Disclaimer: Y'all know I own nothing.
/~/
There was no such thing as an easy decision for a Hokage. To wage war, or sue for peace? To send loyal shinobi into the unknown, suspecting a trap, or let a mission go to a rival?
In his decades of governing, longer than any Kage in history save one, he'd learned that savvy advisors were an integral part of any decent decision making process.
Since his appointment to jonin, Yamanaka Inoichi had been one of many such advisors. And Hiruzen highly doubted the man would begin leading him astray now.
"Your assessment, then?" he asked, weary.
Disapproving eyes the color of shallow sea water stared him down. "Given the situation he was thrust into, his age, and the complete lack of support structure, it's a miracle he hasn't experienced a psychotic break."
"Is he fit for active duty?"
The disapproval shifted from Hiruzen's face to Danzo's without missing a beat. "My professional recommendation is an extended leave to re-acclimate to a semblance of standard shinobi operations."
"That wasn't the question." It was indicative of Danzo's healthy respect for the clan head that there was no discernable irritation in his voice.
Inoichi didn't seem to care, the disapproval giving way to visible antipathy. What did you see in his mind? Sarutobi wondered. He'd received the verbal recounting, but according to every Yamanaka who had ever walked the minds of another, words could never truly do justice to the realities they witnessed. Their strength was a double edged sword; for all the insight they gleaned, they could not pick and choose what they saw in another's mind.
In effect, they lived every memory they witnessed, good, bad, or otherwise. It passed for bullheadedness among the uninitiated, but it was only through their keenly defined senses of self that the clan was able to function as an invaluable member of Konoha's shinobi corps. That, and their community. We could stand to learn a thing or two from them, Hiruzen mused, not for the first time.
There was a reason over half the shinobi psychologists Konoha employed hailed from one clan.
"Standard operations only," Inoichi said after a long moment. "Placing him back in Black Ops is out of the question."
Danzo opened his mouth to respond, but Hiruzen beat him to it. "No one was suggesting otherwise, Inoichi," he soothed. "We're simply looking to determine the best course of action given this…unique set of circumstances."
"Of course, Sandaime-sama," the Yamanaka demurred. Danzo tensed at the sarcastic tone, but a sharp movement of Sarutobi's hand shushed him. "The best course of action, again, would be an extended leave."
"Is the boy a flight risk?"
Inoichi pinched the bridge of his nose and Sarutobi refrained from doing the same. Efficiently getting to the heart of the matter can be done with tact, he thought, exasperated.
"In my opinion, no. He returned from a tour that was over double the length it should have been, ostensibly to deliver crucial information to us." Inoichi sighed. "His life after Kusa was, by all accounts, quite peaceful. From what I've gleaned, he would not have returned had he not felt it necessary."
Which is an issue all its own. Hiruzen didn't need to look at his friend to know the man was thinking far less charitable thoughts.
"Understood. Thank you for your work, Inoichi. That will be all," Hiruzen said, dismissing the clan head. The Yamanaka stood and etched a slight bow, leaving the small chamber on silent feet.
Sarutobi rose without a word and moved to the small, thin table that ran along the room's far wall. His hands, steady despite his years and experience, busied themselves preparing a small pot of tea as his mind wandered.
On its face, Uzumaki Naruto's return was a near godsend. The conflict in Kusa had been bloodier than any had anticipated, and they had assumed the worst when he and his captain had failed to report in with the remaining operatives. Of course they had known the risks sending the boy into such a perilous situation, but his apparent loss had turned an otherwise successful campaign a pyrrhic victory at best.
But every gamble had paid off before. The boy was a prodigy on the level of Itachi and Kakashi with a pedigree that outstripped both. A carefully coordinated effort to suppress his renown had taught the boy humility. Kusa had been to teach him how to adapt, to experience the true reality of their existence, and, finally, to lead.
According to every analyst's report, Naruto's sector of the country should have seen the least combat. It was remote, far from Kusagakure itself, and closer to the border of Rain Country than either Stone or Fire.
You know what they say about the best laid plans, he thought, a sardonic smile splitting his lips as he poured the steaming hot tea.
He had put his hopes for Konoha's future on the boy, perhaps foolishly so, but he had done it nonetheless; to learn he'd survived had rekindled a dying flame within him.
"Quite the mess we find ourselves in, old friend," he said as he brought two cups back to Danzo. His steps felt lighter than they had in over six years.
"Less a mess and more of a puzzle," Danzo returned, taking his tea. "Uzumaki's return should be celebrated, considering what his future was to be."
"And yet neither of us are celebrating."
"I've been told I have trust issues."
Hiruzen allowed himself a smile as he sipped his tea. It wasn't often he saw glimpses of his old friend; war was kind to no one, and Danzo had been immersed in it since childhood. "You sense something is amiss."
"I sense nothing. Therein lies the problem."
Ah. When all else failed, when information was exhausted and no longer reliable, all a shinobi had were their instincts. "The facts, then."
"The boy is nearly two years behind schedule, bringing tidings of Roshi's end and a new threat we've only heard whispers of. There is little indication he would have returned at all if not for this."
"You think Itachi lied to him."
"I do not know what to think, Hiruzen."
Itachi had proven himself the most loyal of shinobi at thirteen. Ten years removed, however, was far less of a certainty. Itachi had been presented with an impossible choice, and one he never should have had to make. That feeling of powerlessness, becoming the instrument of his family's murder to protect the greater good, Hiruzen could not imagine what ten years of that could do to a man.
Good men had turned spiteful over far less.
On the other hand was Naruto. A young man with far too much pressure on his shoulders, though he didn't know it, and far too much experience for his age. To not return, even given the severity of his injury at Roshi's hands, was an indictment, if one Hiruzen was more familiar with than he liked. He was nearly as inclined to forgive and forget as he had been with Jiraiya, but checked the urge.
He had not steered the village for decades by making snap judgments.
"He should be given a chance to prove himself," Sarutobi said at length. "If he's right…"
"Then we have an even greater enemy than Hanzo sitting atop Amegakure, only with nine other S-ranked criminals at his disposal."
Always another threat. "Tsunade will need to be briefed."
"Let the boy do it himself. She can make her own judgments." Danzo rose and hobbled to the door.
"And what will you be doing, then?"
"What I always do. Creating our contingency plans."
/~/
"Tell me their name again."
Uzumaki Naruto was a ghost.
"Akatsuki, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade had never been stupid. The Hokage had absolute power; that didn't mean the Hokage knew absolutely everything about everyone in their village. But she knew almost everything, and what little she didn't was delegated to trusted lieutenants to handle.
The young man sitting in front of her was unfamiliar to her. And that was unsettling.
Sure, she had heard whispers of the young man. An overheard conversation and one too many redacted mission files had piqued her interest not long after she'd managed to sort through the mess left over from the Crush. But that same interest had faded in the face of rebuilding the medical program from shambles, an apprentice who was too ambitious for her own good, not to mention managing the day-to-day operations of Konoha's military machine.
"The mercenary group," she confirmed absently. Tsunade studied the boy, affixing a pensive expression on her face. He must favor his mother, she mused. Minato's cheekbones had been sharper, his face more angular. He's got the hair down, though, and the eyes.
Naruto stared back at her placidly. Every inch of him was a professional soldier, from the neatly pressed fatigues to the cool dispassion in his eyes as he recounted his experiences with Uchiha Itachi. She would've bought it too, were it not for Inoichi's report.
A war veteran at nineteen with enough mental scars to rival a man three times his age. According to Inoichi, it was far from the worst mind he'd ever walked, but there was enough to give even the grizzled Yamanaka pause.
"Why did you come back?" she asked. Sarutobi-sensei hadn't been terribly happy with the almost two year sabbatical Naruto had taken, but it had been overshadowed by his palpable excitement. Danzo had been his typical dour self when she had called him to heel, though she doubted the old war hawk shared Sarutobi's understanding.
As for herself? Not like you have much of a leg to stand on, she thought amusedly.
"I'm not sure I understand your question, Hokage-sama. I felt the information I came upon was important –"
"Cut the crap, kid," Tsunade cut across him. "I've fought in a war. It's a universal language, and I know a renegade soldier when I see one." To his credit, Naruto showed no outward sign of surprise at the sudden rebuke beyond a slight tightening of his eyes. "People like us, we don't come back without a very good reason."
Said very good reason landed, utterly concealed, upon the window sill not a moment later. Naruto's eyes flickered briefly to the open window before refocusing on her. Now that's something…
The young man's face softened a moment later, an expression somewhere between resignation and understanding resting upon it. Much more honest, she mused, pleased.
"Can I be candid with you, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked, and Tsunade only raised an eyebrow in response. A small smirk played across the young man's lips. "I didn't like it when you were made Hokage." She snorted indelicately, leaning back in her chair and putting her feet up, the sardonic smile on her face inviting him to continue. "I didn't understand much besides doing my duty. To have someone who had…not done theirs was…upsetting."
Naruto ran a hand through his hair, his body seemingly losing its tension. The straight-backed posture sagged a touch to something that, for a former ANBU, was far more relaxed. "You've read the report. That man, Inoichi," and here he smiled bitterly, "he saw everything. I wasn't coming back."
"So why not stay dead?" Tsunade asked. "You had a perfect way out." Better than mine. "And don't bother with that whole relevant information bullshit."
He snorted. "It's not quite as far from the truth as you think. Ten S-ranked shinobi working in tandem is unprecedented. They're as powerful as a full village and more mobile." His blue eyes met hers and Tsunade almost leaned back, such was their intensity. "There's a storm coming, Hokage-sama."
It took all of her self-control not to shudder at his words. She had been aware of Akatsuki for some time, thanks to Jiraiya. They had been troubling enough when Orochimaru had been a member. Apparently they hadn't lost any of their potency upon his departure.
"You think we need your help. Not lacking in confidence, are you?" Naruto shrugged indelicately, mirroring her raised eyebrow from minutes ago. Tsunade almost smiled. "If we're being candid, it's not a stretch to say that you're the village's foremost expert on Akatsuki given your direct interaction with the group. You'll be called to give a full briefing to the intelligence committee in two days. My apprentice will assist you with compiling the necessary dossiers."
She snapped her fingers and the office door swung open, admitting Shizune. Her first apprentice bowed low before turning and favoring the younger blond with a pleasant smile. "Shizune, meet Uzumaki Naruto. He'll need full A-ranked clearance."
"Of course, Tsunade-sama."
Naruto rose fluidly, his muscles visible beneath the blue fatigues he wore. He's built perfectly. Heavier than Minato was, but not so much that he'll lose much speed.
"I take it I'm being reinstated." There was a wry tilt to his voice that hadn't been there as recently as five minutes before, and Tsunade considered it a win.
"You'll be given the rank of jonin, effective immediately. Per the recommendation, you'll be on placed on administrative leave for the next two weeks. You'll submit to a psych evaluation at the completion of the two weeks and, should you pass, be placed back on active duty," she declared, sitting straight once more.
Naruto nodded and etched a short bow. "Hokage-sama." He turned to leave, Shizune on his heels.
"One last thing," Tsunade called. "You old squad-mates have been notified of your return. I expect they'll want to see you."
The blond started, visible surprise crossing his face for a moment before a small smile settled. "Thank you."
She nodded, and Naruto strode out of the room, Shizune not far behind.
The door clicked closed behind them. "Leave us," Tsunade commanded to the two ANBU cloaked in the office. They disappeared without a word, and she made a ram seal. A blue glow encased the perimeter of the room, from the door to the windows.
"He noticed you."
"Caught that, did you?" Jiraiya quipped, his cloaking technique rippling into nothingness. He hopped down from his perch on the window sill, a feathery touch sliding across her shoulders as he walked around behind her. "He's a sensor type on top of everything else."
"Sensei's drooling is starting to make some sense. What did you think of him?"
Jiraiya plopped down, stretching out languidly with a sigh that could be either contentment or unease. "I don't know what to think, hime."
"You fought Roshi. What'd you think of him?"
He huffed. "We probably would've gotten along if we weren't from different villages."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Old habits aside."
Her oldest friend cracked a smile, his eyebrows waggling suggestively. At her continued deadpan expression, he sobered. "Tough as nails. We met three times on the western front. Was pretty confident I could beat him by the end, but he'd say the same I'm sure."
"It was over twenty years ago."
"Yeah and somehow he doesn't seem like the type of guy who'd lose a step. On top of being a jinchuuriki, ya know." He sighed again. "The kid's just as tough to walk away from that alive. Can't make much more of an assessment 'til I meet him personally."
"You'll approach him, then." She hadn't been sure of her oldest friend's convictions. She knew all too well that Minato was still an open wound, even after eighteen years.
"I'd be one helluva coward if I didn't. He deserves to know."
"You can hardly blame yourself for the secrecy. Sensei only figured it out after unsealing the records," Tsunade soothed.
"Doesn't make it feel any better. Can't change the past, though," he said, the bitterness of his smile all-too-familiar.
She couldn't blame him for it, even as she hated seeing him wallow. If Shizune had done the same, don't know what I'd do. "Did you ever meet the mother?"
"In passing, and not through Minato. She was a refugee from Uzu. One of Sakumo's kids back in the day. Good kunoichi."
What a pedigree, Tsunade thought, switching gears. "You've been the expert on Akatsuki until now. Have they just been laying low? You haven't updated me on them in a while."
"Hasn't been anything to report. Other than Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame showing up after the Crush, they've been notoriously hard to track." Jiraiya ran a hand through his long white hair. "A mention of a cloak here, a whisper there. Orochimaru is easier to find."
"Ghosts."
"Takes one to know one, looks like," Jiraiya said drolly. He leaned back once more and Tsunade rose, walking behind his chair to run her fingers through his hair. "I'll be glad to let the kid take the reins, to be honest. Give me more time to check into Hanzo finally kicking the bucket."
Tsunade grimaced. "Never thought the bastard would die. Even if he is nearly as old as sensei."
"Heh. You and me both, hime. The borders have been locked down for nearly seven years now. Wonder if the kid has any insight."
"There's always more questions."
"Thought you'd be used to that by now."
She smiled slightly, letting her eyes drop to his. "I manage to delude myself every now and then. Not that you'd know anything about that."
"No idea what you're talking about."
Tsunade pulled away, walking back to her desk to retake her seat. "I'd appreciate your insight on our new enigma moving forward. You can approach him in ways that I can't. Not yet, at least."
"You always get my insight, whether you like it or not," Jiraiya said, straightening.
Too true. "You're one of the three people in this village I trust implicitly, Jiraiya. I know it's personal for you, but I really do need your help with this."
"Not everyday a Hokage candidate just shows up, eh?" he asked rhetorically. He continued at her lack of humor, "I get it. Though I doubt he's still under Danzo's thumb at this point. Extended leaves of absence aren't really Root's style. Noticed you put Shizune on him without missing a beat."
"She brings a different perspective than you."
"Understatement and a half there. Gonna read your new apprentice in on this little operation too?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows again. "Complete the trifecta?"
Tsunade snorted. "Doubt I could keep her away from him if I tried."
/~/
Naruto sat on a bench outside the Shinobi Archive and thought about rain. It had been commonplace in his mind since he'd set off for Konoha a week previous. It wasn't an out of place thought; weather as a whole was regularly on his mind given his developing skillset.
It was, however, nagging, and led him to believe he was missing something. That, combined with the mysterious ring that was currently burning a hole in his pocket, meant he had to do some internal digging; preferably in solitude.
Which brought him to his current dilemma: he was being followed.
It wasn't surprising. Despite his newfound clearance, he hadn't thought higher ups would simply let him be – he would do the same in their position.
It was, however, a tremendous annoyance given the nagging itch in the back of his brain. He had a job to do, despite his lack of knowledge of it. He had a feeling that his briefing would go far more smoothly with it done, as well, and that was a scarce twenty-four hours away.
He had gone to the archive, primarily, for a sense of familiarity and had, for the most part, found it. It was little changed from when he had last visited – almost immediately before his departure to the front lines. The peace and quiet had exacerbated the discontent in his mind, however.
His resolve to fix it crystallized as his heightened awareness cottoned on to an unfamiliar chakra presence that had followed him when he'd stepped out of the archive, and stopped with him. He didn't bother looking around for his elusive observer; if it was anyone approaching professional he wouldn't be able to find them.
So he sat, considered, and decided.
Nothing for it. Naruto rose fluidly and stepped into the bustle of Konoha's early morning foot traffic. Now…where are you? he thought. He glided through the throng of people with ease, casting his awareness out in search of his new shadow.
Twelve shinobi in the crowds, he counted. Picking trained ninja out of a pack of civilians was far simpler with a well-developed chakra sense. Chakra could be suppressed of course, but that left its own imprint if you were thorough and knew what to look for. In the middle of a hidden village, though, most shinobi weren't hiding, which made life a good deal easier.
Naruto leapt skyward without warning, and landed lightly on a nearby rooftop. He paused for a beat and smiled slightly when none of the ninja below followed suit. "At least they didn't put a rookie on me," he murmured.
He hopped to the next roof, and then the next roof after that, and was rewarded as an unknown ninja bounded from the street to an adjacent rooftop in the blink of an eye. Gotcha! Naruto kept moving across the buildings, passing multiple shinobi along the way, all the while keeping his mind focused on the person tailing him.
Slightly behind, well out of sight, probably camouflaged. He's suppressing now. The ninja's chakra was suddenly quite smaller – a good deal smaller than any of the presences he'd felt in the crowded street. Let's see how good you are. His chakra flow spiked infinitesimally, a single thread to his eyes to heighten his visual perception, and he took off in a shunshin.
Even with his chakra enhancing his sight, the world was still a blur as he powered the speed jutsu. Using the body flicker within the village proper was a bit dicey for anyone who wasn't a jonin – which I suppose I am, now – given the precise control needed to not plow directly into anyone else. Given his control, never mind his ever-growing perception of the world around him, Naruto wasn't worried.
The faded beiges and browns of the buildings blurred into vibrant greens as he entered the training grounds. He traced the well-worn path that threaded the bulk of the grounds, ignoring the immediate split to where he knew the jonin-only facilities were, to training ground thirty-nine.
Naruto reappeared a moment later without a sound, took half a moment to admire the cascading waterfall that awaited him, and proceeded to drop into the earth with a small application of chakra. His tail appeared within the denser foliage outside the training ground two seconds later.
The blond wasted no time, circling back behind his shadow in the blink of an eye. The earth parted above him and he popped up, tapping the exposed skin of the man's back as he rose.
"Two full seconds. Know I've gotten faster but you're gonna have to be better than that," Naruto told the motionless man.
The man was pale, almost deathly so, with close-cropped dark hair that matched his eyes. His face was sharp with clearly defined cheekbones and a long, pointed chin. He wore a jacket so short it didn't bother covering his stomach, its red straps contrasting drastically with how muted the rest of him was. A tanto was sheathed over his right shoulder.
"Let's see…" Naruto opened the pale man's mouth without resistance and withdrew his tongue. Three solid lines followed by two broken ones were written from back to front. His lip curled at the reminder of his captain, whose own cursed seal had given her fits right up until Roshi tore her heart out. "'Least Danzo hasn't changed much. Must think pretty highly of you."
Naruto wiped the residual saliva on the man's shoulder, uncaring that it would undoubtedly be noticed eventually, and tapped him on the back once more. The pale man disappeared in a shunshin a moment later, following whatever path the blonde's genjutsu led him on.
"Finally," he breathed. He jumped over to the large pond the waterfall was emptying into, not wasting a moment before diving in headfirst. Cool, fresh water greeted him upon his dive. He laughed a stream of bubbles as he powered himself around the tiny pond. He hadn't swum in such clear water in what felt like years.
He spent far too little time submerged before powering himself to the surface with a burst of chakra. The pond exploded in a spray as he rose into the open air, high enough to torque his body into a tight backflip and land lightly on the now rippling water's surface.
Naruto grinned as he rose to his full height, his cheeks nearly tearing. He shook his hair out and ran his hands through it languidly. An exhale superheated the water still clinging to his clothes and body, and steam momentarily rose from his skin as he rapidly dried.
"Now…" he said, dropping a hand to his left pocket where the mysterious ring resided. "…what to do about you?"
It was the color of bone – and heavy enough that Naruto thought it may well have been made from it – and a single spot of orange was enough surface area for the kanji 'San' to be written. Other than that, it was utterly unremarkable to his naked eyes, though he suspected it was more than it appeared. It itched the back of his mind much like the thoughts of rain did.
Idly, he slipped it on to his left index finger, for there was where it fit best, and sat down on the water's surface. Blue eyes fluttered shut as Naruto cast his senses about the area. The world from behind his eyelids was as black as night, but the blond could almost imagine the sights that would greet him.
The late-morning breeze caressed his face, bringing the smell of leaves crushed underfoot to his nose. He felt the trees from which they fell, a bizarre energy both within them and the earth surrounding them that he couldn't place. The observation slipped from his mind like water through his fingertips, and he instead focused momentarily on the sound of a squirrel as it scurried up the thick trunk of an oak. He imagined, for a moment, that he could feel the tiny creature's chakra as it carried a nut to its home. The impulse passed after a moment, and Naruto spared a thought to how exactly shinobi knew that all living creatures had chakra. Someone must've found out somehow.
The stray thought was pushed to the side like a cloud making its way across the sky. He turned inward a moment later, diving headfirst into the miasma light and warmth that was his own chakra. It was like jumping headfirst into a warm pool, and, unbidden, his lips turned upward.
As his senses expanded, so too had his feel for his own chakra. His control, always one of his strong suits, had steadily improved as well – seemingly regardless of the growth of his reserves. Thanks mom, he thought, the vaunted Uzumaki vitality well-known to him. It had been well-documented…
Where, exactly?
Eyes opened and lips turned down at the thought. "Where'd that come from?" he wondered aloud. A thrill of unease gripped him. The water affinity is well-known. Learned about that right here in Konoha. Who told me about the chakra?
He knew it, that was for sure. It had solved the mystery of the rapid increase in chakra capacity he'd experienced in Kusa's jungles. He'd gone from being a genjustu support specialist to having more chakra than Zabuza in less than two years. It had been a happy mystery that he'd chalked up to puberty.
Until…sometime. He ransacked his memory, but where he'd stumbled upon the knowledge of his clan's vitality was stubbornly absent.
The unease disappeared as a small smile split his lips. Getting closer. His eyes drifted shut once more, and a few moments later he was back in the miasma, mind as clear as day. Purpose brought clarity, and clarity, while not strictly necessary for meditation, certainly made life easier.
Now he had an idea of what to look for. His memories were being played with. The likely culprits were genjutsu or fuuinjutsu. Both were subtle enough to effect the mind if used properly, the question was how to find –
Ah.
An infinitesimal disruption of his chakra flow appeared. Not from nowhere, as it had been there before, but it was like a small stone breaking the surface of a raging river. The river still flowed, powerful and unrelenting, but it was, even if only for a moment, diverted around the inconsequential obstacle.
His smile widened. I cast it myself, he realized, inspecting the tiny diversion of chakra with the eyes of a master.
All illusions relied on the caster's ability to effectively control the flow of chakra in the target's body. There were two primary schools of thought as to the best way to do so, however. Either create an illusion so subtle that the target didn't realize they were being manipulated, or causing enough distress that the target wasn't able to properly disrupt their chakra flow and break free. Naruto had always preferred the former, though he knew the latter had its benefits. Area-effect genjutsu could seldom be subtle, as to be so precise with manipulating more than two or three people's chakra flows required legendary control.
All genjutsu users had habits, a thread of commonality that, usually unknowingly, acted as something of a signature. As it was, he could recognize his own handiwork in an instant.
Naruto brought his hands together, leaving his eyes closed. "Kai." The tiny impediment disappeared from his chakra flow as it was momentarily disrupted. An eyebrow rose as, instead of disappearing, the itch in the back of his mind only strengthened.
"Two steps," he muttered. "Look at you go, Naruto."
Dispelling the minor illusion hadn't unlocked a tidal wave of memories, as he had expected. Instead, he reached up to the back of his neck and channeled chakra through his fingertips. His skin burned, but he ignored the pain as the tiny bit of fuuinjutsu responded to his chakra.
With the knowledge of the tiny seal came the memory of hand seals. Snake – ram – boar – dog – tiger. Fuuinjutsu, kai!
He felt the mark pulse and shatter into oblivion a moment before a nail was driven into his skull. His eyes opened reflexively as the pain stole his breath.
Konan let her hands drop. She smiled at him, the expression reaching her eyes in a way that Naruto considered himself lucky to witness. "Good luck, Naruto."
"Heh, hopefully I won't need it," he managed with a slight grin, crossing his arms over his no-longer smoking chest.
"We all need luck, but I believe in you." With one last nod, her legs shifted to paper once more, forming into an angel's wings. She ascended, her eyes firmly settled on his own as she rose.
A lone piece of paper floated down to him as she floated away, and he caught it gently in an open palm. He stared down at it, noticing that letters had been cut out of it in lieu of using ink. Three words stared back at him.
Hashirama.
Bijuu.
Rikudo.
Itachi smiled, and for Naruto it was like looking into a mirror for all the bitterness it held. "And if I told you the Fourth almost certainly would have occurred had the Uchiha lived?"
Naruto's heart thumped out of time. A momentary mix of confusion and anticipation gripping him, he quietly said, "I'd ask for an explanation."
"Having fun?" Nagato queried, voice clearly amused.
"Loads," Naruto returned, quelling his momentary embarrassment.
Of course he could feel the whole thing. The scope of his ally's awareness was still staggering, even if he was making stride on his own.
"Not quite as graceful as my version, but definitely effective," the redhead quipped with a wry smile. "Your chakra control is astounding."
The blond hesitated for a moment, unsure, before he banished the thought. "It's gotten better with my training here. Easier. Like there's more of it for me to use – more of it that
wants to be used."
"And it's easier for that work to live on if those who perpetuate it believe they are doing a god's work," Naruto finished. It's both impressive and terrifying, he thought, unsure of how to feel.
Nagato nodded, a slight smile splitting his lips. "A select few, like yourself, will see the benefits of peace before it is achieved. But for the masses? They need something greater: something raw, something elemental. Something to
inspire them from their apathy into action. And something to make them persist after I'm gone."
"Human nature pursues strife," Naruto murmured, echoing Nagato's words from the beach in Tea Country.
"Uzumaki Nagato is just a man. But Pein?" Nagato asked rhetorically, real passion coloring his words. And Naruto felt goosebumps rising along his arms for a reason he couldn't quite put into words. "Pein is immortal."
Steady fingers belying a frantic mind closed around the appropriately dated scroll, and he let himself fall backwards into the room's single chair. The scroll opened easily, the babies born in January at the top. Blue eyes devoured the names greedily, idly noting that more than half of the names were Uzumaki even as they were discarded.
January passed in a blur, then February, March, April, May. The first creepings of anxiety were threading their way into his brain as he passed through June – what if she wasn't recorded – when he stopped dead.
July tenth. Uzumaki Kushina. Born to Uzumaki Ayako and Uzumaki Hideaki.
Fingertips gently brushed the faded ink and a tiny smile split his lips. "Hello, mother," Naruto breathed.
The wry smile returned. "I was confident in your survival. That you were alive at the end was all that needed to be said. It takes something special to kill an Uzumaki."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "And what do you know of the Uzumaki?"
"All there is," the man replied, not missing a beat. "My name is Nagato, Uzumaki Nagato, and I've wanted to meet you for a very long time, Naruto-san."
Sometime during the deluge of memories that had been locked away, his eyes had drifted shut once more. "Fucking hell," he croaked, letting his head fall forward into his waiting hands. He blinked, reached down and snatched up enough water to splash his face with, but it did little to alleviate the pounding in his skull. "Well that's one way to do things."
Memories locked away in fuuinjutsu and a concealing genjutsu so minor he had a hard time finding it in himself. He allowed himself a smile. Guess all those hours of practice weren't for nothing. He wouldn't exactly be roaming Konoha as a – somewhat – free man if the higher ups thought he was a plant.
"Step one: complete."
Naruto allowed himself a smile of satisfaction, but the undercurrent of unease had returned, and not for the same reasons. He had deceived Konoha's leadership by deceiving himself. His task was far harder now. Nothing worth doing was ever easy, he consoled himself, shaking the fatalistic musings from his mind.
His senses were cast about once more, not in reflection but for detection. Satisfied that there was no one within one-thousand meters that was likely to happen upon him in a trance-like state, he straightened. Ignoring the pounding in his skull, he methodically ran through a series of eight hand seals, contorting his fingers into a final hold.
The Gentooshin no jutsu was as singular as it was uncomfortable. There was nothing quite like being in two places at once. He was still one-hundred percent aware of his surroundings in Konoha, but when his eyes closed, he was in Ame, Konan seated before him.
"You're ahead of schedule," she said in lieu of a proper greeting. Naruto blinked – or rather he would have had his eyes not been closed – unused to seeing her so casual. Her usual cloak was discarded, leaving her clad in black leggings and a sleeveless top that hugged her lithe frame.
"The combination proved as effective as I had hoped," Naruto managed. Get it together! he told himself, tearing his eyes away from the exposed skin of her midriff. Glancing about momentarily, he realized she must've been in her sleeping quarters. Banishing the thoughts that that tidbit brought to mind, he refocused. "The screening is complete. I'll be briefing the intelligence committee about Akatsuki tomorrow morning."
Twin eyebrows rose. "That's unexpected, but not unwelcome. The Hokage trusts you already?"
"Doubtful. The threat I outlined was enough to catch her attention, though. She seems…shrewd."
"Elaborate."
Naruto shrugged. "A lot of the conversation seemed directed toward ingratiating herself with me. She deliberately looked for common ground. For whatever little it's worth, she at least seemed genuine." He wasn't above acknowledging that Tsunade's words had had some effect on him.
Konan leaned back, resting her elbows on the slim mattress that she sat against. "She likely was. Most medics are plagued by a sincere care for others." The blond fought against raising an eyebrow as his counterpart smiled at him. Was that supposed to be a joke?
He snorted, not at the joke but at its lack of humor, and only felt a little ashamed when his reaction caused Konan's smile to widen. "Regardless, it's a good start. I haven't had the chance to begin looking into what you gave me, but will do so after the briefing. What's next?"
The smile faded back into her standard, businesslike dispassion. "Considering the speed with which you're already progressing, we need to proceed with building trust. Your overreaching goal is the Hokage position. Given your disposition, killing everyone else who may be under consideration isn't a viable option." If it was supposed to be another joke, Naruto didn't bother laughing. "The good news is it appears they're happy to have you back."
He nodded. "I'll need to prove myself."
"Quite. It's fortunate, then, that Akatsuki's and Konoha's goals line up rather well in this instance."
"You're arranging things?" Naruto asked with a quirked brow.
"Orochimaru is a former associate of ours," Konan began, and Naruto's eyes almost popped open in surprise. "We severed ties with him over a decade ago, however, and whatever usefulness he once had has long since expired. We expect he kept extensive notes on the movements of the members he was aware of. Your mission is to track and find any information Orochimaru was keeping on Akatsuki and turn it over to Konoha."
Ignoring his incredulity at the mission's objective, he asked, "What's the time-frame? If he's as slippery as his reputation suggests he won't be easy to find."
"Konoha has assuredly been tracking whatever movements they can. As have we. Our information points to multiple locations across the continent. We can discuss a completion date once you've received whatever resources Konoha is willing to provide you."
Likely a reasonable amount, all things considered. "Confirmed," Naruto said, reaching for a semblance of professionalism. "The only information I'll be able to act on is Konoha's, however."
"They will be made aware of our intel soon."
That raised pressing questions, but not ones Naruto needed answers to immediately. They'd infiltrated every other village after all. "I'll make sure to turn the focus to him. Anything else?"
"When you do find his bases of operations, search for a ring. It will be very similar to your own," Konan told him. "We'll arrange for a way to have the ring returned once you have it. Additionally, start investigating a man named Zetsu. He was Obito's associate and has proved…elusive since Nagato neutralized him. His capture is extremely important."
Naruto nodded. "Noted. Will that be all?"
"Almost," she said, and here her smile returned. "It may go without saying, but Konoha is your home now. The Hokage position isn't given on combat merit alone. Take time to acclimate and make friends and allies. They'll be important for you."
His lips pulled upward. That may be the hardest part. "I'll do my best. Thank you, Konan."
"Be well, Naruto."
/~/
We're doing things. Excited for the next few installments. Have a point in mind to get to before I start up again on Patriot's Dawn's sequel.
Shouts, as always, to the DLP crew for their help. Feel free to drop a review on your way out.