Released: 14/10/13

Updated: 02/03/19

Update Note: Minor spelling and grammar fixes and centring of first few lines.

Nimbus Clouds

Chapter 1: "Ninja"

"When fire is tempered by rain, you shall find knowledge. The fire that once raged shall now dance on the mirror set by the rain that never stopped."

By the time Naruto Namikaze had turned four years of age, he had come to the realisation that becoming a ninja was his only viable career path.

It may seem obvious to others that the first-born child of powerful shinobi would grow as powerful as the parents. There was never a shortage to prove this apparent fact to the shinobi of Konoha as all one had to do was point towards the Uchiha, Hyuga, and a whole number of clans to prove the point. Perhaps being the son of the Hokage also had something to do with their expectations.

However, never once did Naruto think of becoming a ninja. The young boy was instead taken in by the allure of knowledge especially those hidden in old and dusty tomes hidden in the ever expansive Konoha Library as well as the Konoha Archives. It was there where he learnt of the scientific methodology which he used extensively ever since. It was this methodology he chose to adopt in an attempt to solve his current query.

Question: "Will becoming a shinobi allow me to protect my family?"

This question was answered during the aftermath of the Nine-Tails' (Kyūbi) attack on Konoha. The sight was terrifying to Naruto as he remembered the moment when he eagerly awaited the arrival of his siblings. The tension in the air rose dramatically as he observed his father holding the seal that was meant to lock away the Tailed Beast (Bijū). The one thing Naruto wished he could forget was the painful screams his mother uttered during towards the arrival of his new twin siblings.

Unfortunately, there was nothing forgettable about that night.

X

Flashback – Night of the Nine-Tails' Attack, 10th October

"OH GOD, IT HURTS!" the bellowing noise came from the one and only Kushina Uzumaki as she was undergoing her second experience of labour and it was obvious the time and experience was not something she could use to combat this foe.

"Otou-sama, will Okaa-sama be alright?" Naruto only stared at her mother, his ear still ringing, in disbelief as he tried to fathom him being in such a position. While the child was inquisitive about a broad number of subjects, childbirth was not one of them and this experience was not an encouraging one for the young mind.

Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, only returned a nervous smile to his child as the older man shared the fear and concern, he had for his mother. Despite Minato already seeing Kushina undergo this before with Naruto's labour, he was still unable to grasp that a woman as resilient as his wife succumb to screaming words borderering explicit profanity.

Biwako Sarutobi, the head midwife, responded to the child's questioning instead, seeing as Minato was still left speechless at the sight and sound of his wife.

"She will be alright Naruto-chan, she had gone through this before with you..." there were a few muffled words that escaped Naruto's ear that made Minato wince, but he gave it no thought as his attention began to drift off to thoughts about his new twin siblings, Madara and Misaki Namikaze. His thoughts ranged from spoiling his little siblings to the wondrous glory of Ramen too having them participate in his fun experiments, oh the fun they would have with—

His fantasies were cut short by the ever-increasing screams of his mother and the sudden shouting of his father.

"Misaki, Madara! Get out here right now! And Kyūbi, you stay right where you are!"

The volume dropped considerably afterwards as the only thing that could be heard in the room were the cries of the newborn babies and the midwives scampering around to retrieve the—

"Get the hot water!"

As well as the mandato—

"Congratulations, it's a boy and a girl!"

Minato tears escaped from his eyes in a manner not too dissimilar to his new baby twins though the happy crying was met by his hand forcing them away. Kushina however wasted no time in introducing herself and Naruto to the minute old twins.

"Misaki... Madara... I finally get to meet you too and soon you'll meet your older brother too"

Naruto however was not able to properly introduce himself as he found himself with a kunai hovering dangerously close to his throat. The perpetrator appeared to be a man in a black hooded cloak with a very distinctive mask with black patterns on it.

"Fourth Hokage... Minato. Back away from the jinchūriki or your son dies at the ripe old age of... what are you five?"

"I'm four you dumbass!" Naruto responded in what he believed to be the most reasonable manner possible.

"Cheeky brat, do you want to die?"

Minato answered for him this time "Hold it, J-just calm down!"

"You should take your own advice Minato." The masked man began to pull back his arm, fully prepared to slit Naruto's throat. "I'm perfectly calm."

The kunai did not reach its intended target however as Minato flashed towards his eldest son and took him away the line of fire and into his arms. Naruto of course clung onto the babies that Minato took with him and took the initiative to introduce himself in this very opportune moment.

"Hey Misaki, Madara... I'm your older brother Naruto and I... and I... umm..."

"Do you really think this is the right time, Naruto?" Minato eyed him oddly as if he had grown another head, this situation clearly flew right past his eldest's head despite his intelligence.

"I know! I'm trying my hardest to be the best big brother!" Naruto vented as he still searched for the right words to say.

Minato's questioning gaze drifted to a proud one as ruffled his eldest blond hair while giving him one last order heading towards their home within the village using the Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God).

"Naruto, I know you'll be the best big brother for these two so protect them with all you've got because I have to save your mother." The legendary Yellow Flash left the children in his house as he disappeared with, what his moniker would describe him, a yellow flash in his wake.

"That's it! I got it!"

"I'm your older brother Naruto and I will protect you two, Otou-sama and Okaa-sama!"

The two babies simply turned his way before beginning to cry again.

"Gah! What am I supposed to do with two crying babies?" Naruto quickly picked up the larger of the two, Madara, and began to rock him to softly which did not help in the slightest but was slightly calming to both Naruto as he finally got to hold one of his baby siblings after all his eagerness beforehand.

While caught in a trance with Madara cradled around his arms, his father returned and gently laid his mother down alongside Misaki who entered her mother's embrace.

"Minato..."

Naruto finally became aware of the presence of his mother and father and rushed to their side and was enveloped into a hug by his mother.

"You'll be a great big brother Naruto... I just know it." Her voice was strong which belied her particularly frail appearance at the moment. Naruto meekly nodded in agreement as his father had made the same comment just a few moments ago.

His cerulean blue eyes focused on the same one on his new baby brother before turning towards the man responsible for said eyes.

"Otou-sama... Good luck!" Naruto smiled in confidence for his father.

Other than the silently crying babies, the only other sound at the moment within the household was Minato's cracking fists and the whooshing noise made by the swinging of his distinctive white trench coat with the kanji of Fourth Hokage etched on the back.

"I'll be back before you know it."

The moment that his father flashed out of the house was also the moment Naruto felt the most intense chakra pulse of his life and began to quiver in fear before his mother tapped his shoulder.

"Don't be scared, Naruto. Minato will make it all right..." the words were reassuring to Naruto but the mention of success also reminded him of the possibility of failure. Fallibility was something that the young boy familiarised himself early with his obsession of knowledge, but it was never something he associated with his parents, especially his Otou-sama, the Hokage.

"He won't... he won't fail..." he whispered the mantra to himself, wishing that he could convince himself of it.

A large sphere of black chakra rushed outside the window which immediately caught his attention which was intercepted by what appeared to be a space-time manipulating portal. Naruto's limited understanding of physics aided him little when it came to the inherently impossible ninja arts.

The reality of the situation finally dawned on the child as he smelled the combined scent of burning wood, ash and incense. The village was lit with flames at the very edge where the soldiers were combating the impossibly large fox. Terror would have consumed him had the flames not reminded him of his father's signature trench coat.

The fight against the fox itself seemed to be fruitless even when viewing it from afar as the beast seemingly ignored the presence of the mortals below and rampaged in what Naruto believed to be blind rage.

...

'Confusing'

...

'Why would a creature of such immense power simply throw a temper tantrum, surely a being as powerful as Tou-sama would be wise?'

...

'Perhaps it is just angered at the village...'

...

A distracted Naruto was a very distracted Naruto which lead to him firing off internal questions to himself before ending it when he finally noticed a giant toad dropping on top of the fox. He quickly remembered that toads were his father's and Jiraiya-jisan summons but before he could process more information, he was whisked away for the second time this day by a yellow flash.

The new view appeared to be an artificially created clearing in a forest, mostly due to the gigantic fox in the vicinity. Naruto was in awe of the giant beast as it stood, chained, before him with both eyeing each other. One pair of eyes filled with hatred the other engrossed with curiosity.

'Why... are you so angered?'

...

'It can't be just my mother... can it?'

...

Naruto left his thoughts again and surveyed something other than the giant fox and was surprised to see his entire family along with the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage however had a strange and ghastly apparition behind him that held a blade to its mouth and kept what appeared to be a person locked on his chest

There was something eerie about the presence of the apparition that Naruto could not shake off. The entire situation felt unnatural as he was outside his comfort zone, everything was happening so fast and he only just came to the realisation that—

'What is that?'

"Dead Demon Consuming Seal!" the Third Hokage summoned had an arm extend from his stomach which grabbed the Kyūbi which had begun to shrink the giant down to a smaller size. His parents however were standing beside a ceremonial altar complete with candles which had both Misaki and Madara on its pedestal.

'What is happening?'

End Flashback

After a long explanation from his parents about the situation, he was able to grasp that his little siblings were now the new jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox (Kyūbi no Kitsune) and that was all that mattered in the end to Naruto. His path to becoming a ninja had begun that night and while he wasn't sure where it would take him, he already had a hypothesis for his earlier self inquiry.

Hypothesis: "Yes!"

"I guess the next years will be the testing phase..."

...

'The rest of my life will be the testing phase'

Knowledge is power some might say, other may even extend it to knowledge is everything but for me... knowledge is my lifeblood, but it is not life itself, I revel in it but I do not rejoice with it. Knowledge is but an end to my means.