And here we are - the end of the line. Me and you and this five year old story.

I've never finished something so long. It's incredible, and I've got to thank you all one last time - for your support, your questions, your comments, your dedication to seeing this story to its (hopefully temporary) end.

So thank you, reviewers of all chapters, and thank you reviewers of the last chapter: TheSilverHunt3r, Guest (1), LN Tora, bleedingangel95, JinxedEclipse, shinken1, Guest (2), bleeb90, Viridian, Guest (3).

Wolf Guard Miestwin, you who have helped me brainstorm and believe in my ability to finish such a huge project, for the last twenty chapters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart :3

JinxedEclipse: hint about long term consequences? Hmm... let's say that they will catch up to our dear Time Travel Trio ;) The Uchiha Clan isn't very fond of Team Minato, and Kakashi especially...

Guest (3): eventually, you're all getting a sequel! :D I've got a rough plan and all, but for now... I'll rest a bit, have a fistfight with Life, eat pizza, the usual stuff.

So prepare, my faithful readers, for resolution and setting up, for the last chapter of "Three's A Crowd"!

Word Count: 16.032 words.

Chapter 55: At Long Last

It took them less than two days at jonin speed to come back to Konoha.

The familiar chakra of the Shodaime's forest embraced them, as if welcoming them back home. Kakashi savoured the feeling, breathing deeply and reaching out for that natural chakra. It was always a relief, after a long mission - and with Kurama's increased affinity to natural energy, Kakashi was ready to leave Kannabi Bridge behind for good.

It had been a partial success: Obito and Rin survived the mission and didn't hold Kakashi's weird behavior against him, they might be able to deal quietly with the Gedo Mazou, Madara would hopefully stay dead forever. However, Black Zetsu was still around, both Jiraya and Orochimaru knew a lot about the Juubi's husk, and Kurama and Older Kakashi's future knowledge was getting increasingly inaccurate.

Their plan was to anonymously gather intel by sneaking in around the continent, but it would take a while to iron out the most glaring problem - their unique chakra.

Kakashi's was a dead giveaway. He was the last Hatake: if anyone from Konoha (or someone with great chakra sensitivity) got a hold of his tracks, he would have to answer some rather awkward questions - most likely at a trial not even Minato-sensei could save him from.

Kyuubi chakra was also highly identifiable. Kakashi shouldn't possess it and thus it would buy time for possible witnesses or tracks to mysteriously disappear, but it wouldn't make matters easy for Konoha if they traced it back to Kushina. Even if it was identified just as bijuu chakra, all Jinchuuriki would be under scrutiny - Kakashi included.

To prevent as many complications as possible, Kurama spent the last days pondering in silence on how to pass their combined chakra as normal. He had yet to reach a satisfying outcome, judging by his muttered curses.

Kakashi rolled his shoulders as they passed the Barrier around Konoha - a subtle and fleeting shifting of chakra. Now their village knew they were finally coming home.

(The first time around, everyone at the gate had crowded around Minato to cheer for the Yellow Flash. Kakashi and Rin slunk away from the questioning eyes of other chuunin and the Uchiha, before they discovered that Obito' left eye hid under the young jonin's headband.)

Minato and Kushina walked side by side, leading the large team, while Jiraya and Orochimaru guarded the rear. Minami had taken to teasing Obito and Rin by none-too-subtly implying they should go on a romantic date, while Matsu and Raichi were content to hang back and listen in on Jiraya's plans for his novels. Orochimaru was suitably unamused at his teammate's choice of topic, and tried to edge closer to Okugi and Kakashi, who were 'silent'.

"You see, Icha Icha Tac-"

'I don't want to hear it!'

"-is an underrated masterpiece of Jiraya's Icha Icha series-"

'I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!'

Okugi chortled. Kakashi nearly took a swing at him right then and there, but Orochimaru's questioning glance stopped him from acting on his murderous urge. "Once he publishes them again, I'll be the first in line to-"

The young jonin pulsed his mixed chakra in front of them - just in case someone was stupid enough to attack such an ensemble - and faltered at the chorus of the whole of Konoha, their emotions.

They were… happy. Ecstatic. Their collective chakra danced, bubbling and stretching upwards, eager. This was far more than he had expected. The war would be over in short order, yes, but… why?

"Something wrong, Kakashi-san?" Yamanaka Matsu asked him, leaning forward.

He shook his head. The whole group had turned to look at him. "Nothing's wrong, Matsu-san. We're almost there."

Soon enough, the forest parted - Konoha's walls rose in front of them, tall and proud, and the dirt path before them widened to match the width of the village gate. Its huge green doors stood apart, welcoming them back with open arms. Kakashi smiled at the sight - in so many decades he had experienced, they had never changed, sturdy and reliable.

Kushina squinted at the gate - or rather, something beyond it. "Wait a second… Look, that's a lot of people there, dattebane…"

'That's what we felt earlier.'

All ten shinobi strained to see what Kushina had glimpsed, but Kakashi had the advantage of free Kyuubi chakra - and he perceived every single spark of excitement, joy, relief, hope, blossoming and spreading throughout Konoha as they came into sight of the gate watchers.

"W-Wow…" Obito and Rin's eyes widened as the crowd behind the gates became clearer, step by step. The Uchiha put up a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight. "Are they… Are they waiting for us?"

Jiraya laughed, prancing to the front as he nudged Orochimaru along. "Who wouldn't? Of course they are, Obito! We just turned the war conclusively in Konoha's favor - most likely, a peace treaty is already in the making!"

"A peace-" Rin gasped. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the Toad Sage with wide eyes. "You mean… the war…!"

"The war might be officially over in a few weeks," Kakashi concluded, smiling under his mask. His team survived the Third Shinobi War. They would never have to sacrifice themselves, not on Kakashi's watch.

"Really?" Obito swung his head to look at every adult, hope shining in his eyes and making his chakra flicker excitedly. "Really?! YATTAAA!" He jumped, pumping his fist into the air, laughing himself breathless. Tears of joy gathered in his eyes as he ran around the group, his enthusiasm turning into boundless energy.

Once he passed near Okugi, the half-bijuu nudged his lower ribs with his head. His fangs bared into a grin. "Get ready for the crowd, future Hokage-sama."

The Uchiha grinned and wiped his tears. He slowed down to pat the time-traveller's head. "Y-Yeah, you're right…"

The eleven shinobi passed through Konoha's gate. Minato stopped before the gate watchers, as was proper protocol. "Namikaze Minato, returning from Kusa no Kuni with-"

"We've got this, Namikaze-san." The kunoichi on gate duty smiled at him, writing down the names of each arriving shinobi at the same time. The Konoha-nin beside her waved at Minami, who blew him a kiss and flipped him the bird. "Welcome back to Konohagakure."

The blond jonin nodded. "Thank you."

She snorted and gestured to the crowd further down the street, waiting just for them. "Thank all of you, Namikaze-san."

They advanced. Obito, Rin, Matsu and Raichi didn't seem to know what to make of the throng just yet, while Jiraya, Minami and Kushina donned their winning smiles and took point. Minato summoned all his charisma and fell in step with his sensei and his fianceé. Knowing roughly what to expect, Kakashi, Okugi and Orochimaru hung back.

The crowd - apparently made up of the whole village - let out a loud cheer, throwing their arms up in the air, yelling their gratitude to the brave ninja who had ultimately ended the war for Konohagakure, fighting against impossible odds and coming out as the victors.

Civilians peeked out of their windows, out of their shops, out of their doors, babies in their arms and children on their tiptoes to look at their legendary saviours. Some waved green cloths at them, others pulled their spouses for a victory kiss, some others waved their arms to get their attention and thank them.

Some shinobi were among them, too - genin teams with their young jonin-sensei, who bowed their heads at them in gratitude. Groups of chuunin stuck to the walls, some with limbs in casts kept 'upright' by their comrades, others whistling and hooting and hollering.

Up on the rooftops, half hidden by shadows, a dozen ANBU saluted them and signed "All clear" twice before bowing to them and melting back into the darkness, silently watching over Konoha.

(The crowd had been far smaller and subdued last time around. The war had stretched Konoha even thinner, and nobody quite believed that Iwa and Kumo would surrender so easily. Besides, barely two months later, Kiri had started raiding their coast…)

A few shinobi leaped over the crowd to properly welcome them home.

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Gai lunged at Kakashi - who dodged and let Okugi get squished by the chuunin. Tears streamed down his eyes, and his shouts were enough to be perfectly audible even without enhanced hearing, despite the noise. "WE HAVE RECEIVED NEWS OF YOUR SUCCESS!"

Anko smiled slyly at him. "He really wouldn't shut up about that, as soon as Ryuu-san told everyone of your imminent return." She bowed to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sensei, I'm glad you're back."

The Snake Sannin minutely narrowed his eyes - maybe he was about to start berating her for such sentimentality, or maybe he was simply confused by it - but Jiraya had lunged at him with an arm, and he fluidly sidestepped the attempt. "I-"

"IMOUTO!" Sarune tackled Minami with a bear hug, smiling from ear to ear. "You're back! When I received the news of what happened-"

Minami laughed and lightly jabbed at her sister's ribs, prompting a surprised squeak and a glare. "Tell me when I can hear you, neesan! You wouldn't believe what Rin-"

"Rin!" Sarune reached down to hug her apprentice, too, while Asuma, Kurenai, Genma and Raido walked behind her to high-five Obito. Gai kept trying to approach Kakashi, who was subtly trying to use Okugi and Anko as human shields. "I'm so proud of you - being the only iryo-nin is quite-"

The crowd closed in around them, one breath away from seizing them by the limbs and carrying them over to the Hokage Tower out of excitement. The noise became near deafening - but while Minato gamely accepted the compliments and gratitude, working out his natural charisma, and Kushina, Jiraya and even Obito easily handled the close proximity and eagerness, Orochimaru, Kakashi and Okugi were quickly tiring of being in the spotlight.

This wasn't the place for them.

Anko seemed to notice, too, glancing around them. "What do you think if we go to-"

"Orochi, come here!" There wasn't enough space or warning for Orochimaru to move away in time, and Jiraya slung an arm around his shoulders with a grin. "There are some people here who like snakes over toads-"

The Sannin struggled for all of two seconds before surrendering to his fate and letting Jiraya drag him off into the crowd - but his chakra, while reluctant to mingle with the others at first, eventually eased into their surroundings.

(While personal connections would make Orochimaru less liable to flee Konoha, it had nothing to do with the reason he left - relentless pursuit of knowledge, the tantalizing challenge to defeat Death itself.)

Minami and Sarune had disappeared into a side alley, while Minato and Kushina focused the remaining attention on them as they cut through the crowd to get to the Hokage Tower - or, most likely, their house, or even Ichiraku Ramen. This left Team Kakashi to get dragged to the nearest dango shop by their peers - Anko, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, Raido and even Ebisu.

"It's got the best dango of Konoha!" Anko sagely informed them as they walked down a side alley to avoid the lingering crowd. "They've got a good variety of stuff - something salty, too, Kakashi, since you don't like sweets-"

Genma snickered, nearly swallowing the toothpick between his lips. "You remember that he-"

Anko turned around to breathe fire on him - but Kurenai beat her to it. "It's not like it was a secret, Genma - Kakashi never picked any sweet food when we ate together."

"You noticed?" Asuma stared at Kurenai with wide eyes.

Kurenai put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow as she met his gaze. "You didn't?"

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL PREFERS MISO-"

Kakashi heaved a sigh. Okugi patted him on the head with a tail, which the jonin swatted away with a glare. How did this even turn into his food preferences? "I can do exceptions too, you know…"

Obito laughed, the bastard.

Two can play at this game, as petty as it is. Kakashi raised his chin a bit. "I'm sure you perfectly remember Rin's favorite f-"

"That doesn't concern you, Bakakashi!" Wow, he had actually wondered if Obito could turn that shade of red. Okugi snickered and Kakashi smirked under his mask.

A light blush dusted Rin's cheeks as she chuckled. "Well, I know you love Botchan dango, Obito."

Obito gaped at her and helplessly stammered something between 'thank you' and 'oh my God'. Rin innocently giggled and stepped closer to him as he turned into a flaming beacon of embarrassment and admiration.

Okugi started nodding his head and humming to a rhythm Kakashi didn't care to recognize, but made Obito yell, "Stop it!" and chase him throughout the street. A few children clapped their hands and tugged on their parents' sleeves to pet Okugi, or stroke his fur.

For his part, Older Kakashi gamely sautered close to the kids farther from Obito, so that they could pet him for a few seconds but the chuunin couldn't catch him. The few shinobi on the street threw confused glances at them, as if mentally revising how much alcohol they already drank to see such things, while others waved and nodded at them.

Something in his chest eased. It had been years ago (ahead), when Konoha didn't look down on him in scorn or suspicion. He had always ignored the choking miasma of living in a village that wished him gone or dead, but now… now, with Kurama's chakra allowing him to feel the sheer happiness of the place he had sworn his life to protect…

He could get used to this.

"-WRONG! HE DOESN'T LIKE TO PUT THAT INTO HIS SOUP-"

Anko scoffed at Gai. The others had quickly hung back to enjoy the competition between the two chuunin. Genma and Raido whispered something about bets in the middle of the group. "And how would you know?"

"BECAUSE I'VE SEEN HIM PREPARE HIS MISO-"

"Oh my God, Gai." Kakashi approached them before this got anymore stalkery. As a shinobi, this many people knowing something as specific as his favorite foods made him itch to cover up his tracks. "You broke into my apartment. I kicked you out!"

Gai's smile sparkled in the sunlight. Everyone else laughed - or failed to cover up their amusement with a coughing fit. "Indeed, my Eternal Rival! I had undertaken the Most Youthful Quest of Challenging you to-"

"Is that the dango shop you were talking about?" Kakashi swiftly pointed at the place - a family of four was quietly eating there, and oh boy were they not ready for a gaggle of loud chuunin and genin (with one jonin) barging in while shouting about miso soups and food preferences.

The signboard was dango-shaped, 'dango' was written on top of it, and the smell of dango wafted from there up to his sensitive nose. Kakashi hurried over to it before the conversation got any more heated and personal. Somehow.

Anko (and Gai) ran up to him, soon followed by all the others. "That's the place!" she shouted, and that was their signal to startle the family eating there and claim the largest table as their own.

Okugi henged into his Sukea alias and smoothly slid onto the bench directly opposite of Kakashi. In front of him, from left to right, there were Kurenai, Asuma, Raido, Okugi and Gai. Ebisu, Genma and Anko sat by the jonin's left, while Rin and Obito sat by his right. They barely fit all together - Gai opted to stand until food arrived, and Ebisu laid his head in his hands after exactly two minutes.

Their table had three menus, one of which was involved in a tug-of-war between Raido and Genma, and another was shared between Kurenai and Asuma. The last menu was civilly passed around by civil people.

"Their Kinako dango are the best you'll find in Konoha," Anko suggested to Kakashi. "Their Denpun dango aren't too sweet here, maybe you'll like them. You never know." She laughed to herself. "I like my dango."

Kakashi nodded. Obito had gotten hold of the tug-of-war menu to help Genma. Rin and Kurenai tried to get them to lower their voices, though with little result in Gai's case. "I'll try their Denpun dango, then."

A waitress came over by then. "Good afternoon," she called out, and Gai fortunately shut up. "What are your orders?"

After they were done and the waitress left for the kitchen - taking those battered menus with her - they started behaving like marginally sane people. Everyone wanted to listen to their mission in Kusa no Kuni, and it wasn't like there were many other topics they had in common, anyway.

"Hokage-sama summoned us and Orochimaru-sama." Being the jonin, Obito and Rin unanimously decided that he should be the one speaking. Well, they didn't specify how he should tell their peers of their mission. "We went to Kusa no Kuni - Okugi and Orochimaru-sama joined Minato-sensei, Kushina and Jiraya-sama in Taniko Pass, while we went to Kannabi Bridge to destroy it. We did. Then everyone else arrived and the Iwa-nin fled."

Rin frowned at him and glanced down at the table.

"That's…" Obito pulled a face. "That's not how…"

Genma whistled, crossing his arms. "Where are the details, Kakashi? How did you destroy that bridge?"

Everyone seated at the table who hadn't been at Kannabi Bridge nodded in agreement.

The Uchiha took over, since evidently his teammate wasn't able to explain anything without falling into 'mission report' mode. "Kakashi dug a tunnel beside the bridge and started climbing up without chakra to put a bunch of his explosive seals - Rin and I instead went down, and we had to keep checking if the Iwa-nin over the bridge found us." Obito flailed his arms for no particular reason. "Each pillar had those other weird sticky seals on them! We had to be really careful."

"You got your sandal stuck on one of them." Rin giggled in her hand as he blushed and stammered an excuse. "It fell on your head when you turned it off."

Genma and Asuma laughed while Raido and Anko smirked at the image. Ebisu shook his head. "You could've alerted everyone on top of the bridge if those had been connected to Detection seals."

That brought down the mood of the table. Everyone shifted uncomfortably or lowered their gaze - in another timeline, one of them had died because of that reason.

(In the original one, Kakashi and Rin had been too distraught at Obito's death to go out eating with their peers.)

Kakashi decided to break the ice with the power of logic.

"Iwagakure has abysmal Fuinjutsu knowledge. All they know, they had stolen from Uzushio or from other ninja villages." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Ebisu. "By themselves, Flypaper seals are deadly only when you aren't aware of them. Detection seals require compact formulas that trigger a chakra pulse when there's a fluctuation in the-"

"-environmental chakra input, which is set when the Detection seal is first activated."

Kakashi turned to Anko. When did she…?

She laughed, grinning at his surprise. "You left a Fuinjutsu book lying about, two weeks ago. I got curious. I promise I'll bring it back unscathed."

He was far less upset than he should be that Anko stole one of his book on Fuinjutsu. Then again, it was most likely one of the beginner books that focused on recognition of most seals - something that showed what they might potentially do. There were no instructions on how to create one, which was why Kakashi had turned to the Library first, and then Kurama brought it on himself to properly teach him Fuinjutsu.

"You can keep it, if you want." Wait, this wasn't what he meant to say at all.

Anko blinked at him, at a loss for words. "Really?"

"There's no harm in that." Okugi leaned on the table with his elbows, entwining his own fingers because "hell yeah, opposable thumbs." "Fuinjutsu recognition is so underrated - many seem to think that a small chakra release can unlock every seal, and by the time you notice you messed up you're on the floor in many bloody pieces."

Kakashi didn't bother to suppress a sigh - every person in the dango shop either choked on their food, whispered "ouch" or cringed.

Unless they were Gai, who instead announced that he would work on his Fuinjutsu recognition "AND IF I DON'T KNOW EACH OF THEM IN THREE- NO, TWO MONTHS, I WILL-"

"The only one who's ending up in many bloody pieces is you, Hatake Kakashi."

Everyone turned to the speaker - Uchiha Satoshi.

She was definitely sober, and yet she was one word away from activating her Sharingan and trying to make good on her threat. Standing behind her were Uchiha Atsui and Tashiro, her backup in her endeavor to… wage war on him?

Kakashi tilted his head at her. A snide 'I see you're sober this time' lingered on his tongue, but he'd rather not fall to such low comments if he can avoid it. "That's a threat, Satoshi-san."

Every single ninja at the table frowned at the kunoichi. Obito, Rin and Anko quietly bristled.

She scoffed. "You broke my cousin's hand for no reason-"

"'No reason'?!" Obito tripped on the bench in his haste to get up and point accusingly at her face. "Daichi attacked me first and you kept talking shit about Kakashi!"

Anko joined him, crossing her arms and frowning at Satoshi. "You've thrown some heavy accusations, if you remember-"

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL WOULD NEVER RESORT TO VIOLENCE WITHOUT RIGHTEOUS CAUSE!" Unfortunately for the public peace, Gai had also joined the 'defend Kakashi squad', loud as a ton of firecrackers.

Kakashi was sorely tempted to shunshin away from the damn place. This wasn't supposed to devolve into a pissing match with some Uchiha - they were even attracting attention from people on the street!

Tashiro shoved his way to the front, stepping right in Gai's face. Being two years older, he stood taller than the Green Beast of Konoha and looked down on him. Gai had never let such a thing stop him from soundly kicking everyone's ass. "It wasn't even the first time he attacked Daichi-san!"

Obito stepped closer to Gai, snarling. "So you're going to bring that up, uh?! Did that bastard tell you what he was doing before, or did he just whine about it?"

The older Uchiha gritted his teeth, enraged. Rin eyed the two and got up, not saying a word but facing Tashiro with a 'so tired of this bullshit' glare that made Atsui briefly step back. While her hands seemed relaxed by her sides, chakra was slowly gathering on her fingertips.

"He-" Tashiro jabbed a finger at Kakashi, who was still sitting and wondering how to get out of this mess, "-broke Daichi-san's hand outside of a spar. You both keep disrespecting the Uchiha Clan - you are supposed to stand with your Clan! You have the Sharingan, you belong to the Uchiha!"

"I will not stand with the Clan!" Obito shoved Tashiro into a surprised Atsui. Every single Uchiha there had their Sharingan activated, and the older boy seemed the slightest bit intimidated - or at least pissed off - by the three tomoe in Obito's eyes. "They've done nothing but wish me dead, and now I'm supposed to-"

"OI!" A cook had come running over from the kitchen. Flour stains clung to his apron, and while his chakra was civilian-low, he was taking no shit from any shinobi customer. "Either you cut it out, or you take this matter outside. We won't tolerate any arguments in here, understood?"

The fourteen young shinobi nodded their assent. Some glanced down to the side, embarrassed by getting told off by a civilian. The Uchiha grudgingly turned away in silence.

"You'd better not argue in here again, or so help you Hokage-sama." Now satisfied with their compliance, the cook retreated into the kitchen. The dango shop was getting uncomfortably crowded, and the orders must have been piling up.

Every Uchiha sullenly turned off their Sharingan. Obito and Tashiro still eyed each other distrustfully, with Gai vibrating in place with his need to (apparently) defend Kakashi's virtue by shouting heartfelt comments and punching people's faces. Anko kept her glare fixed on Satoshi while Rin was torn between firmly taking her team's side and keeping the peace to avoid more problems with the Uchiha Clan down the line.

Okugi opted to stay silent - fortunately - and so did Genma, Raido, Ebisu, Kurenai and Asuma. Maybe they had heard of something like this happening, but they could hardly butt in without causing an even worse mess. Gai didn't seem to have gotten that memo.

'Any suggestion that doesn't involve grounding some Uchiha into the dirt?'

Kurama grumbled something about gouging eyes out. Both Hatake ignored him, but some insane idea popped into Okugi's mind and his chakra quietly rumbled with laughter.

"...Karaoke contest."

Kakashi looked at Okugi. The man shrugged.

Atsui shifted on her feet and sideyed her twin sister in the tense silence that ensued. "...I didn't get the full version, did I, sister? You told me you were simply talking to Obito when Kakashi broke Daichi-san's hand."

Satoshi wasn't enjoying having her play turned against her, was she? "Either way," she said, scowling at Kakashi, "it's a criminal offense, against the Shinobi Rules - he got off scot-free just because Hokage-sama called him on a mission two days later."

Was she trying to use the Shinobi Rules against him? Kakashi might not care about following them to the letter anymore, but it didn't mean he just forgot them and their intricacies. "While the Shinobi Rule 46 does state that no Konoha shinobi is to hurt another Konoha shinobi outside of training or sparring, the Shinobi Rule 47 amends that self-defense is an acceptable reason to retaliate against a sudden attack, even by other Konoha-nin."

"There was no self-defense anything." Satoshi put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. She ignored Atsui's side-eyeing. "You attacked Daichi-san. If it wasn't for the iryo-nin at the Hospital, he would've lost mobility of his hand - which would've prevented him from serving Konohagakure at the best of his abilities."

Kakashi fully turned, but refused to get up. Why bother? He wasn't going to stab a kunai in her throat, and further shouting would get them kicked out. "Daichi attacked Obito first. As Obito is part of my team, I consider every attack against him as an attack against me."

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Obito's jaw drop. Rin blinked rapidly at him, nodded, and turned back to face Satoshi. Anko smirked and sat back down, leaning back on the table with both elbows on top of it and crossing her legs.

Satoshi blushed an intense, embarrassed red.

Their peers, sitting in silence at the table, listened with bated breath.

"So you lied to me." Atsui's lips twisted into a disgusted frown. "You lied to me so I would side with you. 'He must pay for his contempt,' you said. 'He's done disrespecting the great Uchiha Clan,' you said." She shook her head and bowed to both Kakashi and Obito. "I apologize. I've been misinformed about that night's events."

"Er… No problem, Atsui." Obito exchanged a doubtful glance with his teammates. Both accepted her apology with a nod.

"Thank you." The kunoichi turned to briefly glare at Kakashi. "I've still got to get back at you for electrocuting me, though. Expect a challenge soon enough."

He nodded. At least her challenge would be nowhere as ridiculous as some of Gai's. "I look forward to sparring with you again."

She hummed. "I'll see you around." Atsui turned and stormed out of the dango shop with her hands in her pockets, ignoring her sister's calls of "Atsui, wait!"

Satoshi and Tashiro still stood in the middle of the place, now under everyone's scrutiny and judgment. No one dared speak. Now that they were done arguing, Kakashi turned back to the table, as did everyone else.

The same waitress who took their orders sidled up to their table, skillfully maneuvering three small plates on each arm. Another waitress walked up behind her with the remaining plates. "Anko dango?"

The violet-haired kunoichi raised her hand and received her plate of sweet dumplings. "Thank you," she cheerily said, and her laughter almost made him forget that he had two angry Uchiha behind him - or rather, he had them... until a moment ago.

"Denpun dango?"

Kakashi raised his hand. His plate of dango had quite a pleasant smell, not too sugary and not too intense. It wasn't one of those smells that clogged up his nostrils, it wasn't pure sugar and there seemed to be something interesting to be had.

All eleven plates had been delivered, each shinobi raised a dango stick and chorused, "Ittedekimasu" with varying degrees of loudness and enthusiasm.

Kakashi still used a tiny genjutsu to avoid sneak peeks at his face, and not even Genma seemed to mind.

Two days later

Reporting back had taken the better part of their first full day back in Konoha. The fact that there were two levels of clearance and seven points of view of the same mission did not help at all.

Obito and Rin. Matsu, Raichi and Minami. Orochimaru and Kushina. Kakashi and Kurama. Okugi. Minato. Jiraya. None at the same time inside the Hokage office. All oral reports, for now: Hound would put together a report on Kakashi and Kurama's activities during the mission, while Owl would transcribe the official report that would be stored in the Archive by some chuunin - "to put some order," apparently.

Kakashi briefly thought about apologizing to Owl and Hound. He didn't get the chance.

(On the surface, it had been a 'high A-rank' mission ended with resounding success. To those in the know, it had started a chain reaction leading to the Masked Sealer's Company.)

Team Minato had gone with Kushina to Ichiraku Ramen, which would've further drained Minato-sensei's wallet if Kakashi hadn't felt generous enough to offer everyone's meal. Between his father's inheritance, his past chuunin wage and his present jonin wage, Kakashi wasn't going to run out of money anytime soon.

Minato put up a few token protests, but Kakashi had insisted - he had been promoted to jonin, the war was over, they were all alive and well, it was only fair that he would treat his team and Kushina. Also, he had given everyone quite the scare for seemingly no reason. His sensei capitulated soon after.

Kushina and Okugi did not have an eating contest this time. Teuchi always smiled brightly at them, but after a whole day of people celebrating the end of the war by eating even the most hardworking grew tired. They noticed and decided to have mercy on the man.

To "milk this while it lasts", Obito had eaten three bowls of ramen and had to loosen his belt to avoid death by bursting stomach. Rin berated him for overeating after their week on the field, and declared she would be watching him tomorrow. Obito stood no chance, but still enjoyed making Kakashi pay for his meal.

(Little did his team know, this was a one time only offer.)

After that whole day was done, Minato had quietly woken up Kakashi to 'show him something new' off to Training Ground 45.

The young jonin looked beside him - Obito was deeply asleep, and so was Rin - and waved goodbye at Okugi, who had woken up but didn't want to jostle the two chuunin sleeping on him.

Minato had skipped all the way over to the Training Ground and, once they reached some out-of-the-way clearing, he threw one of his Hiraishin kunai into a nearby tree. Kakashi wasn't sure what to think - his sensei was just… giddy. Eager. "What are we doing here, Minato-sensei?"

He beamed at him. "I've been working on this jutsu in my spare time - Jiraya-sensei and Kushina have helped me work out the kinks, and now I can present you-" Minato whirled around, striking a pose worthy of Jiraya, "-Fuinjutsu: Impenetrable Hiraishin Ranged Attack Teleportation Barrier!"

"That damned barrier…" Kurama rested his head on his paws and shut his eyes, but didn't offer any more commentary on the matter.

"An Hiraishin…!" Kakashi's eyes widened. An Hiraishin Barrier! He smothered down the urge to lunge at the man and shake the jutsu out of him. "Really, sensei? Show me!"

Minato smiled and fluidly stepped back a few paces, flashing through some hand seals and bringing one of his kunai from his rear pouch to his face. His chakra spun quickly in front of him, a barely restrained hurricane. "Throw anything you want, 'Kashi-kun!"

Kakashi grabbed a few of his shuriken and hurled them at his sensei. And- why not? He did some hand seals of his own as he latched his chakra onto his weapons. "Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu."

His eight shuriken turned into thirty-two and soared straight for Minato, who stood there with a grin and increased the spin of his chakra in front of him. The shuriken were about to reach their target-

All thirty-two ninja stars disappeared with a dull whoop.

"And now…" Minato's chakra snapped towards his kunai into the tree. "Duck, 'Kashi-kun."

Kakashi glanced at the kunai - and promptly raised a Chakra Claw to snatch all his shuriken in midair before they skewered him. He stared at them as they lay floating into his and Kurama's chakra. He had thrown them nowhere near his right.

He released his jutsu and put his eight shuriken back in their pouch. "That was amazing, Minato-sensei." Kakashi couldn't help but smile at him - he could only imagine what kind of work and expertise this had taken.

Minato laughed. "Hiraishin Barrier: success!" He raised his kunai once more. "Go bigger!"

Kurama opened his mouth.

'We're not doing a bijuudama.' Kakashi would like not to destroy a Training Ground and possibly kill a number of people nearby, thank you very much.

The bijuu sulked and muttered something about him not being fun enough.

Kakashi created a Shadow Clone and jumped up to the marked tree - he also liked not dying, as it was - while his clone created an Oodama Rasengan, though not one too big. About as wide as a small coffee table. It shouldn't destroy the whole Training Ground... hopefully.

Minato settled into a firmer position, bending his knees and planting his feet. "Bring it on."

Kakashi's Shadow Clone leaped at Minato with his Rasengan, air whipping around him as his chakra spun wildly. After standing so close to a dozen bijuudama, the Hatake had to consciously remind himself that any Rasengan could be lethal and thus not to be underestimated - even when its presence paled in comparison.

Whoop. The clone and his rasengan disappeared-

-and reappeared-

-and his rasengan slammed into the grassy ground.

The resulting shockwave blew up the whole clearing, forcing Minato, Kakashi and the two ANBU hidden nearby to flee the premises with a quick shunshin.

The ground splintered and cracked into large chunks of dusty rock, birds flew away in fright, a few trees creaked and crashed into the ground, bringing down their foliage and heavy trunks. Kakashi anchored himself to his tree branch - maybe his past proximity to bijuudama had screwed with his strength meter. Damn it.

Minato was decidedly less happy. He pouted at Kakashi. "...I thought you'd have reabsorbed that Rasengan, 'Kashi."

"Is that how you feel while using the Hiraishin?" The young jonin was analyzing his clone's memories, and wow - it didn't even feel like teleportation.

Shunshin had a way of squeezing your organs and raising smoke each time - hence why nobody repeatedly used it during fights - but the Hiraishin… it felt like crossing an invisible portal, or simply dashing off to another side of the field. There was no perceivable passage between point A and B - you just arrived to point B.

"Depends on what you've felt," Minato answered, and changed the topic back to what he'd started with. "Why didn't your clone absorb it before impact? Now we've got to fix that hole - or we'll have to file our destruction of this section of Training Ground 45… which I'd rather not do." His pout deepened. "...Besides… I can't do Doton to help you fix it."

It didn't sound all that taxing - it was small, compared to what Kurama had been up to. Sure, he'd have to use his own chakra, but it wasn't a big deal. Even if he somehow exhausted himself, the Kyuubi energy would speed up his recovery.

"I can fill it in, sensei." He's have suggested Tenzo to regrow the trees, but… He sighed, leaping back down to the crash site. "It didn't feel like a Shunshin at all. Not even a teleportation jutsu... as if I didn't just cross an Hiraishin barrier."

Minato followed Kakashi until he reached the edge of the relatively small crater and swiftly collected his sealed kunai before jumping back up a tree and sitting down on a branch, swinging his leg. He hummed as Kakashi thought up the best way to fix it. "Yup, it sounds like the Hiraishin. It's jarring the first times, but it doesn't take too long to get used to the displacement."

"I see." Maybe he could grab the few boulders hurled away by the force of the Rasengan and piece them together with Doton? Or… he could just redistribute the soil a little. It would be less compact, but it would do the job. Maybe both were equally good options.

Kakashi jumped back up to the edge of the crater and started gathering the huge rocks with his Chakra Claws. Kurama grouched about using his chakra to do menial clean-up work and went ignored.

Cat and Boar, the two ANBU who were still following him, settled onto their branches and didn't lift a finger to help him. Technically it wasn't their duty, so Kakashi didn't bother to complain or wave them down to help. Being ANBU was tiring enough as it was.

"Showing you my jutsu wasn't the only reason I brought you here, Kakashi."

He looked up at Minato. From within his seal, Kurama perked up. "What happened?"

His sensei tilted his head. His chakra fluttered somewhat uneasily. "In between peace negotiations with the Tsuchikage, Hokage-sama has been dealing with the backlog of policies he had amassed during the war. That includes Danzo-sama's issue."

A boulder nearly slipped from Kakashi's Chakra Claw. He let it roll down towards the center of the crater instead of chucking it there, despite his shock. Was Sandaime-sama finally doing something about Danzo? He looked up to his sensei.

"Since Danzo-sama had lured Okugi away and attacked him, Hokage-sama ousted him from the Elder Council and remanded him to house arrest." Minato met his disappointed frown and offered a consoling smile. "He'll be watched by two of Hokage-sama's ANBU every day. He will be consulted only in case of dire emergency - incoming war, for example."

'...it might have gone worse.' Though nowhere near what Danzo deserved, Kakashi supposed that the man hadn't technically committed his worst crimes - Uchiha massacre, attempted assassination of the Sandaime, stirring political unrest in Ame and other places, attempted assassination of Kakashi, ripping out Shisui's eye… - and even then, the Sandaime had forgiven him for those.

Kurama snorted. "That naive old monkey… At least he's getting out of our way. Your sensei should be much more amenable to killing Danzo once that bastard steps out of line."

Okugi's reply was a little slower in coming. "Danzo didn't dare act out with Minato-sensei as Hokage. He kept everything well under wraps until sensei was dead." He sighed. "With him as Yondaime, I think Danzo will stall his plans. We'll have to kill him then."

Kakashi decided to be hesitantly hopeful. They still had a time frame to kill Danzo, or even have him legally executed - it all depended on their ability to catch him red-handed on his most treasonous crimes.

"Alright." The young jonin reached for three more boulders with his Chakra Claws and dumped them into the crater. Six large ones would provide enough material for a Doton-refill.

"Also, the Elder Council must be composed of at least three people to be legal - it's written in Konoha's Laws - and Orochimaru-sama has accepted the role."

Kakashi was proud to say he didn't falter. 'Orochimaru is in the Elder Council?'

"That doesn't sound too bad." When Kakashi and Kurama's chakra spiked against him in question, he whined. "Minato-sensei can keep an eye on him. Jiraya-sama can just visit Konoha to check on him - and he knows Orochimaru might take a turn for the worse. Orochimaru won't be able to visit his labs outside Konoha without special permits, since members of the Elder Council don't take missions and must be always available for emergencies."

His older self... might be right. With Minato-sensei as Hokage, it would be even more dangerous for Orochimaru to bring his illegal research inside Konoha. But there was something else that he didn't understand… "Why doesn't Sandaime-sama replace Danzo?"

Minato looked weirdly at him. "He can't be both Hokage and councilman. And, well…" He sighed. "He didn't tell me explicitly, but I think this has to do with Kurama, as well - most notably, his penchant for arguing with Sandaime-sama. There is only so many times he's willing to endure that."

Kakashi wasn't too surprised. Kurama shrugged. "Not my fault that old monkey doesn't listen to reason."

"Does Hokage-sama want to retire?" Damn, not even subtle. Future knowledge had a way of spoiling even pleasant surprises.

Minato shrugged almost innocently enough to fool Kakashi. "He didn't tell me."

...Yeah, of course. The first time around, Minato managed to keep his grooming as Yondaime Hokage fairly hidden - Kakashi hadn't been the most attentive of people immediately after Obito and Rin's deaths, and the Uchiha Clan demanding 'justice' for their dead clanmate had taken up much of his time and attention. He had been living in the jonin barracks by that time, while Minato and Kushina had moved into a house closer to the market.

The whole hiding-your-Hokage-nomination had its reasons for existing. Someone who discovered that might try to suck up to the successor in increasingly illegal ways, or put an assassination contract on them to disrupt Konoha's inner workings. Of course, their chances of success were abysmally low with a shinobi being nominated for their loyalty and ability, but it never hurt to be cautious, especially after a war.

"I have also been approached by Fugaku-san - Shinryu-sama's successor as Uchiha Clan Head - and he's told me you had a discussion with some Uchiha the day we came back." Minato leaned over to try looking him in the face. He didn't quite succeed, as Kakashi had resumed staring at some really interesting rocks. "He's convinced you broke someone's hand."

Kakashi barely reined in a sigh. Logically, he knew that Minato would find out, but it still made him ashamed to admit to losing control that way. He was better than this. "The same Uchiha who tried to beat Obito a year ago - you were on the Kumo front then - had grabbed him by the shirt. He and Satoshi were both drunk and wanted to start a fight with Obito and me. Rin and Anko were there with us at the Yuurei Night Bar."

He held Minato's blank gaze. His sensei's anger had reached a worrying point and he was consciously keeping himself in check - not a good sign for whoever had invoked his wrath. "Satoshi had called me 'Friend killer' and I just-" He snapped his fingers, looking down at his feet. "I lost control. I wrenched Daichi's hand from Obito and broke it. Boar-san stopped us by giving us a scroll about the situation on the Iwa front. We left after that."

His sensei pursed his lips. "I see." He took a deep breath, and slowly released it. "Then Hokage-sama promoted you, you came to Kannabi Bridge, and Satoshi confronted you again when you returned."

Kakashi nodded.

Minato stayed silent. His chakra smouldered with simmering resentment, though he let none of that show through words - it wouldn't do if the Hokage successor couldn't put aside his emotions in order to treat everyone in the village equally.

'How are we handling the Uchiha situation?'

"Right now, very badly." Okugi had only to take a look at what Kakashi was feeling to know that Minato was furious. "But I think that seeking them out will just make matters worse."

"Let your sensei do that." One of Kurama's eyes cracked open as he laid down in his seal. "It's the Hokage's job to keep the peace through diplomacy. If he fails, I still have scores to settle with those damn Uchiha."

That was not comforting. However, it was also true that Minato's duty as Hokage would theoretically overrule his individual grudge with the Uchiha Clan - and it wasn't like Kakashi could mend the relationship between himself and them. It would end in disaster: either the Clan refuses to listen, or Obito might take it as a form of betrayal, considering what some Uchiha had done to him.

Maybe Minato would arrange something to smooth out the bad blood between them by making the younger generations bond. Naruto and Sasuke might become friends ahead of time due to their parents meeting, Itachi and Shisui might end up as temporary teammates to Team Kakashi, or maybe as ANBU recruits. If their relationship becomes civil enough, some Uchiha might even become part of the Hokage's Guard - the highest honor, the greatest show of trust.

But all of that was outside their reach.

As for the hole… Kakashi jumped on top of the tallest boulder of the six he had gathered and created four Doton clones, which ran up the lip of the crater and settled around it. Snake hand seal - he let his chakra pour into the rocks, its tendrils reaching further down until they were anchored into the ground and brushed on his clones' energy.

'And… heave!'

Kakashi slammed his palms onto the boulder, pushing more of his chakra into the closeknit network underneath him in synch with his clones. The ground groaned and shifted, creaking and slowly remodeling itself as his chakra pulled at their molecular bonds. A few fissures cracked open.

A bead of sweat dripped down his headband. This was taking more chakra than he thought.

"Instead of fighting gravity by pulling up, try filling each level sideways." Okugi nudged his chakra in a ring around Kakashi, redistributing rock fragments at half the height he wanted, but they were much more compact and it took less energy than he had expected. "You can also do an Earth Wall on its side to fill the last level."

He nodded. 'Let's try that.'

Another pulse: Kakashi's chakra spread sideways, pulling rocks from the ground to raise it. One of his clones dispelled. More creaking, and more dust rose into the air. Slowly but surely, the crater was being filled.

Minato and the two ANBU leaned forward on their branches.

Two more clones dispelled. Kakashi looked around - there was still a thirty centimeters drop between the ground level and the mostly filled crater. An Earth Wall sounded like a good idea - maybe not the most efficient, but Kurama was already working on stimulating Kakashi's chakra production.

So he walked up to his Doton clone, placed a hand on its shoulder to recharge its chakra pool, and leaped to the opposite side of the hole, crouching down. "Doton: Earth wall."

Both Kakashi pulled their chakra sideways and filled the hole, now level with the ground. The only things marking it as different were the absence of grass and Kakashi's chakra coating all of it. His clone dispelled after his effort.

"I didn't know you were this good with Doton, Kakashi-kun." Minato waved at him, smiling. "You're always full of surprises, aren't you?"

Kakashi wiped away his sweat, feeling pride and joy rising within him at his sensei's praise. He would practice with Kurama's chakra today, then. Or study more Fuinjutsu - even though the Kyuubi always had to rant about how every single seal design he saw was inefficient. "I did my best, sensei."

"I didn't doubt th- Hm?"

Another ANBU - that mask was... Jackal? - dropped into view beside Minato and whispered in his ear something about meeting the Hokage. The blond jonin nodded and the shinobi disappeared.

"Hokage-sama summoned me to the Tower." He got up on his branch and winked at him, bringing his right hand in front of his chest in half a Ram seal. "I'll see you this evening, 'Kashi-kun."

He nodded. "Bye, Minato-sensei."

The blond vanished with his Hiraishin, leaving Kakashi with his two ANBU guards in the Training Ground.

'Kurama, you were explaining counterseals last time.' Kakashi settled by the roots of a large tree nearby, ready to head into his mindscape.

The Kyuubi snorted and pulled him in. "The Cobweb matrix is child's play once you memorize every symbol's counter. It gets more interesting when you add compact formulas, which allow for more complex Fuinjutsu in a limited space…"

Two more days later (Day 4)

"What do you mean you've got another meeting with Hokage-sama, dattebane?!"

Minato carefully stepped out of Kushina's reach. He raised his hands in defense against her ladle, pointed accusingly at his face. "Hokage-sama is working on the treaty and wants me around to get his point across to the Iwa delegates-"

"Wrong!" Kushina advanced on him as her hair rose up behind her. Her glare froze Minato on the spot and made Obito choke on his rice. That was scary as hell. "You're lying - that's not all you're doing! You've been gone for more than seven hours at a time, and that's the usual time for diplomacy meet- ghh…!" She dropped her ladle into the sink, clutched a hand over her stomach and covered her mouth with another.

Minato hurried over to her. "Kushina, are you-"

She turned to the sink and threw up. Obito cringed at the sound - Kushina-nee had never been that sick, or in such pain. Minato moved her hair away from her face and laid his other hand on her shoulder, hesitatingly rubbing circles on it.

Rin immediately got out of her chair and hurried over to her, all set in Assessing Medic Mode. She hooked her arm around Kushina's. "Minato-sensei, take her other arm and help me bring her to a chair. Obito, get her an empty bowl. Kakashi, find some antiemetics in the medicine cabinet. Okugi, make some space."

With resolute nods, the team sprung into action - Obito launched himself at a cupboard to grab a big blue bowl, Kakashi dashed down the hallway to get the antiemetics, Okugi pushed the table farther from the sink, Minato and Rin took Kushina to the closest chair.

"I don't know why I'm getting so sick…" Kushina sagged onto the chair, pale and even sweating despite the mild temperature. She wiped saliva from the corner of her mouth. "Why? I ate the same things as you did back there - dattebane! I never got so sick before!"

Rin placed her hands on Kushina's abdomen, coaxing her healing chakra to check what the hell was wrong. Obito watched on, biting his bottom lip and frowning in concern. Kushina-nee had never been so ill before! Was it some super stomach bug? The flu? Something extremely contagious from Kusa?

Kakashi materialized behind him - Obito did not squeak! Not at all! - and placed the box of medicine on the table. Okugi peeked at Kushina from behind Rin, cocking his head to the side.

Rin moved her hands a bit lower and hummed. "Was it just today and yesterday, Kushina-nee?"

The redhead nodded miserably and brought her bowl closer to her mouth. She was turning green.

"I see." Rin giggled and clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "You're pregnant! Congratulations Kushina-nee, Minato-sensei!"

Obito's jaw dropped open - as did everyone else's - and his brain desperately called for a timeout. Pregnant? Since when? What? Why? Was Rin sure? Ehhh?!

Obito had never claimed to be able to shrug off his shock easily. What the hell?!

"Congratulations," Kakashi whispered, apparently calm as could be, nodding at them.

Slowly, a radiant smile lit up Kushina's face, though the effect was decreased by her pallor. Her grip on the bowl had relaxed. "I'm…" She chuckled. "I'm going to be a mother…"

"I'm going to be a father…" Minato's face had yet to catch up to his brain - he was still gaping, staring into the void with wide eyes, keeping his hands still on Kushina's shoulders. "I'm…!"

Kushina burst into laughter and jumped to her feet, chucking her bowl to the sofa in the living room. "I'm going to be a mother, dattebane!" She lunged at Minato, squeezing the breath out of him as he smiled and laughed with her.

"Wo-hooo!" Obito, Rin, and even Kakashi clapped their hands, while Okugi resorted to swinging his tails and howling joyfully. Obito felt something warm and giddy rise in his chest - they were so happy! How could Obito not be happy for them? "Nee-san, sensei, you're-"

"-late!" Minato had caught sight of the clock in the kitchen, opening his mouth as horror mounted within him. He looked at the armful of pregnant Kushina clutching him close. "U-Uh, 'Shina… I… What if we celebrate this ev-"

Kushina smiled beatifically up at Minato-sensei. "Shut up."

Obito shivered. It got chilly in there all of a sudden...

"Kushina…" Minato glanced repeatedly at the clock, growing more frantic by the second. "I really can't-"

"You have your Hiraishin, you can't be late." Kushina's smile had frozen in place, but Obito had the distinct impression it wasn't as friendly as it seemed. "You can stay. If Hokage-sama has a problem with it, he will come and get you."

Rin and Obito exchanged a glance - "What now?" "I have no clue…" - but surely, there must be something they could do? Minato-sensei couldn't be late to a meeting with Sandaime-sama, could he?

But Kushina-neesan was pregnant and scary…

Kakashi leaned forward and swooped in for the rescue. "Minato-sensei, does it have to do something with the Yondaime Hokage nomination I've heard about?"

"The what?!" Obito whirled around to face his teammate. Yondaime Hokage?!

Not even Rin could believe her ears. "Yondaime Hokage nomination?"

"Where did you hear that?" Minato blurted out, and promptly winced - Kushina's hug turned into a bear trap minus the steel teeth. Or maybe they were about to grow in and stab sensei...

Kakashi shrugged. "Here and there in the Mission Distribution Center."

"You went to the Mission Distribution Center?" Obito glared at his teammate. Sure, he didn't need to know every single place Kakashi went to, but come on - to the Mission Distribution? What the hell was he doing, taking a stroll inside that building?

"I did it, yes."

"But-"

"Were you going to tell me anytime soon, Mi-na-to?" Kushina's hair was doing that weird lifting thing again! There was an aura of imminent danger around her that made Obito step back. He braced for the worst.

Minato looked at Kakashi before trying to pacify Kushina. "Sandaime-sama told me to keep it secret at least until three days before the public announcement," he confessed, smiling hesitatingly at her before turning back to Kakashi. "I didn't expect rumors to start so soon… Where did you hear that, exactly?"

"Shikaku-san suspected something like it." Kakashi rocked on his heels, looking as innocent as never before. "I may have overheard him talking with Inoichi-san."

Minato sighed, but there was a shy smile on his lips. "Well… yes, Sandaime-sama wants me to become the Yondaime Hokage, after the peace negotiations are done."

Kushina squealed. Minato-sensei winced at the sound so close to his ears. "Oh, if that's what you were doing, we can't let you be late now, can we?" With a beatific smile, Kushina released him and patted metaphorical dust off his shoulders. "Go and slap some Iwa delegates for me, honeybun. I've got planning to do."

Sensei seemed to choke back a response - whether a remark about slapping Iwa-nin or a question about what planning she was going to do - but decided he'd rather not start a discussion and, after kissing Kushina and nodding at his students, he teleported out.

"I'll help you with planning, Kushina-nee." Rin clapped her hands and giggled. Kushina laughed, skipping to the couch to grab her bowl - just in case - and hugged Rin close with her other arm, already talking a mile a minute about cakes and flowers.

Obito wasn't quite sure what was going to happen, but… Rin seemed to have everything under control…? He had yet to understand what they were doing, though it seemed so obvious to them!

The two kunoichi disappeared down the hallway.

"Okugi and I are going to the Library," Kakashi said. Obito turned to look at him - somehow, he had put on his fixed jonin vest without the Uchiha noticing. Or maybe he was shocked into not remembering the last two minutes. "I think they've got it covered. See you later."

"Uh." Obito hesitatingly waved as he watched them leave through the door and close it behind them. "See ya."

...maybe he should ask Asuma, Genma and Raido if they wanted to hang out.

'Wait, if Kushina-nee started getting sick now, it means she got pregnant… in Kusa?'

Kurama shrugged. "They've gone at it in more inhospitable places. A half-frozen cave in Shimo no Kuni, for instance. Twice."

'...I did not need to know that.'

"If I'm meant to suffer, you're suffering with me, Kit."

Kakashi put his head in his hands and sighed.

It was early afternoon when Boar informed Kakashi and Okugi that they were summoned to the Hokage office right now.

They readily accepted and let the ANBU shunshin them into the room - inside, there were the Sandaime with Jiraya and Minato flanking him, waiting for the two Hatake with varying degrees of agitation hidden in their chakra.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi-kun, Okugi." Sandaime-sama waved away all the ANBU in the room and activated the privacy seals. Chakra hummed around them, briefly lighting up the walls. "Jiraya and Minato have told me of your intention to deal with this unknown opponent who you've faced in Hi no Kuni, and why you believe it must be kept secret."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

The old man leaned forward on his chair. "They've told me this man had fought you and Kurama and managed to escape without Jiraya noticing anything amiss. This man is, according to what you've told Jiraya and Minato, an unknown spymaster working for what Okugi has called the 'Masked Sealer's Company'. I assume this is the same group who has sealed Kurama within you, Kakashi?"

They nodded again. A wordless lie...

"This spymaster has managed to plant his informants in Konoha without our notice?"

Technically, no. But they needed to warn them of White Zetsu's abilities… without, however, causing enough paranoia to warrant an announcement that would send Konoha into chaos, and invite an army of White Zetsu to kill every single shinobi. 'How much are we telling them?'

"Enough to get our operation under our sole control. They must understand only we can handle this."

"For now, his informants aren't disguised as Konoha shinobi. They have a special ability that allows them to blend in the environment," Kakashi carefully answered. Enough to emphasise the danger and need for secrecy, but not enough to cause mass panic... "Their chakra emission is next to none, and they can blend into the ground, the trees, even walls. If one of them realizes we're after their leader, all will know. If they manage to absorb someone's chakra, they can copy it and assume that person's likeness."

The three in front of him exchanged worried glances.

"We think they won't do it," Kakashi 'reassured' them, "as long as they believe you don't know about them. This is why we can't tell you about them - it would bring Konohagakure to her knees if those 'informants' were to replace part of our shinobi."

The Sandaime hummed. "I see… I believe there's no other choice, then." His eyes locked on Kakashi's, somber.

"As of right now, I entrust this mission to you three, Kakashi, Okugi, Kurama - you will hunt down this spymaster and kill him before he can harm Konoha. With Jiraya and Namikaze Minato as my witnesses, you will report to either of us at least once a month on your investigation. You will work under the alias of Tsuta, shinobi of no nation and no loyalty. If you are caught by other shinobi while undertaking your mission, Konoha will deny all involvement. Other Konoha-nin will be your enemies, should your mission bring you to stand against them. Is that clear?"

Kakashi nodded. "Hai."

"However, considering your notoriety, you cannot be allowed to 'disappear' from Konoha's borders. You've sent a 'Chakra Clone' to fight on Kannabi Bridge, haven't you?"

"I have, Hokage-sama."

"You will use them to investigate. Leave no trace of your involvement."

Well, it had been their plan in the beginning - they just had to work out a way to cover their tracks even if they ended up fighting, say, a number of dangerous S-rank nukenin. Kakashi nodded once more. "I will, Hokage-sama."

That seemed to satisfy the Sandaime, for now - and he gestured to Jiraya, who stepped forward.

"I can bring you with me to Amegakure as soon as the situation calms down and I'm done brushing up my spy network. If everything goes well, it will take about five months." He shrugged. "It's best if you come under alias. I'll be back in a few days with more information, but don't expect anything too detailed after all this time."

Using his alias would be a good idea, just in case someone in Ame had a grudge against the White Fang or something - which wasn't as unlikely as some may think. The only one of them that had to go in as themselves was Jiraya. Kakashi nodded again.

Besides, with Black Zetsu's plans so greatly hindered, he wouldn't be able to corrupt the Akatsuki as easily and quickly as he had with Obito. They still had time to link Ame and Konoha together with an alliance, made stronger by the bond between Jiraya and Nagato, Yahiko and Konan.

Three days later, evening

Kakashi shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

This was something his older self had done many times. Equal parts catharsis and punishment, chaining him down to his past and barely scratching the surface of his guilt. Scrubbing his soul raw in his effort to clean all that blood off of it.

He stared down.

"So…" He glanced uneasily at the trees around him. A gentle breeze rustled their leaves. "I… I guess I owe you an apology, too. I never really understood why you've made that choice, even when you knew the consequences of your actions… otousan."

There. He said it.

"I became a jonin a few weeks ago," Kakashi told to his father's gravestone, weathered and chipped and never cared for until today. "My team was to destroy Kannabi Bridge, and we did. They didn't stand a chance against Minato-sensei. But…" He averted his gaze to the crysanthemus he had placed just a minute ago in the vase beside the grave. "When Obito was in danger… my body just moved on its own. I could've destroyed the boulders with my new jutsu, the Chidori. I could've made a Water Wall to shield him until he ran away."

He breathed in, and out. Shaking his head and closing his eyes did nothing to assuage the pain throbbing in his head. I will save your life as you once saved mine, Obito - that had been his clone's only thought.

The cliffside pinned him to the riverbed, murky water filled his lungs, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't see - and the boulders snapped each of his bones-

"It would've been me, under those rocks." A shiver ran down his spine. "It would've been me."

Kakashi bowed his head. "I understand you, now. I promise I will not fail my friends."

A gale blew across the graveyard, reaching even the far-off site of Sakumo's grave. Some leaves were ripped from their branches, and the crysanthemus nearly flew off their vase. A small storm of birds cawed in the distance. A warning not to back out on his promise?

"I won't fail."

Kakashi bowed his head to his father's grave, turned and headed to the entrance of the cemetery. There was no one else for him to visit - and hopefully, there wouldn't be. Not for a long time.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up. Minato-sensei must have returned home by now. Whatever Sandaime-sama was doing with him, it was taking up a lot of his time - Kushina was none too happy about that, but she still fully supported Minato on his road to Hokage-hood and made it clear by preparing Special Bento for him every day, each with 'loving messages' scrawled on the bottom.

Sometimes those loving messages were ramblings about new food combinations she wanted to try out. Sometimes they were threats on Minato's life if he dared chicken out of either of his duties. Sometimes they were deeply felt declarations of love.

Sometimes they were innuendos.

Minato tended to be too curious for his own good and glance at those messages after Kushina walked out of the kitchen, but not before Kakashi left. Since the blond didn't bother to hide his reactions inside his home, Kakashi often guessed what Kushina's message was about. Minato-sensei usually fled after that.

Kakashi stopped walking when he saw a flash of violet hair on his periphery.

Anko was kneeling before a flat gravestone, scrubbing its surface with a wet rag. She looked at her handiwork, nodded to herself, and dumped her rag into the bucket to her left. After bowing to the gravestone, she picked up her bucket, rose to her feet and turned - and saw Kakashi.

Anko waved at him and hurried up to him.

"Hi, Kakashi-kun." She smiled at him, though it was much more subdued than her usual mischievous grins. "I thought there was nobody around here today."

He nodded at her in greeting. "I was over there." He pointed at the corner where his father's grave rested, covered by bushes and thickets. He hadn't been too popular when he died, and only hiding it stopped the hordes of vandals from defacing it. "He was… long overdue a visit."

"Yeah, the war didn't leave us much time to pay our respects." Anko started walking towards the entrance, still carrying her bucket. Kakashi fell in step with her. "I used to visit my mother once every month… but with the war, the last time I visited her had been more than five months ago. There was always something else to do."

"Good thing it's over now." Kakashi watched Anko place her bucket on the ground near the entrance wall, along with many others. Once upon a time, he had placed his just two meters farther to the right.

Anko nodded, but she didn't leave. "If you don't mind me asking… who were you visiting?"

No harm in telling her. "My father."

"Oh." She briefly bowed her head. "I see. I…" Anko scratched behind her head, embarrassed, a thin smile on her lips. "How was it, having a father?"

Kakashi stared. Why was Anko asking him…?

She blushed heavily and backtracked. "If- If you want to tell me, that is. You can not answer-" she waved her hands to the sides, as if trying to shoo away the question that escaped her mouth. "-it's fine, really, I don't know what got me here, you don't have to tell me..."

He had never known of her past before Orochimaru became her sensei. After that snake became an S-class nukenin, Kakashi's only concern with her was if her loyalty to him overshadowed her loyalty to Konoha.

(Because he knew his true loyalty lay not in the whole, but in those who deserved it. His Konoha's beating heart had always been Team Minato - and if their dream was to protect the whole village, then it was his duty to carry over, for them.

Then came others, and Naruto-)

"My father was a jonin, Hatake Sakumo." He recalled those memories of long ago - as if they were a half-forgotten dream - but each one was tainted by what Kakashi had done to him, despite Sakumo's love for his son. "He was often out on missions. When he was home, he'd play with me - though now, I think it was to train me. Sometimes he would bring me to the forests near Konoha's walls to make camp and tell me how to identify edible plants."

Anko seemed surprised that he answered. Her eyes had widened when he told her Sakumo's name, but that wasn't what interested her. She smiled, just a bit. "My mom's name was Mitarashi Rei. She was a one-woman-army - I think she even used clones to do all those chores in record time." Anko looked up and started walking back to the center of Konoha, with Kakashi by her side. "As a chuunin, she was famous for never getting lost - no matter where she went. She taught me to pick out constellations and use them to find my way home."

Her hazel eyes gleamed in the dying sunlight, focused on the first stars slowly appearing in the sky. She smiled wistfully as a breeze blew through her ponytail and fluttered her light brown jacket. She pulled it closer to her tanned neck, shielding her throat against the wind.

"Both of them wanted the best for each of us, didn't they?" Anko tilted her head at him, making her spiky ponytail sway to the side of her face. "They knew we would become shinobi."

Kakashi nodded. "They gave us the best tools to survive."

"Yeah."

They shared a moment of silence, mournful and thankful at the same time.

Anko shook herself. "Well. Maybe I can show a thing or two about constellations, if you want?" Her smile returned to its usual playfulness and she winked at him. "Never know when it might come in handy - there are some tricks she worked out that you won't find in books."

Why not? With all the travel he was about to do, not constantly needing a map or climbing up a hill every time in search of landmarks would be much easier and make for faster movement. Besides, Anko might be more informed on Orochimaru's status… and Kakashi wanted to spare her the pain and the shame that his defection had caused her.

"Sure." Kakashi eye-smiled at her. "I think the best view is just left of the Sandaime's head on the Hokage Mountain. We could go there tomorrow night."

Anko chuckled and nodded. "That's a plan, then."

"That's a date."

'Shut up.'

Next morning (Day 5)

Kakashi had just left the Namikaze-Uzumaki home to search for a new residence - he'd rather not live out the rest of his life in the jonin barracks again - when Minato hiraishin'ed behind him with no warning whatsoever and tugged him into an alley nearby.

Somewhat confused, Kakashi let his sensei pull him to the top of the closest rooftop. He had ducked behind a water tank, slapping a privacy seal on the ground between them with one hand as the other clutched Kushina's Special Bento.

He frowned. "What's wrong, Minato-sensei?"

Minato rounded up on him with a near-frantic look in his eyes. "When were you going to tell me about the Gobi Jinchuuriki?!"

"Er…" Kakashi tilted his head. "You… didn't know?"

"No, I did not know!" Minato paced under the shadow of the water tank, fiddling with the corners of his Special Bento. "I thought you and Rin were found by a Konoha patrol near the encampment - not that- that Iwa's Jinchuuriki had brought you there. How did you even convince him?"

"Kurama did." Didn't anyone tell Minato-sensei of Kurama's deal with Kokuo? Kakashi had told Jiraya, Kushina and Sandaime-sama. How in the world didn't anyone tell him before? "He convinced the Gobi to help us. I thought someone told you, sensei."

The blond's eyelid twitched at the mention of Kurama. "Hokage-sama told me that yesterday. He had told Jiraya-sensei and Kushina to keep it secret until the war was over - to avoid causing unnecessary panic, because we still have more than two years to find a way to prevent a possible bijuu rampage." His grip on his bento was getting worryingly tight. "Except that I will be Hokage when Han of Iwagakure arrives - and, nukenin or not, every course of action would cause even more problems."

The bijuu snorted, smirking as he laid his head on his paws. "Sucks to be you."

"Kurama will help with anything you need, sensei." The Kyuubi spiked his chakra against him, and Kakashi jabbed back with his own, placing a hand on his abdomen. "The Gobi is only interested in seeing Konoha with his own eyes. He's positively peaceful compared to Kurama."

"Cheeky brat…"

That seemed to calm Minato, if only a little. If that bijuu wasn't one to cause trouble, then a rampage was unlikely and Konoha would need to focus on prevention rather than damage control. "What about Han?"

That was a bit trickier. Kakashi didn't claim to know Han anymore than Kurama did - which was not at all. All they knew about him were his shinobi skills, and that Iwagakure hadn't been too concerned with his disappearance by Akatsuki. Angry, yes - they just lost a Jinchuuriki - but not enough to track him down and realize that the same mercenary group they were hiring had captured and killed him.

Maybe that was all they needed to know in order to answer Minato.

"Han is… reasonable." Although nudged along by Kokuo, Han hadn't seemed opposed to the idea of helping two Konoha-nin escape - even though he clearly recognized him as the son of the White Fang. "He didn't argue against helping Rin and me escape. He had defected as soon as we reached the camp, so I don't think he holds Iwagakure in great regard. I don't think he holds grudges against Konoha, either."

Minato breathed out and nodded twice. "Good, good. We'll work on prevention and either convince everyone he's not here to attack us, or keep his presence hidden to most." He nodded again. "I'll discuss some ideas with Hokage-sama. Thank you, Kakashi-kun."

"Anytime, Minato-sensei." Kakashi ducked his head a bit, peeking up at him. "If Kurama caused that problem, I want to help as much as I can."

"It was that or going blind for the rest of you life, Kit. Unless you fancied experimenting an optic nerve transplant on yourself."

Yeah… no. 'You could've bargained anything else.'

"I'd have loved to see you try."

Minato smiled ruefully at him and ruffled his hair. Kakashi made a noise that was most certainly not a whine and leaned into the touch as he glared up at the man. Damn emotions. "Sensei, I'm a jonin…"

"Thank you, Kakashi. I'm very proud of you."

While Kakashi stared at him in a shocked trance - in that gray zone between walking away with all his dignity intact and crying his eyes out - Minato released his privacy seal and hopped away to the Hokage Tower, because "it's not good protocol to teleport inside the Hokage office if you're not the Hokage."

He shook himself. He had a house-hunt to start.

It took Jiraya about three hours to finally find Kakashi.

That kid sure knew how to pick his hiding spots.

"I wasn't hiding," he defended himself, huffing and crossing his arms as he balanced on the highest branch of a pine. "I was avoiding Gai. Someone told him that he couldn't be my 'Eternal Rival'-" Kakashi did air quotations with his fingers to make it clear it wasn't his idea, "-if he didn't know exactly what I like to eat. I'm sure it was Genma, though I suspect Ebisu and Asuma are backing him. Now Gai is stalking me. Again."

Well. Jiraya couldn't fully understand the feeling - usually it was him that both Orochimaru and Tsunade either avoided or pummeled into the ground - but he could ignore the issue. "...Alright. Let's discuss this somewhere else."

Kakashi stared suspiciously at him from the top of his thin branch - something about snapping under too much weight or too much enthusiasm - while Jiraya went through some familiar hand seals. "Come down, Kakashi."

The kid jumped down.

Jiraya placed his hand on the ground between them - from there, fleshy tendrils grew around them in a pulsating circle. Kakashi shifted into a fighting stance, his eyes widened, but he didn't bolt away as the pinkish flesh grew around them and soon closed over their heads.

"There!" He waved his arms. "Fire Toad bowels! No place as private as this."

Kakashi's eyes roamed over the intestines writhing around them - his nose instantly scrunched up and his hand covered it, which he didn't blame him for, considering they were breathing in stomach acid. He stepped closer to Jiraya and subtly cringed as his steps squelched on live flesh. He didn't move again. "There's that, yes. What is this about?"

"Two things - the Gedo Mazou and our trip to Amegakure."

Kakashi stayed silent.

"I've spoken with Gamabunta and the Toad Sages of Mount Myoboku, and they've agreed to guard a piece of that statue - they realized how dangerous it was and agreed that keeping each piece separate is the best option. I'm bringing the head there once I get the permit."

All three of them had been relieved that the war was finally over, and Shima wanted Jiraya to "try out" her "new recipe" as soon as he came back, to celebrate. He did not look forward to that.

"Orochimaru has contacted his snakes, and they have also agreed to keep a piece - I don't know for what price, but Orochimaru isn't happy about it." Well, his teammate had locked himself in his lab for a couple of days and Jiraya had seen him burning what looked like half a ton of freshly shed snake skins. It didn't seem the right moment to ask what the 'Nest' wanted from him in exchange. "I gave him the legs, he'll bring them over to Ryuuchi Cave soon enough."

While Kakashi didn't seem particularly satisfied, some of his tension left his shoulders. Jiraya could only assume what the Kyuubi imitator was telling him - something disparaging and distrustful about Orochimaru, or something more relieved?

"When are you going to the wolves?"

"After Minato-sensei's ceremony." Kakashi shrugged at Jiraya's questioning look. "I don't want to miss it - and besides, it'll be alright so long as we don't go on missions. It'll take at least a week to find a pack, convince the Wolf Boss Summon to keep a piece of the Gedo Mazou and come back."

It was going remarkably well, considering that Kurama had destroyed a mountain and half a forest to destroy that moving statue and that the three (four? five?) of them were keeping this secret from the Hokage and the Hokage-to-be.

"Alright." He nodded to himself. "As for Amegakure - considering how the negotiations are going and how badly compromised my spy network is, our trip might get delayed by five months more from our original timetable." He sighed - despite the festive atmosphere in Konoha, it was all very slowly going. "Suna wants to claim spoils they don't deserve, Iwa won't agree to anything until Kusa- and Taki-nin stop taking advantage of their weakness, it's a mess. Half of my inner circle of routers has been killed off and the other half is either about to keel over or has sold scraps of information for petty cash."

Kakashi didn't bat an eye, as if he expected something like that. "Are there news from Ame?"

Jiraya spread his arms. "Well, I don't know - nobody affiliated with Konoha has gone there! According to the teams at the closest outposts there seems to be a civil war happening, with some groups fighting for control of the region." Which was hardly enough intel to head over there - especially if it wasn't particularly urgent. "Let me fix my network, and then we're good to go."

"Why not before?" Kakashi frowned at him. "We can pick up information as we go there. You can find your students."

How did Kakashi- no, Kurama know they were his students? Jiraya resisted the urge to narrow his eyes - he needed to talk with Gamamaru as soon as possible. "A functioning spy network will allow us not to go in blindly. It's near suicidal to go there ourselves. Suna or Iwa might take that as a threat and disregard the peace treaty, or Ame, Kusa and Taki might stir up trouble."

That, the kid reluctantly accepted with a slow nod.

Jiraya patted a fleshy wall close to him and the tendrils slowly retreated until sunlight and birdsong reached the two of them once more. The smell markedly improved - which wasn't such a difficult feat, considering that it was forest versus toad bowels.

Kakashi took a deep breath. "See you soon then, Jiraya-sama."

He grinned wickedly at him. "Of course, Kakashi! I'll let you be the first to get signed copy of my new bo-"

The jonin imitated a dying cat and Shunshined away.

The Toad Sage saluted the two pissed ANBU who hurried to find their charge and merrily walked back to the closest street. What better reason for extreme privacy than a young emotionally constipated jonin in search of advice from a soon-to-be love guru?

An absurd amount of weddings were happening throughout Konoha.

Consequently, every single person capable of officiating weddings had way too much work to do, and the chuunin and civilians working in the registry office were swamped with requests to change many people's statues from "single" to "married".

Fortunately for Minato, the Hokage also had the ability to officiate weddings.

(Kushina was going to wring his neck if he didn't find a way to marry her faster.)

To enter the Hokage Tower as inconspicuously as possible, both had worn their jonin vests as if it was just a common day in the office. However, Kushina and her Shadow Clone talked Rin through the process of doing up her hair in ceremonial Uzumaki 'side buns' - which still left two long streaks of red hair trailing behind her as she walked, catching the eye of the few shinobi at the entrance.

She had insisted it was an essential Uzumaki Clan tradition, which she had every intention to uphold - at least in honor of Uzumaki Mito and Kushina's own mother. There was no chance of arguing, even if Minato had wanted to.

Was he supposed to do something to his hair? He passed a hand through them. Even if he was, what kind of ceremonial hairdo would stay put with his 'lemon shade porcupine hair'? At least he wasn't catching anyone's attention - Kushina's unusual hairstyle made everyone's eyes linger on her for a few seconds.

He had to stop himself from glaring at those few shinobi who couldn't quite suppress their leers. No one could be stupid enough to approach Kushina that way, whether Minato was there or not. His soon-to-be wife - wife! - would sooner punch them through a wall than put up with a single comment she didn't like.

He turned around - future Hokage or not, even Minato was kept waiting when Sandaime-sama was busy administrating Konoha - and checked how their witnesses were doing.

A few paces behind them, Jiraya leaned on a wall to sweet-talk a kunoichi passing through the entry hall of the Hokage Tower. About two seconds in, Rin gasped - on behalf of the woman's honor, most likely - and both Obito and Kakashi kicked the Sannin in the shins. Jiraya half collapsed with a loud "OW!" and the kunoichi made her escape as he turned to have a whispered argument with Minato's students.

Why… Why was Jiraya insisting on using his pick up lines?

Kushina poked Minato in his arm, which she had claimed as her own by entwining it with hers. Her radiant smile seemed to light up her whole face, making her violet eyes shine. How did he even manage to keep her by his side?

...Maybe he was by her side. Minato had been a blushing wreck when, during a mission in Shimo, Kushina had claimed they should "share body heat in this freezing weather". By morning the temperature was marginally more bearable, but she was "too comfortable to move, oops". His feelings had tormented him every time she came within two meters of him, but after that mission Minato finally managed to confess his love for her.

The first thing she said after that was, "Damn, now I owe Mikoto a hundred ryo."

The second thing was, "Do you know how long I've waited for this, dattebane?"

They nearly got caught by an Uchiha police officer for indecent exposure that night. In Kushina's opinion, it was "definitely worth it". Minato blushed at the memory.

A chuunin hurried down the hallway with a stack of scrolls in his arms. Without breaking stride, he said, "Hokage-sama is ready to receive you, Namikaze-san, Uzumaki-san."

Kushina suppressed a giggle. Minato thanked the man, and they walked up to the Hokage Office with his three students and Jiraya right behind them.

It was up to the smiling groom to knock.

Two days later (Day 7)

"The chakra coming off this head… yes, I've felt it only once before…"

"Where?" Did Gamamaru know what the hell this Gedo Mazou was?

The Great Toad Sage shifted in his oil bath, taking a deep breath. "Hmmm… It was a long, long time ago…" He thought about it, tilting his head upwards. Silence fell without Fukasaku or Shima prompting him or even debating what Gamamaru was going to say. "Yes, the Tree given life, the progenitor of chakra. Only in my youth I've encountered such a chakra, such a creature. It is good to have it separated from other pieces of itself."

A thrill and a shiver passed through Jiraya. Gamamaru knew what this Gedo Mazou was, but it was both ancient and dangerous enough to have left a lasting impact on him. The mere fact that it was about as ancient as the Great Toad Sage was something to behold. "What is it?"

"..."

...He wasn't going to get his answer, was he? Jiraya's only chance to shed light on this Gedo Mazou was to search for bygone ruins and old myths and tales passed down as nothing more than tradition or superstition. For something to have existed during Gamamaru's youth… How far back was he supposed to go?

What about this 'Black Zetsu', with an army of perfect spies? Near null chakra emission, able to perfectly copy a person's chakra… how were they even going to take him by surprise? The only reason the Kyuubi imitator managed to corner him was by telling literally nobody of his plan.

"The Prophecy has changed."

Jiraya startled at the non-sequitur. "W-What?"

The Prophecy had changed? There would be no destructor, but there would be no Saviour, either. How could this change? Gamamaru had foreseen it before Jiraya had even gotten to Mount Myoboku! What happened now to change it?

"New threads have tangled, feeding off death to distribute life." Gamamaru nodded to himself. Even Fukasaku and Shima were shocked into silence. "Yes, it is most intriguing indeed - a new Prophecy weaved, a new path forged in ever-changing tides. Renewal fighting off decay yet to take hold. Yes, yes. A purposeful stranding…"

It… It didn't make much sense, no. What would this new Prophecy entail? What was going to happen? "Does Kurama, the Kyuubi imitator, have visions of the future?"

Gamamaru chuckled. "Oh, he has seen the future, yes, but it is no vision. Older than himself. Chaos blossoms where they tread. A new path taken, many lives bartered for the good of those few caught in the maelstrom."

So it wasn't visions, but it was future knowledge. Somehow.

He massaged his temple, something that hadn't happened since Kushina's Kyuubi decided to cooperate. So… not very long ago…

Damn it, why did all his problems stem from nine-tailed chakra constructs?

Three days later (Day 10)

The day had come.

Kakashi stood upon a rooftop along with his teammates and his peers and a number of other chuunin and jonin - every street, balcony, rooftop and wall near the Hokage Tower was teeming with people, civilians and shinobi alike, all chattering and making bets on who would become the Yondaime Hokage.

When Minato had heard about the bets, he forbade his three students - and Okugi, just in case - from taking part in any of those, since cheating their fellow citizens was not right.

When Kushina had heard about them, she told them to bet a free Ichiraku ramen coupon with everyone they spoke to that Minato would become Hokage.

Never let it be said they didn't grant a pregnant woman's wishes.

As for their peers, Team Minato kept their mouths sealed - and whenever Obito seemed to slip, Kakashi stomped on his closest foot and Rin tickled his kidneys with her chakra. It worked long enough for the ceremony to come around, and their teammate had rarely been so relieved and excited at the same time - though he had to hold on just a little while longer.

"I heard that Orochimaru-sama and Jiraya-sama were also possible candidates," Genma spoke, trying to wheedle some details that would free him from his ramen coupon bet with Obito. He twirled a senbon in his fingers as he rested his arms on the railing. "They've got more experience, right?"

Obito looked particularly constipated at the question.

"No one's really got experience in becoming Hokage." Asuma had to shout over the deafening chatter to be heard, as he was at the edge of the group with Kurenai. He wanted to see Genma lose the bet, just because, and thus saved Obito from answering. "There's a lot more laws than you think, and you've got to know all of them!"

"TRUE YOUTHFUL DEDICATION FANS THE FLAMES OF THE HOKAGE!" In the distance, sounds of waves crashing on a rocky shore made a few people turn and scratch their heads in confusion. The others put their hands on their ears at Gai's shout.

Genma raised his senbon in his teammate's direction, as if it were a glass of wine for a toast. He turned to Kakashi. "You look like you know something, Kakashi." A quick glance at Obito informed him that his attempt to trigger his big bragging mouth didn't work. "You know who's the Yondaime Hokage, don't you?"

"Hmmm, no." Kakashi turned to face Genma and spoke before he opened his mouth again. "There isn't a Yondaime yet, so I can't know who that is."

The group of chuunin laughed, a sound carried away by the wind and hidden by the chatter around them.

Genma huffed. "Smartass."

"Look!" Anko pointed at the top of the Tower. "It's Sandaime-sama."

As soon as the crowd noticed him, a figure in white and red robes walking to the railing of the Tower, they quietened. Obito released a breath he had been holding since Genma started peppering him with questions - again.

Kakashi and Okugi watched very carefully - last time they had seen this ceremony, they had been too distracted by their own grief to truly feel festive. Their memory had been tainted by a looming darkness that hadn't left them for years, that had only deepened until he was pulled out of ANBU for good.

But now, this day marked their first great objective fulfilled - their end and their beginning.

"Konohagakure has finally put an end to the war that had torn so many families apart. Their sacrifice allowed us all to live on, it granted us a chance to prosper once more. Every shinobi and kunoichi of our village has given their all: their effort, their skill, their loyalty, their health, their life."

"This must not be in vain. I won't allow this to be in vain."

The Sandaime stopped as a gust of wind seemed to whisper throughout the streets. A revival born from sacrifice awaited Konoha - as it always had, and always will.

"What our beloved village needs right now is renewal: to pick ourselves up once more and forge ahead to grow stronger and closer than ever. A new, prosperous era awaits Konohagakure."

"However, I won't be the one leading you." He gestured to himself. "I am a child of times long past: despite my every effort, I would fall short in my endeavor to renew Konoha.

This is why today I am nominating to the rank of Hokage of Konohagakure someone whose skills, effort, and steadfastness helped greatly to end the war, whose abilities and intellect will lead our village into a new era of peace."

The Sandaime took off his large hat and stepped back as a familiar blond man joined him on the rooftop from the stairs. "I present you the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha: Namikaze Minato!"

The loudest cheer they have ever heard rose from all around them, all around the Hokage Tower, echoing as Minato stepped forward and bowed to Sandaime-sama.

"You bastard!" Genma pointed accusingly at Obito, who was now wearing a shit-eating grin that made even Kakashi feel the slightest bit inclined to hurl him off the rooftop. "You absolute-"

"WOO-HOOO!" Anko put her fingers in her mouth and whistled, threatening to puncture their eardrums. She resumed clapping loud enough to rival Gai. "I can't believe Minato-san made it, I really couldn't phantom the possibility, especially after Obito tried to make us bet-"

The Sandaime put on the Hokage hat on Minato, who accepted it and walked closer to the railing of the Tower.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile as he clapped and relished in the cheer and hope flooding Konoha. A new start: this time, with his precious people alive and the chance to save them before the pain that killed them took a single step towards them. A plan, not just a hope, and the promise of a future so bright that it would blind him.

Until now, their objective was to keep their closest people alive beyond the end of the Third Shinobi War: they had been more reactive than proactive, barely keeping their heads above the raging waters and holding on tightly.

It was time to mold the future and let it shine its light, to cast the lingering shadows of guilt and sorrow away from his soul. If so necessary, his sacrifice would be a small price to pay in exchange for the lives unlived of his friends and family.

As he crowd kept on cheering for their new Hokage and the peace ahead, he vowed: 'You will live.'

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END

PART 1

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Aaand this concludes the first instalment of what I've unofficially dubbed "Jinchuuriki Count Series", because I needed a title for my folder ;P

As for every single chapter, I hope you didn't find it too farfetched and managed to suspend your disbelief long enough to savour it. If you've got questions, I'm still open to answering them - maybe I'll PM you, maybe I'll edit the answer into this chapter, maybe I'll answer into the comment section.

I hope you liked this story as much as I enjoyed writing it (most of the time XD). I can't emphasise enough how this really wouldn't have been completed without you. Maybe I didn't want to disappoint you, maybe I felt wanted and flattered - maybe both.

I have no idea when I'll come around to writing the sequel - what with university and all - but rest assured that, when I do, I'll let you all know.

Farewell, and as always... beware of the Kitsune's rage! ;)

Shiiroi Kitsune21