Chapter Eight

While the fighting had come to a halt, it wasn't an official cessation of hostilities, both sides waiting on bated breath as the Kages could come together and hammer out negotiations. Until then, it fell to the senior jōnin to persuade the Tsuchikage to upgrade an informal ceasefire to an official truce, and agree to join in the eventual peace talks.

After some messaging back and forth between both sides, it was agreed that five individuals for each side would represent their villages. Pakura and Mukade were the representatives from Suna, with Minato, Jiraiya, and Obito standing in for Konoha.

The five of them stood at the designated meeting spot, a glade just in view of the Iwagakure, but out of range of their artillery. A table had been erected, wide enough to make the act of lunging over to the other side difficult. Jutsu that teleported or allowed instant obliteration made any further distance superfluous, and just made it harder to communicate.

"I still don't get why I'm here," Obito whispered.

"You're here as a display of force," Jiraiya answered, tussling the young man's hair. "You don't even have to say anything. Just look scary and keep quiet."

Orochimaru, Kushina, or Tsunade would have been better options, in Obito's opinion, but the former two remained in camp in the event Iwa decided go down swinging or take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, and Tsunade was still patching people up after the last battle.

"Eyes sharp," Pakura hissed. "We have company."

Everyone straightened up in anticipation of the Iwa delegation's arrival.

The Tsuchikage was a snarled root of a man, a survivor of the Warring Clans Period and the early days of the Hidden Village system. Squinting and sneering at everything he saw as unworthy of his time and attention, back rigidly straight in spite of the decades he had been alive, Takeshi Akiyama Kamizuru was as stubborn as they could come, wearing pride and anger in equal measure like a cloak, and judging by the low buzz of killing intent emanating from the man, he was apoplectic with the war's outcome.

But it wasn't as if he had many other options. Hundreds of Iwa shinobi had been felled by Minato Namikaze in a matter of hours, not to mention the rest of the casualty figures coming in. If Obito had heard correctly, Iwa was going to be in dire straits for the foreseeable future.

And this hadn't been the first time Obito's sensei had pulled something like this off, either. After Obito's supposed death, Minato had cleaved through a similar number over the period of several weeks. He had topped his own record in the space of a single night, and the sheer attrition he inflicted was enough to force even the formidable Tsuchikage to relent and sue for peace.

As the Tsuchikage's eyes fell on Obito, the spike of killing intent nearly caused him to wilt on the spot.

"Tsuchikage-sama," one of the Iwa advisors squeaked.

Without changing expressions, the killing intent fell back to the lazy, directionless levels he was radiating when he had stepped into the clearing, then he took a seat he made out of rock.

"So this is that 'crimson phantasm' everyone keeps talking about?" he mused, leering at Obito. "And another one of those red-eyed freaks. Why am I not surprised? Still, would have thought the brat who managed to whip Rōshi into retreating would at least be old enough to shave."

Minato cleared his throat, cutting the old man off.

The Tsuchikage rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, let's get on with this."

For the duration of the meeting, Obito did as he was told. Being the youngest and lowest ranking shinobi at the table, no one had any questions to ask him. Fortunately, he would not be called to fight, and the rest of the talks would go on without incident.

After that, they were headed home.

[NRE]

When they returned to Konoha, celebrations were already underway. Negotiations would carry on, but for now, everyone was simply relieved by the prospect that the fighting would soon be over.

At one of the bars frequented by shinobi, Obito had situated himself in corner booth overlooking most of the establishment. It was a happening place, a tone only slightly off from the generally festive atmosphere encompassing the rest of the village. Teams Kushina and Minato had originally convened there as an unofficial celebration of their senseis finally deciding to tie the knot, with Team Mikoto being pulled in due to associations with both of the team leaders, then Team Orochimaru (minus the Snake Sannin himself) caught wind of the event and jumped on the bandwagon.

Asuma was currently challenging Ibiki to an arm-wrestling completion, with Yūgao acting as referee, and Aoba managing bets. Anko was having a blast on the dance floor, showcasing a frankly frightening degree of flexibility with some of the moves she was pulling off, many of which had Obito flinching in phantom pains. Yukio was nursing a stiff drink and a broken nose after one too many attempts at flirting, which may have come across as propositioning to the wrong person. Another Inuzkua gently patted his head while simultaneously laughing her head off.

The rest of the teams were scattered around, except for Rei, though she may have simply wandered away from the noise.

Swirling his own beverage in hand – which he hoped wasn't alcoholic, though Nobutoshi hadn't been all that coherent when he handed it off – Obito barely glanced in the Toad Sannin's direction as he slipped into the seat across from him.

"Enjoying the view?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Obito replied

"Give it some time. It'll get more interesting." Jiraiya raised his own glass. "Here's to peace."

Obito raised his own glass, clinking it against Jiraiya's. "By the way," he said, setting the manuscript on the table. "I finished going over this."

Jiraiya smirked. "And? What did you think?"

Obito stared at the man, blankly. "It's porn. Misleading porn, at that."

"Oi, brat! I will have you know that these books are best-sellers. A modern masterpiece!"

"I call it how I see it. Seriously, the proportions are all absurd. Did you ever get an education on the subject? I would have thought that having Tsunade and Orochimaru on your team would have set you straight."

Jiraiya rocked his head back and laughed. "So you've actually read it?"

"I'm more surprised Minato-sensei has been reading your work all this time."

"He's likely the only man I could trust with such a sacred duty. He's strictly there to check for typos and grammatical errors."

"I suppose that makes sense. I don't think I've ever seen him go gooey-eyes over anyone other than Kushina-san. I'm not sure if he has a thing for redheads or if it's just her he likes."

"The latter," Jiraiya said, with a grin. "There were a bunch of Uzumaki who came through at one point and he just tried talking up fūinjutsu. Not the poetry and flowers he sneaks to Kushina."

"Hm." Obito sniffed. "Never thought Kushina-san went for that sort of thing. Figured she'd be more unorthodox when it comes to courtship. Still, I'm happy to see them moving to the next step."

"Since we were talking about the subject of relationships…"

"Please don't," Obito quietly pleaded.

"Anyone catching your eye lately?" Jiraiya teased.

"…That was terrible."

Jiraiya smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I suppose it was."

"Though, considering innuendo I've gotten referring to my 'wood techniques', that's actually a breath of fresh air."

"But you haven't answered my question: you crushing on anyone right now?"

Obito lolled his head around to face Jiraiya, unamused. "Are you over Tsunade-sama, yet?"

The Sannin narrowed his eyes. "That's a low blow."

"But accurate. And unlike you…" Obito trailed off.

"I get it. Sorry about that."

Obito grimaced and set his head on the table. "It's a perfectly reasonable question, and my reply was uncalled for." Letting his shoulders sag, he looked back to Jiraiya. "I guess I'm just a little bitter. I lost out on six months, and by the time I got back, it feels more like a lifetime."

"You'll get used to it. Time heals all wounds-"

"And wounds all heels." Blowing a raspberry, Obito leaned back and kicked his feet up onto the table. "I lost my chance with Rin. I'll get over it. Eventually." Maybe.

"Yeah, yeah, you're still young. Rub it in, why don't you?" Jiraiya said, giving his drinking partner a half-hearted slap on the head.

"Was that an admission of your age?" Obito asked, smirking.

"Watch yourself, brat," Jiraiya snorted. "And when did you get snappy with your comebacks?"

"Dying tends to put things into perspective," Obito shot back, following Jiraiya's stare to where Tsunade was already waving down the bartender for another round. Biting the inside of his cheek, Obito groaned and said, "Ask her out. Honestly, no cheesy pick-up lines. You might be surprised. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

"A shattered ribcage, a broken heart. Probably both."

"Is that any better than stringing yourself along in hopes she eventually returns your affection?" He leaned over and watched Tsunade take the stein in a single breath. "Might want to move quickly. Before the alcohol impairs either of you too much."

Swirling his own drink around, Jiraiya seemed to contemplate things a little, then stood up and navigated the crowds to the bar, periodically stopping and starting off again, but never losing sight of the Slug Sannin.

Obito watched the beginnings of the drama when Kakashi and Rin slid into the vacancy at his table.

"Having fun?" the medic asked.

"For the given value of fun," Obito replied with a wry smirk, then continued watching Jiraiya. "Why don't you join me? Watch the show."

Kakashi noticed and spotted the Toad Sannin. "Wait, what's Master Jiraiya doing?"

"Possibly confessing his undying love to Tsunade."

Team Minato watched as Jiraiya braved the final approach to the bar, shuffling through the perimeter of Tsunade's personal bubble. She didn't slap him immediately, and she hadn't edged away from him when she noticed he was there. Off to a good start.

"Good for him," said Rin.

"This ought to be good, period," Kakashi added. "I bet she'll knock him out flat."

Obito's cup stopped halfway to his mouth, swirling around the remaining ice. "How much?" he asked after a moment of consideration.

Kakashi was quiet for a second. "What?"

"How much do you bet?" Obito clarified.

"500 ryō?" Kakashi suggested. "Seriously, this isn't the first time he's tried confessing."

"Such a pessimist," Rin said, rolling her eyes. "I shouldn't be picking up on Tsunade-shishou's vices, but I'll put my money on them getting married after sorting themselves out. What about you, Obito?"

Clearing his throat, he glanced back at Sannin. Whatever Jiraiya was saying was working, somehow, and Tsunade seemed to lean in a little, though she could be swaying from rampant intoxication. The distance made it a little hard to tell. "I'll take the middle and say that they'll have a kid on the way within six months, but no definitive change in their relationship status."

"Done," said Kakashi.

"Done?" Rin asked.

Obito raised his glass, smiling. "Done."

Kakashi looked down at the table. "Hey, is that the new Icha Icha?"

"NO!" Obito growled, snatching the manuscript from the Hatake's paws.

[NRE]

It was not without a little bit of trepidation that Obito approached the Uchiha compound, escorted to the main clan hall by some Uchiha police officers. People stopped what they were doing and stared as they passed, pointing and whispering.

So it won't be a full clan judgment, Obito thought. He would admit that he wasn't the most politically astute individual, but he wasn't a complete idiot. Whatever he was being called onto the carpet for, it was going to be messy and the elders wanted it over and done with, but didn't want it to happen in front of the entire clan.

"Good morning, Mikoto-san," Obito said, etching out a quick bow.

Mikoto politely inclined her head and led them to the clan's meeting hall. "You're expected, Obito-kun. With your reputation, I was expecting someone to have to go out and collect you in a couple of hours."

The young man smiled nervously. "Well, I was told this was urgent."

The Uchiha matriarch eyed him with a faint edge of amusement. "I see. No matter. Here we are."

Obito had heard of this place, cautionary tales told to him as a child. Countless trials and business affairs were conducted behind these doors, all of which went over his head as far as his placement in the clan pecking order was concerned.

Except that today, he was the subject of interest, standing under the scrutiny of the clan elders. Utagawa Uchiha sat at the center of the lineup, an imperious stare leveled at the young man before him. Next over, just to the right, was Fugaku, Utagawa's son and, according the rumor mill, imminent successor.

The others were mostly unknowns to the young Uchiha, but all showing differing amounts of grey in their hair, and some simply lacking hair in general, implying an age that few shinobi ever reached, and if their presence on board was any indicator, their minds were still sharp despite the passage of time.

His escorts led him to the center of the room, directly in front of the old men, then posted themselves outside of the room, sliding the door shut behind him with an ominous slam that hung in the air.

"Esteemed elders," Obito said. "Can I ask what this is about?"

Sitting immediately to Utagawa's left, a bald, wizened, old man with his eyes closed, spoke first. "We were hoping you could shed some light on your…prolonged absence from the village," he wheezed. "As well as your actions preceding it."

Obito glanced to Utagawa. "I was already debriefed by T&I."

"That may be so, but our questions are more concerned with clan laws, our secrets."

Utagawa took over the proceedings, speaking with weight and authority appropriate for his position.

"Kakashi Hatake came into possession of a Sharingan despite having no ties to our clan whatsoever," he said. "When we questioned him, he informed us that it was taken from you. Given that you had not awakened yours prior to your last mission, we had some doubts."

"If you can, would you show us that you indeed have awaken your eyes?" Fugaku asked. "Or eye, as the case may be."

Begrudgingly, Obito activated his Sharingan, the red of his solitary eye apparent to all present, some gasping. Utagawa himself raised an eyebrow, while the others quietly conferred with one another.

"Fascinating!" someone said. "Three tomoe already."

"I gave Kakashi my eye willingly," Obito added. "As far as I knew, I was going to be dead, so I offered it to him as a gift. A tool to use and continue fighting."

"So you admit to violating clan laws-"

"No one ever bothered to tell me about the laws!" He could feel his temper fraying, but was at the point of not caring. "Before I left, no one thought I would ever awaken my Sharingan, so I couldn't even know that I was breaking any rules in the first place."

There was some humming, older and cooler heads weighing their options.

"And what of these… modifications that have been made?" another elder asked, one of the younger men on the council. "For an Uchiha to be in possession of the same abilities as the Shodai is rather disconcerting. Tell us how you came by this…" He waved his hand around, searching for the appropriate word. "…aberration."

Obito narrowed his remaining eye. "I'm sorry, elders, but that's classified information."

The man's eye twitched. "That was not a request!"

"And I am following my orders. And even if you had the authority to make me, I probably wouldn't do it."

That seemed to make a blood vessel burst. "Either tell us, or be cast out from the clan!"

Utagawa was about to silence the room when the surge of killing intent caught everyone's attention, bringing the furor to a grinding halt.

"I have been cleared by the village," Obito snarled. "Even so far as they let me serve during the final days of the war." The young Uchiha had his fists clenched tightly, shaking in anger as he snarled at the assembly. "I did not spend months in isolation and risk my life to come home to accusations of treachery!"

Fugaku whispered something to his father, all while keeping an eye on the teen in front of them.

"Obito, calm yourself!" Utagawa ordered.

Belatedly, Obito realized his Sharingan had flared off, about to ignite something. After a moment's hesitation, he let his eye wind down, the flare of rage simmering, allowing some in the room to continue normal breathing. The guards remained on edge, any trace of boredom or drowsiness evaporated

Both men stood, glaring at the other, neither looking away, but Obito reined his anger back under control, apologetically bowing his head.

"That's better," Utagawa said, sitting back down. "Remember your place, boy."

"Of course, Elder," Obito replied, curtly.

Believing the boy sufficiently cowed, the Clan Leader gave the offending Elder a furious glare. "Goro, keep a civil tongue inside that head of yours or I will have it removed," Utagawa quietly warned, then turned to the prodding at his left. "What is it, Keiji?"

The old man wheezed. "I agree that something must be done about this, but to completely dismiss someone of such potential would be ill-advised at best, and entirely unnecessary. By all accounts, his loyalty remains firm, and he has acquitted himself well in battle. His transgressions were done out of ignorance – an error of our own making – and a naïve sense of fairness and duty. He did not turn our bloodline over to an enemy, or even a rival. Merely another shinobi of the village, and one who has distinguished himself in spite of his young age."

"Perhaps it would be wiser to put this to a vote?" Goro cautiously suggested, mouth pinched as if swallowing a lemon.

Obito ground his teeth together. "Don't bother. I'll apply for emancipation."

If the room had gotten quiet before, now a pin could have dropped and everyone would have heard it. Utagawa and Keji stared Obito down, ignoring the outbursts of the rest of the elders.

"Do you understand-?" Keiji began to ask, trying to speak over the furor, before being cut off by the clan head.

"Enough!" Utagawa snapped. "Act according to your status or, by the ancestors, I will remove you from this council permanently. Is that in any way unclear?"

"No father," Fugaku answered, leading the other elders into murmuring acquiescence.

"Good. The rest of you are dismissed. Obito-kun, stay."

Fugaku and the old men filed out of the room, some shooting disapproving looks at the young man. The door closed behind them, leaving Obito alone with the clan head.

"Politics…how tiresome," Utagawa murmured. The clan head took several deep, calming breaths, each filling the air. Smoothing his hair over, he stood up, turning to look out into the garden. "Goro was of the mind that you should face a full clan judgment," he said, finally. "And a punishment that included the removal of your remaining eye, if you were to be so careless with our kekkei genkai."

Obito bit the inside of his mouth and let the old man talk.

"I'm glad we listened to my son's suggestion, instead. After dealing with the young Hatake, we could ill-afford another such embarrassment, so publically and within our clan compound no less." The elder turned around, pinning Obito with a stare. "Do you understand why I am telling you this?"

"No, Utagawa-sama."

Utagawa began walking around the perimeter of the room. "Make no mistake, your actions are not forgiven simply because of your ignorance, nor for your youth. As a shinobi and an Uchiha, you should have prepared for such an eventuality." He paused, and pointedly added, "Or paid attention to your elders when you were younger."

"What happens now?" Obito asked.

The clan head stopped. "How serious are you with applying for emancipation?"

"How serious are you looking to punish me, Esteemed Elder?"

"Aside from Goro's ill-minded suggestions, there are some that think you should be immediately betrothed to a suitable member of the clan and begin bringing in the next generation of Uchiha. Naturally, that would cause a great deal of unrest within the hierarchy of the clan. Another camp would suggest we treat you as any other clan member of appropriate status and leave you alone." Utagawa continued to circle around the room. "As none of those options are viable as long-term solutions, I am proposing an alternative where no one gets what they wants out of the deal, but the clan and village don't burn down around our ears. However, I am willing to ignore those transgressions to the end of a…diplomatic solution to our present conundrum."

"And what might that be, Esteemed Elder?"

"Fugaku pointed out that such any formal punishment would bring unwanted scrutiny from the rest of the village. I can sell your 'exile' as a punishment, and you would be remanded as a ward of the village itself until such a time your case could come into review. Until such a time – say, your sixteenth birthday – you would still retain the Uchiha name. In the meantime, the appearance of punishment must be observed." Utagawa stopped pacing around the room and came to a stop next to Obito, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What would be your answer?"

"You want me, but you don't want me. Is that it?"

"If you would prefer to be made a stud for future generations of Uchiha, or allow Goro and his camp to have their way-"

"All due respect, Utagawa-sama, but all the options you've brought up are terrible."

"That's a political compromise for you, Obito-kun. By their very nature, there are never perfect solutions, only workable ones that everyone can live with."

Obito stared Utagawa in the eye. "I refuse," he said, sharply.

Utagawa blinked, a number of subtle twitches passing across his face in a second, and then breathed sharply through his nose, letting his arm fall back to his side. "Very well. Obito-san, consider this our preliminary acceptance of your emancipation. You are no longer considered to be an Uchiha. You will be escorted from the compound. I would suggest you prepare to make your stay with your Sensei permanent."

"Of course, Utagawa-sama." Giving a half-hearted bow, Obito spun on his heels and stepped out of the room, a pair of Uchiha clansmen flanking him as he went.

That went well, Obito thought bitterly. Maybe he was being too hasty, but he was committed to his course now. After all he had heard in that room, he'd rather choke on a kunai than crawl back and beg for mercy.

[NRE]

Weeks passed and things settled into a new normal. Obito avoided any Uchiha he could, and they continued to ignore him in turn, some going as far as switching streets to avoid passing him on their way to whatever. Those that didn't were given to sneering at him.

For the rest of the village, he had people calling him by name. Some which he maybe spoke to once, if at all. After the novelty had worn off, it was kind of creepy. He would have to ask Minato or Kakashi how they had dealt with that sort of thing.

Today, Obito paced up and down the aisle between a number of folding chairs in one of Konoha's gardens, Yamanaka-grown flowers artfully closing the view from outsiders and some Uzumaki-made seals to keep the volume down for more rowdy celebrations.

The main event would be in a small pavilion at the center of the grounds, vertically-sliding pushed open on one side. Scattered around the room were the guests, close friends and quasi-relations, and few others. Ryoko, Teuchi's wife, was in the corner with their daughter, Ayame, who was playing with Itachi. Asuma and Aoba were meandering around.

Lost in his own thougths, Obito nearly missed it when a large ball of fluff tried to tackle him, only to fly through and hit Aoba instead, knocking the other boy to the ground.

"Aki, no!"

Obito spared a glance as Asuma helped Aoba back to his feet, then to the new arrivals. "Norio-san. This is a surprise."

"Kushina is an old teammate of ours."

"Really?"

"Not really too surprised. The team broke up after our sensei died, then our specialties took us different directions. Then marriage, the war, and…yeah."

"And Minato-san intimidates him," the woman with Inuzuka clan markings added.

"He does not," Norio contested, then shook his head. "I don't believe you two have met. Obito, this is my wife, Yasuko."

Obito snapped his fingers, recognition dawning. "You were at that celebration at the bar, right? Herding Yukio-san"

"Yes, he's my cousin," Yasuko replied. "He's a handful, in case you weren't already aware. Though the same could be said for most Inuzuka. Tsume wouldn't be the Alpha if she wasn't troublesome."

Norio pinched the bridge of his nose, stifling a bark of laughter. "Yasuko, this is Obito…do we call you 'Namikaze' now?"

"I suppose?" Obito answered, scratching his head. "There's nothing official, as far as I know."

"Kushina always wanted a large family," said Yasuko. "Although, it's really strange thinking she has a fourteen-year-old son. She isn't even thirty yet."

"So, where is everyone else?" Norio asked. "I haven't seen Kakashi."

"Still getting ready," Obito answered. "And he's checking up on them now."

[NRE]

Rin and Yūgao stood on either side of Kushina and Mikoto in "bridal suite", really a room off to the side of the main complex, holding assorted items on behalf of the Uchiha matriarch. Tsunade lounged in a chair in the back corner, thankfully holding off of the sake.

"You'd think this would be a larger event," Rin said.

"That's precisely the idea, Rin-chan," Kushina answered.

"Hold still," said Mikoto. "I'm going to jab you in the eye by accident if you keep that up. To answer that, Rin, with Minato's popularity at a fever-pitch, if this was any more public, it would be standing room only, and turn into a spectacle."

Kushina waited until her friend pulled her hand away from her face. "Minato and I wanted this to be special. Intimate."

Rin wringed her hands together. There was a knock on the door, Kakashi's voice coming from the other side. "Status?" he asked.

"Almost finished," Mikoto answered. "Girls, you go on ahead. I can finish up here."

Rin nearly laughed at Kakashi's mask. Even formal events didn't see him remove it. She was probably one of the only people still alive who had seen him without it. If Jiraiya was to be believed, the late Sakumo had taken pictures of Kakashi as a baby, but those were considered prime blackmail material, and the Toad Sannin had no intention of revealing them without reason.

Taking her boyfriend's proffered arm, she let him escort her to the main hall.

"What's on your mind?" Kakashi asked.

"Just thinking about the future," Rin answered. "Seeing all of this, I sometimes wonder if we're moving too fast or not fast enough." She laced her fingers with Kakashi's hand and leaned into him. "I'm not regretting us, just curious how everything is going to look in a few years. Or when we're sensei's age."

"We'll take it a step at a time. We still have a few years before we get to sensei's age."

Rin looked up at Kakashi, and she was having to look up a bit more. Both he and Obito were starting to spring up a bit more. Her growth hadn't been anywhere near as dramatic. "For someone as meticulous and brilliant as you are, going slow must be aggravating."

"I've almost never taken anything slow in my life. And…I guess it's a luxury we can afford now. So, no. I don't find it aggravating." She could feel him smile as he said, "If you want to go all out on your wedding – whenever it may be – I will be happy to support you pulling out all stops."

"I'll hold you to that," Rin replied, then, seeing the blonde medic walking a short distance behind them, she asked, "Shishou, are you avoiding Jiraiya-sama?"

"No," Tsunade replied, sounding too petulant for that to be true. "And stop calling him that."

Rin faced forward, hiding a smile behind her sleeve. There was still plenty of time before the end of six months.

[NRE]

"Calm down, sensei," Obito stage-whispered. Next to him, his sensei was a ball of nervous energy, all but fidgeting in place, fretting over any number of imagined scenarios he cooked up. "If Kushina-san thinks you're thinking of bolting-"

"I'm not!" Minato retorted.

Teuchi laughed, patting Minato on the back. "Every couple feels like this on their wedding day, Obito-kun," the ramen chef said. "It's nothing to worry about. Unless he seriously considers running. Then it becomes a problem."

"If you say so," Obito replied, giving his sensei another glance.

Jiraiya was standing off to the side. Seats had been reserved for Tsunade and Kakashi, the three of them standing in place of assorted kin.

The last of which piqued Obito's curiosity. "Question: why is Kakashi standing in as 'father of the bride'?"

"Because Sakumo-sensei was supposed to," Yasuko answered. "Kushina's parents both died when Uzushigakure fell. Right now, Tsunade is the closest relation available, so Kakashi's filling in."

"…Ah." Me and my big mouth. "Another question: why is Teuchi-san the presiding official? Apart from Kushina-san's passion for ramen, I mean."

Minato answered this time. "Mission related qualifications," he said.

"Uh…elaboration? Please?"

Minato and Teuchi shared a look, the latter more amused than the former, then to Jiraiya, who had a hand covering his mouth as he hunched over and shook from suppressed laughter.

"Okay," said Minato, "there was this B-Rank escort mission we had out in Land of Grass. Some well-off merchant with ties to the daimyo's court, and he was worried an assassin was after him, so we were hired to supplement his bodyguards. Then there's this girl he was courting, and he wanted to tie the knot with her before anything happens, so he wants a wedding, and he needs it done on the sly. Trouble is, we needed a priest, and Teuchi looks close enough to fit the bill."

"Why not Jiraiya?"

Minato rub a hand over his face. "Sensei is legally priest, for some reason, but he was indisposed at the time. Teuchi looked the oldest, looked the part, and already had the ceremony half-memorized, so we improvised the line-up, then got him certified after the fact, partially as a joke."

"Comes in real handy at a time like this," Jiraiya added.

Obito couldn't fault the logic, and asked, "What happened at the wedding?"

"Oh, yeah. Turns out the bride was one of the assassins out for him and had apparently fallen in love with him for real."

"That's where you got the idea for your novel?" Obito asked, giving Jiraiya a pointed look.

"Guilty as charged," Jiraiya answered, a massive grin on his face.

Minato chuckled, and continued the story. "Anyway, her employers decide to crash the wedding, so we're having to protect Teuchi and the lovely couple from attacks while they're conducting the ceremony. He literally grabbed a guy by the neck and slammed him into the ground, and I think the bride stabbed a few more people."

Obito blinked, then looked up. "Speaking of grabbing, someone grab Itachi before he gets too high."

At that point, Tsunade, Yūgao, Rin, and Kakashi entered the hall.

"They're on their way," said Kakashi.

"Whew. Showtime," Obito said, smiling to himself. "How're you feeling, sensei?"

Minato straightened his kimono and took a deep breath. "Better. Thank you."

[NRE]

Walking around Training Ground Three, Obito stretched out his arms. The last couple of weeks had been a chaotic mess, but it was looking like they were finally turning up on the other side.

"It's been a while since we were together like this," he said.

"We did meet each other before that last deployment," Kakashi answered.

Rin was sat in lotus position. "Yeah, but we all had different assignments," she replied. "We hardly ever saw each other except for when we had other things to focus on."

Kakashi shrugged. "It's not like the war was really permissive of such things."

"But now that the war's over," said Obito, "maybe we can get missions together again. Heck, I'd take a C-Rank escort. Just all of us, trekking across the countryside, catching on up stories and all that stuff."

"After all we've been through that sounds kind of boring."

Minato appeared in the training ground in a flash.

"Good morning, my cute, little students," he said. "In light of the war's conclusion, all three of you are being reorganized back into Team Minato. Before we make it official, I want to run you through some tests to show me what you learned."

Their sensei pulled out a pair of familiar bells, holding them up meaningfully.

"Is it the same rules as last time?" Kakashi asked.

"Any jutsu within reason," Minato answered. "No one-hit kills or anything to cause permanent damage. If it starts getting out of hand, I'll call an end to the spar. And since some of you could win by endurance, the spar ends when one side is immobilized or yields. Other than that…" Tossing the bells into the air, he snatched them and secured them to his belt. "Surprise me. If you can."

Kakashi raised his forehead protector, the Sharingan flashing red, then nodded to both his teammates.

"Alright!" Obito cheered, and slammed his fists together, activating his own Sharingan.

The three students burst into action, Obito taking point. A pair of kunai with smoke tags flying over his shoulder from Kakashi. A loud impact behind him heralded the ground splitting beneath his feet, and prompting his next step.

"Kamui!"

Realspace vanished from Obito's view, replaced by the distorted artificial gravity of the Kamui dimension. He mentally counted off the distance traveled, twisting around and cocking his fist back for a punch.

One step, two, three, and now!

Appearing behind Minato, Obito planted his back foot down and lunged in, only for his target to disappear and reappear behind him.

"You're getting good with that technique," Minato said.

While Obito subconsciously phased through the punch, a blast of air kicked him up. In the middle of spinning in the air, he flared his chakra. "Kamui!"

A rain of stone landed just next to him, forcing their sensei to pull back a bit.

"Deliberately herding me," he pondered aloud. "To where, I wonder…"

Minato looked up and saw the medic falling from above, smiling. When Rin landed, missing their sensei, who substituted with a random log, the girl left a crater and a cloud of sawdust. Springing from kneeling, she threw a barrage of punches, pressing her offense against her sensei.

"Carrying some power there, Rin," Minato commented as he bobbed and wove around her strikes. Catching her arm at the apex of a swing, Minato kicked her in the stomach and twisted her arm around her back. "But that doesn't mean you're invincible."

He kicked her legs from underneath her, and Rin jumped back up, shaking out her wrist as she faced Minato again. The ground beneath them had been split where her momentum had been countered. Looking up, she noted his eyes had turned gold and the pupils turned into rectangles.

"Sage Mode," she muttered. "Terrific."

Minato smiled. "With how much all of you have grown, I have to make things a little more challenging, don't I?"

"Isn't that a bit slanted to your favor?" Obito asked. "By, like, a lot?"

"Just like you planning your entire strategy before I arrived." Snatching a shuriken from the air, barely sparing a look where it had come from. "We're shinobi after all."

Rin and Obito moved to flank their sensei. Minato glanced between the two them, closed his eyes, and smiled.

"Stop coming at me one at a time," he said. He flashed across the field, tripping Kakashi up before he backed off, too slow to avoid Minato's palm strike. The Kakashi shattered into shower of splinters. "A wood clone?"

Obito reappeared behind him, grabbing him in a Full Nelson. At the same time, the real Kakashi burst from the ground, snagging Minato's legs, pinning in place. Rin darted in, reaching out for the bells.

Smiling at his students, Minato disappeared from view, causing Rin to stop short before she slammed into her teammates.

"Where did he go?" Obito asked.

The three of them had a short breath of pause before Minato reappeared, kicking/shoving Kakashi into Rin, and then turned towards Obito.

Vaulting over the rapidly growing branches, Minato kicked through where Obito's chest would be, then teleported behind him, picking him up and throwing him into the ground. Kakashi jumped in between them, a hectic exchange of punches, kicks, jabs, and blocks the ended when Minato swept the Hatake's legs in the middle of his jump.

Rin's fist phased through Obito's chest, air bursting from the force of her punch, knocking over a couple of trees down range, but thoroughly missing their sensei.

"That wasn't very nice," their sensei chided.

Minato had leaned back and kicked out, planting his foot in Rin's stomach before she could compensate, then he twisted, shifting the two boys around, flinging them away into boneless heaps. Obito jumped back up, raring for another go, when their sensei held up a hand.

"Good teamwork there, but I think we might need to avoid violently deforesting the area, even if you want to practice your Mokuton techniques."

Obito flashed a smile. "We win."

"Hm?" Their sensei reached for the spot on his belt where the bells should have been, then to his team.

Kakashi breathed heavily from his spot on the ground, holding up the bells with one hand, shifting his hitai-ate back down with the other. Rin hardly looked worse for wear, but her cheeks were still slightly flushed from physical exertion.

Minato blinked, then smiled. "Good job, you three," he said, then turning to Obito, "Where did you get all those rocks you tried dumping on me?"

Obito laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Land of Earth, mostly. That's also how I practiced moving around in Kamui a bit."

"Hm. It's a good strategy, but I would probably avoid using that close to allies. Keep working on it."

Kakashi sat up and said, "You've obtained a rarified Sharingan technique, and you're using it…to store rocks." The Hatake shook his head, incredulous.

"Hey, we had a lot of downtime after the ceasefire," Obito replied, "And I was directly ordered to stop taking so many guard shifts, as it would set bad habits for the rest of the team."

Minato inclined his head and turned to the Hatake. "Kakashi, make sure you keep on expanding your chakra reserves."

"Part of why I kept back, sensei," he replied. "That, and Obito suggested dumping the rocks. Also, I had a better chance of hiding than they did."

"I see. Rin, your control's coming along well. I can tell your hard work is paying off."

"Barely good enough for some basic medical jutsu," she replied, absently kicking the dirt.

"Chakra injuries are a pain in the rear," Kakashi interjected. "Most people would still be laid up in bed somewhere after what you went through, much less operating at any level of combat readiness."

Rin absently kicked at the dirt. "Shishou said as much. Still frustrating."

"Well, let me say that I am proud of each and every one of you. I look forward to what you three will accomplish in the future. On that note, it might be the last time we get to really do this before my promotion."

"Promotion?" Obito asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You're going to be the next Hokage?" Rin asked, a shine in her eyes.

Obito's brain caught up and he pumped his fists up. "It's official. Our sensei is the best!" Running around while he whooped, he stopped short. "Wait, what about the team?"

"That depends on you three. There's nothing stopping you from running missions together, I just won't be running with you anymore."

"That sucks," Obito muttered. "We just got everyone back together."

"It happens eventually. Specialties and other responsibilities might break up a team, at least on paper. The important thing is to enjoy the moment, and to hold onto those bonds to one another."

Obito huffed, then nodded. "Alright."

"Now, then. While I am impressed with your performance, I did notice a few weak points in your tactics. Obito, how about you get some practice growing your branches? Rin, you're going to smash them. Kakashi, you get to play tag."

Later, when the four of them left the training field, tired and dusty, they walked shoulder to shoulder, talking about what was in store for them. For all of the bittersweet taste it left in his mouth, Obito savored the experience. It might not be a perfect future, but it was hopeful enough for him to face it with a smile.

[NRE]

A/N: Jiriaya and Tsunade are talking, maybe more. According to the flashbacks before Jiraiya's canon death, Tsunade seemed like she was interested, and if Jiraiya wasn't preoccupied with his Rain students' "deaths" and his need to travel, he might have caught on then. Really, all Obito is doing is giving the two of them a polite shove. How things work out will be up to them.

And for quick reference, the Mukade appearing at the beginning of the chapter is the same one from the fourth Shippūden movie (Lost Tower). Obviously, this is before he ever went rogue. Pakura is one of those ninjas that was rolled out as a zombie for the Fourth Shinobi World War arc in canon, given a unique elemental release and a barebones backstory that ended in her death, and that was basically it until the anime flesh that out a bit. Seriously, why is it that aside from Baki, the bulk of Sunagakure's named shinobi of any importance seem to be really young (the Sand Siblings, Matsuri, Shira and his team), hanging old (Chiyo and Ebizō), traitors (Sasori, Yūra, Mukade, and other Mukade), or dead (Rasa, Pakura, and Chiyo again)?

Eh, whatever. Here are some changes made:

- As the rest of Team Jiraiya is unidentified by canon, Minato's other teammates are Mikoto Uchiha and Teuchi the Ramen Stand Man, the latter of whom has been aged down a bit to put him in the same age group as his teammates. This does not impact Ayame's age (she and Itachi are nearly the same age).

- Simplifying things stated in the chapter, Kushina's jonin-sensei in this 'verse was Sakumo Hatake, with her teammates being Norio Yamanaka and Yasuko Inuzuka (and Aki).

Coming up next chapter:

- Minato Namikaze takes office as the Fourth Hokage.

- Kushina teaching Obito fūinjutsu.

- Babies. Lots of babies.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Some political or social nuance I botched? Let me know with a review or PM. Constructive criticism is, as always, most appreciated.