The Yellow Flash and The Village of Mokugakure

[Minato Namikaze]

The streets of Ambrosia were about as full as when he had came here a few hours ago. There weren’t many people, but his main focus was the out of place ninja that was walking just ahead of him. Minato wasn’t being overly cautious here, there were too many people for a full fledged fight to break out in the middle of the City. No, it was after the both of them left the City of Ambrosia itself that the real battle would begin. Minato knew this, and so did the dark man he was tailing. Where was he going? Was he on a mission? Who was he supposed to be reporting back to? All of these questions ran through Minato’s mind as he tailed the man. The only strange thing about the man was the fact that he didn't have a Forehead Protector. If it was a new Village, then they probably didn’t have time to set all of that little stuff up. That, or he’s a rogue Ninja, which meant that Minato would have to be careful.

The two ninja had reached the exit of Ambrosia, neither of the two men hesitated as they neared their exit into the dense forest that surrounded the city. Minato was impressed, this guy didn’t break his concentration, nor did he ever look back at Minato. So either he was confident in himself, or he had no Idea that Minato was following him. As the two passed through the entrance into the forest the Ninja that Minato had been following stopped and looked around, Minato walked up to him in an attempt to greet him. The man had caught Minato off guard. Before he knew it, he’d launched his foot into Minato’s stomach and jumped up into the trees. Minato clung to his stomach for a few seconds, the pain felt stronger than it usually had in the past. And he’d been impaled through the stomach by the Kyuubi’s claw without dying instantly.

‘Yep... Definitely not as strong as I used to be.’ Minato coughed as he grasped his stomach and looked up at the Ninja who was running from him. Minato didn’t have much time, if he was going to get his information, he needed to catch this man right now. Minato stood up, re-positioned his forehead protector and then took off along the forest’s floor. Minato was naturally speedy, his quick thinking and high reflexes had helped him a lot, but he was also one of the fastest ninja around. It was time to use his Flying Raijin. Minato reached into his kunai holster, pulled out his three pronged kunai, and tossed it at his opponent. The man turned in mid air and deflected it with his own kunai, but Minato had already made his move.

With a flash of yellow light. Minato had disappeared and reappeared at the kunai’s location. Minato grasped the kunai with his right hand, using it to deflect the Ninja’s own kunai bombardment. The Man’s eyes stared straight at Minato, their colour no longer black but rather, they were a crimson red with three tomoe sitting around a black pupil.

‘Uchiha?’ Minato thought to himself as he kicked the Uchiha man in the stomach and sent him crashing into the dirt below them. He hadn’t expected it, but it made sense. The way he dressed and the way he looked, Minato should have known right from the beginning. Minato landed on the ground in front of his Uchiha opponent. The man looked up at him with a smirk as he took in a deep breath. Minato almost instantly realized what his opponent had done on his way down to the ground. Minato held his hand up, gathering chakra as it began to spin and rotate in the palm of his hand. His opponent had prepared a fireball jutsu, and he had no time to get away. The only thing he could think of doing was dispersing the fire with one of his own Jutsu.

‘Rasengan!’ Minato howled as both he and his Uchiha opponent released their Jutsu. Minato’s Rasengan collided with the fireball with a force that almost knocked him off of his feet, Minato could only stand and watch as the Rasengan in his palm slowly dispersed the flames. By now, the Uchiha had already taken the time to get away from him.

‘Why are you following me?’ A voice spoke out as Minato felt the cold touch of a steel kunai knife at his throat.

‘I just wanted to talk, you’re the one who attacked first.’ Minato replied as he poked at the Uchiha’s stomach with the point of his own kunai knife. ‘Now the question is… Are you confident you can cut my throat before I can react?’ Minato grinned.

The confident scoff that came from the man as Minato asked his question was the perfect signal, one that Minato had been waiting for the entire time the man’s kunai has been at his throat. The Uchiha gasped in disbelief as he was given no choice but to watch Minato disappear in a flash of yellow light, only to reappear behind the man. The roles of the two ninja had been reversed

‘Now… Can we please work this out without cutting each others throats?’ Minato questioned as he held his kunai against the man’s throat. Kind of hypocritical of him, but he needed to get his point across. The man nodded slowly, almost as if he hesitated with his movements. Minato relaxed his muscles and took his weapon away from the man’s throat, placing it back in it’s holster. The man jumped forward and turned around, his sharingan still activated, still tracking every little move Minato made.

‘Hello, my name is Minato.’ His statement was strong and firm, the Uchiha man looked at him and recognized the name and knelt down on his right knee.

‘Lord Fourth, I am so sorry for attacking you earlier. My name is Izanami.’ Izanami’s words felt sincere and, to be completely honest, Minato was surprised that the man hadn’t recognized him sooner. But he’d probably been here for a long time, him being here proves that Minato wasn’t the first person brought to this world, and who knows how old this place actually is… Minato smiled at the man and gestured for Izanami to stand.

‘What are you doing here?’ minato asked as he looked around at the forest around him. It was dense, and the sounds that could be heard coming from within it sounded guttural and primal. As if everything that lived within the forest wanted to kill them, as if the forest itself wanted to kill them.

‘It seems Dangerous, but it’s safe. The animals of this forest are part of the reason no one has attacked the Village yet.’ Izanami explained to Minato as they looked at each other. Minato’s initial intuition was right, there was a Hidden Village somewhere in this forest. Now he just had to make it there. Minato nodded at his new friend and then looked back to the forest. A noise had caught his attention, it wasn't a loud noise but rather a soft noise. A noise that you wouldn't have heard unless you were specifically listening for it. It sounded as if leaves had been knocked off of a branch in one of the trees by them.

‘Have they been following you for long?’ Minato asked as he placed his hand over his kunai.

‘Since I got to Ambrosia.’ Izanami frowned, his response was soft and direct. He clearly didn’t want to let whoever it was know that both He and Minato were aware of their presence. ‘They fell back a little when we started fighting.’

‘I see…’ Minato responded as he placed his hand on his hip. His voice was low and his lips moved only to the slightest degree. He didn’t want to let them know that he knew they were there. If they were going to be ambushed, he’d rather be prepared for it.

‘So... shall we get going?’ Minato questioned happily as his serious demeanor took a sudden one hundred and eighty degree turn. In truth, he really did just want to get going. He really did want to get to the village to see who was running it, but he also needed to look for a nice spot for their impending fight. There was no way of getting around it, if they ran now, then whoever was following them would know that they had realized they were there. The only option was to continue as normal.

Minato smiled at Izanami warmly, gesturing for him to take the lead.

[Minato Namikaze]

It was unusual for a forest of this size to be so quiet. The fact that the sounds of animals was so rare at this point in time unnerved Minato somewhat. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, just a few minutes ago he and Izanami were traveling through the forest and all sorts of animal calls and screams could be heard. Now there was nothing, not even the sound of birds calling out to their mates through the sharp silence that seemed to cover the forest. Minato grabbed Izanami’s shoulder as they both came to a short, abrupt, stop.

‘What is it?’ Izanami barked with a tone of annoyance and paranoia. He was clearly too focused on keeping his guard up and getting his mission done to notice anything else other than himself and Minato. Minato shook his head and then looked around for a moment before returning his attention to Izanami.

‘Don’t you think that something about this Forest seems strange?’ Minato asked as his words carried a truth that the man had failed to realize sooner. It was true that there was something wrong with the situation they were in. The forest was never this quiet, not even at night. The faint sounds of an animal being killed, or the chirping birds that never seemed to shut their beaks. It was all very strange.

‘You’re right. Something is wrong here.’ Izanami agreed with Minato. In fact, he was kind of ashamed he hadn’t noticed sooner. The Uchiha were supposed to some of the strongest ninja around. He was rather disappointed in himself for not seeing it sooner. Minato gripped Izanami’s shoulder tightly as he began infusing and building up chakra. Minato looked at his companion and frowned, Izanami nodded in agreement. They weren’t sure about their new theory, but they were going to find out soon enough.

‘Release!’ Minato exclaimed as he surged chakra throughout his and Izanami’s body, disrupting the normal chakra flow of both men. Minato watched as five men began to fade into the scene around the two of them. Of course, they’d been trapped in a genjutsu at some point. Minato felt embarrassed, but this wasn’t the time to show it, there was a fight heading his way, and he needed to be ready for it. Minato let out a large, calming, sigh as he grasped the handle of his Kunai with his right hand.

‘This isn’t a good situation for you two.’ One of the Ninja grinned as he crouched low to the ground, Shuriken in between each of his fingers. Minato was already thinking ahead, He needed to get Izanami past them and then give him time to get back to the Village. Minato reached into the pouch, that he had strapped to his backside and pulled out a second kunai and placed it in his left hand.

‘Come now, you don’t think that a measly two Kunai will be able to defeat us. Do you?’ The man snarled as they began to close in on the pair. Minato tossed the kunai he had in his left hand at one of the ninja in front of him. The men laughed as it was easily deflected up onto a tree branch. Their condescending laughs irritated Minato greatly. He was used to fighting cocky enemies, but their lack of respect for the people they preyed on was extremely infuriating. Minato grinned as he held his index and middle finger straight up, curling his thumb and remaining two fingers into the palm of his hands. Minato dropped his second Kunai in the ground, the group of men surrounding them watching as it fell to the ground. The kunai was the starting signal, as soon as it hit the ground the fight would start.

Minato instinctively reached out and grabbed Izanami’s shoulder as the men launched a barrage of shuriken and kunai at them. The two of them disappeared in a flash of yellow light. the men looked around, their faces filled with confusion, anger and annoyance. Minato looked down at the group, who were sure to find them in a few seconds, he didn’t have much time.

‘Go to the village, I’ll distract them.’ Minato ordered as he stood up, the branch swayed slightly with his movements. Minato saw the look in Izanami’s eyes as he looked down at the crouching man, he knew it all to well. He didn’t have a chance at killing all of them, but he could provide enough of a distraction. Give Izanami enough time to get away. Besides, He is the fourth Hokage after all. Minato turned away from his friends and stretched out his left arm, grabbing the kunai that had been embedded into the tree.

‘Have some faith in the fourth Hokage!’ Minato stated as he pulled the Kunai from the tree and faced his right palm upwards, as if he was grasping something in his hand. ‘Now go, I’ll hold them off.’ Minato finished as he disappeared, a flash of yellow light in his place.

‘RASENGAN!’ Minato exclaimed as he reappeared above the kunai he had previously dropped into the ground. Grabbing the handle of the Kunai that had been planted in the ground as he spun in mid air, Minato yanked it from the ground. After spinning himself to face the ground, he thrust the Rasengan into the dirt below himself. The air and shoc kwaves produced by this had knocked his opponents backwards a few feet. Minato had to move quickly, otherwise he would lose his edge. He quickly tossed both of his Kunai into the ground beside two of the men as they began to steady themselves. He concentrated for a moment before teleporting to the two men. With a look of surprise and slight fear, they watched as minato re-appeared in front of them and, without a single ounce of hesitation, placed his hands on the ground and thrust himself into a handstand. They were given no time to react as the souls of Minato’s sandals slammed into the bottom of their chins, knocking them up into the air.

‘Two down…’ Minato panted as he turned his hand stand into a cartwheel, returning to a standing position. He’d found that he required more chakra than usual to fight. This annoyed him greatly, apparently Omni liked to toy with people. But there was nothing he could do about it now, he needed to be very careful. He’d caught two of them off guard, but the other three had - by now - already regained their composure.

‘Three to-’ Minato began as a fist slammed itself into his cheek. The blow sent him flying across the forest floor and into a tree. He wasn’t going to sugar coat it, that hurt, and these guys are strong. Just another thing he had to watch out for. Minato rose to his feet slowly, his back ached from the collision with the tree. Without having time to react, another fist had impacted his body, but this time it was his stomach. Minato grabbed the man’s arm and swung him in a circle, wrapping his body around the same tree that he had been thrown into.

Minato looked around for his Kunai, a little disoriented from being slammed into the tree. An all too familiar flash of yellow light replaced him as he teleported back to his Kunai, grasping them in both hands and pulling them from the ground. Minato turned around to see a volley of shuriken and kunai flying straight towards him.

‘Shit, not enough time to teleport away. I’ll have to try and deflect them.’ Minato though desperately to himself as he raised his own two kunai and began intercepting the projectiles. But it wasn’t enough, there were just too many of them, there was no way he could possibly deflect them all. Minato could only deflect so many before the Kunai and shuriken overpowered him, embedding themselves into his forearms as he attempted to block the barrage with crossed arms.

His vision had begun to blur, he’d used a lot of chakra, and the ninja tool assault had caused him to bleed quite a lot. They also weren’t giving him a lot of time to prepare, as soon as the barrage had ended they had already started their charge towards him. Minato took a deep breath, letting out slowly as he - once again - calmed himself. At this point, the men were only a few feet away from him. Minato flicked his wrists as he let go of the kunai, throwing them behind the two men as they rushed him. The kunai spun in mid air as the shinobi pair’s kunai came within a foot of his body. Minato saw everything as if time had slowed down even his own movements were slowed. He was sure that it was the effect of adrenaline pumping through his body, something that he hadn’t felt for quite a long time.

‘This is it for you!’ One of the men screamed as they came within an inch of Minato’s chest. He grinned at them as he vanished again. The two men stumbled forwards as they lost their footing. They had expected to hit him, so they weren’t prepared to miss. Minato reappeared behind them, in the middle of both Kunai. Minato placed his hands on the first guys back as he used his upper body to swing both of his feet into the back of the second man’s head. Minato followed this up by rotating himself with his hands, into a sitting position on the man’s neck. He then threw himself into a backflip action as he stretched his hands out, placing them on the ground as he used his lower body to throw his opponent into a tree.

Minato crouched down and lifted the two Kunai from the ground. He had shuriken sticking out of his arms, dried blood on his white coat. It was going to be a nightmare trying to wash it all out and repair the clothing. Minato coughed as he began to laugh, the fact that he thought about washing his clothes right after a battle was funny to him. Minato stood slowly, placing both Kunai in the pouch strapped to his back. He’d used a lot of chakra, and his vision had become blurry and faded, he felt as though he was going to pass out.

‘Heh… Man, I wish I’d taken the opportunity to leave when I had the chance.’ Minato wheezed as he began turning towards the direction Izanami had been headed.

‘That’s right… You should have!’ Minato heard as he felt the cold steel pierce his abdomen. Minato looked at the man in confusion, he didn’t remember the man having a katana. Minato looked past the man and examined the area behind him, a discarded summoning scroll sat in the dirt. Unravelled, the sealing jutsu on the scroll had been undone. Minato grabbed hold of the top of the blade, his grip wasn’t exactly strong, but his actions made the last ninja hesitate with his own grip on the blade. Minato shook the sword free of the Shinobi’s hands and then sheepishly kicked him in the stomach. The man stumbled backwards, grinned, and then jumped up into the trees.

Minato stumbled forwards for a few seconds before he realized he had began to lose balance. The only thing he could think of was to not fall on his stomach. The pain pretty much dulled most of his other senses and, combined with the amount of blood loss, dropped him into a semi-conscious state. He could feel it, he was losing what little consciousness he had left. Minato smiled as he lay there, in his stained clothes. It had been short lived, but he’d been able to help someone, and that was all that mattered.

‘Hey! Over here!’ The voices seemed distant, but the blurred shadowy figures seemed so close to him. They were calling out to each other. But Minato didn’t have enough energy to respond to them. All he could do was lay in the dirt and grass.

‘Get HER over here now!’ The voice exclaimed frantically as Minato’s last moments of consciousness faded from him.

[Minato Namikaze]

Minato watched himself, as if having an out-of-body experience. But only, it wasn’t, it felt more like a lucid dream more than anything. He watched himself fight the masked man, His kunai traveling through the man’s face and out the other side, as if fighting a ghost. Then, just as he was about to finish the fight, everything stopped as if it had been frozen in place. Minato walked up to the scene, everything was just as it had been in the past. The Masked Man, himself, the way they fought, only now he could find out who it was. Minato walked up to the man, inspecting his face, the mask revealing only his right eye.

‘Sharingan. . .’ Minato sighed as he went over everything he knew already. It was disappointing, maybe if he’d aimed for the face, he’d have found out who this man was. Surely Madara Uchiha was already dead. So he couldn’t be who he said he was. Minato reached forward and grabbed at the bottom edge of the mask, only to find that his fingers phased right through the man’s entire head. Minato soon found the world around him passing by like a blur, and then to a sudden halt as he noticed his infant son on the ground in front of himself. Kushina, his wife, standing in front of him.

‘Naruto!’ Minato called out as he desperately tried to reach for his son. Minato dropped his head as he realized where he was. This was when he and Kushina sealed part of the Kyuubi and the last of their own chakra within Naruto. Minato clenched his fist as he screamed internally, it wasn’t fair. Why was his own mind torturing him? Why was he so close yet so far away from his son? Minato felt a lump in his throat as tears began to stream down his face. He didn’t understand why he was here, why he was being tortured. He just didn’t understand.

‘Minato, Minato wake up!’ Kushina said as her almost frozen body seemed to come to life. Minato couldn’t speak, not because the dream had decided that he couldn’t, but because of the emotions that he felt.

‘Minato. Wake up!’ Kushina exclaimed as the world around them shook violently. ‘WAKE UP, YA KNOW!’ Kushana’s voice echoed as the world around him collapsed, as if made from paper. He welcomed the darkness, anything to take him away from that nightmare of his. Minato looked down at the dark ground, something about this new scene seemed familiar.

‘Why am I not awake yet?’ Minato asked himself as he caught a glimpse of a white figure in the corner of his eye. He spun around to find himself presented with one, final, scene. It was Omni, speaking to him, but it wasn’t him as he was now. It was him from when he first arrived in this world. He couldn’t hear a single word coming out of Omni’s mouth. It was as if Omni himself was muted. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own breath. Minato watched with a building irritation as he tried to make sense of this. First the Masked Man, then They Kyuubi and his son, and now himself and Omni. Why was he experiencing such an odd dream?

Minato’s train of thought was broken by the white silhouette’s sudden attention switch. From his past self, to his current self. The words it spoke were almost indistinguishable. It’s wide grin stretching across it’s face as if it had no bounds. The being looked at him for an uncomfortable amount of time before speaking up again.

‘Wake. Up.’ Omni’s child-like voice, yet fierce words shook him to the core. Minato wasn’t afraid, but he was definitely unnerved by the being. Minato watched as both Omni and himself disappeared from sight, leaving only darkness and the strange sound of footsteps.

‘Minato, wake up.’ Tsunade’s voice said as he opened his eyes. The fluorescent light hurt his eyes slightly as he saw Tsunade sitting next to his bed. It seemed as though she’d been watching over him.

‘Tsunade?’ Minato asked, his confusion getting the better of him. ‘Where am I?’

‘You’re in the Village.’ Tsunade said as she looked down at him and smiled. The fact that they were still in the Omniverse had slipped her mind, she was just happy that he was okay. Minato looked around the hospital room, it looked looked exactly like the hospital rooms back in the Hidden Leaf. His look of confusion prompted Tsunade to realize her mistake.

‘We’re still in the Omniverse.’ Tsunade corrected herself as Minato sat up slowly, a light pain spreading through his abdomen. ‘I’ve managed to build up a somewhat stable village…’

‘So... what’s the problem with it then?’ Minato coughed, his throat was rather dry and his voice was raspy. Tsunade looked at him with a frown on her face.

‘Politics.’ The Sannin replied. Minato knew what she meant, politics always got in the way of a perfectly stable village.

Tsunade rested her chin on the palm of her hand looked at Minato from the corner of her eyes. ‘Do you want my job?’ Tsunade asked playfully. Minato laughed and shook his head in response.

‘No thank you.’ Minato responded before taking a slight pause, he was trying to come up with a believable excuse. ‘You know this place better than I do.’ Minato laughed as Tsunade looked away from him.

‘You’re right.’ Tsunade responded as she let out a large sigh and then sat back in her chair. ‘What are you doing here Anyway?’

‘I... don’t know.’ Minato began, he was still trying to make sense of it himself. ‘One minute I was sealing the Nine Tails inside of Naruto. The next, I was here.’

‘In the forest?’ Tsunade asked as she turned to him, her chin still in her hand.

‘No.’ Minato shook his head. ‘I was in a dark room, in front of a being that called itself Omni.’ Minato clarified. His description of the event matched what Tsunade had been presented with when she first arrived here.

‘So you’re a Prime then.’ Tsunade mumbled as she thought to herself.

‘Prime?’ Minato asked, he knew that we was different than some of the other people he’d met so far. He could feel it. But he didn’t know why or how.

‘It’s a term used for people brought here by Omni.’ Tsunade began. It was true after all, he really was green when it came to this world. ‘Unlike other inhabitants of this world, Primes seem to passively absorb Omnillium. This makes us stronger.’ Tsunade’s explanation seemed to make sense to Minato, he had felt something similar to this. He had felt himself getting stronger as he was fighting against the five ninja that had been pursuing Izanami.

‘Yeah. I've noticed.’ Minato replied as Tsunade stood from her chair and walked over to the hospital room door.

‘Get up, I want to show you something.’ Tsunade said as she left the room. Minato moved his legs slowly, hoisting them over the side of the mattress and planting his feet on the tiles below the bed. The cool tiles were refreshing on his feet, he’d been somewhat overheated under the hospital blanket. Minato stood up, almost falling forwards and flat on his face. The hospital gown he had on wasn’t really comfortable. In all honesty, he just wanted his own clothes back.

‘I guess I should follow her then.’ Minato muttered as he left the room behind, following Tsunade through the small hallway. He didn’t know where she was taking him, or what she wanted to show him. But he would follow her nonetheless.

[Minato Namikaze]

Tsunade had led him up to the hospital roof, where she stood at the very edge and looked out upon the village. It was dark out, small beams of moonlight pierced through the dense foliage cover above them, illuminating the village. Minato walked up to Tsunade, his hospital gown swayed slowly as the wind brushed past him. The blonde haired shinobi looked out over the village as a sense of nostalgia filled his body. This new village that Tsunade had set up, it was as if she was using the leaf as a model. Minato smiled as he turned to look at Tsunade.

‘So, why did you bring me up here?’ Minato asked quietly. Tsunade didn’t look at him, and she didn’t say a thing. She just stood there, looking out at the village, taking it all in.

‘I wanted to show you what peace was.’ Tsunade responded, cutting the minute long silence that she had created. ‘I wanted to show you what it was like.’

‘The leaf knew peace before I... Came here.’ Minato responded in confusion as he watched Tsunade shake her head. Minato looked back over the village and realized what Tsunade was talking about. It didn’t seem as if it’s citizens were always worrying about outside attacks. The patrols that the village ninja went on each night weren’t focusing on outside the village, but more on what was happening inside the village. This was definitely the point that Tsunade was trying to make.

‘I see what you mean.’ Minato smiled. ‘But now you have to worry about the different Noble Families fighting for control.’ Minato frowned as Tsunade let out a large sigh. A sign of her agreement with Minato’s words.

‘This village of Mokugakure, it’s what the Hidden leaf was only beginning to become.’ Tsunade spoke as the two stood atop the Hospital. The wind had changed, it’s gentle breeze had become a sharp wind that would constantly rush back and forth past the two senior Ninja. ‘But now I have Village politics to worry about.’ Her sigh was loud and clear, she didn’t want to deal with this, but she had to. It was Tsunade’s job to find a peaceful solution.

Minato didn’t know what to say. He had been the Hokage only for a short time in comparison to the Hokage before him. he’d never really experienced any of the trials that in-fighting caused. He’d known about the Uchiha’s ill feelings towards the village elders, and that they had plans to go against them. But he’d died long before he got a chance to do anything about it. Minato sighed as he looked up to the dense foliage that hid the village from an aerial view.

‘Shinobi are those who endure.’ The blonde haired ninja began to lecture as he placed his hand on Tsunade’s shoulder. ‘Whether it’s during war or for the sake of stabilizing the village, it makes no difference. We will always endure.’ Minato finished. His attempt at an inspirational speech was rather corny, but it got his point across.

‘I know…’ Tsunade said softly as her smile turned into a frown. ‘Dumb-ass!’ She exclaimed as she turned to Minato and clenched her fist. Minato’s expression was that of fear. Tsunade was definitely a scary woman, and his life could very well be in danger at this very second. Tsunade swing her arm towards Minato. Her punch was fast and hard, letting loose an explosion of chakra from the impact point as Minato was thrown across the top of the Hospital and into a small, protruding, building that housed the stairwell.

‘I’ve been around much longer than you, Fourth. Don’t lecture me just because you’re my predecessor in rank.’ Tsunade’s words rang fiercely throughout his head as he stumbled to his feet, catching a glimpse of the woman's clenched fists, and nodded his head.

‘O-Okay.’ Was the only word that Minato could manage without his jaw aching with a horrible pain.

‘Come on, I’ll heal you.’ Tsunade laughed as she and Minato began their descent back into the hospital. ‘You can stay in your room for the night. Also, your clothes have been washed and repaired, so they’ll be on the table in your room.’

Minato didn’t reply, he just nodded. His jaw was in too much pain for him to say anything. He just walked sluggishly behind Tsunade, he was still rather disoriented from her punch.

It wasn’t long before the two had made it back to Minato’s room. Only a few minutes actually. Minato shambled over the the hospital bed and laid down on it. the mattress and pillows seemed oddly comforting as he rested his head on them. The relief that he felt caused a small smile to come over his face. Anything more would have caused him pain.

Minato rolled over, as Tsunade sat down in a chair next to his bed, and pointed to his face. Tsunade laughed as she placed her hands about 1ten centimeters above his bruised and swollen cheek. A familiar green glow illuminated the side of Minato’s face as she began to heal him.

‘Say… Minato... Do you plan on staying around?’ Tsunade asked. Her words were slightly filled with doubt that Minato hadn’t heard in a long while. Minato nodded slightly as the swelling on his cheek began to lessen. Tsunade smiled and then spoke up again. ‘In that case, I have someone I want you to meet tomorrow.’

Tsunade smiled as Minato, once again, nodded in agreement. It was only natural that she wanted to put him on a team. Their own village usually had squads of three or four ninja working together at a time. So why was there any reason to think differently of this village?

‘Come to the Central-Tree in the morning.’ She’d begun giving him orders now, Minato laughed internally as he felt the fatigue returning to him. He was still quite tired from his fight, and Tsunade’s punch hadn’t helped him recover. Minato closed his eyes, and began drifting off to sleep as Tsunade continued to work on his cheek.

[Minato Namikaze]

Minato looked up at the Centre-Tree that Tsunade had told him to meet her in. It was definitely large, larger than any other tree he’d seen before. It was impressive, to say the least. Minato gazed up at the tree, a hint of awe in his stare.

‘That is one, huge, tree.’ Minato droned as he found himself becoming even more impressed with the tree.

Minato scanned the tree from left to right has he looked the tree up and down. A staircase wrapped itself around the trunk of the tree, spiraling up towards a large tree hollow. He wondered if he should just take the normal route. It definitely seemed more professional, and Hokage-like. But he wasn’t the Hokage anymore. He was just a regular Ninja now.

‘The fun way it is.’ Minato grinned as he stretched his legs, readying himself for what came next. ‘Ah man, this is going to be fun.’ The yellow haired ninja exclaimed happily before leaping into the air and towards the tree.

Minato pulled out one of his kunai, holding it with his right hand as he descended upon the trunk of the tree. Minato pushed the Kunai into the bark of the tree, catching himself as he dangled by one hand from the side of the tree.

‘Yep, definitely fun.’ He mumbled as he lifted another Kunai from his pouch and tossed it through the air, vertically parallel to the trunk of the tree.

Pulling himself up and grasping the kunai with his other hand, Minato yanked the Kunai from the tree bark. A flash of yellow light was all that remained in place of his body as he reappeared at his Kunai. Minato grabbed onto it, noticing the spiral stair way in front of him. Another toss and another flash of yellow light had Minato arrive safely on the stair way.

‘That’s enough of that… for now.’ Minato smirked as he looked ahead of himself. He still had quite a way to go. ‘Time to go.’ He spoke, a semi-serious tone in his voice as he began sprinting up the stair case towards Tsunade’s Office.

Minato stared at the large, walnut coloured, doorway that separated the inside of the tree from the outside world. Minato stretched out his hands and pushed on the doors. The creaking of the doors broke the silence as he entered the room. Minato noticed a young boy standing beside Tsunade as he shambled his way over to the two.

Tsunade smiled as she placed her hand on the boy’s back and nudged him forward as she spoke. ‘This is Kito.’ She smiled, the black haired boy, however, didn’t seem too enthusiastic. ‘I want you two to work together.’

Minato looked the kid over, he reminded him of Kakashi in a lot of ways. The unimpressed scowl definitely bared resemblance to Kakashi. ‘So, Kito was it?’ Minato asked as he extended his hand. Kito nodded and then shook Minato’s hand firmly.

‘So you want me to run him through the usual test?’ Minato inquired as he turned to face Tsunade. She nodded as Minato then thought to himself before speaking up again. ‘Without anyone else, it’ll be hard for me to put him through it though.’

‘I’ve done the bell test already.’ Kito interjected. A stunned expression came over Minato’s face as he looked down at the young boy. ‘Yep, Naruto tested my team with it.’ Kito continued. Minato smiled as he thought of his son, all grown up, and leading a team of Genin. It gave him a sense of pride in his son. Then all he could think think of was how hard his life must have been. Living as an orphan and a jinchuuriki, people must have been horrible too him.

‘Don’t worry Minato, Naruto grew into a strong Ninja.’ Tsunade spoke up as the smile faded from the Fourth Hokage’s face. ‘He saved the world, you know.’
Minato looked turned to Tsunade, a dreary look on his face. ‘I don’t care about that...’ Minato sighed heavily. ‘I just wish I’d been there to see my son kick some ass!’ He wept as he trudged to the corner of the room, sat down and put his head in his knees. ‘It’s not fair.’

Kito and Tsunade stared at the yellow haired man-child as he began rambling to himself in the corner, mumbling things about how it was unfair that he died before he got to see his child grow up. His two companions just stood there, watching him for a minute or so before continuing the conversion.

‘In any case, Minato will test you... I think’ Tsunade announced as she turned to Kito. He looked at her in confusion and slight frustration as he had already gone through tests back in Konoha.

‘It’s not for you, Kito.’ Minato spoke, recovering from his miniature spat of depression. ‘I’m testing you so that I know I can rely you.’ Minato stated as he walked over to Tsunade and whispered in her ear. Tsunade nodded, grinned, walked over to her desk and sat down.

Minato headed for the door without addressing the young, black haired genin, and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a bell, attached it to his cloak, turned to Kito and gave him a smug smile. ‘You have 5 hours, until midday, to get this bell from me.’ The former Kage grinned as he held up a bell and shook it.

Kito dashed at him as the sound of the bell filled the room. Minato dashed out of the room, reaching the edge of the stairs before launching himself off of the platform and into the air towards the village below them. He spun around in mid-air to find his future student standing at the edge of the platform he had just thrown himself from. ‘Good Luck!’ Minato exclaimed with a wide smile as he began descending towards the village roof tops.

[Minato Namikaze]

The air was brisk, and the morning sun hadn't had the time to heat it up yet. But that wasn't going to stop the Fourth Hokage. He was going to push Kito to his very limit. He needed to see what he was capable of. He needed to know that he'd be able to trust Kito, trust him with his very own life.

Minato landed, feet first, on the roof top of a house. A loud thud echoed through the air as he made contact with the orange wood. He spun around on his heels too look back up at the tree, only to fin an outstretched leg heading towards him. The yellow haired ninja put up both of his arms in a cross position as his soon to be apprentice's foot collided with his defense. The force of their exchange sent the two ninja sliding across the top of the roof. Orange planks of wood snapping in two and angling upwards as they traveled along the roof.

'You're pretty good Kid.' Minato remarked as he swiftly maneuvered his arms into a more comfortable position, grabbing Kito's leg and foot as he began spinning on the spot. 'But I have more experience.' He grinned as his spin grew faster. Minato let go of Kito, launching him over to another building.

Kito stood up and brushed himself off, dust fell from his clothing and onto the second roof top as he did so. Kito stared at his senior as chakra began to take form around his hands and fore arms. Minato watched as the young boy turned the chakra into lightning and leaped from the building and towards Minato.

The yellow haired ninja jumped backwards as Kito fell onto his position, thrusting his hands into the roof top. The Lightning was unforgiving, there was no alternative other than destruction for the wood that Kito's palm had collided with. Kito looked up for a moment, before pulling his hand from the pile of destroyed wood, before lunging forwards at the former Kage. Minato leaned back into a backwards hand spring, narrowly dodging the young boy's attack.

'You remind me a lot of a former student.' Minato began as he stood up straight. His composure was perfect, and although his relatively care free stance seemed open, Kito couldn't discern any openings. He could only watch, unable to make a move as the blonde shinobi reached into the pouch on his back side. 'I'll admit that you're a little better than he was...' Minato proceeded as he pulled a kunai from his pouch and tossed it at Kito.

Kito's attention had turned to the Kunai, deflecting it with the lightning that had formed around his hands. But Minato's reflexes were sharp, and he had already made his preparations, a bright flash of golden light shone as Minato disappeared into thin air. 'But I was the Fourth Hokage.' Minato spoke as he reappeared, suspended in mid air, above the boy, Rasengan in hand. Minato took no extra time to think this through, he thrust his arm downwards, expecting Kito to dodge, or roll, or produce a substitution even. But, to Minato's surprise, his jutsu was met with the howls of lighting and the glint of steel.

Minato pushed backwards, propelling himself away from Kito as the Image of Kito's electrified blade came into clear view. He'd blocked Minato's Rasengan by running his Chakra through his sword. 'I guess I was overconfident.' Minato mumbled, slight embarrassment filling his voice as he spoke. The jounin rubbed his head and smiled as Kito stood, his katana still covered in lightning. 'But I have to end this now.' Minato stated as the embarrassment left his voice. His firm stance backing up his words as he readied himself for one last round with the boy.

Kito looked at Minato, confusion on his face as the blonde seemed to transition into a defensive stance. Kito shrugged it off as mind games, keeping his eyes on his opponent at all time. He was thinking rationally, and he knew that Minato's space-time ninjutsu was tied to his Kunai, so if he could stay away from them, he'd be fine. Minato watched eagerly noticing Kito's unwillingness to break eye contact with the senior ninja. He was analyzing his abilities, and the excitement of taking on a new genin was making him eager. Eager to teach, and eager to give Kito a glimpse of what he was capable of, of his true power.

Minato, as he had done before, disappeared into thin air. That familiar flash of light engulfed the area that Minato once occupied. The black haired genin jerked his head, scanning the area for his opponent, while maintaining his defensive stance. He wasn't going to allow Minato the chance to get to him.

'It's over, Kito.' Minato's calm, yet firm, voice sounded, both startling andshocking him at the same time. He'd slipped his kunai by Kito's arm and held it to his throat. If anything, Kito was puzzled more than he was insulted. 'When you deflected my Kunai, the first time, in the split second that you raised your weapon to defend from my Rasengan I was able to mark you with my seal.' Minato's explanation was clear and concise. He didn't waste time trying to emphasize, or boast about his abilities.

'I see why you were the Fourth Hokage.' Kito spoke, defeat in his voice. Minato placed his hand on Kito's shoulder as the latter sheathed his weapon. 'Hey, for a genin, you put up a pretty good fight.' The blonde smiled, placing his kunai in the pouch on his backside as he looked back to Tsunade's office. 'Yeah, but I failed.' Kito responded. Minato shook his head as he removed his hand from the boy's shoulder. 'No, you did well. I had to change the test a little bit, but you passed.' The jounin smiled as he looked up to the canopy that hung over the village like an umbrella. 'Now let's go see Tsunade. She might have something else for us to do.' Minato suggested as the two began towards her office.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Continued from Return from the Graveyard

Kakashi and Minato had found themselves in the village’s infirmary after making their way through the Tangled Greens and back to the gates of Mokugakure. Draped in liberal quantities of gauze and various healing salves, the duo had quickly been plopped into cots and assessed by the medical staff. The pungent aroma of antiseptic made the scarecrow wish that more folks in the forest village were versed in the medical ninjutsu of which he was so accustomed. 

“Well, well. I’m glad you two eventually turned up. Mind telling me where you ran off to?”

The wounded pair snapped to attention at the inquiry, leveling their gaze on the stern face of the First Morikage. She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot expectantly. 

“Uh, well…” Minato began, raising a finger to respond.

“You left Kito alone in the woods, Fourth,” Tsunade responded brusquely. “I realize the boy is competent, but that was just careless.”

“I didn’t leave by choice,” Minato replied, almost indignant. “We were summoned.”

“Summoned?” The blonde kunoichi repeated, her anger dissolving. “Explain.”

“It felt a lot like being summoned to the Omniverse had,” Kakashi offered, sitting up pin-straight in bed. “Teucer was his name. He needed our help.”

Minato nodded vigorously. “Yes, he pulled a good many primes to help him break a curse placed on him by an evil Warlock.”

“Warlock,” Tsunade said, touching a finger to her chin. “Sounds like a bedtime story to me.”

Kakashi shrugged. “I have a feeling that kind of thing is the norm around here.”

“I can’t argue that, I guess,” The Morikage responded. “Well, I really am glad to see you two back here. Can never tell what’ll happen tomorrow lately.”

“I’m sorry we took so long, Lady First,” the golden-haired hokage said, bowing slightly before wincing in pain. “Oof!”

“Take it easy, Fourth,” Tsunade replied with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. “Wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself, eh? I’d offer to heal you two personally, but I need to keep my chakra up in case we’re attacked. We’re overdue for an orc raid.”

“Understood,” Kakashi said, nodding. “We’ll just heal the old-fashioned way.”

“Luckily for you two, that won’t take too long,” the Morikage assured them. “Primes heal over time naturally. I’ll have one of our few medical ninja come by soon and set any broken bones you have, but the rest should resolve itself relatively quickly.”

“That’s great to hear,” Minato responded, smilingly warmly. “We appreciate it, right Kakashi?”

“Yeah,” the sharingan-wielder nodded. “It’s a big help.”

“Speaking of big help,” Tsunade said, walking toward the door. “When you’re feeling up to it, I have something I’d like to discuss with you two. Bye for now!”

Kakashi turned his gaze to Minato as the Morikage left the room. The two shinobi exchanged a look of confusion for a moment before laying back against their respective bunks.Tsunade seemed to have missions galore for the likes of them; was the village really that poorly staffed? Kakashi supposed he would have to work to expedite his healing if the village truly was in such dire need of manpower. We'll see, I guess.

[Minato Namikaze]

The hospital beds were rather comforting, oddly soft, spacious, and accommodating. They were much different than what he remembered of the usual hospital beds that he frequented back in Konoha. He turned his head to look out the window, night had fallen over the village while they rested. Recovering from the various wounds that they had sustained.

It was rather peaceful and, compared to their last few nights, quiet. Things here were definitely less chaotic. Well… that's how things seemed. But Minato, better than most, understood what a ninja village could be like. The different clans that fought for control in ways of politics and subterfuge. Hell, the Uchiha were a prime example of it, albeit their not so subtle way of going about things.

'Minato-Sensei.' Kakashi spoke, his words turning his sensei's attention to him.

'Hmm?' The blonde hummed in response.

'Tsunade wanted to see us… Don't you think we should-' The silver haired shinobi began before he was interrupted.

'No.' the fourth hokage responded. 'We need to recover first.' he finished. His words were stern, and he had mixed feelings about sitting in a bed all night – doing nothing – but he was sure that whatever Tsunade wanted to speak to them about would still be around in the morning.

'I'm sure that whatever it is can wait until the morning.' Minato smiled warmly. Kakashi replied with a nod. The man's gaze fell back to the scenery outside the window. Wind had begun to stir the tree branches and leaves of the various trees that dotted the city.

'Strange…' The blonde mumbled as he leaned back into his bed, resting his head on the pillow. Sleep came quickly, he was even more fatigued than he had originally thought. But he welcomed it, sleeping was exactly what he wanted to do right now.

The Next Morning

'I see you found your change of clothes.' Tsunade laughed as the two Shinobi entered her office. Their climb up the tree had been short, they had made her wait all night for this, they didn't want to keep her waiting much longer.

'Yeah.' The duo nodded in unison.

'I appreciate that you got an exact copy of my Haori.' Minato smiled as he examined the item of clothing. 'It fits perfectly.' the fourth hokage said as he let the cloak fall over the rest of his newly acquired clothing.

'Lady Tsunade, what did you need me for?' a young voice spoke out as a black haired boy walked into the room.

'Well...' Tsunade started as she pulled a scroll from one of the draws in her desk and dropped it onto the table. 'I am give you three a mission.'

The three of them eyed the rolled up paper. They had all seen mission scrolls before, but they didn't understand why Tsunade was treating this one so differently. They looked up at their Kage, then back to the scroll, their movements in sync as their confusion became apparent. Tsunade sighed as she tossed Minato the scroll.

'It's a little lengthy, so I'll give you the foot notes. But keep it with you.' Tsunade spoke as Minato put the scroll into one of his flack jacket pockets and nodded.

'Every few months, or so, there's a meeting between the four Families that hold the most power in this village.' Tsunade began, leaning forward onto the table with her elbow. 'Usually I have to go and moderate. Make sure that nothing bad happens.' She sighed as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. 'This time, I'm sending you three. I've other business to attend to, and I need to send people that I can trust.' Tsunade finished.

Minato sighed, he didn't like the Idea of getting tied into village politics. He'd already experienced it when he became the Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, and look at how well that turned out for him... But Tsunade is a scary woman, and he didn't want to be on the wrong end of her fist… again.

'Where do we have to go?' The blonde ninja asked, his question confirming the trio's decision to accept the mission.

'The north sector of the village. There's a large building with a red, dome, roof. You can't miss it.' Tsunade smiled as the trio of shinobi nodded and headed for the door.

'Oh, and one last thing. The families aren't like the clan's you're used to. Some of them have strange customs and beliefs. So be mindful.' Tsunade added, the three of them nodding in unison as they exited her office.

Continued in An Orchestrated Coup

[Kakashi Hatake]

Continued from An Orchestrated Coup

For the umpteenth time since his arrival in the Omniverse, Kakashi found himself sprawled upon a cot in an infirmary. Lying in the bed adjacent his was Minato, each decorated with a similar array of bandages. With the assistance of several members of the Windforge clan, the duo had managed to escape from the ruins of the Makhel homestead and into the waiting hands of the medical staff. Following the initial triage, the medics had left the pair of jonin to rest.

“We keep finding ourselves here,” Minato mused, resting his head upon a particularly thin pillow. Though battered and exhausted, his student could sense an air of accomplishment about him, a stark contrast to the desperation he had sensed on the rooftop. He seemed more himself.

“It seems that way,” Kakashi answered, resting his back against the stiff headboard. “I can’t wait to hear what Lady First has to say.” He paused, turning to look at the exhausted blonde. “Sensei, what will happen with the village now?”

The fair-haired shinobi stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly as he mulled the question over. “I’m not sure,” he said, furrowing his brow. “With their leader gone I imagine what’s left of the Makhel clan will escape or be captured.”

The scarecrow nodded, peeling a small bandage from his cheek. He was already beginning to heal. “With them gone there should be fewer orc attacks. My gut tells me they were behind a fair few of them.”

“I think so too. I’m sure Tsunade will be glad to be rid of them,” the former Kage said. “But I’m worried about what will happen between the other clans.”

Kakashi nodded knowingly. “A power vacuum. Any of them could try to take the opportunity and leverage more influence.” He didn’t want to entertain such a thought, especially following their recent victory, though they had to stay vigilant. Minato nodded silently in response, the gears turning in his head. “And then there’s Galan,” the silver-haired shinobi said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What do you mean?” the former Kage inquired, sitting up in bed. The creases at the corners of his eyes had begun to fade, signifying his returning stamina.

“I know that he and his clan were there to help us,” Kakashi began, absent-mindedly stroking his chin. “But I wonder about his motivation.”

“Well, Lady Tsunade said herself that he cares deeply for the Village. I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.” 

The sharingan-weilder nodded in reply, though he could not shake the worry that perhaps the elf had other motives. After all, with the Makhel gone and Tsunade holding him with such trust, he was in a perfect position to usurp power. He had come to the estate with a weapon that had quite literally torn a hole into some hellish dimension, dragging the monstrous ‘woman’ in despite her formidable power and pleas for mercy.

“You don’t need to worry about Galan.”

The injured men swung their gazes toward the door in unison as the First Morikage stepped over the threshold. She looked to be as exhausted as they each felt, though she bore no signs of battle.

“Are you feeling alright Lady First?” Minato asked, swinging his feet from the bed and onto the tile floor.

“I’m fine,” she sighed, pulling up a metal chair and dragging it to their bedside. “I’ve been dealing with the clan leaders since you two left. It’s exhausting.” She sat heavily upon the cold metal, turning to look at Kakashi. “I trust Galan.”

The masked shinobi gave a quick nod in reply. “My apologies.”

“No, you’re right to be concerned,” the kunoichi responded. “The village is in a tough spot. Trust me though, knowing what I know about Galan, I’m not concerned.”

“What do you mean?” Minato asked. 

“I won’t bore you with the details,” the Morikage said, “but suffice it to say, Galan feels indebted to me. We’ve been friends for a long time and he’s more concerned with keeping this village united and protected than some asinine power struggle.” She turned toward the open window, staring disdainfully in the direction of the meetinghouse. 

“We trust your judgement,” Namikaze replied. “That gives us one less thing to worry about.”

“I appreciate all that you two have been doing for the village. We all do.” Tsunade smiled warmly, pausing for a moment before looking back toward the door. “Kito, are you just going to wait out in the hallway?”

The boy strode into the room at the Morikage's words, hands in his pockets. His gaze fell on Minato, a small smile on his face. “Glad to see you two made it back.”

[Minato Namikaze]

Minato gave a slight smile as he raised his hand to greet the young boy as he entered the room. It was a refreshing sight, and he'd been wondering where he'd been and what he'd been doing. Kito's faint smile turned sour as the topic on his mind pushed itself to the front of the list, and the hospital ridden shinobi could tell that it really bothered him.

'What's wrong?' Minato questioned, prompting the boy to voice his concerns.

'The Miu family... I think they're being blackmailed.' he began, putting forth yet another problem that needed to be dealt with. 'I tailed them for quite some time. Their daughter isn't around and they just seem so worried all the time.'

'Are you sure she didn't just run away?' Kakashi cut in, sitting forward in his hospital bed. Minato had been thinking the same thing, it was entirely possible that she'd hit a rebellious streak had run away, and that was why they were worried. Kito shook his head in response.

'Her parents are over protective.' the black haired boy responded, his voice filled with worry as he spoke. 'They hired me to look after her once. I don't think they'd just let her run away.'. Minato turned his head towards Tsunade for confirmation, a swift nod was all he was given in response.

The two men sighed, another problem had been presented to himself and Kakashi. If it was true, and if they were being blackmailed, then they were going to have a serious problem on their hands. But it was still only suspicion, it was entirely possible that something else, something less sinister, was going on. The former kage sat motionless, staring at his hands, for a couple of seconds before an idea popped into his head

'I think we should take a small break.' Minato spoke, his words shaking a silent, until now, Tsunade into responding.

'What!?' The three of them questioned in unison, confused at the man's statement.

Minato laughed, cutting himself short as he grabbed at his ribs. His wounds were still tender and hurt when he laughed.

'I mean, we've been so on-edge lately. I think we need to take a little time. Do some training maybe.' he suggested as his three companions just stared at him.

'Lady Tsunade, I am officially requesting that Kakashi, Kito and myself be granted a little time away from the village.' he requested, watching as she thought over his request.

'Now, hold on Minato. If what Kito says is true, then we need to stay-' Kakashi began before Tsunade's voice cut him off.

'Fine. You have one week.' she spoke, giving her judgement, as a smile came over the blonde's face. He'd thought that she might give him a day or two, three even. But a week was more than he'd thought she'd give him. A week was plenty of time. 'Well, if that is all, then I'll see you in a week's time.' the Morikage spoke as she stood up from her chair, placed it at a table, and exited the room.

'We leave in the morning. Kakashi and I will meet you at the village Gate.' he spoke to his young apprentice, who gave an understanding nod in return and left the room. His young protege had not been present for their fight with the Makhel family, but it was safe to assume that Tsunade had briefed the boy. Or, at least told him what she thought he should know.

The two, exhausted, shinobi rolled over in their hospital beds. The sheets were comforting and they could already feel themselves healing. Whatever the Omniverse was, it gave them unnatural healing abilities. Minato couldn't remember himself recovering this fast at any point in his past. It was odd.

'Minato...'

'Yeah?'

'What Kito said...'

'What about it?'

'We have another problem to death with... Don't we?'

The blonde didn't speak, he just rolled over and let out a loud, audible, sigh. But that was all the confirmation that Kakashi needed from his senior. Minato lay there, staring out the window beside his bed. The village was still in the process of rebuilding, yet there was already suspicion of another problem. Places like the Omniverse, places full of power, always attracted unwanted attention.

But they were going camping tomorrow and the Villages problems, albeit how guilty he felt about it, would have to wait.

[Kakashi Hatake]

The sun had just begun to rise above the treetops when Kakashi and his mentor reached the village gate. The morning was crisp, leaving a slight chill in the air as the dawn sun fought back the shadow of dusk. Mokugakure was silent, save the quiet shuffle of their sandals against the dusty ground; it would be maybe another hour or so before even the most diligent citizens rose from their beds. That was, save for the pair of shinobi who stood at the gate. 

Kakashi dug his fingers into his tired eyes in a vain attempt to rub away the feeling of fatigue, feeling a slight stiffness in his muscles as he did so. Though he militantly awoke before dawn even back in Konoha, he had never quite gotten used to rising so early. Mercenary work never really lent itself well to a regular sleep schedule. The scarecrow stifled a yawn as a familiar face came into view from around a nearby corner. 

“Ah, punctual,” Minato announced, pleasantly surprised. Kito offered a weak smile in return, the same concern he had worn the night before still hanging over him. “Kakashi and I only just got here ourselves.”

“You didn’t really mention a time, so I figured I would err on the side of caution.” The boy shrugged, attempting to seem nonchalant. It didn’t take dojutsu to tell that the young shinobi’s mind was elsewhere.

As they made their trek through the forest to their training ground and Minato and Kito made conversation, Kakashi pondered their plan. He had to admit that the fair-haired jonin was absolutely justified in his judgement, however wary the former ANBU captain was with leaving the village unprotected. The Omniverse had sapped them of much of their effectiveness, leaving them more often than not only barely scraping by following fights that would normally be a breeze. They were rustier than they wanted to admit; there was a finite number of times that one could awaken in an infirmary before they had to admit that fact. Though they liked to believe themselves protectors of the village, Kakashi supposed that Galan and his men could hold the fort until they returned. They would need all the practice they could get if they were to soon combat another threat to the safety of Mokugakure.

“So this should be fun then,” Minato, addressing his proteges. “I know that I’m itching to get back up to snuff. That last fight really took a lot out of us. Hopefully we can sharpen our skills and teach each other a few things along the way.”

The silver-haired shinobi nodded silently, mentally scrolling through the list of jutsu he had learned over the years. Though he was far from a master of most of them, he knew a handful well enough to perhaps teach at an adequate level. On the other side of the coin, Kakashi found himself looking forward to the prospect of learning more from his former sensei. Though he had badgered the man countless times while a youthful student of his, the Yellow Flash had always shown restraint when teaching his pupils, for their own safety. With the Omniverse placing them on equal footing, today was perhaps the day when this changed.

“I know of a good place,” Kito said, glancing up at the pair of jonin. “Some of the older students made a little training area farther away from the village, but no one has really been out there since the Bonechewers showed up.” He glanced over his shoulder at Kakashi. “According to Lady Tsunade you wiped them out, right?”

Bonechewers; it took a moment before the moniker registered. “Uh...yes. They should all be gone. We should steer clear of the Ogre camp, though.” Following Tagar’s defeat, he had—though somewhat unwittingly-ensured that the remainder of the Fel Orc chieftan’s followers were dealt with. 

Kito nodded in response, turning abruptly as they passed an abnormally large tree. “Should be out this way. It’s a pretty far walk, but it should give us some privacy at least.”

A good amount of walking later, the group found themselves approaching a dead-end. Immediately before them was a sheer rock wall, rising to a cliff some ten meters overhead. The trees that blanketed the rest of the periphery seemed to grow sparse as they approached, eventually leaving only barren, rocky soil at the foot of the precipice. Rather than turn away from the scarp, their young leader stopped before it.

“So um...are we here?” Minato inquired, looking around at the largely nondescript surroundings. 

Kito simply raised a finger, gesturing upward. Before the pair of jonin could raise an inquiry the boy took off at a sprint, leaping from the earth and continuing his run up the rock wall. His feet stuck fast to the crag as he ran, quickly racing toward the peak. Kakashi and Minato shared a grin before following suit, channeling chakra into the soles of their feet and racing after the boy.

“Excellent technique,” Minato said as the trio reached the top. He smiled at the dark-haired lad, crossing his arms over his chest. “Naruto must really be a great teacher.”

Kito nodded. “I learned a lot from him.” He turned away from the cliff side, gesturing toward the clearing behind them. “Here we are. This should be a good place for drills, but we can always go back into the forest for other stuff.”

Kakashi smiled as he eyed the training ground, memories of his time at the academy flooding back to him. Kito and his peers had manufactured all number of training apparatus, from crude wooden sparring dummies chiseled from oak to a good sized obstacle course of angled trunks and strategically-placed boulders. It looked to have been untouched by orc incursion, though it could have just been that there was nothing available to murder or pillage. “Looks perfect,” the former captain said, “It should serve us well.”

[Minato Namikaze]

Nostalgia was in the air today. The improvised training grounds reminded him of his time as a student. Jiraiya sensei was a tough teacher back then, and he could only imagine what sort of influence the man had on his son. Minato sighed at the thought of his sensei passing his perverted nuances onto his child. But there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

'So, what now?' Kakashi asked as the blonde surveyed the area. He was, no doubt, forming a plan as to what they were going to do.

'Well' he began, dropping the small pack and sleeping roll onto the rocky ground and turning towards his companions. 'I was thinking we could just have a sparring match.' the former kage finished, a grin appearing on his face as he pulled his kunai from the pouch on his backside and shifted himself into a somewhat defensive battle stance.

'I've gotten a lot stronger since we last trained like this, sensei.' Kakashi spoke as he drew his chakra sabre. He couldn't see it, but Kakashi was definitely grinning under his mask. Minato didn't doubt his former student's words. He could see just how far Kakashi had come since he'd last seen him in action. In fact, Kakashi was probably more of a match for the former Kage now, especially with the Omniverse limiting his abilities. This training session was going to be a quite interesting one. 

As the two men stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move, they both realised that they had neglected to notice their other companion. As if in sync, they both turned to face where Kito had been standing. Only to find that the boy had disappeared.

'Twin Dragon Palms!' Kito roared as he slammed one of his lightning covered hands into the ground between the two, reorienting himself in a single movement and swiping at Minato with his palm. Minato leaned backwards into a back hand-spring, putting himself some distance away from the young boy's onslaught. The young boy then turned to Kakashi, who had found himself surprised at the boy's mastery over chakra, and swiped at him. The silver haired ninja leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding an electrical burn from the boy's technique.

'Not bad, you definitely caught us off guard.' The golden haired shinobi smiled. 'But we've got a lot of experience under our belts.' The man smiled as he brought his kunai up and positioned it in front of his face. A small glimmer of light reflecting off of it's metallic surface. 'Do you think you can take us?' Minato finished, his words sly and, somehow, seemed just as sharp as his kunai.

Kito said nothing. The boy just let the lighting, that currently covered his hands, speak for him. It's high pitched squealing reminded him of the first time Kakashi displayed his chidori. But now wasn't the time for reminiscing in old thoughts, he was in the midst of battle. Well, a sparring match. But if he didn't pay attention and stay on guard, he could still incur some substantial damage. Albeit, this was his fault as he always wanted his sparring partners to not hold anything back.

As the man's attention turned to Ktio, Minato launched himself forward. As he approached the boy, and his technique, he tossed a single kunai at his opponent. Kito, having seen this ability before, deflected the kunai with his lightning covered right hand and watched the man disappear. Without hesitation, the boy thrust his free hand up in the air, predicting where his senior would reappear. 

Jutsu clashed with jutsu as the Yellow Flash used his rasengan to parry the boy's lightning style technique. The jounin grabbed the handle of his kunai as it fell through the air, only to find that Kakashi had taken this time to strike. A volley of shuriken whirled through the air towards the clashing duo. Minato teleported just in the nick of time, catching two shuriken in his left shoulder before returning to his previous position. 

'I'm glad I prepared a backup. But Kakashi knew that already...' The blonde thought to himself as he removed the shuriken from his arm, never breaking focus on his two opponents. Small flecks of blood sat on the tips of the star shaped pieces of metal. Minato tossed the shuriken aside, embedding them into one of the training dummy's head – his aim was still as good as ever – before returning his attention back to the match. Kito had turned his attention to his closest sparring partner, Kakashi, the two of them engaging in close quarters – blade to blade – combat. Kito really did remind him of Kakashi, even as he watched the boy train with the very person he was being reminded of.

Minato lifted his second kunai from the dirt, waiting for the perfect moment to get back into the fray. It was amazing how far Kakashi had come, and how strong Kito was at his age, it seemed almost impossible for the jounin to insert himself back into the fight, until his former student managed to create a gap between himself and the young boy.

Minato tossed one of his kunai between the two, leaving a flash of yellow light behind as he teleported between the two. The man swung his arm, moving into a spinning movement as he caught the boy's stomach with his forearm, launching him across the field and into one a large tree trunk that jutted out of the ground. The blonde continued his movement all the way around, raising his kunai and catching the copy ninja's blade between the prongs of his trident-like kunai knives.

'The Omniverse may have slowed you down a little, but you're still fast, Minato-sensei.' Kakashi asserted, eagerness in his voice.

'Yeah. I am a little bit slower than I used to be.' Minato grinned, excited to battle his former student. It had been quite a while since the two had trained like this and the former hokage was more than enthusiastic to see just how far his student had come.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Student and teacher shared the pleasant moment for a few seconds before suddenly springing backward, the pair parting just as Kito reentered the fray. The genin wore a look of determination on his visage as he lashed out at the twosome of elder shinobi with his lightning jutsu, draconic gauntlets threatening to sear their flesh. Kakashi seized the opportunity to somersault backward as Minato became the boy’s target. The Yellow Flash proved true to his epithet, calmly dodging the boy’s savage blows despite the electricity chewing at his haori as the strikes sailed by. Kito finally let out an audible grunt as the blonde jonin’s palm slammed into his sternum, staggering the boy enough to allow the fleet-footed ninja to knock him from his stance with a quick sweep of his legs. 

“Not ba-” 

The former Kage had little time to applaud the boy’s work before a kunai sailed past his head, the blade nicking Minato’s ear as he bobbed quickly to avoid the flying dagger. Kakashi silhouette came into view for a moment, vanishing into thin air a split second later. The scarecrow reasoned that perhaps if he couldn’t see the threat, his legendary reflexes could be bypassed.

Minato chuckled, keeping an eye on the downed genin as he began mental probing the area for his silver-haired attacker. “Camouflage Jutsu,” he commented. “That would be an excellent plan, but you’ve forgotten that I’m a Sensor-” 

The man’s words were cut short by a fist crashing into his gut, the former ANBU captain’s masked face materializing inches from his own. The former Kage staggered backward and doubled over as his diaphragm spasmed, forcing air from his needy lungs. Mildly surprised by his mentor’s failure to interpret his movements, Kakashi stood stunned for a beat too long--just enough time for Minato to vanish from view.

A crackle of electricity diverted the sharingan-wielder’s attention, light footfalls from his rear queueing him in to Kito’s impending surprise strike on his flank. Kakashi stood firm, calmly inhaling through his nose as his right arm began to generate a current of its own. As the skilled youth cried out, lone dragon-wrapped fist brought to bear, he found himself suddenly stopped by a strong grip clamping down on his wrist. The copy ninja’s stoic face met his gaze, the sound of birds chirping birds now nigh-deafening as the pair of kindred jutsu clashed, sparks flying as the mixture of electricties intermingled. 

“Your justu is a lot like mine,” Kakashi commented calmly, allowing his technique to slowly fade as Kito relinquished control of his own. “You skill with Nature Transformation is remarkable, though you need to be careful with how you use it.”

“If two jutsu of the same nature clash, the stronger of the two can overcome and feed on the power of the weaker one,” Kito recited, begrudgingly. He shook free of the silver-haired shinobi’s grasp, hopping backward to make space between the two. His hand found the hilt of his katana, pulling it free.

“Similarly, keeping a perfect balance with you allows me to nullify it.” The slight numbness in his arm told him that this wasn't completely true in the Omniverse, though it seemed to work in some fashion. Kakashi pulled a pair of kunai from his belt, having lost his chokuto a few yards away in the dirt. He’d need to reclaim it; daggers would only last so long against the boy’s specialized blade.

The two made to go at each other, feet barely leaving the ground before the sharingan-wielder felt himself flinch reflexively as Minato blinked into view between him and Kito. The fair-haired shinobi smiled confidently as he threw his arms wide, burying dual rasengan into the chests of his students. “Double Rasengan!”

Kakashi felt the orb of destructive chakra nail him in the chest like a baseball bat, his reinforced ANBU armor tearing against the spiralling sphere’s might. The force of the technique launched him backward in a high arc, his trajectory aimed right for a thick oak. Thinking quickly, the copy ninja brought his hands before him in a hand seal..

Minato watched as his students were thrown like ragdolls across the training ground, feeling a twinge of regret as Kito landed with a thud against the ground. He glanced over at Kakashi, the masked man colliding with a tree trunk with a loud crack. His eyelids sprang wide a second later as the ninja’s body vanished in a plume of smoke, an almost imperceptible movement flicking past him. A split second later a kunai landed at Minato’s feet, a paper tag attached to the corner by a bit of steel wire. The kage sprang from the trap, disappearing as an explosion rocked the arena.

A moment later Kito climbed laboriously to his feet as the smoke cleared, sheathing his katana. “Can we take a break for now?” he called out, taking a few steps to sit down on a tree stump.

Right on queue, Kakashi leapt down from his perch atop a nearby birch, heaving rapid breaths as he touched down. He winced as he made his way toward Kito, a warm smile meeting him as Minato appeared beside the boy. The copy ninja raised a thumbs up as he approached the two. “I’m always too slow for you, sensei.”

“You’ve gotten a lot faster. I wasn’t expecting a sneak attack from above,” the fair-haired shinobi replied, slightly out of breath himself. His right pant leg was blackened, lightly charred by Kakashi’s  explosive kunai. “I almost didn’t see it; that was too fast to be a substitution jutsu.”

The scarecrow shook his head, smiling beneath his mask. “I’m not as proficient with it as you are, but it does come in handy.” He thought back to the fight with the Makhel elder.

“You copied my Flying Raijin,” Minato returned, nodding. “Impressive. And you tagged the tree while I was sparring with Kito?”

“Yes. I summoned a Shadow Clone mid-flight and used the Flying Raijin to escape. A simple substitution would never have gotten past you.” The maneuver had taken split-second reflexes and a large amount of chakra, but it had payed off. The charred cloth on his sensei’s leg assured him of that. In his youth he had never been able to so much as lay a hand on the former Kage. He felt pride in knowing that he was finally able to fight at an even level with his teacher. 

“You both continue to impress me,” Minato said, beaming. “Let’s take a rest for now, but not for too long. We’ll need to do some serious work if we want to be able to protect Moku from whatever is controlling the Miu family.” 

Kito and Kakashi nodded in agreement. The copy ninja noted Kito tense up at the mention of the clan’s name, the lad’s brow furrowing as he stared at the dirt. The scarecrow could not know exactly what was on Kito’s mind, though he knew the look of determination that the boy wore better than most; his ferocity in combat seemed to mirror this. Kakashi could tell that there was more riding on this for the dark-haired lad than the promise of political peace.

As the rising sun brought with it the warmth of mid morning, the trio rested.

[Minato Namikaze]

The afternoon sun shone down on the makeshift training field, warming the ground and the winds that passed the two shinobi. The golden haired man, who was sitting on one of the logs that protruded from the ground, glanced up at the sky and shielded his eyes from the almost unbearable sunlight. Even though he suspected it to be fake, probably some sort of magic made by Omni, he did have to admit that it was a near perfect representation of the sun.

“You know, Kito, we will get to the bottom of whatever is going in in the village.” The man began, placing a hand on the young ninja's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. Kito said nothing, he just continued staring at the unlit fire pit.

“Did anyone back in Konoha tell you the story of how I saved Kushina?” The former kage enquired, gaining a small fraction of the boys interest. Kito shook his head.

“Well...” Minato said as he took a second to think. “When I was younger, a little older than yourself, Kushina didn't like me very much. In fact, I would say she hated me. But it all changed after she had been kidnapped.” The blonde kage's words finally struck a chord within the young shinobi, causing the boy to turn his head and stare at his mentor. Minato gave the boy a faint smile, then returned to his story.

“A group of Hidden Cloud Village shinobi tried to kidnap her. She was the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox and I guess that was why she was targeted...” Minato paused for a moment, reminiscing in his naivety, before continuing.

“At the time, I didn't understand any of that. I just knew that she was a part of the village and that if I didn't save her, it would have been a while before anyone did. It would probably cause a war between the two villages. So that's what I did. I followed a trail of her hair, that she had been leaving behind, right to her and the group of Ninja that had taken her.” Minato paused, leaving time for Kito to interject.

“What happened then? A fight?” The young shinobi questioned. Minato gave a slight laugh as he placed his hands on his thighs.

“They wish a fight happened.” Minato boasted. “Much like yourself and Kakashi, I was stronger than your average genin or chuunin as a boy. I might have even given any regular jounin some trouble. But there was no way they were that strong.” Minato smiled.

“So they were easy to defeat.” Kito replied, Minato nodding, confirming the boy's statement. Kito returned his focus to the fire pit, doubt still in his mind.

“Don't worry Kito, we'll get her back...” The blonde man reassured as he stood up from the log that they had been using as a seat. “And we'll solve whatever is going on in the village. Trust me, I was the Fourth Hokage after all.” The man finished, Kito replying with a nod as Kakashi broke the tree line, a basket of fish on his back.

“Lunch is here.” Kakashi breathed through his mask as he hoisted the fish basket from his back and held it in the air. “I don't know how good the fish will be, some of them are quite small, but I'm sure we can find something worthwhile in this basket.” he concluded.

Later that evening

The scent of cooked fish filled the air, a cool breeze, a welcomed change, sweeping over the training field that, admittedly, had seen better days. They would fix it up, as good as new, but not today. Not when it would just suffer more battle damage.

Kakashi and Minato had been telling Kito of their missions from when Kakashi was only a boy. Albeit the two had also taken the time to reminisce in their own stories. Kito, however, was not taking the situation as well as the two seasoned shinobi that sat before him. Kito scrunched his face up, worry and anger bursting forth in a split second.

'How...?” Kito spoke up, rather softly. The two men just looked at the boy as he stood, his black clothing had become dirty, a fact that was made apparent as clumps of dirt fell from his shirt. “How can you just sit here and be so calm!?” Kito spoke angrily, almost yelling at his superiors.

“How can we just sit here eating fish while talking about the past like nothing is going on?” Distress filled his voice as he looked to the training ground. “We're not even training!”

Minato and Kakashi looked at each other, their once cheerful looks transitioning to that of a seriousness. The silver haired man stood and sighed.

“You still have a lot to learn, Kito.” He spoke, his voice carrying a slight disappointment. But he was just as hasty as the distressed boy was when he was a boy. “You never reveal your hand before your opponent does.” Kakashi continued, his golden haired companion nodded and then took his chance to cut in.

“I asked for the time off specifically for this reason.” His words came across easy and soothing. The man always knew how to speak appropriately for the situation, probably one of his many qualities that attributed to his promotion to Hokage.

“If we had stayed in the village, we wouldn't have been able to allow our enemies to play all their cards.” the former kage explained as he sat back and looked up to the, now, darkened sky. “So just be patient. We've got plenty of time to train, and rest is just as important.” Minato said as he picked up the pack he'd brought and gestured to the sleeping roll. It was time to rest for the night.

As Minato lay there with his eyes shut, thinking back over the day's training, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Minato...” A deep growl emanated through his head. Not a painful growl, but as if someone were talking to him. The darkness faded to a dirty green as Minato appeared within a watery chamber, a large gate sitting before him.

“I was wondering when you'd show up...” The blonde spoke, bitterness laced throughout his words. A pair of red eyes, with vertical, slitted, beast-like pupils appearing behind the bars.

“Nine Tails.”

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi heard the voices of his comrades fade to a dull murmur as he pushed his way into the dense foliage surrounding their little training grounds; no sooner had he broke the treeline than the voices were snuffed out entirely. If nothing else, the shinobi had to admit that the Tangled Green was quite aptly named.

Although the ANBU captain’s senses told him a myriad of different species skittered through the trees above his head and grasses beneath his feet, he found himself crouching at the banks of a bubbling river. The water was not very deep, bearing closer resemblance to a brook than a full-fledged waterway. Kakashi couldn’t be sure that the species of small mammal and reptile that he sensed were suitable fodder for he and his companions, and likewise the vegetation was somewhat suspect. Fish seemed to be a safe choice, being both confined to the waters before him (and therefore not needing to be tracked and snared) and unlikely to be venomous. With this realization, he set to work.

Some moments later he sat upon the bank, a jury-rigged net of a few lengths of his steel wire and a few handfuls of twigs set at a choke-point where the river ran the most narrow. His legs were crossed beneath him as he stared serenely into the calmly bubbling waters. Kakashi’s sharingan revealed to him the river’s secrets, the locations of the various marine life laid bare before him. Since being gifted with the magical eye in his youth, the silver-haired ninja had obtained remarkable powers of perception, among other useful skills. With its power, the scarecrow had escaped death a fair few times to be sure. In the Omniverse, though, its faculties seemed somehow different. Namely, his powers of perception seemed to be much stronger. 

Hiraishin no Jutsu, he thought. The Flying Raijin Technique. Named after the mythical thunder god, the skill allowed one to move with unparalleled speed, as if having the blessing of heaven itself. Kakashi had mimicked many jutsu throughout his life, but being able to replicate an S-ranked technique created and in turn perfected by two of the most prodigious Kage in recorded history was certainly not something he could boast as an accomplishment. That was, until today. Twice in the past twenty-four hours, Kakashi had managed to perform the feat as if it were any other garden variety jutsu. As he drew his fishing trap from the river and parceled its contents, his mind puzzled over the implications. Was his sharingan becoming stronger, or was this simply part of Omni’s gift of “gaining anything desired”? Perhaps both? Thoughts troubled him as he made his way back to camp.

---

Kakashi doused their fire as Kito and Minato lay themselves down upon their bedrolls. With the recent defeat of the Orcish Makhel clan, the silver-haired shinobi did not desire to take unnecessary risks, even on their remote mesa. Years of ANBU training taught him that the best course of action was to sleep in shifts to avoid ambush, though he had chosen to ignore this inclination. Both he and Minato were seasoned war veterans and thus slept quite light. Were they to be attacked, one or both would likely sense the assault before it could claim any lives. Having snuffed out the flames, he quickly laid out his bedding and drifted off to sleep.

KAKASHI!

He was running.

Dusk enveloped his surroundings as the man’s legs churned through a mad dash, limbs driving him forward despite pain and rigidity. Peripheral vision faded and blurred as his tired lungs heaved desperately for oxygen to supply his frantic body. A tide of adrenaline spurred his heart to beat a rapid rhythm, anxiety filling the pit of his stomach with a pool of lead. The sole factor keeping him from vomiting was the desperate pleading in his mind: Rin!

His bare feet left the earth as the forest became thicker, his calloused soles tearing as he kicked off from the barky flesh of the encroaching trees, though he felt nothing. He grabbed desperately with both raw hand and ragged foot to keep himself moving, the feeling of shredding flesh muffled by numbness. He could not stop; he was a man possessed. Sweat dripped from his clammy skin, the cool night air doing little to lessen the stress. The man’s body seemed to him to contain greater strength than he knew, as if enrobed by some benevolent being that spurred his otherwise weakened body forward. 

Perhaps he knew not his own strength.

The traveler's keen eyes caught sight of a clearing ahead, what little light remaining of the day peering back at him through the now sparse growth. Anxiety began to fall away as he reached his destination. He was here. She’d be safe now.

A familiar sound met his pallid ears, the cacophony of crying birds. Then, a scream.

Her scream.

All at once the frantic man vaulted forward, landing upon a high bough. Whip-like branches caught him across the face, opening up fresh cuts on his moist flesh. He ignored the pain as he peered desperately into the clearing, sharp eyes catching sight of the scene unfolding in the clearing.

She was there. Rin’s body hung limp, her expression hidden by the shoulder of another: A man whose fist was alight with cyan luminescence, arm clean through her torso.

He saw himself.

Thoughts raced as he brought inhumanly pale hands before his eyes, clamping down on handfuls of dark hair. Emotions reached a fever pitch as he threw his head back, calling out to the heavens in a voice not his own.

---

Kakashi’s eyes bolted open, right hand instantly shooting up to cover his left eye. The socket burned white-hot, as if pierced by searing blade. The air was knocked from his lungs as he rolled onto his side, body contorting in pain as the agony threatened to blind him. Seconds later, the pain vanished as quickly as it came. For several long moments the shinobi fought to calm his breathing, to keep himself from crying out. After what felt like an eternity, he fell uneasily back to sleep.

[Minato Namikaze]

The water logged chamber, that Minato had found himself in, echoed with the rhythmic splashes of water droplets. This place was new to him, something that he'd never experienced before. Only something that Kushina had told him about. The cage that held the Nine-Tails was immense and the gate that lined the front of it's enclosure was just as big. Minato couldn't see far beyond the gate, roughly five feet if he were to estimate it. All that he could see was the beast's eyes, as if they had a back light behind them.

'Minato...' the beast growled, his voice deep and filled with displeasure. The blonde stood there, his face wore a look of seriousness that he usually only wore during battle.

'Come now... Minato... We share the same body now.' The beast stated.

'I know, don't remind me...' he sighed as he headed through the two feet deep water and toward the gate that held the fox at bay.

'Killing you would mean killing myself. That doesn't sound desirable...' the fox spoke, sounding almost as if a smile came across its face. Minato, at this point, had reached the gate, stepping forward and placing his right foot on the gate as gravity seemed to shift for him. The man tread slowly upwards towards the paper that lay over the seal to the fox's cage, stopping at it. Minato lifted the corner of the seal back a little bit before stopping and making eye contact with the fox.

'I bet you'd love it if I just pulled this off...' he spoke as he began lifting the page from the metal cage. The beast, face now partially visible, leaned closer as the former Kage teased at unlocking the seal. It was sort of cruel, but the fox had killed him in the past.

'But, I don't think I'll be doing that.' Minato sad, mockng the beast with his words as he pressed the paper seal back and against the metal gate and dropped back to the ground. The fox grunted and growled as he watched the man walk away, hands in his pockets. 

[/quote]The Next Morning[/quote]

The man sat still, feet dangling over the cliff-side, as the sun rose above the dense line of trees that blanketed the horizon. The sky transitioned from a pastel blue to pink and, finally, a warm orange as it reached the sun. He placed a hand on his stomach, over the seal that kept the nine tails at bay. He hadn't felt nearly as much hatred from the fox as he had in the past, which troubled him. Maybe it was this place? Maybe the Omniverse had, somehow, changed the Kyuubi. Minato sighed loudly as he allowed himself to fall backwards, landing firmly on the ground. The sun had risen a lot since he'd first sat on the cliff-side, the sky had turned completely blue.

'You're up early, Minato-sensei.' Kakashi spoke as the sound of the former anbu's footsteps approached him. Minato tilted his head backwards, his hair and scalp pressing against the cool rock, to watch Kakashi walk towards him. The golden haired man returned to his sitting position, nodding his head in reply to the man's observation.

'So are you...' the blonde spoke. It wasn't in his voice, but Kakashi could hear the uncertanty in his former sensei's words.

'Is there something wrong?' the silver haired shinobi asked as he stood behind his sensei, staring out at the horizon. Minato thought for a moment, before shaking his head.

'No, it's nothing.' He replied.

'Do I have to knock some sense into you again?' Kakashi questioned, almost threateningly. An attempted jest from the seasoned shinobi. A jest that held some seriousness to it though.

'No...' Minato began. He didn't know whether he should tell Kakashi about the fox making contact with him or not. Probably not, he didn't want to worry his companion. Or put forward the risk of him losing control over the beast.

'Besides, you'd probably lose anyway.' Minato retorted, mockingly, with a slight laugh as he lifted his legs up and onto solid ground and stood. The two stood there for a moment, taking in the scenery as the sun continued to rise, albeit very slowly. It was a few moments before either decided to say another word, the former Kage opting to break the silence first.

'Even here, in this world away from our own, we have a village to protect.' Minato spoke softly, but proudly. Kakashi replied to the man's statement with a nod.

Tsunade is strong, horrifyingly strong even, but being a Kage comes with a lot of responsibility. A responsibility that Minato understands all too well. There was no way she would have been able to deal with the village threats before they caused any damage. She couldn't just abandon her duties to dispose of the Makhel on a suspicion, and she definitely can't investigate Kito's suspicions about the Miu family. It was for this reason that Minato, Kakashi and Kito had decided to be her personal task force. They'd take on some of the responsibility and protect the village. Almost like her personal Anbu black ops squad, but without the matching uniform.

'Let's go,' Minato began as he turned towards the training ground. 'The week has just started, and we have a lot of training to do.' he finished. His companion nodded, following closely behind as they headed over to their camp site. Kito had just woken up and started on cooking the remaining fish from the previous night. He carried himself differently this morning. He seemed quite a bit less stressed than he did the previous night.

'Guess this training trip is going better than I'd hoped.' he thought to himself as he smiled at the young boy, who was paying them no attention at the moment. The blonde turned his head back towards the horizon, back towards the village. By the time the week is over, they'd be ready for the next event that would threaten the village. The village can count on it.

[Kakashi Hatake]

To say that Kakashi had slept poorly would be an understatement.

As the three shinobi prepared a morning meal and began performing warm-up exercises, Kakashi fought to keep his thoughts in-line. As if the lack of sleep were not enough, his eye had not ceased aching since he had first awoken nearly screaming in agony. Bouts of fitful sleep, punctuated with more nonsensical visions, had plagued him until the sun came up. The dreams felt so real, unlike any he had had previous. He had seen visions of a dark cavern, unsettling voices whispering in his ears, taunting him. Images flashed before his eyes of the drawn, haggard face of an ancient man, his gaze boring into Kakashi’s soul. The shinobi had watched over and over as his teenaged self tore a hole through Rin’s gut.

“What do you two say we try something new?” The threesome stood in formation, spaced apart in a large triangle. At command was their instructor, just finishing his last few stretches. “Our enemies more than likely know of our abilities. Now wouldn’t be a bad time to learn a few new tricks.”

Without another word, the fair-haired ninja raised his hands before him, fingers outstretched. His eyes closed for a brief second as his fingers curled around phantom orbs. With a flourish, Minato spun his fingers in a circle as if to rotate the air within his grasp, a pair of sky blue orbs of chakra sputtering to life. As the energies leveled out and began to spiral smoothly, a smile spread across the former Kage’s face. Though his proteges look unimpressed, he offered only a wink before vanishing from sight.

“We don’t know what our enemies will be using for techniques, so rather than just sparring, let’s try to change it up.” Minato’s voice boomed from somewhere overhead, his students casting looks into the canopy in search of his location. “Now would be the time to try anything out that you’ve been working on.”

The duo were granted a few seconds to puzzle over this before Minato reappeared between the two ninjas, dual rasengan at-hand. Kakashi’s eyes widened as the blonde rushed him, thrusting the jutsu into the scarecrow’s abdomen in quick, rapid bursts. The former Captain felt the shockwaves reverberate through his body as the blows hit home, surprise painted on his countenance. He had always known his sensei’s signature jutsu to be relatively short-lived, though Minato now seemed to be somehow maintaining them throughout his assault. Shaking himself free of the initial shock, Kakashi cocked his arm back, rapidly generating his own destructive orb within his grasp. In an instant he drove the forgery forward, the sphere bursting as it made contact with the blonde jonin’s flak jacket, tossing him backward. Minato skidded a few feet before steadying himself, allowing his jutsu to fade.

The masked shinobi drew rapid breaths, desperately attempting to recovery from the barrage and subsequent retaliation. Compounded by the existing fatigue from his restless night, he was rapidly being worn down. At the rate they were going, he’d be completely exhausted in short order. As he  pondered a means of distraction, his prayers were answered by a rain of blades from above. Their younger companion had taken to the treetops during Minato and Kakashi’s skirmish, stealing the opportunity to unleash a veritable downpour of kunai and shuriken from his vantage. Minato dashed quickly out of harm’s way, disappearing into nothingness. The scarecrow was not so graceful, sloppily tumbling backward to avoid the hail of pain. He winced as a few shuriken found their mark in his back, his armor thankfully taking the brunt of the damage. The sharingan-wielder gritted his teeth as he pulled a pair of blades from the earth beside him, chucking them toward the boy’s perch. The genin fled as the pair of projectiles embedded themselves in the tree trunk.

With each of his companions taking to the safety of the trees, Kakashi followed suit. Standing out in the open would do him no favors, especially against a pair of fellow ninja. He found safety among the leaves of a low-hanging branch, taking a moment to dig the shuriken from his back. A weapon scroll, no doubt. Though himself not a user of fūinjutsu, he couldn’t argue that the technique had been anything but effective, having caused both jonin to flee. 

Sound from the training area drew the silver-haired ninja’s attention as Minato and Kito revealed themselves, trading blows on the opposite end of the clearing. He watched as Kito turned tail, sprinting toward the treeline, Minato in tow. The boy reached the trees, springing from the ground and continuing his dash effortlessly up the side of the tree. His pursuer found his own bough a few feet away a moment later, dashing headlong toward the top, parallel with the lad. Kito glanced to his left, noting the blonde blur giving chase, and abruptly halted his charge, leaping from the trunk and grabbing an adjacent branch. His momentum carried him as he swung his feet forward, letting go to planted both feet against a surprised Minato’s flank. The former Kage was knocked airborne, existing in freefall for but a second before vanishing, just as Kito landed heavily on a lower branch, breathing hard. 

Seeing this, Kakashi took his chance, quickly pulling a kunai and a small slip of paper from his belt pouches. With the aid of a small bit of metal wire, he bound the two together and flung the creation toward Kito’s location. The youth jumped in surprise as the ordinance landed with a thunk on the underside of his perch, the wood splintering as the scroll exploded beneath his feet a split-second later. As the smoke cleared, the masked ninja could find no sign of the boy. Fearing possible assault from within the forest, the scarecrow allowed himself to fall the few feet to the forest floor, laying low to avoid being seen. Remembering the clash earlier, Kakashi formed a ram seal, his body disappearing as his stealth jutsu took effect. He cautiously stepped back into the clearing, being careful to muffle the sounds of his feet against the rocky earth. As he crept back toward the center of the clearing, the air was knocked from his lungs as an explosion of pain erupted within his skull. His jutsu failing, the scarecrow fell to his knees, a sitting duck, location plain as day.

“Hah!” the dark-haired youth cried from above, hurriedly drawing a scroll from his belt and unfurling it over his head. Glyphs upon the parchment’s surface glowed briefly as blades materialized from nothingness, shooting off toward the downed man.

The former ANBU cried out in anguish, deaf and ignorant to the boy’s assault, as his eye threatened to scrotch itself out of his skull. Despite its protest, his vision seemed to only strengthen as he caught sight of the death falling in slow-motion from above. Even as he felt his fingers reflexively tear into the earth in throes of agony, he could feel chakra rushing to his sharingan eye. The rain of blades bore down, threatening to tear into his flesh, though their deadly kiss never came. Kakashi felt warm ichor stream down his pale face as his vision blurred before him, a spiralling distortion tainting his vision. The seconds ticked away as he awaited his punishment, though it did not arrive. The storm of blades ceased to exist as his vision slowly returned, the maelstrom slipping away into itself. Blessedly, the pain followed upon its feels. 

“Kakashi…” 

Drenched in sweat, the silver-haired shinobi turned his gaze to meet his sensei’s inquiry. The blonde wore an expression of concern and surprise in equal measures, quickly striding forward to close the gap and assist his student to his feet. “Sorry,” Kakashi replied as the Kage lifted him from the dirt. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Kakashi, your eye…” Minato trailed off, squinting to examine the scarecrow’s bleeding optic.

The masked jonin froze, breath catching in his throat. It had been some time since he had had such pain, though he had naively hoped that he would never have to bear it again. The physical pain he could tolerate. No, it was the memory that tortured him so. He knew of what Minato referred without needing to ask: The Mangekyou. The symbol of his failure. 

Kakashi wiped the blood from his cheek, closing his eyes hard as he felt his chakra return to normal. Though the symbol of treachery had faded away, returning Obito’s eye to its simple tomoe trio, the thoughts would not fade with it. He drew a deep breath, gritting his teeth in an attempt to keep his emotions in-check.

“Take a break, Kakashi,” Minato urged, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Kito and I will continue for now.”

The scarecrow nodded wordlessly, crossing the clearing back toward the treeline. He turned and sat facing his comrades, his back against a tree trunk. It would be a long time before his heartrate would return to normal, before he could bring himself to stand. In the interim, he was alone with his thoughts.

[Minato Namikaze]

It would suffice to say that Minato was slightly better at hiding his exhaustion than his silver haired companion. Though he couldn't discredit Kakashi, the Mangekyou was a devastating jutsu for the Uchiha clan, there was no telling what sort of effect it could have on someone that does not, naturally, possess Uchiha blood. But this did give Minato a good chance to gauge just how far his new student had progressed. Kito was a genius when it came to most aspects of the ninja life style. Save genjutsu, the rest of the boy's skills were far above his formal rank. Minato couldn't afford to let his guard down against this boy. 

The two stared each other down, both waiting for the other to make their first move. Silence filled their training grounds, as if the world was watching, and waiting, in anticipation for the two shinobi to clash. He did have to admit that there was a part of him that worried about Kakashi but, he knew that the sharingan wielder would be okay, he just needed some rest. Minato took a breath, clearing his thoughts before deciding to speak. 

'You're not going to make a move?' The blonde asked, questioning his, relatively, new student's decisions.

'No,' Kito shook his head. 'I'm not stupid enough to make the first move against you.' Kito spoke as he pulled his blade from the sheath that rested on his back. It was a smart move when facing any normal opponent. Getting your opponent to reveal his hand first was always a good thing to do. But Minato was anything but a normal opponent. 

'Not a great choice.' the yellow flash spoke as two orbs of swirling chakra formed in his hands. As soon as the two rasengan had finished forming the jounin disappeared, a flash of yellow filling the area that he had once occupied. 

'Sustained Rasengan Striking!' The golden haired shinobi exclaimed as he reappeared behind Kito. The black haired boy spun around, pushing backwards with his heal in an attempt to put some distance between himself and his jounin master. This effort was all but useful as Minato sprang forward, repeatedly striking at the young ninja. Although he had managed to block a few of the man's strikes with his blade, Kito was ultimately sent, flying, backwards into a tree. He'd not noticed Minato place his seal during their earlier encounter, and this had given the former kage an edge. 

'Sorry Kito...' the golden haired shinobi panted. 'But you really should have made the first move.' the blonde spoke as he dropped his arms, allowing the rasengan to disperse. Minato sat down, he'd not gotten much actual rest last night either. That damn fox, tiring him out like that. He looked over to Kakashi, who was beginning to look a little better, and then to Kito. He'd wasted a lot of his chakra, not that he'd had a lot of time to replenish it overnight. 

Kito sat in place, his back against the tree that Minato had thrown him into, the bark behind him was cracked and broken from the force of the impact. His face carried a look of frustration and disappointment as he, slowly, lifted his blade and sheathed it.

'Fuck.' Kito breathed as a large quantity of pent up air forced its way out of his lungs. 'I'm still not strong enough!' the, clearly, frustrated boy exclaimed as he slammed his fists into the ground, the only action he could manage that would accurately display his mood. Kito attempted to stand, an effort that would only be met with failure, before he felt Kakashi's hand fall on his shoulder. The boy turned his head only to find the man shaking his head.

'No Kito, look at Minato.' the scare-crow gestured, the ninja in training following his sensei's orders. Their mentor had gone from sitting upright to laying on his back. His chest rose and fell quickly, making it apparent that he'd used up most of his chakra during his last attack. Kito and Kakashi stared at the exhausted shinobi as he, slowly, lifted his arm. Making a thumbs up sign at the two as he coughed a faint laugh.

'Good work guys.' the man panted, his breathing slowing down as he gradually caught his breath. 'But I think I'll just rest here for the time being. I don't think I can move at the moment.' the blonde laughed as he gazed up into the sky.

'But how?' Kito questioned the silver haired shinobi. The man shrugged, as if he didn't know what the child was talking about. 'How did he beat me so easily? We've trained before and he was never that fast.' the youth finished. He seemed overly harsh on himself, something that Kakashi knew all too well.

'Did he use sage mode?'

'Sage mode?' the dark haired boy enquired, clearly Minato had not let Kito in on all of his abilities.

'When he was attacking you, did you see an orange pigment around his eyes?' The man spoke as he looked down at the boy. 'Maybe even notice that the pupils and irises of his eyes had changed?'

Kakashi's questions puzzled the kid. Everything had happened so quickly that he hadn't had much time to focus on anything else other than the rasengan that he was trying to parry. He couldn't be sure but the image of the former kage's face popped into his head, looking exactly as the masked man had described. Kito nodded, assuming that had been what his companion was talking about.

'That's what I thought. He used the small amount of time when the two of you were talking to gather nature energy, then slipped into the form when he teleported.' The silver haired shinobi deduced. It was a risky move, a manoeuvre could have easily killed him in the process.

'Well, I guess that means no more training today.' Kakashi laughed. 'We'll need the time to rest up.'

'Yeah...' Kito sighed as stared at an exhausted Minato.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Having burned through each of their chakra reserves in the early morning, the trio had set out to ease their exhaustion for the remainder and into the afternoon. More sensible fighters would perhaps have been more conservative with their stamina, though shinobi were a different breed than most people. More different still were Minato and his students, apt to wear themselves down to the bone rather than take the path of least resistance. Each had his personal reason for such arguably reckless behavior, but an unground blade could never hold an edge. For the remainder of the day, the trio worked on honing a similar mental sharpness, working together on formulating battle strategy. They’d need whatever edge they could get if they met another foe like the orcish Makhel elder. 

In the following days the squad worked on drills, honing their aim with ninja tools as well as practicing new fighting styles. Though utilizing different maneuvers took a good deal of practice, adding more options to one’s repertoire would be handy in battle. The wooden dummies along the periphery met their ruin at the hands of the capable fighters, those unshattered were left embedded with dozens of kunai and shuriken, rendering them nearly unrecognizable to the layman. So too the ninjas honed their speed and agility, re-enacting the bell test again and again in preparation. Most importantly, the trio learned through their spars and exercises how to better coordinate with one another and play off of the other in battle. Knowing oneself was simply not enough, if the rest of the squad was left guessing in the heat of combat.

Over the course of the week, Kakashi felt his body becoming more and more accustomed to the constant strain of the various tests and training he put it through. He could feel his chakra control improving as well as his reflexes and overall endurance. Progress in some areas seemed to come faster in this realm than it did back in the Land of Fire, owing mostly to the odd physics of the new world. It would not be long now before he felt he was back at the level he had been before his transdimensional hop into the Omniverse. Perhaps, with progression and a bit of luck, he could even surpass it. His sharingan’s sensory capabilities were already beyond what they had been back home; it was not a far cry to think that they could, as well as his other jutsu, be pushed further. As Omni had stated upon his arrival, anything could be his. He hoped there was full truth in the statement. 

Their final day was a beautiful one in the Tangled Green, the sun shining brightly in an otherwise deep blue sky. Kakashi had found a steadier hand and calmer resolve after some much-needed rest, built-up fatigue driving him to doze for a bit while Minato and Kito made conversation and prepared a meal. Their time in the training zone had been quite helpful in gauging their current strength, the trio of ninjas feeling a bit more confident in their abilities as they cleaned up after their late lunch. Despite the preparation, an air of uncertainty hung between the men. They could not know what would be waiting for them back in Mokugakure. For all they knew, the village could have fallen to ruin by another orc attack. 

“I think it’s about time we head back,” Kakashi commented, staring off in the direction of the village. To assume that Tsunade’s settlement had all but collapsed in their time away was perhaps illogical, but the less time they spent away the better. 

“I agree,” came Minato’s reply. “I think we’ve learned a good deal out here. We’ll be back a little early, but I’m sure Lady First will be glad to see us again.”

The group gathered up their supplies and a few small left-over rations and readied themselves for the trip back to Mokugakure. After replenishing and checking inventory of their various tools and weapons, they made their way down the cliffside and back into the woods proper. They walked in silence back toward the village, each lost in thought. Whether they could make a positive change in the Village Hidden in the Forest was anyone’s guess.

They could only hope.

[Minato Namikaze]

The village gates stood firm as the trio approached their home. Their return was early, and met with a rather strange amount of guards stationed both on top of the wall and on the ground in front of the gates. It struck Minato as an odd move for Tsunade to make under normal circumstances. But with the recent Makhel threat, he understood why the decision was made. The blonde turned his head, glancing at his companions, noticing that they had also observed the odd amount of guards. 

'Stop right there!' A guard called out before two shinobi landed in front of the group. They looked distinguished, scars on their faces and a disgruntled look to match.

'Sorry but we need to inspect your items.' The guard on the left spoke, holding out his hand expectantly. The former kage paused for a second, it was a rather strange policy for members of a village to be searched like this. Before too much time had passed Minato nodded as he unstrapped his small backpack and sleeping roll and handed them to the man. Kakashi and Kito followed suit, handing their things to the second man.

'You may head into the village now. Tsunade wishes to speak with you.' the seasoned shinobi spoke as they both stepped aside, keeping a careful eye on the trio as they passed through the gates. 

'Minato, that was odd.' Kakashi whispered, concern in his voice, as they walked through a newly built north district.

'Yeah.' Minato nodded as his two companions walked beside him in silence.

'Is this because of the Makhel?' Kito questioned, breaking their silence. The two men looked over at the construction site that the young shinobi had pointed out. It served as a reminder of Minato's first real challenge in this place. The two men grunted and nodded as they stared at the wooden frames of a soon to be shopping district. Signs labelled with the Aplisto clan's name branded the area. Clearly they wanted to let people know who it was that was funding the construction. 

'Let's go see Tsunade...' Minato spoke, his words trailing off as he nudged Kakashi out of thought. His two companions nodded as they turned and continued on their way towards the Kage's tree. It stood at the centre of the village, as if it was the very foundation of the village itself. It reminded Minato of home, if he were in her position, he'd have chosen it as well.

Their climb to the Kage's office had been short, they'd scaled the tree's staircase so often that they had stopped taking awe in the village as it's horizon unfurled before them. None of them spoke, they didn't really have anything to say, they just wondered what was so important that Tsunade had them called to her. Usually she'd insist that they spend a night or two in the hospital, even though primes heal faster than normal.

A set of firm wooden doors sat before them as they reached to top of the staircase. The blonde shinobi stepped forward to push on the doors but, before he could, they swung open and and a man stormed out of the office. He pushed his way past Minato and his two companions, making eye contact with none of them as he made his descent to the bottom of the colossal tree. 

Minato had taken a second to scan the man as he rushed by. He wore a high collared, long sleeved, grey button up shirt that he tucked into his pair of grey pants. A black belt sat around his waist, making sure to keep his shirt tucked away. He wore black boots that came up over the legs of his pants and up to the middle of his shins. His hair was neatly combed and he held an odd looking hat under his arm. A very odd outfit for being in the middle of the jungle. Minato turned back to the room, Tsunade and Galan watching the group as they entered Lady First's office.

'What was all that about?' he asked, Tsunade sighing in response.

'Every few months the Empire sends someone to try and convince me to give them some of the village shinobi. I keep telling them that we need them to protect the village and that, usually, makes them angry.' The Morikage explained as she shook her head and sighed. 'But that's not something for you three to worry about.' she finished, sitting back on the edge of her desk, rubbing the bridge of her nose out of slight frustration. The trio nodded, if she'd had something that they needed to know about then she would have told them.

'Anyway, I have another mission for you three.' She began as she pulled a piece of paper from a pile on her desk. 'The Miu family, what do you know about them?' Tsunade queried. Minato glanced at Kito, he could tell that the boy wanted to answer but was intentionally keeping quiet.

'Only what Kito told Kakashi and I when we went to that summit a while back.' He answered. Kito hadn't told them much though. 'They are a relatively quiet family, and they don't really like fighting.' he finished. The Morikage nodded her head at the man's statement before speaking up again.

'That was true... However, they've been pushing to increase the guards around the village recently. With the Makhel attack, and the chaos that it caused, I thought it to be a normal suggestion but...' doubt and suspicion filled her voice and the brief amount of silence that followed. 'They are still pushing for more and more guards, and of their own choosing.'

'Paranoia?' Kakashi cut in, Tsunade shaking her head in response. 

'No, it's too unusual for them to be paranoid like this.' Galan interjected, dismissing the man's question. 

'We think they are working with someone outside of the village.' the Morikage spoke up. She handed the piece of paper to the blonde and then sat down at her desk. 'I've given you a list of some Miu family members and their daily activities. You'll need to follow them and note down any suspicious activity.' she instructed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched the group leave her office.

'Oh, and remember, a fight like the one with the Makhel family won't work this time.' She added, Minato and Kakashi nodding their heads in response. Her instructions were clear, gather information on any unusual activity and be discrete about it. They would do everything they could to follow her orders to the letter.

Continued Here