Shimura Danzō stood in front of his former teammate and bitter rival's desk. The Hokage had summoned Danzō without explanation or preamble. Hiruzen puffed on his pipe while wearing the full regalia of his position. There was no subtlety in the posturing. Danzō was being reminded of his place in the hierarchy of Konoha.
"You are coming dangerously close to overstepping the bounds of our agreement." Hiruzen said finally. This meeting had none of the usual false camaraderie. Neither elder exchanged quips about how old age was catching up to them.
"Am I, Hiruzen?" Shimura asked without emotion.
"Do not play coy! I am aware there are former ROOT operatives that still place their loyalty to you above their loyalty to Konoha. There was an attempt to seize Uzumaki Naruto last night. One of my ANBU prevented the attempt." Saurtobi slammed his fist on the desk; scattering a stack of papers.
"There is no loyalty above or below loyalty to Konoha! All who I trained in ANBU placed aside their entire being to better serve Konoha!" Danzō rasped.
"I am the Third Hokage! I am the embodiment of Konoha!" The Hokage shouted. "If you attempt to use your stolen eye, I will kill you before you can raise your arm, Danzō."
"So, you do know." Danzō allowed himself a rare half-smile. He despised his former teammate, but he was glad to see there was still some steel in Hiruzen's spine.
"The Second Raikage did not name me the God of Shinobi on a whim." The Hokage rose from his chair and rolled his neck. "I am giving you an ultimatum. Keep your 'instruments' in line. If they act within the walls of Konoha again, I will personally execute you for treason."
"I believe you have reminded me of the status quo, Hokage-sama. If I have no orders on how to serve my village, I will ask to be dismissed." The elder poured honeyed contempt into his voice.
"Do you know what separates you from the source of your eye?" The Hokage growled.
"I am aware of several."
"The Uchiha's only mistake is that they plotted in the open." Hiruzen said darkly.
"A tree struck by lightning can survive the loss of the leaves that bathe in the light so long as the roots that bathe in shadow survive." Danzō countered.
"Go, bathe in your shadows. Remember, old friend. If you over reach again, I will not hesitate like I did with the Uchiha." The Hokage spoke with every ounce of authority he possessed.
"Good."
Naruto and Hinata stood against the back wall to avoid the gaggle of would-be-kunoichi following Sasuke. As usual, the last loyal Uchiha didn't spare anyone a glance.
"Hey, Hinata-chan. I've got a couple of questions" Naruto said when only Hinata, Shikamaru, Iruka-sensei and Naruto himself remained in the classroom.
"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Hinata answered; proud of her growing confidence around her idol.
"First, what the heck do all the other girls see in Sasuke? I mean, he's never going to talk to any of them." Naruto pouted a bit.
"I… I think they… I think they don't really like Sasuke-san. It's the fantasy they've attached to Sasuke-san that all of the girls like." Hinata explained.
"Not all the girls. You don't seem to chase after him." Naruto pointed out. "Uh, just asking, but what kind of guy… uh, do you like?"
Hinata instantly started pushing her fingers together. The simple action helped steady her racing heart. "Ano… I… like someone... warm."
"Huh? I don't know if liking someone with a fever is a good idea, but I guess you want to be a medic." Naruto chewed over the words. It did kind of make sense that Hinata would want to be a medic. Heck, she'd make an awesome one!
"I… I meant someone with a warm personality, Naruto-kun. S…someone friendly and open." Hinata corrected Naruto after giggling. He could be oblivious at times, but he was so earnest and kind. Hinata admitted to herself that Naruto's former obliviousness used to hurt a bit. He was finally noticing her and Hinata couldn't stop thinking how wonderful the past few days had been.
"Oh." Naruto felt a bit embarrassed that he misunderstood Hinata so badly. "So, pretty much the opposite of Sasuke and those clan types."
"P…pretty much. Was that the second question, Naruto-kun or was there s… something else?" Hinata fidgeted in place.
"I was going to train some. Gotta work on my chakra control. Want to come with me?"
The Hyūga heiress smiled. Naruto seemed to be desperate to make up for lost time but Hinata would never complain. "I would love to. What have you been working on, Naruto-kun?"
"Oh, Nam… I, uh, a friend of mine showed me this super-cool chakra control exercise! I can walk up trees and walls and stuff without using my hands!" Naruto bounced as he explained the exercise. The blond boy deliberately became more animated as he spoke to distract Hinata from his near slip.
Nam? Namikaze? It had to have been. He said Naruto was his past and future, of course he would help. Hinata thought. She had a feeling Naruto didn't want the world to know about Namikaze for some reason. So, she let the slip slide. "H…have you tried water walking?"
"We can walk on water?" Naruto asked, somewhat surprised by Hinata's question. "Guess that sounds good. Heck, it sounds great. Lead the way!"
"Whose truth will you believe in?" The Six Paths of Pain asked in a single voice. Nagato had summoned the two members of Akatsuki he felt were the most likely to turn against Madara. Their reactions were telling.
Uchiha Itachi stood as impassively as ever. Emotionally, he was a blank slate. There was no outward sign of his approval or disapproval of Pain's proposition. Itachi was, in many ways, the perfect ninja. He rarely allowed any emotional cures to surface. Nagato, however, knew exactly where Itachi's loyalties lay.
Uchiha Itachi had deactivated his Sharingan. Nagato had never seen the Uchiha prodigy without his Dōjutsu active.
"I had thought that I had left the World of Lies behind me. I believed in the vision of a World of Truth. Every time I place my faith in anything, the foundation rots away." The second Akatsuki member lamented.
Hoshigaki Kisame was an enormous question mark. Madara had convinced Kisame years ago to believe in his Eye of the Moon. Nagato had summoned Kisame and Itachi to convince Kisame to renounce Madara. Pain wracked the shark-summoner.
"Truth comes from within, Kisame. It is revealed through pain. You have experienced true pain. Madara knows only ambition and the desire for domination. We have suffered and through our suffering we have been granted the noblest of gifts."
"What is noble about us? I slaughtered my comrades to complete a mission. Itachi slaughtered his entire clan. Leader, you've butchered everyone connected to Hanzō."
Tendo stepped forward. "As I said, Kisame. Our pain has opened our eyes to the world. We are the only ones who can see clearly. We are the only ones capable of finding truth. The masses, the comfortable masses, have no reason to search for truth. As long as their empty comfort remains, they will gladly ignore the pain of their neighbor. They have no need for truth."
"They are blind." Kisame spat out the words in disgust.
"We shall make them see. Madara will never allow any truth but his own." Pain fought the urge to smile. Convincing Kisame was a major victory and a potentially devastating blow to Madara.
"Leader." Itachi's voice was soft, but cut through the temporary silence like a blade.
"Speak, Itachi." The closest Path, Asura, responded to the rogue Uchiha.
"What of the Bijū?" Itachi allows a whisper of curiosity to enter his voice.
"Our previous path led to ruination." The Deva Path spoke again.
"Ruination? We haven't collected a single Tailed Beast." Kisame eyed the Paths of Pain and Konan curiously.
"It is time I shared a facet of truth." The voice was different from the Paths of Pain and accompanied by the straining of gears and metal impacting on metal.
Nagato emerged from the shadows and initiated Kisame and Itachi into Nagato and Naruto's Truth.
Hinata activated her Byakugan to help Naruto with the water walking exercise. She was pleasantly surprised by how much control Naruto actually had. Last term, he struggled with the simple exercises the Academy had taught everyone. Hinata realized that 'struggled' wasn't the right word. Naruto had done the exercise well. In fact, he mastered it as quickly as most of the class. Only Sasuke, Sakura, Ino and Hinata had mastered the exercise notably quicker.
The exercises actually did help Naruto-kun. Hinata thought as she watched Naruto slosh his way to shore. Naruto-kun just has so much chakra that simple exercises can't help him enough.
"Man, Hinata-chan! I'm really jealous of how good you are at this." Naruto said enthusiastically as he tried to shake his hair dry.
"Ano, I've been... working on exercises like this since I c…could walk." Hinata confessed shyly. She didn't want to make Naruto feel inferior so she quickly added. "B…but you've made incredible progress in one day!"
"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted. Hinata instinctively looked away when Naruto removed his shirt. Her Byakugan was still active and she couldn't help but notice Naruto wringing out his soaked t-shirt. "So, where am I screwing up?"
"Y…you aren't screwing… up. It… you just have so much chakra. I… I've never seen anyone with as much chakra as you have, Naruto-kun."
"Huh? I'm not sure I follow." Naruto asked as he sat on the bank of the pond. He suddenly felt a twist in his gut. The Jinchūriki wasn't sure if it was worry due to the Kyūbi or by the Kyūbi. Don't bring up my seal; please don't bring up my seal. Naruto thought in a panic. He wasn't ready to reveal the existence of the Kyūbi to Hinata yet. The boy wanted to. No, he needed to, but he was deathly afraid of driving away his most precious person. The blond swallowed back a sigh. Naruto had not given much thought to his prisoner since Namikaze and the Hokage had informed him of the Demon Fox. Truthfully, Naruto didn't want to think of the monster in his gut. The greatest pain Naruto had consistently known was the pain of never being acknowledged. It may be petty, but Naruto knew it was the only way to strike at the source of his misery.
Hinata walked silently towards the shore. She wasn't entirely sure how to approach the subject with Naruto. The last thing Hinata wished was to make Naruto feel uncomfortable or, worse, inferior. Hinata's fondest wish was to help Naruto a mere fraction of the amount he helped her daily.
Hinata sat gracefully beside Naruto. Her face was flush at her perceived boldness. "Do you remember last year's flood?"
"Yeah, I remember it. There hasn't been a flood like that in a generation. Well, at least according to Hokage-ojisan." Naruto answered Hinata, even if he wasn't sure what she meant.
"Y…your chakra is like the flood. It… it is so powerful and plentiful that it is hard to contain or control. Most people are a stream. They will never match the amount or power of your chakra, but they will be able to control their chakra easier." Hinata whispered. Even without her Byakugan, she could see understanding dawning on Naruto. "I… I'm just a trickle. I will never have your power or endurance. All I will have is control."
"I think I get most of it." Naruto nodded. "There's one thing I don't get though."
"I…I'm sorry if I explained everything so… poorly." Hinata apologized quickly.
"You're awesome." Hinata's head shot up at Naruto's simple declaration. No one had ever called her awesome before. "I mean, you've got the best chakra control I've ever seen, you're really nice, you've got the Byakugan…"
Hinata had managed to push aside her nervousness while trying to explain just how powerful Naruto was. Unfortunately, Naruto's rattling off a list of Hinata's traits was almost too much. No one had spoken so positively about Hinata in years. Hinata struggled to control her breathing as Naruto reached the ninth personality trait on his impromptu list. His words were blurring together in Hinata's mind.
"… you even like Ramen! You're really cute and patient." Naruto took a deep breath before he could continue his onslaught of positivity. Hinata was shaking and on the verge of tears. I've worked myself to the brink sparing imoto. This is a happy dream brought on by exhaustion. "What I'm trying to say, Hinata-chan, is I don't understand how you can put yourself down."
"I'm weak." Hinata said simply. Her mind was still reeling from the unexpected, and tad excessive, positive reinforcement.
"Hell no you aren't." Naruto said forcefully.
Hinata gulped. The tone Naruto used blindsided her. He sounded offended by Hinata's low opinion of herself. Please don't be angry. Please don't push me away. "I… I do not m…meet the standards of m…my clan. I… I can't even beat Hanabi-chan in spars! She's seven!"
"But I've seen you spar in the Academy. None of the other girls can even land a hit." Naruto was confused. He flinched when he saw the distress in Hinata's eyes.
"I… I just can't fight her, even in spars. She… Hanabi-chan reminds me of mother."
"Oh." Naruto didn't know how to respond. The closest people Naruto had to family was Iruka-sensei, the Hokage, Teuchi and Ayame. And Namikaze. He had trouble relating to family issues. "But you would never intentionally hurt her."
"Of… of course not." Hinata chewed her lip. "But… Jūken…"
"I'll admit I don't know much about your clan's style. It is secret and stuff. But, like I said earlier, you've got crazy awesome chakra control. I know you can spar and beat your little sister without hurting her." Naruto couldn't stand to see his best friend so down. Unfortunately, Naruto's knowledge of the Hyūga's 'Gentle Fist' style was limited to the facts that it used chakra and was anything but gentle. His advice could only be simple platitudes and encouragement.
Hinata sat silently for a full minute and Naruto was horrified that he had said something wrong. Please don't be angry. Please don't push me away. Naruto thought in a panic.
"Why do you believe in me like this, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she wiped away a few stray tears.
"Because someone has to, Hinata-chan."
Namikaze balanced at the apex of a pine tree. The time traveler could feel the Nature Chakra swirling within his being and achieve the right balance. Namikaze took a deep breath as he extended his ability to sense chakra outwards. He searched for the most powerful chakra signatures he could find. It was highly unlikely that the small hamlet of Mizuho was hiding anyone who could rival Momochi Zabuza or Haku.
Shit. I found Haku and Zabuza, but what is that other chakra source? Namikaze grumbled before calling upon the memories buried in Hinata's eyes. "Byakugan."
Namikaze's vision expanded for miles. The entire world was laid bare. A couple was watching their child play while waiting for dinner. Miles away, a farmer was guiding a stubborn ox into a well cared-for barn. Namikaze's objectives were sitting in the local inn.
And at the very edge of his vision, he saw six masked Ninja approaching the village. Namikaze couldn't confirm who the Ninja were, but he had an inkling.
"Time to take a risk." Namikaze leapt from the tree and strolled into the village. The vast majority of humanity was utterly incapable of wielding chakra, much less molding the combination of spiritual and physical power. But the human mind had an instinctive ability to recognize sheer power.
And Namikaze was radiating power. Crowds parted in a mix of fear, awe and respect. It was far different than the reactions Namikaze experienced as a youth in Konoha. He pushed aside the memories of a future and past that would never happen and entered the inn. A smile found its way to Namikaze's lips. Zabuza was counting a stack of Ryō notes a man had just handed over. The mystery man left without a word, but not without a nervous glance at Zabuza's legendary blade. Haku was daintily sipping at a drink.
I'm really going to have to talk to him about that. Namikaze swallowed a chuckle and approached the two missing-nin.
"I hope you have a good reason for getting so close." Zabuza growled but didn't turn around.
"Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist." The blond said warmly. He nodded at Haku. "And Haku wielder of the Hyōton."
That got Zabuza's attention and he finally turned around. "You do realize I'm going to have to kill you."
Namikaze shrugged. He saw Haku stand up. "You can try later. It seems Kiri's Hunter-nins have managed to track you. There are six approaching from the northeast."
"You're an arrogant one to think that you only need six Hunters as backup to beat me." Zabuza flashed through a series of hand seals. The civilians had long since fled from the inn. "Kirigakure No Jutsu."
"Byakugan." Namikaze said after flashing through his own hand seals. "I'm not here to fight either of you."
"We cannot allow you to reveal our secrets, Hyūga-san." Haku said from a position behind Namikaze.
"First off, I'm no more Hyūga than you are a girl. Second, why would I fight someone who shares the same enemy?"
Zabuza swung his fearsome blade aiming to take the interloper's head off. His shock hung in the air like the unnatural mist when the fabled Executioner's Blade was blocked by a simple kunai.
"I know who was responsible for the Bloodline purges. I know who was controlling Yagura." Namikaze didn't shout or show fear. Instead, he was conversing calmly with both Zabuza and Haku.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Momochi grimaced behind his bandages.
"I'll explain everything as soon as we take care of those Hunter-nins." Namikaze promised.
"Fine, I'll kill you later." Zabuza ceased straining against Namikaze's Nature Chakra enhanced strength. "Let's take it outside. I like this little shithole. Come on Haku."
The three ninja exited the inn and took positions. Haku leapt onto the roof after fixing his false Hunter-nin mask into place. It was when Haku cast one last glance at Zabuza-sama and the mysterious not-Hyūga that he noticed something was amiss. One of the scrolls actually seemed to be shrouded with a thin haze of chakra.
Is he leading the Hunter-nin to us? I should have incapacitated him the moment he arrived. Haku grimaced while taking his position. Who are you? The feminine boy could not bring himself to trust the Byakugan wielder, but strangely could not bring himself to hate him either.
Why are you so familiar?
Naruto walked towards the center of Konoha with Hinata in what appeared to be a comfortable silence. It was true that the two Academy students were becoming very comfortable in each other's presence. This comfort allowed them the ability to reflect on the turmoil the comfort had ironically unleashed.
Naruto, for his part, was now almost certainly convinced that the woman Namikaze constantly spoke of was Hinata. Namikaze's eyes were Hinata's once. Naruto recoiled at the thought. Naruto received a new, and terrible, clarity regarding the nightmare that tortured him the night before Namikaze's arrival.
That was Hinata. I have watched her die. Twice. In that moment, Naruto swore there would be never be a third.
The Hyūga heiress still had trouble believing the past few days were anything but a dream. She had spent as much time with Naruto as she could manage. Hinata had seemingly absorbed some of the confidence that radiated off Naruto. Her Jūken tutors had recently commented that perhaps Hinata was not as hopeless as they feared. I can continue to change. Naruto-kun has shown me that it is possible! I will win my next match. For him!
Hinata closed her eyes and laughed as Naruto's stomach growled.
"You are hopeless. This is the second time!" Hinata's eyes shot open the second she felt the impact. She had run into Sasuke as she rounded the corner.
"Don't talk about Hinata-chan like that you bastard!" Naruto shouted at the Uchiha survivor.
"I… I'm sorry." Hinata whispered. She looked to Naruto and saw his indignant glare at his rival. The Hyūga felt a comforting warmth at the realization that the anger was not due to her, but for her. "I… didn't see you."
"I thought your clan bragged about their 'all seeing eyes'." Sasuke grunted.
"M…my Byakugan is not active all the time, Sasuke-san. Hinata confessed quietly.
Naruto took a step closer to Hinata. "At least she can activate hers."
"What did you say you worthless trash?" The 'Last Uchiha' roared.
"Naruto-kun is not worthless!" Hinata shouted at Sasuke. The two boys stared at Hinata for a moment. Naruto eventually broke out in a proud smile. Sasuke's face returned to its natural state of neutral disdain.
"He is a clanless orphan. I don't see why you even associate with him. The fool is so far below your station that you might as well be wiping him off your sandals." There was something unusual about Sasuke's tone. It took Hinata a long moment to realize that it was confusion. Sasuke genuinely failed to comprehend why Hinata spent time with Naruto.
"Naruto-kun is… is my best friend. He… he is a hard worker and knows that true success isn't handed to someone because of their name!" Hinata defended Naruto from Sasuke.
"Hmph." Sasuke turned his glare to Naruto. The two opposites actually smirked at each other. Tension filled the space between them like a gas. A single spark would ignite a fire that would not be extinguished easily. "I don't understand you, Hyūga. Every other girl in our class fawns over me. You, for some maddening reason, chose this dead last loser. They all call me Sasuke-kun. You use san. Why?"
Sasuke's tone reminded Hinata of her father Hiashi's coldest tone. Hinata desperately fought the urge to run away. She instinctively reached out and gripped Naruto's hand. The heiress felt her best friend's surprise, but the contact was not rejected. Naruto's presence calmed her soul and she stood straighter.
"Why? B…because to Naruto-kun, I'm Hinata. With Naruto-kun, I'm not drowning in the expectations of my family." Hinata gained confidence with each breath. Naruto's warm expression became soft.
"Let's go, Hinata-chan. You'll need a bite to eat before your clan training. Where do you want to go?"
"I… I'm not sure. There are a… few good places on the way home. I'd love to go to Tsutsuji, but I'm not sure zen….zenzai would sit well before a Jūken spar." Hinata and Naruto were quickly lost in their own private world.
"Yeah, zenzai may be the second greatest food in the world, but I wouldn't eat it before a sparring match." Naruto agreed.
"Y…you like zenzai?" Hinata questioned excitedly.
Sasuke stood forgotten as the pair wandered off. He hated Naruto and Hinata in that moment. They had brushed him off. The clanless loser and the weak-willed Hyūga heiress acted as if Sasuke, the last son of the Konoha's greatest clan, was simply another plebian.
The Uchiha survivor admitted that he was jealous of Hinata and Naruto. They had found a measure of happiness. Everything about the two reminded Sasuke of the golden age before the Massacre. Another moment flashed in his mind for a moment. Instead of watching the dead last and the heiress wandering off, he saw his younger self walking with Itachi while laughing happily. There had also been a fleeting moment where Sasuke had truly understood Hinata. They both had drowned in unreachable expectations. Sasuke stormed off into the village and cursed the day he met Uzumaki Naruto and Hyūga Hinata.
Namikaze was holding back. True, he still had two minutes left in Sage Mode and had finished off one of the Hunter-nin with Wind Release: Wind Cutter within seconds. He was holding back because he had not used the Rasengan, Wind Release: Rasengan or any technique that could connect him to Konoha. It was strange, Namikaze thought. His actions were almost like he was ashamed of Konoha.
No, that's not true. I'm ashamed of what Konoha has become. Namikaze thought as he used Natural Energy to extend his reach and knock the second Hunter-nin through the village wall. A third Hunter-nin was going through a series of hand-seals. She led with the Snake Seal and followed it with the Horse Seal. It's probably a Doton jutsu. Namikaze quickly threw a brace of shuriken at the Kiri ANBU. There was no way such a basic and obvious diversion would stop the hand-seals. Truthfully, it was never meant to. Namikaze was merely aiming to make the Hidden Mist Ninja hesitate for a fraction of a second. The slight hesitation was all Namikaze needed to close the distance and deliver a vicious kick to the woman's temple. There was a wet cracking sound as the woman was thrown several feet by the force of the impact.
Zabuza cleaved the final Hunter-nin in half vertically. The Demon of the Mist was now firmly convinced the new guy was one of the most dangerous ninja he had ever encountered. The kid had defeated a Hyūga and taken both Byakugan. That meant the kid had to be smart and fast. The Hyūga Juinjutsu destroyed the White Eyes within moments of death. If that had been his only feat, Zabuza would have been just impressed.
Impressed couldn't begin to cover Zabuza's shock at the kid's strength. The boy had just obliterated three ANBU in the space of a minute. Hell, he had killed his first one before Haku's Thousand Needles of Death had even hit the first Hunter-nin.
There are few ninja capable of even matching Haku's speed, but this punk blew Haku out of the water.
"I think you're going to tell us who the fuck you are and what you want." Momochi spoke in an eerily calm voice.
"I'm Namikaze and complicated. As for what I want… I'm recruiting for…" Namikaze began to explain when suddenly Hinata's gift detected a Chakra flare from Nagato's scroll.
"Akatsuki." The outline of the Deva Path of Pain appeared. "Brother Naruto and I seek the aid of powerful ninja to end the threat of Uchiha Madara."
"I don't mean to sound like I'm not glad to see you my Brother Apprentice, but how the hell are you tracking me like this?" Namikaze asked as his eyes shifted from the toad-like appearance of Sage Mode to the faintly purple tent of Hinata's Byakugan.
"The scroll is based on the same principle as another… tool I have used." Tendo half explained.
Namikaze shrugged his shoulders. "As my brother apprentice said, we need help defeating Uchiha Madara. This man is not only my enemy, but Madara is a personal enemy to both of you. Zabuza, Madara was the individual manipulating Yagura."
Zabuza stared at Namikaze and the astral projection of 'Tendo'. "I will need proof, obviously."
"I… I do not mean to intrude, but how is this Uchiha my personal enemy? I have never encountered a Sharingan user before." Haku chewed his lip as he asked the question.
"If it wasn't for Madara, the cycle of hatred that ensnared your father and led to his madness would have never occurred. Without Madara, you would have been a simple farmer." Namikaze whispered behind closed eyes.
"How do you know that? I've never told anyone other than Zabuza-sama that story! Who are you? Who are you truly?" Haku erupted and drew several senbon.
"You told me the story a long time ago, at least from my perspective. We were on opposite sides of a battle. Moments before, I had watched you use your Senbon in combination with your Demonic Ice Mirrors to put my comrade in a near-death state. I flew into a rage and forced you to abandon the Mirrors. Haku, you shared the source of your pain with me. Unfortunately, the chance to reach an understanding never happened. Moments later, you sacrificed yourself to protect Zabuza." Namikaze recounted the last time he had seen Haku alive. The Hyōton carrier dropped his senbon and stared at Namikaze with a strange mix of vindication and terror.
The blond Byakugan wielder took a moment before continuing. "Zabuza had been wounded by my Jonin instructor earlier. When Gatō, the short bastard who had hired the two of you, arrived he arrived to betray you. He demeaned Haku's sacrifice and Zabuza's worth as a Shinobi. Zabuza's last moments were that of a true shinobi. He died without fear and killed Gatō and nearly a hundred of his thugs. The two of you… had a profound impact on my life. I shaped my entire world view based on the short period we knew each other."
"Even if…" Zabuza managed to find his voice first. "What you are saying isn't possible. I've never seen you before. I've never fought you before. And Haku hasn't seen you before."
"Not in this life, Zabuza-san." Yahiko's body spoke. "Naruto and I have defied time itself. And we continue to defy time. There is much more that you must know."
Namikaze and Pain told Haku and Zabuza of Danzō's actions and betrayals. The two brother apprentices spoke of the ritual that returned them to the past. Nagato and Namikaze shared the history of their great pains. The original purpose of Akatsuki and the methods they pursued in the previous timeline. It was only when Nagato, through the astral projection of the Deva Path, revealed Madara's Eye of the Moon plan that Haku spoke.
"That is not peace. It is the worst form of slavery. This Madara seeks not only to enslave our bodies, but our souls. He would rob us of everything that makes up human."
"Exactly, Haku. That is why we need your help." Namikaze spoke with undeniable passion.
"This is just so much to take in." Haku felt his voice break as he spoke. It was not every day you were approached by a man who spoke of how your noble sacrificial death changed their world view.
"Beyond destroying Uchiha Madara and achieving some small measure of justice for the Hidden Mist, why should we help Akatsuki?" Zabuza interrogated the astral projection and the madman.
"The Great Villages have fallen far from the glory of their promise." Namikaze announced with determination. He paused for a moment before grinning. "I'll have to remember that one. It wasn't half bad."
"Please get to the point." Haku quietly prodded the older man.
"Oh right." Namikaze scratched the back of his head. After a moment, his face became hard and Zabuza was struck by an image of Namikaze Minato. Is this man the child of the Yellow Flash? It would explain his ungodly chakra capacit and his speed.
"Our goal is to guide the world to peace. The Five Great Villages were created to ensure stability. The First Hokage attempted to create a balance of power through the proliferation of the Tailed Beasts. His sentiment, while noble, ultimately failed. The intention was correct, but the Shodai Hokage should not have involved the Jinchūriki."
"Jinchūriki have been reduced to weapons. They are not valued as human beings and have grown to resent humanity. Most Jinchūriki have experienced a pain we know all too well. The unbearable pain of being unwanted. They are a wildcard that we must take into consideration." Namikaze motioned grandly, but there was an edge to his tone. An edge that could only be created through personal hardship.
"What are you two getting at?" Zabuza was rapidly losing his patience.
"As soon as Akatsuki cleanses itself of Uchiha Madara and our more… unstable elements, we shall recruit the Jinchūriki and seek to cast down the status quo." Pain announced.
"The cycle of hatred must be broken. The Great Villages: Konoha, Kirigakure, Iwa, Kumo, Suna… We shall tear them down, brick by brick if necessary. Then, we shall rebuild them while guiding the world into an age of understanding and peace." Namikaze softly declared in the tone of a man willing to die for his dream.
"Will you stand with us? Will you seek to ensure the dawn of a new era?" Yahiko's Rinnegan narrowed as he gave Zabuza and Haku their one chance.
The two powerful missing-nin were silent for a long time. "I wish to see the birth of this new world of understanding." Haku finally spoke.
"If you've convinced Haku, I'll go along with it. This is the only way to fulfill my ambitions of reforming Kirigakure."
Namikaze bowed his head in thanks. "We will do more than fulfill our ambitions, Zabuza. We will save this world from itself."
Author's Notes: Here's Chapter 5! I hope you guys enjoy it. For some reason, this chapter just flowed out so easily.
And it's looking like Namikaze's plans are coming along very smoothly. The million Ryō question is if the independent Naruto back in Konoha will follow along the path Namikaze hopes...