Disclaimer: -sigh- as troublesome as it is, I have to inform you that I do not own Naruto...at least until my forces are ready to execute Order 67 kukukuku...

- The Observer -

--Chapter 1: Meeting the beast--

Morning light spilled over the horizon as the sun continued the never ending cycle of day and night. Its warm ray's shone down on the great forest of the Fire country and on to a town hidden within its depths. It was Konogagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden In The Leafs, ruled by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and a home to the ninja of Fire country. Towering over the village was a giant cliff with the faces of the of the four Hokage that were chosen to rule it. On top of the fourth face stood a cloaked figure, its frame hidden under the folds of a dark blue travelers cloak with a red spiral embellished on the back. Its face was hidden under a rice hat and tall collar of the cloak, leaving only its sapphire blue eyes with animalistic slit pupils and few strands of blond and red hair visible. It watched like a hawk as people emerged sleepily from their homes and begun their morning routine.

"Well, at least the place looks nice enough, hopefully people here aren't as closed minded as in other villages" The figure spoke to itself, its voice of a young male.

" -Sigh- Well, there is nothing I can do but hope for the best." He looked up at the height of the sun."I'll better get going before I'm late for the meeting with the old geezer in charge of this place." He whispered and begun to make his way down the cliff and towards a large, red building in the center of the village with a large kanji for 'fire' hanging proudly over its entrance.

Sarutobi sighed wearily as he lit candles in front of a large picture inside of his office in the Hokage Tower. It showed a young blonde man, with a mane of spiky hair, hugging a very pregnant woman with long red heir, both of them smiling happily. The elderly Hokage looked sadly at the picture of his successor and his wife as he recalled the tragedy that happened twelve years ago. On that day Minato Namikaze's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, and their unborn son were assassinated by the Iwa-nin. Next day Minato was found dead in his office, his heart pierced by one of his own Hiraishin kunais and a suicide note in his hand. The murder and subsequent suicide shook the village's confidence to the very core and only recently it started to recover.

"I'm getting too old for this, Minato. Since you died paperwork seems to have only grown, and if that wasn't bad enough today I'm supposed to receive an envoy from the Kitsune Demon Clan. The council doesn't trust them, but if everything goes well they're willing to sign a trade and alliance agreement. Hopefully everything will go well and-" A sound of knocking on the door interrupted him as his secretary peeked into his office.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Hokage-sama, but there is someone to see you. He says that you're expecting him" said the young woman.

"Thank you Nuriko-san, please let him in. I'm not to be interrupted, if anyone asks I'm in a meeting." Hiruzen smiled as he made his way to the seat behind his desk.

The door opened as a short, about five and a half feet tall, cloaked man walked inside. When he stood in front of the Kage and removed its cloak and hat old fire shadow felt rise his eyebrows from surprise. In front of him stood a twelve, maybe thirteen year old boy wearing a richly decorated formal red and gold kimono. But what really got his attention was the boys face. His eyes were sapphire blue with a slit pupil instead of round. His hair was mostly spiky blond, with bangs and a single long strand in the back of straight crimson red hair. On his cheeks were whisker marks that identified him as a member of the Kitsune Clan. on top of his head was pair of blond furred fox ears and wrapped around his waist were two blond tails with red tips. As he smiled two sharp fangs could be seen growing from his upper jaw. Hiruzen couldn't help but stare at the boy's resemblance to his dead successor. If it wasn't for the few 'demonic' traits, the boy could pass for Minato's son. After a few moments of staring he realized that he was making his guest uncomfortable, as he boy became visibly nervous under his gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry for making you wait. Welcome, I'm Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato and I assume you're the chosen representative of the Kitsune Clan, right?" He said as he shook the young Kitsune's hand. The boy smiled and nodded.

"That's correct Hokage-sama, although I wouldn't call my job here as a representative, I'm here merely to relay any and all messages to the Clan head, as well as observe how the village handles it's day-to-day affairs."

"Do you know how long you'll stay in the village?" At that boy looked slightly embarrassed.

"Actually, I'm expected to settle in here. You see, diplomacy between demons can take a long time, often years if not decades before disputes are settled. It will take a long time for the clan council to come to terms with the agreement between the clan and your village." Sarutobi nodded at that knowing how troublesome dealing with councils could be from his experiences with Konoha's council.

"I see. In that case I will show you to the apartment we keep empty just in case of such situation." He was about to sit up when Kitsune motioned him to stay sited.

"Actually I have a request from you, Hokage-sama. Since I'm to become a citizen of your village, I would like to join your ninja ranks, I have been trained in using both my clans jutsu and in basic human techniques by my clan. Also to settle any worries you might have about this request I'm ready to swear an oath to you as well as provide an immediate promise of armed help in case of an attack."

Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at the offer. Having a kitsune demon, even a young one, among his ninja would strengthen the village and the help agreement would help to eliminate any opposition to the alliance that was left on the council. After taking a moment to look at the young blond to see if he can sense any deception from him, he came to a decision.

"Agreed, you'll join the new genin teams that graduated from academy yesterday. There wasn't enough graduates to create standard teams of three, but with you joining them it is no longer a problem." He said as he handed the boy leaf hitai-ate, and in return received scroll containing the agreement and a list of the boys skills. He watched as boy tied the headband around his neck like a collar.

"Well then, congratulations on becoming a genin and a citizen of Konohagakure no Sato...errr" Hiruzen stopped as he realized that during that entire conversation he never asked the boys name.

"My apologies Hokage-sama" said the boy while giving the older man a rather 'foxy' smile. "My name is Naruto no Youko, son of Kyuubi no Youko and an heir to the Kitsune Clan."

edited on 3/24/09