Author's note

Hello everybody.

This chapter is late because... reasons.

Without further excuses here's what you're here for.

Enough with deceptions!

How can you be friend with someone if you deceive them?

From the park she had to take the main road north for 800 meters, until the crossroads where Mr. Nemari's weapons shop originally stood. In its place now there was a restaurant, with the delicious scents of the food they were cooking wafting through the air. Under normal circumstances she'd find them inviting but at the moment, she wasn't very interested or hungry.

At the corner she turned right and continued up a long, stone stairway and then at the top, passed by a small pond, which she'd practiced at so many times in the past with her brother to master their fire techniques. On the other side of the pond, she continued a long but gentle climb up a sloping hill which would eventually take her to the outside wall of the Uchiha district.

She could climb over it easily if she wanted to. A simple leap and she'd be in... but she chose not to.

She decided to continue along the road which followed the wall, separating the Uchiha District from the rest of Konoha. She reached the main entrance, once an imposing sight but now crumbling and in ruin. Someone even went so far as to smear words in red paint across the red and white fan symbol of the clan.

'Traitors', 'Murderers', 'Damned' and other epithets were written on the wall, near the door. It was probably the same at every other entrance. It was nearing eight o'clock at night – the sky was cloudy and dark, and the populated areas of Konoha were casting very little light, but she could still read the words that people felt compelled to leave on the gates.

Moreover, it had been years since anyone lived in that place – years since any of the Uchiha had been considered worthy of respect. Adequate lightning might have discouraged the more cowardly vandals, but at this point it would be nothing more than a waste of money to the village.

Mitzuru hesitated at the spot for several minutes. Her eyes fixed on the fan of the Uchiha.

'If they started to hate the whole clan because of what Itachi, Sasuke, Madara and Tobi did... I don't even want to think what they'll do when they know the rest.' she thought, as her gaze shifted over the insulting words.

She had no doubt as to what she had to do to preserve her honor, and to restore the true honor of her clan. No matter how much gossip or hateful glances people gave her, it wouldn't discourage her. She'd already been given many names by her enemies – none of them had been particularly flattering, and she'd learned long ago not to be angered or discouraged by petty things such as that… However, she knew people would do more than talk behind her back. If those were the only problems she had to worry about, she wouldn't have to change anything about her life and the way she lived it.

No, what really bothered her was what she was seeing now – denigrating graffiti, insults and vandalism to her clan's property.

'I'm a kunoichi, not some cleaning service!' She exclaimed in her head. 'I'm not going to spend the rest of my days apologizing and cleaning up after the stupidity of others...'

Puffing out her cheeks in frustration, the last Uchiha woman walked through the old gate and continued down the deserted streets of the compound, which was now in ruins.

'I swear, the first person who dares to bother me will get the shit beaten out of them, and then I'll nail their asses to the gate for good measure.' She looked around, idly taking in her surroundings. Tsunade told her about half of the area had been spared from Pain's attack, due to the fact that it was located at the edge of the village. Unfortunately, time and neglect had brought down anything that remained standing.

'Spared from destruction my ass! If that Pain just destroyed everything, I'd only have to clear out rubble.' she complained, looking at house after house that seemed like they were on the verge of collapsing upon themselves. The fact that they were still standing was nothing short of a miracle.

She heaved a sigh and continued on. With firm steps, she moved through the streets that she knew like the back of her hand. It seemed like only yesterday she'd left for her mission – the results of which she was really beginning to question. Of course, now she possessed a power that only a few shinobi in the world could boast – enough to protect the people most dear to her – but at what cost?

She'd been away from everything and everyone for seventeen years – just a little more than half her life. The world had changed, people had died and others were born, but mostly it seemed like the main reason why she and her companions went in search of that power had disappeared.

"I took the mission, in part to keep the Uchiha clan calm," she said softly to herself, "and in the end it meant nothing. Fugaku acted like a fucking idiot and plotted against Konoha, other people blindly followed his stupidity and now they're all dead. Everything I went through, all that effort was…"

She didn't want to say that word. She couldn't say that word. Because if the word 'useless' passed her lips, she'd be admitting that she'd wasted most of her life.

"All it did was give me more problems than I already had," she concluded, shaking her head in denial.

Her eyes wandered up and down the vacant street. Despite the current state of the houses and buildings, she recognized immediately that she was very close to where her home once stood.

She still remembered it vividly. It was a small house on the outskirts of the compound – a section that belonged to those who weren't high ranking members of the Clan or important business owners. The lower floor held the kitchen, dining room and a small study, while upstairs were a bathroom and two bedrooms. Her parents had one while she and Obito shared the other.

Then suddenly one day, that room had become hers alone. The extra privacy and space didn't make her happy at all. Just about a year later the house, and all of its contents became hers when she inherited it after her parent's deaths.

Obito's death brought shame on her and her parents because before dying, her twin brother gave one of his Sharingan to Kakashi Hatake, a non-Uchiha and moreover a ninja whose father committed suicide because of shame.

She didn't care. If her brother's dying wish was to give his eye to Kakashi, then she would have respected it, and would have made sure that everyone else in her clan respected it. Her parents thought the same way, or so they always said in front of her. Yet, in time the weight of shame, and the sadness of having lost a son so young – or maybe both of those things together – crushed them and they committed suicide, leaving Mitzuru to manage the house, along with the dishonor of what they had done.

She had been forced to grow up quicker than she would have liked. Responsibilities seemed to loom over her head, increasing as the weeks and months droned on. Many within the clan wanted to take advantage of this and put a leash on her, thinking to remind her of who and what she really was – a pawn of the Uchiha, to be used as they see fit to further their own selfish motives.

Unfortunately for them however, the name of Mitzuru Uchiha was not only famous but also feared – not only in Konoha but throughout the elemental nations. The Bingo Books of foreign nations listed a bounty on her head of over thirty million Ryo when she was 13 years old. It had been many years since an Uchiha had achieved that amount of notoriety in such a short period of time.

What's more, she was a student of Tsunade Senju, one of the three legendary Sannin and granddaughter of the First Hokage. That fact alone was enough to give weight to her name in Konoha. And while she was alive, no one would ever deprive Kakashi of the Sharingan that Obito had given him.

While her mind rummaged through the depressing details of her past, her legs led her to her destination.

Her old house was still standing, but the weight of years of neglect was evident. The paint was faded and discolored, wormholes and termite damage littered the outside, several tiles on the roof were cracked or missing, and the glass windows were either shattered or completely gone. It was more similar to a haunted house now... a decrepit bunch of wood and stone, only habitable by the ghosts of people far gone past.

For the first time since returning to the village Mitzuru hesitated, wondering what she hoped to find. She had nothing left in there. No pictures, no clothes, no personal items or anything that could indicate that she, Mitzuru Uchiha ever existed or even lived in that place.

Yet something had brought her here.

"Damn nostalgia," she cursed silently, looking down and clenching her fists. "I knew I should've gone to a hotel and slept for a week straight. When I woke up, all that crap those three idiots want to do will be over and I won't have to deal with the problem anymore."

Deciding she'd had enough of her trip down memory lane, Mitzuru turned around and walked at a brisk pace in the direction she'd come from.

"Hey!"

A sudden greeting from behind startled her. She pulled out a kunai from her weapons pouch and whipped around, while her left hand made the first two seals for a fire jutsu in case she needed it. Her Sharingan became two red flames dotting darkness.

He'd followed her since she left Shiku and Tsushika's apartment. At first he'd used his skills to hide his presence but as he continued on, he realized Mitzuru was too focused on where she was going, or what she was thinking – paying very little attention to anyone or anything around her. This made the task of following her a lot easier from a practical standpoint, but more complicated from an emotional point of view.

For someone like him who knew her well, it was obvious that something was bothering her and having to spy her at a time like this only made him feel guilty… as if lying to her about Obito didn't already make him feel like trash. However, after seeing her come all the way to her old house, hesitate and then turn back, Kakashi decided it might help if he came forward and let her vent on him a little. He knew very well that emotional problems with the Uchiha could turn ugly rather quickly if they weren't handled carefully.

"Whoa, hold on there. You could hurt someone, you know?" Kakashi raised his hands in mock surrender, keeping his voice calm.

Mitzuru squared him from head to toe for a few seconds. Kakashi recognized the look on her face – she was debating on whether or not she could trust him. He winced internally, because he was doing this for both the village and his own selfish reasons.

She lowered the kunai and relaxed her other hand, softening her look almost imperceptibly. "Hello, Kakashi," she greeted him in a tired voice. "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi noticed the suspicion in her eyes. "I wanted to have a chat with you." He took a careful step towards her, keeping his movements slow and obvious. No sense aggravating the situation. "Since you came back to the village, we haven't had a chance to talk." He kept his hands in his pockets, trying his best to look and sound casual. "Just the two of us. Alone."

"Alone? And what would a known pervert, and public reader of erotic novels like you want to talk about with a defenseless young lady like me? Especially in a dark, isolated part of town like this?" She crossed her hands defensively in front of her chest and cocked her head almost playfully, mixing her concern with a little bit of fun.

"Oh, I don't know... maybe it'll come to me when a defenseless young lady gets here." He pretended to look around in search of the aforementioned woman.

Mitzuru narrowed her eyes and stared at him in outrage over the supposed slight, but that lasted only a few seconds before she burst out laughing. After a moment Kakashi joined her, chuckling a little.

"Thanks," she said once she calmed down. "I needed that." Her eyes were dark onix again.

"Want to talk about it?" Kakashi offered. "Maybe over some dango and fine tea..."

"Kakashi, are you asking me out on a date?" Mitzuru blinked her eyes and feigned surprise. "I mean, this all seems so… sudden. I don't know if I can accept your proposal."

"Well, your loss. But in case dango and tea isn't your thing, I've got some top shelf saké back at my place. If you're interested, that is." He wanted to see just how far he could push her with his teasing.

It seemed like that was his limit, since Mitzuru stopped short and her smile of feigned innocence disappeared. For a minute, she seemed genuinely surprised and uncertain, which was something completely foreign to Kakashi. The only sounds that could be heard was the wind as the moment stretched on.

"No..." Mitzuru said flatly, breaking the spell. "I think for what I'm planning, we should do it here." She waved her hand, indicating their surroundings.

Kakashi studied the serious expression on her face and the sudden change in her demeanor. "And you're calling me a pervert…" He scolded her. "You're just as bad as I am."

Mitzuru laughed again, a much sincere and truly liberating laugh, more so than most of those Kakashi had ever heard.

"Idiot..." She muttered loud enough for him to hear, walking up to him and punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"I was trying to be serious there, you know?" It wasn't a question.

"Yeah..." He assured her. "You've always been the serious and careful one." he said referring to a distant past. "The loudmouth was-"

"Obito." She finished for him.

Things were silent between them once again. The only sounds that could be heard were the slight wind whistling through the deserted streets.

"Why are you here, Mitzuru?" Kakashi was determined to help his friend. "It's not like you to be so emotional."

"I know..." She admitted, turning her back to him. Her gaze wandered aimlessly over the abandoned buildings. "To be honest, I don't even know why I came here in the firs place. There's nothing here for me now…"

"Nothing?"

"No one." She corrected herself shaking her head. "Not that I had anyone or anything waiting for me when I came home from my missions, but..."

"I get it, Mitzuru," he stated. "This place is really big, and…"

"And to see it empty like this, it looks even bigger." She heaved a heavy sigh. "I feel even lonelier because of it."

"You're not alone. You have Tsushika, Shiku and Toraku." He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should say anything else but then decided this was a good a time as any. "And you have-"

"What do you know about their plan, Kakashi?" Mitzuru interrupted him.

Kakashi tensed from the unexpected turn in the conversation. He was here to help his friend, as well as carry out his orders from the Hokage. He was trying to do both, but his priority was the first item and now, it seemed she wanted to talk about the second. And as much as he wanted to know Mitzuru's true intentions, as well as how much she was involved in whatever Shiku, Tsushika and Toraku were planning, Kakashi had no idea how the conversation was going to turn out.

If things took a turn for the worse, what would he do? Could he fight, and if necessary kill her? She was a true wielder of the Sharingan, so that didn't seem likely. Sure, he'd gotten stronger and the number of jutsu he knew had increased considerably since the last time they sparred, but she was a jinchuuriki now – no doubt a very powerful one.

Furthermore, could his desire to protect the village override his feelings for her?

During the last war, he was able to harden his heart enough to find the strength to fight and kill his old friend Obito, but even putting aside the fact that the situation now was completely different from the one during the war, the relationship of friendship that he shared with the Uchiha wasn't even remotely comparable with the one he had with his sister.

Kakashi remained silent, carefully thinking of what his next words should be. He was trying to remain calm, but his heartbeat was accelerating at bit. There were too many unknown variables with the woman in front of him. She wasn't the girl he knew who left the village seventeen years ago, but how much could she have changed in all this time?

He had to play his cards right. "Little or nothing," he said indifferently – or at least he hoped it sounded that way. "But that's not what we're talking about."

"But now that's what I want to talk about." She retorted with an amused smirk. Her eyes though, betrayed her true feelings. She wasn't the kind of person who showed her feelings openly, and she'd always felt uncomfortable the few times she'd been forced to do it. Putting up a strong front was just a way to divert Kakashi's attention away from that and towards the subject of the conversation.

Despite what he said earlier, Kakashi wasn't stupid. He knew that's what Mitzuru was doing – not that he was in any position to judge his friend. He'd done it himself countless times before. He'd only begun to change his ways after becoming a jōnin sensei to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.

But now wasn't the time to be thinking of his students – or maybe it was, since if he wanted to protect them, as well as the whole village, he needed to discover as much as he could from Mitzuru.

"I really only know what little they deliberately let the Hyūga discover," he lied. He decided to cautiously test the waters and see how things played out from there.

She looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. "Really?" she deadpanned. "Only that?"

Kakashi didn't answer her.

"I think you know something else. There's too many holes in Shiku's planning – too many things based on outdated knowledge of the people involved..."She insisted, smirking at him. "But it doesn't matter. I'll explain everything to you whether you know it or not."

"On October the 10th, the anniversary of the death of Minato and Kushina, Shiku and Tsushika intend to summon the God of Death using a very particular ritual." Mitzuru began. "Their ultimate goal is to free the soul of Minato and the half of the Kyubi that is sealed together with him."

Kakashi stared blankly at her, trying to assimilate what she just said. He already had dozens of questions, but didn't know where to begin.

"Umm… What?"

"Given the complexity of the ritual, they need the vision of the Byakugan, along with a huge amount of chakra, which will be provided from their own Sacred Beasts. But there's one particular condition of the contracts the four of us have with our Sacred Beasts, so they need the Kyūbi to access the sacred chakra."

Mitzuru paused, giving Kakashi the chance to talk. "That seems way too simple. What's the catch?"

"The catch is that if we fail, the Shinigami will not only steal the souls of the people involved in the ritual, but will also kill everyone else nearby. In this case, it more than likely means everyone in the village."

Ok, now that was pretty specific… and detailed. Now he knew why they'd gone to such great lengths to keep all this a secret and why, when Kō Hyūga had been spying on them, he'd heard them talk about bringing "death" to the village. They were referring to the Shinigami and the risks of this whole ritual they wanted to do.

If they'd asked the Hokage for permission to do something that dangerous, Tsunade would never have agreed to it. Sure, she'd be interested in freeing Minato's soul from eternal damnation, but not at the risk the citizens of Konoha.

"Alright, That's certainly… interesting." Kakashi nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It explains the what, but how did they think of using the Hyūga for all this? And why did they put Hiashi and Inoichi in a coma?"

Mitzuru narrowed her eyes at him. "So you do know more that you let on," she said accusingly, before shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, that was Shiku's idea. He figured he could use the Hyūga's pride against them, and lure them into a trap where Tsushika would use her fūinjutsu to 'borrow' the Byakugan for the ceremony."

"Problem is, the Hyūga clan might still be puffed up and full of self-importance, but they're not as blind or stupid as they used to be. Hiashi figured something was going on, so he asked Inoichi Yamanaka for help. But when he tried bypass the seal from Hiashi's mind to confirm the identity of Shiku and Tsushika…"

"Inoichi triggered the defensive countermeasure the Fourth Hokage put in place," Kakashi finished, finally understanding the fatal flaw in his Senpai's plan.

"Yeah, it was only by pure chance that Toraku was spying on Hiashi and Inoichi's conversation about trying to get around the seal, in the Yamanaka mansion," Mitzuru said, sighing in relief. "If he didn't warn Tsushika about what those two were trying to do, she wouldn't have been able to intervene and save their lives."

Kakashi was tempted to ask her how Toraku was able to spy on Hiashi without being noticed by his Byakugan. The Hyūga were constantly throwing the fact that they could see everything with their eyes, and the idea of being able to spy on anyone with a dojutsu like that seemed impossible. Yet somehow, Toraku managed to do it and with their clan leader, no less.

But no matter how curious he might be about that, he was more interested in the last thing Mitzuru said. "Save their lives?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes. At the exact moment when the security measures activated, Tsushika intervened and removed the seal from Hiashi and Inoichi's minds. The countermeasures weren't designed to incapacitate, they were designed to kill if the seals were tampered with," Mitzuru explained. "She wasn't going to let them die, since they're fellow shinobi of Konoha – as well as both being very important clan leaders – but she also didn't want them getting in the way of the plan to free Minato's soul."

"Instead, she used another special fūinjutsu seal to place them both into a comatose state. They figured with Hiashi out of the equation, it might be easier to convince one of the Hyūga to help them out. Hiashi would never have allowed it, and used the full might of his clan to stop Shiku and Tsushika in the act."

"Well, that certainly explains the results that came back from the medical examinations," Kakashi acknowledged, "and it basically confirms Shikaku Nara's theory about what happened."

"And it proves to me that I was right, and you knew more that you were willing to admit." Mitzuru glared at him accusingly, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Well, you know me," he quipped. "I never reveal all my cards from the beginning."

Mitzuru snorted and rolled her eyes. He was right – she should have known better.

"But with a plan like that, they'll have a large number of people against them from the very beginning." Kakashi reasoned. "There's no way they'll be able to concentrate on a complex ritual like that during such a small window of opportunity. No matter how you slice it, this entire plan sounds way too risky and arrogant – even for someone like Shiku."

Normally Tsushika was the more rational one, keeping Shiku from doing anything irrational and stupid. But no matter how strong they'd become, to even think they could deal with the entire Hyūga clan, while at the same time performing a ritual that could prove fatal to the entire leaf village was absolutely insane. 'Bat-shit crazy' might be a more accurate term…

She shook her head. "That's not entirely true. Using Shiku's unique ability, all they'd need is a single Hyūga and their Byakugan, along with some time and a place to perform the ritual completely undisturbed."

Kakashi eyed her skeptically. That sounded way too simple to even be possible, but more than that…

"You just said 'unique ability'. Can you be a little more specific?"

"Every Jinchuuriki has a unique ability that's different from person to person," Mitzuru explained. "Bee-san of the Eight Tails spits ink, Kushina Uzumaki could move her hair like they were fox tails, Mito Uzumaki could see the memories of people whose blood she come in contact with…" She ticked off her fingers, listing some of the abilities the other Jinchuuriki had. "…if you ask my opinion, I think that's why she hated blood so much."

"Shiku's ability allows him to create chakra barriers that are unbreakable and impenetrable. That's why he wouldn't have to worry about the Hyūga clan interfering. But they need the precise eyes of the Byakugan to make sure nothing went wrong from the get-go."

Kakashi was tempted to keep asking questions and find out what the unique ability for each of the Jinchuuriki of the Sacred Beasts were. He also wondered why Naruto never showed what his unique ability was. The only thing he knew that was unique about Naruto – other than his uncanny ability to talk his way out of any situation – were his healing abilities and immunity to most poisons and diseases, but that was a common thing to every Jinchuuriki.

But that begged the question… what did Mitzuru plan to do? She'd revealed her plan to him, down to the manner and timing of it all. That could mean she'd betrayed her teammates and wanted to help Konoha prevent Shiku and Tsushika from performing the ritual… but it could also mean she planned on having Tsushika turn him into the same comatose pile of flesh as Hiashi and Inoichi.

"What's your role supposed to be in all of this?" He was already in pretty deep. May as well go for broke.

"You always did like to get right to the point, Kakashi." Mitzuru sighed before giving him a small smile. "Shiku and Tsushika want my help as well as Ryu, my Sacred Beast, to increase their chances of success. And this ritual is especially important, since Ryu himself told me that we need to help the Kyūbi recover his full powers to be able to help us when the Juubi returns."

Things were silent between them once again. A new, and very important piece of information had just been revealed in what Kakashi felt was an all too casual fashion. If what Mitzuru just said was true, then the ritual was basically essential and necessary to protect the world. But she didn't have any evidence to prove what she just said. As far as he, or anyone else knew the Juubi had already been destroyed, and trying to revive it without the tailed beasts was impossible.

Even putting that aside, Kakashi wasn't stupid. He was very aware of the main reason why Shiku and Tsushika were dead set on performing the ritual – to free the soul of Minato from eternal imprisonment within the Shinigami's stomach.

There was still one final issue to deal with, though. He took a deep breath and walked up to Mitzuru, stopping his face only a few inches from hers and looking deep into her eyes.

"You told me what Shiku, Tsushika and Toraku want, you explained to me how and when they'll do it, and you even said what they want from you." He forced himself to relax and sound casual, almost indifferent. "Now, why don't you tell me what you think? How do you feel about all this?"

She shrugged. "I think that if the four of us work together, we won't have any problems freeing Minato and the fox from the Shinigami." She sounded confident, but when she broke eye contact and looked at her feet, Kakashi realized there was something else.

"But if the Hokage won't approve, I can't help them. My clan has already lost any honor they once had, and I'll do whatever it takes to restore it." Her eyes were back on Kakashi. And her stare was unwavering. "I don't want to betray my friends, though. They don't want to hurt anyone, and if they weren't confident about their chances of success, they wouldn't entertain the idea in the first place."

"More importantly, they're the only family I have left," she said wistfully. "And they love me more than anyone who once lived here and bore my clan's name. So I'll talk to Tsunade-sama and ask her to convince Shiku and Tsushika to try something else."

Kakashi agreed with her. Shiku, Tsushika and Toraku weren't trying to hurt anyone in Konoha, so there was no reason to doubt that with a little research, they could compromise and find a way to free Minato and the other half of Kurama from the Shinigami.

"But I'll do it tomorrow." Mitzuru rubbed her forehead wearily. "Right now I really need to get out of these clothes, take a hot shower, grab something to eat and fall asleep in a comfortable bed."

"Will you go back to Shiku and Tsushika's?" Kakashi was genuinely curious.

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to see them now. I left their apartment because I was way too angry with them. So, I guess I'll have to stay at a hotel tonight."

"You know..." he broached tentatively, "I have a spare room with a futon. You could use it if you want."

Mitzuru stared at him with a slight bit of surprise. "I don't know. My reputation as an unsullied maiden might take a hit if I'm seen entering the house of a well-known pervert." She was trying to sound teasing, but she wasn't doing a very good job.

"Oh. I guess you're right." He sounded disappointed. "You better hurry then. There aren't too many decent places that are still open at this hour." He turned to leave, and got all of two steps before Mitzuru stopped him.

"Wait!" she shouted, a little more loudly than she intended. "I… I just remembered I left my money back at Shiku and Tsushika's place. I guess I'll have to take you up on your offer."

Even if it was nighttime and she was trying to hide it, Kakashi could see the red dusting her cheeks. Chuckling to himself, Kakashi thanked Kami for finally having an Uchiha in his life that despite the years and difficulties, stayed true to herself… and her village.

"Make sure you stay in your room." She jabbed him playfully in his ribs. "No late night sleepwalking."

This time, Kakashi actually laughed out loud. But he filed the idea away for future reference.

"... And that's why we should stop my parents and prevent them from performing the ritual."

Naruto and his cousin just came out of the hot spring, towels wrapped around their waist and were now sitting on a wooden bench in the sauna, relaxing and enjoying the hot steam. Toraku just explained in detail what his parents wanted to do to free the soul of Naruto's father, who was trapped in the stomach of the Shinigami, along with all the risks that came with it.

It all sounded like some twisted joke. He'd finally found a way to help his father, but the plan was WAY too dangerous to Konoha to risk trying it. The whole thing was pretty unnerving, to say the least – especially since according to Toraku, his parents were positive they could pull it off.

As long as they got the help of someone with the Byakugan, that is.

"Like I said, I'm sure my parents and I can complete the ritual, but after that I'm afraid the Hokage will banish us from the village for putting Konoha in danger or even worse, consider us enemy ninja and hunt us down." Toraku closed his eyes and drew a shuddering breath. "I just found a home. And I don't want to lose it."

Naruto reluctantly agreed with what his cousin just said. The first duty of the Hokage was to protect Konoha, civilians and shinobi alike. Tsunade wouldn't have any other choice in the matter.

However...

"Are there any other ways to free my dad's soul, along with Kurama's other half?" he asked hopefully.

Toraku's eyes looked everywhere but at Naruto, who was staring at him. "Umm… yeah. There's a couple of other ways."

"Really?!" Naruto pressed him for an answer. "Tell me, tell me!"

"We could use the mask of the God of Death that's kept in the Uzumaki temple just outside the village walls..."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "There's an Uzumaki temple near the village?"

"Yeah." Toraku nodded absently.

Naruto wondered why no one ever told him about something like that. If it was related to his clan, he had a right to know about it. Who was it that decided to keep it a secret from him all these years?

"Using that method, the village wouldn't be in any danger, even if the ritual fails. But part of the ritual requires the caster to tear open their own stomach, and even if they survive the wound, then on the day they die for real the Shinigami would still claim their soul forever."

"It'd probably be best if we avoided that." Naruto immediately rejected the idea. A chill ran up his back at the thought of being stuck in the Shinigami's stomach for all eternity.

"There's another ritual we could do," Toraku said after a moment's hesitation, "it's the one I wanted to do from the beginning, but my father forbid me from studying about it."

Naruto smirked at him. "I'm betting you ignored him and studied it anyway, right?"

Toraku grinned at him. "Of course!" He laughed.

It wasn't like Naruto hadn't done the same thing himself. He'd studied and perfected forbidden techniques like the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – or techniques he'd been forbidden to use, like the Rasenshuriken. He couldn't help being naturally curious, just like Toraku.

"Why'd your father forbid you to study that technique?"

"Because neither he nor my mother would be able to use it, and it'd be the first time in history it's ever been used." Toraku closed his eyes and wearily rubbed his temples. "There's still too many variables and too many unknowns – like what would happen if something went wrong. Things like that."

Naruto was feeling a bit skeptical. "Then… how do you know about it at all?"

"I've got a millennial Sacred Beast inside of me. Most of the forbidden jutsu I know, Lao taught me about."

Naruto mulled that over. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he agreed. He wondered what forbidden techniques Kurama knew that he might teach him. "Anyway, do you think that this last method would work?"

"Sure," Toraku nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "But I'm gonna need your help. And Hinata's too."

Naruto buried his face in his hands. "Oh, man… Hinata…"

"Come on. I told you she's not mad at you." Toraku did his best to console his cousin. "She'll be here soon enough and you two can talk to each other. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so..." Naruto realized he screwed up big time with Hinata. Sakura was right. He should have gotten her side of the… "Hey – wait a second…" he said as the realization dawned on him, "what request did you make to Hinata?"

For once, Toraku actually looked uneasy. "I…I asked her to help me stop my parents. But she told me before she'd even consider it, I'd have to wake up both her and Ino's fathers from their comas. Then she wanted me to speak to you, and would only give me an answer after hearing what you had to say about it."

Naruto looked puzzled at him.

"And how exactly are you involved with Inoichi and Hiashi's comas?"

"Personally, little or nothing." Toraku poured another ladle of water on the hot coals, creating another burst of hot steam. "But I know about the jutsu that my mother used to put them in that state." He added quietly.

"Oh. Well, that's…" Naruto did a double take. "WHAAAAT?!"

Toraku slapped a hand over his mouth. "Shh! Calm down and let me explain!" He looked outside the sauna to make sure Naruto's scream didn't attract any unwanted attention. "Do you remember the seal your father placed on everyone in Konoha? The one that made everyone forget about my parents and Aunt Mitzuru?"

"Yeah. That's the one your mom removed from Kakashi-sensei and Baa-chan," he answered after Toraku removed his hand.

"Well, Hiashi asked Inoichi to try and break trough the one he had placed on his memory. But when they did, it activated the countermeasures built into the seal. The thing was designed not to be tampered with and if someone tries, it fries their brains."

Naruto nodded hesitantly. "Okay, I think I understand. But then why they are in a coma? Shouldn't their brains be fried, like you just said?"

"Normally the answer is yes. But they are now in a coma for three reasons." Toraku raised a finger. "First, because they violated an X-level security protocol, which in order to do so they needed permission from the Hokage. And until she decides what to do with them, they'll have to remain in custody."

Another finger went up. "Second, because they need rest to heal the stress their brains suffered from the backlash of partial activation of the countermeasures." A third finger went up. "And last of all, because they just got back all the memories about my parents and Aunt Mitzuru, they'd probably act differently towards them than what my dad wanted. He needed an emergency solution that didn't hurt them, avoided triggering the seal and kept them out of the way until he could go through with his plan."

Toraku shook his head in disapproval. "A plan that, in my opinion bases too many hopes, hunches and details on decades old knowledge and hiding important and dangerous things from the village we're supposed to protect." Naruto could hear the bitterness and disappointment in his cousin's voice. "Proof of that fact is Hiashi Hyūga asked Inoichi Yamanaka for help, rather than trying to have the Hyūga clan deal with us on their own. And he did it because he now isn't the same man that my parents knew when they left the village."

"So... Inoichi and Hiashi are okay?"

"They're perfectly fine. They're just sleeping," Toraku confirmed. "They won't wake up until someone with proper fūinjutsu knowledge removes the seal from their minds."

"Can you do it?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Toraku nodded. "Yeah, Hinata asked me to, so I'll take care of it first thing tomorrow morning," he said reassuringly. "Maybe I'll even restore the old seal your dad put on them in the first place. And according to Konoha law, they still need to be punished for trying to break the seal in the first place."

"But the seal is still there…" Naruto understood the reason why Toraku wanted to put the seal back, but to him it seemed like it would only cause more problems, and not solve anything. "…neither of them have their memories restored. And besides, what makes you think they won't try it again?"

He had no doubt Hiashi would ask for Inoichi's help to try to remove the seal again, which meant he'd risk his life just like before. Only this time, what if Shiku or Tsushika didn't make it in time? But he also felt partially responsible for what happened, since Hiashi asked him about Shiku and Tsushika and he basically refused to tell him anything he knew. Maybe if he'd said something, Hiashi and Inoichi wouldn't have taken such a huge risk.

Toraku shrugged his shoulders. "You're probably right. I suppose I could explain the situation and let them make their own decisions…"

That being the case, it made sense that Hinata would only help on the condition that her father and Inoichi were pulled out of their comas, even knowing the village could be in danger. But waiting for his opinion before making a final decision was something the blond found puzzling.

"She thinks my opinion is more important than the safety of the village?" Naruto wondered aloud to himself.

"In my opinion, you're interpreting it the wrong way."

"Huh?"

"Hinata has complete trust in you, and she knows that since you want to be Hokage someday, you'll only choose what's best for the Leaf," Toraku explained, smiling warmly. "I think Hinata already sees the Hokage you'll become someday – and she's not afraid to follow his lead."

Naruto softened at the thought of how much confidence and trust Hinata was placing in him. She'd always admired him – she'd basically admitted it to him, but he didn't think she put him on that high of a pedestal. He realized he knew and understood very little about the warm, kindhearted girl… no, that was wrong – kindhearted young woman who always seemed to be there for him.

He shook his head. As much as he liked it, this wasn't the time to be thinking about Hinata. "Hey, stop trying to distract me!"

"What do you mean?" Toraku feigned ignorance.

"First you tell me it might be possible to free my dad's soul, giving me hope and then you smash it to bits, explaining how dangerous this whole ritual is to the village. Then I asked you if there was any other way and luckily enough, you said there was – but it's something your dad doesn't want you to do, and coincidentally you need mine and Hinata's help to pull it off."

"Yeah? So?"

"You just said you asked Hinata to help you stop your parents, but I'm thinking you had something else in mind." Naruto glared at Toraku, who stared impassively back at him. "You laid the groundwork with her, and then steered me toward getting the two of us to help you with that other jutsu." He pointed an accusing finger at his cousin. "I want the truth – and don't even think of trying to lie to me, because you and your parents will lose whatever chance I'm giving you."

For a brief moment, a hint of panic and hurt appeared in Toraku's eyes and then just as quickly it was gone. His shoulders slumped and he heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine," he said, basically admitting defeat. "You're right on almost everything. The original plan was to tell my parents that Hinata would help us complete the ritual they want to use, when in fact with her help I would have immobilized them with a fūinjutsu, long enough that they day they had to do their ritual would have passed by and they'd be forced to give up on the idea. But… I was really hoping that once you listened to me, you'd ask me if there was another way we could do it that didn't endanger the village, and then convince Hinata to help us."

Naruto bared his teeth in anger. "Why all these schemes? Why all the lies?" he demanded loudly. "Why didn't you just tell me the whole truth?"

"Because I'm not the one who should be asking you."

Naruto eyed his cousin warily. He didn't know if he should be more angry or confused at this point. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"My father doesn't want me to use that technique, remember? But if you're the one who asks me to do it, then I won't be completely disobeying my parents and they won't try doing a ritual that'll turn us into wanted criminals. Your father's soul would be free, along with Kurama's other half." He smiled hopefully. "Everybody wins!"

"Why the hell do you keep doing that?" Naruto shouted, flailing his arms in frustration. "You twist and turn things to make everything work from your point of view, but it doesn't change the fact that you started them in the first place! You need to take responsibility for your actions! Man up and face your problems, don't try hiding from them!"

Toraku's attitude was ticking Naruto off. He couldn't stand people like that, who found a convenient way to shirk their responsibilities, throwing excuse after excuse out there to justify their actions. By doing all that, Toraku wasn't just lying to everyone else but also to himself and for what? Just so he could say he didn't disobey his parents, even though he lied to many more to get what he wanted?

Toraku's face became hard as stone. "Everyone tries to protect themselves from pain as best they can," he said in a low but still firm voice. "There are people who aim for greatness, diving headlong into things that give them a higher sense of purpose – and there are others who abandon themselves to hatred, anger and a thirst for power. There are people who lie to themselves and to others with a smile on their face, when there should be disgust and despair. There are people who look for happiness in others, trying to find what they lack in themselves…"

When Toraku raised his eyes, there was a glint in them that froze Naruto for a moment. His attitude, the tone of his voice... It was the first time Naruto faced something like that. It was different from Sasuke's anger from when they fought in the Valley of the End, it was different from the cold detachment Sasuke gave him when they met again after two years, and it was also different from Sasuke's boundless hatred when Naruto faced him in the Land of Iron. It was also different from the desperate and still determined disillusionment of Obito. But in some ways, it was similar – there was anger and darkness, but also light and an icy cold calm. It was hard to comprehend exactly what was in the look Toraku was giving him at this moment. So much so that it worried Naruto, because he couldn't grasp it fully.

Toraku blinked his eyes slowly, like he was trying to wake up a drugged sleep. "But all that aside, I think it's just me. I was raised by the tigers, and they have a rather unique way of doing things, and the only people I ever saw up until I came to Konoha were my parents and aunt Mitzuru." A sad smile appeared on his lips. "I suppose I just don't know how to interact with anybody else. I never got that chance growing up."

"Do you remember what happened the first time you met my parents, right after our fight?"

Naruto nodded. Toraku and Tsushika were furious with Toraku for how he'd acted. After seeing that, if he didn't know for sure they were his aunt and uncle, he'd swear they were related to Sakura in some way.

"Before today, that was the first and only time I ever disobeyed my parents." He paused for a moment, and some of the light and mischievousness came back into his eyes. "Man, that was one of the few times in my entire life I've done exactly what I wanted."

He smiled again, a sad and melancholic smile while his gaze was set on his own feet. "Look, I know that this is just a stupid hope that won't become true, but…"

"Do you really think they won't get angry with you if I'm the one who asks you to perform the different ritual?" Naruto asked, interrupting him.

Toraku shook his head. "No, they're going to be angry with me – worse than they've ever been before. The only way they won't is if I keep quiet and let them go through with that stupid plan of theirs."

"Then why are you even doing all this machination?" Naruto wanted to know.

"At this point, I'm just trying to limit the damages." Toraku's gaze was steely and determined. "I know that there are times when no matter what you do, you're not going to please everybody. So I'm trying to disappoint the least number of people possible. In my case, I'm at least trying to give the impression that I'm not TOTALLY going against my parent's wishes."

"So… at this point, you're just trying to compromise..." Naruto muttered.

"Yeah. The world is full of those."

The peace that was achieved in the world before the last Great War was one of compromise. Hashirama negotiated it based on compromises, and it was accepted on conditions and lies of every village, both great and small in the hope that it would end decades of conflict and strife.

It worked to a certain extent, but not nearly on the scale that Hashirama hoped for. And in a weird way, it made sense. It wasn't true peace, like the one Naruto aimed to reach for one day – the same peace he promised Pervy-sage and Nagato that he'd find, no matter what – but for now, it was the best that could be attained.

Now that he thought about it, Toraku could probably help him a lot. If he could find a way to change both him and his family, and get them to stop trying to hide things and compromise, then he could change the leaders of the elemental nations in the same way. He needed to make everyone understand the importance of trusting each other, without twisting words and using lies of convenience.

It was a good resolution and starting point, but in this situation what options did he have? Naruto reluctantly admitted to himself that the only choice he had if he wanted to get Kurama's other half back, free his father's soul and avoid Shiku and Tsushika being arrested was to follow Toraku's plan.

Why did his life always have to be so complicated? It didn't help matters that ever since his family came back to Konoha, things started to take a turn for the worse. It was a sad but undeniable fact.

"If this keeps up, my head's gonna explode," Naruto complained, rubbing his temples.

"Before that happens, let's go to the rest area of this bathhouse," Toraku proposed. "We can order some food and drinks. Besides, it'd probably be a good idea for Hinata to meet us there instead."

"Huh? Just where did you plan on meeting her?" Naruto snapped at him. "In the hot spring?"

"Yes."

'Ok, I wasn't going to before, but NOW I'm gonna kill him.' One eyebrow started twitching as Naruto clenched his fists in anger.

"Or… once I knew she was on the other side of the wood fence, I would have contacted her and told her to meet me in the rest area," Toraku added hurriedly. The last thing he needed was to get in an all-out fight with his cousin, practically naked in a public building.

He shuddered at the thought of it all.

"Suuuure. " Naruto narrowed his eyes skeptically at his cousin as they went back to the locker room to get dressed.' But I'm still keeping an eye on you, to make sure you don't do anything funny with my Hinata.'

Author's note

Shiku and Tsuhika's plan is finally unveiled but other people seems to be plotting against it. From now on, things are only going to get more and more complicated.

Hope you liked it.

As always big thanks to Serious Sam who's an awesome Betareader, and this time had it particularly difficult since the chapter is longer than usual and apparently I messed it up a lot before giving it to him.

Until next time ciao!