NOTE: ALL SCENES IN THIS CHAPTER TAKE PLACE MOSTLY CONCURRENTLY. IT IS ALSO NINE THOUSAND WORDS LONG AND FEATURES THREE CHARACTERS' POINTS OF VIEW. DESPAIR OR REJOICE, AS PER YOUR PREFERENCE.


Minato: Get mad.

Your name is MINATO NAMIKAZE. You are a CERTIFIED BADASS who is going to be the next Hokage. You are considered a WAR HERO, PAPERWORK NINJA, and FREAKISHLY POWERFUL MURDER-MASTER, and are the only person in history to have a village declare you TOO STRONG TO FIGHT. You are also a GIGANTIC DORK with the kind of naming sense that has you BANNED FOR LIFE from naming your children, courtesy of Kushina.

You have just succeeded in stopping Kumogakure's advance dead. What will you do?

09090

I am the fastest man alive.

That's what people tell me, at any rate. I know that there's a difference between speed and speed.

Teleportation is one thing. Specifically, it's my specialty. Most people can't fight it effectively, or mimic the split-second timing that is required to fight using space-time ninjutsu. Lightning-powered battle armor in the vein of the Third Raikage's is another thing entirely. The Eight-Tailed Beast's chakra cloak is an out-of-human-context and nearly unique conundrum. Fighting both with no backup is a situation that I've actually been in twice.

This is the second time.

This particular stretch of forest is about fifteen kilometers from the nearest field hospital. I should know—between my jutsu requirements and the fact that Kakashi and Kei are both stationed there, it'd be remiss of me to forget. High-speed shinobi can cross that distance in a short enough time that I was asked to join the interception squad. Kumogakure in particular has a lot of them, so it made sense to put myself on the front line.

The last two confrontations have been inconclusive, with no casualties on either side. I doubt anyone in B's squad is dead, or else he probably would have tried to attack in spite of operational sense by now. His brother might be there to hold him back, but Tailed Beast hosts can be unpredictable and occasionally as unstoppable as the sea.

I should know. Kushina told me what she was when we were fifteen, even if she didn't demonstrate the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, and I haven't looked back since.

Kōga Inuzuka stands in a ready crouch with his huge brown partner, Aomaru, fifteen meters behind me. Kurojō Furude and Jiro Akimichi are five meters from him on each side, fanning out in a roughly triangular formation. I'm on point, turning the triangle into a diamond. Under normal conditions, we would be long gone, and Aomaru would be in the lead instead.

We're only not moving because we've run into a Kumogakure group.

Just our luck that A and B are both here, I think dryly.

At least both Kumo-nin are probably going to focus on me. Perks of being famous, I suppose.

A and B are both twenty kilograms heavier than me in terms of muscle mass, at least. Dark-skinned and white-haired, they're both wearing the Kumogakure single-shouldered white flak jacket. B's white hair is covered by a white-backed Kumogakure hitai-ate, and he wears sunglasses that don't quite suit the locale. I can see the Iron Seal on his right shoulder, but I just make a note about it. While the seal would be a massive weak spot if I was willing to risk releasing the Eight-Tailed Beast, it would be better to save that particular last-ditch effort for another time.

A is actually bigger than B, with a narrow strip of cloth rather than a bandanna, and his hair is slicked back over his head and down his neck. Going by the new gauntlet-bracer combination he's wearing, I have to be careful that he doesn't land a punch. It looks like he could knock me either flatter than dead or right through a tree. From what I remember, though, he doesn't have the same hole-punching power that his father's Hell Stab did.

At least Wind beats Lightning.

"Yellow hair and the Body Flicker jutsu," says the third Kumo-nin. "No two ways about it—that's the Yellow Flash! They say escape's the only option with him."

…One of these days, I'm going to have to sit down with someone from either Iwa or Kumo and ask why everyone seems to mistake the Flying Thunder God jutsu for the Body Flicker one.

A, sounding much calmer than his compatriot, says, "So, he's the shinobi that stopped the Nine-Tails abduction mission singlehandedly."

While I know I've actually foiled more dastardly plots in my career than most people have fingers, I was thirteen then. People in other villages really don't keep up with the news much.

"You're the Raikage's son, then—A the Unruly." I say, utterly calm. "Rumors say you're quick on your feet."

B, crouching somewhat further back and with two red-handled blades in his hands, puts in, "If Bro and I are together, we can take ya, ya dumbass phony."

"Nobody move," I order my teammates, Flying Thunder God kunai raised. None of them need to risk getting into a fight here, particularly with these two Kumo-nin. "Leave them to me."

My other hand, though, slips into my hip pouch. In an instant, my special kunai are out and in the air, embedding deep into bark and soil all around us.

My eyes narrow, and lightning explodes around A like an aura. Crackling blue chakra lights up the clearing, making the shadows dance strangely. Lightning Armor…hm. Perhaps his father had passed on more than expected. Whether this has any bearing on the man's mastery of Black Lightning, well, I can't say. Either way, he should be a difficult opponent.

I can hear Aomaru whine, briefly, and then the ball drops.

A charges, leaving a trail of chakra that raises the hair on the back of my neck even ten meters off. He's certainly fast, too.

I watch his approach without blinking, simultaneously feeling and seeing his fist headed right for the bridge of my nose.

Fwish.

I pull a Flying Thunder God kunai out of a branch. A keeps going in a straight line for a while, back on the ground.

Fwish.

I stab downward, practically curled into a ball and lashing out with all the force my uncoiling body can muster.

And my momentum meets tentacle instead of A's back. A is bashed out of the way, and I cut halfway through the slippery, rubbery mass before my momentum stops.

Huh.

Welp.

It at least confirms without a doubt that B is the Eight-Tailed Beast's host. I know it already, but it also reduces the chance that my teammates will jump in. No one wants to face off with a demon host with the ability to manifest tails. It always implies the ability to manifest other things.

"No way…" Jiro mumbles, sounding numb with shock.

"That tail…that has to be the Eight-Tailed host!" Kōga growls, and Aomaru mimics his partner's low tone.

Well, it's not as though it could be the Two-Tailed Beast. It hasn't made an appearance yet, but everyone who follows historical records knows that Kumogakure was given two Beasts to Konoha, Taki, and Suna's one apiece.

I lay my hand on the tentacle, transferring the tiniest possible amount of chakra necessary to create a Flying Thunder God seal unnoticed, and then warp out of the way before B shifts.

Fwish.

"Sorry, B. That was a mistake." A says, rejoining his combat partner.

A shrill metallic whistle slices through the air, and Kōga shouts, "That's the retreat signal!"

I pause, briefly. Does the Kumo patrol still plan to attack? I don't know enough about A's personality to say for sure. They are not under orders to cease hostilities and break away.

Then a second whistle sounds.

Retreat/regroup; attack warning.

I have a Flying Thunder God tag on the camp. I could warp over and see what was wrong, but that could mean running right into an ambush if I'm not careful.

And still, Kōga says, "Minato, we've got to fall back for now!"

Thankfully, the other three (and Aomaru) leave before the Kumo-nin can decide to attack anyway. I gather up what kunai I can—sometimes, it's easier to warp them to me rather than the other way around—before turning to cover my team's retreat.

"That's nothing," B says, and I glance back. "Learn it by rote. I'm Killer B and the Hachibi's my high note."

Well, I can't let that go unanswered. From what I've seen, there's a lot more to B than what he's implying. There's something a little sad about seeming to consider the Tailed Beast his only selling point. I say, "Your valor is most impressive. Not as the Hachibi, but as a shinobi, it seems you possess something very powerful."

The tentacle moves, retreating as B pulls the beast's power back.

A points at B, sounding at once proud and threatening, "If you're talking talent, he's even better than me."

Hah. No. Why do shinobi always seem to think that battlefield strength is the key? That way leads to megalomania. "No, that's not it. He already has something more important than that."

The tentacle is still moving. On some level, I still expect one of them to notice the seal. Their teammate, meanwhile, seems to be a non-factor in this confrontation.

A is staring at me.

He doesn't get it.

I stare back, eyes narrowing slightly. "A. You have good friends and a family. I do, too." Kushina, Sensei, Kakashi, Kei… I hope they're all safe. I can't fail them again. "Either way, when we meet next, we'll probably both have the title of Kage." I hope he improves his attitude by then, or else works with B as a person more. Flawed as my own approach to team-building may be, I have no interest in seeing other people fail. A seems like he could be a great Raikage, but he needs to work on a few things. "If you don't realize soon what's important to your brother, you'll lose him both as a jinchūriki and as a person."

I've said my piece. I hope he takes it to heart.

Then, "You can try to confuse us with your blathering, but I won't let you get away."

…Well. A hardly seems to have listened. In one ear and out the other, as Sensei used to complain. Hah.

I watch A look back and forth, trying to understand my Flying Thunder God technique before he makes another move. It's a good plan, but he's falling for the same assumption that many other people do—he thinks that the kunai are the only markers.

Neither one of them has noticed the seal on B.

Lightning flares around A once again. I'm going to have to remember to introduce the idea to Kakashi, when I get back. Perhaps he'll get something out of it to improve his Chidori.

I have time to say, "I have my own burdens to bear." Such as survival, and figuring out what happened back at camp.

There is no way I'm going to allow myself to die here. Even if A were capable of killing me—and he is, given the gap in physical strength between us—I always have a way around a problem if I can't go right through it.

And then he's pretty much within spitting distance. Half a meter of leeway, at best.

It's almost like he's daring me to jump to a kunai. His arm isn't even fully pulled back for his signature haymaker.

Well, I can certainly warp to another kunai, but that's far too easy. He won't get the point I'm trying to make unless I do something unexpected.

The element of surprise may be a great equalizer, but among S-rank shinobi it's more than that.

Fwish.

A scans the area even as he begins to reverse momentum, trying to figure out where I'm headed.

I'm already there. Just not where he wants me to be. As it is, I'm poised over B's bent back, kunai raised to strike thanks to the seal I put on him. Amazing, how much people don't notice when there's someone with lightning jutsu to watch.

B should never have assumed that I would leave him out of the fight. At this point, it's a debate technique. Killing him would be easy, and both of them realize it now.

As much to B as to A, I remark, "I won't fail."

Not here. Never again.

For A, the ball finally drops. He releases his technique and whirls on me, furious.

A and B's teammate—a black-haired man who probably also has a single-sound name, makes a surprised choking noise followed by, "Huh? That's..." I have to say, the moment he realizes the danger is actually kind of funny. It's not his life at risk at the moment (at least not as obviously). "The technique markings are on the Eight-Tails's tentacle!"

I can hear A growl, more at me than at himself. At least, I think so.

If B hadn't been quite so quick to draw his spare blades, he would have been defenseless. As it is, he can probably gut me at nearly the same time as I can plant a blade in his spinal column. I stop mostly out of respect for his determination—it's not as though I don't have all the leeway in the world to kill him anyway. There are far more seals than even these, and the principle of always having a getaway route is one I know all too well.

(For one thing, I still have a seal on Aomaru's collar and he's not out of range yet.)

Still. B says, "Ready to die together? I am. Got my dagger all prepared to jam." His left-hand blade is reversed and poking into my flak jacket.

Hah. Well done. "You're my enemy, but I do like you." I know that many shinobi harbor nothing but hatred for other villages, but that always struck me as unproductive. It's perfectly natural to have respect for one's enemies. "You truly move like a shinobi killer."

Odd, how A hadn't reacted nearly in time.

Hopefully, he understands why.

I smile a little, and then fwish.

"Minato, there you are!" Jiro says as I land almost on Aomaru's back. Almost. I stick the landing otherwise. Not bad for a moving, nonessential target, really.

Also, it puts people at ease if they think I can make mistakes. It also makes them a little less shocked when I inevitably do.

"There shouldn't be any additional pursuers," I tell my team with a nod.

"Ah, yes. Well, that's not what I was going to say." Jiro says.

"You have a message." Kōga puts in, and he's four meters away, holding a pair of dogs that certainly don't belong to him. The third is on the ground near him, staring at me.

Akino, Bisuke, and Ūhei.

"What are you three doing here?" I ask. They're half-grown, still—I wouldn't expect Kakashi to summon them in combat just yet, even if puppy teeth hurt like hell. I feel a sense of dread building, far more than I felt during the confrontation with Kumo.

"Camp burned!" Ūhei barks.

"Kei-chan's been kidnapped!" Akino adds.

My stomach fills with lead.

No no no no no no no…

"Kakashi and Rin-san went after Kei-chan!" yips Bisuke, kicking his legs in midair with the urge to run.

Shit, shit, shit.

The Nohara girl is Kei's best friend, and will follow along on any rescue mission she can without being ordered not to. But Kakashi…after Obito, Kakashi will chase her to the ends of the earth. My students didn't tell me what Obito's last request was until long after we'd put the casket underground, but I'd made a guess.

Kakashi will get both of them killed before turning back. He'll think it's fair for him to trade his life, after Obito did it before.

"Show me." I say before I have a chance to think.

"But Minato—!" Kurojō cuts himself off, catching the look on my face.

I feel cold. Cold, and very, very angry. I want to break something; I'm terrified that this is going to be a repeat of Kannabi. I'm furious at myself for letting it happen again—but this time, the message is here. I know what's going on. I'm not running to the rescue half an hour late. This won't be like when we lost Obito.

I won't let it.

"Head back to camp with Akino and Ūhei." I order them. "I'll be back shortly."

Or not.

Might take longer to make sure my kids are still in one piece. Might take longer to kill everything at fault. Might take longer to bring my kids back safely.

I am going to kill everything between me and them.

The rest of my team is giving me dubious looks.

"Go." I snap, eyes narrowed.

"Yessir." Jiro says quickly, and Kōga and Kurojō follow as fast as they can. Aomaru bolts out into the lead before they're out of sight, along with Akino and Ūhei.

I turn to Bisuke, the last dog. He may not have the best nose out of Kakashi's pack, but he can find his summoner anywhere.

"Lead on," I tell him. Once I'm in range, I can just warp the rest of the way.


Rin: Be the redundant rescuer.

09090

Kakashi and his dogs lead me farther and farther away from the ruin that used to be our base, until I can't see the smoke even if I turn to look. The trees would get in the way normally, sure, but I think we're honestly too far away.

We're heading in a direction that seems to be between northwest and just west. Roughly. I don't understand what Kirigakure would be doing with a base this far away from their home territories, even if we hadn't known they would be betraying us. It just doesn't make any sense. But Kakashi said they were Kiri-nin, and I knew the symbol on the headband of the man who attacked me in camp…

Something about this just feels off.

Kakashi signals for our group to come to a stop just as Bull and Pakkun start to slow down, and the constant growling abates a little. The dogs are both furious, but I don't know how much they're going to help. They're still small, from what I can tell from how Inuzuka dogs are supposed to be. I haven't seen any of them use jutsu, or even walk on water.

Kakashi, meanwhile, has just finished a string of patrol missions and could be short of chakra for a full-out fight.

This doesn't look good.

We land in the thickets, rather than the trees, because tree cover is spottier up ahead than brambles, and no one wants to land in that. Ahead of us is the well-hidden mouth of a cave, if not for the faint light peeking out of its depths. It's faint, but I can also feel a faint buzz of chakra in the air—that explains why the dogs are on edge. If it's strong enough that I can feel it, it must be hell on them.

I'm not familiar with Kusa-Konoha geography, as such, but I'm also not sure how Kiri-nin would find this kind of place, barely an hour away from our camp, and set up their camp without us noticing. From the way Kakashi tenses, I'm not sure if he's angry about not noticing or about something else entirely.

No one had ever…told me how Obito died. Not exactly. Maybe this has something to do with that.

"Stay down." Kakashi says in a whisper. "Kiri patrols should be in the area."

"They would have already heard us heading this way!" I hiss back.

"…any force that kidnaps a chūnin should have guards." Kakashi says, and his eyes are distant again.

True. I pull Obito's goggles up from their resting place around my neck and put them on properly. This is probably going to get uglier before it gets better.

"I can hear something going on," Pakkun mutters, nosing up against Kakashi's forearm. "Kei-chan is in there."

Kakashi scratches Pakkun's ears.

Next to us, Bull's hulking black form is lying flat on the ground, ears perked up as far as they'll go. He kneads his claws in the dirt, as though waiting for a signal.

"We're going to have to break in." I murmur, feeling my pulse quicken just at the thought. I am not trained for this.

"Follow my lead—" Kakashi begins, but a lot of things happen right then.

Bull hurls himself forward and clamps onto the leg of a Kiri-nin that bursts out of the cave right at us. He stops the first enemy shinobi's movement, but he can't go after the other five. Kakashi goes high and Pakkun goes low when it comes to the next two, biting at ankles. Kakashi aims a kick at a man's head, and I duck under and around a pair of quick jabs.

The enemy seems to consist of hunter-nin. We're so dead.

I have to conclude that this is the worst rescue mission I've ever been on. Also the only one, but that part's not worth mentioning. I think.

And then an explosion sounds from the cave, blowing the last hunter-nin off his feet with the force. I stumble a bit, but I don't fall.

And then, flying out of the smoke like a kunai, Kei bolts into view.

She looks awful. There's blood splattered all over the front of her jacket and her pants, and her jacket's got a big ugly slash across the front. She still has Obito's headband, but it has a new dent that didn't used to be there. Her expression is cold and almost dull, as though she's not really seeing anything that's going on even as she ducks around another enemy attack.

Then her eyes focus on us.

Kakashi shakes off one of the ANBU, rendering the bigger maybe-jōnin into a twitching heap thanks to his lightning strikes. "Kei!"

Bull intercepts a Kiri-nin that tries to get between Kei and me, bone crunching under his jaws. Kei flips over him, skidding around the bare dirt on her hands and sinking her foot into the stomach of one of our attackers. The man falls and Kei rights herself in a moment, scrambling toward us.

When did Kei learn to create chakra blades with her feet? I don't remember her showing me that last month!

"We're getting out of here." Kakashi almost whispers, or maybe I just can't really catch what he says. He's moving so fast, keeping the enemy shinobi from getting anywhere near either of us.

How long can he keep this up?

Kei shoves my shoulder, ignoring the blood on her and what's transferred to my sleeve. We can't stay here, but how badly is she hurt?

Kei grimaces, giving Kakashi and the dogs a quick scan. Then she slams her left palm flat against the ground, even as she's already springing forward and towards me.

She's left seals on the ground. Ink spreads like water, twisting outward in a massive spiral that almost touches the lip of the cave.

As Kei grabs my hand and drags me out of the clearing, with Kakashi and his dogs hot on our heels, I recognize the seal.

Explosion.

We're clear of the blast radius before it goes off, diving through the trees well ahead of our pursuers, but the sheer size of the fireball is unbelievable. Kei doesn't have this much chakra—and I still have her seal scroll, so it's not like she's just spontaneously sticking them anywhere her hand goes! She should still be limited, right? This doesn't make any sense.

And she's still not talking, even as the ringing in our ears dies down and I can actually sort of hear things again. Her movements don't quite seem normal—sometimes she freezes for a nanosecond, as though thinking too hard about how her body works, and other times it's like she's following a script. Lightning-quick and stalled by turns, where she should be as fluid as Kakashi is.

"Kei, report!" Kakashi demands over the sound of us all crashing through the canopy. I can almost hear our pursuers, but hopefully being Konoha shinobi gives us an advantage in forested terrain.

"What happened, Kei-chan?" I ask, stomach clenching in fear. She should be talking right now if she's okay! What did they do to her?

Is this even Kei?

Kei's jaw works and she makes a noise in the back of her throat that doesn't sound happy at all.

"Smells like her." Pakkun comments, just as we break through the tree line. I think our pursuers are too far back to hear, at least.

This area is so desolate. It's all rocks and twisted trees, dead from drought or fire. There's no cover here—if we're cornered, we're dead.

Then, Kei turns her head to face us. Slowly, as though still trying to work her way past the frustration building in her chest, she opens her mouth to try and talk for the first time since…since before the paralytic, probably. Is she still being affected?

Then her expression goes flat. It just looks weird.

Also creepy.

Blink, blink. "Hello. We're, ah, experiencing technical difficulties."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kakashi demands.

"We've lost…equilibrium." Kei says. She shakes her head, "Before, we weren't carrying a Tailed Beast around. Now we are."

"What the hell?" I squeak.

Kakashi hardly looks any less surprised.

And we're still being pursued by enemy ANBU. Oh god. Kei has to have a breakdown now? Is it even a breakdown? And a Tailed Beast?! I take back everything I ever said about Kei's missions even if I never said them. She's too calm for this!

Kei tilts her head again, like Kei always does when she's confused or just stalled out. "We have to get away from here. Find Sensei. He'll fix us." Pause, again, even as we run. When she starts again, her voice sounds much more normal. "Between the Three-Tails, the compulsion seal, and the noise, I'm not going to be very coherent. Sorry."

She holds up a hand when she lets go of mine, letting me run on my own. Three fingers are raised. "We were kidnapped by a shapeshifter—probably called Zetsu, likely artificial. Aside from sealing the Tailed Beast, the enemy included a secondary control seal, which was placed over our heart. The Puppet Master Seal demands that we head for Konoha and unleash the Three-Tails on it."

Kakashi goes pale under his mask, and I feel the bottom drop out of my stomach.

Kei goes on, "We're not going to let that happen." She almost smiles, but the expression doesn't reach her eyes, "Because neither seal was designed for a shinobi with multiple personalities, like us. Even if it results in a war on three fronts."

"…Who are you?" Kakashi asks.

"The Dreamer. Nice to finally meet you." She glances back at the trees before continuing, "Data storage and processing, but not interaction. That's not my job."

Kakashi comes up with a response first. "What's Kei doing right now?"

Kei—the Dreamer—says, "Running interference. The compulsion affects the dominant personality—the kunoichi you both know. She is stalling. As for the Tailed Beast, the Three-Tails activates hindbrain impulses toward destruction and rage in order to weaken the seal, personified and confronted by Id. I am neither, and have been forced to act in their stead until the situation can be resolved."

"We need to get you out of here, then." Kakashi says, all business. Both of us look at him. "I don't have enough experience with seals to help right now."

"Hm. I do, sort of, but I lack materials." She lifts her arms to show that her sleeves and hip pouches are all empty. "All of my supplies and weaponry were either confiscated beforehand or destroyed in the escape. Else I would be able to use pre-prepared scrolls."

"You prepared for this? How do you even prepare for becoming a Tailed Beast host?" I ask. It seems impossible.

"It was necessary." The Dreamer shrugs, then, and we have to give up asking her things because it turns out our enemies are faster than we are.

The Dreamer blocks for me when someone tries to stab me, redirecting the man's momentum as though he didn't outweigh her by some twenty kilos. I can almost see Obito's influence there—I remember watching Kei and Obito spar together, throwing each other all over the place. I remember Minato-sensei's tendency to toss his students everywhere, to avoid hurting them with joint locks or anything like that.

But the Dreamer's follow-through is sloppier. Less practiced.

"Muscle memory," she explains in a dull tone, as though she doesn't really see what's going on. "Chakra sense helps."

She's never been in control? Oh god.

We're outnumbered twenty-to-three by Kiri ANBU and who even knows how many enemies waiting in the wings, and we're three kids. There's no cover, because multiple ANBU have cut off our escape route into the next chunk of woodland. Not that I'm sure we'd be able to run even if we could reach the forest—many shinobi are trained for that terrain, much as I hate to admit it. Kei's a jinchūriki and in the middle of an identity crisis, Kakashi's used up who even knows how much chakra, and I'm not rated for close combat.

Kakashi lashes out, striking one man in the temple while his dogs take out the same target's legs. The Dreamer darts around me as though I'm some kind of signpost, while I duck and blood flies. I have to be away from the fighting and have a chance to examine Kei to do the most good, but in the meantime I can certainly dodge.

I throw myself backwards, toward Kakashi even as Bull bowls another man over and crams his entire head between vast black jaws.

Kakashi's hand sparks with white chakra and someone else is suddenly short an arm. It's not a full Chidori, but Obito's eye is out and spinning so I know it's not far away.

A Rasengan forms in the Dreamer's hand, then vanishes and reappears at her elbow just in time for a cross-blow that sends the man rocketing across the clearing with the force of the combined strike.

Wait. What?

Maybe a lack of access to the physical world equals more chakra control? I can't be sure until we have time to talk, and I don't think that we're going to get that anytime soon.

"Kakashi," I hear the Dreamer remark, "Kei wants you to know something important."

"What?" Kakashi bites out.

"If…we lose control over the Three-Tails, she wants you to use Obito's eye," the Dreamer ends up back-to-back with Kakashi for an instant. "All Tailed Beasts have a Sharingan weakness, and you're the closest thing to an Uchiha around."

I can see Kakashi turn the info over in his head.

"Better idea," Kakashi begins. As he and the Dreamer move almost in sync, with him flipping a kunai into her expectant hand without a word, "We fight together."

The Dreamer's expression changes from neutral to mildly surprised. It just looks weird on Kei's face.

I get it. "Kei-chan, you lead. We'll follow." Kakashi can predict her movements with the Sharingan and I can dodge with the best. She's still having trouble, so…

Kakashi nods, though a second later he's fending off another ANBU kunai strike with two shuriken to the mask's eye-slits.

"…I see." The Dreamer turns away. "Eyes on me, everyone."

We move. The Dreamer rips through enemy fighters first, burning massive amounts of chakra by using contact explosive seals and miniature Rasengan copies from her hands and fingers. Kakashi moves next, tearing the gap wider with the initial phase of the Chidori and lightning-charged projectiles. I move last, between them with chakra scalpels extended.

We're not really moving, as such. We're fending off attacks. We're standing our ground.

But our strategy depends on being too dangerous for the ANBU to try to grab, and we can't do that forever. All of us have finite amounts of chakra (except maybe Kei, now).

And ANBU are older than we are. More experienced. Less motivated, yes, but all the teamwork in the world doesn't make up for an ANBU wetworks squad facing down three teenagers.

And especially not when they've bolstered their numbers with Water Clones.

As we go, we're accumulating small injuries. A rip in cloth here. A slash there. Chakra overextension somewhere else.

I hope Kakashi's dogs find Minato-sensei in time. Otherwise we're not getting out of this alive.

I'm not going to tell that to Kei though. She doesn't need to hear it from me. And anyway, she probably already knows.

I feel a hand close over my arm and even as I turn to slice—


Lost boy: Wake.

09090

I've been here for months.

"Here" is…kind of underground. So I don't really know where I am. I know it's kind of a cave and kind of an underground base, and that I can't leave because there's a huge boulder sitting where a front door should be. It's probably not too far from Kannabi, though. Since I woke up the first time minus an arm and like, half my ribcage, I don't think I'd have made all that far away without insane amounts of help. And, to be honest, nobody here really looks like a medic. Or acts like one.

There's a creepy old man in here, who calls himself Madara Uchiha and can only move a few meters unassisted. He's got these huge gray tubes linking him back to a creepy-looking statue. Zetsu said it's called the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. I can't help but look at it and think it's a gigantic kinda-humanoid desiccated corpse, like what happens to dead people in deserts. Only huge. There may or may not be multiple misplaced eyeballs on its face.

It's taken months for this…transplanted white flesh stuff to feel normal. Or natural. Even though it's not either thing, and looking like Guruguru is kind of scary even when you know the guy. Chalk-white doesn't suit anyone and it looks really freaky even though I'm used to Zetsu, too. It really is. Maybe Madara ripped Zetsu in half to give me a new arm. I don't really know, and I sure don't plan to ask.

But I'll be able to leave soon. I'm stronger than I used to be. I'll be able to move that rock, and damn Madara for thinking I couldn't!

I'll be able to go home.

I'll see everyone soon. Rin-chan, Kei, Kakashi, Sensei…

I miss them so much. I want to go back, to tell them I'm sorry for getting trapped and for making them worry. If I have to I'll beg them to forgive me for not…I wanted to go home. I did! But I couldn't let Kakashi and Kei get hurt after the rocks fell. If I was the only one up, I was the only one who could make a difference! So what if I lost some things! They're okay. I just need to break away from the insane babysitter and his lackeys to get home.

I can still remember Kei's face like everything's burned into my brain, promising to tell Rin how I felt about her. I can remember Kakashi, before I gave up my eye for him, looking like his world was ending. I remember visiting Rin at the hospital, hanging out for an afternoon of strawberries and dango. I remember Sensei pulling me to my feet and into a hug after a long day of training, like he was a big brother.

There's a sound like wood twisting and I blink, sitting up. Half of Zetsu is sticking out of the boulder in front of what used to be the entrance to this stupid place, about ten meters up.

"I was just outside!" Well, that's new. Or not. Stupid Madara won't let me out yet, even if his lackeys can go wherever they want to just by floating through the ground or something! "Your friends are in trouble! Rin-chan and Kei and Kakashi—all of them!"

Okay, no, this wasn't the plan what happened? "What happened?!"

Zetsu leans down, gap-toothed mouth wide, "They're completely alone and surrounded by Kiri-nin!"

No, no, no! I need to get out of here fast. I need to help! I'm going to go out there and save them and damn the consequences because I am the consequences.

I leap out of what's been my bed for the last few months—more like a huge slab of wood plus blanket than anything—hard enough to crack the structure underneath my foot. That doesn't matter, though because I need to get out of here.

And then I skid to a stop, in front of the boulder.

I can't break the wall. Boulder. Thing.

God dammit.

Guruguru wanders over while I'm standing around like an idiot, ready to scream in frustration. This isn't how it's supposed to go! He comments, "You can't break through boulders with that body yet."

I am currently resisting the urge to punch him in his stupid hollow head. I know that and that's why I want to punch this stupid wall hard enough to break my own arm off. But I won't. Kei'd be pissed at me if I hurt myself trying to be a hero, again. My new hand clenches hard enough that, if it was still flesh, I'd be bleeding. "I…I need to be out there. I have to save them."

There's a noise like someone pulling a zipper open, and Gurugruru unravels in midair. As I watch, dumbstruck, he says, "Why don't you wear my body?" He's already wrapping around me, and I'm too surprised to say uh, no, that's creepy as all get out.

There's also another kinda important concern, and I blurt out, "But you guys serve Madara. You sure about this?"

Zetsu chimes in with his two ryō, "He's…a good boy."

…I think Kei would have something really sarcastic to say there. But I'm not gonna get to hear it if I never see her again, so I just look up at Zetsu. Then over my shoulder, back at the apparently-snoozing Madara.

Guruguru said in a sharper tone, "Don't you want to help Rin, Kei, and Kakashi?"

No shit. Might as well not look a gift horse in the mouth. I clench my fist, just to make sure it still works properly through Guruguru's…stuff. Then I stretch my arm out and roll my shoulder. Okay. Still got it. "Thanks, you guys!"

Then I line up a shot at the wall. I put all of my strength into it, but I can also feel Guruguru pulse around me and add his power to mine.

The rock explodes, showering chunks of stone harmlessly all over the place. I mean, I'm not in any real danger inside of Guruguru and I'm not sure Zetsu can be hurt and Madara was too far back, but still!

Damn, I could've used this a certain couple of months back. Oh well, I have it now!

"You kept the root tethered and used the statue's power? Nice!" Oh, so that was what happened? Thanks anyway, Zetsu.

Guruguru seems cheerful enough, commenting, "Pretty good, huh?"

Yeah, I think this'll do. I pull the tether attaching Guruguru's head to the creepy hell-statue, tearing us both free. I am not sticking around.

Madara pipes up from the back of the cavern, "So, you're going?"

"I'm grateful that you saved me." I hedge. Wow, I am not happy about being stuck in a friggin' hole in the ground for months on end. Counterpoint. I take a deep breath, looking back at the old man. "But I'm leaving. I have to go."

The look on his face probably couldn't have been more disapproving in a crotchety old-man way if he tried. And I've helped out my share of seniors, so I know what I'm talking about here. If he really is Madara, then he's about the crankiest old man in history. "You're being too hasty. It may be premature to thank me."

…What exactly are you planning, old man? Still, I shake my head. "I'll probably never come back here. Everything I need is out there. But thanks for everything."

His expression doesn't change. "You…will return. And that's when I'll get your true gratitude."

…I don't care anymore. Yeah, I'm done with him. Forever.

Instead, I turn my attention to the guy who's kind of the ultimate fly on the wall. "Zetsu! Where are my friends? Take me there right now!"

"What you've got on your body is a clone of mine." Not the question I asked. Zetsu goes on. "And we can talk to each other telepathically over limited distances. Others of us are scattered here and there underground. We're able to exchange intel. I'll use them to guide you."

Guruguru unravels a little, letting me turn my head fully. One of his white tendrils extends and pokes me in the head. "First, we need to get outside."

Gotcha! "I'm counting on you."

I make sure to grab a cloak from what looks like Madara's old living room, before I go. I have no idea how long that stupid boulder's been there, but I figure if I show up looking like a white mummy-guy I'm not going to get the best reception.

And then we're off, heading toward the forest as fast as Guruguru and I can manage. As we move, I ask, "How are the others doing right now?"

Guruguru sort of throbs against my shoulders. I think it's a shrug? "According to the others, it looks pretty bad. They're talking about some Kiri test subjects, but I don't really understand."

Test subjects? Kei, Kakashi, what have you two gotten Rin into now?

Guruguru continues, oblivious, "Anyway, it seems like they're totally surrounded. And they're saying they all look like jōnin or ANBU."

Oh man. I need to hurry. Kakashi's a jōnin but he's also a kid, and I don't even know what the girls have gotten up to since I went under.

We break into the tree line, rushing through the undergrowth. Much as I hate it, all I have is time to talk to Guruguru until we get somewhere he can navigate. Meanwhile, I'm biting my metaphorical nails to the quick because these are my friends in trouble.

An idea strikes me. "Where's Minato-sensei?"

"Who's that?"

Dammit.

I raise my voice, more out of frustration at the situation than anything. "I'm asking you what Konoha's Yellow Flash is doing!"

After a moment, Guruguru says, "Seems he's on a different mission."

What, again?! Dammit, Sensei, why can't you stick by your students?!

Kakashi, you made a promise you'd protect them! Please… Please protect Rin and Kei somehow! I take a deep breath. "I'll be right there!"

Does this forest go on forever? I can't even hear any big jutsu going off, so it's not like I can decide where to go while Guruguru is being quiet about things.

"Obito, it's probably going to turn into some kind of battle." Uh, yeah, that's what I'm counting on. I didn't spend months stuck in a rehabilitation program for broken shinobi just to not fight when my friends need me. If I have to I'll fight half-freaking-naked while Guruguru stands by with a megaphone for encouragement. Guruguru continues, "So I want to tell you a bit beforehand."

I am pretty much out of patience. "What is it?"

"You're not as strong as I am." Like I care. "And right now, it's like my big body is wrapped around and protecting your little wounded body."

Scratch that. Now I'm out of patience. "So what?!"

"I think it would be better if I do all the fighting."

Nuh-uh. Nope. Not happening.

"Remember what Madara said?" I reply, drudging up some not-so-distant lecture from the old man himself, "That a pair of Sharingan together is when they're at their greatest power? Kakashi has my other eye, and he'll be on this battlefield. We'll be unstoppable together!"

And besides, it's not like I didn't spar alongside Kei for years. We have this doubles thing down, and I'm still the one with the Sharingan on this team (plus one, because Kakashi exists). It's going to be awesome when we can show each other what we've learned. I'm sure not letting them fight alone!

I brush aside his warnings with a sharp, "We'll all work together and protect Rin!"

Guruguru says nothing for a while. Then, "…Well, you do have Hashirama's cells implanted now. A whole new strength may also appear when you combine Senju and Uchiha powers, but…"

Why does he have to start mumbling in typical Madara mode? And why can't I hear him despite being inside him? This makes no sense. "What was that?"

Then drops of water start to fall, quick and unusually fat. I hold out a hand, watching them splat on my…not-my skin, as though someone decided to blow a huge lake into the sky or something. Distantly, I can hear the rumble of something that definitely isn't thunder.

Together with Guruguru, I vault into the treetops to see what the hell is going on.

Off in the distance, against a backdrop of darkening sky, massive plumes of water explode out of pretty much nowhere.

I press my lips together, thinking. This isn't rain. Not even close. I wonder…

Guruguru breaks into my thoughts with a somewhat hesitant, "I just got word from one of my guys. It seems…that's the location."

More explosions throw up enough water to drench us again. Well, I know where Kei is now.

I clench my fist. "Let's go!"

Dashing through the woods is doing nothing for the worry curled in my gut. My heart pounds up against my ribs. It just doesn't seem possible, that I'm almost back home and yet it's like I'm gonna lose everything again, like Kannabi. I can't let that happen and I don't know if I'm going to make it, at the same time.

And then left eye socket starts to throb.

What the hell?

Parts of the forest go dark and red in alternating colors. It's like the world's made of brick and someone just replaced a bunch of random ones with supplies from another building, so things stand out. What I'm seeing is as much part of the scene I understand has to be real, and yet… It's like my left eye's still there, but not really. It's seeing a place and image that doesn't make sense. It's like I'm looking past a wall set up to align with where I'm standing—one side has a building and the other's just woods. They don't sync up.

Only…

Are these visions?

If so…why's Kei wreathed in red?

And that…that's about when the pressure hits.

Killing intent floods everything. I see the phantom part of my vision blink in and out, forcing scarlet chakra to overlay what I see from my right eye. Distantly, I can hear a roar. My left eye throbs again.

Kakashi?

Oh, hell.

Hold on, guys! I'm almost there!

Guruguru and I reach the edge of the forest—

And that's when I feel chakra so strong that it's almost like heat. Like I got too close to one of my own fireballs. The wind stirs up in a way it hadn't before, with the explosions, and with it there's that sense of being tiny. There's a faint red glow up ahead that seems to be the source, and I head for it. The dome of power the thing's broadcasting is transparent and bubbles a bit in my Sharingan sight, but more than that it feels evil. Oppressive. Like the time Sensei used his killing intent next to us, but inhuman.

It's Kei.

There are Kiri-nin everywhere but they're backing away, ignoring me and keeping their eyes on the girl standing in the middle of the clearing. Kakashi's kneeling next to her, next to a limp dark shape that I really hope isn't Rin, but his eyes are on her too.

"The Three-Tails is going to escape!" screams one of the Kiri-nin.

"Kill her!" shouts some other man, and I remember his position and his mask pattern almost automatically. Commanding officer. "Kill her and take the beast back before it escapes!"

My empty eye socket throbs again, and I get a glimpse of Kei from Kakashi's standpoint.

She's glowing with orange-red chakra that is in no way human. It just looks like a flame from here, flowing outward from a point on her chest. Her jacket is torn open and all of her clothes are spattered with bloodstains. Her eyes are closed, but her stance is actually relaxed.

"KEI!" I shout, drawing attention from the Kiri-nin but fuck them.

Her eyes open.

They're gold-on-red and suddenly wide, looking toward me.

Kakashi's vision immediately shifts and then I can kind of see myself, clamping a hand over my empty socket. And since Kakashi's looking at me, I guess pretty much everyone else is and whoops there goes the advantage of a surprise attack. Uh.

"Uh-oh," says Guruguru.


AN: Well, here comes Shatterpoint 2.0. :P

When it comes to this particular arc, I decided to go with this particular format because it's easier to see how things have changed for people if we don't focus on Kei for a while. That said, Kei will be back in the next chapter to provide more connective tissue between scenes.

I am also super excited that it's only taken me about a year and also about 185,000 words to get here, the canon lynchpin! If it has also involved quite a bit of swearing at my keyboard and at my class schedule and also at a few essays, well, now you know! I want to thank everyone who reads, reviews, faves, alerts, and messages me with regards to the story! Be posting again soon, hopefully!

Fun facts:

1. Kei is currently suffering from chakra overload, among other things. She is now aware of Madara's involvement due to factors that'll be explained later.

2. Isobu doesn't have back legs, and his chakra specialty seems to be hallucinatory genjutsu and Water Release, from what we've seen of him.

3. Rin and Kei have been learning a lot from each other over these last few months. This does not mean anything for Rin's potential as a frontline fighter. Also, Kei still doesn't have another kodachi.

4. Kakashi can now use Lightning Release Kunai, and has managed to not knock himself out thanks to not using the Chidori as a primary combat jutsu.

5. Guruguru is otherwise known as Spiral/Swirly Zetsu and...well, White Zetsu is pretty much as advertized.