Invictus

by Raging Smurf

When I died, I never thought I'd get a second chance at life, let alone another chance as the protagonist of an anime. Getting another chance in a world with Snake pedos, heart thieves, and peepers with doomsday capabilities wasn't a part of the memo. But I ain't selling my life cheap, that's for damn sure. Male OC NarutoInsert. Chapters 1-4 prologue.

50. Happy shall he be

This chapter is over 50k words. I thought I'd give you guys a full dessert for taking so long. I'll explain at the bottom Author's note. God have mercy on my poor phone's CPU.

(I didn't realize updating old chapters would ping people. Sorry about that for those who got a ping a couple weeks ago. I'll be updating more earlier chapters as I go. I've done the most important parts now and I won't delay this further.)

I've now finished the improvement of the story and I can honestly say I'm glad I did. I cut down on a portion of the profanity, curbed some of the edgier jokes a bit that didn't have much build up, and most importantly added multiple scenes to flesh out the friendships between the characters. The biggest ones are Naruto and Ino, Naruto and Hinata, and Rin and Sasuke. There are others in there, but I'll specify at the bottom part of this chapter on the location of the add-ons for those who don't want to reread everything.

Also, I've come to a big decision. If I'm only going to pair only one, I'm making it Naru/Ino. It took quite some time, but I think it would be better. I'll still try for both, but my previous statements early about it fighting me is still my stance.

Right now, I want to mention a bit of a random thing on the Boruto series.

I'll be probably adding a few jutsu, such as Purple Lightning and maybe the Vanishing Rasengan later in the story, but what are your guy's thoughts on the series, now that the anime has caught up more so with the manga?

SKIP THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO ME RAMBLE.

I think the series is actually solid where it does stuff right, but it's just not my cup of tea. The adding of the Otsutsuki is the biggest issue for me. It's like adding rifled guns to a medieval setting in regards to how it completely shafts the wonderful Hard Magic system that is ninjutsu into the ground like what more sophisticated guns did to hand weapons in real life.

The technology route is the only response to chakra fruit eating ubermensch rolling up to kick your shit in, so I acknowledge the merit of it.

I will point out that some of the technological leaps were explained in the novels that aren't as well known in the West, or anime only guys like me, which I didn't know about. Kakashi, when he was Hokage, declassified information gathered about Hashirama's cells and released it to the public. Private companies worked on information released by the different villages and made massive tech improvements in response to only three dudes, Madara, Obito and Kabuto, taking on the combined might of the villages. The rush to improve combat tech was also fed by the existence of Kaguya and the Otsutsuki.

20 years is too short of a time to revolutionize technology that can break the power levels in any other situation, although War arc Shippuden already did that.

If it were paced better, it wouldn't annoy me. I'm not adverse to technological innovation, but I am when it becomes the superior thing in barely a generation. And the Otsutsuki were introduced at the tail end of Shippuden with next to no preparation. Hell, the Sage of Six Paths, who created the Bijuu and shaped the world, was introduced for the first time mid Shippuden and the Otsutsuki were introduced at the tail end of Shippuden with next to no preparation. It made it difficult to invest in them as big baddies in Boruto when we're told they're the biggest threat to everything.

That's another reason War arc Shippuden, specifically its end delivery, irks me. It's a terrible bridge to connect OG Naruto and Boruto in the same universe.

But that's just my opinion. A lot of people like the Boruto series, and for good reason, but I just can't get into it because of those parts. Nothing against it, because it obviously gets stuff right.

99% of my gripes with the series would be a non-issue if it was based several decades in the future, with breathing room for tech to be massively improved after decades of peace spawned by Naruto and Sasuke. The shaky power scaling issues inherited by War arc Shippuden are problems that has made it difficult for me to like the Boruto series.

SethTheProgrammer did a good video about the series that had me looking at the series less critically, so I'm no longer negative about it, just neutral towards it. As a sequel to OG Naruto, it's issues stand out. Looking at it as a sequel to War arc Shippuden takes away a lot of issues, because most of the foundational issues I dislike were inherited, which is unfortunate.

I will admit I'm intrigued by the Otsutsuki origin, and what the Jougan entails, but I'm still not liking the enemies seeming to grow in power constantly, with little hope of catching up without going all Mechanicus.

Hopefully, the thing that's happened will revert some of the steep power scaling until the endgame, with Boruto and Kawaki being like what Naruto and Sasuke are for their generation at the end of the series.

But what do I know? I just write as a hobby in the sandbox of a guy who made a good series. It could just be that I'm an Originalist Boomer. A Weeb Boomer, who is writing a fic to suit my Boomer sensibilities.

I just ignore the villains of Boruto stuff for my fic/future fics in the same way I ignore Season 8 of GoT and the Sequel Trilogy for Star Wars. But the difference is that Boruto is actually okay, and isn't a gangrene infested wound like Season 8 and it doesn't piss me off like the Sequel Trilogy. Luke got shafted so freaking hard. It made me like the Yuuzhan Vong, for Pete's sake. Bootleg Tyranids, Clone Palpatine, super weapons out the ass, and Abeloth are sufferable so long as Grandmaster Luke is the one cracking heads.

Monologue over. Sorry to punish you with my ramblings when I waa absent since August.

This is after I did the touch up. I wrote the Author's note and the first part of the chapter before I started. I'll explain in-depth the added stuff at the end Author's note.

This chapter is mostly dialogue and had several important conversations. The setup for the timeskip and the changes will be revealed here and the next chapter. A couple more chapters before we get to where I'll begin the timeskip.

Monologue actually over now. Here's the chapter.

---

"Can you make the houses a little different?" Rin asked the Shodai Hokage, looking at the new buildings with an annoyed expression.

They were all identical, not being different at all. Sure, they hadn't been painted yet, but it just didn't look right.

The aftereffects of the invasion included several buildings being destroyed or damaged enough to warrant demolition. Right now, the Shodai and another man, an ANBU, were building new ones.

Currently, Rin was bored out of her skull because there was no one to talk to. Sasuke had become reclusive the day after Itachi was captured, Naruto was occupied talking with the Nidaime constantly, even if he was getting discharged later today, and Hinata had alternated between being held up in her clan's compound and helping with minor injuries at the hospital so qualified medi-nin could handle the more serious injuries.

Rin had just finished talking with Karin, who had stayed the night to get to know her cousin better. Rin wondered how much Naruto would petulantly complain when he finds out another person slept in his brand new and comfy bed.

"Rin-san," Yamato began to scold her lightly for distracting them, but Hashirama laughed and stopped his current act of raising another house.

"It is fine, Yamato-san," He said kindly, his voice rather calming, "I wish to have a minute to myself. Let's take a short break, I can tell it's fatiguing you."

Yamato relented, giving Rin an apologetic look at being short with her.

"Shodai-sama." Yamato inclined his head, leaving to go somewhere.

Now that the two were alone, Rin looked up at the fairly tall Senju.

This wasn't the first time Rin had been around the Shodai Hokage. The first time she'd talked with him, she could barely make eye contact or let out a squeak of yes or no.

The man was a legend, something that made her struggle with talking. But something about him was familiar, a safeness that kept her warm. That made it easier to talk with him.

"Naruto said Edo's don't get tired, Hashi-sama," She said the name quickly, making it almost sound like Hashirama as a joke.

Hashirama laughed at her attempt, his eyes flicking towards her own.

"My chakra may replenish at a constant rate," He explained, "but it does get rather dull doing the same thing over and over. Your brother spoke of you, and I've enjoyed the few occasions we have spoken. Would you mind giving me some company as I look at how beautiful my village has become in my absence?"

Rin practically shivered at how warm she felt. The only time she felt this safe and warm was when she was around Naruto when they were little, nestled together at the orphanage. Hashirama's voice sounded like sunshine, if that even made sense.

"Yeah," She replied, nodding enthusiastically, "I can show you around." She offered.

Hashirama chuckled again. "Then go on, Uzumaki-sama."

Rin grabbed Hashirama by the hand and dragged him around, snickering at his surprise.

The next hour was her dragging the Shodai Hokage to the different areas of Konoha that she knew were newer additions.

The market place was where it was originally, but it was much larger to cater to the bigger population.

I can't believe I remembered that out of all the boring stuff at the academy. Rin thought, shuddering at the thought of becoming a history nerd like Naruto.

Naru the nerd. She giggled a bit, eventually stopping so Hashirama wouldn't stumble.

"The market is larger than I remember." He mused aloud, a discreet hand seal made to form a Henge over him to hide the cracks on his face and eyes, as well as covering up his armour.

Rin, still smiling, guided him to other sections of the village, pointing out the different clan districts.

"I don't see the Uchiha district." Hashirama voiced aloud, sounding confused.

"It was moved." Rin replied quietly, thinking of Sasuke.

"Would you mind showing me?" Hashirama smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Sure." She said, marching towards what was once Sasuke home.

The two were silent for a bit, a couple civilians giving her strange looks.

Before the invasion, they'd been mostly hostile still. But afterwards, it was mixed. It was a mixture of neutrality and positivity, probably from her and Naruto openly fighting off the invaders with a massive amount of clones.

Once Rin guided the Shodai to the gates, the man sighed audibly.

"I never thought both of our clans would be brought so low." The way he spoke had Rin wondering who he was talking to.

Her or Madara.

"To think my father-in-law would still be fighting at his age. Two decades older, but still outlived both Tobirama and me."

He then looked down and his dark eyes focused on her. She didn't know why, but his eyes almost reminded her of Sasuke's when he was happy. They seemed to sparkle.

"Tell me about Sasuke," Hashirama requested, looking like he needed something good to hear.

Rin wondered for a moment why he would be interested in Sasuke, but the blonde shrugged it off, deciding to tell the strongest Shinobi she knew about her close friend.

"Sasuke is really cold at times, and rude," She paused, "And annoying."

"And he is your friend?" Hashirama raised a brow as she described the raven haired Uchiha.

Rin made an iffy gesture with her hand. "Sometimes he's my friend, other times he's my enemy."

Hashirama chuckled, pushing a bit of his hair behind his ear.

"That sounds like how Madara and I were like as young boys."

Rin sniffed, turning up her nose.

"Did Madara have spiky hair that looked like a duck's butt?" She asked flatly.

Hashirama threw his head back and laughed loudly, clutching at his stomach.

"I have never heard it described that way," He kept laughing, "The Uchiha seemed to have spiky hair sometimes... Duck butt." He chuckled to himself.

After Hashirama had his moment of amusement, he looked at Rin again.

"Hiruzen spoke of how Sasuke is, but I'd like to know from a close friend of his. He is one of the last of a strong clan, a clan I grew to care about."

He sounds sad. Rin noticed, starting to talk about Uchiha Sasuke.

Whether it be about him being viciously protective of her and Hinata, his intelligence and steady mind in a stressful situation, or how she truly starting seeing him as more than the annoying Uchiha after spending time with him, Rin explained it all.

Hashirama's listened quietly, the two of them walking side by side away from the Uchiha clan district and going through the village.

"He sounds like a nice boy," Hashirama said after she finished, "He is fortunate to have a friend as kind as you."

I think some people would disagree about that. Rin snorted, muttering under her breath about not being sure of that.

"Do not think that what you contain makes you less worthy of being considered a person." Hashirama frowned, his arms behind his back as they walked.

"That's not what I was thinking about, Shodai-sama." Rin muttered, catching a look of irritation from a civilian.

Hashirama evidently noticed the look, shaking his head at the adult in disappointment.

"I have seen much in this world, Rin," The way he said her name was almost indistinguishable from how Naruto said it, "And I could have been able to tell that the burden forced on you by your father weighs on you without being told. Hiruzen didn't need to tell me for me to notice."

Rin's hand went to her hair, fingers tracing through the blonde locks. Not a shred of her mother was inherited in her hair, it was 100 percent Namikaze Minato.

Even after she had time to wrap her mind around it, the reminder of her father doing such a thing to her didn't sit well with the girl.

Rin didn't know how, but Hashirama seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Mito struggled with the idea of another entity residing in her," Hashirama sighed, looking sympathetic, "She completely cut off any connection to the Kyuubi."

Never. Rin growled internally.

"I'll never do that." She said icily, remembering how much anger was in the fox's voice when the subject was brought up.

Being restrained was a sensation that Rin did not like. Being tied up, restrained, or her chakra closed were all the same. She hated imprisonment. And the fox had been that way for years.

"The fox hates you for what you did," She explained, "He was controlled by Madara and you sealed him away for something he had no control over."

"You have spoken with the Kyuubi?" Hashirama questioned, his attention directed towards her as he leaned down a bit.

Rin nodded. "He's a jerk and makes disgusting comments, but he didn't deserve that."

Hashirama seemed to look in deep thought, his eyes darting to the corner of a food stand.

"May I speak with him for a moment?" He asked, "If you can do that without difficulty." He added awkwardly.

Why? Rin thought to herself, her expression obvious.

"I wish to apologize." Hashirama clarified, "It is unfortunate that Madara stooped so low to enslave another being to try and kill me. I would like to let the Kyuubi know that."

Rin thought about it, not expecting the Kyuubi to take it well. Naruto seemed to enjoy poking at the fox by bringing up the Shodai or Fuinjutsu constantly when a comment about her was made, and the man himself would probably cause the furbag to shout in her head.

"I'll see if he's awake." Rin finally mumbled, closing her eyes and concentrating.

Fox. Fox, you there? FOX!

"I'm up!" The Kyuubi grumbled, the deep voice of the strongest Bijuu echoing in her head. "What do you want, vixen?"

Rin ignored the typical way to annoy her and got straight to the point.

Someone wants to say hello.

"If it is your little pet Uchiha, I'm not interested." He grumbled, "Whatever its older sibling did to your brother messed with my connection to him, almost like what the pet did to you, loser."

Shut up. She ground out, baring her teeth a bit when the fox laughed at the reminder of her tieing against Sasuke. The Shodai wants to talk with you.

Her head was already beginning to feel congested from the slight amount of the Kyuubi's chakra flowing in her tenketsu to keep the line open, but it shifted into her whole body itching for a moment when an explosion of anger radiated through the connection.

"I can see him now!" The Kyuubi snarled, having forced the connection open enough to see through her eyes, "I'm going to rip your limbs off and use them as toothpicks!"

Rin audibly groaned, biting her tongue to not swear.

Hashirama probably noticed her reaction and placed his hand on her shoulder, his eyes narrowing.

Rin shivered as she felt chakra invade her tenketsu, the sensation plain weird.

"Calm yourself, beast," He said coldly, his eyes sharp, "I wish to be civil, so do not cause the girl problems."

Rin felt the Kyuubi's chakra sink back into the background, but she noticed another thing.

Hashirama's chakra wasn't that different from hers. Hinata's felt different when she tagged her with a Juken hit, and Sasuke's was different to Naruto's when she was shocked by either of the two.

But this chakra felt warm in a familiar way, like an old blanket wrapped around her snuggly.

"Stop restraining my chakra," The Kyuubi ground out, "I'll control myself."

"He said he'll behave." Rin said, looking up at Hashirama.

The dark haired man nodded and let go of her, pulling back his chakra.

"I was not aware of certain things surrounding your circumstance, Kyuubi," Hashirama was looking straight into her eyes, but speaking to someone else, "Had I known what I do now from my student, the Sandaime, I would never have let you or the others be sealed. I wouldn't have pursued them and handed them out. I would have let them stay free and I am sorry for the years of imprisonment you have been subjected to."

Everything was silent in Rin's head except for her own thoughts.

Eventually, the fox spoke.

"Nothing will be forgotten, human. My siblings did nothing to provoke you hunting them down. I could have been content with hating you alone, but Uzumaki Naruto told me about the Shinobi wars. They not have happened if you fought the other villages with the violence you used against the nine of us."

Rin repeated everything said, Hashirama's face falling.

"Death, and the months leading up to it, makes us think of previous actions," He admitted, "Hindsight always haunts us, and it seems I have been punished for those actions. My clan will die out, but you will still live on. All those who have imprisoned you are dead, but you still live. Is that not enough?"

Rin heard the Kyuubi huff.

"Fair enough. You didn't wrong me out of selfishness or malice, like Madara. Since you're already dead, and know that you wronged me, I'll grant you your peace of mind."

Rin repeated it, the latest one raising Hashirama's mood.

"I am grateful for your understanding, Kyuubi-san," He bowed lightly, "I will no longer bother you."

The fox snorted and retracted back into Rin's head, disappearing from her sight.

"That just felt weird." Rin shuddered, almost feeling like some demented ventriloquist doll, or whatever Naruto called it when he was telling her scary stories during his little personal schedule of harassing people. Late October was always scary stories, for example.

"Is there anywhere else you want to see?" Rin asked, not thinking of anything else.

"Is the casino where it used to be?" Hashirama asked, suddenly looking very excited.

"I'm 13," Rin deadpanned, crossing her arms, "I thought you were supposed to be a good example. I know your granddaughter gambled, but I didn't think the Kami no Shinobi did."

"Who do you think taught her to gamble?" Hashirama asked rhetorically.

Rin scowled, shaking her head.

"Everybody I look up to does something annoying."

"Even your brother?" Hashirama smirked.

"Especially Naruto," Rin and Hashirama still kept walking around, the man eventually dropping part of the Henge over him, "He torments me, harasses me, and tortures me."

"That sounds like a younger sibling's embellishment." Hashirama laughed.

Rin just shot him a glare. "You try having a brother that shocks you so your hair stands on end, or talks to himself in different languages to make everyone think he's crazy, and then call you a heretic for not using the High Ground or pray to The Log."

At the word 'Log', Hashirama started laughing again, any negative events seeming to have disappeared from earlier.

"That was an inside joke my father-in-law made with Tobirama. The Substitution Jutsu generally uses a log, so the supposed avatar of Kami's mercy and forgiveness is a log, The Log."

That is so stupid. Rin rolled her eyes, causing Hashirama to smile.

But how did Naruto know abou-... The notes.

"I'm going to kill Jiji for giving Naruto those notes." She grumbled, knowing that had to be where Naruto got that stupid idea from.

"Don't blame Hiruzen," Hashirama mock scolded her, "Ashina was always eccentric when he chose to be."

From what was said about the man, Rin seriously hoped Naruto didn't become anything like him when they were adults.

"He's still annoying." She sighed.

"And so is Tobirama," Hashirama countered, "I look up to him in many ways, even if I'm the eldest. He's manipulative and far too quick to action."

"What do you mean manipulative?" Rin asked, turning a corner.

"I don't doubt that he is talking with your brother right now. He'll twist a conversation to get a desired set of answers to read the true measurement of someone, even if the two of us already spoke with Naruto."

That also sounds familiar.

Suddenly, right as they got back to the market after circling back from the Uchiha district, Hashirama dropped the Henge on his armour.

Rin realized why he did it when they were spotted by multiple civilians, their eyes widening at the sight of the Shodai.

"Stick close to me." Hashirama said quietly, putting up his hand and smiling as he was greeted by over a dozen people.

Several calls of 'Shodai-sama' and 'Hashirama-sama' assaulted Rin's ears, making her flinch for a moment.

"I am thankful for your adoration," Hashirama continued to smile, but Rin, for some reason, felt it was off, "But it has been many years since I have seen the village. This lovely young lady is showing me around the village."

Rin couldn't help but blush at how he described her, hoping he didn't notice.

The villagers were shocked, many of them seeming to realize who she was after their attention was torn from the Shodai.

"Shodai-sama," One of them said nervously, "She's-"

"She's what?" Hashirama interrupted pleasantly, Rin now being certain it was a mask of false cheerfulness.

"I've been told about her," Hashirama laughed lightly, moving a bit closer to Rin, "and it's strange that I don't remember ever fighting her and Madara at the Valley of the End."

The villagers started getting extremely uncomfortable now.

"She's shorter than me, has blonde hair, violet eyes, and her chakra is as beautiful as her character is."

Rin felt herself blush to the roots of her hair, wanting to shrink into the ground as everybody stared at her.

"My wife contained the Kyuubi to protect Konoha years ago," He said clearly, "I'm fairly certain I can determine what the Kyuubi is. My beloved contained it and now her great niece and nephew protect Konoha as she did."

Several of the individuals gasped in shock.

"She's-"

"Family," Hashirama interrupted again, "And the Sandaime Hokage, my student, told me how you have thanked these children for protecting you."

Rin saw the adults begin to tear up, a man nearly as old as Jiji openly weeping in shame.

"Tell everyone who will listen," The previously disguised anger was revealed for what it truly was, "That they have made a grave mistake in blaming two innocent children. The two protected Konoha when it was attacked, and this is how you repay them?"

Rin tried to get Hashirama to stop. The looks of shame and tears were making her uncomfortable.

"Shodai-sama-" She tried to say, but she too was interrupted.

"No," He shook his head, "You deserve nothing but praise, child, and the village should acknowledge this."

The old man in the group pushed his way to the front, looking directly into Rin's eyes.

"Forgive me, child," The man was shaking in grief, "We were wrong about everything."

"Please," Rin swallowed, not knowing what to say, "It's okay."

"It isn't!" The man wailed, gripping his cane tightly, "We blamed you for the Kyuubi. You are a little girl, just like my granddaughter, and we blamed you."

Rin felt Hashirama's hand on her shoulder, the feeling giving her reassurance.

"Just," Rin was struggling to speak from what she was seeing. They were remorseful. "Tell everyone you know the truth. Please."

The group nodded and answered yes, making a hasty retreat, leaving the two alone.

Rin started breathing heavily, her thoughts racing.

"They're sorry." She whispered, a tear going down her face. "They're sorry."

"Sometimes," Hashirama still held her, gently guiding them to an empty street to the left, before Henging his outfit to no longer be armour, "All someone needs is a reminder that you're just a little girl."

Rin sniffled some, the image of the villagers who once hated her practically begging for forgiveness dancing in her head.

"Thank you," She whispered, hugging the man's midriff, "For helping them."

Naruto had told her that hatred could destroy you. Senju Hashirama just ended the hatred, at least among a few people, directed at her and Naruto by simply talking.

Hashirama returned the hug, patting her shoulder.

"It wasn't just for them." He said quietly, letting go of her, "Now, I must say goodbye. I need to finish rebuilding the homes."

Rin understood, turning on her heel as she said goodbye.

With a great weight she didn't even know she had taken off of her, Uzumaki Rin practically skipped towards Ichiraku's.

Before she could get there though, she saw a blur of black that she realized was Sasuke, with Kakashi chasing after him.

---

"Why didn't you use the Edo Tensei more liberally during the clan wars and the First war?" I asked Tobirama, the two of us at a table going over different things.

Today was going to be the day I'd be released from the hospital and I'd been told something by Kakashi about Sasuke getting stir crazy and would probably need Rin or me to talk with him. Rin decided she'd do so when Kakashi messaged us again, but I could worry about that later today.

"It would have set a dangerous precedent," Tobirama responded flatly, "Similar to the targeting of foreign Daimyos for assassination. We didn't drag the civilian cities into the conflict."

I snorted at the last part. "Thought of that, didn't you?"

"I didn't consider it," Tobirama frowned, glancing at my drink on the table, "I theorized cause and effect events and predicted that expanding conflict would not serve Konoha well. Hitting exclusively civilian targets in cities for maximum casualties to hit the funding for the other villages would have caused the Fire Daimyo to cut funding for fear of retaliation from rival villages and the civilians, more importantly farmers and merchants, would have ceased to deal with us as well. I hope I haven't lost you," His voice had a slight sense of annoyance, "I don't wish to describe economics and social studies currently."

"I understand what you're saying," I deadpanned, sort of insulted by how he alluded that I was an idiot, "Not all older siblings are tone deaf to that stuff."

Tobirama scoffed amusedly at the jab I made at Hashirama.

"My elder brother is the strongest Shinobi I've ever known, and a dreamer that breathed a soul into Konoha. But he could be a fool very easily."

Tobirama's red eyed gaze focused on me.

"I would like to hear in your own words why it would be problematic to needlessly antagonize the civilians and Daimyos. A Kage must know these things."

Expecting Tobirama to ask me questions about my potential goals as a possible successor to the other Hokages, I sighed and gave the answer I knew historically was true in my old world.

"I'm not a farmer. I can hunt, but I can't till the soil and harvest crops. We need food just as much as a civilian. We can't do it ourselves, so we trade our skills at killing for money, food, and commodities."

Tobirama listened to me, silently requesting I continue.

"We're a part of the world, not its masters. The brain needs the heart, lungs, and stomach to survive, and they in turn need a brain. Symbiosis of multiple systems to make a greater whole. Similar to a civilization, with us in a different but not lesser position than the others."

"And if you took over the position of the Daimyos? Through force? Deceit? The Yamanaka are adept at such things and they will listen to you orders years from now." Tobirama asked, an edge to his voice now present.

I think I know why he's asking. We're all alone right now. Just the two of us.

Rin was out, Jiraiya was talking with Tsunade somewhere, and Hashirama was out in the village, helping Yamato in fixing up some of the infrastructure damaged in the invasion.

"I'm not interested in being a king," I said flatly, "even if I could be the esteemed Philosopher King that ushers in a golden age."

"Philosopher King," Tobirama mused, looking thoughtful, "I'm unfamiliar with the term."

Given where the exact term is from, I'm not surprised.

"A reluctant ruler that is enlightened and is extremely competent at what he does," I answered, being less than specific from how long it would take, "The job being ruling a nation."

Tobirama scoffed lightly.

"It sounds almost like an idealized version of my brother when others spoke of him. They saw his power, not him."

The two of us were quiet for a moment, another thought striking me.

"Yes?" The Senju questioned, "You have that look on your face that your grandfather did when he was curious."

I hummed to myself at that, amused by how much I resembled a great great grandfather. A bit weird, but whatever.

"What is it like, knowing that the body you have isn't the one you were born with? It's astounding to me that you're wearing armour and a headband when you're literally nothing but chakra and a soul with a corpse as an interior structure. I originally thought that it was because you were wearing armour when you were killed, but your brother was wearing armour as well."

Tobirama huffed.

"Think of how a shadow clone works," The creator of said Jutsu explained, "You can Henge it into smaller objects and shapes instead of just an illusion."

Chakra constructs were malleable where the human body wasn't.

"I might have only known how to do it for the last three years," I said, "But I'm probably the most well-versed in using it because I can make hundreds at the max and they're part of my fighting strategy."

"The joys of being an Uzumaki Jinchuriki," Tobirama said dryly, knowing it wasn't a blessing, "Nothing short of a decapitation will put you down permanently."

I wasn't able to hide the flinch at the unintentional reminder of what happened to me.

Tobirama noticed, a surprised look followed by a grimace appearing on his face.

"I won't bring it up again, but how?" He said it rhetorically, being lost.

"I'm an anomaly," I shrugged, not knowing either completely, "Probably a mutation of my chakra where it's almost like a Yamanaka with their mind body Jutsu."

"Well," He said uncomfortably, "I apologize for bringing it up. I didn't even know that was physically possible."

I waved it off as nothing, given that he didn't know.

"Whatever," I said simply, "I'm passed it. But back to why you look like you do when you're an Edo."

"Yes," Tobirama looked almost relieved at the reversion of the topic, "My theory, crafted by constant attempts with it on both volunteers and Uchiha," I didn't miss the separating of the two, "Is that garments or clothing that has a great deal of importance to the deceased will manifest aesthetically from it 'being a part of them', so to speak."

"And your armour is the same kind you wore in the Clan Wars and the First Shinobi War." I finished his explanation.

"Yes," Tobirama nodded, "This armour, which is technically made from my own chakra, weighes the same, feels the same, and looks the same as the armour design I wore for over twenty years and the kind I died wearing. The only difference is the lack of shielding seals."

Shielding seals?The last part was something I'd bring up in a moment. That sounded interesting.

"But why your brother too?"

Tobirama's face looked like a mask of cold detachment.

"Make no mistake, Uzumaki Naruto, my brother may have found violence distasteful, and empathy as a great tool of strength and virtue, but war runs in his blood just like it does in mine. We are killers, and only two people in my generation were better at it than I was."

Hashirama and Madara.

"Even if the sibling dynamic is reversed," Tobirama continued, "I see much of myself when you speak of your sister. Hiruzen told both of us about the hatred you experienced from the civilians of Konoha and how you reacted to it. I'm curious as to why you didn't respond violently after nearly dying."

"Killing civilians would make me the animal the idiotic ones thought I was," I remarked coldly, glaring at the man, "I didn't refrain from killing the bad ones because I lacked the power to do it. I could've killed most types of civilians after only a few months of training."

"But you still vandalized property," Tobirama pointed put, "An illegal act that you were only protected from repercussions because you are a Jinchuriki."

My teeth clenched at the detachment he had.

"You wanting me to tell you my motives behind every potentially negative and or violent act I've done ever since I had Kitsune-chan stuffed into me?" I asked sarcastically, clenching and unclenching my hand as I restrained my chakra to the point it was making my tenketsu itch.

We'd been having several great conversations, why the change?

"I don't wish to cause you anger, Naruto," He clarified, but didn't back down, "But I must know, in your own words, why you didn't. Don't just say it is because you didn't want to prove them right, that isn't enough. These are the people and the parents of the people you will one day lead, should you continue to strive to be Hokage."

I sighed and reined in my chakra, understanding now.

Good choices weren't always as good as you'd think. Saving an innocent life might have been collateral, while the main motive was to prevent blood staining your carpet.

"I realized the rabbit hole of hatred wasn't something I wanted to forever dominate my destiny," I answered as calmly as I could, "Hating the current generation of Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, and pretty much all Shinobi villages for either helping in the genocide of my clan, or doing nothing to stop it, would mean that I would be a slave to hatred borne from others. I'm not a slave and I don't hold children responsible for crimes, or perceived ones, committed by their parents."

"I noticed the perceived part," Tobirama narrowed his eyes, "I would have waged a war of annihilation against those villages for what they did had I been alive."

"What makes you say I won't bring all of civilization crashing down around us to protect Konoha?" I asked rhetorically, my face slightly flushed from irritation, "I've killed for this village and I've taken otherwise mortal wounds. Your prize student's little pet prodigy cut my head off after I rejected personal training from him and your other student managed to help exterminate the Uchiha and nearly succeeded in getting me killed by civilians when he released information about me and my sister. Maybe the traitorous and child killing streak came from your lineage of training."

Call me a dick, but Tobirama was doing this for a reason and I wasn't going to take it lying down.

A bark of laughter came from Tobirama and he grinned.

"Definitely not like Hashirama," He kept grinning, tilting his head a bit at my confusion, "You'll do well as a Kage in both peace and conflict."

That last part clued me in to what he was doing. I didn't like it at all.

"You already did the little mind crap and testing the waters with your brother," I bit out irritably, "Why again?"

"I'm a skeptic in all facets of life," Tobirama said simply, "And undeath," He added unnecessarily, "I've gotten a proper read on your chakra over the last few days to detect any deception or lie concerning you truly wishing to be Hokage and your reasons."

I scowled at the underhanded tactic he pulled, but I probably would've done the same thing if I experienced what he had.

"Do you doubt your own judgement and your brother's?"

Tobirama smiled coldly.

"I trusted Hashirama when he said to spare Madara. It created Konoha through the peace made, but Madara still went rogue. What would have happened if my brother had fallen in battle against Madara? I might have been able to kill Madara if he were fatigued and tired, but that is not including the Kyuubi under his command."

Tobirama and Hashirama didn't take it well when I explained to them that Madara survived fighting Hashirama, and that Ashina had to be the one to finish him.

It was something I didn't want to share, but I felt it necessary to.

"I've been compared to my father," I muttered, "Itachi, and my grandfather some. Never Madara though."

"You have the same light in your eyes when you speak of your sister. He loved Izuna like Hashirama loved me. You also have the streak of cruelty he possessed," Tobirama admitted, crossing his arms, "But you are better at controlling that, much better. He was rather vicious when fighting my clansmen."

"And you weren't towards his?" I asked flatly.

"Oh, I don't deny that," Tobirama shrugged, "But the raw power and potential you have would set you above me, and the only people I knew for certain that surpassed me in my generation or the one after was Hashirama, Madara, and Saru."

"You don't want a potential sociopath getting the keys to the kingdom like Madara almost did during the election?" I laughed lightly.

Was it possible that Tobirama made sure Madara didn't win that election? My memory told me it was narrow.

Tobirama nodded, looking unconcerned by my understanding.

"Don't take my own skepticism as an insult. It kept me alive multiple times and it is nearly pathological for me to not trust the face of another. This was more for my own ease of mind."

I could tell he wasn't finished.

"But if you would indulge a rude dead man," His eyes softened, but kept the calculating glow to them, "Do you have a friend or peer to confide in? Someone who can advise you in the future?"

I blinked a bit at that, trying to decipher why he'd ask that.

"Hashirama had me," Tobirama sighed, giving me help, "I managed to do it myself for a few years, Kagami and Danzo were to fulfill that role for Saru, but Kagami I'm told was killed several years after me, and Saru told me of how far Danzo had fallen." The look of forlornness and the dimming of his chakra was probably the most expressive I'd seen him in the days we'd been talking while my chakra sorted itself out after an improper Gate opening and Tsukuyomi cocktail.

I thought about his question now, running through my different friends.

The two I planned on having my back as Hokage were Sasuke and Shikamaru. They were my friends, both intelligent, and I could trust them. Itachi had the terrifyingly sharp intellect and killer instinct to be a great asset to Konoha, but he wasn't a friend and I simply couldn't get the image of him torturing Sasuke, his sibling, out of my head.

Rin was my sole purpose in becoming strong for quite some time, and I would probably end up overshadowing her a lot, and she was too bright and kind to do the morally grey stuff like Shinobi wetwork. Hinata and Ino weren't the clinical and cold pragmatists that Shikamaru and Sasuke were capable of being, so that ruled them out.

Kakashi was a possibility. He was kind of like an older brother and he actually saw the way the world worked and he wasn't exactly a weak Shinobi. Throwing hands with Itachi with no prep time qualified him as an S-rank in my eyes.

"I see you have a few choices in your mind." Tobirama seemed pleased at the thought.

I sucked in some air through my mouth, grimacing a bit. "Sasuke has the brains and will kill to protect those he cares about, but trauma like what Itachi did doesn't go away by slapping a bandage on it and a kiss."

Tobirama frowned at my cold tone when I said Itachi's name. I'm honestly surprised the Senju known for being guarded about Uchiha was that impressed with Itachi.

"Shikamaru, who's the Nara heir," I added the last part, "Is everything you'd expect of a Nara, but he's driven to be prepared."

"Nothing like a rousing speech to light a fire under an unmotivated and lazy prodigy." Tobirama smiled pleasantly, seeming to remember something.

"Too bad nobody did that for you about your Hiraishin notes." I joked, snickering when I received an icy glare.

"Again with the Hiraishin comments," He scowled, shaking his head, "Just when I started to think you weren't an insolent little gaki."

"Insolence?" I raised my voice in mock surprise, "Hah! I'm an Uzumaki, I don't even know what that means."

Tobirama let out a true laugh, the sound contrasting with his usual tone.

"Not just your hair or name," He continued to smile, "I truly do enjoy this more than anything outside of talking with Tsuna and walking at night under a Henge to see what Konoha has become. Your chakra reminds me of Ashina-sensei's."

Tobirama's chakra then tightened a bit in a way sensors did when reaching out, his face shifting around in different expressions.

"I can't seem to locate your cousin," He mused, having encountered Karin once when she came by at some point to have a type of appointment with Tsunade, "But my brother and your sister are quite easy. They are both exceptionally bright."

Great. I bit the side of my tongue irritably, Reminded of getting my head cut off and Ashura being a parasitic little bastard on my sister in one sitting.

I wish I'd been the one, but wishing for it wouldn't change things. Screw Indra for being a jilted little bastard, screw Ashura for being an imbecile, and seriously screw Hagoromo for thinking that one brother could do the job well. It took him and Hamura to take their mother down, for God's sake! Why couldn't his sons be trusted to temper one another and bring empathy where needed and force when required?

Tobirama suddenly stopped and turned to the right, narrowing his eyes.

I pressed out my sensing and felt the same thing he did.

"I really hope they brought food." I muttered, feeling both Hinata and Ino's chakra.

The door opened and thankfully, my two friends had a rather large amount of food that was perfect for me in their arms.

Judging by the smell of antiseptic and the moderately lower chakra reserves of the two, they'd been helping with patching people up like Ino had been for several days.

"Hi guys," I smiled, gazing hungrily at the food, "This," I introduced Tobirama, "Is a dead guy."

The two girls looked at me in shock at introducing the Nidaime Hokage like that, while the man just snorted.

"Your grandfather said something like that when he saw my first successful attempt at the Edo Tensei." Tobirama remarked, before focusing on my friends, "I'm not a gambling man like my brother, but I'd wager you are a Hyuga," He glanced at Hinata, "And you are a Yamanaka by your chakra." His eyes settled on Ino.

Hinata was visibly fidgeting and Ino looked nervous, so I shot a slight look of admonishment at Tobirama.

"Please don't scare my friends." I requested, "Let's keep talking about some fun stuff, like Edo Tensei."

We obviously weren't going to comment about what we just talked about, but going back to why Hiruzen didn't use the Edo Tensei always confused me.

At the continued looks of discomfort, I gestured towards the other chairs.

"You guys can sit here," I smiled reassuringly, "It's not like this is some ultra secret conversation. You might learn something from him."

Tobirama seemed to enjoy my interest in the stuff he invented and his thoughts on Suiton ninjutsu, but I'm pretty sure he'd be fine with two other people listening.

After a few seconds, the two sat down to my left and right, one of the containers of food being handed to me by Hinata.

"I fixed this before coming here." Hinata smiled softly, glancing towards the box.

I opened the box and saw some noodles with shredded chicken, the smell amazing.

"Thanks, Hinata," I pulled the utensils off the side of the box and began eating.

At Tobirama's silence, I paused to swallow a mouthful of food and looked at him.

"You can keep talking," I sighed, "I just need to eat because I'm feeling sick from not."

"You Uzumaki and your insatiable hunger," Tobirama chuckled good-naturedly, "But the Edo Tensei is a very uncomfortable thing to fathom due to the universal discomfort associated with death and its presumed finality."

I was listening, but still eating, my eyes on Tobirama.

"I ensured that Saru understood that in the eventual situation where both my brother and I were dead," He continued, "that he would only summon us if Konoha was on the brink of destruction. Even in my diminished state, the Hiraishin enables an ease of assassination that is difficult to match, and my brother can subdue jinchuriki with ease." His expression not changing at all, save for a minute glance at Ino and Hinata.

Hiruzen had spoken with the two Senju about not saying anything about Rin and me being jinchuriki, or our father.

"Um, Nidaime-sama," Ino said quietly, looking less certain than she normally was about stuff, "Is it normal for a, well, dead person," She grimaced at how she described it, "To have dull emotions?"

Tobirama stared at her impassively for a moment, thinking of something.

"An empathic sensor?" He asked simply.

"Yes." Ino nodded.

"Well," Tobirama mused, "I only met two other people, both Uzumaki, who had a sensory level like what the Yamanaka occasionally have. But yes, my emotional response is more muted than what it normally is from how I was brought back. My emotions feel a bit slow and I must focus to coax them into reacting."

I finished the box of food Hinata made and I drank the broth, sighing audibly as I savoured the taste.

"Phenomenal cooking." I leaned my head back, sparing a glance towards a very pleased looking Hinata. "How is Neji doing?" I asked, having not heard much about him since I'd been spending time talking with Tobirama.

Hinata's expression was difficult for me to read. It looked like she was both happy and worried.

"Uh," She seemed to mull over what to say, "He's different now."

"How so?" I questioned.

Hinata seemed to struggle to find the right words, so Ino sighed and cleared her throat, causing me to glance at her.

"He actually smiled," Ino explained, shooting Hinata a sympathetic look, "I know it's strange for you, Hinata, so I'll explain if you want."

Hinata shook her head, but I could see the gratitude from the girl.

"It's okay, Ino, but I appreciate it."

Hinata then looked back towards me, her pale eyes holding more certainty than seconds before.

"I think your grandfather fixed Neji's perception of Fate. He's happier and he isn't rude anymore."

I genuinely smiled at that. Even if I wasn't the one that did it, or even Hinata, it was a good feeling that Neji had a burden taken off his shoulders.

"But I don't think you should be visiting me at my house," Hinata pursed her lips, tapping her fingers together uncomfortably, "I don't think my clansmen will like you for a bit."

Thanks, grandpa. I grumbled to myself, pretty sure that was the reason.

"I've heard about a redhead burglar running around causing problems." I said jokingly, hoping it lightened the situation.

It seemed to do the trick because Hinata giggled lightly, her shoulders looking less tight.

"Like you could ever relate to someone like that, Naruto-kun." Hinata shook slightly from stifling her laughter.

I saw that Ino was also amused, while Tobirama had slight grin on his face at the mention of Ashina.

"Know anything about this burglar, Tobirama-sama?" I asked with faux adoration.

Tobirama's reaction wasn't what I expected.

He scoffed.

"Don't look at me like that if you want information," Tobirama advised, crossing his arms, "That glint in your eyes and the way your chakra shifts is almost identical to when Ashina-sensei planned on doing something to harass me."

"You probably deserved it... Tobirama-sama," I shrugged, but added the last part to pretend to show some degree of deference.

I could tell he wasn't amused, his expression flattened where he eerily resembled his stone face on the Hokage mountain.

"I won't ask what inane thought just brought you amusement," The younger Senju brother remarked with annoyance, "I'd rather talk with the prodigious and curious Uzumaki that wants to be Hokage, not the cheeky little grandchild of my Sensei."

I mock scoffed at the way he described me, feeling Hinata and Ino's chakra shifting in discomfort at my verbal jabbing at one of the most powerful Shinobi that ever lived.

"I'd like to hear more about Suiton tactics and fighting through Genjutsu," I stated, noticing Tobirama perk up, "And I wanted to know something about the Hiraishin."

Tobirama's reaction confused me when he scoffed and stood up, deciding to walk around some.

"You are a peculiar child," He said flatly, opting to be blunt, "An inquisitive mind and constant questions to sate your curiosity isn't bad nor completely uncommon. I can understand your immense interest because of your affinity and understanding of how I made Konoha into more than just a smattering of clans fighting alongside each other, but an actual village that endured the crucible of war."

His eyes flicked towards mine.

"But children don't normally ask what the afterlife is like in detail, and you did so just yesterday. They don't ask about how a certain sealing method could contain a soul either."

I hummed to myself, not clarifying why I was interested in such things. I'm probably the only person who has died and didn't get to experience the hereafter. I didn't pass GO and collect 200.

And the Shiki Fujin meant the afterlife could be potentially researched, given that the ability to summon souls with a summoning jutsu meant the hereafter was tangible and could be touched at least indirectly by the living. While the Shinigami's stomach, if it even was an actual death deity, was another dimension to contain souls.

I blinked and pulled myself from the theory work I wanted to learn about when I heard Ino's voice.

"That's weird, Naruto." Ino said, a speculative look on her face.

I gave her a knowing look, the girl suddenly realizing why I was interested in it possibly.

"The alley?" She murmured, her jaw tightening at the memory.

"Yeah." I said uncomfortably, not meaning to make her feel bad.

Ino probably read my emotions and laughed lightly.

"You're still weird, Naruto." She smiled at me, showing her teeth.

"What about me isn't weird, Ino?" I rolled my eyes, still looking at Tobirama.

The white haired Senju kept walking and inspected his hand, setting it down as he looked at me. If he was curious about what Ino and I were talking about, he didn't ask.

"What do you want to know about the Hiraishin?" Tobirama asked tiredly.

Given that my dad was dead, although freed from the Shinigami, Tobirama was my best option for learning if or why a certain detail about the Hiraishin occurred.

"Well," I hoped Tobirama didn't ask why I thought of this, "Will a marker disappear if I mark someone with it?"

Tobirama's face quirked into a slight grin, his arms crossing.

"The length of it lasting on a living target can be measured in years, if done correctly."

You're screwed, Obito. I internally laughed, knowing that the bastard had no options of escape if Ashina was in the Kamui dimension and he was still marked by Minato.

"Marking an inanimate area with your chakra, like a stone, or a non-sapient lifeform like a tree, is child's play," Tobirama continued, "But marking a person, with their own separate chakra compared to yours, is extremely difficult. You must dominate their chakra so theirs does not consume it instinctively. The process is not pleasant for the target."

That made sense for why my father or the self admitted paranoid man that was Senju Tobirama didn't mark everybody of importance in Konoha. And Kakashi was given a kunai for Minato to flash to.

Obito took a Rasengan to the back before he was marked. It probably required dumping chakra into the applied area to work.

"Using your blood in Fuinjutsu ink will ensure it lasts the longest though on a kunai." Tobirama added, "Your grandfather made that last discovery when we were out celebrating and dared me to... well, mark a spot."

After the little explanation, Tobirama turned to Ino and Hinata.

"If Naruto is a friend of yours, I'm sure you two can at least understand things I have said to him. Any curiosities you wish to be helped with?" He offered kindly, sounding like an astute mentor.

The frostiness in Tobirama's words and body language at times sometimes had me questioning how Hiruzen could've turned out how he did, or how Hashirama tolerated his younger brother, but I saw it for what it was. He was naturally cold and insular, but kind and almost loving to those he cared about.

Almost like me.

"Y-yes, Nidaime-sama," Hinata replied, still a little intimidated, "I was wondering if you knew anything of my clan's seal."

Tobirama seemed to mull over how she worded it, his expression perking up slightly.

"Are you the clan heiress?" He asked.

Hinata nodded.

I'd already told Tobirama, much to his amusement, about the crap Ashina stirred up by storming the Hyuga compound and how he pulled Neji's seal off. Tobirama's humour was more of a dry or vindictive kind depending on his mood.

"That will be useful in ending that idiotic choice." Tobirama scowled visibly, "Over three fourths of a powerful clan is unable to serve as Hokage or several high ranking positions because of such a liability issue."

Honestly, I don't understand why Hashirama allowed the Hyuga to continue the practice. It bred resentment and hatred amongst the two groups and my thoughts mirrored Tobirama's about it. An elder with a vendetta could force a Hyuga ANBU, under threat of his kid or relative getting killed, to assassinate someone.

"But my answer, Hinata-sama," Tobirama showed respect to her, "Is that my mentor designed most of the seal. I could perhaps look at it and think of something, but I can't be certain."

Hinata nodded sadly so I grabbed her hand and held it reassuringly.

"You heard what Ashina's bunshin said," I told her, knowing it was going to work out alright from the threat he made, "They'll probably redesign it and who's the best seal user in Konoha?"

Hinata looked at me confusedly. I sighed and clarified.

"Jiraiya," I laughed, "The guy doesn't like the elders and I've talked with him. I'll probably be taken as his apprentice."

"You're gonna be trained by a Sannin?" Ino cut in, her eyes wide, "Just like the Yondaime."

The resident dead man snorted almost derisively, causing me to look back at him.

"Are your lofty standards finding the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku lacking, Nidaime-sama?" I asked sarcastically, amused by Tobirama's reaction.

"I was amused by the girl's reaction to Jiraiya-san," Tobirama looked straight at Ino, his mouth curled into a smirk, "Are you aware of his reputation? He boasted it to me."

I groaned to myself as Ino and Hinata were about to have their respect for my godfather cratering into the ground.

"What?" Ino asked, leaning forward to listen.

The smile by the Nidaime Hokage was truly a sight.

"He is the writer of a book series called Icha Icha." Tobirama delivered a marvelous deadpan tone of voice that would make many jealous with envy.

Ino blushed red and I heard Hinata squeak the way she did when she was embarrassed.

"Jiraiya-sama is a pervert?" Ino asked with disgust, her arms crossed in disappointment.

"He's not just a pervert, Ino," I muttered, looking at the extremely embarrassed and disgusted blonde, "He spies on women in the hot springs for inspiration to write."

Ino practically choked on her spit and Hinata shifted in her chair, putting her face in her hands.

"He," Ino couldn't even seem to find the words, "Is every Konoha Shinobi a disappointment?" She threw her arms up, "Tsunade-sama drinks, Kakashi-sensei reads smut, and Jiraiya-sama writes it!"

"Yeah." I replied flatly, noticing the amusement on Tobirama's face. "And Hinata," I looked at the pink faced girl who was trying to shrink into her chair, "That's the book Kakashi reads."

Ino scowled and crossed her arms, muttering under her breath about perverts.

After the blonde stopped being aggravated as openly, I decided to sate my curiosity and addressed Hinata again, who didn't look happy about the identity of the writer of Kakashi's book.

"Hinata," I turned to the girl, "Any idea where Sasuke or Rin are?"

Hinata shook her head.

"I'm not sure. I know Kakashi-sensei was going to speak with Sasuke about something."

I nodded slowly, hoping that everything wouldn't go bad when Sasuke eventually finds out about Itachi's real motives.

"So," I looked at the Nidaime Hokage, "Let's continue?" I asked.

"About?" The leading tone in the man's voice noticeable.

I smiled innocently, causing him to narrow his eyes. Our little version of an inside joke after I displayed a certain cunning that impressed him.

"Ever hear about putting chakra in a seal to leave a message?" I leaned a little closer to Tobirama, knowing there'd be a good chance that the previous generation's top Seal master might know how to do it.

"I think I know of what technique you speak of," Tobirama replied, "I sincerely hope you didn't attempt to put a Kage bunshin in a storage scroll."

"Aren't all seal masters supposed to melt their brains doing that?" I asked sarcastically, knowing what he was talking about.

I could tell Ino and Hinata were confused, so I turned and explained.

"You know how shadow clones give back memories?" I looked at Hinata first, who nodded. I then turned to Ino, but she held up her hand.

"I understand the difference," She sighed, "Just because Shika is smart, it doesn't mean I'm an idiot."

I went to say something funny, but she gave me a death glare.

"I can feel what you're going to say, Naru-chan." Ino snickered as I scowled at that atrocious nickname Rin gave me. "You were gonna make a blonde joke."

I maturely responded by making a pig snort, eliciting a glare from my blonde friend.

"Fishcake." Ino muttered, her turquoise eyes boring into mine.

"Still named Ino." I said in a singsong voice, intentionally trying to rile her up, "But you know about the memory feedback, right? I know Hinata does." I turned and smiled at the other girl.

Hinata learned about it from me probably two years ago by now, even if she could only manage making a couple at best without making her dizzy from low chakra.

Ino nodded seriously, focusing on me now.

"So what did you mean by putting chakra in a seal to message someone?" She asked curiously.

I glanced at Tobirama, who shrugged like he wasn't interested.

"I want to hear you explain it to her. Then I can fill you in on what you don't know."

I kept the frown on my face as concealed as I could, but Tobirama's less than subtle wish to learn about my potential teaching ability wasn't exactly polite.

"Well," I shook off my annoyance with the dead man as I turned back to my Yamanaka friend, "You can't seal a person into a storage scroll, at least the most common ones, for an extended period."

I'd already showed basic Fuinjutsu to both Ino and Hinata, but this was complex terrain. The two were paying rapt attention, eyes on me.

"But you can seal chakra into them no problem, which includes water, fire, lightning, and so on that's chakra molded into an element."

"That's how Rin stopped Sasuke's Katon jutsu." Ino realized, her eyes lighting up. "And how you've stopped Jutsu coming at you before."

I felt pleased with myself at Ino sounding impressed. It tickled my definitely nonexistent arrogant streak.

"Amateur." Tobirama deadpanned.

You kidding me? I shot the man a glare.

"Say something, Tobi-sama?" I tilted my head gently, smirking at the annoyed Senju.

"Do not call me that," Tobirama nearly hissed, his eyes narrowed, "And yes, chucking a seal at a jutsu careening towards you in a manner reminiscent of a monkey flinging its own excrement is an amateur use of Fuinjutsu. I'm astounded you even discovered that use."

"D-did," I couldn't even find the words, Ino and Hinata both giggling next to me, "Did you just call me a monkey?"

Tobirama chuckled amusedly.

"No, I said you acted like one. There is a difference."

I growled under my breath and muttered Tobi-sama to irritate the husky looking smartass.

"Naruto," Hinata said gently, placing her hand on mine, "Please stop arguing with Nidaime-sama and tell us about the interesting Fuinjutsu."

Even if she had no heat in her words, the tone made me freeze for a moment and listen.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head, "I'll continue."

I went back to explain sealing chakra, but not before I scratched the back of my head to cover up me sending Tobirama a code sign meaning two words.

Bite me.

"Since shadow clones are chakra, you can put them in a storage scroll," My voice then lowered, "Which don't ever do."

"What happens?" Hinata asked, having not heard this portion about clones.

"Time dilation perception to the clone," I repeated the precise term, confusing the two girls, "It means the clone will sometimes experience hours or sometimes days of memories with no light or sound."

The two grimaced at the thought, Hinata's eyes suddenly focusing on me.

"Naruto," This time, her voice had a sharpness to it that was worrying, "Did you happen to do that to experiment?"

"Um," I was suddenly uncomfortable, fighting the urge to fidget under her gaze, "No?"

"Are you asking me, Naruto?" Hinata teased me, Ino snickering at my discomfort in the background.

I groaned and buried my face into my hand.

"I did it once! Okay?" I finally admitted, "And I got the worst headache afterwards."

I didn't realize what would happen when I did it, and it bit me because of it. Anko mocked me relentlessly when I was staggering like a drunk to training and kept screaming in my sensitive ears during taijutsu training to make it worse.

"Never change, Naru-chan." Ino giggled, Hinata letting out a soft laugh as well.

This is what I have to deal with. I grumbled internally, not enjoying being tormented instead of the other way around.

"Moving on," I said with a groan, "A portion of chakra, similar to a shadow clone, can be planted in a seal to be opened and listened to. You can interact with it like a clone as well."

"How does that even work?" Ino asked incredulously, "Fuinjutsu is insane!"

"Only crazy people can be seal masters," I grinned, ignoring Tobirama's snort, "And I'm certain of one kind of seal that can do the imprint thing. It needs to be stable enough to handle another chakra signature and it creates a type of pocket to have a mindscape."

I wasn't sure, but I had a theory that a Jinchuriki seal was anchored partially to the host's Yin chakra in order to craft a mindscape that responded to your command.

"It is more than just the seal," Tobirama cut in, looking impressed with my knowledge mentioned, "The sturdiest seal for that type of messaging is a Jinchuriki seal since it was already designed to contain and funnel chakra far more caustic than most Shinobi."

The two girls were now looking at Tobirama, clearly interested.

"As a Yamanaka, you probably understand the intricacies of Yin chakra better than others, yes?" Tobirama asked Ino, the girls turquoise eyes shining from the compliment.

"Yes," She nodded happily, "I do."

Tobirama then turned to Hinata. "How adept are you at differentiating chakra, Hyuga-san?"

"Um," Hinata looked a little nervous, but kept eye contact, "I can tell that Naruto-kun's chakra, and Rin's, is denser than anybody else's. Karin-san is similar."

I need to talk with Tsunade about healing her scars. I reminded myself, wanting Karin to know that I took the matter seriously. I didn't like Tsunade, but I'd suffer that burden without hesitation.

"Good," Tobirama's voice cut through my thoughts, "But there are other ways to replicate it, Naruto. Your grandfather was developing a lag free communication device that could reach thousands of miles by linking Yin chakra over great distances."

Almost sounds like Akatsuki rings. I thought, remembering the different theories on how the stupid things worked. Maybe they were made by the Uzumaki clan and that's how Nagato got them.

"I almost managed to get a seal to work short distances inscribed in an ANBU tattoo, but it kept coming out incorrectly and I died before I could possibly fix it."

"That's sounds interesting," I admitted, cataloguing that as another thing to try and do, "But I'm wanting to know about how it works in a Jinchuriki seal. I fought one and there's two Kumo ones still here."

Call me sentimental, but I wanted to know the details of what my father did. It made me feel closer to the man that killed himself to protect Rin and me.

"Alright," Tobirama sighed, "The first issue is whether the seal is made by a different person. If the seal is made by the same person who imprints chakra, there will be no issue."

Good.

"The seal itself is more flexible because of the purpose of holding back a Bijuu, and it shows by how foreign chakra can be stored in it."

"Can the chakra be recharged?" I asked, needing to know this, "Any way to do it?"

I hoped Hinata and Ino didn't think something was up. Rin and I can explain to Hinata about us being Jinchuriki, while I'll talk with Ino.

"No," Tobirama shook his head, "The chakra doesn't have form to it and will be overwhelmed by any chakra attempting to replenish it that is foreign... actually," He adopted a look of deep thought, "If two presences were closely related, and the other chakra isn't focused, then the chakra might be able to be recharged somewhat."

I might be able to get Kaasan's to last longer. I thought happily. I might even get the one in Rin's to last longer.

"How closely related?" I leaned forward, desperate for this. I wanted Rin to have this.

"It's not as simple as that," Tobirama shook his head sadly, "The chakra must be similar. I couldn't manage it with Hashirama's chakra, despite us being brothers, when experimenting. Whatever experiment you want to try with this knowledge is unlikely to work."

A cold chill went up my spine when he said that. I'd gotten my hopes up about recharging the chakra, but I'd felt the similarities between Tobirama and Hashirama. I couldn't be sure how similar my chakra was to Kaasan's, but it wasn't close enough for Rin to do that with Minato's imprint.

"Pity." I muttered, trying to not sound as upset as I felt. "That would have been interesting."

A rogue thought hit me, a fairly amusing one.

Ashina's chakra was difficult to discern from my own in several ways.

Whatever Yin imbalance I had evidently wasn't from being reborn, it was like Ashina's, which could be the reason he was hard to feel during the Chunin exams. How ironic that probably the only chakra similar enough to mine was a dead man?

I didn't say anything else for a moment, not knowing what else to say.

Eventually, Tobirama looked at the two females in the room.

"Is there anything either of you two wish to ask me? It is always good to help inquisitive young Shinobi with any little curiosities they have."

The two smiled and started asking a few questions, now that everything I needed to know was answered.

---

"No," Sasuke was struggling to breath, the room constantly spinning, "No," He turned away from his brother, tears trailing down his cheeks.

His nii-san killed their clan to protect the village. He followed orders to do it.

"Sasuke." Itachi said quietly, but Sasuke couldn't stand to hear that voice.

"Shut up!" He screamed, his voice cracking audibly, "I hate you! I hate everything! You killed them anyway!"

The younger Uchiha felt like he was going to vomit from how dizzy he felt, his entire worldview crashing down.

He couldn't escape the cage that was slowly crushing him, his breathing coming in rapid gasps.

"I did it to protect the village," Itachi's voice was tight with emotions that he rarely showed, "I couldn't kill you too, Sasuke. I couldn't."

Sasuke turned away from Itachi, his whole body shaking horribly.

"You were everything I wanted to be!" Sasuke roared, punching the wall hard enough to crack the stone, whirling around towards his brother, "And you tortured me!"

Itachi looked away from him, enraging him further.

"Look at me!" He snarled, his fists clenched so hard he felt his knuckles pop.

Itachi forced himself to look at him, the hauntingly familiar eyes that they both shared in shape with their mother staring at him.

"I would have let the village burn..." Itachi's voice sounded raw, his eyes blinking rapidly, "To save you. You are more to me than life, Sasuke."

Everything had been shared by Itachi. The unleashing of the Kyuubi. The doubts of loyalty. The disenfranchisement. Talks of a Coup. Shisui dying and entrusting his eye. Itachi's false orders from Shimura Danzo. The killing of their family.

All this time, the specter of death that deprived him of a happy existence was a lie. A lie that almost shattered his mind.

"I'll never forgive you." He ran towards the door and ripped it open, taking off running with the assistance of chakra.

Sasuke faintly heard Kakashi and Anko shout his name, but he didn't care. He had to get away. He ran like a coward.

Just as he got down the street, he caught a flash of familiar golden blonde hair. He kept on running, not wanting to be near her.

With his Sharingan active, he weaved through the streets and got to one of the training grounds, the same one Team 7 used during the bell test.

Sasuke fell to his hands and knees and started sobbing uncontrollably, the memories of everything clashing in his head making him want to scream.

Betrayal. Itachi killed them because he was following orders. He only spared him because he loved him more than anyone else.

Be a good little Uchiha. Be just like him. Naruto's voice was torturing him.

"No," Sasuke whimpered, his vision blurred from his tears, "I'm not Itachi."

Sasuke's fingers dug into the ground painfully, every traitorous moment he thought of obtaining the Mangekyo Sharingan feeling torturous to him now. He was a monster, a thing, for thinking it.

The black haired boy laid there, all alone for he didn't know how long until he thought he felt a presence near him. He turned and saw Kakashi, the man looking worried.

"Sasuke." Kakashi began, but the boy cut him off.

"No!" He shouted, his teeth and hands clenched. "Stay away from me!"

He couldn't be around anyone. It hurt too much. He'd been cold and vicious to people to train and kill something that was a lie. His entire reality was a lie and he couldn't mentally handle it.

A few moments later, the one person he did not want to see him like this showed up with a clone of Kakashi trying to keep her away.

Rin.

Kakashi probably found her and tried to stop her from coming here.

"Sasuke." His blonde friend said his name softly, her eyes looking at him with concern.

No.

He growled internally, gritting his teeth. I don't want to see her.

Sasuke turned away, refusing to look at her.

"Sasuke." Rin called his name again in that disgustingly kind and sweet voice that he had come to enjoy over the last year.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He kept clenching and unclenching his hand to try and not scream as his breathing was ragged.

A soft hand getting placed on his shoulder seconds later had him whirling around, his eyes blazing.

Rin, the hopelessly cheerful and energetic blonde, recoiled away from him, her violet eyes wide in concern.

"Don't touch me." Sasuke gritted out, his voice tight and his body coiled like a spring. He was terrified right now that he would lash out and hurt her as he felt himself having an emotional breakdown. He didn't want her to see him for what he was, a broken and shattered mess.

"Sasuke," The boy flinched again at how quiet and understanding she sounded, "Your eyes."

Sasuke gasped as he heard that, his hand going to his holster to deny what Itachi had just told him minutes prior about his eyes.

With shaking hands, begging anyone listening that he was in a nightmare, he tilted the flat side of a polished kunai towards his face, his eyes reflecting back at him.

They looked wrong.

It wasn't possible. It was an illusion. A fake! He wasn't Itachi! He didn't kill anybody.

Sasuke's hand was shaking so much as he looked at the starburst pattern of his eyes that he dropped the kunai, backing away from an extremely worried Rin.

"Sasuke." Rin reached out to him, but he was hearing and seeing something else. He saw Naruto, not Rin, his eyes vacant as his head slid off his neck in a shower of blood.

"It's your fault." Itachi's voice replayed in his head. "It's your fault."

He felt dirty. Unworthy. Too weak to be worth saving. Everything around him turned to ash and death.

"Run. Run and cower."

"No!" Sasuke stammered, grabbing at his face and hair, looking at anything other than Uzumaki Rin. "Don't touch me."

Sasuke didn't want Rin to contract whatever curse he had. She didn't deserve to have a brother that would torture her.

Sasuke sniffled as he curled into a ball, rocking himself to try and stop himself from losing it. Rin evidently didn't care about his thoughts on being touched and wrapped her arms around him, causing him to try and push away.

Rin tightened her grip, pressing herself against his back and setting her face next to his.

"Please, Sasuke," Her voice was too sweet for the anguish he currently felt, "You're not alone. I'm right here."

He'd never be free from her. She always seemed to be there, even when she wasn't welcome at all. But she was also there when he needed her.

Drawing out a shuddering breath, Sasuke turned and grabbed Rin, pulling her close as he cried into her shoulder.

She felt warm, but that might have just been from it being midday. The last time he'd been this physically close to someone was when he hugged his brother, but this wasn't stained by that night.

"I can't do this," He mumbled after several long minutes of being held up by his closest female friend, "I can't survive all this. It's too much."

Rin slowly loosened her grip on him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, her other hand holding his in reassurance.

"I," His voice felt so weak, almost like when Itachi abandoned him, "I talked with Itachi."

He tried to explain what he'd just been told, but he was constantly struggling to breathe as he started shaking several times.

Rin continued to try and soothe him, assuring him that he wasn't alone.

Her hand felt soft in his own, the thought that the Kyuubi was why had him recoiling away, now that he knew what caused his clan to be ostracized.

Sasuke couldn't continue. He thought he could, but he couldn't do it. The thought of being in close proximity to the Kyuubi, having not been an issue when he first discovered it, was bothering him now.

He pulled away from Rin and pushed her hand away, averting his eyes.

"Please, leave." Sasuke whispered, looking down and wiping his eyes.

Not only did Itachi's confession kill his purpose, it may have just shattered his friendship with Rin and Naruto beyond repair.

"I'm not going to leave you alone." Rin reached out to him, but her constant need to try and fix him reminded him of his fragile state.

And Itachi did too good of a job making him hate his own weaknesses.

"Leave me alone!" He snarled, grabbing her arm harshly, "Nothing you say can help me!"

Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore. The constant attempt at empathy angered him when Naruto did it, and Rin was even worse because he was closer to her. He valued her friendship over everyone else's.

Rin tried to pull her arm away, but Sasuke's grip tightened.

"Itachi killed my family because he was ordered to!" He screamed, his eyes blazing as he stared into the horrified eyes of the blonde girl, "Because my clan was going to revolt to stop being oppressed because of the demon sealed in you!"

Rin gasped and looked like she'd been struck, her face rapidly paling.

"You know?" She asked fearfully, wincing as his grip tightened and she tried to pull away again.

"My clan was blamed for it being let out," His voice was still raised, Kakashi no longer in sight, "And it's alive because of you!"

His blood was running hot because he didn't want to be crying constantly. He'd rather be angry than sad. It's what helped him mentally survive losing everything.

"It took everything from me," He felt the hot tears running down his face again, "I can't see you without seeing it anymore." He choked out, trying to not visualize the shadow of the fox behind the mask that was Rin's face.

The moment he said it, he knew he didn't even believe himself.

It hadn't bothered him when he first found out. He'd even thought it a little ironic that the whisker marks Rin had on her cheeks, that accented her face in a cute way, could've come from that. The same for her canines being a bit longer and her sense of smell.

But his rational mind wasn't talking.

Rin looked stricken by it, tears forming in her eyes.

"Y-you don't mean that." She actually stuttered. Rin, the most headstrong and capable girl he knew, stuttered. "You don't mean that."

Sasuke tried to speak and apologize, but he just couldn't.

"Please, leave me alone." He begged, forcing his hand to let go of Rin, noticing how red her forearm was from him gripping it.

I hurt her.

Those three words and the handprint on her skin caused him to react with horror and disgust, his fear of accidentally hurting her realized.

He got up to try and run away from her and go to his house and hide from the world, but she pressed her hands on his shoulders.

"Please, don't run, Sasuke," She was visibly shaking in fear, perhaps because she thought he was leaving her, "I don't want you to run away."

I'm not Itachi! The vicious, bestial part of him snarled, taking the request horribly like Rin doubted whether he was like Itachi or not.

"I am not Itachi!" He growled,"I wouldn't run like a fucking coward!" He glared at her so intensely that his eyes started hurting.

Rin started breathing heavily, her eyes dilating.

"Sasuke, you're hurting me." She said worriedly, choking out a gasp when he didn't look away.

"I am not my brother," Sasuke repeated himself viciously, "And I'm not your brother. You can't talk to me and fix me. I'm BROKEN, Rin! ITACHI BROKE ME!"

Words couldn't fix him. Something, something that made people human, had been broken by Itachi. Normal people don't wish their brother was still an evil psychopath so the hatred burned into their soul was justified.

His voice suddenly stopped being raised, "I'm already dead." He moaned pathetically, "He killed everything I was."

His Sharingan had activated in the middle of his emotional breakdown and Rin's look of fear was burned into his head, the faint chakra halo around her spasming a different colour constantly.

"Sasuke, your eyes." Rin lip quivered as she tried to get away from him, "Please, stop. I'm scared."

His eyes were burning and he realized what was happening.

"It was rumoured that the Sharingan could control Biju and Jinchuriki." Itachi's recent confession was ringing in his head. "And it is partially true insofar as the Mangekyo Sharingan being capable of it."

Sasuke practically leapt away from Rin in horror at what he was doing. No wonder her chakra looked wrong. He was angering the Kyuubi and hurting her.

I hurt her.

Sasuke started hyperventilating as he shut his eyes forcefully, thrusting his face towards the ground.

"Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop." He couldn't tell if his eyes were bleeding or he was just crying, but he didn't care. He hurt her. He scared her.

She didn't try to console him that time.

He heard a rustling sound and caught a faint scent of ozone before Hatake Kakashi pressed a senbon in his neck, everything fading to black seconds later.

---

Kakashi caught his student before his unconscious body hit the ground, his eyes shut and tear tracks on his face.

Kami, I never thought Itachi was following orders. He thought, glancing towards his sensei's daughter.

She had spotted Sasuke running away and had tried to fight the clone Kakashi made quickly to keep her away, but it proved futile.

And she just saw Sasuke at his worst.

"Rin," He looked at her, her sniffles and tears making him feel sick with worry, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head.

"He hates me."

The way Sasuke said it probably validated her terror at being known as a Jinchuriki by her friends, something he didn't need right now. He couldn't juggle two of his students falling apart.

I'm sorry, Naruto, but I need you to console Rin. I can handle Sasuke better.

The poison he had on the senbon would knock Sasuke out for maybe a half an hour, giving him enough time to basically confront Itachi with a clone about what the hell happened and come up with a plan so Sasuke didn't completely break.

"Naruto is still at the hospital." He said to the blonde softly, "Talk with him."

Rin didn't even say thank you or anything at all, practically fleeing from everything as she ran to her twin.

Kakashi gently grabbed ahold of Sasuke, carrying him to his apartment.

The thoughts of the silver haired man did him no favours as he finally reached the teen's apartment and pushed the door open.

I was content with getting rotated out of the ANBU to train Naruto and later Rin. I was fine with him being a menace. I was even fine with him antagonizing the Hyuga at times. But I can't deal with this Hurin crap and everything caused by it. It feels like my life's a cheap spy novel.

His life ever since the death of Minato and Kushina was an onslaught of problems followed by more problems, but an Uzumaki that gave priceless info, only to request getting killed at the end, wasn't something he could ever wrap his admittedly sharp mind around.

Twisting his fingers to form a cross seal after setting Sasuke down on his couch gently, a shadow clone formed and went to go back to T and I to grill Itachi about what precisely he'd said to Sasuke. If he couldn't speak with the bastard, then he'll speak with the Hokage.

Sitting down heavily in one of the kitchen chairs, Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan and looked around the room, sighing audibly.

"What would you have done if you were alive, Obito?" He asked the dead Uchiha he tried to emulate in the ways he could. "I'm sure you would have handled all of this better than me."

No response, unsurprisingly.

Kakashi didn't know what to do when Sasuke started breaking down. His own Sharingan's ability was extremely dangerous, and Sasuke's eyes had their own pattern to them, meaning they matured. He had to be delicate about knocking Sasuke out and not startling him.

And the timing didn't work out at all

"Damn this all." He muttered again, knowing this was only just the beginning.

They'd successfully killed Orochimaru and came out standing, but he wasn't the only S-rank threat to the village.

Jiraiya-sama and Naruto both had said Ashina was going to murder Roshi, and Iwa would be out for blood when they inevitably find out that Namikaze Minato had twins who were direct descendants of the Shodai Uzukage, combined with a Jinchuriki getting brutally cut down by an undead nightmare who could technically be brought back again.

The fact that Naruto managed to use the Lightning Cloak made it much worse. It gave a possible rumour of Kumo and Konoha working together some validation. The minor villages structured themselves around the rivalries between the Big 5. If the two strongest looked like they were going to become friendly, it could cause whatever government that came out of the Kiri civil war to work with a vengeful Iwa, with the Akatsuki likely hard targeting Naruto and Rin because of Konoha successfully outing them as a threat. That didn't include minor villages potentially turning against them to keep the balance of power constantly shifting to prevent a monopoly of one coalition.

Jiraiya-sama mentioned that the Akatsuki had been contracted out more than once by Iwa.

Kakashi hoped he was simply being cynical, instead of right. He didn't want to go through another war again. He lost almost everything when one happened before. He didn't think he'd mentally survive losing more loved ones.

---

"Your sister is coming towards you," Kurama said suddenly, causing me to wince at how sharp the sound was in my head, "The Uchiha just had a meltdown and told her he knows about you two."

Ino and Tobirama turned towards me, probably sensing my chakra shift, while Hinata noticed the two react.

"Damnit, Itachi." I cursed in English, focusing my sensing to feel Rin. Sure enough, she was running towards the hospital.

I knew the only way Sasuke would fall apart to that degree would be if he talked with Itachi. Of course I wasn't there to help him.

"I have to go," I said sharply, glancing at Tobirama, "Your pet Uchiha just proved my point."

Tobirama understood what I meant. I said this exact situation would happen when the Uchiha he waxed poetic about, Itachi, would reveal what happened to Sasuke. It almost felt like he saw Kagami in Itachi from how often he talked about Itachi when it was only the two of us..

Ino and Hinata looked lost, so I explained vaguely.

"Sasuke's having a problem. I'll explain later how I know."

I then rushed towards the door and pulled it open, running down the hall to get to Rin.

She was right outside of the hospital when I got to her, tears streaming down her face as she was shaking visibly.

"Rin." I said, my sister grabbing me like a lifeline as she started crying harder.

"Sasuke knows," She managed to choke out in English, my arms wrapped around her shoulders, "He hates me."

I just held her and helped guide us to an alley to get a little more privacy.

It wasn't until I got into the alley that I realized which one it was, the realization making my mouth feel dry. I bit my tongue to stop from turning and leaving, refusing to carry Rin around in front of the villagers as she cried.

I could deal with discomfort for her sake.

"Rin," I tried to soothe her, rubbing her back softly, "Sasuke already knew."

Rin jerked away from me, her eyes wide in shock.

"You..." Her breath quickened, "You told him?!"

The dangerous tone in her voice had me scrambling to clarify.

"No," I said hastily, not wanting her to get the wrong idea, "Itachi told him and he confronted me about it when he was training you. He didn't take it badly though."

"Well, he did now," Rin said tightly, wiping at her eyes, "and I don't know what to do."

"She knows what the older Uchiha did," Kurama said in my head, "The little Uchiha was using his Sharingan subconsciously while he was crying about losing his family."

I fought the urge to tell Kurama to shut up about bitching and moaning about Sasuke. I didn't need his bellyaching right now.

"He just needs time, Rin," I said quietly, "I found out that Itachi followed orders when he hit me with the Genjutsu." I couldn't help but flinch at the memory of how terrified I was when it happened.

"I know he's angry," Rin's voice quivered, "I could feel it."

I tilted my head at how she worded that, making it sound strange.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I..." She wet her lips, wiping at her eyes as well, "I could feel that he was angry and scared. He was yelling and I... I could..." Her breathing caught and she started shaking again.

There was only one way I could think of that Rin could possibly feel that Sasuke was angry.

Sensing negative emotions. I realized, my eyes widening in shock that Rin just did that accidentally.

"I think you accidentally just did what great Aunt Mito did," I said slowly, keeping my hands on her shoulders to help keep her calm, even if my own thoughts were racing, "She managed to control the Kyuubi's chakra to sense negative emotions."

Unlike Rin, I read the fine print of the 'boring' parts of Mito's journals. Rin focused on the Fuinjutsu sections.

I could feel Rin's chakra shake in tandem with her breathing, her face paling in shock.

"How..." She tried to find the right words, "I don't know what I did."

"That insufferable redhead had the same chakra your mother had," Kurama cut in, his voice sharp, "She had my chakra restrained and managed to steal my ability to sense negative emotions for herself."

Kurama's anger was making my tenketsu connected to the seal itch, the influx of chakra being stopped.

Please stop trying to force your chakra into my network. I cut in, Do you have any idea how Rin could do that? Mito's notes said she imposed her will on your chakra.

There's no way Rin accidentally did that, it defied how it was described in the series.

"The Uchiha suppressed my chakra enough where the girl's chakra was able to overpower mine for a moment."

Stop talking like I can't hear you. Rin's voice echoed in my head, sounding as annoyed as her face suggested. And what do you mean 'suppressed'?"

I involuntarily shivered, as did Rin, when Kurama started growling.

"The cursed eyes of his clan can suppress my chakra and bend it to their will. He did it when he was looking at you. Remember that feeling of struggling to move, girl?"

"He," Rin looked horrified, shaking again, "He did that?"

I was not letting Kurama twist my sister against Sasuke.

"Rin," I pressed my fingers down a little on her shoulders to snap her out of it, "Sasuke didn't know what he did. He just awakened his eyes recently."

"I know how." Kurama chuckled.

Shut up! I snapped at him, giving Rin an apologetic look when she backed away from me.

"But," Rin took a shuddering breath, trying to calm down from her previous emotional state at Sasuke doing that, "Why didn't you say anything about Sasuke's brother?"

I couldn't very well say that I knew about it from the very beginning. I didn't want to remember that I willingly let it happen because I was scared of drawing attention.

Focus.

'I just," I groaned and dragged a hand through my hair as I closed my eyes and grimaced, "I didn't know whether Itachi did it for the supposed reason stated for a few years. It just didn't make sense. I already talked with Sasuke about possible stuff, and I-" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"You were overthinking things." Rin mumbled, sounding resigned and genuinely depressed, "I wish you didn't do that."

I swallowed audibly and didn't say anything, the silence being enough.

"I hate this," Rin eventually said, "What did we do to deserve this?" Her hand clenched tightly as she gritted her teeth and started pacing, "Why does Sasuke have to go through this?!"

Because he's a rival to a protagonist. I abruptly cut off my connection to Kurama before I thought that. Nobody gets to have a happy home life and be powerful at the same time.

"I don't know," I lied easily, a talent I'd gained by lying to every living person I knew, "I don't know."

I fought the urge to look down the alleyway, specifically the spot where I'd almost died. There was a faint echo of chakra there and it was enough to raise my heart rate.

"Let's go," I eventually said, "We can talk to the Hokage and Jiraiya about this."

I didn't wait for Rin to say yes or no. I needed to get out of here.

Right as I exited the alleyway to get back to the hospital, Kurama decided to speak.

"He used the Mangekyo Sharingan on your sister, boy," Kurama said sharply, "Will you so easily let that go?"

He didn't mean to. I shot back, not wanting to talk right now with him. Quit moaning and whining because you don't like Uchiha.

The next thing Kurama said was enough to get me worked up again.

"You're too frightened of your own shadow to protect her. You think you'll be a demon and monster if you protect your own. You're just like another elder sibling I knew." He remarked nonchalantly,

I actually stopped walking, my mind blanking.

Do not presume that I won't revoke our deal, fox. I can just as easily have you sealed when I'm near death. I do not require your chakra.

Without any hesitation, I wrenched at my chakra to rattle the cage, causing it to make a near deafening sound. I barely caught the beginning of Kurama's roar of pain before I cut the connection completely, turning to Rin.

"Cut the connection with the fox." I requested coldly, "He's trying to compare me to Itachi."

Rin's face tightened, screwing up in concentration. I could feel her chakra shift the same way it did when she was angry, meaning she obviously didn't like that at all.

I left out that I was pretty sure Kurama wasn't talking about Itachi, nor Hagoromo.

I held Rin's hand as we walked back into the hospital and straight to where Jiraiya and Hiruzen's chakra were.

Right as we got to the door, I used my off hand to make a clone, sending it to try and find Kakashi. A second clone was made by me to talk with Ino and Hinata to let them know everything was 'okay'.

With that done, I pushed the door open and fought the urge to retch when I saw Hiruzen up and walking with Jiraiya's assistance, a hospital gown that didn't cover his bare ass being worn while his back was turned to us.

"What do you want, gaki?" Jiraiya asked without turning around, probably noticing it was me before the door opened, "The old man needs help with not getting clots in his legs."

"I don't care," I snapped, walking directly towards a chair and grabbing it, pushing it towards Jiraiya for Hiruzen to sit in, "Sasuke just went schizoid because Itachi told him what happened with the massacre. Tell Rin and me what happened in its entirety. I only know parts of it from Itachi mind molesting me, and Ashina."

Hiruzen, who was doing much better since Tsunade healed his injury, looked paler than just moments before.

"I don't know if I have the strength to speak of it, Naruto." He said softly, slowly easing into the chair with Jiraiya's help. "I'm not sure I can say it as you deserve."

The state of Hiruzen felt like ice water on my anger at Rin being emotionally hurt by the situation and Sasuke having a breakdown. I reined in my anger at the situation, knowing I shouldn't be dropping this in Hiruzen's lap.

I should've been there as it happened instead of relaxing with two of my friends and talking with a guy I never thought I'd have the privilege of talking to.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, feeling Rin squeeze my hand for reassurance, "But we need to know what happened so we can help Sasuke."

Hiruzen sighed and closed his eyes, slowly opening them.

"You may speak with Itachi. He is at T and I." Hiruzen's eyes flicked towards Jiraiya with an unspoken question.

"The codeword is Flash." Jiraiya answered, the white haired Sannin looking at me sympathetically.

I nodded and left, Rin right next to me.

Today would mark another burden of knowledge I didn't have to deal with anymore. One less mark on my conscience.

---

Itachi was fidgeting in his chair as the jutsu ended, Yamanaka Inoichi gazing at him coldly.

"What was said to your brother?" He requested again, "I can do this again if I have to."

Itachi's head felt like it was going to be split open. He'd been interrogated constantly, but he'd been able to resist the Yamanaka mind jumps by forcefully diverting the probes into the most traumatic and painful memories he had, letting all his hatred and anguish rush forward unfiltered.

"Please, stop," He managed to keep his voice steady, but he honestly didn't know if he could endure it again, "I must speak with Jiraiya-sama and the Hokage only."

He couldn't let the information about the Akatsuki be known to others. Right now, he was probably believed dead by Tobi. If information about the Akatsuki started being let out at this time, Tobi could do something unpredictable.

He had to speak with the two of them, not letting a middleman have information as well. If the Hokage believed it was safe to share the knowledge, then fine. But only if his superior agreed.

"A lie." Inoichi said simply, not moving from where he stood.

Before Inoichi could try again, he stilled, glanced at the door, turned around and walked briskly to the door, pulling it open.

"What are you two doing here?" The blond man asked, the figures around the frame of the reinforced door. "You shouldn't be here."

"The Hokage and Jiraiya told us to come here." The voice of Uzumaki Naruto sounded out, his voice extremely clipped. "It's about the circumstances of the Uchiha Massacre."

Itachi fought the urge to pull at his restraints again. The last person he wanted to deal with right now was Uzumaki Naruto. Sasuke had run off and was probably falling apart as much as he himself had after that night, and Naruto was Sasuke's friend.

Itachi started to doubt whether this was even worth it. He wouldn't have a seal on his forehead, his brother wouldn't be in an emotional state, and he wouldn't have been tortured for information. Being a missing nin and wanted terrorist was easier than this.

Inoichi held back a scowl and let Naruto and Rin in, the redhead looking up at the blond.

"This is private," Naruto said politely, "You need to leave."

Before Inoichi could call Naruto out on his likely lie, the red haired boy said something that caused Itachi to freeze.

"It's about the man who attacked Konoha and unleashed the Kyuubi. We're entitled to this."

Inoichi looked at him silently for several seconds, not saying anything. After moments of silence, the blond shrugged and said he'd be outside, closing the door with a clang.

Once they were alone, Naruto looked around the room, furrowing his brow.

"No cameras," He murmured, still concentrating, "And no listening devices. A bit weird, especially because of how paranoid Shinobi are."

The boy's blue eyes focused on his, holding a calculating look in them that was very familiar.

"Sasuke predictably didn't react well," Naruto said simply, "And Rin tried to console him. You made this mess, so tell us how to clean it up. Tell us what happened surrounding the unleashing of the Kyuubi and you killing your clan."

Itachi didn't miss the command laced in Naruto's voice. He wasn't requesting, he was demanding.

The mind jumps made his normally ironclad emotions feel raw and exposed, as well as a piercing headache.

"Where do you want me to start?" He asked listlessly, resigned to answering the questions by the Yondaime's son.

"The immediate aftermath of our mother and father dying."

And so Itachi told the two Uzumaki nearly the same exact thing he told Sasuke, his voice lacking emotion this time.

He didn't know how long it took, but he finally finished and his voice was hoarse, looking at the two twins silently.

Rin looked horrified and disgusted, wearing her heart on her sleeve practically, but Naruto reacted differently. His reaction was something that gave credit to whoever trained him to act the way he did.

Itachi felt like he was looking in a mirror.

"How could you do that to him?" Rin asked angrily, storming towards him. "You tortured Sasuke because you wanted him to kill you?! You disgust me!"

The older of the two stared at the girl with an unimpressed expression.

"The very thing you hate about me is the exact trait your brother exhibits as well," Itachi replied with little care, "He threatened Sasuke to protect you. The threats he made when I had him in a Genjutsu would surprise you."

Rin's nostrils flared and she lunged forward, grabbing ahold of him.

Itachi noticed her brother tensed, but the blazing violet eyes of Uzumaki Rin was his focus, followed by her hand clenching around his hair.

Suddenly, he felt a fist strike his face, an enraged blonde pulling her fist back from his head.

With his ears slightly ringing from the hit, he stated something rather obvious.

"You...hit me." He blinked, not expecting that to happen.

"Yes," Rin growled, gripping his hair even tighter as she bared her teeth, "And I'm gonna do it again."

Before Itachi could try and pull away, he was jerked downward by his hair and his face struck the table, a lance of pain going through his mouth and nose.

"Naruto is not like you," Rin growled, pulling his head back up by his hair, "He's a better brother to Sasuke than you'll ever be. He helped me be strong without lying to me."

Itachi thought he saw Naruto twitch, but he couldn't be certain.

With that, the blonde let go of his hair jerkily, turning on her heel and walking away.

Itachi waited until Naruto was looking at his sister before he grimaced and felt at his nose gingerly, hissing softly at the blood lightly flowing from it. Call it needless concealing of weakness, but he'd been conditioned to be that way.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked Rin.

"I'm going to go to Sasuke to put him back together." Rin said simply, pausing her steps. The girl didn't sound doubtful of it, simply stating it as fact. She then said something in a language Itachi didn't recognize, Naruto responding in the same strangely pronounced language.

Rin pulled the door open and left, shutting it tightly.

Now it was just the two of their generation's best prodigies in the room, blue eyes meeting black.

"I bet this hurts," Naruto eventually broke the silence, grabbing a chair and sitting down, "Tramp stamp on your forehead, the village you gave everything for still hating you, and your little brother being irreparable damaged. So much for being an S-rank at thirteen, hm," He scoffed, "I barely hit A-rank, and I'm a Jinchuriki with chakra to burn."

Itachi didn't miss the way it was worded and what order it was said.

"Do you enjoy holding it over me that you weren't forced to hurt Rin as I had to hurt Sasuke?" Itachi asked, expecting the next round of conversation to be a sort of arrogant preaching about his failings as a brother. "I have more important things to do than listen to your constant proclamations of being a superior Shinobi, brother, and overall person."

"I don't need to proclaim that crap to you to prove I'm better," Naruto scoffed, his eyes glinting, "Deeds, not words, and all that."

"Then why bring it up again?" Itachi eyed his restraints distastefully.

Naruto noticed and got up from the chair, walking towards him.

Itachi tensed involuntarily, his survival instincts screaming at him to find a weapon.

Naruto made a point to hush him like a dog, irritating the Uchiha.

"Easy, boy," He said mockingly, stepping behind him and inspecting his neck, "It must be uncomfortable to have your chakra messed with and being restrained. I bet your cattle brand felt bad."

Itachi didn't respond, keeping still as the boy's fingers pressed against the seal painted on the base of his neck where the spine connected.

He did flinch when he felt foreign chakra invade the seal and his chakra stopped being disrupted constantly, making it feel like an obstruction to his breathing was lifted.

"Thank you." He muttered, seeing Naruto nod slightly and grabbing at his restraints.

"No point in making you completely uncomfortable." The younger of the two replied, his fingers glowing gold as the sound of breaking metal came from the lock. "I know you're not some psychopath, so I'm getting rid of these." The shackles broke free and his hands were no longer restrained.

Naruto then pulled a hair tie from his pocket and tossed it on the table, signaling for him to take it.

"I don't like my hair hanging over my forehead," Naruto explained, his own shoulder length hair pulled back off his forehead some, "And you look mangy, which I'm not dealing with for however long we talk. I get to talk with you while Rin puts your brother's head on straight. She'll reach through to him better."

Without caring about keeping an air of detachment, Itachi massaged his wrists and slowly pulled his hair back, tying what was left of the longer portion back so he didn't feel like an unshaved animal.

"You can have some water and a bit of food I have after I'm done talking," Naruto said, sitting back down, "I hope you don't mind instant ramen."

Itachi didn't say anything, but he eyed Naruto with suspicion.

"Good cop, bad cop?" He asked, tilting his head, "A strange choice. You are definitely more vicious than your sister, despite her actions. You conceal your true nature very well. What do you wish to discuss?"

"Oh, the usual," Naruto said pleasantly, not bothering to hide the bite in his voice as he lounged back, "Where you got the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, given that my grandfather gifted me the Sword of Kusanagi, as well as Tobi and how he's definitely not Madara. Oh, and also advise on killing Uchiha. Tobi's one and you're an expert."

Itachi was not amused by Naruto's attempt at unbalancing him, nor did he like that it worked.

"The first two are private," Itachi replied coldly, not wanting to share something that the Nidaime possibly revealed after fighting him, "And there is little I can give in the way of Tobi's capabilities or his actual identity. I truly believed he was Madara until your very pleasant grandfather informed me otherwise."

A toothy grin from Naruto practically shown in the slightly dim room.

"Ashina's a hoot, isn't he?" Naruto asked cheekily, "I know that's where I inherited my enjoyment for pissing off Uchiha. Y'all are fun to wind up."

Itachi couldn't imagine Sasuke could tolerate what was possibly a younger Ashina for long, particularly the penchant for harassment and immaturity.

"But Ashina definitely would know that Tobi isn't Madara," All humour left Naruto's voice, replaced by a steely look that reminded Itachi of his own father, "He told me a little story about how Madara used a certain time delayed Uchiha clan secret to survive a kill shot from the Shodai."

Itachi's hands twitched and his thoughts settled on the only thing it could be.

"Izanagi."

"Ding ding," Naruto laughed coldly, grabbing a storage scroll and fishing out a water bottle to drink, "Madara went on to live up until Uzu was attacked. My grandfather found out he survived and discreetly formed a death squad to kill him, consisting of the Nidaime, the Sandaime, Uchiha Kagami, the elders, and Shimura Danzo."

To think we could have been rid of Danzo before I was even born.

"They left the village to hunt him and somebody evidently dropped some intel about the mission to Madara, who then gave it to the Kinkaku force," Naruto continued on explaining, "That mission obviously didn't go down well."

An understatement would be too dull of an explanation of the catastrophic nature of Senju Tobirama's death.

"So my grandfather didn't get the chance to off him until right before my clan's village was attacked and destroyed," Naruto's voice was tighter now, his expression dark, "Madara's right eye was the busted one, and he grafted some of the Shodai's cells into his body."

Itachi was paying rapt attention, listening intently.

"Evidently," Naruto looked repulsed, "The increased healing speed we," He gestured towards himself as an example of an Uzumaki, "have can be transplanted by enough cells being introduced into the body, or a graft. I'm not a biologist, but that just sounds impossible, unless only Uchiha can handle it. You guys are weird that way."

Itachi ignored every small comment about his clan without difficulty, focusing on the details Naruto had in his little explanation.

"Tobi still has his right eye," Naruto continued, "But his chakra felt similar to that ANBU, Yamato's, in the same way the Shodai's chakra feels."

That doesn't make sense. Itachi thought. Unless...

"Tobi was possibly a disciple of Madara." Itachi surmised after only a few seconds.

"Probably the most realistic," Naruto nodded in agreement, leaning forward a bit as his head rested on his hand, "Who else other than Madara would know how to control a Bijuu and teach someone that knowledge? And who would think to graft the Shodai's cells into his body other than a guy who already pulled it off, or one who learned from him?"

"I assume by how you're speaking," Itachi pointed out, "Madara is definitely dead."

Naruto nodded.

"My grandfather killed him," His hand raised up and a golden blade of chakra came out of his index and middle fingers, "This can be pretty useful when combined with Senjutsu."

The chakra blade reminded him of when Naruto was six, the night he was almost killed and the blast of chakra.

"I didn't think that was an ability of your clan, at least until your grandfather utilized it."

"To be fair," Naruto laughed lightly, "I don't think you were occupied with finding out about a kekkai genkai my clan has when I was coughing up a lungful of blood."

Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly as he thought over that, coming to a possible realization.

"Is that why you didn't completely believe that I murdered my clan in cold blood?" Itachi asked, "You knew that I was the one that saved you, of course, and you are intelligent enough to notice how I acted towards Sasuke when you attended the Academy."

Itachi hadn't thought of it that way. Being saved by someone had a tendency of engendering positive opinions towards the rescuer.

Naruto snorted, adjusting his posture some.

"Pretty much. I never was able to climb out of your shadow or my father's. I can tell Kakashi noticed a couple similarities between you and me, and Jiraiya wasn't exactly subtle about talking about me being like my dad."

"So, you thought of my motives through the lens of your own lived experience." The Uchiha sighed, "Not surprising."

Itachi then focused on Naruto's face, trying to gauge the next round of discussion.

"I doubt this is simply about you stating our similarities. What else?"

Naruto didn't say anything, simply reaching into his pocket and pulling out another small scroll. With a puff of smoke, another water bottle came out.

"Here," Naruto tossed it to him, "I bet the food and drink here is scarce."

Itachi caught it without issue and popped the cap, taking a drink to quench his thirst.

After finishing a few drinks, Itachi wiped his mouth and refocused on the eldest Uzumaki.

"Do you wish to know what Tobi's abilities are?" Naruto asked flatly, not easing into it at all.

Itachi blinked more than once, confused by that.

"How would you know about his abilities?"

Naruto's expression darkened, his hand grabbing a kunai from his holster and began fiddling with it.

"I assume you know a decent amount about chakra theory," Naruto said with an emotionless voice, no longer making eye contact, "You've probably heard of the theory about more Yin chakra in children and neuroplasticity causing a higher birthrate of prodigious Shinobi in clans with Yin heavy chakra."

That was something Itachi did indeed know about. It was a theory that was extremely divisive amongst his clan, but the evidence of it shown brightly in their own clan, the Nara, and the Yamanaka.

"I am surprised a child of thirteen would know about that." Itachi said, mulling over what Naruto had said.

The redhead didn't change his expression.

"I ceased to be a child the day I comprehended death," His voice was still dead sounding, but his body was tensed, "But I came across it when I was studying the neuro pathways in the brain and what level of electrical stimulation parts of the brain could handle."

The eldest of the two caught on quickly.

"The Lightning Cloak the Raikages of Kumo use."

It definitely adds up to what I saw when he fought the Suna Jinchuriki.

That was a surprise to him, and probably a great number of other people as well. Being able to reverse engineer such a jutsu as a thirteen year old was something Itachi didn't think someone could do.

Naruto nodded, letting static dance up his arm.

"Lightning is pretty damn useful when you have more than two braincells to rub together." His eyes flicked towards the door for a moment before going back to looking at Itachi again, "I started studying the brain because of two things, one being the Lightning Cloak, and the other was specifically theories about Yin chakra adjusting the brain structure of individuals."

The part relating to Tobi hadn't even come up, so Itachi politely hurried him along.

"I am quaking in excitement for you to tell me why it interests you and how it relates to Tobi." Itachi deadpanned, somewhat amused by Naruto suppressing a scowl.

"Fine, impatient woman," Naruto glanced at his hair, "I've met girls who'd be jealous of your hair."

After the juvenile insult, Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose lightly, his eyes shutting.

"I studied Yin chakra exposure in infants and how the chakra of the mother influences babies because I have denser Yin chakra than practically any Uzumaki in recorded history."

"And what did it cause?" Itachi could tell it was bothering Naruto, whatever it was.

Naruto sighed, not looking at his eyes. "I could remember being in my mother's womb and being born. Given that I've never found anything about a Jinchuriki giving birth to twins, and scarce information about the children of female Jinchuriki, the Hokage, Kakashi, Inoichi, and I assume it's from my own Yin chakra being higher and prenatal exposure to the fox's chakra caused it to react the way it has."

It wasn't often that Uchiha Itachi could be shocked into being unable to formulate words, but this time was one of them.

"I, uh," Itachi genuinely tried to wrap his mind around that, but couldn't.

"You're not the first one to react that way," Naruto mumbled, threading his fingers through his hair, "I can tell you it definitely isn't fun getting squeezed out of your mother for hours."

The mere thought was horrifying to Itachi, but another thought struck him, a thought even more hellish than the previously stated one.

"Do you remember the rest of the night?"

Naruto's hand clenching and his jaw tightening was all Itachi needed.

"The Sandaime's wife was holding me when Tobi slit her throat," He scratched at the corner of his eye, blinking quickly, "I could feel her chakra vanish and her blood got all over me. First time I screamed. Here I am, a newborn, but I knew it was unnatural for the pretty lights to vanish."

This explained so many things about Uzumaki Naruto that Itachi had always wondered about. No wonder he was so driven. The first thing he experienced was death.

"The rest of the night wasn't fun either," He kept going on, his voice quivering slightly, "My dad took Rin and me to somewhere so he could paint seals on our stomachs, but not until I got a dose of feeling the fox's chakra. I pissed all over myself, not gonna lie."

Does he remember it all?

"I guess you aren't surprised that the Yondaime is my father," Naruto stood up from his chair, looking around at the room like he was trying to avoid looking at Itachi, "You weren't when you took me to your little torture chamber. Probably because your mom and mine were friends."

Itachi nodded mutely, not wanting to speak at the moment.

"So my dad comes back to where my mom is, after he beat Tobi, and went through the process of splitting the Kyuubi to seal it in us." Naruto's voice cracked at the end.

This is hurting him. Itachi noticed, shocked by the vulnerability willingly shown.

"It didn't go as planned," Naruto said shakily, wiping at his eyes, "The chains loosened, the fox tried to crush me and Rin, and like any parents should, mine jumped in front to stop it."

Itachi didn't see Uzumaki Naruto in front of him at that moment.

He saw himself.

"I watched them die," Naruto choked out, shaking horribly, "They died because of me. They would have lived if not for me."

Itachi bit down and felt his nails dig into the table, his own memories of a certain night playing in his head.

"My parents told me to protect my sister," The boy that was exactly like him wiped at his eyes furiously, the blue already bloodshot, "And that they loved me so much."

"You are a kind child, Itachi."

"Protect Sasuke."

"And then my father sealed the Yin half of the Kyuubi in me," Naruto said with a degree of finality, "That was the most painful experience I'll ever feel, and it didn't help that it threw off my Yin chakra stability. That's why I had memory problems and issues up until I was almost killed."

Itachi swallowed thickly, trying to fight through the images burned in his head. He could almost smell blood.

"And, between the two of us," Naruto leaned closer to him, scooting the chair across the floor, "I knew who my father was the day after I got out of the hospital. I lied to everyone for years because I didn't want Kakashi to feel guilty or Rin to hate our father and resent our mother for loving the guy that sealed a Bijuu in us."

Itachi didn't say anything for a moment, trying to keep his voice and emotions in check. He'd always prided himself on having a tight leash on his emotions and didn't want to show weakness. He was conditioned to not show weakness to potential enemies, and Uzumaki was a potential one.

"You claim to not be like me," Itachi said slowly, keeping his eyes on Naruto, "But you have done precisely what I would have done in your situation. Lie for your sibling's sake and others."

"I didn't torture Rin." Naruto snapped, a respectable level of Killing Intent directed at him, "And I didn't leave the village when I could have."

Itachi's eyes narrowed at the last part.

"I highly doubt you had the opportunity, let alone the will, to leave the village. You cling to familiarity like a child clings to its mother's leg in the dark."

The glare levelled at him was fairly intimidating, at least for an adolescent.

"You'd be surprised by what Orochimaru was willing to do to recruit me," Naruto actually laughed at him, "He wanted to take your brother's body to possess because of how dangerous you were to target."

The death of Orochimaru was enough to annoy Itachi. He wanted to be the one to kill the snake.

"And he would've managed it if not for me." Naruto pointed at himself, "He offered to train me and warned me of the Akatsuki. I refused, knowing full well what I was rejecting."

Itachi could tell something was left out concerning Orochimaru. The snake Sannin always did something for a reason and it was no coincidence that Naruto would be a target of interest.

"Now why would he be interested in you to that degree?" Itachi asked coldly, not amused by Uzumaki's attempt to hold anything over him.

"Jinchuriki," Naruto raised one finger, "Uzumaki," He raised another, "Prodigy. And I'm Ashina's descendant."

Itachi didn't understand the last reason at first, but the conversation with Ashina clicked in place.

"Orochimaru is aware of this supposed vault mentioned."

What could possibly be in this vault, Itachi didn't know.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "And I just realized we've gotten off topic of how I know about Tobi's abilities."

Itachi didn't doubt that the conversation was designed specifically so Naruto could talk about whatever he pleased, then talk about what was needed.

But Itachi would accept it. He had nobody to talk with right now and he knew the next few days would be difficult once the Hokage got around to asking for a debriefing.

"Basically," Naruto scooted a little bit closer, resting his hands on the table about a foot away from Itachi's, "My dad fought him and right as he died, or when he first made the seal, I don't know, put some of his chakra was placed in my seal as a failsafe in case the seal started breaking down. It did after I got a free haircut from Orochimaru."

The Kyuubi was almost unleashed then.

Itachi tried not to visualize what would have happened if the seal didn't have a failsafe. Thousands would have died.

"The chakra manifested as basically a shadow clone in my mindscape," Naruto explained thoughtfully, "And I'd like to figure out how to do that. But Tousan, being a great parent, told me Tobi's abilities and a specific weakness."

Itachi leaned closer, barely a foot away from the other's face.

If I know a weakness, I can exploit it.

"Tell me." Itachi requested quietly.

Naruto smirked.

"His Mangekyo Sharingan allows him to faze out of physical existence, making him immune to any attack. Not sure if it works for Genjutsu, but I assume it would because Ninjutsu doesn't work."

"A very potent ability," Itachi mused, vexed by the thought of being unable to touch him, "The weakness?"

"He can't touch you unless he rematerializes," Naruto replied, "And I'm pretty sure how the mechanics of it work after I talked with the Nidaime about the Mangekyo Sharingan."

If anybody could figure out secrets of the Sharingan that wasn't an Uchiha, it'd be Senju Tobirama.

"And?" Itachi raised a brow in question.

"Tobi can also teleport," Naruto started, "But it's not as seamless as the Hiraishin, where there's no slight displacement of air or anything else, not even a chakra bleed effect."

"How would you describe it? How did the Yondaime describe it?"

"It looked like a type of portal or vortex that rotated in the same pattern the tomoe of Sharingan does," Naruto was waving his hands as an example, "He can teleport objects as well, and there's an air displacement that makes a particular sound."

Itachi thought on that, trying to dissect the ability and how it differed from the Hiraishin in regards to the teleportation aspect.

After a minute, he focused on the smirking Uzumaki.

"Figured it out?" He asked.

"Is he 'stepping back' into a third place in transit?" Itachi asked.

"That's the most likely thing going on," Naruto nodded, "His chakra could still be sensed and there was no shimmer around him. The air displacement points to some type of pocket dimension similar to how the Hiraishin works, except the Hiraishin is a corridor that requires a specific chakra signature as a key to open it. My theory about him dematerializing is that he can quote, 'Take a half step' into a pocket dimension, leaving his chakra behind, but his body in the pocket dimension."

The theory sounded rational, but Itachi simply didn't know enough about it to determine whether it could be accurate or not.

"But then there's an issue not thought about," Naruto mentioned again, a sing song tone to his voice.

"And that is?" Itachi asked with a leading tone.

"When will he go blind?" Naruto said flatly, "Madara nearly went blind, but fixed that problem with his brother's eyes. Tobi has used his ability against my Tousan and used it as transportation when he dropped my grandfather's blood off to Orochimaru. Unless the presence of the Shodai's cells can repair damage to the eye."

"Impossible." Itachi said simply, "Only implanting the eyes of a close relative fixes it."

"I could try transfusing some blood to you," Naruto offered seriously, "Try it out and see if it might even heal some of the damage of whatever it was that's making you sick."

"That is not the way blood transfusions work." Itachi deadpanned, "Uzumaki or Senju blood does not enhance the Sharingan or repair damage incurred by using it."

"You ever tried it?" Naruto responded with an equally deadpan tone, "I'm sure we could experiment."

Whether Naruto meant that in the way that his grandfather would mean it to irritate him, Itachi didn't know. But he knew an easy way to respond in kind.

"I think Sasuke and your sister could 'experiment', as you put it." Itachi smirked when Naruto scowled.

The eldest Uzumaki could be read like a book when his sister was brought up. He obviously adored her and was extremely possessive.

"Whatever abomination is spawned from Sasuke will not be related to me, that's for sure." Naruto grumbled, glaring at him, "He's an insufferable and whiny little duckass and I will not have my clan be cursed with that in its pedigree, friend or not."

Itachi tilted his head at the last word.

"Duckass?"

"His hair sticks up like how a duck's lower half does," Naruto shrugged, "Madara's did too, come to think of it. I saw pictures of him."

Itachi snorted at the pet name given to his brother, expecting him to hate it.

"But, that's about it," Naruto sighed, leaning back into his chair, "Tobi's abilities are known by you, me, the Hokage, Kakashi, and probably Jiraiya."

"Not your sister?" Itachi questioned, expecting her to be informed about it.

Naruto shook his head.

"She's a bit too impulsive on things like that. She'll do something foolish."

Itachi wanted to press, but decided to not for fear of not having anybody to talk with. Sasuke obviously wouldn't be talking to him after what just happened, nobody else interested him, but Uzumaki Naruto could be a decent conversationalist judging by his lack of caring about his reputation as an S-rank nukenin and overall cold demeanor.

"So now that this conversation about Tobi is done," Naruto stood up and poked Itachi in the forehead, catching the Uchiha off guard, "When will you and Sasuke swap eyes?"

Itachi did not enjoy being on the receiving end of that.

"It will depend on whether he wants anything to do with me." Itachi replied, not expecting Sasuke to accept without pressure from Naruto or Rin.

"He'll accept when he finds out that Tobi caused the death of your clan." Naruto said simply, sounding utterly convinced of it.

Itachi took a slightly deeper breath at being reminded of Sasuke and the conversation he'd had with him.

"He'll forgive you, you know that right?" Naruto's voice cut through the air, causing him to look at the redhead.

"You can't be certain." Itachi stated, expecting it to be another thing on the long list of mistakes he made. "I can't even forgive myself for what I did to him. How could he?"

"Because he isn't you." Naruto replied, a look of sympathy on his face, "You're not alone, Itachi. You've got an entire village and Kumo behind us. The Akatsuki will be defeated by the combined might of the two strongest villages and the biggest issue will be us arguing on who gets to kill the one eyed bastard."

You don't know about Pein. Itachi thought sadly. I honestly don't know if we can defeat someone who has the eyes of the Sage.

"He... isn't the only one." Itachi finally said, "Nobody, not even Jiraiya, knows about another Akatsuki member."

It wasn't a coincidence that Pein and Konan were not mentioned by Ay when he and Kisame were intercepted by the man.

"And you know this Akatsuki member?" Naruto raised a brow, leaning to within a foot or two of Itachi, "What could possibly unsettle the most prodigious Uchiha since Uchiha Kagami?"

Itachi almost looked forward to wiping the nonchalant air off of the Uzumaki prodigy's face.

"You'll probably be told by Jiraiya when I address the Hokage and the Raikage, so I will let you know early," Itachi cleared his throat, "Tobi is the leader of the Akatsuki, but has another acting as the "face" of the organization. His name is Pein...and he has the Rinnegan."

Out of all reactions, he didn't expect Naruto to start laughing.

The laughter was annoying to Itachi, making him feel like he wasn't being taken seriously.

"You really believe some two-bit terrorist leader has the eyes of the Sage?" Naruto wiped his eyes as he smiled sarcastically, "Kami, you're gullible."

"You have not seen him." Itachi remarked coldly, noticing Naruto stop smiling.

With a swift hand seal, Naruto's chakra shifted around his face and he opened his eyes, revealing two purple and ringed eyes, almost identical to Pein's.

"The legends about the Sage defeating the Juubi, and his magic eyes, are described in children's books, Itachi," Naruto deadpanned, "How close are my eyes to his?"

"Do you forget that I can see chakra?" Itachi scoffed, not sharing how close Naruto actually was in Henging his eyes to look like the Rinnegan. "I encountered Pein in person and the way chakra swirled around him and his eyes was unlike anything I've ever seen."

The colour the chakra that lightly radiated from the Rinnegan eyes, similar to how an active Sharingan and Byakugan were, was totally unique to Pein, nothing resembling it.

"Fair enough," Naruto muttered, dispelling the Henge on his eyes, "You're definitely a skeptical guy about that stuff."

Itachi felt the awkward silence about to come, and so did Naruto judging by him perking up.

"That's about all I wanted to talk about on serious stuff," His hands started rubbing together in excitement, his fingers clenching as he popped them like he were doing a type of nervous tic, "Now's the part where I have a question about philosophy."

Itachi didn't hide the scowl at the thought of dealing with something as unimportant right now as philosophy.

"I expect a juvenile question about what I think constitutes good and evil, yes?" Itachi asked sarcastically, hoping to irritate Naruto enough to hold off on a different form of torture.

Naruto frowned.

"Do you take me for a simpleton?" He asked, untying his hair for a moment, "You'd be surprised by the stuff this noodle of mine has cooked up in regards to reality and existence."

Itachi smirked, leaning forward in challenge.

"Try me."

Naruto returned the smirk.

"What do you think about the linear progression of each generation?"

---

Sasuke stirred and his eyes opened, confused by what was going on.

Why am I home? Where was I? I was talking to Ita-.

Everything struck him in an instant and he started breathing quickly, looking around frantically.

He spotted a flash of silver around the corner and saw Kakashi, standing in his kitchen, silently gazing at him.

"It..." Sasuke was shaking again, remembering what Itachi admitted to, "I didn't dream it?" He asked weakly.

Kakashi shook his head.

Sasuke fought back the tears, but it didn't work as well as he'd hoped.

"Did you know?" He croaked, begging Kakashi to answer no.

Kakashi thankfully shook his head.

"I knew nothing of it," Kakashi's voice sounded less steady than usual, "I sent a clone to speak with the Hokage. Naruto and Rin confronted Itachi about what he said to you and my clone wasn't let in."

Kakashi was probably trying to reassure him that his friends cared about him, but it did the opposite.

"Rin." He said her name, shame filling him, "I need to get to her. I have to tell her I'm sorry."

Sasuke tried to stand up from his couch, but his legs felt like jelly and he fell back down.

Groaning as his legs gave out and his back pushed into the couch, Sasuke saw Kakashi walk towards him.

"I had to knock you out," He explained quietly, his posture stiff, "You were having a panic attack."

He stabbed me with a senbon.

"You had no right." Sasuke growled, his eyes flashing.

Kakashi stooped down and pulled up his headband, revealing his transplanted Sharingan. His jonin sensei then hissed under his breath, blinking the eye.

Sasuke gasped as the three tomoe shifted into a pattern that was familiar, but not.

A Mangekyo Sharingan.

"How did you..." Sasuke couldn't breathe, barely keeping it together. "When did..."

Kakashi's eyes shown with emotion.

"When my Rin was killed."

Kakashi explained how Nohara Rin, his friend, died by his hand. Obito's death and gifting of his Sharingan, and how it burned Rin's death into his mind.

She was also a Jinchuriki.

"You killed her," Sasuke mumbled, his vision swimming with images of his friends dying, "And your eye matured."

Kakashi nodded sadly, closing his eye to conserve chakra.

"I've known for months about this eye, Sasuke," Kakashi pressed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder to comfort him, "This eye creates a singularity that can swallow up anything in an area. It's extremely dangerous and I know what you heard from Itachi was traumatizing."

Sasuke quivered as he connected the dots.

He was protecting us.

Sasuke still didn't know what ability his eyes could do, and it scared him. Could he have accidentally killed Rin if Kakashi hadn't knocked him out?

Sasuke was scared enough to not want an answer.

"I need to tell Rin I'm sorry," He repeated what he said before, "I didn't mean it. I can't lose them too."

He didn't mean to say such a horrible thing to Rin. The pain of what had happened made him say it, and he knew the reaction if his friends found out about what he said.

Hinata would turn away from him, Rin might break his bones and then turn away, while Naruto would make sure no body was found.

"Sasuke, you need to try and remain calm." Kakashi tried to help, but Sasuke knew he was beyond helping.

"I can't," Sasuke said shakily, "Everything I knew was a lie. Itachi killed everyone but me, because he loves me."

Sasuke wished it was a dream, his mind almost exactly like it was after that night, constantly begging for him to wake up from the bad dream so he could talk to his nii-san about doing some training.

With a gentleness that defied his profession, Hatake Kakashi sat next to his student, wrapping an arm around him.

"Talking helps," He whispered, "I know it does from experience."

And so, Sasuke did. He repeated everything Itachi told him, including how he was in tears as he delivered their parents' last words.

"Why me?" Sasuke asked, having broken down into sobs more than once and was clinging to the older male, "Why was I worthy of saving and not anyone else? Why am I special? Why my family? Why my brother? When will the nightmares end?" He was rambling and started crying again, clinging to Kakashi like a lifeline.

After the latest round of crying subsided, Sasuke felt Kakashi stir, looking down at him.

"How did you survive losing everything, Sensei?" Sasuke begged the man he knew suffered loss, but kept on moving through it.

Kakashi took a deep breath, sighing audibly as he looked down at him.

"I'll share something that I heard," Kakashi still kept his arm around him, holding him together, "I can't even remember where it came from. I think it was from a missing nin from the Third War, but that doesn't matter. My Sensei heard it and told me. I took it to heart and it kept me from giving up after I lost everything."

Sasuke was grasping ahold of this moment, needing it, anything, to help him to carry the pain.

"Please, don't lie to me like Itachi." He begged weakly.

Sasuke no longer believed in anything. His one truth was a lie and he only had Kakashi right now because his closest friends had been possibly alienated forever.

Kakashi nodded.

"There is much to be skeptical of in this world, Sasuke," Kakashi's hand was still rested on the boy's shoulder as he seemed to see the inner turmoil of Uchiha Sasuke, "So it no longer surprises me to learn how many people don't really believe in anything."

Sasuke's eyes refused to leave Kakashi's. Was Kakashi talking about him right now, or himself?

"What's the point, you might ask," Kakashi continued, "For many of us, the road is a difficult one. But the path is always there for us to follow, no matter how many times we may fall."

"I can't see you without seeing it anymore." He had told Rin, his despair speaking and trying to destroy him.

"The good news," Kakashi actually removed his mask, his face finally revealed to Sasuke as he smiled to his student, "Is that we can help you find your way back."

The shock at seeing Kakashi wore off quickly, but the show of trust brought a warmth to Sasuke that he desperately needed.

"I don't even know what the right path is," Sasuke mumbled, wiping his nose with his sleeve as he sniffled, "Do you get lost?"

Was Kakashi's laid-back joke about being lost on the Road of Life born from something more tragic than he thought?

Kakashi didn't do anything other than speak.

"Every day," His voice took a tone whose sadness felt immeasurable, "Naturally, some days are... harder than others, but I must try."

Try... Not succeed. Not win. Try.

"We all have doubts," Kakashi used his free hand to push his headband off completely, revealing his entire head, "The light of the mind alone cannot burn away all darkness."

I have no light. I still want to hate Itachi because I have nothing left now.

"What light?" Sasuke asked, taking a shuddering breath, "I have nothing now. No vengeance. Danzo is dead. What else can I do?"

Kakashi simply smiled reassuringly, holding onto him like his father had before.

"Think on it, Sasuke, and look in your heart."

Sasuke truly wanted to, but he couldn't, not after everything that happened today.

The first several months after Itachi tortured him felt like a dream he'd wake up from. Itachi had loved him, then suddenly broke him. And now, after finally mustering the strength to not blindly attack Itachi, his brother was revealed to have been just as loving as he once was.

"When the walls come tumbling down, and you lose everything you have," Kakashi's voice cracked and he blinked rapidly, "You always have family."

What family? Sasuke seemed to ask with a look. I have no one.

Almost as if he knew again, Kakashi answered.

"My team was my family. The fire that had kept me alive," A tear fell down from Kakashi's face, his eye full of emotion, "Was love. Their love." He seemed to trail off, maybe not even talking about his team at all.

But they were gone. Sasuke had no one, not even Itachi could be what he once was to him, and Kakashi lost his team.

It evidently showed on his face, because Kakashi chuckled lightly.

"I know it may sound strange, but it's true. Even in my darkest moments, I only needed to reach and I wouldn't be alone."

Sasuke's emotions were a little more stable, but he didn't think it would hold.

"Who," His voice was quiet, "Who do you have left? Your team is dead."

Kakashi smiled wildly, another tear coming free.

"What are you talking about? You're right here."

The jonin then pulled Sasuke into a hug.

"I don't have a family of my own by blood, Sasuke," Kakashi said, "But I have another family."

Rin. Naruto. Hinata. Kakashi.

Sasuke hugged Kakashi in return, holding tight like the man would disappear if he didn't hold on.

"It hurts," The Uchiha mumbled, still holding on, "So much."

"I know," Kakashi replied sadly, "I know."

The two damaged prodigies sat next to each other on the couch for an unknown amount of time, a third person arriving later.

Based on the rhythmic knocking, Sasuke knew who it was.

Rin.

"Do you want me to tell her to leave?" Kakashi offered quietly, not moving from where he sat.

Sasuke pondered it for a moment, weighing the option.

I can't let her think I hate her. I can't hurt her again.

"I need to apologize." He said quietly, hoping he could avoid making a fool or a bastard out of himself again.

"Okay then." Kakashi nodded, slowly extracting himself from Sasuke. The silver haired jonin then stood up and walked to the door, opening it.

---

Rin was fidgeting in fear at what awaited her, now that she was at Sasuke's door.

One of her worst nightmares came to life when Sasuke said such a hateful thing, his eyes blazing as he said it.

The fox had been thrashing around, shouting about how the "Little Uchiha spawn" was using his Sharingan, causing her chakra to vibrate under her skin painfully.

And that was when she started to feel Sasuke.

It terrified her. She wasn't a sensor, she had no way to know what was happening to her. She just felt something that wasn't her sense of taste, sight, hearing, smell, or touch was burning her.

Emotions shouldn't feel like that, except for bad ones.

And that was exactly what Sasuke felt like when he was shouting at her.

She may trust her brother completely, but that small, little, traitorous voice in her head told her Sasuke really did mean it, that nobody would see her for anything other than the Kyuubi.

Please, she didn't even know who she was asking, maybe whoever Naruto randomly said the name of when he was exasperated, Let me be freaking out like Naruto does.

For once, she hoped Naruto's stupidity rubbed off on her.

The door opened and she saw Kakashi, his mask looking hastily put on and his headband off.

"Hey, Rin." He said quietly.

"Kakashi-sensei." Rin's voice was timid from worry, "Can I... uh, come in?" She asked awkwardly, her fingers pinching her sleeves.

Kakashi turned to the side, letting her pass through the doorway.

She stepped forward and saw Sasuke on the couch, his face ashen as he looked her.

"Sasuke." She could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she waited for him to respond.

Eventually, he swallowed and blinked as he looked at her.

"Hi, Rin." He mumbled, looking uncomfortable.

She took that as an affirmative and she walked towards him, sitting next to him.

Whatever self-restraint Sasuke was imposing on himself came crashing down as he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, shaking noticeably.

"I'm sorry," He said shakily, trembling violently, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Please, I didn't mean it." He was babbling nonsense after that, being barely understandable.

"Sasuke," She tried to get him to calm down, overwhelmed by his reaction, "Sasuke. It's okay." She tried to return the hug to assure him, but he pulled away.

"No," He shook his head, still looking pale, "I hurt you. I said something horrible. Please."

Rin silently wondered if this was how she looked to Naruto when he was in the hospital bed after being nearly killed.

"I shouldn't have said it," Sasuke looked desperate, his eyes holding a cracked look to them, "It's not true. I don't blame you or Naruto. I just," He sighed and closed his eyes, "I don't know what to do now." His voice adopted a brittle sound to it.

Sasuke truly looked lost. His reason for training to kill Itachi was now pointless and he'd been thrown into a sea of uncertainty.

"Sasuke," She fought her own fear and uncertainty, seeing the fragile look in his eyes, "I know you're hurting. I talked with Itachi."

She spotted the flash of fear in his eyes as he heard her.

"Kakashi told me." He said quietly, his hand reaching out to hers.

Surprised by him reaching for her like that, Rin accepted his hand and held it, looking directly into his dark eyes.

"I'm so sorry that you have to go through this, Sasuke," She whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she saw her friend look ready to fall apart again, "I'm so sorry."

"He was my brother," Sasuke choked out, running his other hand through his hair shakily, "I loved him, and he betrayed me."

He then looked up at her.

'And now you're going to leave me," Sasuke starting breathing louder, "Naruto and Hinata are. I'll be alone again!" He started hyperventilating, his breaths coming raggedly.

Rin grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and pulled him close to her, their faces just inches apart.

"I'm not going to turn my back on you," She promised, squeezing his hand reassuringly, "Don't let anyone, not even me, tell you that."

Rin wrapped her other arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. Sasuke didn't resist, letting her hold him close.

She faintly heard Kakashi exit the room, probably trying to give a little bit of privacy.

Not knowing what else to do, Rin decided to try and be like Naruto when she was depressed from the cruelty of the villagers or when she had a nightmare.

She sang.

A soft lullaby that Naruto came up with flowed softly from her mouth as she held Sasuke, faint tremors wracking his frame.

He's crying.

She held him close and still sang, tears coming from her eyes as well as she held her closest friend.

I'll always be here for you, Sasuke. You'll never be alone.

Rin felt Sasuke still after some time, not making a sound. She looked down and saw his eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady.

She decided not to move. Sasuke cried himself to sleep and she didn't want to wake him up. He looked so peaceful currently. Gone was the flat or cold look he constantly had when he was focused. He looked like any other thirteen year old boy now, his features soft.

Rin heard a slight rustle and noticed Kakashi looking at her perceptively.

"I'm not leaving." She said quietly, staring at her Sensei in challenge.

Kakashi didn't say anything, only nodding.

"You remind me of your mother," He said, barely above a whisper, "And your namesake."

Kakashi made a clone and had it wait in the other room, out of earshot.

"Do you want to be alone?" Kakashi asked, his eye flicking towards Sasuke's sleeping form leaning against her side.

Rin thought for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"I'm not okay," She said, running her fingers through her hair shakily, trying to keep it off her forehead, "I'm still scared about everyone else finding out about..." She pointed at her stomach.

The fox was in a timeout after the stunt it pulled with Naruto, so she wasn't going to talk with it.

"That doesn't answer my question, Rin." Kakashi remarked, his tone sympathetic.

Rin sighed, her mind still wired towards fear because of Sasuke's initial reaction and worry over the most recent one.

He was clinging to her, in a way that scared her because it was unfamiliar. Hinata was her close girl friend, while Naruto was her twin. Sasuke was something she didn't know what to categorize as.

"Alone." She murmured, resting her hand on Sasuke's head gently.

She didn't know what prompted her to do it, but it seemed to do good because Sasuke seemed to relax further.

Kakashi acknowledged her answer and pressed his hand on her shoulder, trying to probably be helpful.

"Talk to the clone if you need me," Kakashi told her gently, mindful of Sasuke, "I'll be speaking with Jiraiya-sama."

The student of her father and her own Sensei let go of her and left, his shoulders slumped. He closed the door gently, making minimal sound.

Rin turned how focus back to Sasuke, her fingers running through his hair lightly.

Naruto's hair was more coarse than Sasuke's, and her own hair spiked out more. But the contrast was interesting to her, especially how much darker his hair was. She wondered what it looked like to have her peripheral vision constantly coloured black instead of the bright blonde that was hers.

Sitting in that spot, just her and Sasuke, she started talking to herself, repeating words Naruto had said. The story Naruto made up was a beautiful one, being one of her favorites.

But I wonder where the names came from. They sound so beautiful.

---

"Where is the Hokage?" Hyuga Hiashi asked, his fingers tapping against the table lightly.

All the clan heads and multiple Konoha Shinobi of great reputation were sequestered in the room, the environment leaving Kakashi a little on edge.

Too little space to maneuver in an attack. Too much central authority here.

Stop it. Kakashi scolded himself. The fighting is over. Calm down.

It was nighttime, hours having passed since the emotional turmoil thar had stricken Sasuke in a way none should experience occurred.

His clone had popped and delivered a message from Rin that she was staying the night at Sasuke's so he wasn't alone. An ANBU guard was on overwatch, but it was nice to have Rin there with the young Uchiha. Kami knows he needs it.

Naruto had left the hospital, having been discharged, and was probably doing something involving seal experimentation that Tobirama-sama probably spoke about.

Kakashi focused back on the current situation and glanced towards Jiraiya and Tsunade, the two next to each other, while the Senju sat in the Hokage seat.

"The Sandaime is still recovering from his injuries sustained in the battle," Tsunade answered simply, her eyes sharp and focused, "As this discussion will be difficult and time consuming, I will be acting in his stead again, as his next successor, to oversee this meeting."

It came as a bit of a surprise, but not much, to Kakashi that Tsunade would take over. Jiraiya, her, or himself were the three frontrunners. He just counted his lucky stars that Tsunade accepted the Hokage's request because he didn't think Jiraiya would accept the role due to the plans to train Naruto and Rin.

Speaking of Naruto, Kakashi guessed he'd probably end up the Rokudaime, given what happened now. Had Sarutobi not been seriously injured, he probably could've held off retiring for another 5 years or so and Naruto could've replaced him, judging by his progress.

"And the topics of discussion?" Hiashi raised a brow, steepling his fingers as he leaned forward, the action mirrored by the others.

"The first," Tsunade began, focusing directly on Hiashi, "Is what will be done about the seal on the Branch House."

Straight to the heart. Kakashi thought, noticing Hiashi's face flatten into its typical cold expression.

Given that most of the Hyuga clan were Shinobi, it was pertinent information for the soon to be Godaime to have.

"The seal will be removed and a new one designed," Hiashi's voice had a slight tightness to it, his eyes narrowing into slits, "A weakness in the initial design was made apparent."

Kakashi felt his face twitch at the inside knowledge he had about it. The fact that Uzumaki Ashina designed it and ripped the seal off of Gai's pet Hyuga, not to mention threatening to activate it, was equal parts ironic and chilling.

"Will it have a certain feature in it that my grandfather was vehemently against?" Tsunade asked lightly, the barely disguised steel in her voice noticeable to any Shinobi worth their salt.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed once more.

"No, it will not."

Tsunade abruptly dropped the serious look.

"Good," She smiled slightly, "Now another topic to discuss is the Kusa nin that Uzumaki Naruto rescued during the first part of the exams, Uzumaki Karin."

Hiruzen had not brought it up to anybody else, which meant this was the first time the clan heads heard about it.

"Another Uzumaki?" Shikaku asked, voicing everyone's surprise.

"Uzumaki Naruto discovered her and informed the Sandaime, who kept it under wraps for now. She will be staying here."

"This will cause diplomatic issues possibly." Shikaku pointed out, grimacing at the thought.

"She has a unique ability exclusive to the Uzumaki clan," Tsunade stated in response, "Something I plan on exploiting."

Tsunade then explained the healing ability Karin had, and the possibilities it held.

"Do you think it possible that Iryo-ninjutsu used by the girl would be more potent?" Shibi asked, his tone of voice its usual flat one. But Kakashi could tell that the man's interest was piqued.

"That's exactly what I think," Tsunade replied happily, "I'm going to be taking a little bit of a hands on approach to some of the genin in medical training."

Kakashi noticed both Inoichi and Shikaku peer more intently at Tsunade.

"You mean to-" Hiashi started to say, but Tsunade cut him off.

"I'm planning on helping out the current genin who have been working on Iryo-ninjutsu. Sarutobi already gave me the reports about the group training done months ago and I can help some."

Kakashi helped Hiruzen with that, having assisted where needed. The prospect of the greatest medical nin of all time helping train Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and now Karin would only bode well for Konoha.

Karin, if Tsunade was right, could be a world class medic, and her Uzumaki heritage and the possibility of her manifesting Adamantine chains according to Naruto would be phenomenal. Hiruzen said that Sakura had chakra control and an instinctive grasp on Iryo-ninjutsu that reminded him of Tsunade. Hinata, even if she had to work at it some, was coming along at an impressive rate for a recently turned 13 year old, and Asuma had mentioned Ino progressing well also.

Tsunade could work wonders on their progress.

"To ensure that Uzumaki Karin is kept here," Tsunade's eyes traced from left to right, "The Uzumaki clan will be a recognized one by the order of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha."

"And who will be clan head amongst the three?" Inoichi asked, not sounding exactly curious. He probably knew already who it was gonna be.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade replied, "His performance in the exams and the invasion is something seldom seen in a genin his age. Most of the genin could earn a promotion on that alone."

Kakashi remembered the previous meeting where each of the Jonin gave a briefing in person to the clan heads about the invasion, and he as well as Gai detailed their own fights and ones by Asuma's team along with Team 7. He knew that they were proud of their children, and Naruto was the best equipped, mentally, to be a clan head.

"Speaking of the exams," Tsunade continued, shifting in her seat for a moment, "Has a decision been made about promotions?"

Kakashi zoned out for a moment, not particularly interested. It was a given that most were getting a promotion.

He vaguely heard the names of Gai's team at one point, Ino and Shikamaru were likely to be promoted, and he refocused when his own team were brought up.

"What are your thoughts, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked him.

Kakashi felt all eyes on him and he sighed, wanting to go home and rest instead of running guard duty basically.

"All three of them are ready for promotion," He said simply, pondering if he should break his boredom by whipping out his copy of Icha Icha in front of the blonde Sannin before she was technically his superior, "Each of them have had their first kills, have fought together, and they did well in their matches."

Technically, Rin and Sasuke tied, but I'm proud of them.

Just not as much as Hinata.

"Asuma's team worked well with the two Suna genin to subdue the Oto nin hunting Sasuke," Kakashi was relieved that Suna had backed down and signed the treaty to prevent a conflict breaking out, "most deserve promotion."

"What do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?" Tsunade questioned, wanting to get that out of the way.

Kakashi smirked behind his mask.

"I'd say make him a Jonin, but he isn't mature enough to not hold it over everyone. Chunin is fine."

Tsunade snorted at the maturity comment, but nodded at the comment promoting him.

"Genins Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Rin, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. They will be promoted to Chunin, while we can discuss the others at another meeting."

Tsunade then turned to Jiraiya.

"We can now move towards the topic of Kumo and a few others."

Jiraiya decided that was the signal to start talking, his hand brushing off some lent on his jacket.

"A potential alliance cemented with Kumo," He said bluntly, causing Hiashi to stiffen and narrow his eyes, "Evidence of an organization of S-rank terrorists attempting to kill Jinchuriki, and the source of the information about Orochimaru's attack... And a couple ordinance issues that Hashirama-sama didn't know about when he rebuilt dozens of houses."

Kakashi stifled a snort, smirking as he remembered the fuss raised when Hashirama opted out of trying to heal the injured from whatever issue was causing his chakra control to waver enough to cause the healing to stutter, and instead used his Mokuton to create barebones housing that could be painted later. Yamato worked right alongside him, and learned a few things to reduce the chakra drain on his ability somewhat.

The clan heads had gotten silent at that, only Hiashi, Inoichi, and Shikaku looking unsurprised by the one part.

"You could have been a little more nuanced about the delivery, Jiraiya." Tsunade looked at the man flatly.

"No point in beating around the bush," Jiraiya shrugged, looking a bit cramped in the chair he was sitting in.

After a few seconds, Jiraiya muttered something under his breath irritably and pushed the chair away, not dealing with it.

"The Kumo alliance, if it does occur," The attention of the room was split between Jiraiya and a seething Hiashi, "Will be tied to the protection of our respective Jinchuriki, the four being targets of the mercenary group known as the Akatsuki."

Jiraiya went on to explain the different known members of the Akatsuki, and the name of the leader of the group. A few sensitive details were kept out, Kakashi noticed.

The revealing that a mysterious spy was the source of the information, and the initial start of the information delivery, had several clan heads glancing at Hiashi.

"What information do you have of this man?" Shibi asked, his voice its usual flat tone. "It is unlikely that he would disappear in the wind."

"He is dead." Kakashi said simply, drawing the attention of everyone. This was the reason he was here. He interacted with Hurin the most.

"How can you be certain?" Hiashi asked coldly, obviously very sensitive to the man, "He disappeared from sight in my own house!"

"I killed him," Kakashi deadpanned, silencing the man, "After he told me to do so, and threatened to murder one of my students, Sasuke specifically, if I didn't."

The fact that Hurin had been staring at Itachi's clone when he said that made more sense now that Kakashi knew Itachi's love for Sasuke. He'd been saying it to both of them. Hurin undoubtedly knew Itachi's real reason for killing his clan, but kept that out of his initial meeting with Kakashi for some reason.

"Did you see his face?" Inoichi asked this time, his expression inquisitive. "We might learn more if so. Perhaps a blood sample to compare."

Kakashi shook his head stiffly.

"Nothing remains of him," His eye flicked towards Asuma, who was standing with Gai and Kurenai behind the clan heads in a relaxed position, "And he's old, around the Sandaime's age in appearance. That's all we could tell about his face."

The man was likely a grandson of Ashina's. He had the eyes that looked like Rin's, Kushina's, and the old man's. Faded red hair and his facial structure looked similar to Naruto's, his eye shape looked identical to Kushina, and his hair spiked out slightly like Ashina's did, according to Hiruzen.

"Kakashi," Choza, out of all people, said his name to get his attention, "Is it possible that he was... you know." The Akimichi glanced at Shibi, then back to Kakashi.

Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine, not wanting to humour that possiblity.

"No," Kakashi shook his head, "Not possible. He would have said something if that were the case. I suggest that not be brought up again." the silver haired Jonin's voice sharpened at the end.

Kakashi didn't care if it raised questions. Minato said to not dig for anything, so he was going to do just that.

Tsunade defused the awkward situation by explaining the planned expansion of the medical training for Iryo-ninjutsu and the different plans Konoha had for combatting anybody that hoped to capitalize on a potential vulnerability after Orochimaru's attack.

Suna signing a new treaty to avoid open warfare was addressed rather quickly, not much needing to be said about it. In return for the Jinchuriki of the Ichibi and the Kazekage's other children, as well as the few prisoners taken, Suna would basically be completely beholden to Konoha for the next ten years.

After the biggest portions of the things Jiraiya stated at the beginning of the meeting were finished, Tsunade and Jiraiya shared a look.

"I spoke with Sarutobi-sensei about this more, Tsunade," Jiraiya said, turning to shift his gaze towards the rest of the room, "There is one last thing."

Kakashi tensed when his thoughts translated what was about to happen.

The room focused on Jiraiya once again.

"Uchiha Itachi was deceived and ordered to kill the Uchiha clan by Shimura Danzo under false pretenses."

Jiraiya barely explained the details before shouts echoed through the room.

The uproar and saturation of chakra in the air had Kakashi flinching, the reaction predictable.

Tsunade slammed her palm down with a resounding crack to silence them, the table creaking from the hit.

The icy look she shot everyone had them pausing.

"You will be silent as Jiraiya explains," She said quietly, the weight in her words forcing all to listen and obey, "I have spent days healing and saving lives, surrounded by constant requests for help since I got back. I saw my grandfather and uncle for the first time in over 40 years the day I got back. This has not been a pleasant several days."

Her voice suddenly sharpened further.

"I wish to get this over with quickly," Her fist clenched, "And screeching like a bunch of toddlers will delay me from resting so I can get back to work. So listen."

No more outbursts were made.

Tsunade then nodded towards Jiraiya to continue.

The resident spy master explained the details that Hiruzen and he had known, including the execution carried out on Danzo by Hiashi, Kakashi, and Hiruzen.

Jiraiya left out the part about Hurin giving the information, as well as the deceit about Danzo supposedly unleashing the Kyuubi.

After the details of everything else was said, the clan heads had varying looks of paleness and understandably lost looks on their faces.

"Why wasn't I informed of this before Itachi was being interrogated?" Inoichi asked, his jaw tense.

"It was an oversight," Jiraiya admitted, looking uncomfortable, "Everything has been a mess and that slipped through the cracks."

Military readiness in case of war took precedence, and that basically got overlooked.

As the others came to grips with the new information, Tsunade spoke up.

"Any questions right now?" She called out, "Or they can wait until another meeting after we stabilize things."

Shikaku responded with a question.

"What of Iwa?" He asked, "The presence of Roshi, and his killing by a resurrected ally of Konoha, who happens to be an ancestor of our two Jinchuriki, may cause conflict."

"Forces have already been sent to the northwest of Hi no Kuni," Tsunade said clearly, "Iwa, if they were planning a first strike, will be sorely disappointed."

Shikaku's posture relaxed, the others still trying to recover from the previous news.

"Nothing else?" Tsunade asked, hearing no one speak up, "Good. Meeting is over, we'll come back at a later time to discuss the other genin promotions and officially recognizing Uzumaki Naruto as the head of his clan."

Before they could get up and depart, Tsunade added one more thing.

"Anything related to the informant is classified as an S-rank secret. Execution will be the punishment for giving any information on how we found out about Orochimaru's attack and the Akatsuki. It doesn't leave this room."

Kakashi didn't miss that they didn't mention that the man was an Uzumaki to the clan heads.

The clan heads nodded, expecting such a thing, rose from their chairs and left, along with the jonin.

As Kakashi went to leave as well, he heard his name called.

"Hatake," Tsunade said, causing him to turn.

Kakashi walked towards Tsunade and looked at her in question, her face tight.

"How has the kid taken it?" Her voice adopted concern.

Kakashi sighed as he remembered how raw and tumultuous Sasuke was after it.

"Very badly," Kakashi was honest, not liking the thought of Sasuke going through something so terrible, "He had a complete breakdown and Rin is staying the night at his home."

Jiraiya was right beside Tsunade, his expression unreadable.

"Do you think he could be a flight risk?" Jiraiya asked calmly, almost as if he were commenting about the weather.

Kakashi's head jerked towards Jiraiya, his eyes narrowed.

"No," He said coldly, "Sasuke wouldn't do that."

Jiraiya took a step forward in response, towering over Kakashi in both height and chakra.

"Don't be defensive about it, Kakashi," Jiraiya scowled, crossing his arms, " I don't mean anything by it. I've seen how Uchiha handle stuff like this in the past. They don't handle it well at all. The last thing we need is him possibly running off, especially with his eyes now."

The three remaining people, along with the other three Hokages, were aware of Sasuke's eyes.

"I've seen what trauma does to people, Kakashi," Jiraiya's posture tightened slightly, "I lost my friend to it and had to fight him."

The thought of Sasuke turning out like Orochimaru filled Kakashi with dread. He was just thankful that neither he or Naruto had been marked.

"I understand," Kakashi eventually said, his eye flicking towards Tsunade, "How is the Sandaime?"

Tsunade's expression lightened at the question.

"Much better than I expected," She replied, a soft smile on her face, "Give it a few more days and he can be released."

Kakashi nodded along, knowing the Sandaime's health and recovery would do well for morale.

"Was there anything else, Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi looked at the white haired Sannin in question.

Jiraiya nodded stiffly.

"We," He gestured towards the three of them, "Will be speaking with the Raikage and Kumo's two Jinchuriki later this week, and I need your opinion on whether Naruto should be there or not."

Kakashi tilted his head in confusion, Jiraiya noticing it.

"Even if I'm his and Rin's godfather," The older man's voice lowered, his expression downcast, "You know them better than anybody aside from Mitarashi. Do you think he could handle it?"

Kakashi thought about it, running through every action Naruto took when encountering unfamiliar situations.

Despite being extremely perceptive and intelligent, Naruto's propensity towards assuming the worst and rolling with it as fact wasn't something Kakashi was blind to.

Whether it be the backlash of the Kyuubi's chakra during the mission in Nami, the freakout over Hinata months earlier, the wanton disregard of orders if it suited him, and his reaction to anything threatening towards him and more importantly Rin had Kakashi hesitating on saying Naruto would be fine.

On the other hand, Naruto acknowledged the dangers of that kind of impulsiveness and had made an effort to not act with that as a guide.

The Raikage would also press to have at least one of the two children of Namikaze Minato being there, especially Naruto.

"Who else will be there?" Kakashi asked, "And what will the talks be about?"

"Itachi will be telling everything he knows about the Akatsuki," Jiraiya replied, "Ay has already been informed of Itachi's loyalties."

Kakashi let out a breath, exhaling audibly as he still debated on deciding on what to say about Naruto.

"If it's about the Akatsuki," Kakashi eventually said, "It would probably be for the best to let Naruto attend. Kami knows he'll be fighting them in a couple years."

Naruto's progress was on track for him to be an S-rank in his teens. With Jiraiya training him, he'll reach it without a doubt.

"And I don't think he would appreciate being left in the dark about this, especially after what Sarutobi-sensei told me about his reaction to his father." Jiraiya pointed out.

Tsunade was just standing there awkwardly, not exactly knowing Naruto well enough to give good input. So she just stood silently.

"So yes," Kakashi said with a hint of concern, "Bring him and let him learn how to speak with other village leaders. Sink or swim."

Jiraiya nodded, his eyes flicking towards the door.

"One final thing," Jiraiya's voice hardened, his expression that of the veteran of two Shinobi wars and the trainer of the Yondaime Hokage, "Naruto is to not know of anything about his relative. None of the meetings are to be talked about and no details given. Ay has been told to not ask about it either if he wants us to work together. Hurin obviously has an interest in Naruto and I'd rather not tempt fate."

That didn't make any sense to Kakashi. The man was dead.

"Why bother with angering a dead man?" Kakashi asked, trying to make sense of something so ridiculous.

Jiraiya's brow furrowed.

"Are you sure of that?"

Kakashi fought back a scowl, not believing the possibility.

"I used this," Kakashi gestured towards his covered Sharingan, "He's dead."

"Crazier things have happened" Jiraiya said flatly, "And I'm starting to become a damned cynic about dead men staying that way."

Before Kakashi could respond, Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade cut in, "This conversation is interesting, but I know little about the context of this. It's late and I need to sleep."

Jiraiya nodded and smiled at the blonde.

"That's fine, Tsunade. I can fill you in later."

Tsunade turned and left, closing the door.

Jiraiya and Kakashi stared at each other for a moment, the white haired man sighing.

"Walk with me." He said simply, looking away from Kakashi and walking out of the room.

Kakashi followed, speeding up his stride to keep up with the man.

Is this how Naruto feels? Kakashi asked himself, cursing the speed that he had to walk to keep up with Jiraiya as they walked through the streets of Konoha.

Overall, the village only had modest levels of structural damage, nearly half of it already partially replaced by Hashirama and Yamato.

Kakashi kept following Jiraiya, the white haired man stopping at the edge of the Forest of Death.

After the Sannin stopped, Kakashi reached his left side and looked up at the taller man.

"Sarutobi informed me of the traps placed here," Jiraiya commented, his eyes tracing the trees as the faint squawk of animal life emanated from the forest, "And how Orochimaru said they were nearly identical to Ashina's traps placed in Uzu."

Kakashi remained silent, noticing how soft Jiraiya's voice was.

"I'm certain that Ashina personally trained this guy and has something else up his sleeve."

"What makes you say that?" Kakashi asked mildly, his eye looking up at the full moon.

Jiraiya chuckled mirthlessly, pulling out a storage scroll and pulsing chakra in it, a bottle of sake appearing in a puff.

"Because," Jiraiya gripped the cork with his teeth and pulled, dropping the cork after he was done and took a swig, hissing quietly, "I'm pretty sure what Ashina did to conceal himself is how our little guardian angel from Uzu has been gathering information."

Jiraiya explained that he had spoken with both Hashirama and Tobirama about this Hurin individual, and Hiruzen had mentioned the supposed legend behind the name.

"A legendary warrior that was forced to watch as everything he fought for slowly withered away for decades," Jiraiya muttered, shaking his head, "None of us have heard of it and Tobirama-sama said that he didn't see any of Ashina's grandchildren have the bloodline ability that he had. If I wasn't certain that his eldest, Tadamichi, had been killed, I'd say it may have been him."

Kakashi raised a brow at how Jiraiya would know that, the man taking another small drink of sake as he looked up at the stars.

"Naruto mentioned the conversation he had with Ashina," Jiraiya said simply, "Including how Ashina's eldest died in his arms."

If Kakashi hadn't known better, he would've thought Naruto was playing a joke on them when he repeated the conversation with Ashina, even if a couple details were left out. The thought of Uchiha Madara surviving the titanic clash with the Shodai, avoid getting discovered and getting the Nidaime killed in one fell swoop, and finally getting beheaded by Ashina decades later was something almost too ridiculous to fathom.

But it was the truth.

"But how does that translate into him training the mystery man?" Kakashi asked.

"Simple," Jiraiya shrugged, "Ashina utilized a Water release ability similar to what the Nidaime Tsuchikage did, refracting the light around him to make him invisible."

Kakashi connected what that meant.

"You think that Ashina trained him to use that? That he was using that to spy?"

"Yes." Jiraiya nodded, rolling his arm a bit as he stretched.

It does make sense. Kakashi admitted to himself. The infiltration of the Hyuga compound and the seemingly reality defying information he had could be acquired if you couldn't be seen.

"There's something else though," Jiraiya suddenly looked uncomfortable, "It's about another thing. I've not shared this with anyone alive, not even the Sandaime."

Kakashi felt a shiver run down his spine, the air feeling chilled by the thought of something this serious.

"With your permission," Jiraiya turned to face him, stowing away the alcohol, "I can reverse summon the both of us to Mount Myoboku to talk about it. I've asked the toads and they'll grant you permission to be there for the duration of our conversation."

"Shouldn't Tsunade-sama know about this if she is to be the Godaime?" Kakashi asked worriedly, popping his ring finger and pinky as a nervous tic he developed in the ANBU, "Why would I be told this?"

"Because Naruto trusts you the most out of everyone," Jiraiya said seriously, "And I'm not blind to how much he dislikes Tsunade. He practically worships you. This applies to him and something I only thought of over the last few days. I'm putting a great deal of trust in Naruto's judgement of you."

Kakashi found it hard to believe that Naruto would think so highly of him.

"I think you put too much stock in Naruto's supposed perception of me," Kakashi tried to refute Jiraiya, "I doubt he 'worships me'." He used air quotes.

Jiraiya snorted amusedly, giving Kakashi an 'are you kidding' look.

"You're the closest thing he has to an equal and peer, either for age or skill."

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but Jiraiya held up his hand and shook his head.

"Rin is his darling little sister that needs protected at all cost, the Hyuga and Yamanaka girls are his friends that are an escape from the harsh training he subjects himself to, and the Uchiha is the nightmare of what Rin becomes if he fails at being a brother. They're not his equals in his eyes, while Sarutobi-sensei and I are too old for him to relate to sometimes."

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya incredulously, not expecting Jiraiya to be able to come up with that.

"I've got more mileage travelling the world and meeting people than anyone alive, Kakashi," Jiraiya remarked sagely, "I can read people like a book and Naruto is more like his father than he realizes. I knew Minato as a kid and basically raised him."

Kakashi felt like he was getting a lecture from Minato, the tone of voice and height difference reminding him of those days.

"So, you read Naruto's reactions when you trained him for a month?" Kakashi asked, seeing Jiraiya nod, "Bringing up different people to see his reaction?"

Jiraiya nodded again, taking the large scroll off his back. The Toad summoner unfurled the scroll and looked up at Kakashi, gesturing for him to sit on the it.

"It will make sense once we can talk freely," Jiraiya said, tapping the scroll, "I'm not taking any chances we're being listened to."

Kakashi sighed and decided to go along, stepping forward and sitting on the scroll, legs crossed.

"I'm going to place a seal with my chakra on you," Jiraiya said from behind him, pressing a paper tag on his neck, "It'll help stabilize the reverse summoning so you don't get shredded."

Kakashi fought the urge to twitch, not liking the visual.

This better be worth it.

"This'll feel unpleasant." Jiraiya warned, biting his thumb and going through hand seals.

Jiraiya finished the seals and pressed his palm on the scroll, chakra flooding the area.

Kakashi felt extreme vertigo and his vision spun, the sound of air rushing as he got sent to Mount Myoboku was definitely not pleasant.

---

A loud pop echoed across the area as Hatake Kakashi was deposited on the ground, his head pounding.

Groaning loudly, Kakashi pushed himself up and fought the slight wave of nausea that hit him from the journey, Jiraiya arriving moments later.

"I... didn't...like that." Kakashi managed to say, his stomach clenched.

"Reverse summoning another chakra signature isn't exactly easy." Jiraiya defended himself, yanking the seal off of Kakashi's neck.

"Gah," Kakashi growled, grabbing at his neck, "A warning would've been appreciated." He glared at Jiraiya.

"I need to refuel it." Jiraiya snorted, unaffected by Kakashi's glare as he forced chakra into the seal, "And Naruto gives a better glare. He's scary."

Kakashi rolled his eyes at Jiraiya saying that, deciding to look around instead of complain.

The area was extremely beautiful, the plant life and air seemed brighter, better, almost like this was a paradise.

"I see you notice the difference." Jiraiya chuckled, drawing Kakashi's attention, "I think it's from the Nature chakra that saturates the land. It makes everything better looking."

After Kakashi got over the difference, he focused on Jiraiya.

"We're somewhere secure now," Kakashi cut to the chase, "What was it you wanted to say."

Jiraiya grimaced, his eyes going to a waterfall surrounded by a few statues of toads.

"Sarutobi knows this part," Jiraiya clarified, scratching at his chin, "And I had told Minato as well when Kushina was pregnant."

Kakashi listened silently.

"The oldest toad here, Gamamaru, is basically senile. He has his moments of clarity, but he forgets things a lot and has been around for centuries."

"To put it bluntly," Jiraiya sighed, "Gamamaru can see parts of the future."

Out of all things, seeing the future was not what Kakashi was expecting to hear when he woke up this morning.

"Can you repeat that?" Kakashi said steadily, blinking slowly.

"Gamamaru had a dream about my arrival here," Jiraiya said sharply, "I'm not a fool, Kakashi. I can see the skepticism on your face, kid. I went through my own phase of not believing it, but you can't explain my scrawny little ass being expected to crash here decades before I was born."

Kakashi's mind was working double time trying to figure out how such a thing was remotely possible. In his two decades of service as a Shinobi, he'd never heard of a way to see the future.

"How is that possible?"

"My only theory," Jiraiya stressed the word, "That sounds plausible is that constant exposure to Nature chakra, like how the toads have been, could make them attuned to the chakra of the entire world, letting them perhaps sense how reality flows... I don't know!" Jiraiya threw his hands up at the end, scowling as he paced back and forth, "Orochimaru and I talked about it over 15 years ago and he didn't even know if Senjutsu could give slight clairvoyance. Of course, I didn't tell him why I brought it up."

"Nothing other than that explains how Gamamaru knew I'd arrive when I was a kid," Jiraiya scowled once more, "And it's not a coincidence that I found Nagato when I did."

At Kakashi's raised brow at the name, Jiraiya explained who Nagato was.

An Uzumaki survivor that possessed the Rinnegan. One of three war orphans in Ame that Jiraiya trained for some time.

"And he's dead," Jiraiya took a shuddering breath, his eyes foggy, "I've outlived all my students, but when Gamamaru said he had a dream centuries ago that I would train a student who would bring a great change to the world, I thought it was Nagato. But now, I think I've found the right one."

As if a giant and disjointed puzzle came together all at once, Kakashi understood all that Jiraiya said and was getting at.

"You think it's Naruto?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Nobody else fits it. I thought it was Nagato, but he died. I then thought it was Minato, but then the Kyuubi happened. I know it is Naruto. He's everything that Minato was, but also an Uzumaki with his clan's bloodline, a Jinchuriki, and the mindset to make the world better simply because he can."

The implications of all of this was getting to Kakashi's head, but he pressed on.

"And you told me this because I could keep him from breaking if something terrible happens?" Kakashi pressed, not thinking of any other reason why Jiraiya went to him about this instead of Tsunade.

Everybody needed a peer to talk to. Naruto always had seniority in his interactions with the other genin, including Shikamaru and Sasuke. Kakashi could easily fill the role of the sympathetic listener and helping hand.

"Yes," Jiraiya confirmed Kakashi's thought, "I saw what isolation did to you, kid. I don't think the world would survive if Naruto was broken... like Orochimaru." The white haired man trailed off at that.

Kakashi didn't want to think of that. It wasn't possible, so no need to dwell on it.

"I understand the caginess now," Kakashi grimaced, "But there's something else."

"Why I think Ashina trained Hurin at some point." Jiraiya finished Kakashi's sentence, his hand going up to his forehead, "Did Naruto tell you about all the stuff said by Ashina when they talked?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"What about Ashina stumbling across Mount Myoboku in his twenties?"

Kakashi shook his head once more.

"Long story short," Jiraiya chuckled lightly, "The madman saved a snake that was from Ryuchi Cave and tried to get her back home. She gave terrible directions and he ends up here, with a summon from a rival clan in the heart of the toad's home."

Kakashi could almost visualize it.

"I take it that they didn't react well."

"That's an understatement," Jiraiya laughed, "Ashina gets mistaken for a Snake summoner, goes at it with Gamabunta, kicks his ass, and fought his way through Mount Myoboku to escape. He was banned from ever coming back and I was explicitly told to never bring him like I brought you."

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Banned because of a misunderstanding? That seems harsh."

"Oh, he didn't get banned for trespassing accidentally," Jiraiya clarified, shaking his head irritatedly, "He was banned because he stole toad oil while he was escaping."

Why would he want oil?

"Oil?" Kakashi didn't understand the importance.

"The Toad oil of Mount Myoboku is a natural foci for Nature chakra," Jiraiya explained, suddenly a little uncomfortable, "Don't let it be known, but coating yourself in it is how the toads train their sages. Helps to learn how to sense Nature chakra and draw it in."

The dangers of that being available to people made it reasonable that Ashina was banned from coming back.

"What the hell was he thinking?" Kakashi couldn't help but voice, "Did he have a death wish? There's no way he didn't know the risks of alienating the toads."

"He did it for a reason, that's all I know," Jiraiya's posture was relaxed, but his voice didn't match, "I think whatever type of seal work he put into developing the Sage mask, or whatever he called it, was spawned from studying the oil and using it."

Kakashi was about to say something, but a faint rustle behind a few trees had him drawing a kunai, his senses on alert.

Jiraiya stayed completely relaxed and shot a glare at Kakashi.

"Put that away before you lose a testicle," Jiraiya scowled, walking towards the source, "Which toad is it that dares disturb me?" He asked loudly, laying it on thick.

"Don't you give me that attitude, Jiraiya-chan." A toad with what looked like a purple hat thing on called out as it stepped out from the tree, the toad being only about a foot tall. The toad also had a steaming bowl of food that Kakashi didn't recognize.

Kakashi stifled a laugh at the wince from Jiraiya at being called that, the toad looking aged.

"Sorry, Ma," Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Just talking with Hatake."

"Hmmn," The now named Ma looked at Kakashi up and down, "You have a summoning contract with the dogs. Be sure to not urinate on the trees."

Jiraiya let out a laugh at Kakashi's reaction, his eye widening at such a blunt statement.

"I don't do that." Kakashi said flatly, not amused. "Jiraiya isn't a toad, and I'm not a dog."

"Rue the day a toad is born with Jiraiya-chan's less than savory traits." Ma huffed, adjusting her grip on the bowl, "Would you like a bowl of stew?"

Jiraiya signaled for Kakashi to say no, which the silver haired man took the advice and declined.

Ma frowned and turned to Jiraiya.

"Be a dear and don't stay out late. Don't want you to catch a cold."

"I won't stay out long." Jiraiya promised, smiling as the toad turned and walked away.

After she disappeared, Kakashi eyed Jiraiya with a confused expression.

"One of the elder toads," Jiraiya said, seeming to be more relaxed, "She dotes on me at times. And never accept the food. It's mostly grasshoppers and worms."

Kakashi felt his throat tighten and his stomach clinch at the thought, memories of long distance ANBU missions where they had to do disgusting things to save on water and food hitting him.

"Yummy sounding, isn't it?" Jiraiya asked sarcastically, the attempt at humour falling flat, now that the calm air had passed.

"You were saying before, about Ashina?" Kakashi asked simply.

Jiraiya blinked and he pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, sighing audibly.

"Sarutobi told me about the meeting in the mask temple with Hurin. I don't think it's a coincidence that Ashina made a beeline to the temple, got two masks that were important, and then Hurin conveniently asks to get killed."

"What are you saying exactly?" Kakashi's confusion was noticable in his voice.

"I think that whoever this Hurin is might have resurrected Ashina earlier and devised a plan with him. This Tobi individual supposedly gave Orochimaru Ashina's blood, but the base that Ashina mentioned before he killed Orochimaru was empty. The blood was gone by the time a team got there, and I hand picked the ANBU myself. Tobi got the blood somehow in the first place, and it's possible that he was gifted it, not knowing who truly gave it to him, only to be retrieved by a certain someone."

That was news to Kakashi, but he didn't interrupt.

"Who else, aside from a grandson, would Ashina trust with blood from when he was young?" Jiraiya asked rhetorically, "Why would Ashina have blood from when he was that young? And why did Ashina choose to kill Madara on his own instead of raising the alarm across the continent to possibly delay an attack on Uzu?"

Kakashi waited for Jiraiya to say the last part.

"I think that Ashina planned this out. An agent of his spies on Konoha's enemies and protects Kushina. But when she dies, he turns up years later to help her children. If this Tobi," Jiraiya's teeth clenched, "Was responsible for the Kyuubi, why give him the blood? Ashina said in front of me that only one other person knew about his blood. It's almost like he believed me about the prophecy."

No. Kakashi thought irritably. The Sandaime was starting to get ahead of himself when this initially happened when we started receiving letters.This is stretching it even more.

It was becoming ridiculous how much speculation was being treated as fact and Kakashi hated it.

"That's pushing a hypothesis to the point of mad speculation," Kakashi scowled, starting to get annoyed by this, "This is too much."

Jiraiya's chakra sharpened and Kakashi swore the temperature lowered as the man's presence was levelled at him.

"Ashina didn't dispute the possibility of seeing the future when I told him about the prophecy," Jiraiya snapped, his arms crossing, "Not once. He was always pressing for stuff that piqued his interest and he talked for hours, asking for every little detail about the prophecy when I was in Uzu with my team. He only dismissed it after I told him everything, but he didn't hide his curiosity. He talked with me over his own granddaughter Tsunade at times."

"This," Kakashi really tried to refute this. It was madness, but everything as of late was madness as well. "I don't know what to say."

"Ashina's blood had to have been given later. None of the letters pointed to Ashina for a reason. Naruto said that Ashina admitted to breaking into Sarutobi's house after breaking free of Orochimaru, but why go back to him? Why not take the mask, kill him, and prevent the invasion?"

"It doesn't add up," Kakashi grimaced, "None of it adds up."

"Exactly," Jiraiya said, "Sarutobi was only warned of Ashina that night. Spooked the hell out of him that someone snuck in. The voice supposedly was disguised, but only one guy fits the bill of breaking and entering, and I don't believe it coincidence that the same MO for Hurin was done by Ashina. There's too many loose ends that fit into this theory, not to mention the vault Ashina mentioned to both Naruto and me separately."

"And before I planted one of the tags on Ashina," Jiraiya said clearly, his eyes bright with conviction, "He had yelled at me to plant it on him. He knew I had a tag! Dead for twenty years, but knew about something yesterday, so that confirms it was either him or Hurin."

"No," Kakashi cut him off, shaking his head, "Naruto said that Ashina had been brought back by Orochimaru and knew about things. He said he broke free and did it."

"Orochimaru would never have given that kind of information to Ashina," Jiraiya said sharply, "I actually knew the man, and he never trusted Orochimaru. There's no way in hell Ashina knew to kill only Oto and Suna nin, knew what masks to get, knew Minato used the Shiki Fujin, and that he learned about the Akatsuki from Orochimaru, and tried to get information about their leader. Knowledge is power, and Orochimaru would have kept it close to him."

"It's no coincidence that the moment a mysterious Uzumaki starts giving information that even my network couldn't find, followed by Orochimaru being alerted to us being prepared, and ending with blood that was from over 80 years ago turning up to be used to give him the element of surprise again happens. You can't make this shit up, Kakashi!" Jiraiya raised his voice at the end, throwing his hands out. "Give us an edge, take it away when Orochimaru nearly gets killed in the forest, and make him think he has an advantage with Ashina while warning us again. It can fit."

"Ashina went straight to Naruto after getting his mask and killing Orochimaru, not Rin or anybody else," Jiraiya continued, "And Naruto was mentioned constantly in the letters and discussions, right? This Hurin guy could've been told the prophecy by Ashina, who might've realized the same thing I did. You see, Kakashi? Naruto is the prophecized one! It all fits!"

The passion and energy in Jiraiya's voice made Kakashi want to believe wholeheartedly.

Want.

But Kakashi knew how much this meant to Jiraiya. It would mean Nagato's death, Minato-sensei, all the death would mean something.

"All it takes is one thing to not fit for this theory to crash and burn." Kakashi stated, removing his headband to look at the environment with his Sharingan out of curiosity.

He could see extremely faint wisps of chakra in the air, almost fading into the background from how in tune it was. The water definitely had a more distinct sparkle to it though.

"That sounds like the old toad," Jiraiya scoffed petulantly, "A crimson disharmony will throw everything off." His voice adopted an old wizened sound to it mockingly.

"What?" Kakashi tilted head, totally lost.

"Gamamaru described Ashina like he was something wrong," Jiraiya rolled his eyes, "I asked him what he thought of him right after Uzu was destroyed. He said...oh, what was it..." Jiraiya thought for a moment, looking unsure. But suddenly, it clicked.

"Ah, yes. A note of discord in the chorus," the Toad sage adopted the mocking old voice again, "A dead spot in my dream. An emptiness where I see nothing.' Kind of rude, but I've heard worse obituaries and Gamamaru is pretty damn senile."

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi expectantly, waiting for a response.

"I'm not going to believe this until it's proven," Kakashi said firmly, not relenting in his skepticism, "I don't believe in predestination, Jiraiya-sama. I refuse to believe I was destined to lose what I have."

His father wasn't destined to kill himself, he wasn't destined to have his eye torn from his head, Obito wasn't destined to be crushed and broken under a rock, Rin wasn't destined to die.

Jiraiya's slowly inhaled and exhaled, a faint smile on his face.

"Gamamaru, when he was rambling, mentioned twins," Jiraiya's eyes focused on Kakashi's, "Fraternal twins. He said the eldest was special and would be powerful. How many twins do you know fit that?"

Kakashi was breathing heavily, his fear rising.

No, I don't believe it. It can't be possible.

"I refuse to believe this was all destined to happen. It makes their deaths mean nothing," Kakashi's voice tightened, both eyes fixed on Jiraiya's, "Nothing justifies that."

Jiraiya's eyes hardened, his lips curling into a sneer.

"You know little of justice, Kakashi," Jiraiya scoffed, "I've seen the world through the lens of civilians who only know of Shinobi as wraiths in the night that haunt the cities and rich people. They're farmers, poor people that don't catch anybody's attention. They're free of the shit we've lived through. They have no power to themselves like we do, but they're still free."

"Your point?" Kakashi asked coldly.

"We're constantly spinning our wheels and no progress is being made," Jiraiya replied, his eyes turning to the sky, "I've fought on the frontline of two conflicts and killed hundreds, if not thousands of people, Kakashi. We're in another cold war like we were before and I still carry the scars and memories that paid for this uneasy peace. I've given my life just to keep the status quo. I took fatal hits when I fought Hanzo and I only lived because Tsunade was there. My chakra subconsciously welcomes hers because of how often she has saved me over the decades... and I her." A soft smile graced the older man's face as he said the last part.

Kakashi then saw Jiraiya's smile turn melancholic.

"Ashina's sacrifice and the deaths suffered at Uzu saved Konoha in the Second War, and the copy of notes Kushina was given when she was sent to Konoha helped Minato along in Fuinjutsu. Minato won us the Third War."

"Everything hangs by a thread, Kakashi," Jiraiya shook his head, running his fingers across the symbol on his headband, "You are you because your father sacrificed men and women under his command to get the rest of his forces out of that Kami forsaken valley."

Kakashi remembered hearing about the stunning escape his father pulled off in the war, but he never put thought into how he did it.

"That made Sakumo into a fanatic about never leaving anyone behind," Jiraiya said softly, "We became friends during the war and I like to think I knew him pretty well. That event was why he failed the mission that caused his death."

Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek as he remembered how pale his father looked in death, the floor covered in his blood with his own blade in his gut.

"The war shaped me into who I am and it shaped Kushina into who she was. Minato was influenced by us the most and he became something great."

Jiraiya took a shuddering breath.

"I've tried to impart the best aspects of myself in my students. I succeeded with Minato, and by Kami he was a good man."

Kakashi couldn't refute any of that about his Sensei. He didn't think he'd ever meet a more kind man in his life.

"I'm getting old," Jiraiya shook his head, stretching his arms and bending his back some, "Things pop that shouldn't be, my knees ache a little more after training, and I'm a little short of breath after too much Katon jutsu."

The dark eyes of the toad Sannin was filled with a terrible resolve.

"I'll be S-rank for another ten years at most, assuming I don't lose an arm or leg. I'm not cut from the same cloth as Sarutobi. He was more dangerous at 50 than I ever was in my entire life."

The way Jiraiya was talking worried Kakashi. All this morbid talk about getting old set off alarms in the copycat nin's head.

"My dream is that the good parts of me will live on in my students," Jiraiya blinked rapidly, "And the worst parts, my mistakes, will die with me."

Jiraiya's eyes had a faraway look to them as he stepped closer to Kakashi.

"Every death I've caused, every friend I lost, all that you, me, the village, everybody who has suffered from the conflicts that have gone on for centuries has to mean something!"

"Jiraiya-sam-" Kakashi started to say, but Jiraiya cut him off.

"If all the people I've killed and everything that's been lost is simply a lead up to Naruto saving the world," Jiraiya laughed weakly, lowering his head, "I can sleep easy at night. I didn't give up on the world like Tsunade had or Orochimaru. I was the only one, the deadlast of my year and a stupid little pervert, that kept fighting. Not the Shodai's brilliant granddaughter, not the once in a generation prodigy. Me!" Jiraiya hit his chest. "The only thing I ever had that they didn't was faith. Faith that I could catch up to them, faith that I could earn the toads' trust, faith that I could help get us back home from war, and faith that someone will do the same when I'm dead!"

"Faith," Jiraiya said the word as if it were the most precious thing in the world, "Is why I didn't give up when Minato died, or when I couldn't raise his twins. And now, I have faith that I am right, that all the nightmares and hell we've been through are just the beginning of a brighter future. And it's okay if you don't believe me, I've grown used to being the sole light in the darkness."

Kakashi felt a lump in his throat as he digested what Jiraiya said. The idea of a brighter dawn on the horizon being certain was comforting. He was utterly convinced that he was right, and he very well could be.

But Kakashi simply couldn't believe it.

"I can't," Kakashi took a shaky breath, "I can help Naruto. I have for years and will continue to, even after you've retired, but I just can't believe all of this. I don't need to think of a future event that explains everything I've been through. I simply keep fighting through it."

Jiraiya just nodded, letting out a short laugh.

"Right," He smiled like he knew it sounded a bit ridiculous, "You're not so certain. Fair enough. Of course, in a world filled with misery and uncertainty, it's hard to see the light in the darkness."

"I'll make a believer out of you," Jiraiya continued to smile, unconcerned, "I made a pervert out of you, and this isn't any different."

The two men stood there, totally silent after that, the only sound being the rustling of the grass from the wind.

After Kakashi let his thoughts settle, he took a deep breath.

"I'm worried about the future," He admitted, "A storm is on the horizon and I don't know if we'll be ready."

"You're never ready for a shit storm when it hits," Jiraiya said flatly, "You just go with the flow and shower later."

Jiraiya tossed the tag to Kakashi and he caught it, pressing it against his neck.

Being in his fifties and the fight with Orochimaru probably had Jiraiya wondering if he'd survive to help Naruto years down the road. It heartened Kakashi to think that Jiraiya was willing to impart such a secret with him, one that not even Tsunade knew.

If Jiraiya wanted him as a failsafe to protect Naruto in the event of the Toad sage's untimely death, Kakashi would do it without hesitation.

"Was that all that needed to be said?"

Jiraiya hummed and nodded, walking towards the scroll.

Kakashi let his legs carry him to the scroll and he sat down, tensing in preparation for the uncomfortable journey.

"I hope I'm wrong about Hurin," Jiraiya admitted, reopening the bite on his thumb, " By Kami I hope I'm overthinking. Naruto said Ashina was surprised about someone infiltrating the Hyuga compound. I hope I'm just grasping at straws to make sense of things."

A series of hand seals later and the two men disappeared in a puff of smoke.

---

The Akatsuki had assembled in a meeting via their rings, having been awaiting news from Itachi and Kisame about their success.

Word had reached, over the last several days, of Konoha being attacked by Suna and the new village of Otogakure.

Given that the mission was a massively important one, each member was secretly awaiting information once they had been pinged for a meeting.

"Kisame," Pein gazed at the astral projection of the former Kiri nin, "Where is Itachi?"

The absence of the Uchiha was a surprise, and surprises weren't a good thing in this line of work.

"Itachi's dead." Kisame said simply, not moving an inch. "We were supposed to meet up and he's not at the rendezvous. It's been days."

Nobody said a word. Every single person silently took in that information.

Arguably the most dangerous member next to Pein himself had been killed. Itachi was the least likely among them all to get himself killed in Konoha because of his interior knowledge, but that evidently wasn't enough.

Pein's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, going unnoticed.

"What happened?"

The others all turned to Kisame almost in unison.

"It would be faster to say what didn't happen," Kisame scowled, his teeth bared, "Everything was going to plan. We snuck in and nobody spotted us, we were flying under detection throughout the entire time and knew the location of each Jinchuriki. Roshi was the easiest to target because he was potentially spying on Konoha and nobody knew he was there."

"Why not the Uzumaki Jinchuriki or the Suna one?" Pein questioned, wanting to know why the youngest Jinchuriki weren't targeted.

"Itachi did get ahold of the Suna Jinchuriki," Kisame clarified, "But the one Uzumaki Jinchuriki nearly killed the kid in the finals with a Chidori and Itachi had to stabilize him in the woods."

A Jinchuriki that could use an A-rank jutsu at that age to nearly kill another Jinchuriki was definitely a topic of importance.

"Hatake evidently trained him then," Pein mused, "To think a thirteen year old could use something like that in combat effectively. We may need to revise our priorities in acquiring the Bijuu."

Sasori cut in at that moment, drawing the attention of Pein and the others.

"There is no may," The puppet master said gruffly, "The kid isn't just an intelligent Jinchuriki."

"Your source?"

"A spy in Orochimaru's group of followers," Sasori shrugged, turning his eyes back towards Kisame, "It should wait until Kisame is finished."

"Very well," Pein accepted the delay, also looking at Kisame once more, "Continue."

The next portion involved Kisame going into detail of how they nearly defeated Roshi, but were stopped by the Raikage and the two Kumo Jinchuriki.

The reveal that they were made aware of the Akatsuki didn't go well.

"How the fuck do they know about us?" Hidan practically shouted, "I'm a given because he called me a Jashinist, but how did they know about all of us?!"

"Not all," Kisame stared at Hidan like he was an idiot, "Neither Pein or Konan were mentioned. The Raikage would have mentioned that if he knew."

"This supposed 'Shriveled ginger'," Pein said the term distastefully, the imagery not sitting well with him, "That Ay mentioned as a help towards locating Itachi. Any possible leads on who that is?"

Kisame shook his head.

"Itachi was discovered at some point in the arena and got out with the Suna Jinchuriki and stowed him somewhere while we fought."

Pein frowned at the failure to get two Jinchuriki. What could have been a smashing victory was now a catastrophe that seemed to get worse the more he thought of it.

"Out of curiosity, who was in the finals?"

"Uzumaki Naruto was facing the Suna Jinchuriki," Kisame started, "The only others I remembered hearing about was two Hyuga fighting and Itachi's brother against the Uzumaki girl."

Pein was thinking of possible ways of salvaging the situation, but needed more information.

"What else?" It was not voiced as a question.

Kisame explained how they had almost managed to get an opening to escape, but the arrival of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage killed that possibility.

"Hardest damn fight of my life," Kisame's face curled into a sneer, "The Mokuton is everything it was described as and so is the Hiraishin."

It was no short of miraculous that Kisame managed to evade the two and get away. But the question remained on how the two could've broken from Orochimaru's control.

"Itachi would have been unable to face so many Shinobi," Pein mused, counting out 6 S-ranks against Itachi at that point, "The loss of him and the ring is a shock."

"No," Kakuzu scoffed, shaking his head, "Shitting a sailboat, now that's a shock. This is a fucking catastrophe!"

Deidara was silent, simply listening, while Hidan and Sasori both looked at Kakuzu with an annoyed look.

"Starting to doubt the cause, heretic?" Hidan asked mockingly, his eyes dancing with a mad fire in them, "Ready to cut your losses for another bounty?"

"Shut it, lunatic," Kakuzu warned, "Before I tear your heart out and feed it to you."

"Ohhh, kinky," Hidan purred, eliciting a growl from Kakuzu, "I've never eaten my own heart before. You know exactly what to say to cheer me up."

"Silence." Pein's voice cut through the juvenile arguing, causing them to shut up. "Kisame," The purple ringed eyes of legend turned back to the former Swordsman, "Where is Roshi currently?"

"No idea." Kisame shrugged, the silhouette of Samehada behind him in his grip, "Probably trekking back to Iwa."

The next order of business just presented itself.

"A team will be sent to Iwa to intercept him and capture him." Pein said simply, looking between Sasori and Deidara and Kakuzu and Hidan. "How fresh is your knowledge of Iwa's geography, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu snorted. "Plenty of bounty work and tracking missing nin about a year before I joined up. It's good."

"Why not me?" Deidara protested, "I'm from Iwa. I wanted to beat Itachi one day and now I can't!"

"Precisely," Pein ignored the last statement by the youngest Akatsuki member, "As a missing nin from Iwa, you would be more quickly recognized by Shinobi there. Kakuzu and Hidan will handle this."

Deidara looked ready to say something, but wisely kept silent.

Pein then looked at Sasori.

"Kisame has given what information he has. What does your spy say?"

Sasori adjusted his Akatsuki robe slightly and spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto is more dangerous than expected. It may be better to target him specifically over any other Jinchuriki."

"Your reasoning?" Pein frowned, not expecting that.

"Orochimaru had an interest in the Uzumaki clan," Sasori explained, "My agent informed me of the snake's interest in the Sharingan and the Uzumaki. He planned on marking Uzumaki with a curse mark and recruiting him."

Curse marks never boded well. The only ones who managed to craft ones that didn't cause catastrophic damage to the chakra network when used was the Uzumaki clan, and the knowledge on how they did it died with them.

"A Jinchuriki would warrant recruiting by Orochimaru" Pein commented simply, knowing that Orochimaru was no fool, "Especially one containing the Kyuubi. But what makes this one special?"

It didn't necessarily mean anything though. Even an imbecile could be made an S-rank with little effort if they had the reserves of an Uzumaki Jinchuriki.

"This Jinchuriki," Sasori said firmly, "was capable of using the Rasengan, Chidori, combat Fuinjutsu, regenerates, has a bloodline ability that the Shodai Uzukage had, survived getting beheaded, and nearly killed Orochimaru when the snake marked him."

Pein didn't think he could be shocked to this degree, but this meeting had it happening twice.

Itachi was dead and it started to sound like a Jinchuriki from Nagato's clan was cut from the same cloth as the now deceased Uchiha.

"And that's not all." Sasori said gravely, continuing on.

"Not only did Uzumaki use A-rank jutsu against Orochimaru, he used a weak version of the Lightning Cloak the Raikages use and nearly killed the traitor with it."

It just kept getting worse. 13 years old and taking a Kage level threat like Orochimaru by surprise was no small feat. A jutsu like the Lightning Cloak could elevate a Shinobi to a level where they could punch Bijuu and hurt them.

"This kid sounds like a monster," Deidara said, trying to laugh to cover the worry in his voice, "He might appreciate true art."

"If he can regenerate and survive getting his head cut off," Hidan sounded downright excited, "We can't just kill him. He'll be so much fun to play with. Can we keep him?"

The glee in Hidan's voice at the thought of having a demented type of pet unsettled even the most bloodthirsty of the members present.

"Our task is to acquire Bijuu, not keep their prisons as pets." Konan spoke up this time, eying Hidan with suspicion.

"Can't we like, I don't know, recruit the kid?" Hidan asked, silencing the room completely with how it sounded.

"Did I not screw your head back on right the last time I tore it off?" Kakuzu asked incredulously, "That's the dumbest thing I've heard in decades."

Despite the distraction, Pein was a little curious about how the Jashinist would justify the extremely stupid statement. It might be amusing.

"Well what's the big deal?" Hidan threw his arms out in exasperation, "Why do we need to seal the damn Kyuubi when we could just talk to the kid? What if he hates his village or other Jinchuriki? There's Shinobi that are stronger than those stupid beasts and this kid'll probably be one. It's a waste to kill him, what if he enjoys murder and wants to follow Jashin?"

"We are not going to let you get distracted with missionary work," Kakuzu growled, his eyes burning a hole in Hidan's head, "I swear I'll find a way to make you stay dead."

"But you can't." Hidan laughed mockingly.

"The Uzumaki would more likely try and kill you instead of listening to you," Sasori scolded the cultist, "A more important factor than just his capabilities is his knowledge. Knowledge that he has no business knowing."

"What kind of knowledge?" Konan asked.

"He knew about Orochimaru's interest in Itachi and told Orochimaru no to being a shield against Itachi and us. Orochimaru told him about us and the goal to hunt Jinchuriki to convince him that he could only survive if the snake trained him to fight us."

Hidan groaned petulantly under his breath.

"No fun."

"Please, continue." Konan and everyone else ignored Hidan.

"Uzumaki not only knew about Orochimaru's interest, but knew who my spy was and mentioned me by name."

How is that possible? Pein thought. Knowledge like that isn't exactly easy to know and was impossible for a 13 year old to know.

"He mentioned you by name?"

Sasori nodded. "Yes. He had in-depth medical information about a Kaguya that was a servant of Orochimaru, came up with a convincing lie about working with the traitor himself that included more inside information, and also knew exactly what happened when Orochimaru attempted to kill Itachi."

"This... Kaguya," Pein said slowly, "Will he be a problem?"

Sasori shook his head.

"Borderline S-rank at 15, helped assist in killing Kazekage Rasa, and had a terminal illness that was slowly weakening him."

Judging by Sasori's statement of him not being a threat, he was dead.

"I take it the Kaguya has departed this world?"

Sasori snorted, the action strange when coming from a puppet.

"The Kaguya was tasked with killing Uzumaki Naruto, but never returned to Orochimaru's base. Either they killed each other, or Uzumaki killed a Kaguya and defeated an unstable Jinchuriki in the same day. My spy was nearly killed by a lightning jutsu and had to retreat."

"And where was Orochimaru when this happened?" Pein pressed, "A vengeful Jinchuriki that can survive fights of that caliber would be a priority to kill."

Sasori chuckled darkly at the question.

"My spy says Orochimaru hasn't showed up, meaning he's probably dead or licking his wounds. My contacts in Suna's military have quite a story to tell about what happened during the failed invasion."

The next portion involved Sasori, who still sounded extremely pleased at Orochimaru's possible death, regaling the group call with the information he had received from his contacts about the battle.

Red haired bunshin rising from the water and cutting people down, the air filled with mist to ensnare the senses, and haunting violet and golden eyes gleaming behind a curtain of crimson hair.

The memories of nearly dying as he and his parents were loaded on a ship out of Uzu while under fire from a coalition of Shinobi had Pein curling his fingers into a fist, his teeth clenched.

Blood. Screaming. His cousins bleeding out as they shielded him with their own bodies when their boundless chakra reserves had already been exhausted.

But the demonic howl of the wind as twisters made from water were sent at the area where steel clashed against steel was somehow worse.

From a distance, the mist around his first home village looked like a maelstrom that centered around one man as it twisted in a pattern not unlike their clan symbol, the man's eyes familiar to a young Uzumaki Nagato.

"That sounds familiar," Kakuzu stated, drawing Pein from his thoughts, "I got contracted out to kill a few Uzumaki that escaped the pocket, along with some Shinobi that deserted after the fight."

Scalp money is what Kakuzu got for their lives, another dark blot on humanity caused by the cycle of conflict and hatred.

"It sounds like Orochimaru got ahold of the Shodai Uzukage's blood and it backfired on him," Sasori chuckled again, "Because the only ones killed were Suna and Oto nin."

The presence of Uzumaki Ashina was a surprise to Pein, Madara having not informed him of whose blood it was. He didn't know what to think about it. The idea of bringing back the dead like the Edo Tensei didn't sit well with him, but it was necessary to end the cycle.

"Assume Orochimaru survived until we hear word of his death," Pein stated to the others, "Sasori, when would you expect confirmation?"

"I should have heard by now, but someone, likely Konoha, has been running interference. Messages are delayed like they're being intercepted by their own network."

"Alert us when you have more information," Pein instructed the puppet master, adding one more thing, "Did your spy have any other important discoveries?"

Sasori seemed to think for a moment, before nodding.

"The other Uzumaki Jinchuriki can also use the Rasengan and is skilled in Fuinjutsu."

If the two Konoha Jinchuriki, especially the boy, were this capable, then it may be better to target them now instead of later.

Looking at Sasori still, Pein asked a simple question.

"How vulnerable is Konoha right now? Can the Uzumaki Jinchuriki be captured?"

Sasori remained still.

"The Raikage is still currently in Konoha and I have no confirmation on whether the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages are still present. With Itachi dead, a frontal assault may not be possible."

Pein knew for a fact that he could take them on. The Edo Tensei could theoretically be nullified by his Rinnegan enabling him to forcefully wrench a soul away from a body. But the presence of multiple S-ranks there was not something he was going to test.

"I see that Zetsu isn't here." Sasori glanced to the left and right of Pein.

"Zetsu is conducting a time sensitive mission," Pein repeated the lie Madara had him say if it was brought up, "He will be informed later."

Pein didn't want to cause an issue with Madara currently, so he responded in a way to not arouse suspicion.

"Be prepared for another meeting soon. I must think on how we must adapt to this unforseen setback. A replacement will need to be located for Itachi and Uzumaki Naruto will be approached differently."

Pein turned to remind Kakuzu and Hidan. "Begin hunting Roshi immediately. His injuries will hamper him. Dismissed." He then pulled on his chakra to cut the connection, the astral plane collapsing.

Pein blinked as reality came back into focus and he turned to Konan, then to Madara standing in the corner.

"How will Uzumaki be handled?" Pein asked, eying Madara speculatively.

The soft sound of rain outside felt calming, probably the only good thing about Ame.

The Uchiha uncrossed his arms and turned to look outside, the rain pouring down non-stop.

"Perhaps I should do it myself," The raven haired man mused, back still turned, "I already know the layout of Konoha and it will be a simple act of taking him from his bed. Dangerous or not, he is merely a boy."

That would definitely be the simple route, but would Madara do it?

"How have the preparations gone?" Madara's voice was steady, but Pein knew it brokered no delay in a response.

"Patrols around Ame's borders are in place," Pein answered smoothly, "And the village is preparing for conflict."

Even with him at the helm, Pein wasn't certain that he could lead Ame to victory against the Big 5.

But turning them against one another and killing the weakened victor was viable.

"Are the plans still the same?" Pein remained still as he asked Madara that.

A slight incline of the man's head was the response.

"Genjutsu is always useful in subverting the will of others. The Kages of the smaller villages will fall in line when the time is right."

A tiger, powerful and fierce, can still be taken down by a large enough pack of dogs.

"I will be absent for some time," Madara's chakra shifted, a slight rustle of wind making his robes move, "If Uzumaki is to be captured early, I shall do it myself."

Uchiha Madara then vanished, leaving nothing behind.

---

Obito decided to not be quick in his teleportation, waiting to sit in his personal dimension like he did sometimes.

The blood of Uzumaki Ashina, minus a drop from use, was in one of his chest pockets, awaiting use once more.

With the likely death of Orochimaru, a potential ally/threat was off the table now.

Since the age of 14, Obito had relied on his own instinct and training to keep the plan working. Zetsu was excellent at spying, but he had to do much of the legwork, including molding the Akatsuki to suit his needs, and putting Yagura under his control.

But right now, he didn't know what to do.

He didn't enjoy the thought of killing Minato's son or daughter. Minato wasn't there to save Rin, thus he didn't care about the man's death, but Kushina was an unfortunate one. If there was a way to have spared the hotheaded, but kind, red haired woman, Obito would have taken it.

But they both have the Kyuubi sealed in them.

He probably should have simply ordered the Kyuubi to retreat instead of rampaging across Konoha, but Namikaze needed killed.

The Juubi could possibly be revived with just half of the Kyuubi. Ensuring that the nations were too weak to fight him would mean the Juubi wouldn't need its full strength to hold them off until the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast.

Madara will give me that much, after all I've accomplished.

Uzumaki Rin would live. Naruto was a greater threat, but that wouldn't have mattered if it was the other way around.

This world stole one Rin away, and Obito wouldn't add another.

Besides, it wasn't that much of an inconvenience.

I will make your brother's sacrifice worth it. He thought to himself, the very minor twist of his vision present as he appeared in his own dimension. You will have him in your reality, Rin. This counterfeit world will give way to paradise.

Obito decided he would capture the boy. With his death, the grey rain curtain of the world would be one step closer to rolling back, the white shores and green country of a heaven on earth being revealed.

Obito slowly opened his eye, gazing at the environment.

What's going on?! He thought sharply, alarm bells going off in his head.

Something was wrong. His Sharingan was picking up an extremely dense layer of chakra all around him.

In an instant, his body stiffened and he started looking around, a kunai in his hand.

Someone is here.

His Sharingan took in the etchings on the ground, noting the ungodly amounts of male genitals deeply carved in the ground.

A lack of maturity, but that wasn't the thing that had him almost choking on air.

A carved image of two people, people he was extremely familiar with, scarred his personal space away from the world.

Both were young teens, a masked boy, his right arm crackling with electricity and driven elbow deep through the chest of a girl with neck length hair.

Above it was one sentence.

"I do not accept this."

Those were the exact words he screamed as Rin was taken from him and his belief in a good world died.

The slight imbalance in his composure left an opening he never would have shown in any other situation.

A faint rustle behind him reached his ears and he turned, trying to swing the kunai gripped in his fist.

A golden blade of chakra got to him first and he felt it lodge deep in his lower back, the pain making him gasp.

Another appeared from in front of him, aimed at his right eye.

No! He screamed internally, throwing up his hand to stop it. The blade sank into his palm, continuing on. Obito jerked his hand down, diverting the blade enough to stop it from tearing out his eye.

The blade instead pierced his mask and scraped against his orbital socket, tearing a shout of pain from him.

The element of surprise was over and Obito was ready, flaring his chakra and gritting his teeth as the grafted flesh of the Shodai suddenly felt cold for a moment.

Wooden spikes shot out of him and impaled his invisible attackers, twin puffs of smoke appearing.

Obito drew another kunai as his hand healed, preparing himself.

"I don't how you got in here," He snarled, his teeth clenched, "But you made a mistake."

No response was made aside from a water dragon flying towards him from hundreds of meters away.

Obito Shunshined out of the way of it, shooting a fireball at the area of origin as the dragon struck the ground with enough force to crack it deeply, sending water and debris flying.

Right as he Shunshined again to keep moving, another chakra blade appeared right where his head was going to be, aimed for his right eye again.

One time was a coincidence, two was targeted.

The infiltrator knew about his eye!

Obito shifted out of the way, stabbing near the invisible target. His enemy diverted the attack and lashed out with a kick, Obito's Sharingan barely spotting a chakra outline.

With a shout, Obito managed to grab the leg and stab forward. His kunai made contact and he expected a puff, not an explosion.

The bunshin blew up as the steel sank into it and sent him to the ground, making his ears ring for a moment.

A Genjutsu struck him before he could pull himself up, making his vision spin and nerves flare like he was burning, but he blinked his eye once and it fell off, followed by him leaping to his feet.

"It will take more than that," He taunted his opponent, ignoring the itching of his burns healing from the blast, "I can leave whenever I wish."

"And yet, you won't until you have answers." The voice of Madara echoed across the area, making Obito freeze.

A figure in black appeared and went through hand seals, his chakra swirling around him.

Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu.

A frighteningly large amount of water shot towards him and he made his own hand seals, blasting a gust of wind at it.

Futon: Daitoppa.

The two clashed in a loud boom, mist impeding his sight as the jutsu tore each other apart.

Another jutsu came screeching through the mist a split second later, the chakra unnaturally dense like the other jutsu.

Suiton: Water Severing Wave.

A concentrated blade of water shot from the masked figures mouth, coming straight towards him.

Obito made his own hand seals, smashing his palm into the ground.

Doton: Mud Wall.

He sank more chakra into the ground and added the Mud Wave jutsu at the end, hoping to unbalance the man.

The tactic didn't stop the deceptively dense water from ripping clean through the wall and tearing through his lower chest, stealing the air from his lungs.

Obito gasped in shock, staggering as he glanced down at the fist sized hole torn through him.

As he coughed up blood, the demonic roar of a man possessed came from beside him and he saw his enemy more closely with his Sharingan.

Red hair, Warring Clans era armour, and a pair of golden eyes burning with hatred.

A bone rattling punch struck his face, the mask cracking under the fist. Obito's ears rang, but he recovered enough to get his arms up and began trading punches with the Shinobi, trying to get an opening to escape.

Another punch slipped through and he felt an open palm strike his bicep, the limb suddenly sagging.

Damnit! He growled, taking a spinning kick to the face when he couldn't lift his arm that nearly tore his mask from his face and knocked him to the ground.

Obito rolled to the side and used his good arm to flip up as a foot struck where his head was, spinning and sending an exploding tag at the mysterious attacker.

The man actually caught the tag and pulsed chakra into it, causing it to sizzle and disintegrate.

With a second to check whatever was done to his arm, Obito tore his sleeve off and looked at his arm.

The limb was completely numb, even the muscles seemed to be totally relaxed.

What kind of seal is this?!

His chakra wasn't being impeded, flowing through his arm just fine, but his entire limb was numb.

Taking a risk, Obito grabbed at the muscle on his arm and pulled, tearing a chunk of flesh away that had the seal on it.

He suddenly had feeling in his arm, and by Kami did it hurt. It was likely some type of seal that absorbed electricity, acting like a paralytic.

Another blur of movement and Obito saw the man use a half seal to send a ball of water at him, followed by a wind jutsu that screeched towards him from a different direction.

There's more than one. Obito sank into the ground, shooting towards the likely leader.

Without leaving the ground, Obito pulsed out several wood spikes and twisted, lashing out blindly with them to restrain him.

Something was caught and Obito jumped up, triumphant as his opponent was restrained in the vice grip of wood.

A slippery bastard, but still beaten.

Before he could begin interrogating him, the masked man laughed.

"Hashirama and Madara were better." The golden eyed redhead flexed his arms, shattering the wood when several chakra blades tore the wood apart.

A Shunshin made him a red and black blur as they clashed once more in another bout of taijutsu, Obito wielding his kunai again.

Even if his first Sensei was almost unmatched in wind release, Obito was still capable at it. Channeling wind chakra through his kunai, he slashed at the man's face, hoping to cut him down.

The wind blade shattered against the golden blade raised in a defensive stance that Obito struggled to break, making the Uchiha twist to avoid getting impaled.

The two backed away from each other, Obito practically tasting the amusement in the redhead's posture.

"You cannot kill me," The man laughed viciously, twirling his blade as his left hand went up in preparation for a jutsu. "Not even your master could."

Obito remained silent, his hand still twitching a bit from the effects of the one seal.

"I don't know who you are, assassin," He bit out, raising his own off hand, "But I've survived far worse than the likes of you."

"I'm more dangerous than boulder-kun, Obi-chan," Another laugh came from behind the mask, "You cannot imagine what I would have done to have you right here, after your crimes."

"You know nothing," Obito spat, circling the man, "I will save this world from itself and bring a better one."

"An illusion," The man snarled, his chakra visibly shaking and making pebbles move away from him, "Wake up to reality, Obito. Rin is dead and she cannot return. Let go of this foolish dream!"

Obito laughed at the pathetic attempt at turning him away from his purpose.

He was unnerved by the knowledge of the assassin, but he would get answers soon enough.

Not even Minato could kill him.

"You are a fool to think you can convince me with that."

Another cold laugh echoed across the area.

"I'm not the protagonist of this little tale," He practically cackled, his chakra blade glowing brighter, "But neither are you."

The two charged forward and the screech of steel against chakra cut through the air as they clashed, both men seeking to land a lethal hit.

Obito noticed the posture of the man shift towards a more defensive one, his steps precise as he backed away.

Obito pressed forward and slashed his kunai downward, striking the golden blade and twisting to stab again. The stab was blocked and the redhead still retreated, his eyes narrowed into slits.

A slash at the face, a spinning kick to the chest, a flurry of punches and slashes; none got through as his opponent seemed to be perfectly centered as he slowly pulled away and barely diverted attacks away with his blade.

His opponent's chakra resembled a hurricane, being tumultuous on the outside, but the very core of it was perfectly calm, unstained by emotion.

Right as Obito knocked the blade aside and drove his fist towards his opponents face, the man made a faint whistle sound, a water senbon shooting from his mouth.

The senbon went straight through his hand and grazed his shoulder, not penetrating anything vital.

The seamless way he did it meant the Shinobi had done it before, baiting someone into the eye of the hurricane that was his defense.

With his hand injured, Obito was just slow enough to miss the man, who ducked and kicked at his leg, aiming for the knee.

Obito shifted his body to avoid his knee from shattering, but something jerked at his other leg and sent his whole body forward, falling towards the ground.

But a foot kicked his face before he could hit the ground.

The ringing in his ears was back and he swung blindly, catching something. It turned out to be his opponent, the man's arm having the kunai wedged in it..

Obito rolled away once more, but was dragged across the ground by what he now realized was a water whip from a clone.

Growling angrily, Obito pooled chakra into his gut and adjusted it slightly different to a fireball.

Katon: Hiding in Ash jutsu.

He expelled a cloud of ash to conceal himself and stomped on the whip, managing to break it.

Jumping to his feet, he blinked his eye to teleport away, but fate had other plans.

An ironclad grip was felt on his shoulder as the figure materialized in front of him, eyes blazing. His shoulder felt like it was lit on fire as a seal was placed on him, his tenketsu screaming in protest.

The hand that was gripping him then crackled with lightning, a high pitched whine nearly deafening him.

"Suffer me now!" The redhead roared, jamming him directly in the chest.

Obito howled as his entire body spasmed, the smell of ozone and burning flesh overwhelming him.

Blindly reaching at his chakra, Obito willed himself away, collapsing on a cobblestone road as he rematerialized.

Gasping for air as he was still spasming, Obito looked up at the sky and saw several buildings.

Based on the structure, he was in Hi no Kuni, and only one city was this developed.

The capitol.

Forcing himself to his feet, he bit down as his artificial healing factor worked hard to fix the nerve damage from whatever seal trap was used.

That lightning should've exited his feet as it went into the ground, but it kept circulating through his body instead. The only thing that happened was that recent seal placed on him.

Without hesitation, Obito grabbed another kunai and tore another chunk of flesh off his shoulder, removing the seal. He then made a hand seal, generating fire to burn the flesh to ash.

A seal master. Red hair. Uzumaki. The quick fire thoughts were all he needed to know, and prepared to escape, knowing his arrival might have been noticed by the Shinobi in the Daimyo's employ.

The injured Uchiha then noticed a part of his robe was smoking from the lightning. Scowling, he patted at it, but noticed something bad, very bad.

The vial was gone.

Arguably the most valuable thing in the Elemental Nations that wasn't Madara's Rinnegan was now missing.

"No..." He reached in the pouch, but it wasn't there, "Damnit. Where is it?!"

Now was not the time to panic, but Obito was doing that just now.

"Looking for this?" A voice came from a few feet from him, the Uzumaki sounding gleeful.

Clenched in his hand was the vial, still looking perfectly fine, albeit a bit scuffed.

Obito's eyes widened, staring directly at the man. He probably grabbed ahold of him as he teleported away.

"Give it back," He demanded desperately, his eyes flicking around him.

"In the words of the most well spoken part of my anatomy," The Uzumaki flipped him off, darting down the street.

Obito gave chase, tracking the movements with his Sharingan.

"Empty one. Empty one. Empty one." He heard a faint chant from his target, not knowing what it meant.

"Bingo!" A ball of water the size of a carriage shot from the man's mouth and struck a building, breaking down the door and front wall with a loud crashing noise.

"Intruders!" The man roared at the top of his voice, "Iwa nin are attacking!"

A Henge formed around the Uzumaki and the ANBU outfit of Iwagakure covered him.

As if it were a demented and twisted game, multiple different types of jutsu were fired to damage buildings in the loudest way possible.

The only similarities in the Jutsu was the low chakra cost.

Is he trying to cause a diplomatic incident? Obito thought, racing after him faster.

As they got towards the eastern section of the city, Obito caught sight of blurs along the rooftop.

Shinobi.

Henging to conceal himself and his robes, Obito pumped more chakra in his legs and shot forward, ignoring the strain on his knees.

A wind and fire combination jutsu cut him off from his prize, but he ran straight through it, biting down the urge to scream as it burned him.

Pain was temporary.

"Run run, fast as you can," The Uzumaki shouted, leaping towards a building and jumping to another, "You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!"

Obito still pursued, but the other Shinobi were closing in and he didn't want to risk fighting an entire city when his only avenue of escape was still potentially compromised by the unwanted guest.

Uzumaki reached the wall of the city and took a flying leap, flinging a water whip out like a rope and catching a post, yanking himself forward.

Turning on his heel, he sent another sharpened blade of water at Obito, who knocked it aside with a small wall of earth.

Obito vaulted over his construct, but his target had already jumped down, going full speed with the Shunshin across the grassland.

Obito roared in anger, turning and facing the other Shinobi.

He may have been able to pursue, but he would have a tail constantly and would have to fight them off. Failure after failure, death after death. This cursed world refused to die like it should to bring about a better one.

To hell with subtlety, he was going for the throat.

Wrenching his chakra forcefully, he blurred through hand seals to use the signature jutsu of the Uchiha.

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

The ball of fire tore through the building the one Shinobi was leaping towards, being unable to avoid it.

Not even a scream was heard as he was burned to ash, half the building melting from the scorching flames.

Obito shot across the street, flinging a wind coated shuriken at another Shinobi.

The shock of one of their own dying had them off guard, which Obito took advantage of.

A kunoichi swung a sword at him as he rushed her, but a kunai coming from his sleeve blocked it. She didn't know he was an Uchiha, so she looked into his eyes.

With a squint, Obito ensnared her in a Genjutsu, making her go slack as he grabbed her hair and bodily swung her in the way of an Earth bullet aimed at his back.

The Jutsu shattered against her, the Genjutsu breaking as the pain registered.

Obito dropped her to the ground, shooting another fireball at the one who just mortally wounded his own comrade.

Not wanting her to warn them of his Sharingan, Obito stepped over her and stomped on her trachea, not even looking down as the wet crunch echoed over the crackle of flames.

With that done, Obito grabbed her sword and rushed towards the shocked man, raising it to strike.

Despite not being the most well versed in kenjutsu, Obito took apart the shoddy defenses of the barely jonin level threat.

Slash to the outer thigh, stab blocked by kunai, a few back in forth clashes and Obito drove the blade through his chest, then jerked it out and swung at the man's throat, taking his head off in a shower of blood.

With the immediate Shinobi dead, with others on the way, Obito made another ash cloud to conceal himself, teleporting away.

Arriving back in his dimension, Obito started looking around, making sure the intruder was gone.

The use of jutsu, including Kamui, and the healing of his noticeable amount of injuries had bitten into his reserves, but the grafted flesh and his own above average reserves for an Uchiha meant he still had enough to fight if need be. But it still made him a step slower.

Something that stood out to Obito, something that wasn't present before, was a very strong scent of oil.

The silence was broken when a spinning tide of water materialized and formed into a dragon, shooting towards him.

With a roar, Obito tore through hand seals and sent another ball of flames at the dragon, shooting towards the Uzumaki that managed to still be there.

Right as the fireball struck the dragon, Obito realized why it smelled like oil around him.

The dragon was made of it.

With a frantic use of the Mokuton, Obito wrapped himself in a cocoon of wood as a deafening explosion and rush of wind sent him careening backwards, bouncing against the ground.

The wood probably saved him from getting incinerated by the exploding dragon, but it did nothing to prevent the air being stolen from his lungs and his ribs shouting their displeasure at being used as a cushion.

Whoever he is, he's definitely an S-rank that came prepared to fight me specifically.

Only two knew how he fought, including his Kamui.

Both were dead.

Flipping to his feet, Obito kept the wood around him as mist was blasted around him, spinning clockwise around the eye of it, being the caster.

He's up to something. Obito knew for a fact, primed and ready to defend himself

Suddenly, the mist sharpened into thousands of water senbon, twisting and flying at him with the assistance of the mist spinning at a frightening pace.

Clenching his chakra, Obito blurred through hand seals and formed a studier wall of wood around him completely, jumping to the top and shooting a stream of flames at the ground for good measure.

He was rewarded with two pops indicating that two bunshin had sunk into the ground to reach him, only to be incinerated.

Obito dropped to the scorched ground and heard the crunch of wood breaking under the constant storm of senbon.

A fracture in the barrier caused close to a dozen flying through, his borrowed sword going up to protect him.

Using his Sharingan to read the flight tragectory, Obito twirled the blade's flat end to intercept the senbon, letting none through.

Another dragon came shooting towards him, but Obito didn't take the bait.

Turns out, his opponent flung an exploding tag at the dragon and ignited it, a deafening explosion hitting him point blank.

The wood groaned and started falling apart, barely withstanding the impact.

That was close. Obito glared through the holes in the wood, planning to enjoy killing the man.

After the jutsu ended, the remnants of wood fell away and Obito clenched the sword he had taken in his fist, ready to fight.

In a blur, his opponent was in front of him, growling as he swung down at his head.

To Obito's horror, the redhead had evidently ran through his own jutsu to get at him, judging by him currently being lit on fire!

"You will die by my hand," He snarled, smashing a golden blade into his steel one with such force that he staggered, "Friendless and forgotten!" He roared, twirling in a blur as he created a second blade.

Why does he want me dead this much?!

Several rage fueled attacks had Obito frantically deflecting or dodging as best he could with the assistance of his Sharingan, but his technique wasn't enough for the endless stream of gold that sought to tear him to ribbons.

A horizontal slash at his throat was avoided by him leaning back, but his opponents momentum had him spinning on his left leg and roundhouse kicking him in the chest with the right.

Obito was driven back several yards, stabbing into the ground with the sword to slow himself.

His robes were torn from near misses and several cuts rapidly healed from where he couldn't avoid them.

His Sharingan spotted a slight ripple in the air next to him a moment later and he slashed at it, a bunshin appearing as it made a chakra blade to deflect the hit.

Obito twirled the blade and ducked under a stab, twisting as he spotted another ripple and deflected a strike aimed at his face.

Whatever sixth sense he had forced Obito to turn towards the original, who had just sent a concentrated blade of water towards him, the water sparkling slightly when he looked closely.

Obito jumped and had his body completely horizontal, avoiding getting sliced in half as the bunshin took the hit.

The clone evidently was the unstable kind that exploded, because he got blasted away again.

As he struck the ground and got up, a ball of water struck him broadside and sent him flying back again like a ragdoll.

Obito, barely being able to stand up, blindly swung the borrowed sword at the red and black blur that had Shunshined at him as he was being thrown around.

The golden chakra blade that would have taken his arm off bit into the already abused steel, snapping the blade in half. The momentum of the man carried through and his blade cut into Obito's arm, before he sped past him.

Obito dropped the now useless blade and hissed as the cut healed shut, going slower than it should.

The Shinobi stopped running and gestured at him from around 30 meters away to come hither, which the Uchiha did just that.

Water had slowly built up on the ground from the constant Ninjutsu, but Obito didn't care. Forming anything of note out of it took too long and could be predicted.

Or so all except one of his teachers said so.

Whatever kind of chakra had been floating like a haze around him since the beginning seemed to sharpen as the unknown man made a half seal, the water beneath him practically glowing.

With a curse, Obito jumped upward, trying to avoid whatever was being done.

The water practically came to life, and to his horror, formed into a giant fist as all the strange chakra coalesced into a spinning vortex, grabbing him from the air and slamming him into the ground with so much force he thought he may have been split in half.

Whatever chakra had done that now looked more diminished to his eyes, the water collapsing back into its normal state.

Barely being able to stand up, Obito coughed up some blood and gazed at the man, his vision swimming.

As he prepared to fight once more, another hand seal was made by the man and he fired, for the first time in the fight, a ranged lightning jutsu.

The bolt crackled towards him and Obito slid under it, forcing wind chakra into his feet as he water walked to insulate him from the suddenly electrified water.

The two were on a collision course, but another seal made had Obito raising his hand to fire a wind jutsu to cancel the inevitable lightning.

It was a surprise when four Mizu bunshin formed right beside where he stepped and stabbed forward. He avoided two, but one drove a blade through his shoulder while the other in his side.

Lightning from the first jutsu arced through the Mizu bunshin and caused him to spasm uncontrollably, the bunshin collapsing a moment later.

That was when the main one struck.

The storm of fists and kicks were too fast for Obito in his temporary weakened state, all of his energy not being enough.

A kick to his head was ducked, but the chakra blade that came from his fist tore his sleeve the rest of the way off.

Several punches were blocked and the last one involved Obito focusing his chakra to stick it to the redhead as he jerked his arm, hoping to dislocate the limb.

It failed when the man spat a water senbon at his face just inches away.

The water cut through his already cracked and abused mask, sinking into his cheek, a molar coming loose as part of it was split in half.

Obito refused to die. He was going to kill this mysterious assassin, but not until he figured out how the fuck he got in here.

Obito blinked his Sharingan to cast a Genjutsu on the man, his fist lashing out in a counter.

The attack made contact, but the Genjutsu was shattered a moment later and the two exchanged punches again, Obito now prepared.

Constant hairline fractures were appearing and healing as he defended himself and his opponent didn't seem to be slowing down.

Obito caught an overstep and took advantage, casting a minor Genjutsu and focusing chakra into his fist as best as he could. The Uchiha ducked a slash that was slightly off and sank his fist into the man's chest up to his forearm.

A choked gasp escaped the man and he wheezed, barely standing up.

Breathing heavily, Obito let out a triumphant laugh, clenching his hand to cause more pain.

"I'll heal you if you tell me how you got in here." Obito lied, clenching his hand a bit more.

Caught up in the adrenaline rush at defeating the unknown S-rank, Obito didn't make the connection that no blood was dripping out of the gaping wound, nor did the thought of anybody taking an intentional mortal injury like that come up.

As if he hadn't been impaled at all, the man snarled and lunged forward, grabbing at Obito's face.

His thumbs pressed forward as his vice grip wrapped around Obito's head and jabbed at his eyes.

"Ye have sown death," He snarled, squeezing so hard that Obito swore he felt his skull crack, "And so shall ye reap it! Take it!!!" He roared, clenching his fingers.

Obito screamed as pain shot through his face and head as he flailed around, trying to push the man off. In desperation, the scarred Uchiha grabbed an exploding tag from his pocket, detonating it in between the two.

The thumbs thankfully left his face as he was sent flying back, everything having gone white and his ears ringing.

Obito blinked repeatedly, dreading the pounding in his right eye more than the burning of his skull.

My eye. Kami, my eye. He couldn't even breathe, and his arm had no feeling in it.

With an iron will, the third remaining Uchiha craned his neck, looking down at his shattered body.

Thankfully, his eye was intact to see and use, but it was tinged red and he could feel blood dripping down his face.

He almost wished he couldn't see himself.

His intestines were still connected, but they were strewn all over his chest and a little to his side. He thought he saw one of his kidneys, but he couldn't be sure because his vision was doubled over, a few feet away, and his tes-

No. He nearly retched, but his stomach was probably more akin to ground meat. That's not them. That's not them.

Probably the only functioning limb he had was his one remaining arm, the other disintegrated by holding the tag and his legs were broken.

Obito slowly waited for his body to knit back together, but the sight of his opponent horrified him.

His arm was missing and his armour was severely cracked and portions missing, but he was still standing like it meant nothing.

"I always took you for a dickless little bastard," The red haired demon slowly reformed before his very eyes, his missing arm and scorched armour repairing itself, but the mask remained scorched still, "But you actually blew yourself up. Kind of like me, now that I think of it."

For the first time since he was left for dead under the rock, slowly bleeding out after he had torn his own eye out, Obito felt the cold terror of dying.

Without hesitation, Obito grabbed a handful of his guts, stuffed them back in as best as he could and teleported away, running like a coward.

---

"You're a cheating motherfucker!" The drunk roared, swaying in his seat.

The bar in Hi no Kuni's capital was packed today, music playing in the background.

"You're drunk, idiot," One man at the table rolled his eyes, holding his cards, "Quit bitching and place a bet already."

The drunkard scowled, but tossed some chips.

"I should never have gotten in a game here."

"We've played against Konoha Shinobi when they're here on missions," Another laughed, "You learn to play against cheaters real damn quick."

"I swear," The drunk declared, looking up at the ceiling, "Oh, Kami, hear my prayer. Show me a sign that I will win this."

Silence. Nothing happened.

The table began laughing.

"Like that would do anythi-" One snickered, but was cut off by a swirl of colour and a crashing noise.

The whole bar went silent as a man appeared from thin air, gasping for air and covered in blood.

"Ugh," The man groaned, struggling to breathe, "Damnit."

The man's shoulder was glowing and his body was twitching.

People began rushing towards him to help, the man looking at one in particular.

"Where am I?" He wheezed, clutching his shredded stomach as he groaned in sync with the pulsing of his shoulder.

"The Prancing Kitsune," Was the reply, the bar being a popular one in the capitol.

The unknown man muttered an extremely profane word, and just as fast as he appeared, he vanished again.

Everyone looked at each, the whole room silent. It was broken by the other men at the gambling table folding.

---

Obito reappeared in his dimension, preparing to sacrifice the spare eye he had pulled from an Uchiha he killed during the massacre. He had a substantial supply, and this one was needed now.

Another seal had been put on him, and the moment he had left the dimension, it had started shocking him severely.

His would be killer stalked towards him, blade resting at his side.

Letting out a wheezing laugh, Obito spat blood out at the man's feet.

"That was rude." The man said mockingly, as if he were a scolding parent.

"You can kill me, but you will never destroy me." Obito hissed, hating this man more than anything at the moment.

A slight tsk sound came as a response.

"Is that the only thing the ghost of Uchiha Obito has to say?" The man laughed viciously, "I almost want to kill you just for that pathetic attempt at foreboding."

As Obito waited for his gaping chest wound to seal up, the red haired man removed his mask.

Another tag was in Obito's hand, ready to be used so he could trigger Izanagi.

In a blur of speed, the man stood right above him, pulling him up roughly by his hair.

As Obito prepared to blow himself up a second time, he caught sight of the man and truly looked.

His eyes were identical to Kushina's.

Once, they were a golden colour, but they now reminded him of his Sensei's beloved, the same hatred Kushina had for him when he ripped the Kyuubi out of her was reflected in this man's violet eyes.

"I see you recognize me," He whispered, looking directly at him, "I would enjoy nothing more than gouging your eyes out and skull fucking you for what you have done to my family, but I will accept you being blown apart once as sufficient payment for now."

With that, Obito was dropped unceremoniously to the ground with a groan.

"Who," He coughed, still trying to holding himself together as his injuries slowly healed as best as they could, "Who are you?"

The definite Uzumaki held the mask he'd just worn in his left hand lazily, taking a deep breath.

"A dead man."

The Uzumaki looked around thirty, a well kept beard, and his face shifted a bit like he was under a minor Henge.

Suddenly scowling, the red haired menace made two hand seals, his hand glowing green.

"I'll stitch your damned wound together," He offered coldly, walking towards him, "We will be having a discussion that I want you to survive to hear."

Obito went to pull away, but he knew he was in no state to do so. If Uzumaki wanted him dead, he wouldn't do it under the guise of healing him.

With extreme difficulty, Obito held still as the hand that nearly killed him constantly slowly eased the burning in his chest and stomach.

"Who are you?" Obito asked again, focusing on the face.

"A dead man," He repeated, retracting his hand as the worst part of the injury was helped, "But if you're asking for my name, that depends."

"Depends on what?" Obito asked coldly, wincing as he stood up slowly.

He was covered in water, smelled like cooked meat, and felt like he was thrown through a wood chipper. He had little patience for games.

"It depends on whether you will be attempting to kill Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Rin." He replied simply, running his hand through his beard.

"What do they matter to you?" Obito said stiffly, glaring at the man that looked roughly his own age.

"They matter to me in the same way a bright and kind girl mattered to a pathetic and worthless orphan that remained in everyone's shadow."

Obito bristled at the comment, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"How do you know these things?"

"The same way I know that Nagato possesses Madara's eyes and that you plan to revive the Juubi."

He knows everything.

Obito was internally freaking out. The way Uzumaki was dropping comments like that nonchalantly was a ploy to unsettle him... and it was definitely working.

"I can assist you if you want." Uzumaki offered, smiling dangerously, "But it will come at a price."

The predatory look in those violet eyes had Obito hiding a flinch. This person truly wanted him dead.

"What price?" Obito questioned, not dropping his guard.

"Do not kill either of the Uzumaki Jinchuriki, bring Zetsu here, and don't revive Madara to use Rinne-rebirth on him."

Obito's thoughts were racing, the most tightly kept secrets of his known to this Uzumaki. No one aside from Zetsu knew of the plan to revive Madara.

"No." Obito replied simply, ready to escape and think of a new plan to kill the man. "Only Madara can be the host of the Juubi and wield his Rinnegan properly."

The laugh from the red haired man wasn't expected.

"That is not true," Uzumaki smirked, "There is another. Would you still aid Madara, even if I told you that he is responsible for Rin's death to manipulate you into what you have become?"

What?!

That statement cut through his soul like the sharpest knife, stealing his breath away. But the shock quickly turned to anger.

"You lie!" He growled, ready to begin the fight again if need be, "Do not lie about her to twist my mind!"

The world was broken, and Obito didn't believe it until Rin had been killed. He didn't even blame Kakashi for it. It wasn't his fault that the village system turned him and the world into tools.

"I do not lie," Uzumaki said clearly, "I know everything that has transpired in your life and how the grand chorus of events painted the canvas that is Uchiha Obito."

Perhaps he should have just retreated instead of staying to speak.

"If that truly is the case," Obito clenched his fists, "Then you understand why the Infinite Tsukuyomi is the only way."

Nothing could fix the world. It couldn't be saved, but the people could be.

"It may very well be the preferred option," Uzumaki nodded, flipping his mask up and catching it again, "But I will not sacrifice either Naruto or Rin for your dream."

"The Juubi must have the Kyuubi's chakra," Obito commented, eying the potential ally speculatively, "And if you wished to possibly assist me, why try to kill me?"

Uzumaki let out a barklike laugh, showing nothing but teeth. "You would have been a smear on this very ground if I truly wished to kill you. You were an amusing chew toy, Scarface. But as it is, you can help me, so I will forget your transgressions and cooperate, so long as you deliver me Zetsu and spare the Uzumaki twins."

Obito was seeing Rin in his arms right now, the memory of her pale face, blood covering her, it was dancing in his head.

All the other horrific things he witnessed, the rejection from his clan, the condescension, and all the horrors of war, wasn't enough to wake him up from this horrible reality. It took a kind girl and his friend dying to make Madara's truth sink in.

"Prove to me that you aren't lying," Obito almost couldn't fathomit being true, "You went through the effort of getting in here, so tell me everything that has happened and how you know."

Uzumaki remained still for several seconds, not even breathing. After the silence stretched on, he spoke.

"I can tell you about the time of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, when he first began teaching the world the art of Ninshu."

"You already know about the Sage choosing his youngest son over the elder," Uzumaki continued, not brokering any response, "I assume Zetsu told you that, along with how the eldest was the Patriarch of the Uchiha, while the younger was the Patriarch of the Senju."

Uzumaki was right about Zetsu telling him this, citing Madara as the one who discovered the true history of the Uchiha and Senju.

"And how does this tie into anything?"

"It will make more sense when I give details that Zetsu and Madara left out," Uzumaki grinned, his fingers twitching in a rhythmic pattern.

"I will tell you the story of Indra and Ashura, and how their refusal to die has cursed this world with conflict."

---

The clone of Ashina that managed to snag the blood kept racing towards the east, a specific destination in mind.

With the guarantee of Ashina staying in the dimension until Obito relented and turned over Zetsu, the greatest threat to the free world would be ended.

After hours of trekking across the land, the clone started to recognize the same path taken almost three decades ago, but only felt like weeks at most.

The air became heavier with moisture as the sea started to get closer.

Finally reaching the cliff several miles north of his destination, the full moon illuminated the most beautiful, and tragic, sight ever seen.

Uzushiogakure.

"I'm home." The clone whispered, deciding it would pretend to be the real Ashina for now.

The rest of the journey was a walk, the nature chakra still remaining in him making the remnant chakra signatures flare in his sight.

Whimpering softly, he still kept walking, fighting through the nauseating memories of the physical and spiritual pain he endured.

Bones burning as marrow leaks from badly repaired fractures, skin flaking off from nature chakra, bloody cough from chakra pill overdose. A shattered body for a broken man.

He killed dozens in such a broken state before they even knew he was there. Men and women in their forties, nearly ready to retire, had fallen to his sword. Children, for there was nothing else to describe the youths that never grew old because of him, were taken from their parents because of him.

Demon. Murderer. Kage. Touchan. Jichan.

With only the silent wails of the dead echoing through the chakra residue in the air even miles out from the heaviest fighting, Ashina starting singing the first of many songs to drown it out.

But the songs were haunting in their own way.

"Their smiles below say I don't owe them my life."

Failure. Abandoned them to their deaths. Selfish.

Another song.

"Hope fades into the world of night."

Truth. The last spark of life was him, an unworthy murderer. Practically a kinslayer.

Another.

"On the wind I heard a sigh."

"As the snowflakes cover," Ashina whispered, his voice cracking, "My fallen brothers, I will say this last goodbye."

The snow was always beautiful. It had an ethereal nature to it, the pureness of white born from a perfect prism of all colours.

Harmony. Peace. Peace grown from the deaths of far better people than he.

The ruins of his home, the paradise he built, were coming closer in sight, the carrion not targeting the remains from the dread radiating from the site of a bloody harvest.

No sound, save for footsteps and the near sobs of the only sign of life in the village, was present.

The walls and barricades with automated seals to absorb Ninjutsu were long destroyed or weathered to be useful, but there were still active mines across the village.

Ashina remembered where all of them were.

Not particularly caring because they wouldn't go off anyway from his chakra, Ashina ventured towards the docks, the instinctive need to breathe overwhelming the lack of actual need to.

Ashina looked among the skeletons, hissing quietly at many of them not having heads.

Trophies.

He eventually came across what he believed was the headless body of one of his earlier students, part of the group after Tobirama.

"Hello, Kimiko." He mumbled, gently reaching for the bracer wrapped around her skeletal arm.

Her head wasn't the only thing missing.

Her ring finger was as well.

"So it seems the plant was indeed here." Ashina muttered, standing up.

He made communication rings for different people that had his trust, including his sons daughters, and more than one student.

He based them off of the Akatsuki rings he saw in his dreams and visions.

To think it was possible that the very rings that inspired him were made by himself.

Zetsu, to Ashina's now realization, had a signature similar to Hashirama's from his cells. Senju were closely related enough to not trigger the seals. It could've stolen the rings and given them to Obito to use.

I'll try and find another to prove the possibility.

And indeed he did. Ashina found one intact body, another student, and later a blast crater that left only a shattered arm and shredded vambrace on it.

He remembered hand etching the seals in it as an 18th birthday present for his youngest.

No finger, no ring.

A choked sob left him as he walked away from where his little girl died, clutching all that remained of his daughter in his hand.

The cruelty of that alone wasn't enough, so the memory of him holding her hand as a little girl burned through him as he held the same one.

Body after body, ruin after ruin, there was nothing but death as he staggered to the docks.

Bombed out homes, the playground he helped personally build, the hospital. His own little slice of Eden had been consumed in the fires of war.

We are lost from this world. From home.

Once he reached a certain spot, what remained of his control crumbled.

Choked gasps escaped him as he got to the sight, gazing at the missing chunk of earth where he died.

And as the sun westered.

The memory of the sky dimming on the sixth day as the last desperate attempt to delay the enemy held.

"Here, we stood, and gave way no more." He murmured, remembering the final desperate fight that shaped the future.

Why did you do this? He visualized the Mizukage, Nidaime Raikage, and Onoki. I only wanted to help people and be left alone. You feared us, so you killed us.

The hopes of Kumo and Konoha allying with one another ended when Tobirama was nearly killed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, sowing distrust between the two villages.

Kiri betrayed Konoha in the middle of the war, deciding to jump ship. And Iwa did as they always did, killing Konoha nin throughout every single conflict.

Two of the three Kage were dead, and that might change soon enough.

Ashina ignored the crater, kicking aside the corpses of Kumo and Iwa nin to find him.

His brother.

The youngest of five and idealistic boy long turned man refused to leave, despite direct orders. The only one other than him that could still physically fight on the front because he was ten years younger.

Dead from a venomed kunai in the eye.

"But the brothers drew the remnant of the Shinobi of Uzu about them, and foot by foot they withdrew, until they came behin-" Ashina paused, clenching his hand as he remembered it.

All my clansmen, valiant to the end, were slain about him in a heap.

Setting down what he was holding with a gentleness only a father knew, he picked up his brothers remains, then what he set down, and marched to where his son, Tadamichi, had been buried.

It didn't take long, for he remembered the location with an unforgiving clarity.

He buried his boy with his own hands.

Setting the two down, Ashina carved into the hilltop overlooking the sea, one section to the right of the worn and weathered tombstone of his son.

After finishing the first, he gently set what remained of his brother in the grave, gently using his chakra to move the earth to cover him up.

He needed to be quick. His chakra needed conserved.

The second was dug as deeply, but was still done with the same reverence and care.

With that done, Ashina stretched out his senses to hopefully get an echo of any others, wanting them to be buried together.

He couldn't.

The time and exposure mixed all the signatures together. He could barely tell the Uzumaki and others apart.

He sighed sadly and looked at the stone, noting the crack running through it.

"And death itself would turn backwards." He murmured, shaking his head at the memory from a bygone life.

A new stone was needed, and he could sense one through the earth somewhat.

Pressing his hand in the ground, he coaxed his chakra to manipulate the ground, pulling the stone up.

Washing it off with a thin jet of water, he moved the stone right next to the tombstone and started carving into it with his bloodline ability.

The words he wrote elicited more memories, this time ones he spoke to one of his great grandchildren who was one of the last to be evacuated.

"I didn't think it would end this way." His grandson said quietly, a sword far too large for him in his hand.

"End?" Ashina tilted his head at the boy, a faint but reassuring smile on his face, "No, the journey doesn't end here."

"Death...is just another path. One that we all must take."

No boy should be fearful of death. He didn't know it, but he was going to be dragged to a ship, restrained if need be.

"The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass..." A long pause came as he thought of what he had said. "And then you see it."

The expression of curiosity on the young teen's face was something he could stare at for days.

"What, Jichan? See what?"

A long look, his eyes gazing at nothing, but imagining everything.

"White shores," He looked at the boy who should never had been brought into a world full of such hatred and death, "and beyond," Ashina gazed at the young boy who was enraptured by his words, "A far green country, under a swift sunrise."

The look of complete faith shining in his eyes, beautiful and violet, just like his little sister's, made him almost forget that his life would soon end.

"Well, that isn't so bad."

"No," Ashina gazed at the moon, having finished what he wanted to carve into the stone, "No it isn't."

Rising to his feet, Ashina circled back to the docks, arriving there minutes later. One of many broken, snapped, or shattered blades clutched in the skeletal hands of untold corpses that he slew brought back a vexing reminder.

Ashina's sword had broken during the days of fighting, already having taken a beating from Madara and the mad dash back to Uzu. The blade finally broke when it was buried hilt deep in a Yuki that thought herself to be the princess of Arendelle in how bold she was in trying to kill an old man who had just ripped a summon the size of a rhinoceros in half with his bare hands.

"Þaet ceald me drefde næfre gehu." He muttered coldly, still rankled by the loss of his sword.

He ended up wielding the bitch's own sword in the final confrontation after breaking her fingers to get it.

Wait a moment, he thought, It may not have been destroyed.

Ashina looked around for a few minutes, looking for a broken hilt. It proved fruitless when he realized the hilt would have been in the blast radius of his Jutsu, forcing him to give up.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the red haired Uzumaki glanced at the ground again.

It would be too much of a stretch to think it was found and improperly repaired. The hilt similarity and the broken section is just that... a coincidence.

Giving himself a shake, Ashina looked at the ground.

Faint traces of weather worn paper were strewn about amongst the corpses, armour still on said bodies. They were remnants of the seals he used to absorb jutsu and detonated them after flinging them away.

More deaths.

Ashina turned towards the docks, looking at the emptiness where ships had once came in with supplies and goods that were traded for seals.

Nothing remained, only memories.

Tearing his gaze away from calm waters that had no business looking so beautiful with the moonlight shimmering on them while the dead wasted away here, Ashina walked towards the spot of his death and knelt, running his fingers through his hair.

The blast radius was fairly impressive from how little chakra he had left in his body at the time to power it.

Aside from the residual nature chakra that powered his jutsu, there was nothing else. It was a complete and total dead space, a wound in the flow of death in the village.

But that wasn't a surprise. It did what it was supposed to, he just screwed up on his end.

The feeling of shock from the Raikage, so proud just moments prior, his chakra crackling in triumph as he pulled him out of the pile of corpses, was burned into his mind. Which wasn't a surprise because it was the last thing he saw before dying.

Looking at the ground, Ashina could still visualize the oceans of blood on the ground, the starlight being the only natural light at the time.

I could barely see anyway. Ashina shivered, remembering how he swore he could feel his body crackling like stone in the last few minutes of his life. His vision, along with most of his other senses, had almost completely stopped working at the end, only his sensory ability, bolstered by Senjutsu, keeping him alive.

Even the Raikage couldn't be seen by him, only his crackling chakra telling him who he was.

94 years old, a death match with Uchiha Madara, a nonstop race across the continent, and days of constant fighting and plotting, no sleep at all, caught up to him in the end.

I will make sure it was all worth it. Ashina swore, digging lightly into the ground, holding the earth of his home in his grip.

And you can have it all... my empire of dirt.

"I swear it will be worth it in the end." He vowed, standing up and leaving the sight of his death now that it served no purpose to think of that traumatic event.

I wish I had enough chakra to burn the bodies. It would take too long to bury all of them, but something needed to be done. A pyre would be acceptable.

"I know what to do now." He muttered to himself in English, having not spoken it to anyone other than clones.

Naruto did a magnificent job incorporating the language that didn't resemble Japanese in the slightest into a supposed encoded language that everyone shrugged off as twinspeak.

He adapted to another set of memories better than I did. He kept making his way towards the central tower, specifically the vault. The streets were bombed to hell and back, making it time consuming to get there, but he pressed on.

Naruto had the fortune of being young when he learned so many different things. The Lightning Cloak, Hiraishin, the fortune and misfortune to be a Jinchuriki, all were best done when starting young. Ashina had a better instinctive grasp on things as a child that made little sense and strange dreams, but they didn't resemble a modicum of coherence until he was sixteen.

He was a prodigy, but his ability wouldn't reach the degree that Naruto was capable of reaching.

He'll need everything to change this world like he wishes.

His grandson took the security of his notes seriously. The seal traps set up across the house were excellent and it would've been somewhat difficult to break through and put them back together without any notice had he not designed over 90 percent of them himself.

The place Naruto hid the notes was also smart, including the explosives he set to trigger if any signature not keyed into the seals interfered.

As if that would stop him.

The notes Ashina left would help the boy out to fulfill his dream of a better world. Turning invisible and the other seal schematics he left when he flung Hyuga Neji out the door were also priceless.

Ashina always wanted to put the little shit in his place.

If the Akatsuki were defeated, and the plans Naruto wrote in his journal worked out, the Shinobi wars could be stopped for decades, the presence of several High Kage level Shinobi in Konoha would dissuade war as long as they lived.

Naruto. Rin. Sasuke. Three young genin that were unnatural in one way or another, possessing immense potential.

All three stained by the dead, the dead that refused to let go.

With a groan, the door to the tower opened under his hand and revealed a few more bodies, mostly Kumo nin.

Still trying to drown out the feeling of death surrounding him, Ashina was shaking as he continued his actions, walking up the steps to his office.

Ashina noticed the chakra lock was broken, probably from Orochimaru, and he pushed it open, gazing upon the dust covered room that bore witness to years of study and preparation.

"Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far," He recited, drawing on the memories of another life, "And grace will lead me home."

Walking straight towards his desk, ignoring the cheap decorations his wife forced him to put in to make the room less intimidating, and pulled open a drawer, gingerly grabbing ahold of the last remaining photo of its kind.

All of his children, including Mito, who snuck out of Konoha for a short time with Tsunade's help, his grandchildren, and great grandchildren were gathered around him, an endless sea of red hair, the only variation in looks being their eyes.

Blue, green, grey, and only a couple of violets that matched his own.

The only other copy of this precious image was in a pouch just above his heart as he died.

He caressed the photo, gazing at the girl closest to him in the photo.

Kushina was perched on his shoulder, this picture having been taken only a few weeks before Mito discovered she had a health issue her maternal aunt had, making her holding the Kyuubi a catastrophe waiting to happen.

I designed that seal. He let go of the photo to not damage it as his fists clenched. But no matter how good it was, it wasn't enough to protect my child.

Ashina stood up, walking up to the wall and staring at his creation.

Overlapping seals, chakra immune metal from the Land of Snow, and so many fail-safes and other defenses in place to protect the two most sacred material things to him. Truly a work of art.

Not even Zetsu or Obito could enter it.

Casually pressing a bit of chakra into the matrix, the entire wall lit up in his sensing.

With the little remaining Nature chakra still in him, the bunshin of Uzumaki Ashina focused it into his hand, popping open the vial of blood in his other.

"Speak friend," He whispered, flicking a drop of blood on the one section that required it, causing the lock to spin, "And enter."

No other statement could possibly be more relevant. He designed the rings that inspired the Akatsuki's, if not the actual ones he made, making him a ringmaker, and made an entrance that only allowed friends in.

I have the undead wraith portion nailed down as well.

His other hand pressed against the lock, which was spinning as it should, and pulsed nature chakra through it. With several loud clacks and a flash of chakra, the vault door opened with a hiss.

Grabbing the photo, Ashina walked into the room, eyes flicking towards the shelves as the door stayed open.

993. That's how many people held the blood and name of the Uzumaki clan from the last census he had done before the Second War reached them.

And the shelves contained 992 blood samples.

He gathered them under the guise of developing different kinds of treatments for certain poisons if Kiri or Suna declared open hostilities.

Pressing out with his sensing, the feeling he got back had him falling to his knees, his long held fear being confirmed.

The preservation seals failed, expending the chakra needed to keep them running.

Living blood had a faint chakra glow to it, his clan's blood even more so.

All that remained was a dark and empty abyss where they were supposed to be.

"No..." He wept, his fingers clawing into the ground. "No."

It was as if he lost them again.

The Edo Tensei would not work on them, meaning Rinne-rebirth was not possible. The desperate dream he dared to hope for was mercilessly cut down in front of him. No amount of knowing that the samples wouldn't still be preserved prepared him for it. Even if there was a 1 percent chance, Ashina had held onto it the moment he was brought back by Orochimaru.

There was no return.They were gone. His light was gone.

He howled in rage and despair, grabbing a table and throwing it, the wooden object exploding into pieces, sending the papers on it flying everywhere.

Reining in his fury to not destroy the papers themselves, Ashina stomped towards another table that had a jar that held two floating, crimson orbs on it. There was no chakra glow at all, the orbs unchanged.

Failure.

"Hello, Fuji," He snarled, grabbing the jar of preservative, "As you can see, I'm still here."

The screams Fuji made as his eyes were ripped from his head still rang through Ashina's mind like a beautiful swan song.

"There's a reason nobody from the other world knew your name, Indra spawn!" He spat, jiggling the jar, "No matter how much of Hashirama's cells I injected, or Senjutsu used, I couldn't get a fucking Rinnegan from your diseased eyes!"

Fuji's eyes should have become Rinnegan after Ashina introduced some of Hashirama's blood, even if it took a couple of decades.

These eyes hadn't change after 50.

The only reason possible is that different generations of reincarnations wouldn't mesh, meaning Madara couldn't have grafted cells and chakra from the Senju that housed Ashura's chakra before Hashirama and evolved his eyes, and Sasuke couldn't do so with Hashirama's blood.

Or some other nonsensical reason that sought to deny him what he wanted.

"I could have saved them if it worked," Ashina growled at the eyes, "I could have left the village, put the eyes in my head, and brought them back after I used the Edo Tensei on them. I didn't need to scalp Madara for his eyes."

If only Uzu had been attacked a few years later. Perhaps Madara would have had his Rinnegan then to be taken.

But he didn't when Ashina killed him.

"I hope you're listening, Hagoromo," Ashina looked around, honestly not knowing the depths of the dead man's abilities beyond the grave. Perhaps he was going mad. "You are the reason my family is reduced to only two. I've killed your son twice, and it still isn't enough!"

The revelations of the clearing of the memories wasn't the only thing revealed to him when he synced his chakra with the world's through the mask.

Not only did he get all the memories cleared and ordered properly, he saw flashes of the future and past, the events not adding up to the tale of Uzumaki Naruto, protagonist of a story.

Ashina distinctly remembered dreams of an older blond and raven haired duo, fighting a horned entity that was handily facing them. He remembered a pale entity not native to this planet trying to extract Kurama, only to be defeated by the Seventh Hokage and his son.

The means to see the future, including the statement by that creature about Kurama, meant that it was indeed possible to see the future.

Gamamaru saw the future, and so did Momoshiki, albeit through different means. The Byakugan could see chakra. If reality flowed like a river, leaving faint ripples, a dojutsu that could see chakra might be able to translate those ripples into "Visions".

Senjutsu, specifically the sensory part, meant that a blind man could see his surroundings better than one with only their eyesight, and Ashina always had suspicions on how the old toad could see future events.

Experiences left a mark on ones chakra, clearly shown by trauma and emotion maturing a Sharingan. It stood to reason that any sufficiently large event in the past could be felt as an echo in the chakra of the world itself, and could be felt by the Sage who took in nature chakra.

It worked with shadow clones returning experiences, so the logic was there.

This very theory was what had Ashina trying to replicate Gamamaru, needing to know whether something more dangerous than Kaguya was out there and hopefully how to combat it.

A sample of toad oil and snake venom was more than enough to experiment with.

That was the very reason he didn't kill Madara as a teenager when he had the chance. He might have been useful in fighting such a threat.

But the mask did a better job than he expected, causing a full blown aneurysm that nearly killed him. He felt the ripple of past and future events, more potently than what Gamamaru ever did in his prophetic dream.

The results had shocked and filled him with both rage and relief.

This was a completely different universe from the one the memories showed. Kaguya's life was identical to Toneri's, which confused him. It meant that the fight he witnessed between Kaguya and her twin sons didn't end the way he originally saw it.

The moon already existed and wasn't made by Hagoromo.

She fled to Earth, being the last of her Branch house after a civil war, and tried to cultivate a new start, and the rest was history.

Nothing pointed to the likes of her clan existing in the way he saw, meaning this world was spared that kind of nightmare.

Evidently, her motive to dominate the world was so that nobody would kill and destroy themselves like her family had; an understandable stance.

And more damning still, Ashina wasn't certain on whether Zetsu was created by her. It may have in fact been Indra that created it, because Kaguya had been straight up killed by her sons, the youngest being so wracked with guilt that he left his brother and became a recluse, only coming out of his shell when he fell in love with a woman.

With that threat nonexistent, Ashina had no qualms about forming a hit squad to kill Madara and shatter the rancid hellscape that was "Canon".

Ashina shook those thoughts away, setting the jar back down and turning towards the papers.

"Temper, temper." He cursed his violent outburst, practically hearing the melodic voice of his wife in his ear.

She always scolded him for his impulsiveness, not speaking with him for days after he nearly got himself killed for the upteenth time. Fighting toads, hunting Uchiha, designing extremely dangerous seals, or melting his brain with one. He had no idea why she put up with him for the near 80 years they knew each other.

Ashina got on his knees and started reorganizing the papers, sparing glances at them.

Most of the esoteric seal schematics were inspired by the series, especially Jinchuriki seals.

The existence of Jinchuriki in the future made me create seals for them, which ensured they existed in the first place.

Catching Ninjutsu and hitting people with it was inspired by Jiraiya sealing Amaterasu, paralysis seals were inspired by Tsunade disrupting Kabuto's nerve signals when Orochimaru needed his arms treated, and so many others inspired by imagination and the understanding of future events.

Events occurred because of the seals he made, but the seals were made because the events occurred.

Like a snake eating its own tail, a constant loop with no discernable beginning or end.

"It desires us." Ashina snorted derisively, finally reorganizing them and pulling out one particular collection of notes. "The worm loves us."

The collection of papers held evidence of several... problematic things. Naruto was no fool, and neither was Jiraiya.

Jiraiya would make the deduction that he had experimented and probably seen the future, which wasn't exactly wrong, and encrypted the text.

Naruto would know better. Naruto one upped him in writing his own notes. It took a well read mind, or an extremely paranoid one, to write notes of future events in English, German, and Old English of all things.

Ashina only wrote it in cursive English.

You may as well have written it in binary as well. Ashina thought of his grandson, truly hoping he didn't make the same mistake he did.

He didn't tell a single person about his greatest secret.

None of his family knew; not his parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, or his wife. It was a burden he kept to himself.

It caused issues, even more so when they didn't understand why he'd have mood swings or idiosyncratic moments where he couldn't differentiate himself from the memories, almost getting lost in them.

Whether Naruto had it as bad as he did or not, it didn't matter. He was making this choice to help a boy he was uniquely qualified to.

This will force you to share. Ashina looked at the different notes, focusing on a few specific ones. They would have warranted destroying, but they weren't overt enough for anyone but Naruto to realize what they meant in the grand scheme.

Should I destroy them? He wondered, knowing that their existence would cause issues.

Ashina still didn't know precisely how the two brothers were able to will themselves into reincarnating in their descendants, but the research he made, despite burning the actual records of it, could be seen clear as day to someone reading between the lines when he noted different things about Ashura and Indra.

I don't care. He finally decided, organizing the notes and grabbing a relatively useless sheet. I will not let you keep this secret to your own detriment.

Ashina grabbed his personal brush and pot of ink from a second table, containing a few trinkets.

He wrote out a message on the paper in English, knowing Naruto would understand it.

Finishing it, Ashina stacked the papers in different sections, organized as they were.

Images of the Rookie 9 and Konoha 12, with their names and certain details about them being a failsafe if Jiraiya or any other friend managed to get inside required proof of his knowledge. Enough for even a Doubting Thomas to believe.

Drawings of the rookie genin were set aside though, the blue eyes of a whiskered blond seeming to torment him the most.

Would Uzumaki Naruto, the blond, have been born if he never lived? Did he kill his own grandson?

No. He shook his head, refusing to go their. You know that wasn't what happened. Your actions didn't kill him.

Red hair, not blond. Intelligent and quiet, not loud and impulsive.

This is not the same universe. You were wrong about that. Quit blaming yourself. Rin has Ashura's chakra, not Naruto.

'But why did Ashura only ever reincarnate into a girl this one time?' a voice seemed to say to him traitorously.

Ashina shook his head and glanced at the other set of papers, reading the summary of a non-existent timeline.

The sheets next to it were definitely useless. They detailed what he knew of the following generation, a generation that wouldn't exist in this universe because of the differences.

No Otsutsuki to prepare to face in this world, thankfully.

Deciding to keep them there, the chakra construct that had the same memories as Uzumaki Ashina went towards the seal matrix next to the vial of blood, the seal inert.

Naruto may need the blood for later, and the seal needed chakra.

What are clones made of?

As he reached out to feed himself to the seal, the clone thought of its inevitable death.

Clones return to their creator, meaning their experiences live on. What happens when the chakra has nowhere to return to?

The real Ashina would not see the memories. He would never have the final knowledge of what Uzu looked like, nor the final fate of his children.

He could not grieve in his own home.

"By the rivers of Babylon," The clone said shakily, holding the picture like it were made of glass, "There we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion."

The clone remembered the thoughts that went through prime's head after what he did to Roshi.

Death may have been preferable to becoming a Trojan Horse.

The village of Iwa went through his head, the village going unpunished for its crimes.

"O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed. Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us." The clone recited, those memories being some of the most vivid in his mind.

"Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

The clone began sinking chakra into the seal, its body shaking.

Looking at the photograph once more, the final memory of Kushina played in his head.

---

"I love you, Kushina-chan." He whispered, his hand on the girl's cheek.

"I know you miss your grandfather, but it was his time." He said again, putting an aged hand on her shoulder.

His granddaughter's father-in-law had died, leaving Kushina with one less grandfather.

"I want to see you every day, 'ttebane," Kushina cried, grabbing ahold of him in a hug, "I miss home. I'm gonna miss you."

They were outside of the village, Ashina deciding to escort her on the first portion of her journey to Konoha.

Heaven willing, the vague description of Uzu's destruction in the series could be avoided. Or perhaps reversed in the worst case.

"You will never be alone." He shushed her, running his fingers through her hair, just as he did with his younger sister after having a nightmare, "I want you to think of me everytime you feel the seal. It will be my chakra that painted it. I will always be a part of you."

Mito could have done it, but Ashina couldn't let her. He needed to be the one to do it.

"Just pulse some of your chakra and you'll feel an echo of mine." He whispered softly, kissing her forehead.

His darling granddaughter deserved to at least have a part of him if everything failed.

Kushina sniffed.

"Okay." She whispered, letting go of me, "Where will it be?"

"Just lift your shirt up a little." He said, "Just up to your stomach, no higher." He explained.

Kushina lifted her shirt up a bit and Ashina began the task of preparing the seal that would house Kurama against his will.

I pray it is not necessary. He thought sadly as he applied his chakra to the seal, I don't think I can endure more.

Madara would need killed, and he feared he may not return from it. The backup planned filled him with dread. He had to kill Madara and get his eyes.

He already had a runner selected to take the blood to Konoha if he died, along with a letter.

If Uzu held, then he could save the world. Ashura would not need to be reborn to save it and steal a happy life from his grandson.

Ashina would not allow it.

The clone started swaying, its vision swimming.

All the memories I have of Uzu will die with me. The clone looked closely at the picture, letting out a sob at its encroaching death.

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

"Time to die." He mumbled, saying one final phrase in a language never spoken aloud here, before popping from lack of chakra.

The picture of Uzumaki Ashina's family slowly fell to the ground, the vault as quiet and cold as it had been for years since its creator had departed.

---

End chapter.

This chapter did not seem to have a good part to end it, so I just kept writing. I should've split it, but I didn't. I have no idea why I didn't split it in two.

Several big things happened that will set the pace of the AU Shippuden arc. Rin has some firsthand exposure to why Hashirama was seen as such a good man, as well as her hatred for Itachi stoked.

Sasuke was never going to take it well. I believe this is a realistic reaction to his biggest motivator being outed as a deception and lie. He was sixteen when he found out in Canon and it messed him up. Imagine if he found out younger. It also sets the pace of Rin not turning on him, despite his emotional turmoil.

Naruto basically does his own thing pestering Tobirama about stuff. He's becoming less emotionally reliant on being around Rin all the time, and double that for Rin being less reliant on him.

Jiraiya confides in Kakashi about his belief in Naruto, mainly from the fight with Orochimaru reminding him that he can still be killed despite being an S-rank.

I debated on having that put in, but the theme about someone having your back is something I've stressed in the story before. Everybody's acting on incomplete intel and Jiraiya, who only has Tsunade and had Hiruzen as a peer powerwise, chose Kakashi to confide in. If Jiraiya gets killed, he needs someone to protect Naruto and Rin, at least emotionally.

The Akatsuki stuff is self-explanatory. Naruto is firmly in their sights and the evolving plans will be as close to unique as I can do for the Shippuden arc.

I enjoyed writing Ashina beating the ever living shit out of Obito. Zetsu will not be dying well.

The Uzu portion was difficult for me. The journey through the ruins, and finding remains, creates bad visuals in a writer's head, and I'm not any different. The thoughts are chilling to think about, let alone having to write and immerse myself in it.

I basically glossed over the Kaguya part because I'm not planning this story to carry over into Boruto. The easiest way to do that is just make this a different universe, problem solved. And it gives reasoning behind Ashina not straight up mercing Madara at the earliest point if he has confusing memories about a different universe.

Now that I gave a bit of a summary on the chapter, since it's so freaking long, I'll explain a bit on why it took a bit longer to update.

I do holiday related stuff this time of year, from October until December, and it gets extremely hectic. Spending time with family is important, while I can always write when I don't have relatives I rarely get to see visiting.

This chapter was just bits and pieces that added up over a couple months, and I couldn't find a good spot to end it.

Now, onto the parts I added.

This will involve spoilers. If you don't want to know the added parts until you read them, skip this.

The biggest thing, at least for me, is that I've added contrasts to Naruto's worrying and paranoia. I planned on him joining Orochimaru from the beginning to prepare against the Akatsuki, but it was too dark for me to both write and enjoy writing, so I ditched it after I wrote the Wave arc and imagined Rin's POV to her twin leaving her. I flat out did a 180 after less than a minute from how much that would screw with me to write it.

So, the vicious behavior, paranoia, and lack of caring about emotionally hurting people was a leftover from me writing a dark turn post Crush arc. I should've ditched it earlier, because it bit me in the ass where I'm revising his behavior to be more in line with what he should be.

First, Naruto and Rin spends time with Hinata to officially meet Hiashi, who wants to know more about his eldest daughter's friends. Neji and Hanabi are also introduced. The addition adds more depth to the friendship between them.

Next, I give Naruto a POV right after the Uchiha Massacre. I overlooked it and realized that it's a big thing that Naruto could have tried to stop, so I wrote how he rationalized it and his bad reaction to it.

I sprinkled in different spots of improvement in the earliest chapters to make it a little less clunky as well.

For the training portion, I added different parts to improve the details of training and took out some others, including the nonchalant swearing and lack of reaction to it.

A Kakashi Pov was added where he talks with the other Jonin about Naruto when they first start group training, specifically how he is extremely secretive and will try to squeeze out extra training, even if it is physically dangerous.

The parts about Naruto going over the top and hurting himself have been reduced noticeably. I tried to make it seem like he was cutting corners and taking advantage of his healing to speed his training, but it came off as a little too edgy. I made it a little better.

The biggest portion of the training arc I fixed was his rudeness to the other genin. It looks like him being a dick instead of trying to help them to improve via tough love.

I added a scene where he helps Kurenai's team and compliments their improvement, lazes around with Shikamaru to help him escape from his mother, and interacts with Ino earlier on.

On Ino, I never had the two of them talk about what she saw in Naruto's head. I added that to show Naruto trying to help her and show empathy. She also learns earlier why he sometimes acted like a hardass and he apologizes.

On character interaction: Ino and Hinata had scenes added earlier where they actually get along. Hinata goes to the flower shop for ingredients in her medical salve and they are fairly friendly to one another, but become friends through Naruto being a mutual one.

Naruto also interacts with Ino on more than a couple occasions, giving them actual room for a friendship.

On Rin and Sasuke: This one was difficult. I needed a reason to get them to not slowly grow to tolerate one another under the shadow of the annoyingly overprotective redhead that is the OC, so I came up with the most amusing way.

Kakashi orders them to play House.

An argument happened between them and results in them failing a mock mission, so Kakashi decides to have fun with their team building exercises, making them grocery shop together and fix supper constantly. They eventually start to tolerate one another and the foundation of a friendship starts to emerge.

Other parts spawned from this are sprinkled around, but that's a major one.

After the training arc, there is less stuff. Naruto does some D-ranks with Asuma's team and it's pretty laid back. It helps add more depth to his friendship with Ino and gives contrast to what will happen in Wave.

Wave goes the same way, but I have added more scenes where Naruto doubts himself about keeping secrets. That's something I was blind to when I first starting writing this and it has vexed me quite a bit.

Naruto doesn't attack Yamato as a ruse. He simply walks up to him and pretty much tells Kakashi, while acting realistically tense, that he recognizes the chakra. Random acts of panic by Naruto were trimmed and blunted a bit because there was a bit too much.

Next, more interaction occurs between Naruto, Ino, and Hinata, just a little slice of funny and laid back.

Naruto's reaction to B is made less panic driven, but he still hurries over there and tells Rin to make an excuse to leave. The conversation in the apartment after Rin and Sasuke argue was also reduced, and Naruto again starts to doubt himself on keeping secrets from Rin.

Little is changed for awhile after that. I was fine with the first part of the exams, but I added details to the fight with Orochimaru to improve immersion some. This includes Genjutsu being used on him that screws with his head and he actually reacts to the aftermath of being hunted and almost dying realistically.

Naruto and Rin still have it out over her using a Rasengan, but it's made less caustic, and Naruto shows more shame at what he did, rightfully blaming himself for hurting her by keeping secrets. This is where he stops being secretive about everything except his past life and knowledge.

Very little is changed after that. I'm fine with everything else after that, only adding at most a few paragraphs per chapter.

Here's the specific chapter marks where I added stuff.

Storytelling with Naruto and Rin: Chapter 7

Naruto POV on the Massacre: Chapter 10.

Naruto and Rin have dinner with Hinata at her home: Chapter 12.

Grammar adjustment: Chapter 13.

Naruto helps Hinata bake cinnamon rolls: Chapter 14.

Sasuke and Rin dinner talk about her and Naruto's mom. They discover their mothers were friends: Chapter 20.

Conversation with Ino that has her thinking twice about her perception of him: Chapter 19.

Naruto lies to Shikamaru's mom to help him slack off on training to cloud watch: Chapter 21.

Other conversation with Ino: Chapter 22.

Naruto and Ino dig up flower bulbs at the flower shop: Chapter 23.

Rin and Sasuke D-rank interaction concerning him snapping at civilians: Chapter 24.

Naruto having a relaxing time with Konohamaru, offering to teach him a jutsu if he applies himself to studying some: Chapter 25.

Very little changes up until chapter 33. One of Naruto's D-rank punishments for disobeying orders is him shoveling fertilizer at the flower shop. He and Ino grow closer as friends. This is also where I edited the meeting with Yamato to be less caustic.

Chapter 34: Naruto spars with Gai while using the first Gate.

There's not much else after that. The earlier parts needed worked on while the rest was fine.

But yeah. Here's the longest chapter I've ever written, surpassing the length of many fics out there. I should've cut this bastard in half, if not thirds. I'll try not to take too long next time. Merry Christmas to everyone and God bless.

Raging.