DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe.
Thinking (+ flashbacks, Naruto speaking in her mindscape, etc.)
Emphasis
Bijuu, etc. speaking
Bijuu, etc. thinking
"I'll make some tea," Naruto said, hoping that the old-fashioned stove worked. Kakashi had some food sealed on him earlier that they ate, and the Senju home they were in had been laid out for guests more than she would have imagined, considering that her husband said he hadn't earlier planned to bring her here. There was even fresh fruit in baskets and candies in tins; there were also a few things in the freezer. It was almost like Tsunade had been expecting someone, but it definitely didn't seem like it was her grandmother's house: there was no alcohol.
And may the gods help me if ghosts laid out this shit instead.
Tenzo nodded his head, thirsty and grateful that Naruto was doing something normal. He wasn't the most socially skilled person, and he was still a little freaked out by the way his senpai had kissed the young woman, who was - fair enough - his wife. But still! This was Kakashi-senpai he had seen melting down into the jinchuuriki, kissing her as if she would disappear! The only clue he had that his senpai was remotely aware he was still in the room as he kissed his wife was the way he turned away to do it so that he could lower his mask.
What a day.
"So how are things out there?" Naruto asked from inside the kitchen as she shook out a long, previously-lit match. The stove was one of those things that required a fire inside, and she was grateful for the matches. She could somewhat manipulate fire now, but her attempts at doing so were big and bold. She didn't want to burn down the large Senju cottage or compound she was being held in. "Why can't I help or go home? Kakashi was closed-mouth about it."
Tenzo was silent for a while, trying to decide what he could or should say. He wasn't told much that was classified other than that Namikaze Minato's re-emergence from the other side was top-secret - and wasn't that a mind-blower. Then there's what I can say, and what I should say. He'd learned over the past month that Kakashi-senpai was even more protective of his wife than he'd thought.
And Naruto was a magnet for trouble, so he had to be careful.
After considering it for a while and having a sip of tea while Naruto gave him her dreaded puppy eyes, he relented. "Many are asking for your death."
"Ah," Naruto said, slightly scoffing. "Story of my life." Tenzo didn't respond, so Naruto eventually sank down into the chair across from him.
"So. Have you seen my father?" Considering how in the dark she was being kept, Naruto couldn't help but enjoy the way her sensei tried to make his head disappear into his broad shoulders. Like a turtle.
"What kind of question is that?" Tenzo finally asked as he tried to think of something that would change the course of this conversation. "What's Senpai look like under his mask?" Dear gods, had he really just asked that? He really wanted to know, but Senpai loved his privacy: if he found out that he'd asked such a personal question...
"Hot," Naruto replied smugly. It was none of anyone's business what Kakashi looked like but their own, anyway. "I already saw my father. I think I might've rammed into his fucking... coffin," she sneered, "and he escaped from it." She got up after banging her hands down on the extremely thick table. It cracked anyway. "What the hell is that about? Orochimaru better be fucking dead," she said, holding back hot tears.
Since Kakashi left, she had been a LOT more on edge.
"Were you forced to kill during the attack?" Tenzo asked, worried for his student. When she shivered, eyes becoming large, and wilted onto the floor, he realized he was right to worry.
"Kakashi was distracting me," she murmured to herself in realization before she looked back up at Tenzo with narrowed blue eyes.
"Yes. Dog-boy put you under a genjutsu."
"And you didn't think to tell me?!"
"Mehhh," Kurama replied, shrugging with his eyes still closed. "It made you feel that time passed more quickly and kept you happy. And quiet."
Naruto wanted to scream! "I'm going to kick his ass!"
"He'll undoubtedly genjutsu you again. I wouldn't bother."
The blonde growled out loud, as fed up with Kurama as she was irritated with what Kakashi had done. "What about my father? Is he still around?" she asked the wood-user that was there. Gods help him... Tenzo was in the wrong place at the wrong time!
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"Have you seen him?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"He's my FATHER. Do you know where he went with Kakashi? Did you know that he LEFT WITH KAKASHI?" she asked, getting angry. "I threw myself into that barrier at the risk of my own life to save Jiji, Ero-sennin, and Gamaken when no one else could! Why am I being treated like a prisoner?" she continued, her voice getting raspier in exasperation. "Am I being charged?"
"No! Not to my knowledge, and calm down, Uzumaki... Hatake! You're leaking the Kyuubi's chakra!"
Naruto blinked, realizing that her eyes were hot and dry from doing exactly that. Licking her teeth and dry lips, she realized that her canines were longer and closed her eyes, pulling the fox's chakra back. "He's pissed, too. Or concerned. Whatever... It's not like he's very fond of the guy who ripped him in half."
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter. More tea?" she asked with a broad fake smile. Apparently, the fact that her father had ripped Kurama in half wasn't universally known, even amongst the Jonin community.
Tenzo quickly shook his head. With that look on her face and her hair crackling with chakra in all directions, Naruto looked like an oni who might have poisoned it or would otherwise get him. The way the water in the kettle was boiling merely in her hands wasn't a good sign, either. "No, thank you."
As her hair settled down, Naruto blew her bangs from her forehead and put the kettle back on the stove. "What can you tell me?" she asked the man behind her. She promised herself not to attack him if he wouldn't tell her anything. He was probably under orders.
"Civilian and shinobi casualties from Konoha are expected to be in the double digits. We have many injured, but the hospital is managing to keep up. T&I and the jails are over-capacity; Genin have been tasked with escorting civilians back to their homes or businesses after securing them."
Naruto nodded, glad for the information. "What about structurally? How much damage was done?" She almost snarled to herself after reaching her senses out as she opened the large back doors. Almost every shinobi she was aware of was in the village. Kakashi, Shikaku, Tsunade, and Jiraiya's chakra signatures were fuzzy, being severely blurred from her senses by a jutsu of some kind around or under the Hokage Tower. "Is this REALLY the time for a council meeting?!"
Tenzo answered the first two questions, mentioning the damaged outer wall and some buildings that had collapsed before complaining about how much work he was going to have to do in some areas, including two completely destroyed training grounds. Naruto was barely listening, as she internally inspected what had to be people in a series of passages underneath the entirety of Konoha as she walked toward the backyard. She had always figured ROOT was down there in a cave or the like, but considering that she could feel Ibiki and Anko's chakra signatures there along with many others she recognized, she figured the underground might house prisoner cells and who knows what else.
"Did Oto have aid in the attack?"
"That... remains to be seen," Tenzo said after a beat. "And I really can't say more than that, Naruto." He was grateful that the blonde had calmed down as he described the limited damage that Konoha had taken in the attack. He joined her outside and watched her carefully.
"The clan compounds are alright, right? Tenzo nodded, and that relieved Naruto greatly. "Are Sasuke and Sai okay?" she then asked, looking alarmed when Tenzo thought about what to say.
"Sasuke's recovering in the hospital from his match and is being impossible," he said, obviously irritated with his student. "Sai is fine... he's next door. You can't sense him?"
"No," Naruto said, her bottom lip involuntarily jutting out when she realized she couldn't feel anyone else in the Senju compound. "He's sealed in, I guess?"
Tenzo shrugged his shoulders and pulled a Hashirama apple from a tree.
"What a weird compound," Naruto said, looking around more. She hopped up on a post, investigating further, finally seeing Sai's pale face smiling at her from the window next door. He waved, making Naruto smile in spite of her bad mood. She waved back and a few pale faces joined Sai at the window. The boys with weird smiles all waved at her. "Huh," she said to herself, turning to her guard dog. "They're under your watch, too?"
Tenzo looked like admitting it hurt. "Senpai's orders. There's 63 of them now; 15 in that cottage."
Naruto chuckled at the sad man, wondering why in the world so many ROOT members were defecting from Danzo's cause.
"So how are you, Kakashi?"
Kakashi nodded his head, trying to speak. His sensei was alive and in the flesh, his strong jawline clenching and face twisting between anger and a polite smile. It was a miracle: wonderful, horrible, and terrifying all at the same time.
"Good, good," Minato said as if his student had actually spoken. He could only imagine what the young man was going through, but wasn't what he was going through worse? He took a deep breath at realizing that he and his student (who had robbed his daughter of her innocence) were now around the same age and that the boy had grown taller than him. "Anything you'd like to tell me? I see you're not in ANBU anymore."
"No one really leaves the Black Ops," Kakashi said almost automatically; it wasn't like he hadn't said that at least a dozen times before yearly. "Started a cult." Kakashi then winced, wondering why his mouth had started with his Icha-Icha ROOT faction. It was as if he was begging the man to pound him.
"Interesting, interesting," Minato said, smiling terrifyingly as he also nodded his head. "I, myself, found out that I have famous parents who were previously unaware of our relationship." Kakashi only nodded his head. "You married my daughter," under his breath but still audible he added, "you little shit."
Kakashi realized that he was still nodding. "Yes, sir. It was an arranged marriage," he explained.
"I see: it's merely a marriage on paper and in the bedroom. You feel nothing for my daughter?"
"That isn't the case," Kakashi said, his voice deepening dangerously. Who the hell are you to make assumptions and ask about Naruto when you refuse to even see her?
Minato almost let a smile grace his lips at the Killing Intent Kakashi had unleashed then immediately reigned in. "So, you care for her." Kakashi nodded once, which made Minato bite his lips. If someone had asked him about marrying or whether or not he cared for his sweet, sweet Kushina whom he missed so damn much, he would've waxed on for as long as time permitted! "What do you remember?"
"Remember?" Kakashi asked, wondering where this was going.
"When did you first meet Naruto? The very first time, Kakashi," he ordered seriously. "And what do you remember of the perpetrator of the Nine-Tails Attack?"
The last question surprised Kakashi, although it made sense that his sensei would want to know the village's current intelligence. He had been fairly sure that he had been dragged into the closet to get a mop shoved up his ass rather than to be questioned.
He answered his formerly-dead sensei in the order of questions asked. "I first met her the day Sandaime-sama married us, although I had..." Seen her around when she was very young? Thought she was a boy? Avoided her like the plague? None of those answers seemed like the right thing to say to his very angry or serious sense/father-in-law. Clearing his throat, he continued. "The perpetrator of the Kyuubi attack is reported to be a man that goes by both Tobi and Madara. He is said to wear a large orange mask, is in possession of a single Sharingan, and has been confirmed to be a member of the Akatsuki: a group that intends to steal the tailed beasts and 'take over the world.' New intel says they are politically headquartered in Ame."
Minato nearly slumped in disappointment. Kakashi was the first person he had an opportunity to question at length that he knew he could trust, (aside from the whole Naruto thing which he was desperately trying to warm up to.) If Kakashi remembered that Obito was responsible for the attack, his apprentice would tell him, he was sure.
He still needed to find Shikaku and one of the Hyuuga twins, (preferably Hizashi - who was still alive this time.) Sadly there were no or few Uchiha around, so the clan's massacre had still taken place, but maybe Fugaku had put up a fight? He wasn't clear on the specifics of the clan's end in either timeline, so he had little to go on.
There was really a lot he needed to nail down if his plan to save the future was to work. And it had to work. Otherwise avoiding Naruto (and more importantly, Kurama, who would steal back the rest of his chakra) would only hurt her when she eventually discovered he was alive.
When he'd unsuccessfully interrogated the Sandaime minutes earlier, he had to threaten him not to censure, banish, or put his daughter to death for saving the man's wrinkly old hide, from what he'd learned thus far from his observations and conversation. He couldn't believe that he had been speaking to the old Sarutobi he used to know, especially when the man basically forced him to deal with the other Kage! Dealing with Onoki was always tedious, and then Lord Third still had the nerve to say those things about his daughter being dangerous.
When he earlier had a few moments alone with Jiraiya to help with his seal (and Tsunade-hime - and her presence had made things more difficult,) his thirst for information regarding the second life he'd chosen to live had momentarily gone on the backburner when they had surprised him with their big news. He wasn't sure what either Sannin expected him to say but hoped that he had been polite when they told him they were his parents.
Then, of course, Kakashi waltzed in. Minato grabbed and flashed him into the very small janitorial closet within the Hokage Tower inside the council chamber's reception area. It wasn't the first time he'd done it.
"Very good," Minato said absently as he ran through his plan in his mind and his hand through his hair, considering Kakashi's report. He still needed to question Jiraiya more, and do something to ensure that the powers that be - possibly including Lord Third - never put their filthy hands on Naruto-chan. "How do you feel about power changing hands?" Seeing Kakashi's visible eye widen laughably, he smirked and rubbed his very stubbly chin. He remembered a conversation he'd had with a chibi Hatake long ago when Kakashi claimed to never want a position of political power. "Seems that a future Hokage can never resist an Uzumaki woman, eh, Kakashi?"
As Minato thought he would, Kakashi nearly lost his footing as he took a step back into a vacuum cleaner. Or perhaps that was because of the Killing Intent he allowed to leak out. Just a little of it!
"Sensei?" Kakashi said in a weak voice.
Minato smacked him on the arm - hard - and opened the door to reveal themselves to the other clan heads who had finally shown up. He dragged Kakashi through and gave the shinobi heads a jaunty salute. "My 'rebirth' is an S-ranked secret, are we clear?" All of those in the room had sucked in air but weakly nodded their heads at his orders. "As a show of respect to my beloved wife's memory, it's time to cause some trouble!" He walked toward the closed room where the rest of the council - the civilian council - and the Elders were meeting.
Minato thought it was ridiculous to have a council meeting without shinobi present! Konoha was a hidden shinobi village, for goodness' sake.
Pulling his knee back, he kicked the door off its new hinges. "Hokage-sama," he shouted while henging himself, making sure that all of those present saw who he was for only a moment and got the scare of their lives. "I had heard that you were almost killed. Thank the heavens Uzumaki Naruto saved you! Her ability to control the Kyuubi is truly extraordinary! Long live Hiruzen!" He threw a smirk at the Sandaime who had the nerve to glare at him.
Partly for added effect, he threw a tri-pronged kunai and flashed twice to hide in the rafters. He inconspicuously tagged Danzo on his first stop against the wall behind the Warhawk. The council erupted in chaos as the shinobi side of the council filed in, most breathless and weak in the knees.
"I haven't found him anywhere," Anko said miserably.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Ibiki roared.
"Don't yell at me, asshole! Yell at them," she demanded, pointing to the Chunin who had earlier been on duty guarding Kabuto and the Uzumaki girl. Both Chunin were currently bound in Anko's snakes.
"I had to leave when the alarm sounded! It was an invasion for Sage's sake," Chunin 1 argued.
Chunin 2 nodded his head eagerly in agreement. "Yeah! I mean, seriously! What were we supposed to do?"
Ibiki groaned and really felt for the Yamanakas. Not only did they have to go through the heads of all those who had infiltrated, but they also had the added work of ensuring the Chunin who were guarding prisoners in the underground weren't part of Orochimaru's plot. He really hated doing what he did to his loyal comrades but loved his job when it came to traitors.
Gaara looked toward his Kage and wondered if it was traitorous to feel so relieved at not being solely responsible for his village. He sincerely believed that Lady Pakura would make a fine Kazekage in the years to come. The fact that she had attempted to renew a generous treaty with Konoha was proof of that.
It was sad and highly suspicious that the Hokage refused it. Especially after his village had just been attacked.
"I'm not going to have to worry about you coming for my head or position, am I?" Pakura asked dangerously as she turned toward the extremely quiet redhead. One could never be too careful, and although Gaara and his siblings had supported her in the coup, Gaara was also the only Suna nin who could give her a run for her money.
"No, Kazekage-sama. I am merely here to ensure your safety. I admit that I had wanted to visit with my friend before leaving for Suna, but I am unsure of where she is."
"The jinchuuriki, right?"
Gaara's displeasure was hidden by a slow blink of his eyes. He was not happy at all that his leader (or anyone) called his friend by a title forced upon her. "Her name is Naruto, my lady." His irritation was comforted by a squeeze of the hand from Fu who was sitting next to him.
"Right. Is she really the Yondaime Hokage's kid? The way she protected the people attending the exams was impressive, an act of true self-sacrifice. Shouldn't she be here?" They were in a secured wing of the hospital, awaiting a report from Shijima, whom Pakura had allowed to work at Konoha's hospital. It wasn't like she had much choice! Shijima was one of her closest confidants and was so excited to have the opportunity to work with Senju Tsunade and Kato Shizune. What kind of friend would she have been to refuse Shijima one of her lifelong dreams?
Gaara nodded his head reluctantly. Naruto's known parentage now made her even more of a target. He had to tell the truth, though: Pakura was Kazekage, his leader, and he was a loyal Suna shinobi.
"Have we received word back from Suna?" Gaara asked. They had used Temari's summons AND a bird to message Suna ANBU that Jonin Yura was missing. As a revered member of the Suna council and one of Pakura-sama's guards now at the Chunin exam, his present status was especially concerning.
"Temari-hime's summons met a nearby squad. Their orders were to search for him"
"Very well."
Shijima came into the room, looking radiant. "You wouldn't believe it, my lady," she began. "The things I have seen today? The techniques I might be able to bring back to our people? And Pakura! Pakura-sama: forgive me, my lady!"
"Cut the 'm'lady' crap, Shiji-chan," Pakura said in exasperation. "You know I don't care for honorifics from my closest friends."
Shijima adjusted her glasses and huffed at her girlfriend. "'Close friends' or not, we are in foreign territory and you are my beloved leader." She enjoyed the way Pakura blushed and looked so uncomfortable. Suna was terribly conservative, and Konoha's more free-thinking atmosphere had been liberating. "And I have more good news: Tsunade-sama wants to examine my eyes!"
Initially and internally, Pakura could be thrilled, but Tsunade was a known gambling drunkard despite her medical prowess and a member of a different village. "Are you sure you can trust her with something so important, Shiji?"
"I am. I saw her heal many of our shinobi, putting some ahead of her own comrades. Whom she healed and in what order was purely determined upon the need of her prodigious skills. As expected, Lady Senju is a true medical professional," Shijima continued to gush, "I cannot imagine her hurting someone or lying about something so important to me..."
"Tch," Pakura sneered. "Don't you remember how she poisoned our shinobi?" Shijima could be so idealistic!
"No, I don't, and neither do you! We're too young to have experienced that firsthand," Shijima whispered, turning away. Why did Pakura have to be like this? She was really excited and so, so hopeful. Wearing glasses was a particular pain in the sands of Suna, and having them taken away from her would leave her nearly blind. They were both an aid and a handicap, she thought.
Pakura nodded her head but decided that she would attend this eye examination, just in case she needed to defend her lover. "It seems our stay will be extended." The smile she received in return from Shijima was blinding. "YOU will be the one to explain to Chiyo-sama that you allowed Tsunade-hime to get so close to you."
Shijima and Gaara rolled their eyes, Gaara much less obviously since his eyes were closed. His third eye was out looking for Naruto and observing shinobi. He had to hold back a grin when he observed his former (and hopefully future) friend, Lee, being his energetic self as he bounced through the streets carrying a huge boulder, hollering about "youth."
Lady Chiyo had supposedly saved his life a lifetime ago, but the Suna Elder had been a terrible pain in the rear during this lifetime. Set in her ways and militaristic, Chiyo had supported him, rather than Pakura, to be Kazekage - something Gaara never would have imagined during his first life. Her reasoning had been that he was "a stable jinchuuriki" and that the Kazekage position needed to remain in his family line.
The fact that she was distantly related to him and his siblings? That their family's status was supposedly taking a hit by being out of the Kage position? He was sure those were the real reasons Lady Chiyo supported him. "I believe we can trust Tsunade-sama, or we can give her the opportunity to gain our trust," Gaara finally said.
Pakura nodded at him, deciding to trust the young man's judgment. After everything his father put him through, it was a miracle that Gaara was so stable, caring, and simply loved his village so much. The redhead jinchuuriki saved lives when he supported her bid to become Kazekage and encouraged his siblings to do the same. She owed him, but he better be right about Tsunade.
Hyuuga Hiashi's all-seeing-eyes rarely moved away from the Yondaime Hokage who was hiding in the rafters of the council room, behind both a henge and genjutsu. Not that anyone else could tell, considering the gifts of his dojutsu: it made him appear blind, but Hiashi could see better than anyone. Watching the venerable (and reborn) Yondaime Hokage hanging over them like a monkey was quite amusing.
He really spent too much time with Kushina. Minato was the genius of his generation, however, so something terribly important must be up.
Perhaps whatever concerned Minato was even more important than the village being infiltrated by Orochimaru. After all, the village had predicted and withstood the attack exceedingly well.
There were some strange characters hiding in the room, but the presence of the previously deceased Yondaime Hokage clearly topped them all. The hair on the back of Hiashi's neck prickled and he sat back, out of the direct view of the man closest to him, Danzo. He fully activated his byakugan and gasped at what he saw just as the announcement was made.
"I have decided to once again step away from my current role," Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly smile. "I am pleased to announce that the Godaime Hokage will be my good friend, Danzo."
Hiashi's chair crashed behind him as he shouted and threw himself into action.