Updated: May 24 2014

7. Danzou

Minato had a heavy headache the day after and couldn't remember much from the night. When he asked Kousuke why they had been spooning and fallen asleep that way, Kousuke had only shaken his head a little bemusedly.

"The brunette seemed a little intense for you," he replied. "You said you were going to show her that you just needed a good friend to cuddle with. I played along, though. It was actually kind of nice."

He had now gone a day as an eighteen year old boy, compared to most of his classmates, and he couldn't remember much of it.

The next few days passed without much hassle, except from a couple of small missions and more visits from generals and jounin with reports and messages. When Minato came back from an espionage mission and reported back to general Hiromu, a man he recognised entered the tent.

"General Hiromu."

"Ah," the general said. "Danzou."

It was clear on the general's voice that Danzou's visit was neither a surprise nor a pleasure. Danzou's gaze lingered on Minato – Minato only glanced mildly back – but he quickly turned back to the general.

"Before we begin our meeting, I have to inform you about a shinobi from the Rain who's trying to cross the border," Danzou said. "He's after the feudal lord and needs to be stopped."

"Right," general Hiromu said and waved Minato out of the tent. However, Minato had only taken a few steps when Danzou spoke again.

"Hold on, general. I think Minato will be most suitable for the job."

Minato had barely had time and energy to spend on Danzou since he hadn't talked to him before or had a very decent impression of him. Neither had he expected to be assigned a special mission by him.

He turned, slightly bemused.

"The man specialises in lightning techniques, and you use its opposite, am I right?" Danzou asked. Despite talking directly to Minato for the first time, he showed less emotion than a dung beetle. His stare, on the other hand, was piercing.

"That's right," Minato replied.

"I don't think I've got any other missions ready for him," general Hiromu said. "I assume it's fine to put him on the job."

"Good," Danzou said and smiled. Minato felt creeps down his spine.

He was briefed on the situation – where to find the intruder, the techniques he used and such – and set off immediately. He wasn't tired from the previous mission since it hadn't lasted more than two hours, and he hadn't spent any of his chakra. The intruder wasn't far from the border either, he should be easy to find.

Sure enough, after twenty minutes, Minato ran straight into him. Minato had to throw himself backwards and nearly lie down on his back to avoid beheading by a sharp, thin lightning that shot out of the intruder's arm.

It seemed to be the right man.

Fighting him was easy. Every move the intruder did involved lightning, so Minato could easily blow off all of his attacks, and the intruder, who was dressed in a robe-like, blue uniform, realised it wasn't enough. He was soon tired, and Minato had the upper hand from the beginning. When Minato made a stance and drew his two swords for his last attack, he stood waiting for a moment to see if the intruder wanted to attack first. It was during this short moment Minato saw it; the intruder's eyes were filled with panic. A man who was sent across the border, alone, for an especially difficult mission, usually had good analysing skills and a calm demeanour. The only thing Minato could get out of this man, was pure fear.

At first, Minato thought it was because the intruder had realized who it was he was up against, but he hadn't seemed surprised to meet him, even on a slightly secluded path; he had attacked before Minato was quite ready for it, as though he had planned the attack on that place and that time. Only shinobi who were good at tracking and sensing could plan something like that. Shinobi like that were rarely that nervous or panicking.

The intruder shot forwards with his fist raised, screaming as though it would make him braver and stronger, and Minato made up his mind quickly; he withdrew his swords and did something his childhood best friend had both taught him and demonstrated on him; he gave the intruder a powerful, bone-cracking punch by digging his fist in his jaw.

The robe-dressed intruder fell backwards and hit the ground with a loud thump, unconscious and silent. Minato placed him against a tree, summoned a rope and tied him up so he wouldn't get anywhere; Minato didn't feel like delivering the intruder back to his Rain generals in person.

He straightened up and stared at the intruder for a moment. The whole situation had been weird. Minato had been sent out immediately to stop the intruder as though he had been a serious threat to the country, as though the border guards wouldn't be able to deal with him alone. Of course, he was an enemy, but to go after the feudal lord by yourself was a bit hopeful. The feudal lord was heavily isolated with his own army of life guards. It had also seemed like the intruder had expected Minato to show up – if he had expected Minato or someone else didn't matter. Every shinobi should keep their guards up when they were alone (Minato had enough experience with this), but it was just a bit too expected. The intruder had attacked as though he knew Minato came from a distance, but why had he let Minato come closer at all? Besides, if he knew who Minato was, he should have know that he, a lightning wielder, didn't stand a chance against Minato, who used wind. And why had he been so terribly frightened?

Minato decided to address the matter to the general and Danzou, and turned back. He had to deliver the report quickly, anyway.

He thought it was weird that there hadn't been a soul nearby in the middle of the day. The intruder wouldn't have had to worry about civilians on the road – they were in the Rain, after all – but even though it was a secluded path, no one else had been there to hear or see them …

Minato looked ahead. He had been running for fifteen minutes, he should near the border soon …

After ten more minutes, he stopped. He had never been lost around the border before; he had spent every day since he was thirteen around this area, and knew every corner and every path. He turned and looked behind him. And then ahead of him again. The path split in two.

One thing was sure: he had never seen that path before. It could only mean that he had been running in the wrong direction. A sorry mistake? But he wasn't even tired. He was in trouble if he was far inside the Rain country, but he was sure he had turned and gone the right direction after the fight against the intruder.

He checked every square meter around himself. There were trees, but nothing but birds and insects in them … The ground was the same as before with the hard soil … The sky didn't look too different either. He looked at the clouds and wondered if Shikaku would do so in the same situation.

He remembered something Shikaku had said once a long time ago. If you're lost, check everything around you. And I mean everything.

If he really did mean everything, Minato should check himself as well. The grey jacket was the same; hood was on, and the two black stripes running down the arms were present. The pants he had decided to wear that day were as black as usual, and the same were the bandages on his arms and legs and his father's old fingerless gloves. Black shoes, mesh shirt … His standard weapons … He pulled the sleeve of his jacket up, and his face was drained of all blood.

The bracelet was still there. But it wasn't ruined. It looked like it had five years ago when he first got it; whole, clean, whirled thrice around his wrist. The last time he checked, it had been very worn and only reached him twice around the wrist …

He made a seal with his hand.

"Kai."

The area changed. The path and the trees disappeared. He was standing in the middle of a large meadow with knee-high grass, surrounded by forest. The bracelet went back to being old and worn. Behind him was a strange chakra.

"Tsk."

Minato turned with a tight grip around one of his swords.

"And I thought I tricked you," the stranger in the grass in front of him said. "I see I failed on that bracelet of yours."

The boy wasn't much older than Minato, but by far shorter. He had light, short hair, arrogant, gray eyes and wore a white jacket with a high collar over a mesh shirt. Around his neck hung a long, thin golden necklace, so long it fell over his chest, and with several golden branches hanging down.

"Who are you?" Minato demanded when he couldn't recall seeing such a person before.

The boy smiled. He had a contemptuous posture Minato disliked. "You know, don't you? You've been warned about me from your general, after all. But I know more about you than you think."

Minato's hand stayed at the sword. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you think I failed on your bracelet? You've been listed in the Rain's bingo books for years, everyone's been dying to assassinate you." The young man laughed of his own irony. "I've kept an eye on you. I saw you when you worked as a border guard. Goodness, Hanzou was on the alert because of you. Said you were going to be a big threat one day. So he put me on the case." The man smirked. "I saw you fighting poor Naoki earlier. You did take the right path home, but I changed it a little for you. You thought you were running on a straight line, didn't you? Never noticed you took a big u-turn?" The man sighed. Minato wondered why on earth he was talking so much. "I had to get your outfit right to make such a big genjutsu, but it failed, I'm afraid … Otherwise you'd be dead by now."

Minato raised an eyebrow, finding it hard to believe that a man like him could kill him in one stroke. But if there was something Jiraiya had taught him, it was to never underestimate your opponent. He also had a good idea of who the young man was; during his first months on the border, Hiromu had been warned by Jiraiya about a young man he was sure they would one day meet.

"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way," the man said and formed seals with his hands. But before he could complete them, Minato had thrown a Hiraishin kunai to his face and appeared right in front of him, attempting to behead him; the man barely ducked in time, but managed to make distance between them quickly.

"I assume that's the Hiraishin?" the young man asked.

"And I assume you're Toru the Genjutsu Master?" Minato asked, who was crouching in the grass with his palm pressed against the ground.

"Very good."

The Genjutsu Master redid his seals and Minato repeated his movements; he threw the kunai towards him, but Toru was prepared. He got away. Nevertheless, Minato moved to the kunai, again with his palm pressed against the cold dirt between the high, rustling grass.

He had tried to throw a small genjutsu at him, and come to the conclusion that genjutsu was not an option. He had learned about this from Mikoto … What did she say again?

Sometimes, objects can protect you from genjutsu, but they're really hard to make, and only very skilled shinobi can do it, not even our eyes can make one …

Was it the necklace? It was glowing slightly, but more red than gold.

He had one thing to do, and it was going to be hard.