爆発！« explosion »

I

The Cradle-Robbers

Deidara moulded his clay into a small beige fox, allowing it to come to life and seat itself on his little brother's tiny chest. The baby made a happy gurgle as he reached out to touch the clay animal while their parents watched on fondly. This was the perfect scene of a happy family, the blond child playing with his baby brother. No one could have expected for this day, with its wonderfully clear blue skies and shining sun, to go wrong.

Just as the blond man was standing to go toward his two sons, the most unexpected thing happened.

A strange tri-pronged kunai flew into the room followed by a bright yellow flash. Before anyone could react, the blond father was already lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Deidara stared wide-eyed as the murderer began to approach his mother. He flinched as he glanced worriedly at his brother, only to be startled from his stupor by his mother's voice sounding clearly in his head.

"Hide, Dei-chan! Run and hide!"

Deidara whispered, "Stay safe, otōto!"

He followed his mother's instructions and hid inside the closet and concealed his presence, preparing to leave through the escape route hidden there should the worst-case scenario occur.

"I will keep Naru-chan safe! Just keep quiet for your kaa-chan, alright?" Deidara heard his mother say gently as he held in a sob.

That evil man had killed his father and was attacking his mother, but Deidara could not do anything about it. He felt weak. He felt powerless.

He vowed to grow stronger, if only for his dear otōtō.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Konoha's Kiiroi Senko managed to get under his mother's guard and dodge a clay bomb as he stabbed a tri-pronged kunai into her chest, stabbing right through the main aorta. Deidara and Naruto watched in horror as their mother fell to the ground, a pressurised spray of blood leaving her chest as her heart gave out eventually and the light left her eyes. The last thing both children heard from their mother was, "Please take care of Naru-chan, Dei-chan. I love you both. Stay safe, okay?"

Deidara turned on his heel and sprinted away, knowing that he stood no chance against the cruel blond that had picked up his tiny baby brother carefully. Deidara knew that Naruto would not be killed if the man's gentle hold on the infant was any indication. Deidara swore to get stronger -- until he was strong enough to take his brother back from the cradle-robber. He swore it on his life.

💣

While Deidara had been running to his great-granduncle, the infamous Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of the Twin Scales, the Yondaime Hokage had picked up the small blond baby. Minato marvelled at how similar the child looked to himself. The infant had the same hair colour as him while its eyes were an icy blue, just a shade or two away from his own azure blue orbs. The baby began to cry softly after staring at the man for only five seconds, making the man fumble around as he searched for a way to calm the baby down.

Minato noticed a name embroidered into the blanket wrapped around the newly orphaned child.

"Naruto..." Minato read out slowly, wondering about what he should do with the boy when he returned to Konoha.

Minato had received information from a reliable source that Iwa's two best shinobi had had a child. He knew that they would have been most vulnerable then and had chosen to strike to cripple the other shinobi nation and take the child back with him to be a backup plan in case something happens during Kushina's birthing which was to be in seven months. Either that or to use the child as a bargaining chip against the Tsuchikage.