AN: This is a short pause between chapters and is a short oneshot focusing on Minato. (Also because I have many Minato feelings of the recent events in the manga.) The other reasons include that university is killing me slowly and because chapter 5 is the last chapter before Naruto is 12. From chapter 6 onwards, we will see him as a fully-fledged ninja. You could say that this is about the halfway point in Upside-Down Hourglass as well.

REGARDING CHAPTER 5 QUESTIONS — First I'd like to say that I got a lot of questions concerning Yuriko vs. Koh vs. Yugito. NONE of those are the same person. Yuriko is a completely separate character who, if you paid attention a bit and if you have read my AN at the bottom of last chapter, you would realize had Dissociative Personality Disorder. Yuriko calls herself "Koh" when her personality suddenly changes. Yugito was the name that I did use for the Niibi (Matatabi) jinchuuriki. I'm sorry if that caused a bit of confusion as I realize that Yugito and Yuriko have similar spelling.

Also, as for Kumo, I am totally aware that their plan was stupid. That was kind of the point. A reviewer pointed out that Minato is still at his prime and Konoha is still strong at this point in the story and yes, that is true. The Raikage, A, is reckless, as we all know. But, even as stupid as he was in his plan, he was also trying to be cautious. Yugito, one of Kumo's jinchuuriki, was sent out for that specific reason. He hoped that he could possibly overpower Minato and Konoha using his trump card. Again, I am sorry I did not make that clear enough.

Lastly, yes. Kurama knows and remembers.

Chapter 5.5—Interlude:
Walking Legends; Walking Dreams
We walk the paths we want to pave…

"Every legend begins as an ambition and every ambition begins as a dream. The choice to make that story come to fruition is the choice that defines you because you are your choices and your choices are your dreams."

A few months before the end of the Third Shinobi World War…

"Did you hear? They say the Sandaime is narrowing down his candidate choices for the Yondaime Hokage position…"

"Well he has been the Hokage since the end of the First War. It must be tiring…"

There were whispers of gossip all over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. People turned to one another, trying hard to be covert with each other, and murmured their supposed secrets into one another's awaiting ears. Hoards of civilians wallowed fantastically in the possible gossip, positive excitement rising in the crowds after so long…

It had been years since the beginning of the war and everyone was simply tired. But ever since the destruction of the Kanabi Bridge and the war finally turning in Konoha's favor two months previously, many felt that a new age would be dawning upon the horizon: a new age of peace and prosperity, a new age of no conflict. This was an idea that they could only hope for and had been hoping for, a hope that seemed to drift farther and farther away as the years waned on. But you cannot kill an idea and you cannot truly crush hope.

Searching for a hero, the people had seen light shine through the darkness in a single man. He was called by many names and renowned all over the elemental nations for his prowess and incredible strength, even at such a young age. He was virtually undefeatable and had never been defeated. His enemies did not bother to place a bounty on this man's head because they were too wary to approach him; instead they stuck a "flee-on-sight" order associated with blond hair and blue eyes and an incredibly disorienting calm demeanor in their bingo books.

He seemed so untouchable. He was their savior. He was Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Some called him a walking legend, a beacon of radiance, and a true figure of the people. They weaved stories and tremendous tales about this shinobi, spreading them throughout the death-ridden battlefields like a farmer would handfuls of seeds. Eventually the seeds cracked open and out sprouted the roots. Plants grew and suddenly this man transformed from simply a powerful human being to someone who was more than human, akin to an immortal.

However, they were not aware that Konoha's Yellow Flash was probably a lot less godlike than they believed him to be because at that very moment, their hero was trying to figure out a way to come up with an idea to propose to who he hoped to be his future wife.

Well, it wasn't exactly a proposal so to speak. Men did not outright say they would like to marry someone, at least not in their culture. It was more subtle than that, an implication. (1) But Minato was not a normal man. First of all, he was incredibly nervous and second of all, he wanted to imply marriage creatively…if that made any sense. The notion did in his head.

And so he found himself dejectedly staring into space, an elbow propped onto a low wooden table, and his body slouched with legs crossed. The reflection of a brown-haired man glanced off Minato's hitai-ate, his eyebrow quirked in confusion and curiosity.

"What the heck is wrong with you today, Minato?" The fellow shinobi inquired. He pouted and then sighed in exasperation when he did not receive an immediate answer. He thought that maybe this guy was annoying after all.

You see, Ryu Goto was an inquisitive man, if not a bit eccentric in his methods of finding answers, but nevertheless he was what people would call a reliable person. He was a Konoha jounin, donning a hunter green flak jacket with a forehead protector dangling about his neck and all, decently adept with earth style techniques, a good reader, and he had a secret aspiration to write books one day—when he had more time, that is.

He had wavy brown-blond hair and eyes that sometimes appeared as if they were more than one color, occasionally shifting from green to brown to blue depending on the angle of the sunlight. He had a girlfriend that Minato also knew fairly well because she was a former teammate of his. Well actually, Ryu and she were both former teammates and part of the original genin cell taught by Jiraya of the Sannin. Of course, it was the blond man sitting across from Ryu that really became the favored apprentice, but who could blame him? Minato was talented and really was the most well suited out of the three of them to continue his tutelage under Jiraya in later years.

That didn't mean that the three members of Team Jiraya ever lost touch completely.

The brunette groaned outwardly. "You're ignoring me! Really, are you just going to sit there and not say anything even after we decided we'd meet up today for lunch? Geez some friend you are—"

"Ah, excuse me sirs, are you ready to order?" A plump waitress with cascading indigo hair and a floral kimono interrupted the rant, an empty round tray clasped gently to her chest as she bowed. She was blushing furiously and the man grudgingly noted that she was yet another Kiiori Senko fan-girl, not that the Namikaze ever noticed because he was always trapped in his own little genius world. Really, sometimes he thought that his teammate earned that nickname not because of his incredible speed but because he was flashing the kunoichi or something.

Ryu dragged a callused hand down his face and replied in a muffled voice, "The yakisoba (2) would be nice, no vegetables though, just the beef is fine." He observed as the woman nodded her head in confirmation and he quirked an eyebrow at his former teammate, silently asking what he wanted to eat.

As if sensing his companion's inquiry, Minato perked up and politely ordered pork tonkatsu (3).

Incensed, the doton user threw his arms in the air and complained, "Oh, so now you talk!" He was promptly ignored and it became the waiting game for both an answer to his questions and their food alike while he glared intently at his blue-eyed comrade's profile.

A pause passed and it was silent at the duo's table save for the clinking noises of plates and chatter in the background of the restaurant. Then, as if out of nowhere, Minato's head tilted sideways as if finally acknowledging his friend's existence.

"Hm, did you say something?" The blond asked. Immediately he heard a head bang loudly upon the tabletop and he blinked in surprise. "What was that for?"

Ryu's left eyelid was twitching rapidly. "And they call this guy a prodigy or some shit like that," he mumbled to himself. There were times similar to this when he thought that there was absolutely no way that this idiot could have ever passed the Academy stage of their shinobi careers. Konoha's savior or not, he knew all too well that Minato had his off days; everyone just needed to see them and perhaps they would laugh and realize that their hero was pretty insane.

Maybe it was his inner frustration speaking, but he never really got to the point of following the guy on all fours with the thought of hero worship on his mind. He had seen so many odd sides to Minato that he simply couldn't. He had known the man years too long, and that was possibly the reason why he was so worried about him. Needless to say, he never knew his former training partner to space out for no reason.

"You're acting weird," the jounin added, "and by that I mean weirder than normal. What are you thinking about, squirt?" At the old nickname, the Namikaze pursed his lips in disapproval and Ryu only smirked widely. It was a little known fact on the team that the Yellow Flash was the shortest kid in their group for the longest time, and not only that, but he had hit puberty at an admittedly later stage than most and for a while he had a pretty damn small—

Apparently fifteen minutes had already passed since they made their orders and the waitress from earlier butted into their conversation again, this time making it a point to flash a little flesh. Ryu most certainly did not approve and his annoyance at his friend's obliviousness only grew by the second.

She plopped the main courses in front of both gentleman that ordered, carefully slipping two porcelain bowls of steaming white rice beside them, and without further ado, they picked up their chopsticks from their respective holders in the sweet anticipation of a delicious meal. The lady left quite flushed after Minato had thanked her for her service, and it was only then that Ryu noticed one important thing missing.

"Oh hell," the brunette moaned. "When I said 'just the beef,' I didn't think they'd take it that seriously. I ordered a yakisoba, so where's the noodles? They gave me a plate of just the meat!" And lo and behold, that was exactly what was placed in front of him, much to his friend's amusement.

He called for the same waitress again and she apologized profusely, stuttering that she would fix it for him right away. What he received in return was a plateful of fried noodles and that was it. Not bothering to complain further, he accepted his fate.

"Damn it. I asked for a yakisoba with just beef and then they tell me that they'll fix it only to give me a damn thing of separate noodles so that I can fix it myself," Ryu ground out, angrily pilling beef onto the new dish. "That's like asking for a chicken sandwich with just the chicken, only getting the chicken, and then someone gives you just the bread buns in consolation." Ripping into a slice of beef with his teeth, he continued, "It's like ever since people started talking about you getting the Hokage position, I'm totally ignored if I'm around you…those pricks."

Minato chuckled at his cohort's antics while he plucked at the breaded pork pieces resting atop his hot bowl of rice. He tentatively took a bite and smiled when the taste satisfied him. The consistency of the food was crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, a perfect blend if he had to say so himself. (Never as wonderfully appetizing as Kushina's cooking, though. That was for sure.)

And now that the thought of his long-time girlfriend came to mind…

"Ryu," the Hokage candidate frowned. "I was thinking…"

"…everyone knows that's downright dangerous—"

Ignoring the rebuttal, the blond went on softly, "…I was thinking about marrying soon. You know, maybe asking her to marry me," he rotated his chopsticks in the center of the grains of rice, "but she probably won't agree to it…"

Oh dear. If the fellow ninja didn't already think that his teammate was an idiot, he definitely thought so now. Everyone who was anyone—that is, anyone close to the couple—knew that they were practically inseparable. Minato and Kushina balanced each other out, if not a little oddly when put into practice. They had been together since their generation was still in their early teenage years and throughout the Third Shinobi War at its peak.

Minato was calm, collected, unobtrusive, shrewd, and the obvious talent in their class. Kushina Uzumaki, on the other hand, was loud, obnoxious, positively violent, somewhat dense, and was the one with a lack of talent in ninjutsu. They were the complete opposite of each other, but they fixed each other's mistakes and made the other undoubtedly whole. While Minato was the idealist and sometimes let his idealism make him naïve, Kushina was the realist that made him see that not everything was rainbows and butterflies. He was the only one that could subdue her and she was the only one that showed him that he didn't have to be perfect for everyone all the time.

They were a matched set, the relationship of the century, so perfect for each other that if any fan-girl saw them they would have jealousy scorching in their eyes. So this was exactly the reason Ryu was so angry at him.

"C'mon, Minato," the jounin grumbled excessively, slurping up a mouthful of yakisoba, "Are you stupid or something? Is this what was on your mind the whole damn time?"

The blond agreed with a slight twitch of his chin silently, awaiting a less aggressive reply.

Ryu was not one to disappoint. "Do you really think she wouldn't agree to marry you?" he questioned with surprise, "You have the hat practically in your hands and I'll probably be calling you Hokage-sama in a month or so. The war is almost over; everyone knows it, not to mention that it's all because of you! If there's any time to get married and have a few mini-squirts running around the village, it definitely is now."

"But—"

"Oh for fuck's sake," the brown-haired man growled, "Are you serious right now? She'll say yes! Just take my word for it! Have I ever been wrong about things like this before?"

The Namikaze pondered on the query briefly before coming up with a quick answer. "There was that time you told me that I should play it nonchalant when attempting to ignore fan-girls, but they only got more interested in me and Kushina ended up chasing them off with her fists…"

Spluttering, Ryu huffed, "Forget it! Look, squirt," and Minato sighed when he noticed the unwanted use of his childhood moniker, "A lot of people are thinking of tying the knot, especially at our age. We're young, probably at or close to our prime in this business, and with all this talk of peace people are bound to think of the future.

"Heck, even a guy like me is thinking about settling down with Kotoko once this thing with Iwa and Kumo is over. And you? You should really think about it for sure. A Hokage without a family is like a fish without water. People will be expecting heirs from you and crap like that," he responded with a wave of his hand, unaware of the reddish shade that appeared on Minato's cheekbones, "Clans always say that they want ninja in the village with potential to be powerful, and we all know you are with all the fuss you're making out there on the battlefield." He grinned while he leaned forward on his arms, "Heh, maybe I should write a story about how the Yellow Flash is more afraid of a woman saying no than of the Tsuchikage…"

Minato frowned, but decided it was best not to comment on that. It wasn't a total lie after all, even if he did not want to admit it to himself.

"Look, man," Ryu explained, "Just go for it. I know I'm right on this one."

"Alright, I guess," the Yellow Flash acknowledged uncertainly.

They continued eating in silence, each thinking deeply about what the other had said, when a sudden puff of smoke and swirling leaves intruded their vision. An ANBU Black Ops agent popped into existence not two feet away from their table, his mask porcelain off-white with three violet stripes on each cheek, signifying that he represented some sort of tiger or feline.

The shinobi bowed, black cloak flickering around him and said, "Jounin Minato Namikaze, the Sandaime Hokage has summoned you to his office. He requests that you come as soon as possible and that I shall be your escort."

The two friends turned to each other with barely hidden wonder and the blond shrugged and pulled out a few ryo from his pockets in order to pay off his tab. Ryu said his goodbyes and crunched on his beef alone, watching his old teammate wander off with the ANBU in curiosity.

And so Minato trailed behind the ninja that was his guide. His sandals picked up the loose dirt on the increasingly busier and busier streets of Konoha. He observed that now that the war was coming to a close, many were coming back home from the battlefront and shops that were formerly closed for an indefinite period of time were reopening with grand vigor. The Leaf would be rebuilt and the sight made him smile.

Minutes later, the duo arrived at the double door entrance to the circular office of Hokage Tower. A soft and firm knock by the agent signified that they were entering as requested, and the aging, withering form of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage, appeared to be sitting quite contentedly behind his mahogany desk, a lit pipe propped in between his teeth.

The doors closed shut behind them and the older man signaled for the ANBU to exit the premises. The two were now alone and of course Minato was utterly nervous. He had never been summoned so suddenly by the Hokage, and definitely never so completely unaccompanied. Unbeknownst to him, the young man had unknowingly voiced his thoughts aloud, to which the leader of the village beamed which only served to confuse him further.

A stretch of an awkward silence fell upon them and then—

"Minato Namikaze," boomed the revered and dubbed "Professor," and the Sandaime himself. "I have chosen you as my successor."

There was another long pause and stillness rang for at least a minute.

Minato blinked a few times as if trying to distinguish a faraway object that was obscured with bright sunlight. "...Excuse me, Hokage-sama?" he breathed out in disbelief.

Sarutobi smirked when he witnessed the shocked reaction on the younger man's face. It was not every day that you saw the Yellow Flash act in such a manner. "I said that I have chosen you as my successor. The Council and the feudal lord have recently approved. Today in fact."

"Huh?" The man had never been so speechless in his life, not that Hiruzen could blame him.

"As of today you will be known as Konoha's Yondaime Hokage," confirmed the elder ninja. He continued talking as if there were no previous interruptions, "Of course I will have to properly train you to take the position for the next few months, but by then I think it's safe to say that the war will be over and you will begin your rule on a Konoha that will only know peace…and I will finally be able to retire." He quirked an amused eyebrow at the still shocked Minato, "That is…if you accept my proposition?"

In the world of shinobi, it was a difficult thing to keep a dream especially when there was constant fighting and rage. Your life expectancy was generally shorter than a normal civilian's. You could die at any minute by kunai, by revenge, by an explosion, or by thoughtless or reckless action. It was almost seen as an inevitable fate, a foreseeable future.

A shinobi could work hard and train hard in hopes of becoming as strong as he can. Some had incredible potential that would never see the light of day because they had died too early to show off what they could do. It was a game of cat and mouse, a throw of dice. You never knew what you were going to get when you entered into the career. This was why shinobi could not keep dreams, not all of them anyway, because there was such a huge chance that the dream would not be achieved, that they would be crushed before they began.

Nevertheless, Minato kept one. He had dreamed ever since his Academy days that he would someday become the leader of his beloved village, that he would one day become the strongest out of them all, the best of his generation so that he could have the power and the drive to protect what he loved most; to protect and watch over Konoha. But some part of him chalked it up to foolishness.

He never thought that this dream would finally come true.

"Minato?" the Sandaime inquired gently.

Snapping himself out of his reverie, the Namikaze gasped out. "Uh…yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Do you accept the position of Yondaime Hokage?"

There was a short gap of disbelief. This could not be happening, at least not to him. He answered with a hesitant, "Y—yes, I accept the position, Hokage-sama."

"You don't sound entirely sure of yourself," Sarutobi teased.

The jounin tensed and straightened his back, only vaguely accepting that this was not some sort of genjutsu or twisted form of reality, and that is head was being nice and not playing tricks on him. "Yes, I accept the position you have offered to me, Hokage-sama," he remarked again with what he wished was radiating confidence.

The aging man peered at his successor with scrutinizing look in his chocolate brown irises. He knew deep in his heart that yes, this man was right for the job and yes, this man was ready even though he did not seem so at the moment. He knew that he would not regret such a momentous decision. The Will of Fire would be passed onto the next generation.

However, Sarutobi kept his thoughts on his previously potential successor to himself for that time. He knew that many in the village knew of his choice between Minato and his now wayward student, Orochimaru. One of the Sanin and a teammate to Jiraya and Tsunade, he would have been a perfect candidate…if he never started performing disastrous and completely inhumane experiments on fellow shinobi. The Third had discovered a lab of his recently, and that only solidified the fact that he would not choose the Snake to take over his position.

He had been having his doubts for a handful of years already. Orochimaru was not pure enough for the seat of Hokage. He wanted that power for the wrong reasons; he wanted to use the Leaf and its resources to further his own goals while Minato did not. Minato was powerful and could easily be ranked as a kage, no doubt, and his reign as a young, promising Hokage was eagerly awaited by many.

Sarutobi would inform the fair-haired man of his thoughts later on, but not today. Today was to be an life-changing and exultant one.

"Good," laughed the old man, "I was hoping you would answer positively."

The now Hokage-to-be clasped his hands repeatedly on his sides in an uncharacteristic gesture of nerviness. "Ah, Hokage-sama…"

"We're equals now, Yondaime. Call me Hiruzen."

"…H—Hiruzen-sama, are you sure about this? Aren't I a bit…young?"

The currently reigning Hokage shook his shoulders in mirth at the response, the afternoon sunlight only exemplifying his joyful and wrinkling features through the glass of the window behind his back. "That you are, of course, but so was I." He tilted his head and observed the young man again who looked decidedly uncomfortable at all the attention. "Trust me. We need a man like you to take the mantle, someone who is strong and with novel ideas to bring to the table." He exhaled resignedly and added, "And I have been the caretaker of this village through two wars already, not counting the ending of the First Shinobi War. I'm tired, Minato, and quite frankly I'm getting old. We need you; a person who has managed to establish himself across the elemental nations, who is the deciding factor in achieving the serene era Konoha has been waiting for, not an old man who knows too much of war and too little of peace."

The Namikaze blinked, unable to respond with anything adequate.

"You will make a fine leader," and to this the Third grinned so brightly that the ANBU that secretly guarded the room from the shadows of the air vents would have sworn up and down that there probably was a miniature sun blinding them at that very instant, "Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen did not want to admit that he was having too much fun mischievously teasing the poor man who was now stiffening with wide-eyed astonishment at the new title. He was opening and closing his mouth like a desperate fish out of water, and the older adult supposed he was akin to that. Minato was out of his normal element after all.

Looking to the future, the Third Hokage swiftly directed the younger out the door and into the hallway, all smiles and laughter while Minato only exuded confusion and disbelief. The older man signaled to the stairwell that led out of the Tower, saying that he should take the rest of the day off to think through the new experience and to recuperate. A formal announcement about his ascension to the seat would be made to the villagers the following day. ("You are going to need your space for a while. Many will come flocking to you once I tell them.")

Without further interruptions, Minato made his way out of the building in a daze. His walk was slightly staggered like a drunkard and he strolled with less buoyancy in his step. His blue eyes gathered in his surroundings like they were something brand new, seeing the children of the Academy class throwing a rubber red ball at each other on the playground, the exhausted-looking ninja that were on their way to reporting in after months of travel and fighting.

He turned his gaze towards the Hokage Monument while he shoved his hands in his pockets. His normal jounin uniform never looked so impressive at that moment because he appeared, for all intents and purposes, that his face belonged carved there too. With the breeze impressively swaying his blond locks and ruffling the dark blue fabric of his sleeves, a brilliant ray of light edged his figure as if he were a silhouette, a shadow. An emerald green oak leaf swiped away on a current nearby and he moved with all defining grace, following the leaf in the wind.

Three faces of three Hokage, and very soon there would be a fourth.

He hoped that he could live up to such a tremendous legacy.

And there was a sudden burst of confidence as he continued to walk, step-by-step on the streets of the home he loved. First it started out slow, like a predator on the prowl. His feet landed with purpose, his sights set determinedly forward. Then the speed picked up and transformed into a brisk walk, excitement building in his throat as a breathless bubble of air. It became a run and there was something burning and churning in his stomach that he did not quite know to put a name to. His tanned face split into a grin, his voice breaking into a musical laugh.

Minato had no clue where he was headed to and people were staring. There were strange diamonds in his eyes, watering in happiness as he breathed out. He was sprinting now, he arms and elbows flaying beside him that it looked like he was in multiple places at once. Bystanders thought, if just for a moment, that they saw the infamous Hiraishin in action.

It was like a dream and suddenly he was attempting to catch his breath in front of a green wooden door with a poster of a spiral on it. His fingers twitched around the rounded golden handle, but he rapped on the panels of the entrance instead.

A creak resounded and there was an attractive woman standing before him with hair that glowed in contrast to the sunshine, red hair like velvet ribbons, red like roses, red that was beautiful and comforting and tenacious, red that flowed near the floor like a river, red that was life and that was fire.

The man inched forward on his own, his motions unthinking.

He picked her up and twirled her at the door of her apartment, laughing out loud like a madman, and she was utterly confused and tried to say so but he was not listening because he was stuck in his own world for that time until he stopped to stare at her violet eyes, cerulean meeting hers, and inside his chest, like a crackling flame, a decision was made.

Minato found himself kissing Kushina, a smile poised on his lips. It was as if he could choke on contentment.

They broke apart after what seemed like hours, surprised at their actions and definitely breathless. Their lips were still a slight hue of pink and both were blushing like tomatoes, not that the Uzumaki woman would disclose that to herself.

"Kushina," the Hokage-to-be whispered as he still carried her in his arms, not bothering to place her back down on her own feet, "…I really wouldn't mind that if one day soon, I could taste your cooking every day. Whatever you cook…it's my favorite."

In shock, it took a few seconds for the woman to understand what he was asking, but when she did, her face morphed into something more crimson than before. "Y—You can't just say something like that so suddenly, ya know," and she smiled softly, smoothly, "I haven't prepared food for you yet today. So…if you're going to eat my cooking every day, I think it's better if I start now."

Beaming, Minato placed her down and followed her inside.

This has to be some kind of dream, he thought fondly to himself as he watched her switch on the stove and set a pot of ramen noodles to boil. He didn't even care that he had eaten not an hour or two ago. Time was at a standstill and a spotlight engulfed them like a picture.

He told her everything and the wondrous news and she jumped on him and they laughed and laughed. He was going to be the Yondaime Hokage, the war was ending, and they would be together through it all.

The following day, the village was rejoicing and Minato was pounded with congratulations with each turn on every street corner, Kushina grinning like a fox by his side. He entered the training grounds in the early morning and was greeted by his two remaining students, Kakashi and Rin who was a brunette girl with purple painted stripes on her cheeks.

They bowed and they expressed how proud of him they were and what an honor is was to be his students. Minato felt a little more out of it in return.

"Congratulations, sensei," smiled Kakashi, albeit covered by his face mask, "You'll make a great Hokage."

Than man chuckled embarrassedly, hoping against hope that he would indeed meet their high expectations.

And half a year later, the Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves would be inaugurated into his new position. He would be married to the woman he loved with everything he had, Kushina Uzumaki, with a desire to start a family. The village and many in the shinobi world would later recall this moment as one of the most momentous in history. From the second Minato Namikaze set foot into his office, the world would begin to change and many would quote his first speech from the balcony of Hokage Tower with pride in their voices, "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive."

The young leader would rule for a little over one year before the Demon Fox would be unleashed upon his home. In that attack many lives were lost, including one of his closest comrade's. Ryu Goto would become just a name on the shiny obsidian surface of the Memorial Stone, another shinobi life lost to the chaos of the world. He would leave his hopeful sweetheart behind, heartbroken and devastated while she lived the life of a lonely medic ninja. Her friendship with the Yondaime drifted slowly apart, an invisible rift cutting between them because she did not want to admit that she was so afraid of his only son, Naruto, and what he held sealed inside him. Kotoko did not want to be afraid of an innocent little boy, especially that of her genin teammate and Hokage, so in order to keep her depressive impulses to herself and in order to keep the poor boy free from any guilt, she kept her distance.

But if all had gone according to plan and Minato had sacrificed his life for his people and his family as he intended to seal the Nine Tails into his son, he would have been one of the most respected kage with the shortest reign…

And maybe it would have been better that way—for Kotoko at least—because then she would never know that Naruto was the child of one of her oldest friends and she would never feel the tremendous culpability she felt as she caught glimpses of the happy little boy with such a heavy burden to bear. But then if that had happened, her other teammate would become a memory also, just another rock face on the mountain, just another father that could not say, "Welcome home," to his child and simply could not say anything at all.

However, that would never happen so easily because Minato Namikaze was a walking legend that was forced to make a difficult choice and with either choice he made, his name was already solidified in the history archives; written forever.

After all, the ones remembered throughout history, who make their mark on history, are those who become the martyrs and those who succeed.

We walk the paths we want to pave,
And find solace in our humanity.
We walk the legends of our grave,
And find the name of truth in stone.

Coming up next…

Upside-Down Hourglass will continue as normal with chapter 6.

Answers to questions that you might have been wanting to ask:

(1)"Well, it wasn't exactly a proposal so to speak. Men did not outright say they would like to marry someone, at least not in their culture. It was more subtle than that, an implication." — In Japanese culture, this is true. They don't always do something elaborate like propose in front of a crowd of people. They usually imply their asking a woman for her hand in marriage by saying things like, "I wonder how it would be like if I could taste your cooking every day," and maybe the woman would reply with, "I could cook for you for a while." Something to that extent. If you need a more thorough explanation, try thinking of the ending of Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood or the manga) if you have read/watched it. You know that one scene with Ed and Winry by the train station when he says something like, "Equivalent Exchange! I'll give you half my life if you give my half of yours!" That was a proposal.

(2) Yakisoba is a Japanese dish inspired by chow mein from China. It is also a noodle dish like its predecessor, but is typically fried with pieces of some sort of meat (usually pork) with vegetables. It literally means "fried noodles in sauce," which it has an abundance of.

(3) Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that features a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet and is usually served with shredded cabbage and rice.

Extra note: Ryu Goto is based on a friend of mine who wants to someday write books and be an author. He's also a huge fan of Naruto.