Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: This premise is basically just a mash up of "What if Minato killed Obito?" and "Naruto finds out about his heritage earlier". Things probably won't start going off the rails until after the Chunin Exams, but I'll try to exclude and/or make canon things more interesting when I address them.

Sex will be fairly casual in this Narutoverse, as is wont to happen with dangerous professions, but I'm not sure on any romantic subplots yet. I also am still on the fence for full lemons. Guess we'll see.

Not a lot of action in this chapter, but it lays the foundation for the rest of the story.

Enjoy.

"Speaking."

Naruto's thoughts.

Kyuubi's thoughts.

The cacophony caused by a group of metal trash cans smashing together and spilling their contents in the alley mattered to only two of the people who heard it.

The first was the small ten year old boy who stumbled and crashed through the cans. Awkwardly, he raised himself from the morass of nearly week old trash. Standing slowly, his left arm shot back to cradle his right. Blood streamed from the hole in his shoulder, the most recent tear in his jump suit doing nothing to stop the garbage from mixing with his wound. He rested his head against the wooden wall of the alley, compressing the remaining spike of blond hair into the matted mess on his head, and tried to get his ragged breathing under control.

A scrabbling noise from a nearby roof pushed him to struggle drunkenly toward the mouth of the alley. Fear was plastered across his usually tanned face. The three identical, whisker-like marks on each of his cheeks stood out even more on his unusually pale face. Glazed blue eyes darted back and forth as he made his way out to the street.

His foot caught a divot, and he stumbled out into the street futilely trying to keep his balance. A pained scream tore its way out of his throat as his bloodied shoulder slammed into a manor gate, smearing it with red. He was taken over by weightlessness before the black at the edges of his vision joined together and he succumbed.

Takeru Ichimaru had a grin stretched across his face as he jumped from roof to roof after his quarry. He was twenty and had made chunin a few years ago. During that time, he managed to save up a nice little nest egg; one that he'd used to ensure that he could get his revenge on the thing that killed his parents ten years ago. Physical attacks on the Kyuubi were few and far between after the first civilian mob had died from a combination of fire jutsu and public execution. As far as he knew, his attack would be the third if that poor civilian attempt wasn't included.

An enormous racket sounded from an alley a few streets in front of him. His grin stretched wider—he doubted very much that anyone else was hanging around in alleys at three in the morning. He struck out toward his target without fear of recompense. It had happened that he knew the ANBU that was supposed to be watching the boy tonight, the ANBU he had convinced to take a multi-hour break with some coaxing and his nest egg. The only thing he couldn't do was kill it; that suited him just fine, it should suffer like he did after all.

One roof away, his foot landed on accrued bird droppings, which lead to something very similar to a tap dance as he tried to reestablish his footing. After a minute his stance was solid enough to jump to the roof adjacent to the alleyway. The lack of orange by the trash cans brought a scowl to his face. His eyes traced the blood out of the alley and toward a street. No trace of orange on that street either.

A deepened scowl gave way to a sigh and small smile. The hole that he'd put in the thing's shoulder and the other smaller cuts would make sure it bled to death in a few hours if it didn't get medical attention. He only had another half hour in his window of activity. Oh well, they couldn't blame him for that thing dying on the ANBU's watch could they? No trace of his involvement was left as he roof hopped back to his apartment.

Naruto cracked open his eyes and tried to push himself up, only for his arm to fall out from under him. The memories flooded back easily, and he quickly became confused. His shoulder was sore and stiff, but there hadn't been a sharp lance of pain like he'd expected. Using his left arm, he managed to flip himself onto his back and immediately regretted it as his eyelids fused back together trying to escape the harsh glare from the sun.

After a few minutes of letting the spots in his eyes settle down, he hesitantly propped himself up with his left arm and checked the hole in his shoulder. It's completely gone. Now that I look, so are all my other injuries. His body screamed in protest as he slowly levered himself to his feet. Why did it feel like he'd been hauling boulders around all day?

As he came to his senses, he turned in a circle to attempt to puzzle out where he was. He'd left a bloody smear directly in front of a large two story house. The building was easily a hundred feet across. Low hedges surrounded the small attached porch, and unobtrusive plants and flowers were placed sparingly around the area. Each decorative plant in the front yard was immaculately trimmed, as was the grass. An ornate wrought iron gate sat in the ten foot wall that appeared to surround the property.

This place looks pretty high class. I'd better get out of here before I get in trouble. His face worked itself into a frown. And then I can try and remember how I got in here in the first place. Walking toward the gate, he barely noticed how his muscles were no longer aching near as much as they had been when he woke.

His hand wrapped around the cool metal of the gate. He pulled sharply on the black gate, but only succeeded in launching himself forward. It hadn't budged or even rattled for that matter. Another yank did the exact same thing the first had. The gate was so frustrating, he just wanted to get home, have a cup or six of instant ramen, and go to sleep.

Wait. He peered up at the sun's position. It was dark before I passed out, and now it's around lunch time. Could he really have just laid in someone else's yard for that long without them noticing? His vote was for no, so that meant that he was probably alone in a random person's estate. A grunt of frustration temporarily pierced the silence of the grounds. So, I'm stuck in a random compound, that I can't leave, while I'm recovering from being hunted by another ninja. Awesome.

His stomach growled fiercely before he asked the empty compound, "They wouldn't mind if I took a little food would they?" He started walking toward the front door. "I could always pay them back, and even if they were super angry, we could always just go talk to the Old Man." Assured by his own ramblings he only faltered slightly as he reached out to open the door. His eyes widened as the polished, wooden door opened before he had a chance to touch the knob.

Edging around the door as he stepped inside landed him in a conservative but homey foyer. The earthen brown walls made half a hexagon, with a glass door leading into the rest of the house. Two dark wood end tables sat in either corner of the room, along with two matching coat racks. Both tables were clear if you didn't count the layer of dust.

The living room beyond the glass door was inviting and warm. Its walls carried the brown from the foyer, but the wall that the fireplace sat on was painted a deep burgundy. A couch and several comfortable looking chairs dominated the room. Apart from them were only a few dead plants and a large cabinet opposite the couch. Pictures lined the mantle of the fireplace, but another growl from his stomach drew him away from any further inspection for the moment.

Tile flooring took over for carpet through an doorway to his right. When in doubt, follow the easily cleanable surfaces. The kitchen was bright and white, incredibly white. Every surface was either white or pale—it was kind of disconcerting really. Whatever. Like I'm in any position to be criticizing someone's choice of color scheme. Unfortunately, the fridge was completely empty, and all the cupboards yielded were several rolled up scrolls.

Unrolling a scroll revealed odd little designs on the inside. They seemed to be set up in a grid pattern. The first six were inside of a box that was labeled apples. Is this one of those thingies the Old Man showed me how to use? Err, what was it? After a minute he finally remembered the answer: chakra. He pushed a small amount into the first apple symbol, and a large stack of green apples appeared in a poof of smoke. That has to be at least twenty pounds worth. Apples weren't something he was particularly fond of, but he had to eat them now. There was no telling when the people would get back, and he didn't have any idea on how to put them back in the symbol.

Five apples became cores within minutes. With his hunger partially sated, the cogs of caution started to turn once again. I should really make sure no one else is here. I wouldn't be very happy if I just found some random person in my house. People dislike me enough already. The grimace slowly disappeared as he made his way back through the living area and up the stairs with an apple. A long hallway, with rooms branching off to either side, stretched out before him.

"Uh, hello?" he called. "Anyone?" The only room with an open door was the one at the end of the hall. Well, it wasn't like he was really intruding if the door was already open, right? Cream colored walls and expensive looking wooden floors carried him to, what appeared to be, a study. Shelves filled with scrolls and books lined the walls. The only place that wasn't filled with shelving was the area where a desk was set off from the wall.

Coool... Naruto wandered around, until he realized there was an open letter on the desk. Maybe I can find out who lives here. His partially eaten apple fell to the floor as his eyes caught the addressee: Naruto. That couldn't be me. Could it? Once the next sentence properly parsed he had a way to test it. Whoever it was, said that only family could open another closed envelope on the desk by putting some blood on a seal.

Shaking hands picked up an envelope sitting at a corner of the desk. He took a deep breath before flipping it over and taking in the funny design that he was sure was a seal. Now or never! A lengthened incisor cut open a thumb that was swiped across the seal. After a second, the envelope flap detached. Breath he didn't realize he'd been holding rushed out, and he flopped into the chair behind the desk. He barely managed to hang onto the letter in his shock.

After a few minutes of slowly regressing shock, he pulled the folded pieces of paper out of the envelope and laid them lovingly on the desk. One of the pieces appeared to have more storage seals on it, but the other was another letter in the same handwriting as the first he found.

Naruto,

If you are reading this letter, it means, as I feared, that I'm no longer around. It is my greatest hope that you are reading this with your mother, but just in case she has also passed on, let me explain a few things.

The name of your father, and myself, is Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf. If you are old enough to be in the academy, I assume you already know the more public details of my life. I just want you to know that even though you've yet to be born, I love you with all my heart. The two happiest days of my life are marrying your mother and finding out she was pregnant with you. Unfortunately, I am an orphan, so I do not have an entire library's worth of clan techniques to offer you. However, my notes on the Rasengan and Hiraishin are in the storage scroll with this letter.

Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki. She was an amazing woman; loud, brash, blunt, and with the biggest heart of any one I've ever met. She was the only one who was more excited than I was when we found out she was pregnant. In addition, she was an incredibly deadly kunoichi. She came from a place called Uzushiogakure, the homeland of the Uzumaki clan. Unlike me, she does have a few copies of hidden Uzumaki techniques in the storage scroll. I don't know what else to say, there are too many things to put down on paper. I'm sorry that she doesn't have a letter of her own, but this is simply a precaution. I didn't want to worry her while she was carrying you.

If you would like more details about the minutiae of our lives, I'm sure our journals are still sitting somewhere around the house. Oh, I also included rations in the kitchen, but if you're fifteen or older, the chakra keeping the food fresh has probably run out.

The storage scroll is labeled, but in it are copies of both of our prized jutsus. I also included a book of the history of Uzushiogakure. If you'd like to become a shinobi, your mother and I designed several training regiments for you that I've also included. Don't worry if you don't wish to become a ninja. Just remember: we both love you and would be proud of you no matter what you do.

With much love,

Dad

Tears streamed down his cheeks and onto the letter. He clutched the letter to his chest and rocked back and forth. They loved me! My dad even went to this much work just in case, and he's the Fourth! The rapid fire thoughts flying through his mind didn't help in his shocked state. Each was becoming progressively harder to latch onto.

His sobbing trailed off after twenty minutes, and he finally remembered that there was another letter he had to read. Steeling himself, he hoped that it wouldn't be as emotionally draining as the first.

Naruto,

If you've picked up this letter first, please read the other sealed envelope on the desk. You should be able to open it by applying a small amount of blood to the ink seal on the back.

I've got very little time. A masked man attacked your mother and I with our entourage while we were outside the village to birth you. The reason is that your mother was the second Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Mito Uzumaki, the First Hokage's wife, was the first. Basically your mother was the storage scroll and the Kyuubi was the item to seal. This was done to keep the Kyuubi in check as well as trying to harness its power.

He threatened you to get me away from your mother, when her seal was at its weakest. While I was securing you, he released the Kyuubi and your mother was killed. I'm so sorry that you're going to lose both of us tonight, but we have to do our duty as cruel as it seems. Don't worry about revenge, I killed him shortly after returning. He was controlling the Kyuubi with a Sharingan I've never seen before.

I'm leaving you this letter to apologize and state my intentions. The only way I know of to stop the Kyuubi involves sealing it. I'm planning on sealing it inside of you. The life Jinchuriki lead are generally not pretty, but with this gift, or curse however you wish to see it, you can become one of the greatest ninja in history. It should also offer you some amount of protection. I'm sorry if your life has been worse than it could have been so far, but I'm doing what I think is right.

Our home has a permanent genjustu around the walls that make it look like nothing is happening inside. You can safely train without being overseen. There's also a barrier so no one can leap over the walls. The only way in or out, other than the Hiraishin, is through the blood seal on the gate.

Lessons I wish we could have taught you in person: a ninja's greatest weapon is deception. A hidden kunai kills as easily as a flashy jutsu. Don't advertise your skills unless you need to use them. Chakra control is important, really important in your case since your reserves will be enormous, practice every day. Learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, the clones return their experiences and memories to you, use it to train your chakra control and learn jutsu. Always have a plan B and always keep something in reserve. The greatest Jinchuriki are partners with their demons. Kyuubi is a being of rage and malevolence, be careful when you're angry or it may try to influence you. A ninja is more than just a collection of jutsu, read books on everything, with the Shadow Clone Jutsu this should be easy. Be cunning, be unpredictable, be strategic, be responsible, never hesitate, and remember we will always love you. Don't feel obligated to the village for our sake, we only want you to be happy.

Learn sealing. Your mother and I both excelled in this. I've included the notes for the seal holding the Kyuubi inside of you at the bottom of this letter. Sealing is incredibly versatile and powerful. My study is filled with books on different subjects and different jutsu, use them at your discretion.

Jiraiya of the Sannin was named as your godfather, and he is also one of the few seal masters Konoha will have left. Seek him out if you need help.

I'm out of time. Again, remember that we both love you with all of our hearts, and I apologize from the bottom of mine for doing this. I know you'll make us proud.

With love,

Dad

The discolored, roughly circular spots and dark brown blotches scattered over the paper stared back at him as he read the letter again and again. His brain stuttered and then short circuited, plunging him into darkness.

Dripping water roused him into consciousness. Curiously, Naruto was already standing when he came to. He stood in calf deep water inside of an enormous tunnel. The walls were oddly textured and covered in piping that glowed softly. Fifteen feet in front of him stood a golden gate that blocked off the whole tunnel. What seemed to be a rectangular piece of paper held the gate together; it simply read "seal".

"Hello there Naruto," a deep but oddly melodic voice greeted from the shadows beyond the cage. A tall man emerged from the darkness and stopped a short way back from the bars. His red, slitted eyes were locked on Naruto, and his long, braided, deep orange hair was swaying minutely, as if in a small breeze. He appeared to be middle aged, but the gray sprouting from his temples belied a position at the older edge of that group. Simple black and red robes, much like he'd seen the Old Man wear, were wrapped around a lithe muscular frame.

"Kyuubi?" he wondered, with no small amount of trepidation in his voice.

"Kyuubi is a title, my name is Kurama," the human-shaped demon informed him.

"Okay Kurama," he began uncertainly, "where are we?"

"We are in your mind," Kurama gestured around flamboyantly. "I felt it prudent to reach out to you after what you've just learned."

"What I've learned..." Naruto trailed off. The reality and implications started crashing down around him again, threatening to throw him back into shock.

"Oi!" he shouted. "Not that I don't enjoy watching your mind being broken, but we have important things to discuss." Naruto raised his head, suitably anchored to reality for the moment. "You had an extra seal on you before last night. I had to corrode and dissolve it with my youki so that we would both survive the night."

"What?"

"Those fools, in an effort to keep my consciousness locked away, placed a second seal on you." Kurama had begun to pace behind the bars. "The seal also locked away three quarters of your chakra reserves, not to mention the fact that your Uzumaki regeneration was severely hampered by the lack of chakra."

"How-"

"The benefits of being sealed away into two Uzumaki seal masters," he informed with a lazy wave of a hand. "Even if there wasn't any direct contact, experience bled into me as water filters through the ground." His pacing halted, and he made eye contact with Naruto, "Child, the seal work was high level. The only person they'd trust to not create an imbalance with the seal your father put on you is your Godfather."

"What are you saying?" he questioned with a trembling voice. "The Old Man wouldn't do that to me, and he wouldn't order my Godfather to do it!" Kurama stayed silent as Naruto fumed. "But the Old Man had to know who my parents were, but he wouldn't go that far would he? How could he?" he continued in a much quieter voice. The information was there, at the very least he'd been lied to by the one person he thought had his best interests at heart. At worst the Old Man had tried to cripple him because he didn't trust him. "You're a demon, why should I believe you? Demons lie."

"We do, but the simple answer is: I don't have to lie to you." Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. "You know what I want above anything?" A shake of the head was his response. "I've been sealed since the time of the First Hokage. I just want to not be a prisoner anymore. Is that really that much to ask?"

"No," Naruto replied immediately. The prison of Konoha was much larger than Kurama's, but he was stilled trapped there—and in decidedly unfortunate company.

"If I give you everything you ask for and more, we will become partners and friends. Undoubtedly, you will believe you can change my nature, and it may prove true. I don't know, I've never had this much contact with my container before." He resumed his pacing. "Anyway, you will eventually be skilled enough in sealing that you will be able to get me out of here without killing the both of us." He stopped in front of Naruto. "So you see, I have no need to lie. Gaining the needed ability in sealing will take several years. We will at least be sympathetic to the other's plight, probably empathetic."

"I see," Naruto frowned, deep in thought. "Could you give me the night to think Kurama?" Kurama gave a short nod. "Please pull me back in here some time tomorrow afternoon."

Naruto shook himself awake in the desk chair. Despite his near omnipresent smile and his disarmingly innocent confusion in abstract conversations, Naruto wasn't stupid. Did he know all of the words Kurama had used? No, but he got the gist of what he was saying. His biggest problem was that he nearly had to learn read on his own, and he didn't have the extra money to spend on books to expand his vocabulary and knowledge base.

What did he think of his parents? They both seemed awesome. The fact that people who didn't like him sometimes like the word "demon" slip out told him that the cause of their dislike was definitely his father's fault though, but his father said it was a gift. If Kurama really would help him, then there was no way he wouldn't become an awesome ninja, but was it worth it? He would still be an orphan even without Kurama inside of him, how much worse was his life than it could have been? It could have been worse, and it could have been better, he decided. Knowing his parents loved him and would be proud of him nearly made the tears come back.

The Old Man. He didn't know what to think of him anymore. Whenever he had a problem the Old Man had helped him, and he looked after him didn't he? Well, he was the son of a Hokage after all, even if the public didn't know. The Old Man and those Geezers would have to know about his parents, right? He would have to go see him. Maybe he could ask some sneaky but innocent questions to see how he reacted.

The gnawing fear in the pit of his stomach only grew as he snuck out of his family's compound and headed toward Hokage Tower. He had to find out! Could the person he thought cared about him the most have been lying to him for his entire life? Naruto was so deep in thought that he breezed right past the secretary's desk and walked into the Hokage's office without consciously realizing it.

"Naruto-kun, to what do I owe the pleasure today?" The wrinkled and liver spotted face behind the desk gave a grandfatherly smile. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind a wooden desk in the enormous wood paneled office. Stacks of paper occupied the top of his desk, but he was ignoring them in favor of tamping tobacco into his pipe. Probably taking a break now that I'm here.

Naruto gave a hesitant smile and began, "Old Man, last night I got attacked by a ninja again." Hiruzen's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't really know what happened, but when I woke up my injuries were gone." He was quick to continue so it didn't get written off as a dream, "But I know it happened because my clothes are all torn up and stained." The Old Man's eyes scanned all the tears in his clothing and their accompanying stains, paying particular attention to his shoulder.

"Please tell me what happened," Hiruzen bid with a softer gaze. Naruto gave him the real story up until he was transported into his parent's house, just saying that he woke up in an alley a few hours ago. "Don't worry, my boy, I'll find out who did this to you," he assured with a warm smile.

"Why does everyone hate me so much Old Man? It isn't fair," he asked, with a trembling lip. Too over the top?

The Hokage turned to look toward Hokage Mountain through the plate glass windows before replying, "I don't know Naruto." Hiruzen sighed. "It's just bad luck that you were also born on the same day as the Kyuubi attack." Well, I didn't catch anything there. Time to up the ante!

"Have you found any record of my parents yet?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm beginning to think the records may truly have been destroyed during the Kyuubi attack," he fired off as if on reflex before turning his chair back around to face Naruto. On the outside Naruto only projected sadness, but on the inside he was smirking.

"Huh, but that means that they could be anyone. Someone amazing even!" he reasoned. The Hokage smiled and nodded, seemingly happy that the news hadn't brought Naruto down any further. "My dad could even be the Fourth Hokage!" Hiruzen sputtered slightly as his eyes widened. So he knew. Then there's no way he didn't know that I am a Jinchuriki. "Later Old Man!"

Naruto sat at his Father's desk several hours after leaving the Hokage's office and out foxing the guard that he could always feel around him. Fresh tears marred his cheeks and the letters he'd reread after he'd come back. His Dad had told him to become partners with Kurama if he could.

Kurama, can you hear me?

Indeed. Have you made a decision?

I agree. We will work out the specifics while I'm asleep tonight.

'Til then Naruto. He could practically feel the grin radiating from the fox.

A/N: First chapter done. We'll be getting into more action next time.