Author's Note: This is a story I basically started with the intention of finishing during NaNoWriMo 2010. Unfortunately, I didn't "win" NaNo, nor did I finish the story… and I took a 5 year hiatus between the time I wrote this and today, when I'm finally posting it. But I have the most comprehensive plan I've made to date in a fanfic, and a lot of enthusiasm left for this, despite my not so good relationship with the manga. So I'll just get on with it. I'll post everything I've written so far quite regularly, and hopefully that will be enough to get me inspired enough to finish! I have 12 chapters of 22 finished at this point, btw.

Many thanks to Nemrut, Kyurin, and Lecos, for keeping me on the right track. This wouldn't have been able to get far without your input.

WARNINGS: this fic is majorly AU, it will include screwing about with the Naruto timeline and character histories, as well as contain spoilers for the latest Anime/Manga. Rated T for violence, suggestive themes, and infrequent use of strong language. Heads up: I'm going to be picking and choosing what concepts of the manga I am choosing to incorporate after around about the end of the Invasion of Pein.

Disclaimer: 'Naruto' is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Viz Media, TV Tokyo, and other associated parties. I claim no ownership of the franchise, characters or settings, nor am I affiliated with the above parties in any way. The following is a fan-work, written for my amusement, and not for material or monetary gain. Please support the official releases. (I don't own this).

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Fastforward

Chapter 1: Flash

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What you do in life echoes for eternity.

– Gladiator

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"Don't blink- not even for a second," the dark-haired Leaf Jounin growled at his three comrades. Namikaze Minato's kunai had been launched at the fifty-strong Iwa opposition, three-pronged and whistling through the air. "Now we get to see the Yellow Flash of Konoha fight!"

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A mixed platoon of fifty Chunin and Jounin was not one to be taken lightly. They had seen him, and while some of them had frozen, their lives flashing before their eyes before their throats were slit, a few of them hadn't. The Yellow Flash was scum- a plague, a monster that only war could create. Hiraishin was a Jutsu that haunted the darkest dreams of shinobi on the Iwa line; Minato Namikaze the only ninja in the war who had had the "flee on sight" order placed on his head.

It happened in an instant.

Minato flickered from existence; shouts rose, arching off into a bloody gurgle as crimson and sweat and spittle and fear dripped and bodies thudded to the floor. There was one shinobi left- a Jounin, if Minato was identifying him correctly from the last time he'd scanned through his bingo book. His eyes were wide, his fingers phasing through hand-seals, chakra rising around him in a perimeter of some sort, and one of Minato's kunai sitting buried a few feet behind him within the affected chakra-encircled area.

Minato flickered; a fist clenched around a kunai shot forward, ready to bury itself in the Iwa ninja's skull. He frowned as he felt the slightest resistance slowing him, pulling on edges of his consciousness as he travelled, and resisting against the sudden, foreign pull he pushed forward-

A blinding flash lit up the surroundings.

The last of the Iwa Jounin dropped to the floor, dead. The kunai buried behind him disintegrated with a small hiss as the chakra perimeter dissipated.

The four remaining Konoha shinobi surveyed the sudden empty battlefield.

"W-Where'd he go?"

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Obito was dead. Crushed under a rock and having surrendered his remaining eye, Obito was dead.

But the fight wasn't over.

"Rin, I'll handle these guys," Kakashi spoke quietly, eyeing the Iwa nin that were creeping up the earthy mound. He pulled out the kunai his Sensei had given to him. "While I'm doing that, you escape."

"But-"

"I'll look after you for Obito," Kakashi hissed, his voice getting stronger. "Because of that, I'll protect you- even if I die-"

"Kakashi!"

"Rin. Obito liked you- loved you. You were important to him. Because of that I'll protect you through life and death." He heard the girl's breathing quicken behind him.

"Then Kakashi- my feelings-"

"I- I was once... the kind of trash that would abandon you," Kakashi said, turning away.

The Iwa nin leapt forward.

"Go Rin- now!"

"But-"

"Now!"

And with a choked breath, she fled.

The sound of a thousand birds spluttered out somewhere behind her.

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The mission to destroy Kannabi bridge had long since passed as a failure, Iwa keeping possession of it leading them to have an advantage in territorial battles. Kushina had stood at the village gates long after Konoha's Yellow Flash had been declared "Missing in Action" and the sole female Chunin of the team had stumbled back broken. She had watched as men, women and children had returned from mission after mission, bruised and bloody, and often in body bags. Kushina had watched as the war had worn on with no end in sight, watched as life after life was extinguished and the Leaf was pushed further and further into submission.

Through her eyes she saw as the Leaf was finally forced into an uneasy stalemate, the village becoming a shell of its former self, and as the Sandaime had stepped down from office to appoint a new Hokage...

The village had slowly begun on its return to normalcy.

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Much like a certain acquaintance of hers had taken to frequenting a certain cenotaph, Kushina had a place that she'd visit more than was strictly necessary. It was a habit she'd fallen into over the thirteen months after Minato's disappearance- he wasn't dead. Where he was she had no idea, but while she'd never actually let him know; Kushina had faith in his abilities. He'd return one day, she was sure of it. And when he did... oh, her fist would be ready to leave him with a bruise or three for leaving her so worried.

For leaving her alone.

Glancing through the gates to see no-one there but the two guarding Chunin, Kushina's hand rested on her stomach. A bittersweet smile fleetingly passed over her face as she continued on her way. No, Minato hadn't left her alone. She supposed she'd never be alone, what with such a monstrosity sealed inside of her. Not that Minato even knew about that. She hadn't really got round to telling him yet. Her eyes glanced over Konoha's walls.

They had been all but been destroyed in the war as Iwa had closed in. They had been quickly rebuilt and refortified with wood, bricks and seals when the war was finally drawn into a bloody stalemate and Jiraiya had made one of his near extinct trips to Konoha to lend a stiff hand. Once again, the entry points to the village became limited and safe. The north-west gate faced Iwa almost directly, and if Kushina diverted her path home every night just to walk by it to see if anyone unusual was waiting there... The gate guards were wise to the rumours of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero to comment otherwise.

Kushina reached her house with little hassle, the door swinging open with a soft swoosh as the darkness greeted her. She ghosted through the hall, depositing a small bag of fruit on the kitchen counter, before heading up to her bedroom and shrugging off her orange jacket and kunai pouch, letting them drop to the floor.

Framed pictures welcomed her home. Her own team, in happier days- she spared that one a cursory glance before her eyes roved over the second one. Team Minato's and her own smiling face beamed back at her. Her hand reached out for the photo with a tremble. Three of her boys out to war, and not one returned. Her fingers traced over the lines of his face.

Where are you, Minato?

Death she could deal with- she'd have to. Vanishing without a trace, on the other hand, left no room for closure. Iwa had crowed, as they tended to do, but never produced a body. That was enough proof that they weren't responsible, no matter what they had said. Humiliating him in death would have been at the top of their list had they actually done the deed. Minato wouldn't just abandon them. Yet he was just gone. Growling, she flipped the photo face down and set it back on the dressing table. She glanced pointedly in the other direction for a full minute, before her eyes drifted back to the upturned photograph. The back of the frame was sticking up and she sighed, righting it once again.

She was tired, but tomorrow would be another day.

Fumbling in the darkness to retrieve her jacket, Kushina didn't notice the hooded head phase through the wall behind her, followed swiftly by a torso, arms and legs.

By the time she registered the metallic chink of a kunai sliding loose, the figure had crossed the room and grabbed a fistful of her plentiful hair, jerking her back. She gasped, trying to twist her way out of the grip, her elbows coming back but passing through a body that was there but not, leaving no trace. An arm from nothingness stole across her torso holding her still. His arm- she could feel the weight of his arm! Her nails, her only weapon, tore into the flesh that had revealed itself as she struggled.

A hiss.

A kunai slashed her throat, stopping any attempt to shout as blood gurgled from the wound and Kushina choked. The stranger let her go and she dropped like a stone.

It was healing her, knitting the skin back together, replenishing the blood-loss that was-

The masked man's fingers glowed bright, then brighter, before he crouched over her and plunged them into her stomach once- the healing stopped and agony ripped through her body as the connection was severed- and again, and her stomach shredded, the chakra, red, dark and evil chakra seeping up like blood polluting water.

"No." She couldn't allow this to happen- she couldn't allow this to happen-

Golden chains streamed forth to try and restrain the chakra before it fully pooled, but the man was having none of it.

A heavy boot came crashing down on her face and a red eye glinted from above as her own eyes rolled back in her head. Minato's smile was glassy as it beamed down at her from the photo-frame. The glass shattered and the chains shimmered out from existence.

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Throughout his shinobi career, Minato had had more than a few attempts on his life. The closest that came to this particular experience was almost being drowned while on a B-rank mission in his youth. Minato could remember the hands round his throat as the air was cut off, a Jutsu immobilising his legs, his weight pulling him down; darkness poisoning his vision and silence assaulting his eardrums. Had it not been for his Sensei, he would not have made it out of that one altercation. He was thankful- drowning was not a way he'd like to go.

This was somewhat similar, but in reverse. He had resisted the earlier pull, heard the crack and stumbled onto his knees as sound suddenly rang in his ears, and the air was stolen from his lungs. Light was blinding, his head was pounding and men and women were shouting. Minato filled his lungs, bolting to his feet to escape the forms swarming him from all sides. He heard jeering, and struggled to focus his vision, leaping back to put some distance between himself and the crowd.

His eyes caught on a hitai-ate.

Polished and gleaming.

Iwa.

Iwa ninja. Iwa ninja.

Everywhere.

Pushing towards him.

Rushing towards him.

Sound was hitting his ears in waves, his vision swam, and he struggled to stay on his feet. The jeers grew louder and the shapes more substantial, one raising an appendage to throw something. Instinct kicked in as he kicked back, a hand digging into the holster tied to his thigh to throw one of the remaining few tri-pronged kunai at the enemy. Then another, and another. Someone shrieked and Minato felt a shuriken leave a shallow cut in his cheek. Finding his feet yet again, he grit his teeth.

Minato flickered.

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A group of five shinobi surveyed the unlikely battlefield. Bodies were strewn across the floor, civilians and shinobi alike, and blood had splattered and pooled in the grass. The Sandaime Tsuchikage kept his emotions closely controlled as he walked passed a severed arm.

When the Onoki of Both Scales had decided to accompany the annual parade while it went on a loop from Iwagakure to Kusagakure and back, he had not been expecting what he'd found. The event was one that had been running for years. It celebrated Iwa's triumph over Konoha and the other shinobi nations, and was engineered to run specifically over a few of the more infamous old battlefields- most importantly, over Kannabi Bridge, which Iwa had protected fiercely as their main trade line, and a bigger battlefield a little deeper into Kusagakure, where the Yellow Pest had last been seen.

By all accounts, the parade had been a great success for the past seventeen years. It was accompanied by fanfare and the best entertainers Iwa could offer. Shinobi and civilians milled about, some taking time out of work or duties to follow its whole circuit, and the parade was then fondly recalled for a few weeks after it was done and dusted. It was a tradition. One that someone had decided to sully, and Onoki would track down the perpetrator, for no-one stomped on the pride of Iwagakure, the greatest of the shinobi nations. It was an insult to that pride that someone had managed to escape the Tsuchikage himself. They would be wise to enjoy every second of the freedom they had won themselves, for Onoki would be sure to let the fool suffer when he caught up with them.

Onoki had been berating a youngster when the commotion had started out. The brat had thought it funny to laugh at Onoki's back pains where he thought the Tsuchikage couldn't hear him. He'd been spending too much time with Kurotsuchi, no doubt, for she was the only one who mocked him in such a way. Kurotsuchi. His granddaughter.

He had seen her from the corner of his eye as the events unfolded. She had joined in with one of the annual events, heckling the supposed scheduled impersonator of the Yellow Flash before he took to the makeshift float to act out his defeat to some of Iwa's finest. Her eyes had been twinkling, and she had been smiling indulgently at some of the more rowdy civilians throwing rotten fruit at the man. Nothing had been out of the ordinary, except, perhaps, that the man's costume looked a lot less tacky this time around.

Onoki's nostrils flared, the only indication that something was amiss. He'd had Kurotsuchi's corpse removed from the premises already. She was but a newly promoted Chunin; this was not how she was meant to have died. There was no blaze of glory, no epic battle to the end. That's the way she would have wanted it, if she'd wanted it at all. It had been quick; a kunai had been thrust into her chest by the intruder and she had bled out before medics could save her.

He doubted the girl had even seen the blow coming. Onoki's own senses had barely caught onto what had been unfolding in front of him. As of yet, he wasn't even sure if his eyes had been deceiving him.

Onoki has responded to the threat as promptly as a Kage could. He had confronted the intruder with Jinton before Kurotsuchi's body had even begun toppling backwards. He had caught a flash of blue eyes, yellow hair, and a Leaf hitai-ate as the cubed technique began to cloud over. But the man had actually vanished from within its confines before the Jutsu had even finished in its execution. He'd never seen anything like it. If he hadn't caught it with his own eyes... Onoki shook his head.

"Sir! We've found something!"

Walking over to one of the four ANBU who were with him, Onoki stared at the object nested in the centre of a small pothole to the right of the slaughter-ground.

A three-pronged kunai lay innocently winking back at him under the sun's dying rays.

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