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Chapter Text

PART ONE

Chapter One: The Aftermath

Minato stood in the clearing staring at his wife’s limp body vaguely hearing a baby crying in the background. He knew he should be crying but everything felt so numb.

“Take Care of Naruto” were Kushina’s last words to him and remembering that he finds himself looking towards the crying baby. His son. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. Still unable to
move, he realizes he’s on the verge of collapse. He’s exhausted, hungry and the pain of losing his wife is slowly seeping in.

He hears foot steps approaching and he immediately jumps up ready to defend his wife’s body and his son. It’s hard to stand but he calls on the remaining of his chakra and picks up a kunai off the floor.

He looks up and sees Lord Third, Kakashi, Genma and Raido running toward him with worried expressions. Kakashi reaches him first and whatever look he sees on Minato’s face turns his worried look to horror.

“Sensei” He says shakily and reaches out to him.

Minato smiles weakly and drops the kunai, “Oh, it’s just you guys” he says before everything goes black.

——

Minato’s sense of smell is the first to arrive and immediately he knew he was in the hospital, hearing the beeps of the monitor right after confirmed he was right. He opens his eyes and and squints because it was so bright.

“Sensei, are you awake?”

He turns toward Kakashi’s voice, “Close the blinds”. He hears shuffling and then the room gets darker.

Kakashi comes back to his side and reaches for a glass of water and brings it to his lips. He drinks it eagerly before pulling away.

“Thank you. How long have I been out?” He asked looking around the room. He starts to panic when he doesn’t see Naruto. “Where’s my son?”

“He’s with some caretakers at the orphanage and it’s been four days, Sensei” Kakashi said quietly.

“Four days?!” Minato attempted to sit up and get out of bed. Kakashi is immediately there to push him back down gently

“Sensei, you lost a lot of chakra. You need to go back to sleep or at least get checked by a nurse before going anywhere”

Minato nodded, “Okay. Go get a doctor immediately then. I need to go back to the tower Kakashi, a lot has to be done”

Kakashi stands up to follow his teacher’s orders, “Lord Third has taken the Hokage mantle until you woke up. I’ll get a doctor to come see you and alert Lord Third that you’re up”

“Wait, I would like to see my son and I also would like to know why he’s already at an orphanage because as you can see I’m not dead”

“Of course Sensei” Minato watches as Kakashi flickers away.

A few minutes later, a doctor walks in with a clip board in his hands.

“Hello, Lord Fourth, how are you feeling?” He asked with a smile

Minato smiles back weakly, “I’m getting there”

“That’s good to hear. I just want to check your vitals and the chakra levels. If everything checks out you can be released today.”

“Yes doctor that would be great”

The doctor put the clipboard at the foot of the bed and comes closer to Minato with his hands glowing green. He scans Minato’s body for anything unusual and finds nothing.

“Looks like you just needed some rest Hokage-Sama. Your chakra levels are not one hundred percent yet but with food and a bit more rest it should be in a couple of days. I will go ahead and give the order to have you checked out”

Minato felt relieved, “Thank you so much doctor”

“You’re welcome, Hokage-Sama. I believe you have some visitors”

Minato turns his head and his heart almost stops when he sees Kakashi holding a sleeping Naruto in his arms.

The doctor leaves quietly and Kakashi steps forward and hands Naruto to him.

Minato looks down at his sleeping son and feels his heart in his throat. Tears start gathering in his eyes at how beautiful his son is.

“I never thought I could love someone so much” He says

“I’ll give you a moment with him. I also brought a change of clothes for you. I’ll set it here on this chair”

“Thank you so much Kakashi” He says gratefully

Kakashi nods and walks out.

When the door closes behind him, Minato looks back down at Naruto in awe. “I wish Kushina could see you” he whispers to the sleeping baby.

Naruto squirms a bit but doesn’t wake up.

Tears start to gather in Minato’s eyes unable to hold back at the thought of his dead wife. How am I going to do this without you, my love?

He takes a few moments to let his tears out while looks down at his son.

“I promise you Kushina, I will make sure he is always happy and strong”

He starts to wipe his tears when he feels the approaching chakra.

He hears a knock followed by his Sensei and Lord Third entering the room.

“There’s my favorite student. How you feeling Minato?” Jiraiya practically yells waking up his sleeping baby. Minato immediately feels his irritation flare. Naruto starts to cry and Minato’s first duties as a father begins. Minato looks up as he tries to soothe Naruto back to sleep and glares at his Sensei.

“Can you please speak with your inside voice around my baby?”

Jiraiya winces, “Sorry Papa Minato”

Hiruzen chuckles, “Are you feeling well, Minato? There’s much to discuss”

“Yes Sandaime-Sama. Please fill me in on what I’ve missed”

Hiruzen signes and sits on a chair near the bed while Jiraiya stands by the window.

“As you can see, I summoned Jiraiya here because of everything that’s going on. People are angry, confused and scared since the attack four days ago. They’re even more wary because their acting Hokage has been unconscious. There’s been some distrust toward the Uchiha because of rumors of them controlling the nine tails. We haven’t had a funeral for the deceased because we wanted to wait for you. We have started rebuilding, though but that’s about it” Hiruzen finishes with a sigh.

Minato takes a closer look and sees how much older his predecessor looks since he last saw him.

“Okay, I want an announcement made that I am awake and will resume my position in office. I would like a meeting with the clan heads this evening to explain what happen during the fight and eliminate this distrust toward the Uchiha. I would also like to call a village meeting after the clan meeting to clear that up as well. I fought the masked man personally and I can assure you he wasn’t associated with the Uchiha in the village—“

Jiraiya looks up noticing the play on Minato’s words, “Not associated with the Uchiha in the village so does that mean—-?”

Minato puts a hand up, “All will be revealed later at the clan meeting. Besides the heads of the clan I would like you to be there Sensei, along with the advisors and my team. I would like to set the funeral for the deceased tomorrow morning and also see the plans for the rebuilding”

Hiruzen smiles and stands up, “I will get to it. Everyday you prove to me that I made the right choice in choosing you as Hokage”

“Thank you Lord Third” Hiruzen nods and walks out of the room.

Jiraiya comes to sit on the previously occupied chair, “I’m sorry for your loss kid”

“Thank you Sensei. It’s going to be a hard journey without her”

“Yes it will but you will get through it because that’s just the type of person you are” Jiraiya says patting his leg. “So what happened to the nine tails? Did Kushina take him with her?”

“No actually” Minato lifts Naruto up and feeds a little chakra to his seal, revealing it. “I sealed half of him into Naruto and the other half into myself”

Jiraiya jerks up, “How did you survive that?”

“I was going to do the reaper death seal on myself but Kushina volunteered herself since she was already on the verge of dying” Minato pauses taking a deep breath. “She started telling me how she can already imagine the hardships Naruto would have to go through without both his parents so he needs to at least have one around. She did it before I can even stop her.”

“That’s tough kid. I know I’m always out of the village but I’ll be sticking around for the next few weeks before heading out again. I’m here to do whatever you need me to”

“Thank you sensei. I’m actually going to take you up on that offer right now. I have to change, can you hold Naruto for me while?” He asked

“Minato, I don’t know the first thing about holding a baby” Jiraiya says but reaches out to grab Naruto anyway

Minato chuckles, grabs his clothes and slowly walks to the bathroom.

He immediately turns on the tap and washes his face. As much rest as he got, he still looks tired.

I am a father now. I have to be strong for my son.

Minato quickly changes and walks out to see Jiraiya holding Naruto away from him.

“Uh, I think your baby needs a change of diaper”

Minato chuckles and grabs Naruto looking around, “Hm, it seems Kakashi didn’t bring anything else for him. I have to go ask a nurse for some diapers”

After quickly changing Naruto, Minato decided to walk to the Hokage tower instead of teleporting so his people can see him.

He gets a lot of greetings and well wishes.

He reaches the Hokage tower in record speed and ascends to his office.

Hiruzen stands up as soon as he sees Minato.

“Your chair” He says with a chuckle as he moved away from the desk. “Lady Uchiha took the liberty of bringing bunch of things in here for Naruto” Hiruzen points to the corner where there’s a baby seat, a diaper and bottle bag along with formula and toys waiting for Naruto.

“Thank you Lord Third” Minato takes his seat. “I will remember to send Mikoto a letter of gratitude”

“The meeting with the clan leaders is in 2 hours. Followed by the village meeting” Hiruzen confirmed

“Can I see the rebuilding plans?”

Hiruzen moves a few paper on the desk revealing the set up for the rebuilding

“The academy comes first. We want the students to start going back to school next week. Then it’s the local market fronts and food stores and civilian houses and Shinobi blocks” Hiruzen pointed out

“Looks good. Thank you Lord Third.” Minato turns to out Naruto down in the chair Mikoto brought.

“Cat” He says and immediately an ANBU is in front of him, “Please Summon Kakashi along with Genma, Raido and Ino-Shika-Cho”

“Yes Yondaime Sama” Cat immediately disappears after.

Naruto wakes immediately after.

Chapter Text

Minato feels the chakras of the summoned approaching as he feeds his son. He watches in amazement as his 4 day old latches on to the bottle of breast milk that Kushina left. Did she know things would go wrong?

The door opens and closes behind multiple people.

“You summoned us, Yondaime Sama?” He hears Shikaku ask.

He looks up to at everyone in the room. Kakashi, Shikaku, Choza, Inoichi, Genma, Raido, Jiraiya and Hiruzen. He quickly does a silence seal so no one but the people in the room can here him.

“What I am about to say stays in this room. I summoned you guys because you are the ones I trust the most in the village. I wanted to get some things out the way with you all first before the rest of the meetings” Minato says and watches everyone in the room straighten up.

“First off, meet Naruto” Minato says holding up his son. “The new nine-tail jinchuriki” He doesn’t stop speaking when he hears several people gasp. “I sealed half of the nine tails in Naruto and the other half in myself. Kushina sacrificed her life for me to live to raise Naruto. With that being said you all are people I cherish and I ask that you protect and help Naruto in any way you can. Don’t treat him any different because he is now the host of the Nine-Tails. The second thing I would like to discuss is the battle I had with a mask man while the nine tails wrecked havoc on our village”

“A masked man?” Choza asked

“Yes, I believe he is to be Madara Uchiha but I’m not sure” Minato said with a sigh

“Madara Uchiha?!” Shikaku asked, “How is this possible?”

“I do not know but I will be looking into it. I believe that he will cause great damage in the future and this is just the beginning. I want to be able to stop him before he does any more damage. I want to know his plan. I left one of my seals on him so I can teleport to him anytime which I plan on doing but I have to be prepared. The only people I want working on this is the people in this room. Jiraiya, after the funeral, I want you to go out and try to find as much intel as possible on this man and anything relating to him.”

Jiraiya nods.

“Genma, Raido, please continue as my acting body guards. When I am tied up, I would like Kakashi to watch Naruto. I am very pleased with your skills and don’t doubt that you can defend Naruto if the need arrives but I will also place an ANBU along when he is with you”

All three heads nods respectfully at their Hokage.

“Inoichi, Choza, Shikaku, you guys are my closest friends and have newborns as I do. I would like our kids to be friends and along with my body guards would like your help and figuring who this mask man is and his plan”

“Hai”

“Sandaime Sama, as my predecessor I will of course come to you for council because quite honestly as of today your previous council is no longer of use to me. Eventually I will find other members to add to the council. I know some of them are your previous teammates and trust them with your life but I ask of you that you do not share anything I have said in this room with any of them. That is an order”

“Why the sudden distrust?” Hiruzen asked.

Minato narrows his eyes, “The distrust is not sudden. There’s things I have noticed that I would like my village not to be apart of. I will have the proper conversation with the designated person”

Hiruzen nods his head and looks away already knowing who the person is. Minato is already shaping to be a better Hokage than he was.

Minato looks around the room one more time, “Any questions?” Everyone shakes their head no. “Okay, now I believe it’s time to address the clan leaders. Kakashi, can I place Naruto in your care until later this evening?”

“Of course, Minato-Sensei” Kakashi quickly grabs Naruto and heads out the room.
————

Minato sits at the head of the conference table and looks at everyone filling into the room. Fugaku Uchiha is the last to enter and the tension in the room increases immediately.

He looks over at the village elders and see their shoulders tense. Minato smirks a little already figuring the culprit of the rumors regarding the Uchiha.

Once everyone settles in, Minato rises from his seat and starts to speak.

“Thank you for meeting at such late notice. I know we have a lot to discuss so please hold your questions until after I say everything I need to say.” Minato pauses and watches as everyone affirms in agreement.

“Let’s start with the fight” Minato tells the story of the night his wife dies with no emotions displayed on his face. He watches the different emotions that play on everyone’s face and continues speaking.

“With all that being said, I believe the masked man is Madara Uchiha. I may be wrong. Now before some of you go up im arms about the Uchiha” Minato stops and glares at the elders, “I would like to remind you all that if it is indeed Madara Uchiha or any Uchiha, they abandoned the village there for abandoning their clan so the Uchiha clan has nothing to do with the attack that night. If I recall correctly I briefly saw them helping people out so moving forward, this seed of distrust toward them ends here. They are our comrade in arms and one of the founding clans of Konoha. They should be treated with the respect they deserve. Do you all understand?” Everyone but Danzo and Fugaku nodded their heads.

“Now on to the subject of the jinchuriki, I have sealed the nine tails into myself. Unfortunately as you all know my wife didn’t make it from the incident but she died a hero so the village could prosper and that’s what it will continue to do. This incident is not the last we’ll see of the masked man so always stay alert. He told me he wants to rule the world so I believe he will plot on other villages but I don’t know if he’s targeting jinchuriki for the tailed beast or if this was just an isolated incident. I want you all to share with your clansmen what you feel you must from this meeting and also have them alert for any signs. Eventually, we may have to partner with other villages because if my predictions are correct this may lead to the Fourth Shinobi War”

“War? With another village?” Koharu asked.

“No. I don’t believe this man is acting on behalf of any village. I think he is acting alone. He was trying to take the nine tails. So I think he may try to take other tailed beasts and try to control the world with them. If that’s the case then we will have to go to war with them” Minato responds

“War with the tailed beast and a masked man? That’s ridiculous” Danzo stated.

“I hope you’re right Danzo” Minato replied. “That’s it for today’s meeting. I would like to have these meetings once a month so we can discuss anything important so from now on the meeting with be held on this date every month at this time. Any questions?”

“How are you sure the Uchiha in the village weren’t involved?” Danzo immediately asked.

Minato sighs deeply, “ Danzo, if the Uchiha were involved they would’ve fought us while we were trying to restrain the tailed beast, don’t you think? Instead, they were helping both Shinobi and civilians to safety and risking their lives like the rest of us. There’s nothing to question. They are loyal to the village and that’s it.”

Danzo opens his mouth to speak.

“Drop it. If these rumors continue or is encouraged by anyone in this room, I will consider it treason. ” Minato says sharply and the turns to the rest of the room, “Any more questions?”

The room was silent.

“Meeting adjourned. ” Minato dismisses them and heads to the roof to address the rest of his village.

——

Minato found himself repeating practically the same words for the third time that day. He didn’t tell the civilians much about the attack except that it was a rogue ninja who has nothing to do with the Uchiha in the village and informed them that a funeral will be held in the morning.

After he was done, Minato turned to walk back into the building and found himself more tired with each step.

“I think you should take the rest of the day off, Yondaime-Sama” Genma stated as they walked down the stairs.

Minato nodded in agreement, “I think I will do that. I will need a lot of my strength for tomorrow”

Minato sealed his office locked and walked out of the Hokage tower and toward his home. He can feel Raido and Genma’s chakra at a distance behind him, watching his back. When he reached his home, he paused and took a deep breath, not ready to enter it without Kushina.

Walking in, he takes his shoes off at the door and continued his way toward the living room where he finds Naruto being fed by Kakashi.

Minato smiles at them, “How is he?”

“All he does is sleep, eat and cry, sensei” Kakashi says stoically.

“That’s babies for you” Minato says sitting on the couch next to him. “Thank you for your help Kakashi. I can take it from here”

Kakashi nods, puts Naruto in his arms and flickers away.

Naruto blinks up at Minato and Minato smiles down at him.

“I’m not sure I’m going to be good at this daddy thing, Naruto. I don’t know the first thing about it” Minato says to him. Naruto just continues to look up at him.

Looking around the living room, Minato can see traces of Kushina every where. From her sweater being on the back of the kitchen chair, to the book she was reading sitting on the coffee table. The dishes that she cooked in the evening before the birth was still in the sink waiting to be washed.

Minato can feel his anger toward the masked man flare up and feeling Naruto squirm uncomfortably forced him to push it down.

I will not stop until I find you.

Chapter Text

The morning before the funeral was a quiet one. Minato barely got any sleep throughout the night without his nightmares or Naruto waking him up. After a while he gave up. Now he sits on the floor by the crib with his head leaning on the side where Naruto lays his head. All he can do is watch his baby sleep.

If he had to guess, he’s been up for about 3 hours and the funeral doesn’t start for another 2. He should get up to get ready to lay his wife and the other heroes who sacrificed their lives for Konoha to rest but he just couldn’t help but think how unfair it all is.

People losing husbands, wives, cousins, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Sometimes when he thought of all the unnecessary violence, it makes him so angry that he wants to hit something. How ironic was that?

Avenging them all will be his duty. Losing his wife to this unnecessary violence lit a fire in him to not only put the masked man down and to stop whatever plan he has but to also push for a safer future so he doesn’t have to possibly watch his son die prematurely or have his son lose another parent.

Looking over at Naruto, Minato sighs and stands up to get ready for his day. It’s going to be a long one.

———

Standing in front of the podium, Minato held Naruto close to his chest as he looked out at his fellow shinobi and their families. Sad and grieving faces looked back at him, awaiting his speech.

Making sure the ear plugs are secure in Naruto’s ear, he takes a deep breathe and begins,

“We gather here today to lay our heroes and victims to rest from the attack that happened 5 days ago. Everyone here has lost someone they loved and cared for and for that I am sorry. As hokage, my job is to protect the people, shinobi and civilians alike and having to bury 103 people today, I have failed you and them. My wife is among the deceased so I grieve with you and one day when my son can better understand, he will grieve with you too. It will take us time to move on from this hurt but time is good for healing and as always we as shinobi of the leaf will persevere. Let’s not let their deaths be for nothing and continue protecting each other and furthering the will of fire. Now, for a prayer and a moment of silence..”

Minato bows his head and prays for the souls and then proceeded with the moment of silence.

When the ceremony was over and he stepped down from the podium, he spoke to a few people offering his condolences as they did the same to him. Naruto was babbling along with a toothless smile on his face and that seemed to brighten some people’s day a bit.

Returning home was a slow affair. As he walked up the pathway, he stopped and looked up at the house he and Kushina shared for years. Thoughts to look for a new place briefly crossed his mind but he pushed it back and decided he’ll revisit that idea after the rebuilding of the village gets done.

Walking into the house, he sits Naruto in his chair and goes to fetch his bottle. His eyes briefly settles on Kushina’s sweater for the millionth time in the past 2 days but he quickly rushes to the fridge for the bottle once he hears Naruto start to cry a little. He’s slowly getting accustomed to fatherhood and Naruto is the only light in his life keeping going. Everything else feels so bleak.

Reaching his baby boy, he pushes the depressing thoughts away focusing on feeding his boy. Naruto has his eyes locked on him as he sucks the milk from the bottle eagerly.

His eyes really are just as blue as mine. Laughing at the thought, Minato watches as Naruto smiles at him and he nearly starts crying right there.

After feeding him, he burps him as Kushina taught him and bring him to his bed room with him.

“How about a nap for you and daddy, hm?” Minato says while laying him on his bed. He proceeds to put pillows around Naruto for support then changes out of his funeral clothes and lay on the bed next to his son.

———

Later in the afternoon after a long nap and some food, Minato and Naruto find themselves back at the Hokage office.

Minato really meant to stay home for the whole day but being in the house for a long time felt suffocating.

Naruto was in his corner babbling away and laying on a big baby pillow, while Minato looked over some paper work for the reconstruction. To his knowledge, the academy is already almost completed, and his people are hard at work on the shop and civilian houses. Most of the clan districts were unaffected so he doesn’t need to worry too much about that.

A knock on his door interrupts his train of thoughts.

“Come in”

Fugaku Uchiha opens his door and immediately bows to his hokage.

“Hello Lord Uchiha, how can I help you today?” Minato asked politely.

Fugaku’s mouth twitched And he started to look uncomfortable which caused Minato to completely place the paper he was looking at down and raise his eyebrow.

“I wanted to thank you on behalf of the whole Uchiha clan for standing up for us to the elders and clearing up what happened to the villagers. It has decreased the tension immensely and my clan members no longer feel uncomfortable” Fugaku stated.

“Of course Lord Uchiha. The people deserve to know the truth and I just gave it to them. I’m glad it cleared up the tension” Minato responded. “While I have you here, I want to ask you if you could thank your wife for me for everything she’s done for Naruto so far. I could only imagine how hard this has been on her as well since Kushina was her best friend”

Fugaku nodded, “Yes I will pass along the message. She has been grieving and she did tell me to tell you she plans to stop by with Sasuke to see Naruto soon”

Minato nodded, “That’ll be great. We’re looking forward to it”

Fugaku turned to leave but paused at the door, “I am very sorry for your loss, Yondaime”

He walked out quietly closing the door behind him.

Minato sighs and rubs his eyes.

Does it get easier?

————-

As Minato wrapped up for his day, he lifts up Naruto from the floor and plays with him a little before putting him back down. Naruto’s childish giggles puts a smile on his face as he continues to seal and put his documents away.

Today was a pretty slow day. There weren’t too many people coming in and out his office. A lot of his shinobi are in the village helping rebuilding so missions are on hold for now. Those will have to resume soon to bring money back into the village so it can start thriving again but a few more days won’t kill them.

Another knock comes to his door and he smiles because this one he was expecting sooner or later.

Shikaku opens the door without Minato having invited him in and Minato rolls his eyes.

“You know, I could’ve been doing things in here that you wouldn’t want to see. Why don’t you ever wait to hear me say ‘come in’” Minato asks.

“Too troublesome” Shikaku simply says

“Whatever” Minato replies. “I already know why you’re here but go ahead and ask”

“If you already know why don’t you just answer” Shikaku retorts. Minato just looks at him

Shikaku sighs in defeat, “Fine. Why didn’t you tell the clan leaders and elders that the other half of the Nine Tails is sealed inside of your son?”

“Same reason why I made it a priority to make sure everyone knows it wasn’t the Uchihas who were controlling the nine tails. To stop the hate. I can foresee how they will act toward my son. After what happened I can feel that some people are hesitant around me because they know I host the bijuu so imagine how they would treat a kid that’s defenseless?” Minato answers.

“So I guess I should keep it a secret too” Shikaku states.

“I know you and the people I told will never say anything that’s why I told you all. While I have you here, I am planning on replacing the council with those same people in the room. Excluding Kakashi and I’m thinking about adding an Uchiha”

Shikaku rubs his chin and nods his head in agreement, “Not a bad idea to add an Uchiha. We need to show the village that they are trusted among high ranking shinobi”

“Exactly”

“I will make that change in a few months but for now things shall remain the same” Minato says with a sigh

“Yes, there are more pressing matters to attend to”

“Agreed”

Minato grabs Naruto and some papers to work on at home when he can’t sleep. The three of them walk out of the office and Minato makes sure he seals it.

“I have a feelings a lot is going to happen within these next couple of years” Shikaku says as he walks along side Minato toward the exit

“Yes, and we must prepare. Tomorrow, I will know where to start”

Chapter Text

The next night, Minato held Naruto up after bathing him to take a look at his seal. Feeding his chakra into Naruto’s stomach, the intricate work of the sealing jutsu appeared on his stomach. Minato intended to put his hirashin seal on Naruto so he can get to him whenever. It was long overdue and he really should’ve done it as soon as he woke up from the hospital. The mask man could’ve came back anytime and —

Minato paused in his train of thought and immediately put Naruto down. The Masked man has his hirashin seal. The full battle quickly replayed in Minato’s head and Minato recalled the exact moment he put the seal on the Uchiha. The exact moment.

This changes things.

Minato starts pacing up and down his bedroom while Naruto silently looks on.

The idea running through Minato’s head is dangerous. He shouldn’t risk it but thinking about that whole night and how he lost his wife, almost lost his son and his own life. He felt like doing nothing after recalling this information was not the best thing.

He momentarily looks over and Naruto and their blue eyes lock. He thinks about how Kushina will never see his son grow up. How his son will never have a mother present and makes his decision.

“Dog” He says. Immediately, Kakashi appears in front of him.

“Sensei” He nods in greeting

“I need you to watch Naruto for me” He says walking over to his baby

Kakashi tilts his head in question.

Minato sighs picking up Naruto and wondering if he should inform Kakashi of what he plans on doing.

Minato nods to himself and proceeds, “The man I fought that night, I placed my seal on him.”

Kakashi immediately understood where this is going, “Sensei, that’s suicide”

“Maybe. For someone else. I won’t allow myself to die for Naruto’s sake. I don’t know when I’ll be back but if I’m not back by morning tell Shikaku whats going on. Raido and Genma know how to get to me if I’m not back by then”

“This is a really bad idea, sensei”

“Kakashi, I gave you your orders”

Kakashi nodded in defeat.

“Alright, now I will be placing my seal on Naruto and then I will go”

“Do you even know how far a distance you can travel, Sensei? He can be in Ame for all we know!” Kakashi exclaimed

“Okay, well look at this as practice to see how far I can travel with this jutsu” Minato says shrugging a shoulder. He turns back to his baby and proceeds to place the seal on his side

“This is crazy” Kakashi says under his breath. Minato pretends he doesn’t hear him.

“Naruto has already been, fed, burped and bathed for the evening. You know where everything is. He’ll probably just fall asleep where he is and if everything goes according to plan, I should be back by the time he wake up in a few hours”

Kakashi nods and goes over to where Minato and Naruto are. Minato turns to go to his room and get his weapons. He goes to take his Hokage robe but immediately changes his mind. After securing everything on his person, he walks back to the living room.

“All right, I’m off”

“Be careful, Sensei” Minato states

Minato nods and reaches his chakra far and wide. In an instant, he was gone.

————

In a cave deep in the Land of Water, Minato appears right behind a man with dark hair. Wasting no time, Minato goes to grab him but his hands go through the man. Minato jumps back as the masked turns with a roundabout kick.

There’s a pause. The air is still as they stare at each other.

“Yondaime Hokage” The man says. Minato doesn’t respond. The cave is dark with only a small light seeping through.

“I would say I’m surprised that you used the seal again but I’m not. But I am surprised you used it so soon. You seem like a man that would have taken more time to come up with a plan. Unless you have one already—“

“Enough” Minato says silencing him. “The only plan is to kill you. To prevent you from doing to others what you’ve done to us”

The man hums in amusement, “You’re here to kill me?” He starts to laugh. “You hear that black Zetsu, he flashes in here to my territory thinking he’s going to kill me”

“How naive” A voice states coming from the ground. Minato jumps out the way before the tree-like figure takes a hold of his feet.

“Do you know who I am? I cannot be killed. I thought you were smarter than that” The man says taunting Minato.

Minato heard him distantly but didn’t respond as he was distracted trying to not to let the tree-like being grab him.

“Zetsu, leave us. I think I can handle him” The man says arrogantly

Zetsu disappears in a wall and Minato finally feeling comfortable placing his feet on solid ground decides to stand in his original spot.

This is not going how he imagined. But what did he really expect? For once he didn’t have a plan. He just went in blindly.

“The current hokage of the village huh? Who can’t even protect his students, his comrades or his wife” The man says disappointedly

Anger flares inside of Minato’s belly.

“Don’t you dare speak on things you do not know.

“Don’t I, though?” The man mocks him, “I’ve been keeping a close eye on the village. I mean I am one of the co-founders after all and with every Hokage that passes it seems to just get weaker and weaker. It’s a pity you didn’t die along with your wife that night but that’s okay because you’re essential to my plan”

Minato raised an eyebrow, “What plan?”

“I already told you, I’m going to take over the world” The man says with a shrug

“How are you still alive?”

“Oh you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that”

Minato lets out a breathe in frustration, “Are you really Madara Uchiha?”

Because there’s no way he could still be alive this long. It’s not physically possible.

The man chuckles but doesn’t answer.

Minato gives up trying to get information through talking and flashes toward him instead. He immediately punches him in the face, not wasting time. This time, the hit lands and sends the man flying across the room.

Minato flashes to him and goes to start a rasengan only to pause when the man turns toward him.

A part of his mask was cracked and had fallen off with his punch.

He can see his Sharingan glowing.

“You’re not Madara Uchiha, are you?”

“Black Zetsu, hold him” He said

Feeling the dark chakra by his foot, Minato goes to teleport to another side of the room. When he looks over both the man, and the dark chakra was gone.

Minato groans in frustration. He was so close.

Taking a deep breath, he decides to do some reconnaissance.

The cave looked pretty empty but Minato walked around it and tried to feel for any hidden passages. Not finding any, he decides to go up to the surface to see if he can figure out where’s he’s at.

As soon as he hits the surface, he knew he was in the land of Water. The air was so moist.

He wasn’t in Kiri. Looks like he’s a few miles away from the village’s entrance. Which rules out the fact that the man was working with them.

Deciding he has enough information and not wanting to be spotted in another land, he reaches his chakra out toward his son, and flashes home.

—-

Elsewhere, a man screamed in pain as a seal was being burnt off his skin.

Chapter Text

Minato was in his office at the Hokage tower bright and early as if nothing happened the night prior. He wasn’t gone for more than an hour and when he got back, he simply thanked Kakashi for watching Naruto and dismissed him. He knew Kakashi had questions but he had questions himself.

He stayed up late and barely got any sleep because his mind kept replaying everything that happened.

Who was the black tree like figure? All he knew was that his name was Zetsu and that he worked with the masked man.

What did the mask man mean he was essential to his plan? Minato will not willingly help the man with anything but he’s not stupid enough to think that the man won’t figure out a way to put him under genjustu.

A genius he may be but immune to the Sharingan he is not.

Sitting at his desk, he stares at the paperwork in front of him distractedly.

There’s just something about the man that’s familiar but he can’t place it. What can you place from someone with a mask and a dark robe?

He already ruled out the fact that it’s Madara. It’s not completely impossible but he highly doubts it. He’s about 98% sure it’s not.

Minato observed a lot while they talked and his mannerisms were familiar. His voice was deep but it seemed as though it just started getting deep because it cracked a bit while he spoke so was he very young or was that just how he spoke? If he is young then why was he already so jaded? What could’ve the Leaf done to him that this would happen?

So it seemed he was looking at someone anywhere between 13 and maybe 40? He’s not going to rule out that someone older may be doing this especially since Madara may be a factor.

Though, besides Madara, how many Uchihas defected?

——

Minato found himself down in the archives looking for the list of all defected and deceased shinobi. He had a ton more pressing paper work but he can’t help but think he’s scratching the surface of something deeper.

When he found it, he brought it back to the office with him and started looking through the defected list. Thank Goodness all of these were alphabetical because it’s a lot.

Which begs the question on what needs to be done so this list doesn’t get any longer but that’ll be something he looks at later on.

Immediately going to the ‘U’ section, he sees that besides Madara only two other Uchiha defected. Uchiha Keno and Uchiha Mikaro. They were labeled Madara extremist.

Minato rolls his eyes at that.

Continuing to read, he sees that they were killed by Konoha shinobi after attacking them. This was all during the Shodaime’s era.

Finding nothing more, he moves on to the deceased Uchiha.

He scans the names slowly so they can be embedded in his brain and pauses when he reaches Uchiha Obito. Staring at his picture, Minato sighs. Another one of his failures. He wishes with all his might that he could go back in time and save Obito’s life.

Sighing again, he goes to turn the page when something caught his eye.

Obito’s body was never recovered.

He remembers going back to the bridge after one of his missions a few weeks after the battle to check to see if he could find a body. He never did but he chalked it to it being buried too deep in the debris.

Minato’s mind was working a mile a minute.

Obito was crushed by the bridge, right? So there’s no way he could live through that?

The thing is, certain details match. The age range, the height because Obito might’ve hit a growth spurt.

Why use a mask? Is it because of a disfiguration or not wanting to be recognized?

Interestingly enough, the masked man only displayed his right Sharingan. Could it be because he doesn’t have the left one?

Because the left one was in ——

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. When he called for the person to come in, as though, he could read his thoughts, Kakashi walked into his office.

Chapter Text

Minato slowly closed the book in front of him as Kakashi walked in.

“Sensei” He greeted

“How are you, Kakashi?” Minato asked. He decided to pause his brain for a second to speak to his student and answer whatever questions he can because he knows Kakashi has them.

“I’m okay” He pauses and looks over at the basinet that Naruto laid in seemingly playing with his drool. Minato watches as Kakashi makes a face and chuckles.

“I know things have been boring with you just watching Naruto and not really taking missions but I hope you know it’s temporary” Minato states.

“Yes I know.” Kakashi chuckles a little. “I actually came here to ask you about what happened last night”

Minato looked at Kakashi for a moment once again debating if he should tell the truth. Because telling the truth may led to something they’re both not ready to face. But lying may only prolong the inevitable.

Sighing Minato answers, “I saw him and got into a scuffle”

“A scuffle?” Kakashi asks with a raised eyebrow

“Yes Kakashi, it was nothing serious. I didn’t get much from him and he ended up disappearing on me”

“What do you mean disappearing?” He asked

“Well apparently, his Sharingan allows him to swirl into another place. I’m not sure if it’s another dimension or just to another area but he just disappeared”

“That’s.. unsettling” Kakashi said.

“Very.” Minato replied in agreement.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it. I just did some reconnaissance in the area afterward but didn’t find anything of importance” Minato answered. He felt like he was being questions a little too much especially for his position but he practically raised Kakashi so he could let it slide since it’s family.

Kakashi stares at him for a second because stretching, “Well Alright. It’s my day off so I’m going to go do.. something”

“Anything but reading that Icha Icha book that sensei just released, I beg of you” Minato asked

“No promises” Kakashi replied before proofing out of the room.

Minato signed and turned to look out the window.

“Boar”

Immediately a man with a boar mask appeared in the room and kneeled.

“Yes Hokage-sama”

“I need you to summon Hyūga Asori, Aburame Kito and Inuzuka Tama for me. Tell them I have a mission for them” Minato replies

“Right away” He feels Boar’s chakra disappear from the room

————-

When the three shinobi he summoned appeared in his office, he turned to them.

He specifically called for the three of them because of their skills.

The Aburame’s bugs can go in creases and corners a human cannot imagine.

The Hyūga’s eyes can see chakra and old chakra signatures from long and short distances.

The Inuzuka’s nose can smell anything. Past and present.

“I’ve summoned you all here today for a simple mission. You will all be going to Kanabi bridge. Now that the war is over, you all should be fine. Kito, I need your bugs to go into the ruins of the bridge and try to find anything. I have an item for you, Tama, to smell and I need you to follow the scent wherever it leads only stopping if it crosses any borders. Asori of course will be the eyes for this mission. Any chakra signatures you can find in that area will be helpful”

“Is there something we’re looking for in particular, Hokage-Sama?” Hyūga Asori asked

“I cannot give you anymore information than that, for now” Minato answered, “This is a mission that will not be discussed outside of these walls. No details should be shared, not even the location to which you’re going. Am I understood?”

“Hai Hokage-Sama”

Minato smiled, “Thank you. Now, Tama, here’s the item. Keep it with you until you’ve come back”

The item was Obito’s glove that had fallen off during the battle. It’s the only thing that was able to be brought back.

Tama took it from him and sniffed, eyes immediately widening.

“Hokage Sama?” Tama asked. He knows Tama knew Obito and was familiar with his scent.

The look he gave her silenced her, “You leave at dawn tomorrow. You’re dismissed”

They nodded and left the room.

———

It took 9 days before the trio came back to the village.

Naruto was almost a month old and he was a happy chubby baby. Only crying when he wanted to alert him that he was hungry, smelly or uncomfortable. He drooled a lot. He’s never seen so much spit come from a baby and he’s always babbling.

Minato made sure to stay late in the tower each day the trio were out of the village so he could be there to receive them. This was the first official mission out of the village since the Nine Tail Attack.

He planned on resuming missions outside of the village a week ago but he delayed it because they were still doing fine financially so there wasn’t a rush and plus with all the shinobi in the village helping with reparations, Konoha was almost back to its former glory.

He was in the middle of playing with Naruto in his office when he felt their chakra signatures in the tower. He placed Naruto down in his chair, chuckling a bit at the displeased face he made from being away from his daddy.

When they requested permission to come into the office, he was already back in his seat.

“How was the mission?”

“Well Hokage-Sama we didn’t find much at first. I was able to find a trace of scent and we followed it until we reached the north most region between Takigakure and Otogakure” Tama responded

That caught Minato’s attention, “Mountain’s graveyard?”

“Is that what it’s called?” Tama asked

“Yeah, there’s a rumors that there are Ōtsutsuki ruins there” Minato answered

“There definitely were ruins of something” Asori answered, “I saw a lot of chakra signatures in the ground”

“I wasn’t able to pick up the scents of the chakra signatures Asori found but when my bugs went in, they found tree like white beings that look to be asleep” Kito added

Tree-like white beings? Was it like the black one he saw with the masked man?

“That’s not all” Asori said, “I was able to see a mass of chakra deep underground coming from what looked like eyes”

“We didn’t go any deeper because we couldn’t see anything else” Asori said

Minato nodded and furrowed his brows in worry.

Chakra signatures from eyes?

“Thank you. You all did well”

They nodded and walked out of the room.

Minato had a lot to think about.

First things first, Obito’s body was moved. Now , he could be dead and his eyes are being stored or he could be the masked man.

There’s so much to be concerned about. Were all the other eyes sharingans or other kinds of dōjutsus?

And the signatures of the white tree like beings?

What was going on?

He needed another brain on this to catch what he may be missing. He needed Shikaku.

Chapter Text

Minato sat across from Shikaku with a shogi board in between them. Both of their children were asleep while their father’s talked.

Minato already laid everything out for Shikaku and he waited for the genius to process everything.

Shikaku hummed thoughtfully, “So you think, the masked man is Obito Uchiha?”

“A lot of things point in that direction, yes”

“I agree with you on that but how can we be sure? If I recall, Obito loved his village. He sacrificed his life for his teammates and Konoha” Shikaku said moving a piece on the shogi board

“If it is Obito then I’m thinking someone might’ve turned him against us. Kakashi said he saw Obito get crushed by the boulders. There’s no denying that” Minato replied

“What if it was a genjutsu? What if someone wanted his teammates to see that?” Shikaku asked

“There’s no way. None of the shinobi they fought were even skilled in genjutsu” Minato answered

“I never said it was the shinobi he fought. It could’ve been anyone in the area” Shikaku said, “Let’s say your theory is sound, who could’ve taken Obito, heal him, pit him against Konoha and send him to try to take the Kyuubi?”

“Someone powerful” Minato replied

“Like, Madara Uchiha?” Shikaku said

“That’s what I’m thinking. The only problem is, how the hell did he manage to live this long?” Minato asked

“I don’t doubt there are many ways to stay alive longer than you should be. I mean, if the Nidaime can figure out how to bring back the dead, I’m sure someone can figure out how to prolong their life.” Shikaku pauses and watched Minato move his piece. “What we need to figure is what is the end goal? If what you’re speculating is true, why go through all of that?”

“The answer to that can’t be anything good” Minato replied. “Do you think they’re targeting Jinchūriki?”

“Possibly but we can’t assume that just yet. If these are two former Konoha shinobi we’re dealing with then we may just have a case of disgruntled shinobi who are trying to get revenge on the village for whatever reason” Shikaku answered.

“I’m thinking about sending a few teams back to Mountain’s graveyard. The amount of dormant chakra I was told laid underneath the ground is alarming. I need to know exactly what’s under there so we can know what we’re up against. I want to deal with this before it gets worse” Minato said

“Don’t be too hasty. It hasn’t even been a month since you battled the Kyuubi. We shouldn’t rush into this. These things can take time. Before planning an attack, we need to gather as much information as possible. If we can figure out the why, we can figure out the solution.” Shikaku replied

Minato sighed, “What do you suggest we do then?”

“Your plan to send more teams to Mountain Graveyard is a good one. If you let me, I will oversee it. It should be another reconnaissance mission. If the enemy is there then we try to get as much information on them as possible and then come back. From there we can see if we should move forward with an attack” Shikaku answered, “I think you’re too emotionally involved in this”

Minato’s eyes narrowed, “Are you questioning my ability to lead?”

Shikaku shook his head, “No, but you can’t deny, if someone else’s student who they thought died is back to life and wrecking havoc, you wouldn’t send them in the mission”

Minato nodded, “Alright, I see your point. You’re in charge of this. You’ll oversee what needs to be done but it goes without saying to always run everything by me first”

Shikaku smirked, “Of course. Now can we finish this game?”

“I’m over it. You’re winning anyway” Minato said smiling

“Who knew the Yondaime Hokage was a sore loser” Shikaku teased

Minato just rolled his eyes.

———

The following morning, two anbu squads along with the previous team consisting of the Hyūga, Inuzuka and Aburame stood in the Hokage’s office along with Shikaku as he briefed them on their mission. Shikaku explained in detail what he wanted each team to do and what should be expected of the mission.

Minato sat back and did some paper work as he listened to what Shikaku explained to the teams.

He already knew the plan as Shikaku ran it by him an hour before the teams came in.

The Trio consisting of the Inuzuka, Hyūga and Aburame will be the head of the mission. They will lead the way and when they got to Mountain’s Graveyard, They will go in with Anbu Squad One as back up in case the masked man or an ally is there. They will go underneath any layer to find anything they can. While they do that, Anbu Squad Two will wait outside and fend off any incoming threats. If a fight does happen to break out with either party, they are to defend and escape.

The teams were to leave right away because the mission would take time. Minato wasn’t expecting them back for another two weeks and will only send another squad after them if they aren’t back after three weeks.

When the room emptied out, Shikaku turned to Minato, “I’m surprised you didn’t say anything”

Minato scoffed, “I told you I would leave it to you, right? I know how to separate my emotions from the mission, Shikaku. I didn’t let you take over just because I’m ‘emotional involved’ as you put it but more so I can have one less thing off my plate. A lot has happened in a few short weeks”

Shikaku waved a hand, “Yeah yeah, I know. How much of a success rate do you think this mission will be?”

Minato shrugged, “Hopefully 100.”

Shikaku hummed, “I think it will have less than 50% success rate”

“What, why?”

“You really don’t think, with everything that’s down there that it’ll be left unattended for long. It’s only by chance that no one was there the first time” Shikaku said

Minato sighed, “You have a point”

“They are Konoha shinobi and I hand picked some of the best Anbu. I may be wrong”

Shikaku was rarely wrong.

Chapter Text

Minato decided to always take one day out of the week off to spend time with Naruto. Even though Naruto was a newborn babe, Minato always thought ahead and chose a day when he knew Naruto would be off when he got to the academy. The academy allowed two days off a week so he chose one of those days as Father-Son day indefinitely.

That day was today. Minato left Shikaku and his assistant to handle anything that needed to be done while he cuddled up on the couch with his son.

The day started as any other. Minato got up, checked on Naruto who was still asleep and then he went and showered. He got ready for the day, dressing up in lounging clothes instead of his Jounin vest and Hokage robes. He made breakfast for himself and warmed up a bottle for Naruto. While he waited for the bottle to cool off, he went into Naruto’s room just as he was waking up. Giving his son a kiss, he got him ready for the day, changing his diaper and putting on a frog print onesie. He went back to the kitchen and fed Naruto first, then burped him and sat him on his lap while he ate his own breakfast.

Afterward, he sat on the couch with a baby book while Naruto sat on his lap. He read to Naruto even though he knew Naruto didn’t know what was going on. Naruto kept his eyes on the book attentively as if he did and Minato briefly wondered if Naruto would be a genius like he was.

After reading, Minato laid on the couch, while Naruto laid on his chest and they took a short nap.

When it was nearing lunch time, Minato woke up and made a small lunch for himself and heated Naruto’s bottle. Naruto was going to get hungry soon and he just hopes Naruto can wait until they got to their destination. They were going to have a picnic today.

He threw his shoes on, put Naruto in his baby carrier and grabbed everything he would need in the next couple of hours and headed out the door.

They were going to the outskirts of the village, to Minato’s favorite training spot. It was one of the places where he can practice any jutsu without ever getting interrupted because not many shinobi venture in the area.

The sun was high in the sky by the time they got to the field so Minato quickly found a good spot underneath a tree with a lot of shade.

He opened the blanket, unwrapped Naruto from the carrier and placed him on it. Naruto looked around interest probably recognizing that he’s never been there before.

Minato laid everything else on the blanket and then sat down himself. He reached for Naruto and then for his bottle. Naruto greedily sucked on the bottle like he was being starved. Sometimes, he wondered if he over fed Naruto because his baby was so chunky. What was in the milk that made the babies love it so much?

The breast milk that Kushina pumped in the bottles lasted about a week before he had to start using formula and Naruto was not happy about that. Minato recalled the fight that Naruto put up because he would not accept the new milk. He was so frustrated and Naruto wouldn’t stop crying that day. Minato almost cried himself because he didn’t know what to do but eventually Naruto got hungry enough to just begrudgingly accept the new milk he was given.

Needless to say, He was late for work that morning.

Now, sitting in the field, he can’t help but feel a little sad. Kushina knew he used this field often whether to train or to just take a break from everything and they would have picnics there often. The last time they had a picnic in the field was two weeks before Kushina gave birth. She kept going on and on about keeping the tradition and coming here with Naruto once he’s born and as he got older.

Now here he was with their son while she is buried underneath the ground.

Minato sighed and shook himself out of the sadness. He was spending time with his son, his only source of happiness these days.

He pulled the bottle from Naruto when he noticed that he was sucking much anymore and proceeded to burp him.

He ate his own lunch, while Naruto laid on the blanket babbling away.

——

Minato started walking back home when the sun started to set. He decided to take the long way home because they would pass the memorial and Kushina’s grave. He hasn’t been to the grave site since the burial and although, he still wasn’t ready, he felt he’s been away long enough.

He stops by the Yamanaka flower shop and picked up carnations because they symbolized someone missing another and Gardenias because they were her favorites.

When he arrived at her burial site, he took a deep breath and sat in front of it. Naruto looked around and Minato adjusted him so he was facing the grave.

“Kushina, I don’t know if you can hear me but wherever you are, I am so sorry” Minato paused and let out a shuddering breath, “You should’ve been the one here with Naruto. You deserve it more. To know your son. He’s wonderful, Kushina. He talks a lot, not sure what he’s saying but sometimes he gets so loud, I can already see him taking after your personality.” He chuckles. “He doesn’t cry much unless of course he’s hungry, cranky or needs to changed. He a happy baby. I can’t wait to see him laugh for the first time. I wish you guys could’ve gotten to know each other. There’s certain things I won’t be able to do for him that only you can. I miss you so much, my love. I wish you were here with us”

Minato stood up and wiped his pants.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come but I promise I won’t take that long again. Until next time, love. I think Naruto is getting sleepy” Minato looks at his son. Naruto eyes were a bit red and he looked like he was trying to fight his sleep.

Minato chuckles. He takes one last look at Kushina’s grave and turns to leave the memorial grounds.

Chapter Text

Shikaku was right.

When the mission was over, only two members of Anbu returned to the village.

It was early in the morning when there was a knock at his residence. He was just waking up and barely had gotten out of bed. When he answered the door, Shikaku stood on the opposite side with a grim look on his face.

Arriving at his office an hour later, the two Anbu members from Squad One, stood there awaiting orders.

“Mission report”

“We arrived at Mountain’s Graveyard in two days time and went into the cave. Hyūga Asori activated his Byakugan and told us that he couldn’t see anything he saw before. The cave was completely empty” Dragon said

Minato’s face didn’t reflect that shock feeling he felt, “Completely empty?”

“Yes Yondaime-Sama. We ventured deeper into the cave and into its lower regions but it was completely wiped clean. The only thing Aburame Kito’s bugs could find was old chakra signature. As we headed back out of the cave after the search, we heard an explosion so we went to see what was wrong. A man in a mask and a half black, half white tree like being were fighting the rest of the group. The Hyūga and Inuzuka was already dead when we got there. We engaged the enemies in battle but the one in the mask easily took us down. When we tried to hit him, our hands went through him just as Shikaku-San said. The fight lasted almost two hours. I heard him tell the other being that he was running low on chakra and that they needed to retreat but at that point everyone else besides myself and falcon was taken out.” Dragon finished

Minato shared a look with Shikaku.

“Thank you Dragon. Both of you go see a medic before heading home. That’s an order” Minato states. He watches as the Anbu walks out of the room.

“They anticipated this” Shikaku said

Minato felt a rush of frustration invade him and slammed his hand on the desk.

“Damn it” Minato yells. Naruto immediately started crying.

“Don’t lose your cool now, Yondaime” Shikaku said

Minato scowls but grabs Naruto and tries to calm him down. He knows he startled him with Naruto not being used to loud noises.

“They must’ve had some kind of jutsu in place to let them know when people visit the area because how else could they have known we’ve already been there?” Minato asked. “We lost our only lead” Minato gently bounced Naruto up and down in his arms as he spoke softly. Naurto had stopped crying but was still sniffling very loudly.

“I know. Unless he shows up again somewhere, we won’t be able to track him again especially with his abilities” Shikaku replied.

“So we just wait until he shows back up? That could be years” Minato said

“What else do we suggest we do? We can’t send our shinobi around the nations blindly”

Minato took a deep breath.

“Thank you for your counsel, Shikaku. Can you please give me a moment with my son?” Minato asked.

Shikaku nodded and walked out of the room.

——

Minato quickly reigned in his anger and turned his attention to his son.

Naruto was just in his diapers today because every time he would try to put something on him, Naruto would fuss so he left it alone.

He looked at Naruto’s seal that held the kyuubi, a seal that matched his exactly.

When he told Kushina his idea about using the reaper death seal, she immediately scolded him for trying to leave the baby alone. She wanted to take the nine tails with her to her death but he would only manifest again so they both agreed it would be better to seal him somewhere else. She was upset when she suggest Naruto as a vessel. After explaining his plan to her, she understood and accepted, showing Minato a seal to split up the nine tail chakra and put it in them both since she didn’t think a baby couldn’t handle all that malevolent chakra.

Minato has every intention on Naruto eventually learning how to use the nine tails chakra to fight the masked man and help the shinobi world but now it looks like they are both going to be taking on the challenge.

Only someone who can control the nine tails chakra can truly save the shinobi world and be ready for what’s to come. He doesn’t want Naruto involved in this fight but they’re family are shinobi and he knows eventually he will have to send Naruto off on mission and possibly even to war.

The masked man isn’t a regular foe who just hits you head on, he’s someone that’s instigating things in the shadows which makes things worse.

It’s not like he could partner with other Kages and their villages because as Shikaku stated it’s not a threat to their villages yet and he couldn’t go to them with a hunch of something that may not even happen. Especially when things were still fragile between them right now.

He has no choice but to wait until the masked man made his move once more and try to face him then. He just hopes that he’s ready.

Chapter Text

PART TWO

SEVEN YEARS LATER

Minato stood by the window facing his Anbu with his arms crossed.

“You’re telling me, a seven year old evaded some of the most skilled people in the village. Please tell me you understand how that doesn’t make any sense” Minato said. He was torn between being annoyed and being amused

Dragon stepped forward, “We’re sorry, Yondaime-Sama but your son is very fast”

Minato sighed, “I’m fast, Dragon. Naruto isn’t even near my level yet”

“With all due respect, Yondaime-Sama but Naruto-san is a tiny being, he can fit places we can’t” Sparrow said

“For Kami sake, you’re anbu. You can carry out an assassination mission just fine but can’t catch a seven year old” Minato sighed. “You’re dismissed.”

He waited 5 minutes until after he couldn’t feel their chakra signatures near the Hokage Tower before calling out to his son.

“You can come out now, Naruto”

The door behind the entrance of the office opened and his son walked out with a big grin on his face.

“Thanks dad” He said holding a can of red paint in his hand. He had paint all over his clothes again.

“Naruto, stop ruining your clothes, please”

Naruto looked down sheepishly, “Sorry dad”

Minato sighed and shook his head, “Good job hiding your chakra signature. You’re getting better”

Naruto beamed at him. Minato didn’t approve of Naruto causing a ruckus around the village and painting the Hokage mountain but he was a seven year old who needed to move around. He figured he can make Naruto train and teach him a few things while he drove his anbu crazy.

“You still have to clean the tower, though.” He watched as Naruto’s whole demeanor change. “And how many time do I have to tell you, orange does not look good on me”

Naruto laughed at his father, “Yeah but it looks good on me”

“You realize you look like me right?” Minato asked. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. “Alright alright, go clean the tower. I’ll see you at dinner. Don’t forget the Uchihas are coming over”

Naruto smiled at him, “Bye dad”

Minato watched as he ran out the door, red paint dripping behind him. He shook his head and smiled before getting back to his paper work.

—-

When he got home that day, he quickly cleaned the living room and kitchen and started cooking before his guests arrived.

Over the years, his relationship with the Uchihas had strengthened. Unlike previous leaders, he made sure to listen and take care of the Uchihas concerns and it doesn’t hurt that Mikoto practically adopted Naruto as her God child so now her youngest son Sasuke and Naruto are best friends. If Naruto wasn’t with the Uchihas or wrecking havoc around the village while he was working then he could find him with Shikamaru. And since the 16th generation Ino-Shika-Cho were forming, the three were practically inseparable so them plus Naruto and Sasuke would always be hanging somewhere in the village.

This is the life he wanted for Naruto. A life where he was happy, healthy and full of life. Things could’ve been different if he perished alongside Kushina.

The door opened, making Minato shake away from his thoughts.

“Naruto, is that you?” Minato yelled toward the entrance.

“Yeah dad. Sasuke’s with me too” Naruto said walking in to the kitchen with Sasuke in tow

“Oh, hi Sasuke. How was your day, boys?” Minato asked.

Sasuke blushes shyly, “Hi, Yondaime-sama”

“Sasuke, I already told you when we aren’t in the office, just call me Minato” Minato said exasperatedly. Between him and Itachi, he’s had to repeat this several times.

Naruto laughed at Sasuke’s expense and Sasuke turned to glare at him.

“Sorry, Minato-ojisan”

Minato smiled at him and turned to Naruto who was trying to sneak some cookies.

“No snacks before dinner or else I’m forcing you to help me cook” Minato said coolly.

Naruto groaned putting the package of cookies away.

“Go set the table in the meantime” Minato ordered Naruto. Naruto pouted but headed to the dining room with Sasuke following him.

About an hour later, dinner was ready just as his guest started arriving.

———

Dinner was a relaxed affair. Besides Minato and the boys, Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi and Kakashi sat at the table with them. Because their sons were friends, Mikoto insisted on a biweekly dinner with both families. Kakashi usually joined them if he wasn’t on a mission and because he’s family.

They briefly discussed politics, missions and the boy’s school work at the academy. They just started attending that year and from what his son tells him, the school work is hard. Naruto is naturally a slacker so he wasn’t concerned about his complaints.

Itachi didn’t say much. Besides being around his family and his best friend Shisui, he usually keeps to himself. He’s out the village more often then not because he’s in Anbu. Minato wasn’t quite happy with the decision of putting him in anbu when Fugaku requested it but he relented because Itachi was a very talented shinobi. The main reason why he even said yes is because Kakashi was still in anbu and that meant he could put them on the same squad.

Things in the village were calm and they got a lot of mission requests so the village was thriving and for the time being it was peaceful. The masked man hadn’t made any moves against Konoha since the Nine Tails Attack and although he’s grateful for it, he had a feeling of dread in the back of his mind that he couldn’t get rid of. It’s almost like thing were... too good.

He feels guilty when he thinks that because the goal is for things to be peaceful but the man’s words haunted him to the point of being in his dreams.

When dinner was over, Itachi and Kakashi left to get ready for a mission they were leaving for that night, Naruto and Sasuke went up to Naruto’s room to get ready for bed since Sasuke would be spending the night and Minato, Mikoto and Fugaku moved to living room with some tea to drink.

“So the anniversary is coming up soon,” Mikoto started as they sat down. “Have you been planning for it?”

“Yeah.. no. But the council is handling it. Speaking of which, I’m thinking about replacing them” Minato replied

A look of shocked crossed the Uchihas faces.

Then Mikoto laughed, “It’s about time”

Minato nodded in agreement, “Yeah, they’re too stuck in their old ways. I’m thinking about making a new law that when a new Kage gets elected that they have an option to keep the council from the previous Kage or get a new one.”

“Danzo will not be happy” Fugaku said

“I’ll deal with Danzo. Has Itachi said anything else about being approached by him?” Minato asked

“No, he hasn’t”

“I still don’t have concrete evidence that root still exist so I can’t do anything about that” Minato sighed

“There’s always something huh? I don’t envy you, Yondaime-Sama” Mikoto said jokingly. “But you do need to get some rest, so we’re going to take our leave. We can discuss this another time, hmm?”

“Alright” Minato stood up, “I’ll get Sasuke so you can say goodbye”

After all the goodbyes were said, Minato made hot chocolate for the boys and made them promise to not stay up too late before going to bed himself. He wasn’t too worried about them staying up because he knew if anything, Sasuke would fall asleep soon and Naruto will have no choice but to follow.

————-

Minato stood in front of his son as he watched the Kyuubi getting from him. He tried to move to get him but for some reason he couldn’t. He was bound. He heard someone laugh and when he looked over, he saw the masked man looking at him in pity.

“You’re pathetic. You couldn’t save your wife and now you can’t even save your son” He said. “You couldn’t even save me”

The mask turned into Obito’s face.

Minato felt his heart rate pick up and looked down at the ground trying to think of a strategy.

“Minato, you need to go”

He snapped his head up to see Kushina in front him.

“You need to go now Minato” She said urgently

“I can’t move, Kushina, I’m useless. He’s right, I couldn’t save—“

“MINATO, WAKE UP” Kushina yelled.

Minato sat up abruptly, his heart racing out of his chest. The hair on the back of his neck were raised and a chill went through him.

He decided to get up to walk the anxiety off and get a glass of water.

As he reached the kitchen, he felt someone pass the wards he kept at the entrance of his house.

Curious, he went to the door immediately and saw one of his anbu standing at the entrance.

“What is it, Eagle?” He asked feeling the sense of dread return.

“The Uchihas have been massacred”

Chapter Text

Minato smelled the blood before he reached the compound. Upon arriving, the scent increased tenfold. It took everything in him to not turn around and go back to his home. As Hokage he knew he couldn’t do that, as a shinobi he knew he had to endure but as a human being, this was too much.

He had no words.

There was blood on the grass, the concrete, on the homes and even the trees. Some of the bodies laid outside of their homes, probably in an attempt to flee or fight.

Several anbu and shinobi were already there including Shikaku who landed next to him as he took in the carnage.

“How did this happen?!” Minato asked breathlessly

“We aren’t sure yet. It could be that someone from the village turned on the Uchihas or someone from another village infiltrated and committed this crime. They attacked while they were asleep” Shikaku answered

“Are there any survivors?” Minato asked dreading the answer

Shikaku tilted his head toward a house on the Uchiha grounds, “Not many”

“How could someone—“ Minato started but cut himself off. This was not the time. “Okay, I need you to get the bodies together and try to inspect as many as you can. I want to know the cause of death of each victim. I left Eagle with the children back at my house but I want another two anbu sent there immediately. The Uchihas were targeted for a reason and I have one asleep at my house, clueless as to what’s happening. Also, team Ro is out of the village on a mission. Send for them and any Uchiha that’s out of the village. Have their missions replaced by other shinobis. Send some shinobi to scout the area and see if they can find anything or anyone that could’ve been involved”

“Got it”

Minato nodded at Shikaku and walked toward the house that Shikaku pointed at and tried to ignore the bodies surrounding him.

Inside the small house, seven people sat. Some were crying, others had a solemn look on their faces. They were huddled up together, a mixture of four children and three elderly. Which means including Itachi and Sasuke, the Uchiha clan were down to nine people. A clan of eighty-four people were reduced to nine in a single night.

Minato took a deep breath feeling a headache coming on.

“Have any of you been looked at by a medic?” He asked softly

One of the elders looked up at him and shook his head.

“Okay, I’m going to send a few shinobi here to get you guys safely transferred to the hospital” Minato said and then bent down at the waist. “I am so sorry for the lost of your families. I will do everything I can to find the perpetrators.”

Minato didn’t wait for a response, instead opting to find a few shinobi to get the remaining Uchiha to the hospital.

——

By the time dawn broke, Minato, Shikaku and several anbu had lined the bodies up to have them inspected by medics.

As he looked over the names of the deceased, his heart broke when he saw Mikoto and Fugaku’s names.

The feeling of uselessness and failure creeped up his spine once again. He could barely wrapped his head around what was going.

Sighing deeply, he glances at the list again and noticed something missing.

“Where’s Uchiha Shisui?” Minato asked looking around at the bodies.

An anbu passing by, paused and answered him, “No body for Uchiha Shisui was accounted for, Yondaime-Sama”

Minato walked over to Shikaku, “Is Shisui out of the village?”

Shikaku shook his head at him, “He wasn’t out on a mission last time I checked”

“Have the patrolling unit gotten back yet?” Minato asked

“Not yet. They should be back soon, though” Shikaku answered

Minato hummed in response and avoided the questioning look in Shikaku’s eyes.

“I’m going to check on the boys. Stay here and send Team Ro to my house immediately if they get back before I come back” Minato said with a sigh

Shikaku nodded lazily. The bags underneath his eyes were dark and Minato knew if he looked in the mirror, his eyes would reflect the same but there was nothing they can do about that for now.

——-

When Minato arrived home, the first thing he smelled was something burning.

“Naruto, what did I tell you about cooking without an adult present?” He asked walking into the kitchen. Naruto and Sasuke we’re leaning over a stove trying to get something charred out of a pan

Minato could see Naruto wince and turn to look at him slowly. He grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry Tou-san”

“Please turn the stove off and go to your room for a moment. I need to speak to Sasuke, alone”

“Why can’t I join you guys, I want to know too” Naruto whined

“Naruto, not now. ” Minato snapped feeling his frustration from the night hit him all at once

Naruto’s eyes widened and he immediately turned to go up the stairs. Minato took a deep breath, feeling bad. He moved toward the stove and turned it off.

“What’s going on, ojisan?” Sasuke asked quietly

“Let’s move to the living room, Sasuke” Minato said guiding the young boy’s shoulders toward the living room. They both sat down and Sasuke looked at Minato in apprehension.

“Your clan was attacked last night and not many people survived” Minato said

Sasuke eyes widened in horror and immediately started to water.

“What do you mean? Kaasan, Tousan?” Sasuke squeaked

“I’m sorry but they didn’t make it” Minato said sadly

Sasuke shook his head in denial, “No, no, no. You’re lying Ojisan”

“I wish I was Sasuke, I’m sorr-“

“NO!” Sasuke yelled and ran to the front door. Minato took off after him. “You’re lying I want to go home, I want my mom and dad. KAASAN!”

Minato held on to Sasuke as he thrashed in his arms trying to reach the front door.

“KAASAN, TOUSAN, NIISAN” Sasuke cried

Minato held him tight as he continued to thrash and sob until he passed out from overexertion.

Minato could feel tears in his own eyes and moved to wipe them as he stood up with Sasuke in his arms.

“Is it true, tou-san?” Naruto asked quietly from the bottom of the stairs. Minato nodded and walked passed him to his own bedroom and laid Sasuke on the bed. When he walked back out, Naruto was silently crying beside the door.

Minato bend down and gave his son a hug. Kami knows, they both needed it.

Once Naruto calmed down, he pulled away.

“What’s going to happen to Sasuke?” Naruto whispered

“We can talk about that when Sasuke wakes back up and Itachi gets back” Minato whispered back.

“Okay”

“You hungry? I can make you something to eat if you’d like” Minato asked

Naruto shook his head, “I don’t feel like eating. I think I’m going to stay here with Sasuke instead”

Minato nodded and left Naruto in the room. He didn’t think any of them could stomach food after that news.

He walked to the shower and immediately scrubbed off the scent of blood, wishing he could removing it from his memories as well. When he was all dressed up, he walked back to his bedroom and silently slipped in.

“I’m headed back to the Uchiha clan compound. I’ll probably be gone for the rest of the day. I’m going to send food for you, make sure you try to eat it.” Minato said to Naruto

Naruto nodded.

“If Sasuke wakes up, send some chakra into the seal on the dresser and I’ll come right away”

Minato turned to leave but paused when Naruto called out to him.

“I love you”

Minato smiled sadly, “I love you, too”

———-

When Minato arrived back at the compound, he saw three living Uchihas speaking to Shikaku. He walked up to them and greeted them solemnly

“Hokage-Sama, I don’t understand how this could’ve happened? Did someone turn on us in the village?” Ryu Uchiha said hysterically

Minato sadly didn’t have the answers she was looking for, “We’re still looking for what happened”

“The medics found some of their eyes missing, Yondaime” Shikaku informed him.

“Who could go against the Sharingan and win? They killed my mother, they killed our clan head!” Misha Uchiha exclaimed

“Someone from another village must’ve done this. Just like what happened with the Hyūgas a few years ago. They’re after our eyes” Kiro Uchiha claimed

“Don’t go pointing fingers when we haven’t had any leads” Shikaku snapped

Minato sighed, “Thank you for immediately coming back as requested. The rest of your clan should still be at the hospital getting checked”

“What do we do Yondaime-Sama?” Misha said tearfully

“I know this is a lot so for now, you can join them in the hospital if you want to see the rest of your clan” Minato suggested

The three Uchiha nodded and flickered away.

“Where are we going to house them?” Shikaku asked

Minato shook his head and brought his fingers to his temple. This was unprecedented so he was literally making decisions as he went.

“We’ll figure that out in a bit. For now, I need to know whose eyes are missing. Do one of the medics have a list of that I can look over?”

“I believe so” Shikaku responded

“I want that on my desk immediately. A funeral needs to be planned and housing needs to be arranged. No word of Shisui?”

Shikaku shook his head, “I have a bad feeling about that”

“Me too” Minato agreed. He turned toward the entrance of the compound as he felt three familiar chakra signatures approach.

Team Ro was back.

Chapter Text

When Team Ro received the summons to return back to the village immediately, Itachi thought maybe the village was being invaded and they needed all the help they could get.

Nothing could prepare him for what he was seeing as he stood on the threshold of his compound. Blood has never made him queasy before but seeing this much blood from his clan members made him dump all his dinner in the bushes next to him.

He felt the familiar presence of the Fourth Hokage next to him, patting his back and for a second he felt embarrassed. He was known for always being level headed and keeping his cool but in the face of this carnage, he couldn’t find an ounce of composure within.

“Where’s Sasuke?” He croaked, dreading the answer. He already spotted his parents amongst the victims lined up and that made his stomach turn even more but he couldn’t see any signs of his brother anywhere.

“He’s back at my house with Naruto. They’re being guarded by a few anbu” The Fourth responded.

Itachi didn’t waste time to shunshin to the Fourth’s house. He needed to see his brother.

———

Lunch time came quickly and Minato found himself back at home. He could feel several familiar chakra signatures in the house and found the tension slowly leaving his body.

The boys he cared for were safe.

Naruto came running toward him with a small smile on his face,

“Tousan, you’re back” Naruto said giving him a hug. Minato squeezed him tight.

“I’m back”

“Welcome home”

Minato broke the hug and walked into the living room, taking off his cloak. Naruto was hot on his heels.

“Did you eat the food I sent?” Minato asked.

“Yeah I did”

“What about everyone else?”

Naruto’s face dropped, “Kashi did but Sasuke and Itachi-nii didn’t. Sasuke’s hasn’t woken up yet”

“It’s alright, they’re going through a lot” Minato replied, “Did you keep an eye on them to make sure they’re okay?”

“Yeah I did” Naruto answered

“Thank you, son” Minato said ruffling his hair. When they walked into the kitchen, Kakashi was standing at the table with a glass of water in his hand.

“Hey Sensei”

“Hey Kakashi”

Nothing else was said with the current mood in the air. Minato turned to head upstairs where the Uchiha brothers were.

———

Itachi stared at his brother as he slept. The feeling of relief that flooded him when he saw Sasuke was indescribable.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around what exactly was going on and to be quite honest he felt like he was floating, almost like he was dreaming. Everything that happened from the moment he stepped into the village was a blur. He knows he should crying, screaming, angry but he felt nothing. His body felt numb inside and out. He was so lost in his own mind that he didn’t hear the Fourth come into the room until he spoke his name, startling him.

“I didn’t mean to bother you, but you and Sasuke need to eat something. Sasuke didn’t get a chance to eat before I told him what happened” Minato said softly.

Itachi felt himself nod and move softly to wake Sasuke.

His movements were automatic. He felt like he was watching himself from outside of his body and couldn’t do anything to take control. His mind was empty.

“Sasuke” He called softly, tapping his arm. He watched Sasuke slowly wake up and to his horror, red eyes with three tomoe was blinking sleepily back at him. That explains why he slept so long.

“Niisan, you’re back already?” Sasuke said rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?”

Itachi sighed softly realizing that to get Sasuke to turn his sharingan off, he would have to bring up the massacre.

“Sasuke, I have to help you turn off your sharingan. It’s depleting your energy”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, “Sharingan? When did I get my——“

Itachi’s heart broke all over again when he watched the realization dawn on Sasuke’s face.

“Niisan” He said in a broken voice.

Itachi opened his arms and Sasuke jumped off the bed and immediately buried himself in them, sobbing. Hearing his brother in such pain squeezed at Itachi’s chest and he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Shh, Sasuke. It’ll be okay” Itachi said consoling him, “I’m here otouto. I’ll never leave your side”

Itachi rocked his baby brother back and forth until he finally calmed down.

“How are you feeling?” Itachi asked softly

“Tired”

“Okay, look at me. We need to get your Sharingan off”

Sasuke looked up at Itachi, ready for follow his directions.

“I know you’re feeling overwhelmed right now but I need you to take a couple of deep breaths for me. Try to calm your heart rate down. Count each breathe starting from 100 backwards”

Sasuke looked at him skeptically.

“Trust me, it works”

And so Sasuke did what his big brother asked. Itachi watched his eyes go back to normal when he got down to 51.

“Good job, Otouto. Now, I heard you haven’t eaten” At that, Sasuke’s stomach growled loudly. Sasuke looked away with a blush. “Come on”

Itachi led Sasuke out of the room and to the kitchen where the other occupants of the house were sitting.

Itachi didn’t speaking to anyone instead, focusing on Sasuke as he reached for the takeout that was on the table. Fixing Sasuke’s plate, he placed it in front of him.

“You have to eat too, Niisan” Sasuke said. Itachi begrudgingly fixed a plate for himself.

Although, he was focusing on his brother, he didn’t miss when Minato signaled Kakashi to leave the room with Naruto. The kitchen was silent for a while before Minato started speaking.

“You both are more than welcome to live with us. I have an extra bedroom for you two if you’d like to share or Sasuke can share with Naruto. You know you boys are like family to us” Minato said

Itachi nodded and turned to Sasuke, “Do you want to stay here?”

Sasuke nodded shyly, “Minato-Ojisan is nice. Can I sleep in your bedroom, ‘tachi?”

“Of course” Itachi answered

“I will go get the bedroom ready” Minato said. Before leaving, he turned to Itachi, “We can discuss more information surrounding the circumstances whenever you’re up for it”

Itachi once again found himself nodding at the Fourth.

———-

Minato headed to the third bedroom with Kakashi and Naruto on his tail.

He rolled his eyes at them, “Are you guys going to help me set up the bedroom?

None of them responded but they kept following him so Minato took that as a yes. Entering the room he used as an office at times, he sighed at the mess. There were papers everywhere. He placed a bed in there several years ago when Kakashi would drop by unannounced after having nightmares.

“Kakashi, I need your help to move the desk with the paperwork to my room. Naruto, good get a broom and a duster, please”

“Sure thing, dad. So, does that mean they’re going to live with us?” Naruto asked.

“Yes they are” Minato answered.

“Yosh!!” Naruto practically yelled making Minato cringe.

“Calm down, Naruto. Their family just died” Kakashi whispered-yelled.

“I’m sorry. I’m sad about that but I’m also happy Sasuke is going to be living here.” Naruto said. “I can be sad and happy at the same time, right?”

Minato sighed, “Naruto, have some decorum, please. I’m glad you’re happy that your best friend will be here 24/7 but try not to jump for joy”

“Sorry, dad. I’ll go get the stuff” Naruto left the room running.

“What am I going to do with that boy?” Minato asked

Kakashi chuckled softly and soon they were moving the desk out.

After placing the desk in the corner of the his bedroom, Minato and Kakashi went back to find the broom and the duster in the room
but Naruto nowhere to be found. They quickly cleaned the room and made it look presentable for the brothers.

“Thank you, Kakashi” Minato said when they were all done. They headed back downstairs to find Naruto talking to Sasuke and although Sasuke wasn’t really replying, the look on his face look livelier than before.

Itachi stood up and walked to Minato.

“I’m ready to talk about it” He said in a quiet voice. Minato nodded and turned toward the kitchen with Itachi following him.

“How did this happen?” Itachi asked when they sat down on the kitchen table

“I sadly don’t have much answers for you, Itachi. I woke up in the middle of the night and received news of your clan being attacked. By the time we got there only a few people were still alive. From the calculations, only nine of you remain” Minato said

“I would like to be assigned to this to this mission” Itachi said

Minato looked at him for a second, “You’re emotionally involved in this, is that a good idea?”

“I am now the new clan head since my father is dead. I want to help figure out what happened to my clan and how I’m going to take care of the remaining members” Itachi answered

“Okay, that’s fair and you’re right, as a new clan head you should be involved. I will assign you to this.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama”

Minato went to say something about the formality but changed his mind.

“There is one person who hasn’t been accounted for though” He said instead.

“Who is that?” Itachi asked with a quirk of the brow.

“Uchiha Shisui”

Chapter Text

The first thing he noticed when he came to was that he was cold. Very cold. His body felt as if it were frozen. He tried to see if he could sense where he was but it was as if there was a block to his senses. He couldn’t smell anything, his body was too frozen to move. He couldn’t even open his eyes.

And finally as if his brain connected with his lungs, his breathe came to him harshly. He felt his lips part to inhale and almost choked because the air was too much.

His senses were slowly coming back to him and all he felt was pain. His body felt heavy, as if he was being weighed down by an anchor. It felt like he was laying on rocks. He knew he was wet and that he was near a large body of water according to his hearing but he couldn’t remember how he got there. He could be in enemy land for all he knew but he still couldn’t find the strength to open his damn eyes. He already knew attempting any jutsus wouldn’t probably render him unconscious due to the lack of energy. He felt the flow of his chakra but it was weak.

A wave of sleepiness hit him and before he knew it his consciousness was pulled under and he passed out.

—————————————————————

This was the most Itachi had been in the Hokage’s office in a small amount of time.

He sat there, with the council and the rest of the clan heads as the Hokage spoke about what happened and why they were there. Most of them already knew, of course. Word spread quickly in the village but this was the first official meeting on it.

No one questioned why the Hokage called the meeting almost a week after the massacre happened because they could guess that there was a lot to take care of.

Itachi could feel the pity rolling of the other clan heads and it annoyed him to no end but he didn’t show it especially when they were offering their help to his clan. Some of them even offered their homes which was a surprise to him. He knew as did everyone that the Uchiha were not well liked and probably would’ve been completely ostracized if it wasn’t for the Hokage being close to his parents.

He accepted the help he felt was appropriate. He knew the Uchiha were a proud bunch and this incident was not something to change that although he did hope that it would.

Itachi always did what he had to do. Plain and simple. He followed orders but now he was the one giving orders because in just one night, he instantly became a clan head. He was always Itachi of the Leaf first, an Uchiha second but now those titles have painfully switched. He had no choice but to be, Itachi, Uchiha clan head first and Konoha Leaf shinobi second. He had no choice but to put his dwindling clan first. He had to protect those that remained.

On the orders of the Hokage, a team was actively searching Shisui’s whereabouts. The best trackers were involved because their skills were unparalleled.

Itachi wished to go with them but his brother needed him to be present along with the rest of the clan.

Disputes on where to live were reoccurring since everyone gathered their bearing after the massacre and it really was starting to give him a headache.

Itachi didn’t think it was a good idea to move the remaining members of the clan back to to the compound—he honestly wanted to burn the whole thing down—-so he requested they rent some apartments, preferably close to each other until they figure out what to do with the compound. He thought it was ridiculous that some of the remaining members were pushing to move back to the compound once it’s cleaned up. They wanted to stick together and if that’s the case then they would need a new clan land.

Itachi couldn’t fathom the thought that what was once a huge and influential clan is now a small clan trying to cling to each other. He could see the desolation on the members faces and even worse, on Sasuke. Everyone lost a friend or a family member and he could do everything for them but bring the lost ones back.

————————————————————-

When consciousness reached him again, the pain was a bit more bearable. He was still freezing and he knew if he didn’t do something he would die of hypothermia. His clothes weren’t that wet anymore which made him wonder how long he’s been unconscious for. Slowly, he felt his eyes open and immediately snapped them closed.

God, that hurt.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and squinted, taking in his surroundings. He was in a forest.

Maybe, he was in Konoha. He couldn’t tell.

He willed his body to move. He was shaky but somehow he made it on his knees.

The pebbles beneath him pierced his palms and his knees making him grit his teeth in pain. He slowly made his way onto his feet. His legs were shaky but he forced his body to move.

He needed to find a cave or anywhere secluded to rest and gather his bearings.

The forest was quiet except for the occasional chirp of a bird or a cry of a critter. He couldn’t sense any bodies of chakra around him but he wasn’t really the best judgement of that. He needed more sleep. He needed to find a comrade to help. He needed to figure out why his right eye wouldn’t open.

He needed to remember.

He stumbled to a tree and leaned against it.

Was he on a mission? Did another nation kidnap him? How badly did he hit his head if he can’t remember anything? How long has it been?

Trying to remember things in his condition hurt and it took a lot of energy. He felt himself losing consciousness again and tried to fight it.

He decided to take a gamble and use the little bit of chakra to summon a crow. He was gambling his life and he knew he would go into a coma and possibly die but he was lost and he won’t be able to go home on his own.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu”

He watched with a blurry eye as a crow appeared and turned his head in question.

“Find Itachi and bring him to me”

—————————————————————-

Itachi sighed as he turned for the fourth time in his bed. It was yet another long day and yet another meeting with another failed retrieval team for Shisui. According to a Inuzuka, they lost trace of him off a cliff that connected to the Uchiha lands.

He didn’t want to think of what that could mean.

He sighed and tried to focus on what is instead of what could be.

His brother is safe, Minato has been doing his best in making sure the Uchiha were okay, the Uchiha finally agreed that moving away from the old clan grounds was acceptable. They were going to use the old grounds as a memorial.

He tried to think of those things when he felt everything was too much. When he started to think about who killed his clan or if Shisui was dead or worst of all, if Shisui did it himself and defected.

If that’s what happened, how could he have missed the signs?

He sighed again and closed his eyes trying to find sleep.

A quiet tap made his eyes open once more.

He held his breath and focused his hearing.

The house was dead quiet with everyone asleep and if someone was intruding, Minato would know because the seals would’ve went off.

Itachi slowly threw the covers off and stood from the bed. He looked over at Sasuke to make sure he was sound asleep and then moved toward the bedroom door when he heard the tap again. He turn toward the window and activated his sharingan.

His heart stuttered in his chest when he saw the full outline of Shisui’s crow staring back at him.

Chapter Text

Itachi wasted no time grabbing the crow, leaving his room and barging into the Yondaime’s. Usually he would care about being so boisterous especially at that time of night but they finally had concrete proof that Shisui is out there and he didn’t want to waste a second.

He watched as the blonde Hokage jump out of bed with a kunai in his hand faster than he could blink.

“Apologies Yondaime-Sama but I have proof that Shisui is still alive and I believe he sent this crow to guide us to his location. Permission to go after him?” Itachi asked in one breath.

Minato blinked once, twice and then his eyes widened as he fully comprehended the words.

“Yes of course!” He said dropping the kunai. “Grab Kakashi and the medic Shiki Sato to go with you. I expect a message sent to me when you make contact. If I don’t hear from you within four days, I’m sending a retrieval team after you”

Itachi bowed and quickly returned to his room to get ready.

“Niisan, is everything okay?” Sasuke asked sitting up from bed while rubbing his eyes.

“Yes Sasuke. I’m going on a mission, I’ll see you when I get back” He said gathering his weapons.

“But Niisan, I don’t want to sleep alone” Sasuke said with a wobbly voice.

Itachi paused what he was doing and walked over to his brother, “I’ll only be gone for a few days Sasuke, a week tops, in the meantime why don’t you sleep in Naruto’s room?”

Sasuke sniffled and rubbed his eyes, “Okay”

Itachi leaned in and kissed his forehead, “I love you, otouto”

“I love you too niisan” He responded in a small voice.

Itachi stood up and turned back to getting ready, “Why don’t you go to his room now? I don’t want you losing anymore sleep”

He heard as Sasuke shuffled out of bed, “alright”

“And Sasuke?” Itachi watched as he turned toward him, “Try to have fun while I’m gone okay?”

“Okay Niisan”

——————————————————————

It took an hour for Itachi to get ready and gather his teammates for the trip. He was grateful they wasted to time to get ready. As they were following the crow out of the village, Itachi briefed them on the mission.

He didn’t plan on stopping although he knew depending on how far the bird was going, they would need to take a break.

They seemed to be heading north as if going to Iwa and Itachi really hope that it wasn’t a hostage situation they had on their hands because any misstep could led to the start of the fourth shinobi war.

The air was tense between the shinobi as they all knew the implications of heading north.

Itachi almost let out a sigh of relief after a few hours when he saw the crow circle the sky before diving into the trees. They were close.

He did let out a breathe of relief when he noticed they were near Kusagakure. The feeling of relief quickly disappeared when he realized he didn’t know what shape he would find Shisui in.

About an hour later, they arrived near a stream that bordered the Land of Fire to Kusagakure. Itachi quickly looked around to look for enemies.

“Itachi, over here!”

Itachi snapped his eyes to where the medic called him and saw a limp body on the ground. He rushed over to them as Kakashi stood watch.

“He’s unresponsive and looks to have lost a lot of chakra.” Shiki said. “I’m going to run a quick diagnostic and heal what I can for the time being”

Itachi nodded because he felt like he couldn’t speak. His heart was in his throat.

The med nin’s hands glowed green as they passed over Shisui’s body, “He has a broken ankle, a broken hip bone, a broken arm and shoulder, his lungs are not getting enough air through them and,” Shiki paused as he felt the forced trauma and emptiness in Shisui’s right eye, “His right eyes is missing”

Itachi’s eyes widened and looked away.

“We need to get him back to Konoha so he can get proper medical care” Kakashi said from above them.

“Yes. If we did not reach him when we did, he would not have lasted another day” Shiki said.

Itachi swallowed and helped him gather Shisui’s body.

As they headed back to Konoha, Itachi wondered if the same person who massacred most of his clan did this to Shisui too or was the timing just a coincidence?

Chapter Text

It wasn’t a coincidence, Minato was sure of it. For a massacre to happen like this within village walls against its own people was unprecedented but planned. Minato was sure that someone meticulously set everything up down to the very last second they planned on finishing the slaughter. But the more Minato tries to put it together the more confused he gets. There’s just so many holes.

The culprit, whoever it was, must’ve gotten some resistance because why leave just a few members alive? Or were they trying to send a message by keeping them alive.

If it was Shisui, which he highly doubts it is but if it was, did something make him snap? Minato is not sure how the human brain works but he knows when it’s pushed to the edge, the person can change and do things they would’ve never done otherwise.

He sighed and shook his head and tried to focus on what the doctors were doing to Shisui through the glass of the operating room.

Shisui’s retrieval team arrived in Konoha an hour prior and he immediately ordered Shisui to be taken to the hospital to get looked at which the team briefed him on the mission.

To think if Shisui never sent the crow, they would’ve eventually found his body decaying or probably never would’ve found him at all.

They had no choice but to wait until he’s healed to figure out what could’ve happened. He doubts Shisui would have sent for help if he was the aggressor.

It was a weird position to be in. Waiting. Minato wanted answers immediately. If he could go into Shisui’s mind and wake him up, he would.

He ran a hand through his hair. It was driving him insane.

“I can stay here and watch over Shisui and report any changes to you.” Itachi said.

Minato glanced him briefly and looked back at the operating room through the glass, “Yeah, I’m about to head to the office for a bit. It’s still so early and there’s always so much to do”

“Is being Hokage too much for you?” A voice from behind him said.

Minato smirked in amusement and turned to Shikaku who just walked into the room, “Yes, I can happily pass the hat to you”

“Oh no, Naras try to avoid the work even though you won’t let me” Shikaku joked then turned to look through the viewing glass. “How’s he doing?”

“He lost a lot of blood so they’re going to do a transfusion and they had to set some bones in his body right” Minato answered with a frown. “He lost a lot of chakra and his right eye is missing”

“Hmmm” Shikaku said rubbing his beard in thought.

Minato nodded, “I know we have to go through the proper procedures but I believe he’s a victim not the aggressor”

“I’m inclined to agree but you can never be too sure” Shikaku replied.

Minato groaned loudly which was very unbecoming for the leader of a village.

“Alright, when he’s stable and the doctors give the all clear, we will have the T & I division question him and go from there.” Minato sighed, “Let’s focus on the ‘I’ part of that and not the ‘T’”

“I won’t let him be tortured” Shikaku replied.

“Good, I leave it to you” Minato turned to leave with a wave of his hand, “I’m off”

Shikaku and Itachi blinked at the spot he was at a second ago.

“I will never get used to that” Shikaku said with a sigh.

————————————————————————

Naruto wasn’t sure how to comfort his friend. The adults usually knew everything and would tell him what to do but everyone’s been busy.

He was still in disbelief about a whole clan being dead, killed. Itachi acted normal but Sasuke would sometimes cry or have a far away look on his face. He didn’t even want to play anymore but his mommy and daddy died so Naruto can understand. He never met his mom but if his dad died, he would be so sad.

They were usually left alone in the bouse but Naruto knew there were a few of the Anbu watching the house.

For the most part, he sat in a room with Sasuke, silently comforting him. Words escaped him so he would sit next to his friend and did things like color or read his picture book. He hated reading but his dad wanted him to get better at it so he practiced. Sasuke used to help him with the words that were too difficult but now he’s even more quiet than he was before. Naruto doesn’t like the silence.

Their routine for the past few days was the same. Wake up, eat— well, he would eat and Sasuke would pick at his food, unless Itachi was there to feed him—take a bath, watch the adults leave, sit in the living room quietly while Naruto tried to find something entertaining to do and made sure Sasuke wasn’t spending the day crying. He was so bored that he missed the Academy and he hated school.

When he spoke to his dad about it, he said to be patient but he was seven and wasn’t a fan of waiting. He was itching to go paint the Hokage mountain again but he couldn’t leave his friend alone, what if he needed him?

He hoped things get better soon. He wanted to have fun again with Sasuke again.

Chapter Text

Shisui felt like he was floating. He was aware that he should be doing something but for some reason he couldn’t remember what and he did not care.

The world wouldn’t fall apart without him, so he let himself sink into the feeling.

He vaguely heard a beeping sound and voices, but they were distant, Shisui figured it didn’t matter. This is the most relaxed he felt since..

Since?

Since what?

Shisui felt his chest tighten with the knowledge that he couldn’t remember a thing.

Nothing was coming to mind.

His mind felt hollow, like it was filled with nothing but air. The only thing he knew was that his name was Shisui.

Did he have a last name? A family? Friends?

He heard the beeping sounds get faster and forced himself to open his eyes.

HELP

HELP ME

WHY CAN’T I OPEN MY EYES?

He heard the voices get louder around him. He was aware that he was panicking and maybe they were too?

HELP

He felt his mind get foggy and slowly getting pulled under. He was being put to sleep. Shisui fought to stay lucid, but the fog won. He slipped under.

——————————

Itachi sighed as he watched the man he idolized drift into forced sleep. Shisui was the strongest person he knows and to see him so broken down sent fear to Itachi’s heart. He didn’t know what to do, what to think. Most of his clan was gone and the one person who might know the truth wouldn’t wake up.

He turned to look at the fourth who watched the doctors care for Shisui with a contemplative look on his face.

“What do you think happened?” Itachi asked to keep himself from looking at Shisui again. He couldn’t bear it for another second.

Minato tilted his head at the scene for another moment before turning to face Itachi.

“Do you want my thoughts as the Fourth… or as Minato?”

Itachi found it interesting that Minato separated the two. They were one and the same to him.

“What’s the difference?”

Minato smiled sadly, “As Minato, I can spare a bit of my personal feelings into this since I know Shisui outside of the uniform. As Minato, I can tell you that I don’t think he did it and if anything I think he tried to defend the clan and got hurt because of it”

He paused before continuing, “As Hokage, I have to consider the other possibilities. I can’t argue in favor of Shisui. I have to see the what is in front of me and remove any personal feelings when I approach the situation. I have to consider that Shisui might’ve done this. I have to consider that he got hurt when the clan members defended themselves from him. I have to consider that Shisui is one of the strongest Uchiha members and that was even before you all were almost wiped out.”

“So… which side wins when you make a decision?”

“Unfortunately, the only thing that comes before the title of hokage for me is the title dad. No matter how much it hurts, my personal feelings cannot be a factor in any decisions I make”

Itachi understood him more than he knew but still.

“I don’t think he did it.”

“I don’t think so either”

“You or the Fourth?”

Minato chuckled, “Both.”

Itachi felt the tightness in his chest uncoil. If Minato believed something, he would go to bat for it and usually he won. Itachi felt like he can breathe a little and maybe Shisui will be just fine.

If only he would wake up.