Godson

"Jiraiya-sensei, I'd like to make you my son's godfather."

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, had just been given his firstborn son, Naruto.

Completely shocked beyond belief, the Toad Sage asked, "ME? But why? Why on Earth would you ask me of all people to be Naruto's godfather?"

It was Kushina who answered, "Because both Minato-kun and I have faith in you. Minato-kun believes—no, we both believe that, if the time came, you would make a wonderful godfather. We both trust you with our baby, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya ran his hand through his hair briefly, before he sat down and said, "Okay, if something happens to you two, I'll look after him. But I'm counting on you both to stay alive for me, got it?"

Minato and his wife laughed, and Kushina said, "Yes, Jiraiya, I'll try not to get myself killed."

Right then, a chunin entered the room and yelled, "Lord Hokage! The Nine-Tailed Fox demon is attacking the Village!"

As Minato and Jiraiya left to fight the monster, the Toad Sage muttered, "I just had to open my big fucking mouth, didn't I?"

(The next morning…)

Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hiruzen Sarutobi were in the Hokage Office, attempting to decide what should be done.

Jiraiya spoke, "Naruto is my godson, so I should take care of him."

Nobody else had known about this, and Tsunade yelled, "Jiraiya, you can't raise a baby, even if he is your godson!"

With a sudden burst of killing intent, Jiraiya glared and asked, "I can't raise him? Yes I can. I can change—I'll go ten years without anything related to my research, and I'll stay sober the entire time, too. Don't believe me? That's your problem, Tsunade. But make no mistake: I was trusted with Naruto's safety and his future, and I'll be damned a thousand times before I let you, or anyone else stand in my way!"

The Third Hokage picked up Naruto and gave him to Jiraiya who said, "Minato believed that the Village would see Naruto as its hero, but I know the truth: that until the people manage to calm down a fair bit, all they will ever see in Naruto is the Demon Fox. I've got a lot of vacation time saved up; guess I'll start using it. Everybody, you'll see me again in about eight years."

Tsunade yelled, "Jiraiya, you have nothing to prove! You don't have to do this—you won't last a week before you give up!"

The Seal Master merely said, "I hope to prove you wrong."

With that, Jiraiya took his godson, and then vanished in a swirl of leaves, never to be seen in Hidden Leaf again for another eight years or more.

But not before stopping by a local bookshop on the way out….

Chapter One

(Five years later…)

Jiraiya and Naruto had been running from the Akatsuki for the last couple of years; and right now were under attack from a couple of them.

"Sasori, Orochimaru, and Kisame; three of you this time?"

The shark-man, Kisame, muttered, "Well since you killed the last couple, we decided to throw in a bit more effort."

Any one of them—hell, any two of them, Jiraiya could have killed his opponents and survived, but against all three, even he was doomed. Having only one hope for survival, he made some hand-signs and yelled, "Sage Ninja Art: Escape to the Toad Monastery!"

The Toad Sage and his five year-old godson disappeared in a brief explosion before reappearing in front of a massive temple.

Naruto asked, "Dad, where are we?"

"This, Naruto, is the Great Temple of the Toad Monastery."

Almost immediately, a toad the size of a bear blurred into focus, as it asked, "Ah, Master Jiraiya, you have returned. I hope the circumstances of this visit are as pleasant as the last; and who have you brought with you?"

"Gamatate, this is my son Naruto. Naruto, this is Gamatate, the Guardian of the Temple. Gamatate, would you watch over and continue my son's education for a few months? And I need to find Pa."

"Of course, Master Jiraiya, I would not mind seeing to young Master Naruto's care. But if I may ask, what need have you of Pa?"

His tone undecipherable, Jiraiya answered, "I've come here, Gamatate, to finish my Sage training."

For the next three months, Naruto didn't see his father again, but he was old enough to understand that in the Toad Monastery he was safe. Naruto also understood that Jiraiya was becoming stronger to better protect him, and vowed to try and become stronger himself.

He constantly trained—working out, increasing his chakra control, improving with weapons, and learning about the world. He wanted not only to be able to protect himself, but also to help protect his father should the need ever arise… that, and Naruto also hoped to surprise his father with all that he'd learned.

With each passing day, Naruto became steadily stronger, and he turned out to be almost as much of a prodigy as his birth father, the Fourth Hokage had been.

Naruto and Jiraiya didn't see each other again for three months.

But when they were reunited, they were much more powerful than ever before.

I have made a couple of edits to this story just now, and I'm fairly pleased with the response it's been getting. Naruto will be almost excessively OOC in this story. Also, I have zero plans for a pairing, but if enough people bug me about one, I'll think about it. (Hint: that means review if you want a pairing--granted, you should review no matter what!)