19 - The Ties That Find You

Kushina opened the front door and stepped aside so Naruto could enter. He barrelled past, rambling a mile a minute once he realized Sasuke was in the room. Kushina shook her head at his rambunctiousness as she locked the door.

"Sasuke, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "You won't believe what just happened. Mom and I went to this really cool secret temple built by the Uzumaki Clan. There were tons of old sacred masks with special abilities. Iruka-sensei and Hinata's sensei showed up and put me under a Genjutsu. It was all part of some weird test, and—wait, why are you laughing?"

"I guess he found you two after all," Sasuke said. He smirked.

"Huh? You saw Iruka-sensei too?!"

"Yeah, while you guys were out. He asked where to find you, but since Kushina didn't say, I wasn't sure if my answer would be of any help. Oh, and I passed his test."

"Heh, nice! I did too, of course." Naruto shot a nervous look to Kushina. She responded with a challenging stare. "I-I mean, it wasn't a clean sweep, but I never doubted I'd make it out okay!"

"That makes one of us, ya know," Kushina fumed. "You scared me half to death!"

He flushed red. "Ahahaha…sorry."

She pulled him into a tight hug. "As long as you're okay."

Now that Naruto was turned sideways, Sasuke could see the mask affixed to his waist. He frowned in confusion and pointed.

"What's the deal with that?"

"Oh! Naruto piped up, gently releasing himself from the hug. He stared down at his new accessory. "This? This is the Konran Mask."

"The what?" Sasuke looked to Kushina for an explanation.

"Well," she sighed, "the Konran Mask is one of the more dangerous relics from the temple. Ordinarily, anyone who touches it has their chakra completely drained, ya know. There have been a few exceptions throughout history. When Naruto was going through Kurenai's Genjutsu test, the mask responded to his chakra the same way it once did to Lady Mito's. He put it on and its unique ability to disrupt chakra helped break him out of the Genjutsu. No one knows exactly how or why the mask lets certain people wear it, but not others. Some say it has to do with chakra affinity. Others think how purehearted or strong-willed the user is makes a difference. Even Lady Mito didn't have all of the answers. For whatever reason, the mask doesn't harm Naruto."

Sasuke nodded, resting his hands in his pockets. "Are there any downsides?"

"Well, yes," Kushina said, giving Naruto a dismal look. "When Naruto uses the Konran Mask, it demands a large amount of his chakra, but in exchange…"

"In exchange?" Sasuke said in a leading tone.

"Well, ya see," Naruto went on, "it can do this cool thing if someone tries to use long range Ninjutsu on me. Mom used a water jutsu to show me."

"Basically," Kushina said, "Sasuke, if you were to try something like hitting Naruto with your Fireball Jutsu while he was wearing it, the fireball would split down the middle when it reached him. The mask emits an energy field that distorts the stability of chakra, meaning it can interfere with shape transformation of Ninjutsu."

"I see." Sasuke cupped his chin. "But if I hold it or try to use it, I could die?"

"Y-yes." Kushina slumped as she said this. "I know that in a way it's an upgrade, but I'm worried, ya know. Founder Ashina had that stored away for a reason."

Naruto beamed. "Don't worry, Mom. It's okay, believe it! I don't know how to explain it, but I can sorta feel that it won't hurt anyone I don't want it to. Weird, right?"

"Really?" she said, her mouth dropping open. "I never heard about the jutsu sealed inside it working like that."

"Must be how Grandma Mito saved you."

Kushina considered it for a moment. "Must be."

Sasuke gave Naruto a quizzical look.

"I'll explain later," Kushina said before he could ask. He nodded. "Anyway, where's your father? It's getting late."

In the middle of Sasuke's nonchalant shrug, Minato blinked into existence behind him. Everyone gasped.

The Hokage laughed nervously, asking, "I just stepped into the middle of something, didn't I?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked from one parent to the other, judging the current pulse of their relationship by how the next interaction went. Realizing the brothers were waiting for a sign of how to move forward, Kushina swallowed her lingering feelings and put on a smile. She and her husband needed to be an example of maturity for their boys right now.

"Welcome home, Minato," she said. "Things got very complicated tonight. Let's sit and talk."

Minato nodded. His stilted posture made it clear he was uncomfortable, but relieved to come home to a somewhat less frigid environment. He hugged Naruto and Sasuke before taking his place at the table. Kushina settled for a tender caress of his arm, but didn't go any further. He masked his disappointment for the sake of the kids. Meanwhile, Naruto beelined to the fridge and yanked it open with an eager grin.

"I'm STARVING!" he said. "All that fighting really did a number on my metabolism, believe it."

Kushina didn't fuss about him snacking before a meal, considering dinnertime was a long ways away. When they were all seated, she went over the details about the Konran Mask while Naruto chomped noisily in the background. Sasuke scoffed at his brother's poor display of manners.

Minato steepled his fingers. "Okay, so the mask isn't constantly sapping his chakra? Only when he wears it?"

Kushina nodded.

"I see. Then for now, Iet's just make sure we monitor this in case anything unexpected happens."

"Alright," Naruto agreed as he licked his fingers clean. "Can I go now? I wanna practice my Rasengan a bit more. I think I'm close to getting it."

Minato and Kushina shared a look before giving him the go-ahead. Naruto bounced up from the table, kissed his mom on the cheek, and disappeared into his room.

"Not in the house!" Kushina called after him. "Use the backyard."

"Yup, gotcha Mom!"

Sasuke stood up, but stopped himself from leaving when Minato gestured to him. The boy directed a flat stare at his adoptive father.

"Sasuke," Minato said. "I wanted to talk to you, if that's okay."

"About what?"

"I know we're not on the best of terms right now, but I've been working on something that might make up for how I hurt you. Would you be willing to go on a little trip with me?"

"A trip?" Kushina asked. "Where?"

Her husband held up a finger. "It's a surprise."

Allowing himself a moment to think things over at the office earlier led Minato to the conclusion that not being one-hundred percent transparent at the outset was the best way to go in this case. He wasn't sure how upset Sasuke might get if he had foreknowledge of where they were going.

The indifferent Uchiha sighed. "Fine."

Minato held out his arm. "Grab my hand." He winked at Kushina. "We'll be back soon."

Sasuke complied and they vanished, leaving the redheaded matriarch alone at the table with far more questions than answers.

She groaned. "This calls for some alone time."

Kushina headed for her bedroom, intent on spending more time in her Temporal Distension field. The sooner she could get that damned fox's chakra under control, the better. The way things were headed, she had hope that the ulcerated seal Tsunade told her about would return to normal soon. Besides, meditating would help prepare her for when she and Minato had an inevitable tough-but-necessary conversation. The family couldn't keep going like this. Their home environment had lost its warmth and become a vortex of negative emotions; hers, Minato's, and Sasuke's. She knew this wasn't healthy.

Crossing her legs, Kushina took a deep breath. She focused until she found her center. Her consciousness sank deeper and deeper. Then, with an unceremonious splash, she was back in the place that once housed The Nine Tails.

Minato deposited himself, along with Sasuke, in the middle of a large field. They stood side by side on the wet grass until Sasuke was finished taking everything in.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"It's less about where," Minato said, "than who."

"What does that m-"

A shadowy figure stepped out from behind a tree. Coal-black eyes beheld the two new arrivals with a gaze as intense as it was serene. Eyes that matched Sasuke's.

"Sasuke," Itachi said.

Strong gusts of wind made the blades of grass dance around the three ninja. They stood out like lifeless scarecrows against the swaying forest biome. No one knew what to do or who should make the first move.

Sasuke turned on Minato with a fierce expression. "What is this?"

Minato's gaze dropped to the ground. "I thought you two ought to talk one on one." He addressed the older of the two Uchiha without looking up. "He knows the truth, Itachi."

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke took a closer look at the family member in front of him. The person who was once the sole object of his hatred. His sworn enemy. Tears filled Sasuke's eyes as he realized this was all really happening and not an elaborate Genjutsu. He took shaky steps in Itachi's direction. His older brother's usual aloof affect was replaced by a subdued grimace. Despite this reaction, Sasuke kept walking toward him.

Minato watched in silence, noting that it was almost as if Itachi didn't want Sasuke to see him like this. They were together again for the first time, without the walls he kept up for so long. All those years of deceit, stripped away in an instant. Part of Minato worried what might happen now that everything was laid bare. Would Sasuke hate Itachi? Would Sasuke hate him? In fairness, the poor kid had every right to feel that way, but Minato hoped he wouldn't.

Sasuke stopped within arm's reach of Itachi, who was unable to hold eye contact with his beloved younger brother.

"Why?" Sasuke said.

This simple but powerful question drew Itachi's focus back toward his brother. Neither of them said anything for the next few seconds. Emotion that words could never hope to convey passed between them as they surveyed one another.

"Sasuke," Itachi said when he found the courage, "you shouldn't be here." He cut his eyes toward Minato. "Lord Fourth, why did you tell him abo-"

"He didn't," Sasuke spat. "I figured it out."

Itachi gasped and turned to him. "You…?"

"He's smarter than you give him credit for, Itachi," Minato said. He let out a bittersweet chuckle.

Swallowing hard, the Akatsuki double agent addressed his brother again. "How much do you know?"

"I know all of it," Sasuke said. "Everything. How you tarnished your own reputation to stop civil war from breaking out. How The Elders used you and then tossed you aside. How Danzo interfered with Minato helping you." He ground his teeth and balled his fists, veins bulging as he spoke. "I know you orchestrated everything so that I would believe in a false reality and hate you. And I know that you asked Minato to watch over me while keeping me in the dark. So, again, why?"

Now Itachi was the one with tears in his eyes. To say this surprised Minato would be a major understatement. He never expected the stoic prodigy of the Uchiha Clan to be undone so easily in front of his younger brother.

"It's simple," Itachi said, reaching out to Sasuke. "I didn't want you to get hurt-"

A resounding smack echoed across the field. Sasuke drove his fist into Itachi's face with raw, unbridled fury. He glared at him through tears. "To hell with that! Don't you see, Itachi? I'm already in pain. All those years with you as my goalpost, despising you, dreaming of your death. All those years respecting a village that hated us! Worst of all, you let them do this to you without a fight."

Itachi frowned. "I…I understand how you feel. In my eyes, this was necessary. War is an ugly and cruel thing that consumes all it touches. I wanted to keep you as far away from that as possible, Sasuke."

"But I'm your brother. I would have stood beside you. Fought with you."

"I know, and I selfishly stole that choice from you. I don't want that kind of life for you. I need you kept safe."

"What's the use in a life of safety and happiness if it's all built on lies?"

Minato squirmed; this conversation was difficult to hear. He saw the merit in both sides of the argument, and wanted more than anything to shield Sasuke from the emotional turmoil he was going through. Minato's parental instincts screamed at him to intervene, but it wasn't his place. This was a private matter that the two brothers needed to work through alone.

When his breathing slowed, Sasuke said, "Sorry for hitting you."

Itachi smiled, wiping the blood from his lips. "I guess I deserved it."

"Still." Sasuke let his tears fall. There was no use acting tough any longer.

The gentle breeze died out, leaving a vacuum of silence that upped the tension of the moment even further. Itachi stood in a withdrawn pose, unsure what to do with himself. That is, until Sasuke moved in for a tight hug. His older brother patted him on the back, allowing himself a genuine smile.

Watching from across the field, Minato was elated to witness such a heartwarming display. In his opinion, even if he might never regain Sasuke's trust, seeing these two back on good terms made his decision tonight more than worth the risk. The brothers ended their embrace at last, slamming the brakes on the emotional phase of their reunion.

Itachi was the first to shift to more serious subject matter. "Now that you know, what will you do? I see that my treating you like a child did more harm than good. Even so, that doesn't change the circumstances of my exile."

"Me?" Sasuke countered. "I still can't understand why you don't want people to know. Why would you accept unearned disgrace when you've gone above and beyond for The Leaf?"

"Sasuke, these secrets aren't things we can expect The Elders to take kindly to having revealed. Even if everyone did know, the cost would be much greater in the long term."

"But you could come home! You would be pardoned and-"

"It's alright, Sasuke." Itachi gestured to Minato, who joined them as requested. "Lord Fourth, thank you for taking care of him for so many years."

Minato grinned and ruffled Sasuke's hair. He was relieved to see that his adoptive son didn't brush him off. "A promise is a promise, right?"

Itachi nodded. "Sasuke, I'm in no position to ask forgiveness of you, but please respect my wishes when it comes to this matter. I don't want the truth getting out, especially if it would harm you, Lord Minato, Lady Kushina, or Naruto."

"Naruto?" Sasuke scrunched up his face in confusion. "Why would-"

"Revealing Top Secret intel like this is a criminal offense," Minato explained. "The Elders wouldn't overlook something like that. Even if their part in the Uchiha Massacre became public knowledge, they would try to take others down with them. In their eyes, they are the true protectors of The Hidden Leaf Village. They don't respect me as Hokage. They never have. Koharu, Homura, and Danzo all have separate agendas from mine and in Danzo's case particularly, every move he makes is a bid to undermine or overthrow me."

"So, you see," Itachi continued, "they would do whatever they believed was necessary to minimize the damage. If they saw you or Lord Fourth as a threat to the village's safety…"

"Then they would hurt us and those close to us," Sasuke finished, his eyes lighting up with realization. He adopted a sunken expression, the hopelessness of the situation sinking in. "Wait. What about The Third? Couldn't he help exonerate you?"

"Maybe," Minato said. He dug a foot into the dirt, mulling over the suggestion. "I've considered it in the past, but he's too close to the situation because of his past with the other Elders. I suspect he won't want this brought to light."

Sasuke grunted, coming face to face with Minato. "So why even bring me out here? Just to pointlessly dangle a chance to right these wrongs in front of me, then take it away?"

"No, Sasuke," the remorseful Hokage said. "I figured that this small gesture was the least I could do. Although I can't make up for the years you lost stewing in your emotions because of all of this, what I can do is give you time with your brother now. Even if it may not mean we can do something to help him as quickly as we'd like." He glanced toward Itachi. "Are you in the clear? How long can you stay?"

Sasuke threw Itachi an intrigued squint. He must have been so lost without the context of how Minato and Itachi coordinated their meetings.

"Yes," Itachi said, nodding, "and I should have a while. Kisame is training at the hideout right now. No one followed me."

"Good." Minato stepped back. "You two catch up. I'll give you some space." He moved out of earshot and leaned against a tree a few paces away.

Itachi's impassive expression morphed into a soft smile. His tense posture and hypervigilant stare melted away as he, for the first time in years, was able to shed his false persona and just be with Sasuke. Minato mused that Itachi was almost like a different person when he was around his brother.

Snapping out of his errant thoughts, Minato assumed a cross-legged position on the grass. He reasoned that he might as well practice gathering Sage chakra with all of this free time. He could do some passive training while also monitoring the area for potential eavesdroppers.

He let his muscles go lax, focusing on mixing his chakra with the surrounding nature energy. The world opened up to Minato. He could sense Itachi, Sasuke, and every wild creature and person around him for miles. He could feel their life forces, see the unique properties of their chakra, and even gauge their distance from him. No matter how many times he used this ability, it never ceased to amaze him. Amassing a steady flow of Sage chakra and focusing it into the center of his being, Minato smiled to himself.

This is as good a time as ever to try 'that' out.

Kushina slid the screen door open and peered out into the dim backyard. Crickets sang and leaves rustled in the wind. She saw the faint outline of her son in the distance. Naruto was illuminated by the persistent glow of a small blue orb. Shade from the surrounding trees provided strong enough contrast to make out minor details, even so late in the evening.

She cupped a hand over her mouth to project her voice. "Alright! It's getting late, Naruto. Try to wrap this up and come in so you don't catch a cold!"

Naruto dismissed his whirring Rasengan and walked over to Kushina with a broad smile. "Sorry, Mom. It was going so well that I lost track of time." He leaned sideways and examined the area behind her. "They're still not back yet? Wow. Where exactly did Dad and Sasuke go?"

His mother sighed and rolled her eyes. "Who knows? Your father seems to think he knows best quite often these days."

Naruto frowned; he flexed a hand and looked away, as if deciding whether or not to say what he thought.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Kushina said.

Having made up his mind, the blond met his mother's gaze with a serious expression. "Mom, you should forgive Dad."

"Wait, what? Where's this coming from?"

"Come on. Sasuke and I know something big went down between you two. Even though you may not have told us a lot, we can see it's hurting both of you. I don't know what he did, but whatever it was, it can't be so bad that it's more important than how much you two love each other, right?"

Kushina sighed. "Of course I love your father, Naruto. This family we've made together is my pride and joy."

"Okay. So?"

"I-it's just not that simple, ya know."

"Why not?" Naruto dug his heels in, a slight tremble revealing his masked anxiety.

Kushina closed her eyes to think for a second. She sensed Naruto almost buckling under the dread of a possible Red Hot Habanero episode. They both knew he was teetering on a very dangerous line here. When at last she opened her eyes, it was with a calm expression rather than an angry one. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're still young. When two people marry, they commit themselves to one another for life." Kushina paused to find her words. "Your father…kept something from me. More than that, I asked him about it directly and he lied."

"Well, is he sorry?"

"Yes."

"And you already said you still love him, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I don't see why a mistake that he already apologized to you for matters so much. Look, I get that it still hurts, but just talk to him, Mom. Talk things out face to face, like you taught Sasuke and I to do growing up."

The backyard was a wasteland of silence. Kushina rubbed the back of her head and let out an awkward laugh.

"You boys are maturing faster than I ever thought possible," she said. "Minato and I will get left behind if you two keep this up!"

In spite of the situation, Naruto flashed her a small smile. "Yeah. Guess so." Meanwhile, Minato and Sasuke blinked back into view behind Kushina. "Great timing, believe it! They're back."

Kushina took a moment to greet her returning family members. Leaving them to reacclimate, she spun back to Naruto to finish their conversation. "Sorry. I know you probably wanted to get more training in, but I don't want you out here too late. Jiraiya-sensei should be stopping by The Training Cave early tomorrow, so you can pick things up then."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Mom. I'm all done!"

"You expect me to believe you're done training?"

"Yeah, at least with my Rasengan."

"Ha! You and I both know you'll be right back at it first thing tomorrow." Seeing him rub his bruised hand, she added, "Careful there! Minato almost sprained his wrist when he was developing that jutsu."

"This is nothing. It was worth the pain, because I did it!"

"Did…what?" She gave him a blank stare while her mind tried to catch up. "Wait a minute. You mean you actually mastered the Rasengan after just one day?"

Minato, who had poured himself a cup of tea while he waited, did a spit take. Sasuke was the unfortunate victim of the spewed jet of liquid. He cringed as the nape of his neck took a direct hit and the warm beverage soaked into his collar.

"Aw, come on, Minato," Sasuke said, giving his adoptive father a displeased look. "Gross!"

Ignoring profuse apologies, the black-haired youth stormed off in the direction of his room to get changed. Minato was about to hurry after him but stopped at the sight of Kushina's face.

"Why are you smiling?"

Kushina stepped aside so Naruto could enter and lock the screen door. "I was just happy to see the two of you back to normal. A mother has intuition for these sorts of things, ya know."

Minato looked down the hall toward the boys' room and back to Kushina. "Was it really that obvious?"

Naruto and Kushina nodded in sync with one another.

"Hey, Dad!" the excitable Genin said, fist bumping with Minato. "Welcome home."

"What's this I hear about you mastering the Rasengan?" The intrigued but somewhat doubtful father arched a brow.

"Well, ya see, it's a little complicated." He nodded toward Kushina and patted the artifact clipped to his waist. "This mask and Iruka-sensei's test helped me figure out why I kept messing up when it came to passing Pervy Sage's exercise."

"Oh?" Kushina cut in. "How so?"

"Well, I didn't get why I couldn't break the Genjutsu, even when I did it the way Sasuke and I were taught. I've always had trouble with it even though I can understand Sealing Jutsu really well. Both of them rely on chakra control, so it never made any sense to me. But I finally realized that the difference is that to break out of Genjutsu, I need to keep my chakra output consistent. Being off a bit here and there doesn't matter as much for most sealing formulas because it's usually more of a one-and-done thing."

Minato's eyes glinted with understanding. "Ah. Okay, but I still don't understand why your Konran Mask helped you figure that out."

Kushina turned to her husband, more than happy to fill in the blanks. "I do. Like I said earlier, the mask works by sectioning off a large portion of the user's chakra. It sustains that amount for as long as their body can handle it. The user's overall chakra pool is pretty much cut down to a fraction of the whole in exchange for emitting a chakra disruption field. So I'm guessing that when putting it on helped break you out of the Genjutsu, Naruto, you realized the mask emits energy at a steady rate." Naruto nodded, mouth wide open in disbelief at his mother's sharp mind. She looked to Minato. "Sound familiar?"

Nodding, Minato muttered, "It's…just like the Rasengan."

"Mhm!" Naruto furiously nodded his head. "When I'm forming a Rasengan, there's no room for fluctuation in chakra. It's not the same as with seals, so I couldn't do it too well at first. But now I think I'm good! Once I got a sense of what the correct way was supposed to feel like, the rest was easy."

This was in keeping with past challenges Naruto faced, Minato realized. Whenever something was explained to him in an abstract way, he struggled to grasp the concept. However, a simple demonstration tended to go a much longer way toward helping him succeed. He taught himself the Flying Thunder God after one day of watching it in action, after all. If that didn't speak to his hidden talent, nothing did. Still, mastering the Rasengan so soon? That was harder to believe.

"Okay, big shot." Minato smirked. "Let's see this mastery of yours."

Naruto grinned, but paused and eyed Kushina. "Uh, sure, but come watch me with Pervy Sage tomorrow. I'll show you there!" He kissed both of his parents on the cheek and ran off, using the excuse that he needed to check in on Sasuke. "Night!"

Minato swiveled toward his wife, giving her a look that said, 'What was that about?'

Kushina swallowed hard and put her hands down at her sides. Naruto had thrust her headlong into the moment she dreaded most. There was no use delaying any longer. "Minato, mind if we talk after you've had something to eat?"

His lips curved into a bright smile. There was something sad about it, though. Minato's eyes lacked a bit of their usual vibrance. "Of course. I'd like that."

Instead of reheating leftovers, like she had planned, Kushina decided on a whim to whip up a fresh meal. Minato waited at the table with a glass of water and some reading material while she worked. Kushina hummed as she went. Time flew by; before long, Sasuke and Naruto came snooping for the source of the powerful smells wafting through the house. The boys were more than happy to pitch in. She assumed Naruto was tempted by the underlying incentive that he would get to eat earlier if he helped her out.

Kushina worked like lightning, thanks to Sasuke and Naruto chopping up ingredients for her. A couple of Naruto clones popped into existence, taking care of the cleanup as needed. The three of them moved like a well-oiled machine, getting things in pots and pans and on the stove in a fraction of the time it would have taken if she cooked solo. Once everything was ready, Kushina topped a generous serving of steaming ginger rice with grilled fish. Then she dressed the sides of the bowl with root vegetables. Sasuke took the finished meal from her and laid it on the table in front of Minato alongside a bowl of dipping sauce. Naruto busied himself with washing the messy dishes left in their wake.

"This looks amazing," Minato said as he set his book aside. He took a big whiff of the meal and looked at his sons, then at Kushina. "Thanks, you guys."

Nodding to him, Kushina waved toward the remainder of the food. "Boys, you've done enough. Get some food for yourselves. I'll finish the rest of this."

Perhaps she'd been wrong about Naruto being in this for the food; she had to practically wrestle the wet dishcloth from his hand to get him to comply. He and Sasuke left just enough food for her to eat one last serving. Kushina took her place at the table after cleaning up. The fish was "seasoned to perfection," according to Minato. A jarring lack of conversation as the exhausted Genin scarfed down their portions gave credence to his compliment. Kushina laughed, covering her mouth to avoid spitting out grains of rice.

"Slow down there, you two," she said. "You'll choke, ya know!"

Her words went unheeded. Part of her felt pride in the fact that her cooking was so beloved. She hadn't been kidding about worrying that they would choke, though.

Dinner was over before Kushina knew it, and she and Minato were sitting down on their futon bed with full bellies. He gave her an expectant stare. She sighed, then took his hands in hers.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Minato, the night you told me about everything with Itachi, I shouldn't have taken it so hard."

"No, you were right to be upset. I should've told you. I lied, and it was wrong."

"Let me finish," she said with a gentle squeeze of his palms. "I learned about Itachi's secrets, Sasuke's meltdown, and also…" she paused to look at her stomach, "...this, all back to back. It was just a lot for me. I was overwhelmed and reacted from a place of negativity. You didn't deserve that. So yes, you lied, and no, I didn't appreciate it, but I love you and I know you love me. So whatever you did, you must have done to protect me. I forgive you."

Rubbing his eyes, Minato sniffled and smiled through the tears. "Yeah, you're right. I did it to keep you safe. But Kushina, no more lies from now on. I promise."

She nodded. "Right. No more lies." Her gaze fell as she reflected on recent events. "Seeing how hard you worked to help Sasuke resolve his issues, even when you thought it might make things worse between you two, reminded me why I fell in love with you in the first place." Redness found its way onto her cheeks. "Also, Naruto might have had a little to do with it."

"Naruto? Really?"

"Yeah, eheheh. He kind of, um, gave me a stern talking to?" She performed an exaggerated shrug and hid behind a bashful smile.

Minato's eyes grew so big, Kushina feared they might fall out of his head and roll across the floor. "Just who are these kids anymore?" he said with incredulity.

"I wish I knew."

They laughed and sealed their reconciliation with a kiss. A loud shout from the other side of the wall made both of them turn.

"Kids," Kushina shouted as she caught on to what was going on, "no spying through the wall!"

Minato chuckled at the boys' mischievousness, but his wife didn't entertain their antics.

"I'm coming over there in a few minutes," she warned, "and Sasuke's Sharingan better be off, ya know!" Turning back to Minato, she said, "First thing tomorrow I'm imbuing the wall with a sealing formula."

Her husband took her hand again. "In the spirit of not telling anymore lies, I'd like to let you in on what Sasuke and I were up to earlier." He took a breath before breaking the news. "I set up a meeting with Itachi."

She gasped. "They saw each other again?! What happened? Sasuke seemed fine when you two came home."

"Yeah, he is. Things got off to a rough start, of course, but they were able to patch things up. It's too dangerous right now to try anything risky like pulling Itachi from the Akatsuki or challenging The Elders. If anything, I'd want to tackle something like that when we aren't about to have shinobi from foreign villages arriving in droves."

"Right," Kushina said. "We don't want to look weak and have others take advantage of that."

"Itachi and I agreed on scheduling periodic visits so he can stay in touch with Sasuke. What's more, Itachi can help him in ways we can't. He knows far more about Uchiha Clan techniques and The Sharingan than anyone else, after all." Minato dropped his gaze. "Well, anyone who's still alive."

"Oh." Kushina nodded and her eyes glazed over. "Right."

"Is something wrong, Kushina?"

"No, I was just thinking about Mikoto and Fugaku. It's going to be that time soon, isn't it?"

He grimaced. "Yeah. Hopefully things will be different this year now that he knows the truth. At least a little bit."

"Hopefully," Kushina said." Her mouth set into a deep frown. "When you mentioned The Sharingan, it brought me back to that night. What do you think that man wanted? It's always bothered me."

"Well, if I'm right and he was Madara Uchiha, then the most obvious answer would be that he wants to take revenge against The Hidden Leaf."

"But that doesn't make any sense. The attack was what, 12 years ago now? He has the fox! If he really wanted the village destroyed, he could have attempted it already."

"Yeah, I know. And something else concerns me. Remember how I told you about Master Jiraiya gathering intel on The Akatsuki?"

His wife nodded.

"Well, he found a small cave two weeks after the attack. Inside, there was a strange white substance with burn marks on it. It felt almost like clay, and resembled a torn off piece of flesh."

Kushina's eyes widened. "Flesh?!"

He hummed in confirmation. "There was a partial symbol on one side—it was what remained of one of my Flying Thunder God marks." Noting the expression on her face, Minato said, "Yeah, I know. Anyway, I sent it over to the Analysis Team for examination. They found traces of The First Hokage's DNA and confirmed Jiraiya's and my suspicions that it was a piece of charred flesh. Now, I never figured this out for sure, but I'm pretty confident the skin belonged to that man. It would explain why teleporting to him never worked even though I tagged him with my jutsu."

She didn't need to hear any more to follow his logic. Shuddering, Kushina said, "He burned off a piece of himself to stop you from jumping to his mark?"

"Seems that way. It also seems like somehow, he has found a way to fabricate Hashirama Senju's chakra and weaponize it. If anything, that would explain how he was able to track me so quickly and battle on two fronts without getting tired."

Kushina grimaced. "This is bad, Minato."

"I know. But Jiraiya-sensei has been doing his best to catch that man and report his location back to us."

"All these years and still nothing?"

"No." The Hokage held up a finger. "Not nothing. Jiraiya-sensei did locate the masked man's new hideout, but the place was cleared out before he arrived. Then the same thing happened at the next location a year later, and the one after that. They've been playing this game of cat and mouse ever since."

"Phew," she said. "Jiraiya-sensei should accept help with stuff like this so he won't have to shoulder the burden alone.

Minato laughed. "Believe me, I've tried to convince him, but he says he works best alone. If there's one good thing about all this, it tells us one thing: the masked man's scared. Otherwise he would meet Jiraiya-sensei head on."

"I hope you're right." She stood up and straightened out the hem of her dress. "Well, I'm gonna pop over to check on the boys. Be back in a sec, ya know!"

Nodding, Minato relaxed back onto the bed covers. "I'll read while I wait on you."

Kushina stepped out into the hall with a giggle. She could tell her husband was finding it difficult to contain his excitement. Their bedroom had become an unwelcoming place as of late, and neither of them had been looking forward to a night of awkward silence. Now that they patched things up, it seemed almost silly in hindsight that Kushina was so stubborn about the whole situation.

Thanks, Naruto, she thought to herself. Once she'd erased the smile from her face, Kushina gave the boys' door a firm knock.

Naruto and Sasuke lounged on the bottom bunk of their bed. They laid back and stared up at the wooden frame overhead. Neither Genin spoke for a long time. The realization set in that they hadn't had a moment to just kick back and relax like this, enjoying one another's company, since graduation. The silence between them spoke volumes; both boys had a lot on their minds. Naruto shot a furtive glance at Sasuke. He decided to take a leap and break the silence.

"So uh, are things good between you and Dad now?"

"Uh huh."

"Sweet! You had me worried there for a while, believe it."

"I know. Sorry."

"But at least if you'd moved out, I could've had my own room."

The blond received a firm nudge in the ribs for that joke. He laughed off the gesture, happy to have the old Sasuke back. To his surprise, Sasuke continued the conversation unprompted.

"What did you get up to while we were gone?" he said.

Naruto grinned. "I found out why I wasn't able to perform the Rasengan! Mom and Dad were speechless when I told'em I completed all three steps."

"You did? Good job, Naruto."

His brother's eyes went foggy, as if staring at something far away.

Naruto frowned. "Okay, spill. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Unconvinced, the Uzumaki gave him a look.

"Ugh! Nothing, seriously." Sasuke sighed. "It's just a lot to handle."

"What is?"

Resigned to an obligatory lengthy explanation, Sasuke rolled onto his side. "I saw Itachi again."

"WHAT?!" Naruto sprang upright, forgetting where he was, and banged his head against the top bunk's wooden frame. "Ow!" He rubbed the top of his head and gritted his teeth, settling down next to Sasuke again. "Dad took you to see him? What the hell?! Why?"

Sasuke shook his head. "It's complicated. This is going to be a lot to take in. Just forewarning you."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just tell me already!"

Naruto lay still, remaining attentive while Sasuke broke down the key aspects of his recent paradigm shift with regard to Itachi. The stunned Uzumaki made all sorts of faces and struggled not to interrupt until the end. He trembled the entire time, brimming with energy. Once Sasuke had finished his recount of the events, he gestured for Naruto to speak, prepared to endure an onslaught of questions.

They never came.

Instead, Naruto pulled Sasuke into a tearful hug. The latter found himself unable to decide how to react. He remained still, mouth agape as his brother wept.

"I-I had no idea you were dealing with all of that," Naruto said. "Why didn't you say something sooner? I knew you were really mad about something, but this?"

"Yeah, I told you it was a lot."

"Oh, shut up," the blond said through his mess of tears. "You should've said something, you dummy."

Sasuke sighed. He didn't have the heart to push Naruto away despite his aversion to sappy shows of emotion. Against all reason, he smiled to himself. "I know."

When he was finished hugging it out with Sasuke, Naruto returned to his side of the bed and took a breath.

"So," he said, "what are you gonna do now?"

The black-haired youth's brow furrowed. "About what? Itachi?"

Naruto tutted. "Him, The Elders, this family…everything, I guess."

"Heh, I'll start with the easiest of those. Minato and I are okay now. Even though I don't agree with everything he did, I understand he did it out of love. So I…I forgive him."

"Thank goodness! I couldn't take much more of everyone avoiding each other."

"The Elders are a tougher one to tackle. Minato, Itachi and I are still in talks about that. And as for the family, obviously I'm not moving out."

"Wait, wait, wait…so, let me get this straight. I'm not getting two beds anymore?"

"Shut up."

The Uzumaki chuckled and let the conversation die down. They lay there a bit longer, comfortable in their shared silence. Then realization came to Naruto and he sprang up, hitting his head on the bed frame yet again.

"Ouch!" he cried. He slid out from underneath the top bunk and bounced onto his feet. Sasuke followed suit.

"You gotta stop doing that," the Uchiha said. "What's wrong?"

"I just remembered something."

Naruto filled Sasuke in on his advice to Kushina, then pointed at the wall between their bedrooms. "Any chance you could see what's happening in there with your Sharingan?"

Sasuke looked from Naruto to the wall and back again. "Well, yeah. Why though?"

"I just wanna know if they made up or not! I can't stand the suspense."

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke squinted at the wall. The silence left Naruto on pins and needles. When he couldn't take it anymore, he said, "What's happening? You're killin' me here!" He leaned over his brother's shoulder, as if getting closer would somehow make him feel less in the dark about the situation.

"Stop crowding me," Sasuke said. He turned back to observe Minato and Kushina. "They're just talking."

"About what, huh?"

Narrowing his eyes, the Uchiha deadpanned, "The Sharingan's an ocular kekkei genkai. It doesn't give me super hearing, genius."

"Oh. Right."

A sudden gasp interrupted Sasuke's blank expression, putting his adoptive sibling on edge.

"What is it?" Naruto said. He was careful not to invade Sasuke's personal space this time.

Craning his neck, the black-haired youth whispered, "Their chakra signatures are closer together now. I think they're…kissing?"

Naruto's face lit up. "No kidding?!"

"Shhh!" Sasuke growled. "You trying to get us caught?"

His warning came too late. Naruto was already leaping a foot into the air with an enthusiastic whoop of triumph. Not long afterward, Kushina's words of admonishment bled through the thin wall between the two rooms. The boys grimaced.

They shared a nervous glance. Naruto could do nothing other than frown in shameful acknowledgment of his blunder.

Sasuke clicked his tongue in irritation. "Well," he said, "you've gone and done it now."

Kushina didn't have to wait long. Sasuke opened the door to face her. His expression was stoic, but she noticed he was holding his breath. Naruto took a timid peek from behind Sasuke, and it required all of Kushina's willpower not to burst into laughter.

"Boys," she said in an authoritative tone.

Naruto cringed. His hands were clamped around Sasuke's shoulders like vices. The Uchiha stiffened, but remained calm as he replied. "Kushina."

"What do you have to say for yourselves, hm?" She lifted a brow.

"Well, uh…" Naruto trailed off. Sweat beaded down his face under her fierce stare.

Sasuke took a step back, giving away how nervous he was on the inside. Hearing no answer, Kushina balled her fists. Her hair started to rise in typical Red Hot Habanero fashion.

"HM?!" she repeated, this time with a much darker expression.

To her surprise, Sasuke cracked first.

"It was Naruto's idea!" he said, stepping aside and pointing to his sibling.

"What the heck, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, a mixture of fear and indignation in his voice.

Making eye contact with him, Kushina said, "What's the meaning of this, Naruto?"

"W-well, ya see, Ma, I wanted to know if you and Dad made up or not!"

"Oh, you did, huh?" She crossed her arms. "And you thought spying on us was the best way to find out?!"

"N-No," Naruto stammered. "I just-"

"You just what?!"

"I was hoping we could all go back to the way our family used to be. I couldn't stand not knowing how your talk with Dad went. So, I asked Sasuke to…"

The blond's eyes drifted in his brother's direction. Kushina followed his gaze, focusing her attention on the secondary offender.

"Sasuke," she said, "I don't care if Naruto asks, ya know. Peeking through the wall is off limits!"

He nodded. "I understand."

Kushina sighed and put one hand on each boy's shoulder. "Look, you two. It's sweet that you were concerned about us, but it's alright. Everything's fine now. I'm sorry that we worried you."

"It's okay," Naruto said. "I guess these things happen in families sometimes. I can deal."

"Yeah," Sasuke added. "No hard feelings."

"Well, I'm off to bed now, ya know! Minato and I are looking forward to seeing your demonstration tomorrow, Naruto." She kissed both of them on the forehead and slid into the hallway.

Naruto grinned and waved goodbye to his mother. "Yup, it's gonna be awesome, believe it!"

Sasuke trailed behind Kushina and stopped in the doorway. "Goodnight." When she was gone, he clicked the door shut. Then he spun around, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. "Hold on, what demonstration?"

"I already told you. I'm gonna blow Pervy Sage away when I show him my Rasengan!"

"Oh. Heh, I'm sure you will."

Smirking, Sasuke hit the lights and made for the closet doors. He fished around for pajamas alongside Naruto and then climbed into bed. Even now that he was snugly under the covers, Sasuke couldn't believe this whirlwind of a day was over. Couldn't believe that he not only mended his relationship with his new family, but reconnected with his old one.

Without him even realizing it, his festering anger had given way to a surreal sense of calm. He was back where he belonged. The Fourth Hokage's household had returned to business as usual. Everything wasn't perfect by any means, but it was better than he would have ever expected given the circumstances. There was hope for tomorrow. Somehow their little family had survived against all odds, and at least for now, that was enough.