Time Flows Like Ink
Summary: After a fuinjutsu experiment gone wrong, Minato is yanked into a future where his family is dead, his team fell apart and the Uchiha were slaughtered. With the defective seal burning in his palm, Minato struggles to stay afloat in a Konoha that isn't his.
Chapter 14
Kushina followed the noise of clashing kunai and splintering wood, idly wondering whether she should feel a little more concern and a little less exasperation caused by the ridiculously predictable turn of events.
Upon entering a clearing, she watched Minato leap out of the way of a dagger aimed to sever his jugular and decided that no, exasperation was a perfectly fitting emotion to feel in this sort of situation.
The next time Minato felt the need to follow a stranger's cryptic (if not outright insane) mumblings to a place obviously meant to isolate him, Kushina wouldn't let him go, no matter what he said to try and justify it.
Kushina swerved in to block one of the stranger's attacks, dropped to the ground to dodge the responding blow and placed seals on the ground during the time it would have taken another person to blink.
Minato threw a kunai behind them, grabbed Kushina and teleported back just in time to avoid the blast her explosives caused.
"I told you so," were Kushina's words of greeting. She watched as the stranger evaded her attack unscathed. "What have we got?"
"He's fast," Minato started, rattling off his observations without wasting a second on protesting her presence. "Difficult to hit and not afraid to put himself in the line of fire. He favors weapons – kunai, senbon, daggers and a tantō – and hasn't shown an affinity for any elements yet. He's using close to no ninjutsu in general."
Kushina nodded. "Weaknesses?"
"He counted on facing me alone. He prepared counter attacks for my techniques, but he likely hasn't done the same for yours."
"Good." Kushina set her brows in a firm line. "Let's overwhelm him."
Minato's frame blurred as proof of the moniker he'd been given, too fast for the eye to perceive. Chakra chains surged with the force of projectiles, forcing the stranger to dodge while Minato's kunai buried themselves in the ground and the trees around them.
Their opponent was quick, Kushina had to give him that.
A kunai hit the bark next to her feet and Minato appeared. "He's got too much room to dodge."
Kushina hummed. "Not for much longer."
Her chains hissed like snakes, digging into the trees around them to resemble a jungle. She and Minato had plenty of practice navigating around them. The stranger didn't.
Kushina and Minato worked in tandem while the stranger struggled to keep up with the change of pace. He didn't utter a single word – rare, seeing as a majority of shinobi loved to hear themselves talk during battle. Even considering their advantage in numbers, she and Minato spent a suspicious amount of time on the offense and not nearly enough time dodging.
Kushina didn't need to be a strategic fighter like Minato to realize that the stranger wasn't trying to win. He hadn't been doing so since Kushina had joined the battle.
"Minato," she muttered after another maneuver made the stranger retreat further, but didn't make him retaliate.
"I know."
Minato threw another batch of kunai and missed, the stranger showing off his speed by evading each and every one of them. He didn't press his advantage. He only withdrew further. Why was he still there, if he wasn't planning on going all out?
Why was he staying? His half-hearted, evasive tactic held no chance of an outcome other than tiring himself out.
It almost felt like he was going through the motions. Like he was playing his role because it was expected of him and not because he hoped for a favourable outcome.
Kushina was not a patient woman. She wouldn't play a part in whatever game he thought he was playing.
"Cut the crap," she shouted, intentionally missing the stranger with a chakra chain and shattering the tree beside him. "Why are you putting on this charade?!"
The stranger's movements cut off abruptly as though strings attached to his limbs had been cut.
"You noticed," he muttered, sounding relieved instead of disappointed. "No point in staying."
Kushina's eyes widened. The time it took her to set her body into motion and sprint after the stranger was enough for him to disappear from sight.
"Kushina!" Minato's hand closed around her wrist and refused to budge. "Kushina, wait. Kushina! Let him go."
Kushina growled in frustration. "What are you on about?! We're losing him!"
"Think about this." Minato met her stubborn gaze with irritatingly calm eyes. "He's good, Kushina. We didn't get in a single hit the entire fight. He knows our fighting styles, both of them."
"So what?!" Kushina yanked her hand out of Minato's grip. "He didn't get in a hit, either. There's plenty more we can throw at him."
"And just how long are you planning to pursue him?" Minato's lips pressed together firmly. "He implied that he isn't working alone. We could be charging right into a trap by going after him. Besides," Minato's gaze grew tight, "we don't know when the seal is going to drag us back."
"You just want to let him escape?!" Kushina's voice was pitched incredulously. "You were the one who wanted to talk to him in the first place."
"So you're okay with being dragged back without saying goodbye to Naruto?"
That gave Kushina a pause. "We'd be coming back," she pointed out, feeling her resolve falter.
"It might be weeks before that. Maybe longer." Minato looked into the direction the stranger had disappeared into. "We'll figure this out. But we'll do it on our terms, not on his."
"Fine," Kushina grumbled, resisting the urge to express her displeasure and kick a nearby boulder.
Convincing Kushina that it was best to leave Naruto in the time he belonged was easier than Minato had imagined. Bringing him along to the past had been an accident, and shielding him from the changes by dragging him along wherever they went wouldn't be fair to anyone.
"You need to go back to make sure everything works out, right?" Naruto's lips pulled into a smile, attempting to put on a brave face and succeeding only marginally. "You're gonna make sure you stay alive after I'm born?"
"That's the goal," Minato said, his smile feeling as strained as Naruto's looked. "If everything goes like we want it to, you'll never have grown up without parents in the first place."
Naruto's frown suggested that the notion was too difficult to imagine.
Kushina pulled both of them into a vice-like hug that made Naruto grunt and Minato wince. "Don't do anything stupid while we're gone," she said, tightening her grip around Naruto. "Make sure to eat plenty of veggies and get lots of sleep. If Kakashi and Rin are being dumb again, kick their butts in my place. Play nice with your team, and oh, if you ever need–"
"Kushina," Minato interrupted, gently tugging at her sleeve.
"I know! I know!" She let go of their son reluctantly, her hands hovering over his shoulders as though she was suppressing the urge to cling to him. "Just, take care of yourself. We'll be back. Either in a couple days or weeks, or... well..."
Kushina fell silent, her expression growing strained even as Naruto's eyes lit up at the thought of growing up with Kushina and Minato alive and well.
For him, the outcome would be a dream come true.
Minato swallowed against the lump in his throat. Raising Naruto would mean that they wouldn't ever see this version of their son again. They'd watch him grow up and shape his life in a way they weren't allowed to do thus far, but the Naruto they'd gotten to know would be gone.
They'd caused significant changes to the timeline before, but this felt different. It felt meaningful in a way that made Minato actually consider the alternative.
He pressed down the notion forcefully. It would be worth it, as long as it meant giving Naruto the childhood he deserved. He couldn't allow himself to be selfish.
Besides, he'd get his happy ending. All of them would.
The trap they'd set up with Mikoto snapped shut on the very same day Minato brought Kushina back home with him.
An ANBU guard tracked Minato down only shortly after their arrival. Minato had teleported outside the village and entered it through the front gate to support the cover story they'd created.
"Hokage-sama," she greeted, briefly scanning his body for injuries and finding none. "I trust your mission has been successful?"
"It was," Minato confirmed. "I'd like to keep the details to myself before our report is finished. Kushina is already working on it."
More like she was having the time of her life stringing together the adventure they'd supposedly had during their absence. An adventure that would undoubtedly entail heroic deeds and an only narrowly avoided death – or several. Jiraiya would be proud of her, Minato was sure.
With the pleasantries out of the way, the ANBU felt free to move onto more serious matters. "Danzō-san has requested your presence. He claimed it is of the utmost importance."
Minato hummed, furrowing his brows. Danzō had never been happy with Minato taking over the Hokage's position from Sarutobi. "Tell him that he's welcome to come to the Hokage's office. I'm on my way."
"No need." The ANBU guard avoided his gaze. "Danzō-san has decided to head to the office as soon as he heard of your return. He'll be waiting for you."
Minato raised an eyebrow. "I see." He didn't appreciate the presumptuous gesture.
Minato dismissed the ANBU and made his way to the office. He'd been about to do so regardless, and he wouldn't change his plans merely to prove a point to Danzō – even though a small, petty part of Minato wanted to do exactly that.
"Hokage-sama." Danzō greeted him with a small bow that threw Minato for a loop. "Welcome back."
Minato returned the gesture in the form of a nod. "Danzō-san." Danzō rarely addressed him by his title. "You requested my presence."
"May I speak plainly?"
Minato gestured for him to continue. "By all means."
A mix of hesitance and regret entered Danzō's expression, and Minato's sense of foreboding grew.
"I'm afraid that you were right." Danzō shook his head mildly. "Your suspicions about the Uchiha clan have proven correct."
Minato kept his expression carefully neutral.
"I have reason to believe it is even more dire than we had feared," Danzō continued.
It had been Mikoto's idea to use her clan as the bait for their ruse. Minato's 'suspicions' were completely made up, privately 'entrusted' to those villagers who had the influence to cause genuine harm to their village structure, were they inclined to do so.
Only somebody who wished the Uchiha harm had the motivation to fall for their ruse – that, or somebody so desperate to gain favor from the Hokage that they would willingly throw an entire clan to the wolves.
Of all the words one could use to describe Danzō, 'desperate' was not one of them.
"I've collected proof during your absence." Danzō didn't meet his gaze. He played his part as bearer of regretful news well. "Perhaps the Uchiha have been given too many liberties."
Mikoto, Kushina and he had speculated whether whoever was involved in the Uchiha massacre had been harboring distaste against the clan years before it would happen.
Was this their answer?
"This is troubling news," Minato said, furrowing his brows in false thoughtfulness. "I'd hoped my intel had been wrong."
"As did I," Danzō agreed. "I regret saying this, but... they might be forcing our hand."
Minato hummed, forcing a layer of reluctance into his voice. "What do you suggest? I wouldn't want to make any rash decisions."
"I understand your hesitation," Danzō was quick to reassure. "But I fear we may not have a choice in the matter. I believe our only chance to prevent escalation is to suffocate the conflict at its core."
"Escalation is the last thing we need," Minato muttered, turning away from Danzō as though the sentence hadn't been meant for him. He hesitated. "We have plenty of conflict brewing outside of our borders. We can't afford to have more of it in our midst."
"Difficult decisions must be made if we wish to hold the peace in our village."
"Nobody ever claimed being Hokage would be easy," Minato added.
Danzō met Minato's gaze properly for the first time. "I am gratified that we share the same perspective, Hokage-sama. Lesser men have neglected their responsibilities to the village because they haven't been able to make the hard choices."
Minato wondered if Danzō was talking about Sarutobi.
"We may share the same perspective now," Minato said, jumping at the opportunity Danzō unknowingly offered. "It would be hypocritical for me to claim that this has been the case from the start."
Danzō paused. "I'm afraid I don't quite follow," he admitted.
"Allow me to say it plainly." Minato leaned forward just a fraction. "My friendship with Mikoto may have clouded my judgement. It likely has for a long time."
The pause that followed was longer than the first. "It is regrettable," Danzō said, "but understandable considering the circumstances. We are only human, and prone to making human mistakes."
"What I'm saying is that I may not be the right person to determine our next course of action."
"Who then?" Danzō asked. "Somebody needs to act. Soon, if we are to prevent something worse."
"Yes." Minato curved his lips in a smile. "And I believe you are the most suited person for the job."
Danzō straightened up in his seat. "I am honored, Hokage-sama. Truly."
"Is that a 'yes'?" Minato asked. "Can I trust you to act in my stead and do whatever is necessary to stabilize our situation?"
"Whatever it takes," Danzō confirmed. He stood and sunk into a bow. "I will report my progress shortly."
Minato watched Danzō head for his office door and made no move to stop him.
Just short of leaving the office, Danzō paused and met Minato's eyes one last time. "I would not have expected this of you, Minato-san," he muttered, and he disappeared down the hallway before Minato had the chance to reply.
Minato began to realize that he'd miscalculated when after 24 hours there had been no consequences from giving Danzō free rein against the Uchiha.
Danzō's intent had been clear. Minato's order had given him the freedom to do whatever he wanted – whatever he felt necessary – against Mikoto's clan. Yet, there'd been nothing. No arrests, no interrogations, no action whatsoever taken against what Danzō had attempted to paint as a serious threat to the village.
"Does he suspect anything?" Mikoto asked, her voice clipped and her expression tight.
"I don't know."
"Did you let anything slip?" Kushina was pacing restlessly, her brows furrowed.
"I don't know," Minato repeated, trying not to let frustration seep into his voice.
"Let's check in on him," Kushina said, impatience making her sound jittery. "I have a really bad feeling about this."
If Danzō wasn't suspicious already, he would almost definitely be once Minato, Kushina and Mikoto came barging in on him out of nowhere. Minato didn't protest for the simple reason that his own gut was screaming at him to act.
They found Danzō's office door ajar and a couple ANBU already inside.
"Hokage-sama," one of them greeted, doing a double take at the sight of him. "We were going to send someone to notify you."
Minato entered the office with a sinking feeling in his gut. Kushina and Mikoto followed in his wake, and if his ANBU were surprised at their presence, they didn't show it.
Danzō's office had been swept clean. A couple sheets of paper lay abandoned on the table and the floor, and most drawers were ajar. Emptied. Not a single scroll was left in the storing unit Minato knew to have held dozens of them before.
Minato closed his eyes.
"Should we mobilize an ANBU squad?" the shinobi asked. "Depending on whether they find Danzō-san, this might not be a mere case of espionage. In case of an abduction–"
"A retrieval," Minato corrected, cutting his subordinate off. "You will treat this disappearance as a voluntary act of treason unless told otherwise. Send out a squad and inform them that Danzō will likely resist once found. Dismissed."
His shinobi were trained too well to question him. Minato let his shoulders slump and rubbed his eyes as soon as the three of them were alone.
"He knows," he said gravely, unable to come up with a more optimistic alternative when the facts spoke for themselves.
At his sides, Kushina and Mikoto stayed silent.
A/N: My betas are Igornerd, To Mockingbird and PyrothTenka! Go check them out, they're all wonderful writers!
I'm back! :) I hope the chapter was worth the wait - I'm glad to be back to regular posting!
Please take the time to leave a review!
~Gwen