A/N: 367 favs and 420 (heh) follows in two months. I think that's pretty damn awesome, considering I thought this story would be kinda "meh" to people over all. And it's all thanks to you guys :D Word count is ~4.9k, not including Omake.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 12 - Shadows of Doubt

"Minato-san?"

The addressed blonde paused briefly and looked up from his scroll. The Hokage's secretary stood in front of him with a practiced smile, a petite woman without particularly remarkable qualities. "Hokage-sama is available to see you now."

Minato nodded, rolling his scroll and tucking it neatly into his vest's pocket. He stood up from where he was seated and headed for the stairs up to the office of the village leader.

Earlier that day, he had been summoned by the Hokage's ANBU—apparently, the Sandaime was in need of blonde's presence and all but demanded that he be there as soon as possible. Minato had responded immediately and arrived at the tower via Hiraishin, but was met with refusal and the words, "The Hokage is not yet ready to meet with you at the moment." It hadn't particularly irritated him, but he would've preferred had he at least been given an estimate on how long the Hokage would be. Sure, Team Seven didn't have any scheduled training or missions to complete(Minato was a tough teacher, but he did give his students days off), but that didn't mean the man hadn't already made prior plans that had been unceremoniously shoved to the side in favor of his obligations as a loyal Shinobi to his beloved village.

And now, after two hours of waiting, Minato had finally been told that the Hokage was ready to see him—he wasn't angry, no; he had Obito as a student, after all. If anything, the odd situation made him wonder what was going on, why exactly he had been called.

Minato frowned. It was unlike Hiruzen to do something like this, as he was a respectful and courteous man to even young children who wouldn't rightly understand the courtesy, and yet…

Shaking his head, the blonde walked up to the large double doors and knocked twice, deciding that he'd find out in a moment. He heard the faint rustling of papers halt abruptly, before a familiar voice called out. "Come in."

He opened the door and stepped in, carefully masking his surprise at the presence of one other individual beside the Hokage. Minato bowed at the waist to the Sandaime before straightening. "Hokage-sama." His azure eyes shifted to the other figure and he tilted his head slightly, acknowledging. "… Danzō-sama."

The old warhawk remained silent for a moment before nodding in response. "… Namikaze-san."

Minato turned back to the Hokage, inwardly wondering about Danzōs presence and whether or not the man had some part to this. "Hokage-sama, I am here in answer to your summons. I'm afraid I am unaware of why, however, as I was not informed by your chosen ANBU messenger."

Danzō sniffed, and azure flicked back to him. "It was unnecessary for you to know."

Minato's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced to the Hokage—the man held his hands in front of him, his face and expression blank. "It was unnecessary for you to know." Minato had to wonder, almost, if the old warhawk realized what he had just revealed to the blonde with those words—it was not the Hokage who had issued the summons, but Danzō.

Minato thought something was off about the ANBU messenger.

It was almost surprising how blatant Danzō was with his words, however; perhaps he knew that attempting to hide his little project any longer would only attract unwanted attention… If Hiruzen's lack of expression was any indication, he knew the same as Minato. The warhawk's faction was useful in cases, but exactly when had the Hokage come to full acceptance of the organization…?

And what did this mean for Konoha?

"Namikaze-san, we had a reason for not informing you immediately, I assure you," Danzō started smoothly, his only visible eye never leaving the blonde's face. A corner of the warhawk's lips twitched upwards slightly. "I suppose it would be best to get straight to the point. I've little doubt your patience is rather thin, at the moment."

Minato's eyelid twitched. He was going for a rather confrontational approach, it seemed. Confident. "… Yes, I would appreciate that."

"Well then…" Hiruzen remained outwardly reticent as Danzō suddenly shifted in moods, the air becoming slightly oppressive. "Are you aware of the fact that Uchiha Obito knows about the Kyúbi?"

The blonde tensed automatically, though(luckily) his reaction was likely to be interpreted as something else in the elder's eyes—perhaps surprise. The question left Minato wondering exactly how Danzō had figured this out; he hadn't been spying on his team, had he? How long? And why? The memory of Minato's previous confrontation with Danzō's personal guard, his faction of trained warriors, came to forefront of the blonde's mind. He had noticed the group of presences following him and his team from the moment they left the Hokage's office, and had gone to deal with the situation. He had at first intended on settling things diplomatically, however…

"Your student is a threat. Either he be placed under our leader's command to be corrected, or he will be disposed of as a threat to the village."

In response to the blatant ultimatum, Minato had threatened the messenger to leave—that his leader was going against protocol, and that Minato had full rights to execute the messenger right then and there under suspicion of treason and going against the Hokage. They had left, no doubt to report to their leader—Danzō—about their failure, and the blonde had gone back to his students with his mind reeling.

Minato's fists clenched tightly. There was no doubt in his mind that the one Danzō was after was… Obito. The one Danzō had his eye on, it was Obito. After the confrontation, Minato hadn't gone directly to the Hokage with his revelations and the event itself for a reason. It was precisely what he was seeing here, standing in the office of the Hokage. Danzō was a careful, methodical individual, and he never took reckless action—his actions could come off as reckless and ill-thought-out at times, but that was usually a ploy. A convoluted, carefully-crafted trap.

The only way Danzō would outright threaten one of Minato's students would be if he had no fear of retribution, if he felt safely placed in the whole scheme. He would not have so openly created a confrontation between his followers and Minato unless he had already made preparations… For instance, if had he already gained the Hokage's favor. Minato respected the man, but for Hiruzen to allow himself to fall to the warhawk's ploys so easily was something that left the blonde feeling severely disappointed, and faintly betrayed.

Though…

His eyes slid back to the Hokage, who was still silent—and just as unreadable as before. Perhaps Hiruzen expected this confrontation between the warhawk and Minato, perhaps this scenario was a test of the sort. While he had decided to withhold the knowledge of the event between him and Root from the Hokage, he had kept his word and informed Hiruzen about Obito's knowledge of the Kyūbi. The Sandaime knew that Minato knew about this, as he had been the one to bring up the subject to begin with.

From the barely concealed mirth in Danzō's expression, the man did not know this fact.

… Perhaps Hiruzen was not caught in Danzō's web as Minato thought—perhaps it was in fact Minato and Danzō caught in his.

Minato fought down the small smile that threatened to surface at this thought. Though he may be reaching the later years of his life, the Sandaime was not yet someone to be left ignored and underestimated if one hoped to best the man. He was, after all, Konoha's central pillar of support—it was to be expected that he had eyes and ears in places least expected, and he was not so foolish to blindly follow suggestions from anyone.

Turning back to Danzō, the blonde's decision was made. It was still a gamble, of course, but if there was even a chance that he had Hiruzen's side in this… "Yes, Danzō-sama. I am aware."

The warhawk stiffened, clearly not having expected the answer. A momentary silence lapsed as he stared at the younger man with a criticizing gaze. "… You knew." His voice was cold and unrelenting. "You knew. And yet, you didn't think to—"

"Minato." Azure eyes and one coal eye darted to the Hokage, who was now eyeing the both of them with a calculating look. "I have been informed by Danzō of Uchiha Obito's suspicious activity. It is of his suggestion that the boy be placed under his care until we can determine what the issue is."

Minato's eyes narrowed as he noticed the victorious look that took residence within the warhawk's eye.

"… But I wish to know your opinion, on the matter."

To the blonde's satisfaction, Danzō turned to look sharply at Hiruzen, outwardly more ruffled than Minato had ever seen. Inwardly, the blonde realized how silly the situation appeared—it was akin to two children fighting for the favor of an adult. "Hiruzen, we have already proven that—"

"I do not wish to repeat myself, Danzō," the wizened Hokage spoke authoritatively as he turned a sharp gaze to the warhawk, almost daring the man to speak out again. "Old I may be, I am still Hokage and I refuse to rush into situations blindly. Minato is still Obito-kun's Jōnin sensei, and as such, should be allowed the right to have a say in the matter."

He turned back to Minato, either not noticing the way his old friend's face was twitching to a likely unhealthy degree, or not caring. "What is your opinion?"

Minato forced himself to take a breath as he shoved away his doubts. It wouldn't do to appear wavering in this particular instance, he would think. "… Yes, I believe that some of Obito's actions and abilities seem suspicious and warrant some questions. However, I do believe that there is a logical reason for this—and I do not think it wise to take him away from his teammates, at this point in time. As both of you likely know," he briefly spared Danzō a wry glance, "he had been hospitalized, and it is a highly likely suspicion that he was attacked, one way or another."

"… Why have you not thought to inform us sooner? Did you think it wise to withhold information from the village's leaders?" Danzō's questions were spoken with underlying malice. "You should have come to us with everything regarding Uchiha Obito from the very beginning. Are your attachments and weak heart clouding your vision, boy?"

The blonde frowned, though not at the jeer itself, but rather, at the strange interest the man before him seemed to have in Obito. Why? As far as Minato knew, Danzō was a connoisseur of raw talent—he appreciated clear cut intellect and natural ability, caring little for hard work in itself. What mattered to him were facts and irrefutable results, leading to his almost reverence of the prodigal and genius variety. Certainly, Obito had shown great improvement and prowess lately, but the fact that the shift was enough to garner Danzō's attention…?

But what did that mean for Minato, who was unable to see this before? Who was, to his shame, almost afraid to confront the change? Was he really as close to the boy as people thought? As he had once thought?

Did he know Obito at all, anymore…?

Minato felt something small, something almost insignificant—yet somehow of great importance—crack within him at the thought. His eyes turned cold and dispassionate as he returned Danzōs gaze. "Perhaps… my 'attachments', as you so kindly put it, are indeed playing some part in my decision. This I can openly admit to, for I am only human—Shinobi of Konoha I may be, but still—undeniably human." He paused, having realized that his tone was steadily growing harsher, commanding, with purpose. That was not appropriate for this situation, despite how much the blonde wished to talk down the prideful warhawk. "… But I also know that Obito has not shown any suspicious activity that could be directly detrimental to Konoha or her citizens. In fact, Obito seems more determined to protect his teammates than ever."

He smiled at Danzō, but his eyes were crinkled shut in a way that wouldn't allow the man to see his eyes. "… It is of my opinion that Obito remain in my team where I can watch over him, without labeling him a criminal before finding sufficient evidence to support my claim."

The warhawk bristled, though Hiruzen merely sat back as he breathed out a plume of smoke. He turned a contemplative eye over to the Jōnin. "… Minato. You understand that, by saying this, Obito is your full responsibility. Should he do something untoward, harmful, or malicious to Konoha and her citizens…" Something harsh and unrelenting glinted in his usually kind eyes. "… He will not be the only one receiving punishment."

Minato nodded, refusing to acknowledge the niggling feeling of jumping into the dark that gripped him. "Of course. You need not worry, Hokage-sama, because should that ever come to pass…" His eyes went blank, an absence of the life that was usually prevalent. "… I shall deal with the situation myself."

Moments that felt like hours passed before the Hokage nodded. "… I understand. That is all, Minato."

And with that, the blonde turned away and left the room, not caring to so much as glance Danzō's way, more focused on his inner thoughts. Minato could only hope that his trust was not misplaced, that there was nothing wrong—that he was worried over nothing, over smoke and mirrors. And that the ever present feeling of dread was just that.

A feeling.

Obito sat back in his chair with a groan, inwardly damning the snake Sannin to the fiery pits of hell while trying to burn a hole through the books in front of him with his eyes(not really though, of course; considering who he was and what his clan was known for, setting fire to something with their gaze alone wasn't exactly something surprising).

Nothing. Absolutely nothing, and he still didn't know how to deal with the damn snake.

Obito had gone to the library that day, since it was his day-off, to formulate a plan—first and foremost, he had to figure out how to counter Orochimaru's techniques. The offensive techniques were no particular problem, considering what Obito's Mangekyō granted him. No, the problem lay with Orochimaru's supplementary techniques—Fushi Tensei and the Orochimaru-ryū no Kawarimi. The fact that he could replace his body was something that made the man almost impossible to kill, and Obito wasn't particularly fond of the idea of letting a man like that continue to live.

However, he found with no small amount of frustration, that the task he had set upon himself was almost impossible. He'd hit a metaphorical wall, and the wall itself was far too tall to jump, and too steep to climb.

Obito was not a genius. Certainly, he was powerful, he was cunning after years of battling and pain. But he was no genius. Orochimaru, however disgusting and vile the man tended to be, was a genius, and his solution to near-immortality spoke volumes of the fact.

He couldn't counter it. No matter how much he read, how much he contemplated, how much he tried, Obito couldn't figure out the techniques—let alone reverse engineer the damn things—to find a possible counter-solution. Books and scrolls lay in mountainous piles before him, all on what he believed to be the root of the theory behind the snake's jutsu—basic books on Kawarimi no Jutsu, Reincarnation Ninjutsu theory, Fūinjutsu theory, books on transmigration and the pure world, heck, even obscure and highly theoretical/hypothetical books on souls and the composition thereof.

In all honesty, about half-way through Obito had abandoned any hope of countering the Fushi Tensei—first and foremost that was the more impossible hurdle to surpass in regards to figuring out. Secondly, Obito highly suspected that the only way to truly prevent the snake from using it would be Fūinjutsu—perhaps seal the man in his own skin, preventing him from transferring bodies. It was an idea he came upon after reading a few Fūinjutsu books about the process of sealing objects into living beings, or, well. Living beings into other living beings. The theory was sound, and Obito just might've taken that route… If he was a Fūinjutsu master. Sadly, he had never taken up the art beyond the basics, and there was a rather glaring impossibility that he could become fully proficient at a level of mastery potentially beyond Minato and Jiraiya's level under so little as a decade, let alone one year.

He had let the idea go when he decided that it wouldn't be a problem, anyway, if the snake was dead. After all, it wasn't as if Orochimaru could switch bodies in the heat of battle—no, not even a member of the Densetsu no Sannin could perform such a feat.

But what Orochimaru could do was replace his body for a completely healthy, injury-free one. And that was what Obito had been spending the better part of his day in the library for… Without any results.

Obito couldn't let Orochimaru use the technique. Between the two of them, at the moment, the victor would be the one that can outlast the other—Orochimaru could use the Orochimaru-ryū no Kawarimi, what… Once? Twice? Obito could use his Kamui at the most five times in a battle, as it stood, without seeing a detrimental shift in his eyesight.

Of course, this was with the idea of a fight to the death. He would kill the snake when the time came, but at the moment, that was not his goal. "Kill the snake later, when repercussions would be near nonexistent, and instead focus on the Senju cells," that was what Obito had decided. Orochimaru was but a small hindrance to the over all plan, a minor inconvenience.

The raven frowned, looking back at the pile of miscellaneous books, scrolls, and paper. Yes, the snake was only a minor inconvenience, and Obito wasn't planning on removing the Sannin from the equation any time soon. That didn't mean that he could ignore Orochimaru's presence, however; that was how he had even fallen during the war. Had Orochimaru not revived the four Hokage—Minato, in particular—he might've won, and the world might've been plunged into an eternal dream. If he wanted to have some chance of ensuring that Orochimaru didn't blindside him again and ruin his plans(for a different purpose, this time, but still), then he had to plan several steps ahead—

"What are you working on so fervently, Obito?"

Obito turned slowly, casually, his expression betraying none of the surprise he felt inwardly. He smiled, inwardly patting himself on the back for being able to suppress his body's automatic response to flinch. "… Oh. Hey, Minato-sensei, what's up?"

The blonde shrugged, picking up a random book and inspecting the worn cover. "Not much. I was passing the library and noticed you were here, so I decided to stop by and see you." He glanced to the pile. "Apparently, whatever has you stuck here is something of extensive reading."

Obito grimaced, reaching out to organize the pile slightly. "Yeah… Kinda."

Silence, with the exception of the fluttering of pages and crinkle of paper.

"… So what is all of this for?"

The raven chuckled, expending the nervous energy he felt through the action. "Oh, nothing really. I'm just…" He glanced to Minato, trying to find a believable excuse that related to what he was researching. "… Looking for advanced regenerative techniques and stuff, since I get injured a lot. Kakashi and I can't always rely on Rin, after all; she needs rest too."

Minato nodded, looking back to the pile as he placed the book back on the desk. His eyes narrowed. "… What is that one for?"

Obito blinked, following his sensei's line of sight to an open book revealing a diagram of the soul and body. It was one of the many books on the theory of souls, separation, and transfer that he had been reading in the hopes of gaining a stronger grasp of Orochimaru's Fushi Tensei, after he had read the few Fūinjutsu books and decided that sealing was the route to take. Obito bit his lip, thinking. Perhaps he actually could take the sealing route, considering who he knew, but for the moment…

No. There were other, much simpler ways to dispose of the snake. He still had some time, after all, and most of this was just a precaution to help defend against the man in case a true confrontation occurred while he searched for the Senju cells. After all, Obito couldn't actually kill the snake right now while the man was still "loyal" to Konoha, as that would raise questions. He could do so later and this research did help in formulating a plan on how to dispose of him, but for now, the focus was on developing defensive techniques and strategy to combat Orochimaru's dangerous repertoire.

The Uchiha shrugged lazily, continuing to tidy up the space. "I just want to be certain, Minato-sensei. You never know what kind of people you'll encounter with our profession," he commented lightly, deciding to tell a vague truth. "There are soul snatchers out there after all, and all the offensive ninjutsu in the world can't defend against someone extracting your soul or stealing your body."

Obito had realized a while ago that, regarding the snake, he was most harmless in Konoha. He was unable to act out as he wished, due to the veil of secrecy he kept over his little experiments and tests, and it served as a sort of restraint—Konoha served as a restraint. Once Orochimaru was out of the village and labeled a missing-nin, there were no restraints, nothing to hold him back, literally and figuratively. He could act as he wished, align himself with any party, betray any party, experiment on countless others—he had no need to maintain any sort of secrecy from others besides the already carefully concealed plans and strategies that the man was oh-so-fond of. Not to mention, he could choose any number of the many bases he had established in the future—heck, maybe he would find a new one this time, making it infinitely more difficult for anyone to track him down, regardless of whatever hints the time traveler dropped for them. Orochimaru would be a true threat once he defected, and while Obito couldn't kill the man while he was in Konoha… There was another solution.

The best possible outcome would be for Minato to pick up on the small, hairline trail, and confront the snake himself—Hiruzen was far too attached to his favorite student and would be too absorbed in self-pity and loss to truly take down the snake, as was proven the first time around. It was to this end that Obito had revealed that small hint. He hoped that Minato would see, hoped that would be able to do something about Orochimaru.

The fact that Minato had tensed ever so slightly after the small declaration indicated that he knew something, and that instilled a small bit of hope in the time-traveller.

However, Obito felt a sense of doubt when he looked at the blonde's face. Minato's countenance was blank, and his usually bright azure eyes were dull as he stared impassively at the pile before him. It was a look that Obito recognized and loathed; it was the look that Minato had given him that time when Danzō's Root operatives had followed their team.

Obito felt a sickening kind of apprehension as he reached for the man, almost feeling as though handling a wild animal. He gripped the fabric of the blonde's sleeve and tugged slightly. "Sensei…?"

Minato turned to the Uchiha, a little faster than strictly necessary. He smiled, and try as Obito did, he couldn't see any true mirth. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

The raven would've asked, "about what?" but the frigid look in the man's eyes halted Obito's words. It was gone almost as soon as it arrived, however, and the blonde abruptly turned away and began walking. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later, Obito. Don't spend too much time here, I'll be expecting you tomorrow at the training grounds with the others."

Obito watched the retreating form of his sensei until the man rounded a corner of bookshelves, disappearing from sight. He sighed, looking forlornly at the place Minato had been standing just moments before, as he contemplated the conversation. His memory wasn't the best, especially not in regards to something from so long ago, so he wasn't sure of exactly when Orochimaru had defected—was it possible that suspicions about the snake were already rising? It was possible that Minato had already caught on to this, and was already forming ideas and hypotheses on the snake and his whereabouts. But if that were the case…

… Then it was also likely that Minato caught exactly what it was that Obito had implied with his words.

And if that was the case, then Obito had no doubt that the blonde was wondering exactly how Obito knew—how a thirteen-year-old Chūnin knew something so controversial about one of the Densetsu no Sannin, a hero of Konoha. It would explain the look Minato had given him, at least.

The raven felt a twinge of guilt as he remembered the blank look he had seen on his sensei's face. It was not a look that he liked, and he could almost feel the questions, suspicion, and hurt lying underneath.

Minato was still waiting for Obito to tell him the truth. He had no doubt that the man wasn't satisfied with the little Obito had told him, that time, when the former confronted him about his knowledge(and self-imposed mission in search) of Kaguya.

Glancing one last time to the corner Minato had disappeared past, Obito sighed again before turning back to the still-disorganized pile of reading material.

"… I hope so," he muttered, his brow furrowing slightly in worry.

"… Sorry, Minato-sensei. Not yet. I can't tell you, not yet."

A lone figure sat in a solitary office, secluded from the rest of the world.

"… Uchiha Obito…"

A strange factor, indeed. The supposed fool of the Uchiha, lacking in all facets of the Shinobi profession, who had gone from a loud-mouthed idiot to… Someone wielding his clan's famed Sharingan eyes. With three tomoe.

Danzõ lifted a hand to his bandaged eye, quietly imagining that a different eye, one of extreme power, took its place. He was, after all, a man who craved and sought after power—for himself, and for Konoha. Anything to ensure that Konoha came out on top, asserted its power over all of the other, lesser countries. The Uchiha and their dōjutsu, the Sharingan… It was a power to be revered, one to be worshipped. If only more deserving individuals held that power.

Uchiha Obito was considered the black sheep for a multitude of reasons—heritage was one factor; his parents hadn't been particularly liked after all—but the most prevalent was his inability to perform to the clan's standards. He was, for all intents and purposes, a failure, especially so with the fact that he was unable to activate his dōjutsu. This particular fact was the nail in the coffin so-to-speak, as it was well-known that the Uchiha clan's pride was entirely centered around their eyes and heritage. The idea that one of their own didn't have the Sharingan was a disgrace, a great measure of disrespect and a disservice to the clan as a whole.

However, not four months ago, the black-sheep of ill-repute somehow ended up with a fully-matured Sharingan, unbeknownst to the entirety of Konoha—Uchiha clan included. For the boy to suddenly activate his Sharingan to full maturity was something that piqued Danzō's curiosity, and it also made him wonder exactly what had happened. That, perhaps, was at the forefront of the man's mind at the time; considering what it took to activate the dōjutsu, it was highly possible there was a threat in Konoha. Danzō had sporadically sent Root to watch the boy, making sure that whoever had attacked him previously didn't try to again—and if they did, that they be captured and detained before they threatened Konoha's wellbeing anymore.

For quite a while, nothing had turned up, leaving the man with irritating worry. He was not in control of the situation, and for once, while everyone else was left in the dark and unknowing, he was right there with them. Knowledge was always Danzō's trump card, as was forethought and careful, methodical preparation. The fact that none of his suspicions or preparations had turned up evidence, so much as a trail, had left him rather distraught.

A couple of months ago, however, a member of his Root faction had reported back to him on Obito. The boy himself.

Danzō frowned as he looked down at the opened file before him, reading the sparse contents provided in the report.

"It's actually annoying trying to recondition this body… Muscles don't quite develop… Had a quarter as much chakra as I…" This statement. What did it mean? Recondition? And "quarter as much chakra as I" what?

"… Minus… Jūbi… Worried about Minato and Kushina… It's something important… Involving the Kyūbi…" "Jūbi" was a disconcerting word, but there was no tenth tailed beast—the boy most likely meant something else. The fact that he mentioned the Kyūbi might've said otherwise, but Danzō had known for a fact that there were only nine bijū, and it was impossible for a tenth to have gone for so long without being known.

His subordinate hadn't been able to hear much—perhaps some more training was in order—but what he had picked up on warranted investigation. Looking back on it, Danzō was satisfied that he had commanded his forces to note anything of mention that may point to suspicious activity. He might not have known about this small moment of indiscretion, after all, had he not. Following the little revelation, Danzō had told Hiruzen about the information his faction had gathered, hoping to goad the man into allowing him to deal with the situation—it was the perfect opportunity; present evidence against the boy while Hiruzen was flooded with work, so that the fool would allow him to handle the case.

A single, coal-black eye narrowed. His plan might have worked, should've worked, but he had failed to account for the blind codger's more than excessive sentimentality—of course he would allow the boy's sensei, Namikaze, to make the final decision.

Well, it didn't matter.

He was, at this point, still observing the oddity named Uchiha Obito. He wasn't yet sure how much the boy was worth, whether or not it would be prudent to waste his time on the Uchiha. There was still much to be learned, much to be discovered, and he was a pragmatist. No unnecessary moves would be made, not by him, and they certainly wouldn't be without careful thought and consideration. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes—the good of Konoha depended on his unwavering strength and conviction.

Danzō nodded minutely, his decision made.

Time would tell. Whether or not Uchiha Obito ended up being a key factor in the upcoming war, a perfect weapon to be honed, or another failed and useless project, time would tell.

And as it stood, compared to Danzō's many enemies—political, actual, or otherwise—he had time.

Omake - Revived Promises

A/N: Because some of you asked, here is the sort-of-parent-fic to TBLotRoL. Beware, this was when my writing was about as coherent and riveting as a 3rd grader's. I also changed it to be comedic; I was trying way too hard before—I'm glad that this fic turned out so much better. Anyway, enjoy.

Onyx eyes opened, blinking away the bleariness of—what he assumed to be—sleep.

'Sleep?' A young raven-haired boy questioned, trying to recall his last memories. Fourth Shinobi War… Naruto… Naruto's fists… Oh, he had jumped in the way of Kaguya's attack to save Naruto from death.

… Yeah.

That didn't explain why he was alive, though, and… In a room that looked suspiciously familiar. Like an old memory that was stored away in the far recesses of his mind, buried under the countless other memories and recollections he had stored in there from his 31 years of life.

"Uchiha Obito," the boy hummed, the name rolling off of his tongue with practiced ease. Something clicked in his mind, and he remembered—the room he was in at the moment was his room, years ago.

Perhaps this was what the afterlife was like? People relived the better moments of their life before heading off to the eternal darkness?

Shrugging, Obito hopped out of his bed—he winced at the emblazoned Uchiwa pattern on it; there were so many that even the word "gaudy" didn't aptly describe it—and headed for the mirror. He felt fine, but perhaps just a tad bit shorter than he recalled.

His mouth drooped, his jaw hanging loosely as he stared wide-eyed at his reflection.

"… WHAT!?"

"Minato-sensei, the dobe is late."

The blonde Jōnin sighed, rolling up his scroll to send a sympathetic glance over at his fuming silver-haired student. Indeed, Obito was quite late, even more so than usual.

Uchiha Obito was always known to be customarily one hour late, no more, no less. Sometimes Minato wondered if the boy did it on purpose; he was strangely punctual, if one looked at it from a certain angle, and this honestly didn't help with the Hatake—he always thought that it was a passive aggressive attempt to rile him.

"… Er, hey guys…?"

Minato jumped, as did Rin and Kakashi, from the familiar(yet strangely meek) voice. They turned around as one, coming face to face with a sheepish-looking Obito. Well, he had a reason to be nervous, so perhaps it wasn't so odd.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Both Rin and Minato flinched back at the rather loud tone Kakashi had opted for as the boy pointed an accusing finger at the raven. "You're always late, you know that!? Is it even possible for you to be on time!?"

Obito blinked owlishly—whether surprised at the one-eighty personality switch his teammate just did or simply guilty, Minato wasn't sure—and then reached up to scratch the back of his head as he chuckled.

"Er, well… You see, I—"

"Obito," Rin interrupted quietly. "Maybe you shouldn't give an excuse and just apologize…?"

"Eheh… Nah, Rin, this is actually a good one. I promise." Minato and Rin exchanged a look, as Kakashi simply fumed.

Obito coughed into his fist, before taking an exaggerated breath. "… You see, I ended up getting stuck under some fallen rubble in a cave after trying to save my friends while fighting against these Iwa-nin—and boy, are they mean—but anyway, I ended up getting crushed alive, so I decided to give my left eye to my friend-who-is-kind-of-an-asshole so he could complete his jutsu since I thought I was gonna die. Turned out, I didn't, and I instead found myself recovering in this old cave—oh, I hate caves now, by the way—being taken care of by this crippled old man that wanted me to play dress-up as an old sack of bones for a while after he died. I rejected it, but then I found out that another friend of mine died and I was pretty sad and angry and depressed so I went crazy and followed the old man's instructions. Because I was crazy, I ended up killing two people that I cared about and I ended up putting together a small group of S-Rank missing-nin that were freaking bad-ass, and we hunted down these grouchy monsters with super-powers that hate humanity but are ultimately just cuddly animals that want love. But then a knucklehead boy became a ninja, the student to my friend-who-is-kind-of-an-asshole and grew up to be powerful after experiencing hardship after losing his parents, his friends, and his godfather. Anyways, I was still batshit insane at this point and was flying around waving a giant fan while claiming to be the old man, and ultimately, I started the fourth shinobi world war. The five nations banded together thanks to the knucklehead boy—who, by the way, was Kurama-chi's Jinchūriki—and they all launched attacks against me. Whoa, that's some Killer B rap shit there. I ultimately managed to collect all of the Bijū, though, and then became the Jūbi Jinchūriki after resurrecting Madara with the Edo Tensei, and we wreaked havoc. But then Naruto came in flying with his fists, resolutions, and talk-no-jutsu, snapping me out of my insanity! Sadly, Madara had been fully revived at that point thanks to Black Zetsu who controlled me while I was weak to resurrect him using the Rinnegan, but then suddenly he died because he was sacrificed to bring back Kaguya, the mother of the Rikudō Sennin! Turned out that Black Zetsu was her follower and not Madara's, so he was betrayed and forgotten like the stupid sack of bones he is. Anyway, fighting a god was interesting, but we were losing so Hagoromo apparently contacted Sasuke and Naruto to give them Six Paths Sage Chakra as the incarnations of Indra and Asura. It wasn't enough though, since Kaguya was hella powerful and a crazy bitch, so I ultimately had to help and sacrificed my life to save my friend-that-is-kind-of-an-asshole Kakashi and Naruto, but instead of dying, I realized that I woke up here and I'm lost on the road of life! Again! Cool huh!?"

Obito beamed as he finished, not noticing the mildly disturbed look Minato had and the horrified look Rin wore.

Kakashi just stared. "… Wait." Everyone turned to him. "Did… Did you just call me an asshole?"