8 Chapter 8: A Hero is Born

The Konoha council sat in their war room, everyone was looking very tense.

Every clan head was in the war room, along with every important commander of the military forces. In the center of the room sat Minato, along with Hiruzen, Jiraiya, the Anbu commander, and Nara Shikaku.

The rest of the clan heads sat in their respective places.

Mikoto was sitting beside Kagami; she was the head of the medical corps.

But she was worried; her eyes were constantly fixed on one person in the room.

That person was none other than her elder son, Naruto Namikaze.

He was standing beside his uncle, Shisui in one corner of the room.

Now people would wonder why a 7 year old child was attending such an important meeting.

But there was a big reason, for Naruto being present in the war room. It was his duty to be there.

He was standing calmly in the room; he had been debriefed earlier as to why he had to be present.

He still remembered the talk, he had with his father.

(Flashback)

Naruto stood in his father's study room. It had a lot of books; his father loved reading books of various subjects. There were also a few Jutsu scrolls in the room, but Naruto was not allowed to see them, without his father's permission.

His father was sitting in his armchair, he had a serious look on his face, but Naruto didn't miss his father's worried eyes.

"Naruto, I have called you here for a specific reason," began Minato gently.

He gestured his son to sit on the sofa in front of him. Naruto complied with his father's request, and sat in front of his father, and gave him a serious look.

"What is it?" asked Naruto curiously.

Minato bit his lip, he was nervous, how was he supposed to tell his son, he was just a 7 year old child. He should be playing, and enjoying his childhood.

But it seemed fate had other plans.

"Naruto...the war is now imminent. The enemy has started mobilizing their forces," said Minato gravely.

Naruto was very sad after hearing this; he didn't want a world war. It would lead to so much destruction, and countless innocent lives would be lost.

"I see," said Naruto sadly.

"I know how you feel. Believe me, if it was in my hands, I would have stopped this war," said Minato gently.

"I know, Tou-chan. I understand, what do you need from me?" asked Naruto seriously.

He knew his father needed him right now, his village needed him. Despite being a pacifist, if a war was imminent, he would not hesitate to protect his home.

Minato felt proud when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes, he didn't say it, but something in his heart told him, that his son was going to change the future of the shinobi world.

"There is a tradition that has been followed by our village since the Nidaime's rule" said Minato slowly.

"What is this tradition?" asked Naruto seriously.

"During war times, every clan of Konoha has to send its heir and all of its shinobi to fight. It's a custom which has been followed since the first great ninja war," explained Minato briefly.

The whole situation now became clearer to Naruto.

"And since I'm the elder son of the Fourth Hokage, as well as the first heir of the Namikaze clan, I have to go the front lines," deduced Naruto analytically.

A proud smile came on Minato's face. His elder son was indeed very smart.

"Yes, it is to show the faith and loyalty of the clan to the village. It was a rule made by Nidaime-sama," said Minato seriously.

"I'll go, but Tou-chan, please promise me one thing." said Naruto in a choked voice.

He couldn't stop the tears that were slowly started to build in his eyes. His little heart was scared. He was just a 7 old year old child after all.

The thought of going to a world war scared him. The thought of losing his father, his mother, and his little brother made him more depressed.

He just couldn't bear with the thought of not seeing his family again. He wouldn't lie to himself, he was not invincible, nor was he immortal, or a very strong fighter.

He knew anything could happen in a war, but he just didn't want to die yet.

Minato sensed his son's pain, and came forward. He put a hand on his shoulders in order to give him some comfort.

"Please don't let anything happen to, Kaa-chan and Itachi. Don't ever send my little brother in this war, even if I die-," said Naruto but was cut off.

"You're not gonna die, you will come back alive," said Minato firmly.

"I will, but you know anything can happen. I never asked something from you, but please grant my request this time," said Naruto gently.

"I will, I'll take care of your mother, and your brother," said Minato seriously

"Promise me," demanded Naruto

Minato looked in his son's desperate eyes, Naruto wouldn't admit it, but he was still far too young to fight. But he had no choice, they were up against an overwhelming enemy force, and Konoha needed every man to fight.

Even if they were young kids.

This was the harsh reality of the shinobi world.

Naruto's generation was the youngest out of all the previous generation, who were going to fight in a world war.

"I promise," said Minato truthfully.

"I love you and I'm proud of you," said Minato with a sad smile.

Naruto embraced his father tightly; these past few weeks had brought him a lot more closely to his father. Minato hugged his son tightly; a few tears had also slipped from his eyes.

He loved his son very much, despite everything, he was his blood. And Minato knew he was sending him straight into the gates of hell.

Naruto thought about everything he and his father had shared.

He didn't know what these feelings were. Was it respect, maybe, was it love?

He looked in his heart, and the answer was pretty clear.

Naruto Namikaze did love his father dearly.

Both the father and son would stay like that for a few hours, letting out their feelings for each other.

However both the men didn't notice a sad pair of Sharingan eyes that were observing them intently.

Nor did they see the tears that were falling from Mikoto's eyes.

(Flashback end)

A lone tear slipped from Mikoto's eyes, but she quickly wiped it away before anyone could see.

However, her pain didn't go unnoticed by her father.

Kagami put a hand on his daughter's shoulders, and gave her a comforting smile.

"It'll be okay..," said Kagami gently.

"Hai," said Mikoto slowly.

Both the Uchiha were brought out of their talk when they heard Minato's voice.

"All of you have been summoned here for a reason, which most of you are aware of," said Minato firmly

He received various nods in return. Naruto just stood in a corner, and was observing his father closely.

"The Fourth Great Ninja war has begun," announced Minato seriously.

Murmurs started to build up in the war room; everyone was a lot tenser now. However, Minato silenced them by raising his chakra.

"Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri seemed to have formed an alliance, and have formerly declared war on us," said Minato calmly.

"How dare they…"

"This is an outrage…"

"We should make them pay…"

Numerous shouts could be heard in the room, Naruto could feel a lot of KI being leaked. He felt very uneasy as he was not familiar with so much killing intent.

His parents had trained him, how to bear with KI, but he was still learning, and hadn't mastered how to maintain a calm facade.

However, he did try his best to look unaffected, but a little worry could clearly be seen in his eyes.

"SILENCE!"

Minato's angry voice echoed in the entire room, everyone could fee his KI, and immediately shut their mouth.

However Nara Shikaku, who was the head of the Nara clan, as well as the Jounin commander wanted to ask a few questions.

"Hokage-sama, permission to speak," requested Shikaku formally.

Minato gave a nod; everyone looked at the Nara curiously. It was known to almost everyone in Konoha that Shikaku was the most brilliant strategist, and everyone respected him.

"What is our situation on our alliance with Suna?" asked Shikaku seriously.

Minato gave a tired sigh, he knew this was coming, and unfortunately this was where things were going to get worse.

"They have decided to stay neutral in this war. Suna suffered the worst in the previous war, and the Kazekage is not willing to participate in another war so soon. However, he has promised that Suna is not against Konoha, but they would not join our side, or the enemy's," explained Minato briefly.

Another round of angry shouts continued for 5 minutes, as everyone was furious on hearing Suna's decision. Only the elders, Danzo and Hiruzen remained calm, as they knew there were no alliances during war time.

"We should declare war on them too," said Tsume Inuzuka, the head of the Inuzuka clan angrily.

"That would worsen our situation, Tsume-san. We are already at war with 3 hidden villages, adding another village as our enemy is not our best choice. Suna has denied us any military support, but they have secretly agreed to provide us a small supply of weapons and supplies," said Minato with a sigh.

"That's just their effort to prevent us from not declaring war on them," said Hiashi Hyuga arrogantly.

"That may be, but any help is appreciated, Hiashi-san. Also I have some good news too," said Minato a little happily.

A lot of member's eyes sparked in hope on hearing their Hokage's words.

"The rebel forces that are opposing that Mizukage in Kiri, have agreed to help us," said Minato encouragingly.

A small smile came on some of the member's faces, they felt a little relived, however some of the older breed knew there was a catch.

"What do they want in return?" asked Danzo neutrally.

He hated the entire situation, Konoha was in danger, and this was all due to their Hokage's incompetence. If only he would have been Hokage...

"They want our support in their war against the Mizukage, after the end of this war," said Minato truthfully.

Before another discussion could start, Hiruzen spoke quickly.

"This is a difficult choice; we don't know what condition our village would be in, after the war. But we have no choice, the rebels have promised us 3000 of their shinobi to aid us in this war. Many of them are from bloodline clans," said Hiruzen tactically.

That did it; Hiruzen could clearly see the greedy faces of his teammates. Almost everyone was now agreeing with the proposal, as shinobi who possess a Kekkai Genkai were very powerful.

"This is a logical choice, who is the leader of these rebels?" asked Inoichi Yamanka curiously.

"Mei Terumi, she is a formidable Kunoichi who has been leading the rebel forces of Kiri, for a quite few months. As far as we know, her exploits and tactics have severely weakened the Mizukage's rule," said Minato honestly.

"We agree with Hokage-sama, we shall accept the offer of the rebel forces," said Danzo a little too happily.

"Danzo, you are a sick bastard," thought Minato disgustingly.

He knew Danzo had already started thinking of ways of getting the bodies of the Kekkai Genkai shinobi of the rebels of Kiri. But even an evil man like Danzo was needed right now.

Despite his agenda, he too wanted to protect Konoha, and had a great experience of three ninja wars.

Minato had to bitterly agree to include Danzo in the war council.

"Now, Jiraiya-sensei has gathered a lot of information about the enemy. He'll explain what information he has got from his spies," said Minato seriously.

Everyone looked at Jiraiya; the man was the best spy master in the shinobi world.

However Jiraiya's eyes seemed to be fixated on Naruto, it was as if there was something in the boy that was attracting Jiraiya to him.

Hiruzen elbowed his student slowly and brought him out of his daze. The third Hokage just sighed on his student's antics.

Even though Jiraiya acted like an idiot sometimes, he was a powerful ninja and out of all his three students, Hiruzen was only proud of Jiraiya.

His prized student Orochimaru, had already turned traitor, and left the village. He had such high hopes from the man, but he had failed him.

Next was his student Tsunade Senju, she was the best medic in the world. But after her brother, and fiancé's death, she had left the village. She had also failed Hiruzen.

Hiruzen was stopped from getting depressed further as Jiraiya started his explanation, of the enemy forces.

"Since the past year, I had been keeping an eye on Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri. The Tsuchikage and the Raikage were the ones who started this plot, and later on the Mizukage joined too," said Jiraiya calmly.

"It seems Iwa and Kumo have still not let go of their shameful defeat in the past war," said Takane Kurama tiredly.

"Yes, they want to destroy Konoha, and take our land. They call their combined armies, as the "Heavenly Alliance"," said Jiraiya sarcastically.

Many members snorted on hearing such an amusing name, even Naruto couldn't suppress a small smile, which didn't go unnoticed by Mikoto. She just felt a little relived on seeing her son's smile.

"Do we have any information regarding their strength?" asked Shibi Aburame seriously.

"Their combined armies have a total of 45,000 battle ready shinobi," said Jiraiya shocking everyone in the room.

This was a very large enemy force, even though Konoha had a huge military force, it still was not enough in comparison to that of their enemy.

"How many battle ready shinobi, do we have?" asked Koharu curiously.

"If we combine the Kiri rebels, we have a battle ready force of 20,000 shinobi," said Minato shocking everyone.

The fear increased in the people's hearts, even though they had many powerful shinobi on their side, their army was not even half as big as that of their enemy.

"But our army is very small in comparison to that of the Heavenly Alliance," argued Choza Akimichi worriedly. He had even stopped eating his chips, and that was a rare thing that he did.

"That is indeed true, but they don't have our Will of Fire," said Hiruzen trying to increase their spirit.

"Hiruzen, wars cannot be fought by moral alone, we need people to fight and protect Konoha. Your foolish ideals are not applicable anymore," said Danzo harshly.

Hiruzen just gave another tired sigh, even though Danzo's words were like venom, they did have a truth in them.

Everyone's spirits broke, even Minato was depressed, and didn't know what to say. He was trying to find some words that would bring back his people's confidence.

"Don't give up…"

Everyone's eyes snapped up and, they searched for the person who had said those words.

All the people were quite surprised when a young blonde boy stepped up in the center of the room.

"Naruto..." thought Minato and Mikoto worriedly, they didn't want their son to do anything stupid.

Minato was just going to stop his son, when Hiruzen and Jiraiya grabbed his shoulders. Minato looked at both of them seriously

"Sometimes, young kids can do something that we cannot."

These were the only words Hiruzen said, and Jiraiya nodded too.

"Naruto-san, you have no authority to say anything," said Hiashi irritatingly, how dare the brat speak in such an important meeting.

"I thought that Konoha was known for being just and allowed everyone to speak. And as far as my authority is concerned, Hiashi-san, I am the elder son of the Hokage of this village, and the heir of the Namikaze clan. That does give me right to speak," said Naruto curtly, his black eyes gave the Hyuga leader a firm gaze, which for a child was quite surprising.

The Hyuga leader just gritted his teeth but didn't say anything further when he noticed Minato's cold eyes on him.

"But today... I stand before you as a citizen of this village. Honorable council members, I request you to grant me permission to speak a few words," said Naruto formally.

Everyone was quite surprised that the Hokage's son, had indeed shut the Hiashi's mouth, albeit respectfully.

"Go ahead pup," said Tsume cheerfully, Naruto indeed reminded her of her of a certain redhead.

The other clan leaders also nodded, and Naruto gave a thankful bow.

"Unlike all of you, I'm not wise enough to know about war, nor do I know how to fight against such a huge enemy force," began Naruto.

All the members were listening to Naruto's words intently, it was as if the boy just knew how to get everyone's attention

"But what I do know is that, this village was the dream of our ancestors. They sacrificed everything, even their lives for this village. Right from the Shodaime, Nidaime, White fang: Sakumo Hatake, and each and every shinobi who fought, bled, and died for this village wants one thing..." said Naruto with determination.

Kakashi's eyes widened when he heard Naruto calling his father a hero, he didn't think that Naruto considered his father such a great man. That made him really happy, and he was grateful to the little boy. He could clearly see his fallen comrade Obito, in his sensei's son.

"Is this really my son?" thought an amazed Mikoto, words couldn't describe how proud she felt of her little boy.

"What is it?" asked Homura silently.

"They wanted, what I'm asking from you right now. They wanted us to love this village and believe in each other, no matter what the odds may tell us, they never wanted us to give up. They wanted us to protect this village and build a future for the next generation at all costs. This was the dream and the last wish of every hero who died for this village. All the Hokage's, and every name on the memorial stone of our village never lost faith in us, they sacrificed their future to give us a new life," said Naruto passionately.

Minato, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and even the Anbu commander were shocked when they saw a little hope returning in the people's eyes.

"If it ends here, then we would destroy everything they stood for," said Naruto firmly.

A few of the member's eyes widened in surprise, as some of them remembered their own parents, family members, friends who gave their life for the village.

"We're no different from each other, we are facing the same danger, and we all share the same feelings. The enemy is far greater in numbers than us, and if each one of us just fights for themselves, we will never win," said Naruto truthfully.

A few of the member's heads dropped in shame as they realized their mistake.

"True strength isn't in numbers; let me ask you one question. If even one of you doesn't have any answer for this question, then I would not say anything further," said Naruto sternly

"What is it?" asked Inoichi curiously; he was really impressed with the boy. He was an interrogator, and the way the boy was inspiring the people was astonishing, he was giving hope where there was none, he was showing light where there was darkness.

"Do you have someone who is precious to you? The one person for whom you would gladly give your life?" asked the boy innocently.

Every member of the council, except for Danzo and his teammates nodded.

"My Jiji, and my mother taught me that if there is someone precious to us, then and only then the true strength of a shinobi can emerge, I love this village, and every person in it with all my heart, and I'm ready to sacrifice everything, even my life for it. Are you ready to do the same, or will you give up?" asked Naruto seriously.

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard the truth in the boy's words. Each of them thought about their family, their children.

What would happen if they gave up?

Would they sacrifice their future just because the enemy had a larger army?

They were further shocked when they felt a powerful burst of chakra in the entire room, they looked up and saw Naruto's entire body was covered in blue flames. His black eyes were shining vigorously

"Such a powerful chakra," thought Hiruzen and Jiraiya in shock.

"His chakra is visible," thought the Ino-Shika-Cho trio in amazement.

"Is this boy real?" thought Tsume in shock.

"Interesting," thought Danzo and the elders.

"His power is incredible," thought Shisui and Kakashi with wide eyes.

Shibi didn't comment, but if one could see carefully, he too had his eyebrows up. While Hiashi was just silent, he was very angry.

"That's my son," thought Mikoto happily.

"He'll grow up to be a great shinobi," thought Kagami proudly.

"You did, what I could not do Naruto. You instilled hope in your people. You will become a far greater Hokage than me. No father could ever ask for a better son than you," thought Minato proudly.

"Even if I'm the last one standing, I'll defend this village, and my family, until the end. No matter what happens, I'll never give up!" yelled Naruto passionately.

His chakra then burst, the wooden floors cracked, and several cuts appeared on the tables. A powerful gust of wind flew through the entire room and everyone could see the power of Namikaze Naruto.

There was pin drop silence, in the room. Everyone was looking at each other, there was a fire burning in every person's eyes.

Everyone nodded, and a determined look came on their faces.

"WE CAN WIN!"

"LET"S SHOW THEM,"

"KONOHA IS STRONG,..."

"AS LONG AS WE HAVE NARUTO-SAMA, WE CAN WIN!"

Naruto was quite surprised when everyone was cheering for him.

The entire room erupted with loud clapping and cheers, people were cheering for the little boy.

Mikoto had a few tears of joy in her eyes; she couldn't control anymore and grabbed her son in a fierce hug. The chakra dissipated, and Naruto looked at his mother curiously

"Did I do the right thing?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Of course, silly, you were amazing," said Mikoto with a giggle.

"Nice kid, not too shabby," said Jiraiya with a proud smile

"Way to go there, blondie," said Tsume proudly

Many people came over and patted the little boy making him blush further in embarrassment. He suddenly felt a little awkward with being in the center of so many people.

"Do you see it, Minato?" asked Hiruzen with a knowing smile on his face.

"Yes, Sandaime-sama, we probably have found a good candidate for the next Hokage," said Minato proudly, Hiruzen agreed with him.

"Perhaps, you are the child of prophecy," wondered Jiraiya.