Before you ask, Baby Itachi is with 1 and 2 Hokage since the shinobi world is too cruel for such a young baby.
Continuing
"I have Ramen and River fish, hope you like it. I know it's not much but…", Naruto trailed off, his strange whisker marks dropping down, like that he seemed really cute.
"It's more than enough, plus it's really good", Minato told him caringly.
The way Naruto's face lit up at that kind comment left the past people wondering exactly what he had gone through.
"Ramen! Then I'm in, dattebane!", Kushina's eyes lit up and she and Naruto started talking about how ramen was one of the best foods ever, while the other sweatdropped.
"So what's happening in Konoha? About the absence of qualified Chunins and Jounins?", Jiraya asked
"And what about the attack on Konoha 11 years ago?", Tsunade asked
Naruto suddenly became cautious
"You don't know? 11 years ago, the Nine Tails attacked our village. The Yondaime killed it and saved Konoha, but he paid a heavy price for it, his own life."
Kushina turned really pale. 'How did the Nine tails get out, did she fail?'
"Who was the Yondaime?", Rin asked quietly
Naruto looked at them weirdly
"Minato Namikaze"
Everyone was terribly sad, principally Team Minato, Jiraya and Kushina, their teacher/husband/student would die…
'So another Hokage, who met his tragic end', Sarutobi thought quietly
But partly happy too, Minato's dream had finally come true
"The absence of chunin and jounin is because of the war going on", Naruto.
That jolted them out of their stupor.
"There's a war going on in Konoha? Against who?", Minato asked
"There have been suspicions that Kiri and Iwa have been conspiring together, plus Suna attacked us at the Chunin Exams. But afterwards we made peace with them, since they were being manipulated."
Everyone was silent, they were still fighting the 3rd great shinobi war.
"This might be a little personal, but where are your parents, Naruto? Shouldn't you tell them we are living here for a while? And why was there graffiti on your wall?", Mikoto asked
Naruto looked uncomfortable
"My parents died in childbirth, I don't know who they were."
"Oh, I'm really sorry", Kushina said
"It's Okay, I don't remember them at all. I have lived alone since I was born.
As for the villagers, they hate me because of something I had no control over", Naruto became silent, the silence did not sit well at all with the young genin.
"The fish was really good, but a little undercooked, next time if you want some tips I can give it to you…", Kakashi said, Naruto was really lonely, he could relate to that. After his father's suicide Kakashi had to work hard for his food, but some shops would not sell him, so he started to fish and cook his own food.
Minato smiled at his youngest student, maybe Kakashi could open himself here, away from the village that scorned him since little.
"You can sleep on the floor. Tomorrow we have a mission", Naruto said.
….
"C'mon or we are going to be late", Naruto shouted
Upon hearing the word 'late', Kakashi grabbed Obito and dashed through the door faster than you can say 'Wait!'
The door closed with Obito's loud scream being heard all over the village. Everyone sweatdropped
….
"We got a mission, level C. Investigate an abandoned house, no one knows exactly what happened to the owners of that place. Place has been deserted for a while, but rumours have been spreading that activity has been sighted there. Our mission is a simple recon, the movement could be someone's wild imagination or a wild animal set free, anyhow be careful and report back if you see something", Kakashi-sensei explained, "Understood? I don't want any of you to go ahead recklessly, especially you Naruto, wait for others and use teamwork."
Minato was surprised, Kakashi never talked about teamwork 'what changed?'
The mission began easily and non catastrophically, but as the cursed fate of Team 7 would have it, everything went downhill
Everything started when a band of civilian bandits tried to rob them, Naruto accidentally stumbled on a trip-wire, setting off a bunch of childish (for a shinobi) traps. As it turned out those unfortunate bandits, now dead, were just a decoy. The real invasion started afterwards, lots of Iwa shinobis started attacking fast and wild. Before they knew it, shurikens and kunai were being hurled at each other.
Then the fight took a turn south, Rin was injured by a trip-wired kunai and was saved in time by Obito, who was scratched by another kunai.
"Go! Take the clients and find a safe place, I'll hold them off", Kakashi-sensei ordered
The confrontation was becoming really gore and dangerous for the clients and the almost fresh genins.
Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were reluctant, they knew the enemy was dangerous and maybe out of their league, but they also didn't like the idea of leaving their sensei alone to fend against the enemy for their and the client's safety. While they cared for Kakashi-sensei's well being they also knew the importance of the mission and had got quite attached to their clients.
Decided, the trio moved in a defensive position and ran northwards.
Team 7 found a cave and decided to rest there. Sakura quickly healed Rin and Obito. Digging for food all they found were basic supplements, their ration bars were cold and wet because of the water in the lake they had to swim until shore, but it was better than nothing.
"Here", Sakura offered ration bars to everyone, "eat it we are gonna have a long journey from here"
"I wonder how sensei is doing", Naruto said quietly, Kakashi (past) was quite touched that his future team was concerned for him, he never thought he would become a sensei, honestly he thought his future self was insane, but thinking again maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. It was comforting knowing that some people did care for him, no matter how he was. Well, the major part of him was annoyed, seriously, who did this brat think he was? Certainly his future self could deal with everything
"Knowing him, he's holding on fine. He isn't known as one of the strongest and deadliest ninja for nothing, usuratonkachi", even his rude words couldn't betray the hint of worry present in Sasuke's eyes.
Fugaku and Mikoto's eyes softened and they held back an intense desire of holding their son in their arms.
Obito's first expression when he met the Uchiha was that he was just like the rest of them, snobbish, arrogant, ignorant, talented and rude. But now he thought that maybe he was wrong, just maybe underneath all that rudeness there were feelings contained in a large container that one day soon would overflow.
Jiraya, Sarutobi and Tsunade were generally worried for adult Kakashi but if his talent were even better than his past self then he surely could handle a bunch of renegades.
Sakura walked quietly out of the cave, Rin decided to follow her. She found the girl sitting quietly on the ground, her knees drawn closely to her face and her shoulders shaking. The brown-haired kunoichi quietly bent down and pulled the pink-haired into a hug,
"Is everything all alright?", Rin asked, "You can tell me, I won't laugh"
Sakura smiled sadly.
"The reason sensei didn't let us fight with him is because I'm the weakness of this team, both Naruto and Sasuke have become really strong and I have become the weak link of the team. Now it's going to be my fault if sensei gets hurt and this mission fails disastrously.", tear were flowing freely on the kunoichi's face, "I just hate feeling left off and ignored, i don't like being the dead weight of this team, drawing it back every time we aim for success"
"I know what you're feeling, I too used to draw my team back and I still think I do, but I learned medical ninjutsu to cover for that huge skill gap between me and the rest of the team. I saw you training, Sakura, your chakra control is even better than mine and it can still develop for better. Keep practising on your medical ninjutsu and don't let these depressing thoughts get the best of you. Ignore them and reach your full potential, because you can and I know you will, shine the brightest in the darkest night", Rin concluded her short speech
Sakura gave her a bright smile.
"Thank you Rin, I will train and be the best kunoichi I can be, afterall, after what you said I think, weakness is a choice not a defect."
"You have potential and talent, Sakura, don't let it go to waste.", Mikoto said quietly and Kushina agreed
"Yeah, dattebane!"
Apparently the two women had been hearing this whole time.
"Thank you"
Sakura and Rin smiled and joined in a group hug.
That night Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura took 2-3 hour shifts each.
Sakura volunteered first, she sat down on her knees and quietly gazed at the dark sky. It was as if someone had taken a canvas with a dark blue background and started to paint white, reddish, bluish dots with a brush. It was beautiful, it made her remember the day she and her parents had gone hiking on Yakushima mountain, the memory made her smile.
'Mom! Dad! Look, you can see the stars from here! It's so beautiful!', her younger self had been so ecstatic, this was before she had decided to take the path of a kunoichi.
'We can see that, honey!', her mom and dad had laughed at her antics and they sat all cuddled together till they all fell asleep
Sakura couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her face. Old really was really worth gold.
Next Naruto stood guard, he sat down lazily on the grass and yawned. He wasn't going to sleep but a little bit of laziness wasn't going to hurt right? It had been an exhausting day he bringed his knees closer to his chest and supported his head over them. And, soon, before he knew he fell asleep.
Minato and Kushina couldn't sleep that night, call them paranoid but they were worried for their future student's safety, so soon they got up and walked towards Naruto. Their first impression of the boy was that he was completely adorable but lonely. They found the said boy sleeping and decided to sit beside him.
Naruto woke up from the noise and stood up quickly remembering that he was supposed to be on guard
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have slept. Please don't tell anyone, they'll never let me hear the end of it."
"Don't worry, we won't", Minato comforted him
"We can give you company", Kushina suggested grinning
Naruto smiled gratefully
The couple could see the loneliness skillfully hidden behind those cerulean blue eyes
"Ya know, I hate seeing the starry night"
"Why", Minato asked
"I don't mean to sound bratty or whiny, but it reminds me that no one cared for me, not even my own parents wanted me, they abandoned me. Sometimes, I look at the starry sky and feel like the stars are mocking me, they are all together bundled up in constellations, and here I am alone, unwanted, undesirable. I just wonder if there is someone that would want me and accept the way I am?", Naruto was surprised, he never opened this much to anyone but there was a comforting presence around them that made him feel at ease
"I don't think you are undesirable, and if you're parents abandoned you then bad for them, because they missed on an incredible son", Minato said kindly yet firmly
"Really?"
"Of course, dattebane", Kushina exclaims
"Arigato, dattebayo"
"If we ever had a son, I would want him to be just like you.", Naruto's eyes widened at that, filled with gratitude and happiness, "Brave, determined, excited, good-humoured and kind"
The three of them hugged each other and sat there quietly. In their strong arms just for a brief moment Naruto wondered whether this was like having a family
Afterwards it was Sasuke's turn, he blatantly ignored the view and focused on the duty he was given, he supported his body against the thick trunk of the tree and accommodated his head.
"Hi", Mikoto quietly said
"Hnn..?"
Fugaku couldn't sleep, he had been too worried about what happened to his clan, since the blockade kid was tight lipped he might as well get it out of his clansman. Because of his shuffling Mikoto also woke up and they both walked outside.
"Look, I've been meaning to ask you about what happened to the Uchiha Clan?", F=Fugaku asked, getting right to the point
"What does it matter to you", FUgaku held back a sigh, all of his clansmen including himself were like that, you couldn't get nothing out of them when they didn't want to tell.
Mikoto allowed a smile grace her delicate face and decide to help her husband
"Do you like watching the sky?", she asked, hoping to get a good start
"No", came the firm response
Mikoto and Fugaku sat down
"Why not?", Mikoto asked trying to embrace the boy
Normally Sasuke would have shunned any contact, but something about this one made him lean closer into the woman's arm, maybe because she had the same kind yet strong aura his mother always possessed.
Cold fury shot through his body as he remembered about his clan's slaughter and his pure hatred toward Itachi.
"It makes me remember things I rather forget."
Neither Mikoto nor Fugaku pressed the boy, letting him take his time
"My clan was massacred by a clansman in one night, I'm the only survivor, he spared me."
Pure fear shot through the married couple's body, 'their clan had been massacred? By who?'
"Who?", The an asked
"My elder brother, Itachi. I was seven."
So their son was the cause that all Uchihas except this boy were dead. It seemed unbelievable. And this confirmed their suspicion that this boy was, in fact, their second son. Also realising they wouldn't get the chance to see their sons grow up but they would take the most of this chance that was offered and spend time with Sasuke.
"It makes me realise how alone I am and makes me remember the happy moments I shared with my family, something I'll never get to experience again.", His obsidian black eyes couldn't hide the amount of sadness displayed on them. They felt terrified knowing how much he had gone through such a young age.
"You're not alone, you have your team. They'll always stand by you, through thick and thin, if you are willing to do the same."
Sasuke smiled sadly at that
"I'm going to kill for what he did and bring him to justice", Sasuke said
Mikoto and Fugaku shared glances that meant the same thing 'the curse of the Uchihas has awakened'
"You have the sharingan?", Fugaku asked and Sasuke nodded.
And they spent the rest of the night like that, sitting in the comfortable silence, knowing that there are always people who you can lean on and trust.
At the first light of dawn all of them set out, Kakashi-sensei wasn't there but they wouldn't let their hope be deflated and they continued on, hoping sensei would come soon.
And that concludes our Fourth Chapter!
I'm terribly sorry for the late update, I had loads of exams, projects, and essays that I didn't have time to write at all. I'm gonna do my best to update my other stories too, but I can't guarantee a fast update.
I was invited to participate in the WebNovel competition of Newbie Authors and would love it if you all could support and read my story. I will post it soon, afterwards I'll pass here the story's name and summary.
Thank you again for all your continued support.