Prologue

Jiraiya grinned and pressed his eye to the small hole he had found some years ago in the fence of the women's bath. He giggled, loving the view he was getting, until a flash of yellow light nearly blinded him. "Jiraiya-sensei! Come meet your godson!" Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage and Yellow Flash of the Leaf, said before disappearing again in a second flash of yellow.

Jiraiya grimaced as he heard a loud scream from within the bathhouse. "Damn blonds, always getting me into trouble," he muttered to himself as a horde of angry women poured over the wall and attacked him. Despite the pain, he couldn't help smiling as he got a very up-close look at their naked bodies.

Minato looked down at the red-headed woman laying in the bed in front of him. She smiled up at him and held up the tiny baby in her arms to him. Minato gently, lovingly took the baby into his arms and held him. "Hello, Naruto," he said softly. "Welcome to the world, my son."

Naruto opened his eyes, giving Minato a slight shock as he saw the brilliant blue of his own eyes looking back at him. The small child, whose blond hair was already obvious, smiled and giggled as he looked into his father's face. Minato smiled down at Kushina, who reached out a hand. Minato took her hand in his, holding Naruto in his other arm. "Have you seen Hiashi?" Kushina asked suddenly. Minato looked confused. "You know, the contract."

Minato chuckled, realizing what Kushina was really asking. "He said there shouldn't be any problem at all," he said. Kushina smiled and nodded as if to say "I told you so". Minato chuckled again at how easily he could read his wife.

"Good," Kushina said. "Our Naruto deserves the best. I'm sure little Hinata will be the best girl around." That said, she lay back on her bed and closed her eyes. Minato slowly sat down in the chair next to her bed, still holding his son, his eyes twinkling with sheer joy.

As Minato sat, holding his son, the door to Kushina's hospital room opened. Minato looked up and smiled as he saw Hashirama and Tobirama Senju walk through the door. The two old men smiled at Minato as they leaned on their canes, each made using Hashirama's Wood Style. "So, you're finally a father, eh, Minato? I wondered how long it'd take you to make something of yourself," Hashirama deadpanned. Minato could only tell the man was joking by the slight mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Minato chuckled. "You were older than I am when your first was born, Hashirama," he said back, his blue eyes twinkling as well. Hashirama simply bowed his head slightly, acknowledging Minato's point; when he looked back up, he was smiling kindly.

Hashirama smiled at Minato and Naruto. Forming hand signs, quickly for his age, he built a crib for the infant using a Wood Style jutsu. Minato rose from the chair where he had been sitting, admiring the crib as he walked toward it; from the curving feet up to the arcing canopy, there wasn't a square inch of the crib that wasn't decorated with ornate carvings. Just as Minato reached it, a scream was heard from outside. Minato dodged out of the way just in time for Jiraiya to slam through the window of Kushina's room and straight into the crib, shattering it.

Minato looked at Jiraiya, a look of consternation on his face. "Jiraiya-sensei, what did you do this time?" he asked. The white-haired man tried to stand; Minato helped him to his feet with the hand that wasn't holding Naruto. Jiraiya, seeing the infant, smiled softly and took the baby gently from his father and held him.

"So this is Naruto?" he asked. Minato smiled proudly and nodded. Jiraiya threw an arm around his old student. "I'm proud of you, kid. Looks like you've got yourself a fine son here."

Minato smiled in response. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei," he said, tears in his eyes. "That means a lot, coming from you." Hashirama muttered about Jiraiya's research causing more trouble than it was worth and built a second crib before anyone in the room noticed he had even moved.

An ANBU agent entered the room just then and handed a slip of paper to Minato before disappearing. Minato opened it and read the slip of paper. He turned to everyone in the room and spoke seriously, all traces of his previous joviality gone; now, he was all Hokage and all business. "Madara will be here soon," he said.

xxxxxx

Stepping out of Kushina's hospital room, Madara put his orange spiral mask back on to hide his smile. "I really didn't mean to keep the Hokages waiting, but I just had too much to do before I could get here," he thought to himself. He walked out of the hospital casually; naturally, no one noticed him.

Making his way out into the streets of Konoha, Madara slowly began to walk around the village. First, he made his way to the Uchiha district, where he visited the aerie and tended to his favorite falcon, Miki. That done, the black-haired man left his family district and continued to tour the village, always hiding in shadow, never being noticed. At one point during his tour, Madara was noticed by one of the Inuzuka clan's ninja hounds. The large one-eyed dog looked straight at him and barked a few times. "I won't miss them, that's for sure," he thought to himself.

Heading toward the main gate of the Leaf Village, Madara was noticed by a single guard. Madara nodded to the man, who simply nodded back before letting Madara pass by unhindered. Madara gave a slight smile behind the mask, then leapt to the top of the village's main gate. Turning, he looked over the Leaf Village, his red eyes taking in every detail. "I'll see you soon, Konoha," he said quietly. Then, turning, Madara jumped down from the gate. Landing outside the village, he ran into the forests and was gone.