Rights of Succession

Chapter 1: Fourth Hokage

A single blonde man paced through the sewer, his feet making a sloshing sound as they touched the murky, dank water on the floor around him. He wore a blue shinobi uniform, a green flak jacket adorned with a red spiral on its back, and a metallic forehead protector, adorned with the symbol of the village of Konohagakure.

The man's normally handsome and smiling visage was now covered with a foreboding and emotionless expression. The only indication of his agitation was in the way his left fist was clenched in fury at his side, his nails biting into his flesh and drawing blood from his hand.

And finally, a slight scent of foul, dark chakra signified that he came upon what he had been looking for. A black door stood in front of him, seemingly sucking in all light from the surroundings. He felt a terrifying presence, not all dissimilar from killing intent fill the air, even when a single glance told him that it was not reinforced by any seals other than a basic sound-suppression.

Perhaps this feeling was not because of the door itself, but because of what he knew he would find behind it.

For a few minutes, he stood in front of it and took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he knew was coming.

There would be no stepping back after this, he knew. He had to deal with this problem, and he had to deal with it immediately.

And then, he reached out and pushed, watching the door slowly creak open.

What greeted him was a scene out of hell.

The moans of the dead and dying surrounded him, pleading for mercy. Countless jars, filled with dissected the brains, hearts, and eyes of hundreds of humans lined the shelves, and underneath, there were cells filled with mutilated and screaming prisoners, whose eyes turned to him as one, begging for some recourse from the torture they had been put through.

However, what was worst of all were not these things. It was the image he saw in front of him.

A man with long midnight-black hair stood before him with his back facing his eyes. Calmly, clinically, he was cutting into a screaming child's body, slowly extracting his heart, unheeding of the boy's pleads for mercy.

The blonde knew this man. He had worked with him for the better part of a decade, befriended him, sparred with him, looked up to him, and offered him his friendship.

Just six months prior, he had offered this man his allegiance, after he had watched him take on the position of Fourth Hokage from Sarutobi Hiruzen. The blonde man had smiled at him on that day, offered him his best wishes, and assuring him that there would be no hard feelings on his part, even when the other had won the competition between them, all while trying to avoid the nagging feeling of unease he had felt.

And just one week prior, he had sat with this man, drinking together as they had discussed the blonde man's wife and unborn son. He had watched as this man, this snake had smiled at him, and given him his best wishes.

And now, here they were.

Finally, it was the blonde man who broke the silence.

"Orochimaru-san," he asked, teeth grinding together, "what have you done?"

And at this, Yashagoro Orochimaru, the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, froze for a moment, before carefully severing the arteries on the heart of the child he was holding, silencing the boy's screaming as he transferred the organ to a small, unmarked jar next to him.

And then, the pale man slowly turned around, flecks of blood emphasizing the twisted smile on his face.

"Something beautiful, Minato. Something beautiful, and necessary."

Minato's eyes face twisted into an expression of pure rage.

"Necessary?" he hissed, "Necessary? What part of this insanity is necessary, you bastard!? You are the Hokage! These people trusted you and you turned around and spat in their faces! You betrayed Sarutobi-sama, you betrayed Jiraiya-sensei, and you betrayed Tsunade-sama, and for what?! This… this… hell?"

Orochimaru's unnaturally long tongue came out to lick up the blood flecked around his face, the superior smile on his face not disappearing for an instant.

"This is your problem, Minato," he said, shaking his head slowly, false disappointment suffusing his voice, "You have the intelligence, you have the ability, and yet you have always lacked the vision necessary for a truly great leader. That is the reason I was chosen as Hokage instead of you."

"Vision? What vision? What the hell is this supposed to accomplish?" Minato asked in a deadly whisper, his sapphire eyes focusing on his opponent as killing intent filled the air.

The Hokage's grin seemed to only grow wider.

"I have been working on a jutsu."

Minato's fist clenched tighter. "A jutsu?"

Orochimaru's arms came apart, and his smile took on a hint of megalomania.

"You see, Minato, I have only one desire. I wish to learn all jutsu and gain a true understanding of the world."

"What?"

"The first person to mix blue and yellow together named the resulting color 'green'. I only wish to do the same thing. If blue is the chakra, and yellow is the hand seal, then green is the jutsu, and in the same way that there are innumerable colors, there are also countless thousands, tens of thousands of jutsu in the world."

Orochimaru's face slowly took on a slightly more melancholy look. "But in the end, to obtain every possible combination of jutsu and find the truth, I do not have enough time. This pathetic mortal shell of mine cannot last the eternity I would require to accomplish that goal of mine."

"You… don't tell me you…!"

"Yes, Minato," Orochimaru nodded gleefully, "that is correct. What I am working on here is a spell of immortality."

The carefully repressed anger broke free of its restraints.

In an instant, Minato reached into his pouch and flung his hand out. A moment later, the entire room was peppered with dozens of three-pronged kunai, and the blonde man was gone, reappearing a moment later with one of the knives at the Hokage's throat.

"It seems," he ground out, "that I'm going to be cutting that ambition of yours short, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru's arrogant smile didn't even slip for a second.

"Kukukuku… My my, how scary Minato-kun. But really, should you be so worried about me, when your wife and unborn child are in such danger?"

Anger fled and was immediately replaced by panic.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not quite managing to suppress the fear in his voice.

And in that moment of hesitation, Orochimaru struck. Immediately grabbing the hand holding the kunai over his throat, the snake-sannin threw the blonde jounin over his shoulder, aiming a lethal knife-hand strike at his throat before he even hit the ground. Minato's teeth gritted together for an instant before he disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared standing next to one of the kunai on the ceiling of the laboratory.

Not giving Minato a chance to regain his bearings, Orochimaru disgorged the Sword of Kusanagi, sending it speeding like a bullet at the blonde-haired man. Minato's eyes widened in shock, and he moved to dodge the blade by leaping to the side.

Unfortunately, right before the legendary sword struck the point where he had just been standing, it curved in midair, suddenly changing its course to follow the blonde man's leap.

"Tch!"

The kunai still in Minato's hand came up, deflecting the incoming blade, while his left formed a single hand seal. A moment later, he disappeared in another flash, reappearing two feet in front of the Hokage. Dropping the now-ruined kunai he had been holding, Minato charged, a blue ball of rotating chakra forming in his now-free hand as he moved to end the battle.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in fear for an instant right before the Rasengan impacted his stomach, ripping and tearing into him as his internal organs were ground to bits. A moment later, Minato released the technique, and Orochimaru was sent rocketing into one of the walls, knocking over the jars of organs around the room, and covering his body with the preservative fluid.

There's no way he survived-

Minato's instincts screamed at him, and he immediately threw himself to the floor. Less than a second later, the Sword of Kusanagi flew over his head, piercing the air where he had been standing just a moment before, stopping right next to its master's body.

And then, he heard Orochimaru's corpse speak.

"Kukukuku… You truly are a terrifying man, Minato. If I was still restricted to my mortal shell, that technique may well have killed me."

And then, Minato witnessed one of the most horrifying sights he had ever seen.

For a moment, it seemed like Orochimaru's body was bulging, about to explode as a sudden expansion appeared near its belly. And then, a moment later, the Hokage's mouth was forced open from the inside out.

And from the old Orochimaru, a new one was born, an unnatural yellow fluid dripping from his body.

"But in the end…" the Hebi-sannin continued, the psychotic smile still on his face, "you are just a man, while I am a god!"

Minato's face twisted in horror.

"Orochimaru-san, what have you done to yourself?"

The Hokage's leer widened. "A few improvements, here and there."

Slowly, the sannin began advancing. "But either way, I must reiterate… should you really be facing me when your wife and unborn child are in such danger? After all, I suspect several of Danzo's Ne ANBU are about to finish her off just about now, considering the alarm seal you tripped when you entered this room."

"What?!"

Orochimaru leered once more. "You are not as stealthy as you think you are. I have suspected that you have been after me for a while, Minato. I knew you were coming after me today, which is why I set up that seal. Your wife will be covertly disposed of with the Kyuubi extracted from her body. Your son will die before you even get to know him, and in the end, you too will perish here, unable to do anything but watch impotently as I use Konoha to further my ambition."

"Kushina can take care of her-"

"Kushina is strong, I give her that," Orochimaru remarked sadistically, cutting the blonde off, "but do you really think that your eight-months pregnant wife will be able to kill a dozen ANBU and escape the village before you can defeat me?"

Minato's felt himself in turmoil. He doubted he would have a better opportunity to dispose of Orochimaru than right now, when he was alone, and not surrounded by his ANBU guards.

But Kushina and Naruto…

"And before you get any ideas about how you can defeat me," Orochimaru continued, "tell me, Minato, do you know the result of a battle between an invincible and immortal warrior?"

Minato's eyes narrowed.

He knew to what Orochimaru referred of course. The question was a paradox, since, in battle, the immortal warrior would never lose, since he would never die, no matter how many times the invincible warrior killed him. The invincible warrior, on the other hand, would never lose since the immortal warrior would never be able to defeat him, no matter how long they fought.

That was the theory.

In practice, however, it came down to one simple point. No matter how many times the immortal warrior died, he would never lose. However, all it required for the invincible warrior to lose was for him to make one, simple mistake.

It was, he thought, a rather relevant parallel to their current situation.

Minato's teeth ground on each other.

Orochimaru's smile simply widened further.

"Go ahead; join your wife and child, Minato. I will not try to stop you."

The blonde felt a hint of shock.

"You're just… letting me go? Why? You know I'm going to cause you a great deal of trouble if you do, don't you?"

"Quite simply?" the snake sannin responded, his evil leer still on his face, "Because I am bored. I feel that letting you scurry around the elemental continents trying to oppose me will help to alleviate the tedium of ruling this village for a short while. Konoha, is, after all, nothing more than a tool to me."

The shock disappeared, only to be replaced by anger at being dismissed so easily. Minato was already at his limit, and his frayed emotions were on the edge of snapping. In fact, if it had been anyone else that Orochimaru had threatened, he may well have attacked him regardless.

But at the same time, he didn't have time to deal with this. Kushina and Naruto needed him.

And so, Minato formed a single hand seal, and disappeared in a brilliant flash of light, but not before he heard Orochimaru's last, biting, comment.

"Do try to provide me with some entertainment while you still can, Minato-chan."

XXX

After confirming that Minato was gone, Orochimaru slammed his hand on the ground, activating the seal underneath the floor. The wooden hilts of the Hiraishin kunai still scattered around the area, which each bore the jutsu's technique formula, all burst into flames, eliminating the Yellow Flash's method of return to the room.

Then, the Fourth Hokage smiled, and slowly began to move to leave his destroyed laboratory.

After all, informing Konoha about their newest S-Rank Missing-nin took priority over any cleanup around here.

XXX

Minato stood over the dead bodies of a dozen Ne, a bloody kunai still gripped in his hand. Behind him, Kushina was on her knees, gripping her bleeding shoulder and heaving over her distended belly.

"M-Minato? What…"

Minato turned around and kneeled next to her.

"Later. For now, are you all right, Kushina?" he asked, concern leaking into his voice.

"Y-yes, it's just a flesh wound."

Minato laid his hand on her shoulder. "I need to get you out of here. I'll teleport you to one of my safe houses outside the village for now."

"You're not coming with me?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

Minato gave her another reassuring smile. "Don't worry. There are still a few things I still need to do, before the village goes on high alert. I'll join you momentarily."

And before she could protest, the blonde activated the technique, and Kushina disappeared in a flash of red light.

XXX

Hatake Kakashi had been having a good day.

He had woken up that morning, gone to the Memorial Stone to visit Obito, and then headed over to the mission office (Three hours late, of course. He had a reputation to uphold.) all while successfully avoiding Gai's incessant challenges to a "MOST YOUTHFUL GAME OF ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!" all morning long!

Deciding that it was about time for him to take a break after a week of B-Ranks, the silver-haired jounin had instead decided to kick back and go out on a nice simple D-Rank mission. After all, even he needed a respite from the danger and action that came with his lifestyle once in a while.

He had been in a good mood, getting into the simple, mindless work of plowing the fields of a small farmer who lived on the borders of the village when he had suddenly sensed something behind him.

Before he could even think, he felt himself moving, spinning around to deflect a kunai which had been aimed at the base of his throat with the hoe he had been using to plow the fields. A moment later, he saw ten masked men emerge from the shadows of the small forest surrounding the farmer's field.

"Well," Kakashi remarked jovially, not allowing any of the confusion he felt show on his face, "that was a rather rude way of saying hello."

If the masked men felt anything at his brevity, they did not show it.

"The target is more skilled than we expected," one of them droned, "we will have to deal with this quickly."

The silver haired jounin suppressed a shiver at just how dead that voice sounded. There was no emotion, not even basic fear or anticipation in his tone.

He would have said that it sounded like they were discussing murder like it was something simple, like shopping for groceries at the store, if not for the simple fact that he was relatively certain these men had never engaged in such a mundane task before in their lives.

But those thoughts could be left for later. For now, he knew their intentions.

Spinning the implement around, Kakashi grasped the tip of the hoe and twisted it off, leaving himself with a single, long metal rod. Grasping it between his back and forearm, he reached up and uncovered Obito's sharingan from under his forehead protector.

And then, after a tense moment, the five of the ten men charged as one, drawing and unsealing a variety of implements and tools from their pouches. The other five immediately began forming hand seals.

As a sword-wielding enemy nearly reached him, the improvised staff came up, striking the side of his head and knocking him off balance. Immediately afterwards, it whirled around, braining two other men who had advanced within its range before being blocked by a massive zanbato held by a fourth enemy.

The fifth did not fail to exploit this opening, immediately moving to stab Kakashi with a kunai. Kakashi reacted instantly, and used the still-blade-locked staff as a pivot to leap on top of the enemy's zanbato. In a single motion, he kicked the opponent swordsman's face and used it as a springboard to leap into the air. Spinning upward, Kakashi released the makeshift staff into the air, using the force to stabilize his flight. Bringing his hands together, Kakashi flashed through a set of hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The massive ball of fire flew downwards, incinerating the five men beneath him in a single move while propelling the silver-haired jounin upwards.

Confirming their deaths, Kakashi reached out and caught his makeshift staff which had just begun its descent to the ground. Immediately shifting his gaze, the silver-haired jounin saw the remaining five release their individual techniques.

And Kakashi was faced with a veritable storm of hundreds of projectiles of water, earth, and fire which screamed through the air, converging on his position.

And Kakashi closed his right eye as the three tomoe within Obito's sharingan began to whirl around the implanted organ's dark center.

The staff disappeared.

No, it would be more accurate to say that its tip disappeared, as Kakashi began to whirl it in front of him so quickly that it appeared to leave afterimages, even to his sharingan.

And as the storm of techniques approached him, a deadly dance began in midair. The staff spun around, knocking, breaking and shattering dozens of projectiles every second. The sharingan whirled and whirled, faster and faster as Kakashi strained the Doujutsu to its utmost limit, forcing his body to contort and move to avoid every single one of the techniques.

His body screamed in protest as he moved faster and faster. He felt his tendons in his arms tearing, but pushed the pain aside, forcing him to continue blocking and striking.

And slowly, hairline fractures started to run along the center of the staff. Unable to take the strain of the chakra Kakashi was pushing through it, and the constant impacts with the hundreds of jutsu heading towards him, it slowly started to break.

And then, it snapped in half, the jagged edge cutting across his cheek and drawing blood. Unperturbed, Kakashi caught the half that had flown out of his grip before it could fall to the ground and continued using both halves to supplement his absolute defense.

And slowly, the storm of fire, water and earth began to cease under Kakashi's absolute speed advantage. A few moments later, it stopped completely.

Kakashi tossed both of the halves of the ruined stave upwards, using the force to propel himself towards the ground. And as he hit the ground, his hands flashed through another set of seals, and crackling, burning electricity appeared at his fingertips.

And then, he charged, seemingly disappearing from his opponents' sights, leaving a massive trough of destroyed ground behind him. Before the first could even react, the Raikiri pierced his chest, killing him instantly. Immediately, the others tried to leap away.

However, Kakashi was not done. Seemingly uncaring of the body still dangling off his arm, the jounin kept moving. Before the second realized what was happening, he too was run through, his body slapping into the first on Kakashi's arm with a sickening squelch.

The third went in much the same manner, her body adding to the human sandwich that was rapidly forming on the silver-haired boy's arm.

The fourth managed to react quickly enough to hurl a brace of shuriken at him, an effort that was thwarted as the sharingan whirled, predicting the attack and Kakashi shifted his arm to use the still impaled bodies as a shield for his body. The enemy died like the rest of his predecessors.

And finally, the fifth managed to get his tanto out quickly enough to start charging raiton chakra through the blade before aiming a slash at Kakashi's hand, hoping to overpower the boy's technique. The two raiton techniques met in an explosion of chakra.

For a moment, it was a tied match. Neither side seemed to be able to overpower the other, as they strained against each other.

Kakashi grit his teeth in frustration. While his Raikiri was the stronger technique, its full power was brought out by the speed and force with which the blow was given, speed and force which the four bodies on his arm greatly restricted. At this moment the victor was still undecided.

There was only one more thing he could do. Reaching inward, Kakashi channeled even more chakra into the Raikiri, and the sound of thousands of chirping birds filled the area. Slowly, he began to push back his opponent's blade, the higher quality of his chakra allowing him to generate far more force than his opponent was capable of.

But even then, the silver-haired boy felt his chakra slowly drain out of him. The combined use of Obito's sharingan, the insane stunt he had just pulled in the air a few moments earlier, and the overpowered Raikiri he was using were beginning to show themselves.

The blade was pushed back, but it was too slow. Kakashi wouldn't be able to kill him before he ran out of chakra. He was going to lose. He was going to lose. He was going to-

The enemy's sword snapped in half, unable to take the massive amount of strain it was being placed under. The combined force of Kakashi's Raikiri, and the ultra-fast vibrations induced in the metal by the influx of raiton chakra from its user strained the metal past it's limits, and Kakashi's hand pierced his last opponent's chest, killing him as well.

And that was when the two halves of the staff he had thrown up a few seconds before hit the ground.

He had won.

XXX

When Minato arrived in a flash of light, he was treated to the sight of his student, entire right arm covered with blood, lying on the ground panting in exhaustion.

"Kakashi! Are you all right?"

"Haa haa… I'm… haa… fine… haa… Minato-sensei," he got out, slowly pulling himself up into a sitting position.

Kneeling next to Kakashi, Minato looked at him, concern apparent on his. "You're covered in blood."

"Not… my… blood," Kakashi said, pointing at the five remaining bodies leaning against one of the trees around the area.

Minato turned away to look at the pile lying against the tree. Advancing up to it, the blonde man removed the mask one of the assailants had been wearing and opened the corpse's mouth, inspecting his tongue. A moment later, he let go with a hint of disgust.

"Ne," he said coldly, the single syllable coming out like a curse.

"Ne?" Kakashi asked, pulling himself to his feet after finally catching his breath, "You mean that these are Danzo's elite agents? Why are they after me?"

He had heard of Ne before. They were the dark side of Konoha's shinobi forces, the bedtime story that shinobi parents told their children to get them to behave. 'Don't complain or you'll be forced to join Ne' they would say. All of the jounin knew about them, but almost no one had actually seen one of the shadowy agents before.

"Not just you," Minato said quietly, "there were a group of them attacking Kushina as well." Noticing the sudden worried look on his student's face, he moved to reassure him. "Don't worry, she's fine. I managed to save her before she got hurt."

"But why would Danzo send assassins after me and Kushina-san?"

Indeed, for all of his unsavory qualities, Danzo was still a patriot. He would never do something like this without a reason.

Minato shot him a grave look. "Probably for the same reason that Orochimaru is planning to announce that I've gone rogue from the village in a few hours or so."

"What?"

Minato opened his mouth, seemed to relent and shook his head. "Later, Kakashi. I'll tell you later. For now, I just need to know one thing: Do you trust me?"

Kakashi's one visible eye blinked. Then a slow, thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes.

"Minato-sensei, you've raised me like a son since my own father died, without any hesitation or annoyance. You've been with me through thick and thin, no matter how bad the situation got. You supported me when Obito died. You stuck with me when Rin died. Of course I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else in the world!"

The blonde man smiled. "Good answer." Walking up to his student, Minato laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to send you to a small safe house of mine outside the borders of Fire Country. Kushina will be there. I need you to look after her for a bit, okay? I'll be with you shortly."

Kakashi nodded his head. A moment later, he was gone in a silver flash.

XXX

Clad in the full regalia of his office, Orochimaru strode up to the dais in built into the edge of the Hokage Tower, where village-wide announcements were usually delivered from. Looking down at the bustling noon-time market crowd beneath him, the Hokage made a single gesture with his hand, and a bell tolled, signifying his arrival.

Orochimaru stared down at the people of his village as they slowly stopped chattering amongst themselves, looking up to see him, reveling in the rush even that simple exercise of his power brought. Carefully, he schooled his features and looked down at the crowd, an expression of perfectly-faked sadness spreading across his face.

"People of Konoha!" he announced, his voice booming across the crowd, "It is with great sorrow, that I must inform you of a new development."

The crowd at this point was so silent that one could hear a pin drop among them.

"Many of you have heard rumors over the past months, of a criminal walking amongst us," he continued. "Civilians and shinobi alike have disappeared from their homes and on missions, seemingly at random, without any pattern or motive. Many of you have come to me over the months, pleading to discover the source of these terrifying crimes. To all of you, I announce, that the perpetrator has been discovered."

The tension in the entire crowd was near-palpable. Hands tensed, fists clenched, and teeth gritted together. Orochimaru's faked expression of sorrow and righteous anger played upon these emotions, amplifying and focusing them together.

"This perpetrator," he said, a hint of sad finality in his voice, "is a person that most people in this village knew of. He was a man whom I viewed as one of the greatest examples of what a shinobi could be. He was a man whom I fought alongside, in countless battles, through thick and thin, always protecting each other. He was a man whose efforts near-singlehandedly won the last war for us."

Orochimaru took a deep breath to reinforce the image of sorrow he was projecting over the crowd. For a moment, he closed his eyes and shook his head side-to-side, showcasing his fake disappointment at the perpetrator.

"This man's name is Namikaze Minato."

Instant pandemonium broke out as the crowd started roaring in outrage, fear, disbelief and a thousand other emotions. Orochimaru watched, his smile obscured by a mask of fake sadness. Waiting until the tension was at a boiling point, the snake sannin brought up his hand and in a single motion, slashed it through the air across his body.

"SILENCE!" he roared. The crowd immediately quieted.

"I know that many of you are shocked. I know that many of you are disbelieving. However, I have seen the things Minato did to these captives with my own eyes." He drew in a deep, shuddering breath of air, and then continued. "He killed them. They were tortured, eviscerated, and then murdered like dogs. To what purpose Namikaze performed these heinous actions, I do not know, but I will tell you this."

Slowly, Orochimaru's arms came up, spread apart in front of him.

"We shall have justice! No matter what you felt about Namikaze before, he must be brought to answer for his crimes against this village and its people!"

Slowly, a roar of approval started up from the people beneath him, as carefully placed men hidden amongst them heckled them on, inciting their rage against the "traitor". Orochimaru allowed himself a small, hidden smile.

"My friends! My comrades! My countrymen! All hail The Land of Fire!" He raised his fist up above him. "And ALL HAIL KONOHA!"

And then, as the chant began to spread amongst the people beneath him, Orochimaru turned to walk away.

That would have been a good place to end the speech. However, just before he could enter back into the Hokage Tower, he was interrupted by a sudden flash of prescience. Orochimaru spun, contorting his body just as a flash of silver passed right next to him. Instantly looking at the weapon that had been aimed at him, Orochimaru saw a single three-pronged kunai embedded in the wall.

He was already out of the line of sight of the crowd, so they did not notice anything, but Orochimaru spun to look over his shoulder nonetheless.

And on top of the roof of a building in the distance, he saw him. A blonde man stood alone, icy blue eyes looking at the Hokage's face with absolute intent to destroy.

A moment later, he vanished in a flash of light, and the snake sannin turned back to the kunai still embedded in the wall.

Reaching out to grasp it, he noticed a small note was tied around the hilt. Carefully removing it, and unwrapping it, Orochimaru looked at the small script.

The people will not believe your lies forever, Yondaime. Your reckoning is closer than you think. Count your days carefully, Orochimaru, for when I return, there will be hell to pay.

The snake sannin felt a shudder of anticipation run up his chest.

Oh yes, this was going to be very fun.

XXX

Shimura Danzo furiously stormed into the Hokage's office, where one of Orochimaru's kage bunshin sat, manning the desk.

"Orochimaru," he said coldly, "what are you doing?"

The snake sannin's raised his head to look at the man. "Why Danzo-san," he asked in that sickeningly sweet voice of his, "what in the world are you talking about?"

The elder's single eye narrowed, as he coldly advanced upon his superior.

"You know to what I refer," he bit out, "I am now short twenty men, and Namikaze still walks free. You were supposed to deal with him, while I disposed of his family and closest supporters."

The Fourth Hokage leaned back in his chair, his smile positively poisonous.

"You know…" he trailed off, "some would consider questioning the judgment of the Hokage as blatantly as you do as grounds for treason."

Danzo's fist clenched and he felt his nails digging into flesh. "Do not test my patience, boy, lest I impress upon you the true nature of this relationship. You are nothing more than a tool and puppet for Konoha's advancement, one which is rather easily replaceable. Hiruzen may have been malleable to your charms and threats, but I most certainly am not."

Orochimaru laughed in his face.

Despite his careful control over his emotions, Danzo felt anger bubbling just underneath the surface of his carefully controlled exterior. He had no doubt that the pale-faced Hokage noticed it as well.

Slowly, just slowly enough that the gesture could be viewed as conciliatory without seeming respectful, Orochimaru raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"A joke, Danzo. Nothing more."

Danzo slowly unclenched his fist. Acting as if he had not seen the gesture, Orochimaru continued speaking.

"You ask me why I let Minato go. It is quite simple. I want him to form a rebellion. I want him to find everyone in this village who opposes our will and have them join him. And then, when everything seems to be at its best, I want to take his little rebellion and crush it under my boot, along with all of little Namikaze's hopes and dreams, securing our position of power and removing all subversive elements in a single blow. And also? I want him to entertain me. Watching Minato dance should be quite a bit of… fun."

For a moment, there was silence while the fanatic stared at Orochimaru.

"You take a great risk. This little plan of yours could backfire in your face in a hundred different ways."

The Hokage smiled once more.

"Do not worry, Danzo. Minato will not attack us recklessly, not while he believes that I hold his beloved village captive."

Danzo gritted his teeth in frustration. "You vastly underestimate Namikaze's capabilities, Orochimaru. He is a far more terrifying opponent than you seem to think."

And at this, Orochimaru's unnaturally long tongue came out to lick his lips.

"And you, Danzo, vastly underestimate mine. Do not worry so much. I am fully confident in my ability to handle anything Minato sends at me. He is too weak, too restricted by those pathetic human attachments of his, to do what is truly necessary to defeat me."

For a moment, Danzo stared. Then, he finally spoke again.

"Very well, I will support you for now. But be warned, boy. Cross me once more, or put Konoha in any more danger and I will destroy you."

And then, he turned on his heel and walked out the way he had come in.

And once the fanatic's footsteps had faded into silence, Orochimaru finally smiled and said one last thing to the air.

"It seems, Danzo, that Minato is not the only person whose capabilities you overestimate…"

Glossary:

Yashagoro: Orochimaru's last name. It comes from the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya), which tells the story of Jiraiya, a ninja who uses shape shifting magic to transform into a giant toad. Jiraiya later on falls in love with a young woman named Tsunade, who is a master of snail magic, and fights against his former friend, Yashagorō, who later on takes the name Orochimaru after he is corrupted by his usage of snake magic. In case you haven't figured it out just yet (unlikely), Kishimoto based the Sannin after their counterparts in this story.

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu – Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique.

Raikiri – Lightning Cutter

A/N: Holy crap what the hell is this thing?

Seriously. I have no idea where this came from. I just sat down, started free-writing to get the creative juices flowing, and five hours later, I had this monster. It started out simply, with me just wanting to write a good Minato vs. Orochimaru fight for practice, but then the scene with Kakashi just dominated the entire thing. I even have a vague idea for a plot which involves Kushina, Minato, and Kakashi all being ridiculously badass now!

Well anyways, I may or may not continue this if I feel like it. We'll see sooner or later, won't we?

And on another note, I think this is the longest single chapter I have written for anything, ever at this point.

And yes, I know that the Hiraishin doesn't actually cause a flash of light when Minato uses it in canon. I just use that here since the visual effect of a flash of light seems a lot cooler than that puff of smoke that happens in canon whenever he uses it.

Read, review… you know the drill. Meanwhile I'll just sit here in this corner and contemplate my navel.