The Village in The Clouds

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Minato

Sunlight poured into the hospital. It was a cool, fresh light, fitting for beginnings. Inside the hospital room, the light fell across Minato's face and touched an opening there, tugging on his lips and making the smile more radiant. The light flowed across the room, scattered a thousand tiny rainbow beginnings on the shiny medicine bottle.

"So, Minato, have you decided on a name for the boy yet?" asked a curious Jiraiya, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Why yes, indeed we have. I think you'll like it, Jiraiya-sensei." Minato replied.

"Well then, out with it, brat. What did you decide to name him?"

"Naruto," Minato said simply, allowing his smile to grow wider. It was the name of the protagonist of his teacher's first novel.

Jiraiya was taken aback by the name but smiled nonetheless; he couldn't wait to play the role of the cool uncle.

The Night of The Attack

An involuntary chill ran down Minato's back as he turned around to see who was behind him. No one. His eyes instantly narrowed, all semblance of emotion gone from his face, now displaying a cold ruthlessness- the face of a Kage.

"Reveal yourself. Who are you?" As soon as the words flew out of his clenched teeth, someone materialized right in front of him- he took in the man's appearance: he was wearing a long black coat, a white mask with ripples in the design, and a hole for one eye- God, was that a Sharingan?

"Me? I'm Tobi. Nice to meet you, Hokage-san."

"I know as well as you that the name you just gave me is fake. Who are you really? What do you want?"

"Oh? I thought the Yondaime-Hokage of Konoha was supposed to be a genius at deduction. Surely you can tell my identity with a look? Do that trick of yours now. Deduce who I am." Tobi's voice seemed falsely cheerful.

Minato sighed- he really didn't have the time for this.

"At first glance, I'd say that you're an Uchiha. But you're not. If you were, you'd be a missing-nin, except that there has been no Uchiha missing-nin in the last seven years," The masked man twitched.

"Therefore, you're not an Uchiha. And you look young...I'd say you are about seventeen, eighteen. That leaves us with only one alternative. Seeing as you have chosen to reveal only one Sharingan eye and the fact that your wear a mask to cover your face, I'd say you found an Uchiha in battle, killed him, and took his eye for yourself," Tobi took a step closer to Minato. The look in the masked man's eye told him he was wrong. Was the man...angry?

"I see that I was wrong about that. Ah well. But, you seem to know me- I can see the recognition in your eyes," The masked man twitched again. "You're angry. I could go on, but I don't really have the time to squabble with a kid right now. I suggest you go back to wherever you came from before you get hurt."

The masked man started laughing. It was a burst of maniacal, insane laughter- the laugh of someone who has lost everything.

"Very well done, Hokage-san. You're still the same as ever. I am the tiniest bit disappointed, however. I thought, of all people, you would recognize me. I guess I've changed a lot more than I thought I had," said Tobi, sighing.

Minato, however, was even faster than Tobi.

The technique Tobi was using was definitely a space-time jutsu. He knew it would be hard to fight against this strange jutsu, but he'd observed that Tobi needed about two seconds before he performed the technique again. And that opening was all he needed.

The two shinobi clashed, and this time Minato managed to use the opening- the tri-pronged kunai made its way into his hands as quick as a bolt of lightning as he slashed Tobi's arm in the two-second window before he could use the technique again.

When they separated, Tobi was bleeding.

For a moment, the fight stopped as Tobi inspected the nick on his arm. "It seems that I underestimated you, Hokage-san. You've only grown better with the passing of years."

Minato's lips turned upwards as he began running. Again the two clashed, and again and again. It wasn't until ten minutes had passed –lasting ten minutes against the fastest ninja in the world was a feat in and of itself- that Minato was able to find an opening to use again.

He threw the kunai, both of them close, and his Rasengan passed through his shoulder.

"I Won!"

Suddenly Minato disappeared, grabbing the kunai in mid-air before he slammed his Rasengan on his back, causing an enormous crater. Minato looked around to see Tobi clenching his right arm before it started falling off, and instead of blood, a white substance came out of it.

The masked man was about to run away when Minato teleported in front of him and slammed his hand on his chest.

"Contract Seal!"

Back on the Battlefield, Kurama was finishing his tailed beast bomb when the Sharingan in his eyes slowly disappeared. Before he could launch the bomb, a giant toad appeared on top of him; his aim was changed at the last second, launching the bomb in the air; after a few seconds, the bomb exploded, causing a bright light that illuminated the entire arena around the Hidden Leaf Village and beyond.

Suddenly, a massive wind wave came through the village so strong that some small trees were ripped apart. Several windows were shattered, and many unlucky civilians who hadn't reached the shelter yet were yeeted in the air before falling roughly back down to their deaths.

The third Hokage opened his eyes, expecting to see Minato and The Kyuubi in front of him. Kyuubi wasn't there anymore; even the entirety of the Nara clan that were holding the Kyuubi in place looked confused. The only thing left was an enormous crater where Kyuubi had stood a moment ago.

Minato!

Outside Konoha

The loud cries of a baby could be heard in the darkness of the night, his blond hair, blue eyes, and three whisker marks on each cheek.

"Naruto!" a voice suddenly said, looking down at his son. How it had gone so wrong, he didn't know. The masked man had attacked them out of nowhere.

The man looking down at the baby had long blonde hair that reached his shoulders; his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was close to him.

Minato took Kushina, Naruto, and Kurama away from the village to seal The Kyuubi inside Naruto. Kushina didn't have that long; despite being an Uzumaki, she knew her time was coming; her breathing was getting slower as her vision got dizzier by the second.

"Mina-Kun, you sure about this? W. . . we both know how Jinchuurikis are treated," Kushina begged, afraid that Naruto wouldn't have a happy childhood. He would already have a hard life because he wouldn't have his parents to raise him, advise him, and see him have his first steps, his first word, and tell tales when he's scared. But worst of all, people's grief for their lost ones would probably blind them and be harsher to their baby boy. Naruto was only a few minutes old, and his cries continued.

Minato looked at her with sadness, he was thinking the same thing, but he had no choice. I can't tell someone else to sacrifice their children, and who better than the Hokage of the village to seal Kyuubi. He glanced down at Naruto, who was letting out tired cries.

"I trust Hiruzen, he will take care of him, and the same for Jiraiya-sensei," he answered with certainty; his sensei was like a second father to him; he had no doubts that even if everyone turned their back on Naruto, Jiraiya would never do that.

He turned to Kyuubi, whose gaze was on Naruto, and his eyes showed shock before they narrowed; his face showed both shock and a hint of... sadness! The fourth Hokage didn't know why the big fox looked at Naruto with a shocked face but didn't have time to ask. Kushina could barely hold him any longer with her Chakra Chains. Minato took a deep breath as if it would be the last.

Doing the hand signs, the god of death made his appearance. The Shinigami has a translucent, gaunt specter with a demonic visage. It is much larger than an average human, possessing long, shaggy, white hair, from which two red horns protrude, as well as purple-colored skin. It is draped in a large white kimono and carries a set of prayer beads with a tantō in its mouth.

"What do you want, Mortal?" The reaper demanded, his tongue licking his big knife. The moment his appearance was in the mortal world, everyone around the area felt a shiver of cold.

The Fourth felt his body shaking; he wasn't sure if it was because of fear or cold. Even the Large Kyuubi felt a shiver in his body, his mind warning him to run away. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he turned to look at him with no fear in his eyes.

"I want you to seal Kyuubi inside Naruto," Minato demanded with cold, piercing eyes, showing no fear to the Shinigami.

The Shinigami narrowed his eyes before nodding. His arms moved towards Kyuubi.

Minato turned to look at his son, knowing he had a few moments before the Shinigami took his soul.

Kushina kept looking at Naruto; she didn't want to believe that their time was limited; how much she wished that she and Mina-Kun could stay like this forever. "Kushi-chan, we need to say goodbye," she suddenly heard Minato's voice. Reluctantly nodding her head, she looked down at Naruto again, his eyes slowly opened to reveal ocean-blue eyes like Minato, she smiled at her treasure, and Naruto smiled a little. He Recognises us, Kushina thought.

Minato smiled at Naruto, the brightest smile he could muster right now.

"Naruto, I want you to become what you want, do something that brings you happiness; Kakashi will be there for you as well, I know it. Please, if you become a shinobi, be strong and take care of your loved ones, and eventually, naturally, you will start liking girls; whatever you do, choose one that loves and can take care of you, just as you take care of her. . . " Minato felt everything slowly darkening; the last thing he saw was his son crying in Kushi's arms before everything went dark, and his head fell to the cold ground.

Slowly the entire Kyuubi shrank inside Naruto, who was still quietly sleeping. In his stomach formed a seal that looked like The Uzumaki Symbol, a Spiral.

Seeing Minato fall broke her heart into pieces; with all the strength she had, she looked at her child.

"Naruto, my baby boy, I know you will have a hard time without us, but you should know Mina-Kun, and I love you more than life itself. You will soon meet Jiraiya, don't become like him, but he's still a good man who will take care of you. I love you. My Sochi," Kushina spoke, tears streaming down her cheek.

Kushina's chest was barely rising. She could hear Naruto crying in her arms, but her whole body started feeling numb, her legs first, and now her arms didn't feel anything anymore. Suddenly she felt and saw five unknown Shinobi land near her; her heart started beating faster in fear when her eyes recognized one of them.

"A-A-San!?" She managed to speak, her voice barely a whisper; it was a miracle that the son of the Raikage even heard her, his eyes landing on her in shock.

"Kushina-san!" A shouted in shock. To see the woman who beat his brother into a pulp in this condition was not something he expected. His eyes briefly flickered at the body of Minato; his heart skipped a beat to see his rival dead.

Kneeling before her, he cursed his luck for not having a medical ninja with him. "Stay awake, Kushina! I'm sure you will be alright," A said, but from her pale face, her breathing almost nonexistent, he knew he was speaking nonsense. He briefly noticed the child in her arms, he was about to take her inside Konoha; perhaps they could help when her eyes widened in horror.

"H-He's c-coming! P-Please Take Naruto Away. P-Please P-P-protect h-him. P-P-Plea..." not knowing where she got the strength, she lifted Naruto close to A's big arms.

A didn't know what to think, but hearing her words, he decided to believe her—grabbing the newborn baby into his arms. He abruptly turned to his team.

"We Are Leaving!" He ordered; within seconds, they disappeared from the place in a burst of lightning.

A few seconds later, a figure with a mask appeared, his breathing rapid, no one could see his face, but he was wincing and was almost out of Chakra, but he had enough to get the brat. When his eyes landed on the corpses of Kushina and Minato, he clenched his teeth, his hands turned fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"Where is he?" He shouted, looking around but couldn't see the brat.

"I don't know, but we need to leave; the Hokage is getting closer," Zetsu spoke blankly, his plant-like body coming out from the ground like a tree.

"Hokage? If he didn't take the Jinchuuriki, then who did?" He demanded; from Zetsu's words, it seemed the Hokage had yet to arrive, but if he wasn't the one who took the brat, who did? He knew he would have no problem killing the old man Hokage in any other situation, but he was tired, and fighting Minato took quite a lot from him.

"I don't know, but we must leave now," Zetsu said, but more like ordering him. The masked man glared at him before disappearing, along with Zetsu, who sank into the ground.

Two minutes later, The Third Hokage arrived with his men, finding only the bodies of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze.

Hiruzen could do nothing but stare hopelessly; the son of his successor wasn't here. Where are you, Naruto? Hiruzen thought out loud with a bit of panic, sweat rolling down his cheeks; he needed to send a message to Jiraiya as soon as possible. He prayed on his way back to Konoha that Jiraiya would find Naruto and bring him home.

A

He didn't know how long he and his team had been running, but the sun peeking on the horizon was a sign that it had been quite a few hours. What started off as a simple mission of killing a Dangerous missing-nin that required A's assistance turned into a rescue mission.

After killing the fool, A and his team decided to return back; on the way back, their sensor detected massive bursts of Chakra coming from Konoha, and according to him, it was Bijuu Chakra.

Despite his mind telling him to mind his own business, A had decided to check; what was the worst that could happen? Now, A was dreading the moment his father finds out who was in his arms.

H-he's coming!

Her words rang in his ears like bells since he ran away from Kushina, his heart telling him that he was a cruel man for leaving someone like her behind, dying and alone, but the other part telling him that he had done the right thing. A didn't know which side was right, but he had made the decision, and he wouldn't back down now, like a coward.

H-he's coming!

A closed his eyes tightly to see a Woman who could stare at a fully turned Bee with a smile and no fear in her eyes to someone who was filled with fear. A wondered who this person was, and perhaps it was better that he didn't stand around and find out.

Soon they found a clearing in the forest, stopping there to catch their breaths. Several of his team fell on their knees, tired. A chose this moment to stare down at the baby. He remembered his name was Naruto, quite unique, A thought, knowing his father had simply named him 'A.' How could someone be so lazy he didn't know, his father could fight ten thousand Shinobi on his own and not bat an eye, yet he was lazy at naming his own child.

"Do you feel anyone?" A asked the sensor; the man closed his eyes for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, A-Sama, there's no chakra around us," the man said with a bow of his head.

A simply nodded, turning his attention back to the baby, his eyes blue like Minato's. His face had a few things from Kushina, but mostly from his father. A briefly wondered if Naruto would be able to use Kushina's chakra chain and her Unique Uzumaki Sword.

Naruto raised his little hand, grabbing his thumb. A found himself smiling at the baby; it seemed the little Naruto was trying to steal his heart with his cuteness and was working! Damn it, A cursed under his breath. Naruto left out a soft giggle.

"What should we do with the baby?" The voice of his subordinates made him escape his thoughts; gaining back his composure, he straightened up, turning fully to face his men and releasing a bit of Killing Intent to get his point across.

"We are taking him to Kumo; no words to anyone about what you saw in Konoha or what we did unless is the Raikage. A slip of your mouth and I will have your heads," A Ordered, his eyes paying close attention to each of them in case they showed even the slightest sign of treasonous thoughts.

Seeing nothing, he turned his attention back to Naruto, who was trying to suck his thumb. He's hungry, A reckoned. They needed to hurry.

Kumo

They arrived back at the village just as people had woken up, shops opening, and the sun rising, showing the beginning of a new day. Usually, after every mission, A and every Shinobi would report back to the Raikage, but A first needed to put Naruto in a hospital, asking if someone could feed Naruto.

After making sure that he was well fed, which took much longer than he had intentionally thought. He even earned a glare from the nurse when he asked why is taking so long.

"The little angel needs his milk to grow his bones and body. You will sit there and wait. I won't have any hungry child around here under my watch," The Nurse told him strictly, with a tone as if she was talking with a child instead of a fully grown man.

A grumbled under his breath but decided to wait; after all, Naruto needed to be fed and grow strong. After thirty minutes! Only then Naruto stopped drinking milk, with a little smile on his little face. The nurse who fed him kissed his forehead before telling him to have sweet dreams.

Bringing him to his office, A briefly wondered if all children ate that much; once he knocked on the door, he dismissed the thought. Hearing his father's command for him to walk inside, A opened the door; behind the desk stood his father with a grim look on his face, almost trying to scare him away. Despite knowing him his whole life, A still wasn't sure if that was his default face or if he was just extra angry today, which was a tough thing to achieve, considering his age.

His father was a very tall, dark-skinned man with a largely muscular and well-defined build. He has a full head of white hair, which flowed into his back, along with a long beard. He has unusual eyes, which had green irides, dark sclerae, and no pupils. His face has pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes and a prominent crease across his forehead with a mole above his right eyebrow. His top lip also had a darker pigmentation than the bottom one. His canine teeth were also slightly elongated. He has the kanji for "lightning" tattooed on his right shoulder. With a lightning bolt-shaped scar that runs across the right side of his chest.

His typical attire consisted of Kumogakure's distinctive, single-strap flak jacket with no other clothing underneath, a black forehead protector that he wore like a bandanna, and a thick rope tied around his waist; with this, he also wore dark blue sweatpants. It was also shown that at some point in the past, he wore bandages on his forearms.

"A, why are you so late? My informer told me you arrived forty minutes ago. Might I know what took you so long? Or did you stop somewhere to shit?" Ay demanded, his voice sharp and stoic, sizing his son up as if he were going to punch him in the face.

A gulped, he had fought and won countless fights, but his father could always make him shake, making him feel like a child all over again, remembering when his father had once thrown him from the highest mountain of Kumo to make him a "man," according to him.

"Because of him," A said quickly, pointing at the sleeping bundle in his arms. A slid down the piece of clothing covering Naruto to show his face to his father.

Seeing the child, Ay walked around the desk, now standing just two feet away from his son, leaning close. With one look, he could tell this child wasn't his grandson.

His eyes narrowed dangerously at his son, the presence of the unknown baby the only thing keeping him from releasing his KI.

"Who is this child, boy?" Ay demanded with a low, calm tone that made him sound even more terrifying.

"N-not my son, Father. I found him in Konoha," A quickly explained, lifting Naruto slightly higher as if using him as a shield.

"Konoha? What possessed you to do that? Whose child is he?" Ay demanded right away, stepping forward; the only thing keeping him from screaming at him was the baby.

"H-he's Minato's son with Kushina Uzumaki," A explained. Ay's eyes widened, almost falling off his eye sockets, his heart beating on his throat like a sledgehammer. Not even facing the Eight-Tails had made this heart beat so fast.

He briefly remembered the three times he had met Kushina and Minato, he hadn't outright fought them, but he knew both were extremely dangerous, especially Minato. His speed was unlike anything he had ever seen, and he could have sworn that his blue eyes turned icy whenever he was furious.

As for Kushina, she was the girl he had tried to kidnap and bring to Kumo, something he had come to regret when A had been heavily injured because a group of elite Shinobi from an unknown place had tried to kidnap him for whatever reason, that day had shown Ay what he had tried to do to someone else. And to hear that his idiotic son had kidnapped the son of Minato and Kushina...

"You better give me an amazing reason not to punch you in the face and send you flying to the other side of the world," Ay spoke with a much lower tone, sending shivers down A's body.

A knew when he was in danger; he quickly recapped what had happened after he completed the mission.

Hearing that Minato and Kushina were dead made Ay release a heavy sigh, but he also felt insecure and a little anxious.

Kushina was a monster by herself, and to think she was afraid of whoever was coming was a red flag. He pondered on what to do next, he could send Naruto back to his home village and explain everything to the third Hokage, but that brought up the danger of hatred against Jinchuuriki. Ay knew that it had taken many years for Bee to be somehow accepted by the village, and even to this day, there were still many who still glared and spoke insults when they thought that Bee couldn't hear them.

From his words, Ay knew many people must have died in Konoha, and the identity of the Jinchuuriki would be hard to keep secret, not counting that Naruto wouldn't have a family of his own.

"What do you think we should do, father?" A asked, making Ay escape his thoughts; looking up, he could see Naruto playing with one of A's fingers, and from the way A was smiling...

"You want to adopt him, don't you?" Ay asked with a heavy sigh; he could read his son as easily as reading a book; he wasn't angry but more amused and interested.

"Yes, and Kushina told me to protect him; that's what I will do," A answered right away, looking directly at his father, whose lips twitched slightly, but he didn't allow himself to smile. He was happy that his son wanted to adopt Naruto, after what happened to Ymir, he doubted his son would ever love any other woman. But there was still one more thing to ask.

"And if he one day finds out the truth and wants to leave, what will you do?" Ay asked carefully one of the most important questions.

A opened and closed his mouth several times, looking down at Naruto; he was trying to grab one of his little fingers; perhaps to him, it was an interesting new toy to play with.

"I will never force him into anything if he wants to return-" A stopped mid-sentence, looking up at his father. "Once he turns twelve years old, I will tell him everything and if he wants to return to Konoha. I will allow him," A finished with sincerity. Naruto finally grabbed his little finger, letting out a cute chuckle as he did.

Ay smiled before nodding his head in approval. "Very well, from now on, he's your son. Naruto Yotsuki,"