This part of the story takes place when (Name) first met her adoptive parents.

~ In the streets of the Hidden Leaf ~

A young girl with (H/L) (H/C) hair, (e/c) eyes and wearing a white dress was walking by herself through the busy streets of the Hidden Leaf. Everyone passed by her, ignoring her presence as if she wasn't important. She had a plain, emotionless expression as she continued to walk slowly. A random man pushed past her causing her to fall down to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, freak!" Said the angry man as he continued to walk, leaving the young (Name) on the ground. She sighed and slowly got up. Unfortunately, she was used to being treated poorly. Many of villagers labeled her as an outsider because of how different she was. (Name) hated every moment of mistreatment but there was nothing she could do about it at 10 years old.

Minato Namikaze was walking alongside the third Hokage, Hiruzen when he noticed what had happened to the little girl he saw get rudely pushed. He wanted to go help her up but Lord third was lecturing him about his future duties as Hokage. All he could do was watch as that little girl walked away towards the direction of the training grounds and wonder who she was.

"Are you listening to me, Minato?" Lord third said to snap Minato out of his thoughts. Minato looked at the irritated Hiruzen and laughed nervously as he realized he wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying.

~ Training grounds ~

(Name) exhaled as she had multiple targets in front of her. She opened her eyes, grabbed her Shuriken, and threw them to the targets. Most of the Shuriken either hit the target nowhere near the center or didn't hit it at all while the rest of the Shuriken hit the center of the targets. (Name) growled in frustration when she didn't hit all the targets.

"I'm impressed that at your age, you're perfecting your Shuriken training."

(Name) jumped from surprise and turned around quickly. Her eyes widened when she noticed it was the Fourth Hokage himself, Namikaze Minato. He approached her and smiled.

"T-The... Fourth Hokage..."

"Yeah, but you can call me Minato. What's your name?"

"Tora (Name)..."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, (Name)." Minato extended his hand to her while smiling. (Name) hesitantly shook his hand.

"Likewise." She said nervously. Minato saw the bruises from the fall (Name) had along with some new bruises.

"(Name), why are you trying so hard to the point of exhaustion?" Her eyes widened at Minato when she was surprised his inference was correct.

"I... I wanna be a ninja when I grow up."

"And why a ninja?" Minato asked in curiosity. In his opinion, (Name) looked like a gentle and delicate little girl, but he could tell under her soft exterior that she had a strong will.

"I don't want to be lonely anymore... I want to be accepted as a person of this village. I don't wanna be hated anymore..." (Name) said as some tears fell from her expressionless face. Minato sighed and rested his hand on her head. She looked to him with her eyes widened and saw his warm and gentle smile.

"Well, I personally don't hate you. I think you're an intelligent kid with a lot of potential to become a ninja. You remind me of my wife, Kushina." Minato laughed and stopped suddenly when he realized he had to be home for lunch with Kushina. (Name) looked at him questionably.

"As a matter of fact, would you like to meet her today and have lunch with us? I think it would be very helpful for you if you do intend on becoming a ninja." (Name) thought cautiously then quickly shook her head no.

"No, I can't! I must train." (Name) said as she turned around and picked up the Shuriken. Minato sighed until he felt an ominous and deadly aura behind him.

"MINATO." Whispered the female silhouette with glowing yellow eyes and floating red hair. Minato felt a chill go down his spine and turned around to find his beloved wife.

"Ah! Kushina! P-perfect timing hehe..." Minato said while getting up and laughing nervously. Kushina was about to yell until she saw (Name) past Minato's shoulder. (Name) had been clenching onto the Shuriken in her hands while frowning. She was about the throw the Shuriken until Kushina grabbed her wrist.

"You form isn't right. Here let me help." Kushina said while showing a hint of a smile. (Name) was slightly blushing as Kushina started teaching her the correct way to throw a Shuriken. Minato stood behind them with his arms folded while smiling.

"It's like looking in a mirror." Minato thought to himself while chuckling.

~ Time Skip ~

As Kushina and (Name) were training, Minato was sitting against a tree in the distance trying not to disturb his energetic wife.

"Lord Hokage."

Minato came back to his senses and looked next to him to find a young ninja with silver hair and a mask. It was the 13-year-old Hatake Kakashi.

"Ah, it's you Kakashi. How are things going?"

"My training has been going well, I am slowly getting stronger." The young Kakashi said while clenching his fist in front of him. Minato stood up and rested his hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

"That's great to hear, I'm proud of you Kakashi." Minato said while smiling at Kakashi. Kakashi had a small grin until he noticed Kushina in the distance with a girl who looked younger than Kakashi. She was putting in a lot of effort into her training with Kushina.

"Sensei.. who is that little girl? She seems familiar.."

"That's Tora (Name). She is the child that lost her parents a couple years back when she was born. The villagers shun her because her parents were high-ranking ninja originally from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Lord third made it a law to not say a word to her about her parents or what happened the day she was born as a promise to her mother." Minato said with a serious face.

Kakashi continued to watch (Name) as he grabbed a Shuriken from the ground that (Name) had thrown. His gaze became soft as he continued to watch. Minato noticed and kept looking back and forth between the two and smiled.

"She's a fast learner, right?" Minato said while smiling. Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts and laughed nervously at his sensei.

"Uh, yeah. She is a fast learner..."

"Why don't you go over there and introduce yourself to her? You could help her a lot with her training." Kakashi looked at Minato and shrugged, trying to act cool since he didn't want his sensei to get the wrong idea.

"Minato-sensei is misunderstanding this, he must think I like her. She's way too young for me, she's practically a toddler. Yet, I have to admit she's pretty adorable.." Kakashi thought to himself as he and Minato started walking towards (Name) and Kushina.

(Name) was panting as she realized this is what training actually felt like. She looked over for a second and locked eyes with Kakashi. They both froze and stopped what they were doing once they caught each other's gaze. Minato noticed Kakashi stopped walking and was confused until he noticed what was happening. Kushina noticed as well and continued to watch the two. For a second, everything had disappeared and it was just them. It was an odd feeling to (Name)... she felt like this guy's gaze was different from other people. Kakashi felt something strangely familiar just from looking at her. They both quickly looked away from each other when they realized they had been staring at one another. Kushina and Minato both watched the two and looked at each other with the 'Are you thinking what I'm thinking' look.

"Kakashi, why don't you join us for dinner? We were originally going to have lunch together but those two got so caught up in training that the sun is setting now. What do you say?" Minato said while smiling at Kakashi.

"Thank you, but I really shouldn't. You seem really caught up with (Name) and I don't wanna intrude." Kakashi said while waving his hands in front of him and sweatdropping. Minato grabbed his shoulder and kept smiling.

"Don't worry, it's no trouble at all. Let's go." Minato said as he started walking and dragging Kakashi with him

"Wa-Wait, Minato-sensei!"

Kushina smiled and then stopped (Name) from throwing another Shuriken. (Name) was confused as she turned to face Kushina.

"Let's call it a day, come have dinner with us!" Kushina said with a wide grin. (Name) looked away and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, maybe some other time. I would like to stay and train some mo- OUCH!" (Name) was saying before Kushina had hit her on the top of her head causing a huge bump to swell from it. Kushina had a dark aura surrounding her with a sinister smile on her face as her hair was floating in the air. (Name) gulped as the color in her face disappeared.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. You said you'll join us for dinner, right?" Kushina said once more with a threatening smile. (Name) nodded her head yes very quickly to avoid Kushina's wrath.

"Yes, I would love to join you for dinner!"

"Great! Let's meet up with the boys!" Kushina said as she grabbed (Name)'s hand and started dragging her towards Minato and Kakashi. Both (Name) and Kakashi locked eyes once more but looked away as soon as they were in front of each other.

"What am I getting so worked up over? She's just a... kid." Kakashi thought to himself as he slowly turned his attention back to (Name). He cursed in his thoughts because she was really adorable and knew if she knew that, she'd use her cuteness against Kakashi. (Name) looked back slowly and gave him a small smile which sent an arrow through Kakashi's ego.

"Hi, my name is (Name). It's nice to meet you Mr..-"

"Kakashi. Just call me Kakashi. It's nice to meet you too." Kakashi said as he put his hands in his pockets and tried to keep a straight face. Both Kushina and Minato were smiling at them as they were acting shy towards each other.

"Alright, now that everyone knows each other let's go have dinner." Minato said with a smile as he started walking beside his wife. Kakashi and (Name) started walking beside each other but tried to keep a reasonable distance between each other, without making any contact.

~Time Skip~

Kushina sat on the couch in her living room, relaxing while caressing her pregnant stomach. She smiled as she looked up at the wall and saw pictures of Minato, (Name), and herself in them. She heard the door open and looked in the direction of the door to see both Minato and (Name) entering and taking off their shoes.

"I'm home." Minato said as he walked up to Kushina and gave her a kiss on her cheek. (Name) watched and admired them. Every time she witnessed a romantic moment between Minato and Kushina, she made a tiny wish, that someday she would have love just like Minato and Kushina.

"You ready to tell her?" Minato whispered to Kushina while grinning.

"Yeah, let's tell her." Kushina said while looking at the confused (Name).

"(Name), sit down and let's talk." Minato said while sitting beside Kushina but leaving enough space for (Name) to sit in between them.

"So, you already know Naruto is coming very soon, right?" Minato said while smiling and looking at Kushina. (Name) nodded slowly, wondering where the conversation was going.

"Well, we were thinking Naruto might need someone to look up to for guidance other than his parents... like an older sibling."

"But wait, I thought Naruto was going to be your first born? So how would Naruto have an older sibling?" (Name) asked in confusion.

"Well..." Minato said as he pulled out some papers from his pocket. (Name) looked at the papers, and her eyes widened when she saw 'Adoption'. "Would you like to be a part of this family, be our daughter, and be Naruto's older sister?"

Tears started falling from (Name)'s face as she could not make a sound. She started shaking and covering her mouth with her hands.

"P-Please don't let this be a joke... d-do you both really want to adopt me?" Both Kushina and Minato nodded and were smiling as they got closer to (Name).

"Yes, (Name), we are serious about this. We already love you as if you were our own child, so why not make it come true? I already consider you as my daughter but we want you to officially become an Uzumaki. So what do you say?" Kushina said as she held (Name)'s hands as she cried. (Name) nodded her head quickly while still crying.

"Y-yes... I'll be your daughter, and y-your Nee-chan..." (Name) said as she spoke to Kushina's stomach and smiled as she wiped her tears. Minato smiled and picked up (Name) and spun her around while laughing.

"I can't believe it! I'm going to be the father of two amazing kids!" Kushina watched them with pure joy as she felt her life has finally come together and seemed perfect. She got up with and joined the hugged while laughing.

"Welcome to the family! You're officially an Uzumaki! Now I have a daughter and a son on the way!" Kushina said as she continued to hug (Name) and Minato. Minato smiled softly at both of the most important females in his life.

"I'm glad you agreed to let us be your new parents (Name). I just know you'll be a great big sister to Naruto."

(Name) finally broke into the famous wide grin while giggling and crying tears of joys.

~Time Skip~

Kakashi was laying down near a stream and was relaxing as the sun was setting. He had been seeing (Name) more often now and working with her during her training exercises to help her get better. Even though he acted nonchalant during the training, he was actually enjoying his times with (Name). In some ways, she even reminded him of Rin. But she was starting to get Kushina's scary qualities.

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes as he thought about training today. (Name) had accidentally tripped and fell on top of Kakashi. They were extremely close until (Name) got up with her face completely red and run ning away to not face Kakashi.

"She's adorable when she's embarrassed." Kakashi thought to himself as he chuckled. Kakashi heard someone approach him and sit beside him. He looked over to see (Name) facing the sunset as her hair flowed in the wind.

"I'm sorry for running off... I just got embarrassed because I tripped over my own feet." Kakashi sighed and tapped (Name)'s shoulder to make her face him.

"It's completely fine. Everyone stumbles sometimes during training, even me. You just need to get better so during actual battle you don't trip." (Name) nodded sadly then turned back to the sunset.

"Mom is gonna have the baby soon... Do you think they will act differently towards me once they have their actual child with them..?" (Name) said sadly while grabbing a flower from the grass. Kakashi grabbed her other hand and started caressing it, hoping it would give her comfort.

"You know Kushina and Minato-sensei aren't like that. If anything they will probably love you more because you will all be together as a family. So don't worry about anything changing..."

"You really think so, Kakashi-kun?" (Name) said while facing back to Kakashi as their faces were surprisingly close. They both started blushing as the continued to look at one another but not moving away.

"Yeah, I would never leave you... I mean they would never leave you!" Kakashi said as he got flustered and corrected himself. (Name) giggled as Kakashi smiled at her.

"Thank you, please continue to watch over me Kakashi-kun." (Name) said with a wide grin. Kakashi smiled back and nodded at her.

"I will."

~ The day Naruto was born ~

(Name) had been in the house waiting for her parents to come home with her new baby brother Naruto.

"I hope Naruto likes me." Then suddenly (Name) saw Minato flash inside the house holding something. Minato dashed to (Name), grabbed her and managed to make it outside before the house exploded. (Name)'s eyes widened as she was confused about what was happening.

"Father, what just-!" (Name) was interrupted by the sound of a crying baby. She looked down and saw a blonde baby boy with whiskers. (Name)'s eyes widened as she instantly fell in love with the sight of the baby.

"Good, you're both okay." Minato said while looking at the baby then at (Name).

"Is that... Naruto...?" (Name) said as Minato passed the baby into her arms. Minato nodded and smiled as Naruto stopped crying in the arms of his sister. (Name) smiled and laughed until she realized one thing. Where was her mother, Kushina.

"Father... is mother in trouble?" (Name) said as Minato took out a piece of wood from his leg. He had a serious face and paused before he responded.

"Don't worry... I'll save her. Right now, I need you to protect Naruto while I'm away. Can you do that?" Minato asked (Name) with a serious expression. (Name) felt a wave of strength rise in her, she finally had her younger brother and she wasn't going to lose him.

"I'll protect Naruto with my life." (Name) said with determination. Minato smiled as he flicked the piece of wood out of his hands and quickly teleported away with his children.

~Time Skip~

Minato left (Name) in a room that wasn't destroyed by the explosion and was sitting on the bed while rocking Naruto as he slept.

"I know I just met you... but it seems like you like me a lot, Naruto." (Name) said while laughing. All of a sudden, she saw Minato flash into the room holding her mother Kushina.

"Mom!"

"(N-Name), thank goodness you and Naruto are alright.." Kushina said as Minato carried her to the bed you were sitting on. He laid Kushina down and (Name) gently put Naruto beside her and covered him with a blanket.

"Don't worry, just stay by (Name) and Naruto's side." Minato said while frowning and watching his family finally together, just not the way he imagined. Kushina got closer to Naruto and started crying as she held his face close to hers. (Name) noticed Minato clenching his fists and never thought she'd see him this upset. 'What was happening?' was all she could think about.

Minato opened the closet and grabbed something. (Name)'s eyes widened when she realized what it was as she saw 'Fourth Hokage' engraved on it.

"Thank you, Minato." Kushina said as she continued to hold Naruto close.

"I'll be back soon." Minato said before he teleported away. (Name) looked at Kushina with a concerned expression. Then she thought about Kakashi.

"I hope you're safe from whatever danger is going on tonight, Kakashi."

~At the village with Kakashi and Gai~

"Can't we just stick to Rock-Paper-Scissors tonight?" Kakashi said nonchalantly as he walked in front of Gai with his hands in his pockets. Gai was frowning behind him as he was begging his rival for a duel.

"Again? Can't you think of a more passionate duel? And I call you my rival?!" Gai said with frustration.

"I don't know what to do with all this passionate energy overflowing from me! It's time to focus on our training, like we used to!" Gai continued to rant passionately as Kakashi suddenly stopped.

"Something doesn't feel right..." Kakashi thought to himself before Gai yelled him out of his thoughts.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"Do you feel like something's off? It feels like there's a chill in the air." Kakashi said as he looked behind him frowning.

"Yeah! It's your attitude!" Gai yelled while making a fuss. Kakashi felt uneasy as he suddenly thought about you.

"I hope whatever this feeling is... that at least you're safe, (Name)."

~Time Skip~

(Name) heard fighting going on from the outside and jumped over Kushina and went to the door.

"Wait! (Name), don't go out there! Your father is fighting it's too dangerous for you!" Kushina said as she only confirmed (Name)'s suspicions. (Name) was getting frustrated, her father was outside risking his life because whoever he was fighting outside is threatening the safety of her new family and she couldn't do anything but just stand and wait. She turned back and looked at Kushina with green beast-like eyes. The sight of her eyes reminded Kushina of the Nine-tails eyes.

"I can't just leave him to fight alone out there! This is my family too and I'm gonna use my strength to help father in any way I can!" (Name) yelled before she dashed outside with Kushina calling out for her.

(Name) had made it outside, only to see her father alone panting. The battle he fought was over and she couldn't even help. Minato disappeared before she could even go to him. So she just waited outside the porch and hoped the battle against her family was over.

~Time Skip~

As (Name) had gone back inside she felt a weird sensation. All of a sudden, her instincts took over as she grabbed Kushina and teleported out of the house. Kushina was stunned as she found herself outside sitting beside (Name). Kushina looked around and noticed the remainder of the house was destroyed and the Nine-tails was right in front of her. Kushina then finally connected the pieces together about (Name).

"(Name)... is a jinchuriki..." Kushina thought to herself. Nothing in (Name)'s records had mentioned anything of her being one so it only left two questions. Why and who covered it up.

~Time Skip~

(Name) watched helplessly beside Naruto as Kushina was restraining the Nine-tails with the last of her chakra and Minato in the middle of sealing it away. She had been bruised up and trembling in fear as the beast looked directly at her and her newly born brother Naruto. She noticed his hand start to move and immediately jumped in front of Naruto and shielded him. Unfortunately, her efforts to protect him were useless as the Nine-tails hit (Name) away from Naruto. She flew and her body landed on a boulder. She could hear her parents faintly scream her name as she faded in and out of conscious. She couldn't move, her entire body was in pain, she felt her blood run down her forehead and not stopping. The last thing she saw was the Nine-tails claw go right through both of her parents as they stopped it from hitting Naruto.

"I-I'm sorry..." was the last words (Name) used the last of strength to say.

Suddenly, as (Name) was unconscious, she felt warmth surround her and felt arms wrapped around her. She felt comfort as if she was in Kushina's arms. She looked up to find a completely different woman with black hair and blue eyes.

"It's not time for you to join us yet, my child... you still have so much to do, and a new family that needs you." Said the beautiful woman.

"Who are you..." (Name) said in wonder as she didn't even know where she was.

"I know you're eager to see us, but in time you will meet both your father and myself. You will come after having lived a full life like I always dreamt for you. Until then, my love..." slowly everything faded away into the darkness.

~At the hospital after the attack~

Many people were being treated in the hospital after the devastating attack. All the rooms were filled, but one room was guarded by two ninjas as the room was completely off limits. Inside was (Name), completely wrapped in bandages laying in the hospital bed, and Naruto who laid asleep beside her in a baby crib the hospital provided. The Third Hokage looked at the two kids with sad and sorrowful eyes.

"Why must you both endure such burdens... you're only children... I can only hope that the struggles you face in your life will make you both strong and help you grow into fine Shinobi to carry your parent's legacies." Lord Third said before he left the room.

~To Kakashi~

Kakashi has been running from room to room in the hospital looking for you and your brother just to confirm that you were both safe. As he finally stopped at the door guarded by two ninjas, he tries to look in and check who was in the room but is blocked by the two ninjas. All he could see was (Name)'s name along with her health information beside the door.

"Why are you keeping me out, I'm the only one that can be there for (Name)!" Kakashi said with frustration. He stopped as soon as he saw the door open and reveal the third Hokage walking out of the room.

"Why are you causing a ruckus, Kakashi?" Lord third says as he put his hands behind his back and approached him. Kakashi looked passed Lord third and saw (Name), covered in bandages. Lord Third noticed right away and stepped right in front of his view of (Name).

"I'm afraid I can't let you see them, Kakashi. It's best you don't see them for a while." Lord Third said as one of the ninjas closes the door. Kakashi sighed in frustration and pushed his hands into his pockets.

"For how long..."

"I don't want you anywhere near her until she is a mature ninja and is able to take care of herself." Lord Third said with a serious expression. Kakashi's eyes widened as he was ready to protest, but Lord Third put up his hand to stop him.

"She is currently healing, Kakashi. I have asked one of the members of the Anbu with special abilities to manipulate a person's memories to seal (Name)'s memory until she is completely ready to handle them. But that means she cannot make any contact with you at all or else the jutsu will weaken or even break before she is ready. (Name) must get stronger for herself, and Naruto. She is the only family he has..." Kakashi looked down to the ground and clenched his fist. The one thing Kakashi thought he could do for his sensei was to be there for his children, but now he can't even do that. Lord Third rested his hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

"Just focus on your duties as a ninja, that is the best way for now to honor Minato's memory. I will make sure they stay safe until she is at least a Chunin. Don't worry." Kakashi sighed as Lord Third finished speaking and left.

"I'm sorry, (Name)..."

~Time Skip~

(Name) was waiting in her hospital room, fully dressed ready to be released. She couldn't remember anything from the attack but she couldn't help but cry as sadness washed over her anytime she thought about it. The nurse had told her to wait in her room, that the Third Hokage had wanted to speak with her. The door suddenly opened as Lord Third had entered with a nurse holding a crying blonde baby with whiskers. (Name) was confused but felt so much relief as soon as she laid eyes on him.

"(Name), I wanted to ask you to take care of this baby boy, and be his older sister. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he lost his parents during the Nine-tails attack. I will make sure you both get a monthly supply of money, food, and shelter."

"But I want to become a ninja, how will I be able to raise a baby and still go to the academy. I'm really close to graduating and I don't want to give it up now."

"No need to worry, you can leave Naruto in my care as you continue to attend the academy. Does that seem fair?" Lord Third said as the nurse continued to rock Naruto to calm down his crying. (Name) sighed and nodded as she extended her hands to the nurse and asked her for Naruto. The nurse walked up to her and passed the crying baby boy. As soon as she held him and started comforting him, Naruto had stopped crying. Both Lord Third and the nurse were a little surprised. Naruto had been crying a lot since the attack and no one was able to comfort him unless they rocked him to sleep. To see Naruto smile and giggle up to (Name) made the Third relieved. (Name) smiled back at the baby, as she felt connected to him and instantly felt love for Naruto.

"Hi Naruto, it's nice to meet you. I'm your Nee-chan, (Name). I promise to give you the love I always wished for as I child, to protect you from anything that harms you, and to be the best big sister for you." (Name) grinned as Naruto grabbed her finger and laughed adorably. (Name) looked up to the Third Hokage and had a look of happiness on her face.

"Lord Third, I would like to ask you for one more thing before this agreement becomes official."

"Oh? What is it that you want?"

"From now on, I want to be known as Uzumaki Tora (Name)."

A/N: Hey guys! I am really sorry for the random Hiatus but I have been healing and going through college. It's really hard but I manage. I hope to write more chapters soon, but I just wanted to get this beginning arc out there. Enjoy!