The God War Part 1
The First God War—the first civil war in the Namikaze clan. Minato is 4, his father(Masao) is 27, his mother(Kotone) is 19, and Sakumo is 22. Osamu is the leader of the Namikaze clan and the younger brother of Masao.
(-)
"He's barely four years old and you'd make him start combat training?" Namikaze Masao growled.
"All the other clan children are beginning training at his age, why're you trying to hold him back?" The clan leader, Namikaze Osamu, responded evenly.
"I won't let my son go through your training program," Masao snapped.
"You forget who you're speaking to, Masao. I can take that boy away from you."
Little Namikaze Minato stood in the doorway watching the adults argue, unnoticed.
"The clan won't stand for that. You need my support in the council to get your way."
"That's where you're wrong. Everyone but you agreed to the program for all the children. They approved the curriculum."
"And how many of them d'you threaten before they agreed?"
"Say'at again, bastard."
"How many of the council d'you threaten and blackmail before they agreed to your wretched curriculum?"
"Ah, I see what your problem is now. You disagree with my methods. Are you regretting not accepting the leadership now?"
"If this is what power does, then I regret nothing."
"Always the noble one, weren't you, Masao? You were born immensely powerful but always refusing to use that power. Now you're holding your own son back from his potential with your warped ideals."
"If learning to mindlessly kill, if desensitizing him to the loss of life before he can learn to enjoy his own life is what it takes to reach his full potential, I'll even take away what little power he has now."'
"You'd do that to your own son?" Osamu stepped aside to point at Minato standing in the doorway.
Masao held Minato's gaze as he responded. "Power is never for oneself. It's for protecting others and nothing else." Masao looked back at Osamu, "Maybe I could've done better than you could as clan leader; however, I made my decision a long time ago and I don't regret it."
"You agreed to my appointment, why're you not respecting your own decision?"
"My son won't participate with the rest of the children in your program."
"This clan needs soldiers, not half-baked peacekeepers!"
"We're at peace for the first time in our lives! There's no need for soldiers, only people to protect the peace not destroy it!"
"No, Masao, this is the time when we take what's rightfully ours, before another war begins and the chaos ruins our chance!"
"What's rightfully ours? We've everything we could possibly want, right here, why're you lusting for more?"
"We've the right to rule. The right to control the entire shinobi world, from there we can do anything; you can even achieve that peace you always talk about. To do that, we need soldiers. Your son can—"
"No."
"I've the power to force you."
"You do not," Masao responded, leaving no doubt on the matter.
In a blink, Osamu stood behind Minato twisting the boy's arms behind him and pressing the edge of a shuriken against the boy's neck, the tip positioned so any movement would tear open his artery. Minato did not struggle or cry out, he merely watched his father, eyes wide and trusting.
Masao appeared unbothered at Osamu's actions. The boy dissolved into water, revealing himself as nothing more than a clone while the real Minato opened the sliding door at the other edge of the room to reveal a collection of clan members watching in horror.
"I won't fight you here. Since this is the way you've decided to deal with insubordination instead of bringing it publicly to the attention of the council for judgment, as clan law requires, I and those assembled have chosen to deny your relation to the Namikaze clan. We'll move to a different village where I hope we'll be less tempted to use our power for our own gain."
They turned their backs on Osamu and walked out of the room, a small procession out of the village, leaving him dumbfounded.
"You traitors'll pay for that," He vowed but there was no response. He left the house to see the rest of the clan assembled, watching the dozen leave.
"They've no right to desert our clan, no matter what might happen," one person growled.
Nods of assent turned the remaining dozen against those departing. Minato, the second youngest of the three children departing, glanced back curiously at the angry faces before running to catch up with his mother, Namikaze Kotone. She lifted him into a piggyback.
"Ka-san, look at the new hand seals I watched To-san do this morning!" He whispered into her ear. He started to shape the hand seals but his mother wrapped a hand around his.
"You can show me later, Mina-chan, now be still."
Minato tightened his grip around her as the departing half of the clan leapt to the rooftops and raced out of the village. An average shinobi saw them as nothing more than a blur as they left Takigakure.
"Ka-san, can I run too, please? I promise t'keep up."
"No, Mina-chan, be silent."
For almost an hour of nothing but running, Minato stayed still and silent on Kotone's back, watching the terrain rush by. Soon after, the impatience of the four-year-old overrode his determination to be good.
"Ka-san, c'n'I ask To-san a question?"
"What's your question?"
"Why're we leaving?"
"To-san'll explain everything later."
"Why're there shinobi makin' a giant lake?"
Kotone stopped abruptly. The rest of the group passed her by almost a hundred meters before stopping to look back in confusion. She motioned for them to come back and dashed off the path they followed.
"Masao!" She hissed. He pushed himself to the front of the group. She swung Minato off her back and roughly set him on his feet. He stepped away from the rough treatment, out from between his parents, staring curiously at a clump of trees.
"What is it? We can't stop until we're out of the country."
"They're already on to us!"
"What makes you think that?"
Kotone pointed sharply at Minato. The boy's attention flickered briefly back to his parents but quickly refocused on the clump of trees. "He just asked why there were people making a lake. Sound like a familiar Taki jutsu? We both know he's an almost fully developed sensor."
"He's four! How—"
"Masao, he's too young to know how to lie about something like that, and has absolutely no reason to!"
"Ka-san?" Minato tugged on Kotone's hand.
"Hold on a second, Minato-kun," Masao snapped. "Are you sure about this, Kotone?"
"We might as well play it safe."
"You're right as usual—"
"To-san!" Minato screamed and leapt toward his father with the intent to push him out of the way of the three shuriken shooting from the trees. Minato overestimated his strength and he slammed into his father's chest, knocking the adult backwards a step, the shuriken landing in his back rather than flying over his head while Kotone created a wall of water to stop the remaining hail of shuriken and kunai.
Masao caught his son before the boy could hit the ground and laid him gently on his stomach, quickly pulling out the shuriken, wincing as the boy cried out. Minato tried to push himself up, but Masao held him down with one hand. Masao deflected two kunai, both aimed at Minato, before pressing his finger into each of the wounds and cauterizing them. Minato cried out and tried to jerk away, but Masao finished within seconds.
"To-san?" Minato tried to sit up again and Masao lifted the boy to his feet. Disorientated by pain, Minato stumbled against his father. Masao lifted him up and called for the rest of the group to fall back. Minato buried his face in Masao's shoulder, hot tears dampening Masao's loose, white shirt alongside the smear of blood droplets. "To-san, 'm sorry, didn't mean t'get hurt," Minato mumbled.
"It's fine, Mina-chan, you did very well," Masao rubbed the space between Minato's shoulder blades, a motion to relax him while Masao made sure the rest of the clan could disengage, thankfully with no injuries. One of the shinobi better at sensing took the lead, leading them directly toward the closest major country. Neither Taki nor the other half of the Namikaze clan would dare cross into the Land of Earth without serious thought. Twice more, Taki shinobi tried to stop them, but a team of Taki's best Jōnin could barely threaten a single Namikaze, much less half the clan. In a few hours, they reached the border. Before they could cross, the other half of their clan appeared from the trees, blocking their path. Masao placed Minato in front of the other two children in the group as the adults herded the children into the center of a tight, defensive circle.
"What's the plan Masao?" Someone asked.
"You four, take the children and—"
"That's won't work," Kotone interrupted. "Masao, you're our best medic and you have to take care of Minato. Besides, they're going to go after you first, so if you get away, it will mess with their plans. Take Mina-chan and the younger child, Kameyo and head towards Konoha, they have our best bet at keeping the children safe. Hiroaki, cover him and put up a containment barrier to give him a five-minute head start then rejoin the fighting. We're going to fight in pairs. As soon as the containment barrier is down, we're all going to all bolt in every direction. Stay in pairs and make as many clones as you can and send them running. Group one," she motioned to several individuals, "Rendezvous in the Land of Iron in two weeks only if you are certain you are not followed. Group two," she continued to divvy up those assembled, "Rendezvous in the Land of Earth, in one week and make sure you are followed, drag them past as many Iwa shinobi as you can. If it comes to it, let yourself be captured by Iwa, tell the Kage everything you know about Taki and the rest of the clan, as long as it won't compromise us, in exchange for passage to the Land of Iron one month from now. Group three, go to the major hidden villages and tell only the Kages what the rest of the clan is planning and that the rest of us foiled their plans for now. Make sure no one else in the village knows, don't worry about being followed there, but when you come to rendezvous a month from now in the Land of Iron, ensure you are not followed. Masao, go now."
He roughly grabbed the youngest of the children and slung the girl across his back, yanking the wide-eyed Minato into his arms and bolting in a random direction. He used chakra to significantly augment his speed and hold the little girl on his back. Minato's tiny hands clung to his shirt as a kunai grazed the side of his face. His father cursed and crashed to the ground as a second kunai escaped the barrier and lodged itself in his thigh. He yanked it out and continued to run with a heavy limp, only to skid to a halt as Osamu stepped out in front of him. Masao dropped the two children to the ground, the girl falling unconscious when she lost contact with his skin.
Taking advantage of his long stride, Masao stood with the two children lying between his ankles and created a solid wall of earth at his back. "To-san!" Minato choked. Masao used one foot to roll the girl further out of the way, against the wall, never taking his eyes off Osamu.
"You won't train the boy, yet you still insist on protecting him? That girl won't survive three days as a shinobi, what makes her so special?"
"Someone like you would never understand."
"We'll see about that," Osamu leapt forward swinging a long sword and slashing at his head and followed through with a kunai to the ribs. Masao blocked and the fight moved too fast for Minato to follow. A kunai fell beside Minato's head. He grabbed it, rolled onto his stomach, and waited for Osamu to step close enough to strike. Adrenaline dulled the pain from the shuriken. Suddenly Osamu's foot moved forward. Minato slashed, the sharp kunai cutting deep into the side of the shin, severing the muscle and lodging itself in the fibula. Osamu stumbled backwards unsteadily, cursing, wrenching the kunai from Minato's hand. Suddenly the man's anger, previously focused on Masao, turned to the boy. Minato recoiled, one hand smeared with the man's blood, and the other wrapped around Masao's leg. "I should've killed you instead," he growled, tearing out the kunai and tightly wrapping the wound with a strip of bandage. Minato glanced over his shoulder to see the girl impaled by a spike of earth.
Minato's head snapped back painfully as Masao yanked him into the air and fled. He started to cry as the speed pressed him painfully hard against his father's chest.
"Mina-chan, be quiet," Masao hissed, clamping a hand over the boy's mouth. He turned sharply and slipped into a hollow tree. "It's very important that you stay completely silent, okay?" he breathed into Minato's ear. Minato stared up at him terrified, feeling the man's fearful trembling overwhelming his own. Biting down on his lip, Minato buried his face in his father's collar, the rough fabric rubbing painfully against his soft skin. His father's thumb began to massage circles into his back, wishing he could heal Minato's wounds without poisoning his undeveloped chakra coils with adult chakra.
"To-san," Minato whispered, "I want home."
"I'm sorry, Mina-chan, we're going to have to find a new home somewhere else."
Masao sunk deeper into the tree, cradling the half-asleep Minato in the crook of his arm. He pulled a scrap of bandage out of a pocket and gently cleaned the blood smeared across Minato's face and hands. The boy's small body relaxed against him but Minato kept his eyes focused on his father's face until his eyelids drooped closed, hands relaxing the death grip on his father's shirt in sleep. Masao allowed his head to drop and rest on his son's forehead, listening carefully to the shallow breaths.
"We'll find a new home, I promise." The father tamped down his own fear, pulling the boy closer, waiting, as a handful of shinobi rushed past. He forced himself to keep a careful watch, smoothing Minato's tattered, sleeveless, bloodstained white shirt, wondering where he lost his well-worn jacket. His shorts held more dirt than thread and his bare feet shone palely in the dim light. The evening chill started to settle in the air and Masao pulled his son closer, cursing how poorly equipped he left the village. Not even he would be able to survive the cold night without more clothing or at least a better shelter. As Minato began to shiver, Masao crept out of the tree and hurried towards the nearest town.
"To-san, I'm cold," Minato mumbled, trying to curl closer and hide his bare skin from the cold. Not for the first time since planning his departure from the clan, Masao wondered if splitting from the clan was the right decision. A second later, he glanced down at Minato's tiny frame. Minato may not have been the strongest or smartest of the clan children his age, but Masao was unwilling to commit filicide in complying with Osamu's orders.
Stumbling into a small village, Masao hurried towards the stables outside the guard tower, thankful no one checked on the animals after dark. Slipping through a loose board in the back, he set Minato down, keeping a close eye on the dog watching them warily from a bed in the corner of the tack room. Pulling down two blankets, Masao wrapped one around Minato's shoulders and tossed the other into the hayloft. The dog growled softly. Minato, ignoring the signs to stay away, took a step toward the dog. Masao pulled down a ladder as quietly as possible, eyes never leaving the dog. By the time he finished, Minato tentatively scratching the creature's ears. He approached slowly; lifting Minato into his arms, hoping the dog refrained from barking. Using chakra to steady himself on the ladder without his hands, Masao climbed into the hayloft and sat down in a part of the loft where the hay lay untouched.
Casting a subtle Genjutsu around the area to hide them from sight, Masao lay down on a pile of hay with Minato curled on his chest. The boy's shivering subsided in the properly sheltered area, and Masao closed his eyes, remaining meticulously aware of his surroundings, debating whether or not to bring Minato when he fetched supplies. Remembering what Kotone told him, he considered drawing attention to himself and thinning the forces chasing the rest of the defecting clan. Glancing down at his son, he wondered if it would be worth putting the boy in danger and if he could survive for long on the run.
Midway through the night, Minato woke and looked up to his father's reassuring smile.
"To-san, is Ka-san okay?"
"I'm sure she is, Mina-chan."
"Why'd leave Taki?" Minato turned to kneel beside him. Masao pulled the blanket tighter around the boy, thinking carefully about his answers. He may not have been comparable to the other clan children, but Minato was far more intelligent than any average child, with a knack for figuring far more from the simplest statements than many adults could infer. Masao was careful with his answer.
"Osamu wanted to do something mean to the rest of the hidden villages, so I decided that if he didn't have anyone to help him, he couldn't do it."
Minato's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what his father meant. "So now he's mean to you 'cause you wouldn't let him be mean to everyone else?"
"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes."
"But why'd he kill Kameyo-chan?"
"I don't know."
"Why?"
"Sometimes people do bad things and we don't always know the reason."
"If he's mean t'you and Kameyo-chan, d'you think he'll be mean to Ka-san?"
Masao hesitated with his answer. He wanted to reassure him that his mother would certainly be fine, but could not bring himself to lie to the boy's face. Minato grimaced when no answer came and clung to Masao's shirt.
"What's he trying t'do to the villages?"
"He wanted to start a war with them," Masao suppressed a wince. He knew his son well enough to know the boy could figure plenty of the situation out with that statement.
"So, he wanted t'be stronger than the other villages like villages want t'be more powerful than other villages in the big wars you told me 'bout."
"It's a little more complicated, but you got the gist of it."
"C'n'I help you so he doesn't do mean things to anyone else?"
Masao flinched, Minato's brow furrowing in confusion at his response. "It's too dangerous for you, but I have a different idea. Can you do something for me?"
Minato nodded eagerly, a small smile making him appear less like a young shinobi and more like his actual age.
"I need you to wait right here and be perfectly silent, can you do that? It's just for a little while."
Minato nodded and curled into the hay. Masao laid the other blanket over him and cast an even stronger Genjutsu around him, before racing into the town, careful to avoid detection. He glanced inside houses as he ran across the roof, searching. Finally, he found a reasonably well-off family with a son slightly older than Minato. Creeping into the boy's room and tamping down his hatred for thievery, Masao pulled a pair of dark, sturdy pants and a warm jacket out of the boy's closet. As quietly as a ninja could, Masao crept into the father's room and pulled out a jacket for himself. Leaving a few coins at the foot of the bed, Masao fled, slowing enough so as not to startle Minato with his sudden appearance. He redressed Minato in the new clothes, and slung on his own jacket
"Come on," Masao ordered, holding out a hand to pull Minato onto his back. The boy obeyed quickly, the blankets and discarded clothing left behind, clinging tightly to his father.
"Where're going?"
"To Konoha."
"Why?"
"I know someone there who can help us both." Masao made his decision.
"Who?"
"Remember the man I told Ka-san about when I went on the really long mission last month?"
"T'one where you got caught?"
"Yes."
"I didn't like that story." Minato's grip on his father's back tightened as if he understood how close he came to losing his father.
"There was a man who figured out the extraction strategy and made the rest of the team make a new plan."
"What's an 'extachin strategy'?"
"Extraction," Masao enunciated.
"What is it?"
"What was the rest of my team trying to do?"
"To get you away from the other shinobi."
"Good, and what does strategy mean?"
"A plan! So that means 'extraction' means 'to get away'?"
"Almost, it means 'to get out'."
"So the man figured out how the rest of your team planned to get you out?"
"Exactly. He figured out the entire mission and exactly what information we were stealing from Konoha."
"If he's a shinobi from a different place, how can he help us? Aren't we supposed to be his enemy?"
"Ultimately, I know he is a good man. Since we don't mean any harm to his village, I'm sure he will help us."
"How can he help us?"
"You know enough to figure it out."
The boy wiggled into a more comfortable position as he started to work out the problem. Masao didn't doubt he would figure it out, he knew enough about the situation, Masao just hoped it would take him a long time. An hour later, the sun began to rise, heralding their crossing into the Land of Fire. Masao sped up, pushing his limits in order to make it to Konoha before sunset. When the sun reached noon, Masao stopped, relieved his son still had not figured out his plan. Masao nearly swore aloud when he realized he had forgotten to stop for breakfast, he set the boy on his feet and pulled out two shinobi rations he found buried in one of his pouches. Masao opened one and held it out while shoving his own into his mouth.
"'M not hungry." Minato crossed his arms, refusing to take it.
Masao frowned. Minato should have been starving; his last meal was breakfast of the day before. Placing a hand on the boy's head, he used the smallest droplet of chakra he could manage to determine the boy's condition. His frown deepened when he noticed the boy unconsciously using the chakra, which normally enhanced his senses, to stave off the effects of hunger and thirst. Masao sighed and directed the chakra back towards their normal purpose.
Minato wrapped a hand around his stomach and sank to his knees, failing miserably at holding back
tears, as he suddenly felt the effects of the day without food.
Masao sat down and pulled the boy into his lap, holding out the ration and wishing Minato could understand the irresponsibility of his unconscious actions.
The boy inhaled the food and Masao waited for it to settle before resuming the run. Minato made a habit of alerting him of shinobi as they approached, helping them get near the village without detection. Suddenly, Masao felt Minato torn off his back. Masao spun around, drawing a kunai, only to find Minato dropping lightly to the ground from the low branch he grabbed, looking betrayed.
"You going t'leave me in-in K'n'ha!"
Masao sighed and put the kunai away. "Did you think about why?"
Minato shook his head.
"How old are you?"
"Four."
"How tall are you?"
"Ka-san says size doesn't matter."
"How much Taijutsu do you know?"
Minato crossed his arms stubbornly. "I wanna help too."
"I want you to stay safe, Mina-chan. It's not safe for you to come with me to help Ka-san and the rest of the clan."
"Not safe for you," Minato argued.
"Fine. If the man says he can't take care of you, you can come with me, but if he says yes, you have to stay there and behave for him, understood?"
Minato glared at him as Masao inwardly cursed at the gamble. If the man said no, he would not be able to divert Taki troops off the tail of the rest of the defectors.
Finally, the boy broke eye contact and conceded. "Understood."
Masao lifted Minato onto his back and started to run again, Minato grudgingly pointed towards all the shinobi they crossed. When they reached the walls of the city, it was long past dark. Masao cursed the circumstances conspiring against him. Luckily, sneaking into the village was easy with a Genjutsu and Minato pointing towards every shinobi. Taking a minute to orient himself in the village, he started towards the place he knew the man lived.
When he arrived, still undetected, Masao put his son on the ground and knocked once on the door. A few seconds later, a silver-haired man with a Konoha hitai-ate opened the door looking slightly confused. The instant he laid eyes on the man at his door, he slammed Masao against the nearest wall, both arms twisted painfully behind his back and a tantō against his throat, drawing blood.
"If that boy wasn't here I would kill you without hesitation. I still will if you don't explain yourself this instant, tell me how you got into the village, how you found me, and your real name, I know it's not 'Shota'."
"To-san!" Minato cried.
"Turn around, Mina-chan," Masao ordered.
Minato flinched at Masao's tone but obediently turned his back.
"My name is Namikaze Masao. Yesterday, my clan split and now I fear we are beginning a civil war. I don't want my son involved in the fighting. No one knows I'm here, I walked through the main gate surrounded by a Genjutsu of my own invention. As to how I found you, I make it my business to know everything about any shinobi capable of being a threat to me and my own. Kill me if you must, but I'm begging you to protect my son."
A long silence followed as the man considered the situation. "Do you mean any harm to Konoha?"
"Not unless Konoha means harm to me."
The man took Masao's weapons before releasing him, keeping the tantō between him and Masao.
"I can't say it's nice to meet you again Sakumo-san, but it is a relief."
"I never would have suspected you to be a Namikaze. That's twice I beat you, and twice you let me. You could have annihilated my team and me, yet you let yourself lose. Why?"
"It was all a part of the mission."
"You could have killed me the second I opened that door, why didn't you if I'm 'capable of being a threat' to you and your family?"
"While you have the potential to be a threat, you also have the potential to be a powerful ally as well."
"Why should I?"
"Because I can give you information about Takigakure to share with your village."
"How you I know you aren't just a traitor?"
"You don't think I'm a traitor anyways, so why does it matter? I'll tell you as much as I can, but not here."
"Fine, but we're going to Hokage-sama, not my home."
"Understood." Masao reached towards his trembling son.
"The boy stays here. My wife can take care of him until we return."
Masao hesitated. "I'm not leaving him unprotected."
Sakumo eyed the other man carefully. "Fine, but I don't trust you, so I'm going to carry him."
"No!" Minato snapped as Sakumo grabbed his arm. The boy jabbed a pressure point, forcing Sakumo to release him with a look of surprise and dodging behind his father.
"Interesting move you taught him."
"His mother taught him that." Masao knelt in front of the boy. "Mina-chan, listen to Sakumo-san."
"I'm not a hostage," Minato snapped back.
"Remember what we discussed earlier?"
"You have to go help Ka-san and the rest of the clan and I can't help."
"If you cooperate with Sakumo-san, I can go help Ka-san sooner and in a way, you're helping too."
Minato crossed his arms but allowed his father to propel him towards Sakumo, who blindfolded him and pressed the blade of his tantō against the boy's throat while Masao blindfolded himself. Sakumo put Minato on his hip and directed Masao towards the Hokage tower with the tip of the tantō on his back, noticing how Minato kept his face turned towards his father. He also noticed how Masao's hand flashing through motions.
"Stop, what are you signing?" Sakumo asked, pressing the tantō deeper into Masao's back. Minato's nails dug into his arm as if he could see what happened.
"I'm keeping my son calm."
"He's a toddler."
"Yes."
"He's a sensor."
"Yes."
"Is that why you're getting him out of the way?"
"No, I would appreciate it if you didn't channel chakra into your tantō or he's going to figure out how you do it and try it himself. Since you're holding him right now, and frightening him, I don't think you will like him trying it on you."
"Only the Sharringan can copy something like that."
"That's what I used to think, but the boy figured out how to unconsciously stave off hunger with his chakra in less than a day, most likely by just watching me."
"That's an A-ranked technique."
"And so is channeling chakra into weapons."
"And the signs?"
"Unique to my clan. He most likely learned them by watching my wife and I talk over his head. Sakumo-san, if you have questions about my son's abilities, ask him yourself. As soon as I know my son will be taken care of here, I need to leave. My wife and the rest of my clan is in trouble, they need me there."
"How do I know you don't have backup nearby and this isn't another mission?"
"On my family's life I swear to you that my son and myself are the only Namikaze in this village and there is no active mission in or around this village. I don't know about Konoha, but Taki children don't begin shinobi training until they are ten, and only then during wartime, so my son is nothing more than a talented civilian child."
"That's why your Genin are always older than the rest of the villages."
"Why else?"
"Rumor is—never mind. Walk."
Masao stopped signing to Minato and Sakumo noticed the boy's increasing tension. Luckily, the entered the Hokage tower shortly afterwards and made their way up to the Hokage's office.
"Who is this, Hatake-san?" The Sandaime asked, not looking up from the stack of papers he was signing.
"Namikaze Masao and his son," Sakumo answered, placing Minato on his feet, but holding on to his shoulder to prevent him from running towards his father. The tension spiked among the ANBU at the thought of a Namikaze so close to the Hokage. The ANBU only grew tenser as the boy found each of their hiding places in turn. "The boy's a sensor, from what I can tell, is better than most of ours. I believe his father is a medic, but all of the information on him is in the file I submitted a month ago."
"And why is he here?"
"His clan is at the beginning of a civil war."
The Sandaime looked up in surprise, "A civil war in the Namikaze clan or between the clan and the village?" He addressed Masao.
"In the clan. The clan leader decided to take an offensive and attempt a takeover of the hidden villages."
Instantly, ANBU appeared on either side of him, grabbing his arms, a third ANBU shoved Masao to his knees and held a kunai to his throat. A fourth ANBU leapt toward Minato, who spun around just in time and managed to duck, making a fool out of the ANBU, who nearly fell on his face without the expected resistance. Suddenly terrified, he backed against the wall, screaming, hands over his ears, eyes flashing between the two other ANBU who joined the original. An instant later, Masao had escaped the grasp of the three ANBU, recovered a kunai, and stood in front of his son, blue eyes flashing dangerously.
"Leave my son out of this."
"Stand down!" The Sandaime ordered. The ANBU took a few steps back and only Minato's crying filled the room. Masao didn't step out of the defensive stance until the ANBU put away their weapons. He then picked up his crying son and started to murmur into his ear, swaying back and forth, ignoring those assembled. "Now, Masao-san, continue. Why is your clan leader trying to conquer the hidden villages?" The Sandaime asked once Minato's cries quieted.
"I don't know why. Half of the clan and the village supported my brother's scheme. I gathered the half of the clan who didn't agree and left. On the way out of the country, we were attacked. My wife came up with a plan to escape. When I made my escape with my son and another child, I ran into my brother. We fought and he managed to slip past me long enough to kill the girl before Minato provided the distraction I needed to escape."
"How did you get to Konoha in a day?"
"The same way I escaped your ANBU."
"Why did you come to Konoha?"
"I have to go back and help my clan mates, but I can't protect my son and help them at the same time. I came here, because I know Sakumo from a recent mission and Konoha has a reputation for providing a haven for refugees. Since my son isn't old enough to leave alone, I hoped Konoha would be willing to take care of him, but right now, it seems you're more willing to terrify him."
"Why should Konoha risk drawing the ire of the other half of your clan, especially if the rumors about their prowess are halfway true."
"I don't deal with rumors, so I don't know how the other villages perceive our clan, but you're not going to draw any ire since no one but you know I'm here, not even the shinobi Sakumo marched me past on the way here, just as your ANBU won't remember me either if I don't want them to. I promised to tell Sakumo-san what I could about Taki and the other half of the clan in exchange."
The Sandaime studied the father and son for a long time, noting how oddly silent the child did not squirm in his father's arms. He nearly attributed the odd stillness and silence to the odd way Masao rubbed the boy's back, when he noticed the boy's eye watching him warily.
"Very well, my wife can take care of the boy until you return with the promised information. Should you die in the war you tell me about or fail to return within a year, the boy will remain here and eventually become one of our shinobi."
"Understood, Hokage-san; however, I don't trust you or your wife not to turn my child into a political prisoner like your founders did to me as a child. The Hatake agreement with your village allows for clan members to harbor those seeking political asylum without influence from the village leadership. Secondly, Sakumo-san the only shinobi in this village capable of standing against a Namikaze, should word of his presence escape. No offense meant, but there're ten times as many souls in this room who know of my presence here than those outside. Your ANBU can't keep secrets, Hokage-san."
"Very well, your son will remain with Hatake-san under a Henge as long as you provide the information my ANBU leaked and their identities."
"All on my return." Masao placed Minato on his feet.
The boy's hand stumbled through a series of symbols unintelligible to everyone else. To-san, I don't want to stay here.
Why not? Masao frowned
They're scary and mean people. They're going to attack me as soon as you're gone.
Were you listening to what Hokage-san just said?
He said I could stay.
He won't break that promise. Masao assured him.
I don't want to stay here. I want to stay by myself somewhere else.
No, you're four years old, it doesn't matter how smart you are; you can't stay by yourself.
When can I stay by myself?
When I say so. Masao pulled out two blank scrolls and unrolled them, drawing a small seal on the corner of each. "Minato, if you want to tell me something, write it on this scroll then put a tiny bit of chakra into the seal and it will appear on mine. I can do the same the other way around, is that okay? You only have the space in this scroll and it will fill up fast if you're not careful. When I see Ka-san, I'll have her write something to you too." Masao tucked the scroll into one of the pockets inside Minato's jacket. I have to go now, be nice to them, remember, that they're helping Ka-san and the clan too and you're representing all of us. Remember what I told you a long time ago about how they don't use chakra the same way as the clan and it's very dangerous to try. I love you, Mina-chan.
I'll remember. I love you too, To-san. Tell Ka-san I love her too.
I will. Masao kissed Minato's forehead, giving the boy one last hug. "You needn't exert yourself in his care, he's a good kid, just make sure he has a bit to eat every day, otherwise, Minato can occupy himself. Here's enough money to cover a few weeks." Masao pressed a coin pouch into Minato's empty hand. I'll be back before you know it with Ka-san and the others. Promise. Masao stood and vanished a second later. Minato turned around slowly to face the rest of the room; rubbing one eye.
"Come on, Minato-kun. It's late and you should be asleep," Sakumo gestured towards the door.
The boy walked obediently towards the door, pressing the pouch into Sakumo's hand and began the walk back.