It was too late; the damage had already been done. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, waited for the chakra dome, made of the chakra chains that Kushina created due to her being an Uzumaki, to disappear before he made his way to the alter. The bodies of, both, Minato and Kushina laid there, lifeless and covered in blood. The only thing that was left from their struggle with the Kyuubi was Minato and Kushina's newly born child, Naruto. The elderly man tenderly held the boy in his arms, slowly rocking the infant back and forth in hopes to stop his crying.

"Lord Fourth chose his own son to be the vessel?" One of the ANBU asked in confusion.

Sarutobi nodded sadly. "Minato knew no one else would be able to survive the sealing of the Fox, only an infant has the innocence to handle such a horrible act."

"What do we do now, Lord Hokage?" A high ranking chunin questioned in solemn. "The village is in ruins and without Lord Fourth guiding us, what will happen now?"

The, now unretired, Hokage thought in silence while cradling the infant blond in his arms. "The Will of Fire will not burn out from this one tragedy, we will recover. But, for now, I must tend young Naruto here."

"You're going to deal with a mere child before the village?" The chunin questioned again, sounding harsher then he intended.

"This child is a hero, without him none of us would be here right now. You will give him the respect he deserves." Sarutobi shot back. The chunin lowered his head and decided to not speak anymore, out of fear of angering the Hokage even more.

"My lord," An ANBU spoke up, "I do not disagree that this child is a hero, but my hunch is that the village will not see it as you do."

The older man raised his brow. "Elaborate CROW."

"The village citizens just witnessed the worst attack to ever hit the village, not even Lords First and Second had to deal with such a tragedy. Many loved ones were killed by the demon that now lives inside that boy, they will blame him if they find out."

Hiruzen lowered his eyes in deep thought, CROW did have a valid point. The amount of lives lost were already in the mid hundreds and increasing at a current rate. He wished he could say that most of the villagers would see that Naruto was a hero for being the Kyuubi's container, but the older man knew better. Once word would get out that Naruto was the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, his life would be in great danger. Not to mention Minato's enemies, Sarutobi was all but certain that they would stop at nothing to take revenge on Minato by killing his infant son. Feeling the greatest amount of guilt in his life, the Third Hokage nodded sadly once more. "I wish I could disagree with you CROW but I know you have a point. Naruto will be their scapegoat for their anger."

The ANBU operative nodded. "What do you want to do with him then, my Lord?"

"We'll keep his existence out of public knowledge for the time being, at least until I figure out a plan to protect the boy. In the meantime, I'll keep him in my office, so I can watch over him personally."

A few days passed since the attack and things went from bad to worse. Not only did Naruto being the container for the Kyuubi leak out into the public but the blame for the attack itself was being placed on the prestigious Uchiha clan, which already had draining relations with Konoha higher ups. Sarutobi was aware of the fact that Danzō Shimura ordered the Uchiha clan to focus solely on defending the villagers, this was starting to cause a bigger rift between the clan and village. The Third Hokage was already dealing with the Uchiha problem and had a plan in the works to help their relationship, but the man's main concern was Naruto's safety.

Sarutobi blew smoke out of his mouth and placed his pipe on his desk, listening to the infant child softly sleep in his make shift crib next to Sarutobi's desk. He wasn't sure if his plan for Naruto was certainly the best but it was the only one that a had ghost of a chance to give the boy somewhat of a normal life growing up. Granted, the man the Hokage wanted to have watch over Naruto wasn't considered normal by most people but having the boy's godfather look after him seemed like a good idea.

There was a knock at the Hokage's door. Sarutobi briefly thought that Jiraiya had arrived but quickly dismissed that thought. He would be notified by gate patrol when the Sannin would enter the village. Also, Jiraiya would probably enter through the window and not the door.

"Enter."

Someone the Hokage should have been expecting to see but seeing Mikoto Uchiha walk in with her own infant son, Sasuke, and six-year-old, Itachi, did surprise the elder Hokage. The man didn't need to ask why the wife Fugaku, the head of, both, the Uchiha clan and Konoha's Military Police Force, was in his office, he knew that she was very close friends with Kushina.

"Lord Hokage…" Mikoto quietly gasped. The man was in worse condition than she had originally thought. His arms were completely bandaged, and he was covered in bruises and burns.

"Do not concern yourself with my injuries Mikoto, I will be alright."

The black haired Uchiha woman nodded slightly. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife."

Sarutobi did not say anything in response. He just nodded and let Mikoto do what she had come here to do. Mikoto placed Sasuke in Itachi's arms and scooped Naruto in her own. She smiled softly at the three whisker like birthmarks on the child's face. Mikoto's smile didn't last for very long. She knew what the villagers were saying about Naruto, and the Uchiha clan in extension. "What are you going to do with him?"

"I've sent word to Jiraiya to return home, I will try and convince him to take care of Naruto until this catastrophe is behind us and give the villagers a chance to calm down. A chance to see Naruto as the hero Minato wanted him to be."

Mikoto placed the infant Naruto back in his crib and looked back at the Hokage. "You're sending him away with Lord Jiraiya? Is that really the best decision? Lord Jiraiya is very well known to attract some…unwelcomed individuals.

Sarutobi chuckled dryly at that. "I'm well aware but I'm confident that Naruto's godfather will take up the responsibility."

"Godfather?"

"Yes. Jiraiya is Naruto's godfather. I'm actually surprised you didn't know that, being how close you and Kushina were."

"I didn't get to see her much in her last trimester. When I saw her last week, it was the first time in two months."

"Her pregnancy was a SS-rank secret, Mikoto. Not even the council members knew Kushina was pregnant, hell I wasn't made fully aware of it until a few months ago. I think the only people who knew what was going on from the beginning were you and Jiraiya, and that's only because of how close you two were to Minato and Kushina."

"But do you really think sending Naruto off with Lord Jiraiya is the smartest decision? He has a lot of enemies that would love to get their hands on the Nine Tailed Fox, and the Fourth Hokage's son."

"I've already come up with a plan for that."

The two were drawn to the window to see the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, hopping into the office through the left open window. While Sarutobi was not shocked to see his student, he was concerned by the fact he was supposed to be alerted by one of the guards that the Sannin had arrived. The elder man just figured Jiraiya used his amazing stealth skills to enter the village walls.

The white-haired man walked over to the make shift crib. He softly smiled at the sleeping infant. "You look just like your father." He whispered tenderly.

The tone in the room suddenly turned serious. "Jiraiya, I am requesting that you- "

"You don't need to ask, sensei. When I got your scroll, I knew what I had to do. I will take the boy and watch over him. Minato asked me to be Naruto's godfather because he had faith in me to help raise him, I will not bow out from this promise."

Sarutobi smiled, he knew Jiraiya would step up. If only his other student would return from her downward spiral and see that the village needs its Sannin back. The Third Hokage inwardly sighed that the thought of his female student and her current state. It seems Tsunade had cut off the rest of the world and is continually trying to drown her sorrow in sake and gambling. Sarutobi has tried to reach out to the world class medic but unfortunately, even, he could not reason with Tsunade. There was also the matter of finding the woman, Tsunade, somehow, was not the easiest person to find these days.

"Master Jiraiya," Mikoto spoke up, "if you don't mind me asking, what is your plan regarding Naruto?"

"No." The Third Hokage suddenly stated. "The less any of us know, the better for Naruto. Somehow, word has gotten out that he is the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. I'm looking into the leak but, as of right now, we cannot risk Naruto's safety if Jiraiya's plan were leak out into the public as well."

Mikoto wasn't happy to hear this, and apparently Sasuke wasn't either. He started to cry in Itachi's arms. The young boy, who was already considered a genius, did what he could to try and calm his younger brother but Mikoto knew her new born was starting to get hungry. They would need to return home soon. "Very well." She sighed, taking Sasuke into her arms. "I came here with the intentions of convincing you to let me raise Naruto, but it seems your mind set on letting Lord Jiraiya watch over him."

"Mikoto," Sarutobi started, "if the situation were different, I'd love nothing more than to let Naruto be raised by you. But the Uchiha clan is being blamed for unleashing the Kyuubi on the village. As ridiculous as that sounds, the image of your clan would be tarnished completely even more if the villagers saw him within the Uchiha compound. Then there is the issue with the investigation…"

Mikoto decided it best to keep her comments to herself, knowing they would lead to an argument that was not her place to have without her husband and her children present. Itachi was too young to know what about the Uchiha clan had been accused of doing, though Mikoto knew her older son was sharper than most adults despite his young age.

"Please, take care of him." Mikoto took hold of Itachi's hand and left the office.

Sarutobi shook his head and took another hit off his pipe. "Mikoto may not be a firecracker like Kushina but one all in the same."

Jiraiya felt no need to respond. Mikoto was the silent type that you never wanted to piss off. He could only recall ever hearing of Mikoto losing her temper once, and Fugaku, who was considered on par with Minato to be named the Fourth Hokage and gained his own nickname 'Wicked Eye' during the Third Great Shinobi War, cowered away from his wife. He thanked Kami that he never felt that woman's anger, but Tsunade's was probably just as bad and probably worse.

The legendary Sannin took his godson into his arms and held him somewhat awkwardly, admittedly this was the first time he had ever held a baby and he had no clue what to do. He remembered something that Tsunade told him once about making sure the head is held properly, he wasn't why they were talking about babies. He dismissed his confusion by thinking it probably had something to do with Dan, her former lover/fiancé.

Jiraiya was about to leave but stopped when he noticed the monotone expression on his teacher's face. It wasn't often that Sarutobi would show this expression. He knew the old man was deeply worried for Naruto and his future and leaving it up to him was probably not the easiest thing for the old man to let happen. It wasn't because Sarutobi didn't trust Jiraiya, it was just Sarutobi felt like he owed Minato for saving the village. Raising and training his son seemed like a good way to repay that debt.

"I'll send updates, sensei."

"I know Jiraiya, I know." The Third Hokage sighed. "Just don't keep him away forever, I want him to go through the Academy at some point."

Jiraiya chuckled. "This kid is going to be a powerhouse when he grows up. I just hope he got his father's brains and not just his looks."

"As do I." Sarutobi softly laughed.

Six quick years has passed since the Kyuubi attacked the village. Konoha recovered completely from the horrible attack architecturally but from the political stand point things could not be any worse. The already tense relations with the Uchiha clan fell through broken glass when the council made the rash decision to move the Uchiha compound to the far edge of the village, practically isolating them from the entire village. Somehow things were made even worse when Itachi, the young genius prodigy of the Uchiha clan, joined the ranks of the ANBU Black Ops. While that was something that entire shinobi council predicted when the boy showed the signs of being the genius he was becoming, Sarutobi felt an oddity with Itachi's sudden jump into the ANBU ranks. Itachi never expressed any want to be in ANBU, the young boy was a pacifist.

Sarutobi chose to look into the matter by calling Itachi into his office. The Third Hokage questioned the Uchiha prodigy about his reasons for his sudden interest in an ANBU life. Itachi didn't say much other than he wants to save the village and the Uchiha clan, but he knew only one could come out on top. Sarutobi had a sinking feeling that the Uchiha were planning something, and his talk with Itachi just confirmed it. When Sarutobi questioned if the Uchiha were planning, Itachi told everything about coup d'état his father and the other Uchiha higher ups were working on. And how him joining ANBU was to be a double agent to try and achieve peace between the two, and his best friend, Shisui, was doing the same but on the regular shinobi level.

And on top of it all, there hadn't been any updates on Naruto and how his is growing up from Jiraiya. The only update the perverted Sannin had sent was a few months after Jiraiya had taken him out of the village and left him with the sage toads, Lord Fukasaku and Lady Shima, while he checked his spy network for anything that could be taken as a threat towards Konoha. Other than that, Jiraiya kept Naruto with him as he moved around the world. Thankfully, there was nothing from the other nations and showed no indication of even knowing about the Kyuubi's attack to begin with. There was always one silver lining in an overall bad situation. Still, Sarutobi was worried about Naruto and growing up without much interaction children his age, or even people in general.

There was a knock that tore the Third Hokage from his deep thoughts. "Enter."

The legendary Toad Sage himself walked through the door. "Long time no see sensei."

"Jiraiya…" Sarutobi looked beyond his long-time student. "Is Naruto with you?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "He is, but he saw the Ichiraku Ramen shop and couldn't help himself."

"This is the first time he's been inside the village since his birth, how does he know about Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Lady Shima decided bugs and insects weren't the best diet for a growing boy. Whenever she would come to the village for indigents, she would pick up some instant ramen for Naruto as a treat for completing his training. Or not causing me too much trouble out on the road."

"The toads have taken a liking to him I take it?"

"Of course, he is Minato's son after all."

"You mentioned training?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Naruto is a natural born ninja, everything comes to him with ease. We've only taught him what he'd learn through the Academy but it's a breeze for him." The man's smile suddenly disappeared. "Though, that's only because he found my book." He reached into his green kimono and pulled out the very book the white-haired man was talking about.

Sarutobi was glad to see that it wasn't the famous Icha Icha Tactics perverted book that Jiraiya had written but the man's very first book he had ever written, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Sarutobi had to think for a moment about why this book was the reason for Naruto being a natural. It clicked in the old man's brain.

"He learned about his name..."

Near the village center, down the main road that led through Konoha, the villager's lives were going on as per usual, everything was turning out to be another normal day. One of the many shops on that main drag was rather popular ramen restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen read the entrance kanji signs that acted as the door that came down to that of an average heighted person's waist. Sitting at one of the many stools was a young boy, maybe five or six, with spikey blonde hair and three distinctive whisker birthmarks on each of his cheeks. He was a wearing a black short sleeved shirt with red swirl on his chest, a pair of white, almost grey, shorts and dark blue ninja sandals.

Naruto was in heaven as he drank the last of the ramen flavored water out of the bowl, finishing off his fourth bowl. He knew Ero-sennin wanted him to go see the Old man with him but he just couldn't help himself when they walked past the ramen shop. Though, Naruto was a little surprised Jiraiya didn't come after him when he ran off, or even decide to come in and join him for a bowl. The young blonde didn't have to think very hard why his master, and caretaker, didn't follow him, it was probably because of that.

He mentally shook his head at the memory. Why would they keep something like this from him? What was the purpose? To protect him? From what? Grandpa Sage did, accidently, tell him once that the villagers probably wouldn't very welcome towards him whenever he would 'return' to the village. When Naruto questioned what the elder toad meant by that, Jiraiya appeared suddenly and stopped Fukasaku before the toad could say anymore. Then, a month or so later, Naruto found that book when Shima tasked him to clean up around him and Jiraiya's room she kept for them whenever they returned to the toad's hidden village in the mountains.

It was completely accidental that Naruto even found the book, he was simply moving around a few objects on the perv's shelf when it suddenly fell out of it's hiding spot. Naruto was very intrigued by the books title The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi and instantly rushed off to a hiding spot to read it. To say he loved the book was understatement. Everything from the plot to the character development of the minor characters was masterful in the young boy's mind. Even though Naruto loved the book, there was one glaring problem that he couldn't overlook.

The main character's name was his very own.

He wanted to go and find Jiraiya to question him about it when he first saw his name written in the book but felt he should finish the book first, maybe his questions would be answered if he did. When Naruto closed the book when finished with the masterpiece, it did not take him long to find the legendary Sannin.

"Hey kid, you full yet or you want another bowl?" Asked the owner/cook.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and looked up from his empty bowl. Honestly, Naruto knew he could put another three bowls away before deciding it was enough but he lost his appetite when he started thinking about everything that had happened. He reached into his pocket and pulled out as much ryo as he had, which wasn't much.

"Will this be enough?"

The man chuckled. "Sure kid." He took the small amount of money from the boy and watched him leave his restaurant. He placed the money in the tip jar he kept at the end of the counter, knowing there was no point in putting the small amount in the register.

"You do realize that kid severely underpaid, right Teuchi?" One of few customers pointed out.

"Oh, I know." Teuchi answered with a half-smile.

"Then why'd you let him leave?"

"I noticed something about him. The way he was sitting there thinking, not many kids his age looks longingly like that. I felt like he needed to catch a break for once."

Naruto looked around the large-scale village in awe as he exited the ramen shop. Jiraiya had told him stories of how great this village was and how it was the strongest in all the Five Great Shinobi Nations. But to finally see it in person was far better than hearing about it. He looked toward the large mountain with the faces of the four Hokage carved into the side of it, knowing the Old Man's office was directly below it.

The stories, not only Jiraiya had told him but, Fukasaku had told him about all the Hokage's were legendary. From Lord First's battle with the great Madara Uchiha to Lord Second's last stand against the Kumo death squad to save his team, that included the Third Hokage who was already considered a God of Shinobi at the point of his inauguration. Then there was him. The Fourth Hokage.

Naruto still didn't know the full story of the late, great Fourth Hokage, assuming there was one to know like the rest of the Hokage. Lord Fourth's legend was something different from the other three Hokage's, not that the other Hokage's were lacking in feats but there something different about the man known as the Yellow Flash.

Not only did the Fourth Hokage single handily turn the tide and win the Third Great Shinobi War with his improved version of the Hiraishin, a time-space ninjutsu that allows instant teleportation to a previously placed special seal formula that was created by the Second Hokage, and his own invented jutsu the Rasengan, the Fourth Hokage was the youngest kage ever to be named. He was a mere twenty-four years old when he was named Hokage. Many considered him the mythical savior that the world needed to help stop the endless war that plagued it, so said Jiraiya anyway.

But when he suddenly died fighting against the Kyuubi, something didn't sit right with Naruto. Fukasaku taught him the basics of sealing techniques and how they work, it was a dying concept among active ninja and Naruto seemed to grasp the idea well. Despite his young age. And it was almost obvious that the Kyuubi wasn't a normal being, considering the fact that it nearly leveled Konoha completely with one attack. So, it bothered Naruto when he was told that the Kyuubi was simply killed by the Fourth Hokage in his final breath. Naruto had a hunch that a being like the Kyuubi couldn't just be killed like that. It would make more sense to seal that beast away into something, or someone.

As Naruto made his way through the village, towards the Hokage Tower, he began to notice and hear murmurs and whispers of the villagers he walked past.

"Those whiskers..."

"Is he the one?"

"That's gotta be him."

Naruto turned his focus away from what was in front of him and tried to listen more on what was being said around him, until he ran into something that knocked him on his back and hitting his head on the ground. The young blonde rubbed the back of his head and opened his eyes to see what he ran into to. Naruto was shocked to see a ninja standing before him, a high ranking one at that.

"I'm sorry mister, I wasn't watching where I was goi- "Naruto stopped when he saw the man's hateful glare to him.

"It is you. The demon."

Naruto's eyes widened considerably. "D-Demon? What do you mean?" The young boy quivered.

Villagers began to surround the young boy like a large pack of wolves, harboring their own hateful glares that fell on terrified young boy. It wasn't long before a large mass of people had formed around Naruto and the ninja that he had 'bumped' into. Soon the villagers began to shout and scream like a mob, all words of hate directed towards young Naruto. Beginning to fear for his own life, Naruto ran and fought through the growing mob of people in hopes of finding safety. He was cut, kicked, punched, spit on, and screamed like a leper.

It took most of the young boy's strength to fight his way out, but he managed to do so, he didn't even bother trying to find Jiraiya he wasn't familiar with the village enough to find another route to the Hokage's office. So, Naruto picked the clearest way and ran for his young life.

Whether it be a stroke of luck or an act of god, Naruto was somehow able to lose the mob that was chasing him like hungry wolves. He sprinted through an alleyway, ran through a couple open houses, and hid under a red bridge that ran over a medium sized pond. He breathed heavily as he tried to nurse his deep cuts and already tender bruises. The salt from his tears burned his cuts.

'What did I do?' He sobbed, trying to handle the pain of his injuries. 'Why did he call me a demon?'

Naruto didn't try to hide or calm his sobs, he was in too much pain to do so. It may have been quiet enough to ignore but not quiet enough to attract someone. He sobbed into his knees, hiding his face from the world and hoping no one would find.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The young boy physically flinched someone had spoken to him, he must have been crying too hard to notice someone come near him. He removed his head from his knees and looked at the person. It was a young girl, probably his same age, with bright short pink hair and a red ribbon tied into it. Her jade green eyes weren't filled with much concern, more curiosity than anything else for someone her age.

The young girl saw the boy flinch when she spoke. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." She heard the boy sobbing underneath the bridge when she was walking over it, trying to catch up to her parents because she wanted to pick a few of her favorite flowers, yellow lilies. "My name is Sakura. What's yours?"

Naruto sniffled. "Naruto Uzumaki..." He noticed the flowers in the young girl's hands. "Why do you have those flowers?"

"I was walking with my mom and dad and I saw a small patch of them, they're my favorite kind of flower." She took one of the many she had and handed it over to Naruto. "Here."

Naruto was stunned. "For me?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. "You look like you need a pick-me-up. Why are you all beat up?"

Naruto sniffled again, his tears finally starting to subside. His eyes went downcast. "The villa- "

"Sakura, where are you?!"

"I'm down here mom!"

"Sakura, what on earth are you doing under here…" The dark blonde woman's voice trailed off when she saw the boy next to her daughter. "Sakura, get over here now."

Sakura was confused, it was rare for her mother to use this kind of tone of voice. "M-Mom?"

"Right now, young lady!"

Not wanting to feel her mother's wrath, Sakura rushed to her mother's side without a second thought. Sakura's mother quickly grabbed ahold of Sakura's small hand and took her away from the cut and bruised blonde boy. Sakura was surprised by the sudden jerk from her mother that she dropped the flowers she had picked.

"My flowers!"

Naruto barely had any time to try and say something to ask why before he heard another yelling of the mob that he had just gotten away from. He struggled to his feet and began to run once more. He ran as fast as he could, but his injuries and straight exhaustion were too much for the young boy. He made it only so far before he collapsed in the middle of the street. The mob of enraged villagers wasn't too far behind.

Naruto could see the mob that had been chasing him then everything went black.

A giant beast stirred behind a massive red gate which was held shut by nothing more than a simple piece of tan paper with the kanji for 'seal' written in black. The large animal had been patiently waiting for the blonde-haired boy to wake from his sleep. The animal didn't understand how the young boy could sleep in a foot of water without waking up. Finally, the boy was starting to wake up because he was splashing out of shock.

Naruto coughed up a little bit of water as he abruptly sat up in the water. He, first, gathered his breathing before taking in his new surroundings. He was in a gloomily lit area that had piping trailing along the ceiling, combined with the foot of water he was sitting in, gave Naruto the impression that he was in some sort of sewer.

There wasn't much he could see in front of him, it surprised him to see that he was walking down a large, long hallway that came to a giant gate. Curiosity had Naruto as he looked over the gate, noting that the only thing that was keeping it closed was a simple piece of paper. He was moving closer to see if anything was inside the enormous cell but stopped when a booming voice echoed throughout the place.

"Hello Kit."

As would any normal six-year-old kid, Naruto was frightened and stumbled on shaky legs until he tripped over himself and fell back on his rear end. Using what nerve the young boy could muster up, Naruto shakily spoke up.

"W-Who's there?"

The answer was quick. "Do not be afraid of me Kit, please. I'm not going to harm you."

Naruto swallowed down his fear as much as he could, something that was easy to do for someone his age, as he waited for the deep voice to continue. He was young, yes, but that didn't mean he was stupid enough to trust this thing, Jiraiya had taught him better.

"I know you have some questions and I'll cover the most obvious ones right now but if you have anymore then I'll gladly answer them for you."

Naruto was still scared, but nothing was harming him right now. He was glad for that right now, there were no villagers or anything in sight. So, he figured he would let this 'thing' speak then he'd ask a question or two when it was done.

"This place is, well…the easiest way I can put this is we're inside your mind. How you got here is relatively the same. You were just beaten to a pulp and, naturally, this is where you will go when you lose consciousness."

Naruto watched the darkness that covered the inside of the cell as he waited for the deep, booming voice to speak again. "Okay, but what are you? Who are you? And how do I know you won't hurt me?" The young boy quivered.

There was a rather loud sigh before the voice responded to his question. "Well…I know you've heard of the Kyuubi no Yoko, or better known as, The Nine Tailed Fox. So, your hunch was correct about the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto stared blankly into the darkness, taking in the words that the Kyuubi had just told him. The fox was thoroughly surprised that the young boy didn't freak out, he seemed to be taking it well. At least, that was before the words finally set in.

"Y-You mean that the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi inside me?!"

The Kyuubi once again, inwardly, sighed as he nodded, though Naruto couldn't see it.

"Yes…he did. But there was- "

"Then there's no way you won't kill me!" Naruto curled up into the fetial position as he began to sob in fear.

The Nine Tailed Fox didn't answer for a short period of time as he listened to the faint crying of the six-year-old blonde boy that sat just beyond his prison cell. "Kit…it's okay…I'm not going to hurt you. Not only do I not want to, but if I kill you then I kill myself. So please…don't be afraid of me."

The crying slowly dwindled until there was only a few sniffles of a runny nose. The young boy was beginning to understand that the beast meant no ill intent towards him. He rubbed his face clean of any tears and snot that fell from his running nose. "So, why did Lord Fourth choose me?"

"Well, why he chose you is a story for a different time. I'm not sure why those fucks you call 'leaders' decided to keep you hidden away with that perverted man, honestly I think they made your situation worse because they sent you away."

"What do you mean?"

"This village had been relatively untouched since its creation by the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, there hasn't been a major conflict near the village walls since them. So, the current generation of villagers have never seen power like I possess. They fear it, loath it, and utterly hate me for killing their loved ones. I do not blame them for hating me, but it is wrong to take out their fear induced rage on you. I'm positive with you being gone with that pervert, the villagers had calmed but not forgotten. Seeing you for the first time in six years reignited their anger."

"So, they chased and hurt me because they fear me?"

"Well…you aren't completely wrong, but their fear is more placed on me than you, Kit. The basics of how sealing jutsus are no longer taught in your academy, haven't been in decades. That pervert you call a caretaker is the last known fuinjutsu master, and even he hasn't tapped into the full potential of sealing. Hell, the Fourth Hokage was considered better than the Sannin and he still had room for improvement."

"But he sealed you away inside me, that's pretty impressive." Naruto quipped, causing the fox to groan in annoyance.

"Be quiet Kit. Being a newborn, your chakra coils weren't fully developed which made sealing me inside of you a hundred times easier. If anyone else was in your place, then I would still be free."

Naruto suddenly went downcast at the Kyuubi's last comment. "If anyone else was in my place…so it was pure coincidence that you were sealed in me…"

Kyuubi knew if he didn't word this right then he could really screw this kid up more than he already was. The beast still couldn't understand why that stupid Third Hokage was keeping so many secrets from the boy. He was starting to put some of the pieces together with the discovery of where his name had come from, but things could possibly turn badly if that damn kage didn't man up soon. Or that perverted Sannin. Both of them could turn this kid into their worst nightmare if they fuck it up.

"Life isn't fair, Kit. Sometimes shit happens that is out of your control and you just must roll with the punches. But you must understand that the Fourth Hokage was trying to make you a hero. The village, however, didn't see you the way he, or the Third, wanted. Don't be angry with him, he was doing what he thought was best for the village. If it wasn't for you then the village would have been destroyed and you wouldn't even exist right now."

Naruto nodded understandingly as he looked back through the gate. He was surprised by the Kyuubi and why he was taking the time to just talk to him. From the stories that Jiraiya had told him, the fox demon was full of hate and wouldn't hesitate to kill whoever simply annoyed him.

"Why…Why are you telling me all this?"

If Naruto could see the demon's features, he would see a soft, compassion half smirk. "Your life as a jinchuriki will never be normal, Kit. I know you've hadn't had the 'stability' of staying in one place for long, life will not be easy for you. You know, despite your young age, that the world is not pretty. You may have had a caretaker in the Sannin but the pain of not knowing who your real parents are is something not many understand. Hell, life in this village will be difficult on its own because the people hate you for a decision that was far out of your control. I want you to be a great ninja so this ignorant village to see just how wrong they are about you."

Naruto could only think about how much he wanted that to be the case as his vision of the gate and environment quickly started to blur, then everything went black.

"Good luck, Kit."