Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Saviour

A/N

Hi there! Before I start want to explain something about this story. The first couple of chapters will race through Naruto's young years. From the point of the academy graduation, the story will slow down drastically. The reason I'm doing things this way is because I want you to have a clear idea on what Naruto's childhood has been like and what his abilities are like.

Please be patient and work your way through these first chapters. I hope you'll enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

It had been a week since Kyuubi no Kitsune was defeated by Uzumaki Arashi, Konoha's Yondaime. He was forced to seal the strongest of all demons inside the body of his newborn son, Uzumaki Naruto. Now, inside the Hokage tower there was a vibrant buzz. Most Jounins and ANBU's were called in by Sandaime, who due to the death of the Fourth was forced to once again take up the role of Hokage since no one else was capable or willing to fill this position.

"Everyone, can I have your attention!" he yelled trying to overcome the noise. The room soon calmed down. "In the light of recent events there are some things I need you to know. Konoha has suffered dearly from the fox demon's actions but there are some things that need to be put straight. There appears to be a reason why we were attacked."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room filled with voices again, screams and questions from the shinobi, not understanding what the old man was talking about.

"Just before Yondaime sealed the fox inside his son Naruto there was a conversation between him and the fox. It turns out that Kyuubi did not resist the seal, but instead agreed to it."

Hearing these words the room seemed to explode. Many shinobi lost friends and relatives during the attack and now they are told that this demon wanted to be killed? They found it impossible to believe this.

"SILENCE!" the annoyed Hokage roared. "Let me explain everything first!"

The story they then heard startled them even more. The Hokage explained that Kyuubi came from her own realm down to earth to sacrifice herself to try and preserve life on earth as they know it. Years ago, before the nine-tailed fox demon became the leader of the demon realm; a very powerful demon that was to be executed for crimes against its own kind had fled the demon realm. This demon, more powerful than any other Youkai, had been captured through the combined effort of many Youkai clan leaders, before fleeing from captivity.

It ended up on earth, planning to kill everyone who dared to oppose it and rule the planet with an iron fist. As the escape and subsequent journey to earth took most of its strength, it would take decades to recuperate and finally start its reign. Until then the demon would stay low and rest.

On her way to Konoha, Kyuubi was sighted by Orochimaru. The snake sannin, who hated Konoha for not being allowed to become the Fourth instead of the much younger Arashi put a powerful cursed genjutsu over the fox demon, causing Kyuubi to lose sanity and attack everything that crossed her path.

After having obliterated several small settlements, she had reached Konoha. Instead of calling for the Fourth as she had planned, she attacked its people. Only when Yondaime had called forth the Shinigami, the genjutsu was released.

Too late to avoid her sealing, she briefly spoke with the Fourth and explained what had happened before being sealed in the small body of his only son, Naruto.

"So what the hell does this have to do with that demon baby?" an impatient ANBU asked, only to be smashed into a wall by a young, masked Jounin.

"Don't you EVER call the son of my sensei a demon child, you'll regret it," Kakashi said, fuming with anger as he continued his rant. "Young Naruto is not to blame, it's not like he had any choice in this. He has been chosen as the vessel for a reason all of you will have to understand very well!" Kakashi finished, carefully eyeing all the people present.

The Third continued, wary of the adversity displayed by some of the people present.

"I know that many of you have lost loved ones because of Kyuubi, however I will not permit anyone to vent this anger towards this boy. He carries a burden which is larger than any of you will ever understand." This demon here on earth cannot be stopped by any of us. We are by far not strong enough. Even Yondaime wouldn't last long against it. We don't know much about the being, only what Kyuubi told the Fourth. As the leader of the demon realm she saw it as her duty to do whatever it takes to make amends for the other demon's arrival here on earth. She came to the conclusion that the only way this demon can be stopped is through a combination of the most powerful demon and one of the most powerful humans."

Hearing this, the shinobi were starting to feel nervous, still not completely understanding everything. Some were still feeling a lot of hatred towards the young baby as they saw him as the personification of the fox Youkai. "So you mean to say that this boy will be the most powerful human? How can we be so sure?" another Jounin said.

"We can't know for sure until the boy has grown up," Sandaime answered. "Kyuubi identified Naruto as the human being with the largest potential, both physically and mentally. She agreed to be sealed inside Naruto so she can slowly merge her powers with his. At some point her existence will diminish completely. The seal Yondaime used enables her to communicate with him, but not until the boy is old enough to handle all of this."

One Jounin, obviously flabbergasted by all this news raised his hand.

"Hokage-sama, you keep referring to the demon fox as though it is female. Why is that?"

"Well," Sarutobi started. "Kyuubi is female after all."

Annoyed by the surprised looks in the room, Anko gave a loud snort. "Hmph, I thought you would have realised by now that we are the stronger gender after all."

The Third chuckled in amusement. He coughed once to get the attention again.

"Now, to get to the heart of the matter. Not many people know about Naruto's mother. Her name was Hitomi Akane."

Some of the older Jounin gasped when they heard this name. "Can it really be? Is the mother of this boy from THAT clan?"

The others looked at them, not understanding what they were talking about.

Sandaime went on. "The Hitomi clan doesn't belong to any Hidden Village. They are regarded as one of the most powerful clans ever to have walked this earth. A couple of years ago, they were attacked in a manner which hasn't been explained up until today. Only the ones who weren't around during the attack survived. They spread out over the lands to avoid another slaughter. This is how Hitomi Akane met the Fourth. They chose to keep their relationship a secret to ensure her life and because she didn't want her presence to harm our village in any way. After all, hasn't anyone you never wondered were he got his son from?"

It all started to make sense to the somewhat younger people. "The Hitomi clan were known for their bloodline, which had something to do with wild animals and their chakra. Not much is known about them as they were always very secretive when it came to their abilities. Combine this with the Fourth's bloodline and the powers that come from Kyuubi and I think we can be fairly sure that Naruto can grow up to be a VERY powerful shinobi."

"Now there are a couple of things we need to establish here and now. First of all, I do not want the next generation of children to be influenced by the obvious hatred from the people who have lost family and friends during the attack. They are way too ignorant to accept the truth. Naruto is NOT the demon fox, he is the one who in due time will achieve the disappearance of Kyuubi. He should be loved for this, not hated."

He then paused for a second, collecting his thoughts. "I will install a law stating that anyone breaking this rule will be punished severely. He is going to need all the support he can get. That is also where you come in."

He smirked at the sight of confusion amongst the assembled group. "Seeing that both his parents were geniuses, we can expect a very talented boy. However, I have decided that the normal path our young shinobi normally walk will not be the right one for him. This boy's name will be known outside the village walls. People will come after him, trying to make his power theirs. We all need to keep a close eye on him. Therefore, this boy needs to be trained as soon as possible so he can defend himself as well."

"So you want us to train this boy, isn't that right Hokage-sama?" Kakashi exclaimed. "Yes indeed. I want to ask some of you to volunteer for this. Initially his training will consist of developing his chakra control, stamina and knowledge. As he grows older and develops we will move on to ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. Don't forget that we are not just trying to train him to become an outstanding shinobi. We need him to save everyone… Is there anyone who would be willing to be involved in this boys training?" Sandaime asked, curious to see who would raise a hand.

The first one to do this was Kakashi. "I want to train this boy, Hokage-sama. He is the son of my sensei, to whom I owe a lot. I would be honoured to have him under my wings."

"So be it", the Hokage exclaimed. "Anyone else?"

"I TOO WILL TRAIN THIS SPIRITED YOUNG MAN! Maito Gai passionately yelled, causing everyone to sweat-drop. "I WILL NOT LET MY ETERNAL RIVAL TAKE ALL THE CREDIT WHEN THE FLAMING PASSION OF THIS BOY SAVES THE UNIVERSE BY REMOVING THE EVIL PRESENCE FROM THIS EARTH." He said once more, backing up his loud words by his trademark nice-guy pose.

"Well, I'm not going to let those crazy men jeopardise my future by training him so count me in as well," Anko said much to the surprise of many fellow shinobi. Given her history with Orochimaru and her cold demeanour, no one would have expected her to volunteer for this.

"Hokage-sama, if you please, I would like to be part of this boy's development too. I thank my life to his father. I believe I can teach him a lot with regard to battle knowledge and strategies," Nara Shikaku spoke up.

The Hokage smiled inwardly, seeing that some people are still able to see through the pain caused by the great Youkai.

"Very well", he said. "You four will start training the boy as soon as he can walk and talk. I will take care of him while 2 ANBU teams will search for the people that will take him in. You are to start looking for them immediately", he said while pointing at two ANBU captains.

"Who will we be looking for Hokage-sama, one of the captains asked curiously. "Well, I believe you all know them. We can only pray that their habits will not rub off on him," he hinted, thinking about two of his former students who have managed to keep the highest amount of sanity out of the three.

"Remember people, no hostility towards this boy! We all need to support him as much as we can. He is the only one who can help us. I will assign constant guarding for him. If we lose him to our enemies, all hell will break lose", Sandaime warned his subordinates. "Also, I don't want the villagers to know that Naruto is Yondaime's son. They will find out in due time. Training will start in approximately 1 year. Kakashi, Gai, Shikaku and Anko, you have to stay here a little bit longer. I want to go over a plan for Naruto's training with you. Everyone else, dismissed", he finally said

When everyone else was gone, Sandaime proceeded. "I want Naruto to grow up as normal as possible. I want him to make friends like every kid his age. He will perform his duties for the village when he is ready. The fact that he is a very special person doesn't mean that there aren't certain things he will have to do. Another thing, just before he died, Yondaime gave me instructions on his and Akane's legacies. Also I want you to know that Kyuubi has agreed to teach Naruto how to properly control his powers and skills. This will not happen before I believe he is ready though. I will place another seal over his current seals to prevent any of the demonic chakra to leak through the seal and to make communication impossible for now. I don't want him to find out about Kyuubi by accident."

The four nodded in understanding and were ordered to leave. When he was finally alone, the old man dropped in his chair, exhausted from the past week. He looked out of his window, upon the Hokage monument, engrossed in his thoughts.

"Well my friend, I hope I will be able to fulfil your dying wish. The following years will prove to be most interesting."

Then the sun broke through the clouds to shine bright into his office. He gave a relieved yet exhausted sigh and fell asleep.

A/N

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