Nine-Tails' Rising

Prologue: The Birth of Naruto

"I remember that day. How could I forget? It was happiest day of our lives. But at the same time it was one of the scariest. Not because of the knowledge that it was going to be a painful happy day or that there won't be any sleep for awhile. That I could deal with. No, what made it scary was something else entirely."

October 10th, 6 years ago...

Within a single room, two couples occupied a single table.

On one end of the table were the Fourth and most current Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.

On the other end sat the previous Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his wife, Biwako.

Minato's eyes subtly jumped back and forth between his wife and their guests. He had hoped that the jitters for the occasion were all he had to face, but it wasn't to be. For months he had to steel himself for the possibility of something else happening today.

Kushina solemnly glanced down at her enlarged stomach and gently placed her hand on top.

"Just so we're on the same page... Why are we doing this again?" she asked.

"A precaution," Hiruzen simply stated.

"With all due respect, I still don't see how all these 'signs' makes this necessary."

Minato anxiously scratched his right cheek. As a father to be, he wanted to side with Kushina on the matter, but as Hokage, he knew that what had been proposed needed to be done.

The first sign was the discovery of the amount of chakra the child she carried occasionally gave off. Sensory shinobi in the village had informed them that normally a developing child in the womb gave off such little chakra that it is hard to detect. However, the one they were waiting for sometimes emitted so much that it felt like it was announcing its presence.

It was strange, but they figured that it wasn't necessarily a concern until the second sign. One day, while they were visiting the local playground, Kushina felt a hot, bubbling sensation in her stomach. For a brief moment, a vermillion red chakra seeped through her skin and shrouded her stomach. Before they could question it, the chakra vanished from sight.

The third sign occurred that very night. After dinner, Kushina let out a belch so powerful enough that it threw Minato across the kitchen. The fourth and final sign was her missing her expected due date. To everyone's surprise, the child they were waiting for wasn't finished developing. An eye was kept on the development of the child until it was clear that today was the day they would meet him.

"We have never faced a situation like this before, Kushina," Hiruzen calmly reminded her. "It goes without saying that we wouldn't normally do this for childbirth, but you're child has been giving off chakra to such an extent that it has had physical effects on you. A newborn wouldn't have control of their chakra and we have to prepare for the worst once he's here."

"You make it sound like he's dangerous..." Kushina argued.

"We don't know whether he's dangerous or not, but it's best to air on the side of caution," Biwako pointed out. "Perhaps this is just a result of his development and it'll end once he's here or..."

She knew deep down what they were saying was right, but still-

A hand gently perched itself on her right shoulder. She looked up and was greeted with her husband's smile. It was soft and reassuring like always. "All that matters is that we're all together when he's here."

"Fine, you win this round," Kushina relented.

Hiruzen nodded his head.

"We'll set a place up outside the village and erect a barrier around it. Only Minato, my wife and Taji from the Anbu will be inside. This must be kept top-secret.