Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It's too troublesome with all that paperwork.

'Someone/ Kyūbi is thinking'

"Someone talking"

"Someone is shouting"

"Kyūbi /Inner Sakura talking"

"I think you should… no you have to question me. It's your mission, your duty!"

'Impossible! Impossible!! Itachi never wanted to protect me!! He slaughtered our clan, the Uchihas'!! He never wanted to protect me!! How can a ruthless bastard ever want to protect someone except for himself!!' Sasuke starts shaking, mind aflame with the disturbing words from Itachi's associate and comrade in the Uchiha slaughter.

"You need to know about him…this man who risked everything to protect the shinobi world … the leaf village… and most of all, his little brother."

"You need to know about Uchiha Itachi's life!"

Sasuke's head starts to shake, his whole body shaking from anger.

"SHUT UP!!" and with a burst of speed, he launched himself at the masked Uchiha, chidori chirping in his right hand.

The masked man simply sidestepped the oncoming attack, and grabbed Sasuke's arm, and threw him against the wall.

"Hmm, pathetic, not what I expected from someone who beat Itachi. You should never attack any enemy who has unknown abilities, as they could fall right into your weaknesses. Enough with the attacks, you need to listen to me. I need to talk about your brother. I need you to understand, he did everything he could to protect the shinobi world and Konoha. But more importantly, he did it for you".

Sasuke coughed up blood, while struggling to get up, and failing miserably. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Now, where did I put that rope?"

Rain fell from the skies, as if it was crying for a great loss. Naruto found himself staring at a coffin of a man who he had such an attachment for. No matter what ero-sennin did, there was always an unsaid affection, a deep bond between two people. Naruto gave a sad smile as he knelt down at the coffin, laying his flowers on top of the coffin. No one could see the tears falling down Naruto's face, mixing in with the rain.

'I will make you proud ero-sennin. I will make you the sensei for two Hokage's! Who else could say that? Knowing you though, you'll most likely use that to get into a woman's' arms.'

Naruto chuckled as he recollected all the times he saw Jiraiya get knocked out by various raging women, as he got caught 'gathering information'.

'Damn you ero-sennin, why did you leave me? We had so much to do. I wanted you to be there when I got my first girlfriend, so you could give me perverted tips, and then I'd hit you for them. I wanted you to be there at my wedding, and to be the uncle of my first child. Damn you, why did you get yourself killed!'

Naruto took a deep breath, and calmed himself down, stopping his body shaking from grief and anger. Various concerned looks were cast upon Naruto, but none were willing to disturb him in this moment.

'You better have a had a good reason for not running away ero-sennin and leaving me and Baa-Chan, otherwise I swear I will burn every copy of every Icha-Icha book I can find!!' Naruto sighed, looking up at the sky, rain dripping from his hair.

Naruto stood up, looking at the coffin for the last time, his heart aching.

"Goodbye, ero-sennin." Naruto whispered.

With that, Naruto turned and walked out of the funeral, heading straight to a training ground, ignoring the various sympathetic glances he received. Upon arriving at the training ground, he quickly made hundreds of clones, all with the same grief-stricken look as him. Looking at the nearest clone to him, he nodded, and a battle royale soon begun, kunai and shruiken flying everywhere.

Naruto leant against the tree, sweating and panting heavily. The entire training ground before him utterly devastated. Naruto could feel the Kyūbi'schakra healing him of the various cuts, bruises and other injuries he sustained while fighting. Despite that, Naruto still felt an ache, one that couldn't be healed with the Kyūbi's immense chakra. Tears threatened to fall when he suddenly felt a presence in the woods behind him.

"Come out whoever you are. I can sense you so there's no more point hiding from me".

Suddenly, the figure revealed themselves, surprising Naruto.

"H-hinata?"

Hinate twiddled her fingers, looking downwards again. Naruto, getting rather annoyed with Hinata's lack of action, opened his mouth to say something before Hinata beat him to the punch.

"Ano, N-naruto-kun, even though I d-don't know much Jiraiya-sama meant to you, I know what it's like to lose someone. I lost my mother when Hanabi was born." Tears started to fall from her pale eyes.

"Hin…"

"No, it's ok Naruto-kun. I just wanted to let you know, if you needed someone to talk to, I'm here." With that, Hinata left, leaving a saddened Naruto behind.

"Hinata-Chan…"

Naruto looked down at the scroll he held in his hands, wishing everything would be fine, that Sasuke would be back, that Jiraiya and Sarutobi didn't die, and that he could for once, have a family that loved him. He wished he knew what that felt like. Tears fell from his eyes once more, mourning for the loss of a normal childhood, and for the loss of his precious people.

Little did he know, emerald eyes wept alongside him, her heart wishing she could hold Naruto in her arms, and tell him everything would be fine.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" Tsunade shouted over the Konoha villagers, shinobi and council.

The hubbub died down, allowing their Hokage to speak.

"As you may or may not have heard through the grapevine, I have found a hugely important scroll: One belonging to our most beloved hero, the Yondaime."

The hubbub suddenly increased, various people whispering, sharing shocked looks at each other. Finally the council had the courage to address Tsunade.

Homura Mitokado coughed before approaching Tsunade. Adjusting his voice loud enough so the entire crowd could hear, he spoke out.

"This is glorious news, Tsunade-Sama. What does it say? Does it have any information for us?"

Tsunade looked at the man distainfully before gazing at the crowd.

"Unfortunately, this scroll has a blood seal upon it, and all attempts so far at opening it have failed."

The crowd looked at each other, until one brave village shouted, "Then why did you show us something that we could never open??"

Apparently the man's words had an impact as the crowd started shouting agreements, and other similar phrases, until Tsunade raised a hand.

"I did not say we couldn't open it however, as we have found a man who is the son of the great man himself."

The various villagers looked shocked, as did the shinobi and the council. Homura leaned over to Tsunade and whispered furiously in her ear.

"What do you think you are playing at?? We know there is no son from the Y…"

The cold glare Tsunade gave the man shut him up completely. He was used to the emotional Tsunade, who lost her temper. A Tsunade who kept her anger inside was 10 times more dangerous, therefore he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"As I was saying, the Yondaime had a child with Uzumaki Kushina, the kunoichi from the Land of the Whirlpool."

At the name of Uzumaki Kushina, various villagers felt uneasy, wondering if their gut feeling was correct.

"Their son wasn't named after the Yondaime, due to possible assassination attempts after the fabled exploits in the last great war. However, he was named after his mother, and has become a fearsome shinobi in his own right… Uzumaki Naruto!!"

With that declaration, the entire crowd went in an uproar, while Uzumaki Naruto appeared next to Tsunade. Various insults and phrases of disbelief were heard, while they were staring at the young man. When he drew a kunai, a man shouted that he was going to destroy the scroll.

However, with a slight smirk, and a shake of his head, he cut his arm, and let blood flow onto the scroll. The scroll suddenly glowed, and unfurled itself, right in Naruto's arms. Needless to say, to say the crowd were shocked would easily be the understatement of the century.

Naruto coughed, and cleared his throat before speaking. "I've heard various insults in my life. Demon child, bastard, scum, too many to list. That didn't bother me as much as the beatings."

The crowd looked downcast as the Rookie 12 gazed upon Naruto in shock, looking not knowing of the beatings that he received, the insults he took, the son of the Yondaime. Various members started crying, unable to understand how the ball of energy managed to stay so upbeat, and distraught at their own treatment of him.

"Beating a helpless little child who merely contains the Kyūbi, and isnt the reincarnation of the monster itself is surely something that wouldn't happen in Konoha right? And certainly not by its upstanding villagers, or brave and fearless ninja? RIGHT? They certainly wouldn't ignore a Hokage's last wish for an infant to be regarded as a hero RIGHT?"

The brutal tone Naruto took sent waves of shame and guilt throughout the people who committed such atrocities, and shame and sadness amongst the rest, those who didn't try and help.

Naruto took of his headband, letting his bangs flow freely. The crowd and council looked at him in awe, as he looked so much like his father for it to be a coincidence.

"I lived and survived, thanks to people who cared for me, such as the Sandaime, and Iruka-sensei. I am the shinobi I am now, thanks to people like them, and the people I have around me now. I will be taking this scroll as it is my rightful property. My name will now be Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, in recognition of my father, who gave his life, saving a town who beat his only son and made his life a living hell."

The crowd winced at the last phrase, shaming them all into silence.

"However, I havent lived my life and made the friends and family I have now by living in the past. I look to the future, and vow to protect all of you, the villages, my fellow shinobi, and the Will of Fire burning in everyone. Why? Because, I've always craved recognition, but I moved on from that. I wish to carry on my father's legacy, and make him proud of me, I want to be the son he always wanted. I want to make all my precious people proud of me, the Sandaime always told me I could become Hokage. He died in a way benefitting such a revered and respected shinobi, protecting those he loved. Jiraiya-sensei died, trying to find out information on a powerful and dangerous organisation. He was a legendary Sannin, a man whose, despite his perverted tendencies (this brought a chuckle from all the men, and a scowl from the women) was a brave, intelligent and fearsome shinobi. He was the man who I felt I could tell anything, the one who I truly bonded with, the one who I felt understood me most."

Tears started flowing freely from Naruto's eyes, his blue eyes showing such emotion that it moved everyone present, his voice strangely strong and clear, despite the tears he shed.

" My father, the Sandaime, Jiraiya-sensei and all those who died protecting Konoha, their loved ones and the Will of Fire were heroes. If I can make half as much of an impact as they all have done, then I'll be proud. I vow to make everyone here respect me, and I promise to keep this village, and all of its residents safe. I will protect all of you until my last breath, just like all the heroes of Konoha have done, that I promise!"

Naruto stood gazing downwards at the crowd, his hair blowing with the wind, his bright blue eyes taking in the view, looking just like his father, yet so different at the same time. Tsunade glanced as Naruto, a smile on her face.

'Serves those damn fools right. I wonder how the village will take to his words however, they might be forced to respect him, but will they truly accept him? Either way, you've made me proud gaki, and I know you've made your father and all of your precious people proud. You'll make a great Hokage, the best we've ever had.'

The whole village looked at the man, the man who would still give his life to protect them, despite everything. The Rookie 12 looked at him, various thoughts and feeling on their minds.

Suddenly a villager stepped forward from the crowd, looking at Naruto in the eyes. Tsunade looked on curiously, at what the man would say.

"When I first looked at you, I saw a demon, one who devastated this village. I admit, I stood by and watched you get beat and kicked without lifting a finger. However, I realise I made such a horrendous error, and I know I, and many others who are in my situation do not deserve your forgiveness. What I hope you'll realise, is that you have earned my respect, and everyone else's, not because of who your father is, but because of the way you are, because you have survived and still have come out so strong. Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, I am deeply sorry for my actions." With that the man fell to his knees, in a submissive and apologetic manner.

Naruto gazed on the man, with the crowd looking at him, wondering what he'll do. Suddenly, Naruto appeared in front of the man, and gently kneeled down, picking the man up. The man looked at him, and Naruto held out his hand, a genuine smile upon his face. The man grabbed it as if it was a lifeline, and shook it firmly. The crowd around him started cheering at the display, and cheered even louder as the Rookie 12 gathered around him, congratulating him, or hugging him, overcome with emotion. The adults decided to left Naruto have his time with his friends, and that they will talk to him later, with fewer people.

Naruto chuckled and shared a joke with his friends, a heavy burden lifted from his shoulders. Instead of receiving glares of hatred from people around him, he now received glances of admiration, nods of respect, and the bane of any self-respecting shinobi; Fangirls. He could hear them giggling around the crowd, like a pack of Hyena's circling their pray.

'Damn it, now I know how Sasuke must have felt when Sakura, Ino, and all the other fangirls fawned over him. Although, it does feel pretty good having all these girls after me!'

Naruto started grinning widely, which caught the attention of everyone around him.

'CHA! He's so cute when he smiles! Make him yours shannaro! Show him that our kunoichi abilities aren't the only thing that developed over the few years!!'

Sakura started blushing at the wild thoughts of her inner Sakura, who seems to only appear around Naruto.

'N-naruto-kun has a pretty smile, and the way it lights up his whole face, and makes his eyes sparkle is amazing.'

Hinata started twiddling her fingers furiously, images of her and Naruto appearing in her mind, a blush quickly appearing.

Naruto, astute as ever when dealing with the fairer sex, noticed the blushes on the two girls, and quickly ran over to them. Placing a hand on both of their foreheads, startling them out of their daydreams, his eyes quickly narrowed in concern.

"Ne Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, why are you both so red? Are you alright? Are you ill? Do you want me to get Baa…"

Sakura, embarrassed beyond all belief, smashed Naruto on his head, sending him crashing to the floor.

"BAKA! I'm a medical nin! I would know if I was ill or not."

Then, with a sense of purpose, Sakura strode off, trying to avoid further embarrassment. The adults started to chuckle amongst them until Sakura's emerald eyes gazed upon them. They wisely shut up, preferring to look away from the fiery kunoichi.

Naruto picked himself from up the floor, rubbing at his bruised head. Hinata timidly walked over to Naruto, and stood in front of him.

'This is no time to be shy! I need to help Naruto-kun… and maybe tell him my feelings'

Hinata blushed a shade of red that would make a tomato proud at her thoughts, and she twiddled her fingers, looking downwards in her usual shy pose. Naruto waved in front of her, trying to snap her out of her reverie. Suddenly Hinata looked up, sending her head crashing into Naruto's face. The crowd erupted in laughter at Naruto's misfortune. Hinata turned red, and looked away in shock and embarrassment.

'NOOOO!! Why did I do that! Now he'll hate me! No No No No…'

As Hinata had an internal struggle with herself, Naruto slowly picked himself up from the floor for a second time. Rubbing his head, he decided that he should leave before he suffers more mishaps. While he said goodbye to the crowd and the adults there, Hinata was struck by an idea of pure genius, and a little chibi Hinata danced around her head.

"A-ano, N-naruto-kun, do you w-want to come with me to the Hyuuga manor to get some cream f-for your head? It will h-help for the injuries?"

Naruto looked at Hinata, and smiled.

"Well Hinata-chan, I would, but I heal really quickly and…

Hinata, desperate to get Naruto round her house said the only thing that flashed to mind.

"We h-have ramen."

Suddenly Naruto's eyes sparkled into life, and grabbed Hinata's hand, and dragged her all the way to the Hyuuga manor. Hinata blushed red at the hand holding, and nearly fainted. She managed, barely, to gather enough resolve to stay conscious, her thoughts focusing on the one thing she forgot to think of.

'No! Will my dad let us in?'

Naruto wondered what to do after Hinata's dad, Hiashi told Hinata that there was a dinner with the Elders, and that Naruto wasn't allowed to come tonight. Naruto wondered why Hinata looked so upset, but placed it as to one of the many weird things she did around him.

Naruto found himself walking back towards his apartment, another night spent alone. As he entered his apartment, he turned on the lights, and started the kettle, placing a cup of instant ramen next to it. He entered his room, the moon shining through his window. He sat on his bed, and took his father's scroll from one of the storage scrolls. He took a deep breath, opened the scroll, and started to read.

"Dear Uzumaki Naruto, I am the Yondaime Hokage, otherwise known as Namikaze Minato. I come from a relatively small family background, with no surviving family, nor do I own any large estates. What I do have, is a beautiful fiancée named Uzumaki Kushina, and a soon to be born child, namely you, my son. You were named after my sensei's character in his book. Unfortunately, the Kyūbi is rampaging throughout the known shinobi world, and is heading towards Konoha. We do not have much time left, and as the village leader, I must put my life on the line to save my village, and more importantly, my family. Hopefully, the Kyūbi will be stopped with the use of the new jutsu I developed, however it is untested for obvious reasons. By the time you are reading this, it is likely that I have died, and you are ready now to read this scroll according to the Hokage in charge. Naruto, my son, you have no idea how much I wish I could see you right now, how you have grown up, how your mother is treating you, how much of a man you have become. Im sorry for abandoning you, yet the Kyūbi is such a fearsome foe. I must tell you now, if you do not already know from Jiraiya-sensei, that I have split the Kyūbi chakra into two. The reason I will separate the Kyūbi's chakra, is due to the fact of a new enemy on the horizon, one powerful enough to control the Kyūbi. The tales of the Kyūbi being a natural, destructive force may be true, however, this time he was summoned; by Uchiha Madara. I understand this will be a stretch for the imagination, as he was one of our founding members, however studying the Uchiha clan archives, and history from the remaining Senju clan archives available, I have come to one disturbing conclusion. Uchiha Madara has somehow gained immortality by transferring his brother's eyes into his own, gaining the ultimate Sharingan. With this, I believe he could summon even the great Kyūbi and bend him to his will. Therefore, I have sealed the Kyūbi into you, for you to gain the powerful chakra that the Kyūbi will no doubt give you. There is also a key I have left with Jiraiya-sensei, which will be entrusted to you, once Jiraiya deems you ready. Put simply, the key has two purposes; One is to reinforce the seal if it is weakening or it can be used to purposely open the seal however much or little the user requires. The reason for this is due to the fact that I need you to learn how to harness the Kyūbi for yourself. His chakra will merge with yours much more quickly once developed, however I believe Madara will not wait for you to grow powerful. This is why you need to train my son, become a better shinobi than I could hope to be. Take my jutsus, and develop them further than I could. Battle and defeat Madara, and protect the Konoha, and the shinobi world at large from him. Become a legend in your own right, and if your anything like me, you will want to become Hokage. You will get there, your mother and I have faith in you, and no doubt she will remind you of it every day. Get your mother to tell you what kind of man I was, and what principles I stood for.

Goodbye my son, you will make me proud no matter what you do, I know it.

Love, your father, Namikaze Minato."

Tears fell onto the scroll, deep blue eyes once again filled with emotion. However, this time they were filled with determination and happiness.

"Tou-san, I will make you proud, I will make Hokage, and I will defeat this Uchiha Madara, I promise." Naruto uttered, hands clenched to the scroll, a solemn vow to a man he was proud to call his father, a man who gave it his all to protect Konoha, in the past, and now in the present.

Suddenly, a toad 'poofed' in front of Naruto, atop a tall pole, with a unique carving on it.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I am the guardian of the Hakke Key, the one designed for the seal on your stomach, and I have been instructed by the late Jiraiya-sama to come to you, in the event of his demise, which has unfortunately come to pass."

The toad looked at the scroll in Naruto's hands with a knowing look.

"I see you know what this key does, however, what the scroll doesn't tell you as an extra precaution by your father is that this key can help you develop a certain jutsu, which you will need apparently later on in the future."

Naruto's curiosity peaked, and like the bubbly teenager he used to be, words came spilling out of his mouth, a mile a minute.

"Hey what is this jutsu? Is it my dads? Is it powerful? What does it do? Who invented it? Can I beat Madara with it?"

At the name of Madara, the toad froze.

'So Jiraiya-sama, it seems as if your theory was right on that cursed Uchiha. It seems as if Naruto will need the jutsu, just as you foresaw.'

"Well Naruto, if you'd let me speak, I would tell you."

Naruto looked down, embarrassed at his actions.

"Well Naruto, the jutsu is…"

Haruno Sakura was walking down a street in Konoha, her mind elsewhere.

'DAMN IT! Why am I always horrible to Naruto! On the day of everyone finding out he was the son of the Yondaime I hit him! ARGH! I'm such a bitch!'

'Shannaro! Go to his for some make up sex! We don't want anyone else having him! That Hyuuga bitch for one, and that Princess Shion! She basically asked Naruto to have sex with her! No one can do that except us! Cha!'

'Go away! I will not have sex with Naruto now! I'm going to apologise to him though!'

It was silent in Sakura's head as she travelled towards Naruto's apartment, until her inner voice spoke up one last time.

'You wont have sex with Naruto now? What about later?'

The blush that rose to Sakura's face would have made Hinata proud, and Sakura just ignored her inner voice who struck a victory pose, with a satisfied smirk displayed on her face.

Sakura leapt up to the balcony where Naruto's door was found. She was about to open it when the murmuring of a conversation caught her attention. She removed her hand from the door, and placed her ear onto the door, hoping to catch any words which could tell her what was going on in there.

"The jutsu is actually a seal, one that will enable you to absorb the Kyūbi's chakra at an advanced rate. This will enhance your existing chakra network tenfold at least, and will allow you to create and perform jutsu never imagined before. This will allow you to battle Madara at an advantage, for as powerful he is, even he doesn't have the chakra of the Kyūbi. He may have the ultimate Sharingan, but you have the Kyūbi's chakra, and that balances the playing field. The way to perform the jutsu is for you to place this key on your Hakke seal and to open the cage completely."

"NANI!! Are you crazy? That will allow the Kyūbi to take control of me and overwhelm me! You must…"

"No I am not crazy! I will help you through it, but essentially, his chakra will dominate yours, and he could go on a killing rampage. But you must defeat him mentally, destroy him forever. He is in essence, living chakra, a spirit if you will."

Naruto shuddered, spirits, ghosts and all supernatural things always creeped him out.

"However, living chakra is just chakra with a mind. Destroy the mind…"

Silence dawned on the toad and Naruto.

'My god, for the son of the great Yondaime, he is so stupid! How on earth can he be expected to beat the Kyūbi?"

"If you destroy the mind, it will just be chakra, meaning you can absorb it into your chakra coils much easier, as the Kyūbi will not be actively resisting the seal's attempt to merge his chakra with yours. The catch is, the chakra will flare, destroying a wide area while you battle the Kyūbi in your mind. This means you will have to leave Konoha in order to avoid any damage to the village, possibly without permission, as I doubt your 'precious people' will allow you to undertake a potentially suicidal task, nor will the council allow you to even attempt to release the Kyūbi, which ravaged Konoha years ago."

Naruto mused on the current situation, before remembering what he promised over his father's scroll.

Flashback

'Tou-san, I will make you proud, I will make Hokage, and I will defeat this Uchiha Madara, I promise'.

Flashback

'If this is what I need to do to beat this Uchiha Madara, then I must do it. I promised my dad, and I never break my promises-ttebayo!'

"I'll do…"

Suddenly the door burst open and a flash of pink latched onto Naruto, sending him flying to the floor.

"Don't you dare leave Naruto! Don't you dare! You promised me, you said you wouldn't leave!" Naruto could feel his shirt getting wet, Sakura's tears falling onto it.

Naruto frowned. He promised his dad that he would defeat Uchiha Madara, yet he also promised Sakura-chan that he wouldn't leave her too.

"Sakura-chan, sakura,"

With that Sakura looked up at Naruto with watery eyes, emotions swirling in her green eyes.

"I know I made a promise to you that I wouldn't leave you, but I also promised my dad that I would defeat this Uchiha Madara person. Please Sakura, just… just let me do this. I need to, for my father, to make him proud."

Sakura looked at Naruto, tears glistening in the moonlight. She buried her head into his chest, unwilling to let her emotions get the better of her.

The toad looked at Naruto impassively, waiting for Naruto to make a decision.

"I think I need to ask Baa-Chan for permission first, then if she refuses, then I'll see what happens."

The toad nodded at Naruto's decision, looking at the two ninjas.

"I will need to be placed within a safe place, however, I cannot be stored within you otherwise I will open the lock to the Kyūbi's prison."

Naruto nodded and gently moved Sakura off him, and summoned a battle toad, and told the toad to take the key and protect it. The toad grunted his acknowledgement and promptly left, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.

'This is your chance Shannaro! Give him a reason to come back to us! He won't even think of leaving after we're done cha!'

Sakura shook her head to clear her inner voice while trying to fight the blush that crept on her face.

"Sakura-Chan, are you ok? You've gone red again, do you want me to get Baa-Chan?"

"No no Naruto I'm good thanks hehe" Sakura nervously laughed, although Naruto shrugged it off cluelessly.

'He's ours for the taking!! Shannaro!'

Suddenly the door knocked, surprising both Naruto and Sakura. Naruto went to open the door, and as it swung back, a look of shock appeared on both Naruto's and Sakura's faces.

AN: I think this is my worst chapter despite it being the longest. Anyways, let me know what you think thanks