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 5: From Bad...

By Payce D. Elui

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But you do the job that's in front of you, or people die.

- Terry Pratchett

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The next day heralded Minato's awakening to the sound of a quiet tap against his window, accompanied by a small flare of chakra. The ANBU's mask seemed to glow in the pre-dawn lighting. He held a summons from the Hokage in his hand.

Minato had been spending far too much time in the Hokage's office as of late, for his liking. Still, he had arrived at the tower not ten minutes later, Team Seven meeting him at its base. They didn't look nearly as rough-faced as they should have been, having been awakened before dawn, so he supposed it was a regular occurrence.

Danzo had met them with a cool stare.

"I had hoped to keep you away from active missions for a time yet," Danzo murmured. "But it cannot be helped. I'll be assigning your team an A-ranked sabotage mission, three days from now."

"What are the mission parameters, Hokage-sama?" Rin asked.

"As you well know, Suna's main export is steel- they are the main supplier for most of the other nations, who support them because of this. It's time that support comes to an end- Suna are angling to end the ceasefire that was established only weeks ago- ridding them of their allies would be an important step if we are to resume fighting and end this once and for all.

"Intelligence suggests that Ame has ordered large quantities of steel. It's due to be delivered in four days. What they've ordered it for, however, is unknown. Ame has been silent on all fronts for years, but if they're allying up with Suna, we must put a stop to it.

"Your mission is to sabotage that shipment. We don't, however, want to publicise Konoha's involvement. If Ame is to become more active, we don't want to be the targets of their anger; not yet."

"That's it?" Kiba asked, surprised. "No survivors, then?"

"Not quite," Danzo replied, lips in a thin line. "Suna seems to have suspected that we'd get involved. As such, they've charged Team Baki with escorting the trading caravans on their journey."

Minato looked between the suddenly pinched faces with interest.

"You want my team to face Gaara of the Desert... in the desert?" Rin was hesitant. "I would have thought the mission be better suited to Gai's team- he and his student were the only ones fast enough to challenge that boy's Jutsu last time."

"Sensei-"

"Quiet, Kiba!" Rin's tone was not one to be argued with, and the boy's mouth shut with an audible snap.

"Necessity, Nohara-san." Danzo's gaze flickered to Minato. "And while they may not match up to Gaara's speed, he most certainly will."

Minato blinked.

"Well?"

Rin cast a look back at her students, still visibly concerned at the sudden turn. Sakura was pale to the point of looking sickly, while Kiba was practically vibrating with excitement. Shino was much the same from what she could tell, only a lot more reserved about it.

"Won't the sabotage of a shipment meant to create bonds between Suna and Ame point right back at us?" Minato suddenly asked. "Konoha's the only ones who have something to gain from sour relations between those two."

"It's a risk that has to be taken," Danzo replied, acid tingeing his words. "With Iwa also looking for any reason to draw the line under our truce, Minato-san, Konoha doesn't need any more enemies. Ame will either join with Suna through a truce, or they will join their effort on discovering our input into the situation. Or...they may remain neutral, or even sympathetic to Konoha's cause, believing Suna to have betrayed them. They've been out of touch with politics for years, thanks to that fool Hanzo. This is an action we cannot afford to avoid. Is that clear?"

When putting it like that, his own fault laid on the table, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Nohara-san?"

"Come on, Sensei!" Kiba snapped. "This is our chance to finally do something that actually means something to Konoha. You heard Hokage-sama, we could turn Ame against Suna- it's important!"

Rin could feel the imploring gazes of the boys searing into her. She was a Jounin, she would not be cowed by children... but Rin remembered Obito and Kakashi, they had behaved much the same. She couldn't keep them as children forever and Konoha's future depended on this mission. She wondered if this was how Minato had felt so long ago.

"...Team Seven accepts this mission." What choice did they have?

"Excellent." Danzo nodded. "I'll leave the analysis on Gaara's abilities to you. You leave in three days. You're dismissed. Minato. Stay."

Kiba was the first out of the room, followed swiftly by Shino, and then a dawdling Sakura. Minato watched them go.

"Hokage-sama?"

"That boy," said Danzo. "Gaara."

"He's that dangerous?"

"He could be useful," said Danzo. "Kill him, if you must. If the opportunity arises, however… we could make use of him."

"He would turn on his village?" asked Minato, doubtfully.

"We have our ways to ensure compliance. Remember that, Minato."

With that final statement, Minato was dismissed. He caught up to Rin outside the tower, matching her pace step for step. He could see she was worried.

"They'll be fine, Rin; you've taught them well."

"Worked wonders for your team, didn't it?" she retorted. She averted her eyes. More quietly, "You should prepare for the mission." She began to walk away.

"Oh- and Nam-Minato-sa… sensei," she suddenly called back. "I'll meet you tomorrow morning to discuss your part."

And then she was gone in a swirl of leaves.

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Minato's first day of preparation was spent visiting the blacksmiths for an order of three-pronged kunai. It had been a business he had visited often, before, and he had blinked in belated surprise at yet another small change. The man who had used to work in the shop had been replaced at some point by his son taking up the family business; the boy's father had died a few years prior from injuries that had plagued him dating back to the Kyuubi attack sixteen years prior. Luckily for Minato, the shop still had a copy of the designs of his kunai, (the previous owner had kept hold of them as a relic after Minato went missing), and as such, he was promised a set of fifty to be ready for pick-up the next day at noon. Minato, previously worried about payment, was able to purchase by paying with an advance on the next mission.

Upon leaving the blacksmiths, he had begun to grow wary of the looks that were being thrown his way. The first day it had been surprise, but he couldn't help but feel like it was beginning to become more insidious. Whispers were still being passed behind the backs of hands, but the words sounded sharper, and were abruptly cut off when his gaze was flicked their way. Their hands would drop, but the odd one or two would have a sneer or defiant glare to throw back at him.

Feeling completely at a loss for not the first instance since he had come to this time, he put it to the back of his mind. He couldn't recall ever doing something to upset these people, not unless they'd heard about the more recent events that took place with the Iwa parade, and if that was the case, the glares, he supposed, were deserved. They had yet to turn him into a pariah like they had with Sakumo, so he supposed that counted for something. He'd just have to do his best to make sure Konoha came out of the more recent events unscathed.

Later that day, he sat in his apartment pondering what Rin had told him on Gaara's abilities. She had debriefed him with a surprising amount of detail- Gaara of the Desert, along with his team of siblings had been one of the main forces behind the invasion of Konoha three years ago, as the Chunin exams drew to a close.

Gaara had been one of the most dangerous with his control over sand. He had been pushed back by the combined efforts of Konoha's forces, but had still managed to leave a trail of bodies in his wake, his Jutsu thwarting every attempt to put an end to him. It had been almost impossible to touch him, Rin had said. Every move was intercepted by the sand, which seemed almost sentient. Gai and his student Rock Lee had only begun to land hits on releasing the Gates, and enough of them had Gaara fleeing.

From the information given to him by Rin, it wasn't difficult for Minato to deduce that speed and surprise was the key to beating the boy. He'd seen the shinobi's reactions first hand when watching a video recording of the second task that Rin had given to him. The boy had cocooned his opponent, a shinobi from Kumo, in a layer of sand, and crushed him. He had laughed while doing so.

The shinobi himself had not looked so troublesome to deal with. His Jutsu, however... If his sand was keeping Gaara protected, Minato would make sure the boy couldn't react fast enough to even put up a shield.

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His second day of preparation took Minato back to the blacksmiths. With twelve of his kunai sitting safely in his holster, the rest hidden behind a working storage seal on the inside flap, (he'd checked), he was feeling a lot more secure as he walked the streets of Konoha, despite the looks now almost constantly being thrown his way. It was not from all of the populace, he noted. He'd crossed paths with a few of the older Jounin in the village as he'd walked. They'd pulled him to the side, despite the somewhat hostile mutterings around them, and greeted him with fervour. On those occasions, however, Minato would be left standing awkwardly, floundering to find names for the faces that he hadn't known so well twenty years prior.

Treating himself to some ramen from Kushina's favourite restaurant, Ichiraku's, Minato was pleased when the owners welcomed him with a smile that didn't belay some hidden feeling.

It was when the owner, Teuchi, began on his condolences that his balance was thrown yet again. Teuchi had liked Kushina rather a lot, had even made Minato smile around noodles that had suddenly lost their flavour as he'd told a story of a time she'd visited after his disappearance and dumped a bowl on someone who had been becoming a little too leery for her liking.

"I told you I'm waiting for someone, 'ttebane! Now get lost!"

Minato had thanked the man for the meal, (on the house on the condition that he visited again sometime soon), and began on his trek back through Konoha once again.

Completely skirting around the Uchiha district, the heat of the day was beginning to cool when he swung around to the area in which Kushina had used to live. I just have to see. Setting himself on a bench that faced the house from across the green stretched out before it, he tuned out the buzz, watching passersby with as much intensity as they were watching him. He found that they were less inclined to hold his gaze, and would leave not too soon after his eyes alighted on them. Not that he minded.

The house remained silent for an hour after he'd settled down before two children carrying rucksacks had run up to the path, a tired looking woman following. The kids were nattering about the academy, greeting their father with a hug when he approached from the other end of the street.

Could that have been us?

They looked like nice people. He supposed that was all he could ask for.

Satisfied, Minato left before they caught sight of him.

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It was after a second uncomfortable encounter with the Ino-Shika-Cho team, (this time with their wives in tow), that Minato finally made his way to Konoha's main library. The building was one of the oldest in Konoha, actually built by the Shodai Hokage himself during the founding of the village. The shelves were lined with scrolls and books and knowledge enough to enlighten anyone who'd happen to pick up a tome.

Minato drifted straight to the Fuinjutsu section, (after clearing up some initial confusion about the change in layout over the years). He'd borrowed half of the library's advanced books on the subject, to the librarian's delight, (the library really wasn't in much use as of late). But it hadn't been as easy as that. Not an hour after he'd reached his apartment he'd been summoned to the Hokage's office yet again, face blank.

"I'd like to know more about how I came to be here," he said in explanation. "Seals got me here-"

"And you're thinking of reversing this?" Danzo's sharp tone cut him off.

He really was a shrewd old man, though Minato wouldn't have expected any less from a Hokage.

"No," he said, voice measured, not yet. "I want to know enough about how the situation came about so I can avoid it happening again."

Danzo's eyes had him rooted to the spot. The man was seeing right through him, but Minato did not waiver.

"Keep me informed."

An order.

"And Minato... those books do not leave Konoha. Is that clear?"

"Yessir."

Minato was dismissed.

He did not imagine the ANBU presence outside of his apartment that night.

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It was well before dawn on the third day that Minato left his small apartment, locking it up and starting on the road to Konoha's gates, knapsack in hand. It was a spur of the moment decision he'd made to take a detour to the Hokage's monument on his way. It would be nice to see the view. Something to remember the village by while he was away. Flashing to the solitary seal still sitting on the Sandaime's head, his eyes passed over the sleeping village, and he sighed. Konoha was quiet in its slumber. It was a nice change from the noise he now constantly found himself surrounded in, and he resolved to visit the Sandaime more often.

Tuhk. Thuk. Thuk.

He looked around.

What...?

Following the strange sound a little further across the monument, he was on the Yondaime's crown when he saw the pike crudely grounded there, jutting from the ancient earth in defiance. A rope was tied firmly around it, paint buckets settled alongside.

Needless to say, the shinobi at the end of the cord was mighty surprised when the rope to which he was attached was hoisted up. Minato loomed over him, eyebrow raised at the paint and paintbrush the boy was holding. The boy wasted no time, however, promptly jabbing the painting utensil like a skewer at Minato, (who deftly dodged), and cutting himself loose, going into a freefall over the mountain face.

"Hey-!" Minato leapt after him.

If the boy had to be attached to the rope while he was indulging in his extra-curricular activities, Minato didn't find it an unreasonable assumption to believe that he probably couldn't wall-walk with chakra. He was proved wrong, however, as he saw the boy stick to the mountain face, (on Orochimaru's chin, no less, with force enough to make some of it crumble), not a second later. The boy was running full speed now, his long green scarf and the excess cloth of his hitai-ate flapping frantically at his tail. He'd just hit the floor when Minato managed to catch hold of the flowing fabric, fingers grasping the soft material like metal vices. He pulled the boy back, round, and grasped his shoulders.

"What were you thinking?"

The boy scowled. "Let me go! It's not like the bastard didn't deserve it!"

Who 'the bastard' was was made abundantly clear as Minato glanced up, feeling a few droplets of paint dribbling into his hair from above. Yondaime Hokage Orochimaru's likeness had been completely defaced, paints in multitudes of colours scrawled across his features in violent arcs and crude symbols. The rest of the faces had been left untouched.

Removing himself from the target radius of any more spatter to spare himself added damage, Minato glanced back at the boy.

"Why would you do that? You're a Konoha shinobi, are you not? I don't need to tell you that that's the Hokage monument."

It was quite unsettling, really. The boy hadn't been laughing, nor joking, as he would have been had this just been some sort of harmless prank. There was nothing but cold anger, (childish) rage in his eyes as they refused to break contact with Minato's. The kind of anger that rolled inside oneself, ready to be thrown out at a moment's notice.

"Why are you so angry?"

The boy struggled in his grip and Minato set him down, backing away slightly. With the tag now seared into his scarf, it was doubtful the boy would get far, even if he did somehow manage to slip away.

"Why would I do that? Do you know who I- don't you know what- what that man did?" Self righteous barely contained fury. In a shinobi, that really wasn't a healthy sign, not in one so young.

At Minato's silence, the boy snorted in disgust. "Have you been living under a rock or something?" Loosening the scarf around his neck so it was no longer taut, the boy's eyes were cold as he stared at Minato with disdain.

"My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru," he said.

A relation of the Sandaime's? Minato kept his face perfectly blank, save for the twitch of an eyebrow that slowly arched upwards.

"Wouldn't your grandfather be disappointed with how you're acting?"

If the boy's expression was stony before, it hardened to diamond. Konohamaru turned away. "I wouldn't know. He killed him."

Minato's mouth went dry. What...?

"He is the reason my grandfather is dead. He killed my uncle, and he attacked my village. He deserves everything he gets. I don't even know why they still keep his face up there." He sounded disgusted.

He turned back to Minato. Eyes so young shouldn't have been so calculating.

"I will kill him. For now I'll settle for removing every damn trace of him from this village- repeatedly- if I have to. He doesn't deserve to occupy the same space as my grandfather. Keep that in mind next time." He began walking away, tension radiating from every stiff movement he made.

Minato watched him go, quashing the urge to stop him before it took off, and finally turned back to the monument. The eyes of the Hokage stared back at him and across the village.

His own teacher... his Hokage... what happened? Orochimaru's likeness was no longer benevolent under Konohamaru's adjustments. Sensei did always say that Orochimaru was twisted, he thought, slowly turning away from the monument to head back to the gates of the village. Your own student... I'm sorry, Sandaime-sama.

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Rin and Team Seven had arrived at the designated meeting sport just slightly after Minato made his way there, Kiba mumbling something about Sensei visiting a cenotaph before inquiring in a loud voice as to why Minato had paint in his hair. The man just shook his head, the team hushing when Rin cleared her throat.

"All right, Team Seven, Minato-san, you remember the mission set by Hokage-sama. We're sabotaging a trade shipment between Suna and Ame. We're to make it look like Suna's reneging on their deal – when the mission is complete, if all goes as it should, there will be no more trust between the two. Minato-san, after we neutralise the traders and accompanying shinobi, moving the shipment will be in your hands – your sealing expertise will be needed there."

Minato nodded.

"I assume you've come up with a plan to deal with Gaara, then?" she continued. They had talked about it at their last meeting, but in a small amount of detail.

"Yes, I'm sure you were thinking along the same lines I was, though. Rin, this... Gaara needs to be dealt with first. The best course of action would be a surprise attack, then, though surprising a shinobi who is capable of controlling the sand itself while we're in the desert is difficult. You said that the sand possessed some sort of sentience?"

"It would move to intercept attacks even when we were sure Gaara couldn't see them," said Sakura.

"I don't doubt that he'd sense us before we attacked then, especially if he can use the sand over a long range."

"He doesn't possess control over all sand, though," Sakura reminded. "Just the sand of his sand armour and in his gourd."

"That was what the information said," Minato allowed. "But that information is outdated. The Leaf gathered it in the Chunin exams, yes? We don't know the parameters of his Jutsu, not now, not when every team who faced him in this war had been eradicated without trace. We can't afford to safely assume anything- particularly when your Sensei informed me of the destruction he caused by creating his own supply of sand."

"No, you're right..."

"So what are you saying we should do, then?" Kiba demanded.

"I've been examining more recent maps of the desert- there's a-"

"-Long stretch of rocky land towards the edge of the desert between Suna and Ame because of the fighting there are the end of the last war between Iwa and Suna," Rin murmured. "Porter's Pass. You want to change the ambush area. The closer we are to Ame, the higher chance we have of alerting them to our actions."

"Ame's security is closer to the village itself, and the land where I believe we should set up the ambush is still in Wind Country."

Rin pursed her lips, glancing over her team. "It is closer to Ame then I would have liked, but it does propose a higher chance of success... and it was something I considered myself, there's a valley ideal for it." She thought it over for a moment longer, before nodding. "All right, it's settled. That's where we'll set up the ambush, I have a plan in mind for that, but I'll explain it there. Kiba, you and Akamaru will be playing a key role-"

The boy pumped his fist in the air.

"And now for Team Baki..."

Shino finally spoke, "I will fight Kankuro. I owe him a rematch, and my Jutsu works well as a counter to his puppetry."

"And Gaara is my responsibility," Minato said, straightening up.

"That leaves Baki, Temari and the traders. Baki is their Jounin instructor, so he'll be my responsibility. Sakura, Kiba, as we went through before, that leaves Temari and the traders to you. Can you handle it?"

Kiba scowled. "Of course I can!"

"Yes, Sensei." Sakura nodded, also straightening up. "We'll be fine. The biggest problem will be drawing Temari into close combat, but once I'm done with the traders, Kiba and I will figure something out."

"It's settled, then."

Minato watched their faces harden in determination. Sakura's jade eyes were flinty, Kiba smirked, and Shino's collar seemed to have drawn up even further. So different, but his own team looked back at him.

"Let's move out."

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The trip to the rocky plateau went without a hitch, the team passing across River country and manoeuvring north from the edge of Wind towards Porter's Pass. The team moved into place at an area that was roughly a mile away from the edge of the fine sand that blanketed most of Wind Country.

The rock towered high above them, slick from years of being worn down by rough winds. The valley was where they'd made their camp. The deeper recesses of the valley were shielded from the winds that battered the desert at night, and offered shade from the searing heat of the day, giving simple cover to those who took refuge there. The caravan would pass through the valley on its journey, they were sure of it. While there was certainly room and area to go around the ravine, the surrounding terrain was pockmarked with unstable rock and broken ledges, the valley holding the only smooth passage, perfect for trading caravans of almost any size. Going around it would draw out the journey, and with the majority of bodies travelling with the trading caravans being untrained civilians, the longer route was not a desirable one, not when there were shinobi hired for protection.

Minato had set a small number of Hiraishin seals in and around the valley while the rest of the team scouted the area. Even within, there were ridges and nooks, perfect for cover when the caravan eventually arrived. While the Suna team would likely be paranoid of an ambush, (in an area as perfectly suited for it as Porter's Pass, it would be foolish not to be), the plan was to attack faster than they could defend. Their targets would be willed into a sense of security before Team Seven sprung.

Kiba and Akamaru had used their Fang Over Fang technique to drill a large rough hole into the ground of the mouth of the opening facing in Ame's direction. They were loosely covering it with dirt and rocks while Minato had travelled the length of the surprisingly long valley, touching seals down as he went. The valley was bare of most life, though there were trees scattered along the higher rocks, their roots fused to stone as they reached out, and bird nests perched in their upper branches. The desert was on the horizon when he reached the edge of the hard land, sand kicking up as sandstorm after sandstorm raged. There was no life to be seen, not yet. When Minato made it back, the area where Kiba's trap was set was indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain.

The team camped for the night in a small alcove hidden from view in one of the many folds of the stone. They hunched deep in sleeping bags from the chill, proximity seals dotted around them, discussing strategy until the stars had begun to fade and only he and Rin were left awake.

"I don't want them to end like our team," Rin suddenly said. She was speaking more to the embers of the dying fire than to Minato, her voice barely audible. "But I don't have a good feeling about this. That boy..." Rin trailed off.

"He's really that intimidating?"

"It's not what he can do," Rin said. "It's him. There's something not right with that boy." She wet her lips. "Orochimaru picks his allies well."

"...Orochimaru?"

Rin quirked an eyebrow. "...Yes, Orochimaru. He conspired with Suna and helped them attack the village. It was partly because of him that it was so successful... who else would know how to destroy the village from within than a former Hokage?" Her lip curled, the embers casting dark shadows across her face, twisting her expression. "Didn't Godaime-sama tell you?"

"No... He seems to be making a habit of that." Minato rubbed his face, removing some of the grit that seemed determined to stick there thanks to the wind constantly blowing through the valley that seemed infused with it. "But I suspected something wasn't right- I had a run in with a relation of the Sandaime's-"

"-Konohamaru?"

"You know him?"

"He's the only relation the Sandaime has left."

Well that was unexpected. "What of Asuma? Biwako-san? The rest of the clan?"

Rin shook her head, looking away. A moment later, "What did the kid say?"

"He was angry. I caught him vandalising the Hokage monument." He looked for her reaction. She gave none.

"He does that."

It's something he's done before, then. "He said that Orochimaru killed his grandfather... and then... his uncle." And assuming the Sandaime didn't have any more children... "Asuma." The connection was made. "What happened? Why is Orochimaru working against the village?"

"It's a long story," Rin said. "It's better suited coming from Hokage-sama's mouth." She paused, taking in Minato's small frown, the crease beginning between his eyebrows, and relented.

"Most of it is public knowledge, so I can't keep it from you." She scratched at her face, eyes drifting back to the campfire. "It started at the Kyuubi attack, I suppose. Sandaime-sama, Danzo and Orochimaru came up with a Jutsu to stop it before it annihilated the village."

"Inoichi said that the Sandaime defeated it."

"He did. With help from Danzo and Orochimaru. The Jutsu they created, it required one of them to sacrifice their life. I don't understand the nature of the Jutsu, exactly, the details weren't made public. But Sandaime-sama sacrificed himself for the village, the Kyuubi was gone, and Orochimaru was made Hokage." She poked at the fire, keeping it from sputtering out completely. "That was the first strike against Orochimaru in Konohamaru's eyes, I suppose, though he was very young when that happened, and I don't believe for a second that Sandaime-sama would have hesitated to put the village ahead of his life."

Minato didn't think so either. He nodded at his old student to continue.

"Konoha was recovering. It was a slow process, but we were progressing. But a few years into Orochimaru's reign as Yondaime, we noticed discrepancies; some children from prominent clans going missing. Some teams were told to keep an eye on it- and we did. The last thing Konoha needed was clan secrets being discovered by enemies. And looking into it, we noticed that children had been disappearing for a while, but it had gone unnoticed." Her fingers spasmed. "The Kyuubi left a lot of orphans behind."

Going after the ones who wouldn't be missed... He leaned forward. "It was Orochimaru?"

"Years into Orochimaru's reign, the person who was taking the children was still eluding capture. We had no clues to follow; it was like the kids were just vanishing into thin air. While there were less children being taken, the problem wasn't solved, and people were panicking. We'd lost the war, we'd barely survived the Kyuubi, and then someone was taking the children. Konoha wasn't a pleasant place to be." Rin's lips quirked. "Asuma hated Orochimaru. It was probably guilt that caused the bad blood between them. Asuma and Sandaime-sama never got on- you'd probably seen that for yourself."

He had, when Asuma had been as tall as his waist. He'd never shown his father much respect. He thought the boy would have grown out of it, but apparently not. He didn't think the differences between them had been that great.

"Asuma left Konoha a few years after you disappeared. He didn't make it back before the Kyuubi attack, and the last words between he and his father weren't pleasant. And so Asuma didn't like Orochimaru, and when he did return, he was one of the shinobi who was investigating the disappearances. And somewhere down the line, I suppose he'd begun to suspect Orochimaru... Probably because he was one of the few left that suspected that the Hokage didn't have the best intentions in mind for the village." She shrugged, and Minato understood.

The Hokage was a beloved figure. Respected by all, and loved by most. Minato had seen the reverence to the Sandaime- the village had looked to him as a grandfather. To believe that the Hokage did not care, that the Hokage was capable of such a betrayal, that the person they'd all put their lives on the line for was not what they thought he was... it was inconceivable. The Hokage had to have the village in mind. It was not a mere position. To become Hokage had been Kushina's dream, and she had drilled it into him on numerous occasions during their childhood.

"Asuma started getting more and more suspicious, and he'd confided in Kurenai- a kunoichi we knew, but I don't think she really believed him, either. Then he left to follow a lead one day. He didn't come back. And a few days later, ANBU got a hold of his trail, followed it, and they found a lab. Asuma was dead- he'd been poisoned. On scouring the lab, the ANBU found it held minute traces of DNA from some of the missing children. By that point, Konohamaru was older, and had been listening to his uncle badmouth Orochimaru for a while... it all came to a head later."

"He was experimenting on the children that had been taken? And the village didn't know it was Orochimaru?" That left a bad taste in his mouth. But ANBU? Was he asking for himself to be caught? "Orochimaru sent ANBU after Asuma?"

"No, it wasn't- the village didn't know what Orochimaru had done until a few months later. And the ANBU that had been sent after Asuma- they weren't Orochimaru's. They were Danzo's."

That didn't make sense. Only the Hokage was in control of ANBU. That meant… "A private force?" asked Minato. ANBU were supposed to be solely under the jurisdiction of the Hokage. That Danzo had had a private force hidden with Konoha's elite was troubling, even if he had used them for 'good'. "That's…"

Rin gave him a short nod. It seemed she agreed with his discomfort, even if she wasn't willing to verbalise it.

"So this secret ANBU force, they…?"

"They analysed the poison," Rin continued, "and it held markers similar to a brand that Orochimaru had been using a while back... he liked to experiment with his poisons. But they were unique to Orochimaru, and Danzo and his ANBU caught him out. And then he was ousted from Konoha, chased out. He should have been executed, but…"

From what Jiraiya-sensei had told him of his teammate, Orochimaru was as slippery as the summons he had in his contract. "And the children?"

"They found the most of the bodies later in other hidden labs- no-one knew what Orochimaru had been looking for in his experiments. Danzo was made Hokage, to bring stability back to the village."

"Were there competitors for the title?" On that, Minato was truly curious.

"It was… a quick exchange of power," said Rin, very carefully. "But after all that happened… the village is stronger for it."

Danzo had had an army and Konoha had been in absolute chaos, Minato summarised. He let out a breath he'd been unaware that he'd been holding. "And Orochimaru returned during the Chunin exams. Why?"

"We don't know exactly what he came back for." Rin pursed her lips. "But he'd allied with Sand- aside from a few appearances over the years that he left, we don't know much of what he'd been doing, nor when Suna had contacted him. And after the Chunin exams, he escaped again, Konoha was in disrepair, and it was almost solely down to him and that boy." Gaara had waltzed back into her mind, Minato knew it. "My team won't become our team. They deserve better than that."

A lot of people deserve better than that, Minato thought. It was the system within which they lived, where the Hokage sent out shinobi to do their bidding, and it was sad, but it was for the good of the village, for stability. It was necessary, at least with the world how it was.

We'll stop it eventually, Minato, Jiraiya-sensei had once said, as his own Genin team were grouped around a dying fire, just like this one, Minato the last of the young Genin to fall to sleep. It was prophesised, you know.

He didn't really know what to think of prophecies, and it wasn't the time to dwell on such things. There was a job to be done. From Team Seven's trepidation, it was clear they'd need all of their strength, and he'd kept his old student up for long enough. Pulling one of the sealing theory books he'd brought along, (what the Godaime didn't know really wouldn't hurt him, and the theory in the book was general enough that an enemy of Konoha would likely have the information already), he glanced at his old pupil. There were shadows beneath her tired eyes.

She looked at him. "I am sorry, Minato-s… sensei," she said finally. "I know… that not everything is in our control. I'm a Jounin now. But this has been a shock. To all of us. It's been hard. I know you're not to blame. I know that. I've been childish. My anger towards you hasn't been justified."

A part of him relaxed at that. Rin was still Rin, sweet under that toughened exterior. "I understand," he said gently. "There's no need for an apology."

She was older than him now, but he supposed that a sensei would always see their children as children.

"Don't worry yourself about this," Minato said. "Get some sleep, Rin."

† † †

Minato sat on a perch, legs crossed, at the mouth of the valley. The land stretched out beneath him, a solid mile of black-grey rock which eventually softened into a sandy yellow, sand particles moving in an almost restless way in the near non-existent breeze. The sun was high in the sky now, to his left shoulder. Minato waited, eyes trained on the horizon. The range on the proximity seals was large. They triggered before he saw them. It wasn't too long before a speck showed on the horizon, a small mass of figures, followed by a bigger vehicle, ploughing steadily on, undeterred by the waves of heat the desert and sun were throwing up.

Minato flickered. Rin eyed him as he pulled his kunai from where it had been stuck in the rock-face. He eased it back into his pouch, nodding to Rin as he did so.

""Shino, Kiba, Sakura!"

The three Chunin assembled. "They're almost here. You know the plan. Stick to it. Kiba," she addressed the boy directly. "Under no circumstances are you to interfere with Minato-san's actions against Gaara, not unless he attacks you directly. Am I understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, Sensei. I know. I owe the girl one anyway, isn't that right, Akamaru?" Akamaru barked in agreement, wagging his stump of a tail. Kiba patted the dog on the head, a dark look crossing his face.

"She cut Akamaru's tail off the last time they fought," Shino said, noticing Minato's raised brow.

Kiba threw his teammate a dirty look. "She got lucky."

"Of course she did."

"Why you-"

Rin cleared her throat, interrupting the argument before it erupted. "Scatter."

Her students left in a small swirl of leaves. They easily blew away in the breeze at their backs. Rin's eyes flitted to his, before they roved over his shoulder to the direction the Suna-nin would soon be coming in.

"Don't die, Minato-sensei."

There was no hesitation over the honorific this time. Rin nodded at him. Minato blinked.

"Watch his sand. We'll wait for you to engage."

Rin jogged out of the valley, and Minato took his place. He was sat higher up, in a small alcove with a protruding ledge, sheltered from each side by parts of the valley jutting out around him. He stayed standing, stretching out his limbs while he waited for the caravan to pass. There was already a faint rumble in the distance, a large weight crushing smaller pebbles in its path to dust as it rolled onwards.

They were at the mouth of the pass, now, all Minato had to do was wait. Wait, and keep an eye out for Gaara. He'd seen the boy in the video Rin had shown him. Red-brown hair, dark ringed eyes, and a tattoo carved into his forehead. As people went, he was quite distinctive in appearance.

It didn't take long for them to come into view.

A large vehicle. Some of the traders on foot, marching ahead and around it, while others clung to handles attached to the side, or sat on ridges, their legs kicking. Some of them were carrying white umbrellas to ward off the burn of the heat, though the tactic seemed more favoured by the women of the group than the men.

And there they were. The traders were milling about, chatty and restless and slightly worn, and from a day-long travel in the desert, Minato didn't blame them. They wore light colours. The shinobi of the group were easily, easily distinguishable.

Ahead of the caravans, the tallest was wreathed in a black suit of some kind, his face covered in some sort of paint. How he hadn't suffered from sunstroke on the walk across the desert was something Minato put down to Suna durability. From the bundle strapped to his back, this must have been the puppet-master Team Seven had informed him of. Kankuro.

Ahead of the tallest was another shinobi, a white veil coving the side of his face that was to Minato. That one was talking to a trader at the front of the group. Baki.

Behind the vehicles was the sole female of the group. She was dressed in black, her straw-coloured hair pulled back into an unusual style of four tails, and a weapon of some kind was strapped to her back. All Minato could distinguish was the metal casing, so this must have been the fan user. She held a white umbrella above her head, and her face seemed set in an expression of utter boredom. Temari.

And finally, Minato's eyes drifted back ahead of the girl to his target. Gaara. Red hair stark against the dull landscape. Red, the colour of drying blood. His eyes were empty of feeling and framed heavily by black circles. His skin was pale, abnormally so for someone who lived in Wind country's burning climates. Minato could almost feel the boy's gaze raking over his skin as he surveyed the area, back straight and arms crossed, a gourd on his back. His lips were moving, not enough for Minato to discern syllables, but he seemed to be repeating some sort of mantra. Sand particles were ghosting through the air and mindful over the boy's jutsu, Minato pushed further back into the crevice of the rock he currently occupied. The grit in the wind was no different to that of the night before, but being cautious was safer than failing the mission through recklessness.

His target was the most difficult to get at from his place atop the caravan. Minato had littered the area the caravan was moving over with seals, but his target was out of reach of all of them. Speed was essential when dealing with this boy, and from his place atop the vehicle, he wouldn't be passing closely to any seal.

Minato crouched lower as another gust of air blew through the valley, the caravan finally drawing level with his position, and then onwards. But onwards they went, the traders chattering mindlessly, the shinobi bar the one at the lead following in silence. As the vehicle began crossing the threshold of the ravine, he supposed he was being too paranoid. They remained unaware of Team Seven or Minato's presence.

They had almost crossed completely over the mouth of the valley, when the ground gave way, Kiba's trap triggered by the weight of the caravan. Even Gaara lurched, face a picture of thunder as he lowered his leg to the roof again, glaring at the traders as they scuttled along below him, assessing the damage. The other three shinobi of the trio were immediately on alert, their frames tensing as they spun, senses stretching out for something that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Looks to be a natural break in the rock," one of traders suddenly called, "the caravan must have been too heavy."

"Pull it out, then!" Kankuro snapped out, his eyes tearing from the surroundings as he stalked back to where the traders had congregated. They baulked. "Hurry it up!"

And the traders tried. For nearly twenty minutes they tried to heft the vehicle out from the pothole, but Kiba's trap only widened. The caravan was stuck fast. Minato moved not a muscle, silently urging his target down from his perch. To no avail.

Finally, frustrated and sweaty, one of the traders- from Ame, judging by his dress, shouted up at Gaara.

"You! Yes, you, shinobi!"

Minato's target, who had been gazing dazedly at the sky while he rocked forwards and backwards on the balls of his feet, blinked, as if coming out of a reverie and turned his attention to the man calling up to him. He cocked his head to the side, a smirk curling his lips upwards as he stared at the little man standing at his feet. The gourd on his back seemed to almost shudder, as if there was something moving inside it.

"Yes, you, you brat!"

The man's self-preservation skills were clearly lacking.

"We hired shinobi for help, now help us!"

Eyes drifting from the irritated man, Minato noted the look of unease on the face of the female and puppet-user. The Ame trader hadn't. Minato noticed the two take a subtle step back. The Ame trader didn't.

The lips of the ninja atop the vehicle curled up a further few inches. "You... want me to... help you?" The words made their way to Minato's ears despite the way the wind was now howling. "I could do that... I could, if you do something for me first."

The grin being aimed down at the trader was making Minato uneasy. What is he doing?

"Yes, yes, what is it that you want?"

"It's not what... I want... mother. Mother wants... do you want to gift my mother?" The smile had slowly widened to the point that Gaara's face was in danger of splitting apart, but his eyes stayed locked to the man he was addressing. The intensity of the gaze seemed to still the air around them.

For all his obliviousness to the danger he was facing- could he really be so clueless? - the trader rolled his eyes, forgoing notice of the Suna citizens backing away.

"Figured you'd be a mother's boy. Shinobi these days. Well? What is it your mother wants? A trinket of some sort? The sooner we're back on the road, the better!"

The smile was back and Gaara snickered. "Mother." He was laughing now. "Mother has no use for... trinkets. But..." he straightened up. "She's pleased with your willingness."

The trader had no time to query that statement before the gourd on the boy's back lurched, sand rushing forward to engulf him from head to toe. It had surged down his throat before he could even scream, coming together to leave nought but a bloody mulch saturating the rocks where he'd once stood.

The wind started again as Gaara laughed. And laughed. And laughed. The faces of the two black-clad ninja were drawn, lips in firm lines as they surveyed their teammate. Their trader companions stood forgotten behind them, huddled back and quivering.

Gaara stopped laughing. The mirth on his face was quickly replaced with a more ugly expression as his hand went up to his head.

"Not satisfied, not satisfied, never satisfied... mother..."

One of the traders whimpered and Gaara's gaze shot to the group.

Before a repeat of moments before could take place, the girl cleared her throat. Minato noticed that she hadn't made to move forward, no, her hand was loose by her side, within easy reach of her weapon.

"Gaara. Don't you think that's enough? We need to get to Ame."

She backed up a step as the boy sent her a murderous glare. His hand reached up to press down on his eyelids before coming away, and he blinked rapidly. He sneered. "Mother doesn't want your blood... yet."

The spattered sand reformed into a gourd, attaching back on the boy's back.

"Get to Ame... Get. To. Ame. We're... stuck."

Jump down, Minato silently urged. Come on. Jump down.

Gaara stepped off of the top of the caravan and glared at the hole. His sand rushed out of shape yet again, slithering under the trapped vehicle, and with a loud creak the caravan began to rise from the fissure.

Wait until the sand is as far from reach as it can be...

More sand rushed under the trapped mass. It was time. He edged out of the alcove. The wind blew again, more sand particles brushing against his face. Minato blinked, narrowing his eyes to avoid the more intrusive of the drit.

The caravan dropped with a sudden crash.

The wind died down.

Gaara turned from his place on the floor of the valley, looking right up at him.

...And there goes the element of surprise.

The boy's face split into a grin.

"I see you."

† † †

The sand granules in the air were clawing at his face now- were they always his?- and Minato flickered-

To the tag by Gaara's feet- the traders were stumbling out of the valley and Minato noted the two black-wreathed shinobi closing in fast- hand raised, kunai plunging down-

Snick.

He was gone again, on a ledge above the canyon, the vibration of the shattered kunai still ringing through his wrist.

Gaara was facing him again, his laugh reverberating off the walls. The sand swirled around him, a violent hiss of fine glass.

Of course. The sand armour.

The boy reacted faster than he thought he would have. He hadn't expected the boy's armour to put up so much resistance, either. Not a single person had defended against his Jutsu in such a way... attacking him the way he'd become so reliant on was now out of the question. This could be... problematic.

The sand surged forward.

"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Heat crystallised sand, smoke billowing out and Minato was gone before a claw pushed its way through the dissipating fireball, launching kunai at the boy.

A gust of strong wind would have knocked him off of his new perch if chakra hadn't had him stuck firmly. As it was, it just tore the already scabbed grazes on his face a little more, and Minato felt the blood begin to trickle down his face.

The wind user- she was pulling her arm back again, ready to release another devastating attack, but she was knocked off balance by a white blur.

Akamaru. Kiba.

Blue eyes flicked behind the girl's battle to see the puppet mobilised by her brother collapse as if its strings were cut. With the way Shino had stepped out from behind a rock, they probably had been. Behind them, Rin lunged at the ninja dressed in white while the escaping traders were dropping one by one courtesy of Sakura.

Minato flickered from place yet again, avoiding another grab of sand. Gaara had yet to move from his spot.

That sand... Well, Rin did say that Taijutsu had been his weak spot...

Gaara had the caravan to his back as his arm swept yet again, and sand pulsed forward. There was still the tag buried by his feet...

Minato flickered, this time infusing kunai with wind-chakra so the cut would be sharper. Gaara batted it away, and Minato was gone again.

Again.

Again.

Getting close to him isn't the problem. It's actually hitting him. His brow creased as he moved yet again, throwing a volley of kunai at the boy and flickering between them. To his growing frustration, he was rebuffed a fourth time.

Damnit.

Never had he faced a defence quite like this. It wasn't that he boy was extraordinarily talented, though he was; his madness kept Minato from predicting exactly what he would do next, and he did his best to keep the shinobi's attention on him and not the rest of Team Rin. It was the sand; it pulsed and twisted, defending him from every conceivable angle, despite the boy being close enough to a tag that he was almost standing on top of it.

That defence. It was not one made for a human to break.

Shit.

Using his siblings against him would be out of the question. Gaara's attention had not once been drawn to them, despite their varying degrees of struggle against the Leaf shinobi at their backs. While that could have been due to him trusting in their abilities, Minato didn't think it was nearly as simple as that. From what he'd seen of the two of them, they were scared of him. He'd threatened them himself.

And catching him off guard... well, Minato had seen how that'd turned out. It was no longer an option.

Minato drew back from another violent arc of his opponent's arm. It was a sloppy movement, Minato noticed.

His sand follows his movements, mostly. I knew that already. I can't tag it. That would be useless. I have to draw it away and get through whatever's left with a bigger burst of wind-chakra. That, or I'll use it against him.

Gaara may not have been very predictable... but his sand was another entity entirely.

All right then... to separate him from his sand.

The first step would be to remove the boy from his original position. Minato needed to be able to attack from all sides- the caravan at Gaara's back was restricting him from being able to attack from any angle.

His fingers came together in a crossed seal. A Shadow Clone. Three normal Clones. They split off. They rushed forward. They pulled out kunai and launched the volley at the boy from all sides available. Of course, the illusionary kunai produced by the plain clones were no danger, and were dissipated by the violent arcs of sand, easily. Minato flickered between the remaining physical kunai that were batted away as the sand rushed outwards, and then to the seal still buried by the boy's feet. He heard the sand rush at him from behind, and flickered away once again, moving to pick up some of his deposited instruments.

It was slower that time. Though not enough.

Well that was fine.

He would draw it out yet again. His only Shadow Clone had survived the sand as it doubled back for the original, and was standing by. He drew up a further 2 simple clones, and deployed the same tactic.

Kunai fanned out and honed in on Gaara, who easily caught them in a sandy net. This time, however, instead of buffing them back, the kunai were completely swallowed in the mass of earth. Gaara caught his eye and smirked as he used his sand to grind them to dust.

"I'm tired of your Jutsu now."

He was learning.

And he was getting bored, if Sakura's shriek was anything to go by. The floor was beginning to shake, Minato could feel it through his sandals, and Gaara's unhinged smile promised nothing good. This was the boy who'd caused so much damage to Konoha. That Rin believed was so harmful to her team. She may have been right. Minato's time was running out. Gaara had to be dealt with. Now.

"What are you waiting for, sensei?" Rin roared from further down the valley, where her fight had taken them. She was knocked off balance, narrowly avoiding a wind Jutsu sent her way.

I've drawn this out too long.

And now they're in danger.

I will not lose anyone else-

"Mother's looking forward to tasting your blood. For how long can you dance?" Gaara laughed, and the ground beneath Minato's feet shook as sand burst upwards. He jumped back. Sand exploded from the rocks at his back, dislodging a tree and sending birds squawking into the air. A tendril caught his ankle, slamming him down, grinding his foot into a paste of blood and flesh and bone-

The Shadow Clone dispersed.

From behind Gaara- "Katon: Flame Bullet!"

His sand caught the brunt of the forward motion of the caravan as it was blasted out from its place, before it was forcefully flung away. Gaara still staggered, rage colouring his features, his legs buckling from the sudden force he had not been expecting, so sure that he had won.

His troubles were only beginning, an uppercut knocking him back as his sand tended to the weight of the vehicle, followed swiftly by a Rasengan that would end it, sand-armour be damned-

There was a screech as a bird flew between them, swallowing up Minato's Jutsu.

And then-

-the bird exploded.

† † †

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