The God War Part 4
Five weeks later.
(MINATO)
"Sakumo-san! Sakumo-san!" Minato exclaimed, ripping the older man out of sleep as the boy leapt on top of him.
"It's not even dawn yet, gaki! What do you think you're doing?" Sakumo grumbled back, gripping the boy's shoulders firmly to stop him from bouncing.
"It's Ka-san!"
Sakumo allowed his instincts to wrench him out of the sleep he desperately wanted to return to and get out of bed, hurriedly donning hid Jōnin uniform. "How do you know, Minato-kun?" Sakumo asked, more to prevent him from running off without him than the actual need to know.
"I can sense her! Hurry, hurry, I haven't seen her in years!"
"It's been five weeks."
"Nu-uh! It's been years!"
"Don't let go of my hand," Sakumo ran beside the boy as he raced towards the village gates, reaching them just as the Chuunin guards allowed the bedraggled clan into the village, calling for medics.
"Ka-san!" Minato called happily as he caught sight of the familiar faces.
"Keep him back!" She ordered, blocking the view of someone lying on a makeshift stretcher.
"Ka-san!" he screamed, distressed as Sakumo stopped them abruptly. He recognized the tone well enough as well as the man on the stretcher. Despite feeling as though he should be helping them, Sakumo pulled Minato around the block, wincing as the boy screamed for his mother.
"Minato-kun, listen to me!" He ordered sharply, clamping a hand over the boy's mouth. "Something very bad happened and we have to get out of the way so the others can fix it."
"But Ka-san—"
"She'll be fine, she's in Konoha right now."
"What about To-san?"
Sakumo choked. "I don't know, Minato-kun." Masao was the man on the stretcher.
"But you're Sakumo-san! You know everything!"
"No, I know a lot but I don't know everything. Come on, we'll wait by the Hokage tower. Your mother will come by there eventually, and you can see her then, deal?"
"No, I want to see Ka-san now!"
"And I told you no," Sakumo responded with a harsher tone than he ever used with the boy.
Minato flinched and looked as if he planned to run towards his mother anyways. Sakumo grabbed his hand and started to walk briskly towards the Hokage tower, Minato stumbling along behind him.
"What were they hiding?"
"Someone got hurt really bad."
"Who? Ka-san's hiding their chakra."
"Your mother will know when you see her."
Sakumo made the boy sit down at one of the shogi boards in a park, which overlooked the main entrance of the Hokage Tower. Absently, he began setting up the board. Minato laid his chin on the table, eyes slightly unfocused as he used his exceptional sensing to watch his mother. With a jolt, Sakumo realized he cared about what happened to the boy's parents. He genuinely liked the boy, even though he rarely acted as expected. The boy pushed the shogi pieces around the board, not playing but making different designs. Sakumo pulled out his fourth book of the week, watching the boy gave him more freedom than he expected.
The back of Sakumo's neck prickled and he spun around in an instant, a kunai in hand, but immediately disarmed by the Hokage. "I apologize for sneaking up on you Hatake-san, could you and the boy follow me up to my office?"
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Sakumo replied as the Hokage handed back his kunai.
"But what about Ka-san?" Minato whined.
"You will see your mother shortly."
Sakumo studied the Sandaime as they made their way up to his office. His tense shoulders and stiff gate betrayed the man's stress.
He sat behind his desk.
Minato's eyes slid over the walls, confused. "Where're the ANBU?"
"They aren't here."
"Why?"
"They are busy elsewhere."
Minato lost interest and knelt down in the meditation pose the Sandaime recognized from Sakumo's description.
"Why do you need us, Hokage-sama?"
"The boy's clan has obviously come to Konoha, they are seeking temporary shelter. My council tells me to turn them away. You have been with the boy for five weeks; he has undoubtedly told you much about his clan. I want your opinion on whether I should accept them or turn them away."
"They are most certainly not a clan to cross."
"Why do you say that?"
"You haven't seen the Namikaze fight. I don't even think they have a Taijutsu style, which is uncommon for shinobi clans. They are so overwhelmingly fast they don't even need it."
"What about jutsus?"
"This is all in my reports, Hokage-sama."
"Yes, but remind me."
"From what I can tell, they don't even need jutsus. Their fights are too quick and they move too fast to make the utilization of jutsu necessary. The few I've seen are so overwhelmingly complicated and powerful I still haven't deciphered them."
The Hokage looked taken aback. "First the Sharringan can't copy it and now you can't analyze it?"
"I've never heard of a jutsu which works the way I saw. The only conclusion I can make is that it's not a jutsu, it's something else, but I have no idea what it could be."
"Very well, I'll add that to the very long lists of questions for this clan. Should I allow them to become a part of Konoha?"
"It would be a risk, but the tactical advantages, not to mention the reputation advantages it would offer, outweigh the negative aspects. I would be very surprised if anyone has publically declared themselves enemies of their clan."
The Hokage leaned back in his chair contemplating. "Very well, would it sound acceptable if I grant them shelter in exchange for making them responsible for attacks from the belligerent half of their clan?"
Sakumo's brow furrowed, unsure if the Sandaime expected his answer.
"Hatake-san, would you please pass on a message to the Namikaze?"
Sakumo nodded and the Sandaime held out a small scroll. He moved to pull Minato alongside him but the Hokage raised a hand. "Leave the child here; I'm not sure how much Masao-san told the rest of his clan. Should they ask, you are free to tell them his location."
After Sakumo left, the Sandaime watched Minato. He knelt there, perfectly relaxed, facing unerringly in the direction of the hospital. As much as he wished to question the boy, he knew from experience not to interrupt someone's meditation, the unpredictable effects on the individual possessed the potential to be catastrophic.