Secrets of Immortality

Without Fear

Full Synopsis: Namikaze Minato had anticipated the fox attack. He had suspicions about the 'death' of Uchiha Madara, and he delved into the secrets he should have left alone, a secret that have caused the death of other curious people before him. In his detective game, Minato drags Kushina along and the two of them go on a hunt for the 'secrets', traveling to the old Whirlpool, pestering the Uchihas and stumbling on the Valley of Eternity. When they realized the danger they are in, they have little time to prepare themselves for what would come.

Genre: Adventure/Mystery/Romance

Rating: T +

Note: This is the second time this has happened to me. I submitted a story but it was gone (deleted) by morning, with no notice or whatsoever...Last time it happened I resubmitted and nothing happened afterwards so this time I hope it'll be the same! Sorry for those who reviewed/alerted/faved the story the first time I put it up (which I hope wasn't many).

So this is like those adventure mystery style with the hero and heroine go off on an adventure to explore a certain mystery! Of course, they always have to fall in love on the way! There is a lot of talking, but also a lot of action in parts…so please read on! Also, I realize the title is a bit corny, but I seriously could not think of anything else. I'm always opened to title suggestion. And don't forget to leave a review! Thanks!

And as your fantasies are broken in two
Did you really think this bloody road would
Pave the way for you?
You better turn around
And blow your kiss hello to life eternal, angel

-Eternal Life, Jeff Buckley

Chapter 1: The Uzumaki Signature

The little hole of a restaurant was half empty and quiet, like it always was around 3 PM. Namikaze Minato, tea steaming in front of him, tapped his foot absentmindedly on leg of the table. He had half a dozen scrolls before him, some of which were crisp and new and a few that have seen quite a lot of years.

"Welcome!" the waitress trilled happily, and Minato looked up, smiling as Uzumaki Kushina walked into the little store. She spotted him, and motioned to the waitress she found her table, and walked towards him.

"Could you have chosen a place harder to find?" she huffed irritably as she took a seat in across from him. Minato only grinned and poured her a cup of tea. If he were younger, he might have snapped back something cheeky and started an argument but that was before he was honest with himself. That was before he painfully admitted to himself (thankfully to no one else), that he was smitten with Uzumaki Kushina. Yes, it was very painful to admit that he had a thing for the boyish, uncouth Uzumaki Kushina who was in some ways his foster sister, and he couldn't quite see a future when he would admit the fact either.

"I'm starving," Kushina said, her eyes glowing as the waitress gave both of them menus, "You could have at least ordered something!"

"What, and risk getting my head bitten off because you're such a picky eater?" asked Minato with a smirk. Kushina only huffed at him, which he thought was quite adorable, and started to peruse the menu. Minato figured being somewhat taken with Kushina made him look at her with rose colored glasses, because he was quite sure he didn't think it was cute in the past.

"Hm…I think I want katsudon," she decided, putting down the menu, "What are you getting?"

"Hmm…the soba sounds good," Minato answered with brief survey of the menu, "Hiyasa soba."

"Hmm…" she said in approval, "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"First let me show you something," he said, picking up one of the newer scrolls and handing it to her, "Read it."

Kushina took the scroll with a questioning look at Minato, and opened the scroll. She read it for several seconds, and then looked up with a look of annoyance and confusion on her face. "What the hell is this?"

"The very first Konoha Formation Agreement, at least the copy of it," answered Minato simply.

"And why are you making me read this?"

"You didn't read it carefully, did you?" asked Minato with a sip of his tea.

"No, because this is a boring historical document," she answered pointedly, "And I'm hungry."

"Right," chuckled Minato as he motioned to the waitress. The waitress happily trotted over, her eyes never leaving Minato's. It was obvious she infatuated with the man, and she took their orders with a large grin on her face. It didn't help that Minato showed her a charming smile and was able to get a plate of tempura 'on the house'.

"You're shameless," Kushina muttered irritably when the waitress left.

"'Could say the same about you," returned Minato pertly, "Wasn't it you that got that man at the takoyaki stand during New Years to give you two free orders?"

"Hey, I wasn't consciously flirting with him trying to get free food!" she exclaimed defensively.

"Oh, so you were unconsciously flirting with him," Minato teased, smirking as he watched Kushina turn pink.

"I wasn't doing that either!" she growled, "Let's get back to what you were saying! What about this document?"

"Right right," Minato mumbled as he reached over and flattened the scroll to the end of the document which had a multitude of signatures. He pointed at one signature, done in neat handwriting, the fourth name to be signed.

Kushina read it, her eyebrow knitting into a frown as she did. She pursed her lips in thought and glanced up at an expecting Minato.

"It says Uzumaki Midori," said Minato.

"I can read," Kushina muttered, irritated, "Yeah, it says Uzumaki…so what?"

Minato rolled his eyes, "This is the first, very first document with all the signatures of the initial clans that pledged allegiance to the alliance to form Konoha. Don't you think it's surprising to see your clan name there?"

"I suppose," answered Kushina slowly, staring at the signature, "But we weren't part of Konoha."

"Which is why it's interesting, don't you think?" asked Minato, watching her face closely.

"Alright, so it is weird that our clan signed this," said Kushina, "But this is the first document right, the first draft? What about the final draft?"

"Well obviously, the Uzumakis weren't there," said Minato with a shrug, "Nor were you guys on the second draft."

"Then we must have some falling out and decided to make our own village?" Kushina offered, "I mean, not every clan in the world has to bow down to the Senjus or Konoha." The last few words had a tinge of bitterness.

"That's what I thought at first—" but Minato was cut off when the waitress arrived with his soba order, setting it down in front of him and giving him a flirtatious smile. She looked a Kushina and said, a little less kindly, "Your order will be out in a minute."

When the waitress left, Kushina looked at him and said, "This is what you brought me out for? To tell me that my clan signed the first draft?"

"No, no, that's not the whole story," Minato said irritably, splitting his wooden chopstick, "I found another document, a letter actually, that I found interesting." He picked up a small, age-worn scroll and handed it to her, "Read that."

She opened the scroll as Minato started to work on his soba, and read out loud, "Hashirama—" Kushina paused and asked, "Isn't he the first Hokage?"

Minato nodded with his mouth full of noodles.

"Hashirama, I sent you the Juniper sprouts you wanted. I hope the messenger didn't crush any since he seems to be a bit dimwitted. Also, tell Tobirama he shouldn't get angry at me for helping him when it was you who let him live. Sincerely, Uzumaki Midori."

Kushina stopped and frowned at Minato, "What is this?"

"It's a letter from Uzumaki Midori to Hashirama-sama," said Minato between bites, "I found a lot of other letters too. Apparently they're regular correspondents."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Kushina, eyeing him suspiciously, "What do I care if my ancestor sent the Hokage Juniper sprouts!?"

"That't not it," Minato said with an impatient sigh, "The part about getting Tobirama-sama getting angry at her for helping someone because it was Hashirama-sama who left him live!"

"What about it?" asked Kushina, still hopelessly confused.

"Well, I think they're talking about Uchiha Madara…" his voiced hushed noticeably at the end, and looked somewhat uneasy.

"Who?" said Kushina, "Uchiha who?"

"Madara…" answered Minato, amazed at the little historical knowledge Kushina had, "He was one of the founders of Konoha and the patriarch of the Uchiha clan at the time."

"If he was one of the founders, why was this Tobirama, who is the second Hokage right? So why would this Tobirama get angry at my ancestor for helping him, and for the first Hokage for letting him live?"

"You're really dense, aren't you?" Minato couldn't help but say, "Don't you know any Konoha history?"

"Hey I didn't go to the academy so I didn't learn all the historical crap," she snapped, angry at being called dense, "And where is that katsudon!?"

"Uchiha Madara betrayed the village and attacked it, but Hashirama-sama fought him and killed him," said Minato, ignoring her last question, "It was an epic battle that marked the Valley of the End, with those two statues."

"You mean those two really serious looking men at the waterfall?" she asked.

"Yeah," Minato answered. The waitress had appeared with a steam bowl of katsudon and placed it in front of voracious looking Kushina. She quickly snapped her chopstick and started eating.

"Anyways," Minato continued, hoping Kushina would be more patient with food in her stomach, "I think the letter is talking about Uchiha Madara."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Kushina with a mouthful of rice, "I mean, they could be talking about anyone. Besides, that would mean both Hokages lied to the village about Madara being dead."

"Maybe they did," said Minato with a shrug, "A lot of the correspondents between your ancestor and the first two Hokage talked a lot about Uchiha Madara. I can only think of him who they will refer to without name and still know who they're talking about."

"You know what I think, Minato?" said Kushina gulping down her last bite and pointing the chopstick at him, "You're being overworked and you're stressed, and you're channeling the stress by making up this conspiracy."

"I'm not making it up!" Minato was annoyed, mostly because he felt she said something somewhat true.

"Well, tell me why wouldn't the first Hokage kill Madara who threatened the village?"

"Because they were actually friends at one point."

Kushina blinked, and swallowed her food and asked, "But didn't the Senjus and the Uchihas hate each other?"

Minato nodded seriously and put his chopstick down, "Yes, but the two of them did have some sort of friendship."

"Weird. Like a love-hate relationship?

"I wouldn't say love…"

"You don't even really know if they are talking about this Madara."

Minato shrugged, "Like I said, in other letters they talk about Madara a lot, and sometimes they refer to him with colorful names…other times with just 'him' or 'he'. I mean—"

"Actually, let's back up, Minato…where did you get the letters?"

Minato was silent for several seconds, somewhat amazed that Kushina would ask a question like this. The girl wasn't dumb, and could be extremely cunning and tactical if the situation called for it, but she was not always known to be analytical so he had hoped she didn't ask certain questions, including this. Clearing his throat, Minato muttered in response, "From the first Hokage's trunks."

Her eyes widened, "Aren't they off limit?!"

"Well…"

"You snuck…you stole them…that could get you in big trouble!"

Minato quirked an eyebrow at her, "You're going to tell on me, Kushina?"

"No! But, still...you're so nosy." In fact, Kushina was very impressed by his audacity to steal the Hokage's possessions.

"Anyways, I asked you here because I wanted to know about the Uzumaki clan."

Minato thought he saw Kushina's face fall a little at that, but pushed it out of his mind when the woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, "So that's it." She looked down at her bowl and stuck a piece of pork katsu in his mouth and chewed, slowly.

"So?" prompted Minato.

"So?" she parroted, giving him an innocent look.

Minato rolled his eyes, "What can you tell me?"

She shrugged and said through her chewing, "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start off with this Uzumaki Midori character, then."

"Alright…all I know about her is that she is the ghost that haunts the house on the hill."

"What?" Minato hadn't been expecting such an answer.

"I didn't even know she was important enough to sign a document like that."

"Ghost?"

"Yeah, she died in the house and haunts it. I know she's real because when I was young, a group of us kids went to play courage tests there, and my cousin—"

"Wait wait, so all you know is that she's a ghost? What else?"

Kushina scrunched up her nose in thought (which Minato, for a millisecond, noted how cute that gesture was until he mentally slapped himself), "I don't know much…I mean, everyone was at war, I was young, so I didn't get to learn much. You should ask my brother, he would know more."

"Right…" Minato mumbled feebly, feeling amazingly disappointed. At least he still had her brother to ask.

"Well, I do know that in the past, the Uzumaki clan was a nomadic clan," she said, scratching her nose, "We were horse culture, and we trained a lot of animals, normal and summons. We didn't have a country affiliation, and worked for whoever we wanted to work for. Totally freelance."

"Really?" said Minato, genuinely intrigued, "Wow…a nomadic clan?"

"Yup," she answered, smiling at Minato's interest, "We rode horses a lot, expert at horseback archery and could hit target square without use of chakra or any special eyes or whatnot. Imagine what we could do with chakra."

"Then how come your aim suck?" Minato couldn't help but say, knowing full well the response he would get.

"Oh shut up," she growled, sticking rice in her mouth. He laughed, even making her more irritated.

She let out a tired sigh and said, "I don't get why you're so interested…"

"Because…don't you think its…well…frightening to know that Uchiha Madara still might be alive?"

Kushina gave him a blank look, "Why would I be frightened?"

Minato sighed, "Ignorance is bliss."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

"I mean, even if Uchiha Madara was left alive, he would be dead by now, at least a really old man, wouldn't he?"

"Yes, normally, I would think that…but with Uchiha Madara, anything is possible."

"Even immortality?"

"I wouldn't go that far...actually, I should ask the Uchiha clan about this!" Minato's eyes now blazed with this new idea.

Kushina's smirked, "Good luck with that! I wonder how much you'll get out of those elitist snobs with kunais up their ass."

"Is your brother in town?" asked Minato, hoping not to get Kushina into a 'let's bash the Uchihas mode', trying hard not to say that using both 'elitist' and 'snob' was somewhat redundant.

"Yeah…he's making some career changes."

Minato's face crinkled with confusion, "Career changes?"

"Yup, he decided he wants to become a pastry chef!" she exclaimed happily with a brief laugh, "I'm totally eating his first batch of goodies!"

"Are you serious?" Minato asked, shocked by this new development. Uzumaki Keisuke was one of shinobis he most respected—the man was calm (unlike his sister), smart, kind and excellent at what he did. Although, Minato had to admit he could see Keisuke as a pastry chef, or even a teahouse owner or something as there was something very collected and cultured about the man.

"Yeah," Kushina said, smiling proudly, "It was rather that, or continue doing what he's doing, or join ANBU, which he has been recruited for by the way, or become a jounin teacher."

"He told you he's been recruited for ANBU?" asked Minato in amazement. Recruited shinobis weren't supposed to tell people they were recruited.

"Well, I wasn't supposed to tell you that nor am I supposed to know that…so let's keep it on the down low."

Minato nodded, "Right."

"Actually, I prefer him as a teacher or a pastry chef."

"Kind of random."

She shrugged, "No, actually in one of his spying mission, he had to be a pastry chef assistant, and he fell in love with it."

"You must be happy."

"My sweet tooth definitely is, but yes, talk to him. He'll know more about the clan."

Minato smiled, "I will. Anyways…I just had a strange…feeling about all this."

"Hm…feeling? You're going off on this, accusing your beloved Hokages of lying, because of a feeling?"

Minato rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well…and other things that support the feeling."

"A bunch of old, stolen letters?"

"That and more."

"You just want to play detective," Kushina huffed, "Don't you?"

Minato grinned mischeviously and answered, "Why not? But, you're not even a little interested? After all, if this is true, then your clan was involved in all of this somehow."

"If it is true and not something you dreamed up while doing paperwork that is. And, if it'll make you happy, we'll go see my brother after I finish eating. And where is that free tempura plate?!"

"Things are missing from Hashirama-sama's trunk, Danzo-sama."

"I thought so. Another nosy one?"

"Yes sir."

"Clear out the trunk of the rest of the documents and hide them."

"What about the Sandaime, Danzo-sama?"

"Tell him it's to keep our National Treasure safe."

"Yes Danzo-sama. Should we see who was it that took the letters?"

"Go ahead."

"Yes sir."

A/N: I'm not one to write pure conversation, like that last part, but I didn't feel like divulging any further. One could get a feel for what I'm trying to convey there easily. Hopefully this was interesting enough! This is connected to Foxhunt, my other story, but think of it going backward through Minato and Kushina.

So this is a love story with meat, or an adventure/mystery story with more pronounced romance. I suck at pure romance. I love Minato though. It's so much easier to write him as an adult than a teenager.

SO, now, review and comment! :D THANKS!