Disclaimer: Naruto and every character of the Naruto universe belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and companies, I don't know.
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Original upload date: 28th of December 2013
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Chance for a Prophecy
Chapter 24. – Under The Roots
A lonely ANBU had been standing straight in the middle of the Hokage's private office inside the mansion. The activated privacy seals dulled the noises of the outside world, but the soldier still warily glanced toward the window from time to time where he had previously passed another lurking black op before he stepped in. Old instincts of war never died away.
The Yondaime followed his soldier's sight and narrowed his eyes. "Is he one of them?"
The soldier opened his mouth behind his mask, but no words came from his only thing Shisui could press out was a strange sound, something between choking and a bark. Minato's expression instantly turned into the perfect mirror of confusion. The Hokage slowly walked closer until he was face to face with the teen. With one gesture, the mask was gone so Minato could peer into the uncertain obsidian eyes.
"Would you open your mouth?" The teen tensed but after a hesitant moment obeyed. Minato narrowed his pools as soon as he noticed the edge of a dark seal array at the back of Shisui's throat.
"Your tongue please." This time the Uchiha immediately obeyed, maybe even a little too eagerly. Minato observed the pattern with narrowed eyes; experienced irises swept through the simple design, mapping every aspect of the seal almost instantly. Finally, the blond's eyes traveled up to Shisui.
"I can easily get rid of it if you want me to."
Shisui's hands clenched into fists, but he still immediately noded with a small, almost invisible smile of relief on his face. Minato strolled to one of the cabinets and in ten seconds he was once again next to the ANBU with a small brush in his hand, already starting to leave fine lines on his exposed throat. A swirl, a kanji and several more symbols appeared after each perfect stroke. Not a minute later, the Hokage leaned back to examine his handiwork for a second before he gave a satisfied nod.
"This array will modify the original, and you'll be able to speak freely. But I'm afraid the original paralysis seal will still affect your body a little. If I just remove it entirely, I fear Danzo would notice. He built in a trigger mechanism."
Shisui simply nodded, waiting for the Hokage to finally activate the seal. The dark pattern whirled around his undeveloped adam's apple and the end disappeared at the back of his neck. The Hokage observed him for a second before his fingers moved into a basic hand seal.
The markings flared and Shisui winced, squeezing his eyes shut as soon as the pattern leisurely started to disappear from the surface and slowly merge into his porcelain skin. A blink later, the pattern was nowhere to be seen. Only the soft and perfect flesh was visible. Shisui let out the air he was carefully holding in.
Then the teen suddenly froze as soon as he wanted to suck in a breath, his muscles tensed by a sudden adrenaline rush and his mouth opened and closed. No air rushed into his lungs. Wide, obsidian eyes flung toward the Hokage, sharingan flaring to life from time to time by fear and panic.
"It will be over soon," Minato murmured softly, his eyes never leaving the crimson orbs, not even for a second. The ANBU dropped to his knees as he gave up the fight with gravity. The shinobi sluggishly tumbled to his side like the time had suddenly slowed down. His eyes flared once more into a crimson color, but this time they stayed like that. Three tomoe swirled slowly and threateningly until they morphed into something Minato had never seen before.
Shisui desperately tried to breathe, but his body wasn't responding. His lungs and mind screamed for oxygen and he could feel the edge of his vision blurring more and more as the seconds passed at a snail's pace. His hearing dulled and the world around him fell silent except the loud noise of his pounding heart in his temple.
It had been just half a minute since it started, but it felt like an eternity.
Sheer panic started to crawl up in his very soul as he could feel his consciousness slowly fading away. The young Uchiha desperately equilibrated on the thin verge of reality and the redeeming darkness.
Just as Shisui was about to give up his fight for his soul, the pressure around his throat suddenly disappeared as fast as it came. Sweet cold air rushed into his lungs and the teen's body hungrily drank up every bit of oxygen the earth offered. He just layed there for long minutes, continuously trying to catch his breath to make up for the lost minute that he did not have access to the life essent.
Finally when his breathing slowed down and his pounding heart settled, Shisui gradually raised himself into a half sitting, half lying position, his muscles still trembling from the sudden strain. A harsh, sour taste rushed into his mouth and he instinctively spit to get rid of the invading taste.
Minato grimaced as his gaze fell over the inky stain on his until now spotless floor, but he simply ignored it and crouched down to the still recovering teen.
"Are you alright?"
Shisui slowly nodded and took one deep breath before he straightened from the floor with the help of his leader. His limbs trembled a bit, but only for a second before he was able to recollect his shattered composure. He soon found a glass of water in his hands. His eyes moved up to Minato who was currently scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"I'm sorry. Maybe I should have warned you about that beforehand." Shisui shot a cold glare in response and a small, almost invisible amount of killing intent started to leak from his pores unconsciously. But just for a second, before he realized his slip of self control and immediately averted his gaze in shame. His lips slowly moved as he hissed his answer with a still cracking voice and with suppressed anger.
"With all due respect Hokage-sama, but yes. You should have warned me that that was going to happen."
Minato simply offered one more embarrassed smile before his expression turned serious again. His electric blue eyes regarded Shisui with curiosity, then the leader displaced his line of sight. "Your sharingan Shisui..."
The named soldier slowly raised his hand to brush over his right eyelid. Recognition flashed through him in the next second, deactivating his still pulsing doujutsu immediately.
"My apologies Hokage-sama."
"At ease. No harm was done."
Minato glanced back at the ANBU and ran a hand through his blond locks. "So that was the mangekyou sharingan I assume." The soldier slowly nodded, however his sight swiftly spun back toward the village leader. Minato let out a sour, humorless chuckle. "Fugaku was kind enough to dig up the clan archives for me about it but for a different reason. That's a tale for another time. But I still have one question for you."
The Yellow Flash narrowed his eyes and locked his gaze on the worn-down soldier. "Have you ever encountered my brother?"
Shisui frowned in confusion, then shook his head in firm denial. "No. I haven't met him beside my observation and bodyguard duties in ANBU."
The blond leader made a wondering face but nodded in the end. Minato bound his hands behind his back and ran his eyes along the teen in front of him once more. "So, what can you tell me about Root?"
Shisui stayed in silence for a long minute, gathering his thoughts. This time when he finally opened his mouth, the words were freely flowing. Only the muscles tensed on his spine by the effects of his weakened curse seal.
The mornings were always pleasant after Minato rushed to the office. Every single morning was a small heaven for Naruto when he could be alone with his mother, doing nothing else but enjoy each other's warm company; chatting, joking, laughing.
They did the same this time. However, Kushina slowly started to fidget on her seat, stealing more and more nervous glances at her brother-in-law. Thus, Naruto also began to become uneasy in his own seat until Kushina finally blurted out her question.
"Which one?" Naruto furrowed his brow in confusion waiting for the redhead to continue. "The bijuu. Which bijuu do you restrain?"
Naruto bit down on his lower lip and averted his gaze, simply declining to answer. Kushina watched his reaction without any further comment, observing the tensed teen for a long, soundless minute until she let out a displeased sigh. Her soft lips opened to say something more, but her blond companion's gentle voice stopped her.
"You should speak with him," Naruto murmured into the air in front of him, diverting the topic.
Kushina immediately let out a not-very-womanly snort in response. "You don't know what you are talking about. The Kyuubi…is the incarnation of hatred itself. It's not something you want to chat with. Every single time I go into the seal that damn fox wants to tear off my head."
The sun-kissed boy didn't answer while his mother continued her rambling about the various deaths the fox had already offered to her. The blond blocked out her words, his azure eyes slowly narrowing as he dived deeper into his thoughts. Kurama was the same for him. But it changed when he started to pay attention to him, when he finally won his acknowledgement. It was when… When he first tried to understand his feelings, his hatred. And when he first wanted to help him.
"Have you ever tried to understand him?" Naruto softly interrupted Kushina. His voice was almost too low to be recognizable, no louder than a quiet exhale. The redhead stilled all the same and raised an incredulous brow.
"Understand it? It is made from the pure essence of hatred." She said this with such conviction that Naruto might have believed her had he not known the undeniable truth.
"Their hatred toward humanity came from us. It was us who made them like that. We hunted them down and locked them up. We used their power for our own means. We did no good for them; we only made them suffer. You would become the same in their position. Don't you think humanity deserves their hatred?" Naruto let in a soft inhale, eyes hardening with determination as they locked on Kushina. "And therefore it is we jinchuuriki who can change their hatred. By understanding their feelings, and breaking the ignorance between us. Tell me Kushina, have you ever tried to speak with him like he wasn't some kind of monster? Have you ever spoken to him with kindness? Have you ever asked him how he feels? You should try it. You'd be surprised what you'd get in response."
Kushina didn't answer. Instead, she gracefully stood and slowly walked away from the frowning blond. Before she could reach the door, she shot a glance over her shoulder, appraising him with sense of confliction. "You gave me a lot to think about."
Then she simply left. Naruto locked his gaze on the empty door then shook his head in confusion.
"Maybe you should have just told her the truth…" Kurama murmured softly. He opened his enormous mouth to say something more, but he didn't get the chance. The fox suddenly found himself face to face with the glaring blond jinchuuriki. Hands clenched into trembling fists at his sides by the mix of anger and confusion.
"What?! First you told me not to confess and now you're telling me to confess?!" Naruto gritted his teeth in his anger, hands traveled toward his blond locks to grab them in the attempt to channel down some of his frustration. "You damn fleabag! Don't mess with my head! Don't do this to me!"
"Maybe I was wrong!" Kurama suddenly snapped. "Maybe I was wrong the whole time and we should have told the truth in the beginning! Maybe I was overconfident, but we need help with Madara. You need help! What if we die?! What if we can't finish and we change nothing?! What if the juubi..." The fox shook his enormous head, his voice becoming lower and much gentler. "I can also make mistakes…You were the one who wanted to confess from the very beginning. Now you've got the opportunity. Don't let it slip by. "
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment. Then his body suddenly relaxed as he found his answer. He opened his bright azure eyes in the real word and glanced toward the still open door where Kushina left before he reappeared in his mindscape.
"I don't want any regrets… I don't want to think that I should have done it. I don't want all the things me and my friends did all to be turned into nothing." Kurama's previously tensed muscles started to relax by each passing word. "But I don't want to steal my parents' happiness. I don't want to steal Naruto's future. His name. His parents—"
"Are you hearing what you're telling me?" Kurama interrupted him.
Naruto raised a confused eyebrow. "Yeah. What about it?"
"You're making unnecessary sacrifices. Just like always. Don't be some martyr! You don't have to bear this burden alone!" Kurama snapped once again, losing all of his almost non-existing patience.
"I'm not playing a martyr! I want to be happy! I don't want to lie anymore! I didn't ask for this! I'm telling them everything, but not now. When I find Madara, I will tell them everything. I will need their help as you already said. He is too strong for me alone. But until that time… I will stay Toroku. I don't want to mess up their lives now. Let me give them some more happiness."
Kurama observed the teen with narrowed eyes. The determination in his azure pools. The stubbornness. In the end, Kurama had to realize that he wouldn't win this argument. He was the one who made this mess and now, the fearless demon fox for the first time in his life suddenly felt himself at the end of his wits. Kurama let out a soft breath but it still had the force to grab the graceful ossier trees next to him and shake their branches. His always booming voice was low, almost whispering and….it sounded sad.
"You told me that you don't want any regrets and you don't want what you and your friends did to all be turned into nothing. Yet, within the same breath you're doing so. You're starting to lose yourself. You're already forgetting. Do you remember what Itachi told to you?" Naruto didn't answer, his eyes slimming. "If you start to forget about others, become arrogant and attached to your ego…one day you'll become just like Madara. No matter how powerful you become, never try to shoulder everything alone. Otherwise you will undoubtedly fail."
"I will never become someone like Madara!" With that furious exhale, Naruto disappeared from his mindscape and the connection between them was closed. The bijuu couldn't hear as the time traveler whispered into the empty room: "I'm not alone. You've always been with me Kurama…And you'll always be. I'll never let Madara get you."
"But you're already starting to lose yourself you damn idiot..." Kurama murmured into the empty mindscape. Naruto wasn't able to hear the fox's soft words, nor could the blond see as the fox warily glanced toward the shadowed back of Naruto's mindscape, where a transparent, ghost like figure sat with it's back against a giant ossier tree. The blurry silhouette of human eyes slowly opened to reveal one pair of ominously shining crimson irises with ink black sclera.
Kurama's low growl echoed inside the mindscape as soon as a sinister smile spread across the figure's foggy picture.
Meanwhile, Kushina stared out from the window of their room, watching the never-ending green ocean of trees that surrounded Konoha. She couldn't spot the shore of the emerald sea, the ancient old forest which had been embracing Konoha ever since the Shodaime founded the village. She frowned when she spotted a blond blur. Toroku left the building silently, jumping from tree to tree and disappearing from the curious eyes. Her husband wouldn't return for long hours.
The redhead slowly settled down on the bed and let out a long breath, preparing her body to sink into a meditating state. She slowed down her breathing, together with her pounding heart and her running next time she opened her emerald eyes, she found herself in the middle of her mindscape in front of the seal with the gigantic form of the nine tails.
The kyuubi didn't say any words; only his continuous low growl echoed inside the empty space. Her eyes scanned through the seal, resting on each of the spikes for a long second before they traveled up to meet with her captive's narrowed crimson orbs. She observed the giant demon for a silent moment before her features saddened.
"Does it hurt?"
The nine tail didn't answer immediately, his lips turned up into a half snarl revealing his razor sharp fangs, before he tried pulling his weight on the chains. But this time, the growl stuck inside his throat and the Kyuubi winced when his muscles painfully tensed around the stakes as he desperately tried to reach for the redhead.
Kushina flinched after the telling reaction and averted her gaze with a flash of guilt in her emerald eyes. The always loud redhead locked her sight on her feet, not daring to look up.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Kushina lowly whispered into the nothingness of the seal. The Kyuubi narrowed his giant red eyes even more until only two threatening slits were visible. However, before he got the opportunity to say anything to the girl, she retreated into reality within the next heartbeat. The Kyuubi held his gaze on the spot where his guard previously stood for long, long minutes. In the end, he shook his enormous head.
"Tch... That brat is really something…" the Kyuubi muttered to himself.
Nothing moved in the silent afternoon inside the Hokage's office; everything was disturbingly soundless. Not even the birds were chirping outside the window and somehow the always loud, pulsing village was lacking it's buzzing noise. No merchants were shouting to gain customers, no children were yelling and laughing. No people were chatting and joking on the streets. Even with the open window, the village around the tower was lacking in any sound, like they were aware of the seriousness of the situation that was happening inside the building.
An ANBU stood straight in front of the Hokage's narrowed blue eyes. His mask was still securely on his face, shrouding his identity. The white porcelain felt cold against his burning skin, but the soldier was grateful for the shooting sensation against his pulsing forehead.
The red strokes viciously stood out on the pure white mask. No living man or woman could surely state what the red patterns were mimicking or what kind of animal the abstract forms indicated. Only the wearer knew it and what each curve meant; what each stroke hinted at. It was a crow mask even if it didn't bare any resemblence to the creature itself. Only the pointed nose in the middle of the false face suggested the beak and indicated that it was actually some kind of a bird.
Shisui straightened as Minato swept his calculating gaze down his form, somehow capturing every detail. A cold shiver ran down the Uchiha's spine when the Hokage also straightened and slowly walked over to lean against the desk, folding his arms in front of his chest. He wasn't threatening, but his form radiated the dominant strength and authority befitting his position.
"Something happened," Minato stated. He did not ask.
The young soldier before him slowly nodded and in the next blink, all the privacy seals were activated.
"Report."
"I have received a new mission from Danzou-sama."
Minato narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side as his curiosity peaked.
"It's about your brother, Hokage-sama."
Shisui opened his mouth to say more, but a gut feeling kept him from doing so. He glanced toward the open window where it felt like the tug in his stomach was directed. A second later a blond crow peeked inside the office and jumped in the middle of the room, opening his mouth to yell his greeting. The words died in his throat when he landed, his grin slipping as soon as Toruko bypassed the lines of the privacy seals. It was a creepy sensation, like going through a waterfall made of pure ice. A shiver ran down the blond's spine and the hair instantly stood up on every part of his body.
"Sorry. Maybe I should come back another time," he hesitantly said and had already turned to leave the office through the window.
A small smile appeared on the Hokage's face as he slowly shook his head. In the next blink and with a flicker of his chakra, the privacy seals were activated again, stopping Naruto mid-motion.
"I think you have a right to hear this."
Shisui glanced nervously towards the younger blond out of the corner of his eye, but Minato instantly caught the subtle gesture."You can speak in front of him."
Shisui frowned and measured up Naruto from head to toe despite the fact that he already knew the teen, having shadowed him countless times on Danzou's behalf and even a bit for the Sandaime.
"As I said, I have received a new mission from Danzou-sama. It concerns your brother, Hokage-sama."
"What!?" Naruto blurted, his azure eyes instantly narrowing in outrage. All of his attention was glued on the tense ANBU in front of him. Shisui made one more side glance, but after his Hokage's small nod, he continued.
"My new mission is to recruit Namikaze Toroku. I am to make him join the ROOT by free will, or by force. I'm authorized to use my sharingan on him if necessary. I've even been given clearance to use the Kotoamatsukami on him."
Minato didn't answer nor did the younger blond. Naruto was shocked to his core. He didn't know much about Danzou, but this all felt utterly wrong and out of character. All of his actions during his stay here. Why? Why was the old war hawk so against him?
"Why?" Naruto flung his head towards his father, who voiced the same question. "Why would Danzou want to do something like this? Why is he so desperate to get rid of my brother or to get his grip on him?"
Shisui shook his head. "I don't know, Hokage-sama."
The village leader closed his eyes to sink deep into his thoughts for a long tense minute until he made his decision.
"I've already let him act for too long. I have to end this madness. The members of Root are essential to this village, but Danzou…" Minato shook his head. "He has wandered too deep into the darkness, and it seems he has already fallen into the abyss. I can't ignore what you have told me anymore, Shisui. I can't ignore that he breaks lives while training his soldiers, that he forces children to kill each other to numb their emotions. I can't let it go on. And now this. This is an open act against a Konoha shinobi. This is treason." Azure eyes hardened like steel. "Toroku. Since you're already involved, you'll tag along. Sensei is out of town and Danzou is powerful. We can't underestimate him. I'll need every strong shinobi by my side."
A wide smirk appeared on Naruto's face instantly. "Like hell you could just dump me after telling me all this top-secret stuff. I'll stick along for sure!"
An equally wide grin found its way onto Minato's face. And this time, the smirk was almost predatory, casting the air with a feral energy. They were going for a hunt. Naruto could feel as Kurama excitedly fidgeted inside the remains of his seal.
"Come on, let's grab some other guys." Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion, but before he could question his father, there were hands on his and Shisui's shoulders. The young Uchiha felt the familiar tug in his stomach and they were gone.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a familiar place. Dank stone walls towered above him, tunnels blasted into their sides. They were deep inside the Hokage monument again, surrounded by dozens of people, their existence shrouded by thousands of surpassing seals. Medics and ANBU were all over what used to be Orochimaru's secret hideout.
Shisui's face turned green under the white porcelain and the teen suddenly rushed toward the far end of the place, probably to empty his swaying stomach after the hiraishin.
The people around them were frozen in the same position they had been in before they arrived. Some medics were still holding their pencils on their last stroke while another young medic almost dropped a vial filled with blood when his Hokage appeared beside him. Naruto made a side glance and a shiver ran down his spine for the second time that day. The creepy creatures were still soundlessly floating inside the tubes while the files which used to be placed inside their holders were all over. Naruto glanced towards the nearest person and shot a wide smirk towards the frozen woman who immediately averted her gaze with pink coloring her cheeks.
"Sensei! I've already told you, don't flash in here like this! You're creeping out the staff!" An angry teenage girl stepped next to them, her arms carefully folded in front of her small chest. Her eyes were practically spitting fire, but Minato didn't falter.
"Sorry Rin-chan, but I'm not here for your research. I need to see Wolf."
The girl furrowed her brow. "He's at the cells. They're investigating the seals there. Sensei… What's happening?"
"Later." With that, Minato was gone with his brother on his heels. They were heading toward the back of the lab, but this time the metal examining table was tossed to the side and a long tunnel occupied its place. The renovation was probably done by one of Konoha's rare doton users.
"Sensei! Wait! You told me to look for a hexagram. I think I've found something." Minato stopped and turned toward his student with a curious face.
"About the seal?"
Rin nodded. "It was in one of Orochimaru's notes. A modification. Here." The girl handed over a notepad and Minato's brows instantly knitted into one coherent line. Naruto sneaked a peek over his father's shoulder and immediately recognized the design. It was Danzou's curse seal with a small modification.
"It neutralizes the original," Naruto blurted out in one breath. Minato nodded and the frown deepened on his face.
"My speculation was correct. Orochimaru was a Root member."
"What?" the time traveller asked with wide eyes. That was absolutely new information to him.
"Shisui also mentioned that Danzou and Orochimaru used to meet. We found the remains of a seal on his tongue, but we couldn't identify the design for sure. That's how Danzou knew instantly when Orochimaru died. When a seal disappears, a small amount of the user's chakra also fades, alerting the caster when it returns." Naruto nodded while his father turned back to Rin.
"Thank you Rin-chan. I'm sorry, but I have to grab Wolf immediately." Rin didn't even have the time to complain.
Minato turned and confidently walked along the long tunnel, passing the faintly glowing gas lamps until they finally reached the other side. A dozen sharp eyes were on their forms as soon as they stepped into the light. Some were surprised, but some had been watching them in admiration and awe. Minato left Naruto where he was and stepped in front of a stoic ANBU in a wolf-like mask.
Naruto shot a gaze at the first cell; the bars were uprooted from their place as he rushed inside without thinking when he felt Yamato's faint chakra signature. He sniffed at the air stealthily. The still stabbing but thankfully faint scent of the burnt flesh almost instantly invaded his nostrils. Naruto slowly started to walk toward the end of the cells, towards the long tunnel that led to the enormous cave where he'd fought Orochimaru.
An ANBU stepped closer to the young teen to stop him, but after a quick shake of Minato's head, he let him go further. Naruto had been slowly inching closer and closer to the end of the passage and already passed the spot where his father had found him.
Then he reached the entrance. There weren't any shinobi inside the empty cave, but he could still feel a presence behind him. A lurking ANBU for sure. Her chakra-signature was faint, but it was still there, female based on the slight scent of perfume she probably used weeks ago.
The blond slowly walked closer to a crater where Kurama's claw milled through the hard rock. He spotted the charred ground not too far away. Naruto winced and averted his gaze just in time to feel as his father stepped inside the cave and walk next to him.
"It was an enormous battle, wasn't it?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. The bastard was as sneaky as a snake. He almost got me once." His hands unconsciously stroked his abdomen where the Kusanagi bit into his flesh and scrunched up his nose in displeasure. Naruto shook his head and faced his father.
"What now?"
"I talked with the ANBU commander. Wolf went to grab the most loyal elite of the elites. Shisui was kind enough to name the Root ANBU hidden among us." Naruto glanced back to the black spot and nodded, not really aware of the light frown that appeared on his father's face.
"You don't look surprised."
"No."
Minato grimaced at the short answer. He had hoped for some silly excuses, for denial, for some explanations. But none came. His brother didn't comment on his knowledge about Root. About Danzou. In the end Minato just shook his head and brushed the topic to the side, at least for now.
"Come, the others are probably already inside the office."
Almost a dozen shinobi followed the young ANBU together with the Hokage. They were gracefully hopping from rooftop to rooftop through the middle of the village but still carefully avoided attention.
The smallest member of the elite squad at the head finally stopped and hopped down into a deserted alley. It was narrow and ravaged, shrouded from the eyes of most people. Both civilian and shinobi alike had the tendency to simply avert their gaze when they found something untasteful, even in their own village.
A thick, ancient wooden door stood next to an already full trash bin. The timeworn door had been shrouded from the warm sunlight by the ink black shadows of the walls around it, probably never having met the sunshine since it had just been built in.
"Only those who have the seal can enter here. I can open it, but as soon as you pass it without Danzou-sama's seal, it will trigger an alarm mechanism." Shisui motioned toward the door.
Minato nodded and carefully stepped closer to gently touch the rough surface with only one of his fingertips. He sent a minute spark of his chakra and a dark, hexagonal seal appearing on the door in an instant. It pulsed only for a second before it faded from existence. A deep frown appeared on Minato's face and he poked the door once more a bit more roughly. This time, the seal didn't disappear as quickly. It stayed there for more than a minute, giving enough time for the sealmaster to examine it.
In the next moment, there was a fine brush and ink in each of Minato's hands. Naruto inched closer to his father and blinked as the experienced hands made stroke after stroke above the old seal. Changing it slightly, deleting it and, in some places, merging with it. The Yondaime examined his handiwork for one more second before he nodded to himself. His right arm was locked onto a basic handsign, while he placed his left into the middle of the new design. With a flicker of his chakra, his own design glowed with a faint yellow light, shrouding the original angled array. The dark design flinched and slowly vanished once more. But this time, it was forever.
A soft click disturbed the silence and the door opened an inch. The old hinges loudly squeaked as an ANBU carefully opened it the rest of the way, revealing the long stairway leading down into a shadowed corridor. The end of the passage disappeared into the darkness.
A cocky and altogether satisfied smile spread across Minato's face. "Heh. Amateur."
Naruto's snort echoed inside the narrow alley, but before he could respond to his father's comment, Minato turned toward the young Uchiha.
"Shisui, you'll stay here and watch our backs."
"But—"
"Danzou still thinks you are one of his loyal soldiers. If there is even the slightest chance that the war hawk will slip out of my hands, I want a plan B. That is you. You've told us enough about the place and the Root members."
"But—" The Uchiha tried to finish his protest, but the Hokage had already stepped through the entrance and a flash of azure eyes froze the words inside his throat.
"Will you watch Minato's back for me?" Naruto tapped the boy's shoulder with a wide grin on his face. "You know, he is Hokage and all, but he can be just as reckless as me. It would be a pain in the ass to get some Root Anbu on our backs."
Shisui nodded hesitantly. He was too confused and surprised to protest or retort as he watched each member pass beside him to disappear inside the blackness of the open door.
Naruto fell in line with his father and walked as close to him as he could. His confident steps faltered only once when he stepped onto his relative's heel. After one annoyed glare Minato had sent him over his shoulder and an embarrassed smile in response, they continued their way down silently until they finally reached the end of the passage and sneaked into the large, empty hall.
In one moment, everything was silent and in the next, an alien smell invaded Naruto's sensitive nose. He didn't have time to alert the others. He found himself too occupied with ducking under the slash of a small tanto that was aimed for his jugular. One moment there was nothing, and in the next second, all hell had broken loose inside the large cave. Someone triggered a smoke bomb in the middle and soon, the whole area was filled with the stinging fog, shrouding everybody from Naruto's searching azure eyes. An ANBU rolled on the ground next to him to avoid an attack, but Naruto couldn't tell if it was a friend or a foe.
Despite Kurama's extrordinary sensory abilities, he had felt no ill intentions before the attack. Tools. These people were emotionless weapons, dedicated to nothing other than their missions. No happiness, no sadness, no regrets and no ill intentions. Just the mission. "In Root, you have no name. You have no feelings. You have no past. You have no future. There is only the mission." Sai had told him that once and he was so damn right.
Everything was happening too fast. He could barely see, or more accurately feel in the thick mist as a masked man rushed toward him. But before he could reach him, another masked woman jumped in his way to enchain him in an enormous taijutsu fight.
Adrenalin flooded Naruto's veins and he hurled himself to the side when he heard the faint shriek of a shuriken as it ripped through the air. He didn't have time to rest.
The blond rolled to the side and immediately flowed into a low stance when he felt another attack aimed at his back.
This was nothing like the Fourth Shinobi War where they only had to face one opponent. There, he had to fight in open space with time to think up a plan; but here… here there was no time for fancy jutsu or sneaky tactics. Here, primal instincts were the only force driving his movements and if they were ignored even for an instant, death would be the only thing left for him.
And Naruto did just that. His muscles were moving on their own as he ducked once again and swept his leg to toss his attacker to the ground. His body moved independent of his own will as he ducked once again, rolling to the side to avoid another slash.
A familiar scent rushed inside his nose, a mix of the freshly cut grass and wet soil. Then a painful cry echoed inside the thick fog from the same spot he could smell his father's scent. A fresh wave of adrenalin rushed through his body. Naruto snapped his head around, desperately searching for his relative. 'Dad! Where's dad?!' Strange to say, for a mere second he found himself numb despite the battle cries, the ragged breathing, and the clash of weapons all around him. He could hear nothing, he could see nothing, he could only feel the rushing adrenaline in his veins and hear his pounding heart in his temple as he still couldn't find any trace of Minato beside his faint scent and the metallic smell of blood.
It wasn't panic, it was a gut urge to know what was happening around him, and more importantly, what was happening to Minato. Was his father still alive? Was he hurt? His body moved once more by impulse to avoid an attack when he finally saw it. A small tuft of golden hair with the unmistakable shade. Naruto let out the breath he wasn't aware he had been holding in.
His pounding heart settled down and everything became clear, time slowing around him. He still couldn't see a thing, but somehow he could see everything. He could feel every single man and woman spread out haphazardly around him, every spark of chakra. He could even feel as a frightened mouse tried to escape through the cracks. If he could have seen himself from the outside, he would have seen that his azure eyes were now amber, surrounded with the mixture of red and orange. His pupils were now nothing more than toad-like horizontal slits.
Naruto glanced down at his clenched fist and with another breath he released the remnants of nature chakra from his coils after he spotted every shinobi he came across that was still living and breathing; he couldn't risk letting the others see him like this. The smoke slowly started to clear as it found it's way to the surface through the cracks of the wall.
As suddenly as the fight began, his father's warm chakra was against his back, washing away every bit of tension from his spine as soon they made connection.
"Hey, can you give me a helping hand? The room is too small. I don't have enough space to use my kunai shadow clone technique without wounding our own. I need markers all over the place to end this mad wrestling match."
Naruto nodded in understanding and Minato instantly vanished. A new determination appeared in Naruto's eyes and in the next blink, the hall was filled with his identical clones. Two dozen of his replicas raced toward each fighting group to give a helping hand to his allies and a fine landing point to his father.
The battle cries didn't lessen and slowly Naruto become more and more annoyed. What was his father doing?! Why was he stalling for time!? Danzou's ANBU outnumbered them. However, this time it wasn't quantity against quality. He had to give it to the war hawk. His soldiers were nowhere near being green horned; all of them were veterans with Konoha's finest bloodlines in their veins.
A dozen shinobi laid on the ground knocked unconscious from both sides, but the rest were still fighting, although it was more likely wrestling because of the lack of space.
Naruto gracefully jumped over a rushing woman and landed a kick on her exposed back to send her stumbling to the ground. "One less..." the blond said to no one with a cheerful voice that sounded very alien in the middle of the fight.
The blond let out a displeased grunt when a shuriken brushed against the fine skin of his whiskered cheek, leaving a thin red line where it traced him. He didn't have time to look for his attacker as Minato appeared behind him at his permanent seal. Only the fact that Naruto had already tuned his senses to Minato's warm chakra signature saved the Hokage from being punched in his gut for the second time by his son.
"How's our plan going?" the Yondaime whispered to his son's sensitive ears.
"My clones are in place. How are your seals doing?"
"Perfectly fine, thank you for asking."
A wide, foxy grin appeared on Naruto's features instantly. It was cocky, satisfied and almost a little predatory. "Then let's end this party." Minato nodded in agreement. In the next second, he was gone.
He was nowhere, but at the same time he was everywhere. In the next moment, Minato reappeared behind one of Naruto's clones. A second later, a kunoichi stumbled to the ground when the Hokage landed a quick blow on her temple. Before the clone could flinch, the yellow flash was already gone to jump onto another foe at the other side of the chamber who had raised his katana to cut a long slash into an ANBU's exposed back but the soldier didn't get the opportunity to do so; before the Root member could even realize what was happening, he was knocked out with an efficient chop to the back of his neck.
Naruto gracefully leaped onto one of the wood beams to have a better view. Even with his sharpened senses he couldn't follow his father's movements. He could only spy the flashes of yellow and the roiling chaos that always seemed to follow as men and women dropped like flies. That was more than enough for him to let his mouth fall open in awe.
There was a flash of golden locks as his relative twisted his torso with the three pronged kunai in his hand to connect its barrel with the enemy's head. Before the body could hit the ground, the Yondaime was at the other side of the battle field and a kunoichi was flying through the air, slipping on the hard surface into unconsciousness. In two minutes, the battle was over. The chamber was filled with indisposed shinobi, but Minato's ANBU didn't waste any time as they had already started to secure them with sharp ninja wires.
Their side was also short by six black ops, but all of them were thankfully still alive. Minato swept his eyes through the wounded and after his order, a kunoichi with a cat mask grabbed the two seriously wounded shinobi and vanished to the hospital. Minato took one last glance around before he motioned to the rest to follow him. They rushed toward the passage and disappeared into the shadows.
Every once in awhile, a Root member tried to stop them and each time, a loyal ANBU dropped back. Tanto and katana met and sparkled in the shadowy passage until the clinging voices quieted down behind their backs.
Naruto couldn't grasp how long they had been running along the thick corridors. Had it just been five minutes or already half an hour? His now raging breathing echoed inside the silent corridors. An explosion shook the land under their feet, but they didn't stop. His father was leading the way with Naruto on his heels and a lonely ANBU in a bird-like mask closed their line.
They finally found what they were looking for. The blond time traveller's sensitive ears picked up the faint sound of someone running ahead them. His eyes instantly slitted as soon as he spotted the faded chakra signature in the distance. It felt mismatched. It was cold and yet it was warm deep down. It felt smooth but somehow twisted. It was odd, like its owner.
Naruto gritted his teeth and forced more chakra into his strained limbs to catch up to their hidden prey.
Their small group blurted through another door, when they finally caught a glimpse of Danzou. The old man stoically stood in the entrance of another thin passage, but Naruto could still hear his wildly pounding heart and the faint whistling sound of his overstretched lungs. The old war hawk was one of the best shinobi of his time, but he was well over his prime. Two Root members stood in a low stance in front of their leader, their body equally strained but still ready to defend the man.
"Shimura Danzou." Minato made a step further toward the tensed group. "Surrender yourself to Konoha's justice for your treason."
The normally calm warhawk's face twitched. "Treason?" He muttered in disbelief, much more to himself than to the Hokage. His face twisted into the shadow of a disgusted expression. Danzou was on the verge of losing his nonchalant shell, but he pulled himself together in the last second. "I have been defending this village ever since I became a shinobi of it. I fought through wars even when your own parent's were just dreaming about having a kid and now, you are accusing me of treason?"
Minato narrowed his azure eyes and opened his lips to retort, but he was given no time to do so as Danzou's stern and rasping voice stabbed through the space between them.
"I would never betray Konoha. I would die for this village. I only did what was necessary and what was good for her. For her people. For you—"
"I know," the blond Hokage interrupted. "I know your motives were for Konoha's sake, but the way you have been acting is against everything my predecessors held dear. You have been forsaking morals. You killed and manipulated people and even if those actions were for the village's future, they are just wrong…"
The aging shinobi didn't even flinch, his face staying as stoic as ever. He observed the silent leader of his beloved village without a word for a long, taut minute until he finally opened his mouth. "You, Hiruzen, Jiraiya and your brother. You're such a waste. You could have been great, but your silly ideals were holding you back. You still don't know what it means to be a real shinobi."
The conversation continued. Naruto's muscles and tendons were so tense that if he took just one wrong move they would snap, immediately giving some overtime work to his fluffy tenant. His mind raced through a thousand miles. The whole situation screamed trouble. Danzou wasn't a fool; he knew very well that he didn't stand a chance against them. His troops were gone and he was exhausted. Everything pointed toward a trap and his father and that old hawk were just chatting.
His sensitive ears twitched like an animal's when they picked up a new sound, one that he couldn't identify. It was like something had been zapping, or flapping like a flag, or like… or like a damn explosive tag! Naruto didn't shout, didn't think, he simply grabbed his father and the stunned ANBU beside him and rushed toward the safe entrance of the passage where they had come from with a speed even Minato would acknowledge.
Nohara Rin exhaled softly and turned a page of the thick notebook she had been reading. The portable chair she was currently occupying in the middle of the Snake Sannin's late laboratory was giving her nightmares. Its surface was hard and rough and her back was aching like a madman's by the uncomfortable back-rest.
She had been assigned to check each and every piece of the area together with every dispensable medic. At first she was excited beyond words that she can take a look inside Orochimaru's work. He was still a genius. Yes, a twisted person, but no one could argue with his brilliance.
They'd already found dozens of newly developed jutsu and the Sannin's medical experiments were also fascinating. A new DNA test, deep research on each and every single bloodline Konoha possessed, and cures to diseases that even Tsunade couldn't argue with. Even with his twisted mind, Orochimaru's research was still very useful and ingenious.
However, progressing through the mountains of notes were time consuming and not to mention boring after the initial excitement. Every time they finally thought they were ready, that there weren't anymore, someone found another hidden room filled with files, descriptions and long and dreary data sheets. And all of them had to be checked page by page.
Warm, chocolate brown orbs ran along Orochimaru's neat and perfect handwriting. Each stroke was boasting long hours of practice until they were finally flawless. Rin scribbled down some bulletin points into her own notepad. Everything was silent around her; the other's were occupied with digging through their own tower of papers and files.
She carefully turned another page, and her chestnut eyes caught on a different kind of paper carefully nestled between the pages. She narrowed her eyes as Toroku's small picture grinned at her from the upper right corner of the paper. Basic information followed the portrait about the boy and a diagram continued the list on the upper part. A lot of ID numbers and failed marks after each one continued the flow until her eyes reached the last two IDs. Both were marked with a green "Matching" note. She furrowed her brows and made one last glance at the two numbers to memorize them. ID: O-1220,and O-1229.
The kunoichi rose from her uncomfortable chair to stroll to another table and open a thick notebook to check on the ID numbers she just found. Each and every number was assigned to a small vial filled with the crimson essence of life. And behind each and every vial, there was a shinobi whose blood somehow had fallen into Orochimaru's hands.
She ran her lean finger along the line of numbers and raised an eyebrow when the first ID finally made sense to her. That wasn't anything new. Everybody was aware of the connection between her sensei and his brother, but the other ID unnerved her beyond words. Her fine eyebrows joined together and she braced herself to continue her search until she finally found the remaining number.
Rin Nohara sucked in a surprised breath and restrained the shriek that was about to rip from her lungs when she found the next name. Her eyes were locked on the chain of numbers rereading it countless times in the hope that she just misread it. There was no way that the test was correct.
She peered down at the paper in her shaking hands and checked the diagram from millimeter to millimeter once again. It was crystal clear what she had been holding from the first time she took a look at the document, but her mind screamed denial.
Rin glanced around and when she was sure nobody was watching, she carefully slipped the page into her pouch.
As soon as they passed the entrance Naruto felt the aftershock of the explosion, then he heard the devastating detonation. He soon found himself laying on his stomach under a thin layer of dust and debris. The soft powder was constantly irritating his nose and his lungs were having an unstoppable fit of coughing that overwhelmed his whole body. His right hand was still clenching Minato's right wrist, who was also trying to clear his sore throat of the dirt.
Naruto shook his head to get rid of the soft powder from his blond locks and also the continuous ringing voice in his head. The ringing stayed intact. A small surge of Kurama's chakra raced toward his now non existent eardrums, tissue started to grow and sew together at a fast rate. Two seconds later he struggled to stand along with his father and also dragged the ANBU to his feet. Naruto's hearing was perfect once more.
The blond jinchuuriki glanced up, desperately trying to see through the thick dust cloud, but he failed miserably. A low, frustrated growl escaped from his soft lips in annoyance. With one swift movement of his wrist, wind chakra surged through the place, finally clearing their vision.
They were in the middle of a crater, a large hole gaping at the ink black sky revealing the silver moon above them. Danzou and the two root members were nowhere to be seen. He tensed his muscles to jump up, but a sudden dead weight on his shoulder stopped him from doing so. Naruto glanced down at the now unconscious ANBU who was hanging between him and his father's shoulder.
Another frustrated snarl erupted from the back of his throat as he glanced up once again to the opening then back to his father, whose azure pools were also locked on the entrance to the surface. A dangerous growl escaped Minato's lips that Naruto hadn't heard before.
Another ANBU appeared above them, ready to jump down, but Minato's narrowed eyes kept him from finishing his motion. A short boy stood there hesitantly in a crow mask. Shisui had been watching the whole scene from the shadows, his eyes were wide under his ice cold, false face.
The Hokage slowly nodded toward the young Uchiha. For everyone else, it was just an unconscious and almost unnoticeable gesture, but for Shisui, that one movement spoke litanies together with the flash of his Hokage's azure eyes. 'Go with them. Bring us information!' The young Uchiha made an equally small motion and then he was gone with the fastest shunshin Naruto have ever seen.
In the next moment, Naruto could feel as new chakra signatures rushed toward them with insane speed. Three ANBU appeared next to them and several more footsteps echoed above them. One of the masked soldiers immediately crouched down next to his senseless ally.
"Get him to the hospital." Minato didn't wait for his shinobi to disappear; he instead turned toward the remaining two. "Go after them. Maybe you can pick up their trail." They nodded and, despite their ragged forms, gracefully jumped out of the entrance to join the other dozen ANBU, disappearing inside the dark woods.
Naruto tensed his muscles to follow them, but Kurama's angry snarl stopped him from rushing after the small group. "What are you doing?"
'What does it look like? I can easily get his trail. I just have to use sage mode and we can get him.'
"Look your left you moron!"
As soon as Kurama finished his sentence, Naruto could feel his father suddenly grip his shoulder to seek support. Minato's whole face was covered in grey dust with the exception of one thin, red trail that slowly travelled down from his ear. Naruto's eyes widened. His father, he was bleeding! Naruto immediately twisted his body to get a better hold on the dangerously swaying young leader.
The fearless shinobi slightly tipped and only his tightening grip on his relative's shoulder stopped him from dropping to the dirt. The Hokage desperately tried to stay on his feet in front of his subordinate's eyes, but as soon the last ANBU disappeared, Minato's determination cracked and the world dangerously slipped out from under him.
"He needs your help more than the ANBU."
Naruto unconsciously nodded and gently let his father slip down to the ground, giving some redemption to his strained muscles. The Hokage offered a grateful smile before he shook his head, desperately trying to get rid of the dizziness.
"That bastard was distracting us with all of his fancy words to gather time." The time traveler's face scrunched up in an annoyed grimace. His father, however, didn't respond, his hands travelling up to his face to brush down the thin line of his own blood. It only smudged the red liquid on his dusty skin.
"I'll take you to the hospital."
The named leader didn't even twitch. "Oi! Can you hear me?!" Naruto let out a sigh and shook his head when no answer younger blond rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of his father's face to finally get his attention. Confused and hazy azure eyes trailed up to meet Naruto's smirk. "Come on. A deaf Hokage doesn't do any good for Konoha's reputation."
Minato furrowed his brows in concentration and the smirk widened on Naruto's face. "You can't hear me can you? Not even a word?" The Hokage gently brushed his fingertips on the curves of his ears until they settled down on his temple and his face scrunched into an annoyed grimace.
"You know, now I can call you whatever I want. The blondie flash of Konoha!" Naruto snickered. "Oh, I know one that's better. I'm going to call you Blondaime until you regain your hearing. What do you say? Blondaime?"
Minato's right eye twitched in annoyance as he watched his snickering relative. "I can read your lips," Minato deadpanned, stating it a little louder than necessary.
Naruto's smirk shrunk into an embarrassed smile and his hands unknowingly traveled up to scratch the back of his head. The newly named Yellow Flash eyed the teen for a long second before a restrained amused snort escaped from his lips and the previous mood was gone.
Naruto's face softened and he gathered his father from the ground, this time carefully hiding his moving lips. "Come on, dad. I'll take care of you."
Author's Note:
Happy holidays to everyone!
Thank you once more to everybody who had volunteered to beta read this story! It was heartwarming to know so many people want to help us. :) Once again, you guys are awesome!
I haven't got time to answer to the reviews for the last chapter, but I'll try my best this time.
I don't know who used the term Blondaime for the first time, but I love it. I couldn't restrain the urge to use it somewhere. :)
Danzou. Sorry, but he has to live a little bit longer. I still need him for one very important moment that couldn't happen without him being alive. So sorry. But it'll come soon.
I also would like to give a huge hug to Riya3, who works on a little pet project. Around two weeks ago I started to reread my own story and I have to realize that the first ten or so chapters need serious revision and editing. My writing style changed and thankfully improved a lot, but the early chapters are, well, they suck. So Riya works on them and when the revisions are finished I'm going to replace all of them.
Story recommendations:
The Windmill Turns Both Ways By: Blaizekit
[Time Travel] When 12-year-old Naruto inexplicably finds himself in the future, he must navigate through a maze of half-truths and terrible revelations in his quest to return home. Everything and everyone that he knows has changed, and war looms. Yet the worst part of all of this is being left behind and in the dark. Getting home again may require breaking a few rules. /Travelling to the past is fun. A twelve year old Naruto landing in the future when his older self trains with Bee is priceless. ;) /