CHAPTER 15

Naruto looked at his new clothes. The deep brown shirt was one size too large for him but the dark pants fit him exactly, albeit the shoes felt a bit worn but still very usable.

Kushina had said they were hand-me-downs from a late distant relative of Minato's who lived in Konoha; Minato had gotten a large bundle of the clothes and shoes from the stepfather of his distant cousin and intended to donate the clothes to the village's ravaged orphanage after washing them.

The boy tugged at the long sleeve of his shirt and screwed his lips into a thoughtful frown as he looked at his bare hand. The black spots on his palm and fingers, riddled up to his wrists, were a constant reminder of how hard he trained under Danzo's hateful stare.

Even now, the black dots on his hands—his burst chakra points from training—throbbed painfully.

They always hurt when he could see them.

He closed his hands into fists and looked around his assigned bedroom. It was a quaint room with mild yellow carpets that had been neatly furnished and rigorously cleaned, with a simple four-poster bed in one corner, and a bedside drawer close to the table with an electric lamp on it. There was a desk and a chair fitted on the other side of the room, having another lamp on it. At another side of the room, a few steps from the bed, was an open wardrobe with no clothes inside, only iron hangers.

Kushina had said they assumed Naruto would pack and bring clothes.

Naruto still felt stupid for rushing into the mission without much preparation in terms of supplies. He didn't even have his toothbrush with him. He wanted to console himself that the weapons he carried in his seals offset his idiocy, but that didn't help much.

She was nice enough to help him with a change of clothes and toiletries. She was still washing Minato's cousin's clothes, the ones they wanted to donate, so when they dried, Naruto could pick the ones he wanted. That, alongside his freshly laundered clothes.

He heard his hostess noisily move about downstairs, rummaging inside kitchen cabinets and preparing breakfast for him.

Guilt weighed on Naruto's head, doubly so when his belly grumbled.

I'm being a burden, he scolded himself heatedly. He looked again at his hands, and his training scars and he gnawed on his bottom lip, less about the pain of looking at them but contemplating whether or not to ask for bandages to cover them up.

The embarrassment of heavily relying on Kushina and Minato became too much, colouring his cheeks and cursing his stupidity again.

He stealthily padded to the bedroom window with practised steps. His footsteps didn't so much as make a sound, making it to the window and waiting, looking a little behind him to the bedroom door. He didn't hear anything shift outside his room, and the noises from downstairs tapered to low, pacing steps.

His fingers steadily moved to the windowsill, gripping the window and wincing nervously as he quietly, slowly, lifted the window—

Naruto's body tensed at the rush of murderous intent that overcame him. He remembered this feeling too, from three years ago when he first encountered Kushina during her retrieval mission. He had managed to stand up against her killer intent then, and he could still do it now, but he was reminded of his manners, as this was her and Minato's house and he was a guest.

"Don't try me, Naruto…" a low, grumbling voice said behind his closed bedroom door. A dark ominous cloud pulsed at the corners of the door, leaking in a little but not pouring into the room.

She didn't need to even raise her voice.

"Have breakfast, then you can go," Kushina said with eery coolness. Perspiration broke out on Naruto's brow.

Naruto clicked his tongue and pursed his lips, gently shutting the window again.

"Smart boy."

And just like that, the killer intent receded to the door.

He walked to the door, not bothering to conceal his steps, and threw it open.

On the other side, Kushina stood tall with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed at the boy. He looked up at her, meeting her purple stare with firm eyes, and then he sighed and dipped his head in apology to her.

The woman then smiled and turned around. "It's alright. You don't have to feel bad for forgetting your things. It happens to the best of us sometimes. Besides, you're our guest and we asked you to come; we'll make sure to accommodate you." She took a few steps down the hall, making for the stairs to show him to his breakfast, but she stopped when Naruto coughed into his fist, nonverbally calling for her attention. She turned to him with raised eyebrows. "Hm?"

Taking care to not show the scarred palms of his hands, he signed, "Do you have any bandages?"

Her keen eyes looked at his hands, then at him. Naruto pursed his lips and tucked his chin close to his neck, meek at her scrutiny and getting more flustered by his dependence. There weren't any bandages in the shared bathroom at the end of the hall.

"I prefer to cover my hands, you see," he pushed on, nearly blubbering in his embarrassment, before he was stopped by Kushina's polite giggle, waving for him to relax.

"I think we have some in the kitchen store—don't ask," she quickly added when Naruto raised a puzzled eyebrow at the location of the bandages. He also guessed that there were band-aids and a first aid kit in the kitchen too. "Cooking isn't as easy as you think."

He raised his hands in nonjudgement, remembering himself and dropping his hands before she could see his palms, but she already had.

Her eyebrows lowered and her eyes darkened. She looked back into Naruto's pale eyes and she saw his rigid posture, stubbornly tipping his chin up and standing with his shoulders squared, visibly toughening himself in preparation for her scrutiny.

The sight of a thirteen-year-old boy trying to look larger than himself and more composed than he was lightened her intense look, falling off her expression with a shallow sigh. The look on her face was sympathetic, not pitiful, and she smiled kindly, jerking her head to the stairs that went downstairs.

She wasn't going to ask, and Naruto was glad for that.

She waited for him as he closed his bedroom door and proceeded with her down the corridor, only to stop at a partially open door he hadn't noticed when he was first thrown into his bedroom.

The room had dusky orange wallpaper on the walls and a dull brown carpet. Naruto caught sight of a half-finished crib lying messily on its side, with other pieces of wood strewn by it. There were two boxes of screws and a screwdriver as well, set by the half-finished crib.

There were more boxes in the room, a shelf, a baby's carousel, a diaper changing station, an airtight waste bin, a small, flat mattress that was still in its wrapping plastic, multiple nightlights, and a dresser.

"It used to be Mina's study." Kushina opened the door wider, letting Naruto get a better look around from the doorway. "He's always procrastinating. He's a busy guy, I get it."

He didn't want to step inside.

He didn't notice the rapid pace of his heart, banging in his chest at the peacefully quiet atmosphere in the air. Even after showering and wearing clean clothes, Naruto felt filthy. Too dirty to mar the hopeful air inside the baby nursery.

His feet refused to move further into the room.

"I ended up working on the crib myself, y'know." Kushina laughed bashfully, scratching the back of her head. "It's not the best, but it's honest work."

Naruto took a half step back, almost bumping into Kushina.

The nursery, as incomplete and rough as it looked, reverberated with joy and light, and it stabbed at Naruto's chest like hot blades. He felt as if his presence near the nursery was bad luck.

He couldn't—

No, he shouldn't dare soil the brightness of their hope by entering.

The weight of blood and death on his chest wasn't letting him breathe.

"Naruto…are you ok…?"

Naruto's eyes fluttered, realising with the dryness of his eyes that he hadn't been blinking. He looked at Kushina and the woman's brows were knitted with concern.

He nodded with a smile. "Congratulations."

The previous concern in her emotional eyes was replaced by sheer joy, so bright Naruto almost squinted his eyes at her happiness. She swelled, and said, "Thank you." She slapped her forehead and jerked a thumb into the room, asking him, "Do you want to look inside?"

Naruto faltered at her question, visibly shaken and moving back another half step. Her brow creased questionably, but the boy flippantly waved away her apprehension. "Maybe another time. The bandages, please."

"Oh, yes." She jumped and rushed past him. He gratefully moved away from the nursery and followed her downstairs into the kitchen, waiting by the stove as she entered a smaller room connected to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a roll of bandages. He took them from her with a grateful nod, turning his back to her and steadily wrapping the bandages around his fingers, winding them around his hands and tucking the ends halfway up his forearms. It took him roughly ten minutes to do both of his hands.

She waited patiently for him to finish.

"Thank you."

"Any time," she chirped and pushed the bandages back to him when he gave it back to her. "Have it. We have plenty."

"I don't mean to impose—"

"By all means, feel free to impose," Kushina said with a genuine laugh. "It's not every day Minato has one of his friends staying over."

Naruto smirked. "Figures he doesn't have any friends."

Kushina cackled, harmlessly hitting his head and defending her husband. "He has a few good ones."

Naruto snorted, bustling past her and into the dining room. He sat behind a plate of five pieces of toast, a heavy serving of scrambled eggs and bacon, and a glass of water. He didn't question Kushina's portioning, simply tucking into his meal as Kushina sat down across from him, fascinatedly watching Naruto eat.

Naruto would have felt awkward if he wasn't so hungry.

He shamelessly stuffed his cheeks with food, piling eggs and bacon between two pieces of toast, biting down large mouthfuls and working his jaw to the limit on chewing the food.

Two minutes of silence passed and Naruto was working on his second egg and bacon toast sandwich, less starved and more aware of the room he was in, as well as the pictures on the wall.

There were pictures from his hosts' childhood and their genin days, including team photos and photos from when they each became jounin, pictures of Team Minato, and Minato and Kushina's wedding day.

Naruto smiled at the brimming smiles on their faces in their wedding picture, with Minato standing upright in his sharp black suit and Kushina holding Minato's hand, leaning merrily into her husband in her immaculate white dress.

His eyes scanned the walls and landed on a familiar face.

The photo was that of a weathered man in his late forties with shaggy silver hair, dark eyes with deep lines etched under them and a kind smile tilted up on his lips.

It looked like the man was staring directly at Naruto, who sat frozen in horror at Sakumo Hatake.

Kushina followed his line of sight, looking from Naruto to the photo, then back to the boy, though this time Naruto was back to normal, eating his toasted sandwich with gusto. However, there was a sunken look in his eyes and his jaw wasn't gnawing his breakfast with the same fervour as before.

"We would have loved for Uncle Sakumo to be our baby's godfather," Kushina said with a sad sigh. Naruto jerked invisibly at the pain in her tone, forcing his pale eyes down on his food and stuffing the sandwich into his mouth. Kushina smiled at the memory. "He was so happy when we told him we were engaged."

Naruto grunted silently.

Kushina glanced at him, then at the photo. "Are you related to Uncle Sakumo somehow…?"

Naruto held the last bite of his sandwich in his hands, slowly setting it on the plate and pursing his lips. He looked past Kushina and his eyes met Sakumo's. He didn't contemplate for long, spilling out in a short rush of signed words, "He adopted me when I was a baby."

The woman's mouth opened in realisation. "Oh…so that's how you knew his fighting style."

Three years ago, when Kushina and Yoshino Nara had gone to retrieve Naruto, he fought back like a cornered animal, using a Hidden Rain fighting style called Raining Thunder fist. When Lio had come down on Kushina and Naruto got distracted, leading to his capture by Yoshino, he managed to trick both Kushina and Yoshino, freeing himself and getting to Lio.

Then, standing over Lio's unconscious form, he used a different fighting style but was too exhausted to follow through.

Naruto grimaced and pushed his plate away. The seal locking part of his memories unravelled, and he remembered something damning about his childhood.

Naruto's eyes widened.

He knew where Kakashi was.

Kushina became frantic at his enlarged eyes, panicking and asking her guest, "Did I say something wrong?"

He gave her a fleeting smile and got up, trying to act normally by dusting his pants off the bread crumbs and straightening his shirt. Kushina got up as well, more frazzled by the second if she had offended Naruto in any way.

"I didn't mean to overstep—"

"You're fine, Kushina." Naruto held up his hands when she skirted around the table to usher him back as if wanting him to eat more food. He waved his hands again when she began to fret nervously. "You didn't do anything wrong. You've been perfect."

A short smile flickered on her face at the compliment.

"I just…rather…keep some things to myself."

"…I understand," she replied with a half-frown. She blurted out before any tact could prevent her from saying, "He was a great man. Your father. I'm sorry about what happened to him."

"I loved him so very much. The best father I could ask for…. I didn't deserve him." Naruto smiled. It was a sincere expression that reached his eyes, ridden with guilt and regret. Kushina clutched her chest at the pained look in his smiling eyes. "I'm sorry too."

He went to the sliding doors and opened them, nodding to his hostess as he stepped out into the backyard.

"If I don't come back early, can you please keep my dinner warm?"

A weak smile lifted Kushina's mouth. "No problem, Naruto."

"Thanks again." He flipped through some hand seals. He muttered the jutsu in his mind. Hiding Camouflage Technique.

The air bent around his form and he melded into the environment, shutting the screen door and scaling the fence.

He was gone moments later, leaving Kushina was a heavy, anguished feeling in her heart.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen looked up from the document he was reading as Minato dropped a letter on the Hokage's desk, which was sealed with the royal emblem of the Fire Daimyo, as well as bore the Seal of the Tsuchikage below it.

Minato sat down across from Hiruzen with a weary huff, slouching into his chair as the Hokage stared at his predecessor with heavy eyes.

Hiruzen grunted and brought out his pipe, lighting it with a matchstick and inhaling a steady stream of tobacco.

"Well?" Hiruzen prodded, sitting forward on his elbows and exhaling a smoke from the other corner of his mouth.

"The mission was a success; Iwa has surrendered, and the Earth Daimyo has agreed to foot the bill for all of the Iwa's war reparations to Konoha, and our allies." Minato rubbed his aching temple and said, "We've agreed on a thirty-year plan, among other things."

The Third Hokage raised an amused eyebrow, gnawing at the end of his pipe. "'Agreed'?"

Minato exhaled a short laugh. "It was either they agreed or Konoha keeps starving Earth Country until they're past the point of cannibalism, and for all of the trouble that daimyo and the Tsuchikage have caused, its well within our rights and our capabilities."

Hiruzen sat back on his chair, more so amused at the uncompromising words Minato was saying. "They've arguably lost more people than us in this war. Their country's economy is in shambles, and crime rate has skyrocketed."

"It doesn't excuse them from starting that damned war for no reason other than to expand their borders." Minato clicked his tongue, disapproving of the Hokage defending Earth country for their role in the previous decimation. It was a large simplification of why the Third Ninja War sparked off but that was a large summary of it. Still, he shrugged and nodded to the letter, bearing the two seals of the Earth Daimyo and the Tsuchikage. "Check the Surrender Treaty. See everything for yourself."

"I'd rather you summarise it for me. I'll look through it later." Hiruzen waved Minato's insistence away, making the Namikaze frown at the Hokage's dismissive attitude. Minato observed the Hokage patiently smoke his pipe.

"…The Daimyo agreed to relinquish all of his powers and the powers of his lineage to his Parliament, which we," Minato said, meaning Konoha, "helped set-up. The Daimyo is now a figurehead of a bygone era, and Konoha has a firm hold on Earth country's politics."

"Do the people know?"

Minato lilted uncertainly. "Probably."

Hiruzen frowned. "Them knowing could sooner or later cause an uprising among the people, trying to kick Konoha out of Earth country affairs." The Hokage's lips tightened and he hummed reflectively. "We can't have that…"

"We made sure that the members of their parliament were picked from their people. None of them can be linked directly to Konoha."

"It's a start," Hiruzen remarked. "Go on."

"We've conditionally opened trade for Earth Country." Minato crossed his right leg over his left knee. "Our people have those trading routes manned. Any sign of trouble, and we're shutting down those routes."

"You haven't said anything about Oonoki," Hiruzen said, his eyebrows knitted.

"That's the thing." Minato sighed. "The Earth Daimyo agreed to take all of the blame for the war."

Hiruzen's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. The pipe nearly fell from the corner of Hiruzen's lips. "What…?"

Minato, also irritated, said, "Exactly that. He said Oonoki was simply obeying his orders."

"Nonsense." The Hokage spat. "Oonoki would sooner celebrate his own birthday, than take orders from that Daimyo! He had everything to do with this war."

"I know." Minato nodded, frowning. Jiraiya's contacts, through Jiraiya, had explicitly spoken of the Tsuchikage's eagerness to invade Fire Country, and Konoha.

"Are there any direct consequences on Iwa?" the Hokage pressed.

Minato almost spat out a laugh, scoffing. "Of course. Konoha essentially owns their trading routes. Iwa depends on us, and not the Earth Country Capital, to stabilise their dumpster fire of an economy, and two-thirds of any missions they receive will be diverted to Konoha, and our allies."

"We have those animals on a tight leash. Good." The Hokage spat again.

Minato begrudgingly shared the Third's sentiments.

The previous war was a massive waste of resources, both human and natural.

Scores of people died, millions in ryu of property was destroyed, and lives were up-ended in the worst ways possible. All because Earth Country, and Iwa, wanted to expand their borders.

"Shikaku should have the mission report ready at noon."

"That's fine," the Hokage said. He idly remarked, breathing out from his nose, "You've had a busy week."

"It's been a busy week. For all of us," Minato said tiredly. He idly looked out of the window, peering at the Hokage's monument with a painfully neutral expression. "How do you manage to juggle this work and keeping your wife happy?"

Hiruzen chuckled deeply, a fatherly sound that made Minato shake his head in laughter. "It helps that she knows how important this office is." The man leaned on his desk and whispered conspiratorially, "Also, plenty of random date nights, massage coupons, and shadow clones. You'll find your rhythm."

Minato wordlessly bobbed his head, taking mental notes but still casting his eyes at the monument, fixing his stare on Tobirama Senju's stone head; he had been the one to greatly inspire Minato's repertoire, and even after death, Tobirama's writings were what Minato mainly took to heart.

Mainly to separate human compassion from doing what needed to be done for the good of Konoha.

The vice grip Minato, and Shikaku, had forced on Earth Country's throat was subjectively cruel and inhuman. Anyone not involved could easily take the opposing side to Konoha.

It was a construct that would permanently cripple the country and greatly depend on the goodwill of its neighbours, and this was just so that Earth Country will not pose a future problem for Konoha.

Minato's eyes hardened. It needed to be done.

The Third Hokage broke the silence. "No news on Kakashi…"

Minato slowly closed his eyes. "You're sure Danzo has nothing to do with this?"

"As usual, I can't say for certain," Hiruzen said, quietly tipping the end of his pipe into an ashtray, setting it aside. "My mistakes have made Danzo far too powerful, and dangerously secretive."

Minato opened his eyes and glared at the Hokage. "Yes. You were too lenient on him." The harsh look in Minato's blue eyes intensified, even as his face stayed perfectly even. "And very soon, Danzo and his secrets will be my problem to deal with."

"I'm tired of apologising, Minato," Hiruzen said with a sigh. "My mistakes in this office would become yours in a few days, and I'm sorry for that. I have enough problems getting Inoichi off my back; that boy thinks I had something to do with Kakashi's escape." Minato levelled his future predecessor with narrowed eyes, suspicious of how much Hiruzen was saying and how much the man was trying to hide his involvement in Kakashi's disappearance. The Third just barely managed to not bare his teeth, stating certainly, "I had nothing to do with that mess." He gestured to Minato. "You have had full access to all of the documents in this office, written and unwritten. Feel free to verify."

For the sake of a seamless transition from one Hokage to another, the Third had been steadily introducing Minato to the Hokage matters, and that included hundreds of documents and several thousand unwritten records. At that point, the public event declaring Minato Hiruzen's successor was a formality.

"If I'm in any way complicit, arrest me and put me on trial the second you become Hokage." That was how much Hiruzen wanted to prove his innocence to his successor, as well as how much Hiruzen wanted Minato to truly succeed him as Kage.

"Either way…" Minato said, delaying his words and casting a careful eye around for outside listeners, "a good friend of mine is helping in the search."

Hiruzen raised a curious eyebrow. "Do I know this person?"

Instead, Minato got up from his place. "Trust that I will handle Danzo when the time comes."

The Third Hokage smiled slightly, picking up his pipe and idly tapping it against the ashtray. "I'm sure you will."

Whether that happened the second Minato became Hokage or further down in the future, one thing was certain; Minato would usher in great changes during his time as Hokage.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Outside of Konoha's Psychiatric Facility, Naruto crept through the woods.

His byakugan flared and his lips turned down in a thoughtful frown at what he was seeing.

He saw old footprints in the grass, roughly covered over by time over the last week and nearly indiscernible if not for the subtle clues Naruto was seeing.

No doubt, Inuzuka dogs had caught Kakashi's scent and the footprints, but that had led them to a tree with residue of throw-up spattered at the base of the trunk. The vomit was again steadily lessened by time and animal activity.

Naruto frowned, squatting to the base of the tree and scratching his chin.

There were no traces of chakra in the footprints; the chakra suppressors on Kakashi had worked perfectly, but the boy wasn't a former ROOT for nothing. Surviving without using chakra was commonplace for Danzo's black operatives.

Naruto spread his right hand on the tree and exhaled slowly from his nose, concentrating.

He reached into himself, gripping his hammering heart and holding onto the link he had with Kakashi, the one he had been suppressing and ignoring for the better part of seven days.

His left hand coiled into a half-ram seal, holding it up to his chin.

He called the forbidden jutsu in his mind, digging deep and grasping the fragments of Kakashi's chakra he had stored in a separate section of Naruto's chakra reserves.

Ninja Art: Heart to Heart.

His breathing slowed and the world trickled into the background, and Naruto felt himself tumble deeper into his psyche, searching his heart and pushing deeper into his connection with Kakashi. His consciousness dove down, immersing itself inside Naruto's heart and using Kakashi's chakra as a tracking beacon.

It was a sensation similar to walking through a sandstorm, with the harsh sun beating down on him and sharp winds digging into his skin. Undoubtedly, Kakashi's father wouldn't feel too happy with Naruto using a forbidden jutsu to cement his and Kakashi's brotherhood.

Heart to Heart was a technique that permanently linked two or more people together. It was a blood ritual, of sorts, where each person involved would have to exchange small pieces of their chakra and blood, locking the exchanged chakra at the very centre of their chakra reserves.

It was a chakra pact first, and a blood pact second.

It was meant to be a symbolic declaration of brotherhood or sisterhood, whereupon the users would be deeply related by chakra, but the drawback was why it had been classified as a forbidden technique.

Aside from the risk of contacting a blood infection during the exchange of blood, but the technique transmitted a constant stream of panic and anxiety from the person feeling the tension to the other person in the chakra pact. Any little feeling of worry and fear one person felt was amplified and transmitted through the connection to the other person. Positive emotions were never transmitted, only the negative ones.

It was akin to having a constant alarm in your heart, which beat and hammered intensely.

Heart to Heart had been known to lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks.

Naruto was perfectly able to control the emotions transmitted through the connection, hence Kakashi rarely felt Naruto's emotions. As hard as Kakashi tried, he could not erase or control his emotions as well as Naruto.

Naruto had been able to control the feedback of emotions from Kakashi down to what he called a gut feeling. That was why Naruto knew Kakashi was feeling trepidation and anxiety before the Kannabi Bridge mission; a gut feeling. (Chapter 6)

Goosebumps prickled his skin, rippling up from the tips of his fingers and reaching his shoulder.

He pushed past the heat and the wind, and burst into a world that burned his skin.

Naruto's brow creased and he grunted.

Betrayal and rage, oceans and oceans of it as far as the eye could see.

Those were the emotions he felt from Kakashi, eating away at Naruto's heart and increasing Naruto's heartrate. He found his mind drowning in a sea of silvery Hatake chakra, and Naruto swam deeper, reaching down and nearing the intense source of hatred.

Where are you? Naruto called, shouting over the inferno of hateful bile Kakashi was drowning in. I'm here! Tell me where you are!

The sea of negative emotions pushed him deeper, sucking him closer to the source of Kakashi's emotions until Naruto slammed into a bookshelf. His nose was hit with a musty, stale air and he felt specks of dust on his fingertips. A large swell of grief poured from Kakashi to Naruto.

There was also the sickly, reptilian scent lingering over Kakashi's shoulder.

Naruto felt the banging in his chest intensify, and he yanked himself back before he could irreparably damage his heart, slamming his consciousness back into his body with enough force to make Naruto fall against the tree he was touching.

He didn't jolt in surprise when he felt Minato's presence behind him. The man had been patiently standing watch, propped against a tree.

"Do I need to ask how you got your hands on a forbidden jutsu?" Minato asked with a half-hearted smirk. Naruto's reply was an unamused look, as he got up and dusted his knee.

Naruto placed his hand against his clamouring heart, sliding down the tree and sitting down. He quietened down his noisy heart, deactivating his byakugan as he did so. He idly watched as Minato paced back and forth before him, his hands at his back and his face a mishmash of anxiety and impatience.

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Congratulations, old man."

The man stopped abruptly, facing the boy with quizzical eyes. "For what?"

"Kushina says you two are going to be parents."

A quick smile jumped onto Minato's face, and his eyes showed his gratitude. "She's been a lot calmer than me." He chuckled nervously. "She's even fixing up the nursery, while I'm run around doing the grunt work."

"She's a remarkable lady."

Minato was about to say something, but he screwed his lips shut and glared at Naruto.

Naruto sighed. "Yes. I'm stalling."

"I knew your compliments were too good to be true." Minato pointed an accusing finger at Naruto, and the boy laughed soundlessly, leaning his head back lazily against the tree.

"I mean it though; if you or Kushina need any help along the way, let me know." The boy then hastily added, "But just so you know, I won't babysit the kid. I like the idea of being a rich uncle, but I'm no babysitter, ya hear?"

"Oh, I hear." Minato wholeheartedly agreed. He didn't like the idea of leaving his future child with a criminal boss, especially not for extended periods of time. Following Naruto's prompt, he tucked his hands into his pockets and said, "Jiraiya's merchant contacts in Lightning are buzzing about Little Whirlpool…"

A smirk grew on Minato's face, mirrored on Naruto's, and the boy rolled his eyes. "I'll get you guys some baby clothes, if that's what you're asking," Naruto signed, admitting to Minato that he and Whisper Group were indeed behind Little Whirlpool, his textile company in Snow Country. He trusted Minato enough to keep this fact confidential, as nations and ninja villages would feel less inclined to purchase clothes from Little Whirlpool if they found out about their criminal investors. "We've been meaning to expand from winter clothing to summer wears, anyway."

Minato then groaned with gnashed teeth. "You're doing it again. Stop it."

Naruto laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Yeah, yeah. You got me. I'm stalling again."

Minato frowned, crossing his arms and looking down at Naruto. "Why? Where is Kakashi?"

Naruto wilted and his shoulders sagged heavily. "ROOT Archives."

"ROOT Archives?" Minato's face scrunched up in confusion. Understandably so. "Where is that?" his expression darkened at the implication of the existence of an entire library's worth of information and knowledge, separate and hidden from the Hokage's knowledge, which Minato was expressly privy to by virtue of being the Hokage's successor. He asked again, taking a firm step to the weary boy and spelling out his frustrations, "Where. Is. That?"

"…Shimura clan compound."

"Got it—" he made to contact the Hokage to mobilise shinobi in order to invade the ROOT Archives, only to be stopped by Naruto.

"You won't be able to get in with brute force, and unless you want Danzo to disappear, we have to be allowed in by an insider."

"Well?" Minato pressed impatiently. "Where are they?"

"He should be here soon."

CORE Operative Ten, also known as Tenzo, had known Naruto was in Konoha the second Naruto touched the tree in the forest.

Minato half-expected the ground to open and one of Naruto's ROOT insiders to appear, but the forest was still and the air was calm. The man looked around and tapped his thigh nervously, wanting to get moving as soon as possible.

His frenzied nerves dulled a little at the defeated look Naruto had on his face, slouched against the tree and with his eyes tiredly shut.

He realised Naruto never answered on of his questions.

"Why were you stalling, Naruto?"

Minato again expected Naruto to delay for time or not answer his question at all.

He expected at least silence and at most a non-answer.

He expected a lie.

He didn't expect the defeated look in Naruto's pale, sunken eyes to deepen.

He didn't expect the lines of sadness and grief on Naruto's face to deepen.

He didn't expect Naruto to answer his question with the utmost honesty, but the boy did exactly that, and that answer left Minato frozen on the spot.

Authors note

Next chapter is a side story.

That's it for this chapter.

See you when I see you.

Foy.