DISCLAIMER: Naruto is not mine. This franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, and most of the plot is owned by the dedicated author above.

I am currently in the process of editing this story. Excuse any plot holes that occur, because as much as I wish it were so, I cannot fix this trashbag in one day. Enjoy.

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"Minato, you can't do this!"

The air thinned and the temperature in the already cold room dropped another ten degrees. The fourth looked down at the distressed man. The Sandaime glared with indignance, fists curled tightly around the bundle in his arms and gaze narrowed into something of a glare. The blonde had to suppress a scoff.

"I have to. They need to learn to control the tails-"

"You can't choose to abandon one child for the others! I don't care if they contain more tails than Naruto!" The elderly man barked, clearly irritated.

As he understood, the aforementioned black-haired boy looked up at Hiruzen with teary eyes. Noticing this quickly, Minato shushed the child from a distance until the raven's cries died down to quiet sobs. Hiruzen shook his head, eyes softening slightly as the child in his arms squirmed.

"As I was saying," the Yondaime cut, instantly bringing back the tension. "They need to control the tails of the Kyūbi. I'm sorry," Sighing after he finished his sentence, he threw a glance at his other children. Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"Besides, sensei, it'll only be a couple of years! All they need to do is master some control over the chakra, and we'll be back in no time!" Tsunade smiled. Kushina bounced a baby Menma over her bosom, who was starting to whine and tear up. "When we come home, Naruto will be happy to meet his family." (Too bad you're not Kami-sama, Tsunade... I am!)

There were a few seconds of resigned silence. The mahogany door behind the group opened with a small creek, and a pale face peeked inside.

"Minato?" The Sandaime looked up to meet the eyes of Orochimaru, who had spoken. "What are you doing here?"

Minato blinked in slight surprise. "I thought I told you? Well-"

"Of course I knew, you idiot!" His calm demeanour suddenly changed into a malicious one. He took a step into the office, closing the doors behind him and padding his way to Hiruzen. Kushina looked taken aback, stifling the anger that steamed from her ears. "I guess my wording was off, then," he spat. "How- no... why? Why are you going through with this stupid plan when both the Sandaime and I have tried to stop you? Do you understand the consequences of leaving for who knows how long?" Each word was coated with a good layer of venom, but the lame finish didn't have as much of an impact as the snake would've liked it to. Minato seemed unfazed for the most part, taking the time to brush some of the bangs out of his face.

"What kind of consequences? What I can see is that the good outweigh the bad," Minato grinded with an even tone, crushing his feeling of fear and doubt. Orochimaru held back a snarl, deciding not to lower himself to such efforts.

"You really are still an incompetent child," The Snake Sannin was about to storm away, but was stopped with a look that was given to him by Hiruzen. Decidedly, he finished his thought instead, favouring to keep his skin. "You're leaving your son for your other children. Pathetic."

"Now you listen here-" Kushina began.

"No, Kushina," Hiruzen sighed tiredly, freeing one of his hands to rub at his temples. "Orochimaru is right. It is pathetic," and as if on cue, little Naruto started wailing bloody murder again as if he would suffocate on the air if he didn't. The Sandaime bounced the boy a few times, before looking back up at the group.

Orochimaru was struggling to keep his composure, arms still crossed and fingers tapping on his biceps in annoyance. Minato was calm and was holding Naruko, his blonde child. Kushina was red in the face and glaring at Orochimaru with pitifully hidden resentment. Tsunade had kept still and had been given Minato and Kushina's red-haired child Menma. Jiraiya had stayed silent throughout the entire affair, over-looking the passages on what seemed to be the draft of his new book 'Icha Icha Paradise'. Naruko was giggling and Menma looked like he was about to cry again. It was a mess.

Hiruzen massaged his temples once more. He probably looked like a mess too. "Look, I will take care of Naruto as best as I can. When he turns four I will give him to the orphanage and when he turns eight his own apartment, got it?" Minato began protesting that Naruto wouldn't be old enough to live alone at eight, but was cut off by Orochimaru.

"Sandaime-sensei is right, Minato," he grumbled. This put Minato on edge, his tight control over his emotions slipping slightly. "He is acting as Hokage now on your request. I only hope Naruto will forgive you in the future," his last sentence was quieter, but still crystal clear. The Blondaime scowled at Orochimaru's back as said snake-man left the room, leaving the door open.

"Come on, everyone," Minato grumbled, tugging on the squirmish child in his embrace. "We have kids to raise."

"As do I," The Sandaime murmured softly, watching as the family left the room in unconscious single file. After a few seconds, Naruto clapped his hands and made a gurgled, tugging painfully at the Hokage's beard. The man ignored him for a second in favour of filing away his encounter. It took a moment, but he sighed lightly, looking down at the black-haired child. This one seemed a bit mature for a six-month-old with a stable head, firmer skin and wide eyes. That was probably just a coincidence though.

The Sandaime smiled and held Naruto up in front of his face by the armpits. The tyke's blanket slipped off his form, dropping limply onto the desk below. "What am I going to do with you?"

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edited as of 28/04/2020

Hope you liked it! First time writing a story on Wattpad. The prologue is really short, sorry, but I'll make up for that with the actual chapters.

The concept is not mine. Credit to @jarodlikestowrite for the idea and to Masashi Kishimoto for Naruto!