Hey, people!

Sorry for the long wait! The internet connexion was a lot worse than I expected on my holiday.

I promise I'll try my best for you to never have to wait that long again for an update.

This chapter is slightly longer than the previous ones. It is a lot less emotional: you've all deserved a break from the rollercoaster I like to drive you through. (Enjoy it, there will be more emotional emotions later on again)


Chapter 13

Naruto felt a lot lighter in the warm early afternoon sun. He'd spent the last couple days training lightly on his own and attending daily healing sessions with Tsunade. She'd finally declared him good as new that very morning. Naruto had avoided everyone else. He'd needed the quiet and the distance after the heavy discussion he'd had with his mother. He had reached his limit on that day. The crying had been cathartic but exhausting.

Fortunately, no one had sought him out, probably thanks to a discreet input from his father. Naruto had appreciated the last few days by himself. It had allowed him to sort through more memories about this life, and about the other. He was slowly readjusting to a life off the battle field. But he could feel himself growing restless. So he'd come out of his self-imposed isolation and was now leisurely strolling through the streets of Konoha.

He couldn't help but take it all in: the sights, the smells, the noises, the people. A part of him was simply enjoying walking around a city he loved, around people who'd always been there, a smile on their faces every time they would see him.

Another part of him couldn't help but marvel at the life here. How long had it been since he had last seen his village, or any other village for that matter, so lively? So full of hopes and dreams and comfort?

Of course he could see hints of the underlying tensions, of the political instability. But the people of Konoha were resilient. They had grown used to the situation over the years.

Although seemingly at peace, Naruto knew that this path hadn't been spared conflict altogether. Countries and hidden villages had been teetering on the verge of open conflict for years, unwilling to back down but reluctant to push things over the edge and into another bloody war. As the Hokage's son and a jounin, Naruto knew all of this.

Yet, as a Kage himself, he had no idea how things had come to be. He needed to ask his father about it. If he was to help, which he fully intended to, he would need to get a good understanding of the many intricacies of the international political scene.

For now though, Naruto simply enjoyed seeing a version of his village that he knew yet rediscovered with every step. He let the peaceful feeling wash over him, soothing the ache he still carried from his other life.

Soon enough he found himself walking through the gate of his childhood home, a feeling of love and belonging adding to his current state of contentment. He was slowly letting himself adjust to having a home again, to having a family. No matter which path his soul might take, he was here now. And he was fully intent on savoring it.

He was surprised to find the door unlocked, if closed: at this time of the day his mother would be teaching at the Academy, and his father would be at the office. He called out as he walked inside.

"-Hello? Sayora-chan, you there?

-In here!"

His father's voice answered. Naruto followed it to the living room.

"-Dad? What are you doing here?"

As he entered the room Naruto indeed saw his father comfortably seating at the low table next to the window facing the garden.

Seeing his father sitting so casually stirred something in his chest. He'd learnt so much about this man in the last few days. The Yondaime Hokage had always been his hero, but Naruto was now discovering Minato Namikaze. The man behind the title. And as Hokage himself, he was also discovering a whole new facet to his father. It was fascinating.

In front of the Hokage and just as comfortable was his long time friend Shikaku Nara.

"-Oh hey, Kaku-oyaji! Hey Dad!

-Afternoon, son!

-Naruto.

-Aren't you supposed to be at work? Is Ra-chan here?

-Work was quiet, I figured I'd meet Shikaku here instead. No, your sister is with Tsunade. What are you up to?

-Oh I just wanted to check out some of Mom's scrolls.

-Brushing up on your sealing?"

Naruto answered with a vague affirmative noise.

Even though his knowledge of sealing was extensive on this path, he had never really found a passion for it, something he knew both his parents were a bit sad about, considering their own fascination with it.

In the war, however, sealing had been a lifesaver. He had first learnt the basics with his Edo Tensei father and the Nidaime Hokage. The constant fighting hadn't given them much time to get to the more arcane layers of the art. After Orochimaru's death and the Hokages' disappearance, he had continued learning sealing the same way he had learnt taijutsu: through the teachings of shinobis from all hidden villages. There hadn't been any true seal master among them. But combining those teachings together had offered him an in-depth and multilayered knowledge of sealing theory.

Many aspects of fuuinjutsu had become instinctual for him, making him one of the best seal masters in recent history. Although there had been better specialized experts through history, his versatility made him unique. The multiplicity of sealing techniques and styles he was able to use, combined with his capacity to think outside the box and approach things in completely new ways brought his expertise to previously unknown levels.

Now that he also had access to the famed Uzumaki expertise, which hadn't been possible on the other path, he was truly in awe of his own level. Surprisingly, getting onto this path made him realize that he had already discovered some of the Uzumaki's true genius techniques on his own, by combining techniques from different countries. He had a feeling that what truly set his famous clan apart was their vast knowledge accumulated and passed down through the centuries, while other clans and countries specialized in particular branches of the field, thus losing some measure of things. That was what he wanted to check in his ancestors' library now.

Despite his own incredible knowledge of fuuinjutsu, Naruto was looking forward to personally checking his clan's scrolls. He took great pleasure in rediscovering the more advanced theory through his memories from this path, something he did while meditating every night. He sometimes made a point, during his evening sessions, to only follow his memories about sealing, and avoid anything else.

On the other path, his sealing had been deeply influenced by the context and the necessities of war. He was curious to see how a different perspective would influence his understanding and use of the theory.

Instead of heading to the protected library like he had first intended to, Naruto observed the men he had known his whole life. Their relaxed postures indicated that whatever meeting they had had was now over.

Shikaku's smart eyes were on him, glinting with fondness. The man had always appreciated Naruto, whom he saw as family. The tall young man now strolling through the living room had become a fine shinobi and man indeed.

As Naruto approached them, Shikaku noticed that he carried himself slightly differently than usual. It was very subtle. He quickly threw a look at Minato, who was just smiling peacefully at his son. Whatever it was wasn't worrying the Hokage. Shikaku reported his attention to Naruto.

The blonde man was now looking at them, a few feet away from the low table. He seemed to be debating something before shrugging.

"-You know what?" The young man said before disappearing in a flash.

Shikaku's eyes widened in surprise.

"-Did he just…?

-Yeah, yeah he did." Minato chuckled.

"-Without hand seals or your kunai?

-Would you believe me if I told you Naruto doesn't need seals to use the Hiraishin?

-You're kidding, right?

-Imagine my surprise when I found that out!"

Just as Shikaku was about to ask when Naruto had progressed so much with the technique, Naruto reappeared in a flash and finished his sentence as if he'd never left.

"-I've got this bottle of sake I've been meaning to try."

He put the bottle down on the low table and headed to the kitchen to grab some drinking cups. Shikaku looked at the bottle and whistled. This was very good sake.

"-Where did you get this from, gaki?

-Oh, I won it off Tsunade-baachan the other week," he said as he sat down at the table, shrugging.

Shikaku chuckled.

"-You don't say.

-She really should have known better than to bet against me. Especially with this on the line. Finest sake in Taki! Thought you might enjoy it, oyaji."

Shikaku nodded, and for a while the three men did just that: simply enjoy the fine taste of the drink. This was one more aspect of this life Naruto was very fond of: coming of age around Tsunade and Jiraiya meant he had received a thorough education about fine spirits.

Soothed by the pleasant atmosphere Naruto let himself relax, and soon his thoughts turned towards his past on the other path and how much he had missed out on. And how much he still didn't know about this path too.

"-Hey old man?" he addressed Minato in a light tone, still half distracted by his thoughts.

"-Hm?

-Would you have time in the next few days for a debrief? There are a few things I'd like to discuss."

Naruto's tone was light but Shikaku knew him enough to catch the underlying seriousness. Minato studied him for a few seconds. He could guess what this was about.

"-Ask away."

Surprised at the offer to discuss now, Naruto briefly looked at Shikaku, who lifted an eyebrow.

"-Should I leave?"

Naruto looked at his father, then at the Nara clan head again when the Hokage didn't react. The ball was in his court, it seemed.

"-You can stay," Naruto said at last. "If that's all right with you?" he quickly added as an afterthought, turning to his father.

The man turned to Shikaku.

"-You feel like sitting in on a political debrief?"

The dark haired man shrugged.

"-The sake's good."

Right.

Naruto mentally shrugged. He had figured Shikaku would eventually get involved in this anyways. He had no problem discussing things in front of him. Him being in on some of it would actually be a lot easier than trying to avoid him. There was no avoiding Shikaku Nara when he smelled a mystery, which Naruto had no doubt he would.

Minato poured them all a second cup of sake.

"-Where do you wanna start?

-How about after I left?

-Short or long answer?

-Unedited."

Minato nodded and focused for a few seconds. Naruto was sitting casually, but there was no mistaking his concentration. Shikaku palmed his cup, distractedly sipping a little bit from it.

"-Well, things went about as well as you could expect. You left, I had personnel down and the whole ANBU was on high alert about the security breach."

Minato ended his sentence with a slight glare. Naruto simply nodded, entirely unrepentant.

Shikaku put his cup down and settled in a more comfortable position. This was getting interesting: he hadn't expected the debrief to start this way at all.

It had been a while since they last had a security breach. A few of them had happened while Naruto was in the village and about to leave, if he remembered the jounin's mission log correctly.

Shikaku wondered what was so special about any of the incidents for them to discuss it now. If this was one of the more serious ones Minato was discussing, it would be one from a few years before.

"-How bad was it?" came Naruto's question.

"-Early retirement, all of them. There was nothing we could do.

-I see.

-You're not surprised.

-No. For what it's worth, though, I am sorry they got hurt."

Shikaku's mind was cataloguing all the security breaches that had led to forced retirements. Naruto wasn't involved in any one of them. Why was he talking as if he had anything to do with the injured personnel?

Naruto continued talking, not paying attention to the Nara clan head.

"-What about the village?

-Stayed on high alert for months. I sent hunters out, obviously they couldn't find anything.

-Obviously," Naruto replied. Shikaku thought he looked vaguely amused. "What happened during that time?"

"-Not much. Everyone was still recovering from the war."

Shikaku frowned slightly. What were they talking about? The last war had been the Third one, almost thirty years ago. There had been quite a few security breaches at the time, all of them classified. And all of them happening long before Naruto was born.

Minato continued talking.

"-I worked on the seal. Good thing I did. Even with that, it was a very close call."

Minato's eyes darkened, remembering the horrible day of Naruto's birth. The tone of his voice took on a slightly harder tilt, getting closer to his commanding voice.

"-I imagine you already know we got attacked," Minato's voice was slightly accusatory.

What were they talking about?

"-You wouldn't have believed me."

"-I suppose not," the Hokage replied in a clipped voice after a few seconds of tense silence.

"-What happened?

-I called Jiraiya back just in time. The barrier held, but he took it out on the village.

-The Academy Attack."

Shikaku straightened up, taken by surprise by the turn of the conversation.

He knew what happened on that day. Not the official, public version, but what had really happened. He knew Naruto knew too, an abridged version of it at least. His parents had sat him down before he entered the Academy and explained to him a lightly edited version of the events of his birth. But why were they discussing this now, making it sound as if Naruto had some part in it?

"-Yes. He tried to get to your mother but rebounded on the barrier. So he attacked the village. Hiruzen was standing by so I stayed by your mother's side.

-You thought Kurama was the biggest threat," said Naruto as if he wasn't entirely sure it was the case.

"-It was."

Shikaku didn't miss his barely repressed shrug.

"-But then he attacked the Academy.

-And took a hostage to draw me out."

Shikaku grunted. He hadn't been the clan head at the time yet, but he was being groomed for it. The little girl who had been taken had suffered tremendous damage on both hands. She had never recovered her full mobility.

"-I got out and regrouped with the Sandaime, but by then the Kyuubi, sorry, Kurama, was breaking out. When I flashed back in, he got in with me. Jiraiya and the guard platoon attacked him while I took care of your mother. He managed to force me away from her. In the time it took me to get everyone out, you were born. I got you out too. I took him down but by then it was too late for your mother. You were dying. You know the rest."

Minato's voice was somber, straining a little with the memories of the worst day of his life. Shikaku's now unwavering focus was on both blondes, what they were saying and what they kept silent.

"-Sandaime stepped in and sealed Kurama in me," Naruto completed, nodding. "Did you recover the body?"

His voice was factual.

"-Yes."

His father's clipped tone told Naruto everything he needed to know: he knew who Tobi really was.

"-Does Kakashi know?

-No.

-Good. I've seen what that knowledge can do to him. I'm not letting that happen again."

Shikaku felt unbalanced. Naruto seemed to know who was behind the attack on the day of his birth, something Kakashi hadn't been cleared to know about. Shikaku himself didn't have that clearance. Minato had blacked out that information under the same level of confidentiality than everything pertaining to the Kyuubi. Was that how Naruto knew when his direct superior didn't?

Shikaku was intrigued. There was a lot more going on than what he originally thought. He was missing something. He remained silent.

Naruto spoke again.

"-I'll debrief you on that later," he said dismissively, to Shikaku's surprise. The man briefly wondered at the underlying note of authority in the young blonde's voice.

"-What then?," Naruto continued.

"-The attack on the village destabilized us pretty badly, although I'm guessing not as much as it could have from what you reported. Still, losing the Sandaime and getting the Academy attacked put us in a weakened position. Iwa thought it was the perfect time to try something. Fortunately they were still recovering from their own losses during the war and were not too intent on another conflict. They tested the waters though."

Minato kept silent about the fact that he was the reason Iwa's losses had been so heavy they took years to recover.

"-What about domestic?

-The attack on the Academy was a hard blow. You already know that the majority of the casualties were civilians. That didn't go well with the villagers. All they saw was that shinobis children were better protected.

-Were they?

-No. It was just dumb luck that the other classes were empty. We did lose shinobi personnel too. A couple instructors were caught in the blast. Other students lost their legs or their arm. But it didn't matter to the civilians. That created tensions within the village. It didn't help that ANBU was badly crippled. Between those we had lost three years before, the casualties of the attack, and the growing international unrest, the force was under a lot of pressure. I had to call back some members.

-Including Dog," Naruto said, piecing together what had been different from his other path.

"-Including Kakashi, yes. We had to keep the rest of our shinobi for essential tasks only.

-I'm guessing this didn't help matters with the civvies.

-No, it did not.

-Hm. Resources?"

There! Shikaku thought. There was no mistaking that tone of voice. It was the tone of someone used to demanding information and getting it. Shikaku wondered who was debriefing whom in this weird impromptu history lesson.

"-Maintained, but some supply lines sustained damages. Nothing we could officially link to anyone, of course.

-Of course. Iwa?

-Most definitely."

Both blondes were completely focused on one another, sake and all pretense at a casual conversation forgotten. Naruto's voice was carefully neutral when he spoke next.

"-Kumo too."

Surprisingly Naruto's affirmation made Minato hesitate a little before answering. Shikaku took a deep breath in. Kumo had been involved, but the incident was classified. What did Naruto know about it? How did he know so much classified information?

"-Shikaku," Minato addressed the man in his no-nonsense voice, "I'm hereby clearing Naruto's access. He'll still be part of your jounins but I'm lifting his clearance.

-What level?

-Unrestricted."

Shikaku straightened up and nodded despite how surprised he felt. Naruto did benefit from a rather high level of access on any matter pertaining to the Kyuubi. The information they'd been discussing before had been toeing the limits of that clearance, even by stretching it to its more debatable limits. Still, granting unrestricted access to information to anyone but the Hokage was unheard of.

Shikaku briefly wondered at the risks Minato was willing to take. Minato's upping Naruto's clearance without pulling him into ANBU was a delicate move, both politically and from a security's perspective. Regular jounins were not trained to protect the same kind of information ANBU were. Even if Naruto was a unique case on this particular matter, he had never before benefitted from any type of special treatment on that front before – or any other, for that matter.

Why do it? About this incident of all things, too? Sure it had sparked a powerful shift in international relations, but the events themselves had been relatively minor. Why would it be relevant for Naruto to have that information, so many years after the facts? And why change his clearance now but not earlier in the conversation?

Minato turned back to his son and lifted his sake cup to his lips, barely drinking anything.

"-Yes, Kumo was involved. They infiltrated us under the cover of a diplomatic mission and tried to capture Hinata Hyuuga. Unfortunately for them, you just happened to be there too. Your ANBU guards neutralized them.

-Some things don't change. Much. Let me guess: Kumo denied any action and demanded compensation.

-They did, but didn't stop there. They somehow managed to leak the information about you out to the Raikage. He sold that information to Iwa.

-Ah. Did they not know about me?

-No, we'd managed to keep you under wrap until then.

-Oh, good job on that," Naruto said, lifting his drinking cup to his father in acknowledgement. "I imagine Iwa had their eyes locked on you pretty tight. Learning about me after so many years must have made Oonoki lose his marbles."

Shikaku snorted despite his confusion at the conversation. A corner of his mind vaguely noted the casual way Naruto pronounced the Tsuchikage's name.

"-That's one way of putting it."

Naruto gazed at his own cup of sake, focused on his own knowledge of what had happened at the time. He could vaguely remember that day with Hinata, but he'd been too young to understand what was happening. He had gathered a few things through the years about the incident but not much.

A few months after the incident, Konoha had sent an official but discreet delegation to the ruins of Uzushiogakure. His father was leading it, and both he and his mother had come as well, as Uzumaki clan members. The object of the delegation was to pay their respect to the fallen village. The group had been attacked on the way. Minato's response had been swift and efficient. Kakashi had protected Kushina and Naruto, keeping them away from the fight.

"-That day in Uzushio, they were after me.

-Yes. Joined task force, Kumo and Iwa.

-That's bold, attacking a diplomatic convoy. Not that they would admit that's what they were doing.

-Indeed."

Minato reached out for his cup and took a sip. Naruto frowned. He did not know anything else about the incident.

"-What happened next?

-Well, their defense was that it was a purely commercial move: that our convoy was cutting through one of their international business routes.

-Pure bullshit, their countries are on the other side of the land."

Shikaku chuckled at Naruto's remark and cut Minato off by tilting his cup in his direction.

"-But it did give your cunning father the means to retaliate: business."

Naruto thought back on his economy lessons. As the Hokage's son, he had received a thorough education on such subjects. Now that he had more information, he could understand things under a whole new light, filling the gaps.

He grinned.

His father had masterfully killed two birds with one stone. Or rather, three birds. He had used Fire country's central position to their advantage and turned to civilian authorities to deal with the problem. The Daimyo had been more than happy to boost their international business, which slowly crippled Kumoren and Iwari economies: market competition, better rates, safer routes… Little by little, Konoha had taken over their civilian sources of income. Konoha's civilians and particularly merchants had greatly benefitted from this, which had decreased the tensions within the village. All of that without a single shinobi being deployed, thus avoiding any possible military backlash.

His father was a cunning bastard indeed.

Naruto smiled: it took guts for a military leader to turn to civilians. Sure Kages and Daimyos technically aimed for the well-being of their country together, but in reality, both heads of power only very rarely worked closely. Too much suspicion and mistrust. Turning to the Fire Daimyo after such a brazen move from Iwa and Kumo would have been completely unexpected. It would have fortified Konoha's standing within Fire country as well as bringing in more business for the hidden village by boosting its image amongst civilians. Truly, this had been a brilliant move.

Although this had happened many years ago, Naruto knew both Iwa and Kumo were only just getting back on their feet.

"-Well, that explains that. What about the other countries?"

Minato then filled Naruto in on the situation with Kiri. The hidden village had always been very secretive. They had mostly kept to themselves these past twenty years. They had benefitted a lot from Uzushio's fall, but the Third War had badly crippled them. Since then, they had mostly been absent from the international scene. Or if they were present, they kept their contact to smaller villages.

Truth be told, Konoha didn't know much about what was happening there. It was rumored that the Mizukage in power for the last seven years was brutal and unforgiving. But he had kept away from the international scene, and any attempt at diplomacy with them had been coldly ignored.

Shikaku remained silent for most of that part of the conversation, simply observing Naruto. The young man's few questions were incredibly pointed and hinted at a far deeper understanding than Minato's brief explanations would grant. This could justify lifting his clearance indeed, as he was asking for details that were classified. Still, why would Naruto need that knowledge in the first place?

"-And we don't know who it is?

-Reports are very patchy and far in-between. There have been several assassination attempts on him but he's apparently untouchable. There was a rumor a few years ago that he had been killed but it was refuted quickly enough when he was sighted again.

-Swordsman?

-We know for a fact that he isn't. After he killed the previous Mizukage, the Swordsmen were divided. Some allied with him but apparently not all. Some went rogue. Heads fell on both sides. We're not entirely sure who the new Swordsmen are now. Of the previous confirmed members we could only more or less confirm that Momochi is still around. From what we gathered, he's been trying to undermine the Mizukage. Surprisingly enough, he seems to be against the clan purges."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. This was entirely new to him! His knowledge of the matter on this path was very limited, and Zabuza Momochi was only a name amongst others. But not anymore. Not for him. How could Naruto ever forget him?

"-I'll be damned, the Demon of the Mist, alive and kicking. Stupid, half naked bastard!" Naruto exclaimed in a laugh, to Minato's and Shikaku's utter confusion.

Half naked bastard?

"-You know him?" Shikaku asked.

Naruto's eyes became distant but kept their sparkle of humor.

"-A long time ago. Do we know his location? His potential affiliates?

-Not currently but an ANBU team reported sightings of him a couple months ago near Wave. We have suspicions about a few of his contacts but nothing that could be verified."

Naruto picked up his sake cup and distractedly sipped from it as he thought about what he just learnt.

"-I'm going to need all the information we have on him and the Mizukage."

Minato looked at his son for a few seconds before accepting, not that Naruto's tone suggested he would take no for an answer. Once more, Shikaku felt slightly unsettled at the shifting dynamics he was witnessing.

"-What about Suna?"

Minato sighed and sipped from his cup, emptying it.

"-I have a meeting with the Kazekage scheduled two weeks from now for the biennial review of the salt trade agreement. The draught has affected them poorly and tensions are rising because of it. Rasa is never very pleasant to deal with when under pressure.

-And he hates you," Shikaku added.

Minato sighed.

"-There's that.

-Why does he hate you?"

Minato stayed silent for a little while before answering.

"-A few months after you were born, I was studying binding seals when I came upon Sunan documents detailing some of their sealing theories regarding Bijuus. I didn't like what I saw."

Naruto looked at his father. No, Suna's methods of sealing would definitely not go well with the Hokage.

"-I researched it more and found ways to improve it. I approached the Kazekage with a trade proposition, hoping it would favor exchanges between our villages and hopefully, allow me to contact some of their sealing experts. Rasa rejected the offer. Time passed, with tensions rising every few years. Tensions got really high after a particularly long draught that weakened them a lot. That was around the time of the attack in Uzushio. We never managed to find any proof but I always suspected Rasa's involvement in some ways."

"A few years later, we held the international chuunin exam here in Konoha. It was during the few months your team spent at the capital with Asuma. One of the participants was Rasa's son, Gaara. During the exam we discovered that he was Ichibi's jinchuuriki. He was very unstable. Bringing a jinchuuriki to the exam was against the agreement between the five Elemental Nations. As the host, it was within our right to sanction Suna. Instead, I offered to fix that poor boy's seal.

-I can imagine the Kazekage didn't like that."

Minato snorted.

"-No, that he did not. He pulled his teams out of the exam and almost declared war on us.

-What prevented him from doing it?

-A storm in Iwa. Stone was supposed to help them, but a freak spring storm ravaged their lands and destroyed that year's crops. Without food, Oonoki couldn't send his men out.

-So the Kazekage stood down.

-Not exactly, but he didn't go forth with his plan. He went for guerilla tactics: sabotage and such. Tensions remain very high for a long time. Kumo was a wildcard.

-Waiting to see who would prevail, wasn't he?

-Probably. Truth be told, I'm not sure we would have been able to stand up to an alliance between Iwa and Suna. Not at that time.

-I was too young."

That immediately earned Naruto a severe glare from his father.

"-Don't ever say that. This has nothing to do with you."

Naruto pierced him with his blue eyes, a stern look on his face. The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees around the table.

"-I am a tool of war and whether you like it or not, it has everything to do with that."

Minato almost flinched but settled for grinding his jaws.

For the first time since the start of the conversation, and in a very long while, Shikaku felt distinctly uncomfortable. As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto was right. Still, his tone was deeply unsettling.

"-You are not a tool.

-You might not see me that way, but you know it's true.

-You are my son!

-I am, but it doesn't make it any less true. Look," Naruto sighed, "I am a tool. Just like Mom, just like the other jinchuuriki. I have accepted what I am. And you should accept to call it as it is.

-It's wrong.

-Yes, it is," Naruto's voice was level and almost solid as he agreed. "It is wrong and it shouldn't be that way. I will change it. But right now, this is not what we need to discuss."

Minato glared at his son a little bit longer before letting the tension in his shoulders go. It was the first time he'd heard Naruto talk about himself in such a diminutive way. It absolutely repulsed him to think about his son, his precious son, as a tool. Naruto was so much more than that.

But the commanding voice rebuffing him made it clear it wasn't his precious son in front of him right now. It was a war veteran. More than anyone else, that man would know about his own status in that matter.

While Minato breathed through his frustration, Naruto chose to ignore the tension and focused on what he had learnt.

For the first time in his life, Naruto was considering his father from the political perspective. The Hokage had made tremendous progress with Konoha policies. He had completely restructured many of Konoha's departments and communication channels. He had forged long-lasting economical alliances with smaller villages and solidified the hidden village's relationships with the rest of Fire country. Through his reign, both the Academy and the health care system had seen amazing improvements.

But Naruto was forced to admit that his father had also brought his share of problems to the village. His sharp mind made him a fabulous tactician and political player, both a blessing and a curse depending on whom was on the other side of the negotiating table. The Yellow Flash was known and feared far and wide. Hated even, in some parts of the continent. Iwa's hatred for the man ran deep and prevented any progress towards peace. The Kazekage's personal dislike of him added fuel to the geopolitical instability. The Yondaime Hokage's war reputation and Konoha's own standing scared away some smaller entities too, and brought its fair share of discontent and jealousy.

Naruto realized that even if this path had been spared another war, the international situation was a lot trickier than what he had left behind on the other path. Countries were at each other's throat and had been for years. Business routes were dangerous.

Konoha's economy was stable, and as self-reliant as possible. But they were surrounded with potential enemies. Iwa and Suna could try to wrestle them to the ground at any moment. The only thing preventing them from allying was the uncertainty about Ame's political situation in-between the two bigger countries.

Ame was another can of worms entirely. The small reclusive country tolerated absolutely no external intrusion onto their land. So far, Suna and Iwa had respected their territory – a lesson learnt through blood - but the draught in Wind would push them out of their border. The situation in that region was an explosive tag just ready to blow. And chances were, Konoha wouldn't even know about it until it happened. For all his worth, Jiraiya had surprisingly little success at infiltrating the country.

Naruto personally thought that it was not surprising at all if history on this path had followed the same patterns as on the other path, something he planned to find out at some point.

Kumo's economy was finally recovering after years of struggle. Until now, the big country had kept its eyes inwards. But the Raikage was like a shark: ready to attack at the first sign of blood. Who they attacked would only be a question of opportunity. Not for the first time Naruto wished A were easier to deal with, regardless of his friendship with the man on the other path.

Kiri was a steaming pile of unknown. So little was confirmed about their internal situation that it was impossible to predict what they would do should the fragile international balance be tipped one way or another.

Naruto sighed: his father's breathing space was getting smaller.

"-You've managed to make quite a lot of enemies, old man."

Somehow, Shikaku got the impression that Naruto understood exactly ho tricky their situation was.

To the shadow master's utter surprise, Minato sighed and let his shoulders drop a few centimeters under the weight of his function and the signs of tiredness show on his face. Never had the man showed this side of himself to his son. Shikaku, Jiraiya and Kushina were the only ones Minato allowed to see with his guard down. He had always made a point in remaining strong in front of his children, especially Naruto, who had relied so heavily on his parents' support while growing up as a jinchuuriki.

Naruto's heart squeezed at seeing his father's weariness. He understood all too well how heavy the responsibilities of his position could be. Naruto reached out and grabbed the sake bottle to refill their cups.

"-All right," Naruto drank from his cup, "not all enemies can be talked down but I guess there's only one way to know," he said, his tone ringing with something reminding Shikaku of experience.

"-What are you planning, gaki?" came Shikaku's rough voice, somewhat amused by Naruto's confidence.

Naruto shrugged.

"-I'm not planning to fight in another war, that's for sure."

Shikaku snorted. Minato looked at his son, back straight again and all signs of the previous moment of vulnerability gone. He had caught the double meaning in his son's reply.

"-What, you planning to make friends with everyone?" Shikaku said again before drinking from his cup.

"-I'll have you know I am, in fact, fully capable of doing so." Somehow, Shikaku didn't detect any trace of bravado in the blond man's tone. "But no. Considering the Iwaris I just crossed path with actively wanted me dead and almost succeeded, I'd say it's safe to assume they still don't like us. So no, I will not make friends with them. Yet. There is only so much hatred I have the patience for at the moment," he turned towards his father. "Tell me more about this meeting you're having with the Kazekage."

Minato's lips pulled into a half grin.