Kusanagi, sighed sadly as he walked through the halls of the hospital. His nephew-Naruto son of Mirai Kusanagi and Arata Yoshida, both having died a month previous in a plane crash.

Naruto being the only survivor, was a miracle in itself. The entire thing started when one car crashed into another one nothing big… until it turned into a fourteen car pileup with a single tanker which happened to be carrying a rather strong experimental drug. A drug that had shown to be extremely fatal without immediate medical attention.

Naruto wasn't just the only survivor of the car crash he was one of the only living things within four blocks. The fact he didn't have physical wounds besides a large bump on his head only increased the miracle of his continued existence. Of course the chemical also had a chance to cause amnesia due to some sort of effect it has on the brain, the rest of the doctor's explanation having gone over the old man's head.

The paperwork had gone through a week ago marking both himself and his wife as the boys guardians for the foreseeable future. Or at least when he was released from the hospital that is… that was another strange thing the doctors had no Idea why the boy was still in a coma. As far as they could tell the boy was perfectly fine… No that didn't matter.

He shaking his head, as he looked down at the three year old child next to him. He had somewhat messy black hair, along with black eyes sparkling with happiness as the child thought about seeing his cousin again. A common white t-shirt and a set jeans adorned his body causing the toddler to be easily overlooked for kids with brighter and more hyperactive personalities.

Combined with the boy's obsession with being utterly normal, and the kid was practically a ghost. Heck the only time he'd ever seen Godou get louder than a polite tone was when Naruto had dumped a bucket of water on him a few weeks before the crash. He still had no Idea how the four year old had gotten that bucket on top of the door in the first place. It defied common logic!

Scratching his gray hair Ichirou dismissed the errant thoughts, he needed to be there for Godou. The younger Kusanagi had yet to see the child since the blond had fallen into the coma, and in all honesty Ichirou wanted to wait a bit longer before have the toddler witness a close friend sitting there with tubes sticking out his body unresponsive to the world.

The gray haired man had gone through something much the same when his mother passed from cancer long before hand. Hopefully the toddler wouldn't be too affected by the visit. "Come on Godou-chan." Pulling the child along by the hand he got the room number from the receptionist, the child nodding along all the way.

Marching down the tile halls, ignoring the scent of chemicals that were practically weaved into the building itself thanks to prolonged use. Footsteps clattering against the floor as they navigated the busy halls, only to turn into a quieter area. It had almost twenty door going down the hall, but only two were in use at the moment. The Kusanagi elder checked his watch showing that it was 8:23 AM Thankfully the hospital's visiting hours stretched from 6:00 AM To 7:00 PM.

The duo stopped in front of one door Taking a deep breath the older man reached out and turned the doorknob. The door opened smoothly without a sound as it swung open. The room inside was a typical hospital room, with the exception being the excess amount of machines in the room beeping at a steady pace. A window catching the sun as rose into the sky bouncing off of emerald leaves of trees in a nearby park.

The old man's breath caught in his throat as a blond child turned away from the window as he caught sight of the duo's entry. He smiled in such pure angelic way tears almost made an appearance as the old Kusanagi looked at the blond child. Some part of his mind told him that this wasn't Naruto Yoshida, or-Unbenounced to the elder-Naruto Uzumaki… no this was Naruto Kusanagi, the man who would be known around the world as they whispered his name, As they clanked their glasses together in the near future.

"To Naruto Kusanagi! The Scaled King!"