Title: Whirlpool of Love
Beta reader: xxShadowheartxx
Author: TheRoadrunner
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter IX – His last order
"Naruto, we have to stop this now ... Ahhhn!" Kushina protested, her words falling on deaf ears.
"Yeah, okay, I will stop... soon," Naruto responded, in his usual sheepish manner, and continued to attack the sensitive skin of her neck with butterfly kisses.
Currently, the incestuous Namikaze couple stood under the shower, washing away the evidence of their experimental lovemaking on the living room's sofa.
The blonde's hands roamed over the soft skin of his lover's petite back. Their lover's 'agreement' would be void in another hour, and he wanted to taste, and feel, and touch her until the very last moment. His left hand stopped its loving caressing of her back area and closed the water-tap, before it moved back to its previous position.
Naruto took the time to take a good view of the beautiful woman in his arms. It has taken a considerable amount of time to persuade her into taking a shower with him … for the last time. After her guarded approval, he pulled her along with him. He wouldn't give her even one second to consider her decision, and then have the possibility of her changing her mind. In the very last moment she tried to escape as she noticed his devious plan. However, she wasn't able to escape from his grasp, as his right arm was snaked around her hips, pressing her back against his muscular torso. The Namikaze matriarch watched with fearful eyes when he opened the shower's water-tap, the one with the blue markings, for cold water. A merciless shower of cold water poured over the duo and produced the most girlish sounds he had ever heard from his mother. She struggled for freedom and squealed like a little girl, while the infinite stream of cold water made her wet, slowly. Only thanks to his large arsenal of tender caressing he was able to bribe the redhead to stay with him in the shower.
"That was really mean, Naruto. You're lucky I've got so much self-control, otherwise you wouldn't have been so … lucky," Kushina said playful, while her violet eyes responded to his gaze. Normally, Kushina and self-control wouldn't go hand in hand, though she wanted to avoid a massacre in her beloved bathroom.
Naruto couldn't help but smile at Kushina. She looked like a drowned kitten with her dripping wet hair and irritated expression. His left hand moved from her hips to her face, stroking her skin sensually on the way. He rubbed her cheek with his thumb, making her lean into his touch.
"Naruto … our agreement … it stops here … and now," Kushina said, pleading with her eyes for him to stop.
Naruto could see so much emotion in her eyes. He knew, that he really loved her. Far much more than a son should be. His love for her had already transcended the mere limits of the loving connection between mother and son. He couldn't really point to the time his feelings for her changed in that way. But he wasn't here to make his mother's life more difficult than it already was.
"I know, kaa-san," Naruto gave his mother a genuine smile.
"Naruto, you …," Kushina responded, speechlessly. She was so sure he would've tried to do something so that she would change her mind.
"If we don't stop now, then there's a chance everything could fall apart. Kaa-san, you and Tou-san are my family. I couldn't imagine a life without the both of you. I would gladly give my life to protect my two most precious people. And I would never, ever do anything to hurt you, I love you both too much for that," the blonde Namikaze said, grinning.
Kushina was on the verge of crying and buried her face in her hands. It was so unfair! How could he hit her nerves so easily? It was time for a small revenge! She took a deep breath and gave him a confused and disappointed look, "Oh, I didn't knew you loved him... that much."
"Of course I love you more … eh … in another way … you know what I mean!" Naruto stuttered, his eyes wide in fear. Did she think he swung that … way? He could feel goosebumps on his back and his, normally, very vital pole-of-meat between his legs hung its head in reaction of this gross topic.
Kushina intensely watched her son's hilarious reaction. It was one of those rare moments, where she had the upper hand and could tease him. She gave him another perplexed facial expression, causing him to increase his comical efforts to explain himself. But even Kushina had her limit and soon she couldn't suppress the growing knot in her stomach anymore. Her screaming and laughing sounds echoed through the bathroom's shower, while Naruto's face turned deep red.
"Y-You … you tricked me!" He accused her, and pointed his finger at the giggling redhead.
"I-I'm sorry, … hahaha … I really am! Hahaha!" Tears spilled out of her eyes. When was the last time she laughed so hard? The last thing she saw was a flustered Naruto, as he left the shower. She sat down on the shower's wooden stool and hummed, happily. 'Minato is coming back today. Everything will return to the way it was before.'
The blurred outlines of five people flickered through the calm and tranquil forest of the Hidden Leaf. The group jumped from branch to branch with an insane speed, a testimony of high-skilled usage of chakra.
"Hokage-sama, are you alright? You're looking really pale" the purple-haired Cat asked, worried about her leader's physical health.
Cat's verbal concern aroused the interest of the remaining squad member, causing the surprised individual to be examined by four pair of eyes.
Minato wasn't feeling well since they had left the camp and the scrutinizing looks of his ANBU didn't make it better. He tried to reassure them and lied, "I'm alright, maybe a small cold. No reason to worry, after all we don't need more than twenty minutes to reach the village."
The ANBUs glanced at each other and waited for their captain's opinion.
"We will do as the Hokage said. Stay in formation," Weasel ordered from his rear position, completely unconcerned about Cat's observation.
Hawk and Bull nodded and resumed their watch over the left flank and the front. Yet it was the Cat-masked ANBU who was slightly suspicious about the unusual behavior of her captain.
Every now and then she turned her head to glance at the pale-looking Hokage. And then, without a warning, he missed a branch and crashed against the wooden structure.
She had to watch helplessly, as her motionless Hokage fell down. Instantly the four ANBUs jumped after him in order to catch their falling leader. Luckily, Bull was able to reach him less than six feet over the hard ground.
Cat breathed a sigh of relief and turned her head to her captain. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the famous bright red eyes with three spinning tomoes, glowing through her captain's weasel-like mask. "Sharingan! Why? Could he … ? I can't believe this, yet that would explain his strange behavior." Her hand moved to the pouch on her back, where she stored her Kunai. She pulled one out, slowly, and clenched it so hard that the death grip on the weapon caused her knuckle to turn white. She was ready to protect her Hokage against every threat, even from the ones inside.
However, just in that moment Weasel deactivated his Sharingan and turned his head to the weary, purple-haired female. They stared each other in complete silence, eagerly waiting for their respective opponent's next move. Ultimately Weasel broke the silence and spoke, "Hawk, tell me something."
Hawk, the squad's medical specialist, rushed instantly to the Hokage's side, the very moment she had landed on the forest ground. She opened Minato's armored vest and tore his shirt apart with one of her Kunai. Peaceful green Chakra began to surround her hands, indicating her usage of medial Jutsu. After her first examination was completed, she thought to herself, "It finally happened, there's nothing I can do anymore!" She turned her head and spoke to the rest of her squad, concern in her voice, "His heartbeat and pulse is abnormal weak. He needs to be moved into a Hospital as fast as possible."
"Bull, you will take him. There are only three miles left to the village's border," Weasel half ordered, half announced.
Bull complied his task and swung their motionless leader on his shoulder, before he and Hawk jumped on the nearest branch to continue their travel to Konoha.
Cat glanced at the withdrawing duo and waited a few seconds, before she spoke in a agitated voice, "ITACHI! What did you do?"
"What do you mean, Yugao? I ordered them to take him home. I gave you that order, too," he responded casually, without a hint of emotion.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" She snapped and changed into a battle position, the previously drawn Kunai held up in a defensive pattern. "What did you do with your Sharingan?"
He continued to observe her with the same emotionless facial expression as before, a fact that agitated her even further. "How can he be that calm? After whatever he did to Hokage-sama."
"The Sharingan is an exceptional tool to look for foes and other forms of danger. Do I have to remind you of that?" He responded her question, completely unaffected by her display of rage.
"Don't lie to me, Itachi! Your eyes were focused on him the whole time," Yugao hissed, already calculating a battle plan to fight her traitorous captain.
"You did noticed? Then you were already suspicious of me," he praised her, though his last words were the straw which ultimately sent her over the edge, "That's remarkable, you are truly worthy of being an ANBU of Konohagakure."
Her eyes widened by his last remark, her pride of being one of the Hokage's most loyal warrior already polluted, she decided that the time to question the traitor in front of her was over. In a blurred movement her right hand shot forward, giving the Kunai in her hand the necessary momentum to fly towards its destined target.
She was well aware that a shinobi of a caliber like Itachi, would have no problem at all deflecting or evading her Kunai, but it was only meant to give her the one second to draw her blade out of the sheath, which was positioned on her back.
However, the events didn't turned out as anticipated as her traitorous captain didn't do anything to escape her first attack. The Kunai's sharp point penetrated the greyish ANBU armor behind that and the whole weapon embedded itself in Itachi's torso.
The purple-haired blinked at the staggering traitor, dumbfounded, before she realized her grave mistake. But it was already too late. Yugao's perplexity, even if for just one second, gave him the decisive opening necessary to disarm her. Itachi appeared behind her out of the blue, restraining her from unsheathing her katana when he captured her hand on the weapon's hilt. Her other hand, the free one, was yanked behind her back to, leaving her in a most disadvantage position to fight.
Meanwhile the staggering Itachi in front of them turned into a mass of pitch black and exploded into a crowd of crows.
"Crows, eh? That's your favorite Genjutsu. I can't believe I fell for it," Yugao admitted, crushed by her own failure.
"Your mind, and your heart … they were in uproar. An ideal condition for Genjutsu to perform. Though, even with a calm head, you didn't anticipate to defeat me?" Itachi commented.
"Every second I can buy is precious for Bull and Hawk. Even when I have to pay with my life," the feline ANBU spoke, zealously.
"We misjudged you, apparently. But the Hokage is as good as dead," Itachi stated, receiving an angry growl from the captured female in front of him. "Don't misinterpret me. Nobody can help him anymore. He was already as good as dead..."
"I don't believe that!" She interrupted him. "I won't fall for your lies anymore."
"... I see. You have to find out the truth on your own," He stated and released her from his grip, using the split second before she turned around and unsheathed her katana to jump on the nearest branch.
"Why didn't you kill me?" The purple-haired ANBU questioned her former captain, her sweaty hands clenching on the katana's hilt.
"That would serve no greater good," He said, simply, and vanished into the tree.
Yugao focused what was left of her sane mind on her nearest surroundings and detected no enemy presence. Then she allowed her body and mind to take break and dropped on her knees. Her entire body was furiously shaking and thereby her katana connected to her organism through her hand. She lowered her head to glance at her favorite weapon of choice, which allowed her to see her mirror image in the polished and razor-sharp blade. The purple-haired ANBU had a pale complexion since her childhood, but she could begin to detect an increase of that, after witnessing her latest near death experience only half a minute ago.
She staggered up to her feet and followed the route Bull and Hawk had taken before her mysterious clash with Itachi. She wasn't able to connect the dots about his unusual behavior, yet. The only thing she could do now was to reach the remains of her squad and help to protect the Hokage until they reached the Hospital. "And I'm going to be damned if I fail that!"
Namikaze household again
Naruto and Kushina were sitting at the large dining table, two hot and steamy bowls of ramen in front of them. Kushina prepared them as an apology of sorts after their bathroom encounter. Naruto shot her still an angry look, sulking.
"Well, considering the pampered only child he was, I can see why he's a sore loser," Kushina thought to herself, while watching his cute sulking behavior. "He was really cute in his flustered state, earlier. And now he's suspiciously poking my ramen..."
A throbbing vein appeared on her forehead as she watched him poking and examine the ramen bowl. "Well, Naruto-kun, are you having fun dissecting my lovingly made ramen?" She asked in a bittersweet tone.
Naruto gulped, completely aware he was facing one of his mother's dangerous mood swing. One false step, and she would kill him, … probably. "What? No! It was so hot and I stirred it up, so that it cool down faster. See, I'm eating it," he panicked and started to gobble up the food.
"Well that's nice to hear. I don't want to imagine what could happen to you if you would be forced to cook for yourself," Kushina pointed out, dramatically.
The blonde shinobi was on the verge of crying. Not only ended their immoral agreement today, but she was pulling his leg thanks to their bathroom scene, earlier. And now she implicated something really horrible. He shuddered in agony as he remembered the last time he tried to eat something he cooked on his own account. He had to stay three days in the hospital to cure and afterward, Morino Ibiki, from the Torture & Interrogation division, asked him for the formula of his unique torture food.
Naruto sighed and thought, "Well, that was my really crappy day for the year. Now everything will turn out for the best. It can't possibly get worse, right?"
Just in that moment, he could feel the presence of a person entering their mansion's property and heading straight for the mansion itself. A curios glance towards Kushina confirmed that she too had noticed the presence. Apparently, his mother had one of her good days, where she was able to use her chakra like usual. The seal's failing on the day of his birth left her chakra network in a damaged state. There was no telling when she could use her chakra and when she could not.
The unknown person had already reached the door and slammed against the door. Finally a male voice shouted, agitatedly, "Naruto-sama? Kushina-sama? Are you here?"
Naruto sighed for what felt like the one-hundredth time this day, he almost felt like an old man. The blonde Namikaze rose to his feet and walked to the door, where he noticed that the person was very nervous, because he paced around in front of the door without a real plan. He opened the door and was greeted by the view of a Chūnin messenger who had obviously seen the death itself. The poor guy looked pale, as white as chalk, and stuttered incoherent sentences.
"Hey, snap out of it!" Naruto shouted and gripped the Chūnin's shoulders to give him a good shaking. Attracted by the noise, Kushina joined her son and waited what the messenger had to say.
"Purple-haired … cat! Pressing blade …. on my neck …. ordered me … to bring you message … Hospital! Important!" The Chūnin stuttered before his consciousness gave away and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Well, purple-haired cat? That could only mean Uzuki-san has 'ordered' the poor guy," Naruto deduced.
"That would mean Minato is back? But why the Hospital? And why it is so important?" Kushina frowned, not liking the implications of the facts.
"There's only one way to find out. We better move fast," he responded, earning a nod from the redhead beside him. But first he laid the poor Chūnin messenger on the lawn in front of the house, and put him into a stable position, so that he wouldn't choke from the white foam he started to emit from his mouth.
"Poor guy, he certainly went through the hell and back," the blonde thought, sympathetically, before he made a speed run to the hospital with his mother.
They arrived at the hospital no less than five minutes later. He could have done it faster, but he adapted his own speed to the one of his mother. Due to her special condition, she wasn't able to train her body in the shinobi arts on a regular basis. Though, she could best the one or another Jōnin with the use of her Fūinjutsu [sealing techniques]. It was not an understatement that Namikaze Kushina was one of the only people in Konohagakure, who was able to perform the most sophisticated of sealing techniques. As a descendant from probably the most revered clan in terms of that, nearly lost, art. She had an inhumanly, deep understanding for those techniques.
As soon as the Namikaze duo entered the foyer, they were greeted by a cat-masked ANBU with purple-hair. Their deductions turned out to be true after all. Yugao made a gesture for them to follow her and began walking at a fast pace through the long, sterile-smelling corridors. The duo looked at each other, perplexed, and followed her immediately.
Approximately 60 seconds later they arrived at a ward, which was heavily protected by ANBU officers. A short visual exchange between the highest-ranking officer, provided the trio access to the guarded section behind the makeshift barricade.
Suddenly, Kushina started to feel nauseous, and embraced her son's arm for support. She knew, nothing good would await her wherever they were going to go. Naruto was lost in his own mind, not noticing his mother's embrace, as he was already imagining the worst possible outcomes.
Ultimately they stopped in front of an inconspicuous, greyish door. Yugao turned around and took a deep breath, before announcing, "Nothing can prepare you for what you will see inside."
The Namikaze duo exchanged glances again and nodded, following the cat-masked ANBU into the room. Inside, there were three additional ANBU officers, from whom at least one had a special medical qualification, as this one was observing the vital data of the patient and scribbling down some notes. She was also the only unmasked ANBU in the room. At her waist dangled a hawk-like mask, whenever she turned around to note the next vital data. There was also Nara Shikaku, who leaned against the wall with a grim facial expression and closed eyes. There was a distinct silence in the room, overshadowed by the rhythmic sounds of medical devices.
"Well, who is this?" Kushina asked after looking at the patient in the bed. He was male and judging from his appearance he should be about ninety year old. There were only few greyish hairs left on his head and his face looked tired and exhausted.
"Hello, Kushina. I can't blame you for not recognizing me," the old man said in a strained voice.
Kushina gasped and shook her head, fervently, causing her red mane to dance in the air. Slowly she walked backwards in an useless effort to retreat from the horrible truth. When she hit the hard wall with her back, she started to sob uncontrollably, causing streams of tears to run down her pale face.
"That can't be true!" She wailed, trying to push away the cruel reality.
"I'm sorry, my love," the old man said, emotions of regret and sorrow clearly audible in his voice.
"Minato!" Kushina cried out and walked slowly to her husband's bed, while the infinite streams of salty tears started to leave watermarks on her shirt. "What's going on? How? Why?"
"Hehe, you're nosy as always," Minato joked, earning him a death glare from his sobbing wife, "and apparently you're not in for a small joke."
Minato directed his gaze from his half sobbing, half glaring wife to his son, who hadn't said anything yet since he entered the room with his mother. "Naruto, how are you?"
The blonde shinobi snapped out of his stupor and gazed back at his father's figure. He couldn't believe that his father, Namikaze Minato, the strongest shinobi in the elemental countries, maybe the strongest shinobi ever born, was reduced to that pitiful state. He gulped hard and responded, "Better than you, I guess."
"NARUTO!" Kushina snapped, and glared him, looking like she would go on a killing spree at any second.
"Haha, well at least you are in for a small joke, Naruto," Minato interrupted his wife, "unlike your humorless mother."
"Hokage-sama," Shikaku interrupted the familiarly conversation between the three Namikaze, putting on the most serious facial expression he could offer, despite the unbearable situation.
"Well, you're even more humorless than my wife, Shikaku. I won't even try it," Minato said with what looked like a small smile on his lips. "Then I will start with the serious contents of our meeting."
He took the time and observed the facial expression of everyone present. He could see sorrow in the faces of his family, helplessness in Shikaku's and the medical officer's face and rage in Yugao's.
"I will explain the what, how and why as my dear wife had asked, but before that … Taji could you help me up?" Minato asked, not liking the helpless state he was in.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Taji nodded and helped her old leader to a sitting position.
Kushina stared at the female ANBU and somehow it clicked in her head. She was the second midwife who helped to deliver Naruto on his birth – beside the presence of Biwako. The redhead turned around to observe the remaining ANBU officers in order to notice a small fact that could reveal their identity.
"Nice one, Kushina," Minato admitted with pride, leaving Yugao, Shikaku and Naruto to be completely baffled.
"They were all there?" Kushina asked, confused.
"That's right. Bull, Eagle, you both can drop your masks. Well, Yugao, you too," he ordered.
One by one the masked soldiers dropped their masks, leaving their faces' for Kushina to inspect.
"Yes, I know you. You were in the ANBU team Minato had chosen for the protection of the cave, where I gave birth to Naruto," Kushina said, receiving friendly smiles from Bull and Eagle, before she pointed at Taji "And you were the midwife beside Biwako-san. Taji-san?"
"Yes, it was an honor, Kushina-sama," Taji smiled at the redhead.
Shikaku was about to interrupt again because there was too much small talk for his liking in this supposed to be serious conversation, as Naruto did the job for him. "Tou-san, could you please start to explain? There are at least three persons in here, who didn't understand anything," he spoke and pointed at Yugao and Shikaku.
"Well, then I will start now. About the what is happening to me. My body is dying as I speak. How? Because it reached its 'shelf life'. My body has simply reached its age limit." Minato explained, while everyone watched his explanations with wide eyes, eagerly awaiting the cause for his horrible situation. "About the why. Because I made a pact with the Shinigami, trading the greatest part of my life time to imprison the Kyubi no Yoko inside my son, Naruto."
Naruto must have felt the same nauseous feeling his mother had ten minutes ago. Everyone in the room was looking at him. He couldn't believe that his father was discarding the secret about him the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox so casually.
But Minato old, not a fool and reassured his son's fears, "Don't worry Naruto, Bull, Eagle and Taji already knew about your condition. And I put my trust into Shikaku and Yugao to keep a secret to themselves."
"You lied to me," Kushina accused her husband, tears were streaming down her face again.
"I'm sorry, Kushina. Though it was the only way to seal the Kyubi away without sacrificing anyone on that day," Minato reasoned.
He noticed the helpless expression at Shikaku's, Yugao's and Naruto's expression again and began to explain a more thorough narration of that event, nearly 18 years ago, "Before him, my wife, Kushina, was the jinchūriki of the Kyubi no Yoki. But with every month of her pregnancy, her seal would weaken proportional. Ultimately it failed during his birth, but we considered that such a thing could happen and prepared a special secluded outpost for the birthing. Only the most loyal ANBUs were selected for that mission – Bull, Eagle and Hawk were three of them. Additionally, I asked Sandaime-same and Jiraya-sensei to attend the birthing, a wise decision I can say. Without them it would have been impossible to seal the Kyubi no Yoko again without sacrificing at least one human soul. We three used our combined chakra to seal him away in Naruto, as Kushina was not in the condition to sustain a sealing after giving birth and experiencing a forded unsealing. Well, that was the official version at least."
Minato took a deep breath and watched the face of everyone present again. They were busy to digest the latest information.
"What is the unofficial version?" Naruto asked, knowing that the answer wouldn't be to his or anyone else liking.
"We didn't used our combined chakra but each of us sacrificed a part of his life time to the Shinigami. I contributed the greatest deal, as I was the youngest of us three. Though Jiraiya-sensei and Sarutobi-sama must have given nearly 18 years of their life, because I got their time ascribed."
"There's nothing we can do, or?" The young Namikaze asked again, trying to find a last straw in that helpless situation.
"Naruto, I'm not sad, because I was ready to sacrifice my entire life on that very day. For the village, for your mother and for you. But thanks to those two people I was able to spend nearly 18 years with my two most precious people. I could see you growing up, that's everything I wished for," Minato spoke, making his wife start weeping even more, and Naruto wasn't immune ether, to the emotional component of his loving speech.
"Tou-san!" Naruto cried, "What should I do now?"
"I want you to take care of your mother. Protect her and make her laugh, because she never laughed enough in our marriage. I couldn't be the husband or the father I wanted to be," Minato admitted, ruefully.
"That's not true!" Kushina and Naruto shouted in unison.
Their fierce and prompt disapproval made him smile, yet he was well aware of his wrongdoing, "Kushina, you deserved far more than I've given you. Please, promise me, that you will look for a new partner-"
"How dare you even to suggest such a thing?" Kushina protested, interrupting her dying husband, "There's no way I can forget about you."
"Kushina," Minato reasoned seriously, "You might be the last descendant of the Uzumaki clan. You would have outlived me either way. Please don't deny yourself the chance to live in happiness. When you find someone you like, and I know you will, then take the chance. Don't let feelings of guilt get in your way."
"I will... try …," Kushina nodded weakly, already streams of salty tears were running down her puffy face.
Minato smiled at his brave wife and redirected his gaze at his son, "Naruto, I wish I could have lasted a little longer. Then you could have succeeded me as Hokage, though it might be not possible at the moment."
"Tou-san, why didn't you tell me why you wanted me to strife for this position? I would have-" the blonde shinobi started, but was interrupted by his father.
"What would you have done? I didn't wanted you to take responsibility because of a guilty conscience. Neither the shinobi nor the village itself need such a leader. They want someone they can respect, someone they can look up at," Minato argued.
"Shikaku, I invited you because of your position as Jōnin commander. I trust that you will make the right decision when the next Hokage will be appointed. You are now also knowing my 'inofficial' cause of death. For the official records, I'll be dying of a strange, undiscovered disease," the former blond, now greyish Namikaze said, emphasizing the necessity of the secrecy of his true cause of death.
"I will, Minato," Shikaku promised, "it seems, that either Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-sama will have to take the hat."
However, before they could continue their conversation, a huge shockwave hit the hospital and its many wards. They didn't have to struggle to keep their balance, but the vibrations were strong enough to cause fine, white plaster to flutter from the ceiling. After the initial shock, the ANBUs in the room moved to the two large windows each and conducted a visual search for possible threats.
Just before anyone could say a word, the door flew open and an ANBU officer with a battered battle-suit stumbled in. His greyish breast armor was partially scorched black. His head was directed directly to the Hokage as he spoke, "Hokage-sama, all hell has broken loose in the village. The Uchiha clan are stirring up a rebellion. They are currently trying to seize the Hokage tower, proclaiming that the Yondaime Hokage is dead. As we speak, the tower is only defended by a couple of nearby shinobi and two squads of ANBUs, and they won't hold out much longer."
Everyone who was present, their eyes widened in horror, minus the ANBU messenger, as they digested the terrible information. That was the first time in Konoha's history, that a clan tried to take control of the village through the means of a coup d'état.
"I would have never thought they would really try it," Minato admitted, self-conscious. After seeing the confusion in the shinobi in front of them, he added, "The inner administrative circle was aware of discontent inside the Uchiha clan's high council, though someone could also call it resentment for their clan's actual position inside the village. But we've never guessed they would do something that drastic and irreversible."
"Hokage-sama, your orders?" The ANBU in the battered battle-suit asked, eager to fight the Hokage's enemies.
"The Uchiha clan grew large in numbers over the last two decades of my reign, we cannot afford to be at stalemate. We need to take more … drastic measures," the old Namikaze reasoned, falling into his serious Hokage mode, "Naruto, I'm somewhat sorry that my last words to you cannot be those of a father, but those of your Hokage. I will give you now, one last order. Protect Konoha. The limitation of this order is for you to interpret. Use everything and everyone you need, you have my authorization."
Minato gazed at Shikaku, who was equally eager looking for an order like the battered ANBU before. "Shikaku, I want you to gather and consolidate our conventional forces inside the village. The evacuation of the civilians has the utmost priority."
His order was acknowledged with a brief nod, leaving him to give his last order to the female beside his bed. "Kushina, I want you to supervise the evacuation procedures at the designated shelter. The people will be a lot calmer if they see you there."
"What? You want me to hide at the evacuation zone? I can fight too," Kushina protested, but her objections felt on deaf ears.
"That's not a request, but an order, Kushina. Bull, Eagle, Hawk, you three are going to move with her and provide protection. I cannot say that there will be no fighting at the evacuation zone," Minato ordered, producing three anxious ANBU with his last order, because they didn't really like the idea of leaving their leader alone in the hospital room.
Seeing that someone had to take the first step, Naruto took the initiative and grabbed Yugao's arm, taking her by surprise as he dragged her behind himself. "Let's go cat, you will accompany me."
After they made it past the makeshift barricades in the secured hospital ward, Naruto decided they would make a small detour to gather as much intel as possible. The Uchiha had decided to rely on pinpoint attacks besides their massive assault of the Hokage tower. That would prove difficult to clear a larger area, because small squads were destined to move stealthy behind enemy lines. Shikaku would be forced to come out with a real good plan, because he had to spread the conventional forces even wider to render the evacuation process possible.
Naruto and Yugao arrived at the Namikaze household approximately ten minutes after they had left his father's hospital room. Without warning he pushed her into the nearest bush, joining her half a second later.
"What the hell was that about?" Yugao asked, enraged.
"There are four people in my house. I can only assume that they didn't come for a cup of tee," Naruto responded, showing the back of his hand. There were four single lines, glowing in a feint, blueish light.
"What's that?" The cat-masked ANBU inquired, curious about his technique.
"It work's similar to our village's Kanchi Shisutemu Jutsu [Sensing System Technique], though it gives only information about the number of unknown chakra sources in its detection perimeter. In return it doesn't need three people per shift to maintain its functionality," the blonde explained.
"Never heard of it," Yugao admitted, interested in the usability of the simple detection technique. Konoha's sensing system technique was state of the art, but proved to be highly inconvenient in foreign areas, where you had not the logistic resources or the time to deploy a squad of specialized sensing shinobi.
"Let us move from the west side. There's a lot more cover," Naruto suggested. And when Yugao didn't object, they moved, like the stealthy ninja they were, from tree to tree until they reached the lawn in front of the front door.
Deeply shocked, they found that the Chūnin messenger Yugao sent to deliver the message was dead. Apparently, he hadn't had the chance to recover, as he was lying in the same position Naruto had chosen for him nearly one hour ago. They didn't even tried to take his pulse, because a deep cut one his throat and a large patch of red, wet grass around his head indicated, that he either died of blood loss or the lack of oxygen.
"Never thought they would go for their own comrades," Yugao growled, sickened by the display in front of her.
"Neither did I," Naruto stated, overwhelmed by emotions of hate and rage. "Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment! Stay calm or you will die here, Naruto."
The purple-haired ANBU unsheathed her katana and put a hand on her companion's shoulder, "I'm ready when you are."
Naruto turned his head to take a deep look in her eyes, as they were the only facial feature he could see because her face was hidden behind the cat-like ANBU mask. There he could see, why she was chosen to be in his father's personal protection squad. Her eyes radiated a fierce loyalty he had never seen before. At that very moment, he promised to himself, that he wouldn't let that fine kunoichi die as long as she was in his command. He turned his head to his home's front door and stated, "Just for the record, we won't take any prisoner, here."
"Didn't even waste a second thinking about the possiblity," the battle-ready kunoichi acknowledged.
With a careful movement he opened the wooden portal with his left hand, his head hidden behind the door frame. Apparently the floor was safe. The duo sneaked in, observing any movement or noise with great care. Their attention was attracted by shattering sounds of glassware. Naruto indicated their new route with his head, leading them to the door frame of the kitchen. He counted three people, members of the Uchiha clan, wearing the standard green flak vests of Konoha's conventional forces. Again, he had to swallow hard, as the carnal emotion of hate emerged, seeing that those traitors were defiling their village's symbols. The blonde shinobi made a sign with his hand, giving Yugao the number of enemies inside the room.
"Hehe, that lady makes damn good food," the first Uchiha said, while he looted some of Kushina's dishes from the freezer.
"You glutton, we had a mission here. Sadly, the pretty redhead was nowhere to be found," the second one laughed in a eager voice, Naruto made a note to kill him in a most painful manner.
"Both the woman and the boy are obstacles, that are needed to be removed. But for the time being we will search the house for Namikaze's secret techniques," the third Uchiha stated with authority, making him the leader of the criminal trio.
Seeing that their chance was about to slip away, when the trio left the kitchen, Yugao and Naruto prepared themselves for the imminent assault. Just as they were about to charge at the unsuspecting Uchiha, clashing sound redirected the gazes of Uchiha two and three to the entrance. Apparently, the gluttonous Uchiha had unintentionally thrown another piece of glassware at the floor. Shocked of the enemy presence, the Uchiha party froze for a second, giving Yugao and Naruto the opening to lunch their attack.
Yugao engaged the leading Uchiha in a close combat with her katana, he was barely able to draw a kunai from his pouch to deflect her first attack. Soon he found himself pressed against a corner, shouting for help.
Naruto didn't idle either, when he slammed his body against the opened door of the freezer, squeezing the glutton between the freezer's frame and door. The pig screamed in agony, as the plastic construction bruised his hand. A second later, the blonde tore openthe door, using the short distraction when the Uchiha clutched his hurt hand to plunge a kunai at his head. The glutton activated his Sharingan, just in time, to see the sharpened point of the weapon drawing closer and closer to his eyes. His body wasn't able to move, but his sophisticated Dōjutsu provided him with the visual information of his imminent doom. With a single strike, Naruto rammed the metallic weapon into his opponent's head, destroying not only his visual organ, but also the brain which lied behind it.
Through the corner of his eye, Naruto could see that the second Uchiha brought his kunai in a swinging movement. He was barely able to roll backwards to evade the attack, that could have cost him his life. The blonde glanced at his foe, identifying him as the one, who made the raping indications towards his mother. The Uchiha shot forwards, eager to cut the boy in front of him to pieces. Yet his attacks were too sloppy and unguided to provide an actual threat against Naruto. The young Namikaze drove his second kunai in his opponent's wrist, whereat the Uchiha dropped his weapon in order to clutch his wrist in pain.
Naruto thrust his fist against the Uchiha's head, providing him with the necessary momentum to let him topple over backwards. Then he lifted the disoriented foe by his flak vest and slammed him upon the kitchen table. The Uchiha dazed from a mild concussion, screamed in horror when he saw Naruto forming a blue sphere of chakra in his right hand.
"Mercy!" He begged, while he tried to move from the table, unsuccessfully.
"You will get the same mercy as the Chūnin you have killed earlier," Naruto growled, "RASENGAN!"
His foe screamed in fear as the violent, yet stable sphere tore away the firm fabric of the flak vest in his stomach area. The screams changed from fearful one's to agonizing one's, as soon as the orb of blue chakra reached the Uchiha's skin. The orb's violent spins lacerated the flesh, mixing viscera and body fluids into a grotesque pink-colored mud.
The Uchiha leader turned his head when he heard his clansman's pained scream. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the violent display in front of him. That also turned out to be the last picture he would see, because in the very next moment he was pierced by Yugao's katana. He was instantly dead. Due to her unusual angled strike, she impaled not only his heart but also severed his spinal column in one thrust.
Attracted by the screams of pain and sounds of battle, the fourth individual of the Uchiha raiding group jumped into the kitchen. His face paled, as he saw his dead clansmen, slaughtered in the most brutal manner he could imagine. Immediately, Yugao and Naruto turned their bodies to face the new foe, switching again into a battle position.
"YOU'RE INSANE!" The Uchiha screamed and opened the pouches of his flak vest. "FOR THE RISE OF THE UCHIHA!"
The duo's eyes widened when they saw the maniac in front of them activating what looked like two dozen of exploding tags. The detonation would be big enough to eradicate the whole building. In a desperate attempt, Naruto threw Yugao to the ground, covering her with his body. At the very next moment the tags ultimately ignited. The following explosion shredded the suicidal Uchiha to pieces, while a wave of fire and hot air roared through the building. Walls, furniture, carpet, nearly everything in the house started to burn, until the subsequent shock wave blew up the whole building.
A/N: Cliffhanger :D What happened to Yugao and Naruto? Will the evacuation proceed without incidents and what will happen to Kushina? And what is Itachi doing? Traitor: Yes or no?
Hello everyone!
Now I've to apologize again, because the last update was already a good month ago. I was on a vacation for two weeks and had simply forgotten to update my profile :(
Well I'm back and published an extra long chapter with a lot of progress as a sort of an apology. You've probably noticed, that I've renamed the story. There was an older story with the same title. After consulting my beta, we decided to add a simple 'in'. EDIT: It was actually an 'of'. I corrected it. Shame on me :(
I'm writing at least three more chapters for the present arc, where the fighting between loyal forces and the Uchiha clan will take place. It will be mostly focused on Naruto's point of view, so don't expect great escapades of the Konoha twelve. But I'm not here to spoiler everything. Please review and tell me how you liked the fighting scene. It was my first one. I don't like fighting scenes, which are artificially prolonged. I lose my interest in them very fast and scroll down until something else happened. So that one is short and in every sentence something important happens. Also I've written what a Rasengan should inflict on his victim. I think the technique is too belittled.
Some of you had deduced that Minato would die, though I don't think you expected that twist. I can't think of a scenario where he would die when facing the Uchiha in a normal combat.
Maybe some of you are happy that I've given Yugao some 'screen time'. Little is known about her, except that she is a very loyal ANBU. I think she is indeed a very interesting character and I will give her a minor role in the next chapters. For those who will imply a romantic relationship between Naruto and her, I can only deny it. There was no Sand Invasion in my fic, therefore she is together with Hayate Gekkō.
My monologue ends here. Now go reviewing please :D