Getting near to the end of the story and I hoping to do a good job in leading to it. As for the disclaimer, I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 10
Connection

Entering his home, Kakashi let out a sigh of exhaustion. He had just returned from a high-strung mission and it had taken its toll on him. All he wanted was to get cleaned up and go to bed.

That wouldn't happen though as he stood there. "You might as well show yourself. I'm not in the mood to play games." Soon the sound of footsteps was heard. Turning to the sound, Kakashi glared at the person. "What are you doing here?"

Emerging from the shadows was Danzo along with two ROOT agents. "I merely wish to discuss something with you. You might find it very beneficial."

"Are you serious? There's nothing that I wish to discuss with you." The urge to apprehend the warmonger returned for Kakashi but refrained from doing so since he wasn't sure that he would avoid being overtaken by the two ROOT members. "Also no telling whether there isn't any others hidden."

"Now don't be so quick to judge." Danzo motioned over to one of his men who reached into their coat. Instead of reaching for a weapon, they pulled out a large sealed envelope. With a flick of the wrist it was thrown toward Kakashi who caught it without looking.

Cautiously he opened the envelope and was caught off guard by what the contents were. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"As I said, we have much to discuss."

00000000

"Anyone want any refills?" Getting the ones that accepted the offer the waiter went to fill out the orders.

"Now this is the way to spend a night." declared Kin. "Having drinks with friends." The friends that she was referring to were the female members of the teams Kurenai, Asuma, Gai and Anko. Wasn't planned it advanced but after meeting with each other by chance it was decided to make a night out of it.

"Is there another reason for the sudden urge for this get-together? Problems with your newfound married life?" inquired Sakura. The question may have been somewhat of a personal one but since the two had gotten close since becoming teammates that gave the pink haired girl a little leeway.

"Actually, they've been going great." Kin quickly stated. "We've been enjoying that we're able to have between missions. But he was beginning the whole 'flames of youth' shtick and I had to get away before he asked me to join him to exhibit such youthfulness." She stopped for a moment to take another sip on her drink. "I love Lee but his enthusiasm can be grating."

"At least you're able to see him are a somewhat regular bases." Sakura calmly disputed. "Haku and I haven't been able to see one another with everything going on. Long distance relationships are bothersome as people say they are."

"Ah, is forehead not getting enough loving?" Ino taunted. The two may had restored their previous dissolved friendship but it didn't stop the occasional tease from been thrown.

Instead of losing her cool, Sakura gave a conniving smile. "That's a lot coming from you. After all, haven't you and Kiba been going at it like two dogs in heat?" The remark caused Ino to briefly choke on her drink. Recovering she gave the pink haired girl a glare.

Watching this all go on, Tenten let out a sigh. "Look at those two. They're acting like a couple of kids." she whispered to the person beside her. "It's a surprise that either of them is in any kind of relationship. You may have the most normal relationship out of everyone, Hinata."

Hearing the caparison caused the Hyuga girl to become embarrassed. "It's not all perfect. Naruto has his corks." Hinata wasn't specific on what those 'corks' were as it would lead to problems that weren't needed at the moment.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him around lately. Where did he go?" Tenten thought that if anyone would know the answer would be the teammates and girlfriend of the blond in question.

"He's busy taking care of a few things." Hinata quickly thought up. "No need to worry. He should be all right."

00000000

On the other side of Konoha, Naruto was doing one of his usual patrols as Fox. So far nothing occurred. "Looks like a slow night. Maybe I'll be able to call it a day." Fox was about to head home when he noticed where he was.

Going in the opposite direction he made his way to the memorial stone that had the names of all those who died in duty. One name in particular caught his eye as he traced his fingers over it. It was slightly bigger than the others around but it was likely due to who the name belonged to.

"You were truly a remarkable man, dad. Wish I had the opportunity to actually get to know you." That was something that not many knew that Naruto thought about. He'd heard stories about his parents from Jiraiya, Tsunade and a variety of people. Didn't stop him from wondering how it would've been had they been able to raise him.

His internal thinking would be ended when he detected the presence of someone in the surrounding area. "All right, show yourself." There wasn't any response to the instruction. "You might as well come out. I'm too old to be playing hide-in-seek."

"Not surprising that you noticed me." Stepping into the open was Kakashi. "You wouldn't have avoided being found out all this time if you weren't aware of your surroundings." There was something off about the jonin as he wasn't acting his usual standoffish way.

"Is there something you wanted or is this just a case of a coincidental meeting?" Fox didn't want to deal with the copycat shinobi but kept his emotions in check. Something might accidentally slip out if he lost his cool.

"Four years. All that time you've acted as Konoha's protector. But there's more, isn't there?" As Kakashi spoke there was a slight edge to his voice. "You're hiding something more than who you are. Something that's more dangerous."

The whole situation was becoming one that Fox didn't want to have a part in and indicated it by waving it off. "Listen, I don't know what your deal is and I could careless. I'm leaving." He took about two steps before he was stopped when a kunai was thrown at his feet.

"I know the truth." informed Kakashi. Although he had his back to him, Fox had his full attention on what was being discussed. "I know that you hold the nine-tailed fox within you."

"And how did you come to such a conclusion?" Fox kept up with the nonchalant attitude. He'd hoped that by keeping the conversation going he would learn what else the jonin might've discovered.

"Wasn't hard to figure out when you put the pieces together." Kakashi stated. "The feel of your chakra is similar to what the demon fox emitted when he attacked Konoha. Those who were there are mostly dead but the ones that are still alive have verified the claim. Given that and you being human, it's safe to deduce that you're a jinchuriki."

"Never was a fan of that term." Peering over his shoulder, Fox gave an irritated stare. "Are you prejudiced against those who are considered 'inhuman'?" Slowly he was losing restraint that he had on his emotions.

"On the contrary, it wouldn't matter. What does matter is what your involvement in the deaths of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina." Fox couldn't even hide his shocked at being asked such a question. "It has been discovered that it was because of the nine-tails that their deaths occurred."

Composing himself, Fox tried to getting the situation back on even footing. "You're assuming some dubious theories. Perhaps you should stop before you go too far." Again he started to leave.

"Explain then why the Akatsuki killed them." The demanding of an explanation once more caused Fox to stop. "The identity of those responsible for the deaths of the Fourth and his wife was never discovered but apparently they were the ones behind it. Your demon should be able to collaborate what I just said."

"Whatever goes on between me and my tenant is none of your concern. As I know, it was you prying into another person's life that led to your team being broken up." Fox's remark got a response out of the jonin as he became more annoyed. "This conversation has gone on long enough. I'm leaving."

"You're not going anywhere." declared Kakashi. He reinforced that declaration by getting a firm hold of his shoulder. "Until my questions are answered you're not going anywhere."

"We'll see about that." In one swift move Fox got free of the jonin's grasp and created distance between the two of them. "Guess you're not going to let me go quietly, are you? Have it your way." Dropping two smoke bombs he used the cover to make a hasty escape

Fox got about a half a mile away before he had to avoid being hit by a pair of kunais. In a tree not far away was Kakashi who had another kunai ready to throw. "I thought it was clear that you weren't going anywhere until you answer my questions." His seriousness was even more evident as he already uncovered his Sharingan.

"Don't remember agreeing to that." A kunai of his own was thrown it was avoided as Kakashi simply tilted his sideways and let it hit the tree that he was in. Even though he missed hitting his adversary, Fox had a smirk on his face.

The reason was quickly understood as Kakashi looked back and saw that in the loop of the kunai was a small ball that exploded in a flash of blinding light. When the brightness faded everything was pretty much the same except that instead of one Fox, there were now four. Without a word all four went off in separate directions.

"What are you doing?" inquired Kyuubi. "Why don't you just fight him instead of running away? I thought you were all right to fight the jonin."

"Believe me, I wouldn't mind fighting him. But things are now complicated." enlightened Naruto to demonic tenant. "Kakashi can't discover that Fox and Naruto are one and the same. To do that, Fox can't do an attack that Naruto specifically does. Need to be creative here." As he tried to think of a plan he detected that all three of his shadow clones were destroyed. What was even more surprising was that they were taken out almost at the same time.

"That's not possible." declared Fox to himself. "Those couldn't have been destroyed so quickly together." His confusion would be short-lived as he stopped in a clearing. "So you used the shadow clone jutsu as well." Again not that far away from Fox was Kakashi.

"Seemed like the most fitting way to resolve the problem." Kakashi remarked offhandedly. "Speaking of which, it's interesting that you would know such a unique jutsu. How did you come across such a technique?"

"Sorry, trade secret." What followed was a series of hand seals before Fox placed his hands on the ground. "Earth Style: Inescapable Hell Jutsu." The ground beneath Kakashi began to give way and he started to sink. "No one has seen Naruto use this jutsu before so it shouldn't lead to any suspicions. Need to be careful. Have to do just enough to immobilize him."

The jutsu continued to where the jonin was more than halfway submerged. Before it could be the whole body, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Fuck. It was a shadow clone the whole time." His dismay would be forgotten as two hands came from the ground underneath him and grabbed his ankles. Before Fox could do anything he was pulled into the ground to where his entire body from the neck down was submerged.

Emerging from the ground nearby was Kakashi. "Nice try. That wasn't a jutsu I expected you to use." He got closer to his captive but kept a safe distance just in case. "Unfortunately you were too quick to assume victory."

Fox struggled to get himself free but it was all in vain. Suddenly, a devious smile appeared on his face. "Perhaps you should take your advice." Without warning the ground around the demon host started to crack before practically exploding, freeing Fox.

"You should've made sure that I couldn't move." The actual way he escaped would remain secret as he used a Wind Edge to break through the earth. Fortunately it was discontinued before it was noticed.

Although Fox managed to get free, it came at a price. "That last move took more out of my than I thought. I won't be able to stay in this form for much longer. Need to end this fast." Unable to go with any of his usual methods he had to improvise. Again Fox used a flash grenade as he threw it to the ground and caused another flash of light.

The impaired vision would be temporary and surprisingly Fox was standing in the same place before the flash. "Follow the leader." Without another word he took off and despite not knowing what to make of it, Kakashi followed. The chase wouldn't last long as Fox would suddenly come to a stop several feet away from the jonin. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

No immediate response came from Kakashi as he stood there and observed the situation. In-between them the ground was slightly disturbed. As though something was being attempted to be hidden. This proved to be accurate as he took out a shuriken and casually tossed it in that spot. When it dropped the ground collapsed and revealed a deep pit.

As soon as that was discovered, Fox reacted by quickly throwing a kunai that narrowly missed hitting the jonin's legs. Jumping back before getting hit, Kakashi was surprised as the ground he was standing on also crumbled and he fell into another pit. "He used the first one to deceive me and get me to the actual trap." The copycat's assessment would only continue as he noticed that there were paper bombs throughout the pit. Seconds later the bombs went off, consuming the entire pit with flames.

"Maybe I went a little too far with that last attack." presumed Fox. "Hopefully he's still alive, albeit unconscious." Slowly he made his over to the edge of the pit and cursed when it was discovered that instead of a burned up jonin, there was a charred up log. "A substitution?"

Before he could fully comprehend what happen, the muffled sound of chirping was heard. Acting on instinct alone Fox backed away just as Kakashi came out of the ground. Although he managed to avoid the main attack, his shoulder got cut and due to the nature of the attack got electrocuted from the discharged. "Damn Chidori."

The move in question was still active in Kakashi's hand but was already starting to fizzle out. "If only I could use my wind jutsus. They would neutralize those lightning based ones." The aftereffects from the Chidori had mostly faded although Fox's body did still felt a bit numb.

"Go ahead and use them. Just know that'll likely lead to your secret being discovered." reinstated Kyuubi of the consequences. "Besides, you're not really capable of performing any of your high leveled jutsus." What was stated was immediately understood as Fox could feel that he was reaching his limit in his current form. "You'll likely only have a few minutes left."

Fox recognized that when he reached his limit he would change back to Naruto he put together his next attack. "Then I guess I better wrap things up."

On the other side of the fight, Kakashi was also prepared to continue. At the same time he was evaluating everything that had gone on. "Knew that this wouldn't go easy but I didn't think it would go like this." Much like his adversary, he was trying not to show any of the fatigue that he was feeling. "Guess nonstop use of the Sharingan and using the Chidori will take their toll on anyone."

Knowing that it wouldn't be long before he was out of chakra, the copycat shinobi decided to end things. "Don't have enough chakra to use the Mangekyou Sharingan. Have to go with the next best thing." Focusing even more chakra into his hand, Kakashi execute another Chidori. Having achieved the necessary chakra he rushed in.

"Here we go." A short series of hand signs was followed by Fox slamming his hands on the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Overturn." A huge stone wall rose from the ground but it wouldn't be alone as soon two more walls would position themselves behind the first one.

Due to the new obstacle, Fox couldn't see his opponent but judging by the sound of the Chidori, he was still come straight at him. "That's right. Come after me."

Even with the new obstacles in his path, Kakashi continued to charged forward as suddenly having to go around would possibly leave him more open for a surprise attack. "Straight forward method it is." With Chidori empowered hand, the jonin went through the stone walls in quick succession until there was just him and his opposition.

The attack was about to stabbed into its intended target but was stopped when Fox grabbed his arm. He was smart enough to avoid any part of his body to avoid being electrocuted by the lightning. "It would be nearly possible to avoid your attack. Only thing I could do is hope that I would be able to grab you arm before it was too late. Luckily I was fast enough."

Recovering from the unexpected maneuver, Kakashi tried to back away but was unable to free himself from Fox's grip. Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and when he saw what it was his surprise only grew. Walking over was another Fox who stood behind the duplicate. . "He used the wall as cover to replace himself with a clone."

"Now I'll be going. You can stay here with my shadow clone. To be precise, my exploding shadow clone." Without taking his eyes off of the person before him, Fox started to back away. "Once I'm far enough away, I'll dispel the clone and that'll be the end to this little skirmish of ours."

"You're not going anywhere." Kakashi's declaration didn't make much sense until all of a sudden someone came up behind Fox and got a firm hold of his arm and head. The identity of the person was another Kakashi.

"He made a shadow clone of his own." Try as he might the demon host was unable to break free. The unexpected situation inadvertently caused the Fox clone to loosen his hold of the Chidori empowered hand. What resulted was the lightning attack plunging into the clone and that caused it to explode in a large explosion.

00000000

"Are you sure that this is necessary?" At another part of the forest, Sakura was following Hinata as they searched the area. "Doesn't seem like it's needed."

"I'm sure about this." professed the Hyuga. "I got this feeling that something is happening with Naruto." Hinata tried to hide the concern of what might be going on with her boyfriend. "Until I see him I won't feel at ease."

"You two must really love one another." surmised Sakura. The Hyuga must've been really focused on the situation as she didn't react with the usual flustered fashion. "Honestly, I still think that you're worried about nothing." Suddenly a giant explosion occurred nearby. "Then again, I could be wrong."

Hurry over the direction of the explosion the two of them came across a huge dust cloud. It was impossible to see what could be going on within as it was too thick. When it started to disperse, two things were seen on the ground. They would be identified as the down bodies of Fox and Kakashi.

Right away they went over to them. Hinata went over to her boyfriend while Sakura tended to her former sensei. "Are you all right?" asked the concern Hyuga.

Struggling to get to a sitting position, Fox let out a few groans of pain. "I'll live." He saw what was going on across from him. "What about him?"

"He's alive." confirmed Sakura. She was in full medical mode as she used her medical ninjutsu to treat the damage. "There's a good amount of damage but he'll recover, given time." She took her eyes off what she was doing and glanced over to her friend. "Care to explain what the hell happen?"

"Ask him. He was the one that-" Fox's explanation was interrupted as he clutched his body in pain. Hinata asked what was going on but everything she said went on deaf ears. "No. Not now." Try as he might, Fox wasn't able to stop himself as he changed from his demonic form and back to being Naruto. "I've reached my limit."

To make the situation even worse, it was then that Kakashi lifted his head and saw what was before him. "N-Naruto? What are you-" Suddenly, it all clicked for the jonin. "It was you? You were Fox all this time?"

Unable to really do anything due to the pain his body was going through, Naruto sneered at him. "So, you finally discovered what I've been hiding." There was no attempt to contain the contempt that he had with the circumstances. "Tell me, was it worth it?" No response was made by Kakashi.

00000000

Unaware to all those there what had taken place were witnessed. Those who looked on were in no way friendly associated with any of the ones involved in the scenes before them but they were captivated by what transpired.

"Damn that Kakashi. He failed what he was supposed to do." cursed one of the observers. "Our lord won't be pleased by this news." Looking over to their partner they saw no sign of distress. "What's with you, Dajimu? Aren't you livid at this?"

Keeping most of his attention on the scene before him, Dajimu glanced at the person with him. "Of course I am, Terai but I choose to remain calm. Losing my composure wouldn't do us any good." Recognizing the roundabout insult at his earlier reaction, Terai gave his partner a heated glare but had no affect.

"While the main objective wasn't achieved, it was still successful in another way." Leaving the cryptic meaning to himself Dajimu started to formulate something in his head. "However, it might be wise to complete the original purpose of this operation."

What that meant became clear as he started doing a group of hand signs. "Earth Style: Rock Spike Jutsu." From the ground several stone spikes burst out of the ground and went straight for Naruto. Due to his body still haven't recovered by the forced transformation the blond was incapable of getting out of the way.

Just before they were going stab into Naruto, someone got in-between them and incepted the attack. When it was all over it was revealed that Kakashi had took all of the stone spikes to where he resembled a human pincushion. Wasn't surprisingly that the jonin collapsed to the ground. Recovering from the shock everyone else there tried to locate the culprit but regrettably there was no indicate on who did it.

Getting to more pressing issues, Sakura restarted her medical ninjutsu only this time being more frantic at dealing with the newfound injuries. "This is bad. There's too much for me to handle given the damage." Even with those hindrances she pushed herself to the limit to treat the person before her.

"How is he?" asked Naruto as he made his way over. Still not having really recovered, Hinata allowed him to lean against her to help get around. No answer was given but the seeing the distraught look on Sakura's face confirmed what he was already speculated.

Surprisingly Kakashi managed to stay consciousness. "Well, this is a surprise. It's almost as if we're having a reunion of sorts." He was trying to play it off but he was clearly in pain.

"There's nothing I can do." Sakura reluctantly declared. "All I can do is take away some of the pain."

"It's all right." Kakashi brushed off. "I knew that this would happen when I acted. No need for you to be upset. I have no doubt that you'll become an even greater medical specialist than Tsunade." All that was given as a reply from Sakura was her trying to contain the tears in her eyes from spilling out.

Shifting his attention from one student to the other, Kakashi looked over to Naruto. Nothing was said as they stared at one another as if searching for something. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Constantly I pried into your personal life even after repeatedly being told not to. I should've stood back and done what I could to show that you could trust me. Perhaps I had this coming."

"I wouldn't go that far." Naruto disputed. "While I greatly hated your continuous prying, I never wished for this to happen." Feeling that he had recovered enough he separated himself from Hinata and took a step closer. "Maybe you're right. Perhaps if you didn't push it things would've been different." While talking Naruto maintained a calm tone and didn't show any type of emotion.

"When this first started to happen, there was a time that I considered telling you. Probably I thought that since you and my father were close to one another you wouldn't be so quick to judge me." Both Hinata and Sakura said nothing as they knew that this was something that needed to be said.

"In spite of everything that happened, you willing put yourself in harm's way." Going down to a knee, Naruto placed a hand on top of Kakashi's. "Not sure if it means anything but I forgive you for everything that happened."

Hearing that had an impact on the jonin as he gave a smiled that could be seen through his mask. "I'm glad. Now I won't have to worry about going with any regrets." Letting out an exhausted breath he closed his eyes one last time. With that the life of Kakashi Hatake had come to an end.

00000000

Days Later…

"So this is where you've been." Walking over Hinata made her way over to Naruto. The cause for the meeting was that the blond was standing by the memorial stone that Konoha had to honor those who had passed on. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. What happened wasn't your fault."

"Can you be so sure?" Naruto questioned in a down tone. "My parents, Jiraiya and now Kakashi have died. They died because of me and this demon inside of me."

"That's not true." Hinata quickly disputed with conviction. "They died because they realize how important you'll become. Each of them cared about you and did what they could so that you can live on. To think otherwise would dishonor their sacrifices." Softening up a bit she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "I'm also thankful because it means that I have you in my life."

That seemed to help diminish the burden that Naruto had been feeling as he gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Hinata. That helped." Returning the sign of affection he gave his girlfriend a hug of his own. "Let's go home." Walking off hand in hand the couple walked off and toward whatever lay ahead.

That probably came as a surprise. To be honest, I didn't plan on killing him off but as things went on and wanting to do some "shocking" things with reason I decided to do this.

Only have a few chapters left before this story/series comes to an end. Hope to continue doing a good job up to the end. Look for the next update within a month's time.