For better or worse, I do not own Naruto.

-0-

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101 and lincoln time, who have written some pretty amazing stuff!

-0-

Chapter 1: Minato's Final Blow

-0-

Land of Fire

Konohagakure

Outside the village's walls

Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, and the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, looked down at his son, his greatest joy in life. Formed by the love he held for his wife Kushina, cherished and kept secret from the world, and now forced to carry a heavy burden. Looking to his beloved, "I'm sorry, but we both know this is the only way, for us to both protect our village and to ensure that we are able to pass on what is necessary to Naruto."

What was supposed to be the happiest moment in his life, the birth of his baby boy, had turned into disaster as the masked man attacked him and Kushina, tearing free the Kyuubi. The monster's rampage had killed countless villagers already, and deep in his soul Minato knew the mastermind behind this would not be satisfied by that. His beloved wife had the beast –barely—restrained, and Minato knew with a heavy heart that a new Jinchuuriki was required for the Fox. And Minato could not ask any other parent to put such a burden upon their child; there was only his son, Naruto.

Then he grimly smiled. However, we still have some time for some last preparations. To give our son a fighting chance, and then some.

Kushina Namikaze Nee Uzumaki's tired eyes looked on in confusion as Minato visibly gathered what remained of his chakra, and created three Shadow Clones who promptly teleported away with the Flying Thunder God Technique, and then the original bit his thumb and wove the hand-signs for the Summoning Technique.

Gamatorra, a small but mature looking toad looked up at Minato. "What the—!? What's going on Minato!? Nine Tails is out and chained by your wife, and is that a baby!? Is it your baby!?"

"I'm sorry Gamatorra," Minato answered, hastily getting his words out. "I have one last favour I must ask of you and the Toads. An unknown, masked man with the sharingan attacked us, but the main issue right now is this." Minato paused as one of his clones returned and dispelled, leaving behind a scroll, which the Fourth Hokage promptly picked up and handed to Gamatorra. "When my son is ready, please give this to him."

Gamatorra carefully picked up the scroll, noting the complex seals that locked it shut. "What is it?"

But it was Kushina who spoke up as she recognized it, "'Everything that we have to give to our son. Every secret, weapon, and technique we could think of to help him find his path in life. Just in case we wouldn't live to teach it to him ourselves."

Gamatorra gaped at the scroll in his hands, knowing that whoever possessed would have the potential to rise to be a giant in the shinobi world. Doubtless someone like Minato had started such a project not only long before he had even married Kushina, but even before he had become a join. The man would have been well aware of all the enemies –both domestic and international— that he and Kushina had made as they rose through the ninja ranks upon piles of corpses. Shaken by the trust his old friend had placed upon him, Gamatorra nodded and swore to them both in the strongest oaths of the Toads that he would prove worthy of their trust. Then in a puff of smoke returned to Mount Myōboku with his precious treasure.

Sensing his predecessor, the Third Hokage, rapidly approaching, even if the man was still too far away to see what was happening, Minato was about to begin the seals for the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, when he heard something surprising: his wife chuckling? Confused by her levity, he looked over and noted the nasty glint in her eyes. "I just realized where you sent your other clones, that man has one of your seals on, doesn't he?"

Minato did not return her smile, yet his piercing, cold eyes were answer enough. Anyone who threatened those most precious to him, would suffer the consequences.

XXX

Unknown Location

Obito Uchiha seethed as he stumbled back into his base as he rematerialized, only now fully realizing how in all those years his oh-so-adored sensei had never shown his students what he was really capable of.

If not for his enhanced body, Obito would be dead already.

Was I too cocky? No, he was just more adaptable than I thought.

If he had succeeded, the destruction that the Kyuubi would have continued to wreck upon Konohagakure would have set everything necessary in motion. Neither Zetsu nor the Hidden Bloody Mist intelligence had made any further progress in ferreting out the location of more of the Tailed Beasts, forcing Obito to try and cause a Fourth Shinobi War to smoke them out. Unfortunately, that plan had failed, thanks to sensei's interference, stealing away Obito's control over the Tailed Beast, and forcing him to retreat. It wasn't as if any the lives lost mattered, they would all be brought back with the Moon Eyed Plan. Of course, now that sensei knows about my existence it will be more difficult. There's a chance the Fox will still kill him, but that's unlikely. No, I'll have to find a way to do it, and quickly, before he starts his own plans. But how?

Suddenly, pain stabbed through Obito, and behind his mask he looked in horror into the eyes of Minato Namikaze.

"Did you really think you could get away so easily?" his failed sensei bit out, digging the bloody kunai in deeper. "I may not be able to finish what the First Hokage started, but this'll cripple you forever!" The information Madara Uchiha had downloaded into Obito's mind via gengjutsu, screamed that this was just a distraction, and he quickly used Kamui to make himself intangible—

Too late.

The tip of the second Shadow Clone's Rasengan impacted against the back of Obito's head, even as the rest phased through. Simultaneously, as a precaution in-case even a physical blow could not kill the man he suspected to be Madara Uchiha, the first Shadow Clone slammed a seal onto his foe. Zetsu clones attacked from below and behind, preventing either versions of Minato from seeing what had happened, yet they still sent back what they knew to their original. Thus the Fourth Hokage bitterly smiled in triumph as he finished the jutsu that would consume his soul, and place a heavy burden upon his child. Knowing that at the very least he had bought the Shinobi world, and more importantly Naruto, a little more time.

Helplessly, Black Zetsu could only stare in horror as his chief pawn opened his eyes, and someone else seemed to stare back at him.

XXX

Land of Fire

Konohagakure

Outside the village's walls

A slight smile was all Minata needed to convey to Kushina that the matter was dealt with.

Now.

No more distractions.

Now was the time.

Husband and wife, their eyes remained locked onto each other, even as Minato's hands flew through the signs to call upon a god of death.

This was it.

XXX

Land of Fire

Konohagakure

Hokage Tower

The next day

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Ninja, the Professor, and –unfortunately, at least to him— the reinstated Third Hokage, looked wearily down at the baby resting in his arms. The baby boy he had failed. Kushina's pregnancy had been carefully hidden. During the later stages of her pregnancy, she was kept hidden away from all but her closest friends, with ANBU Black Ops carrying out missions afar while disguised as her.

The devastation the Nine Tails caused had even sadly ensured an ample number of infant corpses to fake the death of her child if necessary. In this, Hiruzen was in agreement with his closest advisors; the child of a Kage was deemed too valuable a target for the potential they represented, to be idly revealed to the world. Even his own son, Asuma Sarutobi, had only been allowed to use his true name in public when he was eight years old and already showing his genius.

Except that the rest of their suggestions, the plan that Naruto should be raised as an orphan…Hiruzen could already see where this would lead. The horrors the boy would experience. Every argument had been tried, yet this was the only compromise the various Clan Leaders, and the few civilian representatives so powerful not even a military dictator could ignore, could come to. Of course, they only saw the threat he posed as the vessel of the Demon Fox, not the person he truly was. The Third Hokage was hampered by the need to keep key aspects of Naruto's life secret from them all, and he could not think of any viable alternatives.

Grief and instability in Kakashi and Jiraiya meant they could not raise the boy. Even worse, one of the two jonin who had accompanied the Third Hokage to witness the sealing and last act of Mianto and Kushina, in a suicidal moment of idiocy (Hiruzen had taken uncomfortable satisfaction in labeling the man's death as 'Suicide by Sannin') had blabbed out an accurate description of Naruto for the rest of villagers to hear and disseminate; they would know precisely which boy held the Nine Tails within.

"I'm sorry Naruto, this is what it has to be, for now, but I will find a way to make it better. I swear upon the Will of Fire."

XXX

Uzushiogakure

Sixteen Years Later

Haku Yuki, Jonin Captain of the reborn Village Hidden in Whirlpools, walked towards the figure sitting on the edge of the cliff. Once Haku's unwilling master, then student, friend, and finally brother-by-choice, Naruto Uzumaki had grown into a man who had accomplished miracles. "They are coming then."

Naruto, gave a slow, sad nod. When he had fled his home all those years ago, he had known that it would come to this. The Nine Tails sealed within him was too valuable to the Hidden Leaf, and Naruto knew far, far too many secrets. Yes, the sixteen year-old had known that conflict with his old home was inevitable, even as he tried to prevent it. He had merely hoped to keep it from spilling out in open war.

Even now, his various Shadow Clones throughout his spy network, and those taking in reports from Hidden Whirlpool's intelligence department, continued to send him updates of the oncoming storm. I tried to avoid this, present myself as a valuable ally, hoped they would stay true to their philosophies of peace. That my friends that still lived there would be able to help me enough. But it seems it was all for nothing.

As bitter as some of his memories of his former home were, there were still good and warm ones, and overall, life had been good. It had even been improving significantly towards the end as he had made new friends within Konohagakure.

Any further ruminations by Naruto were cut off as someone else joined the two young men, dropping down from the sky. Fu, the Seven Tails Jinchuuriki, casually walked up to Naruto and dropped down to sit beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. "Naruto, you've done all that you can. Your job now is to protect our Village and those who live within it. All of the people who believe in you." When his only response was a vague grunt in reply, she sighed before trying again. "You don't have to kill them, not at first and not if they get the message. Just don't forget who we're really fighting against."

Danzo.

Only years of mastering his temper made it possible for Naruto quell his fury. Yes, this conflict has indeed been inevitable. Obsessed with Pax Konoha, Danzo would have been an enemy of Naruto regardless of whatever choices he had made in his life, even if he had been able to stay with the Hidden Leaf; their philosophies were just too different. The fact that Naruto suspected Danzo of deliberately working to leave Naruto emotionally vulnerable did not help matters, and out of all of Naruto's personal enemies, Danzo was the only man he held absolutely no respect for. And given the grade of monsters that could still be found within the Akatsuki, that was saying something.

For Danzo, the Hidden Whirlpool was a threat to the Hidden Leaf's status as a Great Nation, and his last chance to prove the validity of his future vision for the village as the Sixth Hokage. He would send everything he had to destroy Naruto, including his Human Puppets. Born from a Faustian bargain with the captured Akatuski, Sasori of the Red Sand, Danzo was creating immortal, emotionless soldiers, possessing far less weaknesses than normal humans. The madness of Root had to be stopped, discredited, and, above all else, as soon as possible while the rest of the continents militaries were still in turmoil over the loss of most of the Tailed Beasts, as well as their other… problems.

Speaking of which… Naruto mused, and then spoke out loud to Haku and Fu, "Have the scouts stand by, and assemble your special squads. The Akatsuki will be standing by to make their move. They'll want to strike when we and Konoha are at are most vulnerable when fighting each other."

Haku sighed. "Are you sure this is what we should do?" he asked. It was not hesitation that made him question his orders, but the knowledge that whatever happened next would irrevocably change the world. As ruthless as he could be at times, Haku still wished for an alternative, lest the ninja world collapse into ceaseless violence.

"I know it's not the best choice!" Naruto growled. "That what we're doing is all but insane! Except that given everything that's led us to this point, it's the best of all the choices we have left! This is our last chance to stop it from all coming apart." Then his voice dropped until it was almost whispering. "Our last chance to make it right." Then he stood up, spine stiff with conviction. "So in the end, there is only one thing we can do."

"What?" Fu asked quizzically.

"Protect those precious to ourselves. Trust in our friends and family. And keep everyone from realizing how much we are really just rolling the dice and betting large." Then his eyes sparkled. "But we will win this! Believe it!"

Haku gave a small nod, and turned around to head back, while behind him, his leader disappeared in the blink of an eye.

…The Beginning…

XXX

For this fic, Naruto's life is largely unchanged from that of cannon, up to the point where he will learn both more about his heritage and receive the scroll his parents mentioned above. This is a Runaway fic in that Naruto will find himself forced to flee the village despite the friends he has made back home and that the Hokage is indeed a military dictator and still cares for him. By the time shippuden starts, Konoha learns that Naruto has been very busy, and is remaking his mother's old home, Uzushiogakure, which is quickly becoming a rising power in the world. Naruto and his friends, both new and old, will struggle to maintain the home they have created as they deal with both other nations, and the rising Akatsuki, which as an organization will be stronger than cannon.
The original idea came from the works of Keeperoftheninjaway ongoing series. Lots of help from Hektols' work, including his profile page, in terms of Naruto's childhood, as well as Hektols' critiques of Runaway fics so that I could avoid the usual flaws.

-0-

Please Review, and I will get back to you!