Orochimaru sits in the same corner of the prison yard day in and day out. He rocks back and forth constantly chattering with himself and as the seasons change and pass over him, he becomes increasingly decrepit. Danzo's irregular visits do nothing to slow Orochimaru's degradation and the other prisoners rather than be intimidated by his former glory as a sannin, consider him nothing more than a pathetic, washed-up excuse for a human being. No one feels the urge to bother themselves with the wasted shinobi and the solidarity suits Orochimaru just fine. In his own mind he is still master and commander, and in truth he feels a sense of superiority over the other low-lives and thugs trapped within the prison walls.

How jealous would they be to know all the things that he knows? Despite his handicap, Orochimaru still commands a great many pair of eyes that scour the village and regularly report back to him. Through his slithering spies, he has managed to maintain a knowledge of current events and make careful observations of Konoha's noble clans. Of note, Orochimaru has discovered that Uchiha Fugaku has risen to the positions of both chief of police and leader of the Uchiha clan. Orochimaru has always wanted to discover more about the Uchiha's abilities and to hear that Fugaku has had a son, only piques his interest further as he bides his time. Also, knowing that some of his former experiments survived, he has made a point to keep tabs on them and be keen to their developments. Orochimaru's spies have made interesting reports that perhaps his past efforts were not made in vain after all. Possessing this treasure trove of knowledge makes Orochimaru a deadly enemy, much like a snake in the grass laying in wait to strike.

:::::

Outside of the prison walls, life is calm and peaceful but rumblings of war still murmur out in the distance. Fortunately this strife hasn't fully reached Konoha yet, and for the time being Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Uzura can still continue to be children. Their two families have come together to celebrate the summer holiday and the acceptance of both children into the academy this fall. While the adults gather to speak in hushed voices and serious tones, the two smaller children flock down by the pond to feed the fish. Their faces are still sweet and round as their limbs become more gangly indicating that they are both leaving their toddler years behind them as they enter into their childhood, fully able bodied. Under the shade of a tree, Shisui watches Uzura as she crumbles up the bread and throws it into the pond, her face is almost comical as she skeptically waits for the fish to arrive. He smiles thinking about how happy he is that he gets to start school with his best friend.

"Shi-chan, what do you think academy is going to be like?" Uzura idly asks while tossing more crumbs to the water as the fish lazily arrive

"I dunno Uzu-chan... hard I guess. You have to be the best if you want to be a ninja, you know?"

"Yea, I know, but do you think we'll get to start using weapons right away?"

"Probably, but I'm already pretty good with a kunai!"

Shisui's bright eyed boastfulness inclines Uzura to knock him down a peg by taunting, "Oh yea? Then how did you get that big scratch on your arm?"

Shisui's face becomes playfully indignant as he responds, "It was the sun's fault for getting in my eyes! Anyways, I bet I can hit that branch up there-" he points directly above their heads as he pulls kunai from his sleeve, "-want to see?"

"Sure! But I bet I can hit it before you can!"

Uzura replies as she pulls out a dagger of her own. But before either child can ready themselves to throw, a tree branch whips down and smacks them both on their rears, sending them tumbling into the pond. In the shallow bank, Shisui and Uzura scramble to their feet, sputtering and coughing up water. Stepping out of the tree trunk where he was hiding, Tenzo thinks they look like a hilarious pair of half drowned cats and he can't help releasing his wood style jutsu, while hooting uncontrollably at his sister and her friend. Uzura is absolutely livid as she pushes her hair out of her face, and Shisui swears if he didn't know any better, he could see small twinges of electricity sparking through her violet hair.

"WHY DO MY BROTHERS HAVE TO BE SUCH JERKS!?"

Uzura screams and at her last word a blast of blue flames propels out of mouth towards Tenzo. He narrowly dodges the fire just in time for the blaze to scorch Kakashi who was sent to inspect what the commotion was about at the behest of his parents. Blinking in wide eyed surprise for a moment, his face quickly turns into a scowl.

"Why did you have to make her so mad Tenzo?!"

"What? I didn't do anything!" Tenzo replies, while holding up his hands defensively and feigning innocence

"Cut the crap and quit picking on her!" Kakashi says while cutting a glare at his younger brother

"You pick on me all the time!"

"Yea, but you're not a little girl!"

"So what? She's still a little sister!"

At this Kakashi just rolls his eyes and steps down by the edge of the pond

"C'mon and help me get them out of there, Mom and Dad are going to be pissed..."

Kakashi reaches out for Shisui, and Tenzo extends towards Uzura. With a mischievous glint in her eye, she opts to tug on his grip and pull him in with her but his foothold is too steady, and he's just big enough to counter her weight.

"Ha! Nice try, Uzu-chan!"

However, Tenzo is not big enough to counter a swift kick in the rear from Kakashi, sending him flying face first into the water with his sister. Flopping around in the pond for a moment, Tenzo angrily turns to stare at Kakashi.

"What the heck did you do that for Nii-san?"

"Because you let Uzu-chan burn my face!"

"What's the big deal? It looks better this way now!"

In response, Kakashi prepares to use a lightning jutsu until he feels a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down son, if you do that you'll shock your sister too."

Looking behind himself, Kakashi sees that now his father Sakumo has walked down to the pond along with Obito, the adoptive son of Uchiha Kagami and elder brother figure to Shisui. In his typical light hearted voice, Obito kneels down to Shisui's level

"Hey buddy, are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. Just a little wet."

Obito sweeps the wet hair away from the small boy's face, while giving him a quick look over to make sure he's alright, next he offers "How bout we walk back up to the house and see if we can't get you back into something dry, okay?"

"Okay, that sounds good."

As the two Uchiha boys walk away from the pond, the Hatake children are left to face their father. Before Sakumo can even say anything, Tenzo points at Kakashi and almost yells

"He pushed me in!"

Kakashi folds his arms over his chest and in an annoyed voice says

"So? You started it by picking on Uzu-chan again!"

"Yeah!" Uzura chimes in. Right now Sakumo doesn't have the patience to mediate between his children, so he sternly speaks

"ENOUGH. Your mother is already in a poor mood, and this isn't going to do her any favors." Sakumo sighs then shakes his head, "Kakashi, take your brother and sister home and get them changed. Then promptly return here, do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

Kakashi answers while grasping his little sister's hand, then speaking to his siblings

"C'mon you two, lets get a move on..."

"Who died and made you boss?"

Tenzo asks sarcastically, but he is quickly answered by the sound of their father clearing his throat. Then Tenzo sheepishly responds

"Oh right. Heh. Let's get to it then..."

:::::

Rejoining the rest of the adults, Sakumo takes a seat next to Sayonakidori. Noticing Obito and Shisui are not present, Sakumo asks Kagami

"Where did the boys go?"

"I sent them back to put on dry clothes. And yours?"

"The same."

"Ah, it's just as well then. We don't need any young eavesdroppers."

Finishing his statement Kagami takes a swig of tea, but just then there is a knock at the door. Kagami's wife goes to answer it and she returns with Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina.

Knowing of their families' plans to celebrate the summer festival together, both Obito and Kakashi asked their respective elders if Minato-sensei could be invited. Of course, Minato being the humble and respectful young man that he is, would never be one to turn down an offer by the Hatakes and the Uchihas. It is not a surprise that Kushina came along with him; the young couple have been dating for some time and have made multiple appearances together before. Even now, they take seats out of habit; Minato positions himself between Kagami and Sakumo, while each men sit next to their wives and at the opposite end of the table, Kushina finds herself between Kagami's wife and Sayonakidori.

"Minato-kun! Thank you so much for joining us, it is very good to have you here!"

Kagami says as he pours a cup of tea for Minato. Minato gives a slight nod and replies cordially.

"Yes, thank you very much for inviting us here Kagami-san and Sakumo-san. I only wish I had good news to bring you."

"Oh? And what do you know Minato-kun?"

Sakumo's voice deepens as he asks with great interest.

"Ah, it's nothing I would want to damper such a festive mood with!" Minato tries to end with a trailing chuckle to lighten the air, but Sakumo won't be deterred.

"Come, come now, Minato. We're all well aware of the current state of politics outside of our country; if you think it's nothing we weren't already discussing before you arrived, you're only trying to fool yourself."

Here Minato pauses for a moment to let out a sigh before taking a more somber tone.

"Now Konoha's involvement is inevitable as the Third Shinobi War has begun breaching the borders of the land of fire. It is likely that Kushina and myself along with our teams will be deployed to the battlefront."

Sayonakidori lets out a small gasp which she quickly covers with her hand. Being an attendant to both the third and fourth hokages, she has sat through many of their discussions on the looming war, but she had secretly hoped it would pass over them. Sakumo reads his wife's face and reaches out to squeeze her hand. Without words he can tell she fears for his safety along with that of their sons, as Kakashi is a member of Team Minato and Tenzo getting ready to graduate from the academy which means all too soon he'll be a genin and deployable as well. Minato picks up on her distress and feels moved to say something encouraging

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to upset you Sayona-san. This war is going to happen, but it may be months, maybe even a year before we are even dispatched. Do not fear, your husband and your sons are highly capable shinobi and we all have nothing but time to prepare until the moment comes."

"Yes of course, Minato-san..."

The war conversation doesn't get to continue much longer because soon the children return. Obito and Shisui are the first to arrive and upon recognizing his sensei, Obito offers a cheerful yet almost over elaborate greeting which works out to Kakashi's benefit; Arriving soon after the Uchihas, Kakashi leads in his siblings but stops in the doorway when he sees Kushina seated at the table. His face feels hot and his hands grow clammy and he really wishes she didn't have this affect on him, but he's thankful for Obito drawing all the attention so no one notices his reaction. His thankfulness however is short lived as his abrupt stop in the entryway resulted in Tenzo walking straight into him. Acting in a fashion that only a little brother can, Tenzo's immediate reaction is to kick Kakashi square in the back while complaining

"Hey! Pay attention where you're leading us! You could have broken my nose!"

Now everyone looks to Kakashi as he scrapes himself off the floor and hastily replies to his brother

"Good! Then your nose can match your ass after I get done with it!"

"HATAKE KAKASHI! You watch your mouth!"

The penetrating voice of Sayonakidori sends chills racing up and down his spine before he lets out a defeated sigh

"Yes mother..."

But just as Tenzo is about to give a victorious grin, she cuts him down before he can get too far

"And you should watch where you're going as well and stop trying to egg on your brother! Uzu-chan, come here so I can fix your hair."

"Yes mommy..."

The small girl answers in a dry yet obedient tone similar to that of her eldest brother. Uzura climbs into her mother's lap and Kushina watches as Sayonakidori's nimble fingers weave the girl's hair into a matching pair of odango.

"Oh wow, you're good at that. You should show me how to do that someday in case I ever have a little girl."

"You should get married first before you start thinking about children!" Sayona pauses to look up at Kushina, "...unless of course, you already have wedding bells ringing in your future?"

Sayona asks the question with a playful inflection then sends a suggestive wink over to Minato. Slightly startled, he only blinks then clears his throat and looks to the ground. Kushina on the other hand is blushing and hides half her face behind her hands as she giddily replies

"Oh no! Nothing like that! Well, I don't mean not ever. I mean, just someday maybe, you know? Dattebane!"

Kushina looks quite gleeful at the prospect and Sayona is content to let the topic go as she finishes Uzura's hair buns. Sensing an approaching lull in the conversation, Obito is eager to chirp up

"Hey, uh, shouldn't we start heading down to the river soon so we can get good seats to watch the fireworks?"

"Yes son, that is a fine idea," Kagami answers while taking another brisk drink, "Lets go ahead and round everyone up so we can depart."

Excitedly, Obito exclaims "Alright! C'mon Kakashi! Lets lead the way!"

"Oh joy..." Kakashi trails half-heartedly, unmoved by Obito's enthusiasm. However, when he glances over at Kushina again a small hopefulness flutters in his chest at the prospect of sitting next to her tonight.

Obito, oblivious to Kakashi's feelings, zips over to scoop up Shisui, and plops to little Uchiha onto his shoulders

"Are you ready to watch the fireworks tonight?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Lets go!"

The Uchiha boys cheer, then wait impatiently by the door with Tenzo joining them. Kakashi feels a small tug at his shirt and looks down to find Uzura gazing straight back up at him, her eyes are large, sweet, and undeniably cute as she reaches up to him wordlessly. He hates it when she does that to him! Although he may not ever admit to his weaknesses, Kakashi finds that Uzura has easily worked her way deep into his heart. Placing her onto his shoulders in a similar fashion to Obito and Shisui, Kakashi leads the children outside as the adults follow, wives holding onto husbands as the husbands carry baskets of food.

:::::

Finding a grassy spot a short ways up from the bank, the group decide to settle in. The women pull out blankets to sit on as Kushina calls out,

"Kakashi, will you help me lay this out?"

With a silent nod, Kakashi walks over to her. A small breeze blows through her hair and Kakashi catches the sweet scent of her shampoo. The butterflies fill his stomach again, and he feels his cheeks burning under his mask.

"Kakashi, this is fine. You can let go of the blanket now, thank you." Kushina's sweet voice pulls him back into reality as he realizes he was probably staring at her too long, so he quickly sets the blanket down then mumbles a quick "you're welcome." before stiffly walking away. To be honest, Kakashi is ashamed of his infatuation with Kushina. How could he possibly have feelings for his sensei's girlfriend? It's so disrespectful! Kakashi sighs and wrestles with his emotions as he strolls the river bank alone.

"HIYA KAKASHI!" Obito brashly calls out as he runs to approach the young Hatake.

Kakashi rolls his eyes, he doesn't have the patience for him right now. "Obito is almost as annoying as Gai! ...almost." He thinks to himself as Obito joins him.

"What do you want, Obito?"

"This weather is great, isn't it? Perfect for watching the fireworks tonight!"

"Yea, great, wonderful."

"Hey! Do you want to skip stones across the river?"

"Not really."

"Is it because you're afraid you're going to lose to me?"

"No, I'm not afraid." Kakashi replies, mildly indignant.

"It's okay if you are. I'm going to be Hokage someday, so I can understand if you're intimidated by me."

"I said I'm not afraid!" Kakashi says pointedly, as he snatches up a smooth flat rock & sends it skidding across the water.

"Hey! That was pretty good! But watch this!" Finding a stone with the right shape, Obito flings it over the water. Obito could see something was clearly troubling his comrade, so rather than let Kakashi stew in his thoughts, Obito knew he'd be helping his friend by getting his mind elsewhere.

Back up the river bank under the tree where the boys families are at, Shisui and Uzura share a blanket as they eat odango. Feeling a small tug at the back of her yukata, she turns around to see little Itachi. Uzura understands him to be a cousin of Shisui, just a year or two younger, and knows that Itachi's father Fugaku is a scary man with a stern face, and he's the captain of the Konoha police force and also leader of the Uchiha clan.

"Can I have a bite?" Itachi asks, pointing at the sweet dumplings.

"Here." Shisui hands him a stick with pink, green, and white odango.

"Thank you" Itachi says as the younger Uchiha sits quietly behind them.

Leaning against the tree trunk smoking his pipe, Kagami watches the three children and is not surprised when he hears the nearly monotone voice of Fugaku behind him.

"You know you don't have to sit with these… people, Kagami." Kagami isn't dumb, he knows Fugaku had other word choices for the Hatakes, but settled on saying "people" out of respect for Kagami. Exhaling the smoke in Fugaku's direction, Kagami responds.

"These people are my friends. Is it a crime to befriend someone outside of the Uchiha clan?"

"No…" Fugaku slowly drawls.

"Then why are you here if you're not going to write me a citation, oh honorable chief of police?"

Fugaku's eyes narrow in annoyance, he wouldn't take so much of Kagami's sarcasm if Kagami wasn't a part of the Uchiha clan's upper echelon. Now Kagami is blowing smoke rings with the slightest of smirks upon his face. Fugaku isn't amused.

"I just wanted to remind you that you always welcome to sit with the clan, Kagami."

"I know this Fugaku, now if you have no other matters to discuss with me perhaps you should rejoin your family."

Fugaku departs in a huff, hastily snatching up Itachi along the way.

:::::

Darkness has finally descended upon Konoha, and the fireworks of the summer celebration fills the skies. In the hokage's office, Jiraiya uncharacteristically paces the room while Hiruzen stands calmly, leaning onto his cane. Worry lines crease Jiraiya's face as he speaks

"I can't take it anymore, Sarutobi Sensei. She's been gone too long."

"Then perhaps you should go find her."

"Two years. She's been away more than two years, barely a letter every few months or so. She says she loves me but that's why she can't come home."

"Go to her, Jiraiya."

"She's evaded every elite cell of shinobi I've sent after her, but they only find traces of where she's been. I don't know what else I can do short of searching for her myself."

"Jiraiya, if you're not going to listen to me then why did you ask to speak with me?"

"I'm sorry sensei, I am listening - wait. You're saying I should go after her? What about my duty to the village?"

"I don't say this to be cruel, but you are not being the best hokage you can be when your heart is so divided. I can come out of retirement for a little while you look for Tsunade."

"Sarutobi sensei… are you being serious?"

"Very. Now go find her. Don't worry about the village, I will take care of everything."

"Thank you sensei! Thank you very much!"

:::::

The day following summer celebrations, the third hokage quietly resumed his former post. Just weeks later, war finally breached the borders of the land of fire. The whispers of unrest floating throughout the village point blame on the silent departure of the fourth hokage. They say if the leadership of konohagakure hadn't been so weak, the war would have never entered the country. Hiruzen knows better though, war would have come regardless of anything else. Jiraiya's weary & cluttered mind would have been more prone to error that could have lead to great catastrophe. Hiruzen quietly puffs his pipe as he looks over the village. Behind him on his desk are stacks of conscription notices to be sent to shinobi. Hiruzen does not wish to condemn any of his shinobi to the atrocities of battle, but it must be done to ensure the future of his village. As the smoke drifts away from his pipe, the third hokage imagines a day where his people live in a time of peace.

:::::

Sayonakidori's fingers tremble as they fold clothes and pack weapons. Of the many notices she helped Sarutobi-sama file today, her husband's and her oldest son's names were among them.

"Mom. Stop. I'm not a baby. I can pack myself."

"I know Kakashi, I just…."

"Just what? Don't think I can do it right?"

"I just don't know if I made the most out of my time with you. I don't know if I was the best mother I could be for you. I don't know if I'll have more time with you later to make up for everything I've lacked so far."

Two tears quickly fall away from her face then Kakashi moves quickly to wrap her up in a hug. Kakashi never knew his birth mother, so when Sayonakidori first came into his life he wasn't sure how to regard her. In the beginning he played pranks on her, but quickly she turned them around into getting the better of him. It didn't take long before they began to share jokes & laughter, she became one of his biggest supporters, and Kakashi noticed that even though she cooked the same foods as many others, the way she prepared it was his favorite. As Kakashi comforted Sayonakidori, a startling realization hit him. In the five or so years she's been part of his family, he's never told her how he really feels and that's probably why she's filled with so much doubt now.

"I love you, mom."

Suddenly she begins to sob harder & Kakashi is alarmed.

"Did I say something wrong?!"

"No, no, I'm just so happy to hear you say that."

"You're crying….because you're happy?"

"Yes, Kakashi. I've always tried my best to raise you, help you to become a fine shinobi and a good man... & I wasn't sure I was doing it well enough until now."

"Oh mom, you worry too much!"

"Of course I worry! That's part of what being a mother is!" Sayona begins to smirk now as she steps back and wipes away any remaining tears.

"You shouldn't have to worry so much about me. I'm one of the best of the best."

"Hey now, don't let that get to your head."

"Too late!" Kakashi says almost smugly. The tender moment is over & now he has to shore up his emotions as he finishes packing his things.

The sun is beginning to set as the two silver haired Hatake men say their goodbyes in front of their home.

"You just wait Nii-san! I'll be out there fighting alongside you before you know it!" Tenzo boasts as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"No need to be in too much of a hurry, son." Sakumo tells his second son while squeezing his shoulder

"War is never something to rush into. Right now you should focus on training and becoming the best shinobi you can be."

"Of course father…. Will you be back in time to see me graduate from the academy?"

"I cannot say, Tenzo. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you."

"I understand." Tenzo responds as he draws in a breath. It suddenly dawns on him that with father & Kakashi gone, it will be up to him to take care of mother, Uzura, & the family estate.

Uzura rushes forward and throws her arms around Kakashi's waist.

"Nii-san! How can you leave me here all alone with Tenzo?! He's always so mean to me!"

Scooping up his little sister, her hair frizzes with static like a little halo around her face.

"Don't be sad, Uzu-chan! I know you're a strong girl & you won't take anything from him without fighting back. If it makes you feel any better, you can write down every mean thing he does while I'm gone & I'll get him back double when I come home. Deal?"

"Deal!" Uzura squeals as she hugs Kakashi's neck. Looking into her eyes, Kakashi feels a softness for her that gives him inner strength. Kakashi grew up on his father's anecdotes about camaraderie and having concern for your fellow man, but it never really sank in until he gained a little sister. Since the moment she was born, a fierce passion stirred inside of him to protect her and want only the best for her. Now the best way to protect her is to go take down the enemies that threaten their way of life. Giving her one last hug, Kakashi sets Uzura down as he glances over at Tenzo. Even though his little brother is a pain, Kakashi has faith he is leaving his home & family in capable hands.

Sakumo caresses Sayona's face as the kiss betweens them end.

"I promise you, we will return." Sakumo speaks as traces of emotion leave his face as he takes on a stoic expression.

"We will be here." Sayona replies solemnly. The after-images of her husband and son fade quickly into the sunset before another tear can form in her eyes.

:::::