Chapter 14 – Connections

It was an odd experience, being a teacher to a bunch of Genin. Kakashi had never really thought about what it would be like, after he finally passed some poor group of academy students; the first few groups were as unsuitable as they were incompetent. He had effectively given up on finding anyone suitable in the near future, and had concentrated on doing missions once more; a lot of solo ones in particular, of a less volatile nature than his previous type, when he was still among the ANBU.

His years among those protectors of the village had been tough, and though he looked back on the whole experience with pride, the significant danger involved with every engagement and the busy schedule had made it a harrowing job. Worse still were the hellish effects on one's psyche; more than a few ANBU had gone insane during the time he was among them, or turned into nervous wrecks by the end. He had personally had to take one of them down.

Alongside testing one's physical health, which was done by Medical-nin, there were also counsellors who gauged whether or not one had the mental stability to continue. It was embarrassing to think back on it now, but Kakashi himself had been called for a check-up no less than six times; five times he had evaded them to the last minute. He had simply gotten used to perpetually being late, so that he was rescheduled, and the habit had stuck. Obito would have been proud.

Kakashi sighed as he thought back to those people assigned to assess his mind; they hadn't been at fault, they had simply been doing their job. They had posed him hypotheticals and asked him questions, and in turn he had just argued to remain in ANBU while ignoring the majority of their concerns. He was still an expert in assassination, high-risk retrieval, and the acquisition of foreign techniques, so he felt like he couldn't drop out from one moment to the next, and most of the higher-ups had the same opinion.

He had obligations to his village and his fellow ANBU, and he would keep going until he dropped. That approach worked, mostly. Early on, the complaints about him had been inconsequential, minor annoyances between colleagues that heaped up. They were listed as indicators more than actual problems, and Kakashi paid them no mind. There was at least one Inuzuka ANBU who perpetually scored low on a whole range of mental checklists because he treated the counsellors like they were dirt under his feet

Issues had gotten more pronounced and demonstrably unhealthy in later years. The job, rather than getting too hard for him, was beginning to feel too easy, too natural. Kakashi barely realized it until after the fact, but he had ended up overestimating himself, taking risks he rationally knew he shouldn't, and had put other ANBU at risk for little reward. Really, he had started to lose focus, the drive that had kept him going for years. Perhaps it was just age catching up, though Gai would vigorously disagree, or a little of Obito was seeping through in the end. Whatever the reason, he knew his little adventure was drawing to a close.

Thus, after stalling his departure for two years longer than most ANBU even stayed on, he had given in to his growing doubts and the declining scores, even if he was still as good at finishing missions as ever. He had gone to the scheduled counselling session exactly when it was supposed to be, and that alone had signalled that his career behind the porcelain mask was over. He had offered his resignation from ANBU, and the Hokage had accepted it graciously. Perhaps he had even seemed a little relieved.

Now, a few years down the line, Kakashi knew he had made the right choice, even if he kept in touch with almost everyone who was still serving in ANBU, since many of his best friends were among them. One of them was a student he ha taught, as a 'veteran' of sorts; Tenzō, the only person besides the First Hokage to use the Mokuton. Precious few ANBU took apprentices, when they joined the force; the Hokage had taken notice of it, and that's how he got his current job.

He was a sensei, now. He was the teacher of three precocious brats, just as weird as his own team had been, if in different ways. It seemed fitting that he would be assigned the group of oddballs. For many reasons, his new team reminded him of his own early years.

Sasuke, of course, was the very image of the Uchiha clan, and as their last survivor in the village he had a lot to live up to. Stubborn and proud of it, the boy seemed unwilling to admit weakness, and focused on comparing his strength to his teammates and his brother, to the exclusion of almost everything else. A problematic personality, but not one that couldn't be changed; there was certainly enough to work with when it came to the boy's conflicting interests. Now, with the Sharingan active, he was also a real danger in a fight. Kakashi smiled grimly; he knew how effective that Kekkai Genkai could be.

Sakura was perhaps even more peculiar than Sasuke, though; he at least had been predictable. The odd one out in the team from Kakashi's first impressions, Sakura had turned out to be remarkable in her own way. Aside from near-perfect chakra control by sheer instinct, even before training properly begun, her control over its uses was already formidable within the first few lessons. Aside from the beginnings of what could well be an excellent Medical-Nin, there was also that incredible strength and reaction speed, usually hidden away behind a facade of weakness. She had a talent for Taijutsu that the academy had not discovered, and the emotional volatility to make good use of it. In Gai's team, perhaps, she would have been spotted even sooner; his friend had an eye for that kind of raw ability, as evidence by Rock Lee. Talent for medical skills and Taijutsu - Naruto's estimation of her as a new Tsunade did not seem as unfounded anymore.

That brought him to Naruto. There was a whole book he could write on that one. Kakashi's initial assessment, simplistic and superficial as it was, had painted the orange-clad loudmouth off as the clown of the group, his sensei's kid, but with all the subtlety of an ox. He had expected the boy to be the straggler, constantly catching up to the others, like Obito had been.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

Naruto wasn't the idiot that he had expected, or the one the academy teachers or Hokage described. No, he was dangerous. He didn't show it much, but his instinctive responses were measured and controlled; it seemed almost as if Naruto was used to lashing out with deadly force, and had to check himself to avoid it. Even when he was at his most relaxed, Naruto's heart raced and his muscles tensed when others came near. Kakashi's senses were attuned enough to notice, and it was decidedly peculiar. ANBU had those kinds of reactions; the instinctive preparations of trained killers who anticipated every possible avenue of attack, and could counter at a moment's notice. He knew those instincts well, as he had developed them himself over several painstaking years. Genin didn't have them; not ordinary ones, anyway.

Naruto sometimes acted as if he had grown up in ANBU, as if he took account of every threat around him at all times. His youthful life hadn't been stellar, that was true, but this tasted of something more than an orphan's experience, and Kakashi figured that the easiest explanation was also one of the most disconcerting. There was intent behind the boy's actions - he must have trained himself from an early age, perhaps by spying on his elders, those who wouldn't think twice about kids hanging around. He had prepared his body and mind for the life of a shinobi, even before he actually became one. Now that he had graduated, he tried not to improve too quickly, so that his peers wouldn't notice.

It sent a chill down Kakashi's back; not because it was unheard of, but because it was so disturbingly familiar. Without parents to give him incentive, without knowledge about his connections or his burden for years yet, the boy had started on the exact same road his teacher had.

Kakashi had been six when he graduated from the academy, perhaps four or five when he had properly started training. It was a ridiculously young age, even among shinobi, but war was coming. Konoha needed every talent that it could get, and the son of the White Fang was hard to miss. He had officially reached Chūnin not too long after his graduation. It was no surprise; he had been training for as long as he could remember, and he had stormed past his fellow Genin easily. It would take some years before his body had grown enough that he could fit in a proper team, and it was no surprise that he was assigned to one of the most powerful shinobi of the village, even then: Namikaze Minato.

That man's son, Naruto, had chosen another route. He had trained, he had prepared, but he hadn't graduated. Kakashi could understand why. The Kyūbi-boy, graduating at six: It was unthinkable. Shinobi would get nervous, and civilians would panic at the thought of such power combined with such talent, especially when they had hardly been the most courteous to the child. So the boy had laid low. Kept his grades close to failing, lost intentionally, perfected his stealth to Chūnin level or beyond so that his true activities wouldn't be noticed. He had started stealing scrolls to learn techniques while playing the idiot during the daylight hours. Doubtlessly the Shadow Clone technique was no accidental acquisition either; there was good chance the boy had been skipping school for ages, letting one of his clones attend whenever there were no Taijutsu classes to expose him. Then he had watched and waited until a team came by that suited him, perhaps one he had chosen years before. The one to graduate highest in a class usually ended up with the dead last; Naruto had gotten himself onto the strongest team of his year.

"Your son's a sly one," Kakashi murmured, and he smiled as he tapped his sensei's name on the memorial stone. "I should have expected that, really."

The fact that Naruto had potential not unlike his own, or Uchiha Itachi's, had uncomfortable implications, though. None of those 'young geniuses' really had the stability of mind that they ought to have. They had the brainpower, but not necessarily the wisdom to put it to good use. He himself had been bound to the rules, obsessed with them since the death of his father. Itachi's madness was perhaps even more clearly visible; the death of his entire clan spoke volumes on that. There were others, but not many made it through childhood intact, and fewer still remained loyal to the village.

The boy had been slipping, though. Becoming a ninja had clearly impacted the boy's life significantly, and perhaps he could not combine his sleuthing with his actual work anymore. The boy had been unsteady, early on, forgetting or entirely skipping his assignments. He was even going on training trips and letting his clones take care of filling in for him, not realizing that such a tactic would not work as easily as it did on academy teachers. The comfortable lifestyle Naruto had built up had been shattered, and though he was making connections with his teammates, he wasn't being truthful with them. Not all the time, anyway. So used to his artificial personality, Kakashi wondered if the boy had difficulty letting it go. It was a problem he had heard of before, particularly among ANBU, but not with Genin.

Of course, Naruto was no ordinary Genin.

There was the scuff of a boot on sand to Kakashi's side, sharp and loud. Intentional. The Jōnin's eye slowly slid over to take in the new arrival, and widened slightly. The subject of his thoughts stood beside him, hands in the pockets of his black-and-orange vest, blue eyes focused on the memorial stone before him. His expression was unusually sullen and it seemed almost as if there were tears in his eyes.

"Have you come to remember and reflect, too?" Kakashi asked amiably, though his mind wandered to the arrival. If the boy hadn't scuffed a boot, would he have noticed? That was Jōnin-level stealth, at least.

Naruto didn't answer for a long moment; finally he reached out to the unmarked section of the plaque he was facing. "The name of the one I mourn isn't on here yet." He sighed, glancing with pain-filled eyes to his side. "You understand, don't you?"

Kakashi nodded slightly. That was the latest oddity surrounding Naruto: Whatever happened at the hospital. The last time they had spoken before that particular event, things had been fine. Naruto had then ended up strapped to a bed, under suspicion of murder; he hadn't even imagined that it was true until he saw the bloody seal drawn on the floor, or heard Asuma's disturbed recollections. Even when he feared it might have been the boy's doing after all, he had firmly told himself to hold off on that kind of idea until after Ibiki was done. Thankfully, the man had vindicated Naruto's story; his victim had not been himself, and a third party had done the killing.

That, though, was not what had made Kakashi think. He had observed the boy enough to pick up when he was nervous, when he was trying to control his reactions and failing. His control had been shoddy since he woke up in the hospital bed, and during the trip down to the hospital's morgue, he'd been able to tell a lot from the way the boy spoke and acted. The alarming thing was that as far as he could tell, the boy's lies came out as fluently as the truth, even if his body showed unintentional hints of deception. When the topic of a suspect came up, it had become crystal clear; Naruto was hiding things, lying about significant events, and it was only because his control was slipping that he had been able to tell.

There had been no encounter in the woods, an event that he had described to the Hokage with what he understood to be remarkable severity. He had implicated an unknown shinobi for a number of crimes, including aiding Orochimaru, and the Hokage had taken him at his word. Now, Kakashi was certain, the entire event had been made up. Was Naruto already preparing people to take the fall for him, should anything happen?

"You are very silent," Naruto said, glancing to his side. "Don't you talk to them, usually?"

"You've seen me here before," Kakashi concluded, distractedly rubbing his hitai-ate, where Obito's eye was recuperating from its last use. "Usually I do, yes. I don't know if the dead can hear us, but I like to think they can."

"I speak to dad, sometimes," Naruto said. "And mom. I am confident they can hear us, wherever they are." He rubbed his stomach. "I usually don't go here; I go to the Hokage monument. I always thought it was more fitting."

"He liked it up there, too," Kakashi agreed. "He would stand on those heads and look out over the village."

"He really was a protector of the village," Naruto said softly, putting his hand on the memorial stone and searching out his father's name. "I have to apologize for something," he said after a moment. "I haven't been totally honest with you."

"Hmmm?" Kakashi blinked. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you everything," Naruto said, looking away. "But you deserve some answers. I've been... holding back in training with the team, in missions. I thought it would make me fit in better with everyone, make the others catch up more quickly, so forth. Didn't really think it would cause a mess."

"I had surmised as much," Kakashi agreed, eyebrow rising. "Why come out with that now?"

Naruto sighed, and didn't speak for a long time. Finally, he broke the silence before Kakashi could ask again. "I promised someone that I'd make my father proud," he said, smiling weakly. "I promised another that I would try and stop working myself into such a mess by hiding everything. I suppose I got used to it, too used to it."

"That happens," Kakashi agreed, glancing askance at his student. "So, you have still been holding back. I had assumed you were the strongest of my Genin already, but how powerful are you, really?"

Naruto frowned, and Kakashi wondered if the boy actually had to think about the answer. After a few moments, the boy shrugged. "On the high end of Chūnin in most things, I guess. Taijutsu, defence against Genjutsu, speed, strength. That doesn't include the Kyūbi's boost to those sorts of things, of course." He hesitated for a moment, then pressed on. "Also I have Jōnin-level or higher Ninjutsu, I'm sure. I think Jiraiya's the best judge for my Sealing, but I think it's better than he's letting on when I'm around."

Kakashi felt a chill run down his back as he remembered his sensei, Naruto's father, commending his self-created technique, Chidori. It had been imperfect before he received Obito's Sharingan, but after that, it had become a monstrously effective technique. Jōnin-level or higher, easily. He remembered the words that his old teacher had given him then. "You're playing with the kinds of techniques I like to use, aren't you?" Kakashi repeated. "At your age? What are you trying to do, make me jealous?"

Naruto smiled widely, and for a moment Kakashi had the eerie idea that Naruto knew exactly what he was referring to.

"I'll show you a lot of the stuff I've picked up, when we have some free time," Naruto said, closing his eyes. "Sensei, there is… something else." He paused. "Sometimes I worry that I'm losing things that I can't afford to lose, in this race to be a shinobi. I feel like I'm three times my age, and it's painful to keep up appearances. It's hard not to fall into bad habits too, for that matter. What do I do?"

Kakashi knew that feeling all too well. But it was hardly something a Genin should have to deal with. He supposed it was only a matter of time before someone got sick of ANBU before ever really joining it, considering how gruelling it was. "I think that's something you have to work through yourself, since you're clearly not ready to tell people about whatever's bugging you. Jōnin-level techniques coupled with Jōnin-level issues. You're an odd one, aren't you?"

"The most surprising ninja of Konoha," Naruto agreed. "Reason I'm here is that I can't keep it up anymore, this whole other me. I don't think I can afford to, either. I can't just toss everything away, but..." He grimaced. "I'd like there to be some truth among the team, at least. I know I can trust you, but I'm afraid that if this keeps going, the other way around would become impossible."

Kakashi sighed, reaching over and putting his hand on the boy's blond mop of hair; Naruto stilled under the touch. "Don't be silly, now, Naruto. You're a thieving little miscreant with a personality malfunction that an ANBU could be proud of, but you're still my student, and that means that you can trust me, and I will trust you. Unless you do something really heinous, I won't abandon you for anything."

"There is this." Naruto raised his hand before him, cupped, and Kakashi's eyes widened when chakra gathered within it, swirling in on itself until a shining sphere of chakra formed above it. It had taken only moments before Naruto released it again. The chakra dissipated harmlessly.

"Rasengan. How...?"

Naruto didn't answer that question, pertinent as it was. He looked down at his feet instead. "I would like it if you didn't spread around that I can do that. There are not many people who know the technique, and people would draw conclusions if they saw another blond with the Rasengan. But you're my teacher. You ought to know."

"Did Jiraiya teach you that? In such a short time?"

A smirk ghosted across Naruto's lips before it vanished. "No, the lessons I got since he returned to town have been all about Sealing, and even then, there haven't been many of those sessions. I'm sorry, some things I can't just explain without endangering other people, so I'll keep it to myself. You'll have to trust me on that."

Kakashi didn't know what to say. "You're keeping secrets to keep people safe, then? A good reason, even if it makes me very curious."

Naruto sighed, looking away uncomfortably. "I wish there was someone I could tell, but I suppose it'll take time before I get around to something like that. Funny how that works."

"If you think it's important, you can talk to me. But, if that won't work…" Kakashi said hesitantly, thinking back to his own youth, when he had kept his true emotions hidden from everyone as well, hiding behind the regulations. "I will trust you to tell me what I need to know, and to seek advice when you must."

Naruto stilled again, and then relaxed with a smile. "Thanks, sensei. It means a lot to me."

Kakashi smiled, wondering if he should really settle for trusting that his student had some sense. He decided he should. The boy seemed to be here to make some amends, and that was more than he had expected. It was like Sasuke approaching him and telling him he was going to avoid chasing Itachi for now, unthinkable. Perhaps the boy really had changed his mind about his actions; he had to give Naruto a chance, as he would with Sasuke or anyone else. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, though," he said quickly.

Naruto laughed outright, then. "I suppose I have that coming!"

It wasn't until several minutes after the two had left the memorial stone behind, that a third figure detached from the shadows, adjusting its mask. Then, it vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto made his way across the rooftops with ease, though he was still getting used to where everything was again; the new Konoha that was built after Nagato's attack had been considerably different in layout, and he found himself turned around quite a few times in this old-timey version.

His mind was still with Kakashi, and their little talk. No, he hadn't blurted out his whole life's story. He couldn't even if he had wanted to, and he knew that even with his decision to change his approach, it would be suicidal to tell anyone in broad daylight without a hundred privacy seals on every available surface. Thus, though he hadn't been entirely truthful, he had avoided telling blatant lies and stopped himself forcibly from giving the easiest answer. Better that Kakashi knew that he was keeping secrets from him, than that the man figured out that he was constantly lying, and never took his word seriously again. Perhaps it wasn't too late, yet.

A small army of clones was seeking every inch of the Fourth's base, now that it had been compromised, and retrieved everything of value before closing it for good. They were there for a second reason: To figure out who had been manipulating them from the shadows, replacing a clone with themselves or otherwise getting a blood sample to Hidan. Even if he wasn't going to tackle things solo again, he couldn't afford to let loose ends lie around, or for something like that to happen again. The clones were him, he trusted them. If someone was capable of just turning them on him, the technique could become compromised.

He put his tough thoughts aside as he reached his target, the academy.

"Iruka-sensei."

The schoolteacher turned suddenly, blinking in confusion as he glanced up to where the voice had come from. He adjusted his hitai-ate nervously as he glanced at the would-be Genin behind him, training their basic sparring techniques. "Naruto. What are you doing here? Don't you have missions?"

"In a few hours," Naruto agreed. He jumped down from the roof with his hands in his pockets, landing without as much as a sound. The few students who had noticed him gaped. "I thought I would pay a visit to my favourite teacher, you know? See how he's doing without me to mess up his class?"

Iruka chuckled lightly. "Ah, Naruto, there are those who would gladly take your place, you know. Konohamaru for one is very spirited."

"He the Third's grandson; I can imagine." Naruto smiled as he waved at the students who looked at him curiously. "I never really thanked you about the care you showed in the academy, did I? All those years, and you always seemed to believe I could make it, even when I was doing really badly. I figured you would have given up on me early on."

Iruka smiled. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd keep it up, either."

"Because of..." He rubbed his stomach and raised an eyebrow. "I understand it, you know."

The teacher looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment. "I was referring to all your pranks and jokes, not to matter all the times you were late. I learned that you weren't that creature, you know. Maybe I thought differently early on, but when I actually met you..."

"I know, and I appreciate it," Naruto said with a smile. "You are a much better person and ninja than you would lay claim to, you know. Humble to a fault, too."

Now Iruka was just blushing. "Well, I wouldn't say that..."

"Too humble to do so, eh? Just proves me right."

"Well..." he sighed. "I give up."

"And thus another mighty victory goes to Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" He thumbed up and smiled widely when a few of the students clapped at his exclamation. "Seems like the brats agree with me. Well, I suppose they're only a little younger, so that's unfair. Toddlers, maybe?"

"You know what, just for that, you'll help me out with a demonstration." He grabbed Naruto by the ear. "Come here, you. You've attended this lesson three times, so it should be easy enough to replicate for you. I'm exhausted, and I don't feel like wasting chakra, too. You've got an overdose."

Naruto let himself be dragged along, exaggeratedly twitching as he was dropped in front of a class of thirty or so ten-year olds. Probably next year's batch of Genin; he could see quite a few familiar faces in the group, though he was uncomfortably aware that some might have died in the attacks on Konoha and never made it far beyond this age.

"Er, hi everyone. What's this lesson about, exactly?"

"This here's a graduate from last year's class," Iruka noted, poking Naruto as he stepped up. "As you can see, he's wearing his hitai-ate, which means he's now a Genin. There are three jutsu that you have to know before you can graduate and become one yourself, and though we've covered all three before, I think that Naruto can demonstrate what you can really do with those kinds of techniques in a more practical demonstration."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, suddenly feeling a bit of regret as he looked out over all those young faces. "R-Right. Well, I suppose I should get right to that, then. The first, of course, is the Kawarimi..." He quickly transported himself across the courtyard a few times by switching out with chairs, a small table, and even a handy log, for old time's sake. Finally he ended by replacing himself with Iruka; you needed a lot of chakra to move a shinobi like that, but Naruto had plenty to spare.

"That wasn't very nice," Iruka muttered as he picked himself up from the floor; he had been sitting down, and the chair hadn't come along.

"Obviously, that technique is extremely useful in a fight," Naruto commented while ignoring the Chūnin, and smiled at all the interested looks. "Next, there's the Bunshin." He brought his hands together, and poured as little chakra as he could into the technique. Even with his effort, though, there were still six slight pops as the lesser versions of his clones came into existence, as ethereal as a ghost. "I can't really do this one too well, since my chakra control isn't the best, so I always overshoot it. I use another version, the shadow clone, instead."

"That leaves only one," Iruka noted.

Naruto smiled deviously and brought his hands together. "Yes. The Henge. The most devious of the three academy techniques." A burst of smoke erupted on the stage; far more than any transformation usually led to. It wasn't a surprise of course since he hadn't done a normal Henge. No, this was payback for setting him in front of a bunch of impressionable kids.

"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled. "Cancel that atonce! I should have known better than to think you matured!"

"I call it my Sexy no jutsu!" Naruto yelled with a laugh as he flipped himself easily onto the roof in a single movement In a display of acrobatics that gave even Iruka pause. "I'll have a better one next time, kids!"

"Can we have him as teacher again?" One boy asked just loud enough to be heard as Naruto walked away with a wide grin. Personal Mission: Get back in contact with Iruka-sensei, successful. He would be back here before the week was over, Naruto was sure. He had missed messing with the man.

The Uchiha district was abandoned these days, with the few building that were still in use overshadowed by dozens that were vacated and closed down; they would have been torn own entirely if Sasuke had let it happen. He walked there, occasionally, to get a stark reminder of his goal, of why he wanted to go after his brother.

It was more terrifying, now. The Sharingan saw details that he would have never considered. Bloodstains on the front porches of half the houses, for one. They had been scrubbed clean, covered with bleach, but even now the remnants of the dead Uchiha remained, etched into the cracks and the crevices, telling the story of the massacre, even if nobody else cared enough to come back here and mourn.

To have the Sharingan was a privilege on one hand, but a burden on the other. For now, he chose to look at it as the former. He had finally gained those eyes, the legendary dōjutsu of his clan, the trait that elevated his clan above others in the past, and the only asset that could be strong enough to use against his brother's power, against those terrible eyes that had told him off. They weren't even fully active yet, and already he could see everything more clearly, more quickly, and more thoroughly. Four new techniques he had gained from Kakashi, all of them easy to pick up with these new eyes, though it would take time to master them.

Though he loathed admitting it, he had not activated the eyes by himself; that orange brat from his academy class, the one person he had written off early on and never thought about again, had helped him. Indeed, Naruto had turned out to be peculiar in a number of other ways, such as his highly developed skills in Fūinjutsu, alongside a remarkably gigantic chakra supply. He had never noticed the boy in class because he didn't want to be noticed, and Sasuke was annoyed with himself for missing such deception.

Only a short time ago, he had almost been killed. It was hard to think back to it, but Sasuke remembered the pain of the hit as a kunai buried itself in his upper arm, remembered the one-eyed stare from beneath a cowl before his attacker covered his eyes with his unnaturally cold hand. He had no idea what the man intended to do, and had panicked; he was completely at the attacker's mercy, who was easily Jōnin level, and his limbs wouldn't move.

Whatever the man would have said or done, it was cut short. Kakashi had appeared with lightning flashing in his palms, and Sasuke had collapsed. Whatever his sensei had done thereafter he didn't know; it was all too quick, too loud, and he was bleeding out. All he knew was that a few minutes later, as his consciousness was leaving him, Kakashi had reappeared. His clothes were torn, a thin line of blood descended down his face from under his hitai-ate, and his mask was torn, though it somehow managed to remain attached. The Jōnin had helped him to a hospital bed right after.

The attack had been sudden, and unexplained. Kakashi had no answers, only questions, and even the Yamanaka that came by hadn't been able to tell much more than the basics of the attack, no more than Kakashi had been able to tell without his help.

Neither the fear for his life, nor the terror of bleeding out, had been enough to activate the Sharingan. He had tried. He had used his rudimentary chakra control to send chakra to his eyes, desperately hoping that he could use those eyes to see who the enemy was. He supposed in retrospect that Kakashi used his Sharingan too, and he wouldn't have been able to either. Still, he had failed to activate them.

Then Naruto had come along.

He didn't know what to think about that. The man that had attacked him, vicious as he had been, had come nowhere close to the kind of hatred that his fellow student had displayed. Indeed, with a sickening feeling he realized that even the fear he had held for Itachi, at the massacre, had barely been as strong as what Naruto had caused. How? How had the dead last known how to activate the Sharingan, much less possess the ability to do it on command? How could his hatred be greater than the man who attacked him with intent to kill? How could it be greater than Itachi's?

The only explanation that he could get to was disturbing. There had been rumours about Naruto for ages, talk among the villagers and his clan alike. He remembered well that some of the lesser members of the clan, generally disillusioned with the village, were particularly angry about a 'monster walking free'. He had figured it was hyperbole for the hyperactive kid that liked to pull big pranks; the academy had only intensified that impression, when he had found out that Naruto was hardly any more powerful or dangerous than most kids; indeed, he came across as weaker.

Yet, he definitely wasn't.

He had travelled halfway across the compound and return to the building he slept in when there was a soft swish of cloth on wood, and he froze.

"Uchiha-san."

Sasuke looked up, nonplussed, to find an ANBU leaning over the edge of one of the clan homes; the source of the sound, no less. He had a bear mask on and was heavily built, and it was remarkably he hadn't made the roof creak.

"What is it?"

"I have come to deliver a request." The man reached into his pocket, retrieving a small scroll. "Reply within two days. Do not be late." The black scroll dropped and the man was gone before it reached the ground.

"Hn." Sasuke picked it up gingerly, wonder what that was all about. Why would an ANBU deliver letters like this? Any mail for him could just go into the Uchiha mailbox, as he was the only one who had access to it, or it could be delivered to Kakashi who served as his team leader. Personal messages like this were certainly not usual among Genin.

He set that thought aside as he unrolled it; it was blank. Sasuke blinked in confusion when he frowned and concentrated. The Sharingan spun into his eyes, and the characters appeared on the paper, clear as day. Whatever seal was etched into the paper, he could only barely make it out, made it impossible to read for anyone without these eyes, which meant they were aware that he had activated them. Curious.

It was clear why the messenger had gone to such lengths to hide this delivery. After Sasuke read it in full, he lowered it with a scowl. It was not signed, but the context of the words said enough. This wasn't the kind of thing you wanted anyone to get out, which is why the ANBU had waited until Sasuke was entirely alone before delivering.

He slipped the message into his pocket, contemplating the contents as his Sharingan deactivated once more. Interesting, really. He had just been thinking about his weird little teammate, and now he found out there were others who were similarly interested. The letter had been explicit: Spy on Uzumaki Naruto regarding his abilities, and deliver any and all information to an ANBU, who would retrieve it every week. In exchange he would get Sharingan training about techniques that not even his brother had mastery of, though it didn't list who would be giving such lessons, or when.

Sasuke frowned in earnest. Naruto was a teammate. He couldn't just spy on a teammate because an anonymous person told him to. Not even for the power he needed against Itachi. Yet, he hesitated. It was only spying, not actively hurting him. The blond was loud, so what harm would it do to relay his latest crazy antics? If there was training in the equation as well, wasn't it worth it? Wouldn't a bit of overhearing weigh up against the advances he could make in reaching Itachi's level?

Still considering what to do, he walked into his home and slammed the door.

"Neji?"

The Hyūga jerked in surprise and looked up, startled; probably not a frequent occurrence with those eyes. He composed himself in moments, though, and stared at Naruto with undisguised loathing. "Oh. It is you."

"Yeah..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Can you forgive me for that thing with your hair? I swear, I've stopped doing that sort of stuff since the academy."

Neji just narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here? We are almost in the Hyūga compound."

"Well, of course we are, I came looking for you," Naruto exclaimed. "Hinata's off outside the village somewhere on a mission, and you're the only Hyūga I know besides her..."

"...What is your point?"

Naruto glanced around, reaching into his pocket. "Look, this isn't what it looks like, okay? I've got an assignment for Jiraiya-sensei, and he gave me this tip about eyes. I figured he meant the Sharingan at first, but I've been thinking that it was probably wrong..."

Actually, he had just thought logically about what he knew so far. The seal to block himself from reading the book was obvious, as was the one to block Kakashi, or anyone with the Sharingan. The latter seemed like it probably wouldn't exist, though, or the Uchiha would certainly have rebelled over that. JIraiya, however, had referred to eyes, which probably didn't mean the lonesome Sharingan of Kakashi, nor Sasuke's, still locked at that time. Unless Jiraiya meant for him to go find Nagato, his best bet was the Byakugan. It figured, of course, that Neji was the only one around that he knew with that dōjutsu, now that Hinata was out of town.

"Jiraiya…?" Neji repeated. "The Sannin?"

"Yes, that's the one," Naruto agreed. "He's helping me get better at sealing, and I figured I needed someone from your family to get on with the puzzle. I hoped you could take a look and tell me what your all-seeing eye thing sees." He held out the book quickly, and Neji recoiled.

"That book…"

"Yeah… it's his idea of a joke," Naruto explained, reluctant to admit that it was probably standard business for Jiraiya, considering the man had even left his dying message in these books. The thought wasn't the most comfortable, but he reminded himself that the man still iived, this time. "I suppose it's part of the trick he uses. He writes these excuses for novels, so I guess he just decided it was as good as anything to use for a test…"

"My uncle has this…" Neji said in disgust and Naruto blanched for a moment. Much to Naruto's surprise, Neji nodded his assent. The Hyūga opened the book and activated his Byakugan, as evidenced by suddenly clearly visible veins at his temples. He looked at the pages for a long moment, narrowing his eyes. "Three seals, right?"

"You can see them right through the pages with the Byakugan?" Naruto wondered. "Imagine how handy that would be…"

"It's not that, precisely," Neji said levelly. "The Byakugn doesn't see seals, but what they're made of."

Naruto marvelled at how civil the boy was being, to the point of accepting a glorified porn novel and helping out. He supposed that the boy hadn't found out about Hinata's rather embarrassing crush on him, something he hadn't really considered considering he was technically a lot older now, or he simply wasn't as high-strung as during the Chūnin Exams the last time around.

Neji glanced up when Naruto didn't ask a follow-up question. He answered the unasked query anyway. "The Byakugan allows me to see chakra, and the flow of it. Active seals are always fuelled by a slight flow of chakra, even when they're not in use, which is why you can't keep them forever unless you place them onto something that can maintain that flow. Even then, touching it up occasionally is a must."

"Can you describe the shapes for me? I can probably figure things out from there."

Neji frowned. "That would be complicated. I could draw them instead."

Naruto agreed enthusiastically as he retrieved a scroll from his jacket; he always had plenty on him. He also unsealed a full set of writing gear from another. "Here, you can use this stuff. I really appreciate this, you know. You won't believe what a week I've had, and to have this kind of assignment on top…"

"You came prepared, at least," Neji observed, glancing at Naruto coolly. "Good. Hold the book for me."

It took nearly twenty-five minutes for Neji to transcribe the three shapes, though he went through the process at considerable speed; the shapes were convoluted and reminded Naruto a little of the ones on his own belly. It was clear the Hyūga's hand-eye coordination was exemplary, and his calligraphy skills well-trained, since every brush stroke was measured and precise.

As Neji raised the paper with the last seal next to the book to make a detailed comparison, disaster struck. Neji saw them first, because of his Byakugan, but the range was clearly not very large yet. Maito Gai, Rock Lee, and Tenten burst into the clearing next to the Hyūga compound as one unit, and froze on the spot as they saw Neji and Naruto.

For a few long moments, nobody moved.

"What unyouthful literature are you reading?" Gai exclaimed with wide eyes. "Has my eternal rival corrupted you so easily?"

"Literature," Naruto repeated, snorting.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Neji said loudly, twitching as he glanced between Gai and Lee, seeming equally offended, and a giggling Tenten. Naruto didn't know how, but he could feel Neji focusing on him with those milky white eyes. The message was clear. Naruto hastily grabbed his stuff, snatching the book and drawing out of Neji's fingers before he left as quickly as his legs could carry him.

"Thank you for reading my book for me!" he called back just before he leapt out of earshot, and he couldn't keep his laugh in after that.

Gaara was sitting on the roof when Naruto returned home, right next to his own spot; that spot showed clear wear from his shoes and sharp scratches from kunai that weren't properly secured. The boy was leaning back ever so slightly, and his eyes were closed.

Naruto hesitated. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," Gaara answered immediately, his eyes sliding open. "I was unsuccessful."

"You said you didn't like all the hustle and bustle of the town, right? I'll soundproof the room for you tonight, see if that helps. It's weird, you know, trying to help someone figure out how to sleep. I'm pretty sure doing it on the roof isn't going to help."

"I came here to look at the stars," Gaara said shortly.

"It's still hours till dark," Naruto responded. "Aren't you a bit early for that?"

"Thus the reason I attempted to sleep." Gaara replied dryly. "I have spent several hours inside, but there was nothing left to do there, and I am not allowed to go out unsupervised, as yet."

"Did the clones get any further with the seal?" He glanced down. "Where are the clones, anyway?"He blinked. "Oh. Right. They popped themselves when they weren't getting any progress." He frowned. "Well, I'd like to think I wouldn't stab myself when I got a bad run like that, but at least I would heal even if I did…"

"No progress?"

"It's complex. The seal I used on you is limited, of course. It's 'cause it was designed for my seal, not yours. I used to have one for my chakra in general, so I could mask it, and the one I made for the Biju chakra was basically a hackjob of that one. So, now that I've got that as a basis, I'm basically making a seal on top of a perversion of another seal. It's doomed." He sighed. "Unless you are willing to experiment with different designs, you'll have to stick with the current ones and hope that I'll be quick about figuring out a fresh one."

"Can you not go to your teacher, Jiraiya of the Sannin? The one that you impersonated upon our meeting?"

"Ah, yes," Naruto smiled sheepishly. "I will talk to him, but I know for a fact that the kinds of seals I'm dealing with here aren't the type he uses. They're based on Uzumaki sealing methods, which are rare enough in these days that hardly anyone knows them anymore."

"Uzumaki? Your name?" Gaara seemed confused.

"My mother's family," Naruto said with a shrug. "Her line has a long and remarkable history, and an intimate relationship with the Sealing Arts. Anyway, are you fine with this arrangement? That you keep the paper seal until I figure something better?"

"I will survive," Gaara muttered.

"Good. You still have to become Kazekage, and I won't see you croak before that."

Gaara paused. "Become Kazekage…?"

Naruto smirked. "Well, your father's not going to do the job forever, is he?" he asked rhetorically. "With a bit of good will in Konoha, the strongest village of the five, you'll have quite a bit to work from. Especially if you get the Ichibi under control too, and have serious power to fling around. There's already one nation with a jinchūriki as a Kage, why not make it three?" He tapped his belly and smiled. "It would be awesome!"

"So, there you are." Kakashi cocked his head to the side as he walked up to Naruto, lounging on the bridge that had become almost a traditional gathering point for their little team. "Sasuke hasn't arrived yet?"

"Nope," Naruto responded. "Same with Sakura. I think they finally figured out that you're always late."

Kakashi sighed. "Just when I'm only half an hour late…"

"I'm a clone, you know. The real me is up there." He gestured to the tree, where the edge of an orange vest was just barely visible. "Tiresome day, you know. He figured I could wake him when you arrived."

"Your real self is sleeping?"

"Unless you can snore while you're awake, I would count on it."

"Huh." Kakashi looked up in confusion. "Clones usually dispel when the creator is unconscious. I never thought about it before, but you're different, aren't you?" He walked up and poked the shadow clone on the forehead. "Right; solid clones that stick around when you've fainted. Serious tactical possibilities there."

The clone frowned. "Why are you touching me? I'll leave you with the Boss instead, he can deal with your touchy feely stuff." He turned and yelled his own name in a sharp tone. The real him jumped awake in an instant, and a kunai solidly impaled itself in the clone's forehead before it popped with an expression of surprise. Naruto took a moment to adjust and looked down.

"You're finally here, then? Sorry, I had a terrible night. Figured I could catch up a little." He jumped down easily. "Only one here, huh?"

Kakashi frowned, poking the sleepy boy in the forehead. "Your eyes were all bloodshot at the memorial stone too; I should've figured this out then. You look fatigued. With those people after you, I'd figure you would sleep where you're properly protected, not in a tree."

"Gaara's in my home, and he's trying out sleeping. Considering he has pretty much never done that before, I would like to leave him to it. I tried to sleep while he was just pacing around or sitting there staring into the night, but it gave me the creeps, especially with those black-ringed eyes, so I was mostly awake all the time. Besides, there's four ANBU around this clearing right now, keeping an eye out, so I wasn't exactly in danger."

"Four…" Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "You're right, but how do you know that?"

"Two are upwind, so I can smell them," Naruto said easily. "The slightest bit of Kyūbi's chakra is enough for that. The other two don't have their chakra suppressed, confident that Genin aren't so good that they might be spotted. There, they heard me, now they're fixing it. 'Course, it's too late to hide now, I can follow them."

"You really were hiding more skills, weren't you? You can just sense anyone?" Kakashi wondered.

"I can't sense the best of them, like the Hokage if he's being sneaky," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "I'm not really a Sensor, if that's what you're thinking. I suppose you could say I use a whiff of some special chakra to give me an edge over the average shinobi."

"It's interesting how you worded that."

"Isn't it just?" Naruto smiled. "Sakura's approaching just now. Sasuke's not far behind her, but he's all agitated and antsy today."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow just as the two people in question rounded the corner and walked up to the bridge, Sasuke with his hands in his pockets and a stormy expression on his face. "Okay, that was excellent. How did you do that one?"

Naruto glanced over with a dull stare. "He's always agitated and antsy, sensei."

"Sometimes I forget you're a kid…" Kakashi shook his head. "Nice of you to join us, you latecomers. I'm afraid this means that Naruto gets training today, though, which is good, since his little absence puts him behind the two of you a tad."

"Uh, sensei…?"Naruto said, frowning. He had just explained he was considerably beyond his fellow Genin just that morning.

"Before we get to that private training on his Ninjutsu skills, though, there is something I wanted you all to know." He glanced at Naruto meaningfully. "I've managed to get us a C-rank mission at last, though it isn't one that will take us long to accomplish. Team 8 has run into some trouble near the border, and the Hokage has asked us to help out. Any mission like this where multiple teams are required are automatically assigned at least a C-rank, so that was perfect for us."

"Hinata's team requested extra help?" Naruto wondered. "What happened? Did they run into shinobi of another village or something?"

"Details are sketchy, but we received a message via the Aburame clan, who communicated with Shino via his insects. The little creatures are crude in the concepts they can convey, but it was clear that they required help, though it wasn't urgent enough to be for actual distress. Most likely they're dealing with a larger number of bandits. Hopefully my presence alone will drive some of them off."

"Wait till they see the rest of us," Naruto agreed. "We're plenty strong too!"

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," Kakashi agreed lightly. "Hokage-sama was clear that this particular team has some important eyes on it, so it should perform well. Don't disappoint the fans, will you?"

"We won't," Sakura said forcefully. "We'll beat all these bandits into the floor until they're mush!"

Kakashi smiled nervously as Sakura strained her muscles as if ready for one of her megaton-punches. "Right. We're leaving in the morning, so pack for a trip of a week or two. Come, Naruto, we have a few hours until it's dark, and I want to see what you can do."

As Naruto walked after his teacher with a frown, Sasuke followed. Even as they moved through the forest and across three occupied fields, nobody said a word; Kakashi remained silent until they had gone on for at least fifteen minutes, occasionally glancing curiously behind him. Sakura was trailing behind in confusion.

When they reached a largely abandoned training field on the outskirts, Sasuke cleared his throat. "Naruto, is there anyone nearby?"

Naruto frowned, but concentrated for a split second. There was an odd tingling sensation in the air, as if from some odd chakra, then it was gone again. Naruto hiccoughed for a moment and winced. "Nobody but us four, I think. Not for a long ways, at least."

Sasuke grunted, and without hesitation he reached into his jacket to retrieve something. He paused for a moment, and then opened his hand; there was a little black scroll on his palm. "It can only be read with the Sharingan."

Kakashi snatched up the scroll, flipping his hitai-ate up in a moment. The disturbed look in his eyes was clear to all the Genin as his eye swerved over the text inscribed on the scroll. Then his Sharingan met Sasuke's. "When did you receive this?"

"A few hours ago, in the Uchiha district," Sasuke said. "The ANBU Bear brought it to me personally."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Time to response?"

"Two days."

"Plenty of time," Kakashi muttered, and then smiled. "It's good that you brought it to me, Sasuke. Especially so covertly. I can't believe this could be genuine, but I'll track it down anyway. I might have to do some digging of my own."

"I figured as much," Sasuke agreed, looking askance at Naruto with a frown. "What do we do?"

"Nothing, for now." Kakashi said easily. He slipped the scroll into his pocket. "I will inform you before the time is up, though."

"What exactly is going on here?" Sakura asked as she glanced between Sasuke and Kakashi, focused on the scroll. "What's that black paper?"

"Not important right now. I'm taking it to the Hokage." He summoned a single Shadow Clone and turned back towards his team. "Sasuke and Sakura, you will head back to town immediately. Go somewhere public, preferably, just in case. Naruto, you're going with my clone to train. We won't let this ruin our whole day."

"Sensei…?"

"Those are orders, Sakura. Stick to Sasuke's side and go to the busy part of town." Kakashi smirked suddenly. "You could consider it a date."

Sasuke glanced in horror at Sakura, who suddenly had wide eyes that practically glittered in the sun.

"What was in that scroll, anyway?" Naruto asked distractedly. He had recognized the scroll easily enough, but it made no sense. A black ANBU scroll - the highest rank of orders.

Sasuke looked away and didn't answer.

Author's Note: A boatload of Kakashi, and Naruto going around and doing some things for their own sake, rather than just mostly thinking about what he gets out of them. I gave a little fanonish backstory to a few of Kakashi's odd details in his history, so lemme know what you think. :)