Did you ever think the world was made up of only lies and deception?

Minato sat with his feet braced on my shins, and I gave up on trying to get him to move his feet. He was anxious, twitchy, and about to drive me mad, but that was how everyone was now. Peace treaties were being talked of, meaning we were to expect fiercer fighting as the end drew near. Minato and I sat on either side of a hollow in a tree in which Minato's team slept.

"Sorry to hear about Obito," I almost whispered to Minato.

"People die in war," Minato tried to be casual, but I could see it bothered him. Thoughts were rushing through his mind. What could he have taught Obito that would have helped him live a little longer? "Did you know him?"

"Obito?" I grimaced. "I did, but I only met him two or three times. He was mostly loud and annoying, but he was a good kid."

"Aa," Minato closed his eyes and leaned his head back till it pointed towards the sky. "Everyone's a good kid after their dead, huh, Fuugaku?"

"They are, but Obito was a good kid before he was dead," I replied. It was the truth, and, more importantly, it was what Minato needed to hear right now. Minato smiled a little at the sky, and looked back down to me. His eyes were tired, and even his hair seemed to droop.

"How far in debt do you think Konoha is?" Minato asked, pitching his voice low.

I glanced over at my own squad, all three up in one of Konoha's monster trees. Two were playing a dice game while one was one watch. He caught me looking up and gave a discreet wave. I returned it and looked back to Minato. "Their hearing isn't that good, and none of them are interested in politics. "

Minato smiled and leaned forward anyway. "Fugaku, they want me to be Hokage."

I nodded. "I know. I'm going to be head of the Uchiha clan, and I get informed of these things. I think you'd make a great Hokage."

Minato gave me a strangled look. "Oh, yes, I've spent most of my life fighting, Fugaku. What do I know about running a village?"

"You'd be a figurehead, Butana-chan." I leaned back and looked him over. "Ninja worship you as a savior already, and making you Hokage, especially as the war ends, will make you basically a god. Sandaime-sama's still alive so he can help you out with the technical things. We'll need a strong leader when this is over, and you can be that."

Minato gave me a wry smile. "I don't feel like a very strong leader right now. Did you know we'll have been fighting this year for fourteen years in a few months? How crazy is that? That's more than half my life, Fugaku."

"Almost half mine," I intoned. He was right. This war had dragged on for too long, and it was showing. Konoha had to hire unaffliated ninja to dress as Konoha-nin to fool Iwa into thinking we were stronger than we actually were. There was all the debt Konoha was accumulating, though unaffiliated nin worked cheap compared to ninja with a village to support. My own squad was unaffiliated-nin. From what I'd heard, mine were well-mannered and competent compared to the other nin we'd hired.

"Butana-chan, you'd make a great Hokage," I repeated. "You should accept."

"Eh," Minato scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live for yourself for a while? I mean, to stop running and killing for Konoha, and just do what you want?"

"Every time I see Itachi-chan, and every time I have to leave Mikoto," I replied honestly. Itachi was four years old now, and he barely knew who I was. I wanted to get back to him and Mikoto so badly my chest ached.

"Mm," Mintao was probably thinking about Kushina, the pretty little kunoichi from Whirlpool he was fond of. "Do you think this war is ever really going to end?"

"It had better," I growled. "Itachi is not going to grow up fighting in a war, Minato. I don't care who I have to kill to make that happen, but he won't."

Minato was silent, possibly wishing he had someone he could fight for like that. Ever since his mother's death, Mintao had been mostly alone. He fought for Konoha, and that was all. I was fighting for: my wife, my son, my clan, and my village--in that order too.

Minato let out a long sigh. "If I become Hokage, than you'll be right. I will just be a figurehead, won't I?"

I nodded. "For a bit, at least. You'll grow out of it quickly, I'm sure, and the council will be eating out of your hand like pigeons."

Minato made a face. "I hate pigeons. They smell, and they poop everywhere."

I sniggered. "The council is just like pigeons. They stink of plotting, and they're full of crap they like to deposit on your shoulders."

Minato gave me a scandalized look, as if he couldn't believe I had just compared the esteemed council members to a flock of pigeons. I smirked at him, and he burst into laughter. After he became Hokage he said they were more like falcons. They reeked of plotting, tried to poke your eyes out, and then deposited a load of crap on your shoulders.

That was how it went, I gave Minato a tiny push, and he ran headlong into whatever catastrophe lay ahead and made it work.