Author's Prenote

I'm currently in Mexico, have been for the past two weeks and didn't have much internet to really have a chance to publish this chapter.

I also had a rough surgery for a couple of my wisdom teeth as Docs in America didn't want to 'risk' the chance of paralyzing my face. One of my teeth were on a nerve and the procedure did hurt even when I was numbed down. Well, at least I'm recovering, have a huge bruise on my cheek, but it's finally dealt with.

Anyways, I hope you guys are all well and thank you for those who follow me.

I didn't intend to have this chapter this long. Like I said in my note from the last chapter, I'm going to be writing more constantly but shorter chapters, but oh well.

Thank you YAXON for editing and my dear Kao who I love as a daughter who is going to be also beta reading these chapters to make sure I don't rush things.

Enjoy~

Chapter 20

Sasuke was silent, standing right at the other side of the door leading to the room his brother was staying at. The six-year-old could feel his heart slowly beat as he reached the doorknob, but before he had the chance to grasp it, he was pulled away by his mother with a finger on her lips, a frown with disapproval. She dragged him down the hallway with his lips pressing into a thin line, looking back to his brother's room with desperation.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Sasuke, to let your brother rest," Mikoto lectured as she pulled him along the hallway. She did her best not to raise her voice – after all, they were in the hospital – but her hard tone was enough to make the boy look down.

"I…" Sasuke tried to form the words with a clenched throat. "Just wanted to see how my brother was doing…"

His brother was sent on a mission, one that left him in the hospital and… Shisui dead…

Sasuke still didn't know exactly what the mission was for nor did he know what really happened to his brother that left him with a wounded head. All his brother would do now was stare into space with a cloudy gaze in bed whenever he was allowed to visit him. Sasuke imagined the head injury that his brother sustained played a big part in his brother's almost lifeless state, including Shisui's death, but he wanted to know how it happened. Who killed Shisui? Who dared to leave his brother in such a mess?

Mikoto's eyes softened, sadly smiled at her son's concern. She lowered herself to his height, grabbed his chin and made him look up to meet her exhausted gaze.

"Shisui's death is… not easy for Itachi…" she did her best to explain, hopefully enough to ease the boy's worry. "Your brother is recovering from the physical injuries he received as well… We need to give him time to heal."

"Who killed Shisui?" Sasuke took this chance to ask with a shaky voice. "Who hurt my brother?" The last question had a hint of anger.

Mikoto pulled her hand away from Sasuke, mentally debating if she should tell her son the truth. The way the boy's eyes lit with fire made her realize keeping the boy in the dark wasn't beneficial for anyone. He had to know the truth of their reality.

"The same man who kidnapped Kushina's son years ago," she said in a serious tone, making the boy's eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"What…?"

"Kushina didn't want you know, but I think you're ready to know what really happened to her son."

Sasuke held his head up high, all ears on her.

"A masked man, years ago, stole Kushina's child right after he was born… and he's been missing ever since."

"Why did he do that?" Sasuke had heard such rumors before, but he didn't think they were real. He couldn't understand why anyone would try to take a newborn.

"He wanted something from the village, he wanted to harm us all, but he couldn't so he took what was most precious to the Hokage," she said, hiding the details surrounding the Nine-Tails.

Sasuke was silent, trying his best to imagine it all in his head, and he couldn't help but feel so bad for Kushina.

"The Hokage found the man's hideout and took your brother and other shinobi with him to try to take him into custody and hopefully find Kushina's son if they could," she continued. "But…" Her usual black eyes had seemed to fog up as she looked down at the wooden floor, remembering everything she was told surrounding her son's state during the mission. Choza had told her they found Itachi holding Shisui's lifeless hand.

Her son was so close to the older Uchiha… she couldn't imagine how terrible it was for him to stare down at Shisui's ravaged body.

At such a very young age the boy had seen the horrors of the world, he seemed used to it, but… a tragedy like Shisui's death at this age… someone that the boy deeply loved… he was too kind to lose someone so close…Too kind to have seen Shisui's lifeless face…

She blamed herself.

If only she didn't agree with Fugaku on letting Itachi join Minato's mission. If only she held him back at a very young age from becoming stronger from the very beginning, forced him to have a childhood like any other kid in their village, then Itachi wouldn't be in such a suffering state.

Maybe she never thought Itachi would have been affected so badly from a trauma, maybe she always imagined him like an unstoppable force, too strong to have been hurt in any way. Never in a thousand years did she believe she had to worry so much for her son.

They have pushed their oldest son too much, and for what? For their clan's future?

Yet… even if she had wanted to keep her oldest son from the dangers of the world, she knew very well they needed his strength so much.

"Is the masked man really that strong?" Sasuke mumbled quietly, trying his best to control the anger that was growing in the pit of his stomach. His hands clenched into shaky fists.

"Very much so."

"Who is he?" The boy wanted to know who the man was. Who was so powerful that was able to take the Hokage's child and foil Minato's mission to retrieve his son back after all these years.

"We don't know, except… he's an Uchiha."

"An Uchiha?!" Sasuke's jaw dropped at the revelation, eyes wide at his mom's direction.

Someone from his clan killed Shisui and almost Itachi too?! Someone from their own clan was their enemy and caused Kushina so much pain?!

There was no way that was true!

Mikoto gave her youngest son a firm nod to show the seriousness of the situation.

"We aren't really sure what he wants. But he is a traitor for spilling Uchiha blood… a powerful shinobi, a danger to our people and to the village itself."

Sasuke's mind began to race as his mother placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

"Don't worry, Sasuke," her thumb caressed her younger son's tender cheek. "The Uchiha will stop him."

Kakashi laid in bed, a white bed sheet covering half of his face, gazing at the door as he listened to Mikoto and Sasuke's conversation end. He heard them walk away, and he looked back at the ceiling with exhaustion.

His chest was bandaged up, Minato really left him severely wounded according to the doctor, and supposedly Kushina made sure he got the best treatment possible. He was alive, but terribly wounded. As much as he wanted to be up, his injuries would keep him bedridden for a while.

"Kakashi!"

The injured man turned quietly to the open window where a green uniformed man jumped in, waving a boutique of red flowers with a grin.

"You're finally awake!" Guy mused, going over to him. "Expected as much from my eternal rival to wake up sooner than the doctors anticipated," he placed the flowers on the side table.

Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes. He really didn't want any guests in the room, especially him, at this moment, but he knew there was no way he could get rid of the lively shinobi.

"Man, Kakashi, I should have been there," Guy brought a fist up, eyes shaking with fire. "I would have taken that masked man down for sure!"

"Where's… Minato-sensei?" Kakashi croaked out, looking back to Guy, who lowered his fist with a calmer facial expression. The grey-haired shinobi wanted to know where his teacher was right at the moment he first opened his eyes.

"I'm not really sure," Guy answered, pulling a chair near the bed so he could sit next to his friend. "We were just told he's recovering from the mission…"

Silence filled the room for a few minutes with the only noise coming from a cart being pushed past the room.

"Kakashi… did …The Hokage really try to kill you…?"

Kakashi sighed.

So, was that the rumor that was spreading through the village now?

He didn't really know how to respond to the man's question, but he tried his best to make sure his teacher wasn't accused for anything that he really didn't have any control over.

"Stop!" Minato quickly teleported to one of the kunai that was located near his men, and jumped in front of Kakashi who was taken aback by his teacher's eyes flashing red; the same ones that he had seen in the vision he had before he had arrived in the cave.

"I'm not letting you hurt him!" he struck his student hard across the face. Kakashi stumbled back at the hit and stared at his teacher in shock. Everyone else also stopped and lowered their weapons at the sight of Minato's pupils turning into slits. The nine-tail's chakra was slipping through the seal.

"Sensei...?" Kakashi could feel his teacher was filled with rage.

"I swear, you lay a hand on any of them... "

"The Nine-Tails tried, but he failed," Kakashi said, after remembering how the Nine-Tails' chakra was trying to control his teacher by taking advantage of the man's emotions. Just like it also blinded Minato and moved him to kill his own son…

If the masked man hadn't jumped in to protect the boy, then…

Kakashi ignored the thought. He really didn't want to imagine Minato killing Naruto, but he did ponder on how the masked man saved the boy.

Why did the man risk his life like that…?

"I see…" Guy's shoulders relaxed, actually glad to hear their village leader hadn't really meant to harm Kakashi. "Well, you better get better soon, 'cause we sure need you," he winked at him teasingly.

Kakashi didn't comment. He was still trying to understand what he had witnessed during their mission.

The boy had been helping the enemy back at the cave and even cried his heart out over a white creature's corpse. The boy had clearly been close to the creature to break down so badly before them all. But what really left him with more questions was the matter of the masked man.

The masked man seemed to be targeting the Tailed Beasts for what the Elders believed to be a desire for power, yet shielding the boy with his own body just didn't seem to make any sense. Like, why would a powerful shinobi, supposedly hungry for power, almost die for a child? The pieces just didn't fit.

He let out a sigh of exhaustion, debating if he should tell Guy to get him a nurse as the painkillers were dying down in his system while he was also trying to figure out what could the masked man be really after…and figure out who was under the mask…

Obito weakly stared at nothing, as he laid on the ground like a rag doll. His head painfully throbbed; and after gathering his thoughts, he realized someone was calling out for him.

"Obito!"

He cringed at the name and frowned when his vision cleared up to reveal a wide-eyed Naruto staring down at him.

"Can you hear me?" the boy asked with worry once the man reacted.

Obito took a moment to take a deep breath before he struggled to sit up. He grabbed the back of his head, trying to figure out where he was and how he ended up on the ground.

They weren't attacked… he was sure of that; he would have been dead if that was the case. The last thing he remembered was traveling along the trees for what seemed to be a few hours…

"I'm sorry I couldn't catch you," the boy looked down in shame. "I... don't know why I… froze…" Obito stared at him while the boy pressed his lips into a thin line.

He fell…

Obito didn't remember falling…

So, he had passed out.

He wanted to know how long he was unconscious, hoping it wasn't too long, but by the way the sky wasn't as bright as before gave him the idea the time it was now.

This was bad… He had passed out without any warning. Was the poison the cause of it? Or was his body still suffering from the overuse of his Sharingan?

He did feel more exhausted than before… Probably he pushed his body too much.

Then the question was… was he prone to these random blackouts till he actually got his strength back?

If he was going to lose consciousness randomly, then he couldn't travel the way he had originally planned. Not only was he risking his life but the boy's as well. They also wouldn't reach their destination in four days as he had first believed.

He frowned behind his mask out of annoyance.

Seemed like someone out there was trying really hard to keep him from achieving his dream.

"O… bito…?" The boy let out with hesitation, hoping he hadn't screwed anything up by letting the masked man fall to the ground.

"I told you to call me Sensei," Obito lectured the boy coldly, making the boy flinch.

"Sorry…" Naruto mumbled, finally having the courage to look up with his bright blue eyes. "Is the poison still inside you?"

Obito simply stared at him before he finally pushed himself up on his feet. He was regretting in sending White Zetsu away. He really had to have some sort of plan for them in case he passed out again.

He just hoped he wouldn't lose consciousness again any time soon. Well, then again, like when the host of the Three-Tails died, he had to wait for who knows how long until the creature was back to life roaming in their lands. There wasn't really a reason why he had to be in such a rush for anything except for the fact he was vulnerable in his current state.

A loud gurgle sound caught his attention, making him look down at the boy who was avoiding eye contact with him, arms enclosing his tiny stomach.

The fire seemed to dance on the campfire; around it, sticks with fish on them leaned close enough to cook them well.

Obito had set the fire up and caught as many fish he could to feed two adults. He wasn't sure how hungry the boy was, he wasn't going to ask, so he just got as many as he could to fill the boy up for a long time. Eating was something he never had to worry about after his body had been modified years ago, so he never really thought about it; one more bothersome thing to keep in mind…

The boy sat across the masked man. Both were dead silent, eyes either on the fish or at the fire. Neither had said a word after Obito had realized he had to feed the child. It wasn't like they wanted to give one another the cold shoulder, it was more like… they just didn't know what to say.

Well, Obito just didn't know how to talk to the child and was too busy planning… while the boy kind of felt a bit down to really talk to him, and too hesitant to even start a conversation.

Could anyone blame the child?

Naruto wasn't really sure what to think of the masked man.

He grew up believing the masked man to be some sort of peace seeker, fighting for the people his Uncle would tell him during bed time stories. The world was a dangerous place Tobi would say, full of selfish and evil humans.

Yet… the masked man tried to kill him before. Kill him because the masked man had no more use of him.

Even now Naruto could feel his stomach turning at the memory of him hiding behind his Uncle while Obito glared at him with a red glowing eye. Then again… Obito had jumped in front of him, protecting him from Minato's strike.

The boy shook his head with frustration as dormant questions crawled back into his mind.

"You have been lied to…"

Naruto's eyes stared with confusion.

"You weren't abandoned…" Minato said in a serious tone. "You were stolen from us."

"...You're lying…" the boy muttered slowly.

"The masked man barged into our lives the second you were born."

"You're lying…"

"He killed everyone who tried to defend us."

"You're lying."

"You were ripped from our lives while your mother screamed your name!"

"You're lying!"

The argument he had with his father back at the cave was now bothering him a lot. He wanted to know what exactly happened when he was born. Why Obito took him from his parents and who was actually telling the truth. He didn't want to be kept in the dark any longer…

His stomach growled once again, more painful than before.

The boy sighed. He was hungry and tired; the confusion was starting to give him a headache so for now he was going to try and enjoy his meal.

He took a fish stick and blew on it to cool it down.

At least the new mask Obito was now wearing didn't intimidate the boy too much. Probably cause there weren't any blood stains on it.

"Don't take too long."

Naruto's shoulders tensed up from the mask man's dark tone.

"We can't be out in the open like this," Obito noticed the boy's discomfort. "We must seek shelter for tonight."

"Obi-Sensei?" Naruto corrected himself.

Obito's eyes narrowed at the boy's almost slip up, but let the boy continue.

"Is… your favorite color orange…?" the boy was hesitant to ask, but he was actually very curious to notice the new mask was orange just like the one before. Orange wasn't people's usual color to have in their clothes from what he had noticed when Zetsu would take him to the village for a stroll. So, Obito keeping the orange for his new mask made the boy think the man liked the color.

Obito frowned at the question, even if it was an innocent one, it didn't seat too well in him. Why would the boy even waste his time asking him something so trivial?

Orange was his favorite color. Was… many years ago, but how did the boy end up assuming it?

Probably the masks he wore gave the boy such idea.

Naruto didn't take the lack of answer as a good sign, but that didn't keep him from sharing his thoughts.

"That's my favorite color too…" he mumbled before he returned his attention on the fish, sinking his teeth on it.

The masked man was dead silent, he wasn't sure how to react. He wasn't sure what to think at this moment. The only thing he was aware of was the pain in his chest… Pain that wasn't really supposed exist in him as he was supposed to feel nothing after…

"Our travel to Amegakure will take longer as I anticipated." He kept the terrible memory under wraps, filling in the boy with the news. Naruto looked up at him with confusion. "I am still recovering, so we'll need to take a few more stops so I can regain my power."

Naruto swallowed a little bit, nodding quietly in understanding.

"So…we won't be seeing Kisame or Zetsu then for a while…?" The boy dared to ask.

Obito held back from letting out an annoyed sigh.
"We will see…" he said in a cold tone, glaring down at the fire.

Why did the boy insist in wanting to be with Kisame and Zetsu?

And why did it bother him so much?

Once again silenced filled the air. The boy eventually finished eating as much as he could and Obito erased all traces of their campfire by flashing a red eye from the right hole of his mask and sucking them all in like a vacuum, slightly leaving him more exhausted but satisfied that he could still activate his eye even if it was for a few seconds.

Naruto had stared the whole action with amazement, but didn't comment on it, following the masked man through the forest in a calm manner. He guessed Obito was looking for a place for them to stay and running around wasn't a priority for now.

They were met by a river stream, Obito simply walked on the water and from the corner of his eye waited to see if the boy could do the same. Without much of hesitation, Naruto was on his side, feet firmly planted on the water's surface.

The boy had a smile on his face as he looked down at his feet. He felt pretty proud of himself for not falling into the water. All those times practicing with Kisame paid very well.

He glanced up to the masked man, hoping the man would at least give him a nod of acknowledgement for his skill, but all he got was a cold shoulder from him…

The boy wasn't sure why, usually he would feel very discourage when no one praised him for his efforts, but… for some reason, his heart clenched with a desire to get a reaction from the man, a form of acknowledgement and he had a feeling such things would be a challenge yet…

Yet it seemed to be very important to him.

It was probably important because at this moment he was weak. Too weak to really protect anyone, too weak to have really saved his uncle.

But… getting stronger would insure him to protect what or who he cares for in the future.

He was going to prove to Obito that he was worth something, make his uncle proud from whatever place he's watching him from till he got him back in his life. He had a feeling that the moment Obito acknowledged his power then… then he was capable of truly having a happy life.

A grin formed on his face as he felt an unknown source of energy from within push him forward after the masked man.

"Please, Obito…"

His uncle's words replayed in his mind from the moment Obito had returned to them in the cave.

"Just give him a chance and you'll see he's more than just a pest…"

The fear he had towards the masked man seemed to leave his mind for now, but it was okay. He just really wanted to prove himself to the man, prove to him his uncle didn't waste his time defending him.

He wasn't just a pest…

He was going to be a great shinobi.

A shinobi who will protect his uncle when he comes back to life.

Author's Afternote

Naruto's hesitation is on break for now. Now to really see their adventures unfold.

Also, check out my Deviant Art with the name iNisroc to see how Naruto looks like in this story if you haven't done so.

Thank you~

Please review and comment~