Carefully Prepares Themselves
Early the next day, Rin met Obito at training field thirteen.
He'd torn the place to pieces; it was an undignified display of power that had destroyed multiple trees, evaporated a pond, and dug a channel in the earth more than fifty feet deep. It wasn't what shinobi were meant to do. Shinobi were meant to stay in control of their emotions, but Obito had never been good at that.
It didn't help that he was starting to think that shinobi weren't all they were cracked up to be. He'd been trained to be a ninja since the day he was born. Being an Uchiha, there had never been anything else for him, even when it had seemed that he had little talent for it when he was young. Now he felt like a rat in a maze, realizing that the cheese being placed in front of him came from things obeying rules beyond his comprehension, knowing nothing of the outside world. It was the same realization he'd had again and again, but rawer and more dangerous than ever. When Rin arrived, his chakra was still crackling around him, pieces of the Susano'o faintly visible. It was laid over him like a glittering orange death mask.
"Obito," was the first thing she said, approaching cautiously. That hesitation was what finally gave Obito the clarity to breathe out and release his chakra, if not all of his anger. The Susano'o vanished, and he felt petty and stupid for taking his anger out on something as well maintained as a training ground. He should have saved it for what was really responsible. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," he said, trying to muster up some fire but finding himself empty. He sank into a squat, staring up towards the setting sun and the clouds it painted. Rin sat beside him, putting her hand on his knee. "I don't know what to do."
"There's nothing to do," Rin said, brushing her hand over his leg in calming circles. "We're in checkmate."
"Unless Nagato doesn't have the guts," Obito said, keeping quiet. "Unless he doesn't fire the Cannon after all."
"He didn't hesitate in Lightning," Rin said, firm but not cruel. "He would have killed everyone there. Even if it's Kushina… Sensei won't take that risk. You know that."
"I know." Obito found himself at a loss for words; like a child, he refused to accept reality and kept looking for a way out. "The village will be furious. Even if Shikaku counseled for it, I can't imagine the Jonin would accept this."
"A lot has happened already," Rin said, and Obito grunted. It had only been a day, but ninja moved fast in all things, so he couldn't be surprised. "There will probably be a vote to remove sensei after the summit. The Hyuuga and Sarutobi in particular are furious. But everyone knows the stakes: I can't imagine that anyone will try to prevent sensei from attending."
She paused, her grip tightening a little. "But I'll be there. Sensei has chosen me for the Honor Guard."
Honor Guard: as old a tradition as the major villages could share, established since the first Kage Summit back at the founding of the villages. Traditionally, each Kage would take two trusted shinobi as bodyguards, a sign of trust and honor for those picked as well as a practical consideration for any meeting with the most dangerous men and women in the world.
Obito grunted again; he had a premonition that under normal circumstances, he and Shikaku would have been selected, but with Shikaku still in a wheelchair, he was obviously not viable. And as for himself…
"He's trying to spare my feelings?" he said, and Rin gave him a sad smile.
"How do you know you're not the other one?" she said, and Obito grimaced back.
"I just know. Who is it?"
"Gai," she said, and for a second Obito had a flicker of curiosity. Might Gai made sense; he was a legendary ninja after all, probably one of the most dangerous in Konoha, and a superb bodyguard. But had Minato really picked two of the people closest to Obito, his girlfriend and his best friend, to take to the Summit? Was that coincidence, just a sign of how deeply embedded he was in the village's power structure, or some sort of message? When it came to his sensei, nothing was out of the question.
But after a second, the curiosity faded, leaving behind dread and spite. Obito turned away from Rin, feeling a distance grow between them.
"Fine," he said, the world drawing away and leaving him far behind himself. "Stay safe there."
"Don't do that," Rin said quietly. "Obito, I came here to be here for you. You said you wouldn't do this anymore."
"Do what?" he asked, a bit of frustration leaking out, and Rin met it in kind.
"Put everything on yourself. You can't take that; no one can. This is horrible, but-"
"I told you then, I was taking Shisui's eye to protect the people I love," Obito said, standing up and leaving Rin on the ground. "And now look at me. I can't even save one person."
"Kushina doesn't want to be saved," Rin snapped back, standing up as well. "She's accepted her role here. You need to as well, or you'll be torn apart. No one wants that, Obito."
"I can't accept anything," Obito said, a rock solid conviction rooting him in place. "This is wrong."
"It's wrong, but it's happening!" Rin said, pacing in front of him. "Something being right or wrong doesn't make it happen, Obito. Would you say the same thing if she were sick with some terminal disease, or in a terrible accident? You need to accept this,
now, so you'll have time to say goodbye to her! I already have, but you stormed off before you could! When Kushina's gone and you haven't taken the time to make peace with that, you'll regret that for the rest of your life!"
Obito stared mutely at her, holding himself back from saying something cruel or reactive. The instinct was there, to lash out without thinking and hurt Rin just because he himself was hurt, but he swallowed it like burning poison and closed his eyes instead, trying to slow down his heartbeat.
"I'll keep that in mind," he said, and Rin snorted. "I don't want to fight; not ever, but especially not right now. Is that okay?"
"It's not," Rin said solidly, before she softened. "But I get it." She sighed. "If you can't talk right now, that's alright. But please listen, Obito. Once this is done, the Jinchuriki and Cannon are gone… you can get revenge. I believe in you: I believe you could do that. But right now, it's all too dangerous. We've lost."
Obito didn't have a response to that, but he nodded anyway. Rin bent in, kissing him on the cheek.
"If you need me, come find me," she said, and Obito mutely nodded once more. Without much more to say, Rin quietly left, leaving Obito alone and staring at the sky.
He was stuck like that, paralyzed by fear and fury for several minutes, until someone else arrived.
He looked down, subconsciously registering the new arrivals. Two of his students had appeared as if from nowhere: Sakura and Naruto both looked up at him, both so much taller and more mature looking than they had had been not so long ago. There was a hard look in both their eyes.
"Sensei," Sakura said, and Obito felt himself wake up a little at her tone. "We need you to find a couple people."
"Who?" he asked, not questioning why, and Naruto spoke up.
"Sasuke and his mom," he said, looking over at Sakura. He wasn't resigned, Obito realized; Naruto was focused and
hopeful, his face flushed. It kickstarted his heart once more.
"Sakura's got a plan."
###
When Sakura finished explaining her plan, Obito sat back and wondered just what kind of students he'd created.
The five of them, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Mikoto, and himself, were seated around a table in Sasuke's family living room, speaking in hushed tones. The windows and doors were all closed, and Yari was standing guard at the front of the home to prevent anyone from entering. Obito hadn't cared much for the security at first, but now he was glad for it.
After all, they were discussing treason.
"Sakura," Mikoto said quietly. "The danger of what you're proposing cannot be calculated. If you do this, you will be a butterfly throwing yourself into a storm. You will be ripped apart."
"By myself, yes," Sakura said with the same deadly conviction that had underlined her every word for a month now. "But if it was all of us… Well, you're wrong, Mikoto. We would be the storm."
"All of the Kage," Mikoto continued, undeterred. Her son seemed to be digesting everything Sakura had said, the same as Obito, but Mikoto was pushing back. "Their guards; Nagato Uzumaki. All fighting for their own preservation, and so against any intruders that would break the Amekage's rules. If it's true some of the minor villages are being invited, there could be well over twenty of the strongest ninja in the world present. That does not even account for the samurai, who doubtlessly would not take kindly to their fortress being invaded. And if the intrusion is detected, if the Cannon is fired, then it is all for nothing; our home will disappear in an instant. It's simply not possible, Sakura."
"It's possible," Sakura fiercely argued back. "If you, sensei, Itachi, and Sasuke take the Jinchuriki, everything flips immediately. Fuu and Kushina wouldn't need convincing, I'm sure of it. And the rest, you could handle."
"Getting Itachi might actually be simple," Sasuke said. "He asked me to contact him if I wanted to help him collect the Tailed Beasts; that's basically what we're doing here." He hesitated. "But I don't know if I could control a Tailed Beast," Sasuke said, and Sakura turned to him. "I've never tried before."
"You could," she said with impossible belief. "You're just as strong as your brother, Sasuke, and he managed it multiple times." She looked back to Mikoto. "And your mother thinks the same thing. She didn't list that as one of the reasons the plan could fail."
"She's right about that, Sasuke," Mikoto admitted. "In that respect, her plan is not flawed. Bringing together all of the Tailed Beasts does make them vulnerable to this sort of attack…" She paused. "And this is perhaps the best time in history, as deranged as that may sound. Never before has the clan possessed four bearers of the Mangekyo Sharingan at once."
Well, that wasn't true, Obito thought. It was a bit morbid, but that had been the case on the night of the Massacre. Himself, Shisui, Fugaku, and Itachi. If those four men had been turned to a purpose, was there anything they would have failed at? And wasn't it the same here?
He looked around, not sure if it was hope or delusion taking hold. Mikoto with her Benzaiten, Sasuke with the Nakisawame and Kagatsuchi, Itachi with the Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, and himself with the perfected Kamui; it was an unbelievable collection of techniques that could challenge the premier powers of the world, all wielded by superb shinobi.
"It's possible," Obito found himself repeating, his brain boiling as everything started slotting together with unbelievable speed, the outline of a plan taking hold immediately. "The problem is inviting Itachi… and so Black Zetsu. It needs the Tailed Beasts for the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which obviously we can't let happen."
"So we disable Itachi once he's played his part," Sakura said. "Disable him, and kill his shadow. Sasuke was planning it anyway," she said with a glance, "so nothing changes."
"Adding Itachi to our list of powerful enemies," Mikoto noted, but now it was Sasuke who spoke up.
"He'll see reason once we rip Black Zetsu off him," he said. "I'm sure of it."
"That could be more dangerous than we know," Obito said. "I did a lot of research into the Shadow while you all were in Frost." The room turned to him, Sasuke in particular at rapt attention. "Madara said he created his Shadow, but stories of such things are old, going as far back as legends of the Sage himself. And the Infinite Tsukuyomi-"
"What is that?" Sakura asked, and Sasuke leaned towards her.
"An old Uchiha legend about a worldwide illusion," he said, and Sakura nodded, eyes narrowed. "Keeping everyone safe and separated by using the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts to put them in paradise."
"Ridiculous," Sakura responded after a moment. "What a waste of time."
Obito noted that Sakura wasn't interested whatsoever in paradise and moved forward. "Well, it can't be allowed to happen," he said, and everyone present nodded. "Simple as that. That means that after the Cannon and Kushina, Itachi and Black Zetsu would have to be our third priority."
"You sound convinced, Obito," Mikoto said, and Obito fully turned his attention to her as his students watched.
"I didn't think I would ever take action against Konoha," he eventually said. "But you and Sakura are both right. This isn't a good plan, but it's better than accepting the world Rain is creating. And the people who can make it happen, almost all of them, are right here in this room." He pressed forward, feeling himself growing lighter. "When you apologized to Kushina, you said something that's really stuck with me; that you couldn't see her, only what was inside her. That's how it's always been, and it's how the world village, the whole world sees her now; something that has to die because of what it contains. I know you can't be content with that, Mikoto."
Mikoto paused, looking him over. Her face twisted.
"I'm not," she said quietly. "But I'm not like the rest of you, Obito. I already engaged in treason once, and it ended in disaster." She leaned back, straightening up as she traced the burn scars that covered around half her face. "My heart is screaming at me to try and save Kushina; to take the opportunity that's being presented here. But I've been deceived by it before."
"You said that the coup was about taking the opportunity before it passed," Sasuke said, and Mikoto stiffened. "This is the same thing. There will never be a chance like this again, mother. Could you live with not taking it?" He breathed in, accepting what they were really talking about. "If you died pursuing it, would you die with regrets?"
Mikoto stayed quiet at that, grappling with feelings that Obito couldn't comprehend, before she nodded.
"I cannot let Kushina march to her death," she declared. "Not when I've only just seen her for herself. I'll help you, Sakura."
"Good," Sakura said, leaving it at that. "Then we need to find Itachi immediately. Sasuke, you lost the crow, right?"
"In the explosion in Frost," Sasuke confirmed, and Obito bit his thumb and summoned a toad without a thought. The little creature blinked up at him and spoke in a deep female voice.
"Hmm, scary crowd," it said, as Obito bent forward to give it his orders.
"Gamaharu, we need to find Itachi Uchiha," he said, and the toad raised a non-existent eyebrow. "He needs to know Sasuke needs to speak with him."
"Finding an S-Rank missing ninja?" the tracker-toad said incredulously. "If it were that easy, they wouldn't be called that, would they?"
"You don't need to find him," Obito assured the summon. "Only make sure he knows that Sasuke is looking for him. I imagine he's still in the Land of Frost, Lightning, or Fire, so your search shouldn't be too far."
"For real?" the toad asked one more time, and Obito firmly nodded.
"I believe in you," he said, and if the toad could have blushed it would have. "Go, quickly. Grab whatever help you need; my chakra can take it. There won't be much time."
The toad vanished in a puff of smoke, and Obito sat back, feeling the summons distantly begin to draw on his chakra through the contract. It was a draining sensation, like an open wound on the sole of his foot, but ever since awakening both his eyes he'd felt like his energy was almost bottomless; the intoxicating power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was unbelievable, enough to make him understand how Madara had ended up so arrogant.
"That's one thing taken care of then," he said, taking it on the faith that the toads would accomplish their mission. Everyone else looked more doubtful, but Obito pressed on nonetheless. "In terms of planning the infiltration, we won't know more until we see where the Summit is being held. There will doubtlessly be sensors that we'll have to deal with before we can take the Jinchuriki-"
"No,"Mikoto said, Obito giving her a surprised look. "My Benzaiten can handle that. I can dampen my own chakra enough to avoid any sensors, and remove any seals that imprison Kushina. That part of the mission, I can almost accomplish on my own." Her face crinkled in a half-smile as she pressed two fingers to eye. "Assuming my eye holds up."
"Mother," Sasuke started to say, before Mikoto shook her head.
"Sacrificing my vision for this would be the least loss possible," she said, clearly having already consigned herself to blindness. Sasuke looked uncomfortable, but Mikoto didn't hesitate. "The danger makes it almost inevitable. You should be honest with yourself about that as well, Sasuke. Of the four of us, Obito may be the only one walking out with his sight intact." She closed her eyes, nodding. "There will likely have to be some decisions to be made."
"Mikoto," Sakura said, her steely conviction not wavering but
something present in her eyes nonetheless. "That's not my intention."
"It's not, but it is reality, Sakura," Mikoto said. "Trust me, there won't be a grudge to hold. We all must go in with our eyes open."
Sakura hesitated, then nodded. "That's true," she said, reaching up to her hitai-ate. "Speaking of which-"
She paused, and Obito didn't understand why until a heartbeat later; there was a commotion at the front door. Sakura had heard it before any of the rest of them. He stood up, and Mikoto did as well as someone rushed into the house, passing down the entry hall and slamming open the door to the living room.
It was Hinata Hyuuga, panting and with ruffled hair. A moment later Yari appeared, grabbing her by the shoulder and trying to pull her away.
"Lord Obito, my apologies!" Yari said, unable to dislodge Hinata's iron grip on the door frame. "She insisted on intruding-!"
Hinata made eye contact with him, and Obito understood in an instant. He sighed, raising a hand.
"Let her go, Yari," he said, and she paused, confused and perhaps a little offended.
"Lord Obito?" she asked, looking to Mikoto. Mikoto nodded, and Hinata was released, stumbling forward a little. "If that's your wish."
"Go back to the front," Obito said, and Yari bowed stiffly. "If anyone else comes, let us know. Don't try to stop them."
The guard left without a word, and Hinata fully stepped into the room, looking around uncertainly.
"Sorry," she said. Obito shrugged. "I didn't mean to cause trouble."
"Too late for that," he said. "You were watching us?"
Hinata shuffled. "I was looking for Sasuke, that's all," she said, and Sasuke blushed. "I know you asked me not to, but I thought with everything happening…" She shook her head. "Well, I saw what you were talking about."
"How much?" Sakura asked.
"Most of it, I think," Hinata admitted. "I… well, I probably shouldn't have done anything. There's plenty of things we all see that we learn to ignore." She pulled herself up. "But I couldn't ignore this."
"Are you here to stop me, Hinata?" Sasuke said, standing up to face her. "Because I don't want to-"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Sasuke, I'm here to help you."
Despite the situation, despite it being the exact
opposite thing Hinata should have said, Obito had to smirk. Sasuke's shocked face was just too funny not to.
"This is why we should have met in Naka Shrine," Mikoto muttered, shaking her head. Hinata kept going, bolstered by some hidden well of courage Obito hadn't known she possessed.
"I don't know what's right or wrong here, but father is furious. The whole clan is," she said, closing the door behind her. "Giving away Naruto's mother could tear the village apart, even if everything seems to be making another path impossible." She gave Naruto a sympathetic look. "After Konoha has been the strongest for so long, everything that's happened is driving people to extremes. It must be the same in the other clans, however quiet they're being about it."
She looked terrified, but the words kept spilling out of her nonetheless. "So if you all are going to try to prevent that… shouldn't you get all the help possible?"
She hesitated. "And I don't want Kushina to die. I don't know her very well, but she's kind, and funny. I don't think anyone should die just because they were picked to hold something like the Kyuubi. It's not fair."
Hinata understood better than almost anyone the cruelty that the circumstances of birth could inflict, Obito thought. Her uncle and cousin were a living lesson of that; her clan was a monument to it. Even if she wasn't directly connected to the struggle in Kushina's family, her life had been defined by a similar battle.
Sasuke finally managed to find his voice. "Hinata, you get what this is, right?" he asked, and continued even after she nodded. "We'll be up against the strongest in the world; even if we survive, if this goes wrong we will be missing ninja wanted by all of the villages. We're going over a threshold here that can't be retreated past; it's victory or death."
"I know that," Hinata said, stepping face to face with him. "I'm not stupid." Her face was as red as a tomato. "Sasuke, you gave me the strength to fight someone like Sasori; I don't know what kind of person I'd be without you. Really… all of you," she said, looking around at Sakura and Naruto as well. "But I don't think I'd like that person. I think they'd be a coward. So how could I let you do something like this without help?"
Sasuke was speechless: Hinata smiled and breathed out, smoothing herself down and looking relieved that she'd managed to get her words out. "Besides," she said, straightening up. "It sounded like you could really use a Byakugan. You'll be going into enemy territory without reconnaissance; without me, you won't even know where the objective is. My eyes are… My eyes are some of the best in the clan, at least when it comes to distance. I'll get you there, no matter what."
Obito snorted, drawing her eyes to him. "You're not wrong," he said, her relief obvious. He looked around with serious air. "But no one else. Frankly, I don't even want to risk you, Hinata, but you've made it your business. No one else knows?"
"No," she said sincerely. "I came straight here. And I doubt any of my clansmen were spying like I was. It's rude, after all."
"Alright," Obito said, looking at Sakura. It was her plan, after all, but she didn't seem thrown off; she just watched Hinata like a hawk, an unreadable expression on her face. It vanished when she noticed Obito was observing her. She looked back at him, shrugged, and finished taking off her headband.
"Even one more will help," she said, smiling. "I'm glad you're here, Hinata."
Hinata nodded, looking surprised as Sakura continued. "But it changes nothing in the long run. We're all still ninja of Konoha; us showing up will just look like a Leaf power grab, no matter how much the Hokage denies it." She dropped her hitai-ate on the table and drew a knife; everyone shifted, not sure what the weapon was for.
"What we really need right now is loyalty," she said firmly. "Not to the village; just to Kushina, and to each other."
Without ceremony, she drew the kunai across her headband, slashing out the Leaf emblem. Naruto started, watching with wide eyes.
"Sakura-?" he started to ask, but the question died unspoken when she turned to face him.
"We'll be shinobi of no nation," she said. "It may not make a difference, but every little bit will help: if it keeps Nagato from firing the Cannon for even a second, that's another second for us to take the Jinchuriki. Once we have them, we'll take the Cannon, and once we have that, everyone will
have to listen to us."
"And what exactly will you say?" Obito said, and Sakura paused. Not because she didn't have the words, Obito was sure, but because she was tailoring them to her audience.
"The Fourth War has to end," she decided. "It's impossible to make a world without fighting, but we can at least threaten to destroy anyone that tries to start another war. That's simple, and easy to control. From there, we can figure everything else out."
It wasn't a good answer, but it was more realistic than what Obito had expected. He nodded.
"Good enough," he said. "Everyone is in agreement?" All present nodded, and he stood up. "Well, I won't be slashing my hitai-ate right now, but I think you're right about that, Sakura. Presenting as rogue ninja is our best route."
"I'm not presenting," Sakura said.
"I know," Obito said. "It just makes me sad to see, I guess."
"Why, sensei?" Sakura asked, her eyes cold. "What's left to bind you to Konoha? What has the village done for you that's worth keeping hold of it after this betrayal?"
"I'm not sure," Obito said. "It might be as simple as it being my home. I'm not like you; I've never lived anywhere else. But it's easier for me to blame this on circumstances than the village as a whole."
The unexpected intensity of their exchange kept everyone else silent as Sakura shot back. "It's rejected you twice now," she said. "How many times will it take for you to learn your lesson?"
"I've never been a quick learner," Obito frowned back. "So if we're all alive after this, I guess we'll find out."
There was a tension there, so thick that for a moment Obito thought Sakura would launch herself at him, but after a moment it faded and she laughed.
"Guess so," she said, turning to leave. "I'm going to go train. I'll see you all in the morning." She looked at Naruto, who looked a little more helpless than Obito would have liked. "Naruto, you should go be with your mom. Don't give anything away."
"Of course not," he said, trying to seem cheerful and failing. "I'll have plenty of time with her afterwards, anyway."
It sounded more hollow than it should have, but it was better than nothing. Everyone began to rise and leave the table, preparing for the next day however they could. Obito started to follow after Sakura. "Want help?" he asked.
"No," she said, stopping him cold. "I'd rather be alone."
She left in a hurry before anyone could get another word in, and they all watched each other carefully, not speaking until they were sure she was fully gone.
"She's dangerous." Mikoto was the first one to say it, but everyone except Naruto nodded in agreement. "She believes in nothing but her own ideals now, and those ideals are all-encompassing. She's been turned to a benevolent purpose today, but once this is over…"
"I'll make sure she's okay," Naruto insisted. "Everything has just happened too fast. Once mom is safe, and we've got the Cannon…"
"What will happen then, Naruto?" Obito said. "Sakura, with a gun pointed at the head of the world? Do you think that will give her any time to heal? Or will she just be stuck like this forever?"
"I don't know!" Naruto said, frustration boiling to the surface. "But she's the only one who was brave enough to save my mom when everyone else gave up on her! Even me! Even all of you!" He pointed at each of them in turn, his expression fiercely manic. "So I can't call her dangerous: I think she's just seeing things clearly. If that makes her dangerous, we all are now, because we're following her someplace no one sane would go!"
He softened, mustering up a full smile. "I'll keep us all alive; Hinata will guide us; you guys and Itachi will make everything possible; but Sakura's the one
leading us. She's right. Right now, the only people we should be loyal to are one another. We're giving up everything else to do this."
Obito couldn't find a counterargument.
"You're right, Naruto," he said, and Naruto grinned.
"As usual," he said, and Obito and Sasuke scoffed simultaneously.
"Everything will come to a head at the Summit," Obito said, trying to organize his thoughts. "Sakura's got the right idea; we all need to train, to be at our absolute best. The Bijuu, Black Zetsu, Nagato, all of the other villages… we all need to be ready to accomplish the impossible."
He breathed out. "We'll meet again in the morning. I'm sure we all have unfinished business to attend to. For now, let's go our separate ways."
And so they did.
###
Every member of Team Seven prepared themselves for what could be their final mission in their own way.
Obito went to a quiet place for self-reflection.
Naruto went home.
Sasuke took comfort from those he loved.
And Sakura was alone.
###
Standing before the Memorial Stone, Obito started talking without any idea of what he wanted to say. He spoke under his breath, well aware of the dangerous nature of his words.
"You'd probably hate this, right?" he said. "The both of you, really."
From then on, the words spilled out of him like he was a broken sink.
"Turning against the village is against everything you both wanted. I mean, Kakashi, until the day you died you were straight as an arrow, and then the one time you made concessions you ended up dying for it. If you knew that's how things would have turned out, would you still have picked the same path? And Shisui, the clan turned to you for the coup, even though they knew you would never agree. All the sacrifices you both made, and I'm about to spit on them like this?
"And yet, I don't feel any doubt. Not about that, at least. Even after everything I'm still stuck thinking that I have to do things on my own, but that's just not true anymore. My team, my family; they've come together to push me forward even when I was stuck. So many people have placed everything in me, and now that I have these eyes, maybe I can actually keep those promises. Does that sound right? Sometimes I feel like you're here with me too, Shisui, also pushing me forward. But I've got no way of knowing if you'd approve; I never did really understand you, deep down. I didn't understand how you get through life with such a light heart when there was so much darkness and evil in the world; I wasn't like you. Kakashi, I at least understood, even if I didn't agree.
"But this is the same as your father died for. At least if I fail, I won't have a chance to open my gut with the White Fang, right?" He laughed at his own deeply unfunny joke. "Giving up the village for a comrade… but Kushina's more than that to me. I told her that I wouldn't know what to do if she died, and I never did figure it out. It's more than just her though; it goes for everyone. I've never been able to handle death well. I'm just too possessive: I can't let anyone go. I think that's what is going to get me killed.
"I don't think that's a bad thing though. I'm finally living true to myself. If I'm gonna be the greatest of the Uchiha like you said, Kakashi, I don't think I could get there in any other way. Even if being true to myself means going against the village, at this point it doesn't seem like there's another choice.
"I don't want to leave either of you behind. I definitely don't want to see everything you died for to be destroyed. It's too selfish of me to be doing this; I know that. But I think at this point, it will be easy for me to stop caring; to only focus on my own desires. Mine, and no one else's. Not yours, not sensei's, not the villages, not the world's.
"And hope that everything turns out okay."
###
When Naruto got home, it was very quiet. It only took a minute for him to figure out that his mom wasn't around; Minato was waiting at the kitchen table, his finger tapping on the wood in an incessant beat.
"Kushina's sleeping," he said. "I've sent someone to grab some food; she wants to make dinner."
"Really?" Naruto said, and his dad nodded. He looked composed now, his status as Hokage unimpeachable once more despite how uncertain he'd been yesterday. It might not have been a recent transformation: Naruto had refused to see him the day before.
"Yeah. She said it'd be a fun thing to try, since I'm always the one cooking," Minato said with a hollow laugh. "We should probably temper our expectations."
"Yeah," Naruto said, not able to laugh back and filled with too much nervous energy to keep composed. "I think I'm gonna lie down, then. Will you guys grab me when she's awake?"
He turned to leave, but his dad's voice stopped him.
"Do you hate me, Naruto?"
Naruto turned around to find his dad still staring at the table, still tapping his finger.
"Huh?" he asked.
"It's a pretty simple question." His dad refused to look at him, and Naruto fidgeted.
"I guess I don't get where it's coming from," he said, and Minato finally looked up. Naruto couldn't read his expression.
"I sent Sakura away," his dad said, pinning Naruto with his piercing blue eyes. "That started all this, I think, in a thousand uncountable ways and several obvious ones. You followed after. Then, I called you all back, which proved to be a mistake. There's no way to know how much of one. I wasn't able to defend the village, and now, I'm not able to protect your mother." He stopped tapping. "So I think it would be fair if you hated me. I think that's what most people would do."
You don't have to protect mom, Naruto thought. I'm going to. But that wasn't what he said.
"I don't hate you," he said, and Minato breathed out. Naruto realized his father actually hadn't known what the answer would be. "I was forced to think a lot about you and mom, while I was gone and when I got back. I think you've done a lot of terrible things; the way you fought against Stone and the other villages, this thing with the Summit, I can't agree with them. You started out meaning to protect people, at least that's what you told me, but from everything you've talked about it ended up being that the Hokage can't just try to protect everyone. Whether because sometimes people have to risk themselves or because the world's just too complicated for that, I dunno. But I know that no matter what, you did your best. Even sending Sakura away by herself, I can forgive. It was stupid, but it was the kind of stupid that ninjas have been trained to do since the beginning."
"You think so?" Minato said mildly, and Naruto nodded. "Is that the better way you were talking about, then?"
"I don't know what that is yet," Naruto said frankly. "But I think it's okay to move forward based on what you know is wrong, even if you don't know what's right."
They'd never had a conversation like this before, filled with the strange tension of a parent and a child meeting one another as equals for the first time; Naruto couldn't identify it, but would figure out what the feeling was in hindsight. Minato crossed his arms and leaned back.
"That sounds like something Jiraiya would say," he said, and Naruto nodded.
"I learned a lot from him," he said, "even though we've only met a couple times. Sakura and Obito-sensei too, and I've taken a lot from them."
"But not as much from me," Minato noted.
"I did," Naruto said. "Just not what you say now. I liked your Nindo more when I was a kid, so that part I stuck with."
"You don't think experience is worth listening to?" Minato said without any barbs.
"I think experience teaches imperfect lessons," Naruto said, reaching for bigger words both because he needed them and in a hope that it would get through to his dad. "No one can decide what the world puts into them; only what they get out of it. That's how it's been for me, anyway." He swallowed. "And I've been through a lot. More than most people. Than most ninjas, even."
'You're right about that," Minato said, uncrossing his arms. "You grew so much in Rain, Naruto. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see it."
"It happens," Naruto said, because it had and he didn't have anything better to say.
"I'd like us to all be together tonight, as a family," Minato said. "Is that okay with you?"
"It's what I wanted too," Naruto said, secretly relieved as his dad nodded.
"Okay." He smiled sadly. "I'm glad to hear that."
When his mother woke up, she was so cheerful that even Naruto could forget she was going to her execution in two days. They spent the evening all together, an ordinary family that may very well have not been ninja, and she cooked a dreadful meal that Naruto ate every bite of.
They laughed and played games together, whittling away the time with normal, priceless things that Naruto had never appreciated before, and his day vanished in the blink of an eye.
At the end of it, his mom said goodbye to him.
Naruto should have remembered every word, but he couldn't bring himself to focus. All he could think about was that his mom was wasting her time.
He'd save her. This wouldn't be goodbye. It couldn't go any other way.
###
When Sasuke and his mother were done explaining what Black Zetsu was and where he'd come from, Hinata took some time to think about it.
"It's alarming," she decided. "But I don't think it changes much. If you want me to kill Itachi's shadow, I think I can manage that."
Sasuke gave her a relieved smile; he hadn't wanted to put more on her, but her coming here and offering her support had set his soul free. He felt sure that all of them working together could accomplish anything. In truth, he'd been dreading leaving Hinata behind once again, even if he never would have admitted it.
"But I'm concerned about what you said Madara said," she said, and Sasuke's joy faded slightly. "About his Shadow not being able to force people. What happens if we free Itachi, and he stays, well, a murderer?"
"He won't," Sasuke insisted, and Hinata gave him a quizzical look. "It explains everything."
"But if Black Zetsu could do that, why stay with Itachi all this time?" Hinata asked. "Why not simply slip into other people's shadows and make them do whatever it wanted?"
His mother didn't say anything; Sasuke leaned forward, trying to make Hinata understand. "Maybe because Itachi caught onto it," he argued. "He knew there was another
him, so it can't be totally subservient. If Black Zetsu left, he'd notice right away at this point."
"Maybe," Hinata said doubtfully. "It's just… involving Itachi at all seems insane, when he did such damage to the clan." They hadn't told her about the coup: maybe that had been a mistake, but Mikoto hadn't brought it up and so Sasuke hadn't either. Not yet. "If you two believe it's possible, I trust you. I'm only concerned that removing Black Zetsu won't actually cure his madness."
She shifted. "And what Obito-sensei said, about the Shadow being older than just Madara… that's concerning as well. Something that old can't have survived by just being lucky. It must have some way of fighting back."
"We'll handle it," Sasuke promised. "Especially if you're helping, Hinata. It will be fine."
She smiled at him, and he felt himself blush. It sent off a mirrored reaction in her. "W-well, I dunno about that. I think what we're doing might end up being stupid." She looked down, trying to hide her expression. "But I already said plenty about that…"
"You should return to your clan, Hinata," Mikoto said. "Before anyone comes looking for you. Think about what we've told you, and make sure your resolve is iron."
"I will," Hinata said, and then before she could lose her nerve she took Sasuke's hand. He grinned at her, and she smiled back, before squeezing it and leaving without another word. He and his mother watched her go, Sasuke's heart beating out of his chest.
"She's very cute," his mother said, and Sasuke blinked. Mikoto had a thoughtful expression, her head tilted as she smiled over at him. After his growth spurt, they were near the same height. "I don't believe there's ever been a union of Hyuuga and Uchiha in history. I wonder if her family would allow it."
"Mother," Sasuke said, choking. "I'm begging you to never say that again."
"So self conscious," she said with a teasing smile, poking at his cheek. "Don't worry, you're both far too young for that."
"Stop," Sasuke pleaded, and Mikoto laughed.
"We should prepare," she said, suddenly serious. "It's been some time since we sparred. Do you have any interest?"
"Some," he admitted. "You're up to it?"
"I would not offer if I were not," she said flatly. They left together, a shared goal in mind for the first time in years.
Even if Hinata was right to be cautious, Itachi's salvation was within sight.
###
Sakura trained long into the night.
She was pushing herself too far. She knew that. Training by herself, this long, and with such a dangerous jutsu, wasn't safe. If she messed up, she could die instantly. If she collapsed of chakra exhaustion, no one might find her till morning.
But she didn't make any mistakes. She refined the technique again and again, soaring higher than she ever had before, until she was sure she could cut down anyone who faced her. Even a Kage.
She was so focused that she didn't realize people were approaching until they were close behind her. She didn't detect them with any of her senses; rather, she just suddenly understood that she was flanked.
Sakura turned around, not sure who would have sought her out at this midnight hour when everything was cloaked in darkness, and registered a dull surprise at both arrivals.
Ino, looking worried and angry, and her father Kizashi just looking worried.
"Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" were the first words out of Ino's mouth. Sakura straightened up, her hands rubbed raw from her chakra as water dripped down her front. She was soaked from head to toe. Ino and her father looked her over with obvious concern, and then out over the forest she'd been facing.
"Training," Sakura answered honestly.
"Training?" her father asked. He had his sword strapped across his back, and he looked exhausted, huge circles under his eyes. "With
what?"
He gestured out towards the forest; dozens of trees had been cut down, a stretch of devastation that extended more than a hundred feet into the forest. Sakura knew, though Ino and Kizashi couldn't see it, that many of the trees that remained standing did so only by support of the general canopy, their trunks severed.
"It's a surprise," she said with an innocent smile, but it didn't have the effect she expected. Ino and her father just grew angrier.
"Why aren't you at home?" Kizashi asked, and Sakura shrugged.
"I have more important things to be doing," she said honestly. His face went pale, and her father backed up, eyes wide.
"More important than…" he sucked in a breath, looking defeated, and Sakura watched him without comprehension until Ino spoke.
"You're being a real bitch, Sakura, you know that?" she asked, and Sakura blinked.
"Sorry?" she asked, shock rippling through her. Ino had never called her that before, not even when they'd fought in Waves. "What did I do?" Ino crossed her arms, looking like she was holding back tears.
"Your mother's still recovering at home, and you're out here working on gods know what? It definitely doesn't look safe!" Ino declared, and Sakura blinked again. Her mother? Wasn't her mother in the hospital?
'She's safe at home. You forgot that she woke up.'
"Right!" Sakura said with a smile, slapping herself on the forehead. "Sorry, I totally forgot. Well, she's got you, right dad? I'll see her later." She started to turn around to refocus on her training.
"She wants to see
you, Sakura," her father said, his voice a whisper. "It's been weeks, and you refuse to see her. She doesn't understand what she did wrong."
"She didn't do anything wrong," Sakura said. "I just have something more important to do right now. I'll go home and see her as soon as I'm done."
"You should go
now," Ino said. Sakura still didn't understand why her friend sounded so angry. She looked back to find Ino glaring at her. "I can't stand seeing you act like this. You've got both your parents still, and you're just ignoring them?!"
"Both my…?" Sakura said, and Ino froze. "Oh, right. Your dad died. Sorry."
Ino flung up both her hands, and Sakura was so surprised at being attacked by an ally that she didn't immediately react as her friend fired the Shintenshin off. It struck her square in the chest, knocking her out of her body.
"You're going home
now," she heard Ino declare, feeling hands wrap around her soul and carry her away. The mind-body switch was complete; she was locked away in her own head, unable to do anything but watch as Ino walked her a couple steps forward.
Really? Sakura thought. Betrayed by one of my best friends?
'Isn't that what friends are for?'
She had to laugh at the thought, because she couldn't disagree with it. She didn't want to go home: she wasn't done here.
So she grabbed back, seizing the presence she felt in her mind. Ino let out a scream of fear.
'You can do that?'
Sakura could do that. She closed her hands around Ino, feeling her squirm and buck between her fingers and she crushed her friend's alien mind into a ball and ripped her out of her own head.
There wasn't any time for Ino to react; as she stumbled back, blood leaking from her nose, Sakura leapt forward and slammed a kick square into Ino's face. The lightning fast blow was without transition; one second Ino was standing there with terror in her eyes, and the next she was flat on her back and out cold, a nasty black eye already forming. Sakura's father stumbled backwards, his hands going to his sword.
"Oh?" Sakura said, turning towards him. "Are you going to betray me too, father?"
"Sakura," he begged, and he actually drew the blade. Sweat was running down his face in waves; he looked like he was in fear for his life. "We just want you to come home. Your mother wants to see you again. She misses you."
Sakura smiled. "Everything I'm doing, I'm doing for her," she said, and her father blinked, not understanding. "When I saw her in that hospital bed, I knew I could never let something like that happen again. Don't you feel the same way?" She approached him and he stayed stock still, like a rabbit trying to avoid detection.
"I do," he said. "But we're all worried about you. I'm sorry I didn't help you after the invasion-"
"I didn't need help!" Sakura said with a sudden sneer. "I'm handling everything
fine myself. I'm going to handle
everything myself!"
Her father stood there trembling, and Sakura felt her sneer widen, like it would split her face. A malefic grin that went all the way back to her ears. "Were you always this pathetic, and I just never noticed?" she said, and Kizashi stiffened. "Crying out here for your daughter now that she's independent from you? Holding that sword like you could
do something with it?"
She stepped forward again, fully into his range. "C'mon. Hit me.
Try it."
"I'm not going to hit you," he said, fear plain in his voice, and Sakura scoffed.
"You couldn't. I want you to
try," she said, trying to make her scorn obvious. "I don't need you, father. I'm stronger than you. How else would you want me to prove it?"
Kizashi shook his head, and Sakura continued, spilling out every dark thought she'd ever let spoil at the back of her mind. "You and mom were happy to ignore me when I was just a normal ninja. But now that I'm exceptional, you're trying to drag me back. You did the same with Gaara and the exam, remember? 'Oh, we're just worried about you, Sakura?'" She spat, her face twitching. "It's disgusting. And now that I'm better than you, than anything the both of you ever wanted for me, all you can do is stand there looking like you're going to piss yourself. Doesn't it make you feel ashamed? A grown man, terrified of his daughter? Are you even a human being?"
Kizashi moved, just a twitch as he sucked in a breath; maybe to attack her, maybe not. Sakura didn't care. She rushed forward in the same breath, seizing his hand and twisting it behind his back, smashing the back of his knee and buckling him in half. In just a heartbeat he was in a submission hold, helpless and beneath her.
"Sakura-!" Kizashi said, struggling back, but he couldn't move a muscle. It was like Sakura had said: she was stronger than him, overwhelmingly so. Even though his body was larger and better developed than hers, her chakra was so intense that her muscles overpowered his without a contest.
When exactly had that happened?
The thought flitted away like a moth lost in darkness, and Sakura refocused. She kicked her father to the ground, flinging his sword away into the forest.
"I'll see you when
I want to, and mother too," she said, sneering down at him. Kizashi lay in the mud of the training field, his whole body shaking; Sakura couldn't see his face, and didn't care to. "I'm going to keep training. Don't follow me. Next time, I'll actually hurt you."
She strode off into the darkness to continue her training, leaving behind an unconscious Ino and her weeping father, and did not see them again before she left for the Kage Summit.
