Sometimes Sasuke wonders what it would have been like to fall under the Eternal Tsukuyomi. He recalls how Madara described it, years ago; a perfect dream world free from grief, free from pain, free from death. He's never experienced it himself.
But sitting in the grass next to a five-year-old Naruto, he wonders if this is as close as it gets.
Naruto slumps on the grass next to him, little lips caught in a pout as he scowls. Before he even realizes it, Sasuke's reaching over and brushing a stray leaf from the boy's hair.
"I can't do it," Naruto says, scratching the back of his head. Sasuke stares at him with wide eyes, briefly forgetting how to speak.
There are familiar gestures, mannerisms, expressions that flit over this Naruto's face from time to time that were things his Naruto would do. And seeing these things again, finding little pieces of Naruto like this—
Sasuke could spend the rest of his life chasing those fragments.
"I can't do anything," Naruto continues, and Sasuke realizes that he should probably reassure the boy rather than gawk at him with misty, vacant eyes. He clears his throat.
"You're still new to it. It's not a big deal," he says, poking the boy's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with struggling to learn. The only bad thing is quitting."
Hopeful blue eyes glance up from the ground and root Sasuke in place, and Naruto's voice is filled with naive, reborn zeal.
"I won't give up!" he yelps, scrambling back to his feet, and Sasuke smiles slightly. For a minute, he watches Naruto attempt his exercises. They're in the shade of a tree, and sunlight glimmers through the foliage to dapple the grass with a thousand specks of gold; when the light catches Naruto's hair, it glints. There's a wind too, a gentle breeze that lifts silvery dandelion seeds aloft and elicits a whispery rustle from the dry leaves above him.
And several dozen meters away, ensconced in a particularly stout oak tree, is the same chakra signature he's been sensing since this morning. The signature bears the slightly muted tone of a person trying to be stealthy, but Sasuke can feel its crackling lightning and quiet steel easily. He sighs.
It's been four hours of Kakashi following the two of them silently, and the man still hasn't given up.
He'd thought for a moment that his genjutsu had worn off, and that Kakashi was going to try and confront him. But the other man's been content to follow and watch, and eventually Sasuke had realized that it was Naruto being followed, not him.
Sasuke snorts with amusement, realizing that Naruto's inadvertently gained a second overprotective stalker.
It's almost four'o'clock in the afternoon when Kakashi reaches Tenzo's apartment, pounding on the door and breathing heavily. His back is stiff from crouching in one position for hours, and he'd scraped the heel of his palm earlier in his haste to jump down from a tree branch. But these things barely register in his mind as he raps on Tenzo's door again, cursing his friend's lack of urgency.
The door opens eventually, after what feels like a lifetime, and Kakashi doesn't even hesitate before pushing his way inside. Tenzo glares at him balefully, his hair rumpled and his shirt half-on, his brown eyes still lidded with drowsiness.
"Sure, come on in," he says, rubbing at an eye with a fist. "I was sleeping, you know. Enjoying my first full day of being on leave-"
"There's a stranger hanging around Naruto," Kakashi says, as if Tenzo hadn't even spoken. He grabs Tenzo's arm, pulling him towards the door. "We have to tell the Hokage, let's go-"
"Wait, what?" Tenzo says, dragging his feet until Kakashi lets him go with an exasperated sigh. "Slow down and start from the beginning."
"I was at Naruto's apartment. Keeping an eye on things," Kakashi says, the tips of his ears growing a little warm as Tenzo raises an eyebrow at him.
"It's not weird," he says defensively. "I'm not allowed to talk to him, but that doesn't mean I can't watch over him."
"It's fine, Kakashi," Tenzo says quietly, the exhaustion and irritation in his face draining out as he examines Kakashi with concern. "I understand. You don't have to defend yourself to me. But what happened?"
"Right. Uh-" Kakashi says, recollecting his thoughts. He's winded and jittery, and that's weird, because he never gets nervous. "A guy came to his apartment. He was young-definitely not older than us. Naruto seemed to recognize him and they left together."
"That's strange," Tenzo says. His face is relatively impassive, but Kakashi's known him long enough to pick up on the anxious tension in the lines of the man's body. "Where did they go?"
"To the park," Kakashi says.
And Tenzo stares at him for a long moment.
"I thought-you made it seem like Naruto was in danger," Tenzo says after the pause. Kakashi frowns, not understanding.
"He is," he insists. "It's a stranger, Tenzo. We can't just leave him alone with someone! We have to get the Hokage to reinstate Naruto's ANBU guard."
"Did this stranger act suspicious? What did they do in the park?" Tenzo asks.
"Um…" Kakashi says, faltering now. "Well, Naruto ran around and played a bit. And they picked wildflowers and blew on dandelion seeds. The stranger showed him some stretches."
"Kakashi," Tenzo says patiently. "We can't go to the Hokage with this. The village is short-staffed as is, he's not going to waste ANBU resources."
"But if we found proof the stranger was suspicious, would he? Like, if I was able to find something?" Kakashi asks, already planning out something in his head.
"Kakashi! That's not what I meant," Tenzo says wearily. He leans forward abruptly, examining Kakashi with suspicion. "You're jealous, aren't you?"
"Jealous?" Kakashi scoffs, scandalized at the very suggestion. "Why would you think that?"
"I mean, you care alot about Naruto, don't you?" Tenzo says thoughtfully. "I don't think it's unreasonable for you to feel a little jealous that someone else is able to be his friend when you've been barred from doing so."
"That's not-no, that's-" Kakashi sputters for a moment, then takes a breath. "Why is someone trying to get close to the nine-tails' vessel now, all of a sudden? No one's bothered to take care of him for years, and now someone's taking him to the park. The park, Tenzo. No one's ever taken Naruto to the park before!"
"Alright. Fine," Tenzo says, looking resigned. "How can I help?"
"We have to guard Naruto while we gather more information," Kakashi responds instantly. "We'll meet at my place at five in the morning tomorrow-"
"What the fuck? Five?" Tenzo interrupts, looking absolutely horrified. "Actually, maybe it would be better for you to undertake this mission solo…"
"I think Shisui wanted to come visit you," Kakashi continues, in a conversational tone. "He said he wanted to see your new apartment, but you didn't tell him the address. I guess I could give it to him-"
"You wouldn't," Tenzo mumbles, growing pale. "Kakashi, you wouldn't do that-"
"I guess we can talk about it. At five, tomorrow morning," Kakashi replies cheerfully, and Tenzo groans as he buries his face in his hands.
"Gods, fine. You're a fucking jackass," he says, his voice muffled. He looks up, skewering Kakashi with a brutal glare. "Now get out of my apartment."
"Love you too-"
"Out!"
The ground warps and darkens, and a wretched creature bursts forth. It staggers forward on deformed legs, half-black and half-white, scuttling between the two rows of rough, stone-hewn thrones. Some look upon the creature with derision; others avert their eyes, casting fearful glances towards the shadowy figure standing at the head of the room. But when Zetsu speaks, every person in the room pays attention.
"Danzo Shimura is dead, and Root has been disbanded," Zetsu gurgles, a shrill voice torn from two separate throats. The proclamation rings through the vast reaches of the cavern, echoing and hanging in the cool, dry air. The declaration is met with deafening stillness, until—
"Zetsu! You're back!"
The joyful, child-like voice emanates from a man in an orange mask, a man who's fearlessly running up to Zetsu and gamboling around him.
"I missed you while you were gone," the masked man says. "Say, did you bring anything cool back-"
"Tobi!" a green-eyed man snaps, his voice a menacing, gruff growl. "Quiet!"
Hanging his head, Tobi seems to almost deflate as he skulks back into the shadows. The next words come from a man with long black hair and unsettling yellow eyes. His vertical pupils dilate in the half-light of the cavern, and there's something poisonous in the smooth, sibilant sound of his voice.
"How interesting," he says. "Are you sure of this?"
"I saw the body myself, along with the modifications you had given him," Zetsu replies, one eye turning in its socket to address Orochimaru while the other stares straight ahead.
"Such a pity," Orochimaru muses, tapping his finger against his pale, thin lips. "Were the eyes damaged beyond recov-"
"Who is responsible?" a harsh, rasping voice calls out. With a rhythmic clicking, an inhuman shape uncurls itself and leans forward, mechanical jaw clacking. "Who could be capable of this?"
"Why does it matter, Sasori?" a massive, blue-hued man replies in a bored tone, lazily cleaning out scraps of meat from between jagged teeth with a slender senbon. "It's not like we ever leave this fucking dump."
Shocked silence is the first response to Kisame's careless words, and terrified anticipation is the second. At the head of the room, the figure facing away from the assembly finally turns to regard the others.
"Enough."
And if Zetsu's voice was repulsive, if Orochimaru's was dangerously hypnotic, if Sasori's held the promise of violence, this voice—
This voice is power. It's a deep baritone that makes the air thrum, that makes grown men break into cold sweats and cower. Even prideful Kakuzu looks away, sinking back into his seat.
The vaguest outline of the figure can be seen in the murk, his features shrouded in inky darkness. But his eyes glow, concentric rings and purple light blazing from the dark, skimming over each and every person present, until they finally settle on one of them.
"Orochimaru," the man says. "You will travel to the Leaf Village and retrieve the nine-tails' vessel while they are vulnerable. You will do this, or you will die."
"Of course," Orochimaru says, inclining his head in acknowledgement as a sickening smile stretches over his face. "It will be done."