Chapter Two
Aftermath
Obito ripped the kunai from his shoulder without a thought, throwing it down with so much force that it embedded to the hilt into a chunk of concrete that had fallen off of one of the nearby buildings.
He stared at his old friend and bitter rival from several yards away with grit teeth, ignoring the throb of pain that washed through him from his shoulder all the way through his torso. He hadn't wanted to encounter Kakashi - now he'd just have to deal with it.
Everything around them was a smoking ruin. Some areas were still on fire. At some point during the Kyuubi's rage he'd swiped his claws through Konoha's electrical center and had somehow caused a surge of electricity throughout the village, sparking explosions and fires that rocked the ground almost as hard as the Kyuubi's thunderous roars.
The amplified destruction had worked out in Obito's favor. With Konoha shinobi frantically working to save people from inflamed Hashirama-era wooden buildings it had been easy to focus on fighting off the Hokage.
Minato had proven just as challenging as he'd anticipated.
Obito still won, in the end, because he wasn't fighting alone.
He hoped Konan had gotten far enough away with the boy by now.
"Had I dodged that kunai just so, you would've killed your Kage's child." Obito said, allowing his festering rage to bloom. No matter his impeccable aim, Kakashi could've killed Taifū because he could not control the movements of the enemy. "Luckily I am more concerned with the child's well being than I am the destruction of my opponent."
He was glad he carried a smidge of powder stitched into his sleeve. It had been easy to render Taifū unconscious with it. No need to scare her more than he already had and if she was awake he'd have a more difficult time keeping her safe.
Taifū had always been unable to remain still; he was under no delusions that she'd changed that behavior in the last three years.
"Ah. You can just hand her over to me, then." Bakashi said, his voice a saccharine sweet tone that didn't match the anger in his eye. "You know. Since safety is a priority."
There was a flash of yellow and somehow– impossibly– Namikaze Minato landed swiftly behind Kakashi, cradling his infant son in one arm.
"Sensei!" Kakashi called out, unable to see how Minato wobbled a little as he rose to his feet. "He has Taifū."
'The Hokage was supposed to be dead… I watched him sacrifice himself…' Obito clutched Taifū to his chest a little harder, now, realizing he may have to resort to Kamui to get them out of this.
He'd have to stay there for some time and find a way to kill Minato. He'd been sealed. Minato would always be able to find him in an instant so long as that seal remained.
'Where is Konan? What the hell happened?'
"I need you to take Naruto to safety." Minato said, stepping forward to pass the boy to Kakashi, who took him with far more care than he'd used when Fū was little. The Hokage's eyes never left Obito and he didn't think he'd ever seen so much rage in that blue gaze. "I will retrieve Taifū."
"Kushina?" Kakashi asked, cradling Naruto to him like an injured Ninken.
Obito supposed that was the only comparison Kakashi had for his knowledge of infant care. Kami knows he didn't help take care of Fū those first few years. He doubted anything had changed with his 'death.'
Minato shook his head, his entire body trembled and Obito fought a brief flash of guilt. He clutched Taifū a little tighter, as if doing so would make up for the hurt he'd caused.
Kushina was collateral damage. The Akatsuki needed the nine tails. It was unfortunate that she was its host because from what he'd observed, Uzumaki Kushina was the only one deserving of Taifū. He was sorry he'd had to take the girls' mother from her.
Kakashi nodded once, clearly shoving his emotions to the side as he shunshined away in a burst of leaves.
Minato stood his ground, staring at Obito while half of the nine tails chakra escaped with Kakashi.
Kakashi made it to the Hokage tower after jumping over crushed buildings, sliding down large broken sheets of rock, wood, and concrete, and dodging downed power lines. His mind was racing faster than his heart.
'I should have been there.'
Minato-sensei had given him the night off for having done a fine job watching over Kushina during her pregnancy. He'd been confident that the birth would go well and he'd be able to keep the Kyuubi seal under control during its weakened state. Master Jiraiya had done so in the hospital for Fū's birth, after all. There had been nothing to worry about then, so there shouldn't have been this time.
'I should have insisted.'
"I have Lord Fourth's newborn son, Namikaze Naruto. The enemy has taken Namikaze Taifū. The Fourth is fighting to retrieve his daughter in the northwest quadrant." Kakashi said, bursting into the Hokage's office with Naruto tucked against his chest, looking between the gathered people inside as they snapped into motion - Lord Third barking orders as if he'd never retired.
"Hatake, what is the status of Uzumaki Kushina?" Sarutobi asked once most of the shinobi that were in the office shunshined to offer their aid to the Hokage under orders of the Third. "Has she stabilized the nine tails?"
"Lord Fourth informed me that she is deceased." Kakashi had to summon every bit of training he had to say that phrase devoid of emotion. "I do not know the status of the Kyuubi."
Sarutobi strode forward, arm out. "Let me see the child."
Kakashi hesitated. Sarutobi noticed.
Instead of making it an order, the Third Hokage changed his tactic, his voice just a smidge lighter and less demanding than it had been.
"Just unwrap his blanket, then. Minato may have sealed the Fox inside Naruto, I need to look to be certain."
This was a request he could acquiesce to. He would not hand the child over to anyone, at this juncture, unless Minato-sensei himself told him it was safe to do so.
Someone was trying to take Fū. It stood to reason that someone might try to take Naruto as well.
No one could be trusted until sensei returned.
Kakashi pulled at the cloth that covered the baby.
The second he pulled the cloth completely off the child's tiny stomach Naruto burst into paper butterflies.
A moment later, the window to the Hokage's office slid open and Anbu Bear jumped inside.
"Lord Third, we've discovered the bodies of…" Bear's voice cracked and he seemed to struggle before he continued. Kakashi's entire body warred between rage and despair as Bear continued on to say; "Of The Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina."
The laugh that came from Minato was feminine and Obito realized what had happened. He smirked behind his mask as Namikaze Minato burst away into tiny scraps of paper and Konan stood before him wearing a sweet little smirk.
"Well done, Konan." Obito praised as they rushed though the village and into the forest to the east without looking back. Wordlessly Konan created clones and sent them in other directions. Obito did the same, each of them carrying a little Fū with them. Knowing that Konan would not have given Kakashi the infant jinchuriki Obitio asked her where the boy was.
"With Pain. They should be at the agreed upon location."
It had been a risk to take Nagato out of Ame, but Obito had taken it thinking that he'd rather have access to the six paths and not need them, than need them and not have them.
Nagato had agreed. Citing that this opportunity to retrieve the Kyuubi was the best they would have for years to come.
Obito had had no intention of doing anything with Minato and Kushina's second born when he'd come for the nine tails. Had Minato-sensei not unbound the bijuu's chakra from him things would have gone far easier for everyone involved. Unfortunately, Minato's actions had made it impossible to leave the boy now that he housed half of the Kyuubi's chakra. With the other half now dead alongside Minato, that made the boy an even higher priority.
He was unsure what this meant for reviving the ten tails, but Obito would make do.
"We have to move faster. It won't be long before Hatake realizes what happened. Konoha shinobi are relentless. Once they realize their Kage is dead and his children taken they will not stop hunting us until the children are found and returned. Worse still because one is a jinchuriki and the other is the Uzumaki heir." Obito told Konan, and she nodded once, both upping their pace to get to where they'd left Nagato.
Retrieving Fū had been part of his plan, as corrupt as Konoha was. Someone had to protect the girl once her parents were gone, and as incapable as Kakashi was to keep precious people like Rin safe Obito couldn't entrust Taifū's safety to him.
He hadn't expected the girl to be so lucid, nor had he expected for her to know him right away.
He'd watched her for weeks leading up to Kushina's labors and there had been little to no indication of such mental aptitude in that time. She mostly read books and played with the new Uchiha baby, Sasuke, alongside her childhood friend Itachi.
Taifū shouldn't have recognized him after three years apart when the last time she'd seen him she had been two years old. A two year old did not have the ability to hold such memories. Not vividly, in anycase. That she did meant she must have some sort of prodigious mind.
Obito figured Minato would've noticed if his child was a prodigy. At five years old with such a mind, especially during wartime, the council would have forced Minato's hand and made Taifū attend the academy. Fast track, even. There's only so much Minato would've been able to conceal from others, even keeping his circle small.
So what was it? Did Minato hide his daughter's mind from the vicious, power hungry elders? Or had Taifū herself kept it hidden from everyone around her including her parents? And if she had… What was the point of such deception? Her reason. He was intrigued to know.
He looked down at the sleeping girl and wondered why?
Why was she hiding and why had she revealed herself to him?
The Third Hokage blew smoke out of his pipe in contemplative silence, watching the restoration efforts in full swing as evening approached, the day after the Kyuubi's devastating release.
Hiruzen had hoped with Minato's ascension that he'd never have to return to this office for anything more pressing than an afternoon tea with his successor.
Life could be a cruel and unpredictable mistress.
The bodies of Minato and Kushina had been recovered from the wreckage. The memorial service was scheduled for the next day, a step toward healing–and an acknowledgement of the regime change. Some shinobi needed that more than others. Namely, the (once again) heart broken Hatake Kakashi.
When Anbu Bear had delivered the tragic news that Minato and Kushina had been casualties of the attack, Hatake collapsed right there in the Hokage's office. He clutched his head and rocked back and forth, inconsolable. It had taken four Anbu to subdue him when he started trying to destroy the office, clearly out of his mind with grief. He'd been submitted to the Yamanaka's for some counseling but… Hiruzen was unsure when Kakashi would be fit to return to the field.
The Namikaze's were dead; their children abducted and the Kyuubi stolen. That was the last of Hatake's family. Four people in one evening.
Hatake was on forced leave for a minimum of a month to recover from this. His immediate request to search for the lost children was emphatically, and none-too-gently, denied on grounds of his spiraling mental state. Instead, a select team was created to conduct the search.
A team that wasn't emotionally compromised by their connection to the children, and their parents. Shinobi who, when confronted with the infant that now housed the Nine Tails, would not hesitate to do what must be done to retrieve that child. Even if that meant taking him and leaving the other behind–or killing the other should she prove to be a burden.
Hiruzen hated the thought, hated that he'd had to think it and worse–that he would sanction it should it be necessary.
It was an impossible decision. Removing his own emotions was required and the unfortunate truth was that the needs of the village outweighed the life of a child or two.
Konoha was at the weakest it had ever been. Vulnerable. That was unacceptable.
They needed their jinchuriki to keep other villages from seeing them as a weakened target to be claimed by the strongest invader.
He hoped it didn't come down to leaving one to save the other.
It would dishonor Minato and Kushina's sacrifice.
Itachi held his sleeping brother tightly to his chest while he snuck along the outer edge of the family meeting house, seals of non-detection that Tai had made for his last birthday in place on the bottoms of his shoes. They were a brilliant idea of Tai's and she'd somehow managed to produce them, and they worked–to his complete shock.
Besides the village being in shambles, something else was happening and he'd heard his best friend Taifū's name mentioned.
He'd tried to find her that day, while shinobi of all disciplines and ranks were clearing rubble and rescuing trapped citizens. He'd been helping as much as he could, despite his mother's protests that he should be at home, but his ultimate goal was to locate Tai.
When he heard the mournful outcry, a shrill scream that was echoed by the surrounding civilians and shinobi alike –their beloved Fourth was dead– he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that Tai was dead, too.
Itachi had vehemently squashed that feeling.
Tai was his best friend. Tai could not be dead. She couldn't be. They were supposed to meet and make their new baby siblings play together so they could read! It was something they'd discussed at length for months.
They still had almost two thirds of the library to read together. It was a personal goal! Tai had promised they'd do it by the time she was ten and he was eleven. That meant she had to stay alive for at least four more years. She would not break a promise.
(Logic won over that line of thought, in the end, when he realized that death doesn't care about the promises of the living. Still–he rejected the idea that Tai was dead on principle.)
As he crept closer to the back of the meeting house, he saw the candle light flickering through the paper windows and heard the raised voices. It was difficult to understand so he pressed up against the wood of the east wall, careful not to jostle Sasuke, and the arguing was clearer now.
"-will rescue the jinchuriki and leave my goddaughter behind if necessary. Do not delude yourself into thinking for a moment that Taifū's rescue is a priority to anyone but Hatake-san and me."
Rescue ? Itachi's eyes widened at the word, and the hostile, scathing, tone of the word had been spat with his mother's voice. He didn't have to see her to know it was his Mom speaking.
"Mikoto–" His father attempted to soothe her, but Itachi's mother was having none of it.
"You cannot deny it," she seethed. "Otherwise he would have approved my request to go after Kushina's children. His only concern–"
"I would caution against finishing that statement, Mikoto-sama." Itachi heard one of the elders rasp from closer to where he was hiding towards the eastern part of the room. "Your upset is understandable, and coming from a place of deep concern. But you must consider that the village is vulnerable without its jinchuriki and Sarutobi-sama is right to pursue the boy in favor of his return. Should the selected team find Namikaze Taifū when they locate her brother, I am certain they will not abandon her with her abductors. In all my years working with him I can attest that the Third is not evil. "
The sinking feeling had returned, his knees went weak and Itachi had to catch himself from falling over and giving away his position.
Abducted. Tai had been abducted. Tai and the baby, too…
His mother didn't believe Tai's rescue was a priority over the baby. Because the baby was a jinchuriki.
Itachi would have to search the library to find out what that meant. Once the library was reestablished, that was.
But it was clear, at least to Itachi, that the only one in the room fighting for Tai was his mother.
"Mikoto, you're too emotionally attached to the girl to see things clearly." That was his father, and even Itachi knew that saying that was sure to lead to an argument between them later. Itachi resolved to remove Sasuke from the house for a few hours once the meeting was concluded. "There is no action for us to take."
He couldn't see his mother's face, but he could hear the roiling anger in her voice when she spoke again.
"Since sentimental trivialities will not sway the room, I need to remind you that she is the first born child of the Fourth Hokage and the only remaining Uzumaki female that we know of. The boy is heir to the Namikaze inheritance, but it is Taifū who her mother named heir to the Uzumaki. She is the sole heir of Uzushiogakure–I don't need to tell you what that means, as you already know. Taifū is legally betrothed to Itachi. Such a match, even with her parents dead, would be a boon to our clan. Yet still we will not fight for her?"
The room was silent.
That Tai was supposed to marry him Itachi hadn't known but it made sense.
Forgoing his mother's relationship with Tai's, the child of a Kage and the heir of a significant and powerful clan (near extension notwithstanding) known for an abundance of chakra storage and extended lifespan made her a desirable candidate to marry for a strong alliance. Not to mention that any children produced could potentially carry the sharingan and have access to a wealth of chakra to use it with, for years longer than most people.
Those would be powerful children.
Itachi could see why his mother would facilitate such a match. He wondered how long they'd been betrothed for? And what did his mother mean, when speaking of Tai being the heir of the Uzushiogakure and what that meant? Wasn't the land of Whirlpools destroyed in a civil war decades ago?
Perhaps there was a vault filled with wealth, and that was what she meant? That Tai was wealthy and that could help the Uchiha in some way. He didn't believe that, though, because the Uchiha were already wealthy as it was.
Itachi added this to the growing list of things he'd have to look into.
"What do you suggest we do, Uchiha-sama?" A soft male voice called from the other side of the room. Itachi wasn't certain who it was, but he was young. Definitely not an elder. "The Hokage has forbidden anyone from leaving the village unless it is an approved mission and I am under strict observation. It took a lot to make it to this meeting undetected."
"I wouldn't suggest anyone put their duty to the village aside," his mother reassured him. "Just—when you are out, and when it is safe to do so and will not negatively affect your mission, look for signs. Any sign. The girl is smart. If she is still alive, she will try to find a way to get back to me, or at least to relay information. She'll try to get word back to you as well, Hatake-san."
So that was who the soft male voice belonged to, then.
For an outsider to be involved in an Uchiha clan meeting… that was unprecedented. That it was the man that the clan side-eyed and grumbled about having stolen a sharingan from his former team mate made it all the more unusual and suspicious.
But Itachi supposed in this situation it made sense to involve the one other person in the village who cared for Tai as much as they did. He hadn't sounded happy when he mentioned being grounded from leaving the village by the Hokage.
There was silence in the room, once again, until Hatake-san spoke.
"I've sent my pack to find the trail. It's been over twenty-four hours and they haven't reported back. When they do, I'll let you know."
So, Hatake-san was going against the Third's wishes and taking action to find Tai.
This clashed with Itachi's previous impression of the man–a strict rule follower–but it proved just how serious Hatake-san was about finding Tai and for that Itachi decided he might like the copy nin with the stolen sharingan.
Itachi had heard enough. The conversation started to dwindle and his mother seemed much calmer now that she had someone on her side for certain. He stepped down from the porch and started to walk towards his own house at the back of the compound, still hugging his sleeping brother.
"If they don't find her, I'll double my efforts," he vowed quietly to his brother. "I'll pass through the academy as fast as I can so I can find Tai and bring her home myself."
His mother was right. Tai was smart. If she was alive, she would make sure that somehow, someway, they would learn of it.
Itachi was unaware that Hatake Kakashi was standing above him on a rooftop, glad to hear that there was one more person who cared about bringing Minato's daughter home, even if it was a seven year old boy.
Taifū woke with a jolt, rocketing out of bed before she gained her barings. She stumbled as soon as her bare feet touched the cold stone floor and a hand shot out to steady her right before she lost balance completely.
"Easy, Fū. You've been unconscious for two days, you should really get back to bed."
Recognizing the voice as Obito, Taifū relaxed enough for her head to start swimming. So many questions, so much uncertainty. What would happen now? The timeline was likely not going to be recognizable from this point forward, because there was no way, unless Kakashi somehow managed to track them down, that she and Naruto would be raised in Konoha.
Which meant everything about Naruto could potentially be different…
' Naruto.'
"Where's my brother?" Taifū asked, regaining her balance.
Obito slowly withdrew his support, keeping his hand outstretched and nearby in case she started to wobble again. Fū supposed it was sweet of him, but she didn't want to give him any credit so soon after the Kyuubi's release.
That, and she knew he had his sights on Kurama. He would kill Naruto in order to get the fox. Fū couldn't let that happen.
Naruto needed time to grow up and forge an alliance with Kurama so he could protect himself. She had to find a way to convince Obito to let him have time to grow up. Spin it in some way that gives the Akatsuki some sort of reason to raise him like a lamb to the slaughter.
'No one is coming for us. It's up to me to protect Naruto.'
Fuck she should've put more time into training. But, really, at five there wasn't much she could do even if she were highly trained. She wasn't going to outmaneuver the Akatski.
She'd have to adapt. Try to get them to trust her. Perhaps one day she'd be able to leave this place and get word to Kakashi, or Mikoto. Depending on how many years that took, she might have to find a way to send word to Itachi.
Hopefully before it was too late and the Uchiha clan went from a few hundred members to two.
This kidnapping business really put a damper on some of her subtle plans going forward.
'I can do this.'
"He's in a nursery with a wet nurse — they're inside this building, a few floors below us. He's healthy, despite the stress." Obito assured, guiding Fū to sit back down on her mattress.
Okay, so Naruto was alive and well. At least for now. They had to keep the Jinchuriki alive. He was an asset. She could work with that.
Fū nodded, glancing over at the boy who'd become a teenager in the past three years. His mask was still in place, she figured it was because of his disfigurement. He probably didn't want to scare her more than she already was.
"I want to see him," Fū said, framing it like a request instead of a demand. She had a feeling that demands would get her nowhere in the Akatsuki lair. Being on the good side of Obito was the best thing for her, and she had to make sure that she cultivated the positive relationship she already had with the actual leader.
Pain/Nagato… she wasn't sure how that would go. If Obito even allowed her to interact with the other Akatsuki.
Then again, she might have to needle him about it. If it turned out she was stuck here with them, then the best thing she could do for herself and Naruto is train.
Who better to learn from than some of the most ridiculously overpowered villains in this universe, honestly?
God this is going to fucking suck. They wouldn't take it easy on her because she was a small child. They might make it worse just because they could. Unless they're not total monsters. Which, they weren't. Each of them had their reasons. For the most part, anyway.
'Fuck me ,' she thought. 'T he things I'll do for Naruto.'
Fū watched Obito's visible eye crinkle, eerily similar to how Kakashi's would when he was smiling underneath all that inner turmoil. Fū idly wondered just how much of Kakashi's later personality was his own versus how much he'd mimicked from his memory of Obito.
The latter reached out and patted her on the head, forcing her mind to return to the present.
"As soon as I'm sure you won't pass out again, I'll take you." He stepped away a bit, looking her up and down, then glancing at the door. She could hear heavy footsteps approaching. "I'm going to get some food for you."
A tall, looming figure darkened the doorway, blocking most of the light that had been spilling in from the hall.
It wasn't much of a stretch, seeing the man's face, to assume that this was Yahiko. Or, judging by the metal piercings jutting out all over his face, he used to be Yahiko. Now he was merely Pain. An avatar used by Nagato in order to move about and fight.
He was a lot scarier looking in person than he had been in the story, and that said a lot. She watched the Paths annihilate Konoha, after all.
"Namikaze Taifū," Pain greeted. There was no inflection in his tone to indicate if he was upset about her presence or indifferent. It was hard to read someone who's emotions weren't their own. You know, because this was essentially just a walking, talking, brainless corpse. "Welcome to Amegakure no Sato."
A zombie, if you will.
"This is Pain, he's going to watch you for me."
Pain/Nagato was no babysitter. This was beneath him, so why was he here? Why would he agree to look after her? Fū definitely wasn't going anywhere, so she didn't need a guard.
Unless Obito was worried about something else entirely.
Or perhaps Pain wanted to observe her himself.
When Obito left, Fū stared up at the dead-but-possessed man with thinly concealed apprehension. She had a bad feeling that if she spoke with him at all he'd see right through her and kill her on the spot.
"What shinobi disciplines have you begun to study?" Pain asked without preamble just as Obito disappeared out the door.
Suddenly Fū wanted nothing more than for Obito to return. Or for the floor to open up and swallow her whole.
Either or.