Prologue: Following the Disappearance of the Kyuubi no Kitsune

Just as the barrier fell, the army of shinobi gasped in shock including the Sandaime (3rd) Hokage. Their current leader, Minato Namikaze the Yondaime(4th) Hokage (Fire Shadow) the Yellow Flash, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, lay on the ground slowly dying cradling a baby with blond hair and three whisker scars on each cheek between them. The Sandaime Hokage, Hizuren Sarutobi, approached slowly and spoke, "Minato, what happened?"

"Sarutobi-sama, we were ambushed by a man in an orange spiral mask with a Sharingan eye at the safe house. He held Naruto hostage after killing your wife Biwako and our ANBU guard. He forced me away from Kushina long enough to rip the Kyuubi out of her and put it under his control via a contract genjustu. The attack on the village was not the Kyuubi's fault or of its free will. Kushina and I were able to free it and reseal it in our son Naruto here after I defeated the masked man," said Minato weakly. Hearing this Hizuren was saddened and pissed that his wife was gone, but that someone had been strong enough to force the Kyuubi under their control. The rest of the shinobi of the village were terrified that someone was able to perform such a feat.

Kushina looked away from her son to the Hokage and weakly spoke, "Can you quickly get Fugaku Uchiha, Kakashi, and Hizashi & Hiashi Hyuuga here?"

The said men who were standing on the front lines jumped over to the dying pair. Fugaku having just arrived to the scene after he and his clan finished securing the village. Minato turned to Kakashi and the Hyuuga brothers. "Kakashi, I want you to watch out for my son. Please treat him like a brother as I have always hoped you would. As your sensei I viewed you and your teammates as family. Make me proud. Hizashi, Hiashi you two are my oldest friends. I beg you to please watch over my son and his inheritance. I know you will make the right decisions for his future," plead Minato. The three men nodded with tears streaming down their faces.

At the same time Kushina was passing on her dying wish in a weak voice to Fugaku. "Fugaku-kun, please look out for my boy. The typical life of a jinchuuriki (power of human sacrifice) is soul destroying. Keep him as safe as you can and tell my students to help. Make sure Hayate teaches him my kenjutsu style and the leaf's. You and your wife are like siblings and family to me. Mikoto and I were supposed to raise our children together along with Yugana (Hiashi's wife). Let him know what love of a family is, even without me and Minato," she wept. In silent tears to prevent him from having a total breakdown, he bowed his head to this strong woman that he called a sister. Kushina smiled and turned her head back to cradling her newborn child whispering her final words to him.

Minato looked to the Sandaime and the assembled shinobi and made the request for Naruto to be seen as a hero before he and his wife too their last breaths holding their child between them. All the surrounding shinobi and even the sky wept in honor of their fallen heroes and for the orphan hero.

The Next Day: Council Chambers

Hizuren Sarutobi sat with his fingers massaging his temples. The civilian council had been arguing back and forth with the shinobi council over what to do about Naruto, who was currently being tended by Fugaku Uchiha's wife Mikoto while he was in the meeting with Sarutobi.

"We should kill the demon," shrieked a civilian councilwoman with pink hair. Scanning the sides of both councils, Sarutobi saw that the civilian side was ready to follow the pink banshee's lead, while the shinobi side was looking at the civilians with fury and disgust. He would wager that given the signal every member of the shinobi council would tear through the civilians like a hot knife through butter. Although, it was surprising to Sarutobi that his old teammates and rival, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo, were silent and showing no signs of agreeing or disagreeing with either side of the council. The elders normally voted with the civilians, so seeing them stoic and un-attached was unnerving. The banshee looked like she was going to speak again, but Sarutobi cut her off.

"Enough, we will not kill the child who is right now the only one keeping the Kyuubi no Kitsune (9-tailed Fox) contained. Furthermore I will not hear any more of these ridiculous arguments for doing so now if you will excuse me I need to address the people," he said releasing some of his KI (killing intent) in order to keep the entire council quiet.

Later that night: Hokage's Office

Sarutobi stared out the window of his office holding a sleeping Naruto reflecting on the day when a knock came to his door. The announcement of what had transpired in the past 24 hours was not well received. The majority of the shinobi population seemed to understand what had happened and the respected the wish of the Yondaime, but the civilians were in an up-roar. He made a quick decision banning the discussion of what truly happened to the Kyuubi and its sealing inside Naruto under the pain of torture and death. "Enter," he called out. When he turned he saw Homura, Koharu, and Danzo walking in. "What can I help you with," he asked curiously at their unusually sedate attitudes. Homura looked at the baby in Sarutobi's arms and said "Such a small boy to carry such a heavy burden."

Koharu spoke next, "He will need to be strong, but if I remember from what Mito-sama said love is required to keep the Kyuubi calm and at bay. May I hold him?" Sarutobi in shock handed the baby to her and was startled even further when she held him tenderly and started to coo to him like a normal grandmother would.

Danzo seeing his rival's state chuckled softly before he spoke. "Sarutobi, we represent the civilians on the council but we are not stupid to be confused between prisoner and warden. However, we cannot afford to show the civilians we don't support them since we are only elected officials to the council. We do however need to discuss what will happen to this young one. Now before you jump to conclusions, yes I believe that he needs to be trained to be a weapon for the village, but I know if he were made into an emotionless tool it would only be detrimental to the village. A jinchuuriki's power and the ability to draw on the power of their bijuu is determined by their emotions. Plus I fear for the retribution that his parents would deliver to any that would seek to use him in such a way. " Sarutobi was now shocked beyond belief, but he quickly snapped out of this state.

"So what do you propose that we do?" Sarutobi asked.

Homura, Koharu, and Danzo glanced at each other and nodded. Kohara stepped forward handing Naruto back to Sarutobi and said, "Since you have made it knowledge of his jinchuuriki status, and the law preventing the mention of it, I say we attempt to give Naruto a normal life and let him be adopted. This way he might have a chance to grow up in a nurturing environment. When he reaches the proper age enroll him in the academy, and when he graduates give him his inheritance from his mother, his father's when he reaches the age of 18 or chunin which ever happens first. However, he should not be given his father's name due to the many enemies he had. His mother's name should reduce the number of threats against him. At some point find him a tutor on how to run a clan since the boy is the heir to two of Konoha's (Leaf's) most powerful clans."

Danzo having already talked with the other elders about this scenario decide to voice his opinion by saying, "Sarutobi, you can have your ANBU guard him, but I would like to have one of my ROOT agents befriend him and act as a body guard in the future also. This way Naruto can be protected and monitored for safety. I have a feeling this boy is going to need the friendship and security in the future if he is anything like his parents." Homura nodded his agreement to the other elder's opinions. Sarutobi looked at the child in his arms and sighed in relief.

"You three are right. I had many doubts in my mind in regards on how to handle the situation. Danzo, although ROOT is shrouded in questionable practices in general and now that I have had a few years of being retired and reflected on my past mistakes/weaknesses, I can see the benefit to the ROOT division. If you are willing, I am going to let it stay active and you can continue to head it. However, you will have to answer to me for final approval of all missions especially ones that operate outside of the Land of Fire. I would also like to look at your sealing formula and conditioning program for the members. I want to be keyed into the seal so that if I need information from them, then they can give it to me. I would also like to add two ROOT agents to my rotation of guards. I do ask that the agent you assign to Naruto be his age, not be completely void of emotions, and not sealed. I have a feeling Naruto will have his parents combined instincts when it comes to who he trusts. As for your seats on the council, after seeing the support you are willing to show to both myself and Naruto, I want you to know that in the case that you ever lose your elected positions, that all of your clans qualify for a spot in the shinobi side of the council. You have all been qualified for a while, but you have never applied, so I merely kept applications ready for all of you," said Sarutobi. Homura, Koharu, and Danzo all seemed a bit shocked and relieved by this news.

With that said every one of the elders looked at the sleeping child wearing different expressions. Homura and Koharu were gazing at the boy with twin looks of sadness and respect. Danzo looked on with happiness at the fact that his old rival and friend, Sarutobi, saw eye to eye and hope that the boy would become a strong/ powerful weapon and hero to the village. Sarutobi looked at Naruto with love and fear for the son for his late successor, while praying to Kami (god) that they were making the right choice for the boy.