Chapter One

Sarutobi Hiruzen; recently reinstated as Sandaime Hokage, sat behind the old desk that sat in the middle his new/old office. Turning his chair a bit to face the large window, he looked out unto the village of Konohagakure no Sato. The sun had gone down hours ago and throughout the village the numerous street lamps were glowing brightly.

The whole village was still on edge after the recent attack of one of the monstrous Bijuu. The Kyuubi no Kitsune to be exact, the strongest of the Nine; or so they say. The Demon had nearly made it to the village gates, but was prevented from getting any closer because of the brave Shinobi who fought the beast tooth and nail; holding it at bay while the Yondaime had made preparations to reseal the beast. Finally when it looked like the Kyuubi would triumph over the Leaf, the Yondaime Hokage had arrived astride the large Toad Summon, Gamabunta. Then in a brilliant flash of bright, white light the Kyuubi was gone and the Yondaime was dead.

In sealing the Kyuubi away the Yondaime used a sealing method called Shiki Fuujin. The cost of using that jutsu even once however, had been the loss of his life. Minato had had to seal the monstrous chakra beast inside a newly born child, the umbilical cord freshly cut and chakra coils not yet fully developed. There had been only one child born that day; October 10th, Minato and Kushina's only daughter. It broke his heart to have to do it, but to save the village it had to be done. And besides if he could not sacrifice his own child for the sealing, how could he possibly ask anyone else?

The daughter of the Yondaime Hokage who lay in a crib just a few feet away from the Sandaime let out a soft sigh in sleep. Sarutobi had been told by Minato, just before he went off to perform the sealing that she was to be called Namikaze Naruko.

Namikaze Minato had earned the nickname of the Yellow Flash of Konoha. The nickname came from the technique that he created involving a special kunai and a special sealing formula tagged to his chakra allowing him to move at speeds unheard of; a unique space/time jutsu. Just thinking about the babe having the last name of her father was a scary thought. Minato had had many enemies. Those most of all were ninja from Iwa, made during and after the Third Great Shinobi War.

Although Hiruzen thought it may be a bad idea putting such a bulls eye so to speak on Naruko's back, he would not go back on his word to Minato. Perhaps a talk with Oonoki was in order after all of this was taken care of. The Sandaime Tsuchikage of Iwagakure no Sato was as stubborn as they come, but Hiruzen had faith in his own abilities to deal with this. After all, the war was over, and there was always a chance to clear the air.

A knock on the door resounded quietly throughout the room and Sarutobi looked to the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and in came Namiashi Raidou, the old Hokage could see the grief in the young mans eyes, see the slumped posture indicating a need for sleep, that all of the ninja save for perhaps the Genin, looked like this evening. Minato had ordered for every Genin, Chuunin and Jounin under the age of 15 to stay away from the fighting of the Kyuubi.

Raidou was a Tokubetsu Jounin, although he was fairly young, just hitting 19. He had short, slightly messy chocolate brown hair, Brown eyes and a fleshy like scar on his face giving him a slightly dangerous appearance. He wore the Jounin standard: dark Shinobi sandals, dark blue Shinobi pants with the ends wrapped in bandages, a dark blue long sleeved shirt underneath a dark green Jounin vest. His Hitai-ate was tied around his forehead.

"The Council is ready, sir, as per your orders."

"Thank you, Raidou. I'll be along." Sarutobi heaved out of his chair and made his way to the crib holding the still sleeping form of Naruko.

The door to his office clicked shut behind the Special Jounin and Hiruzen let loose a deep sigh. Staring down at the sleeping babe, he felt a deep sadness in his heart; barely a day old and already an orphan. Such a hard life this child would have. But Sarutobi promised that he would do right by her. Picking up the child the Kage grabbed and donned his hat and made his way to the Council Chambers.

The doors to the Council chambers clanked open and in strode the Sandaime Hokage, in his arms he carried a small bundle; upon closer inspection the other council members noticed that it was a baby; tufts of yellow hair peeking out around the blanket that was wrapped around her. Perplexed with why their Hokage would have such a child no one spoke, but the confusion in their eyes was noticeable.

The Hokage had taken his seat at the head of the table, clearing his throat; he began, "as you may have noticed we are missing half of our Council tonight, the Civilian Council to be exact." All within the room sat back and listened. "For what I have to say to you all, is a Shinobi matter and I shall not have this information being leaked to the public just yet."

Murmurs all around, the Hokage had not called a Shinobi-only meeting of the councilors since the Third Great Shinobi War.

"This child is the daughter of our Late Yondaime and his beloved wife Uzumaki Kushina."

Excited whispers all around, Sarutobi was glad for a positive reaction.

"However, she is also the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," finished the Sandaime.

"Hokage-Sama, you can't be serious!" started Hyuuga Hiashi, "what was the Yondaime thinking!?"

"I know of all of your concerns; what if the Kyuubi breaks loose? But keep in mind that Minato was a Master at Fuujin-jutsu and he would not have sealed it inside his own daughter if he wasn't sure of what he was doing. Please keep an open mind here; He knew what he was doing." Hiruzen looked all around the large table; His eyes resting on each and every one of the Shinobi Council.

Hyuuga Hiashi; their clan had a unique Kekkei Genkai, Byakugan, a dojutsu that allowed the user to see and attack the chakra circulatory system with their Gentle Fist style or Jyuuken. Their clan was split into two groups: the Main family and the Branch family. Tensions between the two were usually quite high. Branch family members were branded from a young age with a Caged Bird Seal; a seal that would activate upon death, if for example, a Branch member was taken prisoner, the enemy would not be able to obtain their Kekkei Genkai. Hiashi had a knack for politics and a way with words.

Inuzuka Tsume; their clan specialized in their use of Ninken; they formed strong bonds with their canine partners and had developed many ninjutsu to compliment it. They were brash and impulsive, but were also fiercely loyal. The Inuzuka Clan took care of all the village veterinary needs.

Auburame Shibi; their clan was very similar to the Inuzuka, the difference being that all the clan members used logic to find solutions to difficult situations, their clan used a Hijutsu with Kikai-chuu, an insect that lived inside their bodies; feeding off of their chakra and allowing the use of their unique chakra absorbing abilities to fight alongside the Auburame in battle.

Nara Shikaku; A clan with a Hijutsu involving the use of shadows; most members of the Nara clan were very lazy with a higher than average IQ. Many members were a part of the cipher division of the village. The clan also tended to many deer they had on their lands for medicine. Shikaku in addition to being clan head was also the Jounin commander of the Village.

Yamanaka Inoichi; their clan used a Hijutsu as well; mind techniques, allowing the user to enter the mind of another. Inoichi and his wife owned a flower shop, and Inoichi was the Head of the Torture and Interrogation department. As a Genin Inoichi was on the same team as Shikaku and Chouza, their famed teamwork granted their team the nickname Ino-Shika-Chou.

Akimichi Chouza; Often their clan was made fun of by the younger generation, all members of the clan were quite large. The word 'Fat' uttered in their presence however was taboo. They of the Akimichi were large because their techniques demanded the energy. The Akimichi used a unique Hijutsu that allowed them to turn calories into chakra. Many of their techniques used chakra to enlarge parts of their bodies in combat. Many restaurants in Konoha were owned by the Akimichi.

Uchiha Fugaku; the famed Uchiha clan were known for their Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. The dojutsu enabled the user to copy techniques and well as predict the movements of their opponent(s). The Uchiha was a very proud clan, a lot of members thought themselves superior to others. Fugaku had a lot of political influence that made it hard for Sarutobi to maneuver sometimes.

Elder Council members Shimura Danzo; Sarutobi had known Danzo for most of his life. He was cunning and power hungry, although he was fiercely loyal to Konoha.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both Sarutobi's Genin teammates. Old as they were their expertise of the Shinobi world and life experience had them on the council.

There were three others who were supposed to be a part of the council; Uzumaki Kushina was dead, Namikaze Minato was dead and Senju Tsunade had left the village years ago, heartbroken over the loss of both her brother and lover.

Once it seemed that everyone had settled down, Danzo cleared his throat, looking quite pleased; as if the cat had finally caught the canary. He wore white robes tucked into black hakama, he had a handsome face, or it had used to be handsome, but now age was making itself known, his dark eyes were those that had seen many battles, defeat and victory alike.

"Hokage-Sama, this will be a great opportunity. If we can teach the child to harness the powers of the Kyuubi, we can-"

"Danzo," interrupted the Old Man, "she will be trained, I have asked for Jiraiya to return. He will be the one to look at her seal, to make sure nothing is amiss, and when the time comes I will have him train her in everything she will need to know to defend herself."

Danzo sat back in his seat; he seemed to accept the Hokage's argument for now. "There is one other matter that needs to be attended to, however; Naruko is going to need a home, and I'd rather not use the orphanage in this case, the daughter of our Yondaime would be spoiled with love, doted on from the civilians and perhaps one day may become arrogant to her position. I will not hand her everything just because of who she is, she will learn humility. Which begs the question; which of you will have her?"

The clan heads took a moment to think about that, most of them had not yet had children, only Tsume with her daughter Hana and Fugaku with his son Itachi. Shikaku and his wife Yoshino were expecting, six months ago Shikaku had told them, and he looked as happy as the lazy Nara had been able to.

"This child will have to be placed under the clan restoration act as the last of the Uzumaki and daughter of Yondaime-Sama, who had become a clan head once he was named Hokage," stated Auburame Shibi. As logical and cool headed as they come.

"While I don't want Naruko to be used solely as a broodmare, she will have to marry at least four men by the time of her eighteenth birthday, or else we the council will have to choose for her; and I fear what the civilian side would do with that knowledge. They would see it as the opportunity to claim their right over the Yondaime's jutsu and riches."

"I agree, Hokage-Sama and I formally ask for Naruko's hand in marriage on behalf of my son, Uchiha Itachi." Fugaku inclined his head forward, indicating the bow he was not able to make, due to his seated position. Sarutobi tilted his head forward in acknowledgement.

"Wonderful, Itachi would make a fine husband for Naruko, when the time comes." Itachi was much older than Naruko, but the age difference wasn't that bad. The young Uchiha heir was to be turning 5 this year. Better to be a few years older than for her to be stuck with an old man who wouldn't love her and only be with her for her name sake.

"Hokage-Sama, I will adopt her." The quiet voice of the Nara came as a surprise to Sarutobi. He had noticed that he had been staring at Naruko for quite a while, but as Yoshino was expecting he assumed Shikaku was just riveted by the fact that he would have one of his own in the months to come. The Third would never have guessed the lazy Nara to be contemplating adoption. "Yoshino and I were close to Kushina and Minato. I think he would have wanted it this way. Besides my troublesome son is probably gonna wanna marry her too. We may as well put 'em together now."

The Hokage was happy to hear that! A day old and already engaged twice, it was time to wrap this meeting up, lest he be roped into anything else. "In that case Shikaku, I will look after Naruko for a few years; if she were to go with you now she would come to call you father, and your young son would be a brother to her, they would probably feel too attached as brother and sister for a relationship. I'll keep her until her seventh year."

"What of her heritage?" asked Hiashi, "when will it be revealed? Surely Iwa will have something to say about the Yellow Flash having a child, attempted assassinations will probably traumatize her young mind."

"I will get in touch with the Tsuchikage sometime this week; I'll find a way to sort this out without any incident. This meeting is adjourned."

With that the Sandaime left the Chambers, a still sleeping Naruko nestled in his arms.

Author's Note: I do not own Naruto. Thank you for reading and reviewing.