Chapter 14: Death of a Son

Darui was always a very patient man. People who didn't know him often mistook this for laziness or disinterest but that wasn't true. Most of the time at least. He just liked to take his time with things and found that getting worked up about everything didn't really improve the situation. He'd learned that the hard way after being on the same team as the Raikage for years.

Which was why, when their village leader suddenly arrived at their camp without warning, he was the only one not to act shocked. He simply glanced up at the great hulk of a man and gave a slow nod.

"Darui, what are you doing?"

Whenever A spoke like that to anyone, they'd usually jump in their own skin. Darui though gave a rather unbothered shrug. Even so, he had to admit that what he was doing wouldn't exactly inspire confidence. After all, who would want to see the commander of their main force merely sitting around staring at the entrance to the forest a few hundred metres before them?

"Thinking boss" Darui replied. "It's all I can really do at the minute to be honest."

"As I thought, you still haven't had any luck breaking through."

Darui simply shook his head. He couldn't be blamed though; they simply didn't have the firepower to break such a barrier.

"What's worse is that we can't even get close to the forest where they are," Darui added, pointing out towards the wasteland before them. "Whenever we try to send a force across this area, we come under heavy attack from Kunai, Shiruken, paper bombs and long range ninjutsu. We can sometimes get small teams around by taking the long way round but it seems that they just get picked off by the other outposts."

Darui winced slightly as he prepared for another trademark Raikage yell. Yet, it never came. In its place was a simple yet slightly unsettling smirk and an arrogant exhale of breath.

"As expected of Minato, this type of defensive ninjutsu is right up his alley," he said. "But, you don't have to worry now, we've arrived to deal with this."

"We?" Darui thought, as realisation suddenly dawned on him. "Don't tell me that-"

"Bee, get over here!" A bellowed, as he spun around to face the group of troops that had now gathered behind them.

The group suddenly split as a large man walked between them. He looked like a slightly smaller version of the Raikage, although he kept a pair of sunglasses permanently placed over his eyes.

"Yo Darui" he said, offering his fist.

Darui bumped the fist with his own but he couldn't hide his insecurities about this.

"Lord Raikage, are you sure-"

"Bee isn't staying" A answered at once. "He's only here to break through the barrier, he will return to the village straight after. He is not to join in with the main battle."

Darui glanced over at Bee and noticed him shift uncomfortably. He was aware that the A's younger brother sometimes felt isolated locked away in the village and while Darui did feel sympathy he also knew how necessary it was. Bee was the village's protector; he needed to always be there.

"Darui, prepare your troops" A barked. "We'll be attacking within minutes. Bee, do it."

Darui barely had time to warn his men. He was able to let out a quick yell before the octopus tails sprouted out of Bee's back. Within seconds, his size increased ten folds and he finally took the form of the beast. Even after years of watching the transformation, Darui still felt a sense of trepidation looking at the face of the great ox.

"Prepare for battle!" Darui then yelled out after he noticed that his Shinobi had been similarly entranced.

As they all lined up in formations and gathered various teams, Bee opened his now giant mouth and began to gather vast amounts of chakra in to a ball. Finally, once the chakra had reached its maximum volume; he arched his head forward and let out his signature yell before sending the attack flying at high velocity towards its target.

"WEEEEE!"

There are some things that Sasuke found that he could adapt to in his situation. He had gotten used to the cold temperatures that he was often subjected to, although he still found it annoying when it snowed. He had also come to terms with the fact that he could only communicate with his Mother or his Sensei through the occasional letters. He was even okay with performing the more boring duties on the encampment; such as cleaning the equipment or helping prepare the food.

Yet, there were plenty of things that he feared he would never get his head around. One was the unnerving fear that was constantly resting just beneath the surface of his very being. He was scared for the life of those he wasn't around. Receiving letters from those he cared about only brought temporary relief and within a few days the fear began to take over again. Every time the post arrived, he kept expecting there to be a letter for him, informing him of the death of one his loved ones. The very thought made him sick to his stomach.

The outpost they were stationed at was slightly different to the norm. Usually, an outpost was placed in a forest in order to have the cover of the trees to conceal them. However, there were no such forests so close to Iwagakure so they had to settle for an outpost in a mountain past. It was tactically advantageous but didn't make for comfortable living conditions.

He first went about his usual morning routine of quickly washing and dressing before eating and heading to the makeshift armoury to pick up his weaponry. He grabbed a handful of Shiruken and a few Kunai before heading to the back corner of what was essentially a tent. After quickly scouring through the racks, he found his tanto towards the end of the bottom rack. He scowled at it as he noticed dirt on the handle.

"Not again, the one thing that's mine out here and people continue to steal it" he growled internally, before making up his mind that he would bring it up with his father.

As he walked towards his father's tent, he could feel the eyes of the several of the others on him. He knew full well what they were thinking; he could practically hear the words that their eyes expressed.

"Poor kid"

"He's too young to be out here"

"He's not like his brother."

Sometimes he wanted to yell out at them, ask them how they really felt about this whole mess deep down. Yet, he restrained himself from doing so. Really, he knew that he didn't have a leg to stand on in regards to this. The majority of them were experienced veterans, used to the rigours of war. In some ways, he knew they were right. He was just a kid.

Finally, he reached his fathers quarters but unfortunately all he heard was the all too familiar sound of raised voices. He loitered outside the tent and listened for a moment, wondering what the problem between his father and brother was this time.

"I don't see a problem with it and frankly neither should you."

"No problems! Itachi, don't be so naïve. You cannot keep abusing your powers like this; pretty soon you'll go blind.

"The only one mentioning abuse of powers here is you. I only use my eyes when they are necessary and so far it has been necessary in order to save a number of my comrades lives."

"While that's noble of you, you don't realise the adverse affects this causes. Remember the eyes don't belong just to you."

"I realise, they also belong to the village."

"And the clan!"

It sounded as if Fugaku was about to raise his voice again but he quickly silenced. Sasuke had a feeling that he knew why and he was proven right when his father called out for him a few seconds later.

Sasuke walked inside with some trepidation. He was greeted by a forced grin from Itachi, who Sasuke noticed had switched back to wearing his ANBU uniform in place of the standard flack jacket he had sported for the past year. Fugaku was less concerned with hiding his annoyance and he preferred to wear a noticeable scowl across his face.

"What do you want Sasuke?" he asked sharply.

"Erm, it's nothing" Sasuke replied lamely, deciding that it was best not to bother his father was such a trivial issue. "I was just passing by."

Neither Itachi nor Fugaku appeared to be convinced by that explanation but neither said anything out loud.

"So, Itachi what's with that?" Sasuke asked, hoping to ease the tension in the room just a little.

"I'm going on a recon mission today and this doesn't stand out as much" Itachi replied. "I'm just waiting for the rest of my team to get ready."

Sasuke was about to ask more when Fugaku interrupted him.

"Oh yeah before I forget, Sasuke it's your turn for guard duty today. Take Neji Hyuga with you and report to the point at 3pm."

"Really? But I normally only do that with Itachi."

"That's right" Itachi agreed, as he frowned at his father. "It's a dangerous assignment, he shouldn't really be going with only another Chunin."

"You would have gone with him if not for this mission," Fugaku snapped. "Besides, he'll still be behind the barrier and there's been no incidents the whole time we've been here." Itachi looked ready for another argument but obviously thought better of it. He simply shook his head and grabbed his mask that was placed on the desk.

"Just make sure you look out for him while I'm gone" Itachi said as he walked out of the tent, leaving a sour atmosphere behind.

Fugaku stared at the exit to his tent for a minute or so before begrudgingly walking towards his desk. Sasuke could tell from the way his father groaned when he moved to sit and his pained expression that the effects of the war were beginning to take their tole on him.

"Is there anything else, Sasuke?"

He had no idea how much more he had to say. He wanted to tell him about how much pain this whole ordeal was causing him. He wanted to be told how everything would be all right and he had nothing to worry about. But that was just a stupid desire. His father had never been like that and Sasuke doubted that he ever would be.

"Nothing, I'll go find Neji."

As Sasuke walked back through the camp, past the hundreds of Shinobi that currently inhabited it, he felt an overwhelming sensation that he was all alone.

At first, Kakashi had found the silence in the camp to be quite unnerving. He had grown up with war and had a lot of experience on the battlefield. He had expected everything to be the same as it had been last time. He thought they'd be bogged down with constant assaults, especially given their opponent, who was not renowned as a patient man. Yet, while they faced a barrage of ninjutsu attacks and occasional infiltration attempts, they had not had to stand up to the type of attacks he had been expecting. Which, he supposed, was only a good thing.

He'd soon come to appreciate his early morning checks through the forest outpost that they inhabited. As he looked through each tent and looked through the trees to see what lay beyond their barrier jutsu, he had time to think. Not necessarily about the war or his duties as commander of the outpost, but to collect his thoughts. On this day, his mind turned to a familiar but haunting subject.

"It's been over a year now" he thought, as he made his way back to his own tent. "Over a year since I sat at the memorial, maintaining my vigil. I wonder if Minato Sensei has kept it clean in my absence. Or if Kushina has been replacing the flowers on Rin's grave? I'm sure they have, they aren't the type of people that would let you down like that. They aren't like me."

As he reached the opening for his tent, he nodded towards the two Chunin standing guard, who gave a respectful salute back. He thought about telling them, once again, that they he weren't always required to act like that around him. Then he thought better of it.

"May as well just leave them to it, it's probably better to have that certainty anyway."

Kakashi sighed as he reached his desk, which was just as ridiculously messy as he had left it. Paperwork and organizational skills had never been his forte, and that was being brutally exposed to him during his stint as outpost commander. Various pieces of paper were strewed haphazardly across his desk and Kakashi honestly couldn't remember reading any of them.

"All right, lets have a look what we have here."

It was mostly quite predictable stuff. Mission reports, Shinobi profiles and correspondence with other commanders and the village. All incredibly boring of course but necessary. How he longed for some kind of secretary to do all this for him, the thought of his Sensei having Shikaku at his disposal made him feel instantly jealous.

As he reached the bottom of his pile, he found a bunch of messily written notes. He recognised them as some of the drafts of his last letter that he had sent to Sasuke. He was seriously concerned about his students' well being, so much so that he was considering asking Minato Sensei if he could be transferred. Although that would create it's own problems, Fugaku was already unhappy with their relationship and he didn't want to sour those relations any further.

"I just hope that reached him soon enough" he thought, as he had sent the letter in the non-priority post.

He then moved to stand up so he could go and give his orders but was stopped dead in his tracks as one of the many Chunin under his command suddenly burst inside.

"Commander Kakashi, you need to come quickly!"

"What is it?" Kakashi demanded, sensing both the urgency and panic in the young mans voice.

"They've broken the barrier sir," he said despondently. "They'll be at the entrance to the camp within minutes."

Naruto sat in his room; lying back on the bed with a stack of letters placed next to him. He read through them one by one and each one gave him more of an idea what was happening in the war. Each letter recounted each person's own personal horrors and by the end of it, Naruto only had one conclusion.

"Everyone's suffering out there," Naruto said, as he finished a particularly detailed letter from Kakashi.

"Indeed, why you're just sitting so comfortably in you're room, no problems at all."

Naruto shuddered as he heard the deep and demonic voice stir up inside him. It had been only a few weeks since he was told about the existence of the demon fox and became aware of his presence within him. Ever since then, the demon had been intermittently sharing its thoughts with its now aware host and they were always something antagonistic.

"Shut up" Naruto said. "I already told you not to speak to me, so just be quiet."

This was met with a slow and malicious laugh that frightened Naruto to his very core. He was still struggling with the concept that such a thing was sealed within him and having to listen to it mocking him every few days wasn't helping.

"Pathetic, as expected from you. Any decent human being would want to help I'd imagine, but of course a privileged brat like yourself is too self absorbed."

He desperately wanted to ignore the taunts but deep down Naruto knew that they were probably true. He only ever wanted to go out to war for the fun and adventure, not because of some desire to help his friends out there. Really, he knew there was never a chance he could go anyway.

But still, reading all those letters had changed his mind a little. He felt differently now, he wanted to help. All that training had at least made him strong enough to help, he was sure that he was stronger than the average Chunin by now.

"All talk, you're just saying it because you know you'll never be able to go."

"I thought I told you to stay quiet!" Naruto said, as he jumped off the bed.

The Kyuubi was right though; his father would never let him out of the village. The only solution, then, was to break out and go by himself. But this plan had its own problems. He couldn't just walk straight out of the village; someone would clearly notice him leaving, especially the guards standing outside his room that walked in to check on him every half hour. Also, once his Dad realised he was gone, he'd bring him back before he could even reach any of the outposts.

"I need Shikamaru to figure this out for me" Naruto groaned, as he sat back on his bed defeated. "He'd probably just do that weird hand thing and think up some master plan in seconds."

Naruto let out a chuckle as he thought of how ridiculous Shikamaru looked when doing that, although he couldn't argue with the results. He'd asked Shikamaru about why he did it once and he remembered the answer being:

"It just helps me to see things clearly. When I sit like that, I can break everything down and make more complicated issues simple. I don't know why that works, it just does."

As he thought about it, Naruto supposed that he had nothing to lose. After checking to make sure that there was no way he was being watched, he carefully placed the tips of his fingers together and closed his eyes.

At first, nothing really happened apart from feeling a little ridiculous, he could swear that he could hear the Kyuubi laughing but he shrugged it off.

"All right, I need to break everything down. The problems that I've got are that I'm under guard, have no way of not being recognised leaving the village, can't transport to an outpost quick enough. So, I have to get away from the guards, leave with a disguise, find a faster way of getting around."

Just like that, things began to slowly fall in to place until he had a fully made plan prepared inside his head. He made a mental note to thank Shikamaru later before starting his plan.

He opened the door and stepped out in to the hallway, only to find two Shinobi standing either side of his door. He had no idea who the guy to the right was, but he at least knew the name of the spectacled Jonin to his left.

"Aoba?"

"Hey Naruto, where you going?" Aoba replied, apparently ready to follow him.

"Don't worry, just to the bathroom!" Naruto said, holding up his arms defensively. "I think I'll be fine in there alone."

Aoba laughed as Naruto headed in to the room at the end of the hall. Luckily, the bathroom was large enough for his purposes and had a window leading outside.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Within a second, an exact duplicate was standing next to him. With the first part done, he then moved on to his next step.

"Henge no Jutsu!"

Naruto looked in the mirror to see how convincing his transformation in to Aoba had been. He was quite impressed by what he saw for the most part, it made him feel that all his practice with the technique had been worth it. He couldn't see any discrepancies between himself and the real Aoba, even down to the position of his pouch.

"Still have the most difficult part left now," Naruto thought, as he nodded to his clone to walk back to his room.

As the clone slammed the bathroom door closed, Naruto hopped out of the window to the ground below. Feeling a little more relaxed, he began his search of the village for the three men he needed.

"So what's your plan here? Even if you do get to the battlefield, you won't be allowed to stay."

"I thought I told you not to talk to me" Naruto responded. "Besides, once my Dad sees that I'm fine when I get there, he'll let me stay."

This time he could definitely here the fox's howling laugh. It was so loud in his ears that he looked around to see if anyone else noticed but of course they didn't.

"Fine, do what you like. Don't expect me to bail you out when things get tough."

Naruto may have considered the Kyuubi's words more thoroughly if he hadn't spotted who he was looking for loitering around one of the café's.

"Genma!" he called out, ushering over the three Hokage's guards.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to take me to the Land of Hot Springs outpost as quickly as possible" he said, trying to mimic Aoba's mannerisms as best as he could remember.

He had chosen that particular outposts as he would find it easier to convince Kakashi to let him stay. They'd been fairly close since Naruto was born; heck it was like having an older, slightly aloof, sibling. Still, he wouldn't have to worry about where he was going if he couldn't convince Genma and his team to take him there.

"Why?" came the inevitable question.

"We just got word that they've captured an enemy captain, they want me to help with the interrogation" Naruto replied, hoping his performance was as convincing to Genma as it was in his own head.

"So, why do we have to take you?" Genma pressed for more information.

"Because the Hokage's busy and you guys are the only others that know the jutsu!" Naruto said, feigning frustration. "I have to get there quickly, so we need to get going now."

Genma glanced at the two others behind him, who both gave quick nods. He sighed, before turning back to whom he thought was Aoba.

"All right, but you should be grateful for this. This jutsu is a bitch to use."

They walked off to a more secluded area in order to perform the technique.

"The seal is placed on a tree just outside the camp, so you'll have to walk a little to get there" Genma informed him, as the three of them linked hands and formed a triangle around Naruto.

It was at this point that Naruto realised that this would be his first experience with Hirashin. His Dad had never used it to transport him before, well never at a time he could remember. He had to hide his excitement though; Aoba would be concentrated on the task at hand.

"Hirashin no Jutsu!"

It felt as if he was moving incredibly fast through some kind of vortex. The world simply flashed before his eyes, although he couldn't really make out where he was supposed to be due to the speed. Within a second though, it was all over and he was stood on solid ground once again. It was amazing the change in scenery, once second he was stood in one of the backstreets of the village and the next he was in the middle of a rather dark forest.

"The camp is just up ahead" Genma panted, a bead of sweat visible on his brow. "We should be inside the barrier now, so you won't have to worry about anything like an ambush. So, we'll head back now."

"Right, thanks for the help."

Naruto began running towards the camp, but only ended his transformation once he saw the group disappear again. He then took a deep breath to calm himself.

"All right, here we go!"

Where did it all go wrong?

Fugaku Uchiha had asked himself that question on so many occasions but he had yet to come up with a suitable answer. He looked at the family photo he always kept in his jacket pocket. Sasuke with his bright smile, Itachi looking so at ease with everything, Mikoto's face full of joy. He even remembered being happy with his life at that moment, even if he did have his plans. It was all in the past though, doubtful to ever return. He could see that Itachi had been pushed to his breaking point again, which was something he had to keep an eye on. Sasuke smiles had been drowned out by the horrors he had already witnessed. He couldn't even begin to imagine the burden Mikoto had to bear each and every day her family was separated from her. Even in his own precarious position, he didn't envy her at all.

He had tried to tell himself that it was the war, the war had ruined other families and it had done so to his as well. Except that wasn't true, things had changed years before that. He knew that what Itachi almost did was his fault, yet he couldn't bring himself to think that the coup was the wrong choice. In fact, he had secretly been having thoughts of whether it would be possible to do so again.

"No, I need to stop with that" Fugaku told himself, as he walked outside of his tent to get some much needed air "I can't risk splitting my family like that again. I should probably just accept that I'll never see an Uchiha as Hokage."

The thought was saddening but one that Fugaku couldn't let himself linger with for too long. He was responsible for the lives of his troops and thus couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Are you all right, Fugaku?"

The calming voice came from Hizashi Hyuga. Fugaku had to admit that he knew little of the brother of the Hyuga's clan head when he had first met him but over the course of the year they had developed a bond somewhat. Maybe it was because he too had to go through the agony of facing war while also having to look out for your son.

"Just trying to get my head around a new strategy is all" Fugaku lied. "Needed a little more space to think."

"It's understandable, you are under a lot of stress after all" Hizashi nodded. "Although, I'm not sure what that picture would have to do with strategy."

Fugaku looked down and realised that he was still holding the family photo. He hadn't noticed until it was pointed out.

"Well, I never said the strategy was for battle" Fugaku joked half-heartedly. "But with the way things are going between us, there could be battle yet."

"Things still that bad between you and Itachi then?"

"Worse" Fugaku sighed. "Almost every time we speak now it turns in to an argument. I tried to advise him not to overuse his eyes for his own sake this morning, yet it just turned in to a shouting match. What's worse is that Sasuke overheard the whole thing, again. I'm worried about what it's doing to him."

Hizashi paused for a moment before he spoke again.

"I can't help with Itachi," he said slowly. "But I wouldn't worry too much about Sasuke just yet. He's a strong kid, both of our sons are. Many would have faltered long before now, many here already have."

"Maybe you're right" Fugaku chuckled quietly. "He is an Uchiha at the end of the day, I shouldn't be surprised."

As Fugaku finished, he heard a loud bang in the distance. The sound in itself was alarming, but it was the direction that it was coming from that truly frightened both Fugaku and Hizashi.

"Shit, that's where Sasuke and Neji are right now!" Fugaku said, as he quickly withdrew a kunai. "Hizashi, can you-"

"Already have, they're both alive for now" Hizashi said, with the final two words spoken with difficulty. "They seem to be surrounded though, Fugaku we have to do something."

Fugaku hadn't even stayed to hear Hizashi say that as he had already set off towards his son. Fortunately, the edge of the barrier where they were stationed was not too far off, so Sasuke would only have to hold on for a short time. He just hoped that it would be short enough.

As he darted past the various rock formations that were in his way, he could hear the sound of fighting become clearer up ahead. Metal clashing with metal, yells from voices he didn't recognise. While they filled him with dread, the sounds were also slightly reassuring. They were signs that his son was still fighting, still alive.

As he reached the path that led to the clearing where Sasuke was, a group of masked Shinobi suddenly appeared before him. Fugaku noted the Iwa symbol on their forehead protectors that signalled that they were enemies, but Fugaku didn't let that stop him. In fact, he didn't even break stride as he made his hand seals.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Fugaku's flames were wide enough to engulf all of his enemies at one time and incinerate them. The Uchiha clan head paid no heed to the burned bodies as they hit the ground; he just saw them as another obstacle to get around. Up ahead, he heard a horrifying scream, which sounded like the voice of a young boy. Panicked, Fugaku increased his speed until he finally reached the clearing where he would find the boys. When he got there, he was stunned by what he saw.

Sasuke and Neji were stood, back-to-back, with a small assortment of bodies lying around them. The tips of Neji's fingers were covered in blood and his body was littered with bruises. Sasuke's body reflected this, except it was his tanto that was dripping with the blood of his opponents. His breathing was laboured, and he was holding his arm in order to contain a visible wound.

"Amazing" Fugaku gasped, as he counted the number of Shinobi by the boys' feet. "They took out this many by themselves?"

"Are you surprised?" Hizashi enquired, as he caught up to him. "I told you, they're strong and do not falter."

"Hey look Neji, our Dad's are here," Sasuke pointed out, speaking between breaths. "Say, are you all right?"

"Thanks to you" Neji replied. "If you hadn't blocked those Shiruken that attacked me from my blind spot with your arm, I'd have-"

"It's fine, you don't need to say it" Sasuke said, as he fell to his knees. "What kind of Shinobi would I be if I let a comrade die? But now, seeing as back up has arrived, I hope you don't mind but I think I need to rest."

Sasuke evidently meant right away, as he fell towards the ground. Fugaku moved quickly to catch him before he hit the ground. As he held Sasuke in his arms, he realised that it was the first time he had done so since he was a small child. He looked down at his sons face, half expecting to see the calming face he always had when he slept. Instead, he was greeted by pained expression. Evidently, Sasuke struggled even when unconscious.

"A Shinobi needs more than just physical strength" Fugaku thought, as he put Sasuke on his back in order to bring him back to camp. "Sasuke, there's still more you have to learn."

"Wait… we're… what?"

The expression on Naruto's face almost broke Minato's heart. What's worse is that it was the second time he had seen it in a week. The first time was difficult enough. He couldn't really get his around it that the Kyuubi, that horrible creature that killed the last Hokage and terrorised the village, had been sealed within him all this time. He had gone from shock, to confusion, to anger to depression within a few seconds.

In all honesty, he hadn't planned on telling Naruto about it until he was much older and more equipped to handle it. He'd be able to understand that those times when he couldn't control his anger growing up had been all part of this. He would be capable of grasping how and why this was done. None of that was possible now, he was still too young.

Still, it had to be done. The war had made it a necessity for Naruto to grasp control of the power. Minato had no idea what would happen in the future, Naruto had to be prepared. For both his sake, and the sake of the village.

"I'll only undo it slightly, not enough for it to come out" Minato reassured his son. "We just need to see if you can keep control using its chakra. You understand about controlling it, don't you?"

Naruto nodded his head but Minato wasn't entirely convinced. But, he had no choice but to proceed. He lifted up Naruto's shirt and placed his hand over where he knew the seal was. After a couple of seconds, the harsh black seal materialised.

"You ready for this?" Minato asked one last time.

"Yes" Naruto nodded.

Without wasting any more time, Minato carefully and very slowly moved his hand counter-clockwise. The seal followed this hand movement, and he stopped after the smallest of movements of the seal.

Nothing happened for the first few seconds and Minato thought that maybe he hadn't opened it enough. Then, there was a horrible gust of wind. Naruto screamed out in pain and the atmosphere around him suddenly heated up. Red chakra exploded around him, encasing Naruto within. Minato thought that he could even see a shadow of the Kyuubi itself in there.

"Naruto?" Minato called out to his son. "Naruto, can you hear me?"

Naruto was looking at him. He was on all fours, his hair wild and the iris of eyes red. His fingertips had become sharp and beast-like and so had his teeth. He growled at his father, and dug his fingers in to the dirt beneath him.

He roared again and set off at a run towards Minato. He jumped up and aimed a punch at Minato, who had to move quickly in order to block.

"Naruto, you need to calm down!" Minato yelled out. "Just look at me, remember who you are!"

Naruto ignored him completely and attacked again. This time, Minato caught the punch but had to let go immediately. The chakra that Naruto was covered in was painful to touch, even for just a second. That was when Minato realised; this was actually causing him pain.

"All right, I end this now!" Minato declared, as he reached in to his pouch.

He pulled out a paper seal created for suppressing chakra and moved in. Fortunately, he was still far faster than his son and was able to place the seal on his forehead. It took around half a minute, but he finally settled and collapsed to the ground.

"So that's what happened," Minato said, as he finished recounting his story.

Jiraiya, who had just arrived in Minato's office a few minutes before, had listened intently to the entire thing. He allowed himself a minute or so to digest the information.

"I agree with what you said then" he began. "That's not going to work no matter what we try. We need another method."

"Well, I heard a rumour that the Kumo's Jinchuriki Killer Bee-"

Minato was cut off as Genma and his squad walked in. Minato noticed how exhausted they looked, and that they were uncharacteristically a few minutes late turning up for their meeting.

"What's going on?" Minato asked them.

"Well, it's been a while since he had to use Hirashin isn't it?" Genma said. "Takes more out of us than we thought."

"Why did you use Hirashin?" Minato asked, not liking where the conversation was heading.

"Well, we had no other way of getting Aoba over to Kakashi's camp did we?"

Minato stood up straight away, alarmed at what was said.

"Aoba is supposed to be watching Naruto right now, he shouldn't have been going anywhere" Minato said.

Everyone in the room realised what this might mean and everyone had the same thought. Without saying any more, everyone rushed over to Minato's house and towards Naruto's room. To their surprise, Aoba greeted them when they got there.

"I thought you said that-"

"We did, I can assure you" Genma answered Jiraiya's question before he could finish.

While the rest were confused, Minato had already figured out exactly what had gone on. Ignoring everyone else, he burst in to Naruto's room to find his son sitting on the bed.

"Damn it!" Minato said, as he kicked the ground. "I knew it!"

"What's going on?" Jiraiya asked, still confused.

"That's a clone, the real Naruto was taken via Hirashin to the outpost in the Land of Hot Springs" Minato said. "Sensei, can you look after things while I'm gone? I won't be long."

One thing that Kakashi had come to was seeing enemy Shinobi falling before him. He didn't find any pleasure in it; he would be worried if he did. He just accepted the fact that it was either them or the people he cared about, and he knew where his loyalties lay. So, with just a single Kunai in his hand, he cut down every enemy he spotted. Waves of Kumo Nin kept on coming though; there was no end in sight. All Kakashi could see in front of him was the clashing of blades and the exchange of ninjutsu.

"Gai, there's a group attacking down the right!" Kakashi yelled out to his second in command. "You cover that, I've got things here!"

"Right, my eternal rival!" Gai yelled enthusiastically, clearly not allowing the battle to affect his youthful charm.

Kakashi parried an attempted strike from a nearby opponent before dealing with him as well. However, he had a feeling that the next enemy that arrived on the horizon would not be as easy to deal with.

"Copy Ninja Kakashi, my this is an honour."

"You're the Raikage, aren't you?" Kakashi asked, although he already knew the answer. "Can't say I expected to find you out here."

"I bet you didn't" the Raikage smirked. "Now, I'd talk to you more but I'd rather get this over and done with quickly. Once we've dealt with you, our march to Konoha will be far smoother."

"Come and try it!" Kakashi said, as he extended his arm downwards.

The wonderful sound of birds chirping filled the air and the familiar feeling of lightning in his hand returned. He then set off towards his target at speed. Just before he reached him, the Raikage covered himself with his own lightning. Despite this, Kakashi didn't bother to stop his attack; he'd got too close anyway. He then thrust his hand forward and straight through the lightning shroud, piercing the Raikage's chest.

"Impressive" the Raikage commended Kakashi. "To think, it would have the piercing power to break through. Yet, it's still too weak, just like you and your village. So, now it's time to die."

He grabbed Kakashi and raised him above his head with both arms. The Raikage's vice-like grip was so tight that Kakashi thought he might burst in any second. But he knew that wasn't what he should be worried about.

"Liger Bomb!"

The Raikage slammed Kakashi in to the ground with enough force to create a small crater. Nobody could possibly survive such a devastating attack and Kakashi was no exception. Except, that attack didn't kill him.

"I see" the Raikage said. "So, where's the real one?"

Kakashi, for the first time since the battle began, stepped out from behind the trees.

"The lightning clone didn't even phase him when it was destroyed. That lightning shroud is as dangerous as Sensei said" Kakashi thought. "I also can't doubt his speed, he's far superior to me. I'm going to have to use THAT jutsu in order to fight with him."

As if hearing Kakashi's thoughts, the Raikage charged straight towards him. Kakashi pulled out two silver kunai's from his pouch. One of them he dropped on to the floor behind him, the other he threw to the side. As the Raikage approached, Kakashi made a sign with one hand and disappeared before he could be hit.

"You really are his student" A growled, angered for the first time in the battle. "You even know the same cowardly jutsu. Well, don't go thinking you'll be able to beat me with this. I've been planning on fighting against Minato, my speed will now be quick enough to beat Hirashin."

More lightning surrounded the Raikage, as he roared louder.

"I can't use Hirashin like Minato Sensei does, I don't have the chakra for it. Besides, I can't just keep running from him like this, he'll catch me eventually. What I need to do is attack him. I need a jutsu strong enough to-"

Kakashi had to teleport again as he narrowly avoided A's stray arm heading towards him.

"-Both pierce the shroud and damage his body. I only have one attack like that but it's not complete. No, that doesn't matter. I have to use it now."

Kakashi avoided one more blow before preparing his attack. He held his hand out and gathered the chakra in to a ball in his hand.

"The Rasengan? Don't make me laugh, I've been preparing to counter that for years" A laughed. "Fine, let's see what it can do then. But beware Hatake, you aren't a clone this time."

Kakashi ignored the taunt and set off again to attack. The Raikage also ran towards him, ready to counter as soon as Kakashi faltered. As they approached, Kakashi's hand lit up with that familiar lightning once more.

"What?" The Raikage exclaimed.

"Raiton: Raisengan!"

With the piercing power of the Raikiri and the destructiveness of the Rasengan, Kakashi hit the Raikage full force. The power of the technique caused A to fly backwards while yelling in pain. However, Kakashi didn't get away injury free either. The attack caused his entire left arm to feel numb and he struggled to move freely. He hadn't yet been able to perform that jutsu without hurting himself in the process.

"Well, at least-"

"At least you've beaten me?"

Kakashi stood gobsmacked as the Raikage stood up once more. There was a noticeable and bloody mark on his body and his Lightning Shroud was no longer active, but he was standing and ready to fight again.

"My body is durable enough to withstand that technique," he groaned. "I told you, I plan to fight Minato. In order to do that, I must get past you."

Kakashi placed prepared his seal, to dodge another blow. He had no intention of giving up just yet; he wasn't out of options just yet.

The Raikage prepared to charge but stopped just before he did. Confused, Kakashi noticed that his eyesight was no longer on him. He was looking at someone behind Kakashi, just to the left. Kakashi followed his gaze and then laid eyes upon what he was looking at.

"Oh no" he said, feeling panic shoot through him. "Tell me you're not."

Naruto was stood right where Kakashi had been standing at the start of the battle. Kakashi knew exactly what the Raikage was thinking and knew that he had to stop it at all costs.

However, there was a problem with that. The Raikage was already significantly faster than him even without Kakashi's current mobility issues. Which meant it was no surprise when A simply darted around Kakashi and towards Naruto, who seemed totally oblivious.

"Shit!" Kakashi thought, before he noticed a gleam at Naruto's feet. "The kunai! I can just about get there first."

Kakashi did just that and he was instantly standing between Naruto and a rampaging Raikage. However, that was the full extent of his plan, as he still had no way of stopping him.

"Naruto, you need to run!" Kakashi screamed to the now frightened boy behind him.

"But Kakashi-"

"JUST DO IT!" Kakashi yelled again as A closed in.

"Out of my way!" the Raikage bellowed, before extending his right arm outwards.

"Please Naruto, I don't want anything to happen to you" Kakashi begged, as he raised his arms up in an attempt to block the attack.

"Lariat!"

It was as if everything happened in slow motion. One second, Minato was standing in Naruto's room, seething at the thought of his Son betraying his trust like that. The next second, he was standing on the edge of the forest, viewing a completely horrific site, one that would be burned in to his mind for the remained of his life.

He could only stand and watch as A's powerful arm smashed through Kakashi's defence with ease. Could only watch as the arm then collided heavily with his chest, causing his head to snap backwards. Could only watch as he began to fly backwards from the force of the hit. This was when Minato finally realised that he was free to move and he did so to catch his pupil.

He heard the sound of battle suddenly stop and Minato knew that he was the reason. He could see that Naruto was stood there, both shocked and frightened. But he didn't care, not at that moment. All that mattered in his eyes was the young man in front of him, bleeding on the ground. Minato wasn't used to this, he didn't have experience with the injured. Especially when they were in such a dire state.

He looked up desperately to his right and, as if it were a reflex, called out "Ri-"

The word stuck bitterly in his mouth before he could finish it. He then turned again and shouted at the nearest Shinobi he could see.

"Where the hell are the medics? Get them out here now! Anyone who knows any medical ninjutsu, come here!"

No one moved, no one came to help. They all gave him this look that reflected Minato's inner thoughts that he tried to ignore: there's nothing they can do. He could tell that when he first saw Kakashi, first saw that his chest had been completely split.

"Sensei, is that you?" Kakashi spluttered between his laboured breaths.

"Don't talk Kakashi, we'll fix this. We'll get you better," Minato said desperately. "You need to save your strength."

Kakashi let out a few sickening coughs as he wheezed out his breaths. With each passing second, it was clear that it was getting harder for him.

"I'm glad you're here Sensei, at the end."

"Kakashi, don't-"

"Please, just let me talk" Kakashi begged weakly. "I don't have much time to say this."

Minato nodded his confirmation that he would do so, before grabbing hold of Kakashi's hand. He wanted to leave him in no doubt that he was there for him.

"I'm not great with words, so I'll keep it short" Kakashi began, his voice gradually getting quieter. "After all I've done in my life, after how much stuff I've messed up, I never thought that I deserved to be happy. I thought that I would spend my life alone, living simply to serve the village. But you Sensei, you and Kushina changed that. I was never as happy in my life as I was whenever I was in your home. Whether it was for Naruto's birthday parties or to simply share a meal. So, I guess all I want to say is that-"

Kakashi coughed weakly a few more times and his voice became even quieter, so Minato had to lean in to hear Kakashi's final words.

"Thank you both for replacing the parents that I lost."

With Kakashi's very last breath, silence descended on the battlefield. Minato just sat still staring at the now lifeless body he was holding. He just looked so small again, as if he was that undersized Genin he had taken in all those hears ago again. Around him, he noticed that the Shinobi had not yet taken up arms again. Except for one man.

"That's enough, remember where you are!" A yelled out to his troops. "This is no time for sympathy or sentimentality. Which brings me to my point. Minato, drag your self away from the trash in your arms and face me. I'd like to finally kill you here and now."

As if to prove his point, he jumped straight in to his highest grade of lightning armour. However, Minato was not the first to react. Instead, Naruto let out a deafening howl aimed at the Raikage.

"Shut your rotten mouth!" he shrieked, his voice almost unnatural in tone. "Speak about Kakashi again and I'll rip your throat out!"

The red chakra began to envelop Naruto once again and he prepared to attack. But before he could move an inch, Minato was by his side. Not a single person had even noticed him move and only A was even able to see him move his arm to place the seal on his son's forehead.

"Well, isn't this all very interesting?" A smirked. "Lots of revelations coming about today and your increased speed is only one of them. With any luck, your death will be the final one Minato."

The second A finished speaking, Minato made his move. With a flash befitting his moniker, he darted across the battlefield. Even after the earlier demonstration, A was surprised at the raw pace. He was just about able to move his head in time to avoid Minato's punch.

"Not bad Minato, but-"

An incredible force somehow smashed in to the side of A's face and sent him crashing in to the ground. The pain he felt from it was unreal, it was even worse than the hits he received from his father in training. Before he could even figure out what was going on, Minato was on top of him, delivering another incredible blow to his torso.

That was when A noticed it, the difference in his opponent. It was his eyes. It wasn't just the fact that there was orange shading around them or that they now resembled the iris of a toad. It was the pure, unadulterated rage he could see in them. For possibly the only time in his life, Minato Namikaze was truly angry.

He took out his anger by putting A's body to the test, applying a series of crushing blows to his battered body. In between each one, he yelled out another word in anger.

"YOU. JUST. WOULDN'T. LET. IT GO. WOULD. YOU?"

Occasionally, a Kumo Shinobi would attempt to stop Minato but they would either be intercepted by another Konoha Shinobi or kicked away by Minato himself. After beating down A for a couple of excruciating minutes, Minato held out his arm and summoned an incredibly large and violent looking Rasengan. He yelled out as he sent it flying downwards towards A's face. Both armies, which by this stage had become little more than a crowd to this battle, gasped at the apparent finale.

Minato stopped just short of the Raikage's face. He extinguished his attack and pulled up a weary and bruised A so that their faces were almost touching.

"Just so you know, the fact that you live while Kakashi dies sickens me to my stomach" Minato spat. "I'd like for nothing more than to kill you right now for what you've done, not only to Kakashi but everyone in my village. But I won't, I can't do it. I've professed to stop wars and end this cycle of hatred for years. So, I'll be the one to stop this cycle before it starts. I will spare your pathetic life."

With that Minato stood up and began walking back towards Kakashi's body. As he did so, he shouted towards the enemy Shinobi.

"Take your leader back to your village, Konoha Shinobi are under my orders to allow you to leave" he said. "It is not often you will get this generous offer, I suggest you take it."

They did as they were told, although it wasn't clear if it was out of respect or downright fear. Minato didn't particularly care; all he wanted to do was get Kakashi's body back to Konoha. He bent down and slowly picked it up, before walking over to Naruto, who was also unconscious.

"Gai" Minato called out, but initially received no response.

He looked around to see Gai standing frozen, simply staring at Kakashi's body as if it were a part of him.

"Gai!" Minato repeated more forcefully.

"Don't worry, I'll keep things going smoothly in his place" Gai responded, his voice clearly lacking his usual enthusiasm. "Everything will be as it was when he was running things, I won't let either of you down."

Minato simply nodded his approval before activating his Hirashin and returning to the village with both of his sons over either shoulder.

It was late by the time Minato returned home. After handing Naruto over to Jiraiya and explaining what had happened, he had taken Kakashi to the morgue himself. After making sure that everything was okay there, he walked back to his home.

He paused at the door for a second before walking in. He supposed that Jiraiya would have explained what had happened; there was no way Kushina wouldn't get it out of him when he walked in with an unconscious Naruto. Knowing how close she was, he was expecting to walk in to an emotional wreck. He had to mentally prepare himself before facing that.

When he eventually walked in, he was met with an unexpected sight. Kushina was stood in the middle of the room, her arms straight and her gaze straight on him. He could tell that she had been crying, her pale expression and the redness around her eyes told him that. But her stare displayed her strong will and he understood this message perfectly. It wasn't her that needed to be comforted this time.

She was right he just hadn't realised it until then. He practically collapsed in to her arms, finally letting out the tears that he had been suppressing for hours. Jiraiya was also there and he too gave his condolences and comfort.

They decided that it was best to inform Kakashi's classmates personally as soon as possible. Those that were still in the village were contacted and arrived at Minato's home. He was personally stunned at how so few were still remaining, even when taking in to account those that were away.

They sat around and shared stories while drinking from the sake that Jiraiya had brought. Some of them laughed at memories, some cried. Minato didn't do either and spent most of the night in quiet contemplation, mostly ignoring what was happening around him. After a while, everyone filtered out and just he, Kushina and Jiraiya were left.

"I failed" Minato said, as he drained the last of his glass. "I was charged with protecting those three kids and I failed miserably. I was too late to get to Obito, never arrived for Rin and even when I got there for Kakashi I did nothing."

"Minato don't pin this on yourself" Kushina said, as she grabbed his hand.

"She's right, you couldn't have done any more than you did" Jiraiya added. "This is just the alcohol talking now.

"I've failed at everything" Minato continued, unperturbed by their words. "And Kakashi is the one who eventually paid the price. Everyone will be better off without me."

He then got up and headed towards the door. Kushina also stood and called out to him concerned.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed" Minato answered flatly. "Hopefully I won't wake up on the morning, so I don't have to see anyone else pay for my mistakes."

A could feel pain everywhere in his body. His body was broken but that was nothing compared to his pride. Total defeat against the man he had been training to face for years. It had him in a reflective mood.

"I'm still alive," he thought. "By all rights, he should have killed me. Anyone else would have done, it's understandable. If he had killed Darui, or C I would not have spared him no matter what my beliefs are. Maybe, just maybe-"

"Oh, Lord Raikage, so the rumours are true."

The last person who he wanted to see at that moment had just walked through the door. His slightly satisfied smirk had made A wish that he remembered about their meeting that night and cancelled.

"Minato really did a number on you, didn't he?"

"Shut it Onoki, like you would do any better" A snarled. He's far stronger than either of us."

"You have a point I suppose" Onoki said. "Actually, I've been thinking the same thing. Konoha has far too many exceptional Shinobi, although I heard that you got rid of one of them yourself today."

A merely grunted, which was a signal for Onoki to just get on with what he was saying.

"When combining their forces with Suna, it makes them too powerful for even our combined forces to bring them down."

"So what? You just want us to give in?" A enquired. Although he had to admit that the idea didn't seem completely ludicrous to him.

"Not at all, in fact it's the opposite" Onoki grinned slyly. "I've taken the liberty of enlisting some outside help. A little mercenary group I've used in the past for a few missions here and there. It's filled with spectacular Shinobi, each one powerful enough to take on even us Kage."

A seemed rather doubtful about this, but was still interested regardless.

"So, who are they then?" A demanded to know.

"They call themselves, the Akatsuki."

1st March 786

From: Office of the Hokage

To: Name withheld

Dear Sasuke Uchiha

It is of my deepest regret to inform you that Kakashi Hatake has been declared K.I.A on 27th February. I express the utmost sympathy for your loss, as he was a great asset to Konoha. You have paid leave to return home for the funeral.

Yours sincerely,

Shiranui Genma, Assistant to the Hokage

A/N: Wow, long chapter (for me at least). I just couldn't find a good place to stop so I kept going. Anyway, I'll answer a couple of reviews and questions while I'm here, seeing as I've gone 14 chapters without doing it.

MySadistChibi – I did mention this a few chapters back but I'm fine with saying it again. I'd already decided on Tobi's identity before I started writing this and I'm not planning on changing this. So, he's not going to have his canon identity that was recently revealed.

Writing Bunny – Naruto's still Uzumaki based on a couple of things. Firstly, in Japan surname tends to go with whichever family has the most prestige rather than just the father (or so I've been told), and the Uzumaki are clearly well respected. As far as we know, Minato doesn't have a privileged background. Secondly, in a "What If" cover page in the manga, Kishimoto noted them as the "Uzumaki Family" so I just went with that.

I think that was it for questions so I'll just say thanks to all you regular readers and reviewers and I hope that you will continue to do both in the future!

Next Chapter: Grief