Heeeeeyyyyyy y'all... So it has been a hot minute since I have posted and for that I'm sorry. BUT I'm back and hopefully will have a more regular upload period. THIS STORY IS NOT ABANDONED I SWEAR! Also if you're interested I started a youtube channel during my hiatus under the same name as on here GoldenMouse7. Its all about anime and if I can get enough of a cross platform fanbase going I plan on doing videos about this fic and my other one as well. Alright shameless plug aside lets jump into the new chapter. Hope y'all like it!
"Please Lady Mikki, you have to believe me." Kodaichi dropped to his knees before his beloved. " My heart beats for you and you alone!"
Mikki lifted her tear stained face and her sapphire eyes met those of the pleading samurai prostrated before her. Suddenly as if a dam had burst, the sight of her love's earnest expression brought forth a surge of feelings the young woman had suppressed as all ladies of nobility were expected to.
With a sultry confidence she had never felt before she lifted her flowing skirts leaving herself bare before the now stunned Kodachi.
"Then prove it."
Kakashi snapped the book shut with a sigh. Not even his beloved Icha Icha could take his mind off of the nightmarish situation he had found himself in.
Three weeks.
It had been three weeks since the attack at the Uchiha compound, three weeks since his son was brutally wounded by a madman, three weeks since Naruto had opened his eyes, and three weeks since had found out the truth about the Uchiha massacre.
After that first night in the hospital the surgeon who had operated on him had assured Kakashi that he was currently in a medically induced coma and would awaken after a few days. Initially the jounin had wanted to remain at his son's bedside until he awoke, but after several pointed comments from Naruto's doctor and a personal summons from the Hokage he relented.
As the Hatake patriarch stepped through the window of Sarutobi's office he was met with a sight he was becoming more and more familiar with. The Professor, the man who was once hailed as the God of Shinobi sat hunched over his desk, exhaustion clear on his features as he listlessly smoked a pipe full of rich smelling tobacco.
In front of him sat several piles of paperwork in various stages of completion all scattered haphazardly around his large oak desk.
As was the norm the jounin stood silently leaning on the window sill waiting on his superior to address him.
His wait was not a long one as Hiruzen, after finishing the paragraph he was writing, raised a wrinkled hand and motioned for the younger shinobi to take a seat.
"How is he?" The Hokage asked knowing full well that Kakashi would understand to whom he was referring.
"Unconscious," the answer was given almost lazily belying the sheer terror the man had felt just a few hours ago. " but the doctor says the procedure went well and he should be up and about in just a few days."
Hiruzen smiled though it was strained. " Good, when I heard that Naruto had been on the scene," he paused and gestured to his head " I truly believe my hair turned even more gray." He finished with a soft chuckle.
The half hearted attempt at humor was not lost on Kakashi, though the man doubted it was possible for the aged Hokages hair to be any more gray than it already was, but something seemed off about the man's smile. It seemed fragile almost as if the elder man was about to shatter into hundreds of pieces at the slightest bump.
The jounin began to suspect that he had been summoned for more than just an update on Naruto and quickly asserted as much.
"Is there something that you need sir, you seem as if there is something bothering you."
Kakashi immediately regretted his wording as the Hokage's fragile smile turned into a thunderous scowl.
"I seem bothered do I?! An entire clan of people were just murdered in MY village Kakashi, I think I'm well within reason to be a hell of a lot more than bothered!"
His outburst was met with silence as Kakashi dipped his head in apology for his thoughtlessness. The older man maintained his anger for another moment but as quickly as the fiery tirade came it left him, leaving behind what seemed to be an even more burdened man in it's just place.
"I'm tired Kakashi, I retired and left the hat to Minato all those years ago because I knew I wasn't fit to do this job anymore, and now it has finally caught up with me."
He paused to take a long drag from his pipe before placing it down on his desk and sinking heavily into his chair.
"I'm a damn fool and I never should have taken the hat back up in the first place, and now my weakness has allowed this village to be put in a position where it may not be able to recover."
Not wanting the older man he respected so much to continue berating himself the silver haired jounin quickly responded.
"Hokage-Sama with all due respect I fail to see how this is your fault."
He paused wanting to choose his next words carefully.
"While it was once a part of your title you are not a god, there was no way you could know what Itachi and his accomplice were planning. No one could. Honestly sir I've worked directly beside Itachi on several missions and he never gave any indication that he was anything but a loyal shinobi of the leaf."
At Kakashi's words the old Sarutobi's face grew conflicted. He seemed to debate with himself for several moments before his features set into a hard line and in that moment he seemed to regain some of what once made him one of the most feared men in existence.
"Jounin Kakashi Hatake, I am about to reveal to you an S class secret, that once learned can never be repeated without permission from the acting Hokage under penalty of death. Is that understood?"
Not allowing his growing sense of unease to stop him Kakashi immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head before almost mechanically responding.
"Yes Hokage-Sama."
With a deep breath to steady himself Hiruzen continued.
"Then rise and retake your seat this will not be a pleasant conversation for either of us made even less so with you on the ground."
The younger man swiftly did as he was told and gave the Hokage his full attention.
"You stated a moment ago that Itachi seemed like a perfectly loyal shinobi of the leaf, and you were correct. In fact he may be the most loyal patriot this village has ever produced."
To say Kakashi was confused would be an understatement, but the unease he was feeling only increased as it began to dawn on him what the man in front of him was saying.
Hiruzen continued on.
"Last night Itachi Uchiha completed his last mission as a member of Konoha's ANBU, the complete annihilation of the Uchiha clan."
The jounin was stunned, his previous thoughts now confirmed in black and white. So shaken was he that he only managed to get out one word in response.
"Why?"
With no change in face or demeanor Hiruzen answered.
"For the last year and a half the Uchiha have been planning a coup, angered by their place in the village and perceived past wrongs they aimed to overthrow me and place Fugaku as the Hokage which-"
He was cut off by Kakashi.
"Which would've thrown the leaf village into a bloody civil war that regardless of who won would have severely weakened our already recovering shinobi forces. Which would in turn make us an easy target to the other great nations who already smell blood in the water from the Kyuubi's attack."
The aged Hokage allowed a quick look of pride at how quickly his possible successor grasped the situation before schooling his features once again.
"Correct on all counts, Shisui Uchiha came to us about this over a year ago and we've been monitoring the situation since then."
That name had Kakashi pausing.
"Shunshin no Shisui?" He questioned.
The cycloptic jounin knew little about the man except that he was said to be one of the most extraordinary ninja's to be produced by the Uchiha clan in years even rivaling Itachi in strength, and that he had attained a level of mastery over the common Body Flicker technique that he was said to be almost impossible to hit, thus the aforementioned moniker.
The Hokage nodded. "Yes Shisui warned us about the planned coup, and up until two weeks ago was actively working with us to prevent the coup"
Kakashi took note of the old man's continued use of "us" and "we" and took that to mean that someone else was involved as well. Unfortunately the jounin could only think of one person that would be, but he pushed those thoughts aside and continued his questioning.
"You said up until two weeks ago, what happened then?"
These words drew a heavy sigh out of the elder man and he allowed a small frown onto his face as he answered.
"Two weeks ago a suicide note was found in Shisui Uchiha's room, but it was without a body."
Kakashi's visible brow furrowed.
"You suspect foul play." It was a statement not a question though Hiruzen answered it all the same.
"Yes I do, the boy was passionate about wanting to stop a civil war and had a special ability, the fabled Mangekyo Sharingan, that would have been able to do so without so much as even a single drop of blood spilled. I've gone over everything I know about the boy a thousand times and I can't come up with any other answer than murder, someone came after him,"
His frown was suddenly replaced with a dark sneer before he continued. "and I'd bet this hat and all the wealth in Konoha's cofers that I know who it was."
The jounin took this moment to voice his own suspicions from a moment ago.
"Danzo, I assume he's involved in this as well."
The Hokage sunk back into his chair fire once again gone as he slowly nodded.
"Right again my boy, I have no proof but Danzo was reluctant to rely on Shisui from the beginning. He was wary of the boys skills and distrustful of the Uchiha to begin with and now here in the endgame and he suddenly ends up dead by an apparent suicide no less, I'd have to be a fool not to suspect."
He shook his head once again looking every bit the aged war veteran that he was.
"Not that it matters now, what's done is done, Shisui was gone and with the peaceful option no longer available we were left with no other option than a preemptive strike, which was where Itachi came in. He agreed to take Shisui's place as our mole and kill every remaining member of the Uchiha clan on two conditions."
Seeing Kakashi's expectant look the man continued on.
"The first condition being the guaranteed safety of his little brother Sasuke,-"
Kakashi's mind, for a moment, was drawn to the small black haired boy with whom Naruto shared a rivalry with before he focused back on the elder shinobi.
"- the second being that the Uchiha's intended coup be made an S class secret so as to not drag his family's name through the mud."
At this point the older man fell silent allowing his guest to digest everything he'd been told.
"A secret coup, it sounds almost too crazy to be true." He thought as his mind buzzed with all the new information.
Kakashi didn't spend much time around the Uchiha, since it was a well known fact that they had hated him ever since he came home with Obito's eye in his head. The clan had actually made several attempts to have that eye removed but were stopped at every turn by the Hokage who stated that the eye was Kakashi's by right.
All that considered it's no surprise he never noticed anything weird about them, they were always a very closed off group to outsiders and that was even without their outright aggression towards him.
For a moment his thoughts wandered to the bit about Shisui and he wondered if his Sharingan would ever have a special ability like the one the Hokage had mentioned, "Mangekyo" the older man had said.
"It would have certainly helped against-" he cut himself off mid thought as a new revelation filled his mind.
Hiruzen suddenly felt the younger man's chakra spike to a level that would have had a normal man quivering where he sat.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village was no ordinary man.
"Calm yourself Kakashi and speak, or you'll have my entire guard up in arms."
Kakashi calmed his chakra and lessened his Killing intent but the one eyed glare he leveled at the older man would have made the Nine Tails itself proud of the intensity.
"You mean to tell me that MY SON was almost killed in an attack that YOU sanctioned, that Naruto almost DIED ON YOUR ORDERS!"
Hiruzen was neither bothered by the man's outburst nor did he seem surprised to hear it, he just sat there while the younger man practically vibrated with fury until he was done.
"If you're finished, I would like to clear a few things up."
Kakashi just continued to glare but remained silent which the older man took as an invitation to continue.
"First of all Naruto was not supposed to be there, no one was. I had dummy assignments given to every anbu team who normally worked in that sector of the village, and made sure to have Itachi place a subtle Genjutsu on surrounding homes so they would sense no disturbance. The fact that Naruto was there was a matter of extreme coincidence which I regret with every fiber of my being."
At this point his formerly placating tone turned rather sharp.
"And you know as well as I do that the boy is like a grandson to me and I'd sooner cut my own throat than intentionally cause him harm. Don't forget who placed him in your care to begin with Kakashi."
The silver haired jounin's anger, while still there, lessened significantly and he allowed his killing intent to dissipate completely.
Intellectually he did know that Hiruzen loved his son as family, but with the boy's brush with death being so recent his more emotional side jumped at the chance to have a physical person in front of him to blame instead of a masked "ghost" far out of his reach.
In an attempt to move past the now awkward atmosphere between the men the younger of the two asked another question bothering him.
"While I appreciate the trust you're placing in me to reveal all this, I'm honestly not sure why you've decided to do so. I can't think of any real justifiable reason for bringing me in the loop outside of just bending a friendly ear, and I doubt you'd reveal something of this magnitude for a frivolous decision like that."
The Hokage nodded and took another long drag from his pipe exhaling the earthy smoke towards the ceiling as he considered his next words.
"As I said before Kakshi, I am tired. I don't know if I can bear the weight of this hat for much longer, or if I'm even fit to."
He paused to take another hit, before gesturing to the man in front of him with his pipe.
"And I trust that while we haven't spoken on it directly, you haven't forgotten the conversation between Shikaku and yourself last year."
Kakashi nodded, as he recalled the head of the Nara clan state Hiruzen's intention to have Kakshi replace him as Hokage. His one exposed eye never leaving the leathery face of the old man before him.
"Good, I figured as much. Your extra training and your time in archives has not escaped my notice."
The older man allowed another small proud smile before continuing.
"I'm glad that you've taken it seriously, I knew I was right in my choice."
The silver haired young man nodded once again, unwilling to voice the protests that bubbled up in his mind at the thought of himself wearing the Hokage's robes.
"Though it may not fall to you for some time yet, there is always the chance either Jiraiya or Tsunade could be coerced into coming back to the I'm not sure if either would be agreeable even if you could get them here. If one of them would be willing to take up the hat you could always take over after them."
"Or never" The words appeared in his mind unbidden as Kakashi, for what seemed like the thousandth time, desperately prayed to any deity who would listen that
the Hat could pass him over. He would be ready if it was his burden to bear, but if he had anything to say about it, it wouldn't be.
Hiruzen had dismissed him shortly after that and he had gone about his business with the heavy weight of forbidden knowledge and a growing horror that grew daily as his son refused to wake up from his coma.
Now three weeks after his son was supposed to have woken up, the jounin was at his literal wits end.
The doctors had no explanation for it, physically Naruto was fine. All of his injuries had healed and thanks to the Fox there wasn't even a single mark left behind. His breathing, chakra flow, and brain waves were all reading as perfectly fine, yet he could not be woken from his slumber.
The surgeon who had originally handled the surgery had called in every specialist in the village and Kakashi himself had also taken several missions to neighboring allied villages seeking someone who had the answers to help his son, but it was all to no avail.
No one could even determine a cause for the issue let alone how to fix.
Desperate to break out of his circular thoughts the silver haired sharingan user once again opened his favorite book in an attempt to numb himself to the unending worry that oozed out of every pore of his body.
Unfortunately his singular focus made him unable to notice the new person in the room until they spoke.
"I see you're still a fan"
Kakashi had a kunai under the intruder's chin before they could even blink.
"Wow kid, it's good to see you too. Are you sure you don't wanna at least hear what I have to say before you cut my throat?"
Finally Kakashi recognized the booming baritone voice and quickly removed his blade while stepping back to allow the larger man completely into the room from the window.
"Jiraiya Sama, my apologies I was distracted and didn't notice your presence until it was too late."
The now identified Jiraiya shook his head causing his long white hair to shake back and forth as he waved off the younger man's apology.
"No problem Kakashi, I wouldn't be much of a spymaster if you had noticed me in the first place and drop the formalities. Jiraiya is fine."
Kakshi inclined his head in acknowledgment of the man's words as he watched the much larger shinobi walk over to his son's bed.
The Sannin was a few inches taller than himself and dressed in a red haori over a green kimono shirt with matching pants and a set of ridiculous wooden geta sandals. The older, bizarrely dressed man cut quite an imposing figure in the small hospital room.
Jiraiya was silent for a moment, just staring at Naruto as if he was a puzzle he was trying to figure out before he finally spoke up his voice heavy with an indecipherable emotion.
"He looks just like Minato did at this age."
Kakashi nodded again though Jiraiya couldn't see it before he too offered his thoughts.
"On the surface he looks like an almost carbon copy of Sensei, but if you look closely at the shape of his face and eyes, he's all Kushina."
Jiraiya smiled and after a moment of continued scrutiny agreed.
"Well I'll be damned he sure does, I look forward to seeing which one he takes after more."
"Definitely Kushina" The Hatake patriarch thought with an internal chuckle at the normal antics of his hyperactive son that so mirrored his late mother.
"But I suppose we'll have to wake him up first for that to happen," Jiraiya continued as he turned around and took a good look at the younger man.
"You look like shit."
Ok hurtful… but probably true. Kakashi had been slacking a bit in his appearance and had only slept a total of 12 hours in the past week. So he probably did look a little worse for wear.
Unaware of the jounins internal dialogue, TheToad Sage continued.
"You're definitely going to need to take a shower before we leave."
Now that caught Kakashi's attention.
"Uhh leave? With all due respect Jiraiya being here for Naruto is the best place for me right now."
"Yeah I can see it's really doing a world of good to have you worrying at his bedside." Jiraiya sarcastically responded.
Those words proved to be the breaking point for the jounins already frayed nerves as in a biting voice that seemed to make the temperature in the room drop a few degrees he let loose on the San in.
" Listen, I don't give a damn who you are. I have done everything I can to wake him up and nothing has worked. For three weeks I've barely slept or ate constantly trying to find some scrap of anything that will help Naruto and I've found nothing. I'm going to sit here with him until he wakes up because that is all that I can do, so if you think that you can just waltz in here after eight years and criticize what I do for my son you can head back out that window and screw yourself."
Jiraiya just stood there and let him vent and after the shorter man had stopped verbally eviscerating him and was left just standing in the middle of the room arm raised pointing to the window, he held up his hands in a placating motion.
"I'm sorry Kid that was uncalled for, I know you've been trying to find a Doc who can help, and no one is asking you to abandon your son. I probably should have started with the fact that we are leaving to get someone who can help him."
To be honest Kakashi didn't know if he was more relieved that Jiraiya had said that he knew someone who could help Naruto, or that he had acknowledged that Naruto was his son.
Technically Jiraiya was Naruto's Godfather and should have been given guardianship after Minato and Kushina's deaths, so to hear him actually call Naruto Kakashi's son was a massive weight off his mind that the jounin hadn't even known was there.
Eventually Kakashi's mouth caught up with brain
"You've found someone who can help him?" He choked out with a tone of hopeful disbelief.
At this Jiraiya smirked.
"The best in the business kid, we're getting the greatest healer Konoha's has ever produced."
Kakashi's exposed eye widened in surprise.
"You found her? I searched for two weeks and couldn't even get a whisper of her location."
The Sannin's face glowed with satisfaction as he responded.
"I'm just that good kid." he gloated before continuing
"Yes I, Jiraiya the Gallant, have found her. We're going to get my former teammate with the best set of breasts in the land of fire, Tsunade."
The breast comment seemed a bit unnecessary but Kakashi was too relieved to care.
"I'll pack now and we can leave." He said as he stepped towards the window, before he was stopped by one of Jiraiya's massive hands on his shoulder.
"Hold up there skippy, I was serious before. You look terrible, take a shower get some sleep and we'll head out at sunrise."
While unhappy at having to wait at all Kakashi understood the wisdom in his words and nodded before stepping onto the window sill.
"Understood" he then looked at Naruto internally debating with himself before he was brought out of his musing.
"I'll stay with the kid Kakashi, don't worry if absolutely anything changes I'll come get you."
The younger man nodded again this time in thanks before climbing out the window fully and running along the rooftops in the direction of his and Naruto's apartment.
Jiraiya chuckled to himself as he settled down in Kakashi's chair.
"Your boy is gonna be just fine Minato," he paused for a moment before letting a genuine smile roll across his face, so unlike his usual smirk, as he thought about the obvious love Kakashi held for his son.
"Both of them are."