I realize it's been a few months since I posted anything. This is going to be the final chapter, wrapped up a bit more neatly.
Lifeline
Danzo paced worriedly around his office in ROOT Headquarters. It had been about three solid months since he'd received news from the Snake Sannin, and the lack of communication at all would have meant betrayal to him if it had been anyone else. However, he knew Orochimaru was a shrewd man and would not give up the opportunity to further his own goals at little risk to himself.
The deal he'd made with the devious man had been one of self preservation. For a long time Danzo had known of Orochimaru's ambition to destroy Konoha, and it seemed the man was reaching a breaking point for how to accomplish this, particularly with a loyal jinchuuriki in the village. Danzo offered something of a solution and a compromise. He would provide details of Naruto's seal, with the man's cooperation, and in exchange Orochimaru would find a way to destroy the boy's mind without physically injuring him by way of the seal. This would turn Naruto into the perfect weapon, to be pointed anywhere except at the Sound, until Orochimaru inevitably betrayed them.
Danzo knew it was possible, he'd been present when Jiraiya examined the boy's seal shortly after the sealing itself took place. The Toad Sage had mentioned the stress the seal could put on the boy's mind should he manage to awaken his beast, but until then he was essentially out of harm's way. Later, Jiraiya had adamantly refused to harm the boy or use his seal in any way. The Toad Sage admitted that the boy's mindscape would be the only fragile part of the seal, the rest of it was simply impossible to break.
Dazno knew that Jiraiya's skills as a seal master far outweighed Orochimaru's, so anything the man might try to do to sabotage the plan would be far beyond his skill level.
Still, the Snake Sannin was a shrewd, clever man with an extensive intelligence network. He had labs and bases all across the elemental countries dedicated to doing the impossible.
Danzo had already fulfilled his end of the deal: he provided the scroll information to Orochimaru, and got the child out of the village. Now all he had to do was wait for his weapon to return to Konoha, newly refurbished and ready to obey commands.
His pacing stopped as he felt a presence enter the base, at the ceiling compartment. The figure jumped down and fell in front of him, silent and on one knee.
"Ayane, this is no time to chat" The old man said clearly, concisely and with authority in his tone. It was the voice he used at the council meetings to convey his true importance to the civilians or lesser ninja.
"This is not Ayane, merely a clone. I am tracking Naruto as you asked. They went to Wave country and things went south, a commotion was raised due to their presence. At the moment, a duo of foreign ninja wearing black cloaks with red clouds appear to be following them. One of them is an Uchih-"
"I am familiar with the clan." He cut her off. "And given our ally and the timing, I think it's best that we allow them to fight. Just as long as Naruto is returned to Konoha in one piece…"
Ayane's clone stood and saluted, then popped into a cloud of smoke. Danzo hacked a violent cough as the vile, chakra tainted air was sucked into his lungs, but he expelled it quickly enough. It was one of the more annoying aspects of the Jutsu.
Wafting the air clear, he stood and looked at the floor, praying that his weapon would finally be delivered. There was much to be done and not much time to do it. After all, the boy would need to fight off an invasion pretty soon.
BREAK
The wagons, now devoid of anything but their payment and small gifts given to them by the people of wave, were moving slowly along the trail back toward Konoha. Among the gifts were enough knick-knacks to outfit a collector's home; simple items that were all the villagers could afford to give, but felt they should for the work the ninja performed. Besides that, the cash they received from Gato for their services, plus what they got a week later as thanks from the civilians (money stored from Gato's vaults no doubt) was far more than sufficient to compensate them for their work. The Namikaze merchant actually felt bad and decided to donate his portion of the excess to Konoha, since it was the ninja that really did the work, not them.
Tekuno had nodded thankfully at that and recommended he actually donate it to one of the charities for struggling ninja: veterans of war who had lost limbs or just weren't fit for service but never had the chance to learn another skill. It was more of a problem in Konoha than anywhere else, because Konoha had a medical staff to keep the people alive and healthy. Most other villages, ninja worked until they literally died because it would be the only way of life they would ever know.
A day out from the docks where they'd departed for Wave, the genin had run out of things to talk about. Hinata and Ino had talked about boys as much as they could without going insane, and when it came to other topics they just had very different mindsets. Chouji was interested in doing nothing more than sitting still, so having to walk made him grumpy while Shikamaru couldn't care less. Naruto and Sasuke were almost at each other's throats after being stuck talking to each other for two weeks. As usual it was about something stupid like a stolen Kunai or a lack of original techniques.
The only thing abnormal about the situation was the pair of yellow, slit eyes in the brush.
BREAK
Orochimaru watched, silently masked and unmoving, impossible to spot but undeniably there as he saw his target: the boy he would break. He was blond and kept throwing side glances at the blond one, who returned the glances with smiles. Young love was so perfect, and easy to destroy.
He'd been watching them from the moment they left Konoha, heard their conversations., learned about their developments and decided that before the invasion, before he got his revenge on his sensei he would first have to remove the one person who could stop his ultimate weapon. By getting rid of Naruto, he was all but ensuring his success when Gaara decimated it one month from now at the chuunin exams.
The Snake ninja sensed the approach of the two men he'd tipped off to Naruto's presence. They were part of an organization he worked for and it was easy to let them know about Naruto through older contacts without letting them know the information was coming from him. It was no secret that the organization was very interested in the boy, for one reason or another. Orochimaru just had to be certain that whoever they send would be sufficient to force Naruto to flee.
His yellow slit eye widened when he noticed who the duo really was. One was undoubtedly Hoshigake Kisame, the blue skinned shark man being incredibly easy to identify. The other was none other than Uchiha Itachi, user of the mangekyou sharingan and one of the only people Orochimaru truly feared. Sadly, this meant he would not be around to watch the ensuing battle, although he was sure they were more than enough to handle the copy nin and the lesser man, Tekuno.
How Itachi would handle his younger brother though, could change things. He'd just have to wait from the outside and hope his prey would arrive on time.
BREAK
What happened next was a blur to Naruto. Two men in black and red cloaks dropped out of thin air right in the path of one of their horses. The larger one quickly flipped the horse in the lead over, landing on the other front horse and effectively putting the caravan to a halt.
The shorter one shot a gigantic fireball at all the ninja. Within seconds the sounds of steel clanging against steel filled the air. Off to the blonde's right, Kakashi was engaged in a heated duel against the smaller ninja. To his left, the larger man delivered a brutal backhand to Hinata while a massive sword fed on his sensei, the man apparently knocked out in seconds.
"NARUTO" rang out a scream from next to his ear. That was Ino. She caught a kunai that was headed for his stomach, just before it reached him. "We have to get out of here!"
Naruto looked at her, then flashed his attention back to the larger man. He could hear Sasuke off to the side shout 'Itachi' with venomous hatred, and looked to the smaller man. He was definitely as Sasuke had described.
A body went flying by his left. That was Shikamaru, having just been hit by the shark man's massive sword.
Naruto reached for some kunai and threw them at the larger of the two new ninjas, while forming seals for one of his father's more destructive water jutsus from the library:
"Water Release: Water Dragon Technique!" He called out. From the moisture on the ground and in the mist around them, Naruto formed an 8 foot long dragon made of water and fired it directly at the man he knew must be Itachi.
The response was a devastating wave of black fire which consumed the area before them, until he and Ino jumped away.
"You can't escape" roared a voice to his side. The fish man was next to him, holding him in place as the wave of fire approached. Ino was already away, never having been targeted by the man's grip.
"I know you'll survive" he whispered as the flames neared. At the last possible moment, Naruto wrenched his grip and hid behind the man, only for him to turn into water at the flames' touch. On instinct Naruto sunk into the ground and waited a moment before returning to the surface next to Ino.
Chouji's battle cry from across the clearing caught them by surprise and they turned to see his massive arm extend from his shoulder and catch the fish man, the real one, right where he'd been standing before as though he'd never moved. It looked as though the man was dead for a moment, until Chouji's hand began to open from the inside, pushed by brute force of the man he'd just crushed, until all the fingers were bent back.
With a whimper, Chouji retracted his hand, only to have all of his fingers broken by a sword swing.
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
That was Kakashi.
Naruto needed no further instructions. He made 5 clones and began carrying each of his injured teammates on his back, and Ino on his back as well, although she was unwilling. The rest of the genin had passed out.
He hopped for the edge of the clearing when suddenly a sword lashed out in front of him which would have taken his head off if not for some magical force stopping it.
Tekuno appeared to his right. His sense flashed him a grin, although he was bleeding from his mouth and ears. "Go, Naruto" his sensei said, before erupting in flames and consuming the spot where the massive swordsman used to be.
With that, Naruto took flight and didn't look back. He listened to orders, and if his sensei was going to give him once, he would follow it. Hopefully he would meet someone on the way back who could help.
Although, if the blonde were to be honest with himself, the real reason he was running was fear. The instants where he was even conscious of how fast the battle was progressing, the blood, the pain and injuries of his fellow genin and the stress and pleads of Kakashi to get out were all adding to a collective fear brewing in his mind, which spurred the blonde on ever faster and further from the almost massacre he'd just witnessed. It was the shortest battle he'd ever been in, and also the most brutal and it was in this key battle where the future of Naruto would be carved forever.
BREAK
Orochimaru followed along from a distance. His plan was working perfectly. Naruto had fled the fight with his friends and the one person to whom he was most strongly attached at the moment. Ayane was also in place to aid him in breaking the child, it was only a matter of time now.
However, not all was well with the Snake Sannin. He was split; there were two options for him. The first, he could break the boy mentally as he had promised to do, and in exchange Danzo would keep the invasion of Konoha secret in one month. If he continued to follow that plan, there was always the chance that the boy, Naruto, be used against him anyway. It was unlikely that Danzo would be able to force a mentally broken Naruto into using his literal inner demon, but why provide the old war hawk the chance? On the other hand, the Snake Sannin could simply traumatize Naruto right now, but with fury instead of helplessness. This could very well trigger the Kyuubi to be released and the team was currently so close to Konoha that the boy might very well do the job by himself. The only problem would be making the boy mad at Konoha instead of him or anyone else in the vicinity.
The Snake Sannin's plan was all coming together and yet he was still indecisive as to how to proceed. Always the planning type, but always with a goal in mind. The tactical decision at hand, he relayed the new orders to Ayane and sent a clone to explain the exact details. If he failed to direct the boy's anger, at the very least he would provide the boy to Danzo alive, to complete his bargain.
BREAK
Naruto was growing weary. The fight behind them was long out of sight and sound. He had heard what could have been a man screaming a short while back but he wasn't sure and certainly wasn't going back to find out. If Tekuno-sensei and Kakashi-sense couldn't handle it, what would make him think he could? The blonde pressed on, until he felt a tapping on his shoulder. That was Ino.
"I can run on my own now" She said into his left ear. Naruto stopped a moment to let her down on a branch, his other clones carrying their teammates forward without them. For a moment, they were alone in the treetops, everything was still and quiet.
Ino climbed off his back and looked at him nervously. She was blushing from the recent close contact of their bodies. "Just in case…" She said, practically to herself.
She leaned forward in that moment and took his lips in hers, then leapt off after his clones.
Naruto stood there stunned, then put a hand to his lips and felt the still present warmth. It was his first kiss. A smile spread over his face, joy in the face of pain, love blossoming on the battlefield just like his biological father's before him. With a shining smile and young love in his heart, he leapt after her, back to Konoha.
BREAK
Minato looked on with mixed feelings. He was happy for his son, but waited to intervene at any moment. His son had found his first love, but he was being watched from the shadows by the treacherous Snake Sannin. True danger was afoot. He reached on his connection with the Shinigami and felt surprisingly hollow, as though it was weaker than before. The voice of the Shinigami reached him, but it was wavering.
"Yes Little Minato? You rang?"
"I would like to prepare to use my final change."
"Oh Minato, it's so sad. A man of your age and you can't even count. Five changes remember? The first change of your saga: Gin adopted your son. He gave him a loving home didn't he? The second change in the legend of little Minato: You killed those Iwa ninjas so they wouldn't know of your son too soon. That one was my favorite, because if you were to visit Iwa right now you'd discover they already know! Your third change was awfully unnecessary as well, and possibly your worst decision: you introduced your son to your library. You know that Naruto was supposed to learn about your techniques the moment he turned 12 anyway right? You don't think Sarutobi made no plans for it, did you? Ah, but you didn't think to check, how awful. Your fourth choice was a close contender for stupidity: you saved Naruto from getting stabbed. You know he wouldn't have died from being stabbed, that whole Kyuubi being in him thing. Such a wasted opportunity. And your fifth and final change, which you were paying so little attention to and called your fourth: you changed team assignments to keep him out of danger. Do you realize it now? All of your changes were to make your son stronger. You were to keep him safe by murdering those who would threaten him and give him the ability to get stronger, yet all this time he was in danger from those closest to him. He built connections, connections that can be severed. You saw what happened last time they were severed didn't you? Before all your changes, his bonds were broken and he lashed out at the world. His bonds were broken by Orochimaru, right before the village gats and he destroyed your village. You know what they say, don't you Minato? Care to take a guess?"
All the while the Shinigami talked, a shadow grew around Minato. It began as a mere dot and expanded to a black cauldron of wisps around him, vaguely forming the room that he had lived in for 15 years of boredom. Minato, having been free for 12 years, didn't want to go back. Fear enveloped his consciousness, he would not be forced to go back, but the words told him of his ignorance. He did not dare guess what the monstrous Shinigami would say. And yet he would hear it:
"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Let's watch"
BREAK
Naruto neared the gates. Surprisingly he hadn't caught up with Ino. He felt his clones disappear and knew that his friends, everyone who had gone with him on the mission except his sensei's and Ino had arrived at the gate. He was almost there, a life of happiness waiting for him when he arrived. He had his mom and now, truly he had found love. Naruto's right hand kept drifting to his lips as he relived the moment, and the momentum spurred him on.
It was at that moment that the treeline broke and the gates of Konoha came into view. It was also that moment that his whole world shattered. There in front of him, right at the front of the gates, was Ayane. His mother. The woman that had cared for him for three years when his father had died. He'd confided in her about so many things: his feelings about his father, Konoha, and Ino. And there she stood, a kunai in one hand and Ino in the other, held by her neck up in the air. He was about to shout when Ayane made eye contact with him, took the kunai in her hand, and buried it in Ino's neck.
Naruto screamed and rushed to her, but was stopped by Ayane. She threw him to the ground and stood on his back. Naruto screamed and cried and watched as Ino gurgled blood and reached to pull the kunai out, but scrape as she might she couldn't pull it out. It took 10 mind-bendingly awful seconds for her to stop struggling and fall limp. With heartbroken eyes, Naruto looked up at Ayane, pleading to go to Ino.
Pain struck him in the center of his back. Ayane pulled him to his feet and with a quick motion of her hands bound him in place. She moved to Ino's side and stomped down on the kunai. All Naruto could see was her pale lifeless blue eyes.
Ayane's voice cut the wails but otherwise silent clear day.
"Naruto, you are Konoha's weapon. That is all you are. You cannot have a father, mother, or any other attachments. I don't love you, I never have. You have completed your first mission. You will never be permitted to love again, and this is to show you that. As long as Konoha still stands, you will do your duty."
Ayane turned her back to Naruto and felt tears begin to fall down her face. She shunshined away, but not to Konoha. The village that was her home would be no longer, if it even managed to stand to the end of the day. It was time; she would finally go to the Sound Village to serve her real master, Orochimaru.
Orochimaru who was in the bushes and suddenly sprung out, rushing at the blonde faster than his eyes could track. With a quick motion like a snake, he completed his disruption technique and planted his hand in the blonde's stomach. Naruto roared in unearthly pain and Orochimaru shunshined away just as quickly.
BREAK
Minato was seeing history repeat itself. In mere moments, the rage that Naruto had never felt until right that moment spilled forth. It was the rage of the Kyuubi and due to Ayane's words and actions it was currently pointed at the village he loved. Everyone he knew would be dead in mere moments. His son was gone, only the Kyuubi in his place. If anything, looking at the facts, the moment in which Naruto had attacked the village occurred three years earlier than it had before he'd changed anything.
"SHINIGAMI. This was not our deal! You said I could save my son! I did nothing but help him… this.. this isn't how it should end."
His cry ended in a whisper, ethereal tears ghosting down his face.
"Ah, but it is exactly what we agreed upon. Five chances, or your money back. We have not yet reached the point of no return yet. Your son may be exploding forth in anger, but you have until May 22nd of his fifteenth year to decide if you want to change anything back. You get to watch three more years of this. Don't you want to enjoy it?"
Minato said nothing. He could do nothing but sit and watch the destruction of his village once more. It took only 15 minutes for Naruto to fully release the Kyuubi and decimate the entire village. Any scrape of existence Naruto may have had was gone and in that state, Naruto died. His spirit was eaten by the Kyuubi the very moment he was fully released, as were the spirits of nearly every single person in the village. Not long after, the Kyuubi began to roam the continent as it once had.
The Final Years
In the first year following the Kyuubi's Revival, Sarutobi died. He had escaped the Kyuubi assault on Konoha and was prepared to use the Shinigami summoning to force the spirit of the beast into a new child. However, he found his body too weak to complete the summoning and died in the process. The nameplate in the dome room from which Minato came faded out of existence, the prediction was wrong. Meanwhile, the Sound village came into existence in Rice country. While it wasn't very prominent, it did engage in the land battle for where the Leaf. village used to be in Fire Country. Unfortunately, lacking a bijuu or container to fight, the Sound village was quickly beaten out by the larger villages. Due to a land agreement between the Cloud village and the Rock village, the domain of Fire country was jointly acquired and the land was used for farms by the two, to supplement their own populations. The funds of the country by the daimyo were also split jointly, and the royalty fled to Suna where they become normal citizens providing new contacts to the suffering village.
In the second year following the Kyuubi's Revival, an organization known as Akatsuki began gathering the bijuu containers. Every village found themselves under siege by the godlike members, but due to poor relations were unable to help each other. The most elite ninja from each village founded an information network to spread warning of members in certain locations, however the network was compromised when the Sound gained access and used it to storm the Sand Village. The invasion of the Sand failed due to Gaara's bijuu getting loose, but the Akatsuki intervened and stole Gaara away at the end of the battle when he was too exhausted to fight back.
In the third year, leading up to May 22nd of what would have been Naruto's explosive anger had nothing been changed, the Rock and Cloud villages jointly assaulted the Akatsuki and through brilliant tactics managed to fight themselves to a standstill with the organization's supposed leader, Pein. Taking the opportunity to come forward, Madara began the Infinite Tsukiyomi technique and all looked lost for the ninja world…. That is until Itachi switched sides. Itachi, spurned by Sasuke's death in the revival of the Kyuubi saw no merit in Madara's plan and had been working with Killer Bee to try to take down individual members of the organization for some time. Itachi had found a sense of camaraderie in bonding with the man who, like him, was forced to only barely be in contact with his village, scorned by most but upbeat as Naruto had been in the short time he'd known of the container. Itachi and Bee had worked together to try to inherit the true nature of what it meant to be a shinobi.
Itachi bore the spirit of Hagoromo and Bee bore the spirit of Hamura, working together to defeat Kaguya once she was summoned and using their combined strength and wits to defeat Madara and end the Infinite Tsukiyomi technique. Following the battle, which left most of the two top ninja villages in ruins, Itachi became the Kage of Cloud and Bee became the Kage of Rock. With nearly limitless power, the other villages were forced to fall in line behind them and the whole continent was split into two separate nations. It was as the new form of government began to come together than the date of decision came. On May 21st, The Cloud and Rock officially signed their union. On May 22nd, a concerned Minato looked out over the new landscape of the world, and was forced to make his decision.
"Well little Minato, you can leave things as they are, leave my stomach, and go to the afterlife. There won't be many people you know, most of the villagers' soulds were eaten by the Kyuubi…. You'll be admitting that you made the wrong decisions of course. Or, you can put everything back how it was: your son will destroy Konoha three years later and you'll return to my stomach… or one more option still: be free of my stomach, your son will be fine, but the people of the village will come to reside in my stomach just as you had done. There are so many options…"
Minato looked at the shadow in despair. None of them were good, certainly. "Didn't you say there was a way to save everyone?"
"Ah yes, but you didn't do it. I knew you wouldn't."
"But, I would. If I could save everyone, I'd do it. Just tell me what it is!"
"I grow weary of you Minato chan. From the beginning, you've done nothing but whine and complain. It's all about you. Do you really want to know how you could have done it? I'll tell you. All you had to do was Kill. Naruto. I mean, if he was dead, he couldn't release the Kyuubi, the village would survive, and since you did it, you'd move on to the afterlife. All you had to do was finish the job."
Minato sputtered… then looked closely at the Shinigami. The being was serious and lacked no certainty.
"You're right. I couldn't have done that before. But give me the chance now. I can do it. Just let me choose when."
"You think I would give you another chance? You already had five. All you needed was one and I gave you four more chances. How selfish can one soul be?"
"Please, Shinigami-sama. I beg of you. One last chance to make things right."
"But Minato chan, everything is all right. The Shinobi of your world have made peace. War is at an end. The threat of Madara is gone and Kaguya was defeated. If I turn back time for you again, well… how do you know that it will go any better? No, I should hardly give you the chance. Your soul is not worth that much."
Minato felt the anger welling up inside. He hated himself. He knew he would have to kill his own son, but then at least the others he knew in his village would be okay, and if he did it right before the Kyuubi was released, then his son would at least know love. He would have had his full life until the age of 12, then unfortunately lose it. However, he'd go to the afterlife, he wouldn't be destroyed. He would save his son.
The Shinigami had faded from view once more and Minato found himself in the all too familiar domed room, black. The other chairs were gone and the nameplates faded. The way things were now, without any change, no one would ever have to summon the Shinigami.
Minato waited a moment, then settled himself into a true state of confidence. He would kill his son. He would give his son an afterlife and damn it all, he would take his first love with him.
With a strained breath, Minato reached upon his connection to the Shinigami, and wrestled for the feeling he'd had the last time the Shinigami's voice had wavered. It was a novel feeling of lightness, like he didn't even exist, yet also existed everywhere. Minato strained further, but felt a resistance. It was a familiar fight, much like the one he'd had with the Kyuubi 27 years ago when this all began, when he forced the soul of the demon of chakra into his son's body. It was a fight he could win.
Thinking back to the heartbreak when his wife died in giving birth, he tore at that anger and shoved it into his technique. He remembered his pain at seeing his son's agony as the seal was completed, and threw that at the Shinigami as well. He took the feeling of pain from seeing Naruto explode with rage, not once but twice, and threw that against the wall, shaking it with his feelings.
And right as he reached his limit, he felt the Shinigami open up in his mind, shrieking with rage.
"I AM NOT YOUR TOOL. YOU WILL GET NO MORE CHANCES. STOP THIS. THIS INSTANT"
"YOU TOOK MY SON FROM ME. YOU TOOK MY VILLAGE FROM ME. YOU TOOK MY WHOLE GOD DAMN LIFE AND 27 MORE YEARS AND YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY UNTIL I GET AN OUNCE OF IT BACK"
"YOU DARE TO DEFY A GOD?! THERE IS NO MERCY FOR YOU MINATO. NOT NOW, NOT AGAIN, AND I WILL NOT WATCH THE SOULS WRITHE IN AGONY AT YOUR IGNORANCE"
"THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO FIGHT ME TO THE END"
Minato felt his body lighten, and a bluish glow formed around him. It was another chance, the power he felt when the Shinigami granted him a wish. For just half a second he wondered if he could do it again and get more chances, but the Shinigami was right: he only needed one.
BREAK
"Naruto, you are Konoha's weapon. That is all you are. You cannot have a father, mother, or any other attachments. I don't love you, I never have. You have completed your first mission. You will never be permitted to love again, and this is to show you that. As long as Konoha still stands, you will do your duty."
Ayane turned her back to Naruto and felt tears begin to fall down her face. She shunshined away, but not to Konoha. The village that was her home would be no longer, if it even managed to stand to the end of the day. It was time; she would finally go to the Sound Village to serve her real master, Orochimaru.
Orochimaru who was in the bushes and suddenly sprung out, rushing at the blonde faster than his eyes could track.
Suddenly, an impossible Yellow Flash was planted in front of him, and a rasengan planted itself in his head. He exploded and died before he even knew what happened.
Minato turned to his son, who looked at him with pain and awe, a mix of emotions he'd never had before.
"I'm sorry son, this is for the best"
Minato summoned up the strength to use his original Rasengan, the incomplete Rasen-Shuriken, and planted it in his son's eyes, so blue that they looked like a mirror-image of his own. Minato felt his own eyes swell and his arm shear into nonexistence as the technique took effect. Not even the Kyuubi could react in time to save him. In that moment, both Naruto and Minato were completed obliterated.
Their spirits began to drift from their bodies, and Minato grabbed his 12 year old son in a hug, stifling his son's tears, as the two floated up to the afterlife. The Shinigami watched, and simply let it go: the man's will as a father would not be beaten.
AN: That's the end of Lifeline. I know it seems kinda rushed. I had planned to do more but the Manga ended so I've kind been losing interest in the series. If you don't like my choice of characters for things, don't worry, I'm sure you'll tell me in a million flames. "OMG ITACHI AND BEE?! WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID?!" I don't care. It's finished now. The story was about Minato / Naruto, so…. just stop.
