Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), some moderate Dumbledore bashing (he's more manipulative than evil but mostly just stubborn), and who knows what else.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 4: A Shinobi's Life is Plagued with Tragedy

On the seventh day, after the last of the able teams had exited the caverns, dozens of Kumo Jounin entered the Circle of Death to pick up all stragglers and bring out the dead. The fifteen lucky teams who'd passed the difficult task (including the Jinchuuriki's team) were then set to face each other in a series of one on one matches in order to reduce the number of participants for the third and final task down to a more reasonable number. Satoshi, his wounds still not fully healed due to the demonic chakra that saturated the injury, had no choice but to drop out of the exams at that point.

That still left forty-four Genin to face each other in the two preliminary rounds with only twenty potentially going on to the final task. Satoshi stayed to watch the preliminary rounds just long enough to cheer on both of his teammates (who both won their matches) and the few other Leaf Genin that had passed the second task before Kushina whisked him away to their hotel room so that he could rest while his injuries healed. Later that night, while Kotetsu and Izumo watched over the sleeping Satoshi, Kushina hunted down one Ni'i Yugito.

The riled redhead soon cornered her prey in a dark alley and threatened her with bodily harm if she dared enter a partially transformed state or, heaven forbid, released her bijuu during the final task or if she spoke one word about what happened when she'd attempted to confront her Genin team during the second task. When Yugito belligerently asked who she was to threaten her, Kushina gave her a feral grin and told the younger Jinchuuriki her name which effectively cowed the Nibi's container as Kushina's reputation as a deadly and dangerous opponent was well known throughout all of the Elemental Nations and well earned.

Yugito didn't hesitate to apologize for injuring the young Genin (now that she knew who she was dealing with); explaining that she'd been desperate at the time because of the threat of having the Nibi extracted from her should she fail any portion of the exam hanging over her head. Kushina understood how the pressure must have made the younger Jinchuuriki feel desperate but still couldn't forgive the twelve year old for nearly killing her honorary little brother and charge. Satoshi would not learn about the encounter until two and a half weeks later.

Team Four (minus Satoshi) would spend the next four weeks training for the upcoming matches outside of Kumo where they wouldn't be seen by the other participants while Satoshi remained in bed recovering under the watchful eyes of the other Jounin who weren't busy training their Genin. At the end of the second week, Satoshi was up and moving once more, albeit with great care as the deeper three claw marks (there were five in total) that marred his chest and stomach still hadn't fully healed and were prone to reopening if he wasn't careful (and sometimes even if he was). And while he was forbidden from physical training that didn't stop him from practicing his chakra control exercises or working on his fuuinjutsu and genjutsu.

Near the middle of the third week, he had a visitor in the form of Ni'i Yugito who brought him a rare scroll on fuuinjutsu (after somehow discovering the six year old studied that branch of jutsu). She also gave him another scroll containing several high level suiton jutsu (the Nibi had scented both of the elemental affinities in his chakra when Yugito had spilled his blood, though she didn't have access to any doton jutsu or she would have given him a third scroll). The last two things that Yugito gave him was a sincere apology for attacking him and a promise to never speak of their encounter inside the caverns to anyone.

Satoshi accepted the apology (and the scrolls), told her he forgave her (after she explained why she'd been so desperate) but that he'd never forget, and wished her luck in the upcoming Tournament. Kushina was a little put out that Satoshi had forgiven the Jinchuuriki so easily but at the same time was proud of him for handling the entire incident so maturely. She then promptly confiscated the two scrolls so that she could check their validity, make certain there were no traps on them, and determine if he had the chakra and skill levels necessary to understand and perform the jutsu and seals contained inside of them.

Once she was certain they were safe, she gave them back to him with a stern warning not to try any of them until he was fully healed and she could supervise his training. That didn't stop Satoshi from reading through the scrolls and practicing the hand seals for the jutsu in order to help pass the time.

On the day before the Tournament, the stitches were removed from Satoshi's injuries after the majority of the demonic chakra had been leached out of the wounds by his remaining non-chakra oriented Kikaichu. It would still be another month or two before he was completely healed and cleared to resume training but he could at least move around without fear of ripping the gashes open every time he twisted wrong.

Kotetsu and Izumo were both relieved to see him on the mend; Izumo especially as the twelve year old blamed himself for Satoshi getting injured since Satoshi had only gone back to protect Izumo when the older boy had tripped. Satoshi on the other hand didn't blame his teammate because no one had forced him to step between the Nibi and the fallen Izumo and he knew he would do it again in a heartbeat if the need arose.

The Tournament itself was something to behold and packed with action as each of the twenty Genin that had made it through the preliminary round showcased their skills. Out of the Konoha shinobi that made it into the Tournament, Kotetsu made it to the second round of the Tournament where he soon lost to a Genin from Kiri while Izumo had lost his first match to a Kumo Genin. Anko ended up losing to Morino Ibiki (another Konoha Genin) in the first round who in turn lost to Yugito in the third round because she had higher stamina due to the bijuu's chakra.

At the end of the day and subsequently the end of the Tournament, Ni'i Yugito stood undefeated thanks to the Nibi and the fear of a quick death should she fail. All four Genin from Konoha that had made it into the Final Task of the Chuunin Exam had done well; even if they hadn't won the Tournament and the chances they would earn their promotion were high (though they wouldn't know for certain until they returned to Konoha).

The Konoha contingent spent one last night in Kumogakure so that the four teens that had participated in the Tournament could rest before heading home first thing the next morning. The journey back to Fire Country would take almost twice as long as the journey from Fire Country to Lightning Country due to the various injuries that had been acquired by the Genin; Satoshi's being the worst by far (even though they were partially healed). They finally reached Konoha on the evening of the ninth of April and the entire group reported to the Hokage Tower to fill out their preliminary report (with the Jounin submitting their recommendations for promotion).

Once they were finished, Kushina dismissed Kotetsu and Izumo and told them to get plenty of rest and meet her at their usual training ground at seven sharp on Monday morning. The red headed Jounin then escorted Satoshi home with the intent of confronting Shibi about Satoshi's hidden Kekkei Genkai.

"Kushina-sensei?"

"Nani, Satoshi-kun?

"You know you don't have to walk me home any more, ne?"

"Actually, yes I do. I have a bone to pick with your father and I need to give him a full report on your performance in the Exams and on your injury. And no amount of fancy talking on your part is going to make me forget or change my mind; so I suggest you forgo the attempt and save us both the headache."

"Hai, sensei."

"Chin up, you have nothing to be worried about nor do you need to be ashamed over the fact that you dropped out after the second task; if you hadn't quit at that point, I would have pulled you out myself."

"Hai, sensei," Satoshi repeated just as morosely as he'd replied the first time over the reminder that he had ultimately failed the exams.

They arrived at the Compound ten minutes later and Kushina led the way to the back of the estate where Satoshi's house sat tucked in the corner and politely knocked on the door (she had refrained from just walking in like she usually did because she was there on official business and not as a family friend). Mayumi answered the door a moment later, baby Shino cradled in her arms and her happy greeting died on her lips the moment she took in Kushina's set expression and Satoshi's dejected stance.

"Come in, Kushina," Mayumi invited softly as she stepped back out of the way. "Go ahead and take a seat in the living room and I will fetch my husband since it appears you are here on official business; though I do hope you can spare time after your business has been completed to visit for a moment."

"Arigatou, Mayumi," Kushina replied formally as she headed towards the living room. "If my meeting with your husband does not take too long, I would be honored to stay for a short while. Satoshi-kun, come; you will need to be present for our discussion."

"Hai, sensei," Satoshi murmured as he cast a regretful glance towards where his mother and brother had disappeared into the back of the house in search of his father.

Satoshi sat down beside Kushina on the couch after she silently pointed to the cushion beside her when he'd headed towards one of the chairs scattered about the room. He grimaced because he knew the upcoming conversation wasn't going to be pleasant and only hoped that his father wouldn't be too mad at him for blabbing about his supposed bloodline limit; not that he'd had much of a choice at the time. When Shibi entered the room a few minutes later, Satoshi averted his face and wrapped his left arm around his stomach in shame while his much reduced swarm remained subdued in response to his emotions.

"Kushina-san, my wife informed me that you are here on official business; is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm going to have to ask you to clear the room of any Kikaichu that are not part of yours or Satoshi-kun's swarms so that I can raise a privacy barrier before we begin," Kushina practically ordered as she lifted her chin slightly to show her determination while her words conveyed the seriousness of the coming discussion.

"I see," Shibi replied in a tone that was completely devoid of emotion as his eyes flickered to Satoshi before he sent his swarm sweeping through the room to chase out all of the Kikaichu that were not bonded to him or his son before he sat down and gave a single sharp nod to Kushina to indicate the room was clear.

"When exactly were you going to tell me that your adopted son had an unknown, untested, and untrained Kekkei Genkai?" Kushina demanded without preamble once she'd used her ability to manifest her chakra outside of her body to form the seals required to raise an impenetrable barrier around the room.

"How exactly did you come by that information, Kushina-san; since the last time I checked it was a closely guarded clan secret that no one outside of our clan was to know?"

Satoshi cringed as he felt his father's eyes fall on him and heard the displeasure and disappointment in his voice and at the same time failed to hear the barely restrained concern that ran beneath the two former emotions. The burning shame he felt made his eyes water, though no tears fell, and he had to force himself to breathe normally least he forget how to breathe at all.

"Show him, Satoshi-kun."

"A…ano?"

"Take off your jacket and your shirt and show your father your injuries," Kushina clarified as she kept her eyes glued to Shibi, her sharp eyes noting the slight furrowing of his brow as his level of concern only grew the moment she'd made mention of an injury.

Satoshi hunched his shoulders but gave a stilted nod as he mechanically stood up as ordered and slowly unzipped and removed his jacket before carefully removing his shirt after sending a single fretful glance towards his father. He closed his eyes as he heard his father take a sharp breath as the still healing wounds were revealed. His entire body trembled as he felt his father's eyes raking over the diagonal gashes that ran from the top of his left shoulder and collarbone down to his right side where they disappeared beneath Satoshi's pants; the topmost gash sat precariously close to Satoshi's jugular and the lowest gash clearly had come within inches of emasculating Satoshi based upon its path as it disappeared beneath the waistline of his pants. The placement and depth of the still healing gashes painted a vivid picture of just how close his attacker had come to eviscerating the six and a half year old.

"What the hell happened to my son?" Shibi demanded in a tight, angry voice that promised pain to whoever was responsible for the still red and swollen wounds that were clearly only half healed. "Whoever is responsible had better damn well be dead or heads are going to roll. And what the hell do his wounds have to do with his bloodline limit?"

"Satoshi and his teammates had the misfortune to run into the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi during the second task and your son stepped between the partially transformed bijuu host and his fallen teammate. Your son then somehow managed to blast the Jinchuuriki with enough power to throw her over twenty meters away, knock her out, and half bury her beneath a cave-in without lifting a finger according to the report Izumo and Kotetsu gave me while your son spent over thirty hours in surgery and Satoshi later confirmed that he'd had absolutely no control over whatever it was that neutralized the partially transformed Jinchuuriki."

Shibi paled drastically over the course of Kushina's report and by the time she finished, he'd climbed to his feet, gathered Satoshi in his arms, and held the child close as he sat back down in his chair; the knowledge of just how close he'd come to losing his first son hitting the man rather hard. Very few adults (with the exception of Kage level shinobi or another host) could walk away from a one on one confrontation with a partially transformed Jinchuuriki and the fact that his six and a half year old son had not only faced a Jinchuuriki but had also managed to stop the Jinchuuriki long enough for him and his team to escape was nothing short of a miracle.

"As for Satoshi's revealing the secret about his Kekkei Genkai; don't be too hard on him because if he hadn't, he might have garnered far more scrutiny because I was ready to demand that Jinchuuriki's head on a platter after learning what happened. An investigation would have resulted in the information of how he'd fought back and knocked her away being spread far and wide; which would have been far worse. As it is, Ni'i Yugito and I came to an understanding and she's vowed to take what happened during the test to her grave. She also apologized and explained that she hadn't intended to harm him but that she'd been desperate because she'd had a death sentence hanging over her head. She gave Satoshi-kun a couple of scrolls containing a couple of water jutsu and some rare Fuuinjutsu seals that were thought to be lost out of guilt and regret for the injury she caused him."

"Satoshi-kun, is all of that true?" Shibi inquired softly, the older man seeking confirmation from his son about what happened.

"Hai, tousan."

"I take it his injuries were infected with the bijuu's demonic chakra and that is why they are healing so slowly?"

"Correct; he spent two weeks in bed once the second task was over and after he dropped out of the preliminaries due to the injury. He's also on medical restriction for at least another month with strict orders not to do any strenuous physical activities; I don't want to take any chances with him tearing those gashes open again."

"Again? I take it they opened at some point after his surgery?"

"A couple of times through no fault of his own; their placement was awkward enough that the slightest pressure would make them split if he twisted or pulled them on accident when standing up or sitting down, getting dressed or undressed, or while he slept. Once most of the demonic chakra faded from his system and from the wounds, it stopped happening but an extra month or maybe two to allow the damaged tissue time to heal and strengthen will be best in the long run."

"How much pain are you in, little bug?" Shibi asked gently as he shifted Satoshi so that the six year old was half draped across his lap so he could examine the healing injuries.

"Not much now. It really burned a lot at first and it felt like I'd been cut in half but what Kikaichu I had left helped keep me from loosing too much blood and they helped numb the pain when it got too bad. I'm… I'm sorry I failed; I didn't mean to be a disappointment."

"I don't care about the exam, little bug; all I care is that you are home in one piece, if not quite as uninjured as I'd hoped you'd be when you returned. And you are not a disappointment; I couldn't be more proud of you for what you did. It was very brave of you to protect your teammate, though I do wish you'd thought to place something other than your body between him and his attacker."

"I thought I'd have time to make a clone but she was faster than I expected her to be."

"Tomorrow, I would like you to allow Inoichi-san to see your memory of the incident so that he can see exactly what happened."

"Wakatta, tousan," Satoshi murmured around a yawn as he snuggled against Shibi's chest and shivered slightly.

"Put your clothes back on before you catch cold, little bug."

"I hate to interrupt, since I realize I've thrown quite a bit at you right now, but are you ever going to answer my question or even explain exactly what his bloodline limit encompasses?"

Shibi sighed as he allowed Satoshi to climb down off his lap so he could reclaim his shirt and jacket as he glanced up at Kushina and explained, "The answer to your question was never; we never intended for anyone outside of the family to learn about his Kekkei Genkai. The reason for that is because it's not a normal bloodline limit. In fact, his bloodline limit isn't truly a bloodline limit in the first place. Satoshi possesses a secondary form of energy that is completely separate from his chakra network and as far as we can tell, it is far wilder and harder to control than chakra. It has sat dormant these past four and a half years; though it did give Satoshi difficulties in the beginning when we were first trying to teach him how to find and mold his chakra. Tousan and I worried that if word of his Kekkei Genkai were to make it to the general public that he'd be targeted by another village; either to steal him away or to kill him."

"I didn't realize that you considered me to be part of the general public," Kushina dryly shot back as she imperiously arched her eyebrow. "Last I checked I was a friend of the family and the Jounin assigned to help him reach his full potential. How can I possibly do that if I don't know what he is capable of doing? What if his Kekkei Genkai had acted up during a training session and hurt one of his teammates accidentally?"

"It wouldn't have," Satoshi interjected as he hesitantly crept back up to his father now that he was dressed, hoping that his father would allow him to sit and cuddle with him again; he needed the comfort after everything that had happened and the ongoing discussion. Shibi obliged him without hesitation and Satoshi sighed and let go of the tension and fear of rejection that had filled him as he snuggled into his father's arms.

"You don't know that…" Kushina countered only for Satoshi to cut her off.

"Yes, I do; it only ever bursts out like that if I'm really angry, really scared, badly injured, or if something or someone tries to kill me," Satoshi insisted as he latched onto his father's jacket with one hand as he turned his head to meet Kushina's gaze over the top of his dark sunglasses so she could clearly see his eyes.

"It saved me the night the man that killed my mother tried to kill me, it was what brought me to the forest where tousan found me, it was the reason I was locked in my mind after Obito-nii died (because losing my oniisan hurt too much), and it protected me after Yugito-san clawed me when I threw myself between her attack and Izumo-kun. It didn't attack the Hyuuga when they opened my tenketsu, it never attacked otousan or ojiisan when my Kikaichu were implanted or when they hatched, it did not lash out at the kids who bullied me in the Academy, it never stopped me from getting cuts and bruises during lessons, and it never once stirred during the many training sessions when you ran us into the ground."

"It should be against the law for six year olds to use logic in an argument," Kushina groused as she sighed and sagged in her seat. "Gomen nasai; I should not have allowed my anger to cloud my judgment for so long. This past month and a half has been extremely stressful and I've felt out of sorts since the day Kotetsu-kun and Izumo-kun carried your son out of the Circle of Death covered in bloody and torn clothes, pale as a ghost, and barely conscious. I'm certain the stubborn little gaki only stayed awake that long because he didn't want his teammates to be disqualified because of him."

"It would seem he's picked up a few bad habits from his Jounin sensei," Shibi teased to show he harbored no ill-will towards the younger Jounin as he reminded her of her own stubborn nature. "I am also quite certain that you were one of the best things to happen to my son; he is very fond of you and seeks your approval nearly as much as he seeks mine and my father's." Shibi smiled down at Satoshi who'd drifted off to sleep shortly after his passionate declaration about the wild power inside of him only seeking to protect not to harm. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

"No… actually, yes. I wanted to tell you that Satoshi-kun behaved very professionally the entire time we were in Kumo; even after he'd been injured. He did mope after he dropped out of the exam but I think he knew better than the medics how serious his injuries were. I was spitting mad and frightened to death after learning how he'd been injured and how close to dying he came and he actually managed to snap me out of it; something only Minato managed to do previously, though his methods differed from my husband's."

"I should hope so… my little bug is far too young for you," Shibi replied with a small smile.

Kushina laughed softly as she released the barrier she had put up and let her eyes linger on Satoshi's sleeping form where he lay curled up in his father's arms. A flash of pain and regret flittered across her face as she wearily climbed to her feet and stated, "I've already filed his mandatory medical leave from active duty for the next four to eight weeks and he'll need to follow up with a medic sometime over the next couple of days. I wish I could have brought him home unharmed, Shibi."

"You brought him home alive and his injuries will heal; I could not have asked for more than that as we knew the risks when we gave you our permission to enter him in the exam. All I ask is that you wait at least a year before you allow him to attempt to retake them and that the next exam he attempts is hosted by Konoha, if at all possible."

"I'd like to wait at least three or four years before allowing him to try again but I don't think he'd allow me to push it back that far. Holding him off for a year should be doable though. I should be going; Minato is probably wondering what's keeping me. I'll stop by sometime on Monday to see how Satoshi is doing."

Shibi absently waved her off without bothering to get up, his attention firmly on his sleeping son. He was still sitting there some forty minutes later when Mayumi came looking for him. She paused in the doorway of the living room and watched her husband of almost four years cuddling their six and a half year old son as if he was still the tiny little toddler he'd found in the forest nearly five years earlier.

"What's wrong, love?" Mayumi asked softly as she finally slipped into the room and stepped up beside Shibi's chair.

"We almost lost him, Yumi-koi."

"What do you mean, koishi?"

"He almost died, Mayumi."

Mayumi gasped as she pressed a hand to her mouth and reached out to place a hand coated in healing chakra on Satoshi's forehead in order to run a brief diagnostic scan so she could reassure herself that he was there and that he was safe. Shibi settled a comforting hand on the middle of her back as she sat down on the arm of the chair the moment she finished and leaned against her husband for support and comfort.

"What happened? I could feel traces of foul chakra lingering in the wounds and my Kikaichu are agitated."

"His team ran into a Jinchuuriki and when he saw his teammate was in danger he threw himself in front of his teammate to protect him. He didn't have enough time to block the blow but managed to knock the host out. The fight ended at that point and his teammates got him to the medical staff as quickly as they could. What did you learn from the scan?"

"Not much; I only used a basic scan to check his immediate health and the foul chakra clinging to the injury interfered with the jutsu. He's got a very mild fever though and I suspect he might have picked up a mild infection due to how slowly the wounds appear to be healing. It is times like this that I wish I had focused medical jutsu instead of on healing tonics and tinctures when I took up my apprenticeship."

"There is no point in fretting about things we can't change; neither of us could have known Satoshi would run into a Jinchuuriki and up until now, your skills have been more than adequate to deal with the various minor injuries that have cropped up over the past few years. I'll take him to the hospital first thing in the morning to have Taji give him a more thorough check up. Kushina has already gone through the Yondaime and had him placed on medical leave for at least the next four weeks with a warning to take it easy so he'll be here where you can keep an eye on him and your balms and salves will help speed up the last leg of his recovery and hopefully reduce some of the scarring."

"Sometimes I wish you'd never have encouraged him to become a shinobi, koishi," Mayumi sadly confessed as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Satoshi's brow.

"It might have been selfish of me but I needed him to be strong; I feared he'd fade away and leave us far sooner if I didn't train him to take up the hitai-ate," Shibi murmured softly as he let his fingers brush over the stylized leaf on the forehead protector that Satoshi still wore just above his left knee.

"Shino is waking again," Mayumi declared after several minutes of silence had passed; her swarm had been monitoring their youngest as he slept. "Supper is already on the table; that's what I'd come to tell you earlier. You should probably wake Satoshi-kun so he can eat something before he sleeps away the night."

"We'll be there in a few minutes."

The next morning, Shibi took Satoshi to the hospital first thing in the morning and Taji quickly scanned the half-healed gashes; probing carefully around the abdominal cavity to insure there were no internal complications. She then spent close to an hour using healing chakra to speed up the healing process a bit in order to sooth away the lingering pain, reduce the swelling, clear out the minor infection Mayumi had picked up on, and strengthen the healing tissue on either side of the five terrible gashes. When she finished, the wounds looked much healthier than they had before she started; though she refused to shorten the length of Satoshi's medical leave (not that Satoshi even tried to talk her into letting him return to training sooner – Kushina would have made him suffer the moment he was cleared for training if he dared do something so foolish).

Once they were finished at the hospital, the two of them stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for a weak course of antibiotics and mild pain killers to finish clearing out the minor infection and ease the lingering ache before they headed to the T and I building. Over the years, Satoshi had only ever been inside of the rather intimidating building twice; both times due to there being no one available to watch him and his father taking him with him to request a few hours off until a Genin team or one of Satoshi's usual minders could get him. On those previous visits, Satoshi had not been allowed beyond the reception area just inside the front doors.

That morning though, Shibi didn't hesitate to herd Satoshi through the double doors that led into the main facility as he headed straight to Inoichi's office with single-minded determination. Any protests the shinobi on duty at the front desk might have made died when Shibi (one of the most mild-mannered and usually unemotional agents working within the T and I department) sent a heated glare at the man over the top of his sunglasses. Satoshi felt more than a little embarrassed when his father lifted him up into his arms until he was ordered to close his eyes and keep his Kikaichu in check; a clear order not to explore the building as his father strode through the maze of hallways.

"Inoichi, open the door!" Shibi demanded after he tried the door to the Yamanaka's office only to find it locked and pounded on the door. "I know you are in there, senpai."

"Shibi what are you…? Why is Satoshi-kun with you? For that matter, what is Satoshi-kun doing passed the front desk?"

"Just let us in already and I'll explain."

The next hour was spent with Shibi showing Inoichi his confrontation and discussion with Kushina the evening before; his father choosing to allow his co-worker to mind delve for the memory instead of taking the risk of someone over hearing them discussing sensitive information. When he was finished, the blonde shinobi sat back and stared at Satoshi for a full minute before he collected himself and asked for and received permission to view the memory of the attack. He ended up viewing both the memory of the attack and the memory of the apology that Ni'i Yugito had given Satoshi just a week before the Tournament.

Arrangements were then made for Inoichi to stop by the Aburame compound in a couple of days once Shibi could arrange to have Kushina meet with him so that the three of them could discuss what Inoichi had learned from Satoshi's memories. Shibi then took Satoshi home where the pair was met just outside of the compound by a scowling Kakashi (the evidence that he was displeased only noticeable in the tilt of his visible eye and the way he'd crossed his arms over his chest since the rest of his face was hidden beneath his usual face mask).

Shibi had promptly left his son in the capable hands of the young Jounin with a strong reminder to Satoshi that he was to rest for the remainder of the day before the older man returned to work. Satoshi sighed as he sized up his fellow prodigy and wondered how much of a scolding he was going to get from the thirteen and a half year old. Surprisingly, he wasn't given a lecture as Kakashi instead smothered the six year old in his concern after he had learned that Satoshi had pulled what he termed an 'Obito'; risking his life for his teammate. Kakashi had apparently needed to make certain that Satoshi had indeed come home in one piece after hearing rumors that he'd been seriously injured from some of the other Genin that had attended the exams in Kumo.

The Monday after the teams returned to Konoha from Kumo, all of the Genin that participated in the Chuunin Exams had been called into the Hokage's office where Minato addressed the group for a few minutes before awarding Kotetsu, Izumo, Ibiki, and Anko a promotion to Chuunin. Minato then dismissed everyone but Satoshi so he could make certain the six year old was doing alright and tell him he was proud of him for saving his teammate but that he should also be more careful of his own health in the future. Satoshi was then formally introduced to the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya, who would be giving him lessons in fuuinjutsu over the duration of his medical leave since Kushina would be occupied with the other two members of Team Four.

And the adults in his life knew better than to give Satoshi a chance to grow bored.

Satoshi would spend the next four weeks studying advanced math and geography (Kushina had provided him with some outdated maps of the world outside of the Hidden Countries for him to study) in addition to the fuuinjutsu lessons to avoid the boredom of being on medical restriction. On top of that, he worked extensively on his chakra control using small stones in place of leaves for the leaf concentration exercise since he couldn't work on tree climbing or practice water walking at the moment. He also spent quite a bit of time talking to his grandfather about chakra affinities and the affects they had on the Kikaichu.

His fuuinjutsu lessons with Jiraiya were interesting; when the Sannin actually focused on their lessons and not on the nearest woman. Satoshi didn't exactly warm up to the Sannin; he disliked the man's close association with toads (many amphibians ate bugs after all) and perverted tendencies but he also didn't hate the man. The young shinobi found him funny and intelligent; so long as women weren't mentioned in his presence because then the Sennin would turn into a drooling idiot. The six and a half year old did treat the man with respect most of the time and paid close attention whenever the man discussed the various types of seals he knew or showed him how to create a specific seal array.

During that time, Kakashi, Kotetsu, and Izumo visited him at least once a day to play Shogi, Go, or card games with him and keep him up to date on everything Team Four was doing in his absence; Kakashi once again filling in for Satoshi.

Near the end of his second week of medical restriction, Satoshi was given a series of stretches that would help soften up the scar tissue that had formed around and beneath the gashes in order to help him regain the flexibility he'd lost due to the injury. He also started a physical therapy regime now that there were no chances the physical activities would split the wounds open again. The next two weeks were filled with pain for Satoshi as the various exercises pulled on the still tender and quite rigid scar tissue. Once his skin regained a measure of elasticity and the pain caused by the exercises tapered off, it didn't take him long for him to get himself back into shape.

Kushina would still make him take an additional four weeks of medical leave though, in order to make certain he was in top form and not just in shape; she wanted there to be no chance that his injuries would cause him later problems.

It was when Satoshi finally returned to active duty eight weeks after retuning to Konoha that Team Four learned that Kushina was five months pregnant. Kushina had learned about her pregnancy just after returning to Konoha but waited to say anything to her team until her condition would force her to start cutting back on missions and training. In order to make certain that their training didn't suffer due to her condition (which was considered a village secret due to her status as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi) she brought in Kakashi and another Jounin by the name of Yamashiro Aoba to help them train.

Aoba mostly worked with Kotetsu and Izumo while Kushina and Kakashi confirmed Satoshi's chakra affinities towards earth and water. Kushina then taught both Kakashi and Satoshi several water jutsu (the redhead kunoichi having a strong affinity towards water). She started with the Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu, the Mizu Kawarimi, and the Mizu no Muchi since they required the least amount of chakra to perform. Kakashi, with the help of Obito's Sharingan, learned them almost instantly before turning around and helping Satoshi master the three jutsu.

While the two of them were working on that, Kushina approached Sarutobi Hiruzen, the happily retired Sandaime Hokage, in order to find someone to teach Satoshi some earth jutsu. Hiruzen's curiosity was piqued when he learned that Satoshi (who had been born outside of the Hidden Countries) had an affinity towards both earth and water; a trait usually found within the Senju Clan and which granted some individuals the ability to use the Mokuton Kekkei Genkai.

That was enough for the Sandaime to step forward to teach Satoshi (and by extension Kakashi) a few of the earth jutsu he'd learned from his sensei; the Nidaime Hokage. He ended up teaching the pair the Moguragakure no Jutsu, the Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu, and the Doryuu Heki as well as the water attack Daibakufu no Jutsu though Satoshi didn't quite have enough chakra to do more than make a little splash with the final jutsu once he actually managed to perform the jutsu.

Learning those seven jutsu, working on his kenjutsu, genjutsu, and fuuinjutsu, and continuing with his chakra control and chakra building exercises would keep Satoshi occupied for the next three months. At the same time, Kotetsu and Izumo were taking a few advanced classes at the academy in order to supplement their education now that they were Chuunin, spent time standing guard at the check in point at the main entrance to the village (under the watchful eye of Aoba), went on several B Ranked missions with Kakashi, and continued to train with Satoshi when time permitted.

On those days when his teammates were out of the village on higher ranked missions, Satoshi performed D Ranked missions around the village while paired with various newly graduated Genin teams. When Satoshi wasn't out training, on missions, or attending lessons, he spent his free time helping his mother with his little brother; learning how to properly hold his baby brother, how to change his diapers, and how to feed him. Satoshi doted on the little tick and often left several hundred Kikaichu to watch over him when he left the house for training or missions.

By the time Shino was six months old, which was about the same time Satoshi turned seven, the youngest Aburame could easily recognize his older brother and often squealed happily the moment he saw the older boy. Shibi and Mayumi were both pleased with how well the two boys had taken to each other; their earlier concerns about Satoshi being jealous or feeling left out unfounded (especially now that Satoshi knew he wasn't being replaced).

The two adults were also extremely pleased to see that Satoshi began openly displaying some of his earlier exuberance that had all but vanished after Obito died. The seven year old once again buzzing about the house in excitement in response to Shino's growing awareness and the fact that he no longer slept ninety percent of the time.

Satoshi's seventh birthday also marked the day when his kenjutsu training was taken to the next level as he was gifted his first true sword in the form of a pair of custom wakizashi blades made from chakra conductive metal. The two swords had been a gift to him from Kushina; much as she'd gifted both Izumo and Kotetsu with their first swords. Originally, Satoshi wasn't supposed to have earned his first sword until he reached his tenth birthday or when he could knock a practice blade out of Kushina's hand but Kushina and his father both wanted him to have the extra protection that the dual blades would offer him if he decided to throw himself between certain death and his teammates again.

The seven year old treasured those blades and he trained with them every chance he got so that he could make his sensei proud. He also never played around with the blades or treated them like toys; he had no wish to see them taken away from him if any of the adults in his life should ever think he wasn't mature enough to keep them. Kotetsu, Izumo, and Kakashi sparred with him often over the course of the next three months. Satoshi really wished he could spar against Kushina as well but she'd stopped participating in most training exercises two months before his birthday and mostly just supervised due to her pregnancy.

Just when things were finally settling into something resembling a comfortable routine, tragedy struck Konoha once more.

On the evening of October ninth, Kushina, Minato, and a handful of trusted shinobi snuck out of the village so that she could give birth in privacy and the village would be safe from the Kyuubi should the seal that kept the Kyuubi contained within Kushina fail during the birth. Minato was attending as both husband and father-to-be as well as to help maintain the seal during labor in order to help prevent the Kyuubi from breaking free. Everything was going just fine right up until the moment Minato and Kushina's son was born nineteen hours after they left the village and then all hell broke loose as someone attacked and killed their AnBu escort (which included Taji), murdered Sarutobi Biwako (the Sandaime's wife and Kushina's midwife), and attacked Minato, Kushina, and their son.

Minato rescued Naruto (his newborn son) from the masked man and whisked him away to safety which left Kushina open to attack for a critical few minutes. By the time Minato returned to his wife's side, their attacker had extracted the Kyuubi from Kushina and while Kushina was alive, she had been severely weakened. The Kyuubi in the mean time had gone berserk and began rampaging towards Konoha while their masked assailant attacked Minato in order to prevent the man from interfering with the Kyuubi's rampage. Alarms were sounded and every able bodied ninja within the village was called upon to protect the village and her citizens.

Satoshi and all of the other shinobi under the age of fourteen were relegated to watching over the civilians and children that were sent to the hidden caverns inside of the Hokage Monument while those shinobi that were between ages fourteen and eighteen were put in charge of escorting those not fighting to safety and running supplies and weapons to the older shinobi. All of the shinobi over the age of eighteen were sent out to help divert the nine-tailed fox away from the village unless they had medical training. Those with medical training were split between the hospital and the field to treat and move the injured as best they could in the madness.

Satoshi had also been instructed by his father to watch over Shino and Shinichi (his youngest cousin) because the rest of their Clan had gone to help subdue the bijuu. It was only the responsibility of watching over his brother and cousin combined with his duty to help protect the civilians that prevented Satoshi from panicking over the thought of his entire family and all of his friends fighting for their lives against the berserk bijuu. Somehow, the seven year old ended up being in charge of the academy students that were age eight or younger whose parents were currently out protecting the village.

He quickly put the older children to keeping the younger children occupied by having them tell stories, sing songs, and play quiet games. Several of the civilian mothers present helped out for which Satoshi was eternally thankful since there were far too many children present for him to keep an eye on them all even with a couple of the other Genin helping him since he had to keep his cousin out of trouble and carry his brother around in a sling on his chest.

It was a long, terrible night; one that Satoshi (along with the rest of Konoha's citizens that were over age of five) would never forget. With the coming of the dawn, the full extent of their losses would be revealed; hundreds of lives lost, hundreds more seriously injured, and large sections of the village laying in ruins. The Kyuubi had been contained once more but at a heavy price; the Yondaime Hokage had traded his life to seal the nine-tailed fox into a newborn child after Uzumaki Kushina, the former Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, perished during the course of the evening. Dozens of children had been orphaned as their parents had been killed during the attack and countless civilians left as widows or widowers as their spouses perished beneath the rampaging bijuu.

Satoshi's family had been hit hard with his grandfather Shoichi, his uncle Shikuro, his mother Mayumi, and several cousins dying during the attack. Shoichi, Shikuro, and eleven other clan adults had been killed when they attempted to subdue the fox or turn the demon away from the village while his mother had been crushed beneath falling debris on her way to the hospital. That was on top of losing Kushina who'd been like an older sister to him as well as his sensei and Minato who'd been more of an uncle to him than Shibi's older brother had been. Rin, who was also something of a sister to the seven year old, died early the next morning as well; succumbing to her injuries after she'd been hit by one of the Kyuubi's tails while trying to heal another injured shinobi enough to move him to the hospital.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, retook the mantel of Hokage two days later; just in time to preside over the memorial services for the fallen. That same day Satoshi closed himself off once more though he didn't end up locked in his mind like he had after Obito had died. He did, on the other hand, shut his emotions down completely; never smiling, never frowning, and never displaying anything but a blank face to the world. He also stopped speaking for the most part and when he did speak it was with as few words as possible and at a volume that was just a few hairs louder than a whisper.

Six days after being reinstated to office, Sarutobi shuffled all of the present team assignments. Team Four was officially disbanded with Kotetsu and Izumo being paired with another Chuunin to form a three man cell that would be taking missions outside of the village. Satoshi on the other hand, was placed on the newly made Team Twelve with Inuzuka Toshiro (age sixteen), his ninken partner Kariudo (a fully grown, large tan and dark gray wolfhound with long shaggy fur and standing nearly five feet at the shoulders when on all fours), and Hyuuga Nanami (a fifteen year old from the branch family of the prestigious clan) and assigned Yamashiro Aoba as their Jounin sensei.

If Satoshi resented his original team being dispersed, he gave no indication of it as he silently fell into the training program that Aoba put together in order to give the new Team Twelve a chance to get used to working together as a team. After having been friends with Hyuuga Tokuma during his year at the academy coupled with his long association with Kakashi's ninken summons, Satoshi was easily able to adjust his fighting style to compliment his new teammates and had little trouble keeping up with the older pair.

The fact that he'd spent a number of months being paired up with different teams after his injury also helped since he'd worked with the members of nearly every clan in the village at one point or another (the exceptions being the Senju, Sarutobi, and Uchiha clans). His new teammates on the other hand had a bit of trouble accepting the seven year old in the beginning because of his age, size, and mostly silent demeanor but they grudgingly accepted him after he demonstrated his competency in the various ninja skills and proved to be hard working despite his lack of height and young age.

Unlike his previous team, which had been very versatile, Team Twelve was strictly a tracking and scouting team. As such, they were frequently assigned C and B ranked escort and tracking missions where their skills were best put to use. Occasionally, they would also provide support on B and A ranked missions alongside an offensive oriented team when they were expected to run into bandits, missing nin, or hostile shinobi from other countries where their scouting talents could help avoid ambushes and traps.

Shibi mournfully watched his oldest son withdrawing once again and offered the seven year old what comfort he could but was hard pressed to find the time to check up on him as often as he wished. After the death of his father, Shibi had become the Head of the Aburame Clan and he was forced to split his time between his job with the T and I Department, running the Clan, and raising his nephew and younger son. It didn't help that after a month of teamwork training, Satoshi's new team spent close to eighty percent of their time outside of the village carrying out missions alongside of the other active teams.

Kakashi might have been able to help keep Satoshi emotionally centered if not for his own grief over the loss of Minato (who'd been both foster father and mentor to the young Jounin for seven years) and his only remaining teammate. It didn't help that the fourteen year old prodigy joined the AnBu about a month after the Kyuubi attack and closed off his emotions (much like Satoshi had).

Translations: Japanese to English

Ano – um/uh
Arigatou – Thank you
Daibakufu no Jutsu – Grand Waterfall Technique
Doryuu Heki – Earth Style Wall
Gaki – brat
Gomen nasai – I'm sorry (somewhat informal)
Hai – yes
Kariudo – hunter
Kekkei Genkai – bloodline limit
Koi – love (also a carp) and in this case used as a form of affectionate address (at least that was my understanding)
Koishi (also spelled koishii) – dear, beloved, darling
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique
Mizu Kawarimi – Water Replacement
Mizu no Muchi – Whip of Water
Moguragakure no Jutsu – Mole Hiding Technique
Nanami – girl's name meaning seven seas
Nani – what
Ne – used at the end of a sentence for emphasis or clarification; similar to the word 'right' being placed at the end of a question or statement in the English language
Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu – Double Suicide Decapitation Technique
Toshiro – boy's name meaning clever son
Wakatta – I understand/understood

Notes:

* Rin's Death – yes, I know that Rin's death as depicted in this chapter is non-canon. When I first wrote this chapter, well over two years ago, there was very little known about Rin's death aside from the fact that she'd died sometime between the events in Kakashi Gaiden and the start of the series. The same is true for the timing of Kakashi's entry into the AnBu Corps as I only just caught up enough with the anime to learn that Minato had been the one to induct him into the Corps.

I thought about updating this story with the new information about when and how Rin died and with the new information about Kakashi's entrance into the AnBu but eventually decided against it when I realized that it would throw off a later sub-plots of the story. That said, I did warn everyone that this story would be AU for both universes.