Birthday

Oct. 9 Five years later

As she tried to chase down her son she wondered if all five years olds could possibly have this much energy. He was always a rather excitable boy and now he was so excited about his party he was practically bouncing off the walls. Even with everything he had to endure, he was a very happy and in most ways very normal child. That amazed her sometimes. Naruto always seemed to be happy. She would think of the things he had missing in his life such as his father, a group of friends his own age or the freedom to go about unwatched. She would feel guilty thinking he was deprived. Yet then he would smile and laugh and she would be reminded of what he did have. He had a home where he was protected and watched over, he had one kind hearted girl who was his friend, and he had a mother who loved him with all of her heart. He had love and was never ever alone. That seemed enough to make him a very happy little boy.

They lived in a mansion on a vast estate neighboring the Hyuga's. They were wealthy and had loyal servants who cared for Naruto. They were rich in wealth, power, and honor. That did not mean life was easy or trouble free. Naruto was rarely ever allowed to leave the Namikaze estates. When he did leave he wore custom made body armor, had an ANBU squad to escort him, and had his mom there armed to the teeth. The precautions were not excessive. There had been no fewer than forty seven attempts on his life. A dozen of those had been made by shinobi with the rest being made by regular citizens. That broke her heart. Minato-kun had tried to protect her from the enemies he had made in foreign villages. But it was his own people who wanted to kill his son. The people he had died to protect. To most of them her late husband was little short of a god. The people of Konoha worshipped his memory. Yet some of them saw no contradiction when they tried to kill his son.

She didn't try to argue with or convince them. She just killed them. All around the perimeter of the Namikaze estate were large red signs with blocky black letters. These signs informed one and all that trespassers would be killed on sight and without warning. And they were. She had been one of the most powerful Jonin of Whirlpool country when she'd met and fallen in love with Minato. Since her pregnancy she'd not gone on a single mission. But she'd kept her skills sharp and put them to regular use. So far she had killed fourteen shinobi, including one Chunin and one Jonin, and one hundred and thirty seven citizens. She carried a razor sharp four foot long katana and was a blade master. She had no problem dulling it on any one who threatened her child. Minato had been the world's leading seal master, surpassing even his sensei Jiraiya. Every inch of the perimeter and every entry way on the mansion had been warded. She was no seal master but Mianto had shown her enough to maintain and use the seals he'd put there. No one could enter the Namikaze estates or mansion without her knowing it. And when anyone did so without her permission she killed them. She never asked them for their reasons or offered to let them surrender. Last year in the early morning of October tenth half a dozen men managed to scramble over the ten foot high iron fence and barbed wire. They were clearly drunk and armed with nothing more deadly than bats and broken bottles. She could easily have knocked them out and tied them up. She didn't. She separated their heads from their drunken bodies and piled them up outside her front gate where people could see them.

The Hokage had called her into his office after that and asked her why she had done that to men who were no real threat to her. Kushina replied that everyone in Konoha knew where the Namikaze estates were and who lived there. Those men had gone there deliberately, ignored the warning on the big red signs, and proceeded to climb over a ten foot iron fence topped with barbed wire. If they were willing to do all that for the sake of trying to harm her son then they were serious enough to deserve killing. Legally there was really nothing Sarutobi could do. When Konoha had been founded the clans had been granted special privileges. One being that the clans were given the right to deal with trespassers in any fashion they chose, up to and including killing them on sight. Kushina deliberately fostered a frightening reputation; she thought that was the best answer for so much mindless fear and hate. Since that incident there had been only four attempts in the past year.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey mom, mom!" Naruto was jumping around her.

"Yes dear?"

"After the party can we go train some?"

His mother smiled at him and nodded. "If that's what you want to do then of course dear."

"Yeah!" He shouted and ran off again.

He was only 5 but she had been giving him training. She had brought him up on stories of his father. That part of his legacy he knew well. The other part would wait a few more years. He had embraced his heritage as the son and heir of the great man and was determined to be even greater. He wanted to be Hokage and to protect the village as his father had done. That was her son's dream and she would do everything in her power to make it happen. So far she had given him taijutsu training and started on basic weapons; kunai and shuriken. He was already itching to get a katana in his hands. But he would have to master kunai and shuriken first. He loved training with her. No exercise was too hard or too repetitive so long as he was doing it with her. She would start giving him ninjutsu training before he entered the academy. She had already decided that he would attend the academy. Not so much for the instruction as for the chance to interact with his peers. If he was going to be Hokage one day then he would need to know how to deal with people in different situations.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hiashi, his wife Hannah, and their little daughter Hinata arrived. "Welcome and thank you so much for coming." Kushina greeted them. Since that day in the Council meeting Hiashi and the Hyuga clan were about the only people in Konoha willing to treat Naruto like a normal child. On those rare occasions she had to be away he stayed at the Hyuga mansion under their protection.

"It is our pleasure." Hiashi said.

"Hinata has been looking forward to this all week." Hannah said with a smile.

Naruto stepped forward and offered them a proper greeting. He then turned to Hinata, his favorite playmate and only friend of his own age, and gave her a huge smile. "Hey Hinata-chan want to play?"

The little girl immediately blushed and pressed her index fingers together. "Su… sure Naruto-kun." He grabbed her hand and led the way.

As the two of them went off to play the parents all shared a smile.

"Don't they make a cute couple?" Kushina asked.

"They do indeed." Hiashi agreed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kakashi niisan!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

The ANBU captain and former student of his father's smiled at him from beneath his mask. "Yo, happy birthday Naruto."

"Can you summon your dogs so I can play with them?" He asked eagerly.

"Sure."

Kakashi had taken it upon himself to watch out for his beloved sensei's son. When Naruto left the estates Kakashi was always the one in charge of the ANBU escort. He also made it a point to visit him regularly to share stories about his father. Naruto in turn had come to look up to him as an older brother.

XXXXXXXXXX

The door opened to reveal a ninja with huge spiky white hair and red lines running down from his eyes. "Look my little one. Do you know who this is?"

"Pervy grand dad!" He sang out.

A vein immediately began to throb on Jiraiya's forehead. "Kid I've told you before not to call me that!"

"Naruto-kun where did you come up with that name?" Kushina asked sounding surprised.

Her son looked up at her in confusion. "You told me to call him that mommy."

"Oh that's right! Now I remember!" She sent Jiraiya a big smile.

"He's going to end up with your sense of humor." Jiraiya said flatly.

"Yes, I suppose he will."

"Kami help us all. Is there sake?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Godmother, auntie Shizune!" Naruto jumped into Tsunade's arms. He was immediately caught up and smothered in kisses from the two women.

Tsunade put him and smiled. "Well Naruto is it just my imagination or do you just keep getting cuter every time I see you?"

He put his hands behind his head and gave her a huge smile. "No, I'm getting cuter."

Both women burst out laughing. "Oh, I agree you definitely are!" Shizunue said.

Kushina watched with an impish grin. "Still don't think you're cut out for motherhood?"

Tsunade sent her friend a grin. "A few days a year are my limit any more than that and I'd go crazy."

"Tsunade, good to see you again!" A slightly tipsy Jiraiya came out.

She sent Kushina a betrayed look. "I didn't know he was going to be here. Why didn't you tell me he'd be here?"

Kushina smiled. "I wanted you to come."

Frowning Tsunade grabbed the bottle of sake Jiraiya was holding. "Give me that!" She brought it to her lips and downed it in one swig.

"Is something wrong godmother?"

She smiled down at Naruto with a bit more color in her cheeks. "Oh no honey, I'm just happy."

Jiraiya laughed. "Wait a couple hours and she'll be even happier."

Kushina just managed to cover up her son's eyes so he didn't see godmother start beating on granddad.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hello Naruto, happy birthday."

"Hey old man!" Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun, please show our guest the proper respect and call him Hokage-sama." Kushina said gently.

"What?!" An insulted Jiraiya approached them. His left eye was closed and the large black eye made an interesting contrast to the rest of his face. "I am Jiraiya one of the three ninjas of legend, the all knowing Toad Sage, as well as a respected and famous author. How come you have Naruto treat Sarutobi with respect but not me?!"

Kushina sent him a frosty smile. "Sarutobi never tried to peep on me in the bath house."

"It was a compliment!"

"Oh yeah? Well if you ever try and compliment me like that again I'll take something a lot more precious to you than your life." Her eyes dropped to a spot below his belt.

He suddenly stiffened and walked away. "I'm getting more sake before Tsunade drinks it all."

The Hokage let out a depressed sigh. "My students."

XXXXXXXXX

As she talked to Hannah she felt a familiar sensation on her arm. Damn it why now? Keeping a serene look on her face she excused herself. She calmly walked to the outer hallway. Seeing she was alone she quickly rolled up one of her sleeves to expose her left forearm. On it was an intricate tattoo of a tree with branches and one hundred and thirty two leaves. Each leaf contained a number. The tattoo was of course a seal; one Jiraiya had been kind enough to give her that connected her to all the wards on the estates. Looking at the tattoo the tree trunk, branches, and leaves all seemed to be made of black ink. Except for the leaf that bore the number 77, that one was red. She rolled the sleeve back down and casually headed towards the front door. Her habit of always being armed and in her gear meant she didn't have to waste time getting ready. With luck she could be back before anyone even knew she had gone.

"Mom!" Naruto ran up to her just as she was heading for the door. She let out a small sigh. He seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to her leaving or returning. "Mom where are you going?" He latched onto her leg.

Smiling she reached down and stroked one of his whiskered cheeks. "Mommy just needs to take care of something then I'll be right back."

He tightened his grip on her leg. "Don't go mom! I want you to stay."

She looked into his face and saw that he was scared. He was a very strong and brave boy. Most of the time he handled things with a maturity far beyond his years. But then there were times when he behaved like a five year old. More specifically he acted like a five year old whose mother was his entire world. He usually hid it well, but she knew he hated it whenever she was away. Smiling she bent down and gave him a comforting hug. "It's all right my dear one." She looked over at the grandfather clock in the hall. "Naruto-kun what time does the clock say?"

He looked over at the large ornate clock. "It says 7:33."

She gave him a confident look. "Mommy will be back in five minutes, before the clock says 7:38."

This seemed to calm his fears. "Promise mommy?"

"I promise!" She gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I never go back on my word, for that is my nindo, my ninja way. Now go and play with Hinata." Naruto nodded and went into the family room where Hinata was rubbing Pakkun's belly. She checked her watch and hurried to the door.

Kakashi had watched the scene play out and a suspicion what was going on. "Anything I can help you with Kushina?"

She sent the young ANBU captain a light hearted smile. "Oh no, just woman's work."

XXXXXXXXX

She didn't have trouble finding him. He was hiding in some bushes on the southern end of the estates where the woods were. They always through the south end where the trees and shrubs were. Never mind that there were three hundred yards of flat ground and mowed grass to the mansion.

"You're early." Her voice called to him.

"Ack!" The single man jumped to his feet, pulled out his weapon, and looked up. There about twenty feet above him stood a beautiful woman with long red hair. As she was currently defying gravity standing parallel to the ground, her feet planted on the tree trunk. Her hair draped off to the side. She was dressed in a black body suit with very dark red stripes running down the arms and legs. Around her forehead she wore a hitai-ite, but not one with the leaf symbol. Hers had eight lines curving to meet in the center, like a pinwheel or whirlpool. Along her belt she had several pouches and some bulky lines along her body suggested she wore body armor underneath. He could also see the handle of a weapon sticking out from behind her left shoulder.

"Red Death." He gasped.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's what idiots like you call me." She shrugged. "It's fine since that's exactly what I am to anyone who threatens my son." She looked at her watch. "I have to be back in three and a half minutes, that's how long you have left to live." She looked down at him considering. "You know I decided to celebrate his birthday a day early because every October tenth I have to deal with idiots like you. The first year I had to deal with three separate groups, one of them led by a Chunin. So after last year I finally decided to just celebrate it a day early. I mean so long as he gets to eat cake, open presents, and play with people he's happy. Maybe next year we'll just celebrate in July or August." She looked at her watch again. "Three minutes to go now."

"Why?" The man choked out.

"Why what? Why am I talking to you? Why do I love double mint fudge?"

"Why do you protect that monster?" He never saw them coming. All he saw were her arms move in a blur. The next thing he knew he was on the ground screaming. A dozen kunai were jutting out of him. As he continued to cry out she spoke to him in a clear calm voice.

"You're not very bright are you? Here's a tip; never tell a mother her child is a monster. Here's another tip; if you're just a villager with a rusty sword don't take on a ninja. Especially not if she used to be an ANBU captain in her homeland. And just one more tip; when you see big red signs posted everywhere you should pay attention to them." She glanced at her watch. "Two minutes."

Despite his pain and being at her mercy he looked up at her in pure hate. "He killed my father! He crushed him!"

"Who did?" She asked not caring to make anything easy for him.

"You know who!"

"If you mean my son I don't see how he could as he's not very heavy."

"You mock me." He growled.

"No, I'd have to like you at least a little bit to mock you. I find you and your kind utterly despicable. I am sorry for the loss of your father to the Kyuubi. Though I doubt you believe me the fact is I mean that. I lost my husband, and I loved him. I hate the Kyuubi as much as anyone in this village. But hating the prisoner in no way justifies attacking his jailer."

"He has the Kyuubi inside him."

"That's right." She said. "My husband gave his life to imprison the Kyuubi and my son will spend every day of his life keeping the Kyuubi imprisoned. And just so you know this is the last minute of your life."

"He has to die to protect the village." As he watched the one they called Red Death leapt down beside him. She reached over her shoulder and pulled out a long thin curved blade.

"No," she said firmly. "He has to live to protect this village. He is my husband's legacy. He has all of Minato's strengths inside him. I can see in him that same love and courage that made my husband what he was. And when I look close I can see the greatest of all future Hokages. He will protect this village someday as his father did. And now…" she lifted her katana high over her head. "Go to whatever hell is reserved for those who would kill children." The sword fell and did its work in a single cut.

XXXXXXXXXX

She ran in and looked at the clock. Hah! Fifteen seconds to spare! She quickly approached her son confident he would not notice anything. One of the advantages of wearing black and dark red was that blood stains were practically invisible. "See my dear one? Mommy made it back just like she promised."

Naruto looked up at her excitedly. "Mom can we open presents now?"

Kushina smiled and nodded. "Of course dear, anything for you."