Naruto

In the 48th year of Konoha, a golden-haired infant lay upon a sealing dais somewhere in the village. Before him, the massive, shadowy form of the Nine-Tails loomed, its razor-sharp claws currently impaling two people.

Kushina Uzumaki coughed up blood, her voice trembling as she spoke:

"Naruto Uzumaki, don't be a picky eater. Eat your fill every day and grow up strong. Remember to take a hot bath every day..."

"Also, make friends. It doesn't matter if you don't have many; having a few trustworthy companions is enough."

"As for the three prohibitions for ninjas, you must be careful of Jiraiya..."

Minato Namikaze watched this scene quietly from behind. Kushina said with a look of shame, "Sorry, Minato, I'm the only one rambling on."

Minato shook his head. "No, it's fine."

He then turned to Naruto Uzumaki and said, "Everything your father wants to say is the same as what your nagging mother said."

He then began to perform the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, sealing the chakra and consciousness of both himself and Kushina deep within the sealing space, adding a lock to the seal on the Nine-Tails.

Due to the seal, Naruto Uzumaki, who had been wailing, fell into a deep sleep. The couple then cast one last lingering look at their son before losing all signs of life and falling backward.

As the two died, the barrier vanished. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, led a group of ninjas who had been guarding the perimeter toward the sealing dais. He picked up the sleeping Naruto Uzumaki, then looked at the fallen Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, sighing helplessly. "Leave a few people to collect the bodies; the rest of you, go quickly to assist the refugees in the village." He then carried Naruto Uzumaki toward the Hokage Office Building.

The three advisors of Konoha—Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu—had already arrived at the Hokage Office Building. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi approach with Naruto Uzumaki, Shimura Danzō stepped forward.

"Hiruzen, hand the child over to me. I will train him into the ultimate war machine."

Although Shimura Danzō was not present when the Nine-Tails was sealed, he had arranged members of Root in the vicinity, so he knew that the Fourth Hokage had sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto Uzumaki. He did not care whose son Naruto Uzumaki was; his only thoughts were of the position of Hokage. With the Fourth Hokage dead in battle, if he could claim the Nine-Tails for himself, the seat of Hokage would undoubtedly be his.

"Impossible. This is the son of the Fourth Hokage. Even if he is the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, he cannot be raised as a weapon of war. He will be the successor to the Will of Fire."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Shimura Danzō, his tone icy.

As a fellow disciple of the Second Hokage, how could he not know what Shimura Danzō was thinking? Furthermore, with the Fourth Hokage and his wife having just died in battle, there was no way he would hand Naruto Uzumaki over to Shimura Danzō.

"Hmph, what if the Nine-Tails breaks the seal again?" Shimura Danzō was still unwilling to give up.

"That is not something you need to worry about. If the Nine-Tails runs rampant again, I will seal it myself." With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi carried Naruto Uzumaki into the office.

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi's retreating back, Shimura Danzō's narrowed eyes glinted with cold light. "Hiruzen, you will regret this."

He then headed toward the Root headquarters. Returning to the main hall, Shimura Danzō summoned several masked ninjas.

"Go into the village and spread the word that Naruto Uzumaki is the incarnation of the evil Nine-Tails, that he could lose control at any moment, and that the Nine-Tails' chaos will soon return." The ninjas, kneeling on one knee, replied, "Yes, Lord Danzō," before scattering and racing toward the village.

In the Hokage office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was carefully examining the seal on Naruto Uzumaki. "Is this the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style? Indeed, I cannot feel a trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra." After confirming that the seal on Naruto Uzumaki was intact, Hiruzen Sarutobi sent him to Konoha Hospital.

"Take good care of him. Not a single hair on his head must be harmed." Having said this, he turned and left without waiting for a response from the nurse.

The nurse looked at the sleeping Naruto Uzumaki without much thought, assuming he was merely an orphan left behind after the Nine-Tails' chaos. She placed him on a hospital bed and walked out of the room.

A few days later, the rumor that Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails fox demon grew increasingly intense, reaching the point where almost everyone in the village knew of it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi soon learned of these rumors. By then, he had already resumed his position as Hokage. This was partly because the casualties from the Nine-Tails' chaos were so severe that the villagers needed a target for their grievances, and partly because Minato Namikaze had too many enemies. If those enemies learned that his child was still alive and had become the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, Konoha might face another war. Therefore, he did not step forward to clarify the rumors, choosing instead to hide the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was the son of the Fourth Hokage. He merely arranged for a few Anbu ninjas to keep watch over Naruto Uzumaki.

At Konoha Hospital, the door to Naruto Uzumaki's room was kicked open. A stout, middle-aged woman in a nurse's uniform walked toward the sleeping infant with a ferocious expression. "It was you, this fox demon, who killed my husband and son! Go to hell!" As she spoke, she grabbed Naruto Uzumaki by the throat and lifted him from the bed.

The sleeping Naruto Uzumaki was jolted awake by the grip on his throat and began to wail. However, the woman did not loosen her grip at the sound of his crying; instead, she squeezed harder, and Naruto Uzumaki's cries grew fainter.

Just as Naruto Uzumaki's face turned purple and he was on the verge of losing his breath, two masked ninjas leaped through the window. They pried the woman's hands off, placed Naruto Uzumaki back on the bed, and dragged her out of the room. They said nothing, however; after all, the Third Hokage had only instructed them to ensure the jinchūriki did not die.

Before long, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the hospital. He glanced at the unconscious Naruto Uzumaki but said nothing, merely reminding the director that the jinchūriki must absolutely not die.

Because of the Third Hokage's indifference, Naruto Uzumaki suffered more and more abuse. From time to time, people would prick him with needles while he slept, or feed him freshly mixed formula while it was still scalding hot, as if they were happier the louder he cried. Three months later, Hiruzen Sarutobi took Naruto Uzumaki out of the hospital and sent him to an orphanage.

Once at the orphanage, Naruto Uzumaki's situation did not improve; the abuse continued, just in a different location.

As Naruto Uzumaki slowly grew, no one would help him up when he fell while learning to walk. When he was old enough to eat, his food was always mixed with sand, and the vegetables were always spoiled. No one wanted to play with him; whenever he tried to join other children, they would tell him to get lost and call him a fox demon. Whenever he saw other children playing together, Naruto Uzumaki would sit to the side and watch with envy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would occasionally visit Naruto Uzumaki. Whenever Naruto Uzumaki asked him why everyone bullied him and disliked him, Hiruzen Sarutobi would tell him, almost like brainwashing:

"Little Naruto, for certain reasons, everyone dislikes you. You must work hard to earn everyone's recognition and make them like you."

Perhaps because of this constant brainwashing by the Third Hokage, or perhaps due to the influence of the Asura chakra within him, Naruto Uzumaki felt no resentment, and his large blue eyes remained innocent. He simply thought that he must have done something wrong, without dwelling on it further.

At the age of three, Naruto Uzumaki told the Third Hokage that he wanted to live on his own. The Third Hokage did not think much of it and agreed, arranging a house for him and promising to provide a monthly living allowance. From then on, Naruto Uzumaki began his life of solitude.