Author Notes: Welcome to my first ever Naruto fanfiction. There's a lot of "Hate Sakura" and "Hate Sasuke" out there... there's super strong Narutos and more. This story however, will focus more on the relationships and reactions to Naruto. From the title, you can tell who will be the primary bond I focus on. How this will alter Naru from his canonical upbringing? I don't know yet. If you wanna nitpick details, please don't. I fall in and out of Japanese at times, but I try to make them interchable enough that context should make clear any Nihongo I use. (See, I bet you understood that Nihongo meant Japanese language without me telling you!) I've been an Anime fan long enough that it sounds weird to me to say Naruto Uzumaki rather than Uzumaki Naruto. Somehow, that makes him sound more important. I also like -chan, -kun, honorifics too. If you have any confusion on this, let me know. Well, that's about it... above all.. Enjoy!
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Konoha, Hidden Village of the Leaf sat half in ruin after the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. The Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage, leader of the village had given his life defending the people he loved. A terrible and powerful jutsu had to be employed to defeat the beast. Yet, defeat is not destruction, and the beast now slumbered in the vessel of a newborn boy... a new life in the midst of destruction.
Sarutobi, the third Hokage, sat behind the desk at Kage tower pensively with his fingers touching lightly. A few smoke rings peacefully circled his head from his pipe. He was still wearing battle gear after the fight, and had a lovely view of what was left of the village through a partially destroyed window.
He held still and quiet in thought, only stirring while the occasional ANBU or jounin troubled him for news from the village. The elderly man nodded from time to time and numbly issued orders, finding himself the reinstated Kage as per the will of the Fourth. It would certainly take some time for things to get sorted out, even the death count hadn't been finalized yet. As the wrinkled old man loosed his head gear and tossed it aside, a small crying noise came from nearby.
His gaze shifted to a basket with a small bundle in it, "Hnn... Naruto... Awake eh? I suppose you've been so quiet, I didn't even think about you there. Sad to say, but I'm afraid it's true," Sarutobi said in an even tone, beveled with age. He stood and moved to the bundle, squatting down before the blond form who continued crying. "....And just what will we do with you, little hero?" the old man asked aloud, picking up the child.
Naruto was a hero, but it was not time that all should know it just yet. He looked worriedly on the seal placed on the child's stomach. It would fade soon, but the chakra of the Kyuubi still blazed on it and he wondered if the boy's tears might be connected. His first order of duty ws cleaning up the village however, and the details of the Kyuubi's defeat would be known only to the ANBU to begin with.
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In a village of ninjas, word travels fast, especially when someone wants it to. The ANBU members, while going about their duties, used the following days to spread the news of the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice. There was also the unpleasant rumor that the Kyuubi was not destroyed, but imprisoned within a human body. Some thought the kage had done this to himself and died to kill the fox demon, but some of its chakra still hung around, as did the human host. Already, some were thinking or wondering who it was and how to end them. Sandaime Hokage would have to put an end to those rumors soon.
Sarutobi would have to do something soon before the boy became a victim of bad press. It was bad enough that Namikaze Minato had kept his love affair with Uzumaki Kushina a secret, fearing she would be targeted by his enemies... but she had died the night of Kyuubi's attack as well. It was a bitter end to a pair of great ninjas, not only that they should lost, but to also have left their son alone.
Minato had managed to leave a will, though his hand writing would have given pharmacists trouble. After deciphering the scribbled code, it was clear he wanted the jinchuuriki to be treated as normally as possible. Being the Hokage's son would make that impossible, so he was to be known by his mother's clan name, Uzumaki. That would certainly diffuse some troubles, though there was still the fact the demon slept within the boy... that was a much touchier matter. Minato's will as far as that went, was to have the boy credited with the monster's demise. He wanted him to be seen as a hero, since he was now the jailor of the nine tailed demon. Yet, he was still a newborn child, and people would wonder if he was in control of the demon or the other way around. The old man would have to tell the people something. There was nothing for it he supposed, he would have to do as Minato had requested.
While the boy's future was being decided, he still needed to be cared for. There were plenty of women who had lost children between the Ninja wars and the Kyuubi attack, but the marking on his belly was still fresh and raw. Sarutobi feared, and rightly so, that if he wasn't taken for the fox demon himself, he would be seen as a painful reminder of the loss said women had already suffered. Even if he got foster care, the number of eligible caretakers who wouldn't be biased in one way or another was slim to none. The third sighed heavily as he considered things. For the time being however, he was looked after, if held at arms length by his caretakers.
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Hokage tower was surrounded by the people of the Leaf Village. Every ninja that was not on assignment, as well as its civilian populace gathered around for the Hokage's address to the people. At this point, the Fire Lord and Council had been fully detailed on the situation, reconstruction was underway, and the details were now hashed out. It was just left to the Fire Shadow to announce what that meant to the people. No pressure, eh?
Sarutobi Hiruzen had been graced with wisdom as well as age. It allowed his eyes to look on the people with compassion and made him more or less, an excellent judge of character. He was not without faults though, and despite his rock solid exterior while he held his hand up to silence the crowd, a number of conflicting emotions reigned within him. As an aging member of the Konohagakure society, he felt he should be melting into the shadows rather than filling in the light once again, but he had no choice. He cleared his throat.
"Honored Citizens and Shinobi of Konohagakure, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi must now address you concerning the recent assault of the Kyuubi no Kitsune," he began formally, giving a dramatic pause. "We have overcome all obstacles facing us and will continue to in the future." The crowd cheered at his uplifting words but he remained stone-faced and calmed them down again. "However, this peace, this freedom... comes at a grave price. Many brave shinobi have given their lives for you people and they must be remembered. We have already begun work on a memorial monument to the fallen, but there is more.
Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage was the one who sealed the Nine tailed demon." He stressed the word to numerous mutterings and startled gasps. Sealed did not mean dead, and all of them knew this. "It is no stone or trinket that could ever hold such power, and the price for such a seal is no less than the soul of our beloved Hokage." An eerie silence spread and the sky above began to swirl uncertainly with heavy-laden gray clouds. He forced himself to inhale deeply and continued, "Namikaze Minato has sealed the Kyuubi's soul into that of a human body. Rumors of this have already been flying around and they are true. However, no normal spirit can contain or control the Kyuubi either. Only a pure, innocent soul can become a container for the demon without himself being corrupted. Therefore, the Hokage chose a newborn to bear this burden."
It seemed to Sarutobi, that the temperature had dropped a good ten degrees as he spat out the information as authoritatively and dryly as possible. His hope that the people would accept this was met with horrified murmuring and a few cries of disbelief. The trained eyes of experienced Shinobi fell on the reigning Hokage with practiced indifference for the most part, but he could see through that to the fear or pity hanging on some faces. The council's eyes were behind him and he felt them as knife-pricks set at his back. Yes, Minato had left him quite a mess.
"It was the third's wish that this boy be seen as a hero! For the sake of Minato, whom many of you have fought beside, I implore you all to heed his wishes. I believe in our beloved Hokage, and his vision that this boy would truly be a savior to our people! The Nine-Tails is no longer a threat, and we enjoy this peace at a grave price, but one not given in vain."
As silence began to prevail, one ninja asked the question all now wondered, just who was the boy? Who was the demon container? Sarutobi had the answer, though he about bit his tongue to say it. "The boy is an orphan, as many have been lost. He is Uzumaki Naruto, the son of Kushina and her lover." Only a handful of ninjas knew of Minato's relation to the woman. She was well liked by the people, but unfortunately she and many of Minato's family and friends were now dead. There were truly none who could vouch for, or properly raise the child, and that was the most troubling news of all. It only remained to be seen, how the crowd would react. "In one's death, another lives, and so it must be for now. Let us celebrate the victory we have, and honor the heroes and those who have passed! For Konoha, for Minato, and for our future, which has been secured by this boy, Uzumaki Naruto!"
And with that, the crowd cheered. He could only hope it would last. Fifty some years of experience told him not. Instead though, he enjoyed the sigh of relief as tension ebbed from the darkened village and sun rays fled through the gloomy sky. His wise eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a steadfast heart in the shifting crowd. The beaten hearts of war had scarred Konoha, but in the youth, he saw hope. In the tearstained eyes of a young genin.. he saw happiness.