Obito-Sensei

by Ser Serendipity

During the fateful mission to the Kannabi Bridge, Obito is too slow, and Kakashi ends up paying the price with his life. Years later, Elite Jonin Mangekyou no Obito is placed in charge of a very familiar genin team, determined to keep them safe in a world at peace. Or: Obito surviving wrecks everything, in twenty steps or less.

70. Closure

Obito-Sensei Chapter 67

Makes Apologies, But Sometimes Only To Gain An Advantage

Even though Hinata could see through walls, she almost had a heart attack when she opened the door to find Sasuke on the other side. They stared at each other for a moment, Hanabi slyly watching from the side, and then Sasuke coughed.

"Can we take a walk?" he said, and Hinata slowly nodded. "I'd like to…"

He stopped, and Hinata saw that he wasn't sure how to finish the sentence. "Sure," she said, picking up for him. "Let me get my shoes. It'll be just a moment."

She retreated back into the house, Hanabi following after her and leaving Sasuke at the door. "He got tall!" she said as Hinata stepped into her room, feeling light-headed and mindlessly picking out a pair of walking shoes. "You didn't tell me he got that tall!"

"I didn't tell you much," Hinata said, sitting down on her bed and pulling the shoes on. "You made up most of it."

"Yeah," Hanabi smirked, "but that seems like a funny thing to leave out. Do you want me to say anything to father?"

"If you want to, but I'm sure he already knows," Hinata said, and Hanabi shrugged. "Plenty of people will have noticed an Uchiha showing up at the compound, especially Sasuke."

"I'll tell him. I wanna see the face he makes." Hanabi acted carelessly, but for a second Hinata saw her little sister's irreverent humor break. "He's not a weirdo, right?"

"No, he's not. It will be fine," Hinata said, not sure if she was trying to convince her sister or herself. She hadn't seen Sasuke since he'd arrived back at the village, but it had never occurred to her he would seek her out. She'd thought they'd been trapped in an awkward detente; what had changed?

His left arm was whole again. It was unbelievable, considering what it had looked like the last time. Hinata had had nightmares about the charred, shattered remains of Sasuke's arm, still limply hanging from his body. She had been sure the next time she'd seen him, it would be gone.

She made her way back to the door, Hanabi trailing after her, and stepped out into the sun with Sasuke. It was a cool day, and they both stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

"Was there somewhere you wanted to go?" Hinata eventually asked, and Sasuke shook his head.

"Let's see where we end up," he said, seemingly deciding it at that moment and stepping away, looking to see if she would follow. Hinata walked after him, leaving her sister in the doorway. Hanabi watched her go with a sour look, but it eventually twisted into a smile.

They stayed silent as they moved through the compound: it was well into the afternoon by now, the sun starting to set in the distance beyond the forest, and most of the Hyuuga clan was out and about, either in the village or on missions, which meant there were few prying eyes to watch Hinata as she followed after Sasuke and eventually drew up beside him. It was a physical relief, and when they cleared the walls she felt herself straighten up and walk taller.

Sasuke noticed; he glanced over at her. "You don't like it there?" he asked, and Hinata pursed her lips.

"That's too strong a term," she said, and he nodded along as they slipped into the busy streets of the village, becoming just a pair of ninja among many. "But I'm the heir; I'm always watched. And with eyes like these…" She laughed, surprised at herself at how natural it was to say. "But I'm sure you understand that."

"People are watching me for a different reason now," Sasuke acknowledged. "Even if everyone's been told it was a mission, there's still that doubt. Justified, of course."

'They left us behind for her.'

Hinata grimaced.

"Why did you come and find me, Sasuke?" she asked, and he stopped. She did as well, the both of them standing in the middle of the street, people pushing past them. "I wasn't sure… where we stood, I suppose."

Sasuke frowned. "I wasn't sure either. I guess that's why I did."

"Is this like last time?" Hinata asked, and Sasuke tilted his head. "Did you have another argument with your mother? Is that why-?"

"No." Sasuke said, actually interrupting her. Before Hinata could take offense, he continued in an apologetic tone. "Sorry. No. That's not what I want. That wouldn't be fair to you. I don't want…" He fidgeted. "I actually apologized to her today. About our last fight. We had that, and then I left…"

He suddenly laughed; Hinata had rarely heard Sasuke's full laugh, but it was an unexpectedly wonderful and earnest sound. "And that's why I came here. Of course. I didn't even think about it… I need to apologize to you too, Hinata."

"For leaving?" she asked, and they started walking again.

"Not necessarily for that, but for doing it at such a bad time… yeah." He blushed. "I made a… not a promise, I guess, but an offer to you, and then I ran off the next day. If I hurt you, that's what I'm apologizing for."

Of course he'd hurt her. Hinata mulled it over as they navigated through a street market, vendors writing them off as unlikely to be customers with a glance. She'd wondered if it had been her fault from the start, if she'd helped drive him away in some way. If his words to her on the balcony had really meant nothing, or just been a delusion on his own part, and his mood had been just as mercurial as she'd supposed.

But in the face of such an earnest apology…

"I forgive you," she said, and Sasuke breathed out in relief. "And I'm glad you're back. And that your arm is fixed. After what happened with Gaara… I wasn't sure it could be repaired."

"It couldn't be," Sasuke said, which was obviously impossible, but when Hinata looked over to ask what he meant she found him staring off into the distance, seeing nothing. "The Amekage replaced it."

"Replaced it?" Hinata asked, confused, and Sasuke clearly wasn't much better off than her.

"With a jutsu I couldn't understand," he said. "Rain is full of amazing people, but the Amekage was beyond all of them."

"It sounds like you admire Rain." He'd been promoted to Jonin there, after all, and led a team of shinobi in the Land of Waves, some of which had been older than him. But Sasuke had never struck Hinata as the shallow sort who would admire someone out of gratitude alone.

"I have mixed feelings," he said frankly. "They tried to butter me up, which made me wary, but it's a different kind of village, filled with different kinds of ninja. It's not like Konoha, with all these clans." He looked around, and Hinata could see what he meant immediately. Everywhere they went they were recognized, but not as individuals. "Most of the ninja there, very few of them were just born into it. They're there because they believe in something, or because they followed someone who does."

"Like you did," Hinata said, and Sasuke nodded. She kept going, though she wasn't sure how Sasuke would respond to her poking at the subject. "Obito-sensei says that's why Sakura was picked. And I could see it in Waves. We all could. She became a different person in Rain."

"Yeah." For the first time, Sasuke showed something beyond uncertainty: worry, maybe even fear. "I don't know where Sakura is going to go. You saw, when you collected me from Itachi." He flinched at his brother's name, and anger burned in Hinata's chest. She remembered the way he'd greeted her so politely, like two clan heirs meeting at a party hosted by the Daimyo, the quiet fury that had been raised in her at the murderer of Sasuke's father and family being so polite and soft-spoken. "She tried to leave again. I don't know if we can keep her in Konoha."

The admission stunned Hinata, but only for a moment. "The Hokage wouldn't let her leave again, surely. And neither would your sensei. Or you and Naruto!" She felt her heart pick up a little, seeing Sasuke so crushed and unsure of himself. "She wouldn't leave all you behind for Rain, would she?"

"She was planning to, the first time," Sasuke said quietly. "And that was before she joined the Akatsuki." Hinata sucked in a breath; she hadn't known Sakura had gone that far. "Now… I really don't know what she's capable of. I don't think any of us do. She's still Sakura, but she's a sharper, smarter, stronger Sakura. I think she could manage by herself in Rain without much problem."

Hinata took a second to consider that, and another to put herself in Sakura's shoes. Maybe she was weaker or more cowardly than Sakura, but she couldn't see it. "I don't think you should be worried about that right now," she decided, and Sasuke gave her a curious look. "Even if Sakura became a different person in Rain, I don't think anyone could come away from what happened there stronger. It's like I told her. It was just… too terrible."

"It's because of that that she wants to go back, I think. To help people. She feels an obligation to them, to the Nation."

"That, I can understand. But if doing so would leave her all alone?" She phrased it as a question, and Sasuke nodded. If Sakura had made other friends in Rain, Cloud had killed them with its attack. "Then the Sakura who's anything like the one I remember wouldn't go."

"It's like you said; she became a different person in Rain. She's not the Sakura you remember," Sasuke said bluntly, though he dulled its harshness with a sigh. "But I hope you're right."

They walked together for a while longer, occasionally speaking about things that didn't carry a fraction of the importance of what they'd spoken of before; the weather, small changes Sasuke had noticed about the village, and what Hinata's team had been up to in the year Team Seven had been gone. Eventually, Sasuke changed the direction of the conversation again, which was just fine by Hinata; she was enjoying his company enough that she had no interest in taking up the burden of guiding what they talked about.

Besides, it was clear that Sasuke was working through plenty of things. What his mind turned to told Hinata plenty more than she would get from trying to pick at him.

"Would you mind if we did this more often?" he asked, and Hinata blinked, her mildly calculating thoughts obliterated by his sincere vulnerability.

"Sorry?" she asked, and he shifted, coming to a stop as they crossed over a canal and looking out over the lazily drifting water. Hinata stopped beside him, the both of them leaning against the wooden bannister like two ordinary teenagers who hadn't just witnessed a city (or two, in Sasuke's case) getting flattened earlier in the month.

"I'm trying to put this in a way that doesn't sound melodramatic," Sasuke said, on the edge of a chuckle, "but my world keeps getting turned upside down." He didn't look over at her as he spoke, focused on the water, and Hinata had a flashback to the balcony at Sakura's birthday party. Then and now, he'd confided in her because he'd felt he had nowhere else to go, and so he'd turned to someone who was essentially a stranger.

But this time, as he spoke…

"It's all about my brother," Sasuke mused as Hinata waited patiently, understanding it wasn't the time to interrupt. "He's tied up in everything. He killed my father, messed up the Chunin Exam, devastated the Hidden Waterfall… that ended up sending Sakura to the Hidden Rain, and so Naruto and I followed her there… and then it gets blown up by Cloud, which is probably partly Itachi's fault anyway, and he sneaks me out, sacrifices so much for me, and tells me…" He shook his head, and at that point Hinata stepped in.

"Sasuke, you don't have to tell me everything," she said gently, and he folded in on himself. Hinata continued before he could apologize, well-versed enough in giving pointless ones herself to recognize it coming. "First, because you said so yourself that's not why you showed up at my door. It's not fair if you just show up once a year and dump all your regrets and fears on me."

She said it with a smile to show there wasn't malice and to her endless relief Sasuke let out a choked laugh. It made her brave enough to continue. "That's not a…a relationship. Not a good one, anyway."

As Sasuke twitched, Hinata continued, almost wanting to activate her Byakugan to check to see if her words were having the right impact. "And second, because right now it's probably not any of my business. Whatever has happened with your family, with your brother and your mother, it's obvious that it's hurt you, and confused you. If you want help with that, I want to help you. If you think telling me everything will help, you can, but I don't need to know all that to be here for you. Not right now."

Sasuke shuddered and nodded, closing his eyes, obviously trying to stay composed, and Hinata took a deep breath, screwing up her courage. "So, why do you want to do this more often?"

There was a pause that stretched a second or two too long, with nothing but the sound of flowing water beneath them, and Hinata worried that she'd completely misunderstood him.

"To ground myself," Sasuke eventually said, and she let out a held breath. "It's just like I said last time. I need something in my life that isn't my clan, and all of… that. I like spending time with you; I wouldn't mind… I would like that to be you."

Just like last time, Hinata felt herself blush, though not nearly as severely. "I would like that too," she said, her voice cracking near the end. "So long as you're not going to disappear tomorrow. Again."

Sasuke choked. "No. No! No," he said, sputtering. "I promise, no, that wasn't…! It was just really, really bad timing! I felt terrible!"

"I know," Hinata said, feeling her chest loosen up. No matter how terrible things were or how dark the world had seemed in the darkness of the wilderness between the Hidden Leaf and Rain, she felt like she, no, the both of them had just cleared a seemingly insurmountable hurdle, standing there on the bridge and acknowledging their feelings. "I was joking." She paused, considering the water. "I need to be grounded too, Sasuke. It's not just you, you know. Seeing you again in Waves… it made me realize how difficult everything has been."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke was quiet; Hinata shrugged.

"It couldn't be helped. All of this, everything that's happened to you, it's been beyond our control." She turned to face him even as her body tried to rebel and put her side to him again to banish the sudden sense of vulnerability. "But I think we've got time now, at least a little bit of it, to try and balance each other out. We should use it."

Sasuke looked down at her, a ghost of a smile on his face. "You changed while we were gone," he mused after a moment, and Hinata couldn't hide her blush that time.

"Everyone did. Everything did," she said honestly. "Did you want to get something to eat?"

He looked surprised before considering it. "I don't think I've eaten anything today," he admitted, and Hinata shook her head in mock chastisement.

"Well, how about we go get barbeque or something, and you can tell me about it?" Hinata suggested, finally moving again and crossing the bridge, hearing Sasuke follow after her.

"Yeah," he said, and she didn't need eyes that could see behind her to know he was smiling. "That sounds good."

###

When the door to the Hokage's office closed and locked, Kushina looked around expectantly.

Her husband was there, looking as tireless as ever, which was so deeply dumb and unfair because she knew for a fact that he had been awake for almost forty hours now. Like everyone else, he was gathered as part of the rough square that had formed out of people and pulled up chairs in the middle of the office, forgoing his desk. There were only two other people in the square, because duh, a square only had four points; Obito and Mikoto.

They had just finished telling her and her husband that they had a zombie in their basement.

"Okay." In a display of exasperation that made Kushina smile, Minato drew his hand up his face, massaging his temples. He was still in Sage Mode, and had been periodically refreshing it all day so that he'd be able to sense any attack coming before it hit the sensor barrier. "So, Madara Uchiha's content to stay in the compound for now, even if his… will… isn't. That's… good, I suppose. What did you have to say that was for us alone?"

"Two things," Mikoto said, and Kushina couldn't decide which Uchiha to pay attention to. Her friend was so severe, even though their children were home again, and the same went for Obito. His round face was so dour it almost gave her a headache. Kushina could understand, since the joy and sorrow in her heart were still at war, even if the former was decisively winning.

Naruto's heartbreak when he'd returned had been almost too much to bear, but at least he was home. He was as safe as he could be, along with Sakura and Sasuke, even if both were equally hurt by their time in Rain.

'I feel like if I start crying I'm never going to stop.'

Both Naruto and Sakura had said something along those lines, and Kushina could sympathize. It was their first time experiencing such a personal loss; it was probably different for Sasuke. She had felt the same when she had heard what had happened to Whirlpool, to her family.

But Kushina knew from harsh experience that time dulled all wounds and faded most scars, and so she was sure her kids would recover. She would make sure they could.

Right, distracted. She straightened up as Mikoto continued.

"The first…" Mikoto looked around at the present company and sighed; Kushina arched an eyebrow. "I would have preferred to have been in complete privacy, but I understand why that is not a realistic request." She placed her hands on her knees and bowed her head to Kushina, her long hair falling forward and obscuring her face.

"Kushina, I would like to apologize to you," she said. Obito blinked.

"You're forgiven," Kushina said with a laugh, trying to ward off the sudden dark mood she felt sweep over her. "But for what?"

"For what I was planning to do," Mikoto said, keeping her head bowed; her friend hadn't taken her answer seriously. Kushina felt a chill run up her spine, and Minato and Obito weren't any help; they were just staring at her, waiting for her to act.

'It just makes her a shinobi.'

"Mikoto," she said, bending forward, her head just a foot away from her friend's. "I never blamed you for it. But if you need to apologize, I'll accept it."

"It was foolish," Mikoto bit out, and Kushina started as she realized Mikoto was holding back some serious emotions. "I was foolish. It took getting my son back and talking to a dead man, seeing all his regrets, for me to realize that." She looked up, her face crumpling. "I did not appreciate you. I did not see you, only what's inside you. Whatever I was before that night, I wasn't a true friend. I'm sorry for ever considering it."

To her astonishment and concern, Kushina felt a horrific resentment boiling inside her. For a second, she was angry and young again, and she wanted to throw Mikoto's apology back in her face, to make her cry, to make herself a hypocrite for tearing into Obito on that night a year ago, to act without a hint of grace and to deal cruel, irrevocable damage to the woman that she had trusted so much and who had nearly betrayed her so completely.

But to her relief, the second passed, the wisdom that decades of being a shinobi and a mother and a Jinchuriki had taught her rushed back, and she laughed, feeling a tear leak out alongside it.

"I appreciate it," she said, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Mikoto's shaking shoulders. "But it's alright. Really. There's no point in agonizing over a past that never showed its face, you know?"

She stayed there for a couple seconds as both the men in the room drew back, awkwardly fidgeting. Obito scratched the back of his head with a grimace, looking desperate to escape, and Kushina smirked at him past Mikoto's head. So much for his invincible Kamui if it couldn't even get him out of an awkward situation, huh?

He grimaced back at her in good humor, and moments later Mikoto pulled back, regaining her calm with a series of deep breaths.

"What's the second thing then?" Kushina asked, noticing how quiet Minato was being and glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He looked relieved, though she was sure she was the only one who could see it. Maybe the Uchiha would weigh on him a bit less now; she could only hope. He had an entire buffet of plates in front of him for the foreseeable future, and there wasn't anything appetizing on any of them.

"The second thing is something that Madara told us that we didn't mention," Obito said, taking over for Mikoto as she composed herself. He turned to Minato. "I don't know if it's really something that should be classified or not, sensei, but it's strange, and probably important, so we wanted you and Kushina alone to hear it first."

"Shoot," Minato said, leaning back with a curious look. He'd always loved a mystery, just one of his many endearing traits.

"Madara said that his shadow was likely trying to enact something called the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi,'" Obito said with air quotes, and Kushina saw him stiffen at half of the name being familiar. "It's basically what it sounds like; a genjutsu that can't be distinguished from the real world, cast on everyone, everywhere, all at once."

"How?" Minato asked, somehow taking such an obviously insane thing absolutely seriously. Kushina wasn't quite there yet, but she followed along as Obito continued with a frown.

"According to him, the Tailed Beasts came from the Sage of Six Paths. He beat up a beast with ten tails, the Jūbi, and separated its body and mind. Obvious mythology stuff, but he created the moon to contain its body, so… you know, it must have been huge, and then contained its mind and chakra in his own body."

"He was the first Jinchuriki." Mikoto spoke too gently for it to be called an interruption, but Obito stopped, obviously waiting for her. "The Sage was your distant ancestor through his son Asura, Kushina, and your progenitor as well." She locked eyes with her, and Kushina couldn't help but be taken in by her conviction. "In a way, you are carrying on a tradition established millenia ago, by chance or by fate I do not know."

"... Right…" Obito said, trying to continue. Kushina tilted her head, considered responding, and then decided to save it for the end. "Anyway, when he died, to keep the Jūbi from being reborn, he split its chakra into nine pieces; the Tailed Beasts as we know them. How did ten tails become, uh…" He silently counted for a moment. "Forty-five? I guess that's a mystery for the ages, but that's the story."

"And that ties into the Infinite Tsukuyomi how?" Minato asked, trying to get Obito back on track with the same tone he'd used for the last twenty years, and Kushina giggled as the Uchiha blushed.

"The way Madara put it, if the Tailed Beasts were combined again, the Ten Tails would be reborn, and some of the Sage's power would come back with it as well, since they were tied together during his life." He interlaced his fingers, wiggling them a little. "And then if that power was sent to the moon, I guess reflected off of it, that's what would spread the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Which… the moon does reflect light, so if it was a powerful energy transfer, that would make sense." Obito scratched his head again. "But when Mikoto and I were heading over here, she said there was a way we could prove it."

"Oh?" Now Kushina spoke, looking back at her friend. "I think I've got a suspicion."

"You know me," Mikoto said with a sad smile, tapping her temple. "Hammer and nail. We've already seen that the both of us can delve into your chakra and communicate with the Kyuubi, in a fashion." She sat up, fully the stereotypical disciplined Uchiha once again. "Kushina, Minato, I don't trust my ancestor's words to a fault, but I think there is some dangerous truth in them. With both your permission, I would ask that both myself and Obito, alongside Kushina, interrogate the Kyuubi and determine if it has any additional information."

"I don't have an objection," Kushina said, glancing at her husband. "Though the big guy probably won't be cooperative, since he's a manifestation of hatred and destruction and all that." He hesitated, and Kushina frowned; not because of him not immediately responding, but because of the very un-Minato uncertainty that flashed across his face.

"If there's truth to those myths as you two are saying," he said quietly, "there may be more to it than that." He considered for another moment. "I couldn't come along, could I? I bet it would be fascinating to see the seal from the inside."

"I don't think it works that way," Obito said as Kushina did her best to suppress a dirty joke. She held it in, but she caught Mikoto waggling an eyebrow at her nonetheless. Naturally, Obito was oblivious. "Unless you've been hiding a Sharingan this whole time, sensei."

"Unfortunately not," Minato said with a tired smile. "Then I'll keep watch while you three do your thing. I should be able to sense if anything goes wrong."

"Alright." Kushina scooted closer to Mikoto and Obito, looking over at the younger man. "Have you done this before, Obito?"

"Not since, well, that night," Obito said. He leaned in as well, and Kushina took his and Mikoto's hand in each of hers, feeling the flow of their chakra underneath their skin and the warmth of their bodies. "But I think I get the gist of it."

Both his and Mikoto's Sharingan spiraled out, the three tomoe twisting into three distinct Mangekyo patterns across four eyes. Kushina stared into them and the world started to melt away, replaced by golden darkness as her body went limp in the chair.

Kushina blinked, and she was within the seal.

She was standing on an endless plain of golden stone that extended endlessly out to a horizon which stretched up into a gold and silver sky, a monochromatic world that defeated depth perception and made all distance seem the same. Mikoto and Obito were on either side of her, Obito looking around in wonder, and Mikoto up at what she'd come to question.

The Nine-Tailed Fox was here. It was always here, and would be until the day Kushina died. It was suspended on a floating sphere dozens of feet in the air, massive spikes hammered through its tails and paws, stretched out to every extremity and bound by glittering adamantine chains, the world's largest and most dangerous prisoner. Its muzzle was bound as well, and it did not react when they appeared beyond one glowing crimson eye swiveling down to glare at them, bringing with it a noticeable, nearly painful weight.

"It's like my Kamui," Obito said with wonder, barely focusing on the Fox. "But a lot brighter. Does everyone have something like this inside them?" He blinked, looking shaken. "Wait, what if that's how the Mangekyo works? What if it's not another dimension, but a seal within my eye? That's-"

"Obito, focus," Mikoto said gently. "We're guests, so let's not overstay our welcome."

"Yeah," Obito said. Kushina gave him a smile, her stomach aching as he looked up at the Kyuubi. He examined the prison, the seal that was a product of generations of Uzumaki secrets, and looked back at Kushina with a vaguely concerned look.

"What?" she asked, and the Fox stirred with a sound like a distant avalanche. The chains and stakes didn't budge. "It's good and tight. There's no chance it can hurt us."

"It's not that," Obito said quietly. "It's not like a visualization thing, right? You didn't design how the seal manifests in your chakra?"

"No?" Kushina said. She'd never even considered it. Why would she? The construction of every seal was unique, filled with the intentional or accidental flourishes of its creator, and even if hers had been passed down the generations it was no different. "It's always been like this. Before Mito passed she explained how the seal worked to me, and her daughter gave me the key after the Fox was taken from her." She pushed down the surge of sadness at the memory of the wrinkled, kind face, telling her how the rest of her life would go. "Since then I've had to 'visit' for lack of a better word if I ever wanted to regulate it, or set how much chakra the Kyuubi could release into me. I'm sure you can tell I usually keep it locked down tight, but he's always been chained and pinned up like that."

"Cool. Yeah, it's just…" Obito looked back up at the chained Beast. "It sorta looks like a moon, right?"

Looking back at something she'd never really stopped to analyze because she'd been stuck with it from a formative age, Kushina couldn't help but admit that yeah, the floating sphere the Kyuubi was pinned to might look a bit like a moon. Circles and spheres were common in sealing work since they could efficiently transfer chakra between several different configurations (circulate, it was in the term after all). Perfectly benign, but with what Mikoto and Obito had just told her, it took on an ominous context.

"Hmm," she grunted, before raising her hand and rotating it. The chains binding the Bijuu's mouth and head loosened and fell away, and it twisted its head to fully glare down at her, sparing a moment of hatred for Obito and Mikoto as well.

It could speak but chose not to, so Kushina took the initiative.

"Not feeling talkative?" she asked, and the monster's lips curled back, revealing man-sized teeth. It remained silent.

"Does it usually talk?" Obito said, and Kushina shrugged, a distant memory of boiling agony ripping through her stomach bubbling up. She'd never spoken directly to the Fox, though it had screamed at her once or twice. From the very first day she'd learned of it, everyone had told her it was purely a force of destruction, a mass of malevolence kept contained by her as both a prison and a weapon.

What could such a thing have to say?

"Did it talk to you when you suppressed it, Obito?" she asked, and he frowned.

"I don't know if talk was the right word, but it communicated, yeah. Didn't have anything nice to say." Well, that sounded about right. He crossed his arms, staring up at the Beast, and Mikoto mirrored him. Kushina watched both the Uchiha fall into an identical stance with faint amusement.

"Kyuubi, we would speak with you," Mikoto said, and the Beast stirred, turning its attention to her. "We have questions that you may be able to answer."

The monster sneered.

YOU'LL TAKE MORE FROM ME? It did not have a human mouth or tongue to speak with, but the words reverberated through the air nonetheless. WITH WHAT?

"With our Sharingan, if necessary," Mikoto said. The monster laughed.

YOUR EYES CAN STEAL MY MIND, BUT NOT ITS CONTENTS. YOU ARE WORTHLESS, UCHIHA. IN GENERAL, OF COURSE, BUT ESPECIALLY HERE.

Kushina glanced at Mikoto for confirmation, and got a sour look in return. True enough then. Obito seemed to be mulling things over, so she stepped forward.

"I assume you're not interested in conversation," she said, and the Fox glared down at her. "You've certainly never started one yourself."

NO.

"What, then?" It was strange, she thought, to have this new frontier open up in front of her. The Kyuubi had always been something she'd shut away and considered a mindless danger, like a sword without a hilt, but it was obviously more intelligent than she'd figured. Maybe it could be negotiated with.

FREEDOM.

"Well, that's a no go," Kushina said with a grin. "Considering it would kill me, you know. Anything else?"

IF THE QUESTION IS NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE, THEN NO. The Beast's eyes narrowed. WHAT IS THIS, KUSHINA UZUMAKI? YOU HAVE BEEN CONTENT TO IGNORE ME, TO BE AN AGING CAGE OF MEAT WHO STEALS FROM AN UNSEEN PRISONER.

"Wow, you've got a way with words," Kushina said with a laugh. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't realize you could talk?"

NO. The Kyuubi sounded strangely contemplative. MITO TOLD YOU I WOULD TRY TO DECEIVE YOU, TO BARGAIN WITH YOU, AS I DID WITH HER.

"Sure, but that's what demons do," Kushina said. "They trick. That's different from talking."

To that, the Kyuubi did not respond.

"For someone not interested in conversation, you're talking a lot," Obito cut in. "Maybe you could hear our questions, Kyuubi, and see if they interest you or not." The Kyuubi shifted, nostrils flaring.

I RECOGNIZE YOU. A snarl echoed through the seal. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO SHOVED ME BACK IN HERE.

"Yes," Obito said, "but that's not the past we're interested in." He gestured to himself and Mikoto. "We were told today that you used to be part of a larger creature, a Ten Tailed Beast. We wanted to confirm if that was true."

The Kyuubi stared at him, and Kushina cocked her head up at it. It was hard to read the expressions of a fox with the head the size of a building, but for a moment its eyes seemed more human, more understandable than those of a vicious animal that could destroy cities with the thrashing of its tails. Was she just projecting, or was that confusion, trepidation, even loss that she might be seeing?

WHO TOLD YOU THIS? A question met by a question? Now that was interesting.

"A man you know well: Madara Uchiha."

The Fox hissed, the sound resounding throughout the intangible space. HE IS STILL ALIVE? I DID NOT REALIZE HUMANS COULD LIVE THAT LONG.

"He's quite dead, but returned nonetheless." Mikoto spoke up. "Nine Tails, from the stories I know he was your master for several-"

The Kyuubi lunged, looking for all the world like an oversized dog for a moment as it snapped down at Mikoto, but Kushina didn't flinch. Its chains held taught, and its head could only drop a couple feet before it came up short. Mikoto didn't take a step back, but Kushina saw her hand dart towards a sword that wasn't there.

"Let's avoid that word," she quietly suggested as she stepped to Mikoto's side, and her friend nodded, Sharingan whirling.

Kushina looked up at her prisoner with a neutral smile. "My predecessor took you from Madara, who had enslaved you," she said, and the Fox snarled. "So I'm sure you didn't have much of a relationship with him. But considering how much time he kept control of you, I'm sure he knew all sorts of things about you that the Uzumaki, who just kept you shut away, could never have dreamed of. Right?"

HE WAS NOT MY MASTER.

"Who could be?" Kushina said with a shrug, and the Fox's eyes narrowed. "You're obviously too powerful to be mastered, only contained." It was the kind of ploy that would barely work on a young child, and she saw that the Beast knew it.

But at the same time, it relaxed, pulling its head back and loosening the chains around its throat. Flattery seemed, at least, to be more successful than the alternative.

YES. AS YOU HAVE.

"Naturally." She could see Obito and Mikoto watching her out of the corner of her eye; Obito still had his arms crossed, shifting whenever the Kyuubi's voice washed over him. "So then, was Madara right? He told them that you were created from a larger Ten Tailed Beast by the Sage of Six Paths. Is that true?"

The Beast considered her, and Kushina realized it was actually looking at her, reading her body language, her face. Odd actions for a monster, but…

Just what are you, she wondered. I doubt all those stories and myths of you destroying civilizations were made up; you could sense malice, you taught me how. Was that for a monopoly on hatred, as Mikoto and I thought, or was it more complicated?

I WILL OFFER YOU AN EXCHANGE.

Kushina's pondering slammed into a brick wall, and she laughed internally, not letting it show on her face. Of course, it was just like Mito had warned her. Any half-decent demon could feign humanity, if only to lure people in. Now, the Kyuubi would try to make a deal with her to wriggle out of the seal, as it had many times with her successor. That was its way.

"I probably won't be able to agree, but what kind?" she said, and the Fox shifted to look down at her with both eyes.

YOU HAVE CURSED ME WITH BOREDOM, it said, AND THIS TALK HAS REMINDED ME OF THAT. LOOSEN THE SEAL TO LET ME SEE THROUGH YOUR EYES, AND I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.

Kushina frowned and glanced over at both her companions. Mikoto pursed her lips, and Obito shrugged.

"That's all?" Kushina asked. "What about my ears? Hearing things?"

YOU WOULD REFUSE, it said, which was absolutely correct. YOU WOULD BELIEVE THAT THE MORE SENSES I REQUESTED, THE CLOSER I WOULD COME TO COMPLETE CONTROL, WHICH IS PARTIALLY CORRECT. I WOULD BE CONTENT WITH SEEING WHAT YOU SEE.

"What would be stopping me from just tightening the seal again?" Kushina said.

THE SAME THING PREVENTING ME FROM SIMPLY LYING TO YOU, FOOL. The Fox closed one claw around the stake impaling its paw, nails scraping down the side of the invincible wood. THIS WOULD BE AN EXERCISE IN TRUST.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that," Kushina admitted, feeling uncomfortably like she was talking to an equal whose existence she'd never really considered before. "Like, what about if I'm in the bathroom?" Obito snickered.

I HAVE EXCEEDINGLY LITTLE INTEREST IN HUMAN BIOLOGY. IF YOUR QUESTION IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN YOUR PRIVACY, THEN THERE IS LITTLE I CAN DO. SIGHT; THAT IS MY OFFER.

"Hmm. Minato will probably be annoyed I didn't ask him first," Kushina mused as Mikoto gave her an incredulous look. "But fine. It's my body, I can decide what to do with it." She drew both her hands up, and Mikoto stepped a bit closer to her, whispering.

"Are you sure, Kushina? It's malice itself; whatever it sees, it will try to use against you."

"Honestly," Kushina muttered back, "I'm way more concerned about it seeing me and Minato together, you know?" Mikoto scoffed as Kushina continued. "But it is like a thousand year old monster, so I doubt it really cares. If it's tricking me, we'll know soon enough."

"And how do we know if it lies?" Mikoto said as Kushina started drawing her hands through the air as if painting with an invisible brush. The golden space quivered, expanded and constricted, and a golden chain wormed its way around the Kyuubi's skull, shaking in place. "It's as it said: Obito and I cannot compel the truth from it."

"Dunno." Kushina shrugged and slashed her hand down, and the chain that had surrounded the Fox's head shattered in sparkling golden light. It shifted with a grunt. "But I've got a feeling. I'm going to trust my gut here."

She turned back to the Fox. "It should be done, assuming I didn't get my nerves mixed up."

YES, it rumbled. I CAN SEE. WHAT A DULL PLACE YOU ARE IN, BUT AT LEAST IT IS NOT THIS VAST EMPTINESS. Its claws drew away from the stake, relaxing and opening up. YOU HAVE FULFILLED YOUR SIDE OF THE BARGAIN, KUSHINA UZUMAKI.

"And will you?" Kushina asked, and the Fox snorted.

I DO NOT KNOW HOW MADARA COULD HAVE COME TO LEARN OF THE JŪBI. Obito stiffened, staring up at it with astonishment. BUT HIS UNDERSTANDING IS ACCURATE. I AM A PIECE OF THAT GREAT MONSTER.

"And the other Beasts as well?" Kushina continued.

YES. ONCE, WE WERE A GREATER WHOLE. The Fox closed its mouth, but the words still emerged, its tone a bit more urgent. I AM TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE YOU WILL HONOR OUR AGREEMENT, KUSHINA. YOU ARE NOT AS FECKLESS AS AN UCHIHA. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER REASON I WOULD IMPRESS UPON YOU.

"Oh?" Kushina asked, trying to decide if it was funny or terrifying to have a creature like this hold such a grudge against her friend's family.

IF YOU DIE, I WILL DIE WITH YOU. BUT I HAVE DIED BEFORE, AND BEEN REBORN WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT. MY CHAKRA IS CONNECTED TO THE EARTH, AND SO IS DRAWN BACK TO IT BEFORE LONG. That lined up with what Mito had said, more evidence that the Beast was telling the truth, or at least part of it. BUT THE JŪBI, THAT IS MUCH MORE TROUBLESOME. IF MADARA UCHIHA WAS AWARE OF IT, I HAVE NO DOUBT HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO RECREATE IT, TO TAKE ITS ULTIMATE POWER FOR HIMSELF.

Kushina couldn't help but flinch, because of course that was correct, and she was sure the Kyuubi noticed her reaction.

TO BE REJOINED WITH THAT MONSTER WOULD BE A FINAL DEATH, THAT LOSS OF SELF THAT YOU HUMANS SO DREAD. The Fox opened its mouth again, looking… smug? Content? It was an expression that didn't make much sense on its toothy face. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN EXPERIENCING SUCH A THING. KNOW THAT, AND TAKE IT AS YOU WILL.

"Right…" Kushina said, rolling the words over in her head. "I'll keep that in mind, then."

GOOD. I HAVE HONORED OUR AGREEMENT. IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO DEPART.

As Kushina turned to her friends to ask them to end the mutual hypnosis, Obito spoke up. "Did the Sage tell you this?" he asked, and the Kyuubi's muzzle twitched. "Or did you just know it when you were born?"

Kushina paused, sure there wouldn't be a response, but to her utter shock the Kyuubi answered.

HE DID. OUR PURPOSE WAS EXPLAINED TO ALL OF US ON HIS DEATHBED.

None of them knew how to take that, and there was a long pregnant silence. Obito cleared his throat.

"Then if we asked one of the other Beasts, they would say the same?"

SHOULD YOU DEIGN TO. The Kyuubi sneered. LEAVE. YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED MY PATIENCE. Even through the seal its chakra began to press down on them, as if gravity was increasing, its displeasure clear. Kushina took Mikoto's hand, and she took Obito's.

"Right then," Mikoto muttered. "Open your eyes."

There was a snap, a flash of black, and they were all back in the Hokage's office, Minato watching them intently. Kushina sat up in her chair, shaking her head and trying to dispel a sudden vertigo.

"Everything okay?" he asked. Mikoto and Obito were both groggily sitting up, a bit of blood leaking from Mikoto's left eye. She brushed it away, smearing it on her cheek. "I felt a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra leak out."

"Yeah, uh…" Kushina was more aware than she had ever been in her life of what she was looking at. "We made a deal."

"A deal?" Minato said, looking bemused. "What kind?"

"It answered their question, and in return, it gets to see what I'm seeing," Kushina said. Her husband leaned back as Obito stood up and stretched, pressing a thumb to his temple and rotating it to stave off a headache. "It said it was bored, so I modified the seal a little."

"Interesting. Wonder if I should change your top secret classification," Minato mused, and Kushina gave him a smirk. "And did it confirm what Madara said?"

"It did," Obito said, pacing around the chairs. "And I think Kushina was right to make the deal. It didn't feel like it was lying. It even told us that under no circumstances did it want the Jūbi reborn, since that would kill it permanently. I guess it can't come back from being, well, melded together with the other Beasts."

"It's a shame Konoha only has the one," Mikoto said, pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning the blood off her hand and cheek. "It claimed what it told us was universal knowledge among the Beasts; we could try to speak to another to corroborate its tale."

"I'm not opposed," Minato said, "but I doubt Suna would give us access to Gaara." He got a signature distant look, the one Kushina knew meant he was running through an entire day, month, or year to see how things might turn. "Maybe if Yahiko agrees to meet at Myoboku, I could broach the subject there, though I'm sure he wouldn't agree. Rain does supposedly have three Bijuu now, after all."

"How's that going, by the way?" Kushina asked, glad to be back in the real world and with the Fox back in her core where it belonged instead of looming before her. "The Toads haven't said anything?"

"Not yet," he confirmed. "But I'm going to keep sending them until I get a response one way or another."

"Alright." Kushina took his hand. "You should probably sleep soon, hun. It's been a whole day and there hasn't been another attack."

"I'm sure Cloud is waiting to see how we react," Minato confirmed. "Obito, would you spend the night with the barrier team, just to be safe?"

"Of course, sensei," Obito said, inclining his head, before snapping it up. "But hey, actually, before you let your Sage Mode go, could you tell me where Sakura is? I've been trying to find some time to talk with her, but we keep missing each other."

"One moment," he said, closing his eyes, obviously feeling out the village with his sixth sense. Kushina tapped her foot, also wondering where Sakura was and how she was doing. She remembered her red face from earlier in the day, how she'd struggled to speak without crying, left without saying a word. Perhaps unfairly, her memories of how Naruto had told her that he'd been so terrified for her were stronger; the unabashed adoration her son had been filled with as he told her that while he'd been trying to save people with medical jutsu, Sakura had been leading rescue and recovery efforts throughout the burning city.

They were more tightly bound than ever, Kushina thought. She didn't really mind it; in fact, it was extremely cute, but it was obvious to her that Sakura and Naruto's fates were stuck now, melted together like much of Amegakure had been.

As Minato's eyes opened and he told Obito that it looked like she had returned home, Kushina hoped with the soul of a young romantic and worried with the mind of a wary parent that everything would turn out alright.

###

In the dark, Konan thought Amegakure looked like a broken ribcage. Ribbons of light and darkness stretched out before her, light where the city and its electrical grid were intact and darkness where it had been shattered. Half the city was invisible like this, cloaked in the night while the rest burned with feverish energy.

Rescue and recovery efforts were naturally ongoing, and they had all been working tirelessly for the last day to save whatever they could. Konan had been in a hundred places at once, sending messages and transmitting orders, while Nagato watched the skies and did the impossible with his ninjutsu and Yahiko coordinated everything from the CCCC, one man through which everything flowed and where every bit of disastrous information gathered. But now, out of necessity, they were gathered at the top of the tower, having dragged chairs out onto one of the balconies to look out over the city and talk and plan, the same balcony Nagato had pulled Team Seven up to more than a year ago.

For what felt like the first time in their lives, they were not in agreement.

"Despite your words, you won't take it as proof of guilt, Konan?" Yahiko asked, dragging her attention away from the city. Her only other best friend in the world, the man she loved, was curled up in his chair, one leg drawn up as he drummed his fingers on his knee. His face was empty, but there was an occasional twitch. The whole tableau reminded Konan more of Yahiko, the war leader who treated every loss as a personal insult than the Yahiko she had come to know, the gracious and ambitious leader.

"Not with Sasuke returning as he did," Konan said, leaning forward as Yahiko sneered. "Obviously, Team Seven being returned to Konoha is not what we would have wished, but Sasuke sending a shadow clone to inform us of Cloud's cannon and Orochimaru's actions has-"

"It means nothing," Yahiko grunted. "Orochimaru's memory jutsu obviously exists, since Nagato did not detect any of his falsehoods when he was interrogated over the years, so who is to say the information Sasuke was given was accurate? He could have been sent here solely to deceive us through what hebelieved was the truth."

He was grinding his teeth, and Konan couldn't blame him. Orochimaru was still in Amegakure, lending his aid to the recovery efforts. The man was a brilliant shinobi who was seemingly excellent in every discipline under the sun, but after what Sasuke had said Konan had several times found herself thinking of the best way to put him down. Someone without loyalty to anything but themselves could not be trusted.

"It is possible," Nagato said. "But that supposes that Sasuke was kidnapped by Itachi, who was certainly not working with Konoha given his actions, recovered by Konoha, brainwashed once again by Orochimaru, who implanted false memories in him both about Orochimaru being an enemy of both us and the Leaf, and about Cloud's cannon, the unprecedented nature of which certainly explains this attack, and created that shadow clone to return to us all in the course of, what, an hour? And in the course of all that, why would Orochimaru stay, as if nothing was wrong, rather than flee?"

He ran his hand through his long red hair and Konan gave him a worried look, seeing the exhaustion and despair he was hiding behind his clinical words."It's possible, but extremely unlikely. In this situation we must rely on the simpler explanations, not seek complexity. Lightning attacked us, using a method they believed untraceable, but which Konoha obviously surmised. We have not been able to get in contact with Katasuke Touno, meaning he has either been expunged or is on the run. Orochimaru is a snake in our midst, who Sasuke managed to outmaneuver thanks to his Sharingan. Assuming more than we know could end in disaster."

"It changes nothing," Yahiko hissed, his lip curling. "Orochimaru is just the same as all of Konoha, just as Kimimaro said; our greatest threat, regardless of the strength of Cloud's new weapon. Now that we have seen it, Nagato could deflect it without fail." Nagato hesitantly nodded in agreement, underestimating himself as usual. If he'd been able to divert six of the eight beams in the right way without any preparation or understanding of what was happening, Konan thought, there was no way he would fail again. He wouldn't allow himself.

"I won't allow it, Nagato," Konan said quietly. "To attack Cloud is a necessity, but picking a fight with Konoha is foolishness."

"It is them or us," Yahiko said, his voice so intense it put the hair on the back of Konan's neck up. "If we attack Lightning alone, the Land of Fire will stab us in the back. I'm sure their Daimyo has already made it clear to Namikaze what needs to be done. We need to strike them quickly, and so hard they cannot ever threaten us. We must break their backs."

"Yahiko-"

He wouldn't meet her calming tone; if anything he just grew more incensed, leaping to his feet and gesturing out over the burned city. "We have three Tailed Beasts, Konan! Three! More than Cloud and Leaf combined! And two with Jinchuriki loyal to us!"

"Fuu's loyalty is conditional on Waterfall's cooperation," Nagato said.

"There's no way Elder Eiji would want her back!" Yahiko laughed. "The trouble that would bring? And she knows it! That's why she has been happy to wait while we sorted everything out. She is well trained, and has mastered her Beast! Even if Waterfall is too cowardly to take advantage of that, we should not be!"

"And Yugito Nii? We agreed to keep her as a bargaining chip. Would you turn that back just a day later?" Konan said, and Yahiko waved her off.

"She could be made sympathetic. She was raised a weapon, knowing nothing but Cloud. If we appealed to her, she could align with us," he said, leaning on a railing and staring out into the dark. "Rain has always taken anyone who wishes to join. She would be no different."

"I find that very unlikely," Konan said, thinking that it was impossible but not wanting to frustrate him further, and his face twisted.

"It doesn't matter." Yahiko grimaced. "In the worst case, we could unleash her Beast in another country and make it someone else's problem. Even in that case it would be two Jinchuriki to two, and our shinobi are superior to any other in the world. If their Jinchuriki are countered, the other Villages would be outmatched, and as long as Nagato stays in Amegakure, our home is invincible."

As Konan started to speak, Nagato held his hand out to her, and stopped, took a deep breath, and deferred to him.

"Even if that is true, Yahiko," the world's strongest man said, "I cannot be everywhere at once. The Nation is more than just Amegakure, and there is no way for me to defend the entire country." He steepled his fingers and leaned forward, hiding his eyes. "If we assault the Hidden Cloud directly, they will make another attack, this time in retaliation. That's self-evident. If I am part of that assault, I will not be able to defend the city. Even if I am here and able to defend the city, I'm sure that by now Cloud has learned Amegakure was defended, though they may not know it was me. That being the case, they could launch random shots at the rest of the country." He licked his lips. "The loss of life… would be unpreventable, and catastrophic. Cloud must be handled with care until we know exactly where their Cannon is, when a surgical attack can be launched against it."

"If they went that far they would deserve to be slaughtered to the man, and we would do it," Yahiko said, his face contorting in fury. "We need to hit back. We could flatten their village and make it a mass grave. You could do it, Nagato."

"I could, but at what cost to the Nation?" Nagato said, and for a moment Yahiko didn't seem to have a retort. Konan sensed it was her time to step in; somehow, she'd become the voice of moderation between Nagato's defensive nature and Yahiko's bloodlust.

"We do need to hit back," she said, drawing both their attention to her. She stood up and joined Yahiko at the railing, tentatively putting a hand on his shoulder. "But a direct assault would be rash. Cloud's shinobi are elite, even if they aren't as many in number as Konoha, and who knows what other advancements they've made besides the Cannon? If Nagato leaves, the Nation could be decapitated."

Yahiko's hands curled into white-knuckled fists, but he didn't interrupt her.

"We need to hit back like Rain always has," she said, trying to keep her voice soft and direct even as a burning need for justice, revenge, hurt, raged inside her brow like a two-hundred degree fever. "By supporting the minor nations. The Land of Lightning is invading Frost as we speak; without assistance, the country will be overrun in less than a week."

"That's not-!" Yahiko said, and Konan snapped at him.

"It's deniable, Yahiko!" she said with gritted teeth. "And acceptable. We will bloody Lightning's nose, kill Cloud's ninja, and do it all outside our country, as a major Village should!" She blew out a breath, feeling like she was speaking poison but knowing it was right. "We will destroy Cloud with one thousand ragged wounds, not the same kind of attack they levied against us; trying the same will just result in mutually assured destruction. We will let them feel regret for what they've done for weeks, months, the course of a war, and then we will kill them and their wretched Daimyo."

Yahiko stared at her, shaking, as Konan drew back. "We will fix our own bloody mistake," she finished, feeling adrenaline coursing through her as she prayed for her love to see reason.

"And Leaf?" he eventually said, and Konan shook her head. Nagato was watching them, waiting to see where they fell.

"We will ignore them," she said, and Yahiko scoffed. "And they will do the same to us. We learned under the same teacher; I have to believe that Minato Namikaze is not so different from us."

"He isn't," Yahiko said. "Which is why…" He paused, considering his words, and then shook his head.

"You must accept his offer," Konan said when it was clear he wasn't going to continue, trying to make her voice steel, and Yahiko shook his head again. Toads had been arriving once every hour or two, begging to speak with Yahiko, for him to give them a message to take back to the Yondaime Hokage, and he had always sent them away without a word. "You must! If only so you can extract a guarantee from him, his word, that the Leaf will not interfere with our war against Cloud!"

"He would not give it! And a meeting at Myoboku?!" Yahiko sneered. "How convenient, to take me somewhere isolated, away from you and my ninja, alone with the greatest killer in the world."

"Minato is not that kind of man." Nagato spoke up. "Nor, I imagine, would the Toads of Myoboku suffer two of their summoners murdering each other at their home. If that is your concern, Yahiko, I would reconsider it with clear eyes."

"There's no point in it," Yahiko maintained.

"There's every point!" Konan said, her voice raising against her will. "Sensei will be there! You will be safe! And it will buy us certainty! Only a fool would refuse to meet with the Hokage, one of the most powerful men in the world, right now!"

"Are you calling me a fool, Konan?" Yahiko said, his voice deadly quiet, and Konan sneered.

"Do you think I would spare your feelings, darling?" she said, perhaps cruelly throwing the affection in his face. "Yes! How could any of us not act like fools, after what has happened?!" She threw her hands out, encompassing the city. "Pain makes you lose sight of everything that's not right in front of you! That's the nature of it! But please, step back!"

She gripped his shoulder, pulling him slightly to fully face her. "Take a moment and think, and then make your decision. Think about the Nation, our people, the Akatsuki, and what your decision will mean for them. And then, tell us your answer!"

Yahiko's face was full of fury, but he didn't break away.

For a full thirty and some seconds, he stared into Konan's eyes, his own darting around, small microexpressions emerging and vanishing as he wrestled silently with something deep inside. Konan held her breath, and then, slowly, Yahiko's hand came up and pressed against her cheek.

"I think," he said, cradling her face, "that you should go to the Land of the Frost." The other hand came up, warm and rough against the other side of her face. "I think you should take whatever ninja you believe you will need, and Fuu, and that you should lead them as they kill as many Cloud bastards as they can." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I think Nagato should stay here, in Amegakure, and defend our Nation's capital, but that we need to start distributing both shinobi and the command structure and government around the country, just in case there is a similar strike. I think the revolution needs to survive no matter what, no matter what happens to us or this Village or in Frost."

Another breath, and he opened his eyes. "And I think I will go to meet Minato Namikaze in four days. In fact, I'll send a toad myself, as soon as we're finished. By then, the recovery efforts should be close to finishing up. I will continue to lead them in the meantime."

"Yahiko," Konan murmured, relief washing through her like cool water and sweeping her fever away. "You're sure?" Nagato shifted, echoing her words, and Yahiko drew back, looking between the two of them.

"Yes," he said, crystal clear. "I'm sure. I'm sorry I got so… heated there." He laughed. "Having a sensitivity to injustice isn't a good thing, you know. It makes it hard to see clearly."

"I'm sorry I was cruel," Konan said, and Yahiko shook his head.

"You weren't cruel," he said. "Only honest. And Nagato, as ever, thank you for taking so much on yourself." Nagato nodded, a faint relief visible on his face as well. "None of this would be possible without you."

He bit his thumb and performed a summoning jutsu, and a small blue toad popped into existence. Konan didn't know the names of all the toads linked to Yahiko's contract, but she recognized it as one that had been sent away before.

"Oh!" it chirped. "Changed your mind?"

As Yahiko spoke with the toad, Konan glanced at Nagato. He didn't seem nearly as relieved as her, probably because as ever, the pressure put upon him was unbelievable. She slipped away to sit at his side, and he glanced at her, red hair falling past his eyes.

"What if Cloud overreacts to you opposing them in Frost?" he muttered. "What then?"

"Then we kill them all," Konan said firmly. "If that is the case, it will never end any other way."

"So many are about to die… and all for sensei's dream of peace," Nagato said, his voice still low. "I hope he will not hold Yahiko responsible at Myoboku. I don't think that conversation would go well."

"He won't," Konan said, squeezing Nagato's hand. "Even if he's a strange soul, Jiraiya-sensei is a ninja: I'm sure what Cloud has done is appalling to him. He will understand the necessity of striking back."

Yahiko sent the toad away, and turned back to them. "Was there anything else that needed to be discussed?" he said with an apologetic smile. "Not that we've had enough time together recently, but…"

"Nothing so urgent," Konan said, and Nagato nodded in agreement. "We'll find time for other business when we need it." She sprouted wings. "I'm heading back to the medical district."

"While you're out and about, could you tell Kimimaro I need to speak with him?" Yahiko said, and Konan nodded. Obviously, as an Akatsuki commander, Kimimaro would need to be updated as to the situation.

"I'll tell him," she said with a smile before swooping off and down towards the city. Yahiko's parting words trailed after her.

"Great. Just gotta make sure we're all on the same page."