A/N: Just to remind everyone that this is an AU, and all events past chapter 618 aren't necessarily cannon in this story. Updates might take longer, seeing as I'm going away on various holidays. I'll try to update as quickly as I can though, so thanks to everyone who's waited for the next chapter.

Thanks again for all the reviews. Over a 1000 views and 95 reviews is amazing, and I never thought my first fanfic would get that much. I appreciate every one of them.

It was time.

The three weeks had passed too slowly for Nawaki, but at last he was ready. He had trained and trained, until he had at least ten different ways to counter all of Sasuke's known attacks. It had cost him countless sleepless nights staying awake practising, but the result was worth it. He felt stronger than he ever had before.

He stood at the mouth of the cave staring into the distance. Somewhere out there was Sasuke. Did he know that Nawaki was coming for him? Did it worry him at all? Nawaki doubted it. Sasuke didn't care about him, so why would he be worried? Nawaki's face twisted into a grim smile. Sasuke would regret it. He would regret everything once Nawaki was finished with him.

Three weeks had not dimmed Nawaki's desire for revenge. In fact, it was the opposite. Nawaki knew that a lot of it had to do with Obito. Not all of their training had been physical. Nawaki and Obito had spent a lot of time talking. Nawaki had found himself trying to think of convincing arguments to get out of this, but Obito had countered him every time, leaving him with nothing but anger and hatred.

"I'm not sure about this." Nawaki had said one night "Isn't there any other way to get rid of this grief?"

"You are an Uchiha." Obito had replied "The Curse of Hatred has been written in history for generations now. You are no different. When it is over, you will understand."

Nawaki no longer had any delusions about thinking clearly. He accepted the fact that he could no longer think logically or rationally. That was why he needed to kill Sasuke. His own anger combined with Obito's manipulation had smothered him, and the only way to break free was to vent his anger onto the man he knew deserved it.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. Obito walked up to him, mask firmly in place. Nawaki had never wondered about the origins of the mask, but it was interesting. The mask was pure black with two eyeholes ringed with purple. The edge of the mask was blood-red. Obito wore a long-sleeved black uniform with a small Uchiha crest on the right pant leg. Over this he wore a dark-blue hooded cloak, with a black flame spiralling pattern. On his back he carried a large scroll. It made him look intimidating, but Obito didn't really need that. His mere presence was enough to intimidate most shinobi.

Nawaki himself was wearing new clothes that Obito had given him. His hair had grown too long for him to let it hang loosely around his shoulders, but he hadn't wanted to tie it up in a ponytail like the Nara clan did. He wanted Sasuke to recognize him when they fought. So he tied it back in a low ponytail that extended to his shoulder blades. His old fake ANBU uniform was in tatters, so Obito had found some now clothes for him. A pair of white boots, purple trousers, a mesh shirt and a grey vest: the remnants of an Akatsuki uniform. I might as well wear the cloak and walk around humming creepy music. Nawaki thought wryly.

"Are you ready to go?" Obito asked him.

"Do you think I'm ready?" Nawaki countered.

"I do." Obito replied. "It may have only been three weeks, but you've trained like a madman. With your Rinnegan and Senju DNA, you already have the advantage over Sasuke. Of course, if you are about to die, I will come and save you. We can retreat and train harder. But I doubt you'll lose this; you're too driven."

"How can you save me if I'm about to die?" Nawaki asked. "Actually, how did you manage to do that constant warping thing? Doesn't that damage your eyes at all?"

Obito's sharingan eye had that unpleasant gleam that Nawaki hated.

"There are three reasons. One, I have the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan of the deceased Madara Uchiha. Two, the Senju DNA that flows through my body is a natural booster that gives my sharingan more power. Three, I have a hideaway near Kumo filled with sharingan. I'm fairly sure there are one or two Mangekyo's in there somewhere. Basically, I have everything I need to keep my sharingan in perfect condition."

Nawaki decided not to ask further. He really didn't want to know how Obito had a hideaway filled with sharingan.

"Then I suppose we should start." he said, stepping out into the sunlight.

Obito put a hand on his shoulder, surprising him.

"I just want you to know that whether we win or lose, I'm proud of you."

Nawaki had no idea what to say to that. Obito had never said anything like that before. But now that Nawaki thought about it, he realised that Obito had become more of a father-figure to him than anyone else. Even Konohamaru and Naruto hadn't given him as much attention as Obito. Naruto had a village to run, and Konohamaru had two other students to deal with, so Nawaki understood. But the fact remained that Obito had given him the most training, attention and praise he had ever had. True, the man could be very creepy, and sometimes Nawaki despised him, but he was still the closest thing to a father that Nawaki had ever had.

"Thank you." he replied eventually, unsure of what else to say.

Obito nodded, seemingly satisfied. He stepped out of the cave mouth and the two of them began to walk.

!

It had taken a full week for the medics to give the final verdict.

When they had finally come out and announced that it was over, Naruto's face had been eerily blank. He had moved slowly, as if in a trance, and walked into the room. He had sat on a chair and stared at the unmoving pink-haired body. Hisa hadn't known it was possible for him to be this still.

No one had been able to get through to him. Not Hisa, Obito or even Hinata. He hadn't responded, or taken his eyes off Sakura. Hinata had tried getting Sasuke to come, but he had sent word saying he needed to help Konohamaru keep the village running. After that, they had all just sat there, taking turns to hug Naruto. No one knew what to do to snap him out of it.

To everyone's surprise, it had been Kakashi who had eventually got through to him.

He had shown up that night without any warning. His eye had swept the room, taking note of everyone. Then he had walked up and sat down next to Naruto.

"She won't respond." he said. "No matter how much you stare at her, she won't move."

Naruto had continued to stare, but one tear had trickled down his cheek.

"This happened to me before." Kakashi continued in a conversational tone. "When I thought Obito died, I didn't know how to handle it. I isolated myself from my sensei and Rin, even though they were hurting just as bad. I spent every spare minute down at the memorial stone. I didn't respond when people asked me what was wrong, and I basically just made everything worse. It took me a long time to snap out of it, far too long. It happened again both times when Rin and sensei died. Each time, it took me less and less time to snap out of it. Then, when I discovered that Obito was alive, I swore that I wouldn't do it again. All the hurt I had put my loved ones through wasn't worth it."

He had gazed sadly up at the hospital ceiling. Naruto still didn't respond, but Hisa knew he was listening.

"But when this happened, I ran. I escaped to the memorial stone, and repeated my mistakes. I am truly sorry that I haven't been around these past few days. But when I heard what was happening to you Naruto, I knew I had to do something. You can't follow in my footsteps, people need you too much."

Naruto had looked up at Kakashi, startling everyone.

"People… need me?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Yes. Konohamaru and Sasuke are doing everything they can, but they aren't used to the amount of work you have to do. Konoha needs their Hokage. We can't afford to have you stuck here."

Naruto had slowly stood up. He had looked around the room, as if noticing for the first time that his whole family was there. Then he had looked back at Kakashi.

"Five hours." he said. "Five hours, then I'm coming back here."

"Fine." Kakashi said. "As long as you only stay for two hours."

"Fine." Naruto had responded, and with that he had swept out of the room.

Hisa had wondered if she should have mentioned that Sakura would probably not be in the room in five hours, but had decided against it. Wherever they took her, Naruto would find it.

That had been two weeks ago. Now, Naruto was back as Hokage. The threat of Nawaki and Obito still hung over them, but they were dealing with it. Team 7 was currently taking a break from missions, and Hisa hadn't seen Sasuke since he had dumped Sakura at the hospital.

Hisa had divided her time between Naruto and Oki's family. Ino and Sai had taken the news slightly better than Naruto. Sai was barely around, throwing himself into his work as an ANBU. Ino did her duties as the head of the Yamanaka clan, but every time Hisa saw her she looked more and more fragile, her smile starting to mirror her husband in falseness. For someone who hadn't even been in the village for the past twelve years, Sakura had influenced a lot of Konoha's elite. Everyone from Kawa's uncle Kiba to the Kazekage's brother seemed to be upset at the news.

The full story of Nawaki's parentage had been explained to the higher-ups, and the village was beginning to prepare for an attack. Gaara had sent his three children- now all jonin- to help. Hisa hadn't been looking forward to meeting them. Yashamaru had looked around nervously, Karura had smiled pleasantly and Naruko had stared coldly off into the distance. No big changes here. Hisa had thought.

Luckily, she had been spared greeting them by a welcome distraction.

"YOSH!"

A spandex-clad figure had appeared in a sparkly puff. He had smiled down at the three children and struck a pose.

"It is I, Rock Lee! Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast! You three must be Gaara's most youthful offspring! I have been set the task of showing you around Konoha, and explaining what is happening! May the power of youth guide us!"

The look on their faces had been priceless.

Lee had dragged them off, but not before Naruko had sent Hisa one death-filled look. Hisa had simply smiled and waggled her fingers as Lee dragged Naruko away.

But as the days went by, Hisa began to feel a growing sense of dread. Something didn't feel right, and she knew she wasn't the only one who sensed it. Perhaps she sensed it the clearest, but Oki, Naruto and possibly Sasuke also sensed it. They were coming.

That was why Hisa found herself standing in the Valley of the End three weeks after their return to the village. She didn't have a proper reason for being here; her senses had simply urged her to come. So she had gathered up all her weapons and tools, and had left the village and come here.

No one was here except her. She sat on the head of the first Hokage's statue, and stared across the waterfall. If Nawaki did show up, it would be fitting for the two of them to fight here. Perhaps she could stop him from even getting near Konoha. Nawaki's pride wouldn't let anyone else but him fight her. Hopefully watching Sakura get stabbed hadn't changed that; otherwise she would be in trouble.

Perhaps she should have brought backup, but she couldn't really bring a whole bunch of jonin here because of a hunch. She had checked beforehand with her parents if she was needed for anything, and had found herself free.

She had thought about telling Oki and Konohamaru where she was going, but had decided against it in the end. This was between her and Nawaki, and if he managed to beat her someone needed to be in the village to stop him. Hisa knew that Oki had a better chance of getting through to him than she did, but she had a better chance of beating him then Oki did.

So she sat, and she waited.

!

Nawaki found himself veering left, much to Obito's surprise.

"Where are you going?" Obito had asked sharply.

"I think there's a shortcut this way." Nawaki had explained. "We can cut through the Valley of the End and get to Konoha quicker."

"There's a bigger chance of being spotted if we go that way. Are you sure that you want to risk it?"

"I'm sure." Nawaki had said firmly. "We can deal with anyone we meet as long as it's not an elite jonin or higher. I just want to get this over with as quickly as possible."

Obito hadn't said anything else, but he had changed his course to match Nawaki's.

!

A rustle behind her had Hisa reaching for a kunai. To her surprise, she saw that it was Naruto.

"Dad! What are you doing here?"

Naruto smiled at her.

"Here to wish you luck of course!"

He saw Hisa's puzzled expression and explained.

"I know why you came here, and I get it. I kinda have a feeling that he's going to come here too."

Hisa nodded.

"Are you going to fight him then? I mean, you are the Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No way! Like I said, I just came to wish you luck. This is your fight; I'll be busy organizing the village defences."

Hisa grinned.

"It's not like you'll need them. They may have two Rinnegan but they're up against the Sage of Six Paths!"

She watched Naruto's face drop into a slightly guilty expression.

"Yeah, about that…"

"I was joking." she said plainly. "I know I'm not anywhere near the Sage's level. One day I will be though!"

The guilty expression didn't go away. Hisa sighed. She was probably going to regret this.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Naruto looked sheepish, which was never a good sign.

"It's… a long story, but remember when I told you that the person who got the Rinnegan naturally was rumoured to be the next Sage?"

"Of course I do." she said "Then I got the Rinnegan and started training to reach that level."

The guilty expression got worse.

"Well, the thing is, during the war I had a run in with the Ten-Tails and it… sensed something inside me. I didn't really consider it that much, but I was sitting in my office eating some ramen and it hit me."

"What hit you?" Hisa asked, her voice unnervingly calm.

"That being the next Sage of Six Paths isn't about the eyes. It's about the spirit."

"This spirit being the spirit that you have?"

"… Yeah, kinda."

"I see." she said, voice still even. "So what you're saying is the Ten-Tails recognized that you had the same spirit that the Sage had, effectively making you the next Sage of Six Paths, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Naruto looked at her concernedly.

"Are you ok with this? I mean, I know how much you wanted to prove yourself, but now there's no pressure to-"

"I'm fine." Hisa interrupted "Absolutely fine. I mean, I just found out that the one way I thought I could get out of your shadow has already been taken by you. But that's ok. I only spent six years dealing with people who thought that I was the Sage, and training just to prove to them that I could handle it. So yeah, I'm completely fine."

"You can still become the Sage." Naruto said quietly "If there's a second Sage there can be a third."

"What's the point?" she yelled "What's the point of being the next you? I actually thought that Kakashi's 'younger generation surpassing the older' shit might be true, that I could one day be better then you! But you're Naruto fucking Uzumaki! I'm never going to be anything other than your daughter!"

She was ranting now, but she didn't care. She needed to get this off her chest at some point, she might as well do it all in one go.

"I thought that maybe being the Sage could help me create my own identity. I was desperate enough to try and build a reputation based solely on my eyes, and now you just come and casually say 'Sorry Hisa, but I've been there done that. Better luck next time!' all because you just happened to remember it. I mean what the fuck?"

"Hisa." Naruto said calmly "What are you doing right now?"

"What am I doing?" she shrieked "I'm waiting for a fight that probably won't happen all because I felt like coming out here. That's what I'm doing! And I'm ranting at you because you took away one of my biggest dreams!"

"When I was your age." Naruto said "I wasn't even a genin. I was the worst in my class. You're at the level of at least a Tokubetsu Jonin. I couldn't even run up a tree at your age, and in a few hours you'll probably be fighting a huge threat to the village on your own."

"It's only a hunch." she muttered.

"You have Nawaki's right eye." he reminded her "You're 'hunch' is the best we have right now. Look, what I'm trying to say is that you will get out of my shadow and you will become your own person. I'm not going to fight Nawaki now, you are. Today, you get the chance to become a legend in your own right."

"Fancy words." Hisa said "But I don't buy it. You mastered senjutsu at the age of sixteen, so it doesn't really matter where you were at age eleven. As for becoming a 'legend'? Nawaki's Nawaki, he's only one person. I'm not fighting him to become a legend; I'm fighting him because he's attacking Konoha, and because he's my friend."

"Do you think it was different for me?" Naruto shot back "Yes I wanted to be Hokage so that people would acknowledge me, but I wanted to get Sasuke back because he was my friend. When Pein attacked Konoha I fought him because he was hurting the people I love, not so I could get attention."

Hisa sighed, recognizing the truth in his words.

"I'm sorry." she muttered. "I shouldn't have freaked out. It doesn't really matter what people say about me, as long as I stop Nawaki."

Naruto grabbed her shoulders and bent down until he was looking into her eyes.

"It matters to me." he said gently "You matter to me."

What else could she do but hug him? Sometimes, her dad could seem very dense, but when it really mattered, he knew just what to say.

Naruto left then, and Hisa went back to sitting on the statue. She was determined not to think about the conversation, other than Naruto's last words. Nawaki was probably going to be slightly messed up in the head when they met, so she needed to keep hers clear.

After what seemed like three hours passed, Hisa began thinking about heading back. It would be quite a let-down after all that talk if Nawaki didn't even show up, but there never was any real evidence that he would. Only a vague feeling.

Another hour passed by and Hisa was almost ready to fall asleep. It wasn't that she was tired, she was just bored.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the statue opposite. Even from this distance, Hisa could tell who it was.

"Nawaki."