Tampering with Time

by Palaserece

When Kyuubi was extracted from Uzumaki Naruto, it was the Nidaime Hokage that came up with an unconventional solution. An experimental reincarnation jutsu on Namikaze Minato and a one-way trip, with his Kurama, to the past. (Minato-centric)

12. The Root of Conflict

Danzo assessed each child standing in front of him with a critical eye. Two were freshly plucked from the streets of Konoha, eating out of a garbage can. Another was a frightened girl from the devastated Yuki Clan. And the last, a shifty-eyed boy that was acquired for no reason aside from larger-than-average chakra reserves.

"Process them."

The calculated declaration caused renewed fussing from all but the last child, but all were dragged away to begin the tedious process of building promising future agents.

Danzo retreated down dimly lit hallways to the table that served as his current desk, piled with small, neat stacks of reports. Danzo sat and scanned the top document, while making occasional notations off to the side.

Danzo had spent his life fighting for the safety and prosperity of Konoha. Of course, the definition of "safe" was constantly in flux and hardly represented an accurate summation of Konoha's state of being.

Konoha might be fine today, but tomorrow and the day after were forever up in the air.

"Danzo-sama."

The appearance of two bowed subordinates was expected and prompt.

"The preparations are successful?"

"The units are in place, Danzo-sama. And the festival location was moved to a training ground as per your recommendation to the Sandaime."

"Our agent?"

"Contact was established and your orders were verified and accepted."

Danzo nodded without any real concern. ROOT infiltration agents were chosen with considerable care and only after verifying unquestionable loyalty.

But all of this meant things were proceeding just as Danzo had planned. Any damage would be negligible, what with the location and sealing array that his agents had prepared well ahead of time.

Even Hiruzen's lack of ANBU presence made the timing of this enterprise all the more critical. And if the ANBU kill teams found Orochimaru…all the better. Konoha having a stray missing-nin made them look weak before the other nations.

"Has the Hokage spoken with anyone?"

"We do not believe so. While ANBU operatives have been alerted to prepare for a potential disturbance, Hatake is no longer part of that chain of command."

Better than Danzo had hoped. Perhaps it had been rash to dismiss Hiruzen's practical side. This would make Danzo's plans easier to accommodate and prevent blame from being publicly directed his way.

"And the Raikage's men?"

"Under surveillance as per your orders, Danzo-sama. Although the Raikage seems to be tied up in meetings with the Sandaime."

Good. With Hiruzen keeping A occupied, Danzo was free to act.

What was the loss of a few trees in order to preserve the life of the forest? This was not a question that Danzo struggled with; more or less, it was a way of life.

---

The disgustingly temperate climate of the Land of Fire felt unnatural.

The road they were following showed signs of frequent travel and had deep ruts from merchant caravans passing through. The forests bordering each area on the road to Konoha smelled of pine and kept the air feeling fresh, lacking the thick smog afflicting some of the more industrial towns creeping into existence. Prolonged exposure to this grating peace was difficult for someone like Ishida Naoka, who had only ventured into the Land of Tree-Huggers when duty called.

Unlike its fiery cousin, Mist was perpetually damp with a constant, pervading sense of danger, not unlike the persistent fog that rolled over the islands. And if the lack of visibility was not enough deterrence to potential invaders, the creatures in and out of the water had the same bloodthirsty reputation the shinobi of Kiri shared.

In all her days, Naoka had never known peace. It was a word described by philosophers in books and whispered about in the dark corners of broken-down inns; a word her comrades tossed around over games of dice and mocked while the corners of their eyes tightened with strain. Such a ridiculous concept had no right to exist when she spent her days slicing the throats of old friends and robbing their corpses as she fled the purge order.

Now, during a foray into hostile territory that was remarkably lacking in hostility, the former Kiri-nin was reminded of that word as they travelled down a winding path where songbirds sang and butterflies flew.

The Mist had never been a particularly welcoming home, but it was home nonetheless. Naoka grew up catching frogs to put food on the table, and trained so that she could have a better life than scrounging for scraps or selling her body. People had looked at her pretty face and thick black hair and thought she would just be another Academy dead girl, but Naoka had persevered and risen through the ranks as a prominent member of Kirigakure's interrogation unit.

Although her mother was a scion of a prominent clan, ninjutsu did not draw the same fascination for Naoka as it did for others. Much of her success and prowess came from a surprising knack for seals she discovered while working with an old, lonely Uzumaki woman who survived the Uzushio slaughter and fled to settle in the neighbouring Land of Water. It had been slow going, but Uzumaki fuinjutsu was not a kekkei genkai. Naoka devoured the knowledge ravenously.

And when her prowess with seals was still a budding concept, Naoka was whisked into interrogation, where she climbed the ranks until she was practically running her division.

And then one day, Yagura betrayed his people.

Naoka had not wanted the life of a missing-nin, but it chose her. Or rather, the Mizukage she had sworn her life to had chosen it for her. The sting of betrayal Naoka felt when she was forced to gut a kill-team sent to her home had been…unbearable.

Nevertheless, Naoka had grown up a survivor and that had not changed even after her country turned against her. So she sealed her life away into scrolls and slipped into the deluge that sheltered her from tracking parties.

As an elite-ranked missing-nin, Naoka often camped out of practicality. And her dwindling coin purse made foraging for her own food a necessity.

She hated this life that had been forced on her. Naoka wanted to find a place to settle down and make a life. But if she wanted that life…she needed money.

When a masked fellow dropped into her campsite last week, Naoka had instantly assumed a defensive pose. Except, instead of attacking, the individual unsealed a scroll with ten million ryo and the promise of another ten after the completion of a mission. Naoka hated herself for how quickly she had agreed.

Information was her bread and butter, so it galled her to think that so little information about this "retrieval mission" was being provided. It was the bare minimum of acceptability. While her client refused to name themselves, the instructions were to turn over the target in the Land of Hot Water for payment. The location itself was outside of Fire Country and lent credence to her assumption that Kumo was somehow involved.

But this job she had undertaken was a kidnapping from Konoha. Her employer's lapdog—for what other name could she bequeath to some masked messenger—had suggested that the majority of Konoha's ANBU division was deployed on special assignments outside of the village proper, making kidnapping easily possible.

And her target: Uzumaki Naruto. Apparently, one of the reasons Naoka had been specifically recruited was her sealmaster's ability to restrain a jinchuuriki. Not that she had ever tried herself, but there was certainly a reasonable level of expectation that Naoka could succeed.

When she had fished for more than basic information, she was rebuffed. Only information on the jinchuuriki's appearance, habits, and living conditions was provided along with a list of known associates. Strictly speaking, a mission from the Mizukage had never required an explanation, but the total rebuff from this new, shady employer just confirmed that the entire situation reeked.

Already she was beginning to regret that decision. Her travelling companion was a moron from Iwa who talked too much. If only she had the resources to pin the man to one of her interrogation tables and dissect him until he wept like the small-minded imbecile he was.

A-ranked assassin, Hoshi Chiaki, said the Bingo Book. What a joke. Most would mark her at the same level and she could have killed him over a dozen times in the last half-hour alone. It was a shame she needed him for there to be any possibility of getting in and out of Konoha alive.

Movement from the side of the road had the two travelling companions turning to watch a doe trot fearlessly onto the civilian path.

"Dinner is early!" The pug-nosed Chiaki smirked, dipping his hand into his pocket—only to falter when Naoka snapped a fist toward his head.

"What the hell was that for?" He dodged her blow with ease, a smile that was mostly a grimace twisting boorishly at his lips.

Naoka had little tolerance for fools. Instead, she pointed at the doe that was racing into the woods with a fawn close behind. His hooves clipped the ground behind his mother.

"Oh, come on! It's bad enough I'm stuck with some bitch for a mission, but don't tell me you're soft too."

Before he could blink, Naoka moved. A kunai kissed Chiaki's skin beneath his eye, leaving an attractive line of crimson running beneath the blade.

"What was that again, fool?" Naoka breathed into the man's ear with a smirk playing at her lips. "You want to question my integrity as a shinobi?"

Not unexpectedly, the blockhead belted out a boom of laughter, scrubbing his chin with a meaty palm, but not making a move to push Naoka aside.

"Maybe you aren't so bad after all," his deep voice crooned. "I like my women with a bit of fire in 'em."

"I'm afraid it's rather the opposite." Naoka replaced her kunai in less than a second. "But I promise that my touch will burn you worse than any fire ever could. So, I'd watch what I said if I were you."

"Kinky!"

Naoka did her best to ignore Chiaki's ridiculous chatter that, once started, spilled well into the afternoon. They passed a number of caravans, some with shinobi escorts and others without.

Naoka's hitai-ate had been abandoned when she left her village. She had forced Chiaki to conceal his Iwa headband as well, much to his grumbling. Never had she quite understood why so many missing-nin flaunted their identities, but idiocy was hardly restricted to the untalented. Nevertheless, with the brand of betrayal safely put away, no one gave Naoka or her business associate more than an exchange of babbling pleasantries concerning the festival.

"How close are we to the village?" Naoka interrupted Chiaki's rambling.

"The tree-huggers' village should be about two hours ahead. Why?"

"I think I've spotted an opportunity to borrow a better identity."

"Ah," Chiaki hummed in response, looking ahead with a grim smile. "I suspect you might be right."

Naoka shifted and motioned toward the side of the road. The loudmouth had a troublingly shrewd look about him as he sauntered after her.

The sooner this mission was over, the sooner she could relocate to somewhere better.

Just off the road, a young couple had stopped with a wagon laden with fruit, canvas for a tent, and two ponies nibbling some stray grass. They were huddled around a campfire with a pot of streaming stew.

Chiaki extended a deceptively meaty palm. Naoka did not even blink at the two soft thuds of bodies hitting the ground, senbon buried in their necks. She wasted little time in sealing away the corpses, taking the seat the young woman had previously occupied, and serving up two bowls of stew. She offered one to Chiaki.

"Nice work."

She grunted, sniffed the stew once, and took a bite. It was good, but Naoka could not afford to feel guilty for taking its makers' life. She had her own mouth to feed and no time left to feel pity for anyone save herself.

A few people passed them while they ate, but no one stopped them and their nondescript clothing afforded them a degree of protection.

"These are better disguises, but I'm still worried about getting into the damn village. I'm handy with chakra suppression, but if Konoha is decently paranoid they might have a sensor or two looking out for infiltrators."

"You leave that to me. Come over here."

Without waiting to see if he complied, she whipped out a specialized notebook containing expensive, delicate sealing paper that she immediately began tracing a design on.

"So, the rumours are true, after all."

The previous cheer was missing from the man's voice, leaving something almost appreciative in its wake.

"What are you on about, Hoshi?" She resorted to the same informality.

"There were rumours that Kiri's best interrogator was a Yuki woman practiced in fuinjutsu. Only whispers, of course, but even tales have to come from somewhere, right?"

Naoka deliberately refrained from answering, which seemed to amuse Chiaki more than anything.

"I left Iwa recently, but just before that, I heard another interesting story." Chiaki's lips thinned and his eyes adopted a reptilian glint. "One of our scouts observed a confrontation between a black-haired woman and a squad of Kiri hunter-nin. That scout said he watched the target do something to one of her attackers which caused him to turn around and attack his allies. The woman and her coerced ally slew the remaining members of the squad. And then, this woman slit the throat of the man she was controlling before fleeing the scene."

"So," she said dryly. With a flick of a wrist, she tore off the sealing paper before rapidly forming a second, identical seal. "I killed the men following me. What is that to me?"

"I'm wondering if the story I heard is true. If it is, that could be valuable for us during this op."

Naoka's lip curled. Who did this guy think he was, questioning her? This was why she never enjoyed working with other people.

"You talk too much, but I assure you that any talents I have will be put to good use." Briskly, she finished the last bite of stew and abandoned the bowl on the ground next to the fire. "After we arrive in Konoha, one of us needs to meet with our contact while the other sets this civilian operation up at the festival grounds."

"Sure thing."

The buffoon waggled his fingers in her face in a distasteful manner that she deliberately ignored as she applied one of the seals to her hip.

"I've drawn a seal for each of us that sort of muffles our chakra. If you use any ninjutsu techniques, the seal will cancel so I would advise against it."

"Ah." The idiot turned the paper over in his hands curiously. "But if we already know how to suppress our chakra?"

"Concentration is fallible; one slip and your ruse is over. Seals are reliable, safer, and more effective. This seal will evenly suppress your chakra throughout your body instead of compressing it into one specific place."

"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"My opinion of you is not a concern of yours." Naoka stood, doused the fire with a few kicks of dirt, and walked toward the ponies. "Your concern should be receiving payment from our employer. So, let's get this over with. The sooner we do, the sooner we don't have to interact ever again."

"I dislike pretending to be a civilian," Chiaki sneered.

"Also—not my concern." Naoka untied the reins and started leading the cart and horses down the road.

"This job stinks the longer it goes on," Chiaki complained.

"Let's just get there and get this done."

The remaining walk was a bit more unpleasant due to her companion's continued attempts to engage her in conversation. Thankfully, the gate guards on duty did a quick sweep of the wagon and its contents, and required only the entrance fee for visiting merchants. Naoka suspected the real inspection happened from above in a rather surreptitious manner.

Nevertheless, they were offered directions to the festival stands and sent on their way.

Naoka felt her eyes drawn in every direction at once and forced herself to focus when children continuously raced back and forth along the stretch of the streets. Just down the path from her, merchants haggled with their customers, children bounced around the parents with happy smiles on their faces, and most odd of all, nearly everyone she saw was unarmed except on-duty shinobi. The entire experience felt like walking through an ordinary town instead of a hidden village. If it weren't for the occasional flash of sunlight off a shiny hitai-ate, Naoka would have assumed they weren't in a shinobi village at all.

"Well, well," Chiaki murmured nasally from her side. "I think I found us a nice place to bunk down for the night."

Naoka turned just in time to watch a dark-skinned blonde woman wearing a white vest disappear into an inn up the road. From a distance, she matched the description of their contact.

"I'll get us a room, sweetheart." Naoka dumped some coins into the Rock-nin's hands. "You set up shop for us, okay? We want everything to be perfect for tomorrow!"

Naoka slid her hand up to Chiaki's neck and tugged him close to her in a mimicry of intimacy.

"Of course," Chiaki purred in her ear, his nose brushing a bit too closely to her skin—almost like the kunai kissing the back of her spine. "You owe me, though."

"I'll make it up to you."

"Oh, I don't doubt that."

They disengaged and Chiaki guided the cart and horses in the direction of the Konoha festival grounds. Naoka swore to herself that, job or no, she would gut the sour man if he threatened her again.

Gaze flickering to the inn, she turned away and started navigating the crowd. She purchased a few token souvenirs without paying much attention. Just enough to keep her arms full and to appear as boring as possible.

Chiaki was correct, of course: Naoka was searching for a pawn to manipulate. She needed to find someone strong enough to be of use but weak enough to control. Decisions, decisions.

It was a shame, though. Konoha did not seem that bad of a place. People smiled often and laughed too easily.

Konoha was very different from Kiri.

Oh well. At least she would have the chance to enjoy it for today. After tomorrow, returning would not exactly be an option.

---

Minato hated to admit it, but he was stressed. Now that Sasuke and Naruto were not enriching his life with their constant presence, Minato spent more time worrying. And Kurama had just finished having a chat with Saiken, so now his bijuu was snoozing away, oblivious to Minato's fretting. Probably for the best too, if he did not want a bijuu-sized headache.

But all he could think about was how much there was to do, and how little time there was to do it.

So as soon as Tsunade had gone out for a drink with Shizune, Minato waited for Jiraiya to step outside to write. It was something few realized about his mentor, but Jiraiya found buildings confining and would always gravitate toward the outdoors. A yearning for the outdoors or whatever you wanted to call it, Minato was pleased that old habits were still exploitable in his new present.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed, pup?"

Minato followed the lines of the basic storage seal he was practicing with. Intellectually, he knew every move required, but relearning calligraphy skills was another matter entirely. Another long look and he silently pronounced it perfect and carefully set it aside, lowered his pen, and turned to where Pakkun was tucked into an orange cushion on the couch with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Maybe, but I think you look more tired than I am."

"Yeah, well, today is my shift. Tomorrow is Bull's night and the next is Bisuke and so on. You're a bright pup. You get the picture."

"Uh huh. So, who was it that Kakashi didn't trust tonight?"

"Does it matter? No adults are in the house right now."

"Jiraiya is right outside."

"Kakashi doesn't see it that way."

"Don't I know it."

Minato chewed the end of his pen for a moment, tugged the clean sheet of parchment closer, and began to trace the outline of a second storage seal. This time, his fingers did not falter on him and the motion felt more natural.

"You got any snacks, kid?"

"You hungry?" Minato shot Pakkun a look, eyes crinkling when he saw the dog give a longing glance to where Tonton was curled up on a mat like the pampered pig she was.

"Very much so."

Obligingly, Pakkun's stomach growled.

"Oh, sure. Hang on."

He finished the first pattern. Hopping off his seat, he trotted into the kitchen to raid the refrigerator. When he returned, he deposited a plate of leftover chicken in front of Pakkun. In seconds, the ninken had ripped into the meat.

"Sorry it's cold," Minato said.

"It's fine. Shizune-san knows her way around the kitchen."

"That she does."

Minato wanted to work on a more complicated seal, or at least one of his ideas that he dreamed up while sealed away. But explaining that away would be…difficult. With much muttering, Minato flipped open one of Jiraiya's fuinjutsu journals that he had appropriated from the man's room and flipped it open to a page on resistance seals. Minato hardly needed to look at the paper, but having an alibi in place was unfortunately necessary until Minato could create a proper spot to hide some of his real work.

Minato began applying an almost perfect copy to the sealing paper. His fingers were small and he kept overcompensating for his strokes a bit, but a few more days of familiarizing himself with his new writing style would correct those errors.

Mid-stroke, Minato heard the front door open. Instantly he dropped his pen and scrambled to pick up his scrolls, but it was too late to make a run for it. Tsunade stomped into the living room with arms full of books, Shizune and Jiraiya hot on her heels.

For a second, Tsunade seemed too preoccupied with dropping the books on the table, but Jiraiya—damn him—took notice.

"Hey, kid, aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Busted, Kurama whispered unnecessarily.

Shut it! And aren't you supposed to be asleep?

Worth it to see you get bossed around.

You're so…ugh.

Tsunade jerked up and instantly crossed to where he was cringing back. She stopped across from him with an unimpressed look.

"Minato!" Shizune looked scandalized and disappointed as she planted her hands on her hips. "It's over an hour past your bedtime! And Pakkun-san! You let him stay up?"

Minato's eye ticked and his hands balled into fists at his side. Not for the first time, he pondered why he had been returned to such an unfortunately young age. Considering all that he had accomplished, he knew he couldn't complain, but it still rankled him that bedtime was actually a thing!

"Someone had to watch the kid," Pakkun muttered as he finished cleaning the chicken dish.

Jiraiya smiled uneasily at the threatening glares he was getting from both women, looking quite ready to use a doton jutsu to sink into the floor.

"Well, I'm off, pup. Later."

A poof of smoke and Minato's distraction was gone.

"I couldn't sleep, so I'm studying!"

Minato smiled crookedly toward the trio of adults and prayed something good came of it.

"Is that so?"

Tsunade looked positively predatory as she skirted the table and tore his scrolls out of his arms. Minato might have squeaked in surprise, but he would be damned before he disclosed that detail to anyone—especially his friends.

"A storage seal?" Tsunade muttered.

With a snap of her wrist, the papers were flicked backward to nail Jiraiya squarely in the nose.

"Really?" Shizune looked reluctantly impressed, but her guarded smile morphed into a frown as she stared at the clock in the corner.

"This isn't half bad." The spiky top of Jiraiya's white hair was visible behind the scrolls. "Better than some stores sell. This kid has talent."

"Nevermind that. It's past his bedtime."

Tsunade rounded the table. Minato stepped back nervously.

"And the next time you want to stay up late, I have some anatomy books to go over with you. See!"

Tsunade pointed a red fingernail toward the pile of books on the table.

"But I don't want to be a medic!" Minato cried.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Tsunade completely disregarded his protests as she lifted him like a ragdoll in her arms. Minato sagged like a puppet with cut strings and let his cheek rest on Tsunade's shoulder.

"And Jiraiya, if you had stayed in the house, maybe Minato wouldn't have been up with only a dog for company. Don't think we're not discussing this." Tsunade dispensed the criticism liberally before she whisked him upstairs and deposited him gently onto his bed. In a surprisingly smooth motion, the sheet and quilt were tugged over him.

So much for a little late night studying, Minato thought glumly.

"There we are, all tucked in!" Tsunade sounded elated and somewhat out of breath before she plopped down next to him, making room for Shizune coming up behind her. "Now, Minato, you're too young to know what you want right now. Once you're a little older, you'll grow out of this rebellious stage and I'll turn you into the finest medic in Konoha."

"I want to be a ninjutsu specialist."

His words fell on deaf ears.

"Oh, it's not so bad, Nato-chan." Shizune leaned down from behind to press a kiss to the top of his head. "Besides, even if you don't become a medic, all of this information would benefit you as a shinobi anyway. And you can't say a little first aid ever hurt. Wouldn't you want to be able to help your friends if they needed it?"

No, not really, because I'm a jinchuuriki, Naruto's a jinchuuriki, Hinata wants to be a medical taijutsu specialist even if she doesn't know it yet, and Sasuke will just have to dodge attacks because I'm not becoming a medic. And…medical texts are so boring. Ugh.

"I want to work on fuinjutsu," Minato grumbled weakly.

"Good thinking," Tsunade commented, doing little to ease Minato's nerves. "You'll need to learn yin-sealing techniques for some of the advanced healing exercises."

"Good night!" Shizune waved brightly before vanishing into the hallway.

Before he had sufficient time to feel sorry for himself, Tsunade's golden eyes were inches away, boring right into his soul.

"I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do." Tsunade looked improbably fond. "Just think about it, okay?"

"I promise."

My fingers are totally crossed, but I promise that I'll know how to splint an arm if it gets broken. Basic first aid is something I had to learn in ANBU.

Minato grinned as Tsunade swiped a strand of hair out of his face. There was an impression of lips against his forehead, and next thing he knew, the lights were flicked off.

"Good night, kiddo." Her eyes, even in this half-darkness, spoke for her: I love you.

"Good night, Oba-san." Minato half-smiled: You too.

And I never expected that to be true.

The door had barely clicked shut before Minato heard the telltale jiggle of the window. Half a second later, Kakashi poked his head inside.

"Yo!"

"Come on." Minato patted the side of the bed. "I know you're only here to sleep for a little while."

"Is that so?"

Kakashi flopped onto the bed, obviously not in the mood for conversation. Minato rolled on his side and noticed the dark circles under his brother's eye and the smell of accumulated sweat. Minato slid two fingers down Kakashi's arm and pressed them over the man's pulse. The rhythm was settling down from frantic to steady.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked muzzily.

"Be quiet, I'm just checking on you."

"Keep this up and you'll be a perfect medic, pup." Kakashi's eye crinkled wickedly.

"Not going to happen."

Minato leaned over the bed, balancing carefully, and secured a cloth bundle in his arms. Kakashi watched him, but made no move to help and only quietly watched Minato unfurl the bundle and cover him with the blanket.

"Hm, pretty cozy."

"Good."

Minato yawned and curled up close enough to create a sense of nearness without smothering Kakashi.

"You could always do the nursing thing."

"Oh, shut up." Minato buried his head under a pillow.

"Your bedside manner could use a little work, though."

"Nii-san, go to sleep!"

"Fine, fine."

---

The breeze served the dual purpose of refreshing and rousing the tired boys that Mikoto had ushered into the backyard. The sun was just creeping over the trees, but otherwise the area was still layered in shadows and more than a few stumbles took place on the journey from house to backyard.

"I had not intended to provide instruction in the use of a sword for some time," Fugaku said with a completely neutral expression.

More like you hadn't planned to start teaching them at all, my love. But Kushina would want this. I just know she would approve.

Mikoto bit back a grin and slowly extended a bokken to Sasuke, who accepted the learning utensil reverently. In turn, she spied her Naruto—for once looking as serious as the clan that adopted him—accepting his own wooden blade from Fugaku.

"I never offered Itachi anything beyond a basic introduction to blade work," Fugaku continued, oblivious to his sons hanging onto his every word as if he were Kami himself. "But your mother interceded on your behalf. She suggested to me that you two are mature enough to handle such a weapon."

Fugaku pivoted and beckoned her imperiously.

Suppressing the need to roll her eyes, Mikoto stepped forward and tapped the hilt of her worn blade over her shoulder.

"This was a gift from my best friend. While I was never proficient in her art, she taught me every kata of the kenjutsu style she favored."

Already, Mikoto could practically see the drool running down her boys' faces and fought not to let her maternal instincts best her.

"I think both of you have the dedication to become masters of kenjutsu, but don't misunderstand me: it will be a difficult task that will require countless hours of training. But if you are willing to work hard, I will begin teaching you this in addition to the instruction you have been receiving in other subjects."

Mikoto smirked.

"But before you get too excited, there is a condition to your training." Mikoto cracked her knuckles and extended a lazy finger to point at her sour-looking spouse. "I'll only agree to teach you if your Tou-san grants me permission to do so."

It was a remarkable thing, witnessing a transition of thought. Instantly, the boys' prior giddiness was eclipsed by a mounting horror, and they gaped at Fugaku as if he were some obstacle to overcome.

"Tou-san, I—I mean, we— "

Naruto's words fell apart as Fugaku shook his head, muttered something unintelligible, and trudged to the weapons rack to retrieve his own sleek, polished bokken.

"There was a certain incident at the Nara's home a few weeks back."

What little colour her sons had in their cheeks drained away. For the first time, Mikoto felt an itch to intercede, but knew that her boys would be better off in the long run if they learned this lesson the hard way.

"Such behaviour causes me to doubt your maturity and readiness to learn this art that is demanding for older and wiser students." Fugaku folded his arms sternly and cowed both boys with a sour glare. "I want you to prove to me that you deserve this opportunity."

Mikoto had expected Fugaku to blow up like a volcano after having his posterior exposed to the world. To her surprise, Fugaku's ire had been supplanted by satisfaction at seeing Hiashi in such a panic. At the time, she expected a mere delay to his anger, but Fugaku had been utterly stoic and had not mentioned the incident since it occurred.

Until now, she supposed that pride had Fugaku pretending nothing had happened, since the gossipmongers had not whispered and stared as they were wont to do.

"We'll never prank you again!" Naruto promised in a desperate gambit that Mikoto knew was doomed from the get-go. "And we'll train more than Itachi does!"

"Tou-sama, please give us permission. We are your sons. We will not fail."

Mikoto glowed with pride. Sasuke conducted himself properly and intentionally included Naruto in his statement. Pride and family all in one. It was a simple matter to see that Fugaku was pleased with the response as well, but she knew that words were not the determining factor at play here.

"Very well, but do you understand that I will not permit you to change your minds? Once training begins, I expect you to drill daily and pursue a mastery in kenjutsu. Nothing less will be acceptable from my sons."

Mikoto watched her husband step forward and place one hand on each boy's shoulder, looking at both of them with pride and assessment. Her poor little Naruto looked almost overcome by emotion and was visibly trembling.

"I won't let you down, Tou-san."

"I'll make you proud."

Conviction shone in Naruto's eyes like a stoked fire and Sasuke looked almost frenzied with a desire to please. Kenjutsu was no longer just something to teach; Mikoto's boys needed this—and badly.

"Very well," Fugaku breathed and squeezed her hand. "Mikoto, make them strong."

"I will."

She would.

---

The festival was situated on the huge, grassy expanse of Training Ground 15. It was impossible to miss, with hundreds of painted lanterns and the bustle of countless festival-goers. Crowds of people in vibrant kimonos were leisurely strolling down row after row of brightly coloured tents, stands, and a few large pavilions at each end of the grounds.

Minato was squished between Tsunade, who was wearing a fabulous teal and lavender kimono that Jiraiya would hate himself for missing, and Shizune, who was so nervous that she was plucking at invisible threads from her pink kimono. Minato had been shoved into a blue kimono with scarlet accents. Like usual, his hair was up in a hightail, minus his bangs.

"We're meeting the Uchiha at the shinobi festival entrance, right?" Shizune asked.

"Yep," Minato replied as he scanned the crowd for familiar faces. "Mikoto-sama doesn't want Naruto exposed to the civilian elements."

"Just as well, then." Tsunade was gruff, but her fingers had tightened into fists. "I'd hate to have to hospitalize someone."

There was no rule saying civilians or shinobi couldn't access each side of the festival, but certain games in the civilian zone banned shinobi for the same reason that some of the "games" in the shinobi zone forbid civilian entry. And of course, the split was important since vendors that catered to shinobi were far less likely to treat Naruto poorly while the civilian side was sure to kick him out or call him names.

Minato stretched out his senses for the familiar chakra patterns, easily dismissing ones that lacked a certain feeling.

"I can sense them just ahead. This way."

"You can really find them in all this chaos?" Shizune asked.

"I could find you too," Minato remarked. "I have to concentrate, but it's not particularly difficult if I already know who to look for."

Of course, Naruto was the easiest to locate just because he possessed Kurama's chakra too—even if it was dormant for the time being.

"Minato-chan!" Speak of the devil: Naruto was standing with Sasuke, who was attempting to look aloof like his brother, and Hinata, who was shyly waving.

"Hi, guys." Minato sauntered forward, offering a polite bow to Mikoto. "Mikoto-sama."

"Oh, Minato-kun, it's so nice to see you," Mikoto greeted him kindly. "Fugaku had to work, but I'm sure he would say the same thing."

Minato slipped around to where Shisui and Itachi were hiding in the back. Truly he had no desire to find out if Mikoto and Tsunade were going to get along.

"Hey, little silver." Shisui demonstrated that he had learned nothing about personal space by hefting him under the arm pits and spinning him around. "I think you've gotten shorter, kiddo!"

"Nope, you're just taller." Minato grinned, estimating that his friend had gained at least two centimetres in the last little while. That, and his hair was almost back to its previous spiky length. "And your hair is coming in."

"I know!" Naruto groaned, coming up from behind to wrap an arm around his shoulders. "Hinata is going to have to gum his head up again!"

"No." Itachi surprised everyone by interjecting, looking almost…disturbed. "I refuse to listen to Shisui's whining anymore. You'll have to entertain yourselves another way."

"And I'm pretty sure Fugaku-sama would be disappointed if you started pranking again." Hinata chimed in, sympathetically patting the downtrodden Naruto's shoulder.

"Man…I guess you're right."

That seemed odd. Since when was Naruto hesitant to prank Fugaku of all people?

"So, what do we want to do first?" Minato asked, actually interested in the festivities around them.

"That!" Naruto whipped around and pointed to the closest tent, which boasted a shuriken-throwing game.

"Good." Hinata startled them all by walking right over. "Let's go!"

"Oba-san, may I have some money for the game?" Minato asked politely.

Tsunade smirked and tossed over a ridiculously heavy coin purse that Minato frowned at as he tucked it in his pocket.

"Jiraiya?" Minato asked without really needing to hear the answer.

"Minato, go have fun." Tsunade shooed him in the direction of his friends and he obligingly arrived in time to see Sasuke claim the first prize of the evening: a spool of ninja wire.

"I thought you won prizes like stuffed animals at places like this?"

Naruto was frowning, though Sasuke was turning the wire over in his hands thoughtfully.

"Ano, in the civilian section of the games, they do offer many prizes like that." Hinata twiddled her thumbs nervously. "But since this is the shinobi game section, most of the prizes are inexpensive items that shinobi actually use."

"I approve," Sasuke declared gravely as he pocketed his prize. "Besides, can you imagine all the traps we could make with wire?"

Minato looked uneasily between the sibling duo that were exchanging devious grins. Good grief, Naruto really was contagious!

"Do you want to throw shuriken too?" Naruto nudged his arm lightly.

"I'm okay, Naruto-kun. Let's go to the next game!"

The next several stands included variations of throwing blunt kunai, a climbing wall, a "poison" workshop, puzzle boxes, and a chakra moulding game that Hinata destroyed them all with.

Sasuke had resisted the pony rides, claiming it was civilian and childish, but Itachi had thrown him onto the poor animal and proceeded to photograph all of them. They were all smiling by the end, with Naruto and Hinata practically needing to be pried off their respective mounts.

Naruto had demanded to get his face painted and Mikoto allowed it since the painter was foreign and did not recognize the blond. Naruto came out looking like a snarling tiger while the demure Hinata simply had blue flowers painted on her cheeks. Sasuke had outright refused and Minato had shrugged and tapped the markings on his cheeks.

Minato kept an eye on his caretakers, pleasantly surprised to see the three women engaged in conversation and even sharing a few rounds of laughter. Somehow, that bridge had been mended and all he could do was feel relieved that one more obstacle had been dealt with.

Only one stand owner's expression clouded when he saw Naruto. But before Minato could hook his fingers in Naruto's top, the offender had teetered sideways and a peculiar blank look overtook his features. Naruto and Sasuke were so busy fighting over which floating rubber duck to choose that they never noticed Shisui's Sharingan fading away.

Minato had whispered an appreciative bit of praise to the Uchiha that had saved Naruto's night from being spoiled, but Shisui had merely tugged on his ponytail and bade him to go win some games.

When they stopped to admire a massive tent covered from floor to ceiling with flowers, a jubilant shout called to them.

"Hey, guys!"

The Yamanaka heiress was dashing their way, wearing a stunning crown of silky pink and white blossoms in a matching kimono.

"Ino-chan!" Hinata stepped forward with a bit of levity in her step. "You look beautiful!"

"You like it?" The blonde twirled cheerfully. "I made it! Do you want one too?"

Hinata never had the opportunity to reply because Ino whisked her into the tent in two seconds flat.

"What just happened?" Naruto rubbed his head.

"Something troublesome," a low drawl announced.

"Shika! Chouji!" Naruto raced forward.

"Good evening, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun." Minato smiled.

"Hi," Sasuke mumbled without Minato's prodding. It was nice to see evidence of progress, even if it was small.

"Oh, Naruto! Are you going to enter the kids' eating competition? I'm getting ready to head over there with Pa. He thinks I have a shot at winning."

"You bet I'll enter, dattebayo!"

"Wait just a minute!"

Ino came racing out of the tent, dragging a pleased-looking Hinata who wore a crown of snow-white orchids.

"I entered the junior flower-arranging competition. And I made something for all of you to wear."

Minato kicked Sasuke in the shin, causing the other boy to grunt but refrain from commenting. There was a nervous look on the blonde girl's face that served as an able reminder of just how young she was. In an effort to waylay any chance of hurting the poor girl's feelings, Minato bowed exaggeratedly, and was pleased to hear Ino erupt into giggles. Dignity was not something he had to worry about at this age.

"That was really nice of you, Ino." Minato smiled. "Thank you for doing that for us! What did you make?"

"Here we go!" Ino urged them all forward and Minato led the pack into the room, hearing the others fall into step with no small amount of muttering.

"Tada!"

Skipping around like an excited rabbit, Ino offered each of the boys a bracelet of braided leaves with a single flower each. Somewhat relieved that he would not be stuck wearing a gaudy coronet of flowers, Minato slipped his on and patted the scarlet-carson that noticeably matched his facial markings.

"It's really nice, thank you!"

"Wow, this flower totally matches my sandals!" Naruto was grinning ear-to-ear and was looking from his orange footwear to his flower.

"It's nice." Sasuke surprised them all by complimenting his own arrangement that was red with an accent of white and definitely an homage to the Uchiha fan.

"Yeah, it's actually really nice, Ino," Chouji admitted, his lavender bracelet just managing to slide around his thicker wrist.

"Why doesn't mine have flowers?" Shikamaru looked at his wrist like it was a puzzle he could not quite make out.

"Because you're boring!"

Ino stuck her tongue out at Shikamaru, causing the rest of their little group to erupt into giggles that almost hid the Nara's grunt of displeasure.

"Look how cute you all look!" Yamanaka Mara appeared from around the corner wearing an apron and holding a pair of scissors. "Your friends look wonderful, Ino-chan! Good job making those gifts!"

"Thank you, Kaa-san!"

Minato watched their grown-ups enter and instantly engage each other in conversation. It was interesting to see Tsunade actually seem to straighten and pay attention to Yamanaka Mara. Naturally, he was aware that Tsunade was seeing the woman a few times a week, but witnessing the respect she had for Mara was another thing entirely. Instead of causing discord, it seemed like Tsunade was immersing herself into the shinobi community.

Tsunade really was getting better. Inexplicably, Minato shifted closer to his friends, not noticing the scrutiny from his core group.

"Err, so how about that eating contest, Chouji." Minato blinked as Naruto invaded his space, those blue eyes boring straight into his own. "You gonna come watch me win this thing?"

Minato blinked. It had not been his intention to worry his friends and he never wanted to see Naruto look so concerned over something that was a non-issue.

"I don't know. I think you both enjoy food, but winning is another matter entirely!" Minato teased gently.

"Come on, Minato-chan!" Naruto whined like a little puppy. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Friends don't choose sides." Shikamaru yawned and shuffled forward. "But I can't really make a prediction until I see what they're serving."

"Well, I think I hear Pa outside. Hopefully we'll see you guys over there!" Chouji disappeared outside the tent.

"I want to go too!" Naruto glared at the floor.

"Then let's go." Shisui slid up with Itachi at his side, munching on a stick of dango. "If they want to talk, we can take them. Mikoto-sama, I'm taking Naruto to beat Chouji at the contest."

"I'm not fixing you up if you puke, kid." Tsunade ignored the way Naruto stuck his tongue out and crossed his arms churlishly. "But why don't you head over. We'll meet you after us girls catch up for a few minutes."

Ino chose to stay behind since they would be announcing the junior flower-arranging winners shortly, but Ino did make Hinata promise to come do girly stuff with her sometime.

Thankfully, it was a quick trip to the contest area. A surprisingly large gathering of youngsters were seated at picnic tables that were being covered with piles of dumplings.

"You guys, I'm so excited! I get to eat and beat everyone at something!"

"Naruto-kun, just promise to stop if you're feeling sick."

Hinata was studying the visible participants in the four-to-eight range with a sceptical frown that made her look much older than she was.

"Naruto will be fine." Sasuke intervened again with a haughty expression that was definitely learned from his father. "An Uchiha doesn't lose to anyone."

Minato sucked in a breath, realizing that something else was going on when Naruto jerked upright, looking pumped up with adrenaline and prepared for a fight rather than some recreational contest.

"Nii-san! Please take me up there! Please." Naruto turned the performance on Itachi and put his hands together. "With the stakes so high, there's no way I can lose."

"Very well. Come." Naruto jerked when he received a poke to the forehead, but lit up then and followed Itachi to the picnic tables.

"Sasuke, what is it?"

It was rare these days that Minato actually felt lost, but something about this situation ran deeper than he realized. He suspected it was going to be something he was not going to like.

"Tou-san talked to us about upholding the honour of our Clan. It meant a lot to me. And I know that it meant a lot to Naruto. He doesn't talk about it and I don't ask, but I can see how much my parents mean to him. Having a family."

Minato's stomach rolled.

I thought I had finally gotten past all this. Why do I feel this way?

I'm here, Kurama rumbled.

Two words with so much impact. Minato bit his lip and swallowed, feeling surprised by how dry his throat had become.

"I'm thirsty," Minato rasped, forcibly smashing his emotions down. "I'd like to get a drink."

"Sure, kid."

Shisui obviously noticed something was wrong. He was biting his lip and looked torn between wrapping Minato in a hug and giving him space. And because life was unfair that way, both Hinata and Sasuke were instantly alerted by Shisui's peculiar behaviour and were now each in possession of one of his hands.

With little choice, he let the other three tug him toward the nearest stand, which happened to serve freshly squeezed juice.

"One juice—" Shisui yelped.

Minato and Sasuke both looked over to where Hinata was smiling a bit too innocently after jabbing Shisui in the side with…something they missed.

"What I intended to say was three juices, please," Shisui stammered, rubbing at his side with a hiss and—was that blood?

"Thank you!" Hinata chirped, causing Minato to doubt everything about that last minute.

"I have two drinks here! It will be one moment for the last!" a feminine voice called out to them before plopping two fruit juices on the counter.

"I would like one too, please, Naori-san," a smarmy voice that was all too familiar called from just outside the stand.

Minato zeroed in on the bandana-wearing man that had been so prejudiced against Naruto. Minato scowled, barely registering that Sasuke was scrutinizing him before glancing to the tokubetsu jounin with a taken aback look.

"It's that loser from the Hokage's office," Sasuke growled.

"Ebisu?" Shisui looked perplexed. "What are you doing here?"

"Shisui-san?" Said jounin jerked backward as if burned. "It's you miscreants!"

"Hey!" Shisui's voice lowered dangerously. "You don't talk to my kids that way!"

Ebisu adjusted his glasses with a sneer. "Are you the individual in charge of these demons?"

"You don't talk about them that way!"

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?"

A gentle voice disrupted the verbal spar and Minato was taken aback by the exotically pale woman that could have been mistaken for an Uchiha if not for the sparkling amethyst eyes giving them all a considering look.

Ebisu looked absolutely horrified and was blubbering a series of apologies that the woman seemed entirely uninterested in listening to.

"Ebisu-san, you aren't being mean to my customers, are you?" The woman turned an apologetic eye on the group, seeming to linger over each of their faces in turn, but not too long as to seem impolite. "My apologies. For your troubles, your drinks are on the house!"

"That's very kind of you, but we're happy to pay."

Shisui dropped an appropriate number of coins with an extra penny that had Minato raising a brow sharply.

"That is too kind of you." The woman turned, grabbed a cup, and extended it toward Minato, who accepted it gingerly. "There you are, sweetheart! Enjoy! And Ebisu-san, why don't you come help me prepare some more fruit as an apology."

"Wow…" Shisui looked almost disappointed as the server dragged Ebisu out of sight for a presumed tongue-lashing. "She was…"

"Too old for you." Hinata paused mid-sip, causing Minato to nearly choke at Hinata's straightforward attitude. "She was at least in her early twenties, Shisui-kun."

"Well, that is—so?" Shisui looked pained as they ignored his simpering and dragged him back toward the contest tables.

Minato guzzled his juice and led the way through the crowd to where he could see Itachi standing. Itachi acknowledged their approach with light pats to each of their heads and pointed to where Naruto was seated, a few feet away and next to Chouji. There was a mound of dumplings inches from his face. A few older Akimichi were present, easily noticeable due to clan markings, as well as a couple of Inuzuka girls who were exchanging feral glowers.

Shikamaru's chakra was somewhere nearby, but for the life of him, Minato could not find the other boy in the crowd, so shrugged it off and turned back to where Naruto was preparing to dive headfirst into the tray of dumplings.

"Alright." A chunin was standing on top of the far end of the table. "On your mark, get set, go!"

"Go, NARUTO-KUN!" little Hinata screamed. Minato jerked backward and even Sasuke looked slightly intimidated.

Kushina would have loved this. You go, Naruto!

Minato finished off his juice and frowned at the restless crowd full of supporters. Minato could still see that Naruto had abandoned his seat and was sitting on top of the table in front of a steadily decreasing stack of chicken dumplings.

Chouji appeared to have liked Naruto's idea because the rotund boy flopped himself onto the table and was alternating hands to further stuff his already bulging mouth.

"Go, Naruto!" Minato called. "C'mon Chouji!"

"You go, kid!" Shisui laughed.

"Naruto! Show them who the top dog is around here!" Sasuke yelled, an edge of competitive menace in his voice.

Minato supposed it was asking too much to banish clan pride altogether. In this particular case, Sasuke was coming to accept Naruto as an actual sibling instead of a live-in friend. If a little clan pride kick-started that instinct, he was all for it.

Win it for Kushina. Come on!

---

Naoka handed the last customer in line a cup of juice before hanging a sign over the window that suggested she would be back in a few minutes. Of course, that wasn't the case, but it was the little things that really tied a good story together.

"Mph!"

She turned to the bumbling jounin hogtied behind the counter and tutted as the poor sap wriggled like a trapped rat.

"Tokubetsu jounin." Naoka took a step closed to the quivering pile. As a former interrogator, this persona was just another part of the art of information gathering. "I do wonder who you had to fuck to persuade them into thinking you were suitable material."

"Leaag Guu!" The cheap glass in the rickety frames of his glasses had cracked, revealing eyes that read as increasingly petrified.

At least she had gagged him. Having to listen to Ebisu's futile efforts to convince her to release him would simply be too much.

"I can see no accomplishments in your future, nor would I expect to."

She paused. "But..."

Naoka plopped down next to Ebisu. "Your ambitions seemed to be tied into attaching your name to the success of others. And there is a certain logic in riding the coattails of more talented individuals to the top, but where is the fun in that?"

This man hated her. Naoka could see it now, churning in his eyes. But more than her, she could see that Ebisu loathed himself. Loathed his weakness. It was almost enough to make her sorry; after all, there was no order from her Kage. And there never would be again.

Life was an unfair bitch like that.

"I'll show you a secret." Naoka placed her hands on both of his cheeks, carefully minding the sodden gag, and let her chakra build and wash over Ebisu's face. It took a few seconds, but soon the man was jerking backward. With a laugh, she released him and dropped her hands.

Ebisu's cheeks had turned a light blue and the gag secured in his mouth had solidified as the water hardened into ice crystals.

"Like those dreams you have, I come from a special mother." Naoka winked at the shaking shinobi. "But while I promise you that I'm skilled with my kekkei genkai, my true aptitude is my imagination. Because with my imagination, I can create this."

Naoka slid an innocuous bit of folded parchment from underneath her kimono top, unfolded it, and kindly shoved it in Ebisu's face for him to see.

"Do you see?"

A whimper. A distasteful sound that would have been beautiful under different circumstances.

"Of course you don't," Naoka continued conversationally. "This is a glimpse of power. Something someone like you will never understand. And something that someone like you is perfect for.

"Such a little thing," Naoka whispered, tracing a fine line along the seal she had designed. "This wouldn't work as effectively against someone with a will stronger than my own."

Naoka reached around to where Ebisu's bound hands were and ripped the kunai from his fingers.

"Ebisu, my dear. I'm afraid I saw you coming."

Naoka took the wrecked sunglasses and flung them to the ground. If eyes could tell a story, oh, what a hateful tale they would share.

"I want to look you in the eyes," Naoka purred, using the man's own kunai to open the collar of his shirt and lay the paper seal over his heart. Through the sealing paper, she could feel his pulse racing out of control. "As this sucks your will away and replaces it with my own."

Naoka called chakra to her hand and smiled one last time.

"Now, I have a job to do, you have a distraction to make, and my partner has a kid to nab. So, we better make this quick!"

"Nnngh!"

"Just so you know, this isn't personal. You're just an opportunity for a payday that might get me off the streets and into a better life."

Naoka did not precisely feel regret, but she did feel remorse over the shoddy execution. Working for cash took away the majority of the satisfaction she may have gleaned.

"And come on, you should be thanking me." Naoka patted Ebisu as she called on her chakra. "When the Senju boy dies from a massive overdose of the toxin I dumped in his drink, you're as good as dead anyway."

Naoka noted the horror swarming the man's face, but soon enough her chakra crested.

"Fuin!"

Naoka was untroubled by how Ebisu slumped forward like a puppet with cut strings. With a flick of the kunai, she severed his bindings. He would not need them anymore.

"We good to go?"

Chiaki poked his head in, dressed in non-descript clothing with the blank-eyed Kumo shinobi behind him.

"You tell me."

"We're good to go whenever."

"Very well." Naoka placed her hands together. "Commence the plan. I will direct the pawn and cause a distraction. Take the Kumo bitch with you. I'll direct Ebisu to intercept the ANBU escort."

"Alright." Chiaki tapped the hilt of his sword with a smirk. "Don't screw up, Ishida."

"I've already succeeded." Naoka shot him an unimpressed sneer. "The success of this mission is up to you now. Don't screw up."

Naoka did not enjoy harming children, but her instructions implied a monetary bonus if the drug was administered. So, when the boy showed up outside the stand, Naoka had not hesitated.

There was no time to feel sorry anyway. Time was up.

---

"I lost."

Minato was doing his best not to smile as he patted the devastated boy's shoulder.

"Me too!"

Unlike Naruto, Chouji was literally sobbing so hard that his face was red and snot was coming out his nose. Minato felt certain that a garbage can was going to be needed in the next few moments.

Shikamaru was already approaching with a massive bucket in his hands that he promptly shoved into Chouji's arms.

"You both did a great job!" Shisui made an effort to cheer the two of them up. "And you tied! If that other Akimichi boy hadn't been there, you guys would have won for sure!"

"I wanted Tou-san to be proud of me." Naruto sniffed.

He will be. I am. And Kushina would be…I just know she would be thrilled.

"I'm very proud of you, Chouji." Chouza lifted the distraught boy onto his shoulder, looking entirely unfazed by the tears soaking his clothing. "Let's go find Ma. Shikamaru-kun, you too. Good night, kids. We'll have to get together so you can all play another day."

They all waved goodbye, Naruto's a little wetter and more emotional than the rest, but it was Itachi that dropped a consoling arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"Tou-san will be pleased."

"And I think you did an amazing job, Naruto-kun."

Hinata sidled up closer to Naruto and Minato subtly pulled back. Minato felt inexplicably warm and shifted away from the bodies pressing close.

"Thanks!" Naruto seemed to perk up a bit.

Minato rubbed some sweat off his forehead. Maybe he just was not feeling well.

"You alright, kiddo?"

Shisui was frowning down at him, but before he could reply, a cart near them erupted into flames.

Off to the side, a woman's voice screamed. The scream seemed to set off the crowd because a few moments later, there were dozens of cries of alarm from the north, west, and east. Resembling a bunch of herd animals, the civilians in the crowd panicked and stampeded.

An attack. Related to Kumo. Of course. But is the target me or someone else?

Minato reacted. The crowd scattered around them, but Minato had already lunged forward and dragged Naruto and Sasuke to the ground by their collars. Hoping that Naruto had dragged Hinata after them, Minato darted forward until they were crawling under the picnic table used in the earlier contest.

It was hot and all other sound was diluted by the screams and cries from the adults outside the tent. The panicked breathing of all four of them—Hinata had made it—flooded their little enclosed space.

"What's happening?" Naruto sounded panicked, but Minato could barely hear him.

"Where's Itachi?" Sasuke whispered right in his ear.

"They are..." Minato concentrated—

And felt nothing. No chakra signatures. Nothing. What.

Kurama? Minato called, not bothering to disguise his panic.

"Minato, can you tell where they are?" Sasuke's voice again. He could even feel his breath on his ear.

Kurama!

Poison. You're going to pass out. The dose was…extreme.

Kurama actually sounded strained. The information was precise, stating only what was necessary. Without saying so, Kurama was suggesting that he could not speak. And that itself suggested…What exactly did it suggest?

Oh, Kami.

"I—" Minato lifted a hand and was alarmed when he realized his vision was already doubling.

"Minato?" Naruto? Was that Naruto?

Suddenly, there were alarmed voices and another person was with them. It felt like…Itachi? Shisui? Minato was not sure and he couldn't see!

His shoulder felt warmer. Someone was touching him. No, someone had grabbed him and was tugging him somewhere. The next thing he knew, Minato was staring up at the stars and a bunch of blurry faces were hovering around his face.

"Minato?" Whoever that was, they sounded worried.

"Poisoned juice?" Minato stammered. "I need…to get…"

Minato grimaced in frustration as his thoughts literally refused to organize themselves. He needed to focus!

Kurama, I can't pass out! They're in trouble!

Too bad. Keeping us alive is my priority. They're on their own.

Kurama…what if...?

Let go. There is nothing you can do for them. Now shut up and let me concentrate!

"Minato!"

Cool hands were touching his forehead, but Minato could not determine their size or texture.

There were some words exchanged and a cool hand slipped into his own and squeezed so hard that Minato wanted to pull away from the pressure. And—

Something wet was falling on his face, but he couldn't…he couldn't…

"C'mon, Minato! You have to be okay! Please, please be okay!"

That was Naruto. Minato was certain of it, but he sounded so far away.

Minato tried to sit up. He tried to struggle away from the arms pulling at him. He failed.

Minato sagged backward and felt his eyes fall closed.

Hinata…Sasuke…Naruto…I'm sorry. I thought I could prepare for everything, but I was wrong. I'm so sorry.

---

People were screaming. There was smoke everywhere and fire had already burned down the tent they were closest to. Naruto had seen Minato's brother—that crazy hair was pretty distinct—but some guy had attacked him before Naruto could call out to him. There was no sign of Kaa-san or Shisui.

At least Itachi had found them. Itachi had crawled under the table, picked up Minato, and led them all to the far end of the table and into the open air again. They had taken refuge behind a makeshift food prep area that had bits of chopped vegetables and meat skewers still roasting over the unmanned grills.

Naruto swallowed hard and rubbed his eyes when they started to sting. The fire had moved to another tent nearby and smoke was billowing out of it. Naruto could see masked shinobi and Uchiha clan members working together to try and stifle the flames, but they seemed to spread too quickly to be contained.

Minato was motionless. He was a grey sort of pale that made Naruto nervous. And seeing how grim Itachi looked with his Sharingan activated didn't help matters.

"We need to get out of here," Naruto said, before breaking into a coughing fit when a cloud of smoke hit him right in the face.

"We need to take him to a hospital." Sasuke sounded scared and that frightened Naruto more than he was comfortable admitting.

"We need to find Tsunade-sama!" Hinata coughed hoarsely. Naruto instantly put a supporting arm around her.

"We need to go."

Itachi lifted Minato's limp form into his arms. His head lolled sluggishly to the side.

"Everyone, follow me. Quickly."

They exited cautiously. Food was abandoned everywhere alongside chopsticks and dripping platters. Naruto grabbed Hinata's sweaty hand, made sure Sasuke was following him, and followed Itachi's path through the destroyed festival grounds. Stuffed prizes had been massacred by trampling feet and overturned carts every few feet prevented an easy exit from the area. Scores of people continued to try and escape the spreading fires that were consuming the tents.

Despite the chaos, Naruto was continually impressed as Itachi navigated the area with ease, finally leading them into a grassy area just a few paces shy of a side street leading back into Konoha proper. Most of those paths were clogged with singed people, the majority of which required medical attention. Itachi seemed to recognize this since he steered them toward a quiet alleyway that led away from the crowds and hopefully toward home.

The side street was one that was dimly lit, but he recognized the sign from one of the windows that was just a couple blocks from home.

When he stopped behind the abruptly still Itachi, Hinata literally climbed the back of his shins, but Naruto did not notice. He was too busy scrambling as Itachi suddenly whipped around and all but dropped Minato on top of him. Sasuke and Hinata were both grabbing hold of Minato and Naruto felt another spike of fear at just how still his body seemed.

A sharp clang struck his ears. Naruto hurled himself over Hinata's shaking body and fearfully looked up.

There was a large-nosed man with a wicked scar running over his jaw holding a sword. A sword that was blocked by Itachi-nii and a puny little kunai.

Naruto swallowed hard and desperately tried not to be afraid.

It did not seem that his efforts were successful, though; he felt like crying. And a painful amount of shame radiated throughout his being because of this.

How could he ever be a shinobi if he was scared all the time?

---

When the first flames engulfed a festival stand, Kakashi descended from his perch prepared to wreak havoc. With Obito's gift, Kakashi scanned the surrounding area for signs of trouble.

Kakashi made a move to head in the direction he had last seen Minato, but he was waylaid by a civilian woman shrieking with the back of her dress and hair on fire. A quick suiton jutsu dealt with the flame, leaving only a vague scent of charred flesh and the frightened sobbing of the woman. Kakashi's instincts screamed at him to go find Minato, but duty won out and he reluctantly dragged the hobbling woman toward an Aburame wearing a police uniform and shoved her at the man.

A hurried explanation later and Kakashi sprinted back to the wrecked tables.

Years of combat had him deflecting the kunai aimed for his head. Kakashi moved. Twisting in midair, he summoned a tingling crackle of lightning and automatically shaped his chakra into a blade.

Kakashi turned. He felt the hum of electricity fade.

Ebisu stood across from him with absolutely no emotion. It was a rather startling contrast to an individual whose moods and facial expressions seemed to be in a constant state of flux.

"Ebisu?"

A lesser shinobi might not have successfully evaded the barrage of shuriken Ebisu sent in his direction. Hatake Kakashi was not a lesser shinobi. Kakashi performed a kawarimi with a slat of wood, charged his body with chakra, and smashed his fist into Ebisu's head.

Unfortunately, Ebisu vanished in a poof of smoke and reappeared a dozen paces away. The tokubetsu jounin turned in the direction the crowd was moving and—shit!

Kakashi's kawarimi popped as Ebisu's fingers formed the tiger seal.

Kakashi slammed his hands down.

"Doton: Mud Wall!"

The ground trembled. Kakashi vaulted his wall and catapulted over the fireball. To his left and right, an ANBU team had erected two additional walls to block off a retreat.

"Taichou!" the bear masked ANBU called tentatively.

Kakashi did not waste time denying the title when that sort of authority would allow him to potentially salvage this situation. A capture mission was better than outright execution.

"Dynamic Entry!"

A flash of green and Kakashi felt a bit of relief surge through him. Say what you would about that man, he had impeccable timing.

"Secure the citizens of Konoha and search for intruders. Whoever is behind this can't have gone far," Kakashi shouted.

"On it."

The ANBU teams' presence vanished.

Kakashi wasted no time and dropped down, shoulder to shoulder with his oldest friend. Ebisu had pulled two kunai and his muscles were bunching up as he took an offensive stance.

"Ebisu would not do this willingly."

Kakashi nodded, altered his grip on his kunai slightly, and waited for Ebisu to move.

"Kakashi, I know it's a lot to ask, but—"

"Come on, Gai." Kakashi stepped forward, Sharingan whirling as Ebisu charged at them. "You and I have a perfect track record working together. We're not about to spoil it now. Let's go!"

"Yosh, rival! Let us go!"

Minato…stay safe. I'm coming as quickly as I can.

---

Shisui dropped another two frightened looking kids into the arms of very green genin who were holding their kunai and fearfully watching two of Konoha's elite try to subdue one of their own.

Time is a precious commodity, especially when a single moment can mean the difference between saving lives and the death of a comrade. Pulling his tanto, he heard the sharp intake of breaths behind him and found himself growing frustrated when he saw the genin were still rooted to the spot instead of performing their duties.

"Hey." The purple-haired girl near him jumped a foot and her teammates looked resolved but terrified with their petrified eyes. "Get those kids to safety. If you can, take them to the hospital."

"But Uchiha-san," one of the boys mustered the courage to say, "what should we do after that?"

"Find your jounin-sensei."

Shisui vanished in a blur, reappeared on a containment wall that ANBU had put up, and surveyed the surrounding area. The explosive tags appeared to have been rigged to explode every twenty meters. The explosions themselves peppered the crowd with shrapnel and sowed chaos in a large area.

The Hyuuga were assisting the joint Aburame-Uchiha division in retrieving trapped citizens they could see with their Byakugan. All able-bodied shinobi in the area were busy trying to rescue comrades and put out the fires. Shisui had even witnessed Hiashi working closely with Fugaku and Shibi during a tricky rescue operation.

At least Itachi was with the kids. That had to be worth something.

Now, Shisui allowed his Sharingan to do the work for him and looked for a potential instigator. Ebisu's fighting was ridiculously fast, but stilted. Every motion the tokubetsu jounin made was infused with his chakra. His speed was remarkable, but the micro-motions in the muscles and jerky movements all pointed to something out of place.

There! The fabric of Ebisu's shirt was almost...torn? Shisui's Sharingan zeroed onto the tokubetsu jounin's chest and saw it. A seal.

Holy fuck, that had to be it. A mind-control seal. And hot damn! How many people alive could actually make those things?

"Hatake!" Shisui called.

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, but never took his eyes off their rogue comrade.

"Hold him off. I know who I'm looking for!"

Shisui had seen Ebisu behaving like the annoying prat he was just outside the juice bar. So that woman! She had to be the connection!

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Splitting his chakra sucked, but Shisui knew playing it safe in these circumstances was better than the alternative. Travelling so quickly as to barely be considered a blur, Shisui and his clone reappeared outside the makeshift stand. Shisui waited for his clone to enter and signal the all-clear before he followed. A quick sweep of the interior turned up nothing of note except shattered sunglasses and sliced restraints.

No woman, though.

Shisui returned to the roof, spying Mikoto blazing a path in a direction that was going to make some unlucky bastard sorry.

"I'll head this way." The clone was gone before Shisui approved the suggestion.

So where would Shisui go if he were infiltrating? It couldn't be far or the controller would risk losing proximity to the target, so…where?

Shisui veered off until he reached the only untouched area in the civilian part of the festival. There was some damage to the structures, but the police force appeared to be doing an admirable job of leading the people to safety.

Movement made sense, so…Shisui needed to look for someone who was not evacuating.

If it was not for his Sharingan, Shisui probably would have missed the woman crouched behind a pair of tents that had yet to be devoured by the fire. The genjutsu cloaking her was subtle, but complex enough to explain why the ANBU had missed her. Whoever this woman was, she was damn good.

Too bad for her, Shisui was no slouch.

The shunshin was a beautiful jutsu and no one had put time into mastering it the way Shisui had. And it was unlikely that anyone without a Sharingan could have trained their bodies to keep up with their eyes.

The woman surprised him again. She deflected with her kunai, only a slight break in expression suggesting she was nervous.

"Surrender. I'm taking you into custody," Shisui called out harshly. Forming the seals for a powerful yin-release, Shisui layered an A-rank illusionary paralysis technique over his opponent

"That isn't going to work on me." She gently tapped her pale wrist where a permanent seal was inscribed. "No ordinary genjutsu has a chance of affecting me."

Which was…a bummer, really, since Shisui was rather exceptional with illusionary techniques.

The woman gracefully repelled his strike and lashed out with a second kunai. Shisui dodged the abdominal thrust. Then he flipped backward as the predictive element of his Sharingan saved him from a score of senbon flying from the kunoichi's mouth.

"You're pretty good for a child." She smiled. "But this is over."

The woman twisted away and back, her hands forming seals at a rate that made him green with envy.

"Hyōton: Icy Devastation!"

Crap.

The air itself grew cold and literal shards of ice formed from the air around him, while the surface of the tents and ground grew large spikes of solid ice.

Seriously, a freaking Yuki? How was his luck always so lousy!

Shisui would have been skewered if his speed was not what it was.

"Katon: Dragon's Flame!" Shisui's fire branched from his mouth to the left, right, and straight ahead to smash into the icy spears, melting parts of it.

The steam cleared, revealing only emptiness.

"Crap, she's running!"

Shisui launched himself into the air and reappeared in front of his fleeing target. She looked frustrated and angrily swung a blade—a fricking ice sword—right at his head.

Shisui blocked, but it was the principal of the thing that really bothered him.

"Come quietly and I'll speak on your behalf."

"No deal." She shook her head, almost derisively, before a barrage of senbon—again, entirely formed from ice—flew toward him.

Cursing viciously, Shisui was forced to dodge lest he be hit.

This wasn't working. He was faster than her, but Shisui could not risk being hit by her either. Shisui had never fought a sealmaster before since they were a dying breed, but if this woman laid a hand on him, it was entirely possible she could remove him from the field. Still, Shisui knew he had to do something drastic to bring this little match to an end.

"Give up," he taunted.

They danced around each other. Shisui threw a fireball into her face that forced her to create an icy sphere around herself for protection.

Overwhelming her with the shunshin was still his best option, but Shisui did not have the chakra for another shadow clone, meaning this match may come down to ninjutsu. Shisui may be an ace with Katon techniques, but her Hyōton was resilient against B-rank Katon techniques. But if he couldn't win in a ninjutsu altercation then he would—yeah, she wouldn't know what hit her.

Shisui raced forward in a blur of speed.

"You're underestimating me!"

Ice rose up to grab his ankles. Shisui performed a quick replacement with a bit of wood and somersaulted over a literal maw of ice that rose from the ground like a frozen boogie monster.

Timing his chakra right, he left an ordinary Bunshin behind to "attack" the kunoichi. Pumping all the chakra he could spare into his legs, Shisui zipped faster than the ordinary eye could follow and faster than any Sharingan save Itachi's could perceive.

It worked for two seconds. The kunoichi lunged toward his perfect Bunshin, hesitated, and realized. She lifted her hands. Shisui could see her chakra gathering—and too late.

Shisui cracked his enemy's skull with the butt of his blade and caught her as she collapsed in a heap.

Breathing hard, he stared at his unconscious, devastatingly beautiful captive and whooped for joy!

"Take that, losers!" Shisui laughed hard as he threw the passed-out woman over his shoulder gamely. "I told you that the Bunshin jutsu wouldn't be a waste of time! Can't wait to rub it in Itachi's face!"

Shisui took a breath and started racing toward the nearest T&I holding facility he was aware of, never noticing the attention of a nearby ANBU squad as they studied him.

---

Itachi retreated away from the horrified children, but tossed a genjutsu over them to mask their location.

The street they were in was composed of civilian housing and provided little to no cover, but Itachi landed just shy of a wooden porch.

The man with the large nose raced toward him, hands flying through a series of seals that Itachi's Sharingan read easily as a doton technique.

Itachi launched himself to the side just in time to avoid a rock-encrusted fist that smashed the small home's porch and entryway to rubble.

"Itachi!"

"Nii-san!"

Itachi spun and countered.

"Katon: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Half a dozen individual spheres of fire roared forward. Behind the flames, Itachi scattered another half a dozen shuriken into the concealing barrier provided by the smoke.

Not unexpectedly, the pop of a kawarimi going off sounded. But Itachi had already executed a seal-less kawarimi of his own and left a clone behind. The singed brunet stumbled out of the smoke with a shuriken lodged in his calf.

"You little brat!" The man swung at him wildly with a kunai—his efforts passing through the illusionary Bunshin. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."

"Not as much as I'm going to enjoy killing you!"

Itachi felt his jaw sag as his mother, still clad in festival attire, launched herself at the enemy-nin wielding nothing but a katana and her dojutsu.

The clash of steel resounded with a high ping. Mikoto swung with a series of vicious strikes that her opponent was struggling to keep up with. No movement was wasted. The air crackled as chakra licked along the edges of his mother's blade and snapped the enemy's kunai clean in half, forcing him to retreat.

"Itachi, the children. Now!" Mikoto called in a clipped, angry tone.

Itachi heeded the words, sparing a glance for his mother who continued to attack with rapid strikes that prevented her opponent from using ninjutsu while also putting him on the defensive.

"Itachi-nii, you were amazing," Naruto panted in greeting, but did not move from where he was wrapped around a shaking Hinata.

Sasuke crouched over his friend's body, clutching a kunai with bloodless fingers. His otouto's attention was not for him, though; it was focused on their Kaa-san.

Itachi knelt next to the small boy, mildly surprised when his eyelids fluttered slightly.

"Minato?" Itachi leaned close to gauge a reaction. The small body shuddered; lips worked soundlessly in disorientation.

"Is he going to be okay?" Sasuke whispered urgently.

Itachi pursed his lips, unsure of what reassurance he could offer his brother.

Coming to a decision, he scooped the boy up in his arms, moved to stand, and was stopped by the shrieks of the trio around him.

Itachi jerked around. The enemy was rushing toward them, kunai raised. Mikoto intercepted him, nearly severing the man's left arm with a swing of her sword.

Their blades clashed together again, both his mother and her opponent breathing heavily. Mikoto stepped into the enemy's guard and swung the curve of her katana into his ribcage. He staggered backward, cupping his gut before falling into a graceless heap.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as the ground shimmered slightly behind his mother.

"Kaa-san!" Naruto screamed.

Mikoto flipped around and buried her bloody sword into the body of a clone emerging from the ground. It crumbled away into dirt.

"She did it. Mikoto-sama did it." Little Hinata's words were barely audible.

"Is everyone alright?" Mikoto took a single step before she staggered, choking hard.

Itachi sucked in a breath, every instinct in him screaming as a blade emerged from his mother's chest.

Itachi felt the world around him slow. The screams around him sounded far, far away and all he could see were flecks of red as Mikoto gagged on her own blood.

"Fucking Uchiha always think your eyes are so damn better. Stupid bitch never realized that she had been fighting a clone this entire time."

Itachi's eyes darted to the side, seeing the "injured" body the enemy had left behind crumble into a tidy pile of rocks.

"And you talk too much," his mother retorted harshly.

Mikoto's hand moved faster than lightning. Less than a second later, the man fell dead—truly dead—with a kunai completely embedded in his eye socket.

In the next moment, Mikoto pitched forward.

---

In the interest of full disclosure, the OC is going to go away. They are not going to have a major role. I just felt that their perspective was useful in getting to know your opponent and providing the reader with some perspective for upcoming events. Otherwise, I hope you didn't hate her very existence!

You are all amazing! I love you guys!