Chapter Nine: The Payback
The day was here, and Kushina Uzumaki was taken to a secluded location.
Kakashi was fully aware of where it was and knew it had to be perfectly timed. Oddly enough, he didn't feel reluctant at all as he approached the cave. Four ANBU on guard, standing by. Kakashi might have worked with some of them.
But, he didn't really know them, did he?
Still, Kakashi made a show of walking casually as though on a walk. They jumped in front of him while Orochimaru began his infiltration.
"Kakashi, sir," said an ANBU. "We can't let you go any further."
"What's the problem?" asked Kakashi as Orochimaru snapped one of the sentries necks.
"This is a classified operation. I can't say more," said the ANBU, oblivious as another was silenced.
"Ah, I see," said Kakashi, feeling nothing. He was a bit surprised. Then again, none of them had ever really seen him as anything but Friendkiller Kakashi. "Well, that's too bad. I was hoping Minato would let me be here for the birth."
"I.." The ANBU was taken off guard while Orochimaru loomed behind him. Right now, he was calculating whether Kushina or Minato might have told Kakashi. He actually thought Minato cared about Kakashi. "I'm certain if you talk to-"
Kakashi put a Chidori through his chest and felt nothing. Drawing it out, he watched the man stare in horror before collapsing. "Sorry, but I'm presently quite past talking.
"Orochimaru, you're looking well?"
"Well, an opportunity to remove the ANBU can never be passed up," said Orochimaru. "Come then."
"Not yet," said Kakashi, drawing out a black cloak and donning it. Putting on a mask he'd bought from a store, he put it over his face. "I'm going in there alone."
The voice he'd adopted was dark and rasping. He was... Tobi.
"Why the mask?" asked Orochimaru.
"For Kushina's benefit," said Tobi. "She was never directly cruel to me; I'd hate for her to know. Even if I hardly know her. In all honesty, I'd prefer her to keep living. But, I value Minato's destruction more than her.
"I hardly know her."
"As you like it," said Orochimaru.
Tobi made his way into the cave and saw a heartwarming scene as Kushina gave birth. So that was what childbirth looked like. Minato was there too, looking like he actually cared a lot. Tobi let it carry out as Naruto Uzumaki was born.
Who named their child after their favorite book character anyway? Was that a normal thing? Kakashi had only started reading recently, so he wouldn't know.
"Naruto... it's nice to meet you," said Kushina.
Minato moved forward as Kushina put the child down. "Kushina... even though it'll be hard, I have to begin suppressing the Nine-tails."
And scene.
Kakashi sped forward and grabbed the child off the altar, slapping some explosive tags on him. Minato hardly had time to react as Kakashi halted. "Fourth Hokage Minato.
"Step away from your wife."
Tobi wasn't having this confrontation while Kushina was alive.
"Kushina!" said Minato.
He was stressed. Minato hadn't seen this coming and had slipped on pretending to have empathy. Tobi put a knife above Naruto, a very innocent-looking blonde. "I told you to step away from your wife."
"Wait! Just calm down!" said Minato, obeying.
"I'm as calm as can be," said Tobi, not lying. Then he tossed Naruto into the air and activated the explosive tags. Minato got him first and saved him, disappearing, but that gave Tobi his chance.
Now it was time for the mission. "Naruto!" screamed Kushina. "Minato!"
Tobi grabbed her quickly like one would a bride and moved out, feeling it odd how little he cared. She was helpless, trying to fight against him, and was about to die. Tobi came out of the cave. He utilized the sealing techniques he'd learned from watching Kakashi. Now Kushina was pulled into a spread-eagle position by words.
"Well, it looks like we've got things all to ourselves, don't we?" asked Tobi. "Orochimaru, would you kindly assist me in breaking the seal."
Kushina looked up in horror. "Orochimaru?! Why are you doing this?"
"Why not?" asked Orochimaru as he began to work. "It's not as if I've ever been particularly fond of Minato. He destroyed my dream, and that leaves me with only hobbies. I've got lots of hobbies, and I've been funding them myself since he cut my budget.
"The Leaf Village has become nothing but a ball and chain around my feet.
"We're going to extract the nine-tails from you and destroy the Leaf Village."
"You can't do that! What about all the innocent people! What about Anko!" said Kushina.
"Oh, Anko is on a mission far away. I sent her on," said Orochimmaru. "She's always been nice and loyal like that.
"She's perfectly safe. And I'll tell her whatever she wants to hear. Now, let us begin!"
Kushina screamed as the energies of the nine-tails began to emerge. It was being pulled out of the seal on her stomach. Tobi realized that a woman who had, at one time, been very important to him was dying. Dying because of him.
And he felt nothing.
"No, please!" said Kushina. "You can't do this! If you release the nine-tails, it'll rampage! It'll destroy everything!"
"Acceptable losses for killing Minato," said Tobi.
Ah, of course, that was why.
"Please!" said Kushina. "Please don't kill me! I don't want to die! I have to live to raise Naruto!"
Kakashi Hatake had never really known Kushina. The Kushina he had loved was just a fantasy, something he imagined to keep himself sane. That Kushina was still alive, and he could imagine her up whenever he wanted. What he was looking at right now was just a... inferior prototype.
It was like that time Kakashi had read that his favorite character died in a book. And he simply decided that the character didn't really die. They were just off-screen and lived happily with everyone else. It didn't matter that the original novel kept referencing them as dead. Kakashi had his own idea of the character and went with that.
So the redhead before him was confined to fanon discontinuity with a scream. And he felt nothing. This plotline had never been particularly well written anyway. Minato was constantly hyped up as this great guy when he was an abusive sociopath. Why should Kakashi care if his life was ruined?
"Now, Nine-tails, emerge and make your presence manifest!" said Tobi.
And into the world came the nine-tails.
It was... horrifying.
Like malice incarnate, flowing with power to devastate continents. His mane was like fire; his eyes were red as blood. And his teeth were akin to swords. Tobi kneeled before him.
"...You have released me," said the nine-tails. "You are either very brave or very stupid. What makes you think I will do your bidding?"
"We're not asking you to," said Orochimaru. "You see, we both have a problem with the Leaf Village. It chewed us up and spat us out. And you... you've spent decades in prison. And now you are free.
"Once Minato learns you've escaped, he will lift heaven and earth to recapture you. All the other villages will want to capture you as well."
"And what do you propose as a solution?" asked the nine-tails.
"It's simple," said Orochimaru. "You wreck the Leaf Village. Kill the Fourth Hokage. Break their armies. Reduce their capital to ashes."
The nine-tails seemed to think about it. "...Hmm, yes, sure, why not.
"When were you thinking?"
"Right now would be good," said Tobi. "We're on the clock."
"As you wish," said the nine-tails. Then he turned and charged toward the village. "PUNY SPAWN OF HASHIRAMA! PREPARE TO DIE!"
"Kakashi... why..." said a voice.
Tobi glanced back and saw Kushina was still clinging to life. "Because I hate Minato far more than I've ever known you.
"Everyone I've ever loved is dead because of him.
"When you see Obito in the afterlife, tell him I've sent Rin's murderer straight to hell."
And he hurled a kunai.
Before it could land, however, Minato pulled her away. He landed, looking very dashing and heroic. Oh, so he chose not to start arriving on time. Well, on time was a relative concept; Kushina was probably going to be dead soon. How had she survived losing the Nine-tails?
"Is... is Naruto safe?" asked Kushina.
"Yes, Naruto is fine," said Minato. As he said it, Kakashi used one of his many jutsu to cast one on Minato. A minor genjutsu with a simple algorithm, one that applied to anyone talking to him.
A learned eye could pick it up.
But nobody would notice it with all the chaos.
And he was gone.
A moment later, Minato came back, looking furious. Tobi drew off his mask. "...Sensei, I'm glad you could make it,"
"Why?!" said Minato. "Why would you do this?! I raised you to a level of power few Shinobi ever reach before you were fifteen! I gave you a powerful position as an ANBU; no one was more trusted than you!
"And this is how you repay me? Repay the Leaf? By trying to destroy your own village? Kill your sensei? Hurt your own friends?"
"Why do you think I'm doing this?" asked Kakashi simply.
Minato hesitated.
He was looking at Orochimaru and Kakashi and hesitating to attack either of them. It was not a battle he could win. "Kakashi... is this about Obito and Rin? What happened to them was a tragedy, but they died heroes of the Leaf-"
"And times up," said Kakashi. "Sensei, while there is nothing do that talk about the Will of Fire, our relationship must remain professional. So I'm going to give you a choice of missions.
"Mission 1:
"You can fight Orochimaru and me at the same time and probably lose. And meanwhile, the Nine-tailed Fox turns your village into dust. Sarutobi might be able to stop it, but he's not as young as he used to be. And without a suitable host, will his sacrifice even work?
"You might just be condemning the entire Leaf to death.
"Mission 2:
"You let Orochimaru and I get off scot-free. You grab your half-dead wife and try to reseal the Nine-tails into her before she dies. Of course, doing this will kill you; the ritual requires a massive amount of chakra. And I doubt you'll have time to give the Third Hokage a full briefing.
"Maybe you could even warn others about what we're doing."
Screams could be heard.
"...Kakashi, stop this now," said Minato.
"Oh, I'm not doing anything," said Kakashi. "I'm done with my operation. I'm just... letting the nine-tails devour everything you've ever cared about. The buildings, obviously, you never cared about people as anything but tools. Even if you stop it and survive, your reputation will be mud after this.
"Not so much fun being the one abandoned by society for something that wasn't your fault, is it?"
"The choice is yours," said Orochimaru.
"...Damn you!" said Minato before leaping away.
Silence.
Well, they'd succeeded. Now the only question is what they did next.
"...So, I actually prepared popcorn and a place to watch the show," said Orochimaru. ""You want to get a good look."
"I don't see why not," said Kakashi. "Just make sure not to litter."
"What do you take me for?!" asked Orochimaru.
Making their way to the cliffs overlooking the Leaf, they summoned lawn chairs and sat down. They watched under the stars as the Nine-tails attacked. With a single swing, it leveled entire buildings. Civilians screamed in horror as Orochimaru and Kakashi munched on popcorn. Which they then disposed of in the designated waste paper basket.
Soon enough, they saw Minato fighting the nine-tails. He and Kushina arrived, bringing their son with him. Together they ended up chaining it in place using Kushina's special ability. Once done, the Fourth began the sealing jutsu.
Oh, good, the nine-tails put a claw through him, both of them actually.
"So..." said Orochimaru. "If you do get exposed, would you like to go into business together? You're quite efficient as murder, and I'm fairly certain we could convince Anko to come with us."
"Let's cross that bridge after we get exposed," said Kakashi. "Let's see, Minato is performing the ritual. Oh, he's talking to a toad summon. I've already prepared for that. He'll seal it into Kushina and..." Why was Naruto Uzumaki on an altar in front of them? "Oh no, he isn't really?"
"He... isn't putting that thing into his son, is he?" asked Orochimaru, lowering his binoculars.
"He actually did it!" said Kakashi as Minato finished.
"I have always thought that Minato was a terrible person," said Orochimaru. "Now I know why."
"Hang on, I gotta be on scene for this," said Kakashi. "This bears... a personal touch."
"By all means," said Orochimaru.
Kakashi made his way through the broken and ruined street and came to them. Minato and Kushina were lying on the ground with very large holes in their stomachs. The nine-tails were sealed, and blood was everywhere. Kushina was kneeling over Naruto, crying.
"Naruto, eat your greens and... and it's okay to date women," said Kushina. But don't date a bad one. Date someone like your Mother, and...
"And be good.
"I... can't wait to meet you..."
And then she collapsed and died. Kakashi landed in the wreckage and found Naruto Uzumaki bearing the seal. Looking up to Minato, he picked him up. "Touching."
"...Naruto," said Minato. "Get your hands off him!"
"You had to do it, didn't you, Minato?" said Kakashi. "You still had to get one final act of heartlessness out of the way before you went to hell."
"It doesn't matter," said Minato. "Now everyone knows what you've done."
"Oh, the toad you summoned with instructions for Jiraiya," said Kakashi. "Except, one slight problem. I know almost a thousand jutsu. And one of them is a genjutsu designed to change what words a person is speaking. So you may have told him everything, but he didn't hear any of it.
"He just heard whatever it was he was expecting to hear in this situation. Nothing dramatic like 'my student has finally given me a taste of my own medicine.'"
"...You bastard," said Minato, spitting out blood. "You won't get away with this, Kakashi... Naruto will..."
"Naruto Uzumaki will never amount to anything," said Kakashi. "You have just cursed him to bear the nine-tailed fox. His chakra control will be a mess, and everyone will hate and despise him. He will have no parents because both of you abandoned him.
"Jinchuuriki are an outcast at the best of times. After what the nine-tails did here..."
"What you did!" said Minato.
"If he ever finds out about you, he'll hate and despise you just as much as I do," said Kakashi. "No one is that forgiving."
"Naruto... will stop you..." said Minato.
"Who do you think is going to be his teacher, sensei?" asked Kakashi, putting the child down. He quickly scanned for anyone else. "That's enough.
"Die now and let the mask I used to think of as a father rot away with the rest of your worthless soul."
And then Kakashi put a Chidori through his heart. A moment later, both bodies faded away.
"Well, that was fun, wasn't it Naruto?" asked Kakashi. "Now, I'd better get into character, shouldn't I?"
The Third Hokage arrived late, moving fast but with a slight limp. Kakashi took on an unsteady appearance. "Kakashi, are you alright?"
"Yes I... I came to try and help Sensei, but he..." said Kakashi. "He's gone, Third Hokage. He sealed the Nine-tails into his son before he died."
"Then tonight is a worse tragedy than I had hoped to see in my life again," said the Third Hokage. "Are you alright?"
"Sensei his... his dying wish was that Naruto be known as a hero? That's his name," said Kakashi. "Naruto Uzumaki."
And that was that.
Everyone bought it, hook line and sinker, and not one person questioned Kakashi. He did his best to look grief-stricken on behalf of the survivors. He hadn't lost anyone he knew, so he didn't care. But, he didn't want to seem like a bad person.
But it was just strange to him that no one even suspected.
There was enough information for it.
One day, a week later, as the village was rebuilt, Kakashi sat on top of the Hokage monument. "Hmm. Did I just win?
"Let's see... my archenemy is dead, as are all witnesses. The village that rejected me has been wrecked, and they have a new victim to ostracize. And I've managed to get off completely scot-free.
"Hmm, am I going to be sabotaged by my guilty conscience?
"Because I don't seem to have one.
"Oh well.
"I'm sure to get some good missions now."
It was as Kakashi did his missions that he realized why no one suspected.
Minato was a mask. He'd played his part of the heroic family man, painted himself as the absolute ideals of the Leaf. A father to his team, a devoted husband. Just as Kakashi had thought of Minato as a Father, the Leaf was devoted to him as Hokage.
But Kakashi had been wronged. Everyone had known it; they just refused to acknowledge it.
And he'd gotten back at Minato and efficiently, all by himself with the help of another wronged party. Minato had completely deserved it and had called down judgment on those who followed him. It was far easier to consider Kakashi a traumatized woobie living the ideals of his sensei. Because the alternative was too terrible to consider. That all those skeletons in the Leaf's closet might come back to haunt them.
So, as Minato's sociopathic nature was ignored for the sake of convenience, so too was Kakashi's.
The Leaf Village had reaped what it sewed.
But if they wanted Kakashi to play the role of champion of Minato's legacy, he was only too happy to. He'd put up a mask to wring as many benefits as he could out of the Leaf and then throw it away.
But, of course, first, he had to pass on Obito's will.
So Kakashi Hatake destroyed his village, killed his sensei, and orphaned Naruto Uzumaki. He was fourteen years old at the time.
Looking down at these brought back a lot of old memories.
Kakashi decided it would be best to take an indirect move here. Team Dosu would be on it's way, and he could arrange for others soon.
Still, this was actually kind of fun.